Chapter 68

068. Skill Acquisition (3)

In order to synthesize skills, I bid farewell to the administrators who had been watching me and returned to the waiting room.

"You have entered the 10th floor waiting room."

However, I didn't immediately start synthesizing skills.

"Exclusive Shop."

「Contractor Exclusive Shop」

「SP – 500」

「Category: Skills」

「Category: Abilities」

「Category: Items」

「Contractor: Iron-Blooded Overlord」

「Note: The first contractor of the administrator 'Iron-Blooded Overlord'.」

Once back in the waiting room, I immediately opened the exclusive shop to check the list of abilities.

I wanted to see the 'Steel Wings' I had obtained through a trade with the administrator 'Glutton'.

「Category: Abilities」

「List (2/3)」

「Ability: Rebirth (C+)」

「Ability: Iron-Blooded Sword (A-)」

「Ability: Hand of Death (B-)」

「Ability: Steel Wings (C+)」

Flipping to the second page of the ability list, I found the new ability from the Glutton at the bottom.

「Ability: Steel Wings (C+)」

「Price: 1,500 SP」

「Description: An ability to generate steel wings using magic power. High-speed flight is possible through the steel wings created by magic power. To maintain the wings, a steady supply of magic power is required, and the wings will automatically deactivate if magic power is insufficient.」

"Not as expensive as I thought."

I had assumed it would be a high-level ability since it allows flight, but...

'The ability given by the Glutton isn't that great after all.'

Of course, as an ability, its performance is definitely solid, but the need for a steady supply of magic power is a bit bothersome.

Especially since my magic power is already consumed rapidly when using Sword Qi, the need for a steady supply of magic power is even more problematic.

'Air combat seems impossible.'

If air combat is unavoidable, it will likely be a short, decisive battle.

Magic power is limited, and the means to replenish it are not abundant for me.

Of course...

"I don't have enough SP to buy the Steel Wings yet, so I'll have to pass for now."

Still, I was satisfied to have a detailed understanding of what the 'Steel Wings' can do.

'Even if air combat is difficult, it's better to have it.'

Being able to fly, even if it consumes a lot of magic power, has its merits.

The ability description mentions 'high-speed flight,' so even with the consumption of magic power, it should be possible to temporarily disengage from the front line.

'Or even to immediately escape from the range of an attack.'

In any case, if I can obtain it, it will be useful soon.

"I need to acquire some SP from the 11th floor trial."

I need to gather enough SP to buy the abilities offered by the Iron-Blooded Overlord.

With many abilities to acquire, I have the desire to obtain them all.

'I need to acquire the Steel Wings and then the Iron-Blooded Sword next.'

The ability to summon a sword made of magic power has endless possibilities, but...

What I like more is that I don't have to use my own magic power, and the level of the sword is determined by my magic power and swordsmanship.

As I grow stronger, the sword will also become stronger, so I won't need to seek out new swords in the Tower of Trials.

'Thinking about it that way, the Iron-Blooded Sword is indeed an A- level ability.'

However, I can't afford an A- level ability right now.

'Even if I break through the 11th floor, it seems unlikely I can afford this ability...'

This is something I'll have to consider after climbing further up the tower, so I turned my thoughts to something else.

It was time to synthesize all the skills I had acquired in the arena.

Of course, mixing skills haphazardly can result in abilities that are not what I want, so I decided to combine similar ones.

If the skills come out in a form I didn't intend, it means I can't control the variables, and that could result in a bad skill.

With this in mind, I carefully chose the rewards and accepted the challenges in the arena.

I mainly acquired skills related to shields and swordsmanship, and also a few others.

Of course, most of them are not high-level, so using them effectively is difficult, and they all have the penalty of being unable to grow.

"Hmm..."

If I can use 'Skill Synthesis' to make them grow and simultaneously improve their level, it should be possible to resolve this.

I thought it would be best to start by synthesizing the protective skills.

'Even with the Necromancer's shield, I can't rely solely on it.'

If I get careless and use all my Necromancer's abilities to boost my stats, the protective abilities will disappear.

To compensate for this weakness, I decided it would be better to have at least one protective ability.

The foundation for the protective ability would be the 'Origin Shield' I acquired from a Japanese challenger named 'Oowaki Yuuji'.

『Skill – Origin Shield (D-)』

『Proficiency – None』

『Basic Effect – Reciting the skill name summons a shield formed by magic power.』

『Detailed Effect – The size and strength of the shield can be adjusted according to the amount of magic power used.』

While the skill activation and effects are extremely simple...

This simplicity makes it a good foundation for the skill.

'There's nothing more stable than a skill that serves as a foundation.'

Of course, some secondary elements might change, but the core skill won't lose its value.

I soon selected the skills to synthesize with the Origin Shield and activated the skill synthesis.

「The unique ability 'Skill Synthesis' is activated.」

「Opening the skill list.」

The first skill to mix with the Origin Shield was just one.

