You Told Me to Wait.

The skill list I had seen when I leveled up after what happened with Hanna not long ago. There was one skill among them that I had judged useless and skipped.

'[Touch of Tuning].'

I opened the skill window. A familiar screen unfolded before me.

[Skill Points Available: 0]

1. [Enhance Existing Skills]

2. [Acquire New Skills]

I reached into empty air and pressed the [Acquire New Skills] button. A flash lit up before my eyes, and two skills appeared.

1. [Bullet Time (Bullet Time)]

Detailed Description: When activated, you enter a state of super-acceleration in which you perceive the flow of the world, excluding yourself, at one-tenth speed for up to 3 seconds. Usable once per day. The number of uses increases as the level rises.

2. [Touch of Tuning (Touch of Attunement)]

Detailed Description: Directly interferes with the flow of a target's biological energy (mana, qi, etc.) through contact with the hand. It can stabilize rampaging energy and eliminate pain, as well as deliberately disrupt the flow to inflict extreme pain or bestow ecstatic pleasure. As the level rises, the precision of the tuning increases, and you gain the ability to absorb energy and make it your own or grant it to others.

Without even sparing [Bullet Time] a glance, I lowered my gaze. Then I began reading each skill description carefully.

"……."

Then I swallowed hard. It felt as though I had been struck in the head with a hammer.

'Stabilize rampaging energy…?'

Seraphina's [Mana Reflux]. It was a phenomenon in which the mana within her body ran wild. In other words, wasn't it literally 'rampaging energy'?

'…Why didn't I realize this?'

I had thought [Touch of Tuning] would be useless in combat. By the time I touched an enemy, a bullet would have blown my head apart. But apparently, my thinking had been far too narrow.

Rereading the skill description, I realized there was no need to use it only in battle. Rather than combat, this skill's real use was closer to care and recovery.

'…Tsk. Why does it look so useful now that I look again?'

Having [Strong Mind] didn't make mistakes disappear. It merely kept my mind calm at all times. It didn't correct what I had missed, overlooked, or gotten wrong.

In the end, I had misunderstood the true nature of [Touch of Tuning]. If I had to put it another way, it was a kind of field medicine. It could eliminate the pain of wounded soldiers without anesthetic and calm soldiers suffering from shell shock.

Above all, it seemed like it could become the most reliable means of controlling Seraphina's [Mana Reflux]—that time bomb of a woman.

'I have to do it.'

I made up my mind quickly.

But there was one problem with this plan.

[Skill Points Available: 0]

I had no skill points. I had poured every point into raising [Status Analysis] and [Charismatic Speech] to their maximum levels.

'If I'd known this would happen, I would've saved one in advance.'

Regretting it now was useless. What mattered was that I needed skill points right now.

In other words, I needed to level up.

But I still hadn't leveled up. It was strange. Until now, whenever I had earned this much military merit, I had always leveled up.

Was there something I was missing? I quickly retraced my memories. When had I leveled up? It had been… my promotion to lieutenant, taking control of 3rd Platoon, and Hanna's mana awakening and my first time with her.

'This military merit should definitely be enough to level up.'

And today, the Ashen Forest infiltration operation. My military accomplishments had been overwhelming. I had infiltrated the enemy lines perfectly and turned their encampment into a sea of fire with a crate of gunpowder. Without even stopping, I had rescued 2nd Platoon and completely cut off the enemy's retreat.

I was the MVP, plain and simple. It was strange that I hadn't leveled up. But no level-up notification had appeared for me yet.

'There has to be a condition.'

I recalled my memories in greater detail. Not just the superficial fact that I had leveled up by accumulating military merit, but exactly when and how I had leveled up.

Inside my barracks after returning from the promotion ceremony. On my bed, where I had collapsed in exhaustion after completing the mission to take control of 3rd Platoon. In my temporary quarters after returning from the Mana Spring facility once things with Hanna were over.

A realization flashed through my mind.

'My room.'

I saw the pattern. I had always leveled up only after returning to my barracks and resting. It was as though the system processed my rewards only after confirming that all missions had officially ended and I had returned to a 'safe private space.'

The same had to be true now.

'…I need to return to the barracks.'

I quickened my pace. I left the bustling supply depot and crossed the barracks area, where the platoon members were probably enjoying their leave.

"Oh, there's the platoon commander!"

"Loyalty! Lieutenant!"

The platoon members who spotted me approached and saluted. But I passed them without so much as a glance. My mind was filled with thoughts of skill points and nothing else.

