Chapter 165
Chapter 165
"Oh."
Dohyun let out a small sound as he looked at the ten shining cards floating before his eyes.
It wasn't out of awe. After all, the limit for an Intermediate Skill Draw Ticket was Rare tier. What was there to be in awe of when a Rare skill was the absolute best outcome?
However, he was definitely in a good mood.
'Four of them. Not bad odds.'
Six crap-colored cards, four silver ones. That meant there was a whopping 40% chance of getting a Rare skill. It truly was an excellent ratio, proving this was a prime spot for drawing Legends.
At least, it was for Dohyun. The problem now was deciding which card to pick. Left, right, or maybe the middle?
'The curse of the middle has been broken.'
The brilliant Descent of the Thunder Dragon had already shattered the powerful curse that had gifted him with 'Dobungi.'
Then, a sudden thought made Dohyun freeze.
'Wait a minute. If I hadn't ignored the curse of the middle back then...'
What if he hadn't had the Eye of Truth? He definitely would have avoided the middle card. He probably would have drawn an Epic skill and cried tears of joy, completely oblivious to the fact that he had missed out on a Legend.
No, he might have even just drawn a Rare.
'Wow... that’s a horrifying thought.'
It suddenly dawned on him. Had he actually been dodging Legend cards this whole time? Maybe it wasn't just simple bad luck, but the second coming of his infamous "trash hands."
Getting goosebumps and shuddering at the thought, Dohyun frantically shook his head.
[The Eye of Truth is activating.]
He nodded as he looked at the message hovering in front of him.
'Let's not imagine such horrific things. I have the god-tier Eye of Truth now.'
The "Trash-Sommelier Kaiser" was no more. Dohyun now had the overwhelmingly broken, unique trait: the Eye of Truth!
Steeling his resolve, Dohyun reached out his hand.
'In times like this, you go for the one you've never tried before... The absolute edge!'
Not the middle, not the standard left or right. The far corner. To be exact, the absolute far left!
Ring—
As he pulled the single silver card glowing softly in the corner, a message popped up.
[You have acquired the Rare Skill 'Fireball'.]
[Fireball]
Grade: Rare
Restriction: Fire-attribute Mage Classes
Description: The fundamental attack spell of mages who wield fire. Though it is considered a basic spell, novice mages find it difficult to handle the aggressive flames contained within a Fireball.
Effect: Creates a sphere of fire to launch at enemies. Causes an explosion upon impact, dealing heavy damage.
Cooldown: 17 seconds
'Jackpot!'
Dohyun swallowed the cheer that was about to burst from his throat. If he screamed frivolously here, he'd immediately draw attention. He didn't want to taste the humiliation of being carried like a baby by Charlie again.
It was just a Rare skill. One might ask what the big deal was over a simple Fireball, but to Dohyun, it was an incredibly moving acquisition.
'Ah, I'm finally getting a proper magic skill...!'
He had obtained two magic skills so far. Both of them were Epic tier, no less. But neither of those skills actually felt like magic. They were merely used to enhance his close-combat baseline. He had never actually shot anything from a distance like a real mage.
'What will Fireball feel like? The impact must be thrilling, right?'
If you had to pick the most popular class in G.O.S., it was undoubtedly the Mage. Casting flashy magic in virtual reality—not some clunky 3rd-generation VR, but true virtual reality—was the ultimate fantasy come to life.
'Of course, they get ridiculously rare in the late game.'
As with all RPGs, playing a mage costs a fortune. In G.O.S., where the market economy was absolutely unhinged, saying it cost a lot was an understatement. It made games like Linnage look cute in comparison. Only those truly dedicated to G.O.S. with the financial backing to match could handle it.
Regardless, he could finally use that kind of magic!
'I need to hold it in.'
He wanted to test it immediately, but Dohyun suppressed the urge. He still had one pull left. He needed to ride the momentum of this lucky spot to draw Charlie’s skill.
'Let's make this quick.'
