Monopolizing Skills to the 666th Floor - Chapter 41

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Skill Devouring to the 666th Floor Episode 041

41. Skill Enhancement

[Sinkhole Safety Management, Full Implementation Begins!]

[Safety Personnel Deployment Complete at All Sinkholes Nationwide.]

[Complete Recording of Apostle Personal Information Upon Labyrinth Entry…]

[Personal Information Recording Makes It Possible to Track Each Country’s Apostle Numbers…]

[Apostle Management, Excessive Interference Controversy… Growing Opposition…]

[Government Considering Benefits for Apostles.]

As rumors spread that it was profitable, even ordinary people began diving into the Labyrinth.

The government belatedly stepped in to manage the Sinkholes, but negative reactions continued on Transcendence Net.

└These days there are safety personnel at every Sinkhole, isn’t this just a scheme to put leashes on Apostles?

└That’s what I’m saying. We can handle the raids ourselves, so why make us write down personal information?

└On top of that, they want us to record our patron spirits and Skills too, that’s crossing the line.

└When I questioned it, they said it was to understand our abilities and give us benefits later.

└Bullshit. It’s not that, they want to monitor people with dangerous abilities. Tsk tsk

└I understand since there are a lot of incidents these days… but this is a bit…

└They’re treating us like potential criminals, you know?

└Really uncomfortable. And the benefits aren’t even that great.

└I heard they’re cutting taxes… isn’t that decent?

└If it’s tax-free for life, it might be worth considering lol

Most Apostles weren’t welcoming the government’s management.

They especially didn’t like the intervention at a time when they could make big money.

└At this rate, won’t they ban Magic Stone trading too?

└Ah damn, I haven’t sold my Magic Stones yet…

└I need to dispose of them quickly before Magic Stone prices drop lol

└They’re already crashing worldwide due to oversupply.

└What’s the current market price for F-Grade Magic Stones?

└At most they sell for 500 each if expensive, but it’s getting harder. Too much supply.

└Yesterday I sold mine for 480 each, but today I saw they dropped to 400.

└They’ll drop more. Sell them quickly while you can.

└There’s talk they could drop to 1 million won within a month.

└But where should I sell them? I have some but don’t know how to sell.

└Please contact me. I’ll buy them. 010-XXXX-XXXX

In the midst of this, a message rang out.

[Someone has conquered Labyrinth Underground 59th Floor!]

[Labyrinth Floor 60 is now open.]

[10 days added to Earth’s destruction countdown.]

[Time remaining until destruction: 612 days 1 hour 40 minutes 44 seconds]

└Wow… what’s with that clear speed?

└That was almost a 5-minute clear, right?

└Really insane speed.

└Great Amon.

└As expected of Great Amon.

└I believe in you, Amon…

└Lord Amon, who extends our lives once again today. Always grateful.

└But what kind of raid was it to be this fast?

└Whatever it was, clearing from 50th to 59th Floor took less than an hour.

└Take it easy. Aren’t you pushing too hard?

└Yeah, rest a bit now, Amon. You’ve extended the destruction deadline plenty.

└Plenty my ass. Need to extend it more. Don’t know what’ll happen in the future.

└I want to live long. Extend it lots and lots please.

└Yeah, extend it as much as possible. While we’re at it, clear all the floors alone lol

└Then you’d really get hero treatment.

└Already deserves enough treatment now.

└But what are the missions above 50th Floor? I can’t even imagine, haven’t even reached 20th Floor.

└I’d like to see if there’s action camera footage.

└What if Amon opens a ViewTube channel? Instant subscribe lol

Seo Mina, who had been reading the comments, closed the Transcendence Net window.

‘He really is amazing. This person called Amon.’

Already breaking through the 59th Floor and aiming for the 60th.

Meanwhile, she had just finished conquering the 4th Floor.

To compare, it was like the size difference between a giant and a child.

‘I barely cleared the 4th Floor, how did that person get to the 59th Floor?’

The Dark Slimes on the 1st Floor and Dark Rabbits on the 2nd Floor were easy.

Easy enough for ordinary people to conquer.

The Dark Goblins on the 3rd Floor got a bit harder, but she had the cheat-like Skill of Mind Control.

‘I could easily clear by making monsters my allies or making them fight each other.’

Unlike humans, monsters had low resistance to Skills.

While the Skill duration was about 10 seconds on humans, it lasted a full minute on monsters.

‘Still, the 4th Floor was somewhat difficult.’

