To Reach The Sky

A few days immersed in my research slipped away, leading to the day before the Festival.

A sense of fulfillment enveloped me as the final piece of the puzzle to complete the skill fell into place.

Without wasting time, I used a Skill Ticket

[Skill Shop] 

[Sky Sword Technique] (New!)

[Sky Sword Technique]

[Description: A Sword Technique meticulously tailored for Akira Bashira's perfect body structure and goal, aspiring to ascend to the skies owned by the strong and cut them down. This Sword Technique embodies a great wealth of theoretical knowledge, drawing from the amalgamation of the talents [Sword], [Wisdom], [Intuition], [Body], [Movement], coupled with the skills [Sixth Sense], [Observe], [Orc Body], [Photographic Memory], [Slash],..., and references from books such as [The Way of the Sword], [Sword Stances],....

Together with [Sky Footwork], it forms a potent synergy, giving rise to a new Art named [Sky Sword Art]]

[Effect: Executing the [Sky Sword Technique] deepens your resonance with the Sword greatly, allowing you to transcend limits]

[Limitations: Your [Sword] Talent directly influences the strength of this technique. The stronger your Talent, the more this skill unleashes its true potential]

[Skill Point Cost: 30]

Before I could react to the unexpectedly high cost, a sharp, swift sound of a sword being drawn resonated, and the [Skill Point Cost] prompt was abruptly cut.

[The Sword is deeply enraged. The cost of the Skill [Sky Sword Technique] has been reduced to 20]

I couldn't help but burst into laughter, pure happiness bubbling within me. The sensation of the sword cutting down the prompt was almost tangible—accompanied by a resounding clash.

Haha, got you, you damn System!

The temptation to use a Question Ticket just to ask the System how it felt to be fucked up so roughly crossed my mind, but I resisted. Better to savor this victory silently and not waste precious ways to gather more information later.

If someone could understand the way I felt and be a witness to this, that would be even more satisfying, but I'll take what I can get.

Without a moment's hesitation, I purchased the new skill. The familiar chaos that ensued after acquiring a Skill was something I had grown accustomed to, prompting me to dismiss it all and seek much-needed rest. Exhaustion weighed heavily on me.

---

After a proper rest, I woke up refreshed and satisfied as I started checking on the prompts.

[You have birthed a new Sword Art, named [Sky Sword Art] in homage to the architect's resolve to soar the skies while still on the ground]

[Sky Sword Art]

[Description: The [Sky Sword Art], a creation of the architect Akira Bashira, mirrors the user's ambition to ascend to greater levels of power]

[Effect: When executing the [Sky Sword Technique] and the [Sky Footwork], any and all Limitations imposed on the skills will be partially ignored. In addition, based on your [Sword] Talent, your sword will grow sharper]

[Limitations: None]

[You have united all your Skills, Talents, and Knowledge toward a singular goal. This profound connection will catalyze the growth of all your skills]

[Your Skill [Run] has been affected]

[Your Skill [Run] has leveled up]

[Your Skill [Jump] has been affected]

[Your Skill [Jump] has leveled up]

[Your Skill [Sixth Sense] has been affected]

[Your Skill [Sixth Sense] has leveled up]

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[Your Talent [Body] is deeply connected to the change]

[Your Talent [Body] has leveled up]

[Your Talent [Body] has leveled up]

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[Your Talent [Wisdom] is connected to the change]

[Your Talent [Wisdom] has leveled up]

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[Your Talent [Sword] is deeply satisfied with the [Sky Sword Art]. It will willingly embrace synergy with your other Talents and Skills from now on]

[Your Talent [Sword] and your Active Skill [Slash] have begun resonating]

[Your Skill [Slash] has leveled up]

[Your Skill [Slash] has leveled up]

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[Your Talent [Sword] and your [Sky Sword Art] have begun deeply resonating]

[Your [Sky Sword Art], composed of your Skills [Sky Sword Technique] and [Sky Footwork] will now be able to perfectly integrate your Talent [Sword]]

[The Effects of all your Skills have been slightly improved]

[The Limitations on all your Talents will be slowly lifted]

[From now on, the Skill [Sixth Sense] will offer better predictions for the Skill Point Cost of the Skill you have in mind]

[The Skill [Observation] will aid you even more in the future]

[Your Skill [Mirage Veil] will now be more effective against opponents one stage higher than yours]

[Your Skill [Orc Body] will strive for an even more perfect body structure for you to attain]

[Your Skill [Turtle Shell] will no longer impose as severe a restriction on your speed]

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[Your Talents and Skills have all connected to each other. Their levels will gradually cease increasing once you hit the absolute limit of this Trial]

[Your Talent [Sword] advises you to not think this will be enough to defeat the Thorn Princess. The Difficulty Rating of this Trial is not [Impossible++++] for no reason]

The warning echoed in my mind — do not think this will be enough.

Yet, amidst the amount of overwhelming information, a flicker of joy crept into my being. Is it not alright to relish in this moment, if only a little?

The sheer volume of prompts threatened to consume my mind, a meticulous inspection of each promising to extend well into the following day.

And so, I opted for a different approach, letting most of them fade into the background. In the end, it was the status that once again acted as a guiding light, revealing the extent of my growth.

[Status: Healthy

Level: 90

Combat Prowess: Low

Martial Arts: Karate(Lv.1)

Sword Arts: Sky Sword Art(Sky Footwork(Lv. 11), Sky Sword Technique(Lv. 5))

Active Skills: Cooking(Lv.8), Slash(Lv.10), Adaptive Evasion(Lv.12), Turtle Shell(Lv.5), Mirage Veil(Lv.3), Overload(Lv.9)

Passive Skills: Run(Lv.12), Jump(Lv.12), Photographic Memory(Lv.6), Sixth Sense(Lv.15), Observe(Lv.15), Orc Body(Lv.14)

Talent: Sword(Lv. 13), Movement(Lv.12), Wisdom(Lv.15), Intuition(Lv.12), Body(Lv.12), Determination(Lv.10)

You have 4 unused Skill Points]