As Adrius had anticipated, the passive skill Elite Swordsman required 80% of the information it provided to be harmonized with his body through continuous practice. The remaining 20% offered basic swordsmanship techniques, which, while not insignificant, had already made him at least ten times better at sword fighting than before. However, the rest of the techniques, which included various types of swords and different fighting methods, required more than just a strong body. A swordsman's muscles, nerves, senses, and habits had to be ingrained in their bones through constant practice. Currently, Adrius had all the knowledge, skills, and experiences of the greatest swordsmen in human history, but it was as if he were an ordinary person who had received a pilot's manual and a few months of theoretical training, without ever actually flying a plane. Flying a plane required more than just knowledge and a manual; it required practice and experience. These were Adrius's thoughts about the degree of coordination he needed for the Elite Swordsman skill.
In Adrius's mind, Shadow Master and Elite Swordsman were the most important, or more accurately, the most powerful skills and weapons he had at his disposal. Full coordination with both of these skills played a pivotal role in his strength. Although Adrius had fully mastered Shadow Master, controlling it didn't require extra practice, unlike Elite Swordsman, but he still needed to get used to fighting alongside this skill.
This became apparent during his fight with the super-Zombie. Even though he had tried to keep his Shadow Master skill hidden from Severus and his group, during the fight, his mind never once considered using it. Even though there were many ways to control the zombies with shadows, making the kill much easier, as an ordinary human, Adrius subconsciously believed that his only weapons were his body and whatever he held in his hands. But he needed to change this habit and mental perception, so that his mind and reactions would become accustomed to using shadows, to the point where both his conscious and subconscious would consider them a part of his body.
Mastering Elite Swordsman was easier because the skill showed the percentage of harmony with Adrius's body and instincts, which was a big help in his practice. Right now, Adrius only needed constant practice, but for that, he had to leave the camp, and in order to leave the camp, he needed to join Stimer's party.
As Adrius was planning his future in his mind, Miranda asked, "Adrius, can you help me figure out these crystals?" Her voice pulled him out of his thoughts, and he turned to face her. Miranda continued, "Um… honestly… heh heh… I don't know how to open them. I mean, it says here, but how do I put my mana into the crystal?"
Adrius chuckled and shook his head. "It's not as hard as you think. First, you need to feel the mana in your body. It has this warm, calming sensation. When you feel it, it's like you can do anything, and nothing seems impossible. After that, try to move the mana with your mind, and guide it into your hand. Then, from your hand, transfer it into the crystal. It doesn't matter how much, just a little bit of mana has to enter the crystal."
It took Miranda about thirty minutes to finally succeed in opening the crystals. During this time, Adrius explained how to move the mana within her body more accurately, based on his own experience, so she could transfer the mana into the crystal more easily and quickly. In fact, Adrius could have opened the treasure crystal for her right away, but he still didn't know much about the system, and wasn't sure whether the person who opens the crystal owns the treasure, or if it didn't matter who opened the treasure and who used it. Either way, Miranda had to learn how to open the crystals to learn the skill crystal. On the other hand, Adrius was sure that if moving mana within the body was a particularly difficult or special task, the system never made it a requirement to open the crystals.
Inside the first crystal was a skill called Mana Bullet, which allowed Miranda to extract mana from her body and convert it into spherical, compressed bullets. Each bullet consumed 4 mana, and its speed, power, and acceleration were dependent on her magic stats. Each bullet also had an effective range of up to 300 meters.
To Adrius, this skill was the best skill Miranda could acquire at the beginning of her journey as an Awakened. Because she was physically weak and had no experience or skill in hand-to-hand combat, this skill would allow her to attack from a distance and support her teammates from afar.
The treasure crystal transformed into a silver bracelet with a blue crystal. This bracelet, once every 24 hours, would allow the user to create three shields made of water. After opening the crystals, Adrius said, "With this skill and the treasure you've obtained, I'm confident you can protect yourself to a reasonable extent. However, don't think it's all over and that you're safe now, or that you don't need to try any harder. In fact, everything has only just begun. From now on, leveling up should become one of your most vital goals in life. Because every second that passes, all the beings that have decided to use this system will only grow stronger, and if you don't continue to level up, you'll soon find yourself no different from an ordinary human against other Awakened."
Miranda nodded and said, "I know… And even if I wanted to, I can't stop getting stronger… The feeling of power growth with each level-up is really addictive... But I think it'll take me some time to get used to this level of violence…" and she gave a bitter smile.
Adrius smiled in response. "That's perfectly natural, Miranda. Until yesterday, you were a housewife whose biggest struggle was raising a teenage daughter and a mischievous little girl… But you know, the thing about us humans is, we can get used to anything, as long as we spend enough time with it. If I remember correctly, after you reached level 4, your highest stats were 24 magic and 31 mana. If you want to keep fighting from a distance, you should focus on mana and magic first, and then on speed and intelligence. The status points the system gives you should be spent on these four stats. Let the rest of your stats naturally increase as you fight different opponents."
A few more minutes passed, with Adrius offering more advice that came to mind. After that, he stood up from his travel bed and headed toward Stimer's party, as the sooner he joined, the sooner he could start his training.
