Chapter 198 High Ranker (3)
Now that he gained a new ability, it was right to check it out. Yoon-seok decided to explore survival, which seemed most useful, first.
Punch-!
Yoon-seok punched the waiting room wall. He didn’t put any energy into it, so there were no mishaps of destroying the whole wall and becoming neighbors with others after Namgoong So-so.
Crackk.
The surface of the wall dented a little, and some stone chipped off. Yoon-seok picked up a stone of roughly the right size. And…
Crunchhhh, crunch, crunchh!
He put it in his mouth and chewed.
「Ingested A75447.」
「Unique characteristic of A75447 Surveillance is applied for an hour at the first stage.」
「If you look closely at a challenger, you can discover additional information.」
A75447. It wasn’t just an ordinary stone.
‘Surveillance…’
Yoon-seok smiled despondently. It was clear what it meant coming from the wall.
‘The whole place is like a CCTV.’
Well, he expected them to be watching whatever he was doing. Nevertheless, he felt terrible, especially when he could do nothing about it.
Whoooosh-!
Yoon-seok made a mirror with magic and reflected himself. As he looked deeper as instructed, information appeared. Name, number of floors, record, stats. Information on the skills he possessed was missing. That was likely because it was only at the first stage.
‘Let’s eat something else.’
Yoon-seok used 500AP at the store and purchased a Rank F dagger. He ate it like before. Although it was sharp, perhaps because he wasn’t a human any longer or due to his high durability, he had no problem chewing it.
「Ingested steel dagger.」
「Unique characteristics that were previously applied disappear.」
「Due to the effect of A75447’s unique characteristic Quickness, agility stat increases by +1 for an hour.]
Well, it was a different item than the wall. It was a little disappointing that there was no overlap and only one at a time as possible. In addition, there was a cooldown to obtain the same ability again.
「Ingested A75447.」
「It’s a unique characteristic you have eaten once before. You can eat it again in 167 hours, 58 minutes and 12 seconds.」
Once a week… well, he thought it would be better to eat as many things as possible for now. Then, he could place the useful things in his subspace bag and eat them whenever.
Yoon-seok’s moved on to his next ability, pioneer. The effect of this ability was straightforward. However…
‘Does dimensions except for Earth include the Tower? Or is it talking about places like Seheranbad?’
He wasn’t sure. If the Tower was included, he could tear mission or exploration tickets and earn a huge amount of points. He wasn’t in a hurry because he would naturally find out after the next duel.
‘It’s a shame that a person like me got this…’
Some challenger killed hundreds of thousands of people on Earth just to get some WP. If such a person had been given this ability, they would be greatly feared in all dimensions.
‘What were they thinking in making this? Tsk, tsk.’
No matter how good it was to be strong, Yoon-seok had a limit. Should he say that it was a kind of standard he set when he decided to walk on the Demon Path? It might sound strange given he killed the Crown Prince, whom he’d never met before, just to acquire his Unique Skill…
But, he had no intention of invading other dimensions and slaughtering civilians. At least the Crown Prince was a being of this world. With his own choice, he stepped into a world of competition dominated by the strong. He also siphoned off challengers and talents of other dimensions for his empire’s wealth. In the end, he reaped what he sowed.
‘By the way, what is this…?’
Yoon-seok read the explanation of evolution again. He was no longer human. It looked like it was talking about race. Then, what did he become if he wasn’t human? Nothing about his appearance had changed. It was the same internally.
‘I don’t know if this is a good or bad thing….”
Still, it was one of the three powers he paid for, so he thought there would be something good to it. The only thing he could think of was that skills targeting only humans wouldn’t work on him.
‘Let’s put this aside for now.’
Maybe if he asked Elle, he might get a proper answer. He didn’t want to find her now, though. Of course, even if it wasn’t to improve their relationship, he knew that someday they should have a sincere conversation.
For now, though, he felt betrayed and wasn’t in his right mind, but he already sensed that Elle wasn’t an enemy. She sacrificed a lot for him, so he should at least listen to her side of the story. Also, if the story or what she wanted was different from his desire, they should try to talk it out.
Unless their relationship ended completely, that was the right step. However…
‘Not now. After this duel… I’ll think about it then.’
Yoon-seok delayed his meeting with Elle. The duel would begin in four days. He didn’t know what enemy he would face, and if he died there, then all his worries would prove meaningless. For similar reasons, the decision to synthesize b Thunder Sword} or use it normally was postponed.
Even if it was synthesized and downgraded, there was a way to turn back time with the pocket watch.
‘Then, am I roughly done with preparations?’
Although about 6.9 million MP and 12.7 million AP remained, he completed his prep. Yoon-seok finally checked the ranking board. 4,992 people left. Before the duel began, 8 of the 5,000 rankers had disappeared from the list. That number would be halved again after the duel.
‘If Su-yeon was right, then it will reduce faster….’
Yoon-seok closed his eyes and explored the Heavenly Sword by wielding his sword freely in his imaginary world. He also studied the survival effect of New Human in his spare time. Stones, grass, wood, metal, items, and more. He ate regardless of the type, and he sorted out the useful things.
Soon, the next duel arrived.
「Get ready. The duel will begin soon.」
Clearing the mission after thousands of deaths. Meeting Lee Su-yeon. The b Planet Guardian}, the Crown Prince, and reuniting with Ragna Hambledon. Many incidents have happened in the past month.
But it was time to get back to work.
