Reincarnator’s Stream

The tower never presents impossible challenges. That was Suhyuk’s principle, proven by countless players over time. This time was no different.

There were ways to fight and defeat multiple goblins. Goblin necks were much thinner than human necks, making them easy to slice through.

Avoiding the numerous spikes and poison darts was nearly impossible, but theoretically possible.

However, the Orc King was different.

‘An opponent that cannot be defeated head-on.’

Watching Suhyuk tackle the Orc King, Hugo felt a chill.

‘Was that the answer?’

The moment Suhyuk identified the final trial opponent, he examined the goblin corpses on the ground. In that short period, Suhyuk had found the solution to the trial.

‘Goblin corpses don’t disappear until the trial ends. The answer was hidden in a system we took for granted.’

The goblins used poison-coated spikes and darts. Suhyuk had the foresight to use them to hunt the Orc King.

Moreover, ‘He targeted the legs from the start.’

Two poisoned darts stuck in the Orc King’s leg. After that, Suhyuk relentlessly threw spikes and darts at the Orc King’s legs.

Instinctively, he judged that the key to passing this final trial was to impair the Orc King’s mobility.

Furthermore, “…He’s a genius.”

His abilities went beyond mere sword skills.

Swish—

Poke, poke—

With seemingly casual throws, Suhyuk’s goblin spikes lodged into both of the Orc King’s eyes.

“Wow.”

A spontaneous exclamation escaped Hugo’s lips. Momentarily forgetting his knightly demeanor, Hugo glanced around and cleared his throat.

But just now. The skill Suhyuk displayed was astonishing.

‘He hit the moving target’s eyes accurately from that distance.’

Did he receive specialized training in throwing weapons from an assassin group?

No, even if that were the case, it was hard to believe. Not a single spike thrown by Suhyuk had missed so far.

Screeech—!

The Orc King, clutching his eyes with both hands and screaming in agony. After targeting the legs, Suhyuk had aimed for the eyes, intending to immobilize and blind the Orc King, rendering it defenseless.

He’s quick to judge.

Furthermore, his skill in accurately hitting the moving target’s legs and eyes with thrown spikes was near miraculous.

‘A genius? No, can mere talent account for this?’

His swordsmanship that cut down goblins and his precise throwing skill were bewildering.

Hugo’s mind was in turmoil.

He had encountered countless participants in this position. Even today, Isaac, another participant, had shown himself to be a genius. But there were always some deemed extraordinary.

But what could he call the one in front of him now?

‘Is he really the reincarnation of Lee Suhyuk?’

Roar—!

The Orc King roared. But with poison spreading through its legs and having lost its sight, it was no longer a threat.

“It’s over.”

Whoosh, whoosh—

Swinging its massive club was futile. The crippled and blind Orc King had no chance of catching the agile Suhyuk, who maintained perfect distance.

Ting—

Suhyuk expertly adjusted his distance and once again picked up poison darts from the goblin corpses. With the mobility and vision impaired, there was only one thing left to do.

Pababak!

‘Turn it into a pincushion.’

It was just slowly preparing the big game for cooking.

“You’re not supposed to throw it like that.”

One of Blue Eyes’ members, Kim Yerang, approached when she saw Suhyuk practicing throwing knives.

“Do you want this nuna to teach you?”

She was a specialist in throwing weapons. With throwing skills superior to even the renowned Tang family rankers, she had dispatched countless enemies quietly.

At first, it hurt his pride. But eventually, Suhyuk nodded to Kim Yerang’s words.

“Yes, nuna.”

He still remembered the look on her face that scrunched up when she heard that. Complaining about how gross it was, Kim Yerang held a pen and took a stance.

The pen she lightly threw pierced through a steel plate, and she said, ‘Any weapon can turn into a flying knife if you understand its center of gravity.’

***

Kwakwakwang!

Poison darts lodged into the Orc King’s body. As he initially aimed, Suhyuk slowly planted poison darts all over the Orc King’s body.

‘Power is proportional to rotational force. The longer you hesitate, the more accuracy declines proportionally.’

That was Yerang’s principle. Thanks to her, Suhyuk mastered the art of throwing.

Thunk—

Hitting the immobilized Orc King with poison darts wasn’t difficult. Massive injuries weren’t necessary.

Ultimately, it wasn’t the scattered wounds that would end the Orc King, but the large amount of ‘poison’ carried by the goblins.

Thud—

Eventually, the tenaciously surviving Orc King’s knees buckled. Despite its resilient life force, the Orc King couldn’t withstand hundreds of poison darts lodged in its body.

Each dart might not have been fatal on its own, but that quantity of poison changed the story.

Chweee, chweee—

Collapsing forward, the Orc King’s body shivered.

Clang—

Suhyuk picked up the sword he had dropped initially. Feeling the approaching presence, the Orc King struggled to stand. And then, towards the dying Orc King’s neck,

Puk—

Suhyuk drove the sword in.

Chwii—

With a final death rattle, the trembling Orc King fell completely to the side.

