abcnovels
Chapter 6
Chapter 6
Chapter 6
After thinking for a while, Su-hyeok finally chose two things. One of the things, of course, was Selfish Sacrifice. It had the potential to negate lightning’s weakness, so it didn’t matter how many points it consumed. As for the other item he picked…
[You have purchased a ‘Nameless Magic Sword’.]
[You spent 1,000 achievement points.]
[You can name the ‘Nameless Magic Sword’.]
The magic sword was completely different from the type of sword he’d used in his past life, but the power of such swords was unparalleled. As long as he had the Stamina for it, the sword’s damage would be outstanding.
The problem was that it carried a heavy penalty, which meant it was usually a bad choice for beginners.
‘I’ll have to test this skill.’ Selfish Sacrifice said it could negate the side effects of other skills or items, so it was a good time to test it.
‘This skill and the magic word have good synergy together. It’s better to use this from the start than to leave it untouched.’
After choosing both the skill and the sword, he had 25 points left.
[You have purchased a ‘Low-ranking Healing Potion’.]
[You spent 20 achievement points.]
After buying the health potion just in case he was injured, he had only a few points left.
“A magic sword…” Hugo mumbled as he approached Su-hyeok. Had he realized the rewards were done being chosen?
Clap, clap, clap—
“That skill and item are a good match, that’s for sure. Still, there’s something I don’t understand…” Even if the items had good synergy… “Why did you choose such a skill? You don’t know if you’re ever going to need it. Not only that, but it also isn’t very efficient.”
“Do I have to tell you my reason?” Su-hyeok asked.
“What…?” Hugo gave him a dumbfounded look. It was the first time he’d ever seen a participant speak so informally to a trial examiner. Was it because he was ignorant, or was he just arrogant due to his talent?
‘It’s hard to change my way of speaking.’ In reality, that’s just who Su-hyeok was. He took a closer look at McHugo. Clearly, the man was a knight, and he wore heavy armor to match. Su-hyeok almost let his surprise show. ‘To think this brat would be the examiner.’
Back when Su-hyeok had first met the man in his previous life, he’d been an apprentice knight in a guild called ‘Chivalry’.
* * *
“C-could you give me your autograph?!” The young and inexperienced Hugo approached him and asked for his autograph during a meeting between Blue Eyes and Chivalry.
“My autograph…? I don’t have one,” Su-Hyeok replied.
“Then at least your name, please!” Hugo held out a piece of paper and gave him a heavy look.
Su-hyeok, wearing his trademark mask, just wrote ‘Su-hyeok’ in Korean for him. It was the worst handwriting ever, but just that one signature was enough to make Hugo bow deeply in gratitude.
* * *
That same guy was the examiner for the tutorial.
‘Things have changed, huh?’ Once again, he realized twenty years had passed. The reality that he was a novice challenging the tower again hit him hard.
“Anyway,” Su-hyeok finally said, “I don’t intend to answer that question. Even if I did, you wouldn’t be able to tell anyone.” Examiners couldn’t leak a participant’s personal information outside. If they did, they would be immediately expelled from the examiner position and severely punished by the Association.
“Ugh, that’s true,” Hugo agreed.
“Then, I’m off.”
“W-wait!” Hugo tried to stop Su-hyeok from leaving. “Are you interested in joining ‘Chivalry’?”
“No thanks.”
[Do you want to move to the 2nd floor?]
“Yes.” Su-hyeok quickly replied to the system message and vanished before Hugo’s eyes.
Paf—
“Huh…?”
* * *
[You have cleared the tutorial.]
[You’ve arrived on the 2nd floor.]
Everything flashed white and then returned to normal, which was something that happened when you cleared a trial and moved on to the next floor.
Exiting a shabby temple, Su-hyeok headed toward the nearest city. The 2nd floor’s population was especially large. Luckily, there was always a village at the starting point of a floor.
“Fresh seafood from afar! Fresh!”
“Special jerky! Try some samples!”
“Choose! We have everything! From precious metals from Murim to beautiful designs from Earth!”
‘So I’ve arrived.’ Su-hyeok stared blankly at the bustling marketplace along the street. Stepping onto the 2nd floor had special meaning for players—it meant they’d cleared the tutorial, succeeded in their first challenge of their player career, and had taken their initial step.
‘This is the beginning.’ For Su-hyeok, it had a different meaning. Since he was doing things he’d already done before, he had to do it better and surpass his former self as the all-time top player.
With that goal in mind, there was something he needed to make sure of.
Step—
Su-hyeok passed through the market and went straight to the training grounds. The small training grounds, about 60 square meters in size, was frequented by players for many purposes, such as personal training or testing new skills.
“Which floor are you from?” the training grounds manager asked, looking over Su-hyeok and noticing he was a novice player without proper equipment. He knew it was the day of the tutorial, so he figured Su-hyeok had just reached the 2nd floor.
