Chapter 60

Chapter 60.

[Skill: Synchronization (EX)]

[Corridor of Constellations] (8/99)

[Unlocked Classes]

[Deathlord - Lee A-un’s ‘Deathlord’]

[Warlock - Lee A-un’s ‘Deathlord’]

[Blood Mage - Lee A-un’s ‘Deathlord’]

[Curse Mage - Lee A-un’s ‘Deathlord’]

(…)

[Spirit Sorcerer - Lee A-un’s ‘Spirit Sorcerer’]

[Frost Sorcerer - Han Seol-ah’s ‘Ice Crystal’]

Below the familiar skill description window.

[Trait] (+)

A new category had been created.

Under the newly created ‘Trait’ section, it was still empty.

Instead, the cross next to the name was glittering gold.

Click.

The moment I pressed it with the mouse to check.

Flash!

Three cards filled the monitor.

‘…What is this?’

Was it telling me to choose one of the three at random?

‘No, right?’

What kind of reward depends on luck like this?

Slide.

Fortunately, the cards turned around and revealed the contents on their backs.

‘Whew.’

I had thought it could not be, but Lost Honor was an unpredictable game… so it was true that I had wondered, just in case.

I read from the card on the far left first.

[‘Unique Trait’ Unlocked]

“Oh?”

‘This card seems to mean it will add something called a Unique Trait to me too.’

There was no particular explanation written on the card, only those six golden-glowing words.

But just from the nuance, I could roughly read the intention.

A Unique Trait!

When I had examined Hunters through the Compendium, every Hunter so far had something called a ‘Unique Trait.’

In Han Seol-ah’s case, it was Nine Yin Severed Meridians.

Min Ji-hee had the Unique Trait called Abyss of Truth.

Han Seol-ah was able to become the strongest Frost Type Hunter because the combination of her Unique Trait, Nine Yin Severed Meridians, and her Awakening ability, Ice Crystal, was excellent.

As for Min Ji-hee, her Awakening ability called ‘Cat’s Eye’ was nothing special, but thanks to her Unique Trait being fully specialized in the brain, she had been active as the Republic of Korea’s greatest strategist.

In other words, a Unique Trait represented a Hunter’s identity, while also greatly strengthening a Hunter’s abilities if it was good.

‘…That is insane, is it not?’

If I selected it, it was unconditionally beneficial.

When I activated Synchronization, I possessed strength beyond EX-rank.

If I could strengthen myself one more time with a Unique Trait on top of that?

‘Just how strong will I become…!’

Just imagining it was thrilling.

“The winner is card number 1 anyway….”

I wanted to choose it immediately, but there were still two more cards left.

‘I should at least check them.’

The second card.

[‘Switching’ Unlocked]

‘…Huh?’

Switching?

‘That Switching?’

It was a word that meant changing or swapping.

Switching being unlocked for the Synchronization skill?

That could mean only one thing.

It meant I could change the Synchronized class with a click!

Card number 2, having heard me say card number 1 was the winner, seemed to be saying this right now.

—Take that back…! What you just said…!

“I take it back.”

In this Resonar Subjugation Battle, I had chosen the Deathlord and cleared it.

Since I had unlocked one pinnacle class, could I just use that?

With that kind of mindset, I could not protect the country.

‘I cannot become a traitor.’

Let us look back at the crisis when the Republic of Korea truly seemed like it would fall.

The cause was that Han Seol-ah was a Frost-specialized Hunter.

Moreover, at this point in time, the only Damage Dealer was me.

While Han Seol-ah froze the boss and Lee A-un endured, it was my role to kill it.

Right now, even the warning alarm telling us when the boss would appear had vanished.

In an extreme situation, the boss could pop out right now.

So if I urgently sortied after Synchronizing with the Deathlord, but the boss that appeared had a gimmick that countered dark Mana?

Game over.

Is that too extreme an example?

Do not forget.

This is not a game, but reality.

Even more infuriating things can happen perfectly well.

Anyway.

From that perspective, being able to switch the Synchronized class brought an outstanding tactical advantage.

It counters dark Mana?

‘Okay, I will switch to Spirit Sorcerer.’

It blocks spirit sorcery too?

‘I will just switch to Frost Sorcerer~’

In this way, a fight like ‘rainbow reflection,’ countering the counter, became possible.

However, that was not the true core.

Sortie as a Frost Sorcerer, and I freeze.

