Yoon-seok received 4000 AP as a reward from the last duel. While he didn’t receive another coin since he hadn’t advanced to the next level yet, he did acquire another Unique Skill from his opponent. It was called Silent Command. Its description said that it allowed the user to activate a skill without chanting its name.
Unlike the previous skills he acquired, this skill didn’t seem to be too powerful. Nevertheless, he determined that it was pretty good.
‘Backstep.’
His body reacted as soon as he thought to do so in his head.
「 Counterattack is available.」
Yoon-seok smiled as he confirmed how the Silent Command skill worked. Frankly, it was annoying to shout each skill name, but more than that, it was embarrassing. He analyzed what advantages the new skill could bring him in a duel.
It would now be quicker to activate a skill because he didn’t need to announce it anymore. Furthermore, he could confuse his opponents as they wouldn’t know what skill he would use next.
‘Some people may guess my next move after hearing my command.’
The Silent Command could be used against those people. As he thought about it, Yoon-seok realized he could familiarize himself with the other skills by checking out the available ones at the store. The higher the floor he reached, the higher the possibility of meeting an opponent with such an intellectual level. Perhaps, like the characters in a game, there may be challengers who could counterattack every skill they heard.
‘Perhaps, it’s not a bad idea to keep shouting random skill names to surprise my opponents.’
The more he thought about it, the more he was assured about the usefulness of the Silent Command. Now, Yoon-seok felt regret about the last duelist he faced, whom he acquired this skill from.
‘Such a unique skill, but he chose suicide.’
Well, it wasn’t like Yoon-seok didn’t understand his opponent as he thought it wasn’t a very useful skill in the beginning. Perhaps, his opponent might have been disheartened with the Unique Skill he had without realizing its full potential. Yoon-seok didn’t know what the future had in store for him, but he would make sure to put the skill to good use. He took a short moment to offer a silent prayer and give condolences to his last opponent.
‘Come to think of it – the Unique Skills I have been given seem too overpowered.’
Unique Skills weren’t sold in stores, and the Predation skill alone must be a top-tier one as it allowed the user to obtain additional Unique Skills. Of course, there was a pitfall, which was to lose one of his skills if someone defeated him.
‘Still, it is an enormous advantage for me within this system.’
Matches were based on the challengers’ total scores. Although it appeared like a perfect system in terms of balance, it was a system that separated the winners from the losers. How so? The reason was simple.
It was because the total score was just the total amount of AP earned by the duelists. It didn’t consider other factors such as combat experience, synergies between acquired skills, challenger’s growth, Unique Skills, or tactics learned. The more he won, the more likely it would be to continue winning because of the attributes he obtained along the way.
‘But, let’s not get a big head. There might be someone out there with better skills….’
Yoon-seok pondered about how to use the 4000 AP he had. After a while, he decided on upgrading his basic attributes. He chose to improve on his Agility.
*Elixir of Agility (Rank F) — Can increase Agility levels below E Rank by 1.
Price: 1500 AP
Increasing his mana might be a better option, he thought, because he had skills that consume mana. He might finish off battles more efficiently if he could use his two mana-consuming Unique Skills for longer periods.
‘But what’s the harm in going off the track for once?’
With that in mind, Yoon-seok made a bold decision.
「Agility (F-) ranked up.」
「Agility (F) ranked up.」
Yoon-seok spent 3000 AP to upgrade his Agility to F+ rank. He could already feel his body had become lighter. It felt as if he could move twice as fast as before.
‘But the downside is that I get tired real fast, too.’
Yoon-seok clicked his tongue. It was an unexpected side effect. He was planning to upgrade his mana and strength next time, but he would be forced to upgrade his stamina first in this condition.
The 1000 AP he had left wasn’t enough to learn any new skills or to improve stats, and buying low-rank equipment felt like a waste. Yoon-seok now realized that his low-ranked equipment could only be with him for a certain period. As his level increased, the more worthless they became. Moreover, it was impossible to sell the equipment back to the store.
‘I’ll just save my money, then.’
However, Yoon-seok kept looking around the store’s window, studying equipment and skills, trying to memorize everything he could. Knowledge was power.
After wandering through the store window for about two hours, Yoon-seok picked up his sword and shield. He started to hone his fighting skills as he had done before. Not long after, the time had come once more.
