[SSS Rank] Future Vision

• Type: Active
• The caster borrows the power of a realm they will eventually reach in the future.
• Duration: 20 minutes (duration varies depending on the borrowed realm)
• Cooldown: 24 hours
• After use, the caster’s abilities decrease by 50% for 24 hours.

A skill that allows Sungshik to temporarily borrow the power he will achieve in the future. This was similar to a skill like "Descent of Lü Bu" but also different.

“Since it’s the power I will eventually reach, the synergy is even greater.”

After all, something like "Descent of Lü Bu" was a power borrowed from another divine being, not his own. But "Future Vision" was different. Since it borrowed the power of a realm he could reach in the future. Of course, there was no guarantee he would definitely reach that realm.

“It’s a possibility.”

Through the [EX Rank] "One More Time" trait of Chronos, the god who governs time, Sungshik had felt something faintly during his regression. And when he used "Future Vision" this time, he had a vague realization.

Fundamentally, "Future Vision" was about drawing on the power of open possibilities, not his actual future self. In other words, from a parallel world perspective, the higher-level self he saw through the "Future Vision" skill was simply a possibility of reaching that realm, not an inevitability.

“But I will reach it.”

He was confident. Not only in reaching the 9-star realm he saw but even ascending the iridescent staircase beyond it.

He longed for it. The sensation he felt when he reached the transcendent realm. The overwhelming ecstasy of seeing the world in a new way—he eagerly awaited the day he would experience it again.

“And… what would it be like to stand there?”

The transcendent realm above the current highest realm—just sensing its presence had nearly overwhelmed his consciousness. He was deeply curious about what that realm truly was.

“Hah.”

Just imagining it sent a thrill through him. Sungshik calmed his rising emotions and steadied his mind.

“No need to rush. One step at a time.”

Having regained his composure, Sungshik went over the rewards he had received for winning the tournament. The championship prizes were threefold.

The first was a cash prize of 200 million won.

Money was necessary. In this era, where gates were breaking, national borders were collapsing, and currency was gradually losing its function, money was still the most important tool. There were more things money could do than things it couldn’t. Everyone knew that to survive in this world, money was essential.

“200 million should last me until the gate break occurs.”

Even now, before the gates fully broke, society was already being restructured around superhumans. For high-ranking superhumans, money naturally followed them. That was why the academy’s finances were so generous. Despite being an annual cadet competition, they had no hesitation in awarding a 200-million-won prize.

The second reward was coins. Upon reaching the 2-star realm, one could access the system community, where these coins were the main currency. In a way, they were even more valuable than modern money. After all, coins were directly linked to a superhuman’s combat ability.

Thus, the 300,000 coins he received as a prize were not an enormous amount but would still be quite useful.

“What should I do with these?”

The final reward was none other than a [B Rank] Random Skill Orb. These orbs were rare resources, occasionally dropped by gate boss monsters or sold in the community shop at exorbitant prices. It was safe to say that the main prize of the tournament was this skill orb.

However, since it was not a guaranteed "[B Rank] Skill Orb" but a "[General] B Rank Random Skill Orb," the element of luck was heavily involved.

“If it were a guaranteed [B Rank] skill orb, it wouldn’t have been given as a tournament prize in the first place.”

That was obvious. A [B Rank] skill orb was something that even active 5-star and above superhumans would covet. The means to acquire skills were extremely limited, and obtaining a skill of B rank or higher was incredibly difficult. This made [B Rank] skill orbs incredibly valuable.

“Should I sell this or not?”

Thus, he hesitated. Realistically, random skill orbs usually resulted in obtaining the lowest possible grade. The skill orb he had received as a prize was no exception.

[General] B Rank Random Skill Orb

• Using this will grant a random skill between B and F rank.

Because the lowest possible rank was F, and the orb itself was only of [General] grade, the likelihood of obtaining a low-tier skill was high. If it had at least been of [Advanced] grade, the lowest would have been E rank.

Given that the chances of drawing an F rank skill were overwhelmingly high, selling the orb on the "System Community" free market to earn coins was the rational choice.

Despite its randomness, the small chance of acquiring a high-rank skill made these orbs sell for exorbitant prices. The demand far outstripped the supply, leading to inflated market prices.

“If I end up with an F rank skill, it’ll be useless, so I should just sell it… Hm?”

At that moment, Sungshik’s senses sent a signal. As he held the skill orb and observed it, he felt something—an almost imperceptible sensation.

Because of this, his intent to sell the orb wavered, and he focused on it instead. Closing his eyes, he directed all his concentration toward the skill orb.

Buzz—

Then, he felt it again—that tingling sensation, making the hairs on his arms stand on end.

“Open.”

In that instant, Sungshik activated the skill orb.

―Congratulations! You have obtained [B Rank] 'Wind Scar' from the [General] B Rank Random Skill Orb!

“!”

Sungshik was shocked. He had felt a strong premonition that he would get a high-ranking skill, and against all odds, he had actually drawn the best possible outcome—a B rank skill.

“Wow.”

His amazement wasn’t just because he had obtained a B rank skill. It was because this experience opened up new possibilities for future situations.

“This must be thanks to my 'Hyper-Sense' trait.”

Sungshik’s intuition was correct. His "Hyper-Sense" trait had reached Level 4, and this was one of its hidden effects.

“This is amazing.”

Perhaps the [Hyper-Sense] skill was actually an overpowered skill? With that thought in mind, Sungshik examined the [B-Rank] Wind Scar skill he had just obtained.

