If he encountered defeat in a duel, Yoon-seok didn’t only lose coins. Skills, equipment, and stats gained from b Predation} would be randomly lost. So to put it the other way around…in other words, if he repeated winning twice and losing once, he would gain several times compared to winning once in a duel. Of course, it was all based on the premise that the skills synthesized by the system were separated from b Predation}.
‘…What happens if my prediction is wrong?’
Yoon-seok thought the chances were pretty low. Therefore, he wanted to synthesize all his skills so that the risks were minimized. If anyone were to ask if he was sure, he wouldn’t answer confidently. Yoon-seok hadn’t been defeated since the duel with King of Steel.
Everything was a hypothesis until proven otherwise.
“…”
The thought of losing the duel on purpose made him anxious. Would the Tower tolerate such a trick? What if it didn’t? Then what if b Bloodseeker’s Ultimatum} disappeared?
‘…Let’s not be impatient.’
Eventually, Yoon-seok gave up on his greed. He had been doing well until now, so he didn’t have to take chances. The base of {Bloodseeker’s Ultimatum}, that was {Heavenly Body}, b Blood Pact}, and b Non-verbal Magic}, weren’t skills that could be easily obtained.
‘Let’s get the last thing we need and ascend quickly.’
Soon Yoon-seok let go of his lingering feelings and waited for his next opponent.
“Oh, my God…”
“He did everything and ended up like that, idiot.”
“He was lucky.”
Among the spectating challengers, there was a burst of pity and ridicule. His opponent lost the duel because he tripped on his feet when he had all the advantage to win, so their reactions were natural.
「The duel is over.」
「You can take up the challenge now.」
The moment the phrase appeared, the bars snapped open. At the same time, whines were heard everywhere from those who were stuck spectating. On the other hand, the challenger who took the chance was smiling at his luck.
Without knowing his fate to come.
“…?”
The duel had been established, so he didn’t have to act anymore. Yoon-seok, who had collapsed, stood up calmly. No blood leaked out of his mouth. The challenger, who looked at Yoon-seok as if he were strange, confirmed that the bleeding stopped from where he was stabbed earlier.
“W-what…”
It was just a moment ago when he looked happy about getting this opportunity. The challenger unwittingly backed away, feeling that something was wrong. However, he instinctively fired off an attack as he backed off.
“E-explosion!”
An arrow slathered with red energy soared through the air, but Yoon-seok reached out quietly and snatched the arrow.
Boom!
The arrowheads exploded as soon as they touched his hands, but Yoon-seok’s hand, which was protected by Bloodseeker’s Energy, showed no signs of damage. Only then did the challenger understand the situation. Of course, countless questions went unanswered in his head, but he was sure of one thing.
He was deceived.
“Fuck…”
That was the last thing he said.
Slash!
The man’s head rolled on the ground. No one could properly witness the blurred flash of his sword. The challengers, who had been complaining about not being allowed to challenge him, realized a beat later.
They were the lucky ones.
「Victory.」
「512,000AP will be paid as a reward.」
「Unique Skill {Predation} has been activated.」
「Acquire one of your opponent’s skills at random.」
「Acquired Visionary Enhancement (Rank C+).」
「Looting one of your opponent’s equipment at random.」
「Looted Ancient Empire’s Magic Bow (Rank B-).」
「Absorb some of your opponent’s highest stats.」
「Absorbed magic stat.」
「1 coin will be paid as a reward for promotion.」
「Please proceed to the waiting room on the 9th floor.」
Before moving to the waiting room, beyond the reward phrase, Yoon-seok glanced around the challengers behind bars. For some reason, it felt like his vision had widened, and the scene was filled in at only a glance.
‘I’ll probably never see them again.’
That was what the Tower was. As you ascend, your opponent becomes stronger, and what if you don’t have the will to challenge the strong? Then you have no choice but to stop one day. Somehow it felt like he was starting to realize it a little bit more.
What the Tower wanted…
「Please prepare for the next duel.」
Now there were no countdowns until the next duel; he could stay here forever if he wanted to. Still, Yoon-seok grinned as soon as he saw the message in the waiting room. It was as if it emphasized that the waiting room wasn’t a resting place but a place to prepare.
‘Let’s check it out first.’
Yoon-seok tapped his tablet and opened the information page. Then he organized what he’d received from b Predation}.
*Visionary Enhancement (C) – Increases eyesight and visibility range by 1.65 times.
Characteristic 1 – Seeker: Visibility range increases by 1.5 times.
Characteristic 2 – Archer: On long-range attacks, the accuracy rate is corrected.
This was the skill that the archer he previously fought had. There were two characteristics, and the basic effect itself was useful. In addition, even the Archer trait could be of some use when using Bloodseeker’s Energy.
‘I can just use this, and next…’
Yoon-seok also confirmed the skills he gathered from the demon.
*Force Shield (B-) – Forms a shield around the User’s body. Magic consumption rate is proportional to impact.
Characteristic 1 – Shock Relief: Magic consumption rate is halved.
Characteristic 2 – Emergency Refill: During activation, magic recovery increases up to two times.
Characteristic 3 – Element Resistance: Efficiency of element properties increases up to two times.
It ranked higher than any other skill Yoon-seok had. However, in terms of combat style and practicality, he could only see Visionary Enhancement being useful. Suddenly, it made him even sadder as he was reminded of the Light of Greed, but…
Well, he let the thought go as it wouldn’t change what had already happened.
‘This will be helpful when the time comes.’
With that, Yoon-seok finished checking on the looted skills. There was still Sword Mastery left, but it was left unchecked. He’d already learned about the effectiveness of the skill, and because of the penalty of King of Armory, it couldn’t be used.
‘…The equipment isn’t particularly useful.’