『Skill – Rock Stance (E)』

『Proficiency – None』

『Basic Effect – Basic durability increases, and parts of the body can be hardened like rock.』

『Detailed Effect – The increase in durability only applies if the body's durability is lower than that of rock, and the effect of hardening the body is reduced.』

I had received this skill out of curiosity during a duel, but it turned out to be a useless ability, causing me to sigh.

However, the ability to strengthen parts of the body has value for synthesis as a protective ability.

'Even if it's not a shield, it's still a protective ability...'

Moreover, its relatively high level would definitely help the Origin Shield.

And...

「The level of the synthesis materials does not match.」

「The skill 'Origin Shield' is the center of the synthesis.」

The synthesis messages appeared, and the synthesis probability was displayed.

「The skill 'Origin Shield' is the center of the synthesis.」

「The probability of synthesizing a higher-level skill is 75%.」

'Good.'

With a stable probability, I didn't hesitate to proceed with the synthesis.

「The skill synthesis is complete.」

「A new skill is generated.」

"Ah."

I smiled at the result of the skill synthesis.

『Skill – Tai Shan Shield (D+)』

『Proficiency – 0%』

『Basic Effect – Reciting the skill name summons a green shield formed by magic power.』

『Detailed Effect – The size and strength of the shield can be adjusted according to the amount of magic power used, and the shield's defense increases by 1.25 times when a certain amount of magic power is consumed.』

While many phrases changed, fundamentally, it followed the 'Origin Shield' I had acquired from Oowaki Yuuji.

Moreover...

'The effect of strengthening durability from Rock Stance was inherited.'

Not only did it inherit part of the ability, but the proficiency was changed to '0%'.

This means the skill now has the potential to grow.

I continued the skill synthesis, reaffirming that it is indeed a powerful ability.

There were also F- level skills among the abilities I acquired in the arena, so I decided to clean them up first.

'F- level skills are too low to be used in synthesis.'

After combining the low-level skills, some of them changed quite nicely.

Most of them became quite good skills, approaching the E level.

'Of course, these are all protective skills, so they will be synthesized further.'

With this in mind, I continued the synthesis.

「The skill synthesis is complete.」

「A new skill is generated.」

The skill synthesis proceeded more smoothly than I had expected.

『Skill – Pure Shield (C-)』

『Proficiency – 0%』

『Basic Effect – Reciting the skill name summons a shield of light formed by magic power.』

『Detailed Effect – The size and strength of the shield can be adjusted according to the amount of magic power used, and the shield's defense increases by 1.5 times when a certain amount of magic power is consumed.』

Sometimes, only the name or minor effects changed, with no significant changes.

『Skill – Mirror Shield (C+)』

『Proficiency – 0%』

『Basic Effect – Reciting the skill name summons a mirror shield formed by magic power.』

『Detailed Effect – The size and strength of the shield can be adjusted according to the amount of magic power used, and the shield can reflect 10% of the damage received.』

Sometimes, an entire effect disappeared and a new one appeared.

『Skill – Counter Shield (B)』

『Proficiency – 0%』

『Basic Effect – Reciting the skill name summons a red shield formed by magic power.』

『Detailed Effect – The size and strength of the shield can be adjusted according to the amount of magic power used, and the shield can reflect 25% of the damage received. If the shield does not break, the damage can be accumulated and released all at once.』

Sometimes, the original effect was only enhanced.

"This is the best I can do for a protective ability."

I narrowed my eyes at the 'Counter Shield,' the final synthesized protective ability.

'While it's not as powerful as the Ashen Blood skill...'

Even if they are of similar levels, not all abilities are equally good, so the Counter Shield felt a bit lacking.

Of course, the ability to reflect 25% of the damage received is quite useful, so I quickly suppressed my dissatisfaction.

'The Ashen Blood skill doesn't block attacks and doesn't reflect damage.'

I decided to think of it as each skill pursuing different goals.

「The skill 'Counter Shield' is activated.」

Focusing slightly, I thought of the skill name, and the skill activated.

Kiiing.

"Ah."

Surprisingly, the skill could be activated without saying the name out loud.

Just like with the 'Eye of Truth' in the dungeon, I could activate the skill without saying the name.

'If I can develop this habit with other skills, I won't need to say them out loud to activate them.'

Of course, some training will be needed to use them in actual combat...

But being able to use skills without saying them out loud is a significant advantage.

After finishing the skill test, I decided to start training and looked at the Counter Shield floating above my palm.

The shield, tinged with a red glow and subtly emitting magic power like smoke, looked formidable just by looking at it.

'At least it has a strong presence as a B-level skill.'

Thud.

I lightly tapped the shield with my right hand, and it felt quite solid.

If I pour more magic power into the shield, it should be strong enough to withstand a few punches from me.

After examining the skill, I came to a conclusion.

"At this level, I can train a bit and then challenge the 11th floor..."

I thought I could challenge the 11th floor without needing to prepare anything else.