The Taste of Synergy
The dragon soldier suppressed his agitation with visible effort.
A heroic being born from Ismenios's fangs.
Though weakened by the penalties of the Trial, he was not so frail that a player who had just entered the tutorial could push him around.
‘My sword cannot reach him.’
Whoosh—!
The gladius sliced through empty air.
A few strands of Jinho’s hair fluttered in the blade’s wake.
At the same moment, Jinho stepped forward with clever footwork and closed the distance again.
‘I can’t let him get close.’
In raw power, the dragon soldier held the advantage.
In agility, Jinho held a slight edge.
But Jinho possessed a skill powerful enough to overturn the difference in strength between them.
[Herculean Strength].
The once-gleaming armor had long since lost its luster.
After absorbing part of a primordial seed and strengthening his body, even the dragon soldier’s weakened armor could not withstand the full force of [Herculean Strength].
Herculean Strength
「Things will not go exactly as you wish.」
The dragon soldier twisted his wrist sharply.
The reckless motion made his joints tremble, but it allowed him to completely redirect the sword’s trajectory.
“Yeah. That’s still within my calculations.”
Jinho bent at the waist, easily dodging the gladius that came slashing behind his back.
The dragon soldier was full of openings.
「This isn’t over!」
He twisted his wrist again and brought the blade down vertically.
Though slightly weaker, it was a strike that could inflict a fatal wound if it landed cleanly.
It was an attack calculated for the moment Jinho tried to close the distance again.
However.
“Are you dancing with that sword or what?”
Jinho pulled his body back a beat earlier, as if he had predicted it.
「Why? Why did you retreat when I clearly left an opening?!」
“Because I’m tired.”
Jinho shook out his arm.
His muscles were twitching with minor spasms.
It was the aftereffect of using [Herculean Strength] repeatedly.
「You charged in without any intention of attacking from the start?」
“Yep. I enjoyed watching you freak out and dance with your sword all by yourself.”
「Ughhhh!」
Even while mocking him, Jinho didn’t forget to loosen the muscles in his arm.
Stamina recovery speed is greatly increased while your feet remain on the ground.
Duration: Permanent (while condition is met)
As long as his feet touched the ground, it was a permanent buff.
The Blessing of the Earth Mother allowed him to squeeze out every ounce of strength, which greatly reduced the penalty of [Herculean Strength]—a skill he couldn’t use frequently.
It was thanks to that blessing that he could hold his own against the dragon soldier, who surpassed him in both strength and stamina.
As the battle dragged on, the victor and the defeated became increasingly clear.
Jinho hadn’t allowed a single effective hit.
On the other hand, the dragon soldier’s armor was so crushed that its original shape was unrecognizable.
Crunch!
Finally, Jinho’s fist caved in the dragon soldier’s throat.
Herculean Strength
Massive damage to the cervical vertebrae
The battered dragon soldier collapsed to the ground.
「Great warrior. This victory is yours.」
“I know.”
「You truly are an outstanding warrior. If we have the chance to meet again…」
The dragon soldier couldn’t finish his sentence. His head drooped lifelessly.
Clatter. The half-dismantled armor, crushed in multiple places, rolled across the floor.
You have gained a massive amount of experience.
Your level has increased.
Even weakened, it had been a level 50 monster.
His level shot up by one in a single leap.
Only one level could be gained at a time.
No matter how strong the enemy, the experience bar would never exceed 100%.
Hidden Quest — Ares’s Trial
🎁 Reward: Token of Valor
◈ Strength +15
◈ Agility +12
◈ Mental Resistance +10
◈ Contains the skill [Valor]
Valor
Grade: ★★★
Type: Active
Removes all mental debuffs.
“Whoa.”
A sigh of admiration slipped out involuntarily.
To think a Legendary-grade artifact would drop in the tutorial stage.
He had heard about it from the explorer Laurent, but he never expected such an outrageous reward.
‘Ares’s rewards change depending on how you fight, after all.’
The reward for the trial depended on how one fought the dragon soldier.
It was nearly impossible for a player who had just entered the Tower of Babel to defeat a dragon soldier.
The true purpose of the hidden quest wasn’t to defeat the dragon soldier, but the process of fighting him.
Seems like that pushover—no, that great God of War—has taken quite a liking to me.
The moment he received the reward, Ares’s presence began to fade.
The hidden quest was complete.
There was no longer any reason to linger in the tutorial stage.
“See you around, O great God of War.”
Since he had received a nice reward, he made sure to offer some lip service as well.
The uninvited guest had left.
Now he no longer needed to worry about anyone watching.
Ares’s reward had been a side objective.
The real reason he had come to this temple was the dragon soldier’s corpse.
* * *
The dragon soldier’s corpse.
I swallowed hard.
Even though it had been weakened, its essence was the real deal.
It was something I had experienced often in my previous life.
Even if a monster had been weakened by the Tower system’s interference, there was never any penalty when using Devour.
I placed my hand on the dragon soldier’s corpse.
◈ Essence Grade: Legendary
◈ Health +15
◈ Endurance +20
◈ Magic Power +17
◈ Skill — Dragon Heart acquired
A satisfying fullness spread through my stomach.
The dragon soldier’s essence poured new strength into my body.
“Hehehe.”
The true value of Devour wasn’t simply absorbing stats.
When you completely absorbed 100% of a creature’s essence, you could obtain not only its stats but its special abilities as well.
Stealing the opponent’s powers!
Ordinary players obtained skills through repeated training, study, or skill books.
But I could steal unique skills just by defeating monsters.
I checked the newly acquired ability.
