Chapter 152
Chapter 152
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 152
Chapter Title: ACT 27. Main Player (4)
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The Training Grounds.
That was the name of the place inside the white gate the succubus had opened.
She was something else.
Telling us to use it without a second thought, despite it not being free and without even explaining its full capabilities.
Didn't it seem like she'd rather we didn't use it?
“The Training Grounds… Can we really trust the succubus?”
“She didn’t seem hostile at all, though.”
“How can you trust a devil?”
“I’m not doing it. It feels too sketchy, so I’m out.”
“I…”
The people were divided.
Some wouldn’t go anywhere near the gate, questioning how anyone could trust a succubus.
Others were willing to give it a try, believing she probably wasn’t lying.
“I just don’t get it. Last time, she tried to make us fight amongst ourselves, and now she’s helping us get stronger.”
“There’s something you’ve always said, Oppa. That devils aren’t our enemies.”
“I also said that them *not* being our enemies is the real problem.”
My companions were just as divided.
Even Choi Yeon-soo was lost in thought, her brow furrowed with unease.
A thought suddenly occurred to me, and I checked Choi Yeon-soo’s status window.
‘…Nothing.’
I was checking to see if she’d gained any offensive traits, but nothing had changed.
It seemed I’d still have to use Choi Yeon-soo for information-gathering purposes.
“I’ll go in first.”
Now that my total mana had reached 100, there were a few things I wanted to experiment with.
Besides, there was also some training I could only do in the Training Grounds.
Although that skill was still on cooldown, I knew I’d hit a wall the next time I needed it if I didn't raise my proficiency with it now.
“Oppa, will you be okay? Honestly, I think it’s better not to go in.”
Jo Min-ah asked worriedly.
Jo Min-woo nodded his head vigorously in agreement.
They worry too much.
I couldn't help but smile.
“I think we can trust this one, at least.”
Just as the succubus said, using that gate would allow for highly efficient training in a short amount of time.
If you were lucky, you could even raise your stats and skill ranks through training alone.
Stats would be difficult, but raising skill ranks was definitely possible.
Becoming accustomed to one’s own power.
That naturally leads to an increase in rank.
“If you say so, Se-hyeon-ssi…”
“Then should we give it a try, like Hyung said?”
Seeing my companions change their tune at my words, I let out a small laugh and stepped into the white gate first.
[1,500 coins will be consumed.]
[Player confirmed. Kim Se-hyeon.]
[A damn welcome to the Training Grounds, Kim Se-hyeon-nim.]
I paused at the text that appeared before me as soon as I entered.
…This must be the succubus’s handiwork.
As I stood there dumbfounded, Besial casually threw out a comment.
[You’re really hated, aren’t you?]
“I suppose I deserve it.”
I brought it on myself, after all.
I chuckled and looked around.
It was exactly as I remembered.
The Training Grounds.
A place where all four walls were white, a space that would drive you crazy if you stayed too long.
The only thing out of place was something resembling a gate in the very center.
If I wanted to leave early, I was supposed to use that, right?
[All skill cooldowns are nullified within this Training Grounds.]
[You can summon demonic beasts from your memory for simulated combat.]
[The Training Grounds is fundamentally a world of dreams. A fantasy. It is impossible to die here.]
[However, you may only use the Training Grounds once, and for no longer than 24 hours.]
[23:59:59]
Time began to tick down.
I opened my status window and confirmed that the cooldown for ‘Playable Character’ had also been reset.
‘This is pretty much the main reason I’m here.’
An ability I had only used twice so far.
It was clearly an outstanding skill.
The problem was that when I inherited a specific person's power with this ability, it became difficult to use my own original powers.
‘I have to overcome that.’
The cooldowns were nullified, but the mana consumption remained.
Meaning, I couldn’t use it indefinitely.
If I got too greedy, I could pass out from mana exhaustion, and that would waste all the remaining time.
I had to maintain a delicate balance, pushing myself to the brink of fainting while increasing my proficiency.
[Using unique effect, ‘Playable Character’.]
