Starting With What I Can Do (4)

“What do you mean? I’m saying your ability to judge situations is better than you think.”

Hyeonyeong replied in a calm voice.

“I still don’t get it.”

“How do you think I’m able to connect you with our guild’s raid teams every time?”

“Your name value?”

Hyeonseong answered immediately to Hyeonyeong’s question. With Hyeonyeong’s standing, she could force even fairly unreasonable requests to be accepted.

“…I can’t say that has nothing to do with it, but it’s not the only reason. Think carefully. When you raided with our guild people, what was the atmosphere like?”

Hyeonyeong let out a deep sigh after hearing Hyeonseong’s answer.

“What was it like? Just normal.”

Given the nature of dungeons, a warm, cheerful atmosphere was rare. If things stayed businesslike and nobody started a fight, that counted as a perfectly fine “normal” atmosphere.

“They didn’t openly ignore you or complain about why you’re being forced into the party, right? Isn’t that true?”

“That’s just because they were scared I’d tell you if they ran their mouths.”

If they were Hyeonyeong’s guild members, it was natural they wouldn’t want to fall out of favor with their superior, so they avoided showing dislike toward her.

“……”

Hyeonyeong looked at Hyeonseong with an awkward expression.

“What.”

“…Nothing.”

Hyeonyeong shook her head at Hyeonseong’s blunt question.

“It’s better to let you experience it than to explain it.”

She added, almost muttering.

“Experience?”

“What else? I’m going to ask the guild people. Give you a commander role.”

Hyeonyeong answered immediately when Hyeonseong reacted.

“What? Are you dreaming of immortality by fire?”

“What are you even talking about all of a sudden?”

“What do you mean? I’m saying you want to live long enough to eat a mountain of backbiting for that.”

Hyeonseong replied with a dubious look.

“Well. If you’re that suspicious, try it once.”

Hyeonyeong shot back in an even tone. It was a strange reaction, like she had something to rely on.

Unable to find a response, Hyeonseong stared at her younger sibling with a look of disbelief.

Even then, Hyeonyeong still acted like she had nothing to be wary of.

“…Let’s talk about that later. We still have things to do.”

In the end, Hyeonseong decided to change the subject. They had rested enough, and it was time to resume the skill experiments.

“That’s true. We tested up to S-rank earlier, right?”

Hyeonyeong went along with the topic change.

“Yeah. Now it’s the over-rank skills.”

“Then let’s finish the rest quickly and go.”

Hyeonyeong said as she stood up. Hyeonseong stood as well.

After getting up, Hyeonyeong drew the sword she had put away during the break.

“Then shall we start with an EX-rank attack skill?”

Hyeonyeong asked.

“Yeah, do that first.”

Hyeonseong answered after taking position at a suitable distance and opening an empty compartment of Infinite Corridor.

With Hyeonseong’s permission, Hyeonyeong swung her sword horizontally toward the entrance of Infinite Corridor. A white blade of energy formed along the arc of her swing.

It was Mana Cleave again—something she had already taken several times. This time it was pushed to the limit, an EX-rank white slash, and it struck the entrance.

Just like the S-rank-and-below skills from earlier tests, the moment it touched the entrance it was swallowed into the space. It caused Hyeonseong—standing behind the entrance—no effect whatsoever.

After confirming it had been swallowed, Hyeonseong opened the information for Infinite Corridor. A new skill card had formed in the compartment she had just opened.

When Hyeonseong showed the card, Hyeonyeong checked the info. Then she fired EX-rank Mana Cleave two more times, each into a fresh empty compartment.

The result was the same. One EX-rank Mana Cleave card appeared in each compartment—two more total. Hyeonseong combined three skill cards into one.

Because it was the same skill, same rank, and same creator, combining was possible. The cards merged into one, and the remaining uses became 3.

Next, they tested Mana Thrust. Hyeonyeong’s Mana Thrust was also truly EX-rank—when she drew out maximum power, it reached EX-level output.

