Win-Win (1)

‘I couldn’t take the unique skill, but… not bad.’

As soon as he returned to the waiting room, Yun-seok checked his rewards first and grinned.

Iron Mastery had gone through rank-up and trait selection, worth a whopping 6,000 AP if converted to value. Of course, it was a drop in the bucket compared to the gear he’d looted.

It checked out—the sale price was a staggering 31,000 AP. For Yun-seok, who’d been thinking he needed some armor anyway, it was a delightful spoil of war.

Yun-seok tossed aside his hated gray tracksuit and slipped into the suit. Whether due to systemic effects or custom fit, it hugged him perfectly.

‘Lightweight effect? I thought it’d be heavy, but it’s not bad. The fit is insane too…’

Full-body armor excluding hands, feet, and head parts. After moving around a bit, Yun-seok nodded in satisfaction several times. It felt like leather on the surface, but it was clearly metal—yet the joints moved with uncanny smoothness.

‘I wonder if he’s really dead?’

Lee Chang-hoon suddenly popped into Yun-seok’s mind. His claim of having only one coin seemed like a lie based on his final words, but who knew. Yun-seok decided to check the chatroom first.

Yun-seok paused his search for the nickname with the filter function. No need—he spotted ‘Kalopa’ spamming the chat right away.

‘So Predation really steals gear.’

Skills were copied. Gear was looted. No mention of Iron Mastery, so skills must just be duplicated.

Lee Chang-hoon kept whining, and the cat-person challenger appeared too. He’d lost his weapon but somehow won his match to advance.

‘Fine in real life, but why nyang in chat too? Just racial trait?’

Lee Chang-hoon was alive, but Yun-seok stayed, scanning the chat with his eyes. Soon, he became the hot topic.

Knight of May had a point. Take Lee Chang-hoon: losing half his 64,000 total score armor made his next win unlikely.

Someone quick on the uptake already pounced.

Lee Chang-hoon, admitting to losing 30,000 AP armor, became hyena bait. Even without that, his fate was sealed.

‘Same as ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠if I’d killed him?’

Odds were he wouldn’t return to Earth alive. But Yun-seok felt no guilt.

‘This place is like that anyway.’

The law of the jungle. He had no hobby of bullying the weak, but no pity either. The Tower of Heaven demanded constant fights to grow stronger. Whoever came, Yun-seok would do what he must to avoid elimination.

‘Spend AP first.’

Ignoring the noisy chat, Yun-seok opened the shop. 64,000 AP total. Unthinkable before, but with prices scaling by rank, it wasn’t much.

‘Time to boost everything.’

This time, Yun-seok upgraded all F-rank unique skills one grade, skipping Shadowless Chant.

Weapon Enhancement was a dud now. With Heavenly Demon Body’s mana abundance, it was useless—though future high-rank weapons might need it.

But One Flash was a jackpot.

Testing it, sword energy flew in a crescent from his swing. Far superior to his only ranged skill, Blood Pact. Mana cost spiked, but Heavenly Demon Body covered it.

‘Another great gain.’

The 5,000 AP on One Flash felt cheap. But it paled next to the next.

F-rank was vague “vitality of nature”; E-rank was straightforward. Yun-seok was dumbfounded.

‘What the…?’

All stats +2. Simple, but applying to his D- Agility alone was 48,000 AP worth. And it’d grow exponentially.

‘Should’ve upgraded sooner.’

5,000 AP for that? Unreal. Yun-seok shifted from general skills/stats.

All stats +2 now required nearly 64,000 AP.

‘Maybe upgrade unique skills more?’

E to D cost 30,000 AP each. Dilemma: Predation or Heavenly Demon Body?

Heavenly Demon Body was cheat-tier at F. D-rank would be worth it.

But Predation was his foundation.

He chose.

‘Stats after all…’

He’d joked about it once; now it was real. Yun-seok’s expression soured briefly, then brightened.

‘Not bad. Actually, great.’

No jackpots like skills/gear, but save AP on stats, spend elsewhere.

‘Absorb’ stood out. Skills copied, gear stolen—what about absorb?

‘Sounds like it rips it away.’

Shifting focus, Yun-seok pondered his remaining 19,000 AP, browsing the shop like surfing.

Then it hit him.

“Oh yeah, this exists…”

Misc item from the sundries category. Yun-seok had ignored it since first spotting.

Height? Sure, taller was better. At 174cm, Kang Hyung-woo’s near-190cm frame was a complex.

But wasting AP on vanity? No—height didn’t boost strength like reality.

That hadn’t changed. Even with more AP, no interest in self-indulgence.

But…

‘This could work.’

Not vanity now. Training under Cheonma taught him spacing’s importance in master fights.

‘Longer limbs narrow the gap a bit.’

Reach extends per swing, step covers more ground. Dual-wielding doubled it.

‘10,000 AP’s a bit much though…’

After agonizing, Yun-seok bought and downed all ten Body Growth Potions.

‘So this is 184cm view…’

Felt broader. Shoes and suit adjusted—no discomfort.

Just…

“Huh?”

Testing stride, Yun-seok wobbled. 10cm growth shifted balance.

‘Gonna take time to adapt…’

Using 9,000 AP to raise Mana to E-rank, he finished prep. Durability still F-, but D-rank gear, Blood Pact recovery, and future Iron Skin made it fine. Plus Predation for Durability stats.

AP prep done. Now, practice to maximize it.

Yun-seok waddled to the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠center. He’d adapt to the bigger frame and overflowing power from all-stats +2, like always.

‘Ah, what do I say when I get back? “Grew during trip”? Will they buy it?’

Late worry, but… it’d work out. Winning the next duel mattered most.

Yun-seok stared ahead, sizing up his opponent. A woman in baggy robes.

Something off.

‘How’s she moving?’

Countdown froze the body—only eyes moved. Yet she reached into her robe.

Like grabbing something…

‘Huh?’

She pulled a spherical object. Purpose unknown. But Yun-seok’s spine chilled.

Nothing he could do. She hurled it at him; he watched helplessly.

Thud.

It landed at his feet, arcing…

Boom! Boom! Kaboom!

Before the duel even began.

A massive explosion filled the circular arena.