I PICKED UP A CHILD IN A DUMPSTER-Chapter 51: The Right to Choose. (III)

「Detect weak lies told casually

Can stay awake during boring lectures 5% longer

Slight resistance to embarrassment damage

Can keep secrets slightly better than average

Awkward silence tolerance +10 seconds

Background wind blows hair at emotional moments

Random sparkle appears during cool pose

Theme music feeling with no actual sound

Dramatic slow-motion jump only in imagination

Finger snap, sometimes echoes

Can point at horizon meaningfully

Coat swish physics slightly improved

Cool walking silhouette at sunset

Perfect "hmph" sound effect

Can look mysterious while saying nothing」

"ಠ⁠_⁠ಠ ...Isn’t... isn’t this just a little too weird? Like, what do you mean never drop soap while bathing?"

I muttered while staring at the stacked list of bizarre Common Skills.

Then—

Dramatically... once again... another window appeared.

「Flash Step (3 ft) — Instant step forward within very short distance. (CD - depends to user.)

Micro Barrier — Invisible shield for 0.3 sec against weak force.

Mana Thread Grip — Hold extremely light object from distance.

One-Breath Focus — Perfect concentration for one second.

Minor Danger Lean — Body tilts slightly away from small incoming threat.

Last-Moment Balance — Prevents falling once per hour.

Tiny Regeneration — Heals paper-cut level wounds slowly.

Stamina Flicker — Gain energy equal to one deep breath.

Weak Element Affinity (All) — Can interact with all elements at microscopic level only.

Sound Blur Step — First footstep after standing makes no noise.

Second Chance Blink — Eyes close/open instantly to clear vision once per minute.

Grip That Won’t Slip — Cannot drop held item for 1 second.

Survive at 1 HP (Common) — Ignore fatal damage below insect-level threat once per day.」

The fuck...

I glanced beside me.

The woman was giggling softly, her eyes sparkling as she stared intensely at the stacked skills.

"Wow, wow, wow!!!" she repeated.

"This... this one—"

She pointed at the bottom of the list.

"Grip That Won’t Slip... it’s... it’s amazing!!!"

"Huh?" I frowned. "How?"

She turned toward me, clutching her fist, eyes squeezed shut in excitement. "Imagine!"

Her eyes snapped open, locking directly onto mine.

"For example— you’re high in the sky... fighting someone powerful. Her weapon has... emotion... but without it, she isn’t strong.

You only need one second to defeat her. Then she throws her weapon at you— you catch it— and in that one second, you activate the skill... and you win!!!"

She threw both hands into the air like an excited child celebrating victory.

"...Wow. Yeah... I didn’t really understand that," I said flatly.

Her arms slowly dropped.

"ಠ⁠_⁠ಠ I explained it in detail though..." she muttered.

"Alright, sooo imagine! You—"

I gently pressed a finger to her lips.

"Shhh. Don’t repeat it."

Now that I think about it...

She’s giving that example like it actually happened to her.

...Oh well. Not like I care.

I turned back toward the floating window.

「Now... choose, Si Hon.」

I stared at the six floating lists hanging silently in front of me.

Then I spoke.

"...Is there a time limit for choosing skills?"

Immediately—

「None.」

"I see..."

Slowly, I turned my head toward the woman beside me.

She was still staring at the dozens of bizarre, combat, magic, survival, and mental Common Skills like a scholar discovering forbidden knowledge.

...Wait. If it wasn’t for her... we probably would’ve already died.

But then again... the Frosthowl only appeared because of her too.

...Oh well.

She suddenly turned toward me.

"What?"

I cleared my throat awkwardly, one hand resting on my hip.

"...You can choose the four skills for me," I said, coughing lightly to hide the embarrassment.

"So?" I muttered.

Then—

"...What??? Really?!?!?"

She blinked fast, clearly surprised.

"Wait— yeah... I was going to help you choose anyway..."

Her expression sharpened instantly as she turned back to the floating windows.

"Sit down for now," she said. "I’m going to look through everything."

I nodded and lowered myself onto the cold ground.

For a moment, everything felt strangely calm.

The faint wind... the distant silence of Snowfall Mountain... the soft glow of the hovering system windows...

Then—

Rustle.

My eyes shifted toward the tent.

The front flap moved... slowly opening...

Hana stepped out.

She looked around, then her eyes found me.

And suddenly—

She ran.

Small footsteps hitting the ground again and again.

Then—

Thump.

She jumped straight into my arms, hugging me tightly.

