Chapter 19

Infinite Skill Copying with EX-Grade Interpretation Chapter 19

I could see the Cyclops’s complexion worsening in real time.

With one arm severed, it was losing a great deal of blood, and after wildly swinging its club around, its stamina also seemed to be dropping quickly.

I can kill it.

As that certainty grew stronger, my grip on my sword tightened even further.

Even so, its overwhelming physical strength couldn’t be ignored, so I remained focused.

Wait for an opportunity, but never let your guard down.

It was a lesson I had learned while living as a scavenger.

─Uoooooh!!

Perhaps the sight of its own blood was making it increasingly enraged, because the Cyclops began roaring.

Was it building heat in its body like a berserker?

As though it couldn’t feel pain, it roared and began swinging its club wildly.

─Bang, bang!! BOOOOM!!

The ground shook, and the tremendous noise made my ears ring.

What the hell is that thing trying to do...

[Using the ability ‘Interpretation.’]

I interpreted its actions once again and committed them to my eyes.

What the hell is that thing trying to...

[The target’s actions have been perfectly interpreted.]

[The experience is sublimated into a skill.]

‘A skill? Right now?’

So it really worked on monsters too.

[You have acquired the skill ‘Earth Shatter (C).’]

─Strikes the ground powerfully and destroys the terrain.

─Depending on your strength, the surrounding area may also be destroyed.

‘The surrounding area can be destroyed? Wait, then...’

The Cyclops’s actions gradually took shape in my mind.

And little by little, I began to picture what would happen afterward.

─Creak.

An ominous sound came from behind me.

I hurriedly turned around to see what it was.

Shit...

A massive tree had begun collapsing from the impact.

No, it wasn’t just one.

As one tree fell, others began toppling like dominoes in a chain reaction, threatening me.

I have to dodge.

[Using the skill ‘Perfect Acceleration.’]

─Whoosh!!

I put strength into my legs and began dodging the falling trees within those fleeting moments.

If I got crushed beneath them, this fight would be my loss.

[Using the skill ‘Wire Web (B).’]

I also threw out wires and flew between the falling trees.

I had been avoiding the collapsing trees of the Great Forest for some time when.

─Whoooosh!

─Boom!

“That crazy bastard!”

The Cyclops was smiling.

It was throwing pieces of broken trees at me like javelins.

Fortunately, with only one arm, its accuracy wasn’t very good, but the fact that it had gained a ranged attack at all was extremely troublesome.

But.

I can do that too.

Seeing that disgusting bastard grin made irritation surge within me.

─Whoooosh!

Another chunk of tree flew toward me.

I stared directly at the piece of debris flying straight toward my body.

Keeping my eyes fixed on it... for just one instant.

[Using the skill ‘Wire Web.’]

─Whoosh, thwack!!

“Hup!!?!”

I hooked the wire onto the debris and put all my strength into my body.

I planted my body into the ground and endured as hard as I could, despite feeling like I might be dragged away.

If I slowly changed its direction while using the force he had thrown it with...!

I smiled as I watched the debris reverse direction with the same force due to centrifugal force.

“Diiie!!”

─Bang!

─Ueek?!

─BOOOOM!!

Turning his own trick back against him proved extremely effective.

The debris embedded in his chest restrained his body.

And because he only had one arm left, he struggled to pull it free, exposing an opening.

Now.

[Using the skill ‘Demon Flash.’]

─Slice!

─!!

I severed his last remaining arm, finally leaving the Cyclops completely defenseless.

I couldn’t waste such a good opportunity, so I kicked off his body and climbed upward.

His thick neck was covered in calluses and looked difficult to cut through even with a blade.

Even so, I put strength into both hands and brought my sword down toward his neck.

Because I have a spirit.

[Using the skill ‘Spirit Arts.’]

─!!

─Crackle!

The spirit scattering yellow lightning clung to the sword and shared its power with me.

Sharp electricity wrapped around the blade.

