Starting With What I Can Do (3)

Hyeonseong activated the skill card she had gotten back. The target was a straw bundle Hyeonyeong had dragged over into the corner.

She aimed the card at the straw bundle and activated it, and the skill card turned into a white cleaving slash that flew toward the bundle.

The sword energy cleanly cut through the straw and vanished. The skill card, whose remaining uses had dropped to 0, also dissolved along with a message saying it had fulfilled its purpose.

“Looks pretty usable.”

Hyeonyeong said after watching the straw bundle get sliced.

“Yeah. Sword skills usually count as physical attacks even if they’re infused with mana. That means we can use them in places where magic attacks don’t work.”

“Then can you stock me up a few? Mana Cleave and thrust-type ones.”

“After we run a few more tests. Oh—since you brought it up, let’s test thrust once.”

Hyeonseong took position again at a suitable distance from Hyeonyeong. Hyeonyeong gripped her sword firmly and assumed a thrusting stance.

When the entrance to Infinite Corridor opened again, Hyeonyeong fired a mana-infused thrust once. Like Mana Cleave, Mana Thrust was stored as a skill card.

“From here, do one more thrust right away.”

At Hyeonseong’s request, Hyeonyeong immediately fired Mana Thrust again. The Mana Thrust skill card’s remaining uses increased by one.

“Does thrust not damage stored items?”

Hyeonyeong looked puzzled when Hyeonseong showed her the Mana Thrust card.

“Not sure. It might be because the thrust’s contact area is narrow, and the only thing inside was a single card. Then… can you use that Mana Cleave again?”

Hyeonseong put the Mana Thrust card back into Infinite Corridor and opened the entrance again. Hyeonyeong nodded and fired Mana Cleave.

The stored Mana Thrust card took damage from Mana Cleave. It was not completely destroyed—only one use was deducted.

At the same time, Mana Cleave was stored again in card form. Hyeonseong informed Hyeonyeong of that.

“Really? Maybe because you tuned the power to a similar level?”

Hyeonyeong’s guess was exactly what Hyeonseong had been thinking. There was no better explanation.

“Anyway, wide cleaves or smash-type skills are more likely to affect what’s inside. Then should we do one more cleave test?”

Hyeonseong moved the Mana Cleave card she had just acquired into Compartment 14.

This time she opened Compartment 14, which already contained the Mana Cleave card. Once Hyeonseong was ready, Hyeonyeong fired Mana Cleave again.

“I think cleave-type skills can’t be accumulated.”

She still didn’t know whether this was only true at her current proficiency, or an inherent property of Infinite Corridor itself.

Either way, for now, if she wanted to swallow cleave-type skills and turn them into cards, she would have to use an empty compartment each time.

“So basic slashes and thrust-type skills are basically done, right?”

Hyeonyeong asked as Hyeonseong organized what they had learned so far. Hyeonseong nodded.

They had figured out how basic attack skill forms were stored. Hyeonseong asked Hyeonyeong and stored several basic sword-energy skills as cards, like Mana Cleave and Mana Thrust.

“Then let’s move on to higher-tier skill testing.”

They had obtained enough sword-energy cards of different forms and power levels. While organizing the cards, Hyeonseong spoke. Now it was time for more complex sword techniques and special skills like buffs and barriers.

“Wait a second. I have to deploy that.”

Hyeonyeong brought over her bag and took out a mana potion. After topping off the mana she had spent, she gripped her sword firmly again and set her stance.

“Alright, here I go.”

Once her mana was restored, Hyeonyeong held the sword straight. A storm of power swirled around her, and the scenery of the training hall began to change.

World of Ten Thousand Swords was a BYD-rank skill above S-rank—an area-declaration skill that created an environment absolutely favorable to the caster.

On an endlessly sprawling barren land, swords of all shapes and sizes appeared. Some were stabbed into the ground, while others—dozens or hundreds tangled together—formed tower-like structures.

From outside, the training hall would look like it was covered by an opaque dome, but inside the domain there was no visible end. No walls or barriers could be found no matter where you looked. It was a skill that felt strange every time.

“How is it? Since I’ve deployed the domain anyway, want to start with the tests we can do in here first?”

Hyeonyeong asked after completing the domain. Hyeonseong nodded.

“I was going to test it anyway.”

After answering, Hyeonseong reached out and touched one of the created swords. A repulsive force pushed her hand away. Only the domain’s owner was allowed to interact with them.

“As expected, I can’t touch them normally.”

“What about the skill?”

“We’ll have to test.”

Hyeonseong replied and immediately opened Infinite Corridor toward a sword. The sword was pulled in without resistance.

Hyeonseong checked inside Infinite Corridor. A new skill card had formed: a Sword Control technique-type S-rank skill called Phantom Sword Control Sword Technique: Longsword.

