Chapter 160 …
They say when a person is too shocked, they lose the ability to speak.
That saying was true.
‘Go– gold… gold…!’
Do-hyeon clutched the left side of his chest, stammering without being able to get the words out.
Honestly, it felt like he might actually get forcibly logged out.
His heart was beating so fast that he took several deep breaths in an attempt to calm it.
‘…There’s no way I can calm down, damn it. It’s a Legend! A Legend!’
Of course it didn’t work.
A Legend. Not an item, not a title—but a Legend-grade skill!
A cursed skill he had never obtained even after rotting away in Demrock for three years and reaching rank 1.
Even while possessing the ridiculously overpowered skill Eye of Truth, he had still never gotten it.
‘The day I see a legendary skill in my life has finally come…’
How badly had he wanted one?
All of his teammates carried at least two, yet he was the only one without a single legendary skill.
It was sad enough when everyone else got chicken at school lunch and you didn’t—but this wasn’t chicken. This was like everyone getting top-grade Hanwoo beef while you got nothing.
—
“Another rare skill? Seriously?”
“Wow… There’s even a guaranteed probability boost in this hidden reward. Why are you the only one getting rare? I got Hero grade, and that concept freak over there did too.”
“Heh… You guys got Hero? I pulled a Legend.”
“…Damn it.”
—
Even that time they cleared a hidden quest together and used random skill tickets while admiring the scenery atop Dragon Rock—
Do-hyeon alone had gotten a Rare skill.
Even after taking the special powder from a hidden piece that increased the probability.
He was the only one stuck with Rare.
Watching Bora-ajusshi happily testing his newly obtained legendary skill beside him—how jealous he had been! How miserable!
—
“I heard that kid who follows you around already has three legendary skills~ Is that okay for someone’s idol? A ranker without a legendary skill? Ppusyung-ppasyung!”
“….”
“Kya~ Legendary taste is gooood! Too bad you don’t know this flavor.”
“Hey, Kkukkku, that’s enough. If it were me, I’d be crying.”
“Hey, are you crying? What the hell—wait, is this guy actually crying? Or not?”
“…One day, I’ll definitely pull one.”
—
Do-hyeon, who had been nineteen at the time, made that vow with burning determination.
Yet despite that resolve, the game shut down before he ever obtained a legendary skill.
Then the service ended.
One year and six months passed… no, now it had been one year and seven months.
And now—
Four years after that tearful vow of determination.
Flash—
The legendary skill card—like a tear-soaked steamed bun—was shining brilliantly before Do-hyeon.
“Ahh…”
How dazzling it was.
No one would mistake it for yellow anymore.
Like someone bewitched by foxfire, Do-hyeon stared blankly and walked toward it.
Only when he stood right in front of the golden card did he regain his senses and swallow hard.
‘What skill could it be?’
Legendary skills were rare and powerful, so there weren’t many of them.
Usually about five per class.
Some classes had more, some had fewer—but generally that was the case.
But Do-hyeon was an All-Master.
‘I can’t even guess what it’ll be.’
Since he could use all kinds of combat-class skills, the possibilities were endless.
Dozens of options.
Maybe even over a hundred.
It was the ultimate gamble.
Normally he would have been cautious about such odds, but today Do-hyeon was different.
‘Who cares what it is—it’s a legendary skill!’
What did anything else matter?
Even if the most useless skill appeared, its Legendary grade potential would cover everything!
And above all—
Just getting a legendary skill was thrilling.
For some people, receiving the Ferrari they had dreamed of was the ultimate fantasy.
For Do-hyeon, that fantasy was a legendary skill.
When the Ferrari you’ve wanted your whole life is right in front of you, who cares about horsepower?
He simply reached out with swelling anticipation.
And the moment he picked up the golden card—
Flash!
Unlike before, a brilliant golden light burst forth, and two lines of messages appeared.
[Congratulations!]
[You have acquired the Legendary Skill ‘Thunder Dragon Descent ’.]
