Chapter 127 Rank S (1)

An assassin straight out of a video game. That was his impression of the darkly clad beast-man’s sleek movements.

Whik! Whik! Whik! Whik-!

angles, such as popping out of the shadow or suddenly appearing above his head. Swift whirling sounds cut through the air every second. And the more it went on, the more Yoon-seok’s smile grew under his mask.

「Agility increase by 0.01%.」

「Agility increase by 0.013%.」

「Agility increase by 0.008%.」

Was this how it felt when money fell from the sky? Perhaps that expression was insufficient for Yoon-seok, as the joy he felt right now couldn’t compare to money. It might be possible to raise his agility to A in this duel at this rate. Additionally, there were stats other than agility growing.

「Durability increases by 0.8%.」

Slash! Plwesh-! Crack!

Every time he accepted a blow, his endurance rose. He didn’t get attacked on purpose. He saw it with his eyes, but his body wouldn’t follow. Originally, he would’ve raised his body to the limit with magic, but he was using only his physical body for agility training.

‘But something’s missing.….’

His agility and endurance rose, alongside his strength from time to time. It would’ve been perfect if all three could rise in tandem, but no matter how much he thought about it, it was too much to avoid these attacks while lifting dumbbells. Well, it would be possible if he used magic or took off the bracelets that were used as weights.

But wasn’t that just reversing the order of things?

‘Let’s focus on one thing at a time.’

He had fun with weight training, so it was regrettable, but Yoon-seok tried to let go of those feelings. At some point, when he was putting all his energy into avoiding the opponent’s attack.

「Agility increase by 0.007%.」

「Agility increase by 0.003%.」

He didn’t know when it started. However, his gains in agility began to decrease noticeably. Why? He knew why. The increase in ability was not indefinite. Just as increasing the weight of the dumbbell increased strength, in the case of agility, the more difficult it was to avoid, the more he would grow.

‘It’s much easier to avoid it.’

Originally, the enemy’s attack was visible. But, he was injured occasionally because his ability couldn’t follow. However, as the duel continued, the enemy’s attack patterns and habits became naturally imprinted in Yoon-seok’s mind unnecessarily. As a result, he wasn’t avoiding as he observed. It had reached the point where he knew what and where the next attack would be.

‘Dammit.’

In the end, Yoon-seok’s natural talent and experience tampered with his growth.

「Agility stats increase by 0.001%.」

「Agility stats increase by 0.001%.」

He must come up with a scheme. He thought it would increase after 10,000 times, but it increased to 100,000 even before the rank rose. If this were the case, it wouldn’t be strange if it rose again to needing 1 million times.

‘It’s not like I can close my eyes…huh?’

It was a ridiculous idea. But, on second thought, it didn’t sound that absurd.

“…”

Yoon-seok closed his eyes. He didn’t use magic to detect his surroundings; else, it would be pointless.

Plwesh! Slash! Slash!

As soon as he closed his eyes, all information was blocked. His durability stats began to rise rapidly as he welcomed the attacks. However, he didn’t close his eyes just to raise his durability. If he wanted durability, he could increase it any time, but agility was much more of a priority in terms of importance. But if there was only one problem…

Did he have to avoid the attacks in this state to increase his agility?

“It’s much harder than I thought…’

Inky darkness… he couldn’t even use magic. However, Yoon-seok didn’t think it was impossible. If you don’t have teeth, chew with your gums. The more he paid attention to his other senses, the more information he could pry from them.

Whik! Whik! Whik! Whik-!

All attacks were accompanied by the sound of air parting, so he could at least deduce which direction it came from before it touched his body.

Tadak.

Then there was the sound of footsteps touching the ground. He could determine the location of his enemy. No, not just that. The opponent’s breathing, joints movement, and the sound of friction as clothes rubbing against flesh. Considering all of that, he could see a faint outline of this assassin in the dark.

Whik!

There was a short burst of wind pressure. At that moment, Yoon-seok instinctively turned his body to the side.

「Agility increases by 11%.」

Yoon-seok, with his eyes closed tightly, wore a smile stretching from ear to ear. Maybe this agility training would end a little faster.

It didn’t take long for him to become gradually used to avoiding attacks with his eyes closed. A part of him felt it was regrettable. As he grew used to it, the increases gradually slowed. Still, the efficiency was incomparable to before.

「Rank of Agility (A) has increased」

A downward curve was quickly drawn when his agility reached A . However, if the problem was that the difficulty of avoiding had decreased, he just needed to find another way. Yoon-seok lifted the dumbbell. And that moment, the beast-man spoke for the first time since the duel started.

“What are you planning…?”

Equipment that considered practicality, an efficient attack method that persistently targeted only the most vital parts. Even though he must have noticed more than one or two strange things, he was only asking questions now. Yoon-seok felt he could tell what kind of personality his foe had.

“I don’t understand you.”

Unlike his playful tone, he said it with a very serious look.

“A human who doesn’t die no matter how many times his heart is stabbed. A human who has skills but doesn’t try to fight properly. A human who suddenly closes his eyes during battle. And now that human is trying to do muscle exercises.”

