It was similar to Lee Hyun-hak’s Invisible Sword, impossible to avoid or stop. Did the Sword Saint also know how to use Middle Qi? He wasn’t sure, but when he came to his senses, something had already passed through Yoon-seok’s body.
「Souls of the ancient hunters protect User from unknown dangers.」
The blue glow from his gloves woke him from his deep thoughts. Just now, he almost died. If he allowed that attack again without {Immortality}, he would’ve used the pocket watch.
‘…’
Yoon-seok smoothed the bracelet without realizing it. If he activated purity now, he would be able to defeat him immediately. However, he hadn’t figured out everything yet. What kind of energy was this Natural Energy, and what was that attack? It was too quick to see it properly.
‘Dammit.’
Should he rely on the pocket watch and continue to observe? Or should he activate purity right now? If it were a reasonable judgment, it would be right to choose the latter. To seize the opportunity that Elle mentioned, he had to ascend to the Tower quickly, but if the pocket watch couldn’t be used, something difficult could happen.
Moreover, hadn’t he already received a hint about the Middle Qi? If he polished it afterward, he would be able to reach the complete state on his own. But there was the thing that still bothered him. It could be said to be the regret of a warrior.
‘Then I’ll never know that one move he just showed me.’
With only one look at it, it wasn’t a stage where he could learn it independently. He wanted to see a little more; once more would be enough.
“I will never lose…”
While contemplating, the man finished preparing his next move. The attack was nullified by the gloves, but if it didn’t work once, then twice. If not with two, then three, four, five times.
“I will win and win again. I will prove it to you.”
Yoon-seok felt hatred in his voice. It wasn’t toward just Yoon-seok but against something bigger.
“…”
What on earth did this man want to prove? Magic was fake, and only the Natural Energy of Middle Qi was real? Well, if so, Yoon-seok couldn’t relate to such black and white logic at all. Yoon-seok, who could use both magic and Middle Qi, felt that both were real. Not only that, but it was also the same for the equipment and stats existing through the system.
Was it fake? Then the same was true for the Natural Energy of Middle Qi. Therefore, it was a little ironic that it was a sense of mission that brought him here and allowed him to push Yoon-seok this far.
Whirrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr-!
Suddenly, the arena began to tremble. Soon, it would come again. The same technique as before.
Right now.
Swaaaaaaaa!
Yoon-seok kept his eyes on his foe? Was it because he went through it once? He felt it. The energy flowed out of his heart as if it was overflowing, full of his beliefs, as if saying, ‘Kill him, the obstacle in front of me’. He would prove he was right.
It didn’t matter whether that belief was correct. According to Yoon-seok’s interpretation, Natural Energy responded to human will, faith, and strong feelings.
‘Is it, so people like him become stronger?’
Even in this situation, he suddenly laughed. It was fun; the world was big. He never thought that this kind of martial arts existed. One slow breath, Yoon-seok lifted his sword.
“…”
It didn’t matter whose idea was right. Since they were trying to prove it with the sword, he also decided.
Whoooosh-!
The suppressed Skywrath Energy began to circulate again, and the hazy energy began to overflow from Yoon-seok’s body. It was enough to suppress weak challengers standing near him. He didn’t stop there but then added in the Natural Energy.
“Are you trying to insult me?”
That wasn’t it. However, magic and Natural Energy, in Yoon-seok’s judgment, were both real. Therefore, he just thought that there was no need to insist on using only one.
Tadaaaaaaaaaak!
The man’s sword crossed first between the gaps where wind sharply hit, an invisible blade that embodied his will.
‘I’m blocking it.’
Would it be possible? He had no doubts as the energy curled up inside him was pulled out according to his will to stop it. However, it wasn’t in the form of a shield. Even if the purpose was to prevent it, that method wasn’t his taste.
Slash-!
Yoon-seok was holding an invisible sword in his hand. He drew it lightly through the air.
“…”
There was no whooshing sound or boom. That moment was consumed by silence. At that moment, the match between the two swordsmen was concluded. The loser was Yoon-seok.
‘Am I still lacking……’
He tried to block, but he couldn’t. He was lacking.
Flop.
Yoon-seok knelt, a large hole cut through his torso. It was possible to recover with Skywrath Energy, but only if enough time was given. Already, his foe was preparing the next move as if he wasn’t tired.
‘Did I lose…?’