* * *
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* * *
“I just arrived.” Su-hyeok answered as he handed over his player kit, which showed a ‘2’ on the screen as proof he’d just reached the 2nd floor.
The manager checked the display and said, “Then go to training ground one. It’s already prepared.”
“Please, assign me to training ground four,” Su-hyeok said.
“Training ground four?” The manager laughed in disbelief. The higher the number, the harder the training ground was. Past 10, the training dummy moved on its own and was difficult for even higher floor players to deal with.
“Did you come with this in mind?” the manager asked.
“Yes.”
“If you make a mistake, you will get hurt. If you give up halfway, there will be no refund.” The manager worriedly clicked his tongue. “I’m worried that you’re going to lose your money. Just use number one. Well, as long as I get my part-time work payment, I don’t care.”
“Thanks for your concern.” Before the conversation could continue, Su-hyeok extended his hand to the manager. “30 minutes, please.”
“Haa… Don’t say I didn’t warn you.” The manager sighed and grabbed Su-hyeok’s hand.
[You’ve paid 50 points.]
Points were drained through one’s hand. With the 30-minute ticket, Su-hyeok entered training ground four.
Creak—
A completely soundproof, white room came into view. Traps were installed all over the room and would activate as soon as he stepped forward.
“It’s been a while since I was last here.” There was no better place to test new skills and items than that training ground. Based on the chosen difficulty, he could easily gauge how his skills performed before going on a real hunt.
‘First…’
Screech—
[The ‘Nameless Magic Sword’ recognizes its master.]
[All stats have temporarily increased.]
[The user’s Stamina and mental strength will be consumed.]
A message appeared when he drew the magic sword. Typically, using a magic sword was unimaginable due to the side effects that came with it, but he wasn’t interested in testing its power.
Bzzt—
[The ‘Nameless Magic Sword’ absorbs the user’s Stamina.]
[Your stats will increase based on the Stamina consumed.]
Drip—
Blood dripped from Su-hyeok’s eyes, the veins on the back of his sword hand burst, and his fingers trembled. He was reaching his limit.
‘So this is my current body’s limit.’ He never expected a body that’d just reached the 2nd floor to be able to control a magic sword anyway. He just wanted to test how effective Selfish Sacrifice was.
[‘Selfish Sacrifice LV1’ resists the damage from the ‘Nameless Magic Sword’.]
[The user’s Stamina and mental strength have been partially restored.]
[Your Fatigue has slightly increased.]
[‘Selfish Sacrifice LV1’ fails to fully resist the ‘Nameless Magic Sword’.]
‘Is this the limit of being level one?’ Though the rare-rank magic sword was considered a failure, it was still one of Kindre’s works. Magic swords could draw considerable power, but the Stamina required was also very high.
Su-hyeok wasn’t expecting an F-rank skill to be able to deal with it to begin with, but that wasn’t the skill’s limit.
[Owned Points: 10,770]
He had more than ten thousand points, which was enough to level up the skill once. Since he’d drawn out the magic sword’s power, it was time to level up Selfish Sacrifice.
[You’ve used 10,000 points.]
[The skill level of ‘Selfish Sacrifice LV1’ has increased.]
Points equivalent to almost all his wealth disappeared with a single click. He checked the skill again after leveling it up.
? Selfish Sacrifice ?
# Category: Skill
# Rank: E
# LV: 2
# Suppresses the side effects of skills and items that harm the user.
# Points can be used to upgrade the skill’s rank and level.
# Required Points: 20,000P
‘Twenty thousand?’ Even though the rank had only increased by one, the amount of points required for the next rank had doubled. Did it double after every skill level? If that were the case, then the effects should’ve also increased accordingly.
‘Let’s check it out.’
[‘Selfish Sacrifice LV2’ resists the damage from the ‘Nameless Magic Sword.’]
[Partial resistance success.]
[‘Nameless Magic Sword’ uses a portion of the user’s Stamina.]
[Your stats have further increased.]
Crunch, crack—
He felt his muscles contorting and his blood flowing backward—the rush of power from his rapidly increasing stats and the sense of relief were almost euphoric.
‘It works.’ Since Selfish Sacrifice had leveled up, using the magic sword was easier. Thanks to that reduced burden, it was also easier to draw out more of the sword’s power.
Squeeze—
He looked at the traps around the room. Training ground four was originally a place a player who’d just passed the tutorial couldn’t even dream of clearing. The traps couldn’t be compared to the flimsy tutorial goblins.
Paf—
Su-hyeok leaped forward, and all of the traps in the room activated, sending projectiles toward him.
Swoosh-!
* * *
About 10 minutes later, Su-hyeok left the training room before all of the available time had passed.
Drip—
Blood dripped from his forearm and fell to the floor, he walked with a stagger, and he looked so battered that it seemed he could collapse at any moment. Still, he felt no regrets. Instead, he leaned against the wall and smiled.
“Woah…” he whispered to himself in joyous awe. “It worked.”
____