After I finished up the talk with the guild director, I noticed that the sun was starting to move below some buildings, meaning that it was time to set my plans in motion.
As I stepped outside of the building, I was met with a familiar voice that I didn't hear for a long time.
[What are you going to do now?]
'Oh, it's you? I haven't heard you for a while.'
[Yes. Actually, I have come with special news.]
'Ohoh~'
[The goddess has been pleading with the Akashic Records to allow you the use of a new skill, due to the impracticality of your current innate skill.]
'I see.'
I did think that it was a bit harsh to not give me any 'attack', or 'defence' type skill since my current case was an anomaly. If I were to get asked by the academy for my innate skill, I would have nothing to respond with.
[And thus, you have been allowed freedom of choice to pick any innate skill you want.]
'WHAT? REALLY? Oh my, this is amaz-'
[Now slow down a bit there, obviously, there are a few drawbacks.]
'Ah.'
Of course, there were drawbacks, this was bound to happen in any game or novel.
[First, the skill you will be allowed to choose will become restricted, and limited to only the 1st advancement. This does not affect the understanding of the skill.]
[Second, unlike normal innate skills, this skill will be nerfed, and thus the cooldown between the use of the skill will decrease as you rank up.]
[And third, you are only given 2 minutes to choose the skill. If the skill is not chosen, an opportunity like this will not happen again.]
I stopped in my tracks as soon as I heard the last condition that the system said.
'Wait, hang on, I am not rea-'
[Your time begins now. {01:59} ]
A blue floating interface popped right in front of my eyes, showing boundless rows of skills that I could choose. Each of the skills had a small icon and a short description of the skill, making it easier to skim through.
[ {01:49} ]
A timer was also counting down in the top right corner of the screen, reminding me how little time I had.
I began to flick through skill after skill, skimming each one and keeping it away if I liked it.
And so, I was left with a choice between three skills.
[ {00:56} ]
===SKILL LIST===
-[Heavenly Touch] {Defence Type} {1ST ADVANCEMENT
{Heals anything back to its prime state, can heal anything and everything according to the Host's willpower}
-[God's Hand] {Defence Type} {1ST ADVANCEMENT}
{An invisible but tangible extension of the hand can be materialised in nanoseconds and is also able to block any attack with hostile intentions behind it.}
-[Utter Annihilation] {Attack Type} {1ST ADVANCEMENT}
{Destroys everything within a 20-metre radius, and reduces living people to dust.}
======
I had just chosen the most overpowered skills I could find, but this did not necessarily mean it would become as strong if it became restricted.
'So this was the trick, I do not know the limits of how much they would and wouldn't be able to restrict.'
Therefore, to counter this, I just chose to increase the margin of safety.
If I chose a ridiculously overpowered skill, surely they would nerf it enough to become a skill that was at least a bit below average.
[ {00:30} ]
[Please quickly choose a skill.]
With thirty seconds left, I selected the last option out of the three, relying on my reason beforehand.
This was a win-win situation.
[You have selected [Utter Anihilation].]
[Calculating Restrictions...]
[Please wait...]
[Please wait...]
[Calculations Complete.]
[Revealing Status Screen.]
===STATUS===
STRENGTH: F-
SPEED: F-
AGILITY: F-
STAMINA: F-
MANA: F
CHARM: F
OVERALL: F-
===SKILLS===
INNATE SKILL:
-[Monarch's Facade] ('???????' Type) (Low Understanding) {FIRST ADVANCEMENT}
{Warps reality and influences others that you have a majestic and respected image.}
-[Utter Anihilation] (Attack Type) (Low Understanding) {FIRST ADVANCEMENT - RESTRICTED}
{Destroys everything within a 2-metre radius, and knocks living people unconscious.}
72-hour cooldown - {00:00:00 - Time left before use.}
NORMAL SKILL:
{NONE}
======
'Woah, a 3-day cooldown? That's mental.'
The skill I had chosen had become severely nerfed, leaving me with only the ability to knock people out.
'Hmm, well, at least I don't unnecessarily kill them, this is still okay.'
[Congrats on being the first person in the world to have two completely different innate skills. Please endure the pain while the innate skill is engraved on your soul.]
In the next second, I was struck with excruciating pain, feeling like my insides were being ripped apart.
"KUAAARRGGHH!!"
This pain felt nothing like normal chest pains.
The sensation was like my body being hammered down by a steaming hot chisel.
Each heartbeat only intensified the pain, and I could feel my soul getting reformed.
It was like a rock being forcefully pushed into a paper bag, but the paper bag was already full.
To me, it felt like hours had passed, and the pain had not stopped.
DING
[Innate Skill assimilation complete.]
"Haa... haaa..."
I was panting while laying on the rock floor, with sweat dripping down my body.
"Why the hell did that hurt so much!?"
[Your soul already had one innate skill, so it was a struggle to put a completely independent innate skill too. The reason why your second innate skill only had 1 advancement, was to help this procedure slightly.]
I slowly got up and dusted myself up, still tired from the experience.
"Once I get my second advancement, will it hurt as much as this?"
[No. The skill is already chained to your first innate skill, and your soul will be able to adapt to it by then. That is the point of 'Understanding' the skill.]
'I see.'
I was satisfied with my new skill, and this would definitely be useful for me later.
Slightly dizzy by how quickly everything had changed, I decided that I needed to relax a bit, and I wanted to test out my new skill.
'System, where can I go to try my skill?'
[Nowhere right now, it is nearing sunset, and not many people have training centres open.]
"IT'S ALREADY SUNSET!?"
I looked up to the sky and realised just how much time had passed.
The sun had already started to touch the horizon.
'How long did it take for the skill assimilation?'
[Approximately one and a half hours.]
"Shit."
I picked up my pace and made a dash for where I needed to be.
I also asked the system, for directions as it had done before.
'System, show me the way to the "Axus Auction House".'