Monopolizing Skills to the 666th Floor - Chapter 9

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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 009

9. At Least Buy Me a Meal

My hunting pattern was simple.

“Kiyaat! Katkat! Kiruruuru!”

Gather monsters with the Call for Support skill.

Woong.

Use mana manipulation to find out which ones have magic stones and which don’t.

Then when I spot one that has it?

Stab!

[You have obtained an F-Grade Magic Stone.]

[Obtained items are stored in inventory.]

[F-Grade Magic Stone Collection 4/5]

Quickly kill it and run.

I didn’t want to waste energy on other monsters unnecessarily.

‘If I repeat this, I can clear easily. I can also gather magic stones quickly.’

I opened my inventory to check the magic stone’s information.

[Magic Stone (F)]

―Classification: Possession

―Description: Condensed essence of mana. Can be processed and used as alternative energy.

As the description shows, magic stones are used as alternative energy.

Oil, coal, natural gas, etc.

It means they’re an energy source that can substitute in many areas.

In other words, it’s something you can’t buy even with money.

‘These items will be released to the world before long.’

Starting from the 15th floor mission, it’s collecting 5 magic stones.

All Apostles who clear it will return with magic stones, so how many will flood the market?

‘The value will drop as time goes on. I need to sell before that. At the highest price when they’re most valuable.’

Since I haven’t even cleared the 6th floor yet, what I have should be the only ones available.

“Having lots of money is always good.”

Should I try collecting magic stones properly?

Up to the 19th floor where F-Grade Magic Stones drop.

[Number of Apostles worldwide estimated at approximately ten million.]

[Apostles committing crimes with superhuman power appearing one after another.]

[Apostles on a different level from ordinary people. Can they truly become saviors?]

[Resignations pouring in everywhere. Six months left until destruction. Anxious citizens.]

[Ordinary people who couldn’t become Apostles. They’re treated like leftovers by Apostles.]

[Ordinary people who entered the Labyrinth saying they’d help. In the end, they never returned…]

[Finally, new type of herder part-time jobs targeting ordinary people emerge.]

The man reading the articles paused.

“Hey. Look at this. There’s an article about herder part-time jobs.”

“What? Really?”

People rushed over to the man and checked the news article.

“It’s true?”

“It’s troublesome if it gets known this quickly.”

“It’s even written negatively.”

“Tch, these damn journalists.”

“Does it say anyone died?”

“There’s no mention of that. Yet.”

“We only accepted guys who’d be fine even if they died as herders, so there shouldn’t be any problems. Besides, they volunteered to be herders themselves, right?”

“True. It’s not our fault.”

Though they had already driven three people to death by recruiting herder part-timers…

“Those bastards basically died in the line of duty.”

“Right. They died fighting for Earth.”

“Fighting my ass. They were just busy running away.”

“Kekeke, they fell over like bugs.”

There was no guilt in their expressions.

They thought ordinary people were lowly and Apostles were evolved beings.

“Anyway, we need to recruit herders again, right?”

“Yeah. But where should we recruit them?”

“Hwi Yong said he’d ask around. Let’s wait…”

Just then.

Creak―

A man limped into the hideout.

It was Lee Hwi Yong.

“Hey! What’s wrong with your leg?”

“Did you go to the hospital?”

“Are you crazy? What hospital would a criminal go to?”

“Are we criminals?”

“We are criminals. Three people died because of us.”

“Why is it our fault that they died while being beaters?”

“By the way, this bastard’s expression looks murderous?”

“How did the thing you went to do turn out?”

“What about that sucker you said you’d bring back?”

Lee Hwi Yong wasn’t in the mood to respond.

In his head, there was only thoughts of revenge.

Against Lee Tae Seong who had made him like this.

“How did it turn out, I’m asking?”

“Ah, I don’t know! Fuck!”

“Seeing you get angry, it didn’t go well, huh.”

“Of course. I could tell from when you were bragging. Tsk tsk.”

Lee Hwi Yong snapped at his friends’ mockery.

Swoosh!

“Whoa, whoa!”

“What are you doing?”

“Has this bastard gone crazy? Put away the blades!”

Lee Hwi Yong, who had been floating blades in the air, calmed his anger.

Swoosh!

Only when the blades disappeared did the tension finally ease.

“Hey. Is something wrong? Why are you so sensitive?”

“Ah, I don’t know. Don’t make me talk. I’m not in the mood to talk.”

“I can tell it’s because of that sucker you said you’d bring.”

“Don’t tell me you got beaten? By a civilian?”

“Ah, so that’s why your leg is in that state?”

