The Unexpected Liberation of the Star
The unexpected liberation of the star—PHWAAAAAASH──! Blood gushed from the neck where the head had been torn off. The transcendent hunters, who had only just regained consciousness, shuddered at the sheer cruelty of the act, executed without a shred of hesitation.
...... I guess my suspicion toward everyone here was misplaced after all...
The real problem was that he still wasn't in his right mind. The Jo Giman who had seemed somewhat lacking and full of openings compared to his overwhelming power was nowhere to be seen. If he remained in that state, it would be an enormous liability for me.
Sharp and cold... like a finely honed blade. With that temperament, he might avoid immediate conflict, but he'll likely target Yeonhee soon.
After finishing off Geum Jae-hyeon and landing on the ground, he stopped dead and looked up at the sky.
Huu— Damn... I can't even breathe. Huh?!
Ah... my head's already a mess, and now this?
It seemed like an achievement I'd earned by finishing off the monster Jo Giman had been fighting. I wasn't sure if I'd ever get the chance to trigger it again. If anything, it might become a hindrance during chaotic battles with other enemies, so I couldn't exactly celebrate.
Attack power doubles when coordinating with Jo Giman... what an absurd achievement.
But the next message that followed was different.
Ooooh...! This one's a jackpot! There's no rule saying I have to die, after all!
It was an ability I desperately needed, given how many powerful enemies I would face. It would be a huge help when I eventually landed a blow on the one standing over there.
I don't know how efficient it'll be, but compared to the previous achievement, this reward is on another level.
My body still refused to move, as if glued to the floor, but receiving such a great reward gave me a bit of breathing room. Just when I thought the rewards were over, one final choice appeared.
Fragment of the Great Existence
1. Defeated the Great Calamity and gained massive experience. Stats obtained from leveling up to level 80 are tripled.
2. Forgo all experience and steal one skill from an entity that participated in the battle.
...... Why are the options so extreme? But that second choice... could it be responding to my earlier request?
I hesitated for a moment, but the decision wasn't difficult.
Tripling my stats is tempting, but... I have to pick 2.
If the stat boost had been permanent, I would have chosen option 1. But since I was already at level 73, its value was relatively lower than option 2.
Option 2 has to be that guy.
The only entity that had participated in the battle, as the previous achievement implied, was one person.
How could I possibly resist stealing a skill from that bastard Jo Giman?
Moreover, the second option was glowing gold, practically demanding I choose it. Experience gains would naturally increase by 20% after my class change when exploring with allies, and I had no desire to reach level 80 too early and face the Chaos Residue again.
Since I don't know how effective [Mismatched Fury] will be, it's best to delay confronting that monster as much as possible.
The Chaos Residue I had encountered before hadn't even shown its full power. I only had two chances left to challenge it. Anything that increased my odds of winning was worth taking.
I'll go with option 2.
Perhaps because it was a reward left by the Great Existence, polite speech came out naturally. With my choice, countless traits and skills flooded into my mind. These were likely the abilities possessed by Jo Giman, who was still standing there blankly staring at the sky. They kept appearing, over and over.
What... what the hell, there are so many?
I couldn't help but be shocked at the sight of hundreds of abilities. I knew he had acquired many powers across multiple lifetimes, but this...
Does that bastard also have [Thievery] like me?
The number was suspicious enough to warrant the thought. Of course, most of the abilities were well-known ones, so they probably weren't stolen from monsters. Still, it was reasonable to suspect he possessed an ability to steal powers from other living beings, just like me.
So he didn't just get strong because he had time. He has a skill that steals abilities... I need to be even more careful.
If I carelessly let him steal [Thievery], it would be catastrophic.
I absolutely cannot die by his hand even once... At the very least, self-destructing before that happens is my last line of defense.
Out of the countless skills, only three drew close enough for me to choose. It seemed I could only select from the three skills Jo Giman had demonstrated today. The rest drifted away the moment I reached for them, rejecting my choice.
[Heavenly Thunder Palm], [Thunder Strike], [Meteor]...
He had clearly used several movement skills as well, but only offensive skills were offered. [Thunder Strike] was a highly unique skill that could only be imbued into fists, greatly increasing punch power while adding "electrocution" and "paralysis" effects.
It has the advantage of relatively low mana consumption. Not bad.
