Liam slightly frowned. It seemed like the Commander had familiarized himself with the names and abilities of humanity's leaders, which wasn't too surprising. Still, it wasn't something positive from Liam's point of view. It meant the lizardman wasn't underestimating them for even a second. Arimiar continued to speak.
"Eiko Asakawa's Attribute is a bit special, so she wasn't placed in one of the squads. Instead, she was sent to one of our research divisions with the goal of having access to more powerful technology."
Liam's worries weren't fully gone, but it was good to know that they were all still alive. After fighting in the raid against Cinzolia, he now truly comprehended the scale of the battles humans were taking part in. Even to Alexander and the others, surviving would be difficult, while escaping unscathed would be simply impossible. Liam could only hope that they managed to avoid serious injury.
Taking several deep breaths to calm his anguished heart, he processed the information he had just heard and felt thankful for being told about it.
"Thank you, Commander. That is all I wanted to ask."
"Don't mention it. I take it you've already accessed the Library?"
It seemed like Varlian hadn't kept this information from Arimiar.
"Yes, I have."
"Good. Get used to the different Skill categories and then choose a few to focus on. I recommend getting more Passive Skills before attempting to learn Actives and Hybrids."
"I'm aware. Thank you for your advice."
Of course, Liam already knew what he had to do. He wished to cut the communication line and get to training, but it would be harmful to his relationship with the Commander. Feeling a bit awkward, he heard the Commander's voice through the Communicator.
"It seems like you already have a game plan. Then, I'll leave you to it. Do not hesitate to contact me for answers and advice. May the Empire's Sun forever shine upon you."
Liam blinked, surprised by the Commander's last words. Caught off-guard, he could not manage to say anything else before the Communicator's light dimmed. Arimiar had left.
'May the Empire's Sun forever shine upon you?'
It seemed to be a standard greeting and parting words among the Drakkhan, but they still revealed some new information.
'Do they mean an actual star? Or is the Empire's Sun an individual?'
If it were a Drakkhan, it was only natural that the King was the most likely candidate. If they meant a celestial body, then he needed to know why the star had such significance to the Empire. Even while thinking about such things, Liam continued to browse the Library. Finally, he settled for five new Passive Skills. Those were the ones he would focus on for the first month. Most were related to Strength and Dexterity, but one of them synergized with his Intelligence stat.
The youth stood up. It was time to get to it. Taking his spear out of the armor's Inventory and crippling all of his five senses, he got into a fighting stance. Without using his Aura, he began to execute the same training routine Eynart had taught him. Move after move poured out of his weapon, each being repeated endlessly.
'I can rest when going into the pond. For this month, I should train without stopping.'
It meant that he would train for 24 hours a day, every day for the month's duration. It was a regime only made possible by his newly-increased stats.
While swinging his spear, Liam also worked on his footwork. By moving and attacking at the same time in specific patterns, his goal was to strain his body and also make some progress towards acquiring the Passive Skills he was aiming for. Of course, he would also need to dedicate some time to sitting on the mat and meditating to acquire the Intelligence-related Passive Skill, but he didn't expect it to be a problem.
Gradually, the air inside the room grew turbulent due to his movements, pressuring him in ways that also pushed him in the direction of his goal. Every one of his actions was precisely calculated with maximum efficiency in mind, achieving the most results in the shortest time possible. Liam's movements increased in power and speed as he got into a rhythm.
Time passed by slowly. For twenty hours, Liam would focus on his Spear Mastery and Passive Skill acquisition; then, he would sit on the mat and work on the last Passive Skill for the remaining four hours. Rinse and repeat. By crippling his senses and periodically damaging his own body, he managed to keep the near-death Proficiency buff almost permanently active. Results began to show after a single week.
[In the midst of your desperation, you have acquired a new Skill!]
[You have acquired a new Skill near death! The Skill's proficiency has risen sharply!]
Liam's movements didn't stop, but he opened the System window in his mind.
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Might
Type: Passive Skill
Rank: B
* Acquired by the strongest Human at death's door. Your strength courses through your body, enhancing your prowess by a great amount. Rejoice, for you are strong.
* Increases your Strength stat's effectiveness.
