Chapter 56: Skill Fusion
by fnovelpia
Chapter 56
– Kim Jinsung, the Reason He is a Legendary ‘Absorption Ability User’
This was the title of a video on the “Survival Expert” channel on YouTube. “Survival Expert” was a well-known channel that specialized in issues and participants of the Colosseum Survival program. Thanks to its sharp analysis, the videos had high view counts, and those related to Kim Jinsung were particularly popular. The video currently playing on the monitor had over 2.5 million views.
[…As you can see here, after defeating the participant using the shadow hiding skill, Kim Jinsung immediately uses the same skill. Additionally, after defeating Yoon Aram, he transformed into an animal, and after killing Hwang Yuntaek, the famous 1-1 defensive soldier, he used the Mana Hawk skill…]
“……”
Kim Jinsung watched the video with a stern expression, saying nothing. He moved the mouse to increase the playback speed to 1.5x, wanting to watch the video faster.
[…Not only skills but also his physical stats have noticeably improved within a week. This kind of growth would be impossible without absorbing the physical abilities of the deceased…]
“…They’ve figured it out completely.”
As the video neared its end, Kim Jinsung muttered quietly to himself. He scrolled down to check the comments. There were over 20,000 comments, mostly marveling at Kim Jinsung’s abilities.
– That’s an OP ability.
– No wonder he grew so much in just a week…
– Isn’t this an all-time great ability?
– Nah, it’s not that great!
‘…These reactions aren’t what’s important.’
Kim Jinsung shifted his gaze to the right side of the video. The algorithm had suggested numerous Colosseum-related videos, most of which analyzed his own exploits.
‘At this rate, every participant will know my abilities.’
In essence, all the skills he used during the first preliminary round, like ‘Shadow Hiding’ and ‘Disguise Clone,’ would now be known to all surviving participants.
‘Everyone will have prepared countermeasures for my skills.’
Knowing his skills put him at a disadvantage. While all the participants were aware of his abilities, it was nearly impossible for Kim Jinsung to research and learn about the abilities of nearly 1,200 other participants on his own.
They know me, but I don’t know them? In a life-and-death battle between hunters, there could be no greater penalty.
‘The only way is to acquire new skills on the spot to create variables.’
The best strategy was to change his skills by defeating villains and monsters on the day of the competition.
‘The problem is that it’s a shame to replace the skills I currently have…’
Kim Jinsung enlarged the personal status window in the bottom right corner of his view, revealing his current skill list.
—
**Current Skills:**
– Unstoppable Charge
– Shadow Hiding
– Disguise Clone
– Nullify
– Draw
– Animal Transformation
– Petrification Powder
– Mana Hawk
– Teleportation
– [Empty]
—
Except for one empty skill slot, all the slots were filled with highly useful skills. ‘Mana Hawk’ was excellent for long-range reconnaissance without moving, and the ‘Teleportation’ skill, which could move multiple people at once, could be useful again, just as it was when he moved a group onto the Zone 2 wall during the first preliminary round.
‘There’s no skill worth discarding. So, I guess this is the only option.’
Kim Jinsung’s gaze shifted to the bottom of the expanded personal status window.
—
▶ You have surpassed 5,000 Beast Karma points.
▶ You can use Beast Karma points to fuse two of your skills to create a new skill.
▶ When using ‘Skill Fusion,’ the two original skills used as materials will disappear.
▶ Using ‘Skill Fusion’ consumes 5,000 Beast Karma points. Would you like to proceed?
—
These notifications had appeared when he was absorbing dark energy from Forghinae’s roots during the first preliminary round. He currently had around 5,400 points, enough to use ‘Skill Fusion’ once.
‘Using this, I can gain an additional skill slot.’
‘Skill Fusion’ allowed the creation of a superior skill by combining two existing skills as materials, naturally freeing up one skill slot.
‘The question is, which skills to fuse…’
Kim Jinsung selected ‘Skill Fusion’ and temporarily chose two skills: the offensive skill ‘Draw’ and the permanent stored skill ‘Neck Cutter,’ which he obtained by killing Fade. A notification appeared.
—
▶ These skills are eligible for ‘Skill Fusion.’ If you proceed, you will obtain the following new skill:
▷ Crescent Sword: Swings the sword horizontally, dealing 400% more damage to enemies within range. Consumes 250 mana.
▶ If you obtain the ‘Crescent Sword’ skill, the selected ‘Draw’ and ‘Neck Cutter’ skills will disappear. Would you like to proceed?
—
After reading the notification, Kim Jinsung dismissed it without proceeding.
‘I don’t know what kind of event the second preliminary round will have, so I can’t use this recklessly.’
In previous seasons, the second preliminary round had varied formats, including a ‘Maze Escape’ event. Some lucky participants had passed the maze without encountering any other participants or monsters. If this second preliminary round had a similar format, it would be better to acquire reconnaissance fusion skills rather than offensive ones.
