Chapter 73

073. The Ordeal of the 10th Floor (4)

The world, fundamentally, revolves around those who have.

Whether it's money, talent, or something else, those who lack cannot defeat those who possess.

Just like me, who couldn't become a Hunter due to a complete lack of skill affinity.

However, since I started climbing the Tower of Trials, I have been able to obtain things I couldn't before.

The rewards I earned by breaking through the insane ordeals of life and death gave me much.

Thanks to them, I was able to acquire the power I had never possessed.

Of course, the reality of it didn't fully sink in because I only met with hardships, facing interdimensional challengers and the like, before I could even feel the power I had gained...

But not anymore.

「Vampire Count's Worn Tuxedo」

「Grade: A-」

「Movement Speed +8%」

「Mana Circulation +10%」

「A special tuxedo favored by a young Vampire Count among Kallian's vampires.」

「When attacked, it can create a blood-red protective barrier by consuming a random amount of HP or internal blood.」

「The level of the barrier is determined by the amount of HP and blood consumed.」

I slightly curled my lips as I looked at the red tuxedo I had taken from Kim Seung-jun.

To think I could obtain an item of A- grade without paying any price.

No, it wasn't that I paid no price at all.

If I had lost the battle just now, it would have been me, not Kim Seung-jun, who would have had to hand over the item.

‘High risk, high return, huh...’

The risk of almost dying was matched by the considerable gains I made this time.

「Amplification Grimoire」

「Grade: C+」

「A grimoire used by a young court mage of Ares for mana amplification.」

「When casting a spell with the book on your hand, the density and quality of mana are enhanced.」

「However, if the book falls from your hand during use, all stats decrease by -1.」

Of course, this included the ominous grimoire Kim Seung-jun had used while holding it in battle.

「Necklace of the Thunder God's Devotee」

「Grade: A」

「A necklace that can change the user's mana quality to lightning attribute if possessed for a long time.」

「It can change the mana quality of up to three people, but this effect only applies to those who have no mana quality.」

There was even a necklace that could change mana quality, which was so valuable that I wondered how he had obtained it.

「Blood Heaven Demon Sword」

「Grade: B+」

「Reaction Speed +7%」

「Attack Speed +10%」

「A famous sword that was once a treasure of the Blood Demon Sect in the martial world.」

「When used by someone with a sword skill, blood energy (blood qi) swirls around the blade, and the flow of mana through the blood vessels becomes smoother.」

I also obtained a sword that seemed to have been acquired by killing someone else, which he hadn't used in battle.

In addition to these, I obtained various other items, but nothing else stood out besides these three.

The rest of the items were of a level that I could dispose of somewhere when I returned to reality.

I even tried breaking and healing his hand bones repeatedly to see if Kim Seung-jun was hiding any items...

Crack! Crack! Crack!

“F*ck...! Y-you b*stard! That's all! That's everything! I've given you everything I have...!!”

「The skill 'Eye of Truth' is activated.」

「All statements from this character are true.」

It seemed he wasn't hiding any items.

Only then did I remove my foot from Kim Seung-jun's body and put the obtained items into my inventory.

Of course, I didn't put the [Necklace of the Thunder God's Devotee] in the inventory but wore it immediately.

「Player Han Seung-yun currently has no unique mana quality.」

「The mana quality is beginning to bloom due to the effect of the Necklace of the Thunder God's Devotee (A).」

I thought it wasn't bad to gain a mana quality when I had none.

From what I asked Kim Seung-jun, he had only used it once and had about two more uses left.

“Please, stop... Just let me live, and I'll do anything...”

During the process, Kim Seung-jun's bones broke and regenerated multiple times, making him look even more pitiful...

But I didn't feel any sympathy for the sight.

Self-inflicted, self-received.

He was merely paying the price for the evil he had accumulated.

Looking at his pitiful state, I crushed the potion in my hand.

Crunch.

As the glass shards shattered in my grip and the potion dripped to the floor, Kim Seung-jun's eyes widened and he gritted his teeth.

“F*ck...!! I gave you everything in my inventory, so why...!!”

Kim Seung-jun's face contorted in realization that he had been deceived...

“Why would I keep a promise that doesn't need to be kept...”

I answered in an unwavering voice and approached Kim Seung-jun.

Kim Seung-jun, in a panic, tried to escape from the spot but couldn't.

With 30% of the rapid recovery potion unused, Kim Seung-jun could barely sustain his life.

“F*ck, f*ck, f*ck...!! Please, someone, help...!”

Kim Seung-jun, using his arms, tried to crawl towards Kim Seung-hun and Oh Chun-seok for help...

Crack!

I immediately stomped on Kim Seung-jun's head with all my might, cleanly silencing him.

“...”

After a clean and final end, with no guilt or regret left...

「Player 'Kim Seung-jun's soul has been absorbed.」

「Proficiency increased by 12.7%.」

The only message that appeared was the Necromancy message indicating the absorption of the soul.

