Mimou
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Chapter 148: This Ascension Shop is too cheap!
🕑 Added 2024-12-05 03:01:25 +0000 UTC« Chapter-147 | Index | Chapter-149 »
Choosing the third option, as it had been his main topic of research lately, Sora eagerly awaited the trial's content. Appearing in a space reminiscent of the one where he had nurtured Netsu, he quickly read the notifications.
[You have chosen Energy Refinement.]
[Using your accumulated points, you can access the [Ascension Shop] to purchase skills and items related to the trial.]
[You are given a period of 6 months to train your energy refinement.]
[On the 17th floor, each day inside the tower will be equivalent to a day outside the tower.]
[Your progress will be five times faster inside the trial.]
Opening the [Ascension Shop], Sora was greeted by an extensive list of categories, similar to the [War Shop].
Noticing that several sections were greyed out, he ignored them and navigated to the [Skills] category.
The sheer number of sub-categories made him pause. Choosing a random one, he found yet another list of options. 'This is even more overwhelming than picking a familiar from millions of species,' he thought.
Spotting a search tab in the [Ascension Shop], Sora selected it and began searching for something specific.
'I need to find a way to perfect my lava form. [Lava in my Veins] is still incomplete.' he thought.
[Ascension Shop]
[Results for 'mana compression']
[Compress - Enchanter (Rare Class)]
[Mana Focus - Mana Master (Legendary Class)]
[Mana Density - Scientific Mage (Unique Class)]
...
[Stack - Arcanist (Epic Class)]
Seeing the numerous results, a smile spread across his face. Selecting the [Compress] skill, he noticed its striking similarity to [Condense], and was about to purchase it.
Remembering to check the price, he saw it was only 1000 Ascension Points and chuckled. 'This might as well be considered free... This Ascension Shop is too cheap!'
Confirming the purchase, a [Skill Book] materialized before him. Tossing it into his inventory, he checked the other skills and noted that most from rare classes were priced at 1000 points.
Skills from epic classes cost 10,000 points, while unique ones were priced at 100,000 points. Sweating at the steep increase in cost, he realized that skills tied to legendary classes were priced as high as 1,000,000 points.
'Wait, wait, wait. This is too expensive!! Who can afford these?' Despite his complaints, Sora knew how valuable such skills could be and didn't hesitate to buy one. 'Why did I jinx it ?!' He regretted thinking these items were cheap...
Searching for terms like 'Solid Mana,' 'Mana Solidification,' and 'Mana Control,' he ensured he explored every area of interest. By the time he finished, he noticed he had already spent 19 million Ascension Points.
'I have everything I need to push my mastery of skills to the limit. But I was interested in another path, and I wonder how much it would cost to research it...'
Opening the [Element] sub-category, Sora selected the [Time-Related Skills] category and froze.
The list of skills was entirely grayed out.
[You need affinity with [Time] to purchase skills from this category.]
'I can't buy anything?' He thought, disappointed.
A glowing arrow appeared, guiding him back to the previous category. It pointed toward an option that blinked, as if beckoning him to select it.
[Raise your affinity with an energy or element.]
'This is amazing.' His mouth changed into a broad smile as hope ignited within him. Finally, a path to increase his affinity with the [Time] element seemed possible.
Seeing the dozens of elements, Sora was surprised, 'What are all of these?'
Scrolling through the dozens of elements listed under the option, Sora couldn’t help but pause. 'What are all of these?' he thought.
[Space]
[Shadow]
[Death]
[Life force]
[Fate]
[Lightning]
[Earth]
[Water]
[Fire]
[Wind]
[Wood]
[Light]
[Darkness]
[Void]
[Time]
[Chaos]
[Order]
[Illusion]
[Poison]
[Sound]
[Blood]
[Gravity]
...
Surprised at the long list and noticing even more grayed-out options, he thought, 'There are so many options... There is so much more than just elements.'
Selecting the [Time] option, he was immediately taken aback.
[Would you like to gain F-tier affinity with [Time]?]
[Price: 10,000,000 Ascension Points]
Seeing the ridiculous price for such a low-tier affinity, he hesitated. 'This is too expensive...'
Curious, he checked another element, selecting the [Space] option.
[Would you like to upgrade your SSS tier affinity with [Space] to the EX tier?]
[Price : 1,000,000,000 Ascension points]
'What the hell? What am I supposed to do to reach a billion points? Am I supposed to select the maximum difficulty from the first to the last floor? Even then, I doubt anyone can ever reach a billion points...' He sighed, frustrated by the sight of such unattainable options in the shop.
Shifting to the items section, he browsed through high-level training gear. Tempted for a moment, he shook his head. 'With time on my side, there’s no need to spend points on these,' he thought, deciding to save points.
Resolving to save enough points to buy the F-tier [Time] affinity after leaving the 20th floor, and a few other abilities, he closed the shop.
Sitting down to learn [Compress], Sora quickly realized what the trial meant by progress being five times faster. His understanding and proficiency soared, allowing him to upgrade the skill in just a few hours.
Creating his own version of the skill, Sora 'perfected' it quickly. Despite the rapid progress after that step, he felt far from satisfied.
'It would be a waste of time to spend six months inside the tower just training these skills. I'll work on them with Kara later,' he decided, unwilling to linger when the fivefold increase in efficiency was far less than what he was used to.