Switch to Spirit Sorcerer, and I tank.

Switch once more to Deathlord, and I even become the Damage Dealer.

The truth was that I alone could switch around and fulfill the roles of three people, no, even more than that.

‘…If this happens, then as long as I do not collapse, the Republic of Korea becomes perfectly safe.’

If card number 1, unlocking a Unique Trait, was the choice that raised my ceiling, then Switching was the ability that greatly raised my floor.

That should be how I summarized it.

‘…Number 1, or number 2. I will end up choosing between those two.’

My head already hurt.

It was a happy concern…

“Snowy, what do you think?”

[In your current situation, number 2, which can create variables, is logically appropriate.]

“Hm….”

Now, the last one.

Without much expectation, I opened card number 3.

[‘Terminal’ Expansion]

“….”

Hm.

Did I see that wrong?

There is an unbelievable word written there.

‘Ha.’

“Ha.”

A hollow laugh came out in my thoughts and from my mouth at the same time.

‘I understood that correctly, right?’

“Right? Hm?”

My head and mouth moved on their own.

Terminal.

The dictionary meaning was a device at the end that handled data input and output.

Considering Lost Honor, and the fact that this was a trait of the Synchronization skill.

It could only mean one thing.

Until now, what had I needed to do to activate Synchronization?

I absolutely had to be at home!

Why? Because Synchronization was a skill that could only be activated in Lost Honor.

And Lost Honor was a mysterious game that could only be installed on my PC.

Because of that, I could only act within the area permitted by my Synchronization Mana.

If it seemed Synchronization might turn off even slightly, I had no choice but to hurry back home in a panic.

Of course, now that I had obtained Anchor this time, it seemed I could escape my status as a bound spirit.

But even that did not allow me to overcome the limitation that ‘the only space where I can activate Synchronization is in front of my PC.’

What if an extreme situation came where I could not use my PC?

It was not an impossible story.

What if one thing went wrong and all of Incheon was blown away?

At the moment this eye of the typhoon ended, it was not impossible for the Tower to think, ‘So your Incheon is your weakness,’ and smash Incheon to pieces.

At that time, whether I had an Anchor or not, I would experience something terrible.

Was that all?

What about the pressure of ‘Mana calculation’ that always followed me around like a tag?

What if Synchronization turned off because I failed to leave enough Mana to return?

It would be a catastrophe. If I accidentally crossed the lifeline while fighting, I would die the moment Synchronization was released.

But if I had Terminal Expansion, all those risks would vanish as though they had been a lie.

All I would need to do was turn on a Terminal in a safe zone right in front of the battlefield where the boss was!

Since the center of the lifeline itself would move to the battlefield, there would be no chance of crossing the line, and without needing to reserve round-trip Mana to return home, I could pour 100% of my Mana into battle.

All of these inconveniences. All of these risks.

The enormous penalty I had to bear in exchange for the excellence of Synchronization as an ability…

The major premise that ‘Synchronization can only be turned on and off at home’!

It was certain.

If I chose card number 3…

It meant Lost Honor could be installed on ‘another PC’!

‘Insane.’

An electric thrill ran down my spine.

Number 1? Good. It was a truly good trait.

Number 2? That too could not be judged superior or inferior to number 1.

But the moment number 3 appeared.

Number 1 and number 2 both lost their shine.

‘This is an insane trait!’

You crazy developer bastard!

You were hiding a function like this!

When developers developed a game and provided it to players, there were cases where they made players experience ‘intentional inconvenience.’

In most cases, this was like a sandbag designed for the ‘high’ gamers felt when that inconvenience was resolved.

Of course, there were also cases where things were inconvenient simply because they wanted to make them inconvenient.

‘There are certainly hipster developers who think inconvenience is cool or fun.’

To be honest, regarding Synchronization, I had thought Lost Honor’s developer was also one of those hipster types.

But that was not it.

The developer had clearly designed Synchronization this way intentionally.

For fun.

So I could feel dopamine strong enough to drive a person insane when this inconvenience was resolved!

‘It is tingling.’

Even when intentional inconvenience was resolved in a game, the dopamine was incredible…

But in reality, with my life and the country’s destruction at stake, the seal being released gave me an insane sense of joy, delight, exhilaration, and, well, all kinds of positive emotions. It was ‘thrilling.’

“Whew. Whew.”

