Insane Trait
Tower of Despair, 10th floor.
He kicked off the ground, following after Seira as she dashed ahead.
'Is this what déjà vu feels like?'
Jinhyuk rubbed his eyes.
These past few days, his schedule had boiled down to four main activities.
Climb the tower, eat chicken, train with Seira, then hit the sack.
He repeated this endlessly, like a hamster on a wheel.
Someone might call it a simple, straightforward timetable.
But as the saying goes, it's a comedy from afar and a tragedy up close.
Climbing the tower and devouring chicken were easy enough, but the third part was the problem.
'I really thought I was gonna die.'
The day after his first training session with Seira.
Jinhyuk had woken up screaming.
His entire body felt shattered, with excruciating pain radiating from muscles all over.
And yet, Seira showed no mercy.
-That's how it is for everyone at first. You'll adapt somehow.
She dragged the staggering Jinhyuk up to the rooftop and drilled him until he collapsed.
He thought he might actually die like this, but at some point, he realized it.
Just as Seira said, his body was adapting to this insane training.
And it wasn't just that the post-training pain was easing.
Every session, his stats shot up like clockwork.
On top of that, the level-ups from tower climbs piled on, visibly transforming his physique.
'This is what real training yields.'
Before, even a short jog in Seira's wake had left him gasping for air up to his throat.
Now, his body felt much lighter; even after running for a good while, his breathing stayed steady.
'I might've been a total sloth before.'
Of course, he kept such thoughts to himself and didn't get cocky.
Seira was already far ahead.
Even with his lighter steps, his speed still fell woefully short of keeping up.
Slash! Slash!
Seira cleaved through a pack of hobgoblins as she passed.
Two that she hadn't sliced lay sprawled, rolling toward Jinhyuk.
It wasn't that Seira had missed them.
She'd deliberately left them for Jinhyuk's real combat experience.
"Grk!!"
Caked in dirt from tumbling across the ground.
The hobgoblin raised its club.
Jinhyuk gripped his sword with both hands, adjusting his stance.
He'd originally held a shield for stability, but following his master Seira's lead, he'd ditched it for a two-handed sword.
He took heavy, deliberate steps, then slammed on the brakes at just the right moment.
The hobgoblin's club whistled past, inches from his hand.
Gauging the distance to the other one, he spun and swung his blade.
Crack!
The hobgoblin split clean in half and crumpled.
Another hobgoblin burst out from behind it.
This one had cleverly hidden behind its fallen kin.
-Swordsmanship is about flow. If you force it against the weight, you'll get bogged down.
He recalled the swordplay Seira had demonstrated.
Seira's blade never hitched, not even once.
It flowed smoothly from start to finish, like a streak of light.
Even when it met resistance, the flow never broke.
Instead, she turned the friction's weight into her own, deploying her sword even faster.
"Grrrk!"
Simulating her movements in his mind, he parried the incoming club.
Then, using its weight, he added a slight rebound.
It was a tiny motion, yet the hobgoblin staggered back dramatically.
He didn't miss the opening, thrusting his sword straight in.
The hobgoblin, pierced through, spewed blood and went limp.
[The Mad Hobgoblin, boss of the 10th floor, has been defeated!]
[You have cleared the 10th floor of the Tower of Despair!]
Wiping sweat from his brow as the message popped up right on cue.
Luckily, he'd taken down all the ones Seira had tossed his way before she finished clearing.
Two days ago and yesterday, he'd left one each dangling.
[Player Eugene Jinhyuk's level has risen to 11! Stats have increased!]
'It climbs like this every time.'
Jinhyuk rubbed his chin.
No matter how he looked at it, his stats ballooned way too much per level-up.
It was a happy dilemma, but doing this every time was starting to freak him out a bit.
That bullshit artist's back. What, son of the tower or something? Stats jumping like that every level.Dude's got chronic tall-tale syndrome. Last time he claimed swinging a wooden sword a few times boosted his strength and agility. What, did he chug an SSS+ growth potion? Not even sure if those exist for real.
The flood of insults confirmed it wasn't normal.
No matter how hard he scoured his trait window, nothing growth-related showed up.
Whatever it was, he hoped it wasn't sacrificing his future potential.
He turned his eyes to the next string of messages.
[You have acquired a Blank Card! Current Blank Cards held: 1.]
[Maximum card slots increased to 4! Current cards held: 1/4.]
Slot 1: Black Knights' Order Captain, Seira Kinkayton.
[10th floor clear time: 16 seconds. SSS+ rank achieved! Achievement gauge has increased!]
Ding!
[Achievement gauge is full! Privilege reward granted!]
Jinhyuk's eyes sparkled.
"Jackpot!"
He'd figured it was about time to fill up.
The achievement gauge reset to 0, and a golden slot appeared before him.
One of the items in there would be randomly drawn as the slot spun rapidly.
'Please be something good. Please be something good.'
