Chapter 32
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 32
Chapter Title: Skill
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"This damn headache still shows no sign of going away..."
Or maybe it was just the rattling carriage.
"Urgh..."
Jun pulled back the curtain of the carriage and peered outside.
Unlike the Black Forest, a barren wasteland devoid of even a single blade of grass stretched into view.
"Still, with everything so wide open, it's got a certain appeal to look at."
The distant rocky mountains and the endlessly sprawling sky seemed to proclaim the grandeur of the wilds.
The parched rocky expanse.
This was the field where Jun and Aiden would spend the next month.
Jun moistened his parched mouth with a sip of water before speaking.
"There are three ways to get stronger in Blackout."
Aiden listened intently.
"The first is experience."
The saying "knowledge is power" might be cliché, but it held that much truth.
"The prime example is Maya, the one you ran into recently."
By now, Maya was probably diligently learning the language under Braden's guidance.
She had been raised by the Outer Tribe since infancy.
Even when Blackout finished a season and reset, they stayed put at their [Checkpoint], never venturing outside.
On top of that, they lived entirely self-sufficiently, without any external aid.
In a place like that, Maya had spent her whole life locked in fierce survival struggles.
"Naturally, it's nothing like your experience—never even holding a sword once in the Imperial Family."
Of course, Jun had no precise gauge of just how advanced Maya's prowess truly was.
He was a mage, after all, not a warrior.
But he'd heard something from Braden.
"Braden called Maya's movements 'assimilation with nature.' Her actions blend so seamlessly into the surroundings. It's the outcome of a lifetime honing survival instincts."
That was why Aiden had read her motion yet failed to register it as an attack.
Naturalness.
All of Maya's movements melted into the environment around her, defying classification as aggression.
"The second is talent. That's your classic case."
Aiden had been deflated after losing to Maya, but unlike her, it had been less than three years since he'd picked up a sword.
"You've started wielding mana power and climbed to your current level in a mere three years. Looking purely at skill, you're viable even in level 3."
At those words, Aiden admitted his own arrogance.
Just three years.
Unlike Maya, who'd swung her blade her entire life preparing for Blackout, Aiden had reached this point in a fraction of that time.
So getting outmatched by her was, in a way, entirely predictable.
"And the last, third way... skills."
Skills.
He'd realized it later, but Aiden had actually landed a solid hit on Maya in the end.
It wasn't a clean strike, but the sword he'd swung during that final [Charge] had chipped her blade.
If he hadn't slammed into the wall, it would've snapped clean in two.
"Skills, you mean."
Aiden's expression tightened at that.
The humiliating crash into the wall had been bad enough, but even his first taste of an active skill hadn't thrilled him as much as he'd hoped.
"I can tell from your face what you're thinking. Feels like you didn't land that hit yourself—it was all the skill carrying you, right?"
"...Yeah."
The instant he'd willed [Charge], Aiden had lost all control over himself.
It was as if some invisible string had yanked him around, puppeteering him through the fight.
Which was why he couldn't claim the outcome as truly his own.
"But you're right—it was thanks to the skill."
"..."
"So... is that a problem?"
"Huh?"
"If you get too hung up on the process, no result will ever satisfy you."
"Hung up..."
"Take Maya, for example. She reached that level because she was picked up and raised by the Outer Tribe."
"..."
"The reason you're growing so much faster than others? Your Imperial bloodline."
Aiden didn't deny it.
He knew better than anyone—he'd been born with exceptional talent.
"But is the process that shaped who you are today just your Imperial lineage? Nah. You've got processes you chose for yourself."
Aiden, the discarded royal, had endured countless gazes of loathing.
Historically, abandoned royals like him had all buckled under those stares, resigning to their fated lots in life.
But Aiden alone had rejected that destiny. He'd taken up the sword himself and marched into Blackout.
"Every bit of effort you've poured in up to now? That's one of your results too. So how'd you earn that [Charge], exactly?"
"From my contribution in the raid battle..."
"Exactly. Overcoming the terror of death and landing that blow on the Forest Guardian—that's what earned it."
So the skill he'd received as a reward was equally a product of his own making.
"Just like Maya forged her strength through her survival struggles, that skill of yours is both the process and the result of your efforts."
So now, it was time to forge a new process.
"Your job here is to make that skill fully, truly yours."
Aiden nodded vigorously, lifting his bowed head at Jun's words.
Cockatrice.
Just like the "goblins of the Black Forest," the field monsters dominating this barren rocky zone were predominantly Cockatrices.
"Whoa, it really is a chicken body with a lizard tail."
"Yep. That's their signature trait."
"I heard if you lock eyes, you get hit with a petrification curse..."
"Haha, you've been reading too many novels."
"Oh, it's not true?"
Aiden ducked his head sheepishly at Jun's words.
Jun clapped him on the shoulder reassuringly.
"Not entirely wrong, though. Their eyes can inflict paralysis status. And the irregular specimens? They do dish out actual petrification curses."
"For real?"
"Yeah. Makes 'em a pain in all sorts of ways."
Jun rated the Cockatrice as pretty tricky overall.
'Doesn't belong on layer 1. Eye contact alone triggers paralysis—super annoying.'
In the game, their evasion was set sky-high for that reason.
'Agile warriors or ranged classes only; otherwise, players didn't even bother. Still hunted 'em for the loot value as farming fodder...'
But few tackled them right from the early game because of it.
'For Aiden, though... should be manageable.'
Paralysis status wouldn't faze him in the slightest.
His [Beast Body] came with broad status resistance, after all.
He'd broken free of the Fairy Queen's [Forest Cycle] status on his own—some mere Cockatrice paralysis was nothing.
With those expectations in mind, Jun watched Aiden.
