Copy Skills with Affinity!

Chapter 104

Qualification (4)

‘His Holiness probably wants me to gain recognition.’

In that case, simply clearing everything with specs gained through deceit would feel a bit off.

It meant he needed to showcase as diverse a range of abilities as possible.

Thinking that, he looked at the artificial beast in front of him.

‘I can’t do things the way I used to, anyway.’

With his holy power practically sealed, the strategy of imbuing his weapon with all his supernatural abilities to maximize a single strike's power was no longer viable.

He didn’t have the suitable aether for it, nor did he have many abilities left to combine.

In that respect—

The ‘mana’ he copied from Morrigan served as a major cog to fill in those shortcomings.

‘When I think about it…’

What exactly made magic so great that dragons once used it to dominate the continent?

The answer was simple.

Magic allowed one to do what no other supernatural power could—alter the laws of reality.

It could make fire cold, make ice hot, change the weather, or even reverse the direction of gravity. In short, it let you twist the world’s natural laws however you pleased.

Of course, the greater the law one tried to change, the more mana it required—and Aiden’s mana reserves were pitifully small. Even the ‘miracle’ he copied from Morrigan could only perform the simplest of actions.

Still—

Something like this was entirely possible.

-System Message

▶ You are casting ‘Basic Magic.’ Only low-level laws can be altered!

▶ Increases the ‘efficiency’ of your muscle fibers through magic.

▶ Your physique changes from that of an average person to a trained warrior.

▶ Insufficient total mana. The caster’s body will be used as payment.

By twisting the rules, he forcibly changed the ‘way’ his body functioned.

Depending on how it was used, this could feel almost like a universal solution.

Mana was like currency for this kind of equivalent exchange—softening the recoil taken by the body.

In the game, when you didn’t have enough mana, your health got drained instead.

As that message faded away, black threads wrapped around his entire body as if coiling from within. Then Aiden let out a dry cough, feeling like he’d been punched hard in the stomach.

Behind him, Alester and Julius appeared to wear puzzled expressions, but regardless—

‘I don’t really mind if my body gets a bit wrecked…’

After all, he had the Sanctified Body skill he learned from Katya. Getting injured to some extent was something he could laugh off.

If he could draw out this level of ‘efficiency’ at that kind of cost, he could more or less laugh it off. No—he could endure it as many times as needed.

Because—

He had more than enough skills optimized for inflating his base specs. He could squeeze every last drop out of them, down to the marrow.

Starting with the skill he took from the Pontiff.

-Skill Info

◆ Holy Flame Operation – Combustion

Converts all available supernatural abilities into fuel for the body. Holy power has the highest efficiency, but other abilities can be used as well.

And among the combinations he’d always wanted to test—

Was this one: applying it to a body reforged through mana.

-System Message

▶ Activating ‘Skill: Beastification.’

▶ Activating ‘Skill: Primal Power.’

▶ Activating ‘Skill: Holy Flame Operation – Combustion.’

…If he stacked all of these together, what would happen?

‘Now this feels like real superhuman strength.’

Aiden grinned as he felt power flow through his body on a completely different level than anything he’d experienced before.

He had always wanted to try this.

To wield overwhelming physical power like Noel, unleashing feats so astonishing they bordered on unbelievable.

As luck would have it, he’d also built up considerable proficiency in combat forms during that time. It had been a while since he last used them, too.

Then—

‘Let’s see if I can imitate a master swordsman.’

▣

Alex was in a good mood.

‘Everything’s going smoothly.’

He didn’t know all the details, but if he could skin alive someone with ties to the Pontiff, that alone would be a worthy haul.

Of course, he couldn’t make it too obvious—but if he could use it as leverage to get noticed by influential figures, he’d be satisfied either way.

What’s more, his group had such large numbers that, even starting from different positions, they managed to cooperate and break through faster than any other group.

Now was the time to teach a lesson to that fool who dared to pick a fight with them on a whim. The world wasn’t such a kind place.

“Look over there. A barrier.”

When the massive curtain blocking the path came into view—

“Stay alert. I heard it gets pretty dangerous past this point.”

“I know.”

“…?”

What was going on?

All the obstacles that should have required teamwork to overcome had been broken through in a straight line.

Judging from the traces left behind, it didn’t even seem like much time had passed between breaking each one.

“…………??”

As they walked through the empty labyrinth with no resistance, the group murmured among themselves.

“Who do you think it is? The First Prince? Or that dark horse from this ceremony—Julius? Maybe that eccentric Princess Milene?”

“Who cares who it is from our side? We’re just here to pick up the scraps.”

A half-hearted reply came from someone in the group.

In truth, that summed up the general sentiment shared by everyone present.

What did it matter who it was? For nobodies like them, it would all be over once they took down that Aiden guy. They’d never be involved with such big shots anyway.

That’s what they believed—

Until they arrived at a certain chamber.

“…What the hell is that?!”

Someone let out a scream upon seeing what was inside.

The kind of monster that made you feel like you’d wet yourself just by looking at it. It exuded such an overwhelming pressure.

