4th Floor (1)
“Huff!”
Returning to the waiting room, Yoon-seok plunged straight to the floor. His body had already reverted to its original state, which only amplified the disconnect he felt. Hunger, thirst, fatigue, injuries—his body had been a complete wreck, far beyond what “terrible” could describe. And looking back, his mind hadn’t been in great shape either.
To think I bluffed that I was fine, that I could keep going. How pathetic must I have looked?
Embarrassed inwardly, Yoon-seok briefly recapped the duel. Every moment had been an unbelievable chain of events, but the finale was undoubtedly the last match.
“I… won…?”
As if entranced, Yoon-seok muttered. He was only half in his right mind. Even now, back in the waiting room with time having passed, he was only just processing the victory. Of course, he still didn’t fully understand it. It had been an incredible strike by his own standards, but it had looked like his opponent could have dodged it easily.
Why? Did he throw it on purpose? Wait, because of the promise?
He’d blocked all three promised strikes. So maybe his opponent had let the avoidable attack land. That was the only explanation Yoon-seok could come up with.
If so… he’s someone I owe big time.
A coin was invaluable—practically a second life. But… in this duel, he’d gained far more than one coin could cover. Even if his opponent had broken the promise and just killed him, Yoon-seok wouldn’t have held a grudge.
To really die over something like that? Yeah, martial artists from Murim are all a bit off, huh.
Yoon-seok wouldn’t have made such a promise in the first place.
Anyway, it worked out great.
He’d gained valuable teachings and hadn’t lost the match. If he’d been defeated, he would have lost one of the abilities gained through Predation as a penalty. Losing Blood Pact would have been a devastating blow no single coin could make up for.
“……”
After a brief moment to express his gratitude, Yoon-seok lay back on the stone floor, ass planted firmly.
The insights from the Heavenly Demon still needed sorting. He could enact them with his body, but his mind lagged behind. He needed time to organize the jumbled realizations in his head and fully digest them.
“……”
Yoon-seok closed his eyes. He sank into a trance, immersing himself in the world of the sword. Time lost all meaning.
* * *
What? Already?
Yoon-seok’s eyes snapped open in alarm.
Time until next duel: 02:17:04
He’d thought only two hours had passed subjectively, but ten times that had flown by in the blink of an eye.
First things first—check the skill.
Yoon-seok opened his challenger info window and examined the Heavenly Demon Physique he’d gained from the duel.
Rank F
The vitality of great nature constantly infuses the body.
“What the…?”
Yoon-seok muttered in disappointment. The name and description sounded impressive, but he had no clue what it meant.
Vitality of great nature? What’s that supposed to mean?
The vague explanation furrowed his brow, but… it wasn’t entirely unfamiliar. Throughout their two-week duel, Yoon-seok had been half-dead, while the Heavenly Demon stayed pristine to the end.
Was it because of this?
If so, it felt a bit unfair. It had been agonizing—something he never wanted to repeat.
No answers there. Time to spend some AP.
17,200 AP. Combined with his savings, it was a massive sum. But there were plenty of places to spend it. AP always felt insufficient, no matter how much he had—opponents grew stronger accordingly.
Opening the shop, Yoon-seok browsed items thoughtfully before deciding: evolve his unique skill Predation.
◈ Upon consumption, one unique skill of Rank F or lower increases by one rank.
The price was too steep; he had to pass. Plus, Predation might not help immediately in combat even if evolved, making the burden feel heavier.
But…
Still, it’s worth it now.
He already had multiple unique skills from Predation. Blood Pact from the demon duel was worth tens of thousands of AP. And after two weeks under the Heavenly Demon, his swordsmanship had skyrocketed.
Yoon-seok figured he could handle the next duel no problem.
The description’s weird, though. It’s like it assumes multiple unique skills are possible.
A hypothesis struck while eyeing the elixir: maybe there were ways to gain more unique skills beyond Predation. Not pressing now, he downed the elixir.
Please select the unique skill to rank up.
Unique skill Predation has grown to Rank E.
Selecting Predation from the floating list, Yoon-seok checked the updated ability.
Rank E
Upon victory in a duel, randomly plunder one piece of the opponent's equipment.
Not just skills—equipment too? Better than I thought.
With a bit of luck, he could recoup costs immediately in the next duel.
‘Plunder’ sounds like it straight-up steals it, huh?
Plausible, but unconfirmed. And not his concern anyway. This was a world ruled by the law of the jungle; he had no pity to spare.
Wonder if it’ll steal stats on the next rank-up.