「Get ready. The duel will begin soon.」
* * *
「START!」
As the countdown ended, Yoon-seok lifted his sword and shield. The pale-skinned man before him stared at him with amusement.
“Seeing that you’re ready to fight, you’re not like those idiots, are you?” The man laughed.
He was referring to those suicidal people who believed in rumors and chose to die. Yoon-seok felt that the man was belittling him. The man kept rambling alone, uncaring whether Yoon-seok replied or not.
“A human named Devil 666 who’s more demonic than I am…some humans are lost in their ridiculous delusions, thinking they are different. Now then…come at me! I will give you a chance to strike me first.”
Yoon-seok stayed still. There was a particular word that he worried about during the conversation.
‘A demon? He called himself a demon…’
The pale-skinned man did have horns on his forehead. Yoon-seok deduced that he wasn’t human from his appearance, but he never thought he would face an actual demon. Somehow the scale had grown bigger. However, he didn’t feel intimidated.
‘The fact that I am facing him means that our total score is no different. Moreover, I have something that will put this in my favor.’
In Yoon-seok’s eyes, the devil seemed to be the delusional one. No matter how strong he originally was, now, he was just a challenger on the same starting line as everyone else. Yoon-seok carefully narrowed the distance, no sign of fear. On the contrary, he showed his determination to win the duel. The demon looked surprised.
“Hoo…”
Even after he was dragged to The Tower of Heaven and lost his power, each of the opponents the demon faced froze before him after seeing his horns. It was all the same with Orcs, Hybrid creatures, and Fairies. However, this human was different. Earthlings must be ignorant about his power.
“Though all my strength has been lost, I have retained my power through the Unique Skills given to me!”
Despite the demon’s words, Yoon-seok jumped in quickly and struck his sword against him.
Thwack!
His sword pierced the demon’s torso, and blood splattered as he pulled out his sword.
‘Is he this weak?’
Yoon-seok was surprised after his successful attack. However, his instincts made him duck a split-second after pulling back.
Bang-!
The demon’s blood, which sprayed over his head, exploded right above him. Yoon-seok quickly put distance between them, unsure of what just happened. The demon looked fine despite the gaping hole in his torso. Then, the demon’s blood, which was scattered on the ground, floated and returned to its owner’s body.
Psssshhhhh-!
As the blood returned to its owner’s body, smoke hissed out of the wound. Then, the sword wound recovered in a minute. Yoon-seok was mesmerized.
“Kekekeke! That stupid expression suits an Earthling like you!”
Yoon-seok barely could keep himself together as he thought about his next moves. Aside from manipulating blood that could be used for attack, the demon could also recover his wounds instantaneously. From his meticulous research on the skills at the store, he found no such extraordinary skill. Nothing at the E rank, at least.
That meant that…
‘Is that his Unique Skill? That’s a total fraud!’
The demon calmly walked toward Yoon-seok as if daring him to attack. However, Yoon-seok, now aware of his skill, was wary.
“I assume you’re racking your simple head now about what you just saw. That’s right, yes, I can shape my blood to anything I desire.”
As he spoke, the demon tore his palm apart with his sharp nails. Then, he stretched out his bloody palm toward Yoon-seok.
Boom! Boom! Bada-boom!
Yoon-seok quickly rolled to the ground to dodge the explosions. The demon was cackling as he watched him struggle. However, he wasn’t just avoiding the explosions. He was waiting for an opening.
‘Now!’
Yoon-seok immediately rose from his rolling position and extended his sword to the man.
「Enhance Weapon is activated.」
Thunk-!
Yoon-seok’s glowing sword pierced the man’s forehead.
‘Surely, he can’t survive that…right?’
In all comic books and movies he had seen, creatures with regeneration abilities had the same weakness: their heads. Even zombies died when their heads were damaged. Still, as he watched the pulp that was once the demon’s forehead, Yoon-seok felt uneasy.
Soon, what he was anxious about turned to reality.
“Puhahahahaha!”
Despite having his head pulverized, the demon began laughing. Yoon-seok felt overwhelmed with hopelessness as the demon’s laughter filled his ears.
‘How can I beat a monster that doesn’t die even if his head’s butchered?’
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