The skill I wanted most was actually [Heavenly Thunder Palm], but it had one problem. According to information Jo Giman had casually mentioned in a past life, [Heavenly Thunder Palm] required a minimum of 2,000 mana to use. My current mana was 554. Far too insufficient.
Well, manifesting a thousand powerful lightning bolts... maybe 2,000 mana is actually efficient.
In the end, the choices narrowed to [Thunder Strike] and [Meteor], but considering my current situation, the decision leaned heavily in one direction.
It's a bit awkward to call this fire magic... but to deal with that guy, this is the best option.
Keeping the plant-type Great Calamity Devouring Creeper in mind, I chose [Meteor]. [Meteor], the ultimate high-tier magic that required deep understanding of fire, rock, telekinesis, celestial bodies, gravity, meteor trajectories, and the laws of physics governing collisions. A spell that could only be manifested by reaching the rank of Archmage, something every mage dreamed of attaining—I now had the chance to steal it without much effort.
For Jo Giman, it would be the most painful skill to have stolen.
It's also an elemental magic centered on the fire attribute...
With traits like [Obez's Blessing] and my fire-attribute attack power being far superior to other elements, it would suit me perfectly. And that trait seemed connected to the influence [Flame Explosion] had on me.
Sitting down, I nodded and read the rising message.
Acquired the small reward left by the Fragment of the Great Existence.
Stolen [Meteor] from the Avatar of the Seven-Headed Dragon!
The Seven-Headed Dragon sensed the aura of the Great Existence and hastily severed the descent!
Oh?
At that message, Jo Giman's body jolted violently.
As expected, his mind has returned.
After twitching a few times like he was having a seizure, his sharply honed gaze grew hazy once more. Then, suddenly, he collapsed onto the floor and clutched his head, screaming.
......?! What, what is this!! Why Meteor!! Shit, my skill...! My skill?! How did you get this...!
Jo Giman, who never swore in front of others to maintain his image, was now cursing loudly while wailing about his stolen [Meteor]. Though he possessed many things, a magic like [Meteor] that demanded so many abilities wasn't easy to obtain. He was in despair, showing his panic openly before everyone.
Jo Giman, who had been curled up and pounding the ground like a madman, belatedly noticed the surrounding hunters murmuring in confusion. Suddenly, he sprawled out on the floor and pretended to lose consciousness.
......? What is he doing? His acting is way too clumsy.
Under normal circumstances, he would never do something so abnormal. Perhaps due to the shock of temporarily losing his sense of self, he was behaving incomprehensibly. Even without my senses, anyone observing him closely would realize he wasn't unconscious at all—his mind was growing clearer, and his mana was stabilizing.
"Good grief... the more I look at him, the more ridiculous that guy is..."
Kang Yeonsu seemed to have noticed as well and let out a hollow laugh.
"I don't know what he did, but he must have done something, right? Is he acting like a child because of the side effects from overusing his power?"
Kang Yeonsu said she couldn't remember anything from the moment Jo Giman and the monster clashed, sounding confused.
"It has to be him... catching that insane monster and even stopping Geum Jae-hyeon on top of that. A monster is a monster, huh. Tch..."
...... So other people really don't remember.
It had been a state close to time stop, combined with an incomprehensible cognitive interference. Even someone of Kang Yeonsu's level seemed unable to grasp what had happened.
Forcibly awakened the ultimate magic [Meteor]!
Acquired the achievement [Unexpected Star's Liberation]!
Huu...
Whoa!! 200 mana from just one achievement!! That's insane!
I had gained so much today that my mind was spinning. But a message that poured cold water on my excitement followed.
You do not meet the minimum requirements to use [Meteor].
Aaagh! So this doesn't work right now either.
I nodded and checked the conditions required to use [Meteor].
Minimum 1,000 mana, possession of rock-attribute magic, possession of telekinesis-type skills, 500 Wisdom... even 100 Resistance? Why?
These were all things I hadn't achieved yet, despite being listed as minimum conditions.
Huu... Mana and Wisdom might be reachable if I gather artifacts from C-rank dungeons. Telekinesis though... that's the problem.
There were monsters that used telekinesis in B-rank dungeons, but...
Well, at least I managed to shake Jo Giman's mental state. That counts for something.
Of course, just because I stole one skill didn't mean Jo Giman's combat power would drop significantly. Still, it was satisfying to have dealt meaningful psychological damage, though it had been a day full of things to reflect on.