“Gasp—! Th-this is insane! I-I-I saw—! Aaaah!”
“Huh?”
“What was that noise?”
The sudden, ridiculous shout caused the surrounding players to stop opening their cards and look behind them.
They tilted their heads.
“What the…? No one’s there?”
They clearly heard a voice, yet there was nothing there.
Then someone suddenly spoke.
“Huh? Wasn’t Kaiser standing there a moment ago?”
“Oh, you’re right.”
“What the hell? He disappeared while we were opening cards… Did anyone see Kaiser?”
“No idea. I saw him earlier, but I didn’t look again because if we made eye contact he might rip me apart.”
Kaiser had definitely been there.
Yet he had vanished without a trace.
The players found it strange—but soon shrugged it off.
“Hm… anyway, let’s finish what we were doing. I need to pull at least one yellow today.”
“What kind of small ambition is that for a man? You should aim for gold. What about you?”
“…Don’t talk to me. I’m going insane right now. Sigh… I broke all my savings… Damn it. Who said this place had good luck?”
They were a people devoted to gacha.
True to the famous lucky spot where card-openers gathered, they quickly returned to their main business.
1 km away from the Great Oak Rest Area
“Nice job, Charlie! I knew I could trust you!”
“Rizari-za!”
“As a loyal subject, protecting my lord’s dignity is only natural! This humble sword merely fulfilled its duty.”
Charlie proudly thumped his chest as he ran while carrying Do-hyeon, receiving cheers from Jihad and Eliza.
The moment Do-hyeon confirmed the legendary skill’s name and screamed, Charlie had moved like lightning, snatched him up, and fled.
“Legend… a Legend… Thunder Dragon… Thunder Dragon Descent… This is crazy… insane…”
“My lord! Maintain your dignity!”
“Thunder Dragon Descent… wow… how fun will it be?”
“Good heavens…! Let’s move even farther away. I’ll leave the front to you!”
“Move! Move before I knock you all over, you trolls!”
“Rizari! Rizari-za!”
Even after that, Do-hyeon reportedly kept muttering in a daze for quite a while.
‘Why do I only remember bits and pieces?’
Maybe he hadn’t just been dazed.
Maybe he’d actually lost his mind for a moment.
Honestly, if it had gotten any worse he might really have been forcibly logged out.
Anyway, now that he had regained his senses, he felt extremely embarrassed.
If even the loyal Charlie had acted on impulse out of concern for his lord’s dignity… just how bad had it been?
He wanted to log out immediately out of embarrassment, but since he couldn’t, Do-hyeon sighed and said,
“…It’s embarrassing. Put me down already.”
“Yes, my lord.”
“….”
Awkward.
Feeling the silence, Do-hyeon shifted his gaze.
He needed to change the subject.
Fortunately, there was something perfect for that.
[Thunder Dragon Descent ]
Grade: Legendary
Restriction: Martial Artist class
Description:
The Thunder Dragon worshiped by martial artists who pursue the path of martial arts.
It is said that one who glimpses a fragment of the ultimate martial path will be chosen by the Thunder Dragon that rules the heavens and gain the power of the Thunder Dragon.
Effect:
When activated, the power of the Thunder Dragon descends from the sky and is absorbed into the caster’s body.
The impact deals area damage and temporarily releases electrical shockwaves across the surrounding area.
For 100 seconds, lightning power imbues the caster, increasing all movement speeds and giving attacks a very low chance to inflict electrocution.
Before the duration ends, the user may use Lightning Dash twice.
Cooldown: 300 seconds
Thunder Dragon Descent.
The very first Legendary skill Do-hyeon had ever obtained in his entire gaming life.
“Ugh…! It’s too dazzling.”
The two letters spelling Legendary were so radiant that Do-hyeon covered his eyes.
“I’m a legendary skill owner now? Kyaa!”
“…Why is my lord acting like that?”
“How would I know? I’m just choosing to accept it.”
“Rizari-za.”
Today their lord was particularly strange.
