Challenging the 70% Ceiling
Kim Jun looked at Yang Hee-seon and said,
"But why only 70%? Couldn't it be 80% or 90%? I don't know much about Ultimation, but if you can hit 70%, I figure 80%, 90%, even 100% should be possible too."
Yang Hee-seon clamped her mouth shut and stared at him.
The kid was probably just curious, but the moment she heard that question, her chest ignited like dry tinder.
Right—Ultimation wasn't a completed skill.
For years, she'd convinced herself that anything over 70% was impossible, wasting her time away.
The current skill activation structure made breaking past 70% a real struggle.
So change the structure itself. Sure, she might wander lost for years—maybe until the day she died—but if she found the way, she could push beyond 80% to even greater heights.
It felt like a massive weight had lifted from her chest.
She'd been planning to hook him and make him her Ultimation successor, but instead, this brat had sparked the realization that the skill still had room to evolve.
Still, she couldn't let go of Kim Jun.
"If you want to learn Ultimation, teach it to Sang-taek too."
One plus one strategy.
It was the kind of proposal she'd be too embarrassed to make to anyone else.
"I already have a ton of martial arts I need to train in right now."
Kim Jun's cautious response.
It was a clear refusal, but Yang Hee-seon decided to play it thick-skinned.
Ultimation was a skill that pursued enlightenment, so it didn't demand focused, all-in time—you could study it slowly alongside other martial arts without falling behind. Plus, since it tied deeply into basic skill structures, mastering it properly would boost the power of your other skills too.
She laid out her persuasion like that.
"Help me get into the Sokcho Dungeon this time, and I'll learn Ultimation."
Watching Kim Jun stick to his conditions till the end, Yang Hee-seon let out a hollow laugh.
"Deal."
The number one ranked skill in the Association's buffer category.
Who knew that Ultimation—something hordes of people would line up from one end of Seoul to the other to learn—would get treated like this.
But she wasn't mad enough to jump up and down in outrage.
Out of all those desperate learners, could even one stick with it to the end, never give up, and master it perfectly?
In truth, Yang Hee-seon had spent years scouting successors, offering apt advice to promising students or raiders with decent talent.
"You've got strong fire attributes, so pick up at least one water-attribute skill."
"If I were you, I'd look into dealer skills."
"Master Kill Healing first, then come back."
Out of ten who heard advice tailored to their situation, one or two might actually change their path.
She'd keep an eye on those few who passed the first hurdle and give them higher-level, harder-to-apply counsel—but most dropped out at the second or third gate.
Kim Jun had been put through tests harsher than anyone else's by far.
The aggro video.
Honestly, even Yang Hee-seon thought it was overly extreme for a test. That video's leak had nearly gotten him killed in a dungeon—not just there, but during his awakening test, and even Jushin's Medici Team had mobilized to systematically take him out.
Operation Vacuum.
Launching an op like that just to kill one carrier-turned-raider!
That was more than enough to verify his potential.
Yang Hee-seon lifted her head and gazed down the straight passage ahead. At its end, Yoo Wan-seop and Choi Min-su were charging toward them.
"Give it everything till the very end."
The Crazy Buffer said.