Survive the labyrinth with EX-grade traits

Day 1

Schperts placed his hand on my back and released something other than magic power.

“If you resist, it will only cause trouble. I don’t intend to harm you, so just relax and accept it.”

“I understand.”

Ssssss.

I felt a power I had never experienced before.

Yes, this was not an ordinary energy, but a fragment of Schperts’ foundation.

As he was focusing, he spoke.

“It’s just a speck for me, but it will feel like a lot for you to accept.”

Indeed, the energy flowing into my body from my back didn’t feel like a speck at all. It felt like a strong wave flowing through my body.

“Well, everyone has their own name for it, but I call this soul power.”

Soul power?

“The point is that only those who have reached a certain level of mastery can recognize and use this special power.”

“Can I really accept this?”

Since a transcendent being is directly guiding me, there shouldn’t be any problems with my body.

The problem was whether I could accept this power that sounded too heavy for me.

Schperts dismissed my worries.

“Don’t worry. Using the power I gave you won’t cause any problems or negatively affect your future as a martial artist.”

“I see. I didn’t really doubt it.”

“Haha, you’ll also find your own power through your heart someday, and I’m just paving the way. Anyway, this is a precious opportunity that’s worth more than gold, so focus!”

Since there wasn’t much left, I tried to concentrate on remembering this feeling as he told me to keep my mouth shut.

“It’s difficult to directly touch the heart… Well, it’s better to gather it around here, within a safe limit. Try to endure the pain.”

“Ugh!”

Something hit me with full force in the solar plexus, and then the pain of being squeezed by a hand holding me tightly struck my whole body.

If it wasn’t for the imprint left by Irene and my mental resilience to various kinds of pain, I might not have been able to endure it.

“It’s done! Now, take a nap. Whether time passes or not, proper sleep will help you recover your mind.”

As soon as he waved his arm, I fell asleep.

Day 2.

When I woke up, I found a pea-sized something where Schperts had infused the energy, near my solar plexus.

“Here! If you’ve received the energy, you should learn how to use it!”

“Of course. But why are you letting go of my hand…?”

“As I said, the timing and method of using power are important! You know that there’s no opponent who will wait for you to get used to using unfamiliar energy, right?”

“Yes, that’s true.”

Yes. There’s no such thing as a kind enemy who will wait for you to transform. Reality is not a comic book.

Woong!

Brown and gray magic power intertwined and stretched out from his hand, and soon formed a spear.

Tung! Tung!

Schperts knocked the ground a couple of times with the end of the spear he had created.

“Your body never runs out of magic power. You’ve truly received a great blessing.”

Just like Holy Forge, a special trait was activated, and he created a weapon with magic power alone…

I had only drawn a sword once by chance, and it was beyond my current level. I couldn’t help but be amazed at this skill.

‘How did he do that? The strength and cutting power must be incredible, right?’

Despite my questioning expression, he grinned and pointed the spear at me.

“Do you remember the explosion of magic power from my body when I first appeared?”

Yes, I remembered that.

I nodded and answered that I remembered it clearly, and Schperts continued.

“I named the technique ‘ Soul of Ruin ‘, but the name itself isn’t important. Anyway, that’s the technique I was talking about, which uses soul power.”

“So, is this the technique that you said would be useful?”

“Yes. The technique you will learn now is the one I mentioned, which will be very useful.”

As he pointed the spear at me, an incredible aura rose from his body.

Just facing him made my skin crawl and my body freeze.

“As I said before, I’ll also refine your basics. Until you can use the technique without any problems in actual combat, you won’t be able to leave here, so prepare yourself.”

And so, the training hell began.

Day 3.

The gap between Schperts and me was so great that it couldn’t be expressed even with the word ‘infinite’.

Countless lines, countless ways of swinging, stabbing, pulling, and cutting…

As he shone his eyes and pointed the spear, countless lines that didn’t seem to come from just one person stretched out with the intent to kill me.

This was beyond the sparring of a giant and an ant.

“Judge the situation without seeing the trajectory and use your body! Don’t be overwhelmed and react to your opponent’s movements and grasp their intentions!”

I tried not to be conscious of the red trajectory that filled my vision, as he had advised.

“There will be a day when you face an opponent who is too strong to defeat! You can’t run away, and you must fight to protect the lives of others!”

Swish!

“Victory! No matter who the opponent is, you must have the will and determination to win!”

“Khaak!”

Tung. Tung.

Even as I was thrown away by his spear, I listened to his advice.

“Explode the soul with the mindset of burning your soul! I don’t even know what effect will happen when your soul power meets your magic power! Only you can know!”