Calm down.

I am too excited.

“No, how can I calm down after this?!”

Yahoo!

I jumped up from my chair.

***

I immediately selected number 3.

[Trait]

[Terminal Expansion 1]

“Good, good.”

Good, good, good!

A broad smile formed on my face.

Once I obtained the trait, a pleasant question appeared before my eyes.

[Which Terminal will ‘World’ be installed on?]

It was a golden system message.

‘I do not have one right away.’

I tried to see if it could be installed on Snowy, but an error saying ‘Invalid Terminal’ appeared, so I gave up.

For now, I closed the message.

[Agent, shall I set up a high-performance desktop for you?]

Snowy made a timely proposal.

“No.”

I rejected it coldly.

“That is not necessary.”

The one at home was enough.

‘This is already the strongest PC on Earth.’

What do you think I did for ten years?

I diligently gathered materials and sold items to collect Points!

With those Points, I gathered only the best parts one by one to create my PC.

There was no need for another monster like this to exist on Earth.

‘It absolutely has to be something easy to carry.’

A PC that is easy to carry!

In other words.

“Look for laptops.”

A laptop.

[These are the laptops that can be purchased with the ‘Gold’ you possess.]

Snowy cautiously sent me a list.

“Blegh.”

The trash-like performance made me want to vomit.

“Get that out of my sight immediately.”

There was one thing I absolutely could not compromise on.

PC performance.

I called right away.

[Special One, the foundation business plan you ordered still has not been completed…]

“Not that.”

[Ah, whew…]

Kang Hyo-jun let out a long, heavy sigh.

[Then what is the matter?]

“Please get me one laptop.”

[What level do you want?]

“The strongest on Earth.”

[…]

Kang Hyo-jun fell silent for a moment.

[Special One, I understand that in two ways. Do you mean ‘the highest performance available through the Black Market’? Or do you mean ‘the most outstanding performance that exists on Earth’?]

Why ask something so obvious?

“The latter.”

[I am sorry, but I cannot help you with that.]

“Does the Black Market not have nothing it cannot obtain?”

[We can only obtain what can be obtained. Very rarely, there are things that cannot be obtained. Things that cannot be bought with Points…]

Kang Hyo-jun trailed off as though it was difficult.

However, I had no intention of compromising.

I had always been obsessed with PC performance.

Moreover, the laptop I would obtain this time would become the additional Terminal on which Lost Honor would be installed.

‘Even if it cannot match my desktop, I have to at least set it up to the level where Lost Honor can run smoothly.’

I absolutely could not treat it carelessly.

Because it affected the destruction of the Republic of Korea, and further, even my own life.

If Points were needed, I would earn them somehow.

I had the ability to make higher-grade potions beyond the Red Elixir.

In effect, Points were an infinite currency for me.

And if some other ability was needed?

Whatever it was, I was burning with the will to mobilize everything.

“I absolutely have to have it.”

[A laptop at the level Special One requested does not currently exist as a finished product on Earth.]

“It does not exist?”

[Yes. The parts that stand at the pinnacle of hardware around the world are each ‘separately owned’ in the laptops of powerful figures with enormous wealth.]

I heard Kang Hyo-jun typing rapidly.

Perhaps he was talking to someone over messenger, because messenger alert sounds rang out one after another.

[The laptop equipped with the most outstanding graphics card… is owned by Happy.]

“Happy has it?”

That was unexpected.

[The model equipped with the CPU possessing the most astonishing calculation speed is owned by Yeriche of the Supreme God Order.]

“Hm.”

‘How coincidental that both of them are connected to Holy Water.’

[Both were able to do that because they used Holy Water as a weapon to build not only enormous Points, but also strong connections with powerful figures.]

I glanced at the calendar.

Tomorrow. Yeriche would come to Korea.

After biting the bait of ‘Holy Water enhancement’ that I had scattered.

Moreover, Happy was the person in overall charge of the Holy Water supply.

In addition, she was ‘capable slave’ number 2, who had been caught by my radar.

I would have Yeriche.

I would have Happy.

Naturally, the laptops they possessed would also be mine.

‘I can see one picture being drawn.’

My mouth watered.

[Ah, the best storage capacity is in Korea. It belongs to ‘Silent Assassin’ Jang Ho-hyeon…]

He happens to be in Korea?

“Tell him to bring it.”

I would have that too.

There would be no compromise!