[Page 1. ☞ Promises are extremely important in child development. If you make a promise to your child, keep it at all costs. If you fail to keep your promise, it would be the same as lying to them. Rather than making a promise you can't keep, it's better to not make it at all.]
A collection of maxims popped up as messages before him.
[Inherent skill, 'Influence' amplifies.]
[Inherent skill, 'Spirit Eye' evolves.]
[User information regarding '7 Ways to Become a Great and Respected Parent' will be updated.]
[Special skill 'Sharing' is created.]
['Mimi Sio Rg', the exclusive function of '7 Ways to Become a Great and Respected Parent', will be updated.]
Things were created, evolved, and updated. In surprise, Chi-Woo checked his user information.
[Innate] Spirit Eye
-Exceptional eyes that can discern spirits.
-Influenced by the [destined] Four Tiger Sword, you are born with natural spiritual abilities.
-Due to the influence of '7 Ways to Become a Great and Respected Parent', you can peek into the inner characters of those involved in your goal.
'Inner characters of those involved in your goal?' Chi-Woo glance sideways at Ru Amuh. He felt pressure in his eyes as he focused.
<User Information>
1. Name & Rank: Ru Amuh (★☆☆☆)
2. Sex & Age: Male & 22
3. Height & Weight: 178.8cm & 72.4kg
4. Class: Crusader
5. Heavenly Title: The Promised One
6. Disposition: Lawful and Good
<Physical Attributes>
[Strength C]
[Durability C]
[Agility C]
[Stamina C]
[Mental Fortitude A++]
[Divinity E]
<Basic Skills (2)>
1. [Basic Swordsmanship A] - form of martial arts that involves fighting with swords. Although he uses only basic swordsmanship techniques, he has fully mastered them.
2. [Basic Hand-to-hand Combat A] - form of martial arts that involves clashing one's physical body against another. Although he uses only the basic hand-to-hand combat techniques, he has fully mastered them.
<Class Skills (0)>
<Special Skills(2)>
1. [Synesthesia S]
2. [New Sword Union A+]
Chi-Woo was able to see Ru Amuh's user information. It was slightly different from what he had seen before. The information provided by the Celestial Realm was complicatedly long and detailed. However, the user information that the '7 Ways to Become a Respected Parent' showed him was the opposite; it was short and to the point like it had extracted only the necessary, vital information. Most importantly, Chi-Woo was able to read other people's user information now.
“Thanks to you, a weight has been lifted from my heart. I look forward to working with you, sir.” Ru Amuh bowed.
“Sorry? Ah, yes.” Having been completely focused on the message, Chi-Woo nodded absent-mindedly, still reeling from the shock. As Ru Amuh turned to walk away, he stared hard at the man's back until the former disappeared into the distance.
* * *
The next day, they continued their march as soon as dawn broke. Chi-Woo pondered deeply the entire time they walked; even during the short breaks they took, he was preoccupied with thoughts.
'I really don't get it.'
He had gained a new ability, but he didn't know how he was supposed to use it.
'I wish I had a helper during moments like this.'
Chi-Woo grumbled as he flopped down to the ground and turned on his device. He thought he might find some hint in his user information, so he reread it carefully. His gaze lingered on the fourth section, 'Miscellaneous'.
Now that he thought about it, he remembered that a new function had been added. As soon as he clicked into 'Miscellaneous', he saw 'Mimi Sio Rg' waiting to be activated, and next to it were the on and off buttons.
'I should've noticed this,' Chi-Woo chided himself and pressed 'On'.
[Welcome.]
He had suspected this would happen, but it still surprised him.
[I am your assistant for '7 Ways to Become a Respected Parent', Mimi Sio Rg.]
A beautiful voice spoke in his head.
'Uh…Yes. Nice to meet you.' Since there were people around him, Chi-Woo responded only in his head.
[Yes, the pleasure is mine.]
The voice seemed almost sentient as she answered him. Chi-Woo felt relieved; he had worried that he would look crazy sporadically muttering to himself.
[As I mentioned before, I am an assistant who will assist you to the best of my capabilities. If there's anything you are curious about from now on, please ask me.]
Chi-Woo was delighted.
[By the way, I had thought you would activate this function right away, but you took your time.]
'Sorry?'
[It's not a good habit to think deeply by yourself whenever a problem arises. I won't say it's bad, but you need to develop a habit of asking those around you for answers.]
Chi-Wo was a bit stunned. He thought the voice would be a simple artificial intelligence without a mind of her own, but that didn't seem to be the case. The way she was yapping at him right now upon their first meeting reminded him of someone he had met at the Celestial Realm.