He was upset, but at the same time, he was confident. If they met again someday on the top, he would prove it to him properly. Yoon-seok used his magic to squeeze out the words.
“Annihilation.”
Light emanated from the black purity. Beyond his blurred view, he saw the man surrounded by that menacing light and decomposing into particles. It was a scheduled ending since the duel began.
If that guy won to prove himself, Yoon-seok became stronger by grabbing onto anything he could.
「Victory.」
But how long had it been since he felt happy to see that phrase? He realized it again; this Tower was still full of monsters.
Returning to the waiting room, Yoon-seok spent a while sitting with his eyes shut. He was reviewing the previous match.
‘I was lucky.’
If it weren’t for purity, he would have lost. Even if he went back to five minutes ago using the pocket watch and fought again, he wasn’t an opponent he could win against. He won with equipment, but it was pointless to consider such a thing as cheating in this Tower anyway. Wasn’t his unique technique {Cultivator} and Middle Qi all part of the system, after all?
‘Anyway, it’s a relief that I didn’t have to use the watch. Let’s check first.’
Yoon-seok quickly approached the tablet. Come to think of it; he was curious about something through the battle. What effects did the Unique Skill have?
‘He said it was fake, but he raised it to Rank A.’
Not only that, but all of his stats were high ranked. Well, if he thought about it, it was natural. If he had rejected the system itself because he thought it was all false, it would have been impossible to come all the way here.
{Cultivator}
Rank A – All stats except magic increase by +3.
Rank B – Middle Qi expands.
Rank C- When the Rank E effect is activated, it seals the enemy’s power.
Rank D – Absolute resistance to magic.
Rank E- Seals all skills of beings with more than 15 skills within a 300m radius. Skills other than b Cultivator} cannot be used.
Rank F – Mana is sealed. Middle Qi is unlocked.
All abilities increased by +3 and absolute resistance to magic. How did the Tower come up with this? It was such a bizarre, Unique Skill that was the first thought he had. The handicap was so big that it didn’t make sense, but it was full of advantages beyond that.
As soon as he saw it, he knew how the man he encountered climbed the Tower. If it weren’t for other challengers using Middle Qi, he would certainly beat anyone. But, Yoon-seok clicked his tongue.
‘But it’s kind of weird for me to use this…’
His magic became 0, not F-. Furthermore, the considerable skills he had would become useless. Of course, even with b Cultivator}, b Divine Ultimatum} persisted. However, Skywrath Energy couldn’t be used.
“Hmm…”
Yoon-seok decided to throw b Cultivator} away. The handicap that the Rank E effect had would be frustrating to deal with, especially given it would prevent b Predation} from activating. He also wouldn’t be able to Appraise his equipment or break it down for AP using Metallurgy.
‘It only weakens the enemy. It’s a skill that cannot make me stronger.’
He didn’t know how many more floors were left but was having this Unique Skill worth ascending without b Predation}? There were too many variables in this Tower. Plus, wasn’t that man turned to ash by Purity?
‘It’s a shame, but…’
Soon, Yoon-seok put {Satanic Body} and {Cultivator} on the synthetic table. Yoon-seok didn’t need it, but {Satanic Body} was also a very good Unique Skill. Was that why it felt like a waste to synthesize only two and not three? If he added one more here, he might get something much better.
‘This is hard.’
His experience showed that Skill Synthesis had rules. If there was a high connection between skills, it evolved in a specialized way, and on the contrary, if there were no connection, something completely unexpected popped out. In addition, the greater the number of synthesized skills, the better the performance.
‘The problem is that there’s no skill to synthesize with them….’
He thought so, but when he looked it up, there was one. The rank didn’t match, but they might work well together.
{Torture Technician}
For reference, the rank was still E.
‘But if the goal is to remove the skill seal, this isn’t bad either.’
He didn’t waver for long.
「Your purchase has arrived.」
「Please check the lower part of the statue.」
Yoon-seok spent a total of 4.68 million AP to purchase upgrades. He checked the added effects out of curiosity, but as expected, they were far from useful in combat. Thanks to this, his heart grew lighter. If {Torture Technician} had an effect that was too good to give up, it would have been hard to proceed with the synthesis.
「Skill has been synthesized.」
「Acquired Death God.」
After checking the effect through the information window, he calmly nodded with an expression that said, ‘this is to be expected.’
“…”
He got something like this again, so it wasn’t that surprising anymore.
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