43 Experimental Strength
Faruth stood alone on the outskirts of the surrounding forest, just a bit past the village's wall. He wanted to test some things for the upcoming fights in the future, especially against the boss that controlled the Lizardmen outpost he had recently destroyed. With his hands down at his sides he closed his eyes and remembered the past. He remembered the fight with the Hobgoblin, Fulbash. The first major fight he had after coming to this world.
He remembered dodging as he clashed against him, fearing to get into a head on confrontation with the monster's herculean strength. As the combat was drawing to a close, he grew increasingly tired, slowing his movements greatly. In an attempt to finish the dragging fight, Faruth tried something that he had never done before, combining multiple skills. He used three simultaneously, causing a white light to erupt from his body and into the surroundings.
Though he lost consciousness after that, judging by the fact that he was still here today, it was clear to see that he came out the victor in the engagement. That much was known already. The pressing question however, was the light itself. Faruth had similar experiences with the light already, such as when he first died or the evolution of his subordinates, but it had never erupted forth in a manner like that, no matter how hard he tried to replicate the feeling.
The question had burned in his mind ever since. Even though he tried to forget through things like the conflict against the Lizardmen or the evolution of said subordinates, it still ate away at him. He was outside of the village now to try and replicate its existence, or at least begin to get some closure on it. Opening his eyes, Faruth walked deeper into the forest.
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Before long Faruth had arrived within a clearing, very similar to the one during the Goblin conflict coincidently. He knew what he was here to do, to combine the strength of his skills. Though he may not get the result he was hoping for first time, he would persevere in an attempt to quell the curiosity.
To begin with, he drew his sword from the swirling void in his left hand, steadily preparing his sword arm. Aiming at the ground, he struck out while using both [Slash] and [Cleave]. To his dismay, the skills didn't combine at all, instead, because he activated [Slash] first within his mind, that was the only thing that occurred when he attacked. [Cleave] didn't even activate at all. Though this was his very first failure, he didn't lose any hope, he simply tried again.
His second attempt was with three skills, [Slash], [Cleave] and [Strong Blow] but similarly to last time, only the fist skill that he used actually affected his attack, the rest got left by the wayside. After 9 or 10 attacks, he decided to change his strategy into using other skills, such as [Stealth] and [Strong Blow], but to the same result in the end. He put the failures behind him at first but after 2 or so hours of trying, it began to get to him. Just as he was about to give up for the day, a widow appeared in his vision.
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[[Congratulations, Herald! Through your own repeated effort, you have learned a skill!]]
[[You have learned the skill: [Synthesis]]]
[[You have achieved a further step towards being recognised by Nature!]]
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Faruth couldn't hide the wolfish grin spread from cheek to cheek. It was the result he had been aiming for, after only a single day of practicing. He didn't know whether to praise his talent or his luck, either way, he had achieved what he set out to do. Though this didn't directly answer the problem of the white light, Faruth felt that it had some connection, one way or another.
He quickly left the forest, leaving nothing but marks in the ground, or so he thought.
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Arriving back at the village, Faruth headed towards the cave in the centre, which had pretty much become his residence at this point. As he walked through the village, those that saw him greeted him with immense respect, as if to show a bit of their inner thanks towards him. The sky had long since turned black and Alneth had finished training the recruits for the day, leaving the five to return to their residences, which was, coincidently, also in the main cave.
Arriving to his 'room', Faruth quickly lay upon his makeshift bed, made from the hide of the Crystal Mammoth that they had hunted in the past. As he closed his eyes, he used [Appraisal] on the new skill that he had obtained.
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[[Name: Synthesis]] [[Level: 1]] [[Grade: Epic]]
[[Description: A skill born from the pure effort of Nature's Herald, the skill allows the holder to combine various skills into more powerful versions of themselves! However, the holder has not been recognised by Nature yet, resulting in penalties whenever the skill is used!]]
[[Status: Locked]]
[[Penalties:]]
[[Skills used during synthesis will be permanently destroyed.]]
[[Because the holder has not yet been recognised by Nature, every time this skill is used, the holder will suffer a -1 reduction to a random Stat, this effect is permanent]]
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Faruth read the text with a heavy heart. The potential for this skill was immense, but it wasn't like he wouldn't suffer drawbacks either. Instead of thinking of them as penalties, Faruth merely thought of them as prices to pay as he gained new strength.
[Slash] + [Cleave] = [Cross Slash]
[Beast Strike] + [Strong Blow] = [Heavy Claw Strike]
[Basic Toolmaking] + [Basic Potionmaking] = [Craftsmanship]
[Weapon Knowledge] + [Swordsmanship] = [Sword Proficiency]
[Bestial Strength] + [Directional Awareness] = [Beast's Body]
[Exploration] + [Instincts] = [Mind's Eye]
[Mana Control] + [Precision] = [Precise Mana Control]
Without a further thought to his new skills, exhaustion drifted over Faruth's body as he slipped into unconsciousness.
