213 - Shiny New Skills! I (Patreon)

AN: I'm settling into my new place, and I'm developing a solid routine. I was able to write 4 chapters last week, so I'm posting 4 chapters this week. Rejoice! 

I'm not promising that I can up my rate to 4 chapters/week - however, whenever I manage it, I'll be posting extra. It really depends on how much care and attention Flora needs, how big the chapters I write are (this one's almost 6k words), and a host of other IRL factors. However, I do recognize that all of you are supporting me, and supporting me HARD, and I'd be remiss if I didn't do everything in my power to uphold my end of the bargain.

Notice over! CHONKY CHAPTER TIME!

=======================

I woke up to dozens and dozens of notifications. Even compressed, I had a good number to wade through.

Also, my skin and flesh seemed to be crawling. It was disconcerting, but my [Persistent Casting] was still on, and my mana was…

Wow. That was a lot of mana.

It was also totally full!

The crawling sensation stopped, and I made a note to check on what the heck that was later.

Weirdly, I didn’t feel super hungry or thirsty. I suppose it’d hit me in a moment.

[*ding!* Congratulations! [Ranger Mage] has upgraded into [Butterfly Mystic]!]

[*ding!* Congratulations! [Butterfly Mystic] has leveled up to level 256->306! +8 Strength, +8 Dexterity, +70 Speed, +70 Vitality, +70 Mana, +70 Mana Regen, +70 Magic power, +70 Magic Control from your Class per level! +1 Free Stat for being Human per level! +1 Strength, +1 Mana Regen from your Element per level!]

What! Bullshit! Only 50 levels!? I’d been in the Formorian fight! I’d actively contributed the entire way! And then, after that capped me out, I’d…

… done almost nothing with the class. I fought some hellhounds, fired a few potshots at a chupacabra, briefly flashed [Shine] in the dragon fight, fought a slime and did some lasering against orcs. I wasn’t even sure if they were all worth enough experience to get a level, although the combined efforts were probably worth one level.

Then again, I’d done a bunch of new things! I met an angel… ok, that was probably more healing class. I encountered the dwarves, and while my Sentinel class got some levels out of that, some of the knowledge had to count!

Then again, I was arguing that leisurely reading books should be worth multiple levels at 300+, for a class that wasn’t dedicated to reading. My argument felt thin even to myself.

So it was all the Formorian War, which I’d started at, what, roughly level 215?

… maybe I shouldn’t whine about almost 100 levels in less than six months. It felt like an eternity, but that was the time left, not the time behind.

[*ding!* Congratulations! [Shine] has been upgraded to [Lantern]!]

Lantern: The lantern, held high to guide others. The luminous fairy, fluttering inside the lantern, exuding golden rays light. The firebug, lighting the world up with her lantern. The moth, drawn to the flame. You are all these and more. You hold the lantern aloft, guiding your fellows through the dark, stripping away the lies and the falsehoods of darkness, revealing the world as it is to all around you. Destroy illusions around you. Minor sense for illusions. Improved illusion removal efficiency per level.

While it seemed to be mostly the same skill, I wondered what ‘minor sense for illusions’ meant? Would I get a system notification about nearby illusions? Or would it be more subtle?

The part about “I was a fairy trapped in a lantern” was more than a bit concerning, and caused a deep pit of worry to form in my stomach. I really, really hoped it didn’t come back to bite me. I was hoping it was just metaphorical, that it was describing me lighting up the dwarfs’ area, and their city was the lantern I was “trapped” inside.

Given that the skill had upgraded, I was going to assume the anti-illusion properties were even stronger than before. Radiance was already a natural counter to Mirage and all illusions, and improved efficiency basically meant that I’d be using a tiny fraction of the same mana to destroy an illusion. For example, if Magic spent 10,000 mana on an illusion, it might only take me 800 mana to destroy it.

I had no idea what the actual numbers were - I was guessing, especially since the skill didn’t tell me numbers - but I knew the ratio was brutal against illusions. Only the most powerful Mirage-makers could last more than a second against [Lantern].

