Chapter 314
Chapter 314
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 314
Chapter Title: Random Other Skills
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◇◇◇ Random Other Skills ◇◇◇ Strictly speaking, Random Other Skill Acquisition was actually the most rational choice one could make.
It cost a whopping 500,000 points per use, but the fact that the skill drawn applied simultaneously to the main body and all avatars alike made it an absurdly efficient option.
'Yeah, how could I hold back when a brand-new skill costs less than 50,000? Skipping this would be the real loss!'
In fact, hadn't Xenoglossy, which he'd obtained through it before, proven incredibly useful?
Of course, the Toughness he'd just drawn right before had been absorbed and vanished the moment it was acquired into higher-level skills like Harley’s Ultimate Evolved Lifeform, Heinz 2nd’s Blood Sovereign, and Horus’s Gold Dragon…
But since it had served as nourishment to further grow those abilities, it couldn't exactly be called a meaningless loss.
The gap between it and those superior skills had simply been too vast for any noticeable change.
Even so, considering the real-time influx of Karma points right this moment, it wasn't a bad pick at all.
'Right, so this isn't my fault. If anything, it's…'
More like an unavoidable impulse.
With his self-hypnosis complete, he stared quietly at the message floating before his eyes once more.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Forcibly awakening random potential. Acquired skill Underwater Breathing. Underwater Breathing.
A survival skill that prevented drowning in water-based environments.
Analyzing the knowledge imprinting itself in his mind, it was the ability to forcibly extract oxygen from water via skin respiration.
"Ah…"
He unwittingly closed his eyes and tilted his head toward the ceiling.
Its utility wasn't bad by any means.
Not only did it eliminate the risk of drowning in such environments, but the included water affinity would prove helpful in some way or another.
However, if asked whether it was jackpot-worthy… well, he had nothing much to say.
'Undead Hans is out of the equation from the start.'
No, even the other transcendent-level avatars had long surpassed such limitations.
And the mana-fueled dragon Horus was no exception.
'That leaves just me as the main body, merchant Hubert, dwarf Howard, palace guest Hesperon, and Hugo in the Kanghwan Realm… five in total.'
Even that already inflated his expectations for the skill from under 50,000 to 100,000 points.
Plus, none of the other avatars really faced environments where Underwater Breathing would be necessary.
'…The head of a mega-trading company holed up in his workshop lost in craftsmanship, and a guest in one of the continent's safest spots like the imperial palace drowning? Well, at least no slipping in the bathtub and dying now.'
The most likely to use it was probably Hugo, left alone in the Kanghwan Realm.
It would be quite handy against the water bandits operating around rivers and lakes.
'Though Harris already turned that place upside down.'
He wondered how the territories once ruled by those water bandits had fared after the storm passed…
Recalling the fading memories of the Dongting Eighteen Bandits and Yangtze Waterway Stronghold leaders, he shook his head heavily.
In truth, such buried memories of water bandit bosses were already beneath notice.
The real issue at hand was something else entirely.
'This time for real, the absolute last one. Just once more.'
His track record had shifted from break-even to solidly in the red.
Now he couldn't back out!
'Anyway, there's still over five million points left. A couple more uses will recover in no time.'
Plus, the settlement for ousting the Heaven-Defying Society leader hadn't fully concluded yet.
Just like before, the aftermath's influence would calculate into steady additional Karma accrual.
So for now—
'Just snag one good one and wash my hands of it clean.'
This much 'investment' for himself was perfectly fine.
His eyes burned with strange fervor as he glared piercingly at Random Other Skill Acquisition.
Honestly speaking.
Right now, nothing else was in his sights.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ A short while later.
"Hmmm. Nearly lost my self-control there."
Fortunately, Han Seonghyeon snapped out of it before burning through all his points.
No, far from just that—he prided himself on escaping rather early, all things considered.
After all… including the first one with Underwater Breathing, he'd only drawn a total of four times!
'Yep, that's pretty solid.'
Naturally, all memory of repeating 'the real last one' in his head had been neatly erased.
"Still, not a bad haul."
This wasn't empty flattery.
With a quiet mutter, he extended his hand slightly forward, and his fingertips vanished into thin air as if CG-processed.
Swoooosh—
By the time his wrist disappeared, a heat haze rippled in the air around it.
Pulling his arm back, the missing body part returned intact.
Now clutching a ballpoint pen that hadn't been there before.
No need to explain—it was the anomaly of subspatial interference.
'Who'd have thought I'd actually get an Inventory.'
He tossed the pen he'd been fiddling with onto the table with a smirk.
The skill's official name from his second draw was Subspace Storage, affectionately dubbed 'Inventory'.
Exactly as it sounded: the ability to wield subspatial storage as a skill.
Yet even with this incredibly useful and impressive power, he didn't stop there.
'Truth be told, I haven't felt much inconvenience without an inventory so far.'
The Avatar Cloud allowing item sharing among avatars, combined with ample capital for magic tools, had already substituted subspatial storage admirably.
