abcnovels
Chapter 120:
Chapter 120:
Chapter 120:
The unified trial of the 13th floor had come to an end.
Michimoto Sachio, Andrei Tarkovsky, and David Taylor……
I had the rare experience of meeting famous hunters from around the world, yet it didn’t excite me much.
“The gap has widened more than I imagined.”
While I might have felt differently when I had just entered the Tower, now their levels seemed quite low to me.
So, without engaging in further conversation, I casually made my way through the portal.
I had harvested faith, and there was nothing more to gain from the 13th floor.
I wondered if other challengers at a similar rank felt the same, but I had no way of knowing.
“When the next unified trial comes around, I’ll probably meet people of higher rank.”
I simply thought that I would meet them when the time was right.
“Entering the 14th floor waiting room.”
“The system is expanding.”
“Exclusive items for layer penetration will be added to the Contractor-exclusive shop.”
“Enhancement items for afterglow will be added to the Contractor-exclusive shop.”
“Potion-type items will be added to the Contractor-exclusive shop.”
When I used the portal and crossed into space, the familiar waiting room appeared.
It was a calm and empty place that I had become accustomed to.
“Another system expansion…”
This time, the system expansion involved adding items to the Contractor-exclusive shop.
From layer penetration items to afterglow enhancement items and even potion-type items…….
Many high-quality items had been added, which piqued my interest in the Contractor-exclusive shop.
“Now that I think about it, I’ve never opened the section for skills or items in the Contractor-exclusive shop.”
It made sense.
Spending special points on anything other than abilities felt like a waste.
While now, with the addition of breakthrough rewards, I accumulated 10,000 special points with each floor I passed, in the past……
I had saved them up to afford abilities that were worth purchasing. So, I never bothered to open sections like skills or items.
“But the situation has changed.”
Now, the Contractor-exclusive shop was offering items like afterglow enhancements and potions.
There were even special items related to layer penetration, so it was only natural to take an interest.
Although I couldn’t immediately decide what to buy, I needed to understand what had changed.
“Exclusive Shop.”
“Contractor-exclusive Shop”
“SP – 11,500”
“Category: Skills”
“Category: Abilities”
“Category: Items”
“Contractor: Iron Blooded Monarch and White Crane Sword Saint”
“Note: First contractor of the Administrator ‘Iron Blooded Monarch’ and disciple of the Administrator ‘White Crane Sword Saint’.”
Originally, I would have looked into abilities first, but this time, it was the opposite.
I chose the category of items under the abilities section.
“Viewing the ‘Category: Items’ in the Contractor-exclusive shop.”
“And listing items available for purchase.”
A list of items I had never seen before appeared.
“No.387: Magic Engineering Suit”
“Gospel for the Demon Worshipper’s ceremony gospels”
“Cursed Crow Mask”
” Holy Knight’s Ash-light Grand Sword ”
“Unknown sword Master’s sheath”
Those were all quite impressive items, but they didn’t align with my interests.
Even after scrolling down the screen, I didn’t find any items that caught my attention.
Continuing this exploration would be a waste of time, so I immediately went into the settings, represented by the gear icon at the top of the screen, and adjusted them anew.
It only took two adjustments.
“Listing items based on floor penetration.”
” Floor Intrusion Penalty Mitigation Stone ”
“Grade: A-”
“Price: 8,000 SP”
“Basic Description: When consumed, this item can alleviate the skill restrictions and stat reductions of floor penetration penalties. However, this item can only be used when penetrating the floor of a challenger whose floor difference is within 6 floors.”
One of the settings was related to items for floor penetration.
“Listing items based on afterglow enhancement.”
“Halo Intensification Stone”
“Grade: A-”
“Price: 10,000 SP”
“Basic Description: When consumed, this item enhances afterglow, reinforcing unique abilities and afterglow effects to match latent abilities. However, if latent abilities are insufficient, afterglow enhancement effects may not occur.”
The other setting was about afterglow enhancement.
Although only one item was displayed for each setting, both items had remarkable effects that defied common sense.
Honestly, I could easily skip over the afterglow enhancement part below.
It was an item that could be disadvantageous to enhance, and I didn’t feel the need to enhance afterglow myself.
However, it was different with the floor penetration item.
“Floor Intrusion Penalty Mitigation…..”
that’s quite risky.
It was a significantly dangerous item.
If someone like NamGung hyuk were to use such an item, they would become a formidable opponent.
Of course, if the floor difference was too great, it wouldn’t be usable, and the price of the item was also substantial.
However, challengers like NamGung hyuk would likely have enough points to spare, so there would be sufficient room for purchasing.
That was the issue.
“NamGung hyuk didn’t show me his full power.”
At that time, he was constrained by the penalties due to Katherine Benet’s ability and didn’t have the chance to fight at his best.
If he had fought in his prime condition, it would have likely resulted in his defeat.
But the situation had changed.
Through ascending three floors, I had grown significantly.
I had learned the Sword Flame, realized my talents, and fully manifested my sacred power.
Moreover, it wasn’t just my strength that had changed.
“My mindset has changed as well.”
As a fully-fledged warrior, my mental attitude had improved, and my mental strength had also increased.
The results of this growth were clear from my ranking in the final standings.
Now, I was close to being the strongest among Earth’s challengers.
So, I had a gut feeling that the nature of battles would change from before.
“Even if NamGung hyuk is in his best condition, the nature of the battle in Tokyo will change.
