CH 34

[Kang Tae-san[Solo]: Explaining one by one would be time-consuming. So, I’ll pass for now.]

Tae-san began to explain.

[Kang Tae-san[Solo]: I’ll tell you only the skills that can be acquired by working hard. Lee Tae-yeon and Kang Joon-hyuk already know what I mean.]

[Kang Jun-hyuk [Solo]: Yes]

Detection could be obtained once a player completely grasped the nature of things.

Cool-headed could only be obtained by maintaining an unwavering spirit.

Sense Enhancement could be obtained while strengthening the senses by keeping them sharp.

All of them could be acquired with innate talent.

After all, the skills were named exactly after the talents that they required. These were skills that could not be learned through teaching. You had to sense and develop them on your own.

Tae-san was going to teach them the skills that even an untalented person could obtain if they tried hard enough.

[Kang Tae-san[Solo]: Let’s assume that till now everyone has obtained the Poison Resistance skill.]

Emergency food was too expensive for players to buy at this stage. Until they had enough money to buy proper meat, they would have no choice but to eat Big Rat’s meat.

In that process, they must have already had food poisoning and recovered in the Fountain of Life.

Naturally, Poison Resistance could be obtained that way.

In fact, when asked about the skills they had learnt, the skill that was mentioned the most was Poison Resistance.

[Kang Tae-san[Solo]: The easiest skill to get is [Pain Reduction]]

[Kang Jun-hyuk]: Oh! Interesting.]

Expectations were spreading in the forum. All the new players were vulnerable to pain. So, what did Tae-san mean by a skill that could reduce pain? It was a tempting topic.

[Kang Tae-san[Solo]: Till now, everyone should have at least one skill, so you’ll know how it goes.]

[Kang Jun-hyuk[Solo]: Reproducing the effect of the skill to some extent. I know that. Wait…!]

Kang Joon-hyuk, who was talking, finally realized the crux of the matter. Tae-san calmly kept talking.

[Kang Tae-san]: As you said, the way to obtain it is simple. All you need to do is endure the pain.]

[Lee Tae-yeon[Solo]: Well, it’s easier than I thought. Can I just be bitten by Big Rat?]

[Kang Tae-san[Solo]: Would that be enough?]

Big Rats attacks were more of a sting. In the judgment of the labyrinth, it was not something that could be considered as pain.

[Kang Jun-hyuk[Solo]: Then how can I get it?]

[Kang Tae-san[Solo]]: Stab yourself in the arm.]

[Kang Jun-hyuk[Solo] :…What?]

[Kang Tae-san[Solo]: Everyone has their rusty sword, right? Stab it deep into your arms. You’ll have to push it to the bones to get the proper judgment, so don’t be afraid to stab yourself.]

Big Rat was the only monster on the first floor. And within the secret room there was only death awaiting them. This was their only way to acquire this skill in the first floor.

[Kang Tae-san[Solo]: Why aren’t you all talking?]

The noisy forum suddenly became quiet.

[Lee Tae-yeon]:…Stab myself with a sword?]

[Kang Tae-san[Solo]: Make sure it’s deep enough to reach your bones. The Fountain of Life is also nearby, so what’s the problem?]

No matter the pain, one could easily recover.

He didn’t see any problem, in fact, to him, this was a great idea.

[Kang Tae-san[Solo]: With this skill fighting against the Big Rat, you wouldn’t have to be worried about any injuries. This skill would be of great help in the battle, so make sure to fight.]

Silence followed. After a long time, Kang Jun-hyuk barely asked.

[Kang Jun-hyuk[Solo]: How long do I’ll have to endure?]

[Kang Tae-san[Solo]: Approximately a minute?

[Kang Jun-hyuk[Solo]:…Damn!]

This was an expected response. Still, Tae-san continued.

[Kang Tae-san[Solo]: Next skill is Slowed Breathing. Jump into the Fountain of Life and hold your breath. If you could hold your breath till you’re about to die, you’ll acquire this. Then, while activating that skill keep swinging your sword, once the limit is reached the Slowed Breathing Attack could also be obtained. These skill comes in handy during battles, so it’s better to learn.]

[Lee Tae-yeon[Solo]: Till I am about to die?]

[Kang Tae-san[Solo]: [How did you learn the Master of Death?]

[Lee Tae-yeon[Solo]: When we were fighting in the aisle, the two Big Rats suddenly appeared out of nowhere. I tried to run away as soon as I saw them. Somehow, I arrived at the Fountain of Life with only 2 Health left.]

[Kang Tae-san[Solo]: Wouldn’t Slowed Breathing be the same as the Master of Death?]

[Lee Tae-yeon[Solo]: …Oh?!]

Lee Tae-yeon, realizing that she had already once encountered a death-like situation, closed her mouth.

[Moon Jae-sung[Solo] :…Is there anything else?]

[Kang Tae-san: Well, there is a skill that could ignore any fatal damage and reduces other sources of damages for a few seconds.]

