Chapter 127

Chapter 127: Break Spot - (6)

Contract binding status.

‘The Arrogant Empress of the West’ abandoned Ivan in a fit of anger and took on a new contractor.

However, since this was not the contract the new contractor desired, she ended up being forcibly bound.

And this was a kind of loophole that could not be recognized as a formal contract. Of course, the disadvantage was only for the celestial being.

‘The Arrogant Empress of the West’ possesses a contemptuous gaze that belittles everything in the world.

Her boundless confidence serves as the foundation for her solid mental fortitude, making her extremely resilient.

The contractor can activate a minimum of 50% ‘absolute’ resistance against mental attacks.

"This is quite insane."

There was only one reason Sanghyun used the expression ‘insane,’ which he rarely did.

Even without filling the constellation slot given to him, he was now able to benefit from a constellation’s effect.

Moreover, the Proud Gaze effect provided at least half resistance against mental attacks—a very solid effect.

But the truly terrifying part was the passive skill Sang-hyun acquired after capturing Ivan.

In mental attacks, it grants variable resistance, adding at least 1% to a maximum of 50% to the existing resistance.

However, to obtain the maximum variable resistance, the ‘Pristine’ option must be activated, consuming 10 mana per second.

The basic framework was a passive skill, but there was an optional feature that could be used for mental reinforcement.

The frightening part was—

‘If I activate the Pristine option along with the Proud Gaze effect, I will become completely immune to mental attacks.’

In any form, he could become a flawless being, completely unaffected by mental interference.

‘The job most lethal to swordsmen isn’t actually mages, but mental players, who are considered even more insidious.’

Narrowly speaking, they deal with the mind, but broadly, they are known as debuffer players.

Swordsman players tend to pursue physical resilience. In fact, they are practically forced to.

To support team play, they must be the ones holding the front line with unparalleled toughness.

Because of this, mental fortification is naturally deprioritized, becoming a chronic issue for swordsmen.

But now, with the celestial effect and the skill obtained from Ivan’s spirit, Sang-hyun was fully prepared.

"A synthesis of my most-used skills? Since it inherits only the advantages, this seems pretty good."

He examined the tooltip further.

First, the skill level remains at level 5 even after synthesis, meaning his existing skill progression wasn’t wasted.

Rather, obstacles were removed, and deficiencies were supplemented! There was no reason to hesitate.

"There are no other synthesis choices. Might as well go for it. Plus, there’s a time limit."

He immediately proceeded with the synthesis.

Then, the two skills he had cherished and used frequently merged into one, giving birth to a new skill!

The cooldown for the frontal charge option is 20 seconds, separate from Full Bash’s cooldown.

"It guarantees a much greater movement range than Full Charge. In return, there’s a minor restriction."

That wasn’t a problem at all.

Even without Full Bash’s frontal charge, Sang-hyun had plenty of movement skills.

For example, Predation or Brave Charge. Even Backstep, when turned around, could function as a forward move.

Sang-hyun continued to examine the details.

After the stiffening effect ends, a guaranteed 1.0-second freeze is applied, followed by a chance for ‘Delay.’

During the Delay process, short-term immunity against status ailments does not activate.

If Full Bash is used before the first cycle ends, it will lead to a second cycle with a 100% success rate.

Subsequently, the third cycle has a 90% chance of continuation, and the fourth has a 70% chance. There is no fifth cycle.

If Full Bash successfully extends four consecutive times, the final hit inflicts a 2-second Silence effect on the target.

"This... most monsters won’t be able to escape Full Bash without dying, will they?"

Demon Bash’s stiffening and Full Charging’s freezing were now combined. The result was an utterly broken skill.

Moreover, the D-rank title 【With Overwhelming Power!】 continuously extended the duration of status effects by 10%.

This meant that just running through the first cycle would complete a hellish combination of 3.3 seconds of stiffening and 1.1 seconds of freezing—a total of 4.4 seconds.

And this hell could be extended up to four times!

If the precision timing of the Delays was successful, the target would be rendered completely helpless for 17.6 seconds.

Without a recovery or cleansing skill, or an artifact, they’d just be a standing sandbag.

‘Then add 2 seconds of Silence at the end as a finisher.’

By this point, the target would be a complete scarecrow for almost 20 seconds. There was no greater hell than this.

