Chapter 62 - 61 : Secrets in stat screens (1)

It’s been five days since my battle against Cheng-min or rather I should say Raven king Rakaroz in Cheng-min’s body. This was also the first time, we had a week-long rest between missions. These past few days have been nothing but everyone trying their best to live in this new world. We explored the surroundings, in hope of finding survivors like us. But it seems to be of no results as we found no-one. But in our search, we did find a conference room in a nearby building where all of us are currently sitting. The purpose of this is so that there could be no more situations like Cheng-min could occur again. It was my mother’s idea. She believed that it may bring a sense of security with each other. Or rather we are doing this for Hana lee. Not only did she find out that her husband was a killer, she also lost him as well as the people who were with her before were dead people. So we are hoping that by doing this little activity, it may help her to open with us cause she has been avoiding us like a plague. The conference room had a large circular table. On my left was my mother, beside my mother was Ye-Rin and Hyun-tae.On my right was In-ji, Seo-yeon and Eun-ha and in front of me were Hana lee and the twins, Soo-min and Jin-ha. Despite everyone being there, it was dead silent. Except Hyun-tae, Seo-yeon and In-ji, none of us knew how meetings in conference rooms work. It was me who broke the silence first, "First,I would like to introduce someone here." As soon as I said it, Junior and Roger appeared and sat at the top of the table. Those who knew about them didn’t react much but the faces on the twins and Hana lee told me the story. "Get those things away from us." The energetic Soo-min screamed as soon as she saw them. "Don’t worry about them.They are like my pets" I tried to calm them down. "They won’t harm you. Look" I picked Junior up with my hands, Junior gently nuzzled himself with me. "See. They are totally harmless." Then I proceed to show my stat window to everyone present there. Name : Shin Ye-Jun Gender : Male Age : 26 years old Nature : Primal Guardian Level : 27 Class : Druid Sub-Class : (Unlocks after Mission 5) Title : ( Unlocks after Sub-Class ) Strength : 0162 Agility : 0081 Health Points : 0486 Magic Points : 0486 Stamina : 0135 Nature : Primal Guardian Defensive stats increased by 50% when protecting an Ally. Increase in Mental Resistance Skills : •)Low nature Spirits: Can change the shape of a wooden Weapon. •)Bark skin Encase yourself in wooden armor > Reduces physical damage by 35%. •) Tame : Can tame a monster. Limit (3/3). Junior -Spider Monkey Roger - Owl King’s spy Volt - Three-headed Dragon •) Beastification : Become a hybrid with your tamed pet. 20% stats increased according to pet stats. •)Instincts Takeover : Your pets are natural fighters, help you to adapt to your beastified pet fighting style Equipments : Weapon: Verdant Branchblade – (C+) Basic attacks apply Binding Roots. Minor Heal (Touch-Based). "See, I can tame monsters." Then, Mother followed my lead and showed her stat screens, Ye-Rin, In-ji, Seo-yeon, Eun-ha and Hyun-tae showed there stat screens to everyone again. Then it was Hana lee’s turn. She was hesitant at first but then she looked straight into my eyes,her gaze didn’t waver. Her fingers drummed lightly on the table, but her voice was steady. "What happens if... someone’s stats make them dangerous to the group?" The question hit heavier than the words themselves. The air seemed to thicken in the conference room. Soo-min and Jin-ha stopped fidgeting. Ye-Rin’s eyes flicked toward Mother, who didn’t move an inch but whose expression tightened just slightly. Hyun-tae spoke first, his voice flat. "Then we deal with it. Together." Hana’s jaw tensed. "Because last time, no one saw Cheng-min coming. And you—" she gestured toward me, her finger trembling just slightly, "—you fought him like you were ready to kill from the start." I took a slow breath. "Because if I hadn’t, someone else would’ve died. We don’t get the luxury of hesitation anymore." Her eyes softened for just a fraction of a second, but then the walls went back up. "...So if my stats make you uneasy, you’d kill me too?" "No," I said, my voice firmer than I expected. "I would have tried my best to save Cheng-min if I could." A silence stretched—uncomfortable, brittle. It was Mother who cut through it. "That is the point of this meeting. So there are no more surprises. So we know each other, understand each other, and trust each other enough to never reach that point." She looked at Hana directly, her voice gentler now. "You’ve been carrying a lot. I’m not asking you to trust us completely today. Just... take the first step." Hana’s lips pressed into a thin line. For a long moment, I thought she would just stand up and leave. But then, she exhaled, and with deliberate slowness, lifted her hand toward the center of the table. Name : Hana Lee Gender : Female Age : 25 years old Nature : Mind-weaver Level : 13 Class : Therapist Sub-Class : (Unlocks after Mission 5) Title : ( Unlocks after Sub-Class ) Strength : 0040 Agility : 0040 Health Points : 0180 Magic Points : 0260 Stamina : 0130 Nature Mind-weaver Can manipulate surface thoughts within a short range. Increases persuasion and deception effectiveness by 25%. Skills: •)Empathic Link Sense the emotional state of a chosen ally. •)Mental Push Send a short, clear thought to a target’s mind. •)Calm Mind Reduce target’s panic or fear. •)Mind Shroud Hide your own surface thoughts from other Mind-type users. Ye-Rin gave a low whistle and leaned back in her chair. "So... you’re basically our team’s therapist." "You had me scared there Hana." Seo-yeon let out her breadth that she never knew, she was holding. "Or interrogator," Hyun-tae muttered under his breath, though his smirk told me it wasn’t meant as an insult. Hana’s eyes flicked toward him sharply. "It’s not like that. I’m not here to... dig through anyone’s head. I can’t even control it fully—it just... happens. Sometimes I know what people are feeling, even when I don’t want to." Soo-min piped up before anyone else could respond, her voice full of childlike wonder. "So you can read minds like in cartoons?" "Not exactly." Hana’s lips curved just slightly, the closest thing to a smile I’d seen from her. "I don’t hear voices. It’s more like... seeing colors without opening your eyes. I can tell if someone’s scared or angry, but not why." "Sounds handy," In-ji said, crossing his arms. "Especially when we’re surrounded by people who’d rather die than admit they’re afraid." "So now it’s Soo-min and Jin-ha turns to show us there stat screen." Ye-Rin clasped her hand in a gesture to show her excitement. But the stat screen that we saw just changed how we will look at them foreve