Chapter 314

Chapter 314
## Chapter 314

Unpredictable Alternative Ability

Technically speaking, selecting the 『Random Other Skill Acquisition』 was the most logical path forward. Though it demanded a staggering 500,000 points per gamble, the resulting capability became accessible to every single avatar along with his primary body, making it an extraordinarily cost-effective transaction.

‘Who could pass up a technique that essentially amounts to less than 50,000 points apiece? Passing this up would be a total waste!’

The previously obtained trait, 「Xenoglossy」, had already demonstrated immense practical value.

Granted, the trait 「Sturdiness」 from his prior attempt had ultimately been consumed by far grander attributes, such as Harley’s 「Ultimate Evolved Lifeform」, Heinz the Second’s 「Blood Ancestor」, and Horus’s 「Gold Dragon」…

…yet it still provided foundational sustenance, bolstering those ultimate powers, even if the actual growth felt trivial next to their immense scale.

Nevertheless, given the rapid accumulation of his Karma currency, the expenditure remained a worthwhile endeavor.

‘Therefore, this isn’t a lapse in judgment on my part. It is simply… an unexpected turn of events.’

Placating his conscience with this logic, he focused his gaze on the notification materializing across the interface.

《Initiating random potentiality. You have successfully unlocked the trait “Underwater Breathing”.》

「Underwater Breathing」.

A basic survival utility meant to avert suffocation beneath the waves.

To clarify, the information instantly ingrained into his consciousness explained that it allowed him to pull oxygen directly from water via dermal respiration.

“Hah…”

Leaning his head back, he shut his eyes and let out a heavy breath.

The trait wasn’t completely devoid of merit.

He was now entirely safe from drowning, and the heightened synchronization with aquatic environments would undoubtedly prove advantageous under specific circumstances.

But could it be considered a massive success?

‘The undead Hans has absolutely no use for this.’

Furthermore, his highest-tier avatars had long since surpassed such fundamental biological vulnerabilities.

Horus, being a dragon sustained purely by magical energy, faced no such limitations either.

‘That leaves my primary self, Hubert, Howard, Hesperon, and Hugo over in Ganghwange… five individuals in total.’

The pro-rated value of the investment had immediately soared, climbing from under 50,000 to a steep 100,000 points per beneficiary.

Worse yet, the remaining avatars weren’t currently navigating perils where 「Underwater Breathing」 would ever come into play.

‘…An affluent trader, an artisan confined to his workshop, a VIP residing in the most secure stronghold on the land… drowning? Well, at the very least, I suppose I won’t have to worry about taking a fatal tumble in a tub.’

Hugo, navigating his path in isolation within Ganghwange, stood as the solitary figure likely to employ it.

It might offer some utility when confronting the outlaws infesting the waterways and lakes.

‘Granted, Harris has pretty much wiped the floor with the majority of them by now…’

He briefly called to mind the chieftains ruling over the Dongting Eighteen Strongholds and the Changjiang Waterway Stronghold… before dismissing the thought entirely.

Those petty bandits were no longer worthy of his attention.

A far more critical dilemma stood before him.

‘This marks the absolute conclusion. Merely one final roll.’

His financial ledger had officially crossed the line from breaking even into deficit territory.

Retreating at this juncture was out of the question!

‘My reserves still exceed 5 million points… throwing a few more dice won’t ruin me.’

Besides, the full payout of Karma stemming from the entire Heaven’s Turn Society crisis hadn’t even been completely processed yet.

True to form, residual fragments of Karma would steadily flow in as the wider ramifications of that incident continued to ripple outward.

Therefore—.

‘I will secure just one more genuinely high-tier asset, and then I am completely done.’

This particular expenditure toward self-improvement was entirely justifiable.

Fixating his gaze upon the 『Random Other Skill Acquisition』 button, a fervent, obsessive gleam took over his eyes.

In all honesty,

He had drifted far beyond the point of stressing over the price tag.

—

A brief period later.

“Phew, I came dangerously close to unraveling there.”

