Regardless of what the Guardian kept yapping about, the voice told me that it was true.
[Choose a Skill Card.]
Two bronze cards whizzed through the air. They were moving so quickly that I was getting dizzy, but that wasn’t the most confusing thing about this situation.
—It’s so unfair that he gets to copy monsters’ Skills too. No, this is a fraud! Hey, who the hell manages the Tower?! I’m a good Hunter, but you never gave me a Skill . Why are you giving it to a lame Hunter like him?!
I frowned. Can you please be quiet?
—Come out! This doesn’t count. Freaking hell! The Guardian floundered around angrily. It was...ugly. I had to wonder if he was really an adult; he was acting like a child who didn’t get to have a lollipop.
Sigh. Let’s focus on the cards. I stared at the two flying bronze cards. They’re both shit-colored, so I’m sure they aren’t good Skills...
However, my heart was pounding nonetheless. I couldn’t believe it—I got to take a monster’s Skill! I felt like I was doing something that would get me thrown into jail if I got caught.
I’m curious. I slowly extended my hand. Let’s just choose something!
The moment I was about to touch one, the damned ghost stuck his nose in my business again.
—What? You’re going to choose that one?
The butterflies in my stomach were massacred. Seriously, the Guardian was great at killing the mood.
Yeah, it doesn’t matter what I choose, I sourly answered.
The Guardian gave me a look from behind the cards.
—What do you mean, it doesn’t matter? Since you’re milking your life with this overpowered Skill, you may as well pick the best Skill you can get.
Both of them are bronze-colored, so I don’t know which Skill Card is better. This is just a game of luck.
—Huh? Why can’t you tell which is the better one?
Why are we talking in circles today? I shouted, frustrated. The cards are the same color! I only see the back of them, so how fuck am I supposed to know which one is better?
—I can see them though. The Guardian tilted his head.
—I can see the front side of these cards, the Guardian continued with a straight face.
I gave him a dumb look. What the heck are you tal...
I trailed off, realizing that I’d ignored one important factor: location! No matter how I turned my head, the cards would move with me. I only got to see the back of the cards and had no way of knowing what was written on the front, much like how a person on Earth couldn’t see the far side of the moon.
However, the limit only applied to me, and the Guardian could freely fly around in this dark world. Naturally, he would be able to fly to a spot where he had a good look at the front side of the Skill Cards.
Oh my god... I mumbled. Can you really see the Skill descriptions from there?
The Guardian frowned.
—Of course I can. Do you think I’m blind or something? Ever since I was a boy, I’ve been famous for my sharp eyes. There was this kid named Gaeddong in my neighborhood; when I was five, he used his slingshot on me, but I managed to dodge it. That’s how good my eyes are. That’s actually how I managed to learn Hawkeyes later too. Hah! Do you understand how great I—
—What the fuck? Did you just lose your mind? Why are you shouting?
I was too busy rejoicing in my sudden good fortune to worry about the Guardian’s reaction.
Eureka! Eureka! Eurekaaaaaa!
—Maybe I called you Zombie too many times and your brain actually turned into a rotten mush. Tsk, tsk... The Guardian looked at me like I’d gone crazy.
Blessing of Reproduction
Effects: Ah, although Mother Nature gave us a home to live in, she also tested us! Orcs overcome Mother Nature’s trials by maximizing their ability to reproduce. Did an orc just die? Don’t worry, there are still nine more orcs left. You just haven’t run into them yet!
※However, you will always be in heat.
Effects: “We say ’shik’ at every end of our sentences. We don’t know why we do it, shik! But why don’t you try it too, shik?” The orc holds its thumb up. “You will never get bored of it, shik!”
Whoa... According to the Guardian, both Skills were insanely bad, as expected from shit-colored Skill Cards. It was hard to keep my mouth closed.
—How is it? You might have gotten Shik-Shik if I didn’t stop you, Gong-Ja. Since you’re a man, you gotta try living with the stamina of an orc. Come on. Bow in gratitude!
The nonsense the Guardian kept spewing was equally incredible. Everything right now was so remarkable that all I could do was be amazed.
First, I chose to ignore the Guardian and put my brain to work.
Hmm. If I have to pick one, Shik-Shik seems better.
—What? You can’t be serious.
No, I’m on the right track. I nodded to myself. I’ve considered them very carefully, and Shik-Shik is more useful than the Blessing of Reproduction.
—Hey, hey! Hold on! Think about it a little more. Keep your head cool...
I watched the Guardian panic and smirked. It looks like you and I think the same.
Before the Guardian could stop me, I snatched one of the shit-colored cards. Despite the speed at which they flew, I didn’t have any problems. It might have been different if there were many of them, there were only two Skill Cards right now.
