Chapter 40
Chapter 40
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: uly
Chapter: 40
Chapter Title: Additional Skill
-----------------------------------------------------------------
For now, the threat was gone, so there were no issues... but I had no way of knowing what second skill Seung-hee had picked.
In the end, the only option was to threaten her... but I'd figure that out once she woke up.
I groped Seung-hee's chest as she slept and stared at the skill window.
An empty skill slot. Just looking at it was thrilling.
A second skill... Why had this suddenly appeared?
I opened the list first.
When I picked my first skill, the moment I saw Sleep Skill, my eyes rolled back, and I couldn't properly check the others, so there were a lot of unfamiliar ones.
Should I write these down? Yeah, that seemed like the smart move.
I went through the list and jotted them down on paper.
Quite a few. Even total garbage skills were in there.
Cigarette Creation... Ha. Why the hell does this exist? It's on the same level as Can Beer Creation. Soju Creation... Oil Creation? What even is this?
There were more creation skills than I'd thought. Was this ruined world telling us to stock up on luxuries and survive?
But what would Cigarette Creation even give you? There are so many types of cigarettes. Did it spit out random ones?
As I copied down the skills, Seung-hee woke up.
"Wh... why'd you put me to sleep and tie me up again..."
Even tied up, Seung-hee was surprisingly calm. Quiet was good, but wasn't this too composed?
"What'd you pick for your second skill?"
"Huh?"
"What second skill did you pick? Don't make me repeat myself."
"Second skill? What's that? Can you pick another skill?"
"You haven't checked your skill window yet?"
"Uh... yeah. But my eyes are covered right now, so I can't..."
I couldn't uncover both her eyes and mouth at the same time. I wasn't about to gamble with my life.
Skills that needed a target required line of sight or verbal commands. Block one, and you sealed the skill completely.
Plus, she seemed to be subtly nudging me to uncover her eyes... Suspicious.
"Your eyes will be uncovered when you wake up, so check then. Don't pick something random. You need a useful skill if you want to keep yourself in one piece. And don't do anything stupid. Unless you want to live tied up forever. Or just die right away."
I tried threatening her, but I knew it had no real force.
Frustrating. Wasn't there a better way?
For now, I put Seung-hee back to sleep and finished copying the skills.
As I scrolled down, Sleep Skill was a different color. Probably because I already had it—locked so I couldn't pick it again.
Skills of every kind were there.
Why hadn't I thought of this sooner? I should've been more careful.
No. Thinking back on the situation, I would've picked Sleep no matter what. Hell, picking Sleep might be why I was still alive.
I copied them all down.
Now I had to decide on my second skill.
I narrowed it down to a few candidates. The ones that seemed best for survival.
Flight, Charm, Invisibility, Nearby Human Detection.
I didn't even consider attack skills. I'd never seen an efficient one in this world that you could actually use.
They didn't auto-fire or home in like guided missiles.
So, ruled them out from the start. Same with melee combat skills.
Tons of martial arts skills. No idea why. Lightning Fist or whatever? But to land it, you had to expose yourself, right?
Honestly, if someone charged at me with lightning crackling on their fist, I'd be grateful.
Put 'em to sleep, done. I didn't care how fast or deadly Lightning Fist was—if it didn't hit, it was over.
And defense skills... Useless too.
Best not to get detected at all. The moment you exposed yourself, death risk skyrocketed exponentially.
That's why I despised those women who'd picked Shield. Activating it was like showing your entire hand.
This is all I've got. Once Shield drops, I'm defenseless and dead.
Sure, if you had reliable companions around, it might help.
But no one was trustworthy forever. At least, not in my book.
Maybe it was because I was a total social shut-in. I didn't buy into this trust between people crap.
Reducing possibilities to zero beat relying on flimsy faith. That was my survival philosophy, anyway.
So, pass on defense skills.
Creation skills... Nah. Too annoying to even talk about.
Though sure, booze or cigs might be gold to some.