Even Charlie looked puzzled as Do-hyeon celebrated wildly while staring at empty air.
But Do-hyeon had no time to worry about that.
He was busy calming the emotion swelling in his chest.
‘Wow… looking at it now, this skill is insanely broken.’
Skills generally fell into several categories:
Attack, Defense, Buff, Installation, and Movement.
There were many more subtypes, but these five were the usual classification.
And Thunder Dragon Descent was broken because—
‘It’s a hybrid skill.’
It combined three of those types.
‘Area attack on activation, buff effects, and even a movement skill… How does one skill do all that?’
Hybrid skills could also be seen as “jack-of-all-trades.”
They had great versatility but individually weaker effects compared to specialized legendary skills.
Because of that, some players didn’t even like hybrid skills.
But Thunder Dragon Descent was different.
‘A hybrid with insane potential. A true all-rounder.’
When the skill was first discovered, its effects seemed so weak that many players called it a garbage hybrid skill.
But in the late game, that evaluation changed completely.
Although it wasn’t written in the description, every effect scaled with the user’s stats.
And the late-game potential went absolutely insane.
‘People said it was balanced that way since martial artists fight at extreme close range.’
Martial artists had decent damage and mobility, but their short range meant they always fought at a disadvantage.
So they had been an underrated class.
This skill changed that.
Thunder Dragon Descent provided mobility, AoE damage, and buffs all in one.
‘A martial artist with Thunder Dragon Descent and one without were worlds apart.’
It wasn’t just like giving wings to a tiger.
It was like turning a wildcat into a tiger—and then adding wings.
Thanks to this skill, the martial artist class became known as a late-game powerhouse.
And in the extreme late game, martial artists using Thunder Dragon Descent were terrifying.
The best example was Lightning Emperor, rank 7 in Demrock.
Even Bora-ajusshi once praised him by saying:
“That Pikachu bastard plays this game in the most bullshit way possible.”
Though Do-hyeon thought that comment was ironic coming from someone who possessed five legendary skills—a record in Demrock history.
Still, he understood.
‘Bora-ajusshi got toyed with by Lightning Emperor quite a lot.’
Bora-ajusshi was rank 5, yet Lightning Emperor ranked 7 often messed with him.
But it wasn’t because Bora-ajusshi was weak.
At that level, rank differences hardly mattered.
Matchups mattered more.
—
“Hey you bastard, come here!”
“Why don’t you come instead? That heavy body of yours must’ve been raised to serve as a sandbag. You can’t even dodge one punch.”
“What’s the point of dodging a cotton punch like yours? If I catch you once, I’ll smash you to pieces.”
“You’ve been hanging around that brawler too much. Your mouth has gotten rough, old man.”
“Huh? Why the hell am I getting dragged into this?”
—
That was their dynamic.
Bora-ajusshi sacrificed speed to raise his one-hit power to absurd levels.
Lightning Emperor specialized in speed instead of damage.
Even if he couldn’t win, if Lightning Emperor decided to annoy him, the fight would never end.
So their battles always ended inconclusively.
—
“Another excellent sandbag today. I’ll visit again once I learn another skill.”
“Argh! That damn wildcat!”
“Hahahahaha!”
“Stop laughing and help me! Just hold him down!”
“Hey, that wouldn’t be a duel then. A real man fights one-on-one. I’m protecting your pride!”
“Oh my god…”
—
Because of that, watching the normally calm Bora-ajusshi growl like rivals whenever he met Lightning Emperor had always been entertaining.
‘If he sees me using this, he’ll absolutely lose his mind.’
Do-hyeon could already picture him staring with wide eyes, clutching the back of his neck.
Smirking, Do-hyeon stepped forward.
“Grr?”
“Grrr—”
The trolls hiding behind the blue trees noticed him and stepped forward.
Perfect test subjects.
“Thunder Dragon Descent.”
As if rewarding them for volunteering, Do-hyeon spoke briefly.
At that moment—
Lightning struck. ⚡