Mercifully, Han Seong-hyeon snapped back to reality before squandering the entirety of his accumulated Karma.

In fact, he viewed his conduct as remarkably disciplined.

When all was said and done… counting the initial try that yielded 「Underwater Breathing」, he had only pulled the metaphorical lever a total of four times!

‘A highly acceptable outcome.’

Naturally, the internal oaths he had repeated to walk away after ‘just one more’ had already vanished completely from his memory.

“And the prizes aren’t half bad either.”

This wasn’t merely self-consolation.

Extending his right hand, the tips of his fingers suddenly dissolved into thin air as if erased by a digital glitch, causing the local atmosphere to ripple and warp.

Swoosh—

His hand, which had vanished entirely up to the wrist joint, materialized once more as he drew it back toward his body.

Resting between his fingers was a writing utensil that hadn’t existed in the room a mere second prior.

It was a localized distortion of spatial dimensions.

‘I can’t believe I actually managed to pull a pocket-dimension utility.’

Dropping the utensil onto the desktop, a quiet laugh escaped him.

The formal designation of the ability granted on his second try was 「Subspace Storage」, though in his own mind, he simply cataloged it as ‘Inventory’.

He had unlocked the power to command an isolated dimension, a feature standard to almost every virtual role-playing game.

Yet, despite its undeniable utility on paper, he wasn’t completely overwhelmed with joy.

‘I haven’t encountered a single situation where an inventory was desperately required until now.’

The functionality of 「Avatar Cloud」, which permitted his various forms to instantly transfer physical items among themselves, paired with his immense wealth and collection of enchanted artifacts, had sufficed perfectly well.

Consequently, even an impressive trait like this amounted to little more than a convenient quality-of-life upgrade.

‘Still, it offers solid utility. My duplicates will possess immediate connection to this pocket realm, which will optimize our logistics.’

His definitive verdict on 「Subspace Storage」 was… moderately favorable.

Yet it fell short of a true triumph.

‘It’s a good thing I pushed forward. The third attempt was where the real fortune lay.’

He nodded, a grin of genuine fulfillment crossing his face as he reviewed that specific pull.

Following the acquisition of 「Underwater Breathing」 and 「Subspace Storage」, driven by an unyielding desire to find a definitive prize, he had risked another roll, and…

《Initiating random potentiality. You have successfully unlocked the trait “Limit Break”.》

…gained 「Limit Break」.

This was a profound self-clipping amplification utility, a definitive trump card accessible to every single avatar regardless of their individual power thresholds.

It empowered them to momentarily shatter their internal boundaries, unlocking their absolute peak capabilities.

Granted, the physical toll it exacted was severe, meaning it couldn’t be deployed without extreme caution… but it represented an invaluable insurance policy during life-or-death encounters.

“Splendid.”

And right when he intended to walk away, completely satisfied with his current haul,

The thrill of a winning streak had taken hold. He found himself utterly powerless against the urge to try his luck one more time.

‘Luck is on my side right now! I can feel the momentum! Just one final attempt!’

Swept up in a pure gambler’s frenzy, he had plunged right back into the risk…

“…Yeah, this is where I draw the line.”

…only to immediately exit the cycle after pulling a completely uninspired trait, almost as if the universe were correcting its course.

That was the precise manner in which he broke free from the gravitational pull of the ability lottery following his fourth venture.

Shaking off the lingering adrenaline, he reviewed his remaining Karma wallet once more to take stock of the damage.

『Available Karma – 3,641,965』

The primary digit had dropped significantly, his total wealth noticeably diminished.

It remained a monumental sum, an amount beyond the wildest dreams of ordinary people… yet when measured against the 5.5 million he held only minutes prior, it felt distinctly depleted.

“…”

While infinitely preferable to a total loss, he had undeniably let his impulses dictate his actions, burning through far more capital than originally budgeted.

Half a million points per attempt, repeated four distinct times!

‘What’s done is done. A reserve of 3.6 million is still operational… it’s fine.’