That electricity became an edge even sharper than the sword itself, helping me cut through the Cyclops’s neck.

─Slice!

With a single swing, its thick neck was severed.

The enormous headless body collapsed forward, announcing the end of the battle.

“Phew... So this is what it feels like.”

An intense boss raid.

And the thought that I had killed that enormous thing alone sent a thrilling sensation throughout my entire body.

My heart pounded madly.

My breathing grew rough.

“Then... what about the reward?”

It had been a fairly intense battle, so naturally I expected the reward to be impressive too.

[Skill proficiency has accumulated.]

I could feel the enormous amount of proficiency gained from defeating the boss seeping into my body.

[The skill ‘Light Footsteps (C)’ changes to ‘Light Footsteps (C+).’]

[The skill ‘Trained Body (D)’ changes to ‘Trained Body (C).’]

[The skill ‘Swordsmanship (B+)’ changes to ‘Swordsmanship (A).’]

[The skill ‘Grip Enhancement (E)’ changes to ‘Grip Enhancement (D).’]

[The skill ‘Earth Shatter (C)’ changes to ‘Earth Shatter (B).’]

[Swordsmanship (A)]

─Raises your talent for swordsmanship to the extreme.

“That’s what I’m talking about.”

Watching several skills change and grow, especially seeing Swordsmanship reach A-rank, filled me with pride all the way to the top of my head.

At this level, wouldn’t I be able to confidently say that, in terms of pure swordsmanship, I was fairly skilled even within the city?

─Tap.

“Huh?”

My joy at the accumulating skill proficiency lasted only briefly.

The boss monster’s body began melting away, and something dropped from it.

Something that seemed to be a byproduct.

I carefully picked up the object that had fallen among the black liquid.

What the hell is this...

“Huh?”

─!!

It was a green heart.

Only the heart remained, yet as though still demonstrating its power, it twitched and continued beating vigorously.

This thing... is a byproduct?

I was briefly horrified by its grotesque appearance, but something about it drew me in, so I examined it closely.

[Using Interpretation.]

[Cyclops Heart]

─A heart containing the powerful vitality of a Cyclops.

─It changes when certain conditions are met.

Changes? Conditions?

I didn’t know what that meant, but it seemed like something I should keep, so I put away the twitching heart.

It felt incredibly strange... but I was still satisfied.

“I’m really going to the twentieth floor.”

Once again, I felt deeply moved.

Even when I first reached the tenth floor, I had wondered whether it was real.

And now I had defeated a boss alone and was going beyond it.

If I told the me from a year ago about my current situation, he would probably get angry and tell me to stop lying.

Without bothering to hide my excitement, I slowly walked toward the upper floor with light steps.

What would the freezing region be like?

What would I gain there this time?

How much stronger would I become after making it through?

My pace gradually quickened with all those expectations, and my head slowly lifted.

By the time my previously colorless breath turned visibly white in the cold air.

“Whoa...”

What I encountered at the end... was a land of snow.

________________

Everything was pure white.

As though painted with white paint, everything was covered in snow and ice.

And so... a cold plain devoid of any warmth stretched before me.

If I had to sum up my first impression of the twentieth floor, it would probably be.

“Holy shit... Is this even allowed?”

The overwhelming cold left me stunned.

I have Cold Resistance, and I can still feel this cold?

That only made it even more confusing.

For now, I could still endure it.

“But if I stay like this, my body temperature really will keep dropping.”

Even resistance had clear limits.

If I wanted to survive, I had to figure out a way to live in this place.

“I need to move.”

I felt it instinctively.

If I stayed still like this, my body temperature would continue dropping.

Just as I was about to move.

[Using the skill ‘Snow Walk.’]

─Tap!

I stepped onto the loose white snow.

I floated. The foot that should have sunk deeply into the snow the moment I stepped on it stayed firmly on the surface instead.

And when I took the next step, the result was the same.

Since the snow was powdery, moving through it should have been difficult, but I was different.

“This is much better.”

I could run across the snow without any restriction on my movement.

