Skills were divided into two categories: Active and Passive. The Counter Weapon Shield, a skill activated when its user announced its name, used up mana and had a cooldown time. It fell under the category of an active skill. On the other hand, passive skills had no such restraints. For example, the Sword Mastery’s effects were applied every time a relevant weapon was used.
After much consideration, Yoon-seok decided on one.
「New Skill has been acquired.」
He picked Backstep, an active skill that he felt would be helpful to him right now. Though it was an active skill, Backstep had no mana consumption or a cooldown time involved with its use.
“Backstep!”
Soon as he shouted the command, Yoon-seok’s body moved one meter backward on its own.
「Under the state for counterattack」
A message screen flashed through his mind, reminding him of the counterattack feature.
“It feels wonderful!” he exclaimed.
Backstep was a skill used for retreat and counterattack. He thought he had spent his AP only for a skill that could be used for dodging, but its counterattack feature was its hidden value. If he added his other skills over the counterattack feature, the combination would be a deadly technique. So, Yoon-seok decided to train using the skill. It was something that would be helpful to him long-term.
‘For now, even though it can only give me one meter to work with, the distance will keep on increasing as I level up.’
The skill had a huge advantage in a one-on-one duel. Yoon-seok shifted his attention to his other skills, aiming to spend his time in the waiting room familiarizing himself with them.
“Multiply!”
When he shouted the command, a translucent film appeared on his blade. Yoon-seok felt the sensation that something inside his stomach was trying to get out of his body.
It was his mana.
“Weapon Enhancement!”
His sword suddenly glowed red. Again like the previous time, he felt that his mana was escaping from his body.
‘That’s weird. I didn’t feel it when I did it the first time in the previous waiting room….’
He decided not to think too deeply. It was a good thing, after all. However, if he knew how much mana was consumed every time he used the skills, he would fight more efficiently. Yoon-seok felt like he needed to learn more about mana, as he had two skills that required its use.
‘Seems like it takes about 10 minutes to recover,’ he realized after practicing for a while.
He decided that he’d have to be careful while using mana during a duel. Well, it was a problem that could be solved by either increasing his total mana or learning some mana recovery skills, but money was a problem for him in this dimension, just as it was on Earth.
*Mercenary Boots (Rank F+) – Leather boots sought-after by mercenaries. The sole is hard, and the front is lined with iron plates.
Price: 500AP
He used up his remaining AP to buy the F+ rank shoes. Yoon-seok wanted to buy chest armor, but he couldn’t afford even an F-ranked one with his 500 AP. Now, he finally had shoes, but he was left with 0 AP.
It was time to focus on the next step.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Yoon-seok continued to practice and moved his body to tackle those circumstances. He’d practice sticking out his shield or sometimes use the Backstep. Sometimes, he’d even roll on the floor.
Yoon-seok did his best as if he were engaged in a fierce battle with someone invisible. He imagined he was facing the Old Priest once more.
‘This is how he…no, the slash was more graceful.’
Shadow training. After fighting with the imaginary foe for a long while, Yoon-seok suddenly stopped with a thought.
‘I think I’ll improve more if I fight with him again…’
Then, the existence of the chat room came to his mind. Like him, the Old Priest, who was very talented, arrived at The Tower of Heaven not long ago. He should have been able to revive himself with a coin. If only Yoon-seok could speak with the man himself, he would solve what was wrong with his way of wielding the sword.
But…
‘I’m on the second floor, so I can’t talk to him….’
If the Old Priest won his next duel and entered the second floor, then they could freely converse with each other. However, it was unclear if Cheon-ho would help Yoon-seok.
‘Guess I have no choice but to do it on my own.’
Thinking so, Yoon-seok continued his training. When one looked at him from afar, he seemed like a madman, but…
His mind was growing clearer with every move.
‘I can’t exert much force, but I shouldn’t be too soft either. What matters is the proper harmony between the two….’
He wasn’t just plainly repeating the movements with his sword. Every time he moved, his control was getting better. There was no visible progress, but Yoon-seok knew his efforts wouldn’t betray him. As time went by, his moves were slower than before, but his stance was gradually improving.
At first, he only wanted to learn the sword to increase his chances of staying alive. But now, he found that wielding the sword made him genuinely happy. Whether it was to strive, compete, win, or to stay alive, outside this world, he had his neck cuffed with a leash by his owner Kang Hyung-woo.
He thought he would never let go.
Yoon-seok fell in love with his perseverance and self-development for the first time in his life. He was deeply lost on his own that it wasn’t until the last minute that he came back to his senses.
「Prepare. The duel will begin soon.」
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