That’s what they get for trying to trick the world. There were no good uses for illusions, in my opinion.

I was conveniently ignoring entertainment. And a whole host of other, potentially legitimate uses.

Somewhere, I swear I felt Librarian giggle.

Naturally, [Lantern] would still be good for plain old lighting things up as well.

[*ding!* Congratulations! [Sun-Kissed] has been upgraded to [Nectar]!]

Nectar: Nectar is the sweet sugar of the natural world, essential for every butterfly. The mighty mango tree generates the sweetest nectar of them all. But [Butterfly Mystics] don’t need nectar, they need mana! .2% increased mana regeneration per level.

That was almost the same as [Sun-Kissed], with one crucial difference.

It came from me, not from the sun! I was freed from the tyranny of the sky! No longer did I need to be outdoors to enjoy the skill.

Putting it another way - I almost doubled my mana regeneration stat!

However… it no longer mentioned free mana regeneration. Did that mean I now needed to chow down extra to compensate? With it almost doubling my mana regeneration…

I needed to look into a [Bottomless Pit] skill. Or maybe some sort of [Gourmet] third class.

[*ding!* Congratulations! [Blaze] has been upgraded to [Sun’s Heart]!]

Sun’s Heart: Your inner fire only grows larger, stronger. Hotter. More powerful. A sun has formed in your heart, pulsing energy burning through you with every beat. Your fire and passion can’t be contained, and will explode out with every skill you cast. Increased heat, damage, and effective mana per level when casting offensive spells and generating heat. Costs 32,768 mana regen.

Welp, there went…

Roughly 9 mana per second.

In other words -

Almost a rounding error worth of mana.

Holy shit.

[*ding!* Congratulations! [Talaria] and [Pretty] have been merged into [Scintillating Ascent]!]

Scintillating Ascent: Take wing with the prettiest pair of wings on Pallos! With every flap of your iridescent, scintillating wings, you will soar through the boundless sky, see what the whole world has to offer you. The flight speed is tied to your speed stat. .4% reduced mana usage per level. 1% increased maneuverability per level. Tiny prettiness metamorphosis per level.

The skill didn’t mention upgrading, but that’s because it was tied to the class, not the skill.

ALSO!

THE MOTHERFUCKING SYSTEM TOOK MY [PRETTY] SKILL!

I worked my ass off for that skill! It was mine, damnit! I didn’t want it absorbed into [Scintillating Ascent]!

I was going to grab the System by its throat, and shake it until my [Pretty] skill came back out again.

I took a moment to blow out some annoyed air, making it all too obvious I was back. I got some looks, but I was too busy being annoyed.

Then again, people taking some time to process everything new was normal. Especially the higher tier upgrades took longer, since there was just so much more information to process.

Fine. The System had taken my [Pretty] skill, but it was merged into [Scintillating Ascent]. It wasn’t gone, simply transformed… like a butterfly.

Like it seemed to be saying would happen to me.

Wait. The little crawling sensation when I woke up - did my skill just make me prettier? Not just my own self-perception, and helping me be pretty, but did it just morph me a hair closer to my own ideal?

Wait.

WAIT.

It was now a Class Skill, not a General Skill! That meant [Sentinel’s Superiority] now applied! Free 25% boost to my new [Pretty] skill!

And, with my free general skill slot, I could just take [Pretty] again! DOUBLE PRETTY TIME!

… Fine, System, I forgive you.

I had a feeling I was going to be making a lot of butterfly jokes in the future.

[*ding!* Congratulations! [Nova] has been upgraded to [Supernova]!]

Supernova: The silent roar of the biggest stars in the universe exploding in one final cataclysmic event. Even larger exploding stars. Increased size, damage, speed, and control per level.

That was the shortest, lamest description of a skill ever. However, control? That seemed to imply that I could bend my [Supernova]’s now - which was one of the only things I’d lost when I’d ditched [Radiance Manipulation]. Something to test, as soon as I could.

