The Unfairness of the Trial
It is a swordplay that borrows the power of an explosion that humans can never control to attack the opponent. It is a swordplay that can never be used unless one is insane.
“…”
[...]
Tae-hyun and Carbanog’s faces rotted at the exact same time. They both felt it instantly.
They had pulled a total dud!
—Ahem. Did you get something good?
“Godorobal. You’re docked 100 Akisus points.”
—?!?!
Godorobal was utterly shocked. No! He had done exactly what was asked of him!
“To give me a skill like this...”
—I-I didn't give it to you. It's the power hidden within this adventurer...
“Shut up, man.”
Tae-hyun was already thoroughly displeased. There were so many spells and other great things, so why did it have to be something that looked so hard to use?
If an explosion goes off, I have evasion, so I won't get hurt, but if there are allies nearby, it'll be too hard to use.
You could just throw bombs, but with swordplay, if someone was next to you, wouldn't they get caught in the blast? It looked incredibly difficult to use at first glance!
The system guides you to the trial grounds.
Flash!
The trial grounds to obtain the skill. The trial grounds matching the Mad Explosion Swordplay unfolded before Tae-hyun's eyes.
“...?”
It was a completely empty, barren wasteland. Tae-hyun was bewildered by the landscape, which didn't contain a single monster.
What is this?
While he stood there confused, a single raindrop began to fall from the sky.
One, two, three...
Pitter-patter, pitter-patter!
Then, the rain began to pour heavily.
Carbanog says the sound of the raindrops is very pleasant to hear.
Now is not the time to be enjoying the scenery, Carbanog. Check the surroundings for me.
However, there was no need for Carbanog to check. The answer revealed itself immediately.
Boom! Boom! Crash!
“!!!!”
[!!!!]
Before they knew it, the raindrops had turned into bombs.
Every single falling raindrop exploded the moment it touched anything!
“Are you crazy...!”
Trial of the Mad Explosion Swordplay
🎁 Reward: Mad Explosion Swordplay Skill
⚠️ Condition: If you pass the trial, you will obtain the skill!
Of all things, because this was a trial ground, none of the equipment Tae-hyun possessed could be used. The only thing he could use was a single, worn-out wooden sword!
What do you want me to do with this?
Tae-hyun dashed to the side. The raindrops were falling so heavily that it didn't really make a difference, but...
Whoosh!
The moment he swung his wooden sword at a falling raindrop, an explosion erupted instantly.
[Evasion successful...]
[Evasion successful...]
[Evasion...]
Tae-hyun rolled frantically across the ground. If he didn't have his Luck stat, this was a brutal trial that even Tae-hyun would never have been able to pass.
That bastard Godorobal...!
It wasn't particularly Godorobal's fault, but Tae-hyun blamed him anyway. After all, once you dislike someone, everything they do is annoying!
Bang! Boom! Crash!
As the raindrops exploded upon hitting the ground or colliding with each other, the surroundings became as noisy as a warzone.
Let's calm down first.
Tae-hyun focused to grasp the situation. For now, he didn't have to worry about dying immediately. Tae-hyun's Luck stat was holding up to some extent.
But...
Luck doesn't block 100% of everything. If I get hit thousands or tens of thousands of times, an evasion failure is bound to pop up.
In fact, this was a method frequently discussed among rankers as a way to defeat Tae-hyun.
—Can't we just hit him an insane number of times?
—Instead of one big hit, if we land thousands of tiny hits, a few are bound to connect.
Of course, those methods had all failed. While they were trying to unleash such attacks, Tae-hyun would simply escape the area and launch a counterattack. He never gave them the opportunity to hit him that many times!
However, this rain of bombs made such a relentless onslaught possible. He couldn't just keep enduring it with his body!
Does passing the trial mean I just have to survive for a certain amount of time?
Carbanog says that must be it.
Tae-hyun swung his wooden sword as hard as he could, blocking, deflecting, and dodging the raindrops. Explosions continuously went off right next to him, but Tae-hyun somehow endured through sheer evasion.
...Yet, nothing changed. The explosive rain kept pouring down!
“Carbanog!”
Carbanog protests that he didn't know either!
Looking at the situation, it seemed that simply enduring was not the answer.
Is there a monster nearby? No, that doesn't seem to be it either...
“Summon Wind of Fortune!”
Tae-hyun used his Authority skill. If it wasn't about surviving or defeating monsters, only one answer remained. He had to stop this rain somehow!
He didn't know what this had to do with swordplay, but he had to try it anyway.
A Wind of Fortune with random elemental properties is summoned!
A gale of wind blades rages wildly!
Whoooooosh!
With a ferocious sound, the wind began to tear the surroundings apart. In response, the raindrops triggered chain explosions, howling even more savagely.
[The explosions are further amplified!]
[The power of the trial is further amplified!]
[If you pass the trial, the skill level will increase!]
“...”
Because he had raised the difficulty of the trial, the reward had also increased. However, this was not particularly happy news for Tae-hyun.
Carbanog shouts that this is why you should have stopped using luck-based skills!
Swoosh!
Blade-like winds flew toward him, accompanied by the exploding raindrops.
“Circle of Counterattack!”
Tae-hyun targeted one of the incoming raindrops and activated the skill.
It was a swordsmanship skill that redirected a single attack back at the opponent with precise timing. With hundreds of raindrops falling, it was an absurd attempt, but his body had reacted instinctively.
Circle of Counterattack successful!
The attack is redirected!
Crash!
