Breaking the Limit
The blue interface did not fade.
It stayed in the lower right corner of Jae-min's vision, steady and precise, as if it had always belonged there. He shifted his gaze deliberately from the river to the bridge, from passing headlights to the distant skyline, testing whether the message would lag behind his focus.
It did not.
The text followed his sight seamlessly.
[Skill Detected: Minor Reinforcement F-Tier][Upgrade Available]
He drew in a slow breath and held it for several seconds, waiting for dizziness, distortion, or some sign that this was a stress response to humiliation. His Awakening had been public, disappointing, and humiliating. Hallucinations would not have been impossible.
But his pulse remained steady. His breathing stayed controlled. The city moved normally around him.
Only the message refused to disappear.
He focused on the words.
The interface responded immediately.
[Upgrade Minor Reinforcement F-Tier?][Cost: None][Confirm / Cancel]
Cost: None.
That was the part that unsettled him most.
The Hunter Association had spent ten years building a system around rank stability. A skill's tier represented inherent potential. Training refined output efficiency, but it did not alter classification. Even rare evolution-type abilities required catalysts or extreme environmental triggers.
Free upgrades were not a documented phenomenon.
He studied the interface carefully before selecting Confirm.
The change was subtle yet undeniable.
Instead of heat or pressure, a structured density settled beneath his skin, reinforcing muscle fibers and stabilizing joint alignment. It felt less like receiving power and more like correcting something that had been inefficient.
The interface updated.
[Upgrade Successful]Minor Reinforcement F-Tier → Reinforcement E-Tier
He opened the revised description.
[Reinforcement E-Tier]Effect: Increases physical output by 15 percent for 20 secondsCooldown: 3 minutes
The numbers alone were already significant. Doubling duration while reducing cooldown was not a marginal improvement.
He activated the skill.
The enhancement flowed through him with precision. His shoulders settled differently, and his stance adjusted instinctively to accommodate the increased force output. He bent his knees and jumped lightly from the riverbank.
The distance exceeded his natural capacity by a measurable margin.
When he landed, he absorbed the impact smoothly, without imbalance.
Twenty seconds passed.
The enhancement faded without backlash.
He remained still, evaluating his body carefully. There was no tremor in his hands, no tightness in his chest, and no delayed strain in his joints. The cooldown timer ticked down invisibly in his awareness.
When three minutes passed, he checked the interface again.
[Upgrade Available]
Still no cost.
Still no warning.
He selected Confirm again.
The reinforcing sensation spread deeper this time, as though layers of structural correction were stacking within his musculature.
[Upgrade Successful]Reinforcement E-Tier → Reinforcement D-Tier
He examined the updated description slowly.
[Reinforcement D-Tier]Effect: Increases physical output by 30 percent for 30 secondsCooldown: 2 minutes
Thirty percent for half a minute placed the ability firmly within combat viability.
He activated it once more.
The increase was decisive.
He walked toward the metal railing overlooking the river and gripped it with measured force. Rather than squeezing recklessly, he applied steady pressure while monitoring resistance.
The steel bent gradually under his grip.
He released it before deformation became obvious.
The enhancement faded.
No pain followed.
He rotated his wrist experimentally and flexed his fingers, confirming full range of motion.
The interface remained unchanged.
[Upgrade Available]
He narrowed his eyes slightly.
If this truly had no visible ceiling, then rushing forward blindly would be reckless. Sudden explosive growth would trigger Association monitoring systems. Ranking boards were recalibrated weekly, and unusual combat reports were flagged automatically.
Public growth required pacing.
He selected Confirm again despite that knowledge.
The sensation this time felt more foundational, settling into bone density and tendon elasticity rather than surface musculature.
[Upgrade Successful]Reinforcement D-Tier → Reinforcement C-Tier
He read the description twice.
[Reinforcement C-Tier]Effect: Increases physical output by 50 percent for 40 secondsCooldown: 90 seconds
Fifty percent amplification.
Less than two minutes of downtime.
That output rivaled many standard C-Rank enhancement abilities.
He activated it again, this time testing acceleration rather than raw strength. His step forward covered nearly twice the distance it normally would, and his directional shift felt sharper and more controlled. He jumped again, landing several meters farther along the pavement than intended.
The concrete cracked faintly beneath his shoes.
He steadied himself before the enhancement faded.
His breathing remained even.
There was no surge of fatigue.
He stood quietly, processing.
Three upgrades had occurred within minutes. The system displayed no degradation, no escalating cost, and no instability. That contradicted the fundamental logic of Awakening ceilings.
He turned his gaze toward the skyline, where his father's memorial footage flickered faintly between buildings.
Rank was permanent.
That principle governed every aspect of modern hunter society. Salaries, guild invitations, dungeon assignments, sponsorship contracts, and national defense planning were built upon that stability.
If his skill could bypass it, then the entire structure became negotiable.
He looked back at the interface.
[Upgrade Available]
He did not press Confirm immediately.
Instead, he allowed the cooldown to finish and activated Reinforcement C-Tier once more, this time focusing on subtle movement. He jogged along the river path at a moderate pace, analyzing how the enhancement integrated into sustained motion. The improvement felt controlled and efficient, not erratic.
When the effect ended, his baseline physical condition felt slightly more stable than before, though that might have been psychological reinforcement.
He slowed to a walk.
If he upgraded again now and reached B-Tier output overnight, the difference in combat evaluation would be extreme. An F-Rank displaying B-Tier combat capacity would trigger investigation within days.
Control required restraint.
He studied the upgrade prompt for several long seconds.
There was no visible limit indicator.
No diminishing percentage increase.
No cost escalation.
The absence of constraint was more dangerous than limitation.
Tomorrow, he would enter a controlled dungeon environment and gather measurable field data. Performance against live monsters would reveal whether scaling translated consistently under stress.
For now, he would stop at C-Tier.
He dismissed the interface temporarily, though the upgrade prompt remained faintly visible at the edge of his awareness.
As he turned away from the river and began walking home, the weight of the F-Rank classification felt lighter than it had hours earlier.
The Association had given him a ceiling.
The system had given him leverage.
And leverage, used correctly, was more powerful than rank.