There was a week left until Sae-ah's birthday, and JiHan knew what her Gift was going to be.
'F-rank. There's no doubt.'
People had a terrible perception of F-rank Gifts.
'Some say it's better not to receive one at all.'
After all, if they didn't receive one, they were able to hold onto the hope of being able to receive a Gift later, but once they received an F-rank Gift, that player's fate was fixed.
'I know how impressive that Gift is, but most people don't and will treat it as trash.'
Although the backlash she would face would be incomparable to what she faced in her previous life, it was clear that the media and public would mock her on the internet.
'I need to lower her expectations.'
Sae-ah seemed to have high hopes for her Gift. She might have usually brushed it off when others spoke about it, saying it was random, but her high hopes were inevitable. The Sword King was her father, after all, and her uncle was a rising star.
'Once she receives her results, she'll become very disappointed.'
In their previous life, she'd given up on everything after that day, so he couldn't help but worry. Maybe that was why none of the houses they'd seen appealed to him.
"I'll contact you later."
"Yes. Take care on the way back!"
Sae-ah sighed after they returned from looking at potential houses.
"Uncle... we live in a very good house."
"They all looked small, right?"
"Yes. I believe my standards are too high."
Sae-ah could buy amazing houses, but the Sword Palace's penthouse was just that luxurious. It would be hard for her to lower her standards.
"We have no choice but to adapt, right?"
"Yes! I believe my standards will drop if we keep looking at houses!"
"Don't worry about that. I'm more concerned about something else."
"Hmm? Is there anything else to worry about?"
"Your Gift."
Sae-ah blinked in surprise after hearing JiHan's curveball. "My Gift? Why?"
"It seems like you're hoping for too much."
"Come on~ I'm not expecting anything. It's random, after all. I don't even know if I will get one or not..."
"You really don't have any expectations?" JiHan asked in a serious tone.
"Well..." Sae-ah hesitated a bit.
"You're not hoping to receive an SSS-rank Gift and punch Ito or change your current situation... right?"
"Th-that's just a pipe dream, right? I know how to differentiate between dreams and reality."
"Really? Then I'm glad."
Slide-
As the elevator door opened, JiHan entered the penthouse.
"The bigger the expectation, the greater the disappointment."
"..."
"People always talk about lineage... but there's no such thing. Sae-ah, do you know what rank my Gift is?"
"What is it? SS? SSS?"
"It's F-rank. You've seen it before, the 'Wanderer's Eye'."
"Oh, come on. Don't joke!" Sae-ah shook her head as if it didn't make sense.
She knew that it was JiHan's Gift in the past. After all, she'd seen him drink a ton of alcohol on his birthday after receiving the F-rank Gift. He'd even vomited before her.
'There's no way his Gift is still F-rank.'
He'd never missed 1st place even once on his way to level 22. He'd even broken the Colosseum's barrier and shown how much power he had.
How could a monster like that have an F-rank Gift?
"Status window." Sung JiHan showed her his Gift. "Take a look."
[Gift: Wanderer's Eye (Rank F)]
- Can analyze other players well.
"Huh...? You're telling the truth..." Sae-ah looked at the status window, her eyes trembling.
How could a player who'd performed so outstandingly only have an F-rank Gift?
Sae-ah narrowed her eyes in disbelief. "Uncle..."
"Yes?"
"Why are you only showing me the Gift section?"
"Because of my promise to my subscribers."
"Hehe, so there's something you're hiding."
"Well, I'm not sure about that…"
"Stingy! Come on, show me!" Sae-ah threw a tantrum.
JiHan deactivated his status window. "I'll show it to you when you receive your Gift. You can consider it a birthday present."
"Woah~ You're even stingier! What kind of uncle shows his status window as a birthday present?"
"Do you want something else instead?"
"Come on! Show me the status window and also give me a present!"
JiHan smiled and nodded. "Okay, I'll do both, but…"
"But…?"
"Don't get your hopes too high for your Gift."
"Ugh, seriously!"
"If you get any media inquiries about your Gift, ignore them."
"I got it, I got it!" Sae-ah threw her shoes off and entered the house with rougher movements than usual.
JiHan narrowed his eyes. 'It seems like she still hasn't lost her expectations.'
Him revealing his Gift hadn't helped.
'Well, I didn't think she'd back off after a few words... I have no choice.'
There were six days left before her birthday…
He'd have to keep trying to convince her.
August 17th…
"Sae-ah, Gifts are random. You know that, right?"
"I know."
"Don't trust Gift gems too much. HaYeon was complaining about those the other day. She said she contributed so much to the Academy as the Student Council President but only got a supporting Gift."
"She has a supporting Gift?"
"Yes. Gifts are pure luck. Just as the word indicates, they're Gifts."
"Got it. I won't have high expectations," Sae-ah replied with a bitter smile.
Why was he talking about her Gift so much?
'It's like he thinks I won't receive a good Gift.'
Of course, it wasn't that she couldn't understand her uncle. People around her who knew her birthday was coming always said, 'Since your parents received great Gifts, you'll probably get a good one as well.'