An amazing thing happened. The deflected raindrop exploded, blowing away the other raindrops around it!
Thanks to the temporary space created, Tae-hyun was able to protect himself.
“...!”
Without stopping, Tae-hyun targeted the next raindrop and used the skill again.
You have successfully chained the Circle of Counterattack skill!
The attack is redirected!
You take a step forward toward passing the trial!
No, this is insane...!
Only then did Tae-hyun realize how to clear this trial.
He had to continuously deflect the raindrops with perfect timing!
Are they out of their minds?
If Tae-hyun didn't have his Luck stat, his HP would have been shredded to pieces, and he would have failed before clearing it.
You have successfully chained the Circle of Counterattack skill!
The attack is redirected!
Your Swordsmanship skill level increases!
Three, four, five.
For the first time in a long while, Tae-hyun felt like he was back at the beginning. It had been a long time since he had engaged in a pure battle of control with nothing but his bare body and no equipment.
Bang! Boom! Crash!
How many times had the raindrops been deflected and exploded? If he made even a single mistake in the middle, he would have to chain the Multi-hit all over again from the very beginning.
However, Tae-hyun did not falter and continued to swing.
Honestly, this is way easier than crafting a hundred pieces of engineering equipment!
Just swinging a sword was far simpler!
Boom! Boom! Crash!
“!”
He knew that Arcane Swordsmanship skills were no joke, but to level up just from passing the trial!
Suddenly, his accumulated resentment dissolved, and his dislike for Godorobal melted away slightly.
Carbanog asks if you will return the Akisus points you docked earlier.
That's that, and this is this.
Tae-hyun checked the skill. He couldn't tell what kind of skill it was just by reading the description.
Swoosh—
You use the Mad Explosion Swordplay skill!
An explosion occurs if the skill is used at the precise timing!
Bang! Boom!
A bizarre phenomenon occurred where a sword without any bombs loaded exploded as it was swung.
An explosion that occurred when the skill was used with precise timing upon hitting the opponent!
If the timing was even slightly off...
The Mad Explosion Swordplay skill fails!
The explosion engulfs you!
“...”
What kind of garbage skill was this!
It was a crazy skill that Tae-hyun would never have used if he didn't have his Luck stat. No matter how skilled Tae-hyun was, he was still human. It was impossible to succeed with a 100% probability while fighting frantically in an urgent situation.
Still, it's a relief I can use it because of my Luck stat...
You have successfully used the skill at the precise timing!
An explosion occurs!
It was great that an additional area-of-effect attack was applied every time he swung his sword. Previously, he had to perform all kinds of acrobatics to pull bombs out of his bag and load them every time he wanted to use them...
• Due to passing the trial with increased difficulty, the skill level has risen additionally.
• The next sub-skill of Mad Explosion Swordplay has been added!
• You have obtained Explosive Leap!
Move by triggering an explosion. Is it really impossible to just move normally?
The movement sub-skill contained within, Explosive Leap!
This was a very simple skill. It was a skill that allowed him to move quickly by triggering an explosion on a part of his body!
“Explosive Leap, Explosive Leap, Archisus's First Strike!”
Tae-hyun soared from the bottom to the top, then changed direction in mid-air to fly forward and launch an attack.
He looked just like a rocket flying in a zigzag pattern!
Carbanog worries whether this is an Apostle or a toy rocket made by goblins.
From the outside, it looked incredibly bizarre!
No. This is actually pretty good.
However, Tae-hyun was actually highly satisfied. The performance was better than expected!
Tae-hyun lacked movement skills, so he had been forced to use high-cooldown Authority skills like Wind of Fortune. Since he also had to use them as escape routes, there were many times when he couldn't use them normally.
But Explosive Leap allowed him to trigger an explosion on his body to change directions whenever he wanted.
In theory, it was even possible to fly upward by continuously triggering explosions on the soles of his feet right now!
Carbanog asks why on earth you have to fly like that...
Just learn flight magic! Or ride Yong-yong!
“I also love how irregular the movement is.”
He could fly in a straight line, then trigger another explosion to bend to the side, allowing for highly erratic utilization!
Tae-hyun was extremely satisfied that the swordsmanship skill was more useful than he had thought, and he exited the trial grounds.
“Oh? You guys are already here?”
Tae-hyun was puzzled to see Ryu Da-young and Ryu Tae-su waiting in the arena. He hadn't expected the two of them to pass their trials first.
If I didn't have the power of my Luck stat, it would have taken me way longer. Did they clear theirs already? They're incredibly skilled.
As expected of players skilled enough to be chosen for the Korean national team. Tae-hyun was inwardly impressed.
“Thank you! Thanks to you, Player Kim Tae-hyun, I was able to obtain an Arcane Swordsmanship skill.”
“Don't say that. Passing the trial was entirely on you, so it's your own skill.”
Ryu Da-young shook her head slightly and said, “The trial wasn't very difficult anyway... and I also believe it's thanks to you, Player Kim Tae-hyun. Thank you.”
“...It wasn't hard?”
“?”
“?”
The two of them looked at each other and then spoke.
“It wasn't hard at all. I just had to hunt monsters while at 10% HP, and since my class is a Berserker, it wasn't very difficult.”
“In my case, I had to chain seven Phytos skills together, and I succeeded on my third try.”
“...”
Tae-hyun was lost for words.
Why... why only me?!
Because of the achievements the Apostle has accomplished so far...
Forced maximum difficulty lock!
“What kind of trial did you have, Player Kim Tae-hyun?”
“...It was just dodging raindrops.”