Taking a deep breath, Dohyun immediately tore open the second card pack.
[You are using Guardian 'Charlie’s' Random Skill Draw Ticket.]
Once again, light burst forth. However, this time was a little different. There was noticeably less silver light, but Dohyun saw it.
Shining through the gaps was a yellow card!
'Yes, it's finally here...!'
Charlie finally had an Epic-tier skill. His initial Sword of Light was a growth-type skill, so it didn't really have a fixed grade. Charlie's class was in the Knight lineage.
'There are plenty of Epic skills for Knights.'
Knights were especially dependent on Epic skills. Most of their truly viable skills were locked behind the Epic tier. With several skills instantly coming to mind, Dohyun reached out his hand without hesitation. There was only one yellow card, after all.
Ring—
[You have acquired the Epic Skill 'Covenant'.]
'Huh? Covenant?'
Startled, Dohyun immediately checked the skill information.
[Covenant]
Grade: Epic
Restriction: Knight Classes
Description: A Knight's covenant is absolute and symbolic. It can make a knight overwhelmingly strong, or pitifully weak.
Effect: Establish one of the following oaths with a target:
[Protection]: When the oath-bound target is within a certain range, Defense, Magic Resistance, and HP greatly increase. Note: If the target leaves the range, the above stats decrease by 30%.
[Judgment]: When fighting a target that the oath-bound ally wishes to judge, the Knight's Attack Power greatly increases. Note: Deals 30% less damage to enemies other than the target of judgment.
[Sacrifice]: Takes the brunt of a massive, singular instance of damage meant for the oath-bound ally. If taking damage that would result in instant death, the Knight's HP drops to 1%.
Cooldown: 100 seconds
'Wow, this actually dropped.'
No matter how he looked at it, it was exactly the skill he knew. Covenant.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say it was the very first word that came to mind when thinking of a Knight. A Knight's oath was universally famous, and Covenant was a skill whose concept heavily reflected that vow.
'Depending on how you use it, it could perform beyond the Epic tier, or it could be absolute garbage.'
If the party member you forged the covenant with was terrible, or if your teamwork was lacking, it was a troll skill basically tantamount to suicide. Conversely, if you had great synergy with your oath-bound ally, or if used in the exact right situation, it boasted absurd efficiency.
'I heard Arthur always travels with a Knight.'
Arthur, who always moved in a team, was famous for utilizing this skill the best. People even said that if the current Arthur, bound by a Covenant, had attempted the Outlaw Challenge, he might have had a chance. Many other rankers utilized it well, too. This was the reason Knights were highly valued as sub-tanks and sub-dealers.
'They're a bit awkward as a main tank or a main DPS. But as a sub, their concept is rock solid.'
A knight serving their liege. A knight who sometimes acts as a sharp sword, and other times as an unbreakable shield. It captured the concept of a loyal knight perfectly. And this Covenant was the ultimate, symbolic skill of the Knight class.
The only downside was that synergy with the knight was crucial, meaning immense trust was required...
— My Liege, I feel a firm resolve welling up in my chest. I feel as though I can serve you even better now.
— Oh, I know that feeling. You must have pulled something good too, huh?
— Mhm! It is all thanks to my Liege's virtue. I am overjoyed beyond words. Please, place your trust in this humble sword, my Liege.
"Yeah, thank you."
It seemed he wouldn't need to worry about that. Charlie was a Guardian whose loyalty had been maxed out from the very beginning. There was no reason not to trust him.
— Liza! Liza-liza!
— Eliza, you want one too? Hmm... But you don't have any other abilities.
— Liza!!!
— S-Sorry. It's because you aren't an adult yet.
'Come to think of it, Eliza is registered under Jihad, right?'
A subordinate Guardian that grew in tandem with Jihad's growth. The advantage was that she grew on her own without him needing to intervene, but the downside was that she didn't get to participate in skill gacha.
— Liza...
"It's okay, Eliza. You're fulfilling your role perfectly."
— Liza?