‘I’ll decide which skills to fuse on the day of the second preliminary round. I’ve already analyzed all possible fusion skills.’
It had been a month since he passed the first preliminary round. During his spare time at the dormitory, he had continuously researched which fusion skills could be created. As a result, he had reached the point where he could instantly recall all possible fusion skills just by looking at the skill names in his status window.
**Bzzzz!**
At that moment, the smartphone on the desk began to vibrate. It was a phone provided by the Colosseum to the participants. Seeing that the caller ID was ‘Colosseum Participant Management Office,’ Kim Jinsung immediately answered the call.
“Hello.”
– Is this Player Kim Jinsung? You can use the personal training room from 2 PM. Would you like to use it?
“Yes.”
– We’ll send a staff member in 10 minutes. Please be ready to leave by then.
“Understood.”
After ending the call, Kim Jinsung got up from the chair and walked into the bedroom where his wardrobe was.
The accommodation he was staying in now was much larger than the studio apartment he had before the first preliminary round started. It had a separate bedroom and a terrace where he could enjoy the fresh air. Of course, escaping through the terrace was nearly impossible. The entire building was covered with thick electric magic circles, and more importantly, the special hunter anklet on the participants’ ankles made it impossible to use mana or skills.
“The weather is really nice today…”
Looking at the beautiful forest scenery outside the window, Kim Jinsung raised his head to look at the sky. The sunlight felt unusually warm today.
* * *
“It seems he does have absorption abilities.”
Baek Jun answered Tak Namgyu’s question.
“In our internal meetings, everyone inferred that he likely possesses absorption abilities.”
“So you’re not completely sure.”
“We haven’t developed a program that can test awakening abilities yet. And even if we asked, how many participants would honestly reveal their abilities?”
“Of course.”
In this harsh world, revealing one’s hidden awakening ability was akin to saying one didn’t want to live long.
“If he truly has absorption abilities, it might be the best ability I’ve ever heard of. Don’t you think?”
“He probably can’t absorb 100%. Considering he didn’t use all the skills of the opponents he killed during the preliminaries.”
“Still, absorbing more than 50% is incredible, isn’t it?”
“That is true.”
“What do you think?”
Tak Namgyu’s question carried significant weight as he asked Baek Jun.
“Does Kim Jinsung show promise?”
Tak Namgyu, who oversaw all hunters in South Korea, sought individuals who not only had outstanding abilities but also possessed a naturally strong physique, consistent dedication to honing their skills, a calm demeanor in any combat situation, and the ability to make quick decisions in life-or-death scenarios.
“Yes.”
Baek Jun replied, indicating that Kim Jinsung met all those criteria. Tak Namgyu, impressed by Baek Jun’s rare affirmation, expressed his surprise.
“Ho… Is he really that good?”
“It’s hard to judge hastily, but based on what he’s shown so far, I can only answer yes.”
“Really? If you’re saying that, there must be more to him than what he showed during the preliminaries.”
Baek Jun answered honestly.
“Do you know about the Colosseum’s training rooms?”
“Of course. They’re available after the first preliminary round. Participants can spar with staff there, right?”
“Yes. The training rooms were created to let participants maintain their combat skills by sparring with much stronger staff until the second preliminary round starts.”
“How strong are the staff?”
“Fully armed, they can reach at least A-rank.”
“A-rank… Participants wouldn’t stand a chance against that.”
Baek Jun nodded in agreement.
“That’s correct. But there are always exceptions.”
“Exceptions? Oh, right. I heard Yoo Junho defeated all the staff he sparred with.”
After Tak Namgyu’s reply, Baek Jun remained silent, wearing a meaningful smile. Tak Namgyu quickly picked up on it.
“…Don’t tell me, Kim Jinsung too?”
* * *
“Ugh!”
**Crash!**
With a groan, a fully armed staff member was sent flying to the corner of the training room, crashing down with a loud noise. He clutched his chest, where the letters CSS were printed, and struggled to get up.
“Ugh…!”
“Are you okay?”
Kim Jinsung approached and looked down at him, asking. The staff member raised his hand.
“I’m fine, I’m fine. I just couldn’t breathe for a moment… Ugh.”
The staff member forced himself to stand, grimacing in pain. Seeing this, Kim Jinsung shook his head.
“Let’s stop the sparring here. Continuing won’t benefit either of us.”
“…Stop?”
“Yes. Thank you for your effort. You should get treatment as soon as possible.”
Reluctantly, the staff member turned towards the exit, walking slowly. Even as he opened the door, he didn’t forget to issue a warning.
“Don’t leave the training room during the remaining time! You know that, right? In the hallway…”
“Over 30 staff members are on high alert, right?”
Kim Jinsung interrupted, finishing the staff member’s sentence. He had heard it so many times over the past month that he could recite it perfectly.
“Don’t worry and go. I’ll continue training.”
With no more words, the staff member left the training room.
As soon as the door closed, Kim Jinsung’s eyes changed.
—
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