"Dad... I missed you so much..." she whispered, clutching my shirt.

"...Sure," I muttered flatly, steadying her.

"So... is Arven okay?"

She nodded against my chest— then noticed the floating windows.

"Woah... what’s this..." she murmured.

Her eyes slowly widened with quiet curiosity.

Then she looked up at me.

"Dad."

"Yeah?" I answered.

"...Carry me."

I simply nodded, stood up, and lifted her properly into my arms.

She settled comfortably, resting against my shoulder while quietly scanning the glowing windows like they were stars in the sky.

Then—

The woman finally turned toward me.

Her eyes were calm now.

Certain.

"I got it... Si Hon."

She placed a hand on her chest dramatically.

"These... Common Skills are overpowered.

Stand proud."

"...Thanks to me, you’ll have this."

I gulped.

Why did that sound so serious?

Then her mouth opened slightly.

"Ready?"

"Y-yes...?" I said slowly.

My eye twitched.

"Wait... why do you sound so dramatic, and what do you mean ready? Just say it!"

I lifted my hand in reflex... but stopped before it could even move.

...Because, well...

I enjoy being alive.

And hitting her felt like the opposite of that.

"Oh— my bad." She cleared her throat casually.

"...Anyways. Here it is."

She lifted her hand— and pointed toward the glowing window.

The blue light reflected in her eyes... quiet... steady... as if what she was about to show me— would decide everything from here on forward.

She then pointed toward the—

「Never Drop Soap While Bathing」

"...You sure?" I asked slowly.

"Yes... one hundred percent..." she answered, very carefully not looking at what she was pointing at.

"...ಠ_ಠ Uh... so... you want me to gain the sacred power of... not dropping soap while taking a bath?"

Her eyes snapped open.

"...Wait— what?"

She finally followed my gaze toward the window.

Silence.

"...N-no."

She coughed awkwardly and hurriedly pointed somewhere else.

"Here. This one. This is the real one."

「Stamina Flicker」

Then she pointed again, faster this time— almost defensively.

「One-Breath Focus」 「Calm Mind」 「Quick Get-Up」

"This," she said, nodding to herself with forced confidence. "These are the best for you."

I stared at her.

"You know... I still don’t understand how you accidentally pointed at the no-drop-soap skill."

"(づ￣ ³￣)づ I mean— uh— it was an accident, okay..."

She looked away, cheeks slightly puffed.

"...Although... I also don’t know how that happened..."

I decided, for the sake of my remaining sanity, to ignore her completely.

So I turned back to the floating window.

"System. I choose... Stamina Flicker, One-Breath Focus, Calm Mind, Quick Get-Up..."

The air shimmered softly.

The words rearranged themselves.

「Quick Get-Up — Stand faster after falling.

One-Breath Focus — Perfect concentration for one second.

Calm Mind — Slight panic reduction.

Stamina Flicker — Gain energy equal to one deep breath.」

「HAS BEEN CHOSEN」

A new line appeared beneath it.

「You need to choose 6 more for the reward to be successfully sent.」

"Oh..."

I scratched my cheek lightly.

"I see."

Before I could think further— A small voice called out beside me.

"Dad."

I looked at Hana.

"Yeah?"

Hana was still looking at the floating window, her eyes quietly reflecting the pale light of the system screen.

"...Can I choose too?" she asked softly.

"Sure."

She hesitated.

"...Even if... it’s weird?"

I let out a small breath and gently patted her head.

"Yeah, yeah. Don’t worry. I only have a few skills I really want anyway."

Her face brightened— that simple, innocent smile that made everything feel... better.

Then she leaned forward and kissed my cheek.

"Thank you, Dad."

"Yeah, alright, alright," I muttered, annoyed... even though my chest felt strangely warm.

"Now go ahead. Pick three."

She nodded seriously— like this was the most important mission in the world— then slowly turned back toward the floating window of choices,

her small eyes beginning to read each glowing word...

one by one.

Sigh... if only... I could let myself be free... from my SHACKLES.

Hana was still busy staring seriously at the floating skill window like it was the most important thing in the world.

While she was distracted, I slowly looked at the woman beside me.

"Hey... woman... woman... woman..." I whispered.

"...Not gonna lie... what’s your name?"

She blinked once, like her brain just restarted.

"Oh...? Oh yeah... I forgot to introduce myself..."

She straightened her back dramatically and placed a hand on her chest.

"I... AM... Seorin."

She smiled proudly.