[1. Lee Seon-yul]
[2. Kim Ji-hyeon]
[3. Han Hyeok-jun]
[4. Jeon Do-jin]
[5. Jo Min-ah]
[Maximum number of connectable characters reached.]
Jeon Do-jin and Jo Min-ah’s names were grayed out.
The ability itself had a 7-day cooldown, but the cooldown for inheriting power from each specific character was 30 days.
I wouldn’t be able to use those two for a long time.
Of course, since all cooldowns were reset here, it was possible.
“Kim Ji-hyeon.”
[Attempting to connect to character ‘Kim Ji-hyeon’.]
[Analyzing past play data.]
[Adjusting sync rate…]
[You have inherited 65% of the target.]
‘65%?’
I thought the succession rate increased with my mana stat.
Even now that I’ve hit a total of 100, it’s only 65%?
Could 65% be the maximum inheritance rate?
Or does it require a mana stat even higher than 100?
‘Can’t tell for now.’
To clear my head, I swung my sword.
I could feel the texture of the wind flowing along the blade.
It was the effect of Wind Sever, Kim Ji-hyeon’s unique ability.
‘If I use Black Flame in this state…’
*Throb.*
My vision wavered, and my head began to throb as if it would split open.
For a moment, I felt like I was going to lose my mind.
This was the phenomenon that occurred when I tried to use my own power while using the power of someone I’d inherited through Playable Character.
Besial chided me.
[Of course. Using two different abilities at the same time is impossible in the first place. Even when you gain traits, you can't have opposing ones like fire and water at the same time.]
“It’s not entirely impossible.”
I barely regained my senses and steadied myself.
“There are quite a few guys out there who have multiple powers.”
[…There’s no way.]
“It’s possible. As long as you break free from the constraints of the system.”
Realizing who I was talking about, Besial scratched his cheek.
[But their cases are completely different from yours.]
“I know. That’s why I have to use a different method.”
[And what’s that?]
“Working myself to death.”
I had already laid the foundation.
I’d raised all my stats to around 90, and my mana had hit a whopping 100.
It was much more bearable than before.
This could be seen as purely a matter of my mental fortitude.
Even with ‘Watcher Beyond the Screen’, this was a completely different problem where I couldn't expect any help from its effects.
I had no choice but to overcome it myself.
‘To make this completely my own.’
I have to make it possible.
Not as me borrowing someone else’s power.
But as me naturally using my own inherent power while also being able to use the power of others.
“Hoo…”
I steadied my breath, and this time, I gathered darkness into my sword.
The headache returned, and I grimaced so hard my eyes squeezed shut, but I didn’t stop.
[Hey, hey! Kim Se-hyeon! You can't die in here, but if you push yourself like that, you’ll become a wreck! This place doesn’t completely restore your mind!]
It felt like drills were boring into both of my temples.
Still, I didn’t stop.
My mouth fell open, and a silent scream echoed.
A pain like being stabbed by hundreds of tiny needles, like my brain was being forcibly pulled out.
*Fsss.*
The darkness swirled weakly around the sword before dissipating.
Unable to endure it any longer, I dropped my sword and collapsed.
[Kim Se-hyeon!!]
“*Gasp, gasp.*”
[Are you insane!? Do you want to pass out the moment you get in here and be done with it?]
“Hah… What’s this? So worried about me.”
[I’m bound to you right now! If you die, I…! Ugh, seriously. How did I end up with a guy like this…]
Besial clutched his head, a look of utter helplessness on his face.
After a short rest, I recovered so quickly it was as if the pain had never been there.
The Training Grounds was a space of dreams and illusions.
By pushing myself to the point of collapse and then taking a short break just before passing out, I could sustain high-intensity training.
I heard they used a similar method in special forces training in the real world.
[Hey. Why are you picking up the sword… You’re going to do it again!?]
“I have to. It’s the only way.”
I have the know-how, but not the talent.
So all I could do was play over and over, tens, hundreds of times, until it became second nature.
That was Kim Se-hyeon, the streamer known as the Strategy King.