Aiden's eyes sparkled with their usual fire, buoyed by the earlier pep talk.
'Won't master [Charge] right out the gate, of course.'
But maybe this time would be different.
Some such hope lingered.
"Hup!"
[Charge]
Mana drain detected. Posture shift automatic.
Living up to Jun's hopes, Aiden triggered [Charge].
Mana drained away just like before, and his stance shifted on its own.
And then.
Kko?!
Kwang!
Keuhak!
Aiden hurtled into the boulder like a cannonball and crumpled to the ground.
"..."
"..."
Kkokko...
Expectations might've been premature.
A heavy silence descended.
But it didn't last long.
Kkokkokko!!
The Cockatrice, caught off-guard by Aiden's ambush, unleashed a furious screech.
[Shield] (Enhanced: 4th Circle)
Barrier deployed. Rock-shattering claws blocked.
Just before the Cockatrice's claws—which could split boulders—reached Aiden, Jun's [Shield] snapped into place around him.
Fortified since reaching the 4th circle, the [Shield] was more than enough to repel the beast's talons.
Kko!!
Undeterred, the Cockatrice hammered relentlessly at the barrier.
As the [Shield] looked on the verge of shattering, Jun poured in more mana. Roughly five seconds later, Aiden staggered back to his feet.
"Urgh."
Not fully shaken off the [Groggy] status yet, Aiden wobbled briefly before steadying himself.
Once Jun confirmed that much, he dropped the [Shield].
The Cockatrice charged at Aiden with all its momentum—but.
Shaaak!
It was cleaved straight through by Aiden's sword, head parting from body.
A few feathers drifted lazily in the air before the Cockatrice crumbled into sand on the ground.
Jun approached once the area was secure.
"You good?"
"Ah, ahaha... Y-Yeah. I'm fine."
Visibly embarrassed, Aiden flushed red and hung his head.
"S-Sorry you had to see that disgraceful display."
"Happens to everyone at first."
"Urgh. I figured as much, but... it's wild."
Just summoning the skill in his mind had sent his body moving on autopilot.
Second time around, and it still felt utterly alien.
'Still...'
Aiden's expression was far brighter than before.
'Thanks to the senior, it doesn't feel like something totally foreign anymore.'
Unlike that first clash with Maya, he was starting to see this skill as his own—which shifted his mindset.
Yeah, like... an unconscious reflex.
The way your leg jerks up when your knee gets tapped.
And he could somewhat rein in those muscle movements with his will.
The skill should work the same way.
Jun's advice came at the perfect moment.
"Skill mastery starts with understanding it, fundamentally."
Jun had no direct experience with active skills, but magic felt close enough.
When he'd first entered this body, magical knowledge had flooded in automatically.
So his initial spells had played out just like active skills—no different.
To gain control over his magic, the very first step had been 'understanding.'
Which magical concepts stirred during a cast.
How much mana flowed, and along what paths through his circuits.
Grasping the entire process.
"Get a handle on the mechanical habits, the postures, the motions, the instincts. Then take the reins on those processes."
Aiden closed his eyes, sinking into thought at the advice.
He replayed the technique he'd just unleashed.
At first, the memory had been a total blank—but now it resurfaced vividly.
'My legs moved first.'
Then?
'Kicked off the ground.'
His posture locked low.
Mana erupted from his toes.
By the time he opened his eyes, he'd already smashed into the rock.
"Control..."
As he muttered to himself, Jun tossed out a casual remark while passing by.
"Someone swings a fist at you. How do you react?"
With that, Jun threw a punch straight at Aiden's face.
Aiden dodged on pure reflex.
"...Ah!"
"Getting it now?"
"Yeah!"
A fist incoming. Aiden twisted his head aside to evade.
Why? Because it was aimed at his face.
How? Spine flexing into shoulder muscles.
What? Dodged the punch.
A single action, layered with meanings.
Aiden grasped what Jun was driving at in an instant.
'That initial leg movement.'
It was the wind-up for lunging forward.
Why? Most efficient way.
Then his body crouched.
Why? To cut wind resistance.
The ground-kick unleashed mana from his toes.
Why? For acceleration.
"Whoa..."
Aiden was a warrior. A prodigiously talented one, at that.
He dissected every posture in the [Charge] skill, scrutinizing their purposes.
Then rebuilt them from the ground up.
'But why this exact power output here?'
'Why space my feet just so?'
'Is this crouch angle right for my build?'
'Mana surge too strong?'
Naturally, he tailored it all to his own body in the process.
Adding what he needed, trimming the excess.
Like a composer layering harmonies onto a melody.
Before long.
"How about it? Starting to get a feel?"
"..."
Aiden didn't answer Jun's question.
Instead, he wheeled toward a new target.
A boulder roughly human-sized.
He sank into stance.
Knees bent, back ramrod straight.
Mana gathered at his toes.
And.
[Charge] (Refined)
Controlled execution. Smooth acceleration achieved.
[Charge].
He rocketed forward.
His body cleaved the air just like before.
But the speed was a touch slower than last time.
However... fluid.
His thrusting arm swept toward his opposite hip. The sword in his grip sliced the wind at the perfect instant.
A boulder lay in that trajectory.
Saaak!
A sound too unreal to be rock being rent echoed in Aiden's ears.
In that moment, Aiden felt it.
The shift deep within himself.
Not some massive transformation.
But if this were a game instead of reality.
An interface like this would've popped up for him.
You have acquired the [Bash] skill!
"What... the hell."
And Jun, witnessing the whole scene.
'One month? Way too generous.'
He scowled, pinching the bridge of his nose against the throbbing headache.
If he'd known it'd play out like this, they wouldn't have even bothered coming all the way out here!