Closed Beta That Only I Played - Chapter 97

Chapter 97: Sure Enough (1)

Effect #1 was to remove the cooldown of one of the skills that I possessed.

At that moment one scene came to my mind suddenly. It was the firing of an infinite Ice Storm.

In particular, if I upgrade Ice Storm which is currently level 4 to level 8, and then use the ‘Maximum Skill Level Increase Stone’ in my possession, it will become level 9 and could maybe even reach level 10.

So, using it without any cooldown is going to be a disaster for not only monsters but also even high-level users.

I possessed tremendous Stamina and Health.

By using Blink, I can openly storm into the heart of the enemy camp.

Then, what if I use Ice Field to create an ice land and then continuously fire Ice Storm without cooldown?

At that moment my body trembled as if I was convulsing.

Of course, for a general user, Ice Storm with no cooldown is nothing but foo’s gold because Ice Storm has high mana requirements. Even if there is no cooldown, I cannot use it without mana.

However, if I try to increase mana by getting certain items and invest more stat points in Willpower, I won’t get the necessary damage.

While I was pondering over the pros and cons of Effect #1, I thought to myself, ‘Well, come to think of it, removing the skill cooldown is the best option.’

But Effect#1 had a fatal weakness; it applied to only one of my skills and that skill would be selected at random. In other words, my level 3 skills such as Ice Ball, Ice Bolt or Ice Weapon were candidates for this no cooldown effect. If Effect #1 selected any of these low-level skills, it would be the worst scenario.

It would be worse than the addition of 2000 stat points into Strength or Agility or Stamina from Effect #2, let alone the drastic increase in EXP from Effect #3.

If this really happens, it would really be the worst of the worst.

If the cooldown-removal effect is applied to one of these skills, I will kick my own butt later.

So much so that I won’t access the game for quite some time because my Willpower, which is very high, and my Iceman trait already reduces a lot of my cooldowns.

Anyway, while I was seriously agonizing over the pros and cons of these three effects, something embarrassing happened that made my agony meaningless.

The same roulette board which determined my Path at the beginning of the quest appeared in the middle of the air. Of course, on the board was written Effect #1, Effect #2, Effect #3 instead of Path A, B, C like before.

In other words, choosing one of the three effects was out of my control. In the end, I had counted my chickens before they could hatch since I could not choose one of them of my own will.

So, I smacked my lips after checking the roulette because even 1% of my intentions could not be reflected in that board. Besides, there was no guarantee that good things would happen if I chose it myself. Of course, if I drew a dud from my own choice, I wouldn’t feel any regret because I will not be able to blame anybody in that case.

However, if I draw a dud because of the system and not my own choice, I think I would have lots of complaints about it. In other words, it was a matter of whether I was involved or not.

In addition, I have to think about how to overcome the worst choice should I face it.

Given all of that, I had no choice but to express my opinion strongly.

And honestly, I’ve already decided what I wanted to be chosen.

However, since the roulette board had already left my hand, I just blankly watched it spinning fast.

A little while later, the roulette board started to slow down gradually.

And it stopped at exactly the point which I expected it to stop at.

So, I groaned before I knew it because it landed on the Effect with the most variables.

[Congratulations! You have obtained Effect #1.]

Effect #1 would eliminate the cooldown for one of my skills. Although I kept repeating to myself that I should stay calm because it was out of my control, I still felt nervous and tense before I knew it.

As if it didn’t care about my anxiety, a message rang.

[This is a list of the skills currently possessed by Lumen/Asirante.

Level 3 Ice Ball. (Level 1, 2, 3)

Level 3 Ice Bolt. (Level 1, 2, 3)

Level 3 Ice Weapon. (Level 1, 2, 3)

Level 3 Ice Shield. (Level 1, 3, 5, 7)

Minor frostbite occurrence. (Passive.)

