His heart skipped.
"...Don't tell me this is a system."
But the screen didn't expand or give numbers.It only displayed a single line:
[Talent: Not Selected]
That was it.
No levels.No stats.No bars.
Just a blank slate.
Dohyun stared.
"So… not a game system," he muttered. "More like… a menu."
His mind raced.
Do I get to choose? Is this one of those 'pick your cheat' things? Or is this some Lookism-world mechanic people don't know about…?
His throat tightened.
If he really was in Lookism…If this really was the month before Johan's betrayal—
Then he needed power.
Actual power.
He started pacing the room, hands in his hair.
"I can't survive here with nothing. I'm dead the moment I run into anyone from the crews. Even a random J High bully could fold me."
He bit his lip.
A second screen opened beside the first, containing a list.
[Available Talents]
He scanned it.
His eyes nearly widened out of his skull.
Copy. UI. Sword talent. Second body. Body talent. Mastery potential.
All the absurd, lore-breaking abilities fans speculated about endlessly.
The fact they existed in front of him made his head spin.
His brain couldn't help slipping into full fan mode.
"Copy is insane but it's got limitations… UI is literally life-threatening and half the time it feels like plot convenience… Sword talent is cool but useless unless I want to be a Korean Jack the Ripper…"
He continued ranting aloud to cope.
"And Second Body? Hell no. PTJ literally showed fifteen times that improving the main body is better. Two bodies just doubles the problems."
He rubbed his temples.
He didn't like any of these choices.
Too risky. Too limited. Too… meta.
Then—
Something flickered at the bottom of the list.
Faint. Almost hidden.
[Hidden Talent Available]
He tapped it.
A single word appeared.
Acquisition
His mouth went dry.
"…No way."
If this was what he thought it was—
The old fan theories. The ones that said James Lee had some kind of broken talent that let him learn anything just by seeing it. Not a copy. Not a mastery. Something beyond that.
A talent with no ceiling.
He hesitated, breath caught in his throat.
Was this… that?
He tapped for details.
The screen barely changed, only adding a short line:
[Acquisition: Growth through observation, experience, and repetition. No inherent limits.]
That was it.
No description. No stats. No promises. No flashy gimmicks.
Just pure, terrifying potential.
Dohyun stood still for several long seconds.
Then he whispered:
"If this is the real Acquisition… I could become stronger than anyone."
No instant copying. No leveling. No shortcuts.
Just…
Learn. Adapt. Evolve.
It was terrifying and exhilarating at the same time.
He clenched his fists.
"…I pick Acquisition."
The room didn't shake. The screen didn't flash.
But a deep, burning heat ignited in his chest—as if someone reached inside and rewired the very core of his being.
His knees buckled.
Pain surged through him—raw, overwhelming, primal—and the world snapped to black.