[Yapping?]
Chi-Woo realized his mistake.
[You are very rude, sir.]
'I'm sorry. Um. Mimi Sio Rg…May I call you Mimi from now on?'
[You can just call me 'Assistant'.]
'Yes, Mimi.'
[…]
'I have many things I'm curious about.'
[I'm sure you do.]
Chi-Woo tried to organize his thoughts. He had a mountain-full of things to ask. What should he ask first in this situation?
[There's no need for you to think that hard.]
'Please give me a moment of peace. I'm thinking.'
[Okay.]
After Mimi became quiet, Chi-Woo decided to ask his questions one by one. His first question was regarding the title of the book. He understood that the 'parent' part in '7 Ways to Become a Great and Respected Parent' meant that he should guide others to save Liber.
'But 7 Ways?' I mean, why wasn't it one or two? Why the number seven?' Chi-Woo had already come up with several hypotheses regarding this.
'The message told me that Ru Amuh was my first star. Does that mean there will be seven stars in total?'
[Yes.]
Mimi confirmed his hypothesis.
[You are correct. This book allows you to have a total of seven stars.]
In other words, Chi-Woo could choose six other people besides Ru Amuh. Chi-Woo narrowed his eyes. 'Seven? That sounds like way too much.' If Chi-Woo was ever going to have children, he would have two at most. Raising seven seemed excessive.
'What's the reason? Why seven?'
[I don't know.]
'?'
[My role is to simply tell you about the book's functions and help you understand them. I'm not the author of this book.]
This sounded reasonable to Chi-Woo, so he accepted it.
[Moreover, didn't you choose this book of your own accord?]
'That's true, but…'
[Not even I would know everything, so there are questions I can't answer.]
Chi-Woo couldn't come up with a retort for that.
[I know you're curious, but you can't find out about everything at once. You'll get your answer by figuring things out one at a time.]
Mimi said in an appeasing voice, and Chi-Woo turned to his next question for now. 'This book told me to become a parent, but right now, I don't even have the abilities to take care of myself.'
[That isn't true.]
Mimi immediately responded.
[Your spiritual prowess exceeds everyone else's. Furthermore, you have the World's Milestone in your possession.]
'You know about that, too?' Chi-Woo was surprised and a little hesitant. 'Even if that's the case…'
[Most importantly is your choice, and how you change the future for those you've chosen. In the original timeline, the first star you chose would've immediately died upon entering Liber, but thanks to your choices and actions, his future has changed.]
As Mimi said, Ru Amuh should have died in the cave but had survived thanks to Chi-Woo.
[Considering that instance alone, you've fulfilled your duties as a parent.]
Chi-Woo nodded. From Mimi's words, he realized that raising one hero was not enough. He needed to choose seven people to save Liber, and he needed to guide them to the right path so that those seven heroes wouldn't stray in the middle or die in futility. In short, Chi-Woo had to guide them until they became the seven stars in the sky that would bring light all over Liber. That gave Chi-Woo a rough understanding of the purpose of the book.
[Of course, I'm aware that you're still inexperienced.]
'Yes.'
[However, no one starts out good. You can learn and make up for what you lack. If you're willing to do this, this book will generously help you become a great parent.]
This was what Chi-Woo wanted to hear the most.
'That's good. If I'm giving something, I should receive something in return. There's generosity in giving.' Chi-Woo's eyes sparkled as he asked Mimi what he would be getting in return this time.
[I'm unsure if that's even the correct term but…fine. First of all, one of the things you can give is 'influence'.]
He had received a message about 'Influence' yesterday. By definition, it was the power for an object or effect to inflict change on another person or object.
[The star you've chosen and the stars you will choose are influenced by your actions and their expectations of you.]
'What? What does that mean?'
[Even if you don't force your authority on them, your stars will respect your authority and follow you. However, there will still be individual differences based on their trust in you and their dispositions.]
'That's too difficult to understand. Can you explain it in simpler terms?'
Mimi was quiet for a moment.
[To put it simply, they'll become similar to you.]
'?'
[Children grow up under the influence of their parents. In short, your stars will become more and more like 'Choi Chi-Woo' as time passes by.]
Chi-Woo paused. Mimi seemed to be imparting extremely important information to him, so he paid full attention.
[Their speech, behavior, habit, custom, and especially disposition will become more similar to you.]
'…'
[Your first star, Ru Amuh's disposition is 'Lawful Good'. But what will happen overtime?]
