The Sweetness of Skill Copy

How much time had truly passed?

The monsters, having unleashed their indiscriminate bombardment, ceased their attacks one by one and retreated a single step.

Yet, what was this astonishing sight? The man, whom one would have presumed dead nine times out of ten, stood perfectly alive.

“Cough! Damn it all. What the hell kind of situation is this now? Did the dimensional transfer fail? It shouldn’t have… Cough, cough!”

As he spoke, the man slowly raised an arm.

Uwoooong!

Around his uplifted hand, a swirling mass of white light began to gather, quickly coalescing into the distinct form of a sword.

“Damn it. I don’t know why you dog-bastards are here, but I suppose I have to return what I’ve received.”

The luminous mass, which had been transforming into a sword, now shimmered as a complete blade. Simultaneously, the man launched into action.

Thwack!

And just like that, the fierce battle between the man and the monsters began.

****

To any observer, the battle appeared to be an inevitable defeat for the man, yet it concluded with an unexpected outcome.

Of course, for Junhyuk, who already knew the result, it wasn’t particularly surprising.

Barely two hours had passed.

A truly fierce struggle had unfolded, unleashing an array of overwhelmingly powerful and dazzling skills.

Superior monsters, those ranked C-class or higher, each possessed unique specialized skills.

To contend with even a single superior monster, a minimum of a hundred high-ranking Hunters were typically required.

Yet, this solitary man had butchered more than a dozen of these formidable superior monsters in just over an hour.

Then, the Ruler of the Domain, an A-class monster, emerged, engaging him in an evenly matched battle.

No, it was more than just an even fight; the man inflicted severe damage upon the A-class monster, forcing it to retreat.

He had accomplished a feat impossible even for the world’s mere five S-class Hunters combined.

But did that mean he had triumphed?

Strictly speaking, no. The man himself lay on the ground, seemingly dead, gravely wounded.

‘Huh! When I only heard about it, I accepted it, but seeing it in person is truly remarkable. It’s hard to believe he annihilated a dozen superior monsters by himself, and even forced an A-class monster to retreat… Is this the true power of a Copy Master?’

After a moment of admiration, Junhyuk quickly leaned his head out the window, scanning his surroundings.

Thankfully, no other monsters were in sight.

“It seems there are no other monsters around… Shall I make my move then?”

Having made his decision, Junhyuk swiftly set off.

****

Upon reaching the first floor, Junhyuk headed straight for where the man had fallen.

Though the absence of electricity plunged the area into pitch-black darkness, his eyes had long since adapted to the gloom, allowing him some visibility.

Cautiously, Junhyuk surveyed his surroundings as he moved, and before long, he reached the man’s location.

He hadn’t noticed it from afar, but up close, the man seemed to be roughly the same age as Junhyuk, or perhaps even younger.

‘He’s younger than I expected. And he said he gained his abilities by saving this person. Should I have asked him for more details about how it happened? Tsk, no. First, I need to save him.’

So far, the events aligned with what Park Gicheol had told him.

This meant the crucial part was now beginning. The acquisition of the Copy Master ability hinged on his next actions.

However, he had no specific information regarding this, and more importantly, his immediate priority was to escape this place. Thus, Junhyuk quickly roused the man.

“Hey, are you alright?”

As Junhyuk gently shook the fallen man, he stirred, letting out a pained groan.

“Ugh! Cough! Cough! Haa, haa…”

The man’s condition appeared critical, as if his life could extinguish at any moment.

“I’ll move you inside a safe building for now, so just bear with it a little longer.”

With those words, Junhyuk quickly hoisted the man onto his back.

“Ugh! Khk!”

Carrying the groaning man on his back, Junhyuk feigned an anxious demeanor, hastily making his way toward the dilapidated apartment building.

Once inside the abandoned apartment with the man slung over his shoulder, Junhyuk found a suitable spot on the first floor and carefully laid him down.

“Phew, I thought I was going to die from the tension.”

Junhyuk’s words and actions seemed to emphasize just how incredibly nervous he was.

Maintaining his facade of anxiety, he subtly glanced at the man, who was still panting with a look of agony.

“Ughhh. Cough! Cough!”

After a moment, the man coughed repeatedly, spitting out a mouthful of blood, then grimaced in pain as he struggled to sit up.

Seizing the opportunity, Junhyuk swiftly approached him.

“Oh! Hey there. Don’t try to move; just lie still.”

Even without Junhyuk’s words, the man’s current state made it seem impossible for him to sit up.

Perhaps because of this, the man, who had momentarily twitched in an attempt to rise, eventually gave up and lay back down.

“Haa, haa, cough. Where… is this?”

The man, now somewhat conscious, asked, his face contorted in pain as he looked at Junhyuk.

Junhyuk promptly answered the man’s question about his location.

“Here? Well, if you’re asking about our current location… it’s Haengsin-dong.”

“Haengsin… Cough! Hae, Haengsin, then… Goyang City?”

“That’s right. It’s a dangerous area now, occupied by monsters, but the place name itself is still that.”

Upon hearing ‘Haengsin-dong,’ the man offered a bitter smile.

“Ha, haha, so the dimensional transfer itself… Cough! Succeeded. Haa, haa. But… why are those bastards here… Cough! What are they doing here?”