However, before he could leave the tent, Patricia nervously asked, "Adrius, can you help me level up or whatever it's called, just like you helped mom? I want to help you all…"
Miranda quickly responded in place of Adrius, with concern, "You're still too young for this kind of life, Patti. Also, the camp is fine for now, and it's not like you need to risk your life for your safety…"
Patricia angrily replied, "If I don't start now, I'll fall behind everyone. In two years, when I'm eighteen, the others will have gotten so strong that I won't be able to catch up… I don't want to spend my whole life hiding while others take care of me. I want to help you and Adrius... When Adrius, a stranger, risks himself for us, how can I not do anything?"
Adrius still wasn't entirely sure whether to stay with Miranda and her daughters, but it seemed like Patricia didn't mind him staying and had even counted on it. The thought of having a place to return to wasn't as bad as it had seemed. In the end, he decided to wait and see what fate had in store for him.
After a bit of thinking, he said to Patricia, "If you manage to convince your mom, I can take you to places with fewer zombies and help you get a few skills and treasures, so you can level up. But you have to hide the fact that you're using the system. You won't be joining any party. And until you turn eighteen, you can only train with me and your mom. But I'll only help you if your mom agrees." After saying this, he left the tent and headed toward the hall.
Westminster Hall was truly beautiful, grand, and full of various rooms. After asking a few guards, Adrius finally arrived at the section dedicated to Stimer's party. To his surprise, Severus, his brother, and Arthur were already there, filling out registration forms. Adrius grabbed the Awakened form from a young man at one of the desks and began filling it out.
The form, besides asking for name, birthdate, and citizen number, contained questions about his status window: from level to status stats, number and type of skills, and even treasures, all of which had to be registered. A little while later, after Severus, his brother, and Arthur had finished, Adrius handed his form to the man and waited to be called. Severus, who seemed to be waiting for Adrius to finish, started speaking, "I figured you'd come to the war party or whatever it's called. The police are too weak, espionage isn't for everyone, you know what I mean. Anyway, you're more the type to get directly involved in the action, right? Yeah? No?"
Adrius nodded silently in response, but Severus continued, "So, how many people do you think are at our level in this camp? You know, I don't think they'll send people like us on patrols outside the camp or do any trivial tasks. They'll probably send us to rescue survivors, gather supplies, or better yet, fight against other camps. You know, if the government wants to keep its power, it can't let local powers rise. It needs to quickly uproot any opposition like weeds."
Adrius stared at Severus for a few seconds and then said, "You seem like a good man, Severus—powerful, smart, and honest. What I mean is, you're the kind of person I'd choose as a friend. But this naive and talkative act you're putting on is starting to change my opinion about you." A young woman opened the large double doors at the end of the hall and called Adrius to enter the room for his final interview. Before going, Adrius added, "If you really want to be a solid friend to me, I think it's better if you show me your real self." He looked at Severus's brother and Arthur, then continued, "I don't care what kind of persona you show to others, but what matters to me is that the man I choose as a friend is honest with me... You know, it's all about trust..." And with those words, he confidently walked into the room at the end of the hall.
In response to Adrius's words, Severus gave a short smile and murmured to himself, "I didn't expect anything less from you. They say always find friends who are better than yourself, so they can help you improve. But a true friend should always be your equal... that way neither one of you falls behind, and both of you can advance together..."
Behind the large wooden door was an office with Victorian decor. An elderly man, full of confidence, was sitting at a large wooden desk, wearing frameless glasses. His military uniform was covered with various badges and medals, reminding everyone of his position in the power hierarchy. This old man was none other than Jackson Stimer, the leader of the new military party.
The old man looked up from the document he was reading and raised his voice slightly as he read aloud: "Adrius Wallace. Citizen number blah blah blah... Which doesn't really matter. Awakened, level 14, 46 strength, 39 speed, 31 stamina..." Adrius's status shocked Stimer. He hadn't had enough time to fully understand the Akashic Record system, but judging from the status of others, the young man in front of him was an absolute genius. But when he read on and saw the mana and magic stats, he nearly fell out of his chair.
He cleared his throat a few times to steady his voice and suspiciously asked, "Kid, are you sure the information you've filled out here is completely truthful and error-free? 126 mana is... how should I say... a rather unreasonable number, isn't it?" He stared at Adrius with suspicion.
Adrius, completely confident, replied without hesitation, "If the personal and important information I've given you is a lie, it'll become clear very quickly, and the only result for me will be total disgrace." He paused for a moment to weigh his words, "My high mana and magic stats have always been high. I started leveling up with 108 mana and magic. But the rest of my stats were around 10, and all the other numbers you see on that sheet are the result of putting my life on the line, sir... It's interesting. To survive, I had to risk my life, and to keep living, I must keep doing it."
After a moment's thought, it seemed Stimer had sensed the truth in Adrius's words. The young man's tone was one of such conviction that it didn't matter if Stimer believed him or not, because Adrius believed in himself. Something that was rare among young people these days. So, he asked, "Can you tell me about Shadow Master and Cold Logic, son?"