I simply ran.

Before I lost any more warmth, my priority was either finding a way to preserve my body temperature.

Or finding a passage leading to a floor higher than the twentieth.

But one question occurred to me.

‘How the hell did other hunters get through this section?’

I was enduring it because I had Cold Resistance.

No matter how much preparation they made against the cold, I doubted many hunters could withstand freezing temperatures like this.

Cold-weather gear itself was expensive to begin with, so how did other hunters get through here...

‘Is there some kind of method?’

Hunters rarely shared their experiences with others.

Since they viewed one another as potential rivals for profit, they almost never shared information or tips about the inside of the Tower.

That was why hunters like me had to learn by throwing ourselves into things without information.

Just as my questions deepened into suspicion.

─Kyu?

“Hmm?”

Something pure white was wandering across the pure white snowfield.

Its distinguishing features were its red eyes, sharp teeth, and long claws.

Even so, it didn’t feel threatening or frightening.

Naturally.

─Kyu-kyu!

Because it looked no different from an ordinary rabbit.

The only difference was that this one was rather plump. Its body was so thick that it almost looked like one solid lump.

The rabbit didn’t seem particularly aggressive either, merely staring blankly at me.

“Huh...?”

It felt as though something struck directly into my head.

[Using Interpretation.]

[Snowing Rabbit]

─A rabbit that inhabits the freezing region.

─Possesses strong resistance to cold due to its thick fat and fur.

─Delicious.

“Aha...? So that’s it.”

I gave the rabbit a sinister smile.

Right. There was no way there wouldn’t be a way to clear this place.

I quietly gripped my sword and approached the rabbit.

“Hey, take it off.”

_____________

“...Is this why so many hunters die?”

A white snowfield close to being an empty wasteland.

Even after running around for quite some time, nothing appeared.

Instead, there was only one thing that greeted me.

Apparently there was a concept of time here as well, because the interior of the Tower, which had shone brightly like morning, was gradually growing dark.

Naturally, as night fell, the warmth dropped even faster.

However.

“This is warm and nice.”

With Cold Resistance and rabbit fur wrapped around my body, I could definitely feel the improvement in insulation.

My body, which had been trembling from the cold, had already calmed down, and now that I was warm, my mind worked clearly again and even my impatience began to disappear.

I had adapted to the cold to some extent.

All that remained was to break through this freezing region and reach the next floor.

But finding a passage leading upward in such a vast place was fairly exhausting.

I had no idea where to go and could only walk across the empty wilderness.

And perhaps I should call it another bad condition.

─Whoooosh!

The wind began to intensify.

A cold wind that seemed to be warning me not to proceed any farther.

The white snow carried by the wind made it difficult to keep my eyes open.

But it didn’t matter.

Because I had.

[Using the skill ‘Spirit Arts.’]

Another pair of eyes.

“Lend me your vision.”

─!!

As though acting affectionate, the spirit lightly rubbed against my cheek before floating high into the air as ordered.

My field of vision expanded.

The snowfield that had looked like nothing more than a white sea from below began to resemble a white sketchbook.

And.

“That’s...”

Something like a tiny dot appeared on the white sketchbook.

It was moving.

But it wasn’t a monster.

Naturally, it was.

“A person... no, a hunter?”

I realized another hunter was walking toward me.

A man approached from far away.

He wore thick winter clothing and goggles over his eyes, making his features difficult to discern.

Even so, the man simply spoke to me with an easygoing smile.

“Did you get separated from your party? What group are you with?”

“...What about you?”

“Me? I’m not in any guild. More importantly, if you don’t have a party, want to travel together? This place is seriously dangerous.”

“...”

I didn’t answer easily.

Naturally.

Maybe it was because I had met all kinds of people from the very bottom of society.

Even though he was smiling, I could sense the faint emotion hidden beneath it.

To put it precisely.

‘Is he planning to stab me in the back?’

Because he seemed like the same kind of rat bastards who had once stabbed me from behind.