Shifting focus, Yoon-seok learned Sword Mastery, which he’d skipped before due to lack of funds.
You have acquired a new skill.
It permanently boosted the attack speed of bladed weapons by 1.5 times.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Testing it with swings in the air, Yoon-seok suddenly paused and glanced at the shield in his left hand.
Do I really need this?
The doubt arose anew. Bought out of fear of real swordplay, it had proven its worth so far. But with growing sword proficiency and experience, there was no reason to cling to it. Anything the shield could do, his sword could now handle.
And to use it properly, I’d need separate shield skills…
Weapon Enhancement, Sword Strike, and now Sword Mastery. Sword-related skills would only multiply on higher floors. So Yoon-seok decided: ditch the shield, grab another sword.
Browsing blades, he found a winner.
◈ The cherished sword of the famed Conqueror King, who lost an arm in war.
◈ +2 Strength when used in left hand (Strength increase cannot exceed Rank E+).
+2 Strength. It required left-hand use and capped at E+, but still a steal. Stat elixirs cost 6,000 AP each from E rank on.
Strength (F-) rank increases.
Strength (F) rank increases.
With his remaining 3,000 AP boosting Strength, he gripped the Conqueror King’s Left-Hand Sword in his left hand.
“This is insane.”
The power surged beyond full—it overflowed. A rush he couldn’t get from incremental stat potions. He felt like he could pulverize rock with his bare fists.
Calming himself, Yoon-seok checked the time.
Running short…
Just two hours. Nowhere near enough to adapt to his transformed body and new sword. He regretted not prioritizing this over insights, but…
Whatever. Insights can wait.
A fleeting regret. Priorities were obvious.
Yoon-seok drew his swords: Left-Hand Sword in left, Frantal Court Sword in right.
Dual-wielding. A new style he’d never tried. As alien as his suddenly enhanced body. But Yoon-seok would adapt quickly.
As always. Time was the only shortage.
* * *
START!
Having used the wait productively, Yoon-seok’s body teleported to the circular arena. He checked his opponent first.
A beastkin?
A new race, but identifiable by ears and tail—beastkin, as chatted about occasionally.
“Please take care of me, nya!”
Cat-like features suggested feline, and the “nya” confirmed it: a cat beastkin. As rumored, deeply unsettling.
I knew they add that to every sentence, but…
Fine for a cute girl, but a burly adult male? It triggered visceral revulsion. Like a macho uncle cosplaying with party props for his fetish. And wielding a massive double-headed axe, no less.
Anyway, they’re supposed to be brutal, battle-mad types.
As if to prove it, the beastkin warrior swung wildly soon after the duel began.
Whoosh!
A ferocious strike with a chilling whoosh. But Yoon-seok watched calmly.
Why so slow?
Not just speed— the axe’s arc was crudely brute-force. No finesse or principle. Pure muscle and grit: a trash strike.
No need for skills. Not arrogance—reality.
Slash!
Yoon-seok swung his left-hand sword, cleaving the axe haft. The heavy blade thudded to the ground. Dust from the impact was a bonus.
“Wh-what…?”
Losing his weapon in one exchange, the beastkin panicked and activated a skill.
“War Stomp!”
Thud!
Stomping the ground sent vibrations rippling out.
War Stomp effect: Incapacitated for 2 seconds.
Incapacitated? Yoon-seok startled at the new debuff, but then:
Mana levels equal. Magic resistance resists Incapacitated state. Duration halved.
Weaponless, even 2 seconds was too much—1 second? Laughable. As the beastkin swung a fist, the restraint vanished.
Not even a warm-up at this level…
Outclassed in skill, bad matchup too. No point dragging it out for novelties.
Better head back and train solo.
As he moved to thrust, a new idea sparked.
Wait, do I need to go back to the waiting room?
Arena time was personal. Some spent 10 minutes, others hours—duel end synced them to the same waiting room point. Then 24 hours for all before rematch. The Heavenly Demon duel exemplified it.
“Sleep for a bit.”
Instead of a killing slash, Yoon-seok flat-struck the beastkin’s nape with his sword flat. Technique infused naturally; no dodge or block possible.
Thud.
Let’s do this.
Propping the unconscious beastkin aside, Yoon-seok danced with his dual swords, swinging and spinning.
A way to multiply his precious time.
“K-kill me!”
The beastkin occasionally stirred, breaking focus, but…
“Ugh!”
Yoon-seok gladly endured. The efficiency was manifold.
The training method Yoon-seok was using right now was.