Skill Fusion Gambles
Mu-hyuk looked at Sung Min-woo and spoke up.
"Can't summon those two at the same time, huh."
"Oh, really?"
"Yeah."
"Kinda disappointing. But it's still pretty good, right?"
"It's fine."
"Eh? Not thrilled?"
"Nah."
"Then?"
"It's jackpot, you idiot."
"Ah-ha!"
Even if simultaneous summoning was impossible, the Dark Healing Spirit was a skill with efficiency that outshone anything else.
Just imagining the little guy flying around, healing his skeletons, brought a smile to his face.
And this was only from the first combination skill. The possibilities ahead were even more exciting. There were still plenty of skills left to try combining.
"Oppa, this spirit is so weird."
Ye-rin, who had been admiring the spirit up until then, murmured to herself.
"Hm? What's weird?"
"It's black, but it gives off white light."
"Ah, yeah."
"And up close, it's kinda cute too..."
As Ye-rin reached out her hand, the spirit landed gently on her palm.
"It listens to you well."
"Hehe."
While she continued fawning over the spirit, Sung Min-woo seemed to have been mulling things over in his own way.
"I've been thinking hard about it."
"Yeah?"
"You said there are specific rules for combinations, right?"
"Yeah. Three of them."
"What are they?"
"The first one is..."
The discussion naturally shifted to skill combinations.
"So there are three conditions like that..."
Ye-rin, having overheard, chimed in with a question.
"Oppa, what about skills attached to items? They don't work?"
"Nope."
"Storm, Explosive Power, Wind Step. None of them?"
"That's right."
"Hmm, then what's left is..."
Still, there were quite a few options.
More than he'd expected.
"What if we combine Skeleton Warrior and Archer?"
"Either it'll fail all three times, or we'll get some ridiculously weird skill. One or the other. And honestly, that combo doesn't appeal to me much."
"Huh? Why not?"
"Assuming no simultaneous summons, I'd have to resummon from scratch and level up the skill again. Just thinking about it gives me chills."
"Oh, right, there's that downside. Depending on how you use it, the results change completely, so yeah, it's tricky."
"Very."
"So what're you gonna try first?"
"Dunno."
Mu-hyuk was honestly pondering it himself.
"How about..."
In the meantime, Sung Min-woo and Ye-rin tossed out various combination ideas, which proved quite helpful.
After hearing them all, Mu-hyuk sank into thought. The other three watched him quietly, chatting among themselves.
"By the way, did I tell you about that? It was just a few months after Illusion launched. We had a high school reunion, first one in ages, everyone together. Great vibe, but this guy Heo Young-chan..."
"Whoa, and then?"
"Mu-hyuk crushed him with levels."
"Huh? With levels?"
"Yeah, said he hit level 31 in two months, and the kid totally lost it."
"No way! That's insane. Two months...!"
"Right? He's seriously amazing. And now he's rank 2."
Mu-hyuk's ears were deaf to it all.
Three failures and it's gone forever.
So how he combined them was crucial.
Hmm...!
About five minutes passed.
First Skill: Parcheon Archery First Form - One Point Shot
Second Skill: White Tiger Swordsmanship Second Form - White Tiger Wave
Would you like to combine these two skills?
[Yes/No]
One Point Shot fired seven arrows at once.
White Tiger Wave was relentless linked attacks.
What skill would emerge from combining them?
Bow and sword—totally different categories. It felt like a bigger gamble was worth it.
This combination was essentially a test.
To see if it failed here, or succeeded and opened new possibilities.
[Progress rising...]
The percentage climbed.
Hit 100.
He swallowed his disappointment at the message.
Again.
No giving up—he tried once more.
[1%, 2%, 3%, 4%...]
Patiently waiting...
Another failure.
Hmm.
Bow and sword just didn't mix, huh.
But he didn't want the safe route. This was a test, after all.
Of course, he wasn't blindly sacrificing them knowing failure was certain.
His title that boosted luck in probability-based things surely applied to combinations too.
Low odds, but possible success.
Proving mismatched affinities could combine would expand his options immensely.
If it works...!
He clenched his fist, resolved.
Yeah, one more time.
