Reveling in my victory, I do a quick sweep of the area to make sure no other monsters are around before pulling up my Status to check my new gains.
[Status of Sebastian Bet]
Pillar Difficulty: Death is Certain
Floor 2: The Silent Castle
Time Used: 19:08:22:21
Time Left: 2170:51:37:39
Level: 21
Body (BDY): 29
Mind (MND): 28
Agility (AGI) : 22
Power (PWR): 69
[Unallocated Points: 0]
Class: Undecided
Form Association: Undecided
Skills:
Emit [Lvl 15]
Polarize [Lvl 1]
Fixation [Lvl 11]
Mana Control [Lvl 13]
Infuse [Lvl 10]
Mana Construct [Lvl 4]
Traits:
Thermal Resistance [Stage 1/3]
Augments:
1. Mana Foundation
2. Undecided
3. Undecided
Condition: Mana Mutation [Permanent]
My PWR stat is very nice.
Running a bloody hand through my short hair, I also pull up my notifications to check on the quest that I had completed in the middle of the fight.
< Congratulations! You have completed a quest! >
< Three passive skill options have been pre-selected for you based on your Status. Choose one of the options provided. >
< Warning: Only four Passive Skills can be held at one time. >
Dual Utilization Network – Grants the user the ability to utilize their personal mana network as a pathway for other channeled energies without backlash for short amounts of time.
Flame Drake Wound Seal – Gives the user’s body the ability to replicate the regenerative properties of a Flame Drake and seal their wounds while burning away infection and possible contamination.
Mana Protective Shell – The user’s body develops a mana shield along their skin that provides slight protection against foreign mana while offering an internal insulator that prevents harmful matter from escaping the user’s body.
I read through the options with varying levels of interest. Most importantly, I notice that the prompt mentions that the options are offered based on my Status rather than my performance like with my Augments. The limit message is also slightly different, as it leads me to believe that there is a possibility to swap passives in the future once I hit the apparent limit of four.
Instead of choosing, I table the decision for a little while, as I would like to delve into the pros and cons later on. Similarly to my Augment options, the skills offered provide some interesting ideas that I would like to possibly utilize in the future.
“You have met my requirements, and therefore we shall move forward with your training.”
As expected, I look up from my screen to find Master Lirin emerge from a nearby tree. Raising a hand in the air, he snaps his fingers and a wave of mana envelops the entire area and immediately extinguishes the remaining fire that was spreading amongst the wildlife.
“What did you learn during your fights?”
“I am lacking a perception-based skill.”
“Wrong. You already have skills capable of assisting with your perception.”
“Is one of them? I can’t make the skill level.”
The warlock averts his gaze from me while looking at something in the air as if reading something.
“I am unsure of the exact nature of the skill you speak of. I assume some aspects of it could deal with sight-based abilities based on your elementary application of the skill to lessen the effects of harsh light, but I am ashamed to admit that I do not know how to proceed in leveling the skill. Regardless, the lesson I was hoping you would learn is that our previous exercises have real life applications.”
His words make sense to me, as I also remember thinking back on our training and how if made the advanced use of much easier and almost second nature during my fights.
“I did learn, Master! I used the emission vent you developed and our exercises to assist with movement and attacks. I also used with just my radiation which is something I had never attempted before you taught me!”
Master Lirin begins heading through the forest back in the direction of the road we left the stagecoach at. I follow him closely while I wonder about and why even someone as knowledgeable as the Mana Thaumaturge doesn’t know the skill’s uses. Is it another variant of censorship by the System? I have seen censored lines in the Forum, and some of the Master’s responses to my questions have been equally uninformative when it comes to anything revolving around The Pillar or certain System information. I shelf the questions alongside my growing library of other ones and turn my attention back to the landscape while I follow the Master.
“I did indeed see your…interesting use of your skills. I suppose they weren’t completely without merit, but your technique leaves much to be desired,” Blue eyes fix on my figure, and I shrink slightly. “When we get back to the city, we will suspend the training of your emission skill and rather focus on your new skill: . I am sure you thought your little bomb earlier was the best application of your skill, but you will soon find you are just scratching the surface. With that said, we need to handle your indecency before moving forward.”
My brows raise for a moment before I look down and realize once again that Thermal Resistance does not, in fact, extend to my clothes. The nice beige shirt and pants I found lining the lockers of the barracks back at the tavern are now just stray strips of cloth with singed edges. The whole ‘MC who gets basically naked after unleashing their true power,’ is an old and tired trope that I do not wish to fall under. I have tried as hard as I can to figure out a way to control the radiation pouring from my body, but the intense heat spilling into the air doesn’t pay attention to my attempts at manipulating it.
“Master Lirin?” I ask.
“What is it, boy?”
“Why can’t I get a skill related to controlling thermal energy? If there is one for mana, why not that?”
“I’m assuming this has something to do with your body’s growing ability to create tangible flame?” He guesses with expected precise accuracy before tapping his chin. “Skills to control other energies are not easily accessible for humans. The best option for humans is to focus on developing their prowess with mana.”