The first thrust was captured into a skill card as before. Since there was something she wanted to verify, she opened the same compartment again and received the next thrust.

This time, unlike before, the Mana Thrust card was destroyed. It seemed that at around EX-rank, even the wind pressure was so strong that the collateral damage was significant.

She had confirmed what she wanted. After verifying the card was destroyed, Hyeonseong asked Hyeonyeong to fire EX-rank Mana Thrust once into each empty compartment.

After three cards were created, she combined them into one item as well.

“So for EX-rank, it’s at least equal rank?”

“Equal, or yours is slightly higher.”

Hyeonyeong added a line to Hyeonseong’s comment. It was possible the side doing the swallowing had a slight advantage over the side being swallowed.

“For EX-rank, those two are the only ones, right?”

“Yeah. I haven’t raised the others that far yet.”

“Then the only over-rank stuff left is the derived skills from World of Ten Thousand Swords.”

All derived skills from World of Ten Thousand Swords were BYD-rank. That meant only one rank remained.

“Then I’m moving on to linked skills.”

Hyeonyeong said, gripping her sword properly. Hyeonseong told her to go ahead and stood ready again.

Now the only skills left were linked skills—skills used after deploying the domain, synced to the domain’s power.

Hyeonseong opened the entrance of Infinite Corridor directly in front of herself. Hyeonyeong immediately used the skill.

The moment Hyeonyeong activated it, swords that had been stabbed or piled around in chaotic patterns rose into the air and began clustering. In the blink of an eye, the clustered swords formed a single shape.

A long, serpentine body, deer-like antlers, long whiskers, clawed limbs, and even a lump of white light held in its foreclaws—

It looked strikingly similar to the dragon of Eastern imagery holding a wish-fulfilling orb.

The skill Hyeonyeong used was Sword Dragon Creation.

It was a BYD-rank skill usable only while World of Ten Thousand Swords was deployed—gathering the swords within the domain to create a dragon that could move autonomously.

—Clang!

A massive dragon made from countless swords opened its jaws wide and surged toward Hyeonseong. At the same time, dozens of swords peeled off from its body and shot at her.

They were the two simplest forms of attack the sword dragon could use. But “simple form” did not mean “simple power.”

“Even just that, if I take it wrong, I won’t even leave bones behind.”

The dragon’s body was built from countless swords. If it collided, it wouldn’t just slam—it would stab and slice as well.

If it went beyond collision and actually swallowed her, preserving the corpse would be out of the question.

Each sword flying alongside the dragon was at least A-rank, with the average around S-rank. They often had no special effects, but raw power alone made them absolutely not something to take lightly.

“Seeing it head-on is… kind of scary.”

She trusted Hyeonyeong would alter the charge path if needed, but she couldn’t help being tense. The sword dragon also looked ominous enough to make that worse.

But Hyeonyeong did not interfere with it at all. The sword dragon and the swords charging in were pulled straight into Infinite Corridor.

“…That works?”

Hyeonseong muttered in a dazed voice at the system message appearing before her eyes.

“Really? Let me see.”

Hyeonyeong approached with a surprised expression. Hyeonseong opened her inventory and pulled out the newly created skill card.

“It got stored as a degraded copy.”

That was Hyeonyeong’s comment after checking the card. It was an accurate assessment.

“Looking at the description, this seems like a card I can’t really use.”

Hyeonseong’s eyes went to the warning under the effect. Mentioning mana remaining meant the skill card demanded an enormous amount of mana.

More precisely, it had to be one of two things: either it consumed a huge amount at the moment of summoning, or it continued consuming mana to maintain the summon.

“That can’t be helped. The original sword dragon is a skill that borrows the domain’s energy inside World of Ten Thousand Swords. This one seems to have no such restriction, but instead it demands a massive amount of mana as the price for breaking that restriction.”

“Yeah, it’s not like it’s just a simple charge-and-spray-swords skill.”

