[Malacos activated the Resonance of the Earth.]

Boom!

The earth ripples. Taesan braces himself to evade the surging wave of soil.

Malacos casts magic toward Taesan, who has risen into the air.

Taesan swings his sword, deflecting the incoming magic and striking the air. He activates Space Leap and flies toward Malacos.

Clang!

After a prolonged battle, Taesan finally brings Malacos down.

[The rotting lich, Malacos, has been resurrected.]

Malacos revives once more, mocking Taesan as he begins to chant a spell.

Taesan grips his sword and leaps into action.

The ghost quietly observes this scene.

[I don't understand.]

Taesan had been fighting Malacos for an entire day without rest.

Clang!

He narrowly blocks Malacos's attack, creating an opening. Malacos joyfully clicks his jaw as if he believes he can win.

No matter how much he observed, the ghost couldn’t understand what Taesan was aiming for. In the end, he gave up.

[Can you explain? What are the conditions, and how do I obtain it?]

“Don’t you know?”

[I have no clue.]

The ghost was indeed powerful. He possessed the talent and ability to conquer the labyrinth.

But that power was concentrated in his swordsmanship.

The ghost lacked the skill to grasp and analyze the conditions of various skills compared to Taesan. Taesan spoke.

“It will be an opponent that can revive infinitely.”

Clang!

He deflected the ice arrow and retreated to avoid the mana crystal barrage.

“And when revived, they won’t lose any power.”

[I get that much. But I don’t understand beyond that.]

“And they must possess a self. Not necessarily perfect or exceptional, but enough of a self to make judgments and influence the battle.”

[Self?]

“And they will retain their previous memories upon resurrection. For now, that’s four conditions.”

There could be other conditions, but even Taesan didn’t know them all. The ghost, still confused, asked again.

[You gain Copy under those conditions? What are the acquisition conditions?]

“You must defeat the opponent once and then perfectly defeat the revived opponent in an identical battle.”

Taesan stated. The ghost hesitated.

[...An identical battle?]

“Exactly.”

Crack!

Taesan struck down Malacos. The shattered bones on the ground began to rise and reform.

[It’s not just the final attack that has to be identical; the entire battle must be identical?]

“That’s correct.”

From start to finish, it must be a perfect copy.

That was the condition to obtain Copy.

[What the hell.]

The ghost let out a hollow laugh.

[Is that even possible?]

Adding, absolute judgment, absolute protection, etc. The skills Taesan had acquired thus far also seemed nearly impossible under those conditions.

Taesan overcame that impossibility to gain his skills. The ghost was slowly becoming numb and no longer surprised by ordinary matters.

Yet, the conditions for Copy left even him at a loss.

[Battle copying? How on earth do you do that?]

The reason Taesan had been able to obtain skills until now was that he had minimized variables as much as possible.

In the case of Addition, the opponent hadn’t shown any particular movements. It was simply a matter of adjusting his sword strikes and landing them perfectly.

The timid creature, blinded by fear, was a mechanical being that would respond when it took a certain amount of damage. It could be defeated if the timing was precise, which allowed Taesan to gain absolute judgment.

Although the conditions for absolute protection were absurd, once he understood them, he simply had to use a potion and wait, making the acquisition relatively easy.

There were hardly any variables, or if there were, they were elements Taesan could control.

But this time was different.

Malacos had a self.

During battle, he could respond with varying movements based on Taesan’s actions.

That element was beyond Taesan's control.

In fact, Malacos had frequently shown different responses even when Taesan displayed the same movements.

[You can't take him down in a single hit, can you?]

“I’m not sure about the exact conditions, but we need to achieve a certain level of sum.”

[Ha.]

The ghost scoffed at the notion that he had to observe the opponent's responses.

[Controlling variables seems impossible. Isn’t it unattainable?]

“Why can’t it be done?”

It was certainly more complicated than obtaining other skills and had many variables.

But it wasn’t beyond the level of control.

“You can obtain it.”

Taesan spoke calmly and moved his body. The ghost also chose not to say anything more.

He judged it to be impossible, but Taesan had only ever obtained such skills until now.

Then it seemed right to quietly observe. The ghost came to that conclusion.

Time passed.

Taesan continued to defeat Malacos.

And during that process, he subtly adjusted his movements.

He intentionally slowed his speed enough for Malacos to respond, creating openings that he could aim for.

Unaware of anything, Malacos targeted the openings created by Taesan.

