That day, I finished grinding the Twin-headed Ogre.

[You have consumed Ogre’s Tattoo Invigoration Elixir to the limit. The Twin-headed Ogre’s Tattoo has become invigorated to its peak. Your strength has increased by 6%. Your constitution has increased by 6.]

[You have equipped the Twin-headed Ogre Set. Your constitution has increased by 27. When the Twin-headed Ogre Set is equipped, you can use ‘Ogre Power’ once per day.]

[Ogre Power doubles your strength for 5 minutes.]

It was an extremely simple skill, but seeing the description put a smile on my face. I immediately extracted Ogre Power from the set and inscribed it into the pocket watch’s 11 o’clock position. I clenched my fists in excitement. With this, I would be able to freely use Gigantic!

The Collector’s Pocket Watch could only hold one more skill. I could simply extract Crimson Dragon Scale Armor’s skill and put it in the watch instead of farming the 60th floor. After all, once Lin made me a new armor, I would have to say goodbye to this one. However, Crimson Roar was too strong of a skill to throw away. It was wise to store it in advance.

“Alright…let’s do it.”

Once I made up my mind, I acted quickly. I immediately extracted the skill from the armor and put it in the pocket watch. After a red gem was inscribed in the pocket watch’s 12 o’clock position, the watch glowed gently.

[Collector’s Pocket Watch has been completed! The power hidden in the watch has been released!]

[You have become a ‘Skill Mixer’. Your magic has increased by 10.]

[You have obtained the skill, ‘Skill Synthesis.’ When used, you can choose one skill to act as a base and one or more skills to act as supplements. The base skill and the supplement skill(s) will then become one. Skill Synthesis cannot fail, but the newly created skill may be weaker than the base skill. The pocket watch’s skills may also be synthesized, but they cannot be synthesized with the other skills you have learned. Skill Synthesis has no skill level.]

[You have obtained the skill, ‘Spirit of the Mixer.’ Spirit of the Mixer increases the chance that Skill Synthesis will produce a skill you desire. It has no skill level.]

“Eh…”

An image of the mixer in the kitchen flashed in my head, and I quickly shook it off. Skill Mixer…Apparently, it was the natural result since the pocket watch could only contain 12 skills. Still, combining skills together…As I had never even thought of the possibility, I gazed at the skills in the pocket watch.

[Collector’s Pocket Watch:

1 o’clock: Orc Lord’s Warcry

2 o’clock: Vengeful Spirit’s Wail

3 o’clock: Dark Thunder Explosion

4 o’clock: Dragon Skin

5 o’clock: Diehard

6 o’clock: Undead Roar

7 o’clock: Outburst

8 o’clock: Shadow Blink

9 o’clock: Gigantic

10 o’clock: Ice Touch

11 o’clock: Ogre Power

12 o’clock: Crimson Roar]

“Hmm, now that I think about it…” I muttered to myself.

There were many skills I normally didn’t use. I rarely used Vengeful Spirit’s Wail or Undead Roar. In addition, after increasing my attack power, I hadn’t been using Dark Thunder Explosion or Outburst recently either. On the other hand, skills like Ogre Power and Gigantic were better when used together.

There were also skills that were absolutely perfect the way they were, so I definitely couldn’t synthesize them. The two that came to mind were Orc Lord’s Warcry and Dragon Skin. They were both amazing defensive skills that had saved me numerous times in the past. Although I didn’t use Diehard that much, it was the last lifeline I could rely on. As for Crimson Roar, it was slightly annoying that I could only use it when I was alone, but since I couldn’t even begin to think about what skill to fuse it with, there was no easy solution.

I mumbled, “This Skill Synthesis skill is quite a gamble…”

I checked my luck stat. It was unprecedentedly high. Plus, if I continued without doing anything, I wouldn’t have the space to put the new skill I’d get on the 60th floor. Sometimes, a person had to be bold.

I nodded. “Alright.”

Once I came to a decision, I immediately activated Skill Synthesis. A large stone slab appeared in the air. It was divided into two sides with one side only having a large cavity and the other with several smaller cavities. It was clear that the larger cavity was for the base skill and that the smaller cavities were for the additional skills. Just like the skill description said, I could use more than one skill as additional inputs.

