The highest skill grade revealed so far was Rare.
The order went Normal > Normal > Rare, and supposedly no grade above that had appeared yet. Well, the one after Rare was probably Rare , but still.
For reference, the grade of the Fla Strike skill I’d obtained was Rare.
Skills were also broadly classified into “Physical Type” and “Magic Type”, and apparently Magic Type skills showed up far more rarely than Physical Type ones.
So at first, I thought I’d gotten a good skill.
Nightmare difficulty and all, so of course I deserved at least this much as a reward.
[ButterBread: magic type skills are literally just garbage tho?]
[Fon: ah ffs 8F reward is magic type;]
[DarkKorean: magic type is legit all hype and jack of nothing lmao. zero advantages besides raw damage]
It wasn’t.
The general consensus among Climbers on Magic Type skills was, at best, lukewarm.
There were several reasons for this.
“Davis, you ntioned that you obtained a new Magic Type skill on the 7th floor. What skill is it, exactly?”
“It’s a Normal grade skill called Shockwave. Basically just an ability that fires an invisible force projectile.”
“How was it to use? I hear Climbers are mostly negative about Magic Type skills.”
“Mm… that’s right. Magic Type, sure, it has its strengths and unique qualities. You can attack at range by default, and the power is decent enough.”
I’d once watched an interview with a man nad Davis, famous as the frontrunner of Normal difficulty, and he’d explained the reasons well.
“But that’s where it ends. Even at my current Level, the Willpower consumption is so brutal that a few uses drain it completely. And above all, the real problem is a penalty unique to Magic Type skills called ‘ntal Concentration’.”
ntal Concentration.
In other words, the ti required to cast a skill.
This was a penalty-like condition that existed exclusively for Magic Type skills.
“During ntal Concentration, it’s impossible to move your body. It’s absolutely absurd. I an, you need to use your skill in the middle of a fight, so what, you ask the enemy to wait and they’ll just stand there?”
“Hahaha.”
“Now, let’s take a look. The skill Shockwave requires 10 seconds of ntal Concentration and 50 Willpower to cast. anwhile, my other Normal grade skill, Charge, requires no cast ti and only costs a asly 15 Willpower. In the ti you waste 10 seconds firing Shockwave once, you could use Charge more than three tis.”
“Oh… I see.”
Davis’s conclusion was crystal clear.
“In short, Magic Type skills are just fancy-looking garbage. Outside of lying in wait before a fight starts and landing one big hit, there’s almost no situation where you can actually use them. Well, even that has its uses if you’re good at it, but Physical Type skills are superior in almost every way. Honestly, I don’t think any Climber would disagree.”
Long cast tis.
Nearly impossible to use mid-combat.
And on top of that, a one-trick pony that devours an obscene amount of Willpower for nothing but raw power.
That was what Magic Type skills were.
I an co on, did he really have to be that brutal about it?
But well… I couldn’t argue.
[Skill: Fla Strike (Rare)]
Fires a concentrated fla forward, causing an explosion on impact. Requires 20 seconds of ntal Concentration to cast.
Classification: Magic Type
Willpower Cost: 100
Cooldown: 30 seconds
The skill description of the Fla Strike I’d obtained.
For reference, Willpower was essentially the equivalent of mana in a ga. It was a stat that increased alongside Level.
Apparently it recovered at a rate of 1% per minute once depleted.
[Difficulty: Nightmare]
[Floor: 2F]
[Level: 10]
[Willpower: 100/100]
[Skill: Fla Strike (Rare)]
And this was my Status Window.
In short, if I wanted to use the Fla Strike skill:
I’d finish 20 seconds of ntal Concentration, use it exactly once, and that was it.
To use it again, I’d have to wait until my Willpower fully recovered, aning a full 100 minutes before I could fire it off again.
What kind of bullshit was this…
Just like they said, fancy-looking trash. That’s exactly what this was.
Still, they did say the power was the one redeeming quality, so that was the only thing I held out hope for.
[You have entered Nightmare difficulty, Floor 1.]
The familiar cave.
I picked up my sword and stared down the passage.
I had no intention of using the skill right away.
I’d take out the first three myself, then try it on the Bow Goblin when it appeared.
After a short wait, the goblins erged from the passage.
“Yeah, co on in.”
I hadn’t tested the skill even once since I couldn’t exactly try it out in the real world.
But the body that had grown stronger with my rising Level, that I was already well accustod to.
Honestly, I’d gotten quite a bit stronger than I expected, to the point where I surprised even myself.
Hard difficulty supposedly gave 4 Levels per floor cleared?
Nightmare was 2.5 tis that: 10 Levels.
So I had no confidence.
No confidence that I’d struggle against re goblins anymore, that is.
Kieeeek-!
As expected, a Sword Goblin was the first to charge in.
There was no need for Ti Slicing.
My reflexes and dynamic vision had improved so much that the goblin’s attacks were plainly visible.
I dodged with ease and swung my own sword.
Crack!
The goblin’s upper body split clean in half.
‘Huh?’
The blade cuts way too well.
No wait, it’s my strength that got stronger. Right.
The bisected goblin collapsed with a wet splat.
The two goblins that had been running up behind it flinched to a halt.
Must have been quite the shocking performance for them, too.
“What’s wrong? Co at .”
When they didn’t, I moved first.
I rushed the Sword Goblin and swung my blade.