Although, I’d need a good testing ground. [Nova] had already been fairly large, and this was promising to be even larger.

Right! Cool new skills! [Butterfly Mystic] away! Let’s see what the levels had to say about things!

[*ding!* [Radiance Affinity] has leveled up! 256->306]

[*ding!* [Radiance Resistance] has leveled up! 256->306]

[*ding!* [Radiance Conjuration] has leveled up! 256->306]

[*ding!* [Nectar] has leveled up! 256->301]

[*ding!* [Sun’s Heart] has leveled up! 256->306]

[*ding!* [Scintillating Ascent] has leveled up! 256->281]

[*ding!* [Supernova] has leveled up! 256->306]

LEVELS! It was pretty clear which skills I’d extensively used in the fight against the Formorians, and which skills hadn’t been used as much.

Also, I had a free general slot now! On one hand, I wanted to rush off and grab some cool new skill to fill it. Like [Extra Pretty]. On the other, I was keeping an eye out for a companion, and the open slot was perfect for that.

And like some deformed monstrosity, on the third hand, an open general skill could totally be used for escaping. Something like [Sneaking].

Heck, [Escaping] might be a skill!

I could always combine option two and option three. Grab [Sneaking] for now, replace it later.

Or another skill.

Speaking of other skills, I was being offered a boatload.

[*ding!* You’ve unlocked the Class Skill [Float Like A Butterfly, Sting Like A Bee]! Would you like to replace a Class Skill with Float Like A Butterfly, Sting Like A Bee?]

Float Like A Butterfly, Sting Like A Bee: Butterflies are fragile things, carefully flitting through the world from flower to flower. Cruel creatures love nothing more than to throw rocks at the vision of beauty, crushing the innocent butterflies. However, you aren’t an ordinary butterfly, no, you’re a [Butterfly Mystic]. Show the rock-throwers that you’re not so easily taken down. Personal defense system. Automatically shoots down projectiles heading your way. Increased range, number of Radiance beams per level.

Point defense system strikes again! Third time might be the charm, since it could help me escape. No flying requirement either!

No flying skill integration though.

[*ding!* You’ve unlocked the Class Skill [Pollination]! Would you like to replace a Class Skill with Pollination?]

Pollination: As you fly about from flower to flower, drinking the sweet nectar of knowledge, you impart knowledge yourself. You cross-pollinate ideas and information, and you never know when you’ll sow the seeds of inspiration with those who are teaching you. Teaching skill. 0.4% per level increased experience gain for yourself and others when teaching them new knowledge. 0.5% increased ease of skill acquisition for yourself and others when teaching.

Yeowch. This was a solid skill. I’d want to try and grab it again once I was back in Remus.

Then again, was weakening my self-defense worth it? I’d need to think hard about it… another day.

[*ding!* You’ve unlocked the Class Skill [Eyes of the Mystic Butterfly]! Would you like to replace a Class Skill with Eyes of the Mystic Butterfly?]

Eyes of the Mystic Butterfly: Eyes in your head, eyes in your wings, now get eyes in the back of your head! So to speak. Butterfly wings have eyes, and with the Eyes of the Mystic Butterfly, you can see through them! Improved processing, clarity, and direction per level.

This was interesting. I’d almost literally get eyes in the back of my head. Full-scope vision? Sounded cool! Sadly, I’d need my wings out to make the best of it.

[*ding!* You’ve unlocked the Class Skill [Egg Laying]! Would you like to replace a -

NOPE NOPE NOPE HARD PASS ON ANYTHING CALLED EGG-LAYING.

[*ding!* You’ve unlocked the Class Skill [Signal Flare]! Would you like to replace a Class Skill with Signal Flare?]

Signal Flare: You constantly find yourself in danger and, needing to ask for help. This skill is an unmistakable cry for help and attention, that you urgentlyrapidly need assistance at your location. Increased size, speed, pierce, visibility, and loudness per level.

