L.E. Miranda
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B2 Chapter 12: The Consumed Territory (2)
🕑 Added 2024-10-11 22:51:15 +0000 UTCWith Tairy’s advice, Michael went through the second Skills selection, acquiring the Skills he discussed with the old dark elf and other Passive Skills that looked useful. Then, the merging process began. The number of Skill Points fell as his Status Window changed. Passive Skills were merged, and then he utilized the result for more merging. It was the benefit of having so many Skill Points. Some Skills had even been automatically assimilated by others.
Finally, he beheld the outcome.
Status Window
Name: Michael Gray
Level: 40
Race: Young Draconic Human (E)
Class: Newborn Caster
Job: None.
Stats
Strength: 313
Dexterity: 302
Endurance: 306
Constitution: 535
Intelligence: 696
Wisdom: 720
Free points: 46
Skill Points: 17
Active Skills
Mana Missile (E); Analyze (F); Mana Shield (F); Mana Wave (F), Whisper (F), Minor Heal (F), Twin Casting (E), Mana Blade (F), Fireball (E), Earth Spike (E), Shroud (F); Eagle Eye (F); Mana Field (E).
Passive Skills
Peace of Mind (D), Haste (E), Mana Empowerment (E), Strengthening (E), Magic Penetration (E); Mana Affinity (D), Efficiency (E); Danger Sense (E), Perception (E), Absorption (E).
Hybrid Skills
Newborn’s Dragonheart (D), Astral Meditation (D).
Heritage
Blessing of Light: Cleansing, Illumination, Lightspeed.
Titles
Dragon’s Descendant; Apprentice Mage; Draconic Blessing, Mushroom Hunter, Bluestone Village’s First Star, The Monster of Bluestone Village, Exterminator.
He ignored his stat values, knowing that they were far too high for his Level. They hadn’t changed much from Level 39. His gaze moved to his Skills. After some thought, he had decided to follow Tairy’s advice and not acquire more Active Skills. Becoming more familiar with his current weapons was more important than getting new ones, especially now that he had Mana Field.
I’m still underutilizing Mana Field’s abilities.
His control was better than the Elder Lizardman Chief’s, but he was still barely dipping his toes into the Skill’s potential. The ability to create an omnidirectional domain that could act offensively or defensively was incredibly valuable.
If I get Dual Casting…
What if he became able to use Mana Field to slow down powerful enemies while simultaneously firing Mana Spheres at them? Or decrease an attack’s speed, then block it with Mana Shield? The possibilities were endless with Dual Casting. Using Mana Shield and Mana Spheres at the same time was just one of them. The Skill would grant him the biggest increase in general power since the awakening of his Dragon blood.
Unfortunately, the Skill didn’t appear in the two Skill selections. It was disappointing, but not shocking. Tairy had stated that he himself didn’t have the Skill, which was a testament to its rarity. The inability to attack and defend at the same time was a critical weakness of the Mage Class, which Michael had managed to overcome through sheer casting speed and high stats. An ordinary Mage would be forced to team up with individuals who could protect them as they chanted and cast spells.
That wasn’t an option for Michael, who would tackle the Consumed Territory alone. The difference in power level between himself and the other humans would also hinder him if he tried teaming up, as he wouldn’t be able to face truly powerful enemies without putting everyone else at risk. The gap between himself and the others had grown too large.
If becoming more powerful means being capable of protecting my loved ones in this new world, I’ll do it.
His mind immediately went to his mother. Then, to his friends and allies. Lastly, he thought of himself. Power also meant complete freedom; the ability to withstand the wind and rain and do whatever one wanted.
However, for now, he needed to focus. His current goal was to overcome the Tutorial and pass with flying colors. He looked at his Passive Skills. After a process of successful merging, Clarity had become Peace of Mind, joining the ranks of his highest-graded Skills. He wished for its information to appear before him.
[Passive Skill
Peace of Mind (D): your mind is as clear as the summer sky. It is a necessity, not an option. Your ability to choose the best course of action is what keeps you alive, but your clarity of mind goes beyond that.
Effects: increases mana regeneration rate. Grants great assistance in maintaining a clear mind, no matter the situation. Increases resistance against abilities capable of clouding one’s mind. Higher proficiency and a higher Wisdom stat will result in greater effects.]
The description wasn’t too different from Clarity’s, but the effects were. In general, it was Clarity on steroids, with the added perk of resisting Skills and abilities that affected his mind.
Would this Skill be able to resist Lohann’s brand?
No, there was no way to know. Lohann had been blessed, just like Michael. Even though the Skill’s grade was D, could it really resist the brand’s mind manipulation that had affected even a Dungeon Boss? At the same time, his Wisdom stat was his highest stat, and it affected the Skill’s effectiveness.
Either way, it’s a great Skill.
He had learned Clarity’s value early on. It was no exaggeration to say that it had been one of his most important Skills, despite its grade. The Skill’s description was correct, as the System always seemed to be. He looked at the other Skills. They were simple in nature; Strengthening empowered his body and spells, while Perception and Absorption were related to how fast he could create a Circle.