Even now she was returning to her semi-basement house to rest.

Since it was late, she should get some sleep.

Creak.

When she entered the house, her younger sibling was awake.

“I told you to sleep early. Why aren’t you asleep yet?”

“How could I sleep when you went into the Labyrinth alone?”

“It’s not like I went there to die.”

“That’s… something we don’t know.”

It was already time to sleep, but she must have been staying awake with worry.

“How many floors have you cleared?”

“4th Floor.”

“Isn’t it dangerous?”

“Not really. Other people said the 4th Floor was a turning point, but it was easier than I thought.”

“Really?”

“I’m telling you it’s true. You know how powerful my ability is, right?”

Seo Min Su knew it well too.

Wasn’t it the ability that had sent the school bullies who tormented him to their graves?

As if that memory came to mind, Seo Mina cleared her throat.

“Ahem, anyway, don’t worry and just go to sleep quickly. It’s late. And here.”

Seo Min Su’s eyes widened at the card his sister held out.

“Why this…?”

“Tomorrow’s Sunday, so don’t just stay home looking pathetic and go out to have some fun.”

Was it because he knew going out meant spending money?

“…I’m fine. I prefer staying home.”

Seo Mina watched her refusing brother silently, then forcibly pressed the card into his hand.

“I’m giving you special permission, so take it when I’m offering. Buy snacks if you want to eat them, go to a coin karaoke or PC cafe if you want to.”

“Sis… this is our living expenses.”

“Don’t worry about money. I’ll earn it by clearing Floor 15 quickly.”

“We have to pay interest too.”

“That’s not for you to worry about. They haven’t been contacting us anyway.”

She didn’t know what was going on, but the loan shark company’s calls had stopped.

Originally, they were the type to contact them every other day.

They weren’t the kind of guys to give them a break just because it was a holiday.

“Spend freely up to 50,000 won. Got it?”

“B-but still, spending such a large amount…”

“Ugh! You’re so frustrating!”

Seo Mina shouted as she grabbed her coat and turned around.

“Wh-where are you going?”

“The Labyrinth!”

“At this hour of the night?”

Originally, she had planned to sleep and enter in the morning.

But seeing her brother worry about money, she couldn’t afford to rest.

She had to clear it as quickly as possible and reach Floor 15.

Before the value of Magic Stones dropped any further.

“Just go to sleep!”

The time limit for Arena Battles is 10 minutes.

If no decision is reached during that time, it’s treated as a draw.

But that would never happen.

I was someone who thought even 10 minutes was too long.

“Ke, kerreuk…”

I had just split the crown of the three-headed monster’s last head with my axe.

The other heads were already sprawled on the ground in a miserable state.

《Victory!》

《My MMR 1,270(+30) points》

[10 Win Streak Achieved!]

[Win streak bonus (+10) will be applied.]

[You have acquired 30 Battle Points.]

I had claimed victory in less than 3 minutes since starting.

My goal of 200 BP had been achieved long ago.

‘The win streak bonus is pretty good.’

The win streak bonuses given are as follows:

1 win streak: +20 points

2 win streak: +22 points

3 win streak: +24 points

4 win streak: +26 points

5 win streak: +28 points

6 win streak: +30 points (fixed)

The benefits only go up to 6 wins, and from the 7th win onward, points and BP don’t increase further.

It’s fixed at 30 points per match.

As a result, my current BP is 270.

My MMR has also reached 1,270 points.

But then.

[Congratulations on achieving a 10 win streak!]

[You receive an additional 10 Battle Points as a bonus.]

‘There was a 10 win streak bonus?’

I couldn’t help but be amazed by the additional BP that came in.

It was an unexpected situation.

‘I didn’t know since I never made it to 10 consecutive wins. I had no idea there was an additional bonus.’

In the past, 7 consecutive wins was my limit.

I remember losing streak after that and my MMR plummeting.

‘Fortunately, I haven’t lost a single match now.’

From the 50th to 59th floor, I achieved 10 wins out of 10 matches.

With the 10 consecutive wins bonus on top of that, it couldn’t be anything but a pleasant start.

‘But the additional bonus only increases BP while MMR stays the same?’

That’s actually better.

If MMR increased, I’d face stronger opponents and suffer losses.

‘My rank has risen quite a bit too.’