I’d take the skill if I was on a Ranger team still. I wasn’t though - I was the reinforcements. Here, I was already surrounded by guards. Elsewhere, I was a solo operative. I just couldn’t see good use out of the skill.

At least it was better than egg laying.

[*ding!* You’ve unlocked the Class Skill [Sun Scales]! Would you like to replace a Class Skill with SunMoon Scales?]

Sun Scales: While in flight, you may choose to loose a dusting of sun scales during the day which will cause all those touched to become burned, and ignite wildfires.

Um. If I didn’t have [Oath] and wanted to utterly burn some place to the ground, maybe I’d consider it. As-is? Nope.

[*ding!* You’ve unlocked the Class Skill [Migration]! Would you like to replace a Class Skill with Migration?]

Migration: Butterflies fly far, and you’ll need to fly further than most! Dramatically reduced cost, increased energy, stamina, and flight speed after flying more than an hour continuously. Effects increase per level.

The skill was strong, and was a serious contender for getting into my skill line-up. Problem was, what to replace with a brand new level 1 skill? My Vitality was pretty good, and I already knew I had infinite flight time from [Talaria] before it got upgraded. [Sunrise] had me set in the energy field, so really all it did was a slowly ramping flight speed once I’d been flying for an hour. If I’d already been flying for an hour though, I was home free, so to speak.

[Lantern] was a candidate for getting cut for it though. I’d need to do some more thinking.

[*ding!* You’ve unlocked the Class Skill [Monarch Butterfly]! Would you like to replace a Class Skill with Monarch Butterfly?]

Monarch Butterfly: The ruler of butterflies, the queen of insects, all flock to be sheltered beneath the monarch’s wings. Increasing ability to attract insects. More exotic insects and numbers will follow per level.

… Why? Just, why? I get that moths and other insects were attracted to flames, but why would the System offer me such a skill? Hard pass on more bugs biting me, which might bring me down some [Swarm Queen] route or other such nonsense.

[*ding!* You’ve unlocked the Class Skill [A Single Flap of a Butterfly’s Wings]! Would you like to replace a Class Skill with A Single Flap of a Butterfly’s Wings?]

A Single Flap of a Butterfly’s Wings: Chaos.

Ok, with a skill description like that, no way in the seven hells was I taking the skill.

[*ding!* You’ve unlocked the Class Skill [Cooking]! Would you like to replace a Class Skill with Cooking?]

Cooking: Food is best eaten cooked, as you well know from frying dozens, hundreds of animals with your Radiance magic. Sometimes you burn ‘em, sometimes you undercook them. Well, no more! Perfectly cook your dinner every time! Increased cooking speed per level.

That was somewhat appealing, I wasn't going to lie.

Still. Any new skill I got would get reset, put back to level 1. Given the ease that I could unlock skills now, I decided to shelve the decision and thinking for later. Like [Eyes of the Mystic Butterfly], or [Migration]. They allseemed like upgrades to [Scintillating Ascent], and I’d rather spend my time and effort upgrading the skill to manually merge them in, rather than get supplemental support skills.

Like. It’d be easier to merge the skills if I took them all, and focused on merging them, but I only had so many skill slots. I’d need to ditch a bunch of skills to make it work, then re-train them from scratch.

I’d keep thinking about the choice. For now, I was going to keep my skills, and focus on them.

I took a look at my status.

[Name: Elaine]

[Race: Human]

[Age: 19]

[Mana: 291390/291390]

[Mana Regen: 229092 (+219647.225)]

Stats

[Free Stats: 161]

[Strength: 670]

[Dexterity: 871]

[Vitality: 7116]

[Speed: 7116]

[Mana: 29139]

[Mana Regeneration: 29189 (+21964.7225)]

[Magic Power: 13479 (+207576.6)]

[Magic Control: 13479 (+207576.6)]

[Class 1: [The Dawn Sentinel - Celestial: Lv 365]]

[Celestial Affinity: 365]

[Cosmic Presence: 285]

[Solar Infusion: 110]

[Center of the Universe: 365]

[Dance of the Heavens: 365]