"Yeah, seriously."
Did Dohyun's words cheer her up? Eliza, who had been completely sulking, suddenly got stars in her eyes. Dohyun smiled softly as he stroked Eliza with his index finger while she rubbed her face against him.
Damn right she was doing her part. Her webs and parasitic abilities were more than enough for a support role, and most importantly, wasn't she cute?
[You have obtained a Godong Tree Root Leaf.]
"That's one for now."
Dohyun, who had dug into the ground beneath the Godong tree to harvest a root leaf, grinned.
'Well then, shall we go test out these skills?'
He was done pulling packs. It was time to try out his very first offensive magic skill.
He must have walked for about ten minutes. It wasn't completely devoid of people, but upon confirming there were far fewer players here than before, Dohyun stopped in his tracks.
He could have tested it back there, but Dohyun couldn't allow that.
'I can't defile the gacha holy land.'
Using skills in a lucky spot was strictly forbidden. That was the unspoken rule upheld by the nation of gacha addicts. Dohyun wasn't officially a member of the Gacha Gallery forums, but in his heart, he was already one of them.
— ...Do you really understand why he does that?
— Mm. Camaraderie is important.
— Right. What was I expecting?
Ignoring Jihad chattering behind him, Dohyun pulled out Cheonbyeon. He was planning to transform the weapon as usual. However, after a moment's thought, he stopped.
'Maybe I should have bought a staff.'
He had neglected it because it hadn't been useful until now, but he realized he didn't actually own a Mage weapon. Ultimately wanting to set the mood, Dohyun kept Cheonbyeon in its base form and gave it a light swish through the empty air.
He felt like he was holding a certain Mr. H-rry P-ter's little wand.
"Abraca... ahem, wait, not that."
Trailing off, Dohyun scanned his surroundings until he spotted a lone, isolated Troll, and activated his skill.
[Using Fireball.]
With the notification, a flame blossomed at the tip of Cheonbyeon.
"Ooh..."
His admiration at the heat suddenly warming the air was brief. The flame quickly grew, condensing into a spherical shape. The way the fire rolled and danced while maintaining its form, causing the air around it to shimmer, was far more realistic than he had imagined.
He really felt like he had become a Mage.
Swoosh— Bang!
As he thrust it forward, the Fireball scorched the air, flying toward the Troll at high speed. As soon as it made contact, a loud explosion echoed.
"Wow..."
It wasn't an earth-shattering roar, nor were the visual effects overwhelmingly flashy. But Dohyun felt deeply moved. It delivered a different kind of visceral thrill and satisfaction compared to close-quarters combat. Setting everything else aside, the visual impact and that strange, heart-tickling high were incredibly exhilarating.
Kuh-uhhh!
Judging by the monster's agonizing shriek, it had taken a considerable amount of damage. It made sense; even without a magic staff, Dohyun's Magic stat was high enough to slap the face of any similarly leveled Mage. He was basically beating it to death with raw, brute-force magic power.
'A 17-second cooldown isn't bad either.'
Mages inherently relied on skills for their DPS. Therefore, lower-grade skills tended to have shorter cooldowns compared to other classes. They didn't really have a "basic attack," after all. Conversely, the cooldowns for highly destructive spells were absurdly long—to the point where you'd question if it was a bug—but considering their power, it was necessary for game balance. It wouldn't make sense if calling down wide-area lightning strikes had a short cooldown.
[Transforming Cheonbyeon into 'Radiant Taxinel's Blue Sword'.]
[Applying 'Cloak of Darkness' to Cheonbyeon.]
To finish off the stumbling monster, he instantly transformed Cheonbyeon into a sword and was about to wrap it in darkness when it happened.
'Huh? Wait a second.'
A sudden thought flashed through his mind.
Cloak of Darkness could be applied to anything recognized as belonging to the caster. Just like it could be applied to Cheonbyeon, his undead summons, or his own body.
If that was the case...
'Can I wrap a Fireball in it too?'