'It seems like he's saying these things so that I won't get disappointed if the result isn't good.'
Sae-ah thought that her uncle was just trying to encourage her during their morning walk to school, but…
The encouragement continued even after she returned home.
"Are you back?"
"Yes, Uncle."
"As you know, Gifts are random, so it's better to have lower expectations."
"I heard that this morning... you know?"
"You didn't hear it at lunch, did you? That's why you must hear it in the evening."
"Okay... I got it."
The next morning.
"Sae-ah? Gifts—"
"Stop! I understand!"
"They're random. You know that, right?"
At night…
"Sae-ah, even an F-rank Gift can be useful, as you can see. I'm proof of that."
"Say that after showing me your full status window."
"That's your birthday present. Remember?"
"Ah, stop! If you're going to keep saying random things, I'll go back to my room!"
"Uhm... Gifts are random."
"Come on!"
Again the next morning…
"Sae-ah?"
"What are you going to say? 'Gifts are random'?"
"Oh! So repetition does work."
"Yes. So please, stop."
"No. We have to ensure that it gets engraved in your head. Should I repeat it? Gifts are random and they have nothing to do with lineage."
"It'll end up in my head forever at this rate.'
"That's why I'm repeating myself."
Even while they were going to school, Sae-ah's head was continuously engraved with JiHan's 'Gift = random'.
"Sigh..."
"Sae-ah, why are you sighing?" Hee-soo, her desk neighbor, tilted her head and asked as Sae-ah entered the classroom and sat down.
"It's about my Gift."
"Come on~ Why are you worried? I'm sure you'll get one that's at least S-rank."
"No. Gifts are random and have nothing to do with lineage." She was startled by her automatic answer. She'd repeated what her uncle had been saying all week.
The effect of continuous repetition was no joke.
"That doesn't seem to be the case. They say that, among 1st-generation players, many children show incredible prowess."
"Really...?"
"Yes. As you know, my family's in the media business."
Sae-ah nodded.
Hee-soo was the granddaughter of a major media conglomerate, so she was well-informed about many issues and stories that hadn't yet been revealed to the public.
"It hasn't been statistically proven yet... but I heard that lineage does seem to play a role when you also take foreign rankers into account."
"My uncle has been saying not to expect much since it's random, so I think that it might be better to have no expectations."
"Your uncle? Isn't his Gift at least SS-rank? He keeps finishing 1st."
"I don't know. He hasn't shown me yet."
In reality, she knew that JiHan's Gift was F-rank, but she wasn't sure what would happen if she revealed that to Hee-soo.
She decided acting dumb would be the best course of action.
"Sae-ah, now that I think about it, you're going to receive your Gift on the 22nd, right?"
"Yes."
"Are you going to be in the Gift Hall at midnight?"
That place, which was filled with Gift gems, was known to bless students who hadn't yet received their Gifts, ensuring they would get good ones.
Those students who were about to turn 18 were given the benefit of staying there all day.
"Obviously."
"Then... do you want to interview with our reporter?"
"An interview?"
"Yes. You know how important self-PR is these days, right? It's about letting the world know of your exceptional Gift!"
"Through your newspaper?"
"Yes. Hehe." Hee-soo said while smiling brightly.
An exclusive interview with Sae-ah, the daughter of the Sword King, about her Gift…
It would be something that would cause a huge stir in society. Perhaps her eagerness for an interview was understandable.
"Come on~ An interview? There's no need for that."
Maybe it was due to JiHan's repeated efforts, but Sae-ah rejected Hee-soo's proposal immediately.
"It will be a disgrace if something bad happens."
"Come on. There's no way that will happen. Although it's not been proven... there's definitely a correlation between parent-child Gifts."
"I'll do an interview if I get a good one, okay? That should be alright."
"Sae-ah, come on…" Hee-soo wasn't listening to Sae-ah's words. Instead, she was just smiling like Sae-ah's opinion wasn't important. Her attitude was far from normal.
"No." Sae-ah, noticing something strange, made it clear.
"Guys!"
Slide-
As the classroom door opened and the homeroom teacher entered, their conversation abruptly ended.
"Ah, the teacher's here."
"You're right. Let's talk about this later." Sae-ah turned to look forward.
Hee-soo also nodded with a smiling face and shifted her posture, but her eyes were cold.
'The thread has already been cut. I don't know why she's still holding onto it.'
She'd only been close to Sae-ah because of her relationship with the Sword King. Even when he left for Japan, she kept the relationship with her mainly because she wasn't sure if she'd really been abandoned.
'I'm acting like her friend despite having no need to do so anymore... Doesn't she know her place?'
She really had no clue. She should've taken the interview to prove her worth.
Hee-soo clicked her tongue while thinking, 'Well, in reality, I don't need her permission.'
What could Sae-ah do if she did it anyway?
Hee-soo smirked. Which would be more newsworthy, Sae-ah getting a good Gift or her getting the worst one?
'As long as it isn't in the middle, it will be okay. It has to be the best or the worst.'
She thought that, if possible, it would be great if Sae-ah got an F-rank Gift.
Hee-soo looked forward to Sae-ah's birthday.