[You have chosen a Skill Card.
[Rewinding twenty-four hours.]
The Guardian and I screamed together.
[Your Hunter Class is F.]
[You will not receive your Skill penalty.]
The dark world brightened.
“Hmm!” I opened my eyes, feeling refreshed in my mind. “Ah, this is good. Yeah, the best way to relieve stress is a good sleep.”
Instead of my seven-square-meter studio, I was in a hotel room big enough for one person, the accommodations the MA had recommended for me. After winning the first place lottery, I was staying here for the time being.
—Shit! I thought you’d fall for it! You’re needlessly sharp!
Meanwhile, the Guardian was kicking his feet at the air, frustrated that he’d failed to trick me into getting a worse Skill. Just the sight of it made me feel as tranquil as a landscape painting.
“Hehe. Okay, I should pack my elixirs again... And show me my Hunter Status Window.”
I had no time to waste, so I checked the status window as I headed to a hunting ground.
1. I Want To Be Like You(S+): Passive
2. Returner’s Clockwork(EX): Passive
3. Sword Constellation(A+): Passive
4. Shik-Shik(F): Active
My Skill slots were full, but that was okay. I could just overwrite Shik-Shik with a new one, and I would use Shik-Shik as best as I could until that happened.
—Gong-Ja, this got me thinking... Meditating isn’t a bad way to train either. It hurts when you die. You don’t need to train in such a painful way. Besides, inner cultivation in the lotus position is a cool way to train yourself!
“Phew.” I arrived at the third-floor hunting ground where orcs were roaming.
Keeping an eye on the orcs’ locations, I pulled out my elixir in a still-warm thermos and drank it up in one gulp.
—Hey, Gong-Ja. Can’t you hear me? Let’s train in a more peaceful way. I can help you get the hang of using your aura in half a year even if you just meditate. There are no better or worse methods to train with, okay? Trust me.
“Wow! It tastes good!” I said, smacking my lip. It looked like the Chemist had also considered taste. Although it was only my second time drinking her elixirs, I felt like I was already getting addicted to the flavor.
“You know what, Mr. Sword Emperor?” I asked as I waited for the elixir to kick in.
—Hmm? What? Are you going to start meditating?
“I’m feeling generous today, so I’ll give you a chance to fix your habit. You call me Zombie if you feel like you’re at the upper hand, but Gong-Ja when it’s the opposite. And you’ve been calling me Gong-Ja today.”
As soon as I finished speaking, the world around me slowed to a crawl. I could feel the faint flow around my pounding heart again. It was my aura! The Guardian’s training method was certainly effective. I was able to feel my aura more vividly than my last try.
I calmed my breathing as I approached a huge, green monster. When it sensed my approaching presence, the orc’s ears twitched and it slowly turned around.
The orc’s eyes widened. It must be confused to see prey voluntarily walking toward it.
The orc held up its club. It decided to gladly accept this lucky opportunity. I, too, was quite pleased.
[The Skill Shik-Shik has been activated.]
The orc’s eyes widened much more than before and its club stopped mid-swing.
“Shik... Shik? Sh...ik?” The orc tilted its head, wondering how it should deal with the fact that its prey was speaking in its language.
Due to the orc’s limited intelligence, it was impossible for the green monster to understand what was going on, and I was smart enough to not miss this golden opportunity.
“Shik!” I spoke in perfect Orcish like a native orc!
The orc stopped growling.
“Sh...ik?” it cautiously said.
The orc was clearly getting more and more confused—so confused that it didn’t even put up a fight when I came at it. I added a drop of my aura to my blade; not too much, not too little.
I swung my dagger and slit the orc’s throat in one smooth leap. The huge orc collapsed to the ground, blood spraying from its wound in a grisly fountain.
“Sh...ik...? Shik...”
It continued to shik-shik, confused and angry. Perhaps it was saying something like, “Et tu, Brute?”
“Shik.” I smiled victoriously. I ached all over because I’d forced my aura...but I was much, much better than I had been the last time. If I only used this much aura, it was okay. I didn’t have a problem.
—That’s so low! I knew you would do this!
The Guardian trembled in anger.
—How are you going to sleep at night after fooling a good orc like that? You never considered how the orcs would feel about this, didn’t you? Innocent orcs are harmed because of filthy humans like you!
Instead of bothering to quote, “There are no better or worse methods to train with,” I sneered and replied with one word.
—Arghhhhh! This is so fucking annoying! It’s irritating as hell! Why did you give such an overpowered Skill to this weasel, Tower!
After a week, I started to train in the fifth-floor hunting ground.