The distance to my barracks felt unusually long. Only after what seemed like ages did a familiar door finally appear before me. As soon as I opened the creaking wooden door and stepped inside, I closed it and slid the bolt into place.

A dull thud echoed, cutting off the outside world along with its noise. It was a perfect private space where only I existed. Holding my breath, I waited for something to change.

"……."

I waited.

'…Nothing's happening.'

Just as I began to think that wasn't it, something changed.

My guess had been right.

Ding—

A familiar yet welcome system notification rang in my head.

[You have perfectly completed the Ashen Forest annihilation operation.]

[You have achieved overwhelming merit as a core force of the company.]

[You have acquired a large amount of experience as a reward.]

[Your level has risen to 9!]

[You have acquired 1 new skill point.]

A level-up.

I had reached level 9. I raised my head toward the system window floating in the air. The words were clearly written there.

[Skill Points Available: 1]

Now I could acquire the [Touch of Tuning] skill. Without a moment's hesitation, I reached toward the skill window.

[You have selected the skill 'Touch of Tuning'.]

[You acquire a new skill!]

Ding— A clear sound rang out, and a faint tingling spread through my fingertips as a new sensation seeped into me.

'Done.'

I clenched my fist. I now had a card that could control Seraphina's problem.

'First, I need to test it.'

I needed to familiarize myself with how to use it. I sat down, clasped my left arm with my right hand, and quietly activated the skill.

'Touch of Tuning.'

Ding—

[The skill 'Touch of Tuning (Lv.1)' is activated.]

At that moment, a strange sensation swept over me, as though I could feel inside my left arm through the palm of my right hand. It wasn't the physical sensation of skin, muscle, or bone. It was something deeper—the faint, warm flow of energy moving along my blood vessels. It was my life force itself. It circulated steadily and smoothly, like a calm river.

'Is this… my biological energy?'

I decided to test the skill's next function. According to the description, I could directly interfere with this flow. I focused my mind and manipulated the energy with the feeling of making the river's current even smoother.

[The target's biological energy is stabilized.]

Warmth spread throughout my left arm. My knotted muscles relaxed, and I felt a faint surge of vitality. It was like immersing myself in a bathtub full of warm water. The fatigue of battle seemed to wash away.

'I should be able to do the opposite too.'

This time, I deliberately obstructed the flow. I imagined throwing a boulder into the middle of a river and disturbing the current.

[The target's biological energy circulation is disrupted.]

"Ngh!"

A dull, intense pain struck as though my left arm had been smashed with a hammer. There was no visible injury, but my arm itself seemed to scream, and I felt as though my bones were being shaken apart. I hurriedly deactivated the skill just before cold sweat began to bead on my forehead.

'…Damn, it's much more painful than I expected.'

I thought for a moment about how this skill could be used.

'If I were tortured with pain this intense, could I endure it?'

If it were only like being struck with a hammer, a person with strong mental fortitude might be able to endure it. But the frightening part was that what I had just done wasn't the maximum output.

'…It seems like it would be extremely effective.'

I stopped the unsettling line of thought and moved on to the next stage.

'…And the last function…'

I swallowed dryly. According to the skill description, it could induce pleasure as well. Unlike before, I caressed the flow of the river smoothly and warmly. I stimulated the energy delicately, like a feather tickling it.

[The target's senses are heightened, inducing faint pleasure.]

"……!"

Goosebumps rose over my skin. It was a tingling, pleasant sensation that raced up my spine, completely different from pain. As though my entire left arm had become an erogenous zone, a pleasurable numbness spread outward from the spot touched by my palm.

I immediately deactivated the skill. My heart was beating slightly faster.

'Not bad.'

I was satisfied. The skill test itself had been a success. What remained was how to use it and whether it would work on Seraphina as well.

I leaned back deeply in my chair and closed my eyes. Then I recalled the conditions for activating the skill. A target I touched with my hand. In other words, my hand had to make direct contact with Seraphina's body. How could I get past her wariness and naturally place my hand on her? Should I ask to shake her hand? Or should I wait for her to stagger again and support her?

While I was pondering that, the sunlight coming through the window gradually turned into a crimson sunset before sinking into deep navy darkness. The noise of the soldiers filling the barracks area began to die down as well. Before I knew it, night had fallen.

Knock, knock.

And the cautious knocking brought my deliberation to an end.

'Is it already that late?'

Out of habit, I started to use [Status Analysis] on the person beyond the door, then stopped. I would be seeing beneath her skin soon enough anyway, so why bother?

"Come in."

When I answered in a low voice, the door opened slightly. With the corridor's faint light behind her, a silhouette entered the room.

It was Hanna.