[Wheel of Sun and Moon: 311]

[Mantle of the Stars: 365]

[Sunrise: 132]

[Class 2: [Butterfly Mystic - Radiance: Lv 306]]

[Radiance Affinity: 306]

[Radiance Resistance: 306]

[Radiance Conjuration: 306]

[Lantern: 188]

[Nectar: 301]

[Sun's Heart: 306]

[Scintillating Ascent: 281]

[Supernova: 306]

[Class 3: Locked]

General Skills

[Long-Range Identify: 365]

[Pristine Memories: 206]

[: ]

[Bullet Time: 283]

[Oath of Elaine to Lyra: 308]

[Sentinel's Superiority: 365]

[Persistent Casting: 259]

[Passionate Learning: 354]

Awwww yes. I looked over the stats, and saw that they were Good. My vitality and speed being almost half my magic power and control wasn’t exactly what I’d expected to have happened when I started out, but here I was.

I mentally felt a hair of regret towards how I’d acted towards Polyphemus back in Aquiliea. He had told me that physical stats were important for everyone, and I’d blissfully ignored him with all the certainty of a young teenager. Well, look at me now, valuing physical stats.

Well, my first check through my stats and new skills was done! Time to put them to the test!

Also, the VIP who’d almost fried me had Radiance magic. Time to try some sweet talking, to see if I could get her to show me some tricks!

Speaking of -

“That was fast.” She said, “Everything go ok in there?”

I blinked owlishly at her.

“Um, yeah.” I said. “How long was I down?”

She shrugged.

“Didn’t even get to play three hands.” She said, gesturing to a table full of playing cards they’d set up.

“Hakka! You’re not leaving this hand!” Thoren said. “Just because healer Elaine is awake early, doesn’t get you out of this! Come on, show!” He said.

A heated round began behind me, as crushing disappointment washed over me. Only a few minutes? All that time spent checking classes, and only a few minutes!? Leaving Librarian early, skipping reading, a few minutes!??!?!?!?

Between that and the loss of my [Pretty] skill, I was going to murder the System. Dissect it into many little pieces.

I took a great big calming breath. Throwing a hissy fit over a loss of reading time, over cutting my farewell with Librarian short wouldn’t do me any good. I’d gotten a good class, good stats, it was time to experiment with them, then plot my breakout.

“Eight Pickaxe!” Hakka said, triumphantly throwing her hand down, and reaching for the pot.

“What a shame.” Thoren said, voice full of disappointment, Hakka making gloating noises. “What a shame that I have THREE GOLD!” He said, cackling as he revealed his hand. “Get your paws off that Krul! It’s all mine!”

Hakka made a disgusted noise.

“Why do I even let you fleece me on these games?” She asked.

“Cause you have too much fun and too much money.” Urik said.

“Yeah, yeah.” Hakka said. “Thank you Elaine, for sparing my poor wallet. If there’s nothing else, I’ve got some training to do.” She said, standing up and putting her helmet back on.

This was my chance!

“Hey Hakka!” I called out. “You’re a Radiance mage, right?”

“Yup. You’re also one. I would’ve killed you if you didn’t have the resistance skill, healer or not.” She informed me, with the matter-of-fact voice like telling me the moons had eyes. “Also, you probably know this, but being a two-classer right now, and with healing one of them? Oof. A level 100 Mirror-anything combat will destroy you.”

I wanted to defend myself, and point out my physical stats, but in a stroke of genius decided that shutting up was probably the right move.

No, wait.

Agreeing with her was the right move.

“You’re totally right.” I said. “Could you show me some Radiance magic that you use?” I asked, figuring I might as well be direct about it.

It was a very personal thing I was asking, but I hoped to get a favorable response. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

She shrugged.

“Why not. You finishing up so fast saved me a day here, and half my purse. I still feel bad over nearly killing ya when you were just trying to help. Just one question” She asked, giving me an evil eye for some reason.

I gulped. Had she figured out that I was planning on escaping?

