Ascension Through Skills

The Secret Room (3)

TL: handCream

PR: Kasaix

The arrow that came flying from the right curved right in front of his eyes and aimed for Tae-san’s waist.

Whoosh.

The arrow grazed right passed his skin. Dodging it, gave him a minor injury. 

[8 damage was dealt to you] 

He could withstand this much damage. Besides, avoiding the arrow gave him room for some movement. 

He continued to grab the arrows and throw them into his inventory. He was making his movements very carefully, so that the arrows didn’t hinder his momentum. The arrow on the left was also taken down immediately. As soon as the arrows hit the floor, they got broken.  

Crack.

Finally, Tae-san leapt again.

Scanning! 

Tae-san’s eyes sparked. A total of fifteen arrows were shot.

 “Shit!”

Usually, the number of arrow shot should have been the same as the number of marbles on the floor. So calculating, Tae-san was ready for the incoming 10 arrows. But, unexpectedly 5 more were added to this attack. 

Annoyed, Tae-san clicked his tongue. He swiftly moved his arms. 

[You have activated [Slowed Breathing Attack]. For the next 10 seconds you don’t have to take a breath without any consequence.]

Fortunately, as the number of arrows increased, their movements were overlapping with one another.

He grabbed the arrow flying from the left with his left arm and flung it. But strangely it collided with the arrows flying towards him in a weird trajectory. 

He didn’t stop there. He leaned his head towards the left and avoided one arrow, then proceeded to turn straight on the right immediately. Two arrows that flew after a short period of time collided with the wall in the distance. 

The arrows on the right were in perfect sync with one another. That is, he could attack back using only one movement. He used his right arm and flung the arrows right onto the ground.

He kicked the other two arrows, crushing them immediately.

 Even so, there were still five arrows left. He had no room to stop now. The arrows were already closing in. 

Then, an idea struck, he wouldn’t dodge the incoming attack. Tae-san pulled back his arm and the arrows struck him straight away.

“Argh!”

Tae-san groaned. The sharp feeling of the arrow piercing into his flesh was very unpleasant. 

Instantly, 16 system windows locked his view alerting him that he had taken 5 damages. 

[You are paralyzed]

[You are bleeding. You are constantly losing strength]

 “Damn it” 

Blood flowed through his arm. The pain of the sharp arrows grazing his bones was so unbearable that it almost numbed his brain. 

“Shit, it hurts so much.”

If he wasn’t so accustomed to pain right now. He would have been rolling on the floor, begging for death.  

[You have endured terrible pain. You have obtained the Passive Skill [Pain Reducer]]

After acquiring the skill, his pain was reduced a little, but there wasn’t any significant difference. There are skills that have a better effect when one’s proficiency increased. But there were others which could be used as soon as they were acquired. [Pain Reducer] was the former.

But it wasn’t that bad. Tae-san was rolling in cold sweat. He broke the joint of the arrows that was stuck to him.  

[Health: 54/140]

He knew he had enough Health. That was why he had pulled off such a stunt. He knew it was not fatal, so he hurt himself without much hesitation. 

He had to get hurt and must be in a state of bleeding. Only in this state could he acquire this skill. Once he arrived at the Fountain of Life, everything would be recovered. But till then he would have to endure this pain. 

 ‘I even planned to get hit on my own accord, but it was still in vain.’ 

Tae-san pulled the lever of the box. The sound of opening the box could be heard inside the walls. 

Now the arrows wouldn’t be triggered anymore. So, it was time for the reward. 

Tae-san opened the box with a beating heart. Inside was a red wand.  

Surprised, Tae-san soon forgot his pain. 

‘The can be found on the first floor itself?!’

Healing, summoning water, creating flames, blinding or dazzling. 

It was a wand that could be used for magic, and its power was perception. Even if one player could only have one, it was a valuable item that made it quite easy to attack inside the labyrinth.

And in Easy Mode, it was an item that barely appeared after clearing the 20th floor. Even in Hard Mode, at least the 10th floor had to be cleared. So, it was hard for Tae-san to believe that in Solo Mode this wand could be obtained on the 1st floor itself. For him, it was hard to comprehend such a thing. 

Tae-san doubted it.

“Is it a knock-off weapon that looks like a wand?”

 Tae-san was skeptical and checked the wand again. 

[Wand of Flame] 

It is a wand used by novice wizards. Basic magic [Fire-Ball] can be used.]

‘It’s real’

For beginners, the Wand of Flame is much more valuable than the others. 

“Is this what the average Solo Mode experience is like?” 