“Vengeful Spirit’s Wail and Undead Roar. Which one do I use as the supplement?” I mumbled as I ran through scenarios in my head.

What was more useless…? Objectively speaking, Vengeful Spirit’s Wail was more limited. Although I didn’t use Undead Roar, it was quite useful since it decreased all living beings’ speed by 95%. Even though I was also affected by the skill, I could always use Orc Lord’s Warcry to dispel the negative effect on myself and my allies.

It was just that I never met an opponent that forced me to use it. If I did, I was afraid that it would have a method to block the skill somehow. This skill…could it really be more useless than Vengeful Spirit’s…ahem.

I muttered again, “On the other hand, Plene can more or less do the same thing Vengeful Spirit’s Wail does.”

They were both trash. It felt a bit rude to categorize them that way, but that was the plain truth in my mind.

“Actually, if I use both of them as supplements, what base skill would they go well with?” I mused, tapping my finger against my chin.

Out of the other ten skills in the pocket watch, I thought hard about which one needed the addition of the two skills’ effects. Orc Lord’s Warcry? If it turned out as I hoped, Orc Lord’s Warcry would also stupefy others.

Interesting. I liked it.

“Ugh, but I’m not confident…” I grumbled.

At times like this, experimentation was necessary. I decided to synthesize skills I didn’t really need before I attempted to synthesize any skill with Orc Lord’s Warcry.

I shouted, “Outburst and Dark Thunder Explosion!”

Like a certain robotic cat pulling magical gadgets out of his 4D pocket[1], I took out the two skills and placed them on the base and supplement spots respectively.

[7 o’clock skill, Outburst, is embedded in the Skill Synthesis’ base skill position.]

[3 o’clock skill, Dark Thunder Explosion, is embedded in the Skill Synthesis’ supplement skill position.]

Outburst was more practical than Dark Thunder Explosion. More importantly, it was less embarrassing to yell out Outburst than Dark Thunder Explosion.

“Skill Synthesis!”

The stone slab began to spin in place. Seeing the stone slab glow as it accelerated, I was worried that it would explode like things did in a manhwa. Thankfully, no explosions happened. The stone slab eventually began to decelerate until it came to a stop. The line that divided the slab was no longer there. Instead, a symbol that glowed a mystical light was engraved in the center.

I put my hand on the symbol.

[You have obtained the skill, ‘Gaia Buster.’ When used, the power of black lightning surges through your weapon and shatters the earth. Countless shards of rocks holding the power of black lightning will hurl towards your target, dealing massive physical damage, lightning damage, and curse damage. The more your target is hit by the shards, the more exponential the damage becomes. The target hit by the attack will become paralyzed and stunned. These effects cannot be resisted. Gaia Buster can only be used once per day.]

“Why!? Why!?” I wailed.

Why did another embarrassing skill name appear!? The skill itself is so good! I grudgingly swallowed my rage and stored the skill in the 3 o’clock position.

In any case, I was certain about one thing: the base skill’s effects were maintained during the fusion. In that case, now was the time. A man had to be bold when necessary.

I muttered, “…But before that, let me try with Gigantic and Ogre Power.”

I wasn’t timid. I just liked safety!

[You have obtained the skill, ‘Gigant Time.’ For 5 minutes, you can enlarge your weapon or any part of your body. The enlarged target will be imbued with the divine power of a Giant and give off a terrifying destructive power. When a weapon is enlarged, you will not be affected by the weapon’s weight. Gigant Time can only be used once per day.]

“Yes, this is it!” I shouted excitedly.

Perfect! The skill effect was exactly what I wanted, and more importantly, the name sounded normal! I smacked my lips. This was…fun!

“Now, let’s get to the fun part, ehehehehe,” I cackled as I rubbed my hands.

I continued to laugh like a crazy scientist as I activated Skill Synthesis again. I decisively put Orc Lord’s Warcry in the base skill position and threw Vengeful Spirit’s Wail and Undead Roar in the supplemental skill positions. Then, I suddenly thought that it might be too boring if I only included sound based skills.

I said to myself, “I should put in the pretty useless…I mean, it’s good, but it’s more fun…I mean, interesting, to see what would happen.”