“…”

“Is there any other way to grow stronger besides using points?”

That was the answer. Yoon-seok didn’t answer, but the beast-man was already sure.

“Maybe it is a power. But thanks to you, I have made up my mind. You’re strong, maybe dozens of times more than I am.”

Yoon-seok, who was listening quietly, tilted his head. He thought he would be angry as Sand Beckyria was, but it was a completely different reaction. It didn’t even seem like he was giving up. No, should he say that he looked rather hopeful?

“There’s no way a man like you would lose. So maybe I’m a recreated being here.”

That sentence made him understand everything, what the beast-man knew and what he was currently thinking. That was why it was very surprising. Although he possessed cool-headed judgment, not everyone could see such determination put into action.

“So this would be more helpful to me.”

Yoon-seok had no time to react. The beast-man thrust his right-hand claw deep into his heart.

“Cough! I hope we don’t meet again.”

Just before he collapsed, he left those last words to Yoon-seok. Well, technically, it wasn’t the last.

‘Here we go again.’

Yoon-seok quickly approached the beast-man and healed him with Skywrath Energy.

“I’m sorry. Please give me a few days.”

“Meow…?”

His eyes, previously those of an emotionless combat machine, seemed to tremble.

“…”

He didn’t know, but the beast-man was quick to understand. Without needing to convince him, he immediately became calm when he realized that he couldn’t even choose to end his life. Of course, it was unnecessary. He flatly refused to help Yoon-seok train his agility.

‘In the end, is strength the answer?’

Yoon-seok started the dumbbell exercises without much regret. He increased the weight near his limit, but the rate of growth was lower than before. In terms of simple calculation, the rank would rise after about 16 million times. However, strength was different from agility. There was nothing to worry about as hard work eventually paid off.

「Rank of Muscle Strength (A ) has increased.」

It was after about three weeks when his efforts turned into fruit.

‘Is it time to return…?’

Yoon-seok approached the beast-man, who had been quietly watching for three weeks without doing anything. Far from being bored, he felt joy whenever he saw that phrase appear, but he couldn’t help it. If he didn’t increase the weight of the dumbbell again, it would take at least a few years.

“Finally…”

The beast-man looked extremely pleased.

Slash.

Even the moment he cut his throat.

Thud.

His head rolled on the ground, and at that moment, something else covered his eyes before the winning phrase could.

「User’s karma has reached its target level.」

「Ability of Purity (Rank A ) is unlocked.」

As soon as he checked, the Purity filled on his wrist was completely black. He didn’t know why.

‘Is it the 17th floor now…?’

Of course, he couldn’t even guess when the precious opportunity Elle mentioned would appear. However, Yoon-seok, who returned to the waiting room, decided to solve some long-overdue questions.

‘Appraisal.’

What was this new ability of Purity?

*Purity (Rank S-) – Treasure of Heaven called the Three Gods of Trejanism.

When the User’s karma reaches a certain number, a new power will be unlocked, depending on the User’s propensity.

Luck increases by 3 when worn.

—Annihilation: Within a radius of 30 km, all beings with magic stats below Rank A- are extinguished. All the User’s magic is consumed when used, and the ability is permanently lost after three usages.

Yoon-seok doubted his eyes. The rank of the equipment had risen to a new level, but the unlocked ability’s consumption rate…a radius of 30km? He thought there was an error, but it was written there.

‘What kind of ridiculous range…?’

If this ability were used in the center of Seoul, the entire suburban area would be included. That was how wide it was. How many ordinary people or low-level challengers who met the conditions would be in that region? Yoon-seok didn’t have to calculate it. Just thinking about it sent goosebumps down his spine.

“…”

Was it because the bracelet was colored with evil? Indeed, a truly absurd ability had been unlocked. If he used it three times in total, would the ability disappear? He wondered if a chance to use this psychotic ability even once would appear in the first place.

Yoon-seok abandoned Purity and shifted his attention. He would wear the bracelet for now, but he planned to be especially careful in the future. If things went wrong, there would be an irreversible catastrophe.

‘Metallurgy.’

Yoon-seok disassembled the two pieces of equipment looted with b Predation}, then opened the tablet to check his accumulated points. 4 million on the 14th floor, 5 million on the 15th floor, and 6 million on the 16th floor. Well, he did use a tiny amount of AP to buy exercise equipment like the dumbbells, but, including the amount acquired from disassembly, it was a jaw-dropping amount.

’19 million AP…’

Yoon-seok was probably the only one who held this many points on the 17th floor.

‘It was a close call, but I still met the goal.’

18.75 million AP was the amount needed to raise a Unique Skill to Rank S. Yoon-seok, who achieved the target figure, pondered for a while. Where should he use these points? Skill Synthesis? Magic stats? Equipment? Unique Skill?

‘Since I saved it, let’s raise the Unique Skill.’

「Your purchase has arrived.」

Yoon-seok immediately gaped. Would it be {Predation} or b Divine Ultimatum}? His answer was already set.

「Rank of Unique Skill {Divine Ultimatum} has increased.」

「You’ve reached Rank S.」

「1 of the 3 effects can be chosen.」