Conquering the Labyrinth with a Trash-Tier Trait - Chapter 30

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 30
The hint to evolving the skill proved surprisingly simple.
Whoosh.
The moment I swing the spear, its vibrating tip tears through the air.
Up to this point, it’s purely the Resonance Spear’s effect.
But while I was thrusting the spear endlessly in a state of thoughtless clarity, an unexpected question arose.
‘Why is it called the Resonance Spear?’
Rather than the Vibration Spear?
Resonance describes the phenomenon where vibrations amplify when an object’s natural frequency and external vibrations combine.
‘…That’s what it should be.’
The moment this fragmentary scientific knowledge surfaced, doubt crept in about the name the system had given me.
And naturally, the flow of mana toward the spear’s tip began to shift.
Without thinking, I tried to imitate with mana the vibration at the air’s edge touching the spear point.
It wasn’t particularly difficult.
All I had to do was let mana flow more finely in time with the spear’s vibrating motion, and synchronize it with the stimulus from the external impact.
After several rounds of trial and error.
Immediately.
Boom!
The quality of the sound itself felt at the spear’s tip had changed.
‘What!?’
In that moment, I wanted to experiment on something other than just air.
Thud.
Crack-crack-crack-crack!
From then on, the floor and walls of the Training Ground became my test subjects.
At some point, I reached certainty.
‘I can’t force resonance on something I’ve never encountered, but if I strike it a few times, it becomes possible.’
The moment this thought arose—that this was the truest meaning of a resonance spear art—
[You have achieved the pinnacle of Resonance Spear.]
[Your spear art evolves.]
[Shattering Spear (Highest-grade) has been generated.]
“Done it!”
How could I describe the ecstasy of that moment?
I let out a cry of joy.
“Wait, what on earth happened here!?”
Jae-rik looked at the shattered floor and walls of the Training Ground and bellowed.
Before I could receive any congratulations, I had to pay for the repairs and endure a lengthy scolding.
The situation with the footwork evolution was simpler.
I had originally learned the basic footwork from the Volante lineage, corrected its flaws through my traits, and transformed it into the original Volante Footwork Stage 1.
I’d been continuously practicing that Stage 1, always searching for shortcomings.
My confident promise to Jae-rik that I could evolve skills came because of the footwork.
After unexpectedly evolving the spear art, my heart eased a little, and—
‘I was too hasty.’
Along with that simple realization, my footwork began to adjust at minute angles.
With the result.
[Your footwork evolves.]
[You have mastered Volante Footwork Stage 3 (Highest-grade).]
I succeeded in evolving the footwork the very next day after mastering the Shattering Spear.
“You bastard! What, you suddenly became a genius!?”
“Wasn’t that when you had talent!?”
“…I wouldn’t call it genius.”
“Geez.”
I was naturally delighted, but there was also a peculiarly heavy weight to my joy.
Even with my trait pointing the direction clearly, it had taken over three months to train and master it in my body.
‘At this rate, evolving beyond Rare-grade through training alone will be difficult.’
Of course, using my trait and dedicating enough time might make Rare-grade evolution possible.
‘It took three months to evolve to Highest-grade. Would six months be enough for Rare-grade?’
The problem was that it wouldn’t break down so simply into arithmetic.
‘I have to account for the possibility it’ll take far longer.’
And I wasn’t confident whether I could muster that much patience.
So I consulted with Jae-rik.
“Well, that’s why so many Summoners end up falling short of their expectations and plateau at lower floors.”
“I see?”
“Have you ever thought about it?”
“About what?”
“A gifted Summoner gets one Level-up Point per level. If you invest all of those all the way to level 100, you could actually craft a single Divine-grade skill.”
“Ah….”
I’d never actually imagined it in concrete terms before.
“I’ve never seen a Summoner who possessed a Divine-grade skill. Never even heard of one. Though it’s possible they don’t have the Mana to match that level, but still.”
“Is that… how it is?”
“It is. Think about it plainly—when you evolve a skill, your combat power itself transforms. But battle is ultimately offense and defense. You need attack, defense, evasion. And stamina too. If any single part is weak, you can collapse catastrophically in the most absurd ways. You wouldn’t understand that yet, but.”
