"Oh, I almost died."
Lokan knew the cart wouldn't actually derail or crash—the game mechanics wouldn't allow it. Nevertheless, it was terrifying. It surpassed the fear of bungee jumping or roller coasters, activities Lokan generally prided himself on handling well. This was a different kind of danger; if a roller coaster was a controlled highway, this was absolute off-road driving, filled with jarring, unpredictable violence.
Thanks to this harrowing ride, he reached the Crossroads with plenty of time remaining before the connection time limit expired. Still, he was willing to swear that if he had to choose again, he'd rather take a regular, slow train and wait for the next connection window.
As he staggered into the city, the system recognized his presence.
[You have found the Crossroads.]
[Awesome achievement! You have discovered a new city for the first time.]
[Obtain the title 'First Visitor of Crossroads']
[First Visitor of Crossroads] [Rare]
A title given to the first visitor to the Crossroads.
-All stats increase by 5% in the Crossroads area.
"Ho ho," Lokan chuckled quietly.
The visitor title was traditionally given to the first 100 players to enter a new area. But here, too, there was a hidden initial bonus. Lokan knew well that those who ranked 2nd to 99th would only receive a 2% stat increase effect. The fact that he was the first granted a significant advantage. Even with the smaller reward, the competition was usually fierce, as the boost applied perpetually while staying within the area.
"Good start," he affirmed.
With this, it was definitively confirmed that he was the first not only to achieve Class User status but also to advance to the tertiary city. Of course, there were several other tertiary cities besides the Crossroads, but given his status as the first Class User, it was highly probable that there were no entrants there yet, either.
"It's not enough just to arrive."
Lokan understood the situation completely. Getting to the Crossroads first was crucial, but something else even more important awaited him. And among all the races gathering here, the Human race was the most disadvantaged.
It was almost nonsensical that a Human was the first to advance to the Crossroads, yet an even greater hurdle awaited him immediately.
"What are you, human?"
"Among all visitors, Humans were the first to arrive here. You must have done something insidious!"
"Look at him, trying to walk around here like he belongs."
These were the blatant perceptions and prejudices Lokan heard almost immediately. As soon as he entered the Crossroads, the central hub for all races belonging to the 'Golden Lions' camp—a coalition of Human, Half-Elf, Gnome, and Dwarf races—he was greeted by open gossip and suspicion.
'Even if you get the title effect, it's this much…' he thought wryly.
The First Visitor title effect provided a base reputation that started at [Friendly] with the local NPCs. Yet, their attitude toward him was already this confrontational. Normal users, who had to start from [Neutral], would have been subjected to severe, outright dismissal, just as Lokan himself had experienced in his previous life.
'No, it was actually better back then,' he recalled.
In the past, the players who first entered the Crossroads had already established a foundation to some extent. It was a time when NPCs of other races had slowly begun to recognize Human adventurers, and the strategy for the main quest line was at least partially understood.
However, entering this early meant being completely unprepared, without any help or information. To overcome this, tedious, mandatory work called 'Reputation Grinding' had to be done first.
"Okay, I'm lucky this time."
Hearing the continued gossip, Lokan managed a bitter smile. Even if he skipped the tedious reputation work, he would only be ignored anyway. Until he proved his qualifications by performing a special quest or hunting a named monster above a certain level, he would remain an outsider in the eyes of all other races. Humans were ignored simply for being Human, and other races were often called 'frogs' and treated similarly poorly. It was the same across the board for new arrivals.
"I have to do a recognition quest… but the connection time is a bit fuzzy. Shall we start with the combination skill today instead?"
To be fully acknowledged as a proper warrior and adventurer, it was necessary to receive and successfully carry out quests from the representatives of each race at the Crossroads. Upon completion, a player would receive 'Recognition', and only then would they be able to receive proper treatment and begin to build meaningful relationships.
Until then, a player could increase the city's overall reputation (friendship or intimacy), but they could not increase intimacy with individual NPCs. If the 'Recognition Quest' was delayed for too long, a player might miss out on certain quests that required a high level of individual NPC intimacy and be forced to move on to the next area with permanent losses.
