The God of Controls' One-Coin Clear

The chat log scrolled down at a frantic pace.

Hyeonhye's eyes were half-glazed as she stared at the screen.

Even though she was watching it happen, she couldn't believe it.

Skillization.

Alongside skill cards, it was one of the only two systems in the virtual reality game Dantalion that supported visual effects.

Players often said that skill cards belonged to everyone, but skillization belonged only to the chosen.

The condition for skillization was simple.

If you executed a movement with absolute peak-level proficiency inside the game, that action would become skillized.

Examples included Lightweight World Champion boxer Gullista's straight punch, Olympic fencing gold medalist Joachim's flying stab, and Judo gold medalist Kwon Sang-hyuk's throw.

In short, if you performed any action with the same level of perfection as a world-class athlete's signature technique, the phenomenon known as skillization would trigger.

Even with the exact same straight punch from Gullista, only ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the ones executed with high completion would trigger skillization. A sloppy one produced no effect at all.

Only when a practitioner standing at the absolute pinnacle pushed their skill to its limit would skillization occur.

That was how high the bar for skillization was set.

Yet Taeyang's movements had triggered it so effortlessly, so naturally.

“Does this work too?”

Taeyang extended his leg toward the chief guard who had become a human sandbag.

The guard had already lost consciousness the moment he took the whirlwind fist.

Transcendental Jin-gak – Yeomra Kick.

With a heavy thud, the chief guard’s solar plexus caved in deeply.

If he hadn’t been a demon born for battle, that single strike would have shattered his entire form.

“It works!”

Taeyang laughed heartily.

That was already the seventh one.

Even the world’s greatest athletes usually only managed to trigger two or three skillizations. Taeyang had already pulled off seven.

Without a single failure.

“Hm?”

For the first time since Taeyang logged into the game, Hyeonhye clenched her fist tightly. Maybe—just maybe—he really could clear it.

* * *

Clank.

Beyond the door was darkness.

The same darkness that had greeted him when he first entered the stage.

The only difference was that he had entered alone and emerged with two new companions.

The moment the achievements were confirmed, power surged into Taeyang’s body.

The satisfying sensation of every single muscle fiber filling with strength elevated his mind.

“Whoa, this could get addictive.”

Taeyang let out a small chuckle at her timely comment.

“Are those two going to stick with me from now on?”

When a player brought an NPC trapped in a stage out with them, that NPC was treated as a player as well.

In other words, they gained the right to climb the tower.

Players’ destinations changed depending on which door they chose when ascending.

If multiple people passed through the same door at the same time, they would enter the same stage.

“Doesn’t seem worth taking the pickpocket who was opening doors with me.”

Taeyang glanced sideways at Icardi.

Leaning on the quick-handed prisoner for support, Icardi looked pale and exhausted as he walked.

“I want to pick the Gold Coin door though.”

Taeyang wrinkled his nose at her words.

“Hmm. Did I save him for nothing?”

Any character capable of using skillization could pull their own weight no matter where you put them.

Besides, most NPCs in the game were combat machines that only performed battle techniques.

“It just feels like a waste after going through the trouble of saving him.”

The higher you climbed the tower, the more drastically the number of survivors dropped.

Around the tenth floor, you would sometimes meet players you had encountered before.

“Um… thank you.”

“I, too, express my gratitude.”

Taeyang waved his hands at the two prisoners’ words.

“What are you talking about? I only did it to save myself.”

“Still, thank you. May we ask your name…?”

“It’s Taeyang. Yoon Taeyang.”

Icardi spoke with strength in his voice.

“If you had not saved us, we would have forgotten even our hatred for the demons and continued living lives worse than vermin. Even if what you did was nothing special to you, to us it was an act as valuable as a thousand gold coins.”

“W-wait, ‘us’?”

The quick-handed prisoner looked at Icardi with an expression that said ‘what the hell are you talking about?’

Icardi ignored him and continued.

“This grace, as a member of the Central Order of the Kingdom of Tebe, I shall never forget. I will repay it with my life.”

“The Central Order!”

The quick-handed prisoner shouted in shock.

Taeyang, who had no idea what the Central Order was, gave a vague reply.

