12 Chapter 12 Honing skills

(Day 12 of The grind)

[Appraisal has leveled up by 2]

so I can finally see skills now?!

[along with mana and stamina]

Finally!!

I screamed out in excitement,my appraisal had been on stagnant for days that I was starting to think I'd long reached its max level although thankfully that wasn't the case.

the leveling up of appraisal acting as a catalyst to my will to grind even harder I got up in a determined motion to start the day.

After taking out the Arachondria from a few nights back and some other demons last night it was made even more apparent that my mana wasn't near enough, I used so many exhausting skills that I could barely last 2 hours fighting an opponent which was a serious problem if I jumped into a fight that was bound to last hours on end, I'd probably need some 1 shot miracle skill.

I thought just leveling up would fix that problem eventually but of course as my skills become higher in power so does the mana needed to use them,the only thing leveling up was doing was evening it out a bit so that my skills mana requirement wasn't way higher than the actual mana I possessed.

I'm an idiot damnit, 15 years of gaming experience and I was using such an idiotic technique to level up....sigh,think what can I do to solve this problem...

layed on the ground of my shelter staring at the ceiling till the idea manifested within my head.

that's right I need-

(Speed)

the main problem of any magic using beast or human in magic games is how to use mana as minimally as possible in order to avoid depleting it near instantly.....which is what I've been doing for a while now

[i see,wouldn't the solution be using less mana based attacks]

exactly!!

I exclaimed proudly while seated crossed legged by the entrance of my shelter, reminiscing on memories of when I sat by my desk for hours formulating better ways to use my characters class properly.

Shadow step for example is close to instantaneous movement or some form of teleportation but it requires it's own hefty amount of mana, even without using other skills in between at most I can use it 20 to maybe 30 times.

[taking away shadow step then speed is the obvious thing to work on]

right my speed isn't too bad but if we're trying not to use shadow step then it's practically mediocre

[I see,Felis demons would be a great start]

my face strained for a moment as I heard Cecil's sentence.

Felis demons are barely a challenge anymore, I get that their not bad in speed but they just don't feel like the start I should be having

[it would be safer to gauge where master is in speed with felis demons as their damage isn't life threatening]

sigh....sure I guess

*1 hours later*

Slash

the felis demon gave a devastating swipe to my face that I couldn't even react to causing me to tumble across the sand violently from the force of the impact.

[all of your skills have been locked from use master,until I see your life is in serious danger these skills will not be opened]

got it coach

I said sarcastically as I got up from the sand watching the Felis demon circle me slowly reminding me of when I first got to oblivion, reminding me just how menacing felis demons were.

how long do I got to last?

[2 hours without the Felis demon landing a single strike]

Ruthless!! do I even have the stamina to last that long

[it has come to my knowledge that master also struggles with stamina conservation so that will also be part of this training]

geeze....

[lastly, you're not allowed to fight back only dodging and countering however no damaging blows]

are you rooting for me or the felis demon!!?

Slash!!

a cut appeared on my chest from the felis demon as I'd spoken far too long with Cecil causing to slide back a bit thankfully the damage from Felis demons wasn't devastating as before.

ready for its next attack I focused on the Felis demon and watched it charge towards me but moments before It got within another paw striking distance it took a sharp turn to the left and turned back to strike my side,all within the time span of a few seconds.

I rolled again but recovered as quickly as I could by digging my arm deep into the sand but just as I got up I was stuck and caused to roll again, this happened repeatedly for a hot 5 minutes to the point I felt like I was being toyed with.

[I wasn't expecting it to be this bad...]

neither was I did I really rely on fast evasion skills that much!?!

this time the shadow demon came from above me in which I rolled away from where it was about to strike acquiring a slight graze as the tip of its claw ran across my face.

My only victory in a dodge didn't last long as the demon turned around fluidly and bit down on my shoulder before tossing me into a sand dune, I desperately watched the Felis demons feet just to get some foresight of its upcoming attack but it was useless thanks to the speed i was surprisingly not getting used to.

hours ticked by like seconds and before I knew it dusk had fallen and the Felis demon took a glance that almost looked like it was pleased of its playtime with me.

that.....sucked

[on the bright side you were able to dodged 1 attack]

sigh I didn't think I was this bad, gargh I was just getting lucky whenever I dodged something

[I would say something motivational however I'm struggling to formulate one]

no need anyway lets get back

I stood up and walked towards the shelter in the distance getting ready to activate shadow evasion when I was in distance.

shadow evasion

[I won't be permitting the use of skills till your success with the felis demon]

try and be a little lenient!!

[I cannot do that]

I'm regretting coming up with this idea