***

After Kim Seung-jun died and his soul was absorbed, a new message appeared before my eyes.

「10 minutes until the start of the ordeal.」

「All challengers, prepare for the 10th floor ordeal.」

The waiting time for the 10th floor ordeal was about to end.

Well, it took quite a bit of time to kill Kim Seung-jun, but I gained a lot from it.

As I was satisfied, Kim Seung-hun and Oh Chun-seok approached me.

“You seem to have finished it completely.”

Kim Seung-hun spoke indifferently, and I replied with the same lack of emotion.

“I don't usually leave any loose ends.”

“Is that so... Well, that's not a bad choice.”

Kim Seung-hun nodded and pointed at the air.

I tensed up, thinking he might be activating a skill...

「Challenger Kim Seung-hun has sent you a friend request.」

The sudden friend request message immediately dispelled my tension.

“If you have any questions or need anything later, feel free to contact me.”

With a voice that seemed to indicate he was quite satisfied, Kim Seung-hun turned and walked away before I could react.

‘...What’s going on?’

As I was wondering about the situation, another message appeared.

「Challenger Oh Chun-seok has sent you a friend request.」

Oh Chun-seok, who was standing next to me, also sent a friend request.

I looked at Oh Chun-seok, and he immediately looked embarrassed and spoke.

“Haha... It might seem a bit presumptuous, but I wanted to stay in touch.”

He seemed quite uncomfortable about not helping me during the fight with Kim Seung-jun.

But if I were in Oh Chun-seok's position, I wouldn't have risked my life to help someone else.

And it seemed he had intended to kill Kim Seung-jun anyway, so if he thought I was in real danger, he would have intervened.

“It’s not presumptuous. Feel free to contact me whenever you want.”

It was good to have a way to contact the top-tier challengers.

「Challenger Kim Seung-hun's friend request has been accepted.」

「Challenger Oh Chun-seok's friend request has been accepted.」

I immediately accepted both friend requests, and Oh Chun-seok smiled.

“Thank you. I was worried you might not accept... It’s good.”

Oh Chun-seok said this and then looked at me, continuing.

“You chose the Dominator Aura on the 8th floor, didn’t you?”

I couldn’t help but widen my eyes at his words.

“...!?”

Seeing my surprise, Oh Chun-seok scratched his head, looking a bit embarrassed.

“Just now, when you used a skill, it seemed like you summoned a mana shield... I don’t think a close-combat Hunter would learn something like that. And the skill seemed quite high-grade, which is hard for a close-combat Hunter to obtain. There are other reasons too, though.”

“Other reasons...?”

“I also chose the Dominator Aura. That’s why I was sure. I couldn’t combine skills as high-grade as you, but I could see that you integrated all the useless skills you had obtained so far. Honestly, I’m quite envious.”

“What do you mean...?”

If Oh Chun-seok had chosen the Dominator Aura, he should have been able to combine skills like me...

As I was thinking this, Oh Chun-seok explained.

“Originally, skills require affinity to be easily obtained... Each skill has different required affinities and affinity values, so obtaining skills was like picking stars from the sky.”

At least before the tower appeared, that was true.

I couldn’t obtain any skills due to my lack of affinity.

“Of course, things changed a bit after the tower appeared, but the points obtained from breaking through ordeals are not enough for skill synthesis, and it seems that skills can only be combined with similar skills. Otherwise, strange skills result.”

That was true.

I had combined fire resistance with the Ranger’s Discipline skill and saw the result.

Combining useless skills didn’t yield good results.

“But it seems you, Han Seung-yun, have benefited quite a bit from skill synthesis. Since you don’t have many skills, I wondered if there might be other ways to use skill synthesis.”

Only then did I realize how much the Dominator Aura varied from person to person.

I could absorb abilities and skills through Necromancy, making me well-suited for the Dominator Aura’s unique power of skill synthesis.

In contrast, Oh Chun-seok, who couldn’t easily obtain skills, found it difficult to use the unique power.

That’s why he speculated that the skills I demonstrated were obtained through the aura’s power and asked me.

However...

‘There’s no hidden function in the aura’s power...’

There was no hidden function in skill synthesis, just some basic rules.

Most of it was practically meaningless, so I thought for a moment...

“No, I just got lucky and combined the skills I obtained... But I can tell you what I learned about skill synthesis.”

I explained the basic rules of skill synthesis without revealing my unique traits.

I explained how the activation method and core content of the skill are determined when combining skills.

While you might get a feel for it after combining skills a few times, it seemed to help Oh Chun-seok.

“Oh... I didn’t know that. There were quite a few unknown functions.”

Oh Chun-seok sighed in amazement and was about to ask more...

「Time expired.」

「The 10th floor ordeal begins.」

「The remaining time is decreasing, and monsters are appearing.」

The 10th floor ordeal started, leaving no time for further conversation.