Dragon Heart
Grade: ★★★★★
Type: Passive
Uses the heart as a core to accumulate mana.
Simply breathing restores mana, and mana manipulation becomes far more efficient.
* Magic Power +30
* Mana consumption -20%
Just this alone was an incredible option.
My magic power increased by 30, and mana consumption dropped.
Right now my mana pool was already far higher than an average player’s, so the effect wasn’t immediately noticeable.
But once I obtained more skills through Devour, this would become an enormous help.
However, the system voice did not stop there.
The Dragon Soldier’s ‘Dragon Heart’ resonates with the Devour ability.
Additional Magic Power will be gained when using Devour.
Skills with similar properties would resonate with each other.
Either the skill coefficient would increase, or a new ability would be added.
This was the so-called Synergy effect.
The reason I had pushed myself to challenge the dragon soldier.
It was all to minimize any loss when using Devour.
I had gained everything I could.
I looked up at the ceiling.
Sand poured down through the wide-open door.
…Do I really have to climb back up there?
With my feet planted firmly on the ground, I activated Herculean Strength and leaped with all my might.
* * *
I emerged from the pit.
My entire body was covered in sand during the climb, but the number of gains I had made left me in a good mood.
‘My next target is on the outskirts of the wasteland.’
After walking for some time, I discovered a green slime the size of a pig.
A slime. The scavenger of the wasteland.
To find one so quickly.
“Lucky me.”
It was the next essence I needed to obtain after the dragon soldier.
As I slowly closed the distance, the slime sluggishly turned its body toward me.
Since it had no eyes, nose, or mouth, it was impossible to tell which side was its face.
Twenty meters.
Ten meters.
When I reached the three-meter mark, the slime began to wriggle.
‘A tricky opponent for beginner players.’
A monster whose entire body was made of mucus.
Because it could disperse impact, it possessed considerable physical resistance.
To hunt a slime effectively, one needed fire or lightning skills, or the appropriate equipment.
I had neither, but I did have a strategy.
When the distance between me and the slime shrank to one meter.
“Chuuuurrrrp!”
With a bizarre sound, it spread its mucus body wide.
A slime’s primary method of attack was its digestive fluid.
It would shove its prey into its body and dissolve it.
‘Its digestive fluid can even melt steel.’
It required prolonged exposure, of course.
But because it drastically reduced equipment durability after a single fight, beginners tended to avoid them.
‘Slimes are tricky, but they aren’t invincible.’
The slime had spread out like pizza dough.
In its center, a green core came into view.
Now.
Crack! My fist shot forward, and the green core shattered in a single blow.
I hadn’t even needed to use Herculean Strength.
“Chuuurrp?!”
The widely spread slime let out a death cry and collapsed into a puddle on the spot.
Experience +2.1%
“Even tough opponents become easy once you know the trick.”
A slime only exposed its core when it tried to swallow prey.
The timing lasted roughly 1.5 seconds.
If you aimed for that moment, even a complete beginner could kill a slime easily.
Of course, failure meant a bit of skin would melt off.
Now it was time to devour its essence.
Without hesitation, I plunged my hand into the green mucus.
Once the core was destroyed, the digestive fluid evaporated, so there was no risk of injury.
◈ Essence absorbed: 3.1%
◈ Strength +0.1
◈ Health +0.2
The ability points gained from devouring one monster totaled 0.3 points.
Besides the bonus points from leveling up, I could raise my stats this way too.
I licked my lips while looking at the slime’s remains—nothing but an empty husk.
Unlike the named monster, the dragon soldier, ordinary monsters required repeated hunting to reach 100% absorption.
I rubbed my stomach.
This hunger would only be satisfied by devouring even more essences.
I removed my hand from the slime’s empty husk.
From now on, it was time for Devour.
* * *
I wandered the wasteland in search of more slimes.
Perhaps this area was their territory, because I quickly found others.
“Churrup!”
The slime’s body collapsed.
Green liquid spilled across the ground.
I repeatedly thrust my hand into the slime’s body.
After some time had passed.
◈ Skill — Dissolution acquired
Dissolution
Grade: ★
Type: Passive
Increases absorption efficiency when consuming food.
Just like with the dragon soldier, I had obtained the monster’s unique skill.
What use was a skill that only slightly increased absorption efficiency when eating?
‘There is no such thing as a bad skill in this world.’
I smiled.
Dissolution.
At first glance, it seemed like an option with no clear use.
What good was a slight increase in absorption rate when eating food?
That was what I had thought in the past as well.
Until I discovered the true value of Devour.
The Slime’s ‘Dissolution’ resonates with the Devour ability.
Absorption rate increase has been added to Devour. Devour efficiency has increased by 10%.
Synergy with Devour!
Synergy effects did not care about skill grade.
As long as the skills were even remotely similar, they would almost certainly produce a synergy effect.
‘That’s why I prioritized the slime essence.’
I didn’t choose the slime essence as my top priority for no reason!
Knowledge from my previous life.
Experience accumulated through countless hardships while climbing the Tower of Babel.
I knew exactly which monster essences created synergy with each other.
And which ones I needed to obtain first.
All of that information was stored in my head.
‘Then shall we go hunt a deep slime?’
A deep slime.
A variant of the slime and a rare species that appeared in the wasteland.
Rare species.
Monsters that possessed special abilities or extraordinary combat power.
Players commonly referred to them as “boss monsters.”
‘Its essence contains a rather useful skill.’
Gurgle.
Right on cue, my stomach let out a loud rumble.
Licking my lips, I headed toward the area where a deep slime was likely to appear.