For the next 10 or so minutes, Karna gathered as much information as he could from the system about the mountain and the second river that descends from it.
After he got a satisfied answer from the system, he moved on to the other thing.
'Copy the skill of the person in my mind.'
[Data on the targeted person is found in the Mana Archive.] [All conditions are met.]
[The skill rank of the targeted skill is unique.] [Only a lesser version of the skill can be obtained from the Mana archive.]
[Should I proceed to copy the skill? Host]
'Yes'
[Proceedings]
[Ding!]
[Congratulations, host, on obtaining your first skill.]
Note: Skill usage time can wary depending on the mental state and energy of the user. The weaker the mental state level the less it can be used.> 'YES!!' With this, he might just be able to save his life. Yes, the system had the capacity to copy skills from the Mana Archive, granting him access to a myriad of abilities. However, it wasn't a simple matter of snapping his fingers; certain conditions had to be met. His thoughts raced as he recalled the requirements. First and foremost, he needed to have personal experience with the individual whose skill he wished to copy; seeing them up close was crucial, as the system could find information about them with just that. Second, he had to have witnessed the execution of the skill or even been its target. The skill's effect needs to be known to make a proper copy of the skill. These conditions, though demanding, still left a window of possibility. But there was a catch. Skills that were tied to specific attributes, elemental affinities, or required physical prowess couldn't be immediately mastered. It wasn't as simple as absorbing them into his repertoire. These skills demanded proper training and an alignment of attributes or affinities. After a while of more walking, they came upon a river flowing from the direction of the mountain that we were walking towards. It was seeping and dribbling as it swerved through the slop of the tall mountain and towards the direction of the forest. Babbling and burbling, it sprung over the rocks in its path. Pebbles were whisked about in the wash like pieces of glitter. Compared to the ashen land, the area surrounding the river looked brimming with life. Upon seeing the river, Karna told them that he had shadowed this river's direction to descend from a place in the mountain. Divox hearing Karna's words looked at him with a look of distrust. Seeing this, Karna became a little nervous, but he didn't allow it to show on his face. "Hmmm." Divox grunted and gazed towards the river for a minute before continuing to walk. Seeing this, I sighed inside my head, and then me and the thin-looking demon followed after him. They continued along the river for a while before arriving at the foot of the mountain Karna had indicated. The river was flowing downward from someplace above the mountain's base, precisely as He had seen it on the map. Karna took a deep breath. He looked a little tired due to the difficult walking he had to endure on the uneven land for so long. But only he knew that he could still keep on walking a little bit more. Karna's body might look feeble and weak, but he wasn't actually as weak as he looked. Because some of the exams he was taking back in his world also included physical clearance tests, he had to do proper physical training like running and other light exercises on a daily basis to keep his body light and fit. The mountain in his was jagged and lonesome, it was only, as it dwarfed other peaks of the mountains in its surroundings; it was so tall that its peak was not visible as it pierced through the clouds in the sky. "To get to the area of the passage via which I had crossed to here, we must ascend the mountain by following the descending rivers ascending riverside." Karna spoke while glancing up at a particular part of the mountain that was visible and within his reach to able to climb, through which the river could be seen flowing down. The thin-looking demon grimaced at the prospect of climbing the treacherous slope. He grunted in displeasure, but it looked like Divox couldn't care less about his emotions. He spoke while gazing towards the mountain, telling Karna to walk in front and lead them. Karna, hearing this, was more than happy to lead, as it would only help his plan. But the next moment, he heard Divox's dreadful voice from behind him. "Human, I hope you are not misleading us, because then we would have to do this all again, but this time the hard way." Hearing the demon's words, Karna didn't turn or stop climbing. After some time, they had covered almost half the required distance to reach the targeted location. Karna's breathing was uneven; the two demons following behind him looked a little better than him, but they were also feeling a little tired. The slop beside the river wasn't an almost vertical wall, but the incline was quite sharp. As the weakest member of the group, Karna was already struggling to climb up; he had already thrown the slippers he was wearing away because their soles had become too smooth and were useless in this climb. But it turns out that it was a very bad idea because now, without the slippers, the sole of his feet hurt a lot. Clenching his teeth, Karna continued to move forward and up. He had to constantly remind himself to watch his footing, too. On this unstable and rocky slope, one misstep was enough to send a man tumbling to his death. Karna's mind was completely focused on the climb. By the time they reached the location, Karna was on the verge of fainting. After hours and hours of traversing the rough mountain slope, his body was almost at its limit. The sky had long since turned dark with dim stars. Lying on the ground, he looked towards the sky; in his field of vision, on his right was Deucalion, whose giant body was illuminating everything under it in a mesmerizing blue shade; it was breath-taking. Due to this, they could still see their surroundings clearly. They were on a flat, wide area that connected to a naturally formed, narrow, ledge-like pathway that looked to be only 2 feet wide. On its left was the steep mountain wall that seemed like it was an impregnable wall of a fortress, and on its right was a deep cliff, under which the raging river that they had followed was flowing. Once in a while, the sound of the gushing river water slamming against the rocks on its way downward would find its way to their ears. "Where is the passage? Human!" The thin-looking demon spoke with an annoyed expression. "Where is it?" Divox also spoke. "You said it was here. But I don't see anything other than this steep stone wall and that narrow ledge-like pathway." "To reach the location of the passage, we need to cross that narrow ledge," Karna hurriedly said. Hearing Karna's word, both demons gazed at him with visible anger on their faces. Divox suddenly reached out and held him by the neck. From the look on his face, he appeared to have had enough of Karna's bullshit.