It couldn’t even put up a proper fight before its body was cleaved in half, sa as its friend.
The last remaining Spear Goblin suddenly bolted toward the passage.
“Seriously.”
I let out a dry laugh and gave chase.
I caught up in an instant and drove my sword through the back of its neck.
‘Easy.’
Did it even take 10 seconds to kill all three?
I wasn’t the slightest bit winded.
I could viscerally feel that my body had completely surpassed human limits.
Now, the next three.
The Bow Goblin in particular, the one that had given so much trouble, I decided to kill the mont it erged from the passage.
I cast my skill for the first ti.
The mont I began casting Fla Strike, my body locked up and I couldn’t move.
Sothing like an hourglass began flowing inside my head. A strange sensation.
So this is what ntal Concentration feels like?
I had to endure this state for a full 20 seconds before the skill would activate.
If I interrupted it midway, I’d obviously have to start all over from the beginning.
The ntal hourglass emptied completely, and the skill was ready.
I panicked.
‘What?’
…I still can’t move?
Wait, don’t tell .
It wasn’t just during the ntal Concentration period that I couldn’t move my body.
Even after finishing ntal Concentration, I couldn’t move at all until I actually fired the skill?
If I wanted to move, I’d have to cancel the skill outright.
‘Wow, seriously.’
I already understood exactly why everyone called Magic Type skills garbage.
I stood there, frozen stiff with nothing to do, waiting for the goblins to co out.
Grrk-
Finally, the next group of goblins erged from the passage.
Two Sword Goblins and one Bow Goblin.
I fired the skill imdiately.
Fwoosh!
A ball of fla erupted from thin air in front of .
The fireball shot toward the goblins at my will, streaking fast.
And then…
BOOM!
Flas spread wide as a massive explosion erupted.
The shockwave pushed my body back slightly, and my hair whipped around wildly.
The power exceeded anything I’d imagined. I stood there, stunned for a mont.
“Whoa…”
The smoke cleared.
The three goblins that had been standing there monts ago were nowhere to be seen.
In their place, charred clumps of sothing like black ash were scattered across the cratered floor.
They’d been blasted apart so thoroughly they couldn’t even leave proper corpses behind.
“…Well, the power is insane. I’ll give it that.”
It was definitely strong. No question.
My opinion had improved slightly, but I still wasn’t sold.
The penalties hanging off this thing like dead weight were just too crippling compared to its raw power.
At this rate, there was absolutely no way to use it in an actual fight…
Rumble-
Once all the goblins were dead, the stone gate began to close.
I sprinted over and made it out through the passage.
Without stopping, I ran straight up the continuous incline.
By the ti the iron ball started rolling, I was already tucked inside the groove.
THOOM!
This section was easy once you knew the trick.
After the thunderous crash faded, I strolled out at my leisure and checked my Status Window.
[Willpower: 1/100]
Willpower completely gutted after a single skill use.
I decided to wait until it was fully recharged before moving on.
Next up was the boss mob, the Goblin Knight.
With my current physical abilities, I felt like I could probably win even without using the skill.
But I wanted to test the skill’s power against it, too.
I waited a full 100 minutes, filled my Willpower completely, then pressed forward again.
The unattended weapon shop appeared.
I walked right past it without picking anything.
I entered the red-lit boss room.
Grrrk-
The Goblin Knight, standing in the center of the cavern.
The mont I spotted it, I began casting Fla Strike.
20 seconds of ntal Concentration.
But the Goblin Knight saw and closed the distance faster than that.
I clicked my tongue inwardly.
‘Impatient bastard.’
At this rate, I wouldn’t be able to use the skill.
Without thinking much of it, I stopped ti.
And then…
‘Huh?’
The hourglass inside my head was still flowing.
…ntal Concentration isn’t breaking?
‘I stopped ti, so why?’
I was confused by this anomaly for a mont, then it hit .
Could it be… ntal Concentration works even while ti is stopped?
The hourglass emptied completely.
The instant I released ti, I fired the skill without hesitation.
The fireball hamred into the Goblin Knight.
KABOOM!
It was sent flying several ters before slamming into the ground.
And it didn’t move again.
I walked closer and examined it.
The armor and the goblin’s body alike had been blown apart by the force of the explosion.
The boss mob I’d struggled so desperately against, taken out in a single hit.
Even I had to admit, that was pretty impressive.
‘But more importantly…’
I tilted my head.
ntal Concentration was possible while ti was stopped?
How does that even work?
A hypothesis suddenly ca to mind.
Ti Stop.
Even when ti is frozen, I can still think.
In other words, even when the world’s ti stops, the ti inside my head continues to flow normally.
What if ntal Concentration is also counted as a flow of ntal ti?
Is that why it works even with ti frozen?
Then another thought struck .
‘…What about Willpower?’
The word “Willpower” sounds pretty ntal too, doesn’t it?
I an, will and mind, they basically an the sa thing.
Half-doubting, I stopped ti again.
[Willpower: 0/100]
My Willpower, drained dry from using the skill just now.
I held still, ti frozen, and waited.
And a mont later.
[Willpower: 1/100]
‘…!’
Willpower recovered.
Even though ti was stopped.
Inside, I couldn’t help but shout.
‘Eureka.’
…I think I just discovered the most broken, busted-ass cheat imaginable.
One that only I could use.
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