Yeonwoo had to satisfy the following conditions to awaken to the next higher rank:

【- Make large knitting needles (0/100)

Make small knitting needles (0/100)

Knit a 200 cm scarf (0/1)】

The conditions given by the secret manual were baffling. Why ask a light-attribute Awakener to make needles, and why knit a scarf?

But Roy’s hesitation didn’t last long.

‘Of course the Wilds would do something like this.’

There was only one thing Roy wondered:

Should he use metal needles or wooden ones? If metal, he’d have to ship them from the factory, and he wasn’t sure anyone would serve underaged Yeonwoo.

‘Does that mean I need to get them a fake job placement?’ 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

After some thought, Roy settled on wooden needles—for the final requirement made it clear.

‘They want her to make the needles herself, then knit the scarf.’

Once he decided, everything went smoothly. He ordered bamboo in bulk and got sample knitting needles of every size. No carving knife was needed—this was for her reawakening, so it had to be done with her own skill. After all, rank reflects one’s true ability and potential.

Roy packed the materials tight in Yeonwoo’s case and created a DIY knitting-needle kit. When Yeonwoo saw it, her reaction was simply, “I can’t believe it.”

“Make needles out of Fu Bao rice?”

“Yeah. Big ones, small ones—hundred of each. Two hundred total.”

“.......”

“Just slice them roughly with your light. You know how.”

“Are you kidding me?”

“I’m serious.”

At Roy’s unwavering reply, Yeonwoo exploded.

“What does this have to do with me?!”

Irritated, she swatted aside one bamboo pole and stood up. Brave Park Yeonwoo! She’d made knives, but refused to make needles. Roy folded his arms and looked at her indifferently.

“You said you’d do whatever I asked—why are you saying something different now?”

“That’s...!”

She couldn’t admit she never expected this side job! Roy understood—he, too, would have doubted at first.

‘Honestly, I wouldn’t have believed it either.’

Even handing her the materials felt uncertain. But now wasn’t the time to hesitate. If he wavered, Yeonwoo’s distrust would only grow.

“T-this has nothing to do with reawakening!”

Yeonwoo protested timidly.

“How would I know without trying? Am I S-rank? A scientist?”

“Ha-ham, ham is—”

“Ham what?”

“What does ham do? Does ham carve wood like me?”

Roy rolled the blame onto Taeyeon. Caught between Yeonwoo and Roy, Taeyeon looked uncomfortable.

“No, go ahead slowly, Yeonwoo first.”

“See? Even Ham’s out—that’s weird, right?”

Taeyeon avoided their gaze. He’d signed up when they promised reawakening, but now he had doubts. If Roy was A-rank, there had to be a method—but Roy’s actions didn’t inspire confidence.

Roy answered confidently.

“Taeyeon will have to do something even tougher—here, he has to make a canyon.”

“.......”

“......?”

Silence followed. Concluding that carving wood was easier than forging a canyon, Yeonwoo quickly grabbed a bamboo pole.

“Just copy these? Two hundred? I’ll do it fast—give me five days!”

Her turnaround was amazing. Roy laughed in disbelief while Taeyeon asked cautiously,

“Um, Roy?”

“Yeah?”

“Is there any criteria for choosing these tasks?”

He wanted to ask, “Are you in your right mind?” But once Taeyeon signed the contract, Roy was his superior.

“Criteria? Let’s see.”

Roy glanced at the status window above Taeyeon’s head. The last tasks were counting there:

【- Make a canyon (0/50)

Create something (0/50)

Hunt Blood Fiends (1/100)】

‘Huh? Since when?’

Then he recalled the chaos in the second survival. Taeyeon had held off a fiend for a while; even minimal contribution got counted. Generous, he thought. He’d expected the last task to be hardest, but it looked easy once you rode the bus. The real problem were the other two.

His body had adapted to the Wilds, but his mind still lagged. Roy’s scheming mind churned.

