(Sigh. I'm still behind between switching between multiple projects. I'm not sure about this week schedule, which is unfortunate. I will post as often as I can. Expect three this week at the very least. More might come...but I'm busy with the new story.)
I barely saw the kids after they moved in and dove fully into work as soon as I was sure they were in their rooms.
For the first time in a long time, I looked at my full status and started to plot my next few steps.
The obvious ones were to combine my weapon skills and maybe throw in my acrobatics, hand-to-hand skills, and meditation skills to produce an uber skill that literally transforms me into a god of war on the battlefield.
I was also going to focus on upgrading my bread and butter, such as Gust and Burst, Cloak, Demon Evade, and Angel Evade. Focused Shot and Wind Blade could also use some love.
I didn't worry about Explosion Mastery and Promethean Body. They would get all the workouts they needed in the coming days and weeks.
The second skill combination I was considering was combining Arcane Gunsmithing and Blacksmithing with engineering, coding, advanced physics, and perhaps a skill related to studying ancient languages.
I was gunning for another Transcendent level skill. Several actually.
Status
Name: (Dante Sparda) Axel Warren
Class: Arcane Forgemaster Lv 2
HP: 1870
SP: 1840
AE: 1420/1420
DE: 1460/1460
Strength: 124
Dexterity: 126
Endurance: 184
Vitality: 187
Angelic Energy: 142
Demonic Energy: 146
Acrobatics (Adept)
Devil's Eye (Adept)
Blunt Weapon Mastery (Basic)
Axe Mastery (Adept)
Scythe Mastery (Basic)
Chakram Mastery (Basic)
Gun Mastery (Adept)
Sword Mastery (Adept)
Knife Mastery (Basic)
Driving (Basic)
Demonic Energy Manipulation (Adept)
-Burst (Adept)
-Cloak(Basic)
-Focused Shot (Basic)
-Wave of Devastation (Basic)
Angelic Energy Manipulation (Adept)
-Parry(Basic)
-Angel Evade (Adept)
-Gust (Basic)
-Wind blade (Basic)
Meditation (Basic)
(E) Paradise Simulacrum (Basic)
(R) Myriad Martial Art Mastery (Basic)
(R)Moment of the Sage (Basic)
(R)Telepathy (Basic)
Arcane Weaponsmithing (Basic)
Arcane Blacksmithing (Basic)
Cosmic Promethean Body (Basic)
Explosive Mastery (Basic)
Class Skill
(L) Decode and Forge
(E) Arcane Lexicon
(E) Harvest
(E)Enchant
Finally, I turned to the Shop and started browsing skills that would secure my future.
Six Eyes—500 million Red Orbs
They weren't the stereotypical Weeb's first choice. Still, unparalleled sight coupled with atomic levels of energy control and efficiency was about to shoot me into the stratosphere in terms or sheer power. I was looking forward to never running out of energy.
Alchemy—20,000 Red Orbs
Alchemy would make sure I didn't need to run to the shop each time I needed a friend who hadn't been dosed by the new formula I planned to have a scientist synthesize for me.
I was deliberating and researching other potential purchases that could wean me off the System for good when I considered my latest skill—Telepathy. It allowed me to pluck and store vast quantities of information in my head, seemingly without consequences.
Didn't that mean I could do that with about just anything?
I could raid Isha's mind for techniques on Fire Control, Demonic energy manipulation and martial arts, and we could just about do the same for everybody on our team.
I'm sure it would take some practice to get the kinks ironed out. Still, yeah, I had a feeling I could cheat my way to Master tier in a few short months and even learn new ones without purchasing them from the store—like ancient runes related to healing magics and artefacts that performed the same function with my plethora of skills.
I could probably climb all the way to Grandmaster Tier in a few short years…
I nearly burst out laughing. This was fucking insane.
After telling Jean of my outrageous plan, I yanked Rin off the couch, where he was lounging and talking to Wanda.
"Hey I was in the middle of something," he yelled.
"There'll be plenty of time to flirt with witchy Red heads after you learn to win an actual fight."
"Hey!" Rin protested.
"No lies told, my dutiful apprentice," I said. "You don't want Wanda saving you from every fight you get into, do you?"
That seemed to stop the grumbling. We squared in the sparring area in the backyard, with dozens of kids watching from the windows.
Rin raised his fist and assumed a boxing stance, ready to spar. We hadn't technically gone all out since that one time we fought back at Pierce's mansion, but he had no delusions that he'd actually win.
More than anything, he was just super excited to show me how much he'd improved.
"Not what I had in mind," I said. "But we can play for a bit before we get to the serious bits. No energy. Just straight technique."
Rin smirked. "Are you sure about that boss man? Techniques also covers that summoning magic you use on your weapons."
"I'm aware." This little shit. "You can't possibly think you stand a chance?"
"Masters Mordo and Kaecilius have been pretty thorough," he said. "I might surprise you."
