Speed, Shadow, and Illusion

"Seeing a reaction like that puts an old man in a good mood."

Master Seo Jincheol said, wiping under his nose.

But it wasn't just talk. The ring was truly staggering.

To think merely wearing it would double my stats outright.

Even the gear I'd used before my regression had only boosted my stats by 150% — and that was conditional. This item, though, raised my stats just by being equipped, then boosted them even further when conditions were met.

So this is what Legendary+ looks like.

Every other Legendary+ item was a weapon, so their effects leaned heavily toward attack power.

Who would've guessed I'd end up with a recovery item instead.

The ring didn't just raise my stats — it also increased my regeneration and carried a passive healing effect for all wounds.

"I'll transfer the payment to your account."

"No need."

"Excuse me?"

I gave the old man a puzzled look. There was no way I could accept something this extraordinary without paying for it.

"Consider this one paid in full — you saved me and my granddaughter, after all."

"Well, in that case…."

Only a fool refuses a gift. And when it came straight from the master's own mouth, I could trust it.

"Thank you."

"It was a pleasure, for once, to work on something so enjoyable."

I clasped the master's hand and offered my gratitude.

"Thank you too, Inha."

"The pleasure's all mine, boss."

After exchanging an oddly awkward farewell with Seo Inha, I stepped out of the forge. It was lunchtime already.

Eat quickly, then head straight into a gate.

I hurried into a nearby restaurant.

Basic Footwork.

Break.

The moment I stepped into Break, the ground around me erupted, and the shattered fragments surged toward the boss monster like a tide.

Crunch!

Hammered by the debris, the boss monster didn't last long before it died.

The Forest of a Day was a C-rank gate — the perfect proving ground to test out my newly equipment-enhanced strength. And the results of that test were in.

"I think I'm ready to create an advanced footwork now."

I opened my status window.

My mana had crossed 50 back in the Tower, and every base stat had reached 100. With stats like these, I could handle creating an advanced footwork.

"I can probably sustain three at most, though…."

Push beyond that, and the mana circulation could twist itself into knots and kill me. I pulled out my phone and started searching for C-rank gates I could enter nearby, and managed to book an Orc Gate.

Orcs should be just about right.

Orc hide was the perfect toughness for testing a footwork at my current level. I set off for the gate I'd reserved.

What should I build, I wonder….

On the way, I began sketching out the advanced footwork I wanted to create. Carrying over everything from my pre-regression footwork would be fine, but what mattered was pushing it further. I was deep in that deliberation when ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I arrived at my reserved Orc Gate.

"Reservation confirmed."

The association staff member checked my booking and sent me through. With my stats raised, the usual vertigo of entry was gone.

An annihilation-type gate. Ideal for testing footwork.

Well then — shall we begin?

The first footwork to create was one specialized in reconnaissance.

Base it on Stealth for now.

Stealth was the art of controlling one's presence. If I could conceal it, then the opposite — detection — was possible as well.

Next, Swift.

Speed was essential for sweeping a wide area. On top of that, I poured all five senses into my mana, gathered it at my feet, and stepped.

Detection Footwork.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Sweep.

As the footwork took hold, my mana unfurled outward from where I stood. Faster, and wider. It was nothing like simply relying on my five senses — Stealth searched all the more thoroughly, and Swift searched all the more quickly. Then the entire structure of the dungeon poured into my mind.

Ugh, my head.

Before my regression, detecting this much would have taken at least three rounds of body reconstruction. But this time was unmistakably different.

I think I've found nearly all the orcs.

157 regular orcs, 5 elite orcs. And one strange signature.

Is that an orc?

It didn't quite feel like one — the mana radiating from it was on another level. Two to three times stronger than a regular orc.

Did a boss monster spawn?

In annihilation-type gates, a boss monster spawns once certain conditions are met.

If it's a boss, that's just fine by me.

I needed to level up, and a boss monster was a walking bag of experience. More than welcome.

Let's test the regulars first.

I headed for the nearest orc village.

"Grok! Grok!"

Orcs stood guard at the village entrance, axes in hand — and orcish axes were on a whole different scale from anything a human would carry.

Strike fast.

Those huge weapons could only swing so slowly. Against them, speed was the answer.

Use Break as the base.

Break carried the attack.

Add Swift.