Just by listening to it, anyone could see how valuable the skill was. But the forum was still quiet.

Lee Tae-yeon asked as if she was done with the silence.

[Lee Tae-yeon[Solo]: How will I get that?]

[Kang Tae-san[Solo]: Well, by stopping the Big Rat’s attack about 30 times with a minimum of stamina left. Only then you can get it. And as a bonus, you’ll obtain Block skill as well. It’s worth the gamble.]

[Kang Jun-hyuk [Solo]:…Aa.]

[Moon Jae-sung[Solo]:…Aren’t you just lying?]

[Park Chan-woong[Solo]: Just for the skills, I’ll have to do this much hard work?]

The initial trust, faith, and belief disappeared, and only distrust was seen. Tae-san looked at all the comments and without any hesitation commented.

[Kang Tae-san[Solo]: Look, I’m not forcing you into it, I see no purpose in it. It’s all your choice.]

[Moon Jae-sung[Solo]: I-I can’t do it. How can a person do such crazy things?]

[Kim Yo-han]: Same here. No matter how many skills I need, I don’t think this is the right way to go.]

His suggestions were followed by rejections. No one could accept the fact that anyone could need so many skills just to survive in the labyrinth. And that was within Tae-san’s expectations.

Till recently, these people lived normal lives.

War was ancient history, it happened in a distant time.

They had never done anything to risk their lives.

So, even if they were suddenly thrown into the labyrinth, their attitude couldn’t be changed easily.

No one wanted to grind hard enough to die. Even if it was to acquire skills that could potentially save their lives in the future.

This was something you could only realize when you go through it. But the problem was that this attitude was what led them to their death in his first life.

Very few people could find means of survival without suffering first.

[Lee Tae-yeon[Solo] :…… Is there any other way?]

[Kang Tae-san[Solo]: No.]

[Kang Jun-hyuk[Solo]: F*, I’m going to go crazy.]

Though he complained, determination still lingered behind his words.

[Kang Jun-hyuk[Solo]: Phew. I guess I’ll have to try it.]

[Lee Tae-yeon[Solo]: I can’t believe I’m doing all these.]

[Moon Jae Sung[Solo]: Jun-hyuk, are you really going to do something this crazy?]

[Kang Jun-hyuk[Solo]: Then what do we do? This might help us level up.]

[Moon Jae-sung[Solo]: You know, he could be lying.]

[Lee Tae-yeon[Solo]: Tae-san? For what reason?]

Moon Jae-sung was left speechless by Lee Tae-yeon’s reply. Tae-san had already proved himself to be trustworthy after posting the strategy.

[Lee Tae-yeon[Solo]: Why would he lie when he’s doing so well alone? First, I’ll just learn the safer skills. It’s not that dangerous, right?]

[Kang Tae-san[Solo]: You’ll be fine if you get out as soon as you see the system window. But you’ll need to resist, okay? Instincts are not so easily suppressed.]

Except for him right now, Jung-geun was the only one to successfully learn the Slowed Breathing skill, though he only succeeded after challenging himself dozens of times.

The fear of dying while enduring was not so easily suppressed.

Only those with a steel-like determination could easily get control over their own mind.

[Kang Jun-hyuk[Solo]: Ugh, I’m going to try anyway.]

Only Lee Tae-yeon and Kang Jun-hyuk showed their determination. This was also as he expected. Only those who have talent and the spirit of challenge could be the ones moving forward. The rest would be trapped inside the labyrinth forever. It didn’t matter if they believed it or not.

“I hope at least one or two of them could get out of it.”‘

[Kang Tae-san[Solo]: Do your best. I’ll tell you the rest whenever I can.]

As soon as, Tae-san left the forum. The rest continued to talk but it didn’t matter to him.

[Is it over? What did you talk about?]

“Just simple advice.”

[I don’t know what a forum is, but somewhat saw what happened.] The ghost grumbled.

[What a useless thing to do?  This is a place only those who have the will to move forward can survive, others will just die uselessly.]

“But some ambiguous can change their lives.”

He didn’t want his advice to go in vain. Next time, when he opened the forum. He was sure that something would change. The ghost rushed towards Tae-san.

[Anyways, it’s over, right? Let’s go!]

Tae-san got up, opened the door and peeked inside.

“Kik”

“Keek”

Inside, there were four goblins. And as Tae-san expected, there was a red door behind them.

Perhaps they were the last monsters on the second floor.

Tae-san calmly opened the door. He pulled out his bow and aimed at the terrified goblins.

“Keek!”

“Kik!”

“Keek!”

He aimed his paralyze arrows at the three on them. The ghost asked in a strange tone.

[What are you doing?]

“Stay still.”

Tae-san took out his sword.

“Ki-Kik”

The goblin who was not hit by the paralyze arrow anxiously lifted its shield. Tae-san aimed his sword at the trembling goblin.

Boom!