Even knowing it was an artificial beast didn’t help.

And—

Once they realized someone was facing that thing with nothing but a crude sword in hand, the scream turned into a shriek of disbelief.

“Th-that’s insane—!”

There were limits to the whole “egg versus boulder” scenario.

Anyone would think the same.

Unless someone could use their full supernatural power, how was anyone supposed to fight something like that?

Only—

Only Alester, who had reached mastery in multiple disciplines, had a different impression.

Even as Julius flinched in horror and tried to stop Aiden—

Only he, true to his status as an all-rounder who had mastered numerous fields, instantly recognized the ‘change’ that had just taken place in Aiden.

‘…What?’

He stiffened and stared at him.

Just moments ago, Aiden had looked like someone trying to cram a large-caliber bullet into a small pistol.

Only a solid foundation could bring out the full efficiency of supernatural abilities. Pour all the water you want, but if the bowl is too small, it’ll just overflow.

He was born with absurd supernatural talent—but his body hadn’t yet been trained enough to support it.

Yet now, as if gathering every ounce of that extracted power and pouring it into himself—

In an instant, the size of that ‘vessel’ itself had expanded.

‘Is that… even possible?’

Supernatural abilities were influenced by talent, but having a body capable of receiving and utilizing that power wasn’t something that could be built in a day or two.

Obviously, it was an insanely difficult thing. The kind of grind that took years, sometimes decades.

And yet, the process that should’ve taken years—

He had completed in just a few seconds, like a man transformed.

If Aiden had previously been violent and unrefined, now he felt like a calm and deadly ‘weapon.’

‘What the hell is this guy…?!’

As someone seated among the continent’s ruling elite, Alester had encountered all sorts of people throughout his life. Many of them were top-tier powerhouses known across the land.

In terms of raw combat ability, there were certainly those more striking than this Aiden.

But—

Among all of them, he had never met anyone who could so freely swap out their own ‘identity’ like this man.

As if, whenever he set his mind to it, he could wield any ability at will—like a true omnipotent being!

How many weapons had he stocked in that personal arsenal of his? Alester couldn’t even begin to guess!

“…?!”

And even the swordsmanship that followed did not pale in comparison to that initial shock.

-System Message

▶ ‘Skill: Analysis’ activates automatically.

▶ ‘Skill: Beast Hunter’ activates automatically.

▶ ‘Skill: Tracking’ is activating…

The skills Aiden had built up over a long time were now operating at maximum capacity.

And it wasn’t just the copied skills. The combat forms Aiden had trained by dying hundreds of times each night were also functioning exactly as intended.

-System Message

▶ You proficiently execute ‘Combat Stance: Single Sword Strike.’

The beast that saw Aiden charging forward let out a growl and bared its fangs.

It certainly resembled Reaver. Although inferior to the original, it seemed to have replicated that absurd durability almost perfectly.

Just by looking at it, one could tell most attacks wouldn’t even leave a scratch.

Under normal circumstances, Aiden would never dream of facing it head-on with nothing but a crude sword and flawed abilities.

But instead of running—

Aiden steadied his breath and closed his eyes.

He slowly reached for the sword at his waist.

‘Back then, senpai definitely…’

He’d never formally studied the principles of swordsmanship, but after being struck down by Meyer hundreds of times, Aiden had memorized the man’s movements—not just in his mind, but deep into his muscles.

The principle was simple.

Position yourself at the center and divide the area into six directions. Then split each direction into nine zones—for a total of 54 angles.

And then—

—Cut down everything that enters that range. Accurately. Swiftly.

Every night, that man had cleaved Reaver apart in that exact manner, countless times.

If he could do it, then so could Aiden.

“—You insane bastard, run! What the hell are you doing?!”

First second.

Julius screamed as he rushed toward Aiden.

Turns out, he was a more gallant man than he looked. Despite his flashy exterior, he was sincerely trying to save Aiden, seeing how dangerous the situation was.

A pretty likable guy. Aiden made a mental note.

Second second.

The beast before him charged like a collapsing mountain.

And in the third second—

“—”

—Draw.

The sword Aiden swung—

Shattered the beast completely.

In a single strike.

The creature that had boasted near-invincible durability was cleaved clean in two.

“…?!”

“…”

Silence so thick that even a breath felt loud fell over the area.

Then, someone’s weapon clattered to the ground, echoing noisily through the space.

But none of the nearby people turned to look.

They just stood there, blankly staring at Aiden Kellermain.

[ Aiden Kellermain has set a new shortest time for clearing the labyrinth. ]

[ Total time: 8 minutes and 42 seconds. ]

[ This breaks the previous record set by His Holiness, Abigail III. ]

As that announcement signaled the end of the preliminaries—

The only sound was the clap of the Pontiff from somewhere nearby, a savage smile on her face.

“Told you—I have an eye for talent.”

-System Message

▶ Affection level with ‘Abigail III’ has increased.

▶ You may copy 1 skill!

▶ Your relationship with the target may change soon!

Indeed—

He could count on his employer to properly reward a job well done.