He prayed fervently for a moment.
The slot, spinning fast, halted at one point.
[You have acquired an SSS+ Grade Trait Selection Ticket!]
"Yeeeeeeessss!?"
He nearly dislocated his jaw.
Trait selection tickets.
You could see them pop up on the site now and then.
But those were always C-grade or B-grade knockoffs.
Knockoffs, sure, but even a B-grade was plenty valuable.
If an A-grade ever showed up by sheer insane luck, the whole site would erupt.
But SSS+? He was so shocked, last night's soy sauce chicken nearly came back up.
'What a ridiculous stroke of luck.'
Achieving SSS+ on the 10th floor wasn't why this dropped.
The ranks per floor just fed into the achievement gauge.
This had to be his ancestors looking out for him.
'Thanks, Grandpa!'
He hadn't visited the ancestral rites in ages, truth be told.
But he'd heard from his parents that they were doing fine.
'Thanks! Mom, Dad!'
Maybe it was the way he clasped his hands, trembling all over.
Seira, returning, gave him a puzzled frown.
Whatever. Calming his breath, Jinhyuk reached out to the selection ticket.
Hundreds of traits unfolded before him.
But he didn't hesitate.
He'd already decided what to pick.
After scrolling for a while, Jinhyuk grinned.
If he could choose, it had to be this one.
[Hyper Growth - SSS+]
Stat gains upon level-up are dramatically increased.Stat growth speed from specific actions surges exponentially.Probability of acquiring related traits in specific situations skyrockets.
In game terms, it was like a pay-to-win growth potion.
Even climbing the same floor the same way, you'd pull ahead in growth.
At first, the gap might seem small, but later on? Different story.
The longer it went, the wider the divide—same level, but you'd reach an entirely different realm.
He selected the trait without a second thought.
Beep!
[Acquisition of this trait is impossible.]
What the hell is this nonsense?
He was about to flip the table when—
[This trait is already acquired. Please select a different trait.]
Along with the message, changes rippled through his status window.
Specifically, an addition appeared below the 'Black Knights' Order Swordsmanship – Basics' he'd learned via blank card.
[Black Knights' Order Swordsmanship - Basics]
Seira Kinkayton was a genius in swordsmanship and, at the same time, the world's greatest genius in growth.As a growth genius, she was able to create, develop, and perfect this swordsmanship.Seira Kinkayton's talent for growth is infused into the swordsmanship.
Now it clicked.
The reason his stats had spiked so much with every level-up and training session.
'You sneaky, user-unfriendly system bastard!'
He vented his frustration inwardly, like the coward he was.
Man, though—Black Knights' Order Swordsmanship Basics? This thing was straight-up insane.
Just mastering Seira's swordplay was invaluable, but it came loaded with Hyper Growth SSS+ to boot.
If traits had form, he'd want to cradle it like a hen with an egg, 24/7.
'Hold up.'
Then, realizing something, Jinhyuk swallowed hard.
Meaning he could pick another SSS+-grade trait.
[Exiting the Tower of Despair.]
The message popped up right on time, and he let out a quiet breath.
He needed to stay calm here.
An SSS+ trait selection ticket—you never knew when another would drop.
Hyper Growth was definitely 0-tier, but he hadn't ranked the rest yet.
'Take it slow. Pick the best one.'
Calming his mind, he nodded leisurely.
First things first: tier the traits.
The Player Hunter Agency in Jongno, Seoul.
Team Leader Jin Yoonho clicked his tongue at the monitor.
A single new record that had just gone up on the site.
[Tower of Despair 10th floor cleared. Elapsed time: 16 seconds. Achieved rank: SSS+]
He stared at the record in silence.
The team members standing behind him were gazing at the monitor too, each wearing an expression of utter disbelief.
The Hunter Agency wasn't a place just anyone could waltz into.
Even awakened players got weeded out if their sync rate was under 10%.
In other words, most of the folks spectating from behind had cleared at least the 25th floor.
And even to them, this record made zero sense.
The 10th floor housed the tower's first boss monster: the Mad Hobgoblin.
Hiding in a convoluted maze, no less—and cleared in 16 seconds? Physically, logically, it was impossible to swallow.
The team members swallowed dryly, glancing at Jin Yoonho.
Even when he'd cleared the 5th floor in 1 second, Yoonho had shrugged it off.
But not this time.
Deep in thought, Jin Yoonho finally spoke.
"This won't do."
He turned, pointing at the monitor with a finger.
"We need to find him."
He'd just cleared the 10th, so his sync rate was probably nothing to write home about.
Still, this was beyond the point of just watching from the sidelines.
Even if his current sync rate was zilch, they had to secure the guy and add him to the management list.
"You all, right now—"
WEEEEEENG—!
Just as Jin Yoonho was about to finish.
A shrill alarm blared.
Someone in the situation room raised their voice.
"Team leader! It's a transfer!"
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T/N:
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