“By ‘those bastards,’ do you mean the monsters? As I just said, this area is occupied by monsters.”

At Junhyuk’s words, the man looked utterly bewildered.

“Cough! Ugh, occ, occupied by monsters? What in the world… Cough, cough! Mo, more importantly, what year is it now?”

“It’s June 2035.”

“Huh… 2035… Cough! Only five years… Ha, haha. I was there for thirty years, but here it’s only five… Cough! Cough! Gack! Ughhh!”

As he spoke, the man suddenly coughed violently, spewing a mouthful of blood.

Junhyuk’s eyes widened in alarm, and he quickly spoke.

“Whoa! Hey, don’t strain yourself. Your injuries are severe; overexertion could be fatal.”

Despite Junhyuk’s warning not to strain himself, the man shook his head.

“I’m already… too late.”

At the man’s words about it being too late, Junhyuk quickly continued.

“Too late for what? When morning comes, Hunters will pass by this area. We can ask a healer for emergency treatment then. Well, whether there’ll be a healer available is uncertain… but surely they wouldn’t just leave a dying person. So, just hold on until then.”

When dawn broke, Hunters would pass by this area on their hunts. Typically, a party included at least one healer, so if he could just hold on until then, there was a chance of survival.

However, despite Junhyuk’s words, the man shook his head again.

“Cough, cough! My condition… Cough! I know it better than anyone. Khk! My life… Haa, haa. There’s not much… left. Cough!”

“…”

Junhyuk watched the man in silence.

Although he had spoken reassuring words about holding on until morning, he knew in his heart that the man’s injuries were far too severe for him to survive that long.

“Damn it. If only I hadn’t… Khk! D, depleted most of my power opening the gate… Cough! This wouldn’t have happened… Ha, haha. Damn it. In novels… Cough! The protagonists live well and prosper… Keke. I guess… I’m not… Cough! A novel’s protagonist after all.”

Indeed. The man had exhausted most of his strength opening the dimensional gate, and in that state, he had encountered the monsters, pushing him to the brink of death.

‘Huh! He showed such power even after depleting most of his strength on dimensional travel? How strong would he be in his full state? This… this might be an even greater ability than I imagined.’

As far as Junhyuk knew, the Copy Master ability was merely the power to copy and use an opponent’s skills, as Park Gicheol had described. That was all.

In truth, even that much was more than satisfactory for Junhyuk. He was confident that if he used it in conjunction with his innate ‘Supersenses’, it would create an incredible synergy.

Frankly, even before his regression, despite awakening as an ordinary warrior, he had earned notoriety as a top-tier villain with a bounty exceeding a trillion thanks to his ‘Supersenses’.

What more could he ask for an ability that, with proper skill copying, allowed him to fulfill the roles of not only a dealer but also a tank, healer, buffer, and other support roles?

However, judging by the current situation, the Copy Master ability seemed far more formidable than Junhyuk had initially conceived.

‘Well, to be fair, Gicheol Hyungnim himself didn’t fully grasp the ability… Gicheol Hyungnim was quite clueless, wasn’t he?’

Junhyuk found Park Gicheol somewhat pathetic, having obtained such an incredible ability only to fail to utilize it properly, languishing at the bottom before dying in vain.

“…”

While Junhyuk was lost in thought, the man spoke.

“I, I have a favor.”

At the man’s request for a favor, Junhyuk looked bewildered.

“A favor… you say? What kind of…”

As Junhyuk asked, his expression puzzled, the man laboriously moved his hand, pulling something from his pants pocket.

Then, with trembling hands, he offered it to Junhyuk.

“Khk! Cough! Haa, haa. My family… Find my family. And… haa, haa. If they’re alive… please, take care of them. Cough!”

What the man handed Junhyuk was a single photograph. It was a family portrait: a father, a mother, a high school student presumed to be the man now lying before him, and a middle school girl who seemed to be his younger sister.

“Haa, I’d like to help, but my current situation isn’t one where I can look after anyone… The world has changed so much because of the monsters; it’s become incredibly difficult just to survive. I’ll try to look for them if I get a chance, but even if I find them, I don’t think I can take on the responsibility of caring for them. I have enough on my own plate.”

At Junhyuk’s words that it would be difficult, the man let out a faint chuckle.

“Keke, yes. Because of those damned… Cough! Those dog-bastards, the world… haa, haa. It’s changed that much, has it?”

“…”

“I’m not… Khk! Asking for a favor… for free. I’ll give… Cough! You power.”

Just as Junhyuk was inwardly cheering at the mention of power, the man suddenly gripped his hand.

Snap!

It was a grip surprisingly strong for someone on the verge of death.

“What’s… your name?”

At the man’s question, Junhyuk instinctively sensed that the moment of power transfer had arrived.

‘No way…’

“Hurry! Your name!”

As the man repeated his question, Junhyuk urgently stated his name.

“Ju, Junhyuk. Choi Junhyuk.”

No sooner had Junhyuk spoken his name than the man uttered to himself.

“Cough! Sy, System Transfer! Target: Choi Junhyuk!”

Finally, the words Junhyuk had so desperately wanted to hear came from the man’s lips. were found.