I clenched my teeth and tried to use the energy in my chest, the soul power.

“Aaaah!”

A small amount of energy, like a pea, began to wriggle and unravel like a thread.

After throwing me away with his spear, he shouted from a distance, feeling the subtle movement.

“This crazy bastard. It’s not even been a day since he started using soul power, and I’m so frustrated that he’s not my descendant!”

Huh, even though my whole body ached from being beaten, I felt so good from his enthusiastic shouts.

“Good, let’s go! You don’t have much time left before you’re forcibly expelled from this realm. Hold on tight!”

For two days, I was thrown away countless times.

I didn’t know what kind of harmony it was, but fortunately, since Schperts had taken over the clone, the space itself had regenerative abilities, so I didn’t have to worry about dying.

Well, even if I died, it would be fine because I had the ability to resist death.

Anyway, I didn’t focus on the basic techniques, and thanks to that, I was able to read the signs of his spear attacks and cut them off, or use my sword to interrupt his attacks.

Although I failed seven out of ten times, I was able to practice the movements to interrupt his attacks.

‘He’s really amazing. There’s so much to learn, but his incredible techniques are beyond my reach.’

I didn’t know who he was, but he was a spear user who had become a transcendent being, Schperts Ibein.

As I gradually grew stronger, he adjusted his level to match mine, and I endured the pain. I couldn’t imagine a better private lesson.

It was a very short time, but I was given the opportunity to break through my shell and move forward.

So, on the 5th day…

I successfully used soul power.

“You have an incredible talent!”

Schperts laughed so hard that his gums showed.

“If it’s not a coincidence, you should be able to do it again!”

“No, unfortunately, it’s too much for me. As soon as I used Soul of Ruin, my soul power ran out.”

“Ah, that’s right. I was too excited to see it!”

He said,

Well, since I had received the soul power directly from a transcendent being, it was a bit special, but anyway, like magic power, soul power also fills up over time, so I didn’t have to worry.

Schperts rubbed his solar plexus and looked at me for a while, then said,

“The more I think about it, the more ironic it is. You have an inexhaustible magic power heart, and your Soul of Ruin has the characteristic of erasing the magic power of nearby opponents.”

“That’s right. I wonder how this happened.”

Schperts’ Soul of Ruin was a spear technique that blew away opponents with strong physical power, while my Soul of Ruin, which was a mix of his soul power and my magic power, had a weaker physical power but could erase the magic power of opponents within its range.

Since the clone also had a magic power heart, the magic power that disappeared immediately filled up again, and he remembered that it was quite dangerous.

“Since you obtained soul power at a normal level of strength, it will probably take a long time for it to fill up again… Well, I’ll give you a warning.”

“I’ll keep it in mind.”

“Work hard and grow stronger. Until you build your own power that matches soul power, you should only use Soul of Ruin in critical moments.”

I could guess why he was giving this warning.

Not only for adventurers, but also for people outside the labyrinth city, magic power was the most important resource, and the higher it was, the stronger it was.

But I could erase it in an instant.

I didn’t know how strong an opponent it would work against, but if word got out, it would be dangerous.

In response to Schperts’ worried warning, I answered,

“I’ll always keep it in mind. Haha, I hope I don’t have to use it. I’ve been through too many crises lately.”

“That’s the trial that special people face. Hmm. Work hard!”

-Crack. Crack

The friendly atmosphere that had continued for a while was disturbed by his body, which was crackling like noise on a screen.

He looked down at his body, which was crackling like noise, and then, feeling embarrassed, he scratched his cheek and said,

“It’s time to go. You’ve been caught up in my whims for a while.”

“No, it was a fun and exciting time. I’ll become stronger with what I’ve learned from you, Schperts.”

Strength. Technique. Knowledge. Mindset.

Thanks to Schperts, who treated me like a friendly neighbor, I was able to gain so much here.

I wanted to bow in gratitude, but it didn’t feel right, so I bent my back 90 degrees.

“Thank you so much for everything.”

“Hahaha!! I’m so glad you’re leaving with a good feeling!”

With a loud laugh, Schperts, who had become blurry, stroked his chin and asked me to deliver a message.

“You said his name was Gail, right? Could you deliver a message to my descendant and the family?”

“Yes! Just tell me what to say, and I’ll definitely deliver it!”

“Don’t forget. Only by pointing the spear at yourself can you truly become an Ibein.”

What kind of couplet is this?

“Oh, I’ll have a lot of headaches when I leave this body… Well, it’s time to go.”

With his gesture, I lost consciousness.