“Why’d you ask now, and not earlier? Totally could’ve helped your class up!” She said, cracking a grin.

I refrained from groaning. I’d been totally pranked. She wasn’t wrong though.

Well, she was going to give me a bunch of her secrets. I figured my class’s ability to learn wouldn’t be too bad to let loose.

Plus, it could make the dwarves see me as having added incentive to stick around! If they thought I was happy here, and had tons to learn and do, they wouldn’t look as closely at me. It’d make it easier to make a break for it.

“Well, I was pretty happy with what I had.” I explained. “However, I got a class that rewards learning, and will upgrade skills easily if I see them used. Figured I could try it out now.” I said.

I was so lucky that Hakka was a Radiance mage.

Then again, city full of high-level dwarves? A thriving military? Even if I didn’t have a weak connection with Hakka already, I could ask Korun nicely and he’d arrange something.

I should totally ask Night - no, wait, Julius - during the next Ranger Convocation to meet with any Rangers who used Radiance magic. Radiance mages were as rare as any other mage. With 44 elements and two classes to fill, the odds of any one person having a particular element was low, but in a group the odds were good that at least one person had it.

“Right, follow me!” Hakka said, and I followed her to a training room, located in another building.

Half of my overly excessive escort followed along. Thoren and his crew came along, while Urik went with his minions on some other detail.

A number of Thoren’s guards squared off to lightly spar, or get some practice in themselves. If the orcs tried to hit me here, well, they were all in the same room, already geared up and ready - if not actively using - skills.

“Right.” Hakka said as we made it to a large sparse stone room, with a number of dummies scattered around the room. They were all crude representations of orcs, carved out of stone. “Are you a fighting mage, or a utility mage?” She asked.

I blinked at the question, having never heard of those classifications.

“Um. I’m not sure.” I said. “I’ve got a few combat skills, and a few utility skills.”

Hakka grunted.

“Sounds like a utility mage.” She grunted with distaste. “I can’t be much help with those. I’m allllll fighting.” She said, turning towards the orcs.

“Right. I’m not great at this teaching thing. Lemme show you a few of my tricks, one Radiance mage to another.” She said. “I’m based around the glow of the flames from the forge.”

She lifted a hand up, glowing Radiance around her fingers.

“For super close up.” She said, slashing through a statue. I noticed that it slowly started to rebuild itself.

Nifty. I didn’t think claws were the direction I wanted to go though. Also, what was with claw skills recently? This was like the third time they’d come up.

She presented her claws for me to study. I took a close look at them, trying to figure out how the skill worked.

[Butterfly Mystic] was about learning new things after all. Even though I didn’t want the skill.

Hang on - I should try to learn the skill though, and see what happened. Get some practice.

It looked like her fingers - her entire hand actually - was coated in Radiance, and it seemed to form sharp, feral points. It was possible that the skill was helping reinforce her hand, so she could actually claw her was through things, letting the destructive aspects and nature of Radiance take full hold.

The skill was probably TERRIBLE without the before-mentioned [Radiance Resistance]. I wasn’t touching it, and I could feel the waves of heat coming off of them.

[*ding!* You’ve unlocked the Class skill [Ladybug Antenna]! Would you like to replace a skill with it?]

Heck no.

At the same time - that was easy. The class hadn’t been kidding when it said new skills would be easy to pick up. I wish I could tell if I’d gotten experience for my class from this. Everything I’d read suggested yes. Still, no way of telling until that magical ding showed up.

I nodded.

“Right, I think I’ve got an idea of that one.”

“Slightly further range.” She said, taking a great big breath, then bellowing golden flames out of her mouth.

Just like a - a - a street performer.

The statue melted. I didn’t want to think about how hot that was.

She glanced at me, and I shook my head. I knew how that sort of skill worked - heck, I’d been offered a variant on it once - I could probably recreate it myself, later.

“Actually, why don’t you show me what you’ve got.” She said, stepping back.

I was a bit nervous. I was on the spot, with a new skill that sounded grand. I didn’t want to screw up and-

Wait.