Knowing this, Lokan intended to prioritize the acknowledgment quest above all else, but the access time limit was quickly approaching. He might be able to get the recognition of one race, but if he didn't finish the entire quest, the clock would keep ticking, making it futile. This was because the quests of each race, known as Recognition Quests, were essentially 'Time Attacks'.
"Time attack in a game with a time limit on access is a bit too much," he muttered, shaking his head.
The speed at which a player completed the quest directly influenced their initial intimacy and reputation levels. Since the time of the Time Attack continued to flow even if a player logged out, it was crucial to start the quest from the very beginning of a new connection window and not log out in the middle. If the connection time seemed likely to cut the quest short, it was far better to put it off, do something else, and receive a new Recognition Quest the next time he logged in.
Understanding this dynamic perfectly, Lokan changed his mind. Had he not taken the express train, he would have arrived at the Crossroads just in time to log out, but now that he had a precious window of time, he decided to put it to better use.
"I'm going to start with the easy ones first."
The immediate task was the Creation of Combination Skills. Having decided on this, Lokan immediately left the city walls. While it was possible to create a combination skill inside the city, the process required adding certain specific user movements to the skill, so he stepped just outside the fence to ensure he had space to work comfortably.
He started with the simplest first combination skill, which would offer utility and survivability.
"Creating Combination Skills."
[Please specify an action clip or skill book for the desired skill combination.]
"Force, War Cry," he stated.
He placed the Force Skill Book and the War Cry Skill Book onto the transparent window that appeared before him. It was a clean combination, requiring no other skill books or action clips, but its projected utility was tremendous.
[Combination is possible.]
[Please see the expected usage of the combination skill and click the Combination Complete button.]
[When the combination is completed, the skill book disappears and the combination skill is automatically acquired.]
The appearance of the translucent window shifted, showing a video-like preview. Inside, Lokan himself was screaming like a madman, and all the enemies exposed to the sound trembled like frightened herbivores. Some stumbled and lost their footing, while others lost consciousness and collapsed onto the ground.
"Good. Combination complete!"
It looked exactly as he had envisioned.
[Please specify the name of the combination skill.]
"Cry of Madness."
The skill name was extremely important for a combination skill. It served to represent the concept of the ability, but it also functioned as a voice command, adding subtle strength or defining the effect's focus. Even with the exact same skill combination, there could be a slight difference in power depending on the chosen skill name. For example, there was a clear difference in the final effect between naming an attack skill 'Power Strike' versus 'Quick Strike'. That's why finding a nice, powerful combination was important, but correctly understanding and naming the resulting skill was equally vital. In that sense, 'Cry of Madness' was a decent name, perfectly fitting the characteristics of a zealot Berserker.
[Cry of Madness] [Combination Skill]
It emits a roar filled with madness and terrorizes enemies. The voice has magical powers, and it affects the mind as well.
-If the level is lower than the user, all stats will decrease.
-If the level is severely lower than the user, a short stun effect is randomly applied.
-Even if the level is higher than the user, it has a certain effect.
-Weakens negative effects on the user.
-In Berserk status, all effects are amplified by 1.5 times.
It was not the same as the base War Cry, but it was much more efficient and powerful. What he liked most was the amplification of the effect while in the Berserk state. If the effect of the Sealed Helmet of the Lord King was added to this, he would have been able to subdue entire enemy ranks with his voice alone.
"Time to create a combination skill that uses up the rest of the available skills right away."
Satisfied with the first combination, Lokan immediately attempted the next synthesis.
[Please specify an action clip or skill book for the desired skill combination.]
"Creating Action Clips."
[Create an action clip. After shouting 'Start', begin the movement. When you're done, simply shout 'End'.]
This time, it wasn't merely a combination of skill books. To make the action more sophisticated and efficient, he chose to create an action clip that could be used as a reference. This involved physically moving his body to record the action, then using it as the skeleton for a combination skill or registering a part of the action as a skill link.
So Lokan started making action clips, repeating the movement over and over.
The skill he was trying to create was technically possible with just a combination of skill books, but Lokan wanted one clean, seamless move. After repeating the motion dozens of times to perfect it, he successfully registered the action clip.