[B-Rank] Wind Scar
― Type: Active
― Creates multiple blades of wind and sends them flying forward.
― Attack Power: Proportional to the caster’s magic coefficient.
― Cooldown: 180 seconds

“Oh.”

Sungshik let out a brief exclamation as he reviewed the Wind Scar skill. Since he didn’t have many area-of-effect skills, this was a pretty decent one.

Damage that scaled with the magic stat rather than being fixed was a rare option even among B-rank skills. The cooldown of 180 seconds wasn’t bad either. It was practically an A-rank skill in disguise.

“Not bad.”

It wasn’t just talk—it really was a great gain. This was enough of a jackpot to celebrate.

“Good thing I didn’t sell it in the community.”

Sungshik applauded his own decision to follow his intuition and use the skill ball instead of selling it.

“Now that I think about it, should I check out the community?”

“Accessing community.”

― Connecting to the community. User confirmed.
― Welcome, ‘[EX] Returner.’

[Community]
― General Discussion
― Tips & Know-How
― Regional Boards
…
…
― Shop
― Marketplace

It had been a while since he accessed the community. Sungshik considered buying another random skill ball with his coins to try again. He immediately navigated to the ‘Shop’ and ‘Marketplace’ to search for random skill balls.

― Search results for ‘[General] B-Rank Random Skill Ball’: 2 results found.

“Wow, seriously.”

Clicking his tongue, Sungshik shook his head.

[General] B-Rank Random Skill Ball ― 5,000,000 Coins

Nothing was available in the ‘Shop,’ and the only listings in the ‘Marketplace,’ where supers posted items for sale, were priced at five million coins. The reasonable-priced ones had likely already been sold, leaving only the overpriced ones unsold.

Smacking his lips, Sungshik considered searching for C-rank random skill balls but decided against it. Given his current specs, anything below C-rank wouldn’t satisfy him, so there was no need to waste coins.

‘And I probably couldn’t afford it anyway.’

With barely 300,000 coins to his name, he wouldn’t be able to buy it regardless. He decided to revisit the strange sensation he’d felt earlier another time and instead navigated to the General Discussion board.

The board was the same as always. Casual conversations, daily news, and occasional social interactions.

However, one post stood out.

Author: [A] Schumperion
Title: The frequency of gate occurrences is increasing.
Content: I happened to look at some statistics, and the graph for gate occurrences is steadily rising. I’m worried that something might happen.

[[B+] Yoshimoto: It’s true that they’re increasing here too. I’m from Japan—where are you from, OP?]
└ [A] Schumperion: I’m from Mexico. It definitely seems like gate occurrences are increasing worldwide, and that’s concerning.
└ [B+] Yoshimoto: Yeah, I feel uneasy about it too.
└ [Anonymous] Byoung: No need to worry. Gate occurrences naturally fluctuate.
└ [B+] Yoshimoto: That may be true, but this time they seem to be increasing non-stop.
└ [Anonymous] Byoung: It’s just a temporary phenomenon. It’ll settle down again. And even if it increases, so what? The number of supers is also growing, so they’ll handle it.

A post expressing concern over the increasing frequency of gates and a counterargument dismissing it as paranoia. Sungshik decided to chime in as well.

Author: [EX] Returner
Title: You should be cautious about gate occurrences.
Content: The steady increase in gate appearances is a warning sign, and you should all be vigilant. Don’t fall into a false sense of security—always consider the worst-case scenario.

[[C] Geroing: Whoa, amazing. An EX-rank!]
[[B] Toshiro: Oh, this is the third EX-ranker who caused a stir on the board a few months ago!!]
└ [C] Geroing: Is this person famous?
└ [A] Swan: Yeah, this guy showed up a few months ago as the third EX-ranker, and the board was buzzing for a while. I’m super curious about his traits.
└ [S] Chrome: Hmm… Since an EX-ranker is saying this, it wouldn’t hurt to pay attention. I’ll have to educate my guild members on this too.
└ [C] Geroing: Whoa, Chrome! Aren’t you the guild leader of Germany’s Bulldozer Guild?

The only thing he could do to prepare for a potential gate break was to leave messages like this, hoping that someone would take it seriously.

After leaving the community, Sungshik headed straight for the academic office. He was planning to apply for early graduation.

“Oh, it’s Heo Sungshik.”

“Where?”

“Whoa, look at his aura. That’s insane.”

As Sungshik walked past, most of the students recognized him and expressed admiration. After winning the tournament finals, he had become a star, and there was hardly anyone in the academy who didn’t know him. Unconsciously, his shoulders lifted slightly.

‘Hmm… So this is what recognition feels like.’

Sungshik had always been an extra, never the main character. But now that he was receiving attention as a protagonist, it wasn’t bad. No, to be honest, it felt great.

‘Phew, I want to get even stronger.’

Once again, the desire to grow stronger surged within him. Having tasted the thrill of being in the spotlight, he had no intention of returning to a life of obscurity. The thought of graduating as soon as possible to become even stronger solidified in his mind.

Soon, he arrived at the academic office and filled out the early graduation application form.

“You’ve already completed the requirement of clearing 10 gates.”

“Yes.”

“Would you like to apply for the theory exam now as well?”

“Yes, please process them together.”

That’s right. To graduate early, he needed to clear 10 gates, pass the third-year theory exam, and finally…

“The last requirement is placing in the top 10 of the third-year academy ranking tournament.”

He had to secure a top ranking in the tournament.

“Understood. I’ll be back in two weeks.”

A confident smile stretched across Sungshik’s lips. Two weeks was more than enough time to dominate the ranking tournament.