Chapter 8: Synthesize White Skill: Mystery Step!
The reason Sumir chose Basic Step Technique was that, based on the previous tests of his attributes, he felt his agility attribute was higher. This was likely because his body was lean and weak, and the Physical Crystal had not altered his physique, so agility had the most significant increase.
Moreover, since there was a Synthesis Bar, the basic step technique for escaping was definitely a good choice.
Sumir would eventually grow stronger; until then, all he needed to do was survive, and the basic step technique could offer him some survival ability.
As for why he wanted two copies of the same skill...
It was definitely for Synthesis!
"No problem." Medis said softly, without any hesitation.
Since she had decided to invest, she wouldn't question Sumir's choice.
The boy, naturally, had his own secrets and opportunities.
Medis had no intention of prying into them—she didn't even care to know!
She pocketed a light orb and then took out another Basic Step Technique, handing both skill books to Sumir at the same time.
With this action came a sound: Clink, clink!
Several glass cups crashed to the ground, shattering into pieces.
Not far away, numerous support workers and rich young heirs, who had been quietly observing, widened their eyes in shock. Some of them, in their astonishment, accidentally dropped their wine glasses, shattering them as well.
"Whoa! Medis really values Sumir that much! She gave him two gray-quality items directly!"
"This guy's really about to soar!"
"What the hell! Why him? Two gray-quality items? Even selling ten of these wouldn't be enough for Sumir!"
The support workers muttered in frustration, their words filled with envy.
The rich young heirs, on the other hand, were on the verge of a breakdown!
"Medis actually picked this guy—someone she's been 'taking care of'??"
"Shut up! Are you trying to get us all killed?"
They exchanged glances, their minds in turmoil!
The support workers felt that Sumir had already been 'taken care of', so his strength had advanced, and it was normal for Medis to offer him more support.
But the rich heirs had an inkling of the things happening behind the scenes at Lone Wolf Club.
The former club president, who was a level 10 official player, had once casually flirted with Medis.
He ended up dead!
Who wouldn't be tempted by such a top beauty?
But no one dared to touch her. They all knew she was like a venomous black widow.
Before this, everyone had thought that Sumir, who had been involved with her, would surely die. But it had been almost nine months, and not only was the guy still alive, but he was doing better than ever! He'd even been given two gray items??
To think that this guy, who was associated with such a mysterious person like Medis, was getting ahead.
The rich heirs all wore expressions of pain.
Even with their wealth, getting their hands on a gray-quality game item was incredibly difficult.
One reason was that their families didn't have official players, so buying items required exchanging favors.
Secondly, gray items were quite rare, with a lower production rate. The items dropped from wild monsters or quests had at least white quality as the lowest grade.
In contrast, white items, while higher in quality and more suitable for official players, were easier to obtain. They had a much higher drop rate from lower-level wild monsters.
Thus, gray items were only about 30% cheaper than white ones.
If they had the resources to buy gray items, it would be better to wait until after passing the player trial and then add a bit more money to buy white skill items.
So, to put it simply…
This Sumir, who was remembered by the rich heirs just because he was being "taken care of" by Medis, was actually doing better than them?!
And by a wide margin!
Because gray items were linked to the game's power—that was "extraordinary" power!
How could mere mortals ever compare?
The rich heirs' minds were completely shattered!
...
Sumir had no idea that he had caused such a stir.
When he experimented with his cheat ability at the subway station earlier, he had discovered the Synthesis Bar, which others couldn't see.
So, on the surface, Sumir simply used a gray orb, placed the second gray orb into his bag, and zipped it up.
In reality, he quickly slid both orbs into the Synthesis Bar, hidden from view by the bag.
The Synthesis Bar displayed the information:
[Basic Step Technique (Passive)]
Type: Skill Book
Rank: Non-official Player
Quality: Gray
Description: The most basic step technique. Mastering it enhances your combat abilities.
Effect: ...
The skill's effect was the same as what Medis had just read out.