Chi-Woo fell into deep thought. His own disposition was 'neutral'. Thus, there was a high possibility that Ru Amuh would also lean towards neutral as time passed.
[Neutral is still a moderate disposition. However, you must take extreme caution to make sure your disposition doesn't become 'True Neutral' or 'Chaotic Evil'.]
Chi-Woo closed his eyes and suddenly recalled Giant Fist's words.
–But sir, you came here as a hero.
—So you must become a hero.
'…This is a heavy subject.' Chi-Woo and Ru Amuh had shared the same thoughts last night; he finally understood what Mimi was telling him.
[It's enough that you understand the gravity of this subject for the moment. I would like to now talk about what you'll be receiving next.]
Mimi changed the topic, breaking Chi-Woo out of his bemusement.
[Have you seen the message about 'sharing'?]
Chi-Woo had seen it.
[You will be able to get one ability each from the stars you've chosen.]
Chi-Woo's eyes widened. 'What did you say?'
If what Mimi had said was true, this would be a cheat-like ability. Like Neo in The Matrix, he would be able to use kungfu just by downloading it from the machine. Moreover, he could gain an ability from each star, which meant he could gain seven abilities in total.
[However, there are conditions.]
Chi-Woo had expected this; since it was such a strong ability, it was only natural that there would be conditions.
[First, you can't delete or replace the ability you've selected, so you have to be very careful with your choice.]
'What's the second condition?'
[The effectiveness of the ability would depend on the level of trust the star you're getting it from has in you.]
Chi-Woo did not understand what this meant.
[Currently, the trust level of your first star is 87.5%. This means the effectiveness of the shared ability of your choice will be adjusted to 87.5%.]
For example, if Chi-Woo chose one of Ru Amuh's basic abilities, basic swordsmanship, he would be able to use 87.5% of its power, and the ability would go down from rank A to rank B. That put a damper on Chi-Woo's mood.
[What's wrong?]
'I mean…it's a bit disheartening. A is better than B…'
Mimi became speechless like she thought he was being ridiculous.
[…I think I need to first tell you what the ranks mean.]
'Is rank B also high?'
[Yes. It's high. It's undebatable.]
Mimi continued with a slightly irritated voice.
[Whatever the style of swordsmanship, a rank B skill will allow you to easily crush the top military commander of a country.]
[The average person wouldn't be able to reach rank C even after training their whole life.]
[Someone with a rank D swordsmanship will be considered skilled.]
[Are you getting a better sense of rank B now?]
Chi-Woo now understood her. Rank A, B, C, and D were all levels that Chi-Woo was not even close to reaching.
'I didn't know. Rank B is amazing enough…'
[The same is true of physical abilities. Someone with physical strength of rank B will be able to completely crush a rock that is the size of a house. Do you understand now?]
Chi-Woo accepted Mimi's explanation.
'Well, if I want a shared ability to reach its full potential, I just need to increase the trust level. I can pick the ability I want once I've reached a trust level of 100%, right?'
[About that…]
It was the first time Mimi didn't complete her sentence. She hesitated for a while and said, [I don't really recommend that.]
'Hmm? Why?'
[Trust levels are just the prerequisite to making someone one of your stars. The condition is met when the selected person's trust level reaches at least 70%, and it doesn't necessarily mean that you have to reach 100%.]
'Yes, I got that part already. But why shouldn't I do it?'
[It's extremely difficult to reach 100%, and anything becomes poison if there's too much….]
'Why would it become poison?'
Mimi let out a deep sigh.
[If your star's gender is the same as yours, it might be all right, but with someone of the opposite gender, I recommend you to keep it between 70-80%.]
If he surpassed that percentage, his life might be in danger, and there would be chaos, but Mimi refused to elaborate further. At that moment, Chi-Woo heard from far away that they were leaving.
'Seriously, she should just tell me the exact reason.' Chi-Woo grumbled and got up from his seat. 'Whatever. I'm just going to increase everyone's trust level as high as possible and share their abilities fully.'
In a way, Chi-Woo was thinking like any ordinary person would. This was his lifeline. If he could only get one ability from each person, who wouldn't aim for the maximum amount?
[Ah, okay.]
However, Mimi's reply was lukewarm.
'What was that? You're being…'
[You have been warned. I can't take responsibility for what happens after.]
'Ah, okay.'
[…Let's stop talking about this. Open your user information and go to the special privilege section.]
'Why?'
[Aren't you also curious about the new updates?]
Chi-Woo couldn't deny that. While getting in line, he thought about all the questions he had. Even though he had gotten some answers, there were still many things he was curious about.