[You’re one stubborn bastard.]
After that, Besial didn’t say much else and just silently watched me train.
I don’t know how many times I was on the verge of losing consciousness.
Just as the thought, ‘Was 24 hours always this long?’ crossed my mind…
“…I did it.”
Seeing both lightning and darkness simultaneously imbued in my sword, I could finally let go of the tension.
‘Playable Character’ was, at its core, a borrowed power.
If I had actually acquired a separate lightning-type trait and combined them, I might have even obtained ‘Black Lightning,’ one of the higher-tier lightning abilities.
Though I wasn’t too keen on it since I already had Black Flame.
In the first place, acquiring two different abilities like that was systematically impossible, making it nothing more than a fantasy.
[No way…]
Besial, witnessing me wield two completely different powers at once, even if it was thanks to a skill's effect, couldn't hide his astonishment.
[That should be systematically impossible, so what in the world happened? Kim Se-hyeon. Is that power of yours really from the system?]
“It’s displayed by the system, so of course it is.”
[R-Right…?]
Leaving the puzzled Besial behind, I summoned a demonic beast as a test.
The enemy I defeated the first time I used Playable Character. The King of Waves.
An enemy whose entire skin was covered in a non-conductive slime, making it completely immune to electricity.
*Swoosh!*
The moment it saw me, it showed its hostility and thrust its trident forward.
Perhaps because it was a summon from my own memory.
The trident aiming for my heart seemed to move in slow motion.
I lightly twisted my body to evade, then immediately swung my sword.
*Crackle!*
The King of Waves was cut down with surprising ease.
The darkness consumed the slime, and then the electric current spread throughout its body, burning it to a crisp.
Even if it has a counter to one element, the annihilating power of darkness negates it. The synergy is good.
[Insane.]
Besial offered a brief comment upon seeing the spectacle.
It was a single word, but it said everything.
I had made some progress.
My head still ached a little, but I could now handle both powers without much trouble.
It had reached a point where I could even inherit the power of Jeon Do-jin, one of the top S-ranks, without issue, which meant I could use it on anyone without problems.
‘Though it’ll still be a few days before I can actually wield this much power in reality.’
I clicked my tongue.
No matter how I looked at it, the cooldown was too long.
Maybe it would improve a little on the day my still-sealed unique ability was fully unlocked.
Plus, if the succession rate got any higher, the difficulty of controlling it would surely increase, so it seemed wise to prepare some countermeasures.
[00:00:00]
[Your session has ended. Good work.]
[You must pass a test to take the results of your training out of the Training Grounds.]
[The test will be set according to the player’s level.]
[The test will now begin.]
Of course.
There was no way a devil would help a human so readily.
I clicked my tongue and turned my gaze toward the source of the hostility.
All sorts of demonic beasts I had fought at least once before were emanating killing intent.
Among them was even Ignis, whom I had defeated just a short while ago.
A dry laugh escaped my lips.
‘According to the player’s level’?
How was that any different from a teacher telling their students the next exam would be easy?
Of course, that didn't mean I couldn't do it.
[Using ‘Army of Darkness’.]
“Zeta.”
At my call, darkness immediately coalesced, and Zeta appeared.
Summoning two commander-level entities at the same time was still impossible.
This one was only affected by ‘Purely Invested Stats’.
To use him effectively, I needed to gauge Zeta's exact combat prowess.
[The soldiers are being assimilated by the power of ‘Death Walker’.]
[The soldiers are changing to the assassin type.]
“Kill them all.”
The moment the order was given, the soldiers vanished without a trace.
*Swish!*
*Crunch!*
They were attacked by something unseen.
In the blink of an eye, their comrades became cold corpses.
Such a one-sided battle was more than enough to sow great confusion and fear.
Among them, Zeta stood out the most.
His movements left afterimages, making it seem as if there were ten of him, and with a single, concise slash, demonic beasts fell, their vitals struck.
A slow smile spread across my face.
An assassination unit with no physical form, led by the strongest assassin.
The most crucial card for the coming war between factions has fallen into my hands at just the right time.