"Whoa. I think this is enough. Register action clips. Next… Force, Charge, Dash, Strike."
[Combination is possible.]
[Please see the expected usage of the combination skill and click the Combination Complete button.]
[When the combination is completed, the skill book disappears and the combination skill is automatically acquired.]
The operation of the completed skill was simple. The preview showed only the figure of Lokan, who instantly closed the distance without using Leaf Attack and delivered a massive, forceful blow. Although several skills were linked together, the result was a single, fluid move. It was strikingly simple, considering that most high-tier combination skills—commonly called a 'combo'—were usually registered as a flashy skill linkage or sought to capture the power of several skills in one single, destructive shot.
"Combination complete!"
However, Lokan registered the skill with satisfaction. This was because, in actual combat, while a flashy sequence and a powerful shot were important, effectiveness was paramount. The versatility that allowed it to be used at any time, the minimal cooldown time, and the speed and raw power needed to outwit the opponent made this combination the best choice. Of course, the simplicity was partly due to the lack of available skills from his Berserker → Berserker → Jin Berserker path, which was also the reason why he avoided using Leaf Attack, Force, and Strike together to create a more destructive, special move-like power.
[Please specify the name of the combination skill.]
"Lethal Blow."
Instead of complexity, he gave power to the name. His intention was clear and distilled: a definitive attack. That intention melted into the name and permeated into the skill's structure.
[Fatal Strike] [Combination Skill]
Inflicts an unexpected blow that confuses the opponent.
– 250% movement speed for the duration.
– 400% movement speed when the distance from the enemy is within 3 meters.
– 1 ATK 200%.
– 1 chance of critical hit increases by 50%.
– Increases critical damage by 200% only once.
This was a one-shot fatal skill that accelerated once with a Charge and again with a Dash. Crucially, the stiffness or vulnerability after using the skill was minimal. This was because the skill's power enhancement was singularly focused on the critical hit.
"Great."
Since it only had a 50% chance, it might seem like a luck-based skill to others, but it was a different story when Lokan used it. He already had a 20% critical hit chance from a title effect, and another 20% from an item effect. On top of that, he could gain up to 10% extra by killing enemies in a row. This gave him a minimum of 80% and a potential maximum of 100% critical hit chance.
Furthermore, his already dreadful base ATK was doubled by the skill itself, and when combined with the critical damage increase effect, he could achieve up to 8X ATK. Being able to unleash such devastating power almost on demand made this undeniably a special move.
'If I use Berserk, it's 16 times that,' he calculated mentally.
While the normal mana consumption would be a burden, if he used Berserk—which doubled all his stats and granted infinite mana—even that wasn't an issue. It was a skill that was perfectly tailored for himself and for the Berserker class.
Now only one combination skill slot remained. When he repeated the task of making an action clip again and inserting a blend of skill books, the final desired combination skill emerged.
[Rush of Destruction] [Combination Skill]
A devastating dash that breaks and knocks down everything that stands in your way.
– 200% movement speed for the duration.
– DEF 200% for the duration.
– 200% strength.
-Progressive power amplification until self-cancelled or blocked.
-Additional damage proportional to the charge power when used.
-Additional damage inversely proportional to the opponent's strength when used.
This was another charge-type skill, synthesizing Force, Solid Body, Charge, Dash, and Shoulder Charge. It was a unique skill that did not have a fixed duration limit and, counter-intuitively, grew stronger the longer it was sustained. Although the mana consumption increased proportionally, even when used for a brief moment, the power was sufficient, making it useful in many scenarios. It could even be used for quick, high-impact melee attacks, similar to a super-charged Shoulder Charge.
In this way, the three core combination skills that Lokan needed were successfully completed.
"I have to stop here today."
Just in time, the connection timeout notification began flashing a clear warning. He still had a fourth combination skill slot—a unique advantage over other players—but he decided he needed to think about the final combination a bit more carefully. It was better to wait than to end up with a clumsy, ineffective combination skill.
Lokan logged out with a deep, satisfied smile.
And immediately, he could see that reality had become quite noisy.