Four days passed.

Taesan, having plunged his sword into Malacos's chest, assessed his own condition.

His mind was steady. His muscles showed no signs of exhaustion. His stamina was intact.

After four days of battle, Taesan had not depleted his stamina at all.

“Now then.”

He had gathered sufficient information about Malacos over the past four days.

It was time to begin.

Taesan planted his feet firmly and charged directly at Malacos.

An overly predictable movement. The counter to that was also obvious. First, he would defend and observe the situation.

[Malacos activated the Eruption Sphere.]

A sphere of flame hurtled toward Taesan's head.

Taesan lowered his stance, pressing his body against the ground as he ran.

[Malacos activated the Resonance of the Earth.]

The earth rippled and surged.

Taesan kicked off the ground and leaped into the air.

As Taesan rose into the air, Malacos activated the Frozen World.

Crash!

[You activated the Aerial Leap.]

Taesan's body soared higher, evading the Frozen World.

[You activated the Landing.]

Taesan's body came crashing down. Malacos defended.

[Malacos activated the Iron Wall of Protection.]

[Malacos activated the Wave of Liberation.]

Bang!

Taesan's sword collided with the barrier surrounding Malacos.

The following wave forced him back.

Malacos swung his staff toward the airborne Taesan.

[Malacos activated the Mana Crystal Barrage.]

[You activated the Frozen World.]

Taesan activated the Frozen World.

Malacos also activated the Frozen World, blocking the residual impact with the Iron Wall of Protection.

Clang!

The battle continued. They both targeted openings, striking each other with precision.

Click.

Malacos harshly clicked his jaw.

He was in a highly elevated state.

The battle flowed as he desired, as he had designed it. It was a sensation he had never experienced in life. A higher realm was welcoming him.

Clang!

Yet despite that euphoria, Malacos fell. Taesan, having moved back with Restricted Blink, could not withstand the Frozen World he cast afterward.

Taesan jumped back, widening the distance again.

[The rotting lich, Malacos, has been resurrected.]

Click.

The revived Malacos joyfully clicked his jaw.

He was now certain of his victory.

The adventurer before him was strong, but he was unaware of where his Life Vessel was located.

And he was growing stronger with each battle.

He perfectly countered the opponent's attacks, achieving optimal retaliation.

This time he would surely win. Malacos had no doubts about that.

Taesan felt the same.

“Let’s go.”

Taesan took a breath and planted his feet.

Taesan’s running position was identical to where he had been in the previous battle.

Malacos raised his staff toward the rushing Taesan.

[Malacos activated the Eruption Sphere.]

Taesan ducked to evade the incoming Eruption Sphere.

Malacos scoffed.

His opponent approached in precisely the same manner as before.

And the previous battle had been precariously close. If he moved just a bit more efficiently, victory was within reach.

Then there was no need to move differently.

He could fight the same way he had before, and when it mattered, he could twist it.

[Malacos activated the Resonance of the Earth.]

The earth rippled. Taesan kicked off the ground to evade.

Malacos quickly considered what to activate against Taesan, who was soaring through the air.

He couldn’t block with the Ice Arrow or the Mana Crystal Barrage.

His opponent possessed the Aerial Leap skill.

First, he needed to force that skill to be used.

Thus, the Frozen World was the optimal choice once again.

[Malacos activated the Frozen World.]

[You activated the Aerial Leap.]

Taesan floated into the air.

Previously, he had used the Iron Wall of Protection and the Wave of Liberation to push Taesan back. This time, Malacos planned to use the Ice Arrow to pierce his opponent.

[You activated the Landing.]

But Taesan's body accelerated.

Malacos, who had intended to cast the Ice Arrow, realized too late.

Taesan's falling speed was extraordinarily rapid.

In the previous battle, he had instinctively moved and hadn’t noticed, but it was now impossible to respond with an attack spell.

And he realized through their past battles that the power within Taesan's sword could not be blocked by a mere spell.

Ultimately, the only thing he could do was defend.

[Malacos activated the Iron Wall of Protection.]

[Malacos activated the Wave of Liberation.]

The two spells activated simultaneously. Taesan's sword shattered the Iron

 Wall while being forced back by the wave.

What was the best skill to suppress the opponent falling from the air?

A multitude of skills flickered through Malacos's mind.

The Ice Arrow and Eruption Sphere were not efficient skills. The Resonance of the Earth, being earth-related, was meaningless against an airborne opponent.

