Retribution (1)
Moving to the 13th Floor Waiting Room.
Please prepare for the next duel.
Back in the waiting room, Yun-seok immediately manipulated the tablet to check his skills first.
Four-Style Swordsmanship, Dragon's Heart, Phantom Dancer, Metallurgy, Path of Extremes, Beast Transformation, Flame of Ruin.
He had acquired a total of seven skills from this duel. All of them were unique skills.
The reason he hadn't chosen any general skills was simple. He could acquire as many as he wanted anyway.
Moreover, as befitting challengers who had reached the 12th floor, all the unique skills were B-rank.
Predation really is a ridiculously broken ability...
Yun-seok marveled anew at the sheer cheat-like nature of Predation as he scrolled through the descriptions.
Since he hadn't seen them fight, he had to examine them more meticulously than usual. Even so, he finished a rough inspection before long.
True to their unique skill status, each one had a highly distinctive flavor. However...
Except for one, it'd be better to just synthesize the rest.
During his fight against himself on the 9th floor, Yun-seok had realized something.
How difficult it was to maximize every ability he possessed.
Sometimes, excelling in one thing was better than being jack-of-all-trades.
Besides, these unique skills were tailored to each challenger's tendencies—most of them clashed with Yun-seok's combat style.
Sure, with effort, he could probably assimilate them... but getting fully comfortable with all of them would take ages.
Please select skills to synthesize.
Up to 3 skills possible; all must be the same rank.
First, Yun-seok slotted in Sword Strike Enhancement, which he'd just raised to B-rank, along with Four-Style Swordsmanship.
The former boosted slashing attacks, the latter thrusting ones. Good on their own, but together... synthesis could create real synergy.
Finally, he added Phantom Dancer to the synthesis table. A dexterity-boosting skill specialized in evasion and disruption, and sword-related to boot.
Skills synthesized.
Acquired Piercing Slaughter.
Piercing Slaughter Rank B — Dexterity +2.
Rank C — All sword attacks inflict unhealable wounds.
Rank D — Slashing attacks ignore all resistances.
Rank E — Thrusting attacks ignore physical defense.
Rank F — Dexterity +2.
Dexterity—a stat Yun-seok valued second only to mana—rose by a total of +4.
Plus constant bonuses for sword combat. Not a bad return for grinding three unique skills into it.
But Yun-seok didn't get ahead of himself. He pressed on.
Please select skills to synthesize.
Up to 3 skills possible; all must be the same rank.
This time: Dragon's Heart and Path of Extremes.
The former boosted stamina and mana for survival, the latter grew stronger the closer you edged to death—like the old 'berserker' trait from Sword Mastery.
If I mix in Blood Pact here, it might turn out decent.
After so many syntheses, he had a solid instinct for what combos would yield something worthwhile.
Skills synthesized.
Acquired Immortality.
Immortality Rank B — When taking near-death damage, enter 10-second stun but ignore all damage. Cooldown: 720 hours.
Rank C — Recover mana proportional to damage taken.
Rank D — Take 4x holy damage, immune to all other attributes.
Rank E — All regeneration x10 (includes mana).
Rank F — Durability +2.
A survival ultimate, as expected. Each effect solid, but two stood out: the E-rank x10 regen (proven to include mana via tests) and the B-rank lifesaver.
Nice.
Paired with the pocket watch's death rewind, untimely deaths would be a thing of the past. A deeply satisfying result.
But Yun-seok wasn't done. He invoked synthesis again.
Please select skills to synthesize.
Up to 3 skills possible; all must be the same rank.
This round: Beast Transformation and Flame of Ruin.
The former let you shapeshift into a beast for stat boosts; the latter a standard attack skill. Little synergy at first glance, but...
Throw in Avatar and it should balance out.
He raised Avatar to B-rank to match, then hit synthesize.
Skills synthesized.
Acquired Demon Transformation.
Demon Transformation Rank B — Grants spatial dominion authority on activation.
Rank C — No mana cost on activation.
Rank D — All stats +1 on activation.
Rank E — Mana skills gain Flame of Ruin attribute on activation.
Rank F — Transform into demon. Duration: 1 min. Cooldown: 60 min.
Like Avatar, but with duration and cooldown limits.
Just one minute...?
A vague span—not quite enough for much, but the C-rank effect changed that: no mana cost.
To Yun-seok, that meant one minute of virtual invincibility.
The rest I'll figure out in practice.
He tested Demon Transformation right away. His body shifted in an instant.
Creating a mirror, Yun-seok examined himself: nearly 4 meters tall, two horns sprouting from his forehead, wings, and a spiked tail...