“Wow, you must be someone amazing.”

Clap clap clap clap.

At that moment, the sound of applause came from the opposite side.

It was Dantalion, sitting in a chair and waiting for Taeyang.

He smiled brightly and praised him.

“Once again, you did not disappoint. It was a truly entertaining spectacle.”

“Demon!”

Icardi staggered and reached for his waist.

Of course, since he had no sword, it was only an empty gesture.

Taeyang stopped Icardi’s outburst.

“Looks like you’ve gained some comrades.”

“Something like that.”

Dantalion shrugged.

“Which door will you choose? The people behind you as well.”

Icardi stood in front of the Recovery door.

The quick-handed prisoner, knowing his place, stood in front of the Reinforcement door.

Taeyang didn’t stop them.

He felt a little regret about Icardi, but he had no desire to choose the Recovery door just to go with him.

“Then, Sir Taeyang. I shall see you on the upper floors.”

“Sure. If we’re both still alive later, let’s meet up.”

Icardi grinned at Taeyang’s words.

After the two prisoners entered, Taeyang paused for a moment.

It was because of what Hyeonhye said.

“Status window?”

The status window was sparse.

He only had one card collected.

The Earring of Conviction. A reward card given for choosing Monk.

If one had to classify it, it was an equipment-type card, but it was merely an accessory that offered no help in combat.

Synergies also required at least two cards to activate, so for now it was just a useless earring hanging from Taeyang’s ear.

“It’s completely empty.”

“A little?”

“Huh? A goal?”

“Is that even possible?”

Hyeonhye explained that filling all three slots usually happened around floor 10.

The fastest players managed it by floor 8.

After confirming Taeyang’s ability through floors 1 and 2, Hyeonhye spoke with confidence.

A monster who could trigger seven different skillizations was already stronger than most named NPCs.

Snagging three achievements each on floors 1 and 2 was also an incredible feat.

If he kept up this pace, by the time Taeyang’s character reached floor 6 he might have the specs of a floor 10 player.

“…Well. If you say so, then I guess that’s how it is.”

Taeyang muttered indifferently as he approached the Gold Coin door.

“Ah, one more thing, Mr. Taeyang.”

Taeyang looked at Dantalion.

Dantalion smiled innocently.

“I sincerely hope you survive. Preferably for a long time. It’s been a while since I’ve seen a human like you.”

The way his eyes curved into a smile irritated Taeyang.

Taeyang answered irritably.

“I’ll do that whether you tell me to or not. Obviously.”

“I don’t know. He’s a Demon King, right? He’s probably a bad guy.”

Boom.

Taeyang disappeared beyond the door.

Left alone, Dantalion hunched over, trying to stifle his laughter. In the end he couldn’t hold it in and burst out laughing loudly.

Wiping the tears from his eyes, he muttered to himself.

“Three cards by floor 6. What a truly fascinating human.”

* * *

Floor 3.

It was the last floor under Dantalion’s management.

Taeyang stood in front of a door that was not the crude dimensional labyrinth gate, but an ornately carved wooden door made of antique material.

It looked exactly like the front gate of a prestigious medieval noble’s mansion.

The moment he checked the door, Hyeonhye let out a sigh.

“What’s wrong?”

There were many different stages on floor 3.

Proof of Glory where you hunted a giant gargoyle, the Dog Fighting Arena where you battled demonic hounds, the Labyrinth Survival against a minotaur, and more.

And the stage Taeyang was facing right now was considered the worst among them.

“Oh, so this is Akinella’s stage?”

Tension filled Hyeonhye’s voice.

Satisfying the bored Akinella was the mission for this stage.

If you could satisfy her, you cleared it.

The problem was Akinella herself.

She was never satisfied.

No matter what you did, it always ended with ‘Now kill each other.’

It inevitably converged into a battle royale.

“This is a checkmate.”

There were limited clear methods, but none of them applied to Taeyang.

“Can’t we just charge in somehow?”

Akinella was far too strong to face with floor 3-level specs.

At that moment, a seductive voice drifted over from the other side of the door.

“How long are you going to stand in front of the door? Aren’t you coming in?”