『Boss: ‘Orc King’ has been defeated.』

The Orc King, half-dead from the poison, perished as its neck was pierced. Pulling out the sword embedded in the Orc King’s neck with effort, Suhyuk muttered,

“It’s so damn hard to pull out.”

The hide was so tough that extracting the embedded sword felt almost impossible. To think this kind of monster was thrown at him in the tutorial.

Without the goblins’ poison, it would have been nearly impossible to cut off its lifeline.

『You have completed the tutorial perfectly.』

『You have leveled up.』 x 9

『You have gained 10,000 points.』

『You have gained 1325 achievement points.』

『You have defeated the ‘Orc King’.』

『You have gained 100 achievement points.』

『You are the first to complete the final stage of the tutorial.』

『You have gained 1,000 achievement points.』

『You can use the obtained achievement points to select your rewards.』

“…Wow.”

A series of messages popped up, and Suhyuk couldn’t help but voice his amazement.

Nine levels.

Gaining 3 stat points per level meant he had earned a total of 27 stat points. The rewards were more generous than he had expected.

That would have been fine, but the 1,000 achievement points at the end were certainly unexpected.

‘A thousand achievement points.’

A total of 2425 achievement points.

Considering that clearing up to the 20th stage would net just around 210 points, this was over ten times more.

‘What can I buy with this many points?’

The tutorial shop. It displayed items based on the points the participant had earned.

The items in the shop started at a minimum of 5 points. Therefore, a participant who passed only a single stage would earn no reward from the tutorial shop.

2400 achievement points.

Suhyuk had never imagined obtaining so many achievement points from the tutorial.

『Opening the shop.』

Rustle—

A long shop interface appeared.

The items listed in the shop extended as long as Suhyuk’s height. There were even several pages more. The system was designed to show more expensive rewards as one scrolled down or moved to the next page.

‘The cheapest item is 5 points. The ones at the bottom… about 200 points.’

From normal grade items to F-rank skills and mysterious materials, this tutorial shop had a wide variety of rewards.

The highest known record for the tutorial was 28 stages. Naturally, Suhyuk was now seeing a shop no one else had seen.

“Crazy… they sell things like this?”

As he flipped the pages, reaching the items costing over 1000 points, Suhyuk finally exclaimed in surprise.

—

【Nameless Magic Sword】

Grade: Rare

Type: Weapon

A magic sword crafted by Kindre. Kindre didn’t name failed works. Consumes the user’s stamina and mental strength to enhance the sword’s sharpness and physical abilities.

-Price: 1,000 achievement points

—

‘I never thought I’d see a piece by Kindre here.’

Kindre.

He was a quite famous player known as a magic sword maker. Ranking among the top three blacksmiths in the tower, his real name remained unknown.

Magic swords were in high demand due to their powerful effects, despite the risk of draining the user’s stamina and mental strength.

But.

‘Handling this right now would be too much.’

Unfortunately, magic swords weren’t a good match for Suhyuk.

‘Considering the lightning I’ll acquire later, what I need is not a magic sword but a holy sword.’

Magic swords were powerful but drained stamina, whereas holy swords were less powerful but provided protection to the user.

Due to the nature of his lightning abilities, Suhyuk had no choice but to opt for a holy sword. Increasing his stamina was not an option but a necessity.

【Holy Sword Miranda】

Grade: Rare

Type: Weapon

A mithril sword imbued with the blessings of a temple. Reduces the user’s stamina consumption.

-Price: 1300 achievement points

—

The second item caught his eye.

Made of the expensive metal mithril, it promised sufficient durability and sharpness, and its effects suited Suhyuk well.

But—

‘There’s something missing.’

For some reason, it didn’t fully satisfy him. Both the magic sword and this holy sword seemed excessively good for something acquired in the tutorial.

However, perhaps because the items he used before were so exceptional, the holy sword Miranda strangely didn’t appeal to him.

‘How I use these points sets the starting point. I need to choose wisely—’

And then, Suhyuk saw a skill that caught his eye.

‘F-rank?’

The more he turned the pages, the more expensive the skills would be. Despite that, the first skill on the next page was an F-rank skill.

—

【Selfish Sacrifice】

Type: Skill

Grade: F

LV: 1

Suppresses the side effects of skills and items that harm the user’s body. Points can be used to upgrade the skill’s grade and level.

Required Points: 10,000p

-Price: 1400 achievement points

—

“… What?”

He couldn’t believe his eyes for a moment.

An F-rank skill.

Moreover, the points required to level it up were exorbitantly high.

But—

‘This effect is…’

A skill that suppresses the side effects of self-harming skills and items. Even though it was a low-grade skill, the fact that it required so many points was actually a welcome sign to Suhyuk.

That meant, theoretically, that with unlimited points, he could overcome any skill’s side effects.

‘Perhaps, even lightning.’

Suhyuk’s eyes gleamed.

The one flaw that had troubled him about his lightning ability. Selfish Sacrifice was a skill with the potential to solve it. Now that he had found this possibility, there was no hesitation.

Suhyuk’s hand moved.

“Purchase.”