He looked at Tairy, who was standing next to the dais while looking at him, and spoke.
“How close am I to the Third Circle?”
“In terms of mana alone, you’re there already,” The dark elf said with a pensive expression, “You just lack training. As I said before, magic acts as an almost separate system of power. It isn’t simply a matter of having high numbers on your stat screen. You need a deeper understanding of how it works.”
“And the gap between each Circle gets bigger the higher you go.”
Tairy nodded.
“The distance between the Fourth and Fifth Circles is greater than the sum of all the previous ones. It only gets more egregious after that. Still, you’re past the minimum requirement for the Third Circle.”
Michael thought for a bit.
“First, I’ll go to the Consumed Territory and Level up a bit. We’ll try to reach the Third Circle when I come back.”
Time was running out. There were less than forty-five days before the end of the Tutorial. Since he didn’t know for how long he would have to train to reach the Third Circle, he would prioritize Leveling up. It was the fastest path to power, given that he didn’t know what would happen once the Tutorial ended.
“Be careful, Michael.”
He smiled.
“Relax, old man. How do I reach the Consumed Territory?”
Tairy sighed.
“Go to the area where the Territories of the four Villages meet. It’s the very center of the underground.”
Michael raised an eyebrow.
“So, the Consumed Territory is right in the middle of the Villages?”
“Not exactly. As you’ll see after you set off, the Territories of the Villages extend further than you might think. Each Village occupies a cardinal direction; moving from one Territory to the other is rather simple, but you want to go to the center. There, you’ll find the Forgotten.”
“What are the Forgotten, exactly? Why that name?”
Tairy gave him a toothy grin.
“I’ll let you find that out by yourself. Instead, you should be asking about their abilities and power level. Listen closely: the Forgotten can be divided into several archetypes based on the Classes they once had. Those archetypes aren’t too different from the human Classes you’re already aware of. The most critical thing about the Forgotten is that they can use some of their past Skills.”
Michael raised his eyebrows at Tairy’s explanation. Classes they once had? Past Skills? He was starting to have an idea of what the Forgotten were.
“They’re people, aren’t they?”
Tairy shrugged. Michael scoffed and continued to speak.
“Alright, so I need to watch out for their Skills, which are related to their past abilities.”
“Yes. They can also move in groups and coordinate their attacks. This, coupled with their ability to use some Skills, means that each encounter will present a different challenge. Not only do you need power, but also the wits to use what you have well.”
Michael scratched his chin.
“Okay. Do some of them move alone?”
It was imperative to understand the power level of a single one of the Forgotten. Based on that, he could gauge whether he could take on groups or not. Additionally, the difficulty would spike severely. Fighting three enemies was exponentially harder than fighting only one. This only intensified once the enemy groups became larger, as every enemy would be looking to exploit his weaknesses and gaps.
I’m not some fighting master.
It was only natural for him to have chinks in his armor, especially since he couldn’t defend and attack at the same time. It was unclear whether the Forgotten would be able to take advantage of that. Once his thoughts reached this point, he spoke.
“Do the Forgotten have intelligence?”
“Hmm… It’s a bit difficult to answer that. I would say that they do, in practice, but it’s primitive. That does not mean they aren’t dangerous. Don’t underestimate them.”
Michael nodded. At the very least, he could use his Heritage Skills while casting ordinary ones. Cleansing would heal him from the wounds he would inevitably acquire, while Lightspeed could help him deal with myriad negative situations, even if his only choice were to run away.
I haven’t found a use for Illumination yet.
Still, it was part of the Heritage. In correct circumstances, he was certain that it would be powerful. He brought up its information in his mind. A System window appeared in front of him.
[Heritage
Blessing of Light – Illumination: there is no darkness that cannot be illuminated by a Dragon. There is no veil that cannot be seen through, nor anything that can smother your light.
Effects: creates a ring of light around your figure, dispelling all kinds of illusions or darkness, and empowering yourself and your allies. Increases resistance to shadow-affinity attacks. Increases resistance against Illusions.]
It does say that it can empower me.
The Skill’s focus was clearly on dealing with illusions and shadows, but he hadn’t yet tested its secondary effect.
I’ll do it on the way to the Consumed Territory.
It was possible for the empowerment to surpass his expectations. He had been busy trying to juggle and understand the other two Heritage Skills and hadn’t paid this one much heed. Given that he was only able to use a single Heritage Skill at a time, he had focused on deepening his ability to use Lightspeed and Cleansing. It was something that needed to change. For the umpteenth time, he reminded himself that he needed to understand his weapons.
He grabbed the staff leaning on the dais and looked at Tairy.
“Then, I’m off.”
Then, he decisively turned around and started walking towards the Village’s only entrance.
Finally, it was time to go to the Consumed Territory.
Comments
L.E. Miranda
I'm going to try and keep up Mon-Wes-Fri!
Jake Atwood
What is the upload schedule does anyone know or is there not one?