I was referring to Ice Touch. Sharana could tie someone down and Ruyue was getting stronger by the day. To be honest, Ice Touch really wasn’t all that usef…uh, it was slightly less than effective!

In any case, I threw the skill into the supplement skill position. Three supplement skills! My heart pounded when the stone slab started shining radiantly.

“Huhu, good…Skill Synthesis!”

The stone slab spun violently. Filled with anticipation, I watched as the stone slab accelerated, then began to decelerate. In the end, a radiant white symbol appeared in front of me. I felt like it would blind me.

[You have obtained the unique skill, ‘Frozen Roar.’]

Ice Touch, why did you try so hard? Why do you have to assert yourself so much?

[When used, all existences, other than you and those you acknowledged as your allies, will be frozen completely. Even if they resist the freezing effect, they will receive a critical status effect that threatens their ability to move. This skill targets all existences, whether they are living or dead. Immediately after the skill is used, you and your allies will be cleansed of all status effects and will regenerate all wounds. For 5 minutes, you and your allies will become super-armored, while all abilities are increased by 50%. Furthermore, when facing those affected by Frozen Roar, your chance of landing critical hits doubles. Frozen Roar can only be used once per day.]

[You have created a unique skill! Unique skills are skills that possess strength on par with a God's powers without receiving the breath of a god! This grand achievement causes all gods to focus on you. Gods related to winter have become especially interested. You have obtained 3 skill points. Current skill points: 23]

“Wow…” I gasped involuntarily.

Something completely unexpected had happened…! Ice Touch perfectly combined the other three skills together. I meant to add a little more effect to the skill but ended up making an ultimate skill. Although I was the one who did it, I felt extremely proud. I put Frozen Roar in the 1 o’clock position. The gem with the white silver glow seemed to be giving off a special chill. It appeared not all gems were the same.

However, with some gems missing, the pocket watch didn’t look that nice. I organized the gems in the pocket watch. I only just filled it up today, but the 8 o’clock through 12 o’clock positions were empty again. However, I was more than happy seeing the auras that the newly acquired gems were emitting.

[Collector’s Pocket Watch

1 o’clock: Frozen Roar (Orc Lord’s Warcry + Vengeful Spirit’s Wail + Undead Roar + Ice Touch)

2 o’clock: Gaia Buster (Outburst + Dark Thunder Explosion)

3 o’clock: Dragon Skin

4 o’clock: Diehard

5 o’clock: Shadow Blink

6 o’clock: Gigant Time (Gigantic + Ogre Power)

7 o’clock: Crimson Roar]

“Should I synthesize the other skills too…? No.”

After all, I might get better skills later, and it wouldn’t be too late to synthesize them then. I could also synthesize skills other than the ones in the pocket watch, but I decided to think about that later.

Right now, I had to go to Beyond.

“Shin-nim, why did you come out so late! I was worried that your vitality had hit zero!” Loretta exclaimed.

I smiled apologetically. “Sorry, Loretta. I had to do something.”

When I left the Floor Master room, Loretta pouted. When I explained what had happened with the Collector’s Pocket Watch, she widened her eyes and nodded.

She mused, “I didn’t know that there was a stage after. After all, that watch has never been completed before.”

“Why?” I asked.

Loretta gave me a look. “Shin-nim, do you think it’s common to collect all the Floor Master sets?”

“True.”

I nodded in agreement. Then, I told Loretta.

“I’m sorry to tell you this since we just saw each other again, but I have to go Beyond’s 5th floor.”

She griped, “I hate Shin-nim.”

“I’ll be back soon,” I said cheerily.

“Well, that’s true. However, I doubt even you will be able to beat him on the first try.”

“Eh? Him?” I questioned.

Loretta tilted her head and asked, “…Huh? You didn’t know?”

I had been fully prepared to break through an ocean of Orc Lords and Wraith Queens, so her following words were like a thunderbolt coming down from a clear sky.

“Just like the other dungeons, Beyond also has Floor Masters every 5 floors…” she explained.

I screeched, “Why is that the only part that’s the same?!”

No matter how much I nitpicked, there wasn’t anyone to give me the answers. Just like that, I received a chance to test my newly acquired strength.

…This is so unreasonable!

1. Doraemon reference ☜