“So this is what comes out.”

Hyeonseong showed the card to Hyeonyeong.

“If it’s an S-rank Phantom Sword Control Sword Technique, that’s a high-end skill. If your control skill is good enough, it’ll be really useful.”

“My Intelligence stat doesn’t support it, so who knows.”

“In an emergency, you can just grab it and swing it directly. Even using it like that, it’ll be better than some mediocre real blade.”

Hyeonyeong was right. Using it that way in a pinch would not be bad. Even if it was a mana-made blade, the rank meant the power contained within was significant.

And at around S-rank, even skills that manifest forms in mana could maintain their shape for quite a while.

In a sense, she had gained a disposable sword she could rely on in an emergency.

“Then should we test that too?”

After putting the Phantom Sword Control Sword Technique: Longsword card away again, Hyeonseong pointed at a sword tower.

“Of course we should.”

Hyeonyeong agreed. Hyeonseong walked up to the nearest sword tower and opened Infinite Corridor at its top.

Swords were pulled into Infinite Corridor one by one. The sword tower began breaking down from the top and disappeared in moments, leaving nothing behind.

Once the tower was gone, Hyeonseong checked Infinite Corridor. A large number of S-rank Phantom Sword Control Sword Technique cards had been created—exactly as expected, since the swords had been absorbed individually.

“So far, this is as expected, but…”

“Something bothering you?”

Hyeonyeong asked when Hyeonseong trailed off.

“Those last two were basically situations where you were practically allowing it. I’m wondering if it would work even when you don’t allow it.”

For physical objects, anything with clear ownership could not be pulled into Infinite Corridor without the owner’s consent. It was entirely possible the same rule applied to skills.

“It’s not an item, it’s a skill. So it should work…”

“Still, let’s check. Think of it as you firmly refusing.”

After asking her, Hyeonseong found another sword planted alone. She opened Infinite Corridor above it, and it was pulled in and converted into a Phantom Sword Control Sword Technique card.

“You refused, right?”

Hyeonseong asked. Hyeonyeong nodded.

“I definitely refused. Maybe because of that… the feeling of being ‘robbed’ was stronger than before.”

“Really? What did it feel like earlier?”

Hyeonseong asked as she used the Phantom Sword Control Sword Technique: Longsword card to summon a sword.

“Earlier, I still felt it being taken, but it was much weaker than now.”

“Is that only in World of Ten Thousand Swords?”

Hyeonseong asked as she grabbed the summoned sword and swung it through the air.

Whether because the skill was S-rank, or because it was extracted from a BYD-rank skill, or because Hyeonyeong was the creator, the manifested sword felt sharp, with good weight and balance.

Hyeonseong was impressed by the mana blade, even though she had no real talent with swords.

“The stronger ‘being robbed’ feeling? Yeah, that’s how it is right now.”

“Then we should verify more with similar skill types.”

She had a vague idea why, but there was no need to speculate yet. There were still skills left to test.

“About that—when you feel it being taken. Are you sure it isn’t affecting your condition?”

Hyeonseong asked with a worried expression.

Sometimes, if a caster failed to use a skill or had a casting stolen, the backlash could return to the caster.

Backlash most often occurred in frantic combat situations. But not being in combat did not automatically make it completely safe.

They were not fighting now, but given the rank involved, the concern was unavoidable.

“It’s fine. I only feel it—there’s no backlash. We’re not fighting, and I’m just keeping the skill open.”

Hyeonyeong answered casually.

“If you say you’re fine, that’s a relief.”

“Hyeonju gave me potions too. If it gets hard, I’ll tell you then, so don’t worry. Anything else you want to check?”

“Right. We’ve confirmed swords can be stored.”

At Hyeonyeong’s calm tone, Hyeonseong had to pull herself back into experiment mode.

First, she had confirmed that the swords manifested in World of Ten Thousand Swords were stored as a sword-control technique-type skill that manipulated mana-made swords.

That suggested that other BYD-rank domain skills could also potentially be swallowed to produce skills—if they manifested tangible objects or phenomena.

“Whether it works as I think—and if it does, what skill it becomes—we’d have to test directly…”

Unfortunately, Hyeonseong did not personally know anyone else who could use such domain skills.

“Well, maybe there’ll be a chance later. Or not. More importantly, what else is there to test?”

She thought about what else could be tested in this state besides Hyeonyeong’s direct-use skills.

Looking around, something came to mind immediately: the domain itself.

Hyeonseong opened Infinite Corridor toward the ground of the domain. Nothing was pulled in.

Normally, if she opened Infinite Corridor toward ground and pulled, she could store dirt or paving blocks as items. But now, she could not take even a pinch of the domain’s soil.

“It recognizes the swords as skills, but it doesn’t recognize the ground as a tangible thing. Then the sky should be the same.”