【Arena Battle】

◎Rank : Expert

◎Universal Ranking : 26,717,555,735th

◎Earth Ranking : 1st

◎MMR : 1,270 points

◎Arena Record : 10 wins 0 draws 0 losses

◎Grand Arena Record : 0 wins 0 draws 0 losses

◎BP Held : 280

I went from being a Beginner to surpassing Intermediate and now I’m an Expert rank.

Ranks rise quickly in the beginning, so it’s not that surprising, but…

‘This is way too fast even for fast progress?’

It wasn’t this fast in the past either.

‘If this goes well, I might even reach Champion.’

My first 10 consecutive wins gave me confidence.

Well, how many people would have 6 Achievements, 18 Skills, and stats exceeding 20?

At least among the Apostles climbing the Labyrinth, I would be the strongest.

‘Though I don’t know what the stats of the monsters I faced as opponents are like.’

Except for the 50th floor, I never faced a human as an opponent.

They were all monsters mixed like chimeras.

In the past, humans did appear, but since it’s random, it’s definitely different.

‘Still, they all had at least one skill each, so it was good for copying and using.’

I also tried using Parasite as planned.

I tested whether it works on other species, but…

‘Unfortunately, it gets canceled immediately when they die.’

I thought it might not get canceled since it’s like a virtual reality place… but it wasn’t the case.

Still, I used Skill Copy efficiently during battles.

It was quite useful in that I could identify the opponent’s hidden cards in advance.

[You have cleared Labyrinth Underground 59th Floor!]

[As a reward for clearing the 59th floor normally, ‘Random Orb Fragment 2/8’ will be granted.]

[17,000 Credits will be granted.]

[As a reward for first clear of the 59th floor, ‘Random Orb Fragment 1/4’ will be granted.]

A reward I liked came out.

In the early stages, fragments and pieces like these are much better than stat rewards.

‘I’ll collect Orb Fragments again to get a Skill Enhancement Orb.’

If I’m lucky enough to get an S-Rank Skill Enhancement Orb?

I could enhance Parasite right away, but… I should abandon that expectation.

‘For now, I should be satisfied with enhancing skills using BP.’

I opened the Arena Shop.

I scrolled down and selected [Skill Effect +10% Enhancement].

Then.

[Please choose a skill to enhance from the following.]

└ 1. Time Stop

└ 2. Soul Strike

└ 3. Clear Mind Like Still Water

└ 4. Parasite

…

…

…

A list of skills I possess appears.

All of them, without distinction between Exclusive Skills and Acquired Skills.

‘I can only choose one from these.’

But what’s puzzling is that Skill Copy isn’t on the list at all.

‘What’s this? Is it because it’s an EX-rank skill?’

Everything else can be enhanced.

‘Then what I’ll enhance is… number 4, Parasite.’

As soon as I made my choice, a message appeared.

[The effect of skill ‘Parasite (S)’ is enhanced by 10%.]

[200 BP has been deducted.]

When I checked the skill description, there was a change.

▷Parasite(S)+1

―Effect: Plants parasitic organisms made of mana into targets (maximum 11). As long as the host doesn’t die or the parasites aren’t removed, you can permanently monitor the targets.

‘With the 10% increase, it became 11.’

This gave me one more slot.

Including the original slot, that’s two slots.

In other words, I can collect two more skills.

‘I’ll use one for that, and decide on the other depending on the situation.’

With a skill in mind to copy, I returned home.

The Three Gods were opening the Eternal Room again, calling for me.

“Hello, Three Gods.”

I greeted them cheerfully, but they didn’t seem to be in the mood for greetings.

Judging by how they all wore serious expressions.

“What’s the matter that you called me again?”

[You’re a Regressor and you don’t know that?]

“Do you think a Regressor is some kind of prophet? How would I know about things that didn’t happen in my previous life? Orcus, you’re supposedly a god and you don’t know that?”

[….]

After easily shutting Orcus up.

“Still, I can guess what it’s about. It’s about that, right? How I can copy and use Transcendent Spirit skills even in the Arena.”

I satisfied the curiosity of the Three Gods who were nodding.

“The reason is simple. I found a way around Skill Copy’s penalty.”

The Three Gods’ eyes widened in unison.

[That’s… possible?]

[So there really was a workaround as Kairos predicted?]

[How exactly did you do it? How did you eliminate the range limitation?]

“Should I tell you?”

The Three Gods nodded vigorously.

However, I had no intention of telling them easily.

“If I tell you, what can you give me in return?”

There’s no such thing as a free lunch in this world.

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