” However, that didn’t mean I would face the next trial without any preparation. ”
If NamGung hyuk didn’t bear the burden of the floor penetration penalty, then I needed to be cautious as well.
“I need to enhance my combat abilities by purchasing abilities.”
It was a consideration to purchase one of the Administrator’s abilities to enhance my strength.
I had already decided on what ability to purchase.
“Ability: Sword Master’s Path (S)”
“Price: 10,000 SP”
“Description: This ability is often gained by those who wield swords among those who get caught in the paradox of becoming strong to live and living to become strong.
It allows the user to develop unique skills regarding swords and easily manifest exclusive insights.”
Originally, due to my low talents, I hadn’t considered abilities like this.
However……..
“Purchased ‘Ability: Path of the Sword Reaper (S).”
“10,000 SP will be deducted.”
Now, it wasn’t the same.
I was drawn to the fact that I could develop unique sword skills when it came to swords, leaving aside other concepts.
Not only did I have NamGung Hyuk’s stolen swordsmanship, but also the sword skills I would encounter and steal in the future.
Looking ahead, this ability would undoubtedly become a great asset for me.
However, there was a hitch.
“I don’t know how to develop skills.”
I couldn’t grasp how to activate this ability to develop skills.
There was no way to activate the ability arbitrarily, and there wasn’t any distinct change in feeling.
So, I stood there, lost in thought, pondering the mystery.
But my curiosity wasn’t left hanging for long.
As if understanding that I could get my answers directly from her, the following message appeared:
“Administrator ‘White Crane Sword Saint ‘ invites you to the Administrator’s realm.”
Curiosity piqued, I accepted the invitation and moved to the realm.
“Long time no see, SungYeun.”
As I entered the Chinese-style mansion, White Crane Sword Saint greeted me cheerfully.
From her snowy white hair to her unlined white robe, she looked just as I remembered.
However.
“…….”
there was a subtle change in White Crane Sword Saint ‘s attitude.
Whereas before, she had referred to me as “you,” now she addressed me more familiarly by my name.
Her gaze even held a strange anticipation.
“What’s going on…?”
It was at that moment, as I felt the enigmatic anticipation in her eyes, that I began to feel puzzled.
“That girl told me that you have the NamGung noble family’s child as an enemy.”
Interrupting White Crane Sword Saint , I responded,
“Yes…… Somehow, it seems that I’ve become their foe .”
“I understand. Martial artists love fighting to subjugate each other, after all.”
I gazed at White Crane Sword Saint’s still cheerful face, momentarily silenced.
“It reminds me of the past. Once, when I was climbing the Tower, there were days when I fought like Sung Yeun……”
It was as if she justified NamGung hyuk’s actions.
“…….”
Being an administrator from the world of the martial arts, White Crane Sword Saint seemed to easily understand even these convoluted thought processes.
Although, even without that, her attitude didn’t quite match someone from the world of the martial arts…….
“Or maybe it doesn’t match as much as I thought.”
As I was lost in these thoughts, White Crane Sword Saint continued speaking.
“Sung Yeun, did you use special points to buy my ability because of Nam Gung noble family?”
“That’s correct. And I responded to the invitation to seek advice about this ability.”
“Hehe… If that’s the case, then you’ve definitely made a good choice.”
“…..…?”
For some reason, looking at the sparkling White Crane Sword Saint , I felt puzzled. She soon spoke again.
“Sung Yeun, to use common phrasing, you could be called a genius.”
“A genius… That’s not accurate. I’m just good at imitating things.”
That was true. I hadn’t fully copied the skills from the martial arts dimension known as “Mugong.”
I had only taken parts of NamGung hyuk’s swordsmanship that I could use, modified them to fit my style, and used them.
Of course, from the perspective of another dimension, I did have talents that could be considered “talent.”
However, I hadn’t yet reached a level where I could be called a genius.
“From instinctively following the forms of swordsmanship, you’ve surpassed the realm of simple imitation.”
But even that had been a rather exceptional case……
“You even grasped the essence of sword intent during the 12th floor trial and modified the swordsmanship itself into dual-wielding style.”
White Crane Sword Saint clarified that it wasn’t merely imitation.
“That’s not an area that can be called pure imitation.”
In fact, I didn’t have much knowledge about martial arts, so I closed my mouth and listened to White Crane Sword Saint’s words.
“Even though you didn’t learn all the moves of the NamGung noble family’s Flying Sword of Blue Sky technique, you gained some moves and modified them.
That alone shows you have the potential of a Sect leader.”
“Sect leader…?”
“It means you could establish a new martial arts lineage, just as the founder of a sect would.”
“…….”
“From that perspective, the ability you chose this time was an excellent choice.”
White Crane Sword Saint looked at me with a twinkling gaze and continued…….
“From now on, everything you learn and comprehend will be a source of power acknowledged by the Tower.”
Then she blushed slightly and averted her gaze, as if embarrassed, before speaking again.
“That part, I will teach you from now on. Well, I have a proposal.”
“And if it’s a proposal…?”
“……Well, I’d like you to become my disciple.”
“Disciple? Ah, is this about the sacred power? If that’s the case, it’s mostly resolved now……”
“No, it’s not about that… I just want to teach you purely from a technical perspective.”
As she continued, I began to realize why she had shown such a familiar attitude toward me.
“In short, let’s establish a master-disciple relationship……..”
It was a moment I had never considered—the moment a master appeared.
[To be continued.]