I was dumb.

Thoren and co. were hanging back, out of the way. Not in the line of fire.

Hakka had [Radiance Resistance]. Probably at a much, much higher level than mine. Heck, it could almost be [Radiance Immunity] if the skill evolved like that!

I’d never heard of anyone having the skill, but then again, all this traveling was opening my eyes. All sorts of things I’d never imagined were popping up.

I aimed for a cluster of orc statues, further down in the room. I didn’t point, or gesture, I just let the skill happen.

[Supernova].

The skill exploded out of me, a lazily spinning large sphere of deceptively powerful destruction. Seriously, the ball was bigger than I was. It wasn’t a single uniform gold, no, it was spotchy and spotted, all types of yellow, just like a real star would be.

It sped down the range, far faster than [Nova] ever had. I found the mental handle that was the skill, just like my old [Manipulation] skill, and curved it into the group of statues I was aiming for. I was only able to keep track of the speeding ball thanks to my dramatically improved vitality.  The ball landed, exploding with a ferocious boom as it hit the cluster of statues. Masonry rained down on us.

I was feeling pleased as punch with the new and extra-large [Supernova].

“That was terrible.” Hakka said.

I didn’t protest. I wanted to know what the super-high level Radiance mage had to say.

“It’s flashy, yes. It’s powerful, sure. Heck, I’ll even concede that maybe you’re not constantly fighting in tunnels, so the inability to use it down there due to its size isn’t as large of a consideration. Ask yourself this though. How much of the ball ends up applying to your target? How often are your enemies going to neatly group themselves up, and not have a shielding skill?”

I frowned at that. The first point seemed to be the strongest.

I used all my power on every attack I had. I reviewed my [Pristine Memories] of fights I’d used [Nova] in.

The Formorians had been A-Grade [Nova] bait. They were also dumb as bricks, and came in a gigantic horde. [Nova] was the skill to use.

In fights against other stuff?

The slime was the only one I could think of where [Nova] had lived up to its full potential. I’d needed to literally carve out a hole in the slime, shove [Nova] into it, and let it explode.

Yeah. I could see Hakka’s point.

“Watch.” She said, pointing to another group. “If you must attack like that at range, I recommend beams.”

I tended to be a “Stick the beam on the person and keep it on until it burned through something.” Hakka wasn’t.

She rapidly flickered tiny, pinpoint bursts all over the place, hitting eyes, throat, knees, elbows, shoulders, hips, stomachs - every spot on a body that could be fatal or crippling.

It had the added effect of doing what I tended to do with [Shine] - now [Lantern] - in that the rapidly changing light was blinding.

Which made me think about my own tactics. [Lantern] flashing was still strong - but the light was probably secondary to the lasers just lighting the whole place up and keeping them lit up. I should run some tests.

Also - I looked carefully, again only seeing it thanks to my improved vitality - Hakka was using a lot of beams at once.

Ahhh. She was combining her [Radiance Conjuration] with a straight up “beam people to death skill.” That was pretty darn useful, and arguably better than [Nova].

[*ding!* You’ve unlocked the Class skill [Beam people to death]! Would you like to replace a skill with it?]

The funny thing about unlocking new skills was they lingered for a bit. Usually around half a day, to give me enough time to figure out if I wanted it or not. I held off on it for now. Unlike the other skills I’d been offered ,this was an honest, high-powered straight-combat skill.

“Beams are amazing.” I agreed with her, considering changing how I used them to mimic her ways, even if I didn’t take the skill.

She nodded.

“Now, if you must hit your target from all angles, do it like this.” Hakka said, then mimed a great overhand blow with her hand.

Must be a restriction on the skill that made it more powerful.

A glowing hammer appeared in her hands, and seemed to hit an invisible anvil. A great spray of sparks shot off, the thousands of shimmering shards zipping over to the target, winding around each other, almost impossible to follow or track. The tiny points hit the statue from every angle, a cascading devastation on the poor rock.