Frankly, less demon, more Demon King.
With only 60 seconds, he probed the ability quickly. First, Flame of Ruin.
Force Shield.
Activating the active skill, black flames flickered around it. But their effects? Unknown.
Immortality would block any self-test damage anyway.
Next duel it is, then.
Discarding the thought, he focused on the spatial dominion granted on use.
Like when he'd bought authority from Elle—usage came naturally.
Zzzzt...
Palm outstretched, space rippled like a disturbed lake, cracking open.
Fist-sized at first, but expandable at will. Like so.
Zzzzzzt...!
Rrrrrumble!
The rift exploded outward uncontrollably. The waiting room shook like an earthquake.
Yun-seok cut it off hastily. If Heaven Breaking Divine Art interfered and collapsed the room... headache city.
Duration ended. Demon Transformation released.
Space constraints prevented full-power tests, but the potential was immense.
Finally, Yun-seok turned to the one unsynthesized unique skill: Metallurgy.
Metallurgy Rank B — Imbue equipment with a soul. Usable only once.
Rank C — Craft equipment using points.
Rank D — Pay 50% of sale price in points to infuse special ability (max 3x per item).
Rank E — Pay 10% of sale price to reinforce equipment (max 10x).
Rank F — Dismantle equipment for 50% sale price in points.
No synthesis fodder here. Such broken utility rarely emerged from synthesis anyway.
Activating Metallurgy, categories appeared like during synthesis: [Dismantle] [Reinforce] [Infuse Ability] [Craft] [Soul Imprint].
Starting with [Dismantle], he scrapped all gear from the duel.
Dismantled equipment. Recovered 2,905,000 AP.
The lowest plundered gear was B+. Even at half efficiency, the AP haul was monstrous.
No more need for Iron Cannon Trio, I guess.
He'd only learned it to avoid wasting gear... but now, all the durability he'd dumped into junk stung.
Past choices couldn't be undone.
Well, stats don't vanish...
Comforting himself, he opened [Reinforce] and tested on Plum Blossom Sword for 150,000 AP.
◈ Forged from millennium cold iron, the treasured sword of Cheonhwasan.
◈ Mana recovery x11 while equipped.
◈ 51% mana cost reduction on mana skills using this sword.
◈ Indestructible.
A '+1' appended to the name. Mana recovery +1x, cost reduction +1%.
Unlike shop reinforces, the item's rank stayed the same.
Meh...
Efficiency wasn't bad. But Yun-seok rarely invested points in gear anyway.
Nice to have, not essential. Better in skills or stats.
He checked [Craft] next.
Categories: [Weapons] [Armor] [Accessories] [Special]. Picking weapons subdivided like the shop.
Under swords, long sword. Prompted for materials.
Save for later.
Shop sold materials too—unknown until Cheonma crafted with 'sleeping treasure silk'.
No desire to buy and test now.
Left: [Infuse Ability] and [Soul Imprint]. The latter one-use only, so save for careful choice.
Select equipment to infuse with special ability.
All his gear listed. No limits, so for testing, he picked his lowest-rank equipped item.
Consumed 10,000 AP to infuse Wilderness Leather Boots with special ability.
White light bathed his boots, then faded. He appraised immediately.
◈ Handmade by dwarves. Increases stability when feet touch ground.
◈ Never falls over.
Not even barely special. "Never falls"? More quirky than anything.
One more test: now added "Balance x4".
Still meh...
Low rank, low cost—hence low impact?
Close eyes, test on something worthwhile once more.
Target: Plum Blossom Sword again.
Consumed 750,000 AP to infuse Plum Blossom Sword with special ability.
+On attack, creates two afterimages.
Afterimages? Yun-seok swung at empty air.
Whoosh!
One vertical slash, yet illusions streaked left and right.
Thrusts and sword beams worked the same.
Not bad... actually, pretty good.
Masters like Cheonma might see through it, but not everyone had that eye.
Worth investing. He eyed the Judgment Sword of the Sun Lord.
LP-purchased, unlike Plum Blossom. Infusion cost half price: 650 LP.
LP was precious for other trials.
But I'll use it forever anyway...
Decision made swiftly.
Consumed 650 LP to infuse Judgment Sword of the Sun Lord with special ability.
Pure white light settled on the sword. Yun-seok swallowed, checking the addition.
+Can discern retribution.
Retribution? Unclear.
On a hunch, he made a mirror and peered beyond.
And understood.
"......"
An extraordinarily valuable power had taken root in the sword.