His friends’ eyes changed.

An Apostle getting beaten by a civilian?

For them, it was an impossible thing.

Lee Hwi Yong, who was in danger of being ostracized from the group if he misspoke, shouted angrily.

“Say something that makes sense! Why would I get beaten by some civilian? That bastard’s an Apostle!”

“An Apostle?”

“Yeah! He has the same Blade Reaper as me as his Transcendent Spirit!”

It was a misunderstanding, but Lee Hwi Yong believed it firmly.

The skill Lee Tae Seong had shown was the same as his own.

“Right, there’s no way Hwi Yong would lose.”

“I almost got disappointed thinking you lost to a civilian.”

“Anyway, you guys. Come with me and let’s get that bastard. I can’t stand this, I’m too pissed off.”

“What are you going to do?”

Lee Hwi Yong’s eyes became menacing.

“I’m going to tear him to shreds and kill him.”

“This bastard’s serious.”

“He must be really fucking pissed. Keke.”

“Are you going to help or not, fuck.”

His friends who had been grinning nodded their heads.

“Of course we’ll help. It’s a friend’s business.”

“We’ve already gone too far together. We’ve seen all kinds of ugly things.”

“If someone heard that, they’d misunderstand, you bastard.”

“We have to go all the way, our party. Let’s all reach the 666th Floor together.”

“Men are about loyalty, aren’t they, loyalty.”

The five including Lee Hwi Yong united in purpose.

To tear that guy called Lee Tae Seong to shreds.

Thunk!

As its head was pierced, the Hobgoblin’s body went limp.

[F-Grade Magic Stone Collection 15/15]

[You have cleared Labyrinth Underground 19th Floor!]

The mission that started with 5 gradually increased, becoming 15 on the 19th floor.

While it would have taken other Apostles several hours to collect, for me it was just a 1-hour clear.

‘The technique of releasing mana externally is a method only I can use.’

To pick out monsters with Magic Stones, you need to check if their mana veins are blocked, and for that, your Mana Control needs to be at an expert level.

‘Could people who only know how to use skills through commands do Mana Control? Unless they’ve learned through experience like me, it’s impossible.’

Only those who understand and master mana by using skills thousands upon thousands of times can manipulate mana.

If this had been a record-setting floor, I probably wouldn’t have lost the title.

[Very Weak Essence of Mana is granted as a reward for clearing the 19th Floor normally.]

Purple energy seeped in and my mana increased.

[You have cleared Labyrinth Underground 19th Floor for the first time!]

[Armor Selection Ticket (F) is granted as a reward for the first clear of the 19th Floor.]

[Acquired items are stored in your inventory.]

‘An Armor Selection Ticket… I was hoping to get one anyway, so this works out well.’

Though I don’t expect much since it’s F-rank.

[Would you like to descend to the next floor? Y/N]

[Selecting N will allow you to return to Earth.]

My finger pressed N.

The 20th Floor has survival missions and is a floor that measures records.

I need to go home and catch my breath for a moment.

I also need to recall memories using Clear Mind Like Still Water.

‘Even I don’t have unlimited stamina, so I need to rest a bit.’

Soon my vision was consumed by light.

[You have selected N.]

[Returning to Earth.]

Tick!

[Time remaining until destruction: 168 days 20 hours 51 minutes 33 seconds]

In about 6 months, the world would be destroyed.

That fact made people around the world tremble with fear.

Seeing the timer right before my eyes made it feel even more real.

However.

[Someone has conquered Labyrinth Underground 15th Floor!]

…

[Someone has conquered Labyrinth Underground 16th Floor!]

…

[Someone has conquered Labyrinth Underground 17th Floor!]

…

The messages echoing through the dawn kept people from sleeping.

But no one complained about it.

Because survival time increased with each floor conquered.

Instead, every time a conquest message appeared, they cheered with joy as if scoring a goal in the World Cup.

It was a World Cup where the entire world was united.

[Someone has conquered Labyrinth Underground 19th Floor!]

[Labyrinth Underground 20th Floor is now open.]

[10 days have been added to the Earth destruction countdown.]

[Time remaining until destruction: 218 days 18 hours 10 minutes 36 seconds]

The messages that continued until morning kept people awake.

Because they were busy writing posts in online communities.

└Already cleared up to the 19th Floor?

└Cleared from the 10th to 19th Floor in just 6 hours.

└Conquering 10 floors adds +100 days to survival time? Amazing!

└Adding 100 days in just one day is so sweet~

└It’s obviously that Apostle named Amon who cleared it, right?

└Can’t be certain, but that person is the most likely candidate.

