Stats!
[STATS]
- Name: Arild Dahl
- Level: 1
- Health: 100/100 (10/min)
- Mana: 100/100 (10/min)
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- Strength: 14
- Dexterity: 15
- Vitality: 10
- Wisdom: 10
- Available stat points: 0
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Talents:
- Hyper-Learning (Innate)
- Talent Harvester
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Skills:
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The panel gave me a substantial amount of information. These were game-like stats! Only four of them existed. My strength and dexterity were the highest. The strength should be from my physical training. I was surprised, my dexterity was the highest. I didn't train for speed. Could it have been derived from my reaction times? Whatever the case, I wouldn't argue. I was curious of what the talents do, and why I have two? I stared more intently at the first talent 'Hyper-Learning'. A small window displayed talent details.
[Hyper-Learning]
- You have an innate talent for learning anything at an extraordinary level.
I can inspect my talents? That's convenient!
The description was brief. What did being an innate talent imply? Was the system not responsible for providing that? I've always been a fast learner of all things. Yet it did not imply a superhuman ability that could be deemed as extraordinary. With my awakening, is it possible that I somehow underwent a change and my ability improved? I stored that thought at the back of my mind as I examined the second talent, 'Talent Harvester'.
[Talent Harvester]
- You have a chance to gain a talent from the enemy you kill. Can only harvest once per monster type. You can harvest talents from other awakened beings, but the chance is lower.
This... Isn't this super strong?
Based on the appearance, talents are not as easily attained, but if I can keep gaining them… What talents can I gain? Where does the limit of talents lie? Can I keep stacking talents? I didn't agree with killing fellow humans, but when it came to monsters, it was a different story.
I tried inspecting my stat panel, but nothing appeared. I only knew to give a command for minimalist panels like 'status', 'talents', or 'skills'. That information was stored in my brain as if born with it. That was eerie. The system should be something I could not resist, able to kill us all with a mere thought if it wished.
My fear was being overwhelmed by so much excitement that my heart seemed on the verge of bursting out of my chest. Only after a while of trying to calm my beating heart did I notice the skill information was empty. Wasn't I supposed to get a skill? Then I remembered it said a 'skill book' as I thought back to the new information that entered my brain on awakening.
Inventory!
[INVENTORY]
- Skill Book–Incorporate Lightning (D) – 1
- Low-Grade Mana Crystal (F) – 1
Huh..? Low-Grade Mana Crystal? Is that from the goblin? Perhaps an auto-loot system exists. That's convenient!
The skill, 'Incorporate Lightning', seemed to be of rank D. At least the skill wasn't in the F-rank like the crystal, but it fell short of the SSS++ tier I had hoped for. The skill itself sounded really powerful, though. Even though I had no clue what it might do, I wanted to try it right at this moment. I looked at the book in my inventory and gave an internal command.
Use.
With the skill book gone from my inventory and only the crystal remaining, something strange changed within my body. I checked the skills panel.
[SKILLS]
- Incorporate Lightning (D) [0]
It appeared, it really appeared!
There was a zero added to the skill. What did that mean? I inspected the skill as I gained more information on it.
[Incorporate Lightning]
- Fills your body with the elemental power of lightning, letting the user control it to their wishes.
- Grade: D
- Proficiency: 0
- Mana cost: (10/sec)
So that's proficiency. Does that mean I can enhance my usage of this skill, or any skill? I'm curious about what it takes to improve it. Do I just use it or does it need to be used against an enemy? And besides, the Mana cost is also a factor. With my current abilities, I can only use it for 10 seconds at most. I wanted to try it right away!
As if it had always been part of my body, I activated it. I felt an incredible surge of energy, supporting every movement I desired. The feeling was too overwhelming. I threw a simple punch.
Like a whip, my arm snapped forward, surging with the power of lightning throughout my nerves and muscle fibers. Accompanied by a powerful punch, there was a faint crackle of blue lightning snaking around me.
*whoo—TCHH!*
It was difficult for me to resist the urge to keep going. I did a leap forward in a single step. My body moved faster than ever before, almost losing my balance as I halted, flailing my arms to avoid a face-plant in the dirt.
I released the power and checked my Mana
- Mana: 51.2/100 (10/min)
It would take me almost 5 minutes to recover from the 5 seconds of use...
I assumed the Mana regeneration was based on my Wisdom stat, as it also had the number 10. The same was probably true for my health points with vitality, though I didn't want to test that one.
I checked the skill again.
[Incorporate Lightning]
- Fills your body with the power of lightning, letting the user control it to their wishes.
- Grade: D
- Proficiency: 1
- Mana cost: (9.9/sec)
It changed!
It seems I didn't need any monster to practice this skill. The Mana cost also decreased from that short usage. If it decreased by 0.1 Mana per second from only 1 proficiency point, how long could I use it in the future?
With this new knowledge, I knew the best course of action for me. Before venturing further into the forest, I would train this new skill of mine. I checked the Mana crystal in my inventory.
[Low-Grade Mana Crystal (F)]
- A crystal containing Mana. Can be consumed.
- Grade: F
- Mana: 10
I didn't want to use it yet. Consuming the crystal would save me a minute, which I could afford to wait for. I was unaware of its rarity. Maybe it could save me later on. I went back to the forest entrance, not wanting any monster's attention. Returning to the grassy plains.
When I arrived close to the previous gate location, my Mana had nearly replenished completely. Wasting no time, I activated my skill and adopted an intuitive fighting pose, unleashing a series of punches, jabs, and uppercuts with my awe-inspiring new power. The sensation was thrilling! I kept doing it until around 9 seconds had passed.
[Incorporate Lightning]
- ...
- Proficiency: 4
- Mana cost: (9.6/sec)
It increased by 3 points!
Not as surprised by the power, I used time more efficiently. Performing more real actions may increase one's proficiency at a faster rate. I was able to do about 25 powerful attacks in this bout.
I waited for 10 minutes, eagerly anticipating to use that power again.
I repeated the process. This time, I counted my punches. I did 30 punches in various styles. With newfound confidence, lightning crackled fiercely. I felt like a different being. Something belonging to another world!
I kept doing it again and again, using all my Mana, then wait for 10 minutes. It was similar to my old ritual of showering, yet completely different.
An hour later.
[Incorporate Lightning]
- ...
- Proficiency: 22
- Mana cost: (7.8/sec)
I was capable of using it around 12 seconds with full Mana, yet the number of punches I threw wasn't solely influenced by the total time in this form. In the full duration of the skill, I did 35 punches with even more power. That meant my proficiency increase affected my usage of my skill. My excitement grew even stronger with this news.
I wanted to experience the feeling of that previous speed again. I wanted to leap, dodge, and run in circles like a fool. So I did that for another hour.
[Incorporate Lightning]
- ...
- Proficiency: 40
- Mana cost: (6/sec)
The rate at which I was gaining proficiency appeared to be slowing. I believed I should see faster improvement with a longer activation times. The difficulty may have increased with each proficiency level, but the usable time helped to offset it to some extent. I could now use the skill for over 16 seconds. That amounted to 60 percent more than I was capable of two hours ago!
The speed I was using with my body had reached a new height. Now, I felt in control. It was the new normal for me. Moving without lightning felt incredibly sluggish now. I wish I could have it activated forever. As I saw the Mana cost drop further, it might soon become a reality.
I continued training the skill, but then something surprising happened…