"T-system Inventory" satisfying my hunger, I decided to focus on strengthening myself.
The sudden appearance of late Ryan's parents was a wake-up call for me. I could not waste time. The appearance of the tower of trials had started a new rat race in the world. The struggle had become harder, but the stakes had also gotten higher. However, the objective of the struggle remained the same, wealth and power. If I didn't buck up, I would fall behind. And in this new race falling behind was worse than death.
[Item: Skill Acquisition Jade (Rare)
Durability: Consumable (1/1)]
"Use item, Skill Acquisition Jade." The best way to strengthen me would be to have reliable skills. Therefore I accessed the Skill Acquisition Jade without hesitation.
According to the info given by the T-system, this item would give me a Rare grade skill based on my achievements in the tower. I don't know how the item grading system works, but I bet the Rare grade should be higher than the Common grade.
[Do you want to use Skill Acquisition Jade(Rare)?
(Yes/No)]
"Yes," with my answer, a tri-colored rainbow light shone on me for a second, and the prompt read,
[You have used item Skill Acquisition Jade(Rare).]
[You have obtained the Skill Blood Ink (Rare).]
"Blood Ink?" I exclaimed, learning the name of the skill I obtained. It was a rare grade skill, but it didn't seem to be an offensive skill. Still, I was hopeful because it was too soon to judge the skill without going through its info.
[Skill: Blood Ink(Rare)
Effect: The user can convert stamina into blood ink. One stamina point converts to 10ml Blood Ink.
Additional Effect:
Ink Pores- Users' pores produce blood Ink. The user can narrow and widen their ink pores to control the amount of ink used.
Blood Imprint- The user can use blood ink to mark/brand location/items. Marks made by blood ink can be tracked by the user anywhere within the same dimension. One Blood Imprint consumes one stamina point regardless of the size.
Permanent Ink- Only the user or someone stronger than the user can erase the blood ink.]
*Sigh* I sighed in disappointment after reading the skill info. It failed to meet my expectations. I was expecting an offensive-type skill. Instead, I got a scout-type skill.
The item info read that I can randomly develop a skill depending upon my achievements in the tower. Reading the skill name, it was clear which experience of mine in the tower was taken as the achievement to create this skill.
I cleared a biased tutorial, which was set to fail me.
I crushed a titled Skeleton Foot Soldier's skull.
I pushed a titled Skeleton Minotaur to its demise.
I cleared a bonus dungeon.
I killed two titled monsters.
I leveled up by three levels in tutorials.
Out of all my achievements in the tower, it had to be the trail of blood I used to crack the 10 bone stairs maze.
"Blood ink" I decided to test the skill because no matter how disappointed I was, I had to make lemonade with the lemons I was given.
[You have activated the Blood Ink skill.]
[Stamina: 57/130(-65)>>56/130(-65)]
"Shit," I cursed as the pores all over my body started to sweat dark blood staining my attire. This was my second pair of blood-stained clothes today.
"How do I use this skill?" I had an itching feeling that I needed to visualize what I wanted and then activate the skill.
I held out my left index finger and visualized the pores on my fingertip producing blood ink, and then activated the skill, "Blood Ink."
[Stamina: 56/130(-65)>>55/130(-65)]
*Splurt*
"Woah!" I exclaimed as I saw a column of blood thick as my finger shot out of my index finger. I was able to control the area producing blood ink. Now, I need to control the amount of blood ink being produced.
"Blood Ink" This time around, blood ink did not shoot out of my fingertip. Instead, my fingertip became wet with blood, like the nib of a fountain pen. I could use this for writing or drawing. But I felt that with practice, I could achieve more control over this skill. For example, I could decrease the size of pores producing blood to equal a nib of a reed pen, a quill, or even a ballpoint.
Thinking of this, I grabbed a notebook and started practicing the skill. Soon I was able to write using my figure tips with a thickness of 0.8mm, almost equal to the thickness of a ballpoint pen. I had gotten efficient in controlling the ink pores. I could use my fingers to write or draw with various thicknesses and shades.
I could achieve such proficiency with the skill so fast because of my past life profession as a painter. People always praised me for being an excellent artist, but I didn't feel that way. I was good at best. Therefore I always went the extra mile to draw the paintings deserving their praise. In the end, I plummeted to my death while trying to paint the ideal view from the highest point on the earth.
Having tried the stamina/blood ink conversion and Ink pores abilities of the Blood ink skill, I decided to move on to the Blood Imprint effect.
According to the skill description, all I had to do was mark or brand the item or a location with my blood. So I marked the notebook with my figure print using blood ink.
[You have activated the Blood Imprint effect of the skill Blood Ink.]
[Stamina: 55/130(-65)>>54/130(-65)]
[Blood Imprint has been created.]
After my bloody fingerprint turned into a blood imprint, I felt a faint connection with it. Through the imprint, I received various information. For example, the real-time location of the imprint, manufacture date and time of the imprint, where I made this imprint, and what carried this imprint.