Lee Tae-yeon couldn’t break through the secret room, so he couldn’t get a comparison. But if this is how the average journey would be, things would be much easier going forth.

However, this wasn’t a reward without a price. The last 15 arrows that flew in at the end would have prevented him from getting through. But he gained a lot from taking the injury.

Still, if he was a normal human being, he would have died helplessly. 

Perhaps there were people who discovered this place in their previous lives. But it was not known because they have died without breaking through.

Tae-san took his wand and turned around. It was time to return back to the fountain. 

* * * 

“Squeak! Squeak!” 

On the way back, a Big Rat appeared and attacked him. He couldn’t use one of his arms, but there was no problem as long as he still had his Health stats.

However, Tae-san did not kill it immediately and continued to fight. By the time Big Rat was exhausted and fell, a system window appeared. 

[You were disabled for a long time, still you didn’t lose your valor. You have obtained the Active Skill [Unbreakable Will]] 

“Good.” 

This skill could only be acquired if a player continued to battle for a very long time despite injuries. This was a skill Tae-san wanted for a long time. Tae-san stepped onto the body of the Big Rat crushing it to its death.  

“Kki-ik!” 

[You have won against Big Rat] 

He cleared the floating window. He had no reason to tackle them one by one as his Health was decreasing and he couldn’t level up. 

***

[You are in the best condition] 

Tae-san, who returned to the Fountain of Life, recovered his physical strength and confirmed the skills he acquired. 

[Passive Skill: Pain Reducer] 

[Proficiency: 1%]

[Exactly as it states. Can reduce pain. But senses will still be alert]

[Passive Skill: Sense Enhancement] 

[Proficiency: 1%] 

[The senses are strengthened. So much so, that you will feel like you have been reborn]

Both were skills with maximum potential. They might not be useful right now, but with higher the proficiency, higher would be its use. Raising the proficiency wasn’t that difficult, all he had to do was jump into battles and clear the labyrinth. 

[Active Skill: Unbreakable Will]

[Mana Cost: 1]

[Proficiency: 1%] 

[All wounds and injuries can’t stop your fighting spirit! You can ignore any injury for 10 seconds during the battle] 

It was a skill that was a sub-compatible with Strength that could maximize its battle power during any fight.

Ignoring injuries, even temporarily, was a very useful skill. 

The latest item he has acquired was the Wand of Fire. And with it he has obtained the skill, Fire-Ball.

[Basic Magic: Fire-Ball]

[Mana Cost: 3]

[Proficiency: 1%] 

[Launch a fireball. Enemies without immunity take greater damage. The target can be inflicted with the abnormal status [Burn]]

It was the same skill he saw previously. 

“That’s awesome.” 

There were countless ways to use this. Tae-san put his wand in his inventory with a joyful face. 

‘Should I finish it here?’

He felt like he had obtained everything he could get from the first floor. 

It was time for him to go. 

Tae-san got up and walked through the labyrinth. It wasn’t long before he could find the place heading towards the second floor. 

It was hard to miss the door because it was red which stood out from the other doors. 

This was the room leading to the second floor. 

And there was always a boss waiting before entering the next floor. Tae-san grabbed his shield and opened the door. He saw a staircase heading to the basement, and also the monster guarding it. 

“Squeak!” 

It was very much similar to the Big Rat. Black pointy hairs and hideous teeth were sticking out of him.

But there was more to it. There was a rodent similar to the size of a human in the room. Red eyes crept toward him. 

‘This must be the boss of the First Floor?’ 

A boss who had a record of killing a few player just with its sharp claws. In Easy Mode, he was a boss on the 10th floor.

“Squeak! Squeak!” 

[Giant Rat has appeared]

Giant Rat. 

As the name suggested, it was an enhanced version of Big Rat. A monster with the size of an average healthy young human, the speed was subtly faster than that of a Big Rat. It also had the strength that Big Rat could not hope to achieve. When its claws were swung casually it could easily break a wooden shield. 

‘I remember, Tae-yeon said she used shortcut.’

The way she did was pretty simple. She kept killing Big Rats on the first floor until she had enough money to buy oil. After she bought a whole tin of oil, she poured it all over the rodent and burnt it to ashes. 

Then she ran away from the burning room.

Obviously, Boss Monster couldn’t go outside. After an hour or so, the boss was burnt to a crisp.

It was a reasonable method if one had enough time on hand. On the first place, Giant Rat was not a monster that a player on the first floor could catch with pure strength. So Lee Tae-yeon’s method was a smart choice.