Each use of Full Bash consumes 50 mana, and there is no cooldown.

‘Freeze isn’t included. Plus, using Machiavellian Schemes, I can extend Silence by another 2 seconds at the end.’

With so many skills, endless chains of unexpected combos naturally formed in his mind.

The only drawback was a slight increase in mana consumption.

Originally, Demon Bash only consumed 1 mana, but Full Bash now devoured 20.

However, given that the skill’s impact had increased by two stages—no, four stages at least—

Increased mana consumption?

It wasn’t a problem at all.

‘From now on, my opponents will have to endure Full Bash or be completely destroyed by it.’

He could say with certainty.

If someone got hit by Full Bash once, even the great Do Kyungsoo wouldn’t be able to endure it. Not that he’d get caught so easily, of course.

"No magic stones or artifact rewards, but this feels far more valuable than mere money."

A satisfied smile spread across his face.

Money could be earned and spent, but—

Skills could be used forever.

Especially when it was an absurdly powerful synthesis skill like this.

It was difficult to even put a price on Full Bash due to its sheer potential.

The final message was also a skill-related reward. This time, it seemed to be a selection-based reward.

The list contained a vast number of skills.

But upon carefully scanning through it, I realized that there were more worthless things than I had expected.  

Most of the skills were just imitations that looked plausible but lacked real substance.  

There were healing skills and magic skills, but upon closer inspection, they were not significant enough to alter the course of battle.  

However.  

"This one looks good. Select."  

Sanghyun's sharp gaze stopped at one particular point, and without much contemplation, he immediately made his decision.  

The reason for his choice was simple.  

It was the only option that could compensate for a status effect he currently lacked.  

Both the isolated individual and the external world can see each other, but they exist in entirely separate spaces.  

Consumes 100 stamina and 100 mana simultaneously, with a cooldown time of 1 minute.  

A skill for isolation.  

Isolation was undoubtedly categorized as a status effect. It allowed both the opponent and oneself to be completely separated for a moment.  

Even if they could see each other, they would exist in different spaces entirely. They could not be stabbed, nor could they be touched.  

There had been various interpretations among players in his past life regarding the concept of isolation.  

Some believed it actually transported them to a new space, while others thought it temporarily turned them into spirits.  

In reality, regardless of which theory was correct, the fact that they were isolated remained unchanged.  

"The cost is a bit unusual, but whatever. Isolation. I like it."  

It was such a satisfying conquest that he felt immense pride in himself.  

Leveling up, growth, and skills.  

It had been the perfect dungeon conquest without missing a single thing. And at the same time—  

'The Osaka Great Rift. I alone will stop this future catastrophe without anyone knowing. May everyone stay safe.'  

He had now gained the ability to prevent a future disaster.  

No one would ever recognize his efforts, but that didn't matter at all.  

"Thank you."  

As expected, the goddess was the only one on his side.  

With a heartfelt emotion swelling within him, Sanghyun prepared to step out of the dungeon.  

"What kind of nonsense is that? Hoo!"  

Sanghyun vigorously blew on the tip of his pinky finger, which he had been using to dig his ear.  

People and constellations both lived up to their names, and the Arrogant Empress of the West was proving hers true.  

In any case, she was in a bound state and could not leave recklessly.  

If she forcibly severed the contract and left, she would lose all her divine power and be exiled from the dimensional plane.  

This was something he had learned from a late-blooming model student in his past life.  

"Just watch quietly. At the very least, I'll be ten million times better than your previous contractor."  

Sanghyun spoke with confidence.  

He had no doubts.  

Unlike Ivan, who was just a neighborhood bully playing king in the dungeon, he was living a completely different life.  

If she kept watching him from nearby, her opinion would eventually change. She would come to see him as a rather decent guy.  

"Then."  

He immediately stepped out of the dungeon.  

As the surroundings reverted to the scenery of reality—  

"……Huh?"  

Sanghyun found himself facing an unexpected sight.  

By sheer coincidence, or perhaps not, a familiar face was passing right in front of him.  

That person was none other than—  

‘Yuki Hashimoto.’  

A Japanese player who had once formed a contract with the Goddess of Fortune in his past life.  

Both the past contractor and the constellation were present here.  

Of course, in this life, they would never cross paths, never even be aware of each other's existence, merely passing strangers.