Swift raised the speed. Not stopping there, I used my lower dantian to wrench the flow of mana into an aggressive mode.

Assault Footwork.

Surge Step.

I closed the distance to the orcs in a single blink — and behind me, the ground along my entire path caved in.

Tch.

The power was weaker than I'd expected. It didn't hit the way I wanted.

Assault Footwork.

Flight Step.

As the footwork chained onward, the collapsed fragments rose into the air. Controlling my mana, I hurled them forward.

"Grok! Grok!"

The orcs at the entrance died, and so did the ones that came running at the noise. But I wasn't satisfied.

"A failure."

This was a footwork I'd used before my regression, too. The problem was that what I was producing now barely differed from that old version at all.

If this is as far as it grows, it'll end up about the same as before I regressed.

If that was the case, I was better off building something new. I boldly discarded the Assault footwork entirely — and with it, the base of everything I'd made so far.

"Maybe it's time to switch the base?"

Built on Break, destruction took priority over speed. But if Swift became the foundation, the footwork would focus purely on velocity, leaving destruction behind.

If Swift is the base, what do I add?

I could fold Break back in, but that would likely just reproduce the footwork I'd already failed with. So Break was out — discarded without hesitation. Even without it, I had weapons to cover my attack power.

A footwork that paired perfectly with a dagger.

I'll layer in Illusion.

Stealth alone was good, but mixing it with Swift would only produce a simple movement technique. What I needed now was a footwork for killing.

On to the next village first.

Leaving the wrecked village behind, I moved toward the next one. Two more orcs stood guard at its entrance.

Let's test it right away.

I unfolded the footwork I'd been refining in my head. Approaching the orcs under a nameless technique, I killed one with a single thrust of my dagger.

So it does work?

To find out, I dove headlong into the village.

"Satisfying."

The test was a success. The footwork had come together exactly the way I'd wanted.

Illusion Mist Footwork — that's the name for it.

A mist of phantoms. To the orcs, I would barely have registered in their vision at all — swallowed whole by the illusion I'd woven, unable even to see what lay in front of them.

The technique had two steps: Mist Step and Clear Step. Mist Step draped a fog-like illusion over the enemy's eyes, while Clear Step was the counter — the footwork that unraveled the sorcery cast upon me. A technique that commanded illusions themselves.

Well made.

Only the boss's village remained. Even the orcs guarding its entrance were properly armed.

I can tell they're a cut above the rest.

Illusion Mist Footwork.

Mist Step.

Through the footwork, I draped a phantom fog over the orcs' senses.

"Grok?! Grok?!"

Caught in the sudden mist, the orcs began stumbling about in confusion. I slipped through the fog and cut them down one by one.

Six cut down, so that's five plus the boss left?

"GRROOOAAR!"

Then, with a monstrous roar, the illusion shattered completely.

The Orc Lord.

The boss monster had arrived. A War Cry — a skill even lord-class monsters possessed.

As expected, my mana's too low — the illusion broke right away.

With 200 mana or more, I could have resisted a War Cry outright. But there was nothing to be done for now.

I'll set the Illusion Mist footwork aside.

I'd tested plenty on the way here. What mattered now was killing the boss and clearing the gate.

Basic Footwork.

Swift.

I stepped forward first, closing in on the regular monsters around the boss, then swept my dagger in a single fluid arc and cleared five of them at once.

"GROK!"

Watching his minions die before his eyes, the enraged ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Orc Lord charged straight at me — and I answered the charge with a footwork of my own.

Shadow Footwork.

Shadow Needle.

The technique I'd favored before my regression — the third advanced footwork I'd ever created, and the last.

Crack!

In step with the footwork, thorns erupted from the Orc Lord's shadow. Born of shadow, they speared through the lord in an instant — ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and pierced by his own shadow, the Orc Lord's life was snuffed out on the spot.

The power went up again.

My Shadow Footwork had grown stronger than it was before my regression. Worth every ounce of effort it took to rebuild.

Taking down the boss had sent my level rocketing up seven times in one go.

So the footwork is settled, for now.

All that remained was gathering stats through leveling. The seven levels brought me to 19, and my stat points now totaled 410.

Time to get moving.

There was something I had to earn to reach 500 points before level 20. I settled on my next gate in my mind and stepped out of the gate.