"Han Seo—"

"WAIT— WHAT?!?!" I suddenly shouted.

"AAH!"

Hana instantly covered both of her ears.

"Ow... why are you shouting, Dad?" she complained.

"I’m sorry! I’m sorry!" I whispered loudly.

I quickly put Hana down and pointed at the floating windows.

"System. Lower the windows."

The glowing panels immediately floated downward, becoming quieter and less distracting.

I gently pushed Hana forward.

"Just keep picking, okay?"

She nodded seriously like a tiny commander on a mission.

Only then did I turn back— and immediately grabbed Seorin by both shoulders.

"Korea?" I asked in a low, intense voice.

"Hm? Korea? Yeah...?"

She paused.

"...Wait. Korea?"

Suddenly she grabbed my shoulders too.

"Woh— woah— WHAT???"

We stared straight into each other’s eyes.

Silence.

Wind blowing dramatically for no reason.

"A... a... K-Korean???" I muttered.

"So... I’m not alone?"

My eyes slowly closed as a very unnecessary dramatic tear rolled down my cheek.

"...This is amazing."

I stepped back, placing a hand over my heart.

"Ah... my people... my homeland... kimchi... tteokbokki... convenience store ramen at Two a.m..."

"야!!! Stop making it sound like a historical reunion!" she shouted.

(야 = Hey in Korea, used when You’re shouting. Actually... idk)

"And why are you listing food first?!"

"Because FOOD IS IMPORTANT!" I fired back. "Aigo... you wouldn’t understand the pain of bad cafeteria cooking..."

"야, 야!! I LIVED THROUGH MILITARY LEVEL SCHOOL LUNCHES, OKAY?!" she snapped.

"...Respect," I said quietly.

We nodded to each other like veterans of the same war.

Then I coughed and stood properly.

"Alright... formal introduction."

She clutched her chest dramatically.

"Y-yeah... go ahead... this is bad for my heart..."

"My name is..."

I paused for effect.

"...Kim. Si-Heon."

Her eyes widened.

"How... did I not notice...?" she muttered, staring at me.

"Yeah! How did you NOT notice from my name?!" I said.

"Because you kept calling yourself Si Hon!" she shot back.

"That sounds like... I don’t know... fantasy protagonist prunonciation!"

"HEY! Si Hon is normal, okay?!"

She pointed aggressively at my face.

"There! THERE! You did it again! You said Hon!"

"...Oh."

I scratched my cheek.

"Yeah... it’s Si-Heon... I just got used to everyone calling me Si Hon."

"Aigo... pronunciation tragedy..." she sighed, shaking her head like a disappointed language teacher.

I cleared my throat and looked at her again.

"...Seorin."

"...Si-Heon," she replied softly.

For a moment—

The chaos...

The tower...

The cold wind...

Everything felt strangely quiet.

I opened my mouth.

"I—"

Then suddenly—

"DAD!!!"

Hana’s voice exploded from behind us.

We both flinched.

"What?!" we shouted at the same time.

She pointed at the floating window with sparkling eyes.

"I found a weird skill!!! It says ’Perfect gibberish gibberish within 10 meters’!"

"Huh? What? I never noticed that..." Seorin muttered, one hand resting on her chin as she stared at the floating window in confusion.

Then—

「ಠ_ಠ While the two of you were busy talking... I updated the list of Common Skills. Don’t worry... they’re still mostly useless. I just added a few... weird things.」

"...You sound proud of that," I said flatly.

Before the System could reply— Hana suddenly smiled brightly, her eyes sparkling like she had just discovered treasure.

"So... then... what’s this weird skill called..."

She leaned closer to the glowing text and read it out loud with excitement—

"Perfect Snack Detection within 10 meters?"

Immediately

"W-WAIT, WAIT... WHAT?! WHAT KIND OF OVERPOWERED ABILITY IS THAT?!" I yelled.

Seorin grabbed my arm urgently.

"What??? Yes! Take it. TAKE IT IMMEDIATELY. Snacks are survival resources."

"You’re right," I said seriously. "In Korea, snacks equal happiness."

We both nodded with grave expressions.

Hana tilted her head.

"...Why are you two acting weird?"

Seorin and I slowly looked at each other.

Silence.

"...Aigo."

"...Aigo."

Same timing.

We pointed at each other.

"Copycat!"

"YOU’RE the copycat!"

Hana sighed deeply like the only mature person there.

"Why is Dad acting like a weird adult... and why is the drunk lady acting weird too...?"