└The Apostle Community called Transcendence Net was going crazy saying someone posted strategy guides.

└The person who posted the strategy guides is probably Amon too.

└The only person we can really trust is Amon.

└Still, we can’t relax yet. Less than a year left for survival…

└I’m selling my house and stocks to build a bunker.

└What good is a bunker when the core is destroyed?

└It’d be better to escape on a spaceship lol

└I saw this coming and bought all space-related stocks. Hehe

└What good is money in this situation?

└You never know. Maybe they’ll prevent the destruction.

After returning home, I washed my body first.

From the 10th to 19th Floor.

Having focused only on conquering for 6 straight hours, my whole body was covered in sweat and bodily fluids.

“Ah. That’s refreshing.”

After washing up, the first thing I did was check my inventory.

The Random Skill Book (F) I received as a reward for the first clear of the 16th Floor.

The Armor Selection Ticket (F) I received as a reward for the first clear of the 19th Floor.

‘Should I try using the Random Skill Book first?’

I took out the item and spoke the activation phrase.

[Using Random Skill Book (F).]

[You have obtained the skill ‘Vitality (F)’. Congratulations!]

A fairly decent F-rank skill came out.

▷Vitality (F)

―Effect: Your stamina becomes stronger and you can run longer than usual.

Since it’s a passive skill, it was applied immediately.

‘Skill Books are definitely the best. Getting one skill like this is a hundred, a thousand times better than raising measly stats with essence.’

If only first clear rewards like these came out every time, I’d get strong quickly, but unfortunately the rewards are random.

Most of the time it’s essence that raises stats.

‘Still, I’m glad something like this came out.’

The Armor Selection Ticket visible in my inventory.

Let me use it immediately.

[Using Armor Selection Ticket (F).]

[Please choose one of the following armors.]

└ 1. Tattered Hood

└ 2. Faded Leather Armor

└ 3. Light Armor

Anyone could see the first one looks the worst, but.

‘I choose number 1.’

My finger selected the Tattered Hood without hesitation.

‘To think this would come out in my current situation. Did I hit the jackpot?’

Because I knew the advantages of the Tattered Hood.

[Tattered Hood (F)]

―Category: Armor

―Durability: 100/100

―Effect: Agility +1, Temperature Control

―Usage Restriction: Apostles who have cleared Floor 1 or higher

―Description: Though it looks shabby, this hood is surprisingly functional. It works fine in midsummer or midwinter.

It raises stats and even has temperature control function.

‘Just wearing this keeps you cool in summer and warm in winter.’

Since the Labyrinth is also a world of another dimension, I can’t help but worry about environmental effects.

Some environments are hot and humid while others have raging blizzards.

‘The lack of defense is a drawback, but it’s light enough that it’s not bad.’

Plus I collected 45 F-Grade Magic Stones.

If I sell them later at a high price, I won’t need to worry about money.

‘Status Window.’

《Name: Lee Tae Seong》

《Race: Human》

《Patron Deities: God of Time, God of the Underworld, God of Balance》

《Floors Cleared: Labyrinth Underground 19th Floor》

《Credits Owned: 0》

【Achievement】

▶Labyrinth Hunter (F), Explorer (F)

【Exclusive Skills】

▷Time Stop (SSS), Soul Strike (S), Clear Mind Like Still Water (SS), Skill Copy (EX)

【Acquired Skills】

▷Upward Strike (F), Vitality (F)

【Stats】

●Strength: 13 / Penetration: 12

●Endurance: 12 / Agility: 14

●Life: 12 / Magic Power: 13

●Regeneration: 12 / Resistance: 11

For someone who cleared the 19th Floor, these stats are quite good.

‘Usually stats when clearing the 19th Floor are between 8 and 9.’

With this much, I can clear the 20th Floor without difficulty.

But what I want is to set a record.

A record that no one else can break.

‘I’m ready to go up to the 20th Floor. But before that…’

I should eat something.

I’m starving to death after not eating for a while.

Buzz!

A message came with a vibration.

[Lee Hwi Yong: Tae Seong. I’m really sorry about last time. I want to meet and apologize, can we see each other?]

‘What? Is this bastard an idiot? Using such an obvious trick?’

I told him never to see me again, even stabbing his thigh, and what? He wants to meet?

Unless he’s crazy, he wants to meet with impure intentions.

‘Is he trying to get revenge?’

How cute. Makes me want to bite him to death.

‘His intention is obvious, but should I humor him for a bit?’

Tap tap tap.

I immediately sent a reply.

[Lee Tae Seong: Forget the apology, just buy me food.]

—————
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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