Unique Skill
"Grrraaahhh."
No sooner had we stepped into the dungeon than the zombies nearby welcomed us with open arms.
"Maybe it's 'cause we just fought those goblins, but they don't feel as threatening as before."
Lee Jae-wook tilted his head, staring at the zombies.
"Obviously, dumbass. You're C-rank now. Honestly, bringing that rank in here is straight-up cheating."
"Hahaha, you think?"
He scratched the back of his head and grinned ear to ear at my words.
God, he's such a simpleton.
On the way here, Jae-wook had spilled everything—how he'd leveled up his rank, and about the new skill he'd picked up.
Woke up with a higher rank? I can't even.
He'd said he felt off when he woke up, checked his status window, and that's when he realized his rank had gone up. The new skill was a top-tier B-rank physical enhancement. Probably got activated while he was fighting goblins, pushed him right to the edge of a rank-up, and a good night's sleep sealed the deal.
Anyway, this guy's growth rate was anything but normal.
So now it's just that A-rank Unyielding Will left, huh?
At this pace, he'd hit A-rank before graduation no problem. Governments and guilds would be lining up to snag him then. If he had the talent, I could probably push him all the way to S-rank. Better to have a reliable buddy watching your back in the big moments than going solo.
But first things first—time to check on myself.
I rolled my neck, popped my shoulders, and opened my status window to review the situation.
Better hold off on Lightning Bolt for a while.
Without it, all I had left was Leap.
I glanced around at the zombies swarming from every direction.
Damn, can't just hop around like a grasshopper everywhere.
I grumbled under my breath and turned to Jae-wook. Had to check the most important thing first.
"Hey, Jae-wook."
"Yeah?"
"Hit 'em with a Powerful Strike. Your rank's up, so the power should be too, right?"
"Oh yeah, good call."
His face lit up as he clapped his fists together and bellowed with bravado.
"Come at me, you zombie bastards!"
He swung a mighty punch at the nearest zombie.
Thwack!
The zombie's head rocketed off into the distance.
What he'd just used was the D-rank skill Powerful Strike. The flow of mana powering it was now crystal clear, like I could reach out and grab it.
Perfect. Got it.
I waited for the system alert.
Huh?
Nothing. Dead silence.
"Grrraaahhh~"
"Get lost, you shits!"
Thwack!
Just the zombies charging and Jae-wook smashing heads with his yells.
Shit. Busted.
Did that mean skills consumed by the roulette couldn't be reacquired? This was bad.
I stared at my hands, then at Jae-wook going ham.
"Grraaah!"
One of the zombies Jae-wook missed came at me.
Damn it!
On instinct, I punched following the mana flow of Powerful Strike I'd just visualized.
Thwump!
The zombie flew back with a hole blasted through its chest.
That's when the alert hit my head.
You have comprehended the essence of striking. Strike has been registered as a unique skill.
Strike (Lv.1)
What the...?
I tilted my head at the "unique skill acquired" message and the level 1 tag on Strike.
What's that about?
From what I knew, skills came with their own fixed ranks. Higher-rank versions of the same type were just more efficient.
But this new one was labeled a unique skill with a level indicator slapped on it.
Since I created it, I guess I have to level it up myself?
Professor Kim Tae-min had said something like that. If you have talent, there's no reason you can't recreate and systematize the techniques from that other world here.
Hell, the strike I'd just thrown was basically mimicking the mana flow from Powerful Strike.
The system must've interpreted it broadly as a "strike," hence the name.
This wasn't some narrow skill like Powerful Strike—it was a broad-concept Strike, meaning its effects could apply to damn near any attack as I developed it.
This is jackpot.
I inwardly cheered while pondering the new skill. Felt like I'd jumped onto a whole new track, fundamentally different from before.
Come to think of it, Professor Kim Tae-min didn't have anything like this.
It matched what he'd described, but the results seemed to manifest differently between us. His status window had no unique skills.
So... this is something only happening to me.
Skills I'd burned for the roulette: seven in total.
Powerful Strike is sorted. Left with...