I trail behind him, not saying anything, as I can tell he hasn’t finished yet. Master Lirin never finishes a conversation as long as there is a lesson to be had.
“For you though… I suppose your best option to obtain a relevant skill for your particular issue is to wait for your class. I am aware of a few individuals who learned such skills after that exact level threshold.”
“Master Lirin?” I ask again, as his explanation only confuses me further.
“Your questions tire me, boy.”
“Why are we going back to the city if you say I can get just the skill I need from hitting level 25? Shouldn’t we stay until then so I have more mana to work with, and so I can maybe get a solution to my radiation issue?”
Master Lirin’s hand whips out and smacks me at a speed still too fast for me to perceive even with my higher level.
“Have you learned nothing from my lessons? Did I not tell you that achievements gained before the level threshold for a class will impact the options offered to you?”
“You did, Master!” I quickly admit while rubbing the spot where he hit me. “Forgive my ignorance Master, but I remember you saying that the achievements were relevant at earlier levels which is why we didn’t come out here for me to fight monsters until now. I thought that we came here because I had enough proficiency in my skills to afford myself the best options?”
“You are an imbecile if you believe that you have reached a sufficient achievement threshold to be offered the top classes available by the System. You could sit under my prototype array for a century and still not have enough skill to be given the best options. Temper your expectations and return to the city like the ignorant charge you are. You will refill all of the mana batteries you spent on your personal training time, and perhaps that will afford you a slightly better chance of receiving a worthwhile class by the time I allow you to reach level 25.”
I clamp my mouth shut while Master Lirin flicks a lock of silver hair out of his face. The all-knowing warlock believes that my progress is still not enough to be worth gaining a class, so I will listen to his wishes and wait until he sees fit to grant me one.
The reality that I will not reach any higher of a level anytime soon is frustrating, but the idea of gaining more experience under the Master’s tutelage is enough to stave off my hunger for more PWR. With Master Lirin teaching me, I can only imagine how much better I will get with , and perhaps we can both figure out how to level together by the end of it.
On second thought, I somehow doubt the latter will occur.
The very fact that I have a skill I cannot level and do not know the use of, yet Master Lirin is uninterested in helping me understand it at all is completely out of character. The Mana Thaumaturge warlock I know would have steered the focus of our training solely on attempting to develop the mysterious still.
It’s like the System is trying to tell me I need to figure it out myself. What an annoying ass as per usual.
As I passively grouse to myself, I hear a thumping sound getting louder from ahead and to the left. The beat is familiar but more fast paced than I remember. Peaking around the Master’s shoulder, I spot three flickers of movement from beyond the curve of the hill that we are currently walking by. Master Lirin does not act like he hears the noise, so I assume it isn’t important, and continue trailing him while I wonder about my level 1 skill.
Once a minute or two passes, the rhythm of multiple beasts heading our way has now reached a crescendo, and I can’t help but stare beyond the hill where not one, not two, but three Honlir make their way in our direction. I can’t make out their levels yet, but it is clear the monsters are on a one-way path straight for us. Glancing at the Master, I wonder when he will act to take care of them. Another minute passes, and the Honlir are uncomfortably close.
< Honlir - Level 38 >
< Honlir - Level 40 >
< Honlir - Level 36 >
I can easily identify their levels now, and it does nothing to stem my growing unease at their proximity. Master Lirin still hasn’t bothered looking at them, and at this point he hasn’t missed a single step in his supermodel-like cadence that I can still make out despite the heavy robes covering his slight frame. Opening my mouth for a moment, I want to say something, but then I remember that the warlock would be upset if I were to try and point out the obvious like this to him. Seconds trickle by, and the lumbering tanks are damn near on top of us before I finally see Master Lirin move.
Not even looking at the oncoming stampede, the slender man just raises his left hand toward the group. Watching with rapt attention, I observe as a mana ball forms in the air. The ball quickly enlarges and stretches out into a long javelin at an impressive speed. Before I know it, two more blue javelins form next to the first, and they all visibly take on a more solidified and opaque appearance as I can almost feel the sheer amount of mana packed into each construct.
As I marvel at the show of casual might, the Master takes his attack a step further and inscriptions form along the surface of the weapons in a dense pattern. All while this is going on, the surface and positions of the constructs do not waver in the slightest, and I noticed that the warlock’s eyes aren’t glowing at all like when he held the skidders in place. Finally, the man flicks his wrist in a lazy arc and the javelins take off as if shot out of a cannon. Before I can even see the weapons’ impact on the stampede of Honlir, I turn my gaze toward the group and find the monsters drop like a sack of potatoes. In a matter of seconds, the goliaths are nothing more than lifeless piles of rubble with perfect holes directly in the middle of their giant heads. The very armor that had been impossible for me to make a crack was pierced by the mana javelins as easily as a knife through paper.
Not believing the sight in front of me, I turn back to the Master, only to find the warlock already several steps away with his hand tucked back inside his robes. Master Lirin still has yet to even spare the monsters a glance, and I go to follow the Paragon of Mana himself with a heart full of absolute respect.
Then the javelins buried inside the corpses explode.