Yoon-seok sighed after confirming the equipment he had obtained from the duel. No need to mention the swords and bows, but the Guardian’s Crown obtained from the devil had a beneficial effect when using armor techniques. But the rank itself was high, so it was perfect for exchanging for stats
「With the effect of Steel Stealth, Durability (C-) has increased.」
「With the effect of Steel Stealth, Durability (C) has increased.」
So the confirmation of what he gained from b Predation} was over. Yoon-seok smacked his lips as if he were disappointed. It felt like he obtained a lot all at once, but he didn’t find much when he opened it. Was his magic stat increasing to B+ after absorbing it all three times the only comforting factor?
‘Let’s upgrade magic first.’
Yoon-seok used 384,000 APs to upgrade his magic to A-.
‘I’m finally using it.’
He took out the Hydra’s heart, which he had stored since the sixth floor. It functioned as an elixir that increased magic below A by one when taken. He’d been saving it for maximum efficiency, and the time had finally come.
‘I can’t describe how long I’ve been waiting for this…’
Yoon-seok frowned as he grabbed the heart that was wriggling as if it was still alive. Then he breathed deeply before taking a large bite.
‘Why is it so tough…?’
It felt like chewing on rubber. The word terrible wasn’t enough to describe the texture of the heart. In addition, lukewarm juice (?) spread out from the inside whenever he chewed. To be honest, it was disgusting, but…
Yoon-seok forced it down. This would be nothing if it meant that he could grow stronger. Yoon-seok was willing to suffer even more for that.
「You ate the Giant Hydra’s heart. The rank of magic (A-) has increased.」
No pain, no gain. His magic finally reached A rank. Technically, it already ranked S with the combined effects of b Bloodseeker’s Ultimatum} and the Dragonian’s Pledge Ring. Well, he didn’t know if S-Rank existed, but…
‘I guess there won’t be a case where Bloodseeker’s Energy is insufficient anymore.’
It had been a while since Yoon-seok felt his strength growing so rapidly.
‘Well, let’s get started….’
When he checked the current AP balance, 134,400 AP left, adding in the 2,400AP that remained from the previous session. Yoon-seok generously purchased upgrades for his skills. The skill he wanted to upgrade was already decided.
「Rank of Vajra Step (Rank F) has been increased.」
「Rank of Vajra Step (Rank F+) has been increased.」
As the rank rose, the maximum range distance increased to two meters, but the trait selection page he was hoping for didn’t pop up. Yoon-seok continued to upgrade it all out, however.
「Rank of Vajra Step (Rank E-) has been increased.」
「Rank of Vajra Step (Rank E) has been increased.」
「Rank of Vajra Step (Rank E+) has been increased.」
「The selection of characteristics of Vajra Step (Rank D-) is possible.」
The maximum range distance has increased to three and a half meters, and the trait selection page finally appeared. There were as many as three to choose from.
—Characteristics 1: Afterimage
Up to four clones will be created when stepping back. When landing, positions can be interchanged with the clones.
—Characteristics 2: Vajra Mirror
Damage is completely ignored during the leap and is aimed back at the target.
—Characteristics 3: Cultivation
The cooldown of Vajra Step will be reduced to 120 seconds.
Although there were three, Yoon-seok could decide without much thought.
「You have chosen the characteristic of Vajra Mirror in Vajra Step.」
It wasn’t bad to create clones to generate confusion or reduce the cooldown time to 1/10. No, those were even more charming. Yet, Yoon-seok only wanted one thing from the skill. It was a deciding at a level that he couldn’t handle. With that criteria, only the characteristics of Vajra Mirror passed.
「Rank of Vajra Step (Rank D-) has been increased.」
「Rank of Vajra Step (Rank D) has been increased.」
「Rank of Vajra Step (Rank D+) has been increased.」
He raised it to rank C- if the trait selection notice might appear again, but sadly, it remained elusive. Still, the distance range had increased, and now the invincible state could be maintained for more than one second.
「Please select a skill to synthesize.」
With a total of 37,400AP left, Yoon-seok attempted Skill Synthesis. He didn’t mean to randomly buy and synthesize skills like last time. He planned to combine King of Weaponry and Sword Mastery first and buy Sword Mastery again if the penalty disappeared.
「Skill has been synthesized.」
「Acquired King of All Swords.」
*King of All Swords (Rank C) – Original skill of challenger Choi Yoon-seok. Power increases by two times when using blade-related weapons, and additional capabilities are gained according to the number of weapons.
However, the effects of masteries related to a weapon cannot be used.
Additional effects depending on the number? Yoon-seok quickly pulled out his sword.
「One sword is being used. Attack speed has been increased twice.」
Double attack speed. When one sword was used, the effect wasn’t as great as King of Weaponry. Then how about two swords?
「Two swords are being used. Attack speed has been increased twice.」
King Weaponry’s attack speed had increased thrice. It was a vague increase, but…
Since he would continue to use double swords, he will consider the effect mastery as an upgrade. Although using three blades would improve the effectiveness, it was impossible to use three-blade techniques like in a comic.
‘No, wait a minute…’
Yoon-seok suddenly hesitated. Something flashed in his head. It was a little off, but wouldn’t it be possible to use b Avatar} to gain more arms and handle more swords at once? Of course, he thought it might be a little messy to use multiple arms all at once, but it was well worth the experiment.
On second thought, a better way came to mind in a similar context after further thought.
Whoooooooosh!
Yoon-seok immediately activated Bloodseeker’s Energy and formed it into a crimson sword.
「Three swords are being used. The sword’s power increases by 1.5.」
「Four swords are being used. Magic consumption is halved.」
「Five swords are being used. Agility stat increases by +1.」
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