Chapter 7 -7-Speedrun, God-Rank Shield Skill!

Chapter 7 -7-Speedrun, God-Rank Shield Skill![Skill upgraded!] [S-Rank Skill: Thunder Shield (2-star)] [Effect: You are blessed by the power of thunder. Until the shield breaks, you gain Super Armor status and receive Shield Points equal to 2500 + 100% of your Spell Power. When the shield is attacked, enemies take 200 + 100% of your Spell Power as lightning damage.] My god... this skill is absurdly strong! Daniel glanced at his stat panel. His HP was only 1000, yet this single skill granted him a shield worth 2500 points! And that wasn't all—his Spell Power had just jumped by 200 points, meaning his actual shield value was 2500 + 710 = 3210. Three times his base HP. Daniel couldn't help but feel that fortune had finally smiled upon him. Not only had he awakened an SSS-rank talent, but he had also acquired a God-Rank offensive skill, an SSS-rank utility skill, and now an S-rank defensive spell! With Thunder Shield in his arsenal, Daniel's last weakness had essentially been patched up. That massive pool of Shield Points would at least keep him from being one-shotted—especially in the early stages of his journey. Just as he was about to gather his loot and exit the labyrinth, another prompt flashed before his eyes. [Fusion available: Current skills detected as eligible for Infinite Fusion. Would you like to proceed?] Fusion? Daniel blinked, momentarily taken aback. He quickly looked back at his skill list and noticed something unusual—both Raging Thunderstorm and Thunder Shield now had a glowing "+" symbol next to them. Could it be... these two skills were fusable? For a moment, hesitation crept into his heart. Raging Thunderstorm was his only God-Rank attack skill. If the fusion failed or made the result worse, he'd lose his most important offensive tool. Do I really want to gamble that? He debated it in silence for a few seconds. But in the end, he clenched his fists and made his decision. "...Fuse them!" Almost instantly, lightning surged wildly around him! Arcs of electricity crackled through the air with such brilliance that Daniel had to shut his eyes. [Fusion complete!] [God-Rank Skill acquired: Thunderfall Shield (4-star)] [Effect 1: Area attack – Base skill damage 1000, with 40x Spell Power scaling] [Effect 2: Shield – Grants Super Armor until broken. Shield Points equal 5000 + 200% of Spell Power. Enemies attacking the shield suffer 400 + 200% Spell Power lightning damage.] [Effect 3: Empty Slot] What the hell?! Daniel stared at the description, completely dumbfounded. Did his skills just double in power after fusing? No—this is even better than that! He was practically trembling with excitement, and when he looked at his stat panel again, he couldn't help but draw in a sharp breath: [Name: Daniel] [Talent: The Infinite One (SSS-Rank)] [Level: 10] [HP: 1000] [MP: 1000] [Attack Power: 10] [Spell Power: 2110] [Tenacity: 10] [Agility: 10] [Talent Specializations: Infinite Skill Points, Infinite Plunder, Infinite Fusion, God-Rank Skill Compendium] [Skills: God-Rank Skill – Thunderfall Shield (4-star); SSS-Rank Skill – Damage Conversion (2-star)] Level 10. Spell Power: 2110. Daniel could hardly imagine how others would react if they saw this stat sheet. They'd probably worship him like some divine being. His power was so outrageous, it had to be illegal. He stood there for a moment, heart racing, chest rising and falling with deep breaths. Even if judged purely by Spell Power alone, his current value had already surpassed the average combatant after their first class advancement. Of course, he couldn't get cocky. That number was only theoretical. Real first-class professionals had gear, enchanted artifacts, and refined techniques that enhanced their attributes beyond what raw numbers could achieve. Still, Daniel was more than satisfied. He had cleared a mutant underground labyrinth in just over a minute. If he could keep farming like this, especially with a few more skill book drops... Worried about not being strong enough? Don't make me laugh! At that very moment— Outside the Royal Academy, the transmission gate flickered once more. The once blood-red portal gradually dimmed and returned to its original bronze hue. Students and instructors who had been waiting nearby let out a collective sigh of relief. But just as the tension was easing, the ancient transmission gate shimmered again—and two glowing lines of text emerged on its surface: [Howling Cave (Mutant): Cleared] [Fastest Clear Time: 1 minute, 6 seconds] Silence. For several heartbeats, the entire crowd fell into stunned silence. What?! Someone actually cleared the mutant underground labyrinth?! That had to be a joke. A glitch, surely. No way that was real. Someone whispered, "No way... not in one minute." Another muttered, "Even a normal Howling Cave can't be cleared that fast..." "Exactly! I remember our academy's best time for the regular Howling Cave was 3 minutes, 20 seconds. And that was with a full team!" "This has to be a bug... right?" Instructors and students alike were thrown into chaos. Many turned to the professors for an explanation. "Teachers—has something gone wrong with the labyrinth system?" The elderly professors exchanged confused glances. They, too, were at a loss. After all, this wasn't some minor anomaly—it was unheard of. The mutant version of an underground labyrinth had its difficulty multiplied several times over. And the one Daniel had entered was a beginner-level dungeon designed to temper new students, not challenge top-tier elites. Under normal circumstances, surviving was considered a miracle. Clearing it? Impossible. Unless... Unless the student had somehow broken through the system itself. But that couldn't be. The transmission gates and labyrinths were created by Supreme Power—a force that even demigods couldn't tamper with. The labyrinth system wasn't something mere mortals—or even the academy—could modify. Which left only one terrifying possibility... Someone really cleared it. The professors couldn't find an answer. They fell into silence. The crowd of students, still reeling from the revelation, now turned their attention toward the Dragon Glass Stele beside the transmission gate. This stele had appeared alongside the gate itself. Every time someone cleared a labyrinth, their name and clear time would automatically be etched into the stone. And like the gate, it too was protected by Supreme Power—its records absolutely unchangeable. "Let me through! Let me through!" "I wanna see who the hell broke the record!" In the blink of an eye, the stele was surrounded by curious and panicked students, all elbowing their way to the front. And then they saw it. [Howling Cave (Mutant) – Fastest Clear Record] 1st Place – Daniel Clear Time: 1 minute, 6 seconds Silence descended once more. S~eaʀᴄh the nôᴠel Fire.nёt website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Every student at the entrance stared in stunned disbelief. Even those who had assumed the gate had malfunctioned were now dumbfounded. "What the...?!" "Are you telling me that useless, bottom-tier F-rank Furniture Craftsman pulled this off?!"