Reflecting on his previous battles against Taesan, the Frozen World was inappropriate for the current situation.

A conclusion was reached.

[Malacos activated the Mana Crystal Barrage.]

At that moment, Malacos realized.

The flow of this battle was becoming perfectly identical to the previous one.

[...Aha.]

The ghost also realized belatedly.

Taesan had gradually revealed small openings with each battle. He dodged Malacos's skills by mere inches and intentionally created openings.

[Was it to guide me?]

Malacos, possessing a self, remembered the previous battle.

Thus, when responding to Taesan's attacks, he recalled his memories and moved toward the optimal response.

In other words, it meant that depending on how Taesan had moved in the previous battles and how he had engraved that into his memory, he could guide Malacos's movements in specific situations.

[This is... surprising.]

The ghost noted the hundreds or thousands of battles that had occurred over the four days without much concern.

Taesan had designed battles to analyze Malacos's responses and conditions to obtain Copy.

The time spent over those four days was all for this battle.

Malacos realized it too. That Taesan had fought him all this time for this battle.

He quickly made a judgment.

Then he could move differently from the opponent's intentions.

He was an adventurer who had traversed deep levels. Now, he had become a pile of bones, but his talent and judgment had not disappeared.

Malacos gazed at Taesan, who was fending off the Mana Crystal Barrage.

In the previous battle, Taesan had activated the Frozen World in this situation.

This time would be no different. As if waiting for Malacos's Mana Crystal Barrage, Taesan activated the Frozen World.

With a resolve to continue the battle structure differently than before, Malacos raised his staff.

But he realized.

There were no other spells.

The Eruption Sphere, Ice Arrow, and Mana Crystal Barrage could not block Taesan’s Frozen World. The only skill that could be used in response was the Frozen World.

And the power contained within Taesan's Frozen World was stronger than his own.

To block it, he needed to activate his own Frozen World and then defend with the Iron Wall of Protection.

That was the only way he could gain an advantage.

Malacos, possessing the talent to tread the depths, understood this. It was the optimal action, neither addable nor reducible.

[You activated the Frozen World.]

[Malacos activated the Frozen World.]

[Malacos activated the Iron Wall of Protection.]

Thus, a perfectly identical battle continued.

Malacos was horrified.

In the previous battle, he had been thrilled that everything was unfolding as he wished, that it was going according to his design. He believed without a doubt that he had glimpsed a higher world.

It had been a precarious defeat, and he thought that with just a slight change in the battle, he could certainly win.

How foolish a thought that was.

It was a result of everything being sealed away from him by his opponent.

The only move he could perform was one. Unaware of that, he had mistakenly believed the battle was flowing as he desired.

Everything had been within his opponent’s palm.

Rather, he was being analyzed by Taesan. Every situation, every use of skills, how he moved based on what, and what he judged to be advantageous—Taesan was studying all of it.

The strength began to leave Malacos’s hand that held the staff.

But regardless, he lifted his staff.

He was a monster of the labyrinth.

Until he fell, he had to face his enemy.

Taesan pressed against the wall and charged forward. The magic he had used in the previous battle was the Resonance of the Earth. Malacos desperately wanted to use a different spell.

But he couldn’t.

In the four days of battle, this structure had continued to repeat. All the spells he had used during that time had been shattered, and the only one that had shown the highest chance of victory was the Resonance of the Earth.

Taesan was aiming for an identical battle to the previous one.

To break that development, he had to use another spell aside from the Resonance of the Earth.

But he had become a lich in death; however, he had once been a wizard who had treaded the depths.

He had always chosen only the correct answers, and now he could not choose the wrong ones.

[Malacos activated the Resonance of the Earth.]

Taesan was also waiting for that spell.

The battle continued.

And as the entire structure of the battle remained unchanged from before, it gradually approached its conclusion.

[You activated the Starlight Arrow.]

The Starlight Arrow shot toward Malacos. He had no leeway to use other spells. Even knowing the predetermined outcome, Malacos immediately activated the Frozen World and the Iron Wall of Protection. His barrier shattered upon impact.

[You activated Restricted Blink.]

Taesan moved behind Malacos.

Malacos desperately wanted to respond. He twisted his body with all his might, lifting his staff.

That action was, once again, perfectly identical to the previous battle.

[You activated the Frozen World.]

Cold air enveloped Malacos.