[Synthesize? Yes/No ]
Before the prompt could fully appear, Sumir quickly selected Yes.
A golden light flashed, unseen by others.
The two gray-quality orbs vanished and merged into a single pure white orb.
At the same time, another prompt flashed:
[Congratulations! Excellent Synthesize triggered. The Synthesis product has been further enhanced!]
"Another excellent Synthesize?"
He could only Synthesize a skill book once! He hadn't expected the 10% chance of triggering an excellent Synthesize to actually succeed. Had he really hit the jackpot?
Luck was on his side!
Sumir's face lit up with joy. He didn't immediately take the orb out of the Synthesis Bar, but instead first checked the new skill book's panel.
[Mystery Step (Passive)]
Type: Skill Book
Rank: Non-official Player
Quality: White
Description: After being refined by a master of movement, this passive skill miraculously reached white quality, allowing you to move with elusive, unpredictable steps and strike at your enemies.
Effect: When using this movement technique, you can trigger 250% of your agility attribute, and you gain an additional 25% dodge bonus. Each time you successfully dodge, your next attack will increase your agility-based damage by 100%.
Incredible!
Sumir's eyes widened. Although it wasn't like the Physical Crystal, where the item quality appeared to have leveled up by one rank, the Mystery Step effect was incredibly powerful!
The attribute boosts alone were impressive, and the skill also offered enhanced dodging and increased output.
Moreover, a white skill suitable for non-official players shouldn't even exist in the world, but here it was, forcefully created!
With the effects of the Excellent Synthesize, the bonus from Mystery Step was already approaching the level of white skills designed for official players, as Sumir had seen at the training center!
The Synthesis Bar was truly amazing!
Without hesitation, Sumir chose to learn the skill, and immediately, a flood of information surged into his mind.
In an instant, he felt his entire body shudder, as though something had been permanently etched into his muscle memory.
Sumir's feet pressed against the ground, feeling as though he were stepping on light, fluffy cotton. He was certain that with just a slight shift of his body, he could display an unpredictable and elusive movement!
Moreover, when he moved, he could even sense a strange force building up!
It was as though his agility attribute had been transformed into a drill-like impact force by the technique.
This was the damage boost effect of Mystery Step!
The 100% agility-based damage trigger, combined with Sumir's primary output relying on some physical attack strength, meant his damage could potentially increase to 3.5 times its normal value (with Mystery Step active, agility is multiplied by 2.5 and converted into output).
"Nice!"
A smile crept onto Sumir's face.
It was no exaggeration to say that within the non-official player tier, he was invincible!
Non-official players usually had low attribute values—mostly physical stats around one point or so. Even if they mastered several gray skills, none of them would be a match for Sumir.
This was because gray skills were all passive abilities that conflicted with each other and could not stack.
For example, with basic skills like basic boxing, swordsmanship, or knife skills, only one can be active at a time, allowing only one attribute bonus to apply.
So even considering that some top-level second-generation players might hold some "cheaty" items, there was no way they could defeat Sumir!
How could Sumir not be excited?
The probability of passing the official player trial was already 100%!
Medis, standing by and watching this scene, remained composed. To her, Sumir's smile was just because he had learned a gray-quality skill.
While these skills weren't particularly strong, it was Sumir's first ability within the player domain.
It was normal for a young boy to be a little pleased by such a milestone.
As for the other skill book that Sumir had stored away, Medis paid it no mind.
After all, it was just a basic gray-step skill. Even if Sumir had a fortunate chance, he wouldn't be able to make the most of it.
"You probably don't have time to stay with me now." Medis said in a teasing tone, slowly walking toward the third floor. "Go do your thing."
"As long as you make it big in the future, don't forget about me." she added, her figure gradually fading into the distance.
"Medis, your investment will definitely pay off." Sumir said confidently.
"I'll be waiting for your good news." Medis's voice echoed as she disappeared.
Sumir let out a small breath. He resisted the urge to start practicing Mystery Step right away.
The most important thing right now was to complete the backup player identity certification, buy some resources, and start synthesizing!