In this hellhole world, guzzling alcohol and smoking freely before dying didn't sound bad.
And leveraging that to prove your value so no one offs you... Not terrible.
But it wasn't perfect survival.
What if you ran into a lunatic like me? Social skills meant jack for survival.
Pass.
Healing skills... There were a decent number.
Beyond Seung-hee's Heal-like skill, there was disease cure and status recovery.
Again, perfect for group living.
But not for me. Though... if possible, it'd be best to teach Seung-hee disease cure.
Nothing beat having someone who could heal and cure diseases in a safe spot.
But if it was someone else using it, things got tricky.
If they refused while you were dying from wounds or illness, you were screwed.
Then we'd all die together.
In the end, two paths.
Force a trustworthy party.
Or live solo, thoroughly and safely.
I hadn't ruled out Flight or Invisibility, but they weren't the best.
They just looked good—not perfect.
Invisibility without sound or presence nullification was meh.
I'd seen that with Davinci. Sure, used well, it could work...
Flight was the same. Both together? Maybe. Solo? Lacking.
If someone with Flight showed up in front of me... I'd turn them into mincemeat.
Charm.
Tough call.
I knew its power. That bitch Se-hee was living large with it.
But what if a guy like me charmed another guy?
Fuck... Didn't want to think about it. Rape?
Plus, did it even work on same sex? Grabbing Se-hee and interrogating her would be ideal.
If only opposite sex... Still good. Harem city.
In this shit-ruined world, a harem was peak male fantasy.
If my stamina was infinite, I'd pick Charm. But reality? Three rounds and my balls ached.
Wasting this chance for fleeting pleasure was dumb. Charm was good, but... women were scarce.
Capturing skilled women? What was this, Pokémon?
Nearby Human Detection.
This was what I wanted. Problem: zero explanation.
No clue on range or how it displayed. Fucking skill creators—I'd kill them if I met them. Idiots.
If it detected humans nearby, nothing beat it.
Relax in safety, dominate ambushes or preemptive strikes.
Biggest worry: range.
If it was "Detects humans within 2m"... I'd off myself.
If a minimap popped with humans out to 100m? Jackpot.
But no way it was that OP.
If it was, I wouldn't be alive now.
Dilemma... dilemma... dilemma...
Charm or Detection? Charm let me test on Seung-hee right away.
Whoa. 30 seconds till Seung-hee woke. Out first.
I grabbed my notes and stepped outside as she stirred.
"Hey."
"Yes?"
"Check your skill window. See if there's an empty slot below."
"Nothing's there? What am I supposed to check?"
Ugh... Frustrating. Couldn't tell if she was lying.
Pick Charm? If it controlled reason, I could spot lies.
Put her to sleep again.
Thought it over.
Unless Seung-hee was an Oscar-level actress... it seemed legit. But no certainty.
Ha... Fuck, tough choice.
Charm... Detection... Charm... Detection...
Alright. Charm it is.
Test thoroughly on Seung-hee, then Charm that bitch Se-hee later.
Charm on a Charmer... Unlimited charm? Or immune? Damn... Complicated.
Solve what's in front of me first. Learn Charm, master it. Then tackle Se-hee.
I tapped the empty slot and selected Charm.
What the fuck? What bullshit is this? Coins? And 300,000? You kidding?
Sure... I had about that much. Had to, killing so many.
I had 440,000 Coins now. But skills costing 300,000? The initial ones were 500 Coins?
Least 600 kills to afford this? Fuck... These creators were insane.
Ah... Makes sense. Guys who made this world weren't sane.
Checked others.
Flight's 200,000? Why the difference?
Invisibility too?
Look at that. Nearby Human Detection also 300,000? What... skill tiers?
Unexpected intel. Precious info from this stingy skill window that gave nothing.
First skill was free—no Coins.
Second demanded Coins. Tons.
And varied by skill. Crucial data.
Creators tiered them, likely by performance.
I started tapping through each one.