“Now, there’s a solid multi-directional skill.” Hakka said with obvious pride. “Nothing short of a full-body shield stops it, it hits from all directions at the same time, it’s small enough to sneak through small gaps, it’s maneuverable enough to go around corners.”

I was eyeing all the slowly rebuilding statues.

Hakka had gone easy on me when she thought I was an intruder. Acid, rocks, and lasers to the eyes had been a weak opening salvo, while she wasn’t quite sure if I was actually an intruder or not. I had wondered why I’d only seen like 8 skills, and not 25.

Still. She made a ton of neat points about [Supernova], and her better skill.

“Right, last skill…” Hakka trailed off, awkwardly scratching her nose.

“Well. It’s a full aura attack. It just hurts everyone around me.” She said. “Not a ton of damage to any one person, great for swarms. It’s new though, and my control over it?” She said, waggling her hand.

“Let’s talk about it another day.” She said, and I agreed.

Time for hard mode.

“Willing to work with me a bit to improve my skill?” I asked, not waiting for an answer. I summoned a dozen tiny [Supernova]’s at once,  firing them off towards another target. I tried furiously to control all of them, rapidly flickering my attention and control from ball to ball, getting about half of them to hit the target from different angles at what only the most generous referee would call “at the same time.”

“Mmm. Close. Watch again.” Hakka said, getting into it. She lifted her hand up again, a glowing hammer appearing as she smashed down again, thousands of tiny sparks erupting off.

We traded back and forth a dozen times, as I slowly got better and better at conjuring up and controlling a dozen, then fifteen, then eighteen, tiny little [Supernova]’s.

It was hard. I don’t think the skill - one GIANT FIREBALL - exactly wanted to become dozens of tiny little sparks. It was more than a bit of a stretch, and normally I’d need, oh, a year and a half of effort at Ranger Academy while being taught by another teacher to pull something like this off.

Then again, it wasn’t quite as large of a leap as [Rapidash] to [Talaria], which I’d managed.

Another try. 13 hit.

Another try. 15 hit.

Another try. 9 hit.

Another try. 14 hit

Another try.  16 hit

Another try.  12 hit

Another try.  19 hit

Another try.  21 hit.

Finally - after long enough that we took a break for food twice, and Thoren and his guards got replaced by Urik - the notification popped up.

Two notifications popped up.

[*ding!* Would you like to change [Supernova] to [Kaleidoscope]? Warning: Some levels will be lost.]

Kaleidoscope: A thousand fluttering butterflies made out of radiant light form a kaleidoscope. Now unleash them, and let them dance and weave their way over to your target! Increased number of butterflies, increased acceleration, damage, control, and range per level.

I hit yes.

[Error! Kaleidoscope had dropped from 306 to 265]

Ouch. At the same time, it was quite a different skill. Also, acceleration, not speed, was interesting.

And! Learning new magic was rewarded in more ways than one!

[*ding!* Congratulations! [Butterfly Mystic] has leveled up to level 306->307! +8 Strength, +8 Dexterity, +70 Speed, +70 Vitality, +70 Mana, +70 Mana Regen, +70 Magic power, +70 Magic Control from your Class per level! +1 Free Stat for being Human per level! +1 Strength, +1 Mana Regen from your Element per level!]

[*ding!* [Radiance Affinity] has leveled up! 306->307]

[*ding!* [Radiance Resistance] has leveled up! 306->307]

[*ding!* [Radiance Conjuration] has leveled up! 306->307]

[*ding!* [Sun’s Heart] has leveled up! 306->307]

[*ding!* [Passionate Learning] has leveled up! 354->355]

Woo! New magic, new skills, and more levels!

“Thank you Hakka! I got it!” I said.

I was starting to think that maybe I could spend a week or two, practicing and picking up more magic. Just a little more wouldn’t hurt, and it was, by my reckoning, the middle of winter right now. Not the best time to be alone in the wilderness.

I’d need to do some thinking about it…

“Good iron!” She said, celebrating my success. “Now show me!”