‘They say two heads are better than one—maybe I’ll hint at the secret.’

Taeyeon wouldn’t blab, so hearing another opinion might help.

“Actually, this is kind of a hidden skill.”

When you can’t explain, attach words like “hidden” or “special” and they’ll gloss over it—fantasy logic, he reminded himself.

“I just happened to notice that each person has specific conditions needed for reawakening.”

“You can see them?”

He almost slipped up, but in a world where you can conjure fire barehanded, seeing visions wasn’t a stretch. Roy told them their conditions, then probed.

“What do you think ‘create something’ means?”

He had no clue himself. Then Taeyeon answered seriously,

“If those are conditions for reawakening, it makes sense to use my ability, right?”

That matched Roy’s thought. He gestured for him to continue.

“I don’t think ‘create something’ has to be alive.”

Giving life to objects was a god’s domain. Roy refrained from asking details. Surely a B-rank could manage something reasonable. Taeyeon looked around the room, crouched by a large potted plant in the corner, and stared hard at the soil.

“Keep quiet.”

Roy shushed Yeonwoo by nudging her side. At that moment,

wriggle—

The soil covering the roots began to move. The small mound formed shape, then clustered until it became a tiny, adorable clay duck.

【Create something (1/50)】

The # Nоvеlight # count ticked up at the same time.

“Huh?”

Roy blurted in surprise. Taeyeon turned around, eyes bright with anticipation.

“How was it? Is this right?”

Roy sprinted over and inspected the clay duck. It didn’t move. He’d assumed “create something” meant a living creature, but he’d been overthinking. Flustered, he masked it with praise.

“Korean University really is something. I thought this would take ages. Ahem. Now make forty-nine more.”

“Got it.”

Yeonwoo, stimulated by their success, started peeling bamboo furiously. But true to C-rank, her precision was off and she kept burning her attempts. Ten poles gone already. After ten minutes, not one success.

‘I didn’t expect her to be this bad.’

Could she ever reach A-rank this life...? The easiest task turned out to be her toughest. Watching seriously, Taeyeon spoke up.

“But why is Yeonwoo doing that?”

What a stupid question! She was obviously filling her reawakening conditions. Yeonwoo cancelled all praise for Korean University. Roy stared at Taeyeon disdainfully, but Taeyeon persisted.

“Shouldn’t she just try right away? Is it because she might get hurt?”

Hurt? Roy looked at Yeonwoo struggling with the bamboo.

“Grr! You Fu Bao rice wannabe, try it yourself!”

Calm down. Yeonwoo hadn’t done anything wrong—she was torturing bamboo. Roy sighed; Taeyeon added,

“But she might get hurt—wouldn’t it be better to try right away? Your flames aren’t hot, Roy.”

He was about to ask what Taeyeon meant when—

“......!”

A great realization struck him. They shouldn’t carve the bamboo with wood—they should form needles out of light...! Yeonwoo had been wasting her energy on the wrong approach.

Feeling guilty, Roy hurried over and snatched the bamboo from her hands.

‘Stay calm, Iro Roy.’

Though the count hadn’t ticked yet, it had been helpful—no experience is wasted. And there was a perfect phrase to use.

“Hey, I think that’s enough. Actually, all that was practice.”

Practice. The magic word that let you brush anything off.

✧

The result wasn’t bad. One week later, on the next filming of , Yeonwoo returned triumphant as a B-rank. She even skipped the re-test, saying she’d do it when she hit A. Somehow word had spread—fans jammed the studio entrance, in every age and style imaginable.

“Really? Has my rumor spread already? Oh dear, I’m so embarrassed.”

Shoulders tense with pride, Yeonwoo couldn’t hide her grin. Then Roy, puzzled, watched—

“There they are!”

Someone spotted the Bermuda trio, and camera-toting fans charged in like enraged bulls. Home-mas—aka the big telephoto lenses.