I raised a brow, clear mirth on my face. He was begging for an asswhopping. Who was I to deny the boy?
"Very well. Show me then."
Rin burst forward with impressive speed and unleashed a chain of devastating punches, kicks, feints, and even threw in an elbow strike, but none of them came close. It was surreal being able to effortlessly dodge attacks that could shatter stone and even kill Super soldiers without any skill or real effort.
Rin had closed more distance than I expected. If he had a stat sheet, they'd all be in the seventies, with his strength maybe in the eighties. I bet it would ramp up considerably when he learned to absorb energy and dish out demonic attacks.
It also highlighted how painfully inadequate Rin's fighting style was.
I ended the fight in one palm straight to the liver. He seized like he'd been struck by a lightning strike and crumpled to the floor.
He was wheezing when I approached him, and he watched me wide-eyed.
"I… should've….known."
He said in between gasps, and I winked. "You should've."
When the pain finally wore off, and Rin healed the damage, I had him sit, cross-legged in front of me while I assumed a similar position.
"Eh boss," Rin said, scratching the back of his head. "I've tried this meditation thing before. It's really not for me."
"Who says we're meditating?" I asked as I shut my eyes and used telepathy to reach out to his mind.
'You've finally awoken your demonic power,' I said. 'You're in the big leagues now.'
Rin gasped. "Boss you're…"
'Shhh,' I sent mentally. 'It's a nice little trick I picked up after my upgrade, and I figured out a way to use it to shave months off your training.'
Rin beamed at the news, but he was hesitant. 'Master Kaecilius and Mordo said there're no real shortcuts.'
'Master Mordo and Keacilius don't have a Telepath as a master and friend, and besides, they're right on some level. I can send you everything I know about demonic energy manipulation, but it won't suddenly make you any good at using techniques. It'll take you weeks and probably months to get as good as I am, but at least you'll have a clear road map and be able to avoid all the mistakes I did.'
Although he didn't vocalize it, I could sense Rin was afraid he might never reach my level. We didn't have the same affinities, and I learned things and grew faster than anybody he'd ever seen.
How could he compete with that. He would rather come up with his own moves if he had a say in the matter.
'By all means young Padawan. Go crazy, but only after you've learned the basics,' I said. 'Now brace yourself.'
With a gentle push, I started to share my thoughts and experiences manipulating demonic energy.
He saw flashes of the book I learned about the nature of demonic energy from, and he experienced my personal struggle with it.
The violent push, the lighting quick manipulation, the overwhelming sense of power.
"Boss," Rin said with a gasp. "Too much."
I immediately stopped the transfer, a bit surprised at just how little information he was able to take. I'd not even begun to give him the insights I got when I raised my skill to Adept-level energy manipulation.
Scanning his mind, I discovered the problem. I hadn't accounted for just how dense my sensory experiences were compared to Rin's. His enhancements primarily focused on his bones and muscles, not his senses. He couldn't see as far, hear as accurately, or see energy as I could.
Directly relaying sensory information so far beyond his current physical capability not only stressed his mind but threatened to overwhelm them as well.
He'd be able to adapt to the information eventually; I would've given him a stroke if I had kept up with the pace at which I was transferring the data.
"That was…intense," Rin said, shaking his head. "Are you sure this is the only way?"
"Yes," I said. "But I might've jumped the gun in my excitement. It'll go smoother next time." I planned on consulting Jean, and I owed the Ancient one a visit. Apparently, we had lots to talk about. "For now, though, start practicing. We have a boatload of missions, all high-risk. And I can't take you along if I'm not certain you'll be able to hold your own."
After I bid my student goodbye, I popped over to Jean, who seemed to be waiting for me in the kids' rooms. She just finished helping the youngest settle in.
"Well?" I asked as we strolled down the hall.
"It could work," she admitted, "but it's more limited than you think. It's a technique called Mental Transference, and it's essentially what I did to Xavier. It's actually pretty common among Telepaths and Psychics."
"I'm sensing a 'But' incoming."
"Regular people's mind cannot handle the mental burden of having large swathes of information downloaded and removed repeatedly. Our sensory organs are the way they are for a reason."
"Isn't that essentially what you do when you read people's minds?"
Jean nodded. "True, but it's on a much, much smaller scale and performed a lot gentler than you did with Rin. You shouldn't do any damage if you know what you're doing. But downloading or copying entire months or years of experience in a few short seconds…"
"It's enough to lobotomize most," I said, realizing what I'd almost done.
"You're lucky your apprentice has such an effective healing factor."
"So, we can't use it to train the rescue team," I said with a small sigh. "At best, I could probably use it on you, Rin, and a few criminals I really don't like."
"I didn't say that," Jean said. "You can do it the way I did. Focus on the raw knowledge rather than the sensory experience itself. You could take it really slow, stealing and imparting a few memories at a time. It will limit what you can learn and bestow combat wise, but you'll get better fast. If you gain enough control, I don't see why you won't be able to give and take memories without to dealing any permanent damage."