Level 2 Ice Field. (Level 2, 5, 7)

Level 4 Pouring Hailstone (Level 2, 4, 6, 8)

Level 4 Ice Blast. (Level 2, 4, 6)

Level 3 Multiple Ice Arrow. (Level 2, 3, 5)

Level 3 Ice Prison. (Level 3, 5, 7)

Level 3 Thin Ice. (Level 3)

Level 4 Ice Spear. (Level 3, 4, 6)

Level 4 Blink. (Level 4, 6)

Level 4 Ice Storm. (Level 4, 7, 8)

-One of the above skills, except for the passive skill ‘Minor Frostbite Occurrence’, will be selected at random for cooldown removal.

-This cooldown effect will remain the same even if the level of the skill changes due to upgrades etc.]

When the message ended, the roulette board previously showing Effect #1, Effect #2 and Effect #3 was divided into 13 sections starting with a combined section for Ice Ball and Ice Storm.

Then it started spinning right away even before I could get ready for it.

To be honest, I wanted Effect #3 because it was the most obvious and clear choice that did not rely on luck.

Of course, depending on my luck, there were cases where Effect #1 and Effect #2 were better than Effect #3. For example, if Effect #1 removed the cooldown of Ice Field, Pouring Hailstone or Ice Storm, or Effect #2 in which 2000 stat points were invested into Intellect.

But this was based on sheer luck. I don’t like to rely on luck.

If I had to choose between something that gives up to 100-fold damage depending on luck and something that doubles all damage unconditionally, I would choose the latter.

As such, I have no intention of relying on probability with no certainty.

Actually I didn’t have to for now.

I am clearly aware that I am one step or dozens of steps ahead of others, and I hold the conviction that I will only widen the gap between myself and others from now.

In other words, what was certain was enough for me for now.

, I’m not impatient enough to rely on luck or take risks or I would not be dozens of stops ahead of others. So, given all these considerations, Effect #3 was the best option for me.

Of course, the roulette board already decided on Effect #1 for me.

With my eyes wide open, I watched the roulette board gradually slowing down.

The roulette board had a hard time crossing the combined section for Ice Ball and Ice Bolt. Then it stopped at a point and a message rang straight away.

[Congratulations.

-The cooldown of the Blink skill possessed by Lumen/Asirante has been removed.]

“…”

In fact, I learned how to use Blink and had already used it several times.

In particular, when I cleared the 60th round, I didn’t need to avoid the monsters’ attack with Blink, but I saw no reason to allow their attack so I used the skill whenever its cooldown was up.

Back then I acutely wished there was no cooldown for Blink because it was a common skill, and not an ice-type skill. It was the first non ice-type skill that I had learned.

However, I never thought that it would be the skill to benefit from Effect #1. Rather, I first thought of an AOE skill.

“Hmm…”

I momentarily thought about the utility value of Blink with no cooldown.

Then I came to a conclusion.

“Well, not bad.” I thought it wasn’t that bad.

Rather, it was very good.

For players focusing on developing their Intellect, Blink was used more frequently for evasion or escape than for attack. Sometimes it even provides users a second life.

But I have no problem with using it for offensive purposes because I could use Blink without cooldown and close the gap no matter how far the opponent is.

Moreover, I even thought that moving everywhere freely while using Blink in succession could cause even more confusion to the enemy than spamming Ice Storm.

Anyway, a message rang while I was imagining the situation that would unfold with the removal of Blink’s cooldown, which I thought might be better than the ‘drastic increase in EXP’ from Effect #3.

[30,000 coins are given as the reward for being the first person to clear the 80th round, the final round, in the level 300 only arena quest.

-You currently have 2 IDs.

-Out of Lumen and Asirante, you can use one of the two IDs to show as the highest round achiever of the level 300 only arena quest.]

“That’s it?” I thought I would receive some golden rings, if not some extra stat points or EXP.

Of course, 30,000 coins is a huge amount. These coins are said to be valuable, but nobody knows how to use them nor for what purpose they are used for.

So, I could not help but think that extra stat points, EXP, and golden rings were more valuable because their benefits were clearly visible to me.

Anyway, I forgot about such complaints, then said quietly, “Register the ID Asirante as the highest round achiever.”