With Hyeonyeong’s help, she moved upward and opened Infinite Corridor toward the sky. The result was the same.

“So inside the domain, swallowing isn’t possible. It might be different if I tried from outside.”

From outside, there would be a dome-like boundary covering the area, so it would be worth trying to swallow it. But Hyeonseong did not think the odds were high.

This was not a simple barrier or shield skill. It was practically its own world.

That was why its rank was not an EX derived from S-rank, but a separate rank: BYD. It meant a skill beyond the standard frame itself.

“Still, it wouldn’t hurt to try once…”

She considered trying it from outside, but it would not be possible today.

“Once World of Ten Thousand Swords is dismissed, it takes a long time before it can be used again.”

World of Ten Thousand Swords required a significant cooldown once withdrawn.

She could not keep Hyeonyeong until late afternoon, so she decided to give up on testing that today.

“I think we’ve tested almost everything we can with this domain.”

After finishing her thoughts, Hyeonseong told Hyeonyeong.

“Then we can go back to skill testing now, right?”

Hyeonyeong asked next. Hyeonseong answered that they could.

They returned to skill testing. Now they needed to confirm higher-tier skills at A-rank and above. Hyeonseong opened the space, and Hyeonyeong began to swing her sword.

They started with mana slashes and thrusts at S-rank power.

Standard sword-energy attacks behaved the same as before. The momentum was far greater, but the moment they touched the entrance of Infinite Corridor, they vanished and converted into skill cards.

“Just as expected. S-rank is handled without trouble.”

Next, Hyeonyeong used more complex sword-energy skills—named styles and sword arts. The result was the same. No matter how complex the form, it was still sword energy.

“Okay, sword-energy skills are covered.”

While collecting more cards, they quickly checked thrusting and cleaving sword-energy skills up through S-rank. Then they moved on to buffs and debuffs.

Hyeonyeong applied buffs that raised her attack or defense, then approached Infinite Corridor. When she touched the entrance while wrapped in the buff, Infinite Corridor did not react.

Area buffs and debuffs activated by shouting a battle-cry also produced no reaction. Perhaps because sound had no tangible form.

No matter what pure buff or debuff skills they tested, the result was the same. They concluded that Infinite Corridor did not react to buff and debuff skills.

“So it’s not enough for mana to be involved. It needs a tangible form you can touch?”

They continued to the next skills: pseudo-barrier skills that functioned as offense and defense at once, sword-screen skills formed by rapidly swinging an aura-wrapped blade, and other attacks that used aura given tangible form.

Some skills behaved as Hyeonseong hoped, and others did not.

The resulting stored skill forms varied as well. Sometimes the entire skill was swallowed as-is; other times only part of the manifested form was absorbed, producing a degraded skill. This happened often with skills that controlled many mana swords.

“That should be enough for S-rank skills.”

Hyeonyeong said after using a wide variety of S-rank skills. Hyeonseong agreed. They had tested S-rank sufficiently.

Before moving to the next step, Hyeonyeong rummaged through her bag and took out another mana potion.

“Should we take a short break first?”

Hyeonyeong asked from where she sat on the floor.

“Is it okay to keep this open?”

“It’s fine. I have plenty of potions.”

Hyeonyeong deliberately opened a mana potion and drank it. Since she insisted, there was no point arguing. Hyeonseong also sat down.

“By the way, what did you get from there yesterday?”

Hyeonyeong asked once Hyeonseong sat.

“Yesterday’s dungeon? Yeah, I got stuff. It was A-rank, after all. Still, for how much trouble and waste it was, it wasn’t much.”

Hyeonseong answered with an unenthusiastic voice.

What she got yesterday was 30 Ghost Coins, a slight increase in Stamina and Grit, and two titles. There had been no item drops, but she still had a skill card made from the wind magic the Pseudowyvern corpse had fired.

“That’s not bad, is it? Were the stat increases small?”

“It gave 10 each. But the titles weren’t that impressive.”

In response, Hyeonseong opened her status window and pulled up the title information.

She shared the title information with Hyeonyeong. After reading it, she nodded.

“Yeah, they’re both starter-stage titles. But these titles have next stages, and the methods to raise them are known to some extent.”

“Sure, but when am I ever going to run into another dragon? And leadership too.”

Yesterday’s dungeon had simply unfolded in a convenient way. She had ended up issuing directions, and she had ended up helping with dragon hunting.

But crises where Hyeonseong could realistically take charge were not common. If they were common, that would be an even bigger problem.

“Hm. I don’t know.”

Hyeonyeong stared at Hyeonseong after her answer.

“What.”

Hyeonseong narrowed her brows at her strange reaction.

“I think you sometimes underestimate your own ability.”

“What are you talking about?”

Hyeonseong asked again, still frowning.