It only got swallowed into Infinite Corridor so instantly that it felt anticlimactic, but the sword dragon was originally a tremendously powerful summon. True to the name “dragon,” it could emit an aura and fire two kinds of breath, and it could freely change form.

Of course, because it was absurdly strong, it could only be used inside World of Ten Thousand Swords—and even Hyeonyeong couldn’t use it casually.

Either way, since the card’s expected power and usefulness were far from ordinary, even if she couldn’t use it right now, there would be a way someday.

If there truly was no way for her to use it, she could also sell it to someone who could, for a huge sum.

“Selling it is obviously the last resort, though.”

She had no intention of quickly dumping a skill card with that level of power and utility.

And if she did sell it, the card’s origin and production method would become a problem.

At this point, it was a card that could only be produced through cooperation between Hyeonyeong and Hyeonseong. If it got exposed carelessly, she couldn’t predict the reaction it would provoke.

“If people know how to make it, it won’t be just one or two who latch on and become a nuisance.”

Given all those reasons, selling to others had to be the final option.

After finishing her thoughts, Hyeonseong tossed the Sword Dragon Summon card into Infinite Corridor’s skill-card storage. She still needed to verify the remaining derived skills.

After storing the card, Hyeonseong signaled Hyeonyeong. Hyeonyeong gripped her sword properly again and used the next skill.

They tested all BYD-rank skills usable only inside World of Ten Thousand Swords.

The results: BYD-rank offensive and defensive skills were all stored as degraded S-rank skills. This differed from how EX-rank skills were stored as EX-rank cards without downgrade.

“So what people call ‘transcendent rank’ really is different?”

Even if they were all grouped as ranks outside the standard system, strength within an expected frame and strength that breaks the frame itself seemed to be different.

“If you ask me, whether it’s degraded or not, the fact that your skill can swallow that transcendent-rank skill and turn it into a skill is scarier. If you can do that, it means M-rank is similar in form or tier to BYD.”

Hyeonyeong said as she dismissed World of Ten Thousand Swords. The scenery returned to the ordinary underground training hall.

“Is that so? Well, even if it became a degraded version, it’s still true that I blocked it and swallowed it.”

Hyeonseong didn’t deny her opinion.

“Then we’re done verifying everything, right?”

Hyeonyeong asked as she returned her sword to its sheath.

“We’re done.”

“Then what will you do now?”

“About what?”

“About the results of today’s tests. You have to decide what you’ll disclose and what you’ll keep hidden.”

“Ah. That.”

It was definitely something she had to think through. Hyeonseong decided to think for a moment.

S-rank and above Awakened could not set their identity and owned skill list to private. That was a rule of the Interstellar Network System.

However, the detailed capabilities of a skill were not disclosed. The public scope was limited to the owned skill and its rank.

That meant that beyond that—excluding items—fine details were the only area where an S-rank-and-above Awakened could still conceal information.

Of course, if a skill’s form and minimum power were obvious, hiding details didn’t mean much—but Infinite Corridor was different.

Infinite Corridor was, for now, a skill only Hyeonseong possessed. If she wanted, she could conceal and manipulate its details as much as she liked—so long as Fast Hands Faster Than Sight kept its mouth shut.

“If we’re hiding anything, that bastard is the biggest problem.”

“So, about that.”

Hyeonyeong seemed about to say something after hearing Hyeonseong’s mutter, then pulled out her phone.

Hyeonyeong typed the message, quickly showed it to Hyeonseong, and then covered the screen with her hand to hide it.

Seeing Hyeonyeong’s message, Hyeonseong reconsidered.

“Yeah—if it’s around S-rank, people will probably just accept it.”

She hadn’t planned to hide everything about the newly discovered ability. That was impossible.

She had already shown Infinite Corridor’s ability to two other Awakened, and the ability was too useful to keep locked away. Also, given the nature of the ability, there was a limit to using it secretly without anyone noticing.

Of course, the biggest issue was the Constellation Hands Faster Than Eyes.