This amazing new skill barely registered as more than 'nice to have.'
'Still, it'll make things a lot more convenient. With each avatar able to access subspace directly, we'll have even more leeway going forward.'
His final verdict on Subspace Storage: slightly positive.
But his greed demanded more than that.
'Good thing I didn't stop there. The next one was the real deal.'
Smiling contentedly and nodding, Han Seonghyeon recalled what had happened just moments ago.
The subtle dissatisfaction from prior results leading to another draw, and the outcome of that 'real final-final' random pull.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Forcibly awakening random potential. Acquired skill Limit Break. The third skill after Underwater Breathing and Subspace Storage: Limit Break.
A self-enhancement buff and awakening ability usable by all avatars, regardless of user.
High realm or low—it temporarily allowed one to surpass their own limits.
A trump card, though its severe backlash prevented reckless use. Still, in critical moments, it was a lifeline that would somehow pull through.
"Good, very good. Excellent."
In this atmosphere of closure.
With the scales tipping profitably and full satisfaction, his reach for the 'real final-final-final'… wasn't for any special reason.
'This streak is clearly upward? Feeling lucky today? This time's gotta be the jackpot endgame?'
Simply his boiling greed getting the better of him.
And the gambler possessed by get-rich-quick fever, boldly riding the hot streak…
"Ahem, yeah, stopping here."
As if to balance the scales, the next skill was another mediocre one, snapping him awake.
That was how he'd escaped the random draw's curse right after the fourth skill.
Having somewhat sorted his new abilities, he glared at his possessed Karma balance again, as if double-checking.
Possessed Karma: 3,641,965 The Karma figure with its leading digit gutted.
Still an unimaginable fortune to most, but compared to the over five million just moments ago, it felt lacking.
"……"
Better than total depletion, but reflecting on it, he'd gotten too carried away and burned more Karma than planned.
500,000 per use, four times—that was two million!
'What's done is done. About 3.6 million left… not terrible.'
While he'd focused here, time in the otherworld had flowed swiftly, naturally inflating his Karma.
At this rate, surpassing five million again and hitting six wouldn't take long.
'But.'
If there was a way to accelerate that, maximizing it was only right.
Especially thinking of the Heaven-Defying Society infiltrating Earth and their enraged leader booted from Outerica.
"Gotta farm more Karma. No matter how much I earn, it's never enough."
A sigh escaped with his lament.
In his traditional turf of Outerica, he was already squeezing out near-maximum Karma.
With the 'Apostles of Outer Gods Invasion Incident' aftermath in full swing, stirring more trouble there was tricky.
'Need a breather first. In the meantime, check elsewhere? Time to start sowing seeds…'
With that thought, his consciousness shifted not to Outerica where most avatars clustered, but to a lone outlier.
Hugo, the pioneer dispatched to blaze a new trail.
To the Kanghwan Realm, where he passed time solo under the alias Ha Seung-hoon.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Zhuge Clan of Yungzhong Mountain in Hubei Province.
The mountain they claimed wasn't particularly tall, but the ancient halls and buildings exuded an overwhelming, inexplicable dignity.
Partly from their symbolic authority as the ruling power's stronghold, and partly from the dense energy infused via formations and spells from the foundational design stage.
Once, a mysterious peerless master had appeared and shattered all nearby formations, but after significant time had passed, no trace of that damage remained.
Instead, thorough analysis of the breach had fortified it beyond before, transforming into an even stronger fortress—that was the current Zhuge Clan headquarters.
"Oh ho, this could prove quite useful if handled right."
In a private training ground deep within this ironclad fortress.
Hugo, the young man gripping a sword at its center, furrowed his brow and slowly stroked his chin.
As an avatar, he naturally shared the new skills in real-time.
Underwater Breathing for combat near water, Subspace Storage for daily convenience, and Limit Break as a desperate lifesaver.
And the fourth skill acquired…
'Mimicry, huh. Might be better than expected. In Outerica, maybe not, but here in the Kanghwan Realm, its utility could outshine the others.'
Mimicry allowed imitating techniques seen with one's eyes.
Sounded cheat-like at first glance, but predictably… it came with a slew of conditions, making it far from easy.
'To mimic someone else's magic, you need to be a mage yourself and comprehend it to the activation level.'
Skills touched the realm of superhuman abilities, but Mimicry couldn't overcome the user's inherent limits.
Imitating异種族 with different physiologies was impossible from the start, and without foundational training, other mysteries were out of reach.
'Ultimately, only techniques from those with similar conditions.'
In that sense, the Kanghwan Realm differed from Outerica's melting pot of races and mysteries.
Non-human races were virtually unheard of, and this world's mysteries overwhelmingly centered on the 'martial arts' category.
Even the formation-and-spell renowned Zhuge Clan treated martial arts as essential, not optional.
'In other words…'
Provided he understood martial arts.
'All the martial arts of this world…'
He could steal them with just a glance.