The arena had grown hundreds of times wider since the 20th floor. Yoon-seok’s eyes opened even before the countdown began. Immediately, he noticed one change.
‘Huh?’
There was a blue fog over the audience seats. Furthermore, there were also excited, faint shouts from somewhere. He couldn’t understand any individual sound because there was too much noise.
「3.」
The countdown began. But, Yoon-seok looked at the audience instead of his opponent. He saw thousands in the crowd strangely hidden by the fog. It was a familiar sight.
‘Are they admins…?’
From the Wish Auction. This was similar to back then. Countless admins filled the auditorium and bid for Yoon-seok. Then, would they be watching from the 21st floor on?
‘…’
Yoon-seok shifted his gaze to his duel opponent. Their figure was human, but something like wings was placed where their ears should be. In addition, eight wings spread out behind her back like an angel from a painting.
「2.」
Prominent chest and fluttering silver hair, plus red, aloof eyes were staring at him. If the correlation between appearance and gender coincided with humans, his foe was a woman.
‘Is it Sephylem?’
Yoon-seok recalled one of the various races he heard about from Lee Su-yeon that matched. Sephylem, one of the three races that live in the dimension Koldium. Although their numbers were small, each was distinctive and powerful. He felt fascinated by encountering a new race, but Yoon-seok soon turned his attention away.
‘What is this? Can she not see them?’
The blue fog filled the stands and the admins hiding behind. This was a change that occurred on the 21st floor. Nevertheless, she was staring at Yoon-seok as if there were nothing else but him.
‘Then does it mean only I can see it?’
He wasn’t sure. Maybe she also saw the fog but considered her current opponent more important. But what if it wasn’t that? What if the environment hadn’t changed, but he had?
「1.」
Perhaps the admins were always in the stands, and when a certain condition was met, they began to appear to Yoon-seok?
‘Because I’m not human?’
It was a plausible assumption. It was unlikely because of {Thunder Sword}, so New Human was the only other option. Therefore, the question arose. He knew that he’d transcended humanity, but what had he become?
“…”
He didn’t know. But, it wasn’t something to worry about now.
「START!」
At soon as the duel began, the vast stadium was filled with magic. Yoon-seok could no longer think of anything else. He could tell right away that she wasn’t an opponent for that.
‘What magic…?’
Yoon-seok, who broke through the system’s limitations with his Transcendence, shouldn’t say this, but it was no joke. Just when she spread her wings, magic heavier than any he’d ever face spread over the arena. The wind kicked up was as sharp as a blade.
Yoon-seok brought out {Divine Ultimatum} with all his might.
Bzzzzzzz-!
For his synergy with {Thunder Sword}, Yoon-seok’s magic, now with the lightning attribute, began to block the pressure she kicked up.
Yoon-seok was a little surprised. Numerous strong players in Seheranbad felt their difference and froze at the spread of his magic. But this woman was different. She was facing him head-on.
‘She’s quite similar to me?’
It was the first time since he obtained b Divine Ultimatum}, but it wasn’t unacceptable. A ranker arrived here from a completely different dimension, purchasing completely different skills and equipment, and signing with a different admin. It wasn’t strange to think she had abilities beyond the standard, like Transcendence.
However, victory over the testing water stages was to Yoon-seok.
「Magic rank increases by +6 for 10 seconds.」
When the Rank A effect of {Thunder Sword}, triggered every 50 seconds, exploded, Yoon-seok’s magic suppressed hers.
“…!”
Only then did her face, as expressionless as a sculpture, change. She couldn’t seem to believe that her magic was being suppressed. He returned to his original state after 10 seconds, but he took the lead by that time.
‘Death God.’
Yoon-seok first registered his opponent on the list. Although it was difficult to match the date and cause of death for Asura’s growth, it was important to obtain some information. Soon, the list appeared with an ominous aura, and Yoon-seok read the open book.
「Der Hon Carriene」
Residing dimension, Koldium. Nickname, Theze. There were other small details, but Yoon-seok focused on her nickname.
‘Theze?’
It was a familiar nickname. He memorized the rankers whenever he had time, but he focused on the top people. In other words, this opponent was a top ranker.
‘Ah…’
Yoon-seok recalled where.
*98th place, Theze (SSS-) – Koldium.
*323rd place, Predator (SS+) – Earth.
That woman was higher ranked than Yoon-seok. The rating wasn’t absolute, but it couldn’t be ignored either, especially now that he knew the Tower was always watching. He was sure she had as many extraordinary abilities as he did.
“I can feel a great deal of energy from you.”
The woman flapped her wings as she spoke, her voice pure.
“Repent with death.”
A hammer appeared in her soft and elegant hand. It was of a size that could take him out in a single shot even in b Demonify}. It was hard to even call it a hammer. As if there were no mercy to offer, the end was pointed instead of blunt.
「By Declaration of Divine Retribution, all abilities with evil attributes are sealed.」
Seeing that there was no command, that must be a power. Yoon-seok tilted his head. Evil attributes were sealed. Did he have those? He could only ponder for a second.
「Soul Imprint: Demon Body and Soul Cleanse is sealed.」
「Unique Skill b Dark Knight} is sealed.」
「Unique Skill {Immortality} is sealed.」
「Unique Skill b Demonify} is sealed.」
「Unique Skill b Death God} is sealed.」
The phrases filled his vision.
“…”
It felt like he was going to play a chess game without his king or queen. This would be a long and difficult fight.
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