If she hid everything, it would try its hardest to spread information to others like it had in yesterday’s dungeon. To keep its mouth shut, it was better to release a moderate amount of information herself first.

Hyeonseong typed a message on her phone as well, showed it to Hyeonyeong, and immediately covered the screen.

If she was going to disclose anything voluntarily, setting S-rank as the ceiling was the most appropriate.

The M-rank attached to Hyeonseong’s Infinite Corridor was also grouped as “over S-rank” alongside EX and BYD. Logically, that meant the skill’s true level should be above S-rank.

The question was how to position M-rank in relation to the other over S-ranks, EX and BYD.

Hyeonseong decided to imply that M-rank was lower than the others. More precisely, she would avoid explicit statements while implying it lagged behind the other two.

“That keeps it within a believable range of ‘strong’ people can imagine.”

It was a lie she could attempt specifically because Hyeonseong’s image was “the weakest S-rank.”

Even if Fast Hands Faster Than Sight tried to boast about the skill’s true limits, the “weakest” image was strong enough that many would be skeptical rather than fully believing it.

“Then that part is settled.”

Hyeonyeong spoke again.

“Yeah. Then what’s left is the other S-ranks.”

If she revealed Infinite Corridor’s hidden abilities, S-rank skill owners would definitely approach her, whether out of curiosity or practical benefit.

“If we organize what’s okay and what’s not and disclose it together, some of them will back off on their own…”

“And the ones who don’t back off, I cut them off?”

Hyeonyeong picked up on Hyeonseong’s lead instantly.

“Yeah. Make excuses like the verification isn’t finished, or I stepped out, stuff like that. At least for this month.”

She didn’t plan to keep rejecting S-rank skill owners forever. She couldn’t give up gathering information about Infinite Corridor—and she couldn’t give up making money through skill-card production.

“Look at it another way: it’s a skill that can mass-produce skill cards without special equipment or special skills. Instantly, and with no loss of power.”

The range of skills she could swallow into card form wasn’t limitless, but even the confirmed range was enough to use for selling skill cards.

Most skills people would want as contingency measures when mana ran low—or as hidden trump cards—were generally convertible into cards.

“I can’t make money until I put out the urgent fire first, right?”

“…What’s more amazing is that you already built a business plan around it.”

Hyeonyeong looked at her with an awkward expression. Hyeonseong didn’t care.

“There are too many places money leaks out of. If something perfect for earning shows up and I let it rot, that’s a waste.”

“I told you, if you need something, I can buy it for you.”

Hyeonseong only smiled at Hyeonyeong’s words.

She was already receiving the basics of food, clothing, and shelter for free. Taking more support than that would be shameless.

“Anyway, if someone tries to approach me this month by bringing up my skill, handle it for me.”

Since it was time to wrap up, Hyeonseong repeated the same request again.

“Got it. If you change your mind later or need something new, tell me.”

Hyeonyeong nodded immediately. They had finished everything they needed to say.

“Then let’s clean up and get out. You don’t have anything else today, right?”

Hyeonyeong asked once she had packed everything.

“Me? Not right now.”

She had no dungeon raid scheduled today. She didn’t know how long the skill experiments would take.

But the experiments ended earlier than expected. In the afternoon, she would need to look for another raid team recruiting porters or gatherers.

“Since we finished early, I should look for something else to do.”

“Then want to come with me today? Since you’re already here.”

Hyeonyeong asked. It sounded like she planned to handle guild work since she was at the guild anyway.

“If you’re going out for a dungeon raid.”

“That’s exactly why I said it. I was going to give you that job.”

For Hyeonseong, it was welcome news.

Finding a dungeon raid team she could join as a day hire every time was a hassle. If she could receive work immediately here, it was a good thing.

“Really? Then I’ll be in your debt today.”

“What debt? We’re family. Then let me handle one quick thing, and we’ll go eat.”

Hyeonyeong said while operating the console installed on the training hall wall.

Everything they needed to do in the training hall was finished. Hyeonyeong restored the facility settings through the console. The two immediately left the underground training hall.