Besides, the passage of time in the alternate realms was moving at a rapid clip, ensuring a steady, automated return on his Karma investment.

It wouldn’t take long to scale back up to 5 million, and eventually 6 million…

‘However…’

If an opportunity existed to quicken that rate of return, he intended to seize it.

This was especially true given that the sinister Heaven’s Turn Society remained active in the shadows, and their grandmaster—who had been forcefully cast out from Auterica—was undoubtedly orchestrating a counterstrike.

“My current Karma accumulation is insufficient. I require far more.”

He exhaled deeply, his words laced with a subtle irritation.

He was already harvesting Karma from Auterica at what was virtually the absolute safety threshold.

Furthermore, with the ongoing chaos from the ‘Apostle of the Foreign God’ catastrophe still resolving itself, generating further upheavals in that realm wasn’t a viable option.

‘The locals require an interim to rebuild. Perhaps… I ought to broaden my horizon? The time has come to scatter fresh seeds elsewhere…’

His focus shifted away from Auterica, the primary staging ground for his forces, and settled upon a lone, disconnected operative.

Hugo, the vanguard dispatched to Ganghwange tasked with forging an entirely new domain.

The man currently navigating that world under the identity of Ha Seung-hoon.

—

Yungjung Mountain, located within Hubei Province, the ancestral seat of the Zhuge Clan.

The peak itself did not reach staggering heights, yet the ancient architecture and sprawling complexes nestled within its terrain radiated an undeniable sense of authority and historical weight.

It stood as the heart of a dominant geopolitical entity whose influence spanned the territory, and the dense concentration of natural energy—cultivated through intricate arrays and mystical seals embedded deep in the earth—further magnified this imposing environment.

A mysterious entity had once penetrated their perimeters in the past, shattering their defenses… though that event had drifted into history.

The clan had rigorously deconstructed that failure and overhauled their fortifications, rendering the compound completely impregnable.

The contemporary central estate of the Zhuge Clan was a veritable bastion, an absolute fortress.

“Well now, this promises to be exceptionally practical.”

Deep within that very bastion, inside a secluded training courtyard,

A youthful figure, Hugo, stood gripping the hilt of a blade, his features locked in deep contemplation.

By virtue of his nature as an avatar, the newly unlocked capabilities had instantly synchronized to his form.

「Underwater Breathing」 might afford him an edge during nautical engagements. 「Subspace Storage」 offered a highly convenient method for managing possessions in his day-to-day routine. 「Limit Break」 provided a vital ace in the hole for dire predicaments.

And then there was the fourth acquisition…

‘“Mimicry”, is it? This holds incredible potential, particularly here in Ganghwange.’

The essence of 「Mimicry」 empowered him to replicate any physical or martial manifestation he personally observed.

On paper, it read like an absolute reality-breaking exploit, but naturally… fundamental boundaries existed.

‘To replicate magical spells, I must possess the underlying identity of a sorcerer, comprehend the foundational theory of the spell, and hold the personal capacity to manifest that energy.’

Though these traits bordered on the supernatural, 「Mimicry」 could not bypass the physical and structural realities of the practitioner.

He remained unable to copy the distinct traits of non-human species whose anatomy differed from his own, nor could he manifest alien sorceries without possessing the prerequisite foundation and cognitive framework.

‘My copying capability is strictly limited to forms that match my current biological limits and existing base of comprehension.’

Viewed through that lens, Ganghwange was a completely different environment compared to Auterica, which teemed with myriad fantastical races and contrasting magical doctrines.

In this realm, non-human entities were virtually unheard of, and the pursuit of ‘martial arts’ reigned supreme as the definitive path of supernatural power.

Even the illustrious Zhuge Clan, celebrated for their mastery over tactical formations and esoteric sorceries, viewed martial combat proficiency as an absolute requirement rather than a secondary pursuit.

‘Which means…’

Provided he could grasp the fundamental flow and kinetic logic of a martial style,

‘I can systematically appropriate any combat methodology existing across this realm…’

…merely by bearing witness to its execution.