Skill 'Parcheon Archery First Form - One Point Shot' and 'White Tiger Swordsmanship Second Form - White Tiger Wave' are merging.
[Progress...]
Mu-hyuk closed his eyes, waiting silently.
Thump, thump.
His heart pounded wildly.
Time felt ample. He slowly opened his eyes.
Please, let it say 'success'...
Hope became reality.
"Woooah!"
Mu-hyuk let out a triumphant shout, just like before.
*
Not long after.
Deep wrinkles formed between Mu-hyuk's brows.
"Oppa, what's wrong?"
"Ah, failed."
"All three times?"
Mu-hyuk nodded weakly.
So close, damn it.
He'd tried combining Parcheon Archery Second Form with White Tiger Swordsmanship First Form, but all three failed.
Now those two skills were locked out of any future combinations.
It's fine. Think of it as an offering.
Sacrifices before the real combos.
Three straight failures meant higher success odds for the next one.
First Skill: Parcheon Archery Third Form - Parcheon Shot
Second Skill: White Tiger Swordsmanship Third Form - White Tiger Slash
Would you like to combine these two skills?
[Yes/No]
Third Forms from each martial art.
Yes.
Failure.
Again.
Second try, same result.
Failure again.
For the last chance, he prayed for luck and hit yes.
The percentage crept up agonizingly slow.
Too slow.
If success waited ahead, the catharsis would be huge—but failure would hit tenfold harder.
Please...!
Not First or Second Forms—these were Thirds.
This had to work.
Reached 100%.
Mu-hyuk bowed his head at the message.
Damn...!
Failed again.
Too ambitious?
He sank back into doubt.
Understandable—some combos promised incredible skills if they succeeded.
He needed a baseline for those odds.
But keep gambling like this, and good skills might vanish.
Better secure a few sure successes first.
Combine Strength Increase and Stamina Increase?
Would succeed.
But predictable outcome. And if no simultaneous use like the Dark Healing Spirit, not much help.
Yeah, better...
Combine attack and support skills.
Albetar's Talent.
After using a skill, he selected.
Power Dash and Strength Increase.
Would you like to combine these two skills?
[Yes/No]
Yes. Wait.
Please succeed.
Six straight failures. White Tiger Swordsmanship and Parcheon Archery were gone. If this failed too, he'd explode.
99%...!
Hit 100%.
He gritted his teeth hard at the success message.
Yes...!
He checked Destroyer's Charge.
Charge ferociously at the enemy, inflicting massive damage.
Damage: (Physical Defense + Magic Defense + Physical Attack Power) × 340%
Required MP: 250
Cooldown: 60 seconds
Title made it level 3.
Original Power Attack Lv1 was 300% of phys/mag defense. Same here.
Seemed +20% per level.
Plus physical attack power added. Strength Increase's influence.
More direct impact than expected. He smiled.
Succeeded on first try, too.
Meant this was stable.
One more for confirmation.
Now, Multi Shot and Stamina Increase.
As expected.
See...!
Not jackpot like Dark Healing Spirit, but a solid attack skill nonetheless.
This'll help a lot.
Back-to-back successes built his confidence.
Next: Weakness and Cross Slash.
Success again.
"Ooh...!"
Now for something better.
First, more offerings.
Selected White Tiger Step and Lightness Skill.
Fail. Fail. Fail again.
Next: Skeleton Cavalry and Mage.
Failed, as expected.
Three straight—locked out forever. But he pressed on.
Skeleton Warrior, Big Skeleton.
No real hope for a new skeleton type.
Just fodder before the big ones.
So he picked unneeded skills.
×3, as planned.
Hm, one more offering?
Skills too valuable to rush.
Yeah, one more.
Picked two unlikely to combo easily: Skeleton Archer Summon and Warhorse.
Once more.
Would you like to try combining the same skills again?
[Yes/No]
He selected yes without hesitation.
It was a journey for failure, after all.
Skill 'Skeleton Cavalry Archer Summon' is influenced by 'Warhorse Summon' and 'Skeleton Archer Summon'.
The level of 'Skeleton Cavalry Archer Summon' has increased.
And then, a twist occurred.