It was a different analogy, but the point was the same: in reality, you can’t have a character built like a video game character dumping everything into one stat.
“So you can’t invest all your effort into a single skill.”
“Right. That’s why I’m telling you to preserve your Level-up Points. If you truly wish to break past floor 100 of the Dungeon and escape this world, that is.”
“Of course.”
It was like experiencing all over again a truth I’d heard countless times before.
“At minimum, even if you’re choosing carefully, you need three fundamentals: a Cultivation Method to form your backbone, an evasion technique, and an attack technique.”
“That’s what you told me from the beginning.”
“Right. But by now you’ve experienced enough to know it’s not as simple as it sounds, haven’t you?”
“…Absolutely.”
“The next evolution feels daunting? If it’s merely daunting and not impossible, then push hard to break through. Otherwise, you too will end up plateauing at some floor like all the other Summoners. Especially you….”
“Because I only have one Ability Slot.”
“…Right.”
The moment I voiced the words that Jae-rik had struggled to speak, my heart grew heavier still.
“…In the end, it’s all effort. Sheer effort.”
“It is. But you don’t need to be this heavy-hearted just yet. You’re already performing far beyond what I anticipated.”
“Yes, I’m well aware of that.”
“I wasn’t telling you to be cocky, but when you’ve shown what you have, I’ve nothing to say against it. Carry that confidence with you. How many monsters in the Novice Stage do you think have acquired two or more Highest-grade skills?”
“Monster…? Me?”
“Yes. And your combination technique—that one’s raised a rank, hasn’t it?”
“Oh!”
A skill I’d forgotten about suddenly came to mind.
[Piercing Strike (Rare-Max)]
“What!?”
It had become a Rare skill, and I was marveling at it when I suddenly felt something odd.
“What is it?”
“The system text feels… a little blurred?”
“Your combination technique?”
“Yes.”
“Tsk. No time for that—focus up and train. Your Footwork and spear art just evolved, so the integration’s shaken loose.”
“Ah!”
“Train it back together. Don’t forget the Same Pattern.”
“I’m always grateful. Master.”
“Don’t mention it. The Dungeon Auction in four days—don’t forget that.”
“Yes, of course!”
After talking it through, I felt as though I’d come full circle, but somehow it all felt lighter now.
‘That’s right. I’m doing well.’
Well enough to truly savor the achievement of having evolved two skills.
[Name: Cheol-woo Go]
[Race: Human]
[Level: 16]
[Stats]
Strength: 14 (+3)
Constitution: 18 (+6)
Agility: 14 (+9)
Mana: 30
Physical Resistance: 3
Magical Resistance: 4
[Mana Skills]
Shattering Spear (Highest-grade-Lv.1), Valgar Spirit Cultivation Method Stage 1 (High-grade-Lv.10), Volante Footwork Stage 3 (Highest-grade-Lv.1), Butchering (Rare-Lv.1), Piercing Strike (Rare-Max)
[Level-up Points: 22]
[Ability Slot (Full)]
Multiple Spirit Familiars.
[Characteristics]
-Check for additional information.
* * *
“Wow! So this is the Dungeon Auction Hall.”
“There are so many people.”
“Look, let’s check that out over there.”
Bustle and chatter filled the air.
The moment the Dungeon Auction Hall opened, countless people from Bartus gathered to see what was on offer.
Among them were Jae-rik and Cheol-woo.
“…There are more people than I expected?”
“Not just from our kingdom—they bring rare items from other kingdoms too.”
“And holding the auction outside the city walls is quite surprising.”
He’d imagined something grand, like a festival held within the royal palace itself.
But the reality was a massive event sprawling outside the city walls beneath enormous tents.
Of course, there were three giant tents, along with smaller stalls, various exhibitions, and even circus performers putting on shows.
The scale was almost that of a small city, though.
“It’s a security measure.”
“A security measure?”
“Right. They don’t want elite fighters from each nation coming deep into the royal palace, so they hold the event out here instead.”
“I see….”