B-rank: Berserker's Roar, Leaping Strike, High-Speed Movement. A-rank: Advanced Stealth, Berserker, Advanced Heal. Six altogether.
Of those, the ones I'd actually used enough to get familiar: Berserker's Roar, Leaping Strike, High-Speed Movement. For A-ranks, only Advanced Stealth once. Never touched Berserker or Advanced Heal.
Wait, no—used Berserker once.
Oh yeah, against that Chauka tribe chief's son or whatever. Half out of my mind back then, so it hadn't stuck.
So the only one I never used: Advanced Heal.
Damn, what a waste. I smacked my lips like a kid who'd had his unopened New Year's money snatched by Mom.
Couldn't grasp its mechanics at all since it was a roulette reward.
At least got Strike as a unique skill from Powerful Strike.
Let's try the others too.
I yelled at Jae-wook, who was gleefully pounding ghouls.
"Hey, Lee Jae-wook!"
"Huh? What?"
"I'll herd some zombies your way—use Warrior's Cry when the moment's right."
"Got it. Don't overdo the herding."
He waved me off like no big deal, focused on his zombies.
Guy's already doing kiting hunts like a pro.
Every hunter's dream, the ultimate flex: kiting hunts. Saw an A-rank tanker do it against C-ranks once.
Was so damn jealous back then.
Standing tall against a massive orc horde? As a C-rank myself, unthinkable power move. F-rank kiting barely covered dungeon fees anyway.
But things are different now.
Unlike back when I grinded techniques here against zombies with zero item drops, now I could level my skills.
I weaved through zombies, savoring Jae-wook's C-rank glow-up, and smirked.
Work for it, you big bear.
Dashing toward the zombies, I recalled the mana flow from using High-Speed Movement.
Let's give it a shot.
Thud, thump, thwump.
Mana burst from my soles, shoving me forward.
Whoa.
Botched the mana control a few times, nearly ate dirt, but kept balancing and trying.
High-Speed Movement was a cut above C-rank Instant Acceleration—sustained high speed required super precise mana flow.
Skills auto-corrected that stuff, but doing it manually? Like a baby trying to sprint before crawling.
Whew, this ain't easy.
Rolled through some filthy sludge pits a couple times, then shelved full High-Speed Movement for now. Start with just blasting mana for speed boosts.
Need a mindset shift.
After nailing Strike from Powerful Strike, no need to sweat the tricky ones.
"Grraaahhh!"
"Grrah! Grraaah!"
"Grraaahhh!"
Zombies swarmed as my jerky mana bursts made me speed up and slow erratically.
"Catch me if you can~"
Kiting and skill practice combo. Got the hang of sole-mana control amid the horde.
Oh yeah! That's the feel.
Speed variance shrank to steady—then the sweet alert.
You have comprehended the essence of acceleration. Acceleration has been registered as a unique skill.
Acceleration (Lv.1)
Nailed it!
No need to split hairs between Instant Acceleration or High-Speed Movement—got the core Acceleration unique skill.
Blast hard and sustain for high-speed; short burst for instant. Simple.
Unlocking these higher-concept skills made the old system look inefficient and one-dimensional. Like off-the-rack suits versus bespoke Italian tailoring.
No wonder innate ranks were stuck.
Awakeners got power easy but hit a ceiling. Closed world. Handed strength without effort or sacrifice?
That's when I thought of the Pathfinder, who empowered the first seven.
Bet he knows something.
Growing urge to meet him.
"Grraaah!"
Zombies closing in screamed like I'd die if they grabbed me. Snapped out of it, refocused on herding.
I looped wide, dragging every zombie in range. Dipped into their aggro to bait the non-preemptive ones.
"Get ready!"
Jae-wook puffed his chest, inhaled deep, and unleashed a massive roar.
"RAAAAAHHH!"
Alert in my head.
All abilities increased by 10% for 30 minutes.
Got it!
Wonder what unique skill Warrior's Cry turns into? I clutched my pounding chest with excitement and grinned.
Jae-wook's face, meanwhile, drained pale.
"Dude! Too many!"