Without hesitation, he selected the [End Trial] option and confirmed his choice when asked to reconsider.
[Welcome to the 18th floor of the Tower.]
[Trial: [Customized Trial] – You have proved your worth inside the tower, and it is time to reap the fruits of your labor. Choose a trial based on your needs.]
[First Trial Option: [Body Forging] – Develop your body level and forging skills.]
[Second Trial Option: [Mental Training] – Develop your mind level and related skills.]
'Here we go again...' he thought, unsurprised by the familiar notifications. Selecting the [Body Forging] option, he once again appeared in an empty training area.
Opening the shop, Sora began browsing for skills that aligned with his vision of what he wanted to become, focused as he considered his future path.
'I want a way to create more clones, make each of them even more powerful, and possibly withstand more energy. I also need a way for my body to resist the effects of my lava form. I've crafted a strong body for myself, but it's lacking flexibility,' Sora thought, carefully considering the prompts he could use with the search option as he planned his future path.
[Battle Instincts - Martial Artist (Common Class)]
[Celestial Circulation - Martial Angel (Legendary Class)]
[Endless Furnace - Flame Warrior (Unique Class)]
[Blood Burning - Asura (Legendary Class)]
...
[Life Core - Life Sovereign (Legendary Class)]
[Blood Core - Vampire's Progenitor (Legendary Class)]
[Clone Fusion - Immortal King (Legendary Class)]
Unable to find a better version of [Battle Instincts], he purchased the basic version of the skill. This skill promised to enhance his results when learning other fighting techniques and to guide him instinctively in combat. Since it was inexpensive, he wasn’t afraid to experiment with it.
He also purchased [Celestial Circulation] to improve the quality of his mana and blood pathways, hoping it would reduce the strain on his body when circulating [Crystallized Mana].
He invested in the [Endless Furnace] with a similar thought in mind, as it was supposed to help his body withstand more pressure.
[Blood Burning], however, had an effect similar to [Lava in My Veins], making his blood boil and temporarily pushing his body beyond its physical limits. 'I might get inspiration from this skill to perfect my mana-based version,' he thought, optimistic about this skill.
[Life Core], [Blood Core], and [Clone Fusion] were skills he had chosen to enhance his clones. He could even use [Life Cores] to replenish his own life force or aid Kara in restoring hers when needed.
Having purchased even more skills he didn’t bother reviewing again, Sora glanced at his remaining points and sighed.
'70 million. This should be enough, right?' he wondered.
'Now that I've built such a foundation, maybe it's time to train my combat skills... Unlike me, everyone in the tower seemed to be a master of some martial art or weapon.'
Deciding to move forward, Sora entered the 19th floor, greeted by familiar notifications.
[Welcome to the 19th floor of the Tower.]
[Trial: [Customized Trial] – You have proved your worth inside the tower, and it is time to reap the fruits of your labor.]
[Mental Training – Develop your mind level and related skills.]
Sorting through another mountain of skills, Sora carefully selected a few that he believed would benefit him in the long run.
[Thought Acceleration - Temporal Sage (Legendary Class)]
[Insight - Mind Weaver (Legendary Class)]
[Fake Mind - April's fool (Legendary Class)]
[Dream Manipulation - Dream King (Legendary Class)]
[Powerful Suggestion - Puppetmaster (Unique Class)]
[Memory Sculpt - Mind Weaver (Legendary Class)]
Afraid of the endless possibilities and overwhelmed by the content of some skills, Sora closed the [Ascension Shop].
His thoughts were already operating at a speed that was difficult to measure, but he hoped to push them even further with [Thought Acceleration]. [Insight] would enhance his understanding of events around him, offering glimpses into possible outcomes and the consequences tied to each decision.
[Fake Mind] allowed him to create an additional mental fortress, a construct designed to mislead attackers and shield his true mind. 'This might prove useful if I ever fall unconscious and can not defend myself...' He thought.
[Dream Manipulation] was a skill he could use to influence dreams. 'I bought this to manipulate my own dreams... I'm tired of that dream,' he thought grimly.
[Powerful Suggestion] and [Memory Sculpt] lived up to their names. The former enabled him to plant ideas in others' minds, making them take root if their mental defenses were weak. The latter allowed him to see, remove, alter, or insert memories into anyone’s mind.
'Some skills are too dark. Even the ones I've bought could lead to terrible outcomes if misused. But I’ll need them to keep my secrets safe.' He thought, trying to justify his choices. 'I'm not turning evil, I'm not turning evil...'
Taking a steady breath, Sora walked toward the final door. His hand hovered for a moment before gripping the handle. He pushed it open, stepping forward.
[Welcome to the 20th floor of the Ascension Tower.]
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Comments
Keegan Moss
Honestly, would probably go with something more generic like “Shop Skill Haul” or something similar, because you showed the outrageous amount of points he got, but also the likely impossibility of anyone being able to purchase the super high powered skills or affinities, with the suggestion that even he couldn’t buy some things, it sounds more like he is just able to be less thrifty with being the “more utility” skills for his build, but not that he can expand his build infinitely
mimou
The second title would be purely for fun. I prefer not to spoil chapters with titles, and use weird titles from time to time.
jzpresto
The ascension ship is too cheap. I feel like I'm not turning evil just doesn't fit the chapter besides that last bit