[10 damage was dealt to the goblin with a shield]

“Keek!”

Screaming the goblin fell over. A little more strength and it could have been cut into two by Tae-san’s strike!

But Tae-san didn’t swing his sword. The goblin who sensed its death and closed his eyes was confused.

“Keek?!”

Right now, Tae-san wore all kinds of ornaments that boosted his attack power. After making his attack power reduce to 1, he swung his sword roughly again. The goblin hurriedly blocked it.

“KEEK!”

“Khe-k-k!”

Soon the paralyzing poison wore off, and Tae-san pulled out his bow again.

“Keek!”

“Kik!”

The unfortunate three goblins were paralyzed once more. And the goblin left out kept on being hit.

[What are you doing?]

“You don’t know?”

[Oof, I know. Aren’t you trying to obtain a skill by doing this?]

“So, you do know about it.”

Tae-san used paralyzed arrows. He was already hitting only one Goblin for nearly two minutes.

The ghost hit his chest as if he was frustrated.

[It’s scary when you know things half-heartedly. Definitely, skills are obtained this way. But I don’t think there is any skill that could be obtained by just doing this.]

“There is one.”

And it was a very good skill. Tae-san pulled out his arrows. The ghost snorted.

[Do you know how far I’ve gone? There’s nothing I don’t know!]

“Then shall we make a bet?”

[A bet? What can I get when I’m already dead?]

“If you win, I’ll be your slave. Follow everything you say even after my death.”

[Oh!?]

“But if I win, I’ll ask a question, don’t lie and answer me truthfully. This is the content of the bet.”

[Ha. Look at this big guy]

Amused, the ghost laughed.

[You’ve just entered the labyrinth but you’ll fight me, who knows a lot of information about this place?]

“So, are you in or out?”

The ghost nodded excitedly at Tae-san who looked extremely relaxed.

[Of course, I’m in! The great imperial family of the Carbert Empire! I’ll bet the name of Alkerite! If you win, I won’t lie even the tiniest bit to your question! But if I win, you’ll be a slave for the rest of your life!]

“Good.”

In the midst of their conversation, Tae-san continued to torment the goblin with his sword. The goblin was exhaustedly moving his shield as if he had given up halfway.

“Can you see the system window?”

[If you want to show me, I can see it.]

“Okay, got it!”

Once again, Tae-san pulled out another paralyze arrow. The goblin’s eyes began to show signs of annoyance. The ghost murmured joyfully.

[What will you do? I’ll just enjoy this trip before you die.]

Tae-san ignored the ghost and kept moving his hands. With that four minutes passed by.

[Boy, give up!]

Tae-san opened his mouth instead of answering, he said something else

“Do you know the Duel skill?”

[It’s a basic skill. Why? Don’t tell me you didn’t obtain it till now?]

It was a skill used by players to compete with each other. Once an agreement is reached between the two, others could not interfere in their battle. It was a skill that was used more often in the outside rather than inside the labyrinth.

“You can get something similar over here”.

The possibility of obtaining it was quite low. However, because of its uniqueness, it was a skill that no one knew until it was found.

The ghost didn’t seem to be much different.

[What nonsense are you spouting?]

The system window appeared interrupting the ghost’s question.

[You continued to fight against only one enemy. You have obtained a special Active skill, [Forced Duel]]

Got it! Tae-san slashed his sword against the goblin, it disappeared without even letting our so much as a scream. The ghost was stupefied.

[How!?]

***

[Active Skill: Forced Duel]

[Mana Cost: 10]

[Proficiency: 1%]

[Automated duel with the target. No opponent can damage you except for the target for 10 seconds.]

Tae-san smiled satisfactorily after checking the contents of the skill.

It was good enough to be a main skill. Although mana cost was large, its effect were great.

The inability to interfere here included literally everything.

Continuous Damage. True Damage. Poison Status Condition. Confusion Status Condition. Taunts.

It can erase all status conditions, effects, and substances that were interfering with his body. Depending on the way it was used, it was a forced duel that could not be interfered by anything, even if they were to be trapped in lava or brought into space. They still wouldn’t take any damage.

Although it was slightly less valuable in that it did not have its own buff, right now, it had enough power to be a main skill.

[…T-This doesn’t make any sense.]

The ghost murmured blankly.

[This skill is… Like this, that level of skill…]

“That’s why not everyone could obtain it.”

When dealing with a team of opponents, it was hard to exclude the rest and focus on just one of them. Tae-san didn’t kill him on purpose and waited for 5 minutes. This was obviously not a normal approach.

However, Tae-san tried and challenged all kinds of things. So, to him focusing on one opponent to obtain Forced Duel hardly counted as making an effort.

“Do you remember the bet?”

If he were to lose, he’d have to become the ghost’s slave. But if he won, the ghost would tell him everything he needed to know.

[…Yes. I remember. Unlike other guys, I am not a sore loser.]

The ghost looked at Tae-san.

[Hey, what are you doing!?]