“That said, the other races take it even further. You’ll be shocked when you see.”
“How much further?”
“If they venture beyond the auction grounds and get too close to the city, they’re shot on sight.”
“Seriously….”
As he spoke, Cheol-woo noticed various non-human races scattered throughout the marketplace.
Beings rarely seen in Bartus on any ordinary day.
Elves—so elegantly beautiful it was impossible to tell if they were male or female—with delicate, slender frames.
Dwarves whose stocky, broad builds reached only to an ordinary person’s waist, yet stretched wide in every direction.
And among the monsters representing green-skin races—orcs.
‘It really does feel like stepping into a fantasy story.’
Of course, the thought vanished immediately when he recalled the harsh reality: he’d acquired scars across his entire body in less than two years.
But thinking of it as reality led him to another line of reasoning.
‘Could the stories people tell on Earth about this world be accounts brought back by someone who’d been here?’
Passing the hundredth floor of the Dungeon opens a path to another world.
Here, they commonly called it Ascension—rising to the heavens like those who became divine before the Dungeon appeared.
Yet in the hundreds of years since the Dungeon’s emergence, not a single person who cleared the hundredth floor had ever gained the name of a god.
So he could only reason based on what he saw.
‘There’s a high probability someone made it back. Either the original author, or someone close to them.’
In other words, returning to Earth might be possible.
Seeing the non-human races stirred that thought more vividly than before.
And in the midst of all this—
“Here we are. The intermediate auction hall.”
Jae-rik and Cheol-woo arrived at the entrance of the second-largest of the three tents.
Though called the intermediate-sized tent, it was roughly the dimensions of an Olympic stadium he’d once visited in his past life.
“Wow….”
An involuntary gasp escaped at the sheer scale.
Then a unfamiliar voice came from beside him.
“The auction itself runs over the course of a week, but I’d recommend checking the inventory list daily. Oh, and if you have items to put up for auction, just speak with the manager over there.”
“Who are you…?”
“Ah, forgive me for the late introduction. I’m Ha-il-lon, the manager in charge of this Dungeon Auction Hall’s intermediate section.”
A middle-aged man with brown hair and a slight paunch answered with a warm, friendly smile.
“I see.”
Cheol-woo merely nodded politely out of courtesy, but the man extended his hand.
“You’re Cheol-woo, aren’t you? Roo-da has told me a great deal about you.”
Hmm?
Before Cheol-woo could process his confusion, Jae-rik stepped forward.
“If you manage the intermediate auction hall, you must be part of the Merchant Guild?”
“Yes, that’s correct. And you’re Jae-rik, are you? I’ve heard about your past with the Gale….”
“Right, then. What brings such a heavy-bottomed manager to this place? Aren’t you usually drumming your belly until the auction ends?”
“Ah, well—the title sounds respectable enough, but it’s really just bureaucratic dead weight with nothing much to do. I thought I’d come pay my respects to you, Jae-rik, and to Char, this promising newcomer everyone’s been talking about.”
Jae-rik, I could accept that excuse.
‘Me?’
The moment I tilted my head in confusion, Jae-rik let out a small laugh.
“Hmm. An introduction, then. Can you do us a favor?”
“Of course. Within the bounds of the rules, naturally.”
“The materials put up for auction so far—I’d prefer spears if possible, and if you could provide the estimated hammer prices as well, that would be helpful. Can you manage that?”
“Ah, yes, that shouldn’t be difficult at all. Would that suffice?”
“What about reserved seating?”
“That’s possible if you cover the cost.”
“But that’s expensive. I thought you were going to do us a favor?”
Ha-il-lon’s smiling face began to show a faint sheen of sweat under Jae-rik’s pressure.
Then he glanced at me sideways and broke into a wider grin.
“Ah, yes. Well, that’s something I might be able to arrange as a courtesy, if I can build a favorable relationship with the both of you.”
He was all but openly considering me in his calculations.
But if it came from good intentions, I saw no reason to refuse.
“And you can waive the broker’s fee as well?”
“…”
Jae-rik’s relentless haggling was starting to wear thin, admittedly.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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