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It was the first of the five Passive Skills he was aiming for. Liam smiled before increasing the intensity of his movements. He could feel he was making progress towards the other Skills, as well as advancing in his Spear Mastery. Training was truly wonderful. The feeling of growing power was almost addictive. It felt especially good for Liam, since every bit of power he gained meant he was one step closer to achieving true freedom for his species. One step closer to survival.
Soon after, he stopped. Laying down his spear, he sat down on the mat and closed his eyes. He focused on forming a coherent thought process as quickly as possible, going through the many mental challenges and little games he'd devised in his mind. He also took the time to consolidate his improvements over the twenty previous hours, replaying his movements, analyzing them, and picking them apart, wondering in what ways they could be made better. By doing all of this at the same time, he strained his mind at an adequate level. He had a feeling he would soon acquire the Intelligence-related Passive Skill.
This routine continued for another two weeks, during which Liam achieved most of what he had set out to do.
[In the midst of your desperation, you have acquired a new Skill!]
[You have acquired a new Skill near death! The Skill's proficiency has risen sharply!]
[In the midst of your desperation, you have acquired a new Skill!]
[You have acquired a new Skill near death! The Skill's proficiency has risen sharply!]
[…]
[Might and Expertise have merged to become Expert's Might.]
[Overbearing Strength and Alacrity have merged to become Overwhelming Agility.]
[Expert's Might and Overwhelming Agility have merged to become Masterful Prowess.]
Finally, he ended up with the Skill he wanted. Masterful Prowess was a decent Skill that could be acquired in a short period of time. It was rather obscure, but its fusion path had still been accurately recorded in the Library. Liam realized the benefits of having such information. By knowing what Skills he should go for and how to acquire them, the time taken to obtain the Skill was drastically reduced.
'Humanity should also work on categorizing and learning the Skill fusion paths and components.'
Making a mental note of this, Liam looked at the remaining System windows.
[You have acquired Quick Thinking.]
[Quick Thinking and Divided Thinking have merged to become Divided Mind.]
[Iron Mind and Divided Mind have merged to become Depths of Knowledge.]
It was an unexpected result. Initially, he had only aimed for Quick Thinking. It would help him speed up his thought processes and do more things at once while fighting, improving his abilities. However, it had merged with Divided Thinking and then with Iron Mind, creating a Skill he hadn't heard about. He searched for it in the Library, but it yielded no results. At the very least, it wasn't in the Library's first level. Liam then opened his Status Window, gazing at it with a satisfied look.
-----------------------------------Status Window----------------------------------------
Name: Liam Allister
Level: 20
Species: Human
Race: There is no racial variation among this species
Personal Attribute: Dying Star of Humanity's ??? ???
Attributes:
Strength: 3890
Dexterity: 3890
Constitution: 3890
Recovery: 3890
Intelligence: 311
Perception: 15
Aura: 3890
Will: 10
TITLES:
. Fire King's Blessing; Ancient Forest's Conqueror; Mountain Spirit's Possession; Kingslayer; Sourcekeeper's Tale; Fateless.
Skills:
. Passive Skills:
Survive! (S); Danger Sense (A); Hand to Hand Combat; Long Distance Runner (B); Basic Knife Mastery; Advanced Spear Mastery; Aura Incorporation; Expert Aura Path; Advanced Footwork Mastery; Intuition (A); Unbreakable Will (?); Grand Flow (S); Masterful Prowess (A); Undying (S); Depths of Knowledge (S); Masterful Aura Conservation; Aura Condensation (B).
King's Crown; Great Sourcebearer; Titanslayer
. Active Skills:
Singularity; Aura Blade; Event Horizon; Flying Spear; Aura Sight; Aura Manipulation; Waterstep; Crescent Moon Wave; Drizzle; Flow; Riptide; Drought; Aerial Movement.
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It hadn't changed much in terms of Skills, but he was still more powerful than ever. He felt proud of what he had achieved but knew there was still a long, long way to go. He remained completely powerless and irrelevant in the grand scheme of things. He needed to grow faster. With a serious expression, he deliberated on what he should do for the remaining week before entering the pond.
'I should keep working on my Spear and Footwork Masteries.'
He didn't know what came after Advanced Mastery and knew he was still rather far away from it, but he felt sure that it would drastically increase his power. He should aim for it as much as possible.