Chapter 19: Plasma Skills

102 Plasma; after reaching this point, Rael was automatically considered an E-Rank soldier. Though, this was only by the System. Officially, he was still an F-Rank soldier.

He would have to head towards the Center for Observation and Regulation that was situated in one corner of the Blue Agate Academy and find out his Stats there. Once it was confirmed that his Plasma reserved had crossed 100, he would naturally be given the status as an E-Rank soldier.

'But, I have yet to unlock the full potential of an F-Rank soldier.' Thought Rael, observing his Temperature Index of 48. The limit capable of an F-Rank soldier was a Temperature Index of 108. So, he had a long way to go about that.

It was not to mention his Stats were below 11 for all four primary attributes. So, he hadn't attained the peak of the F-Rank. Also, he had yet to learn how to use his Plasma. So, he couldn't be called a proper soldier yet.

While using 'Appraise', Rael noticed that his Flux was indeed changing as a result. And to be frank, the changes were so complex it felt like his head would explode upon seeing them. They were not only chaotic but made it seem like he had set foot within a quagmire.

'Thankfully, I hadn't used it on the professor.' He sighed in relief. After all, had the other party been using his Flux when Rael attempted to probe his stats, he would notice Rael's Flux changing in ways beyond what he was capable of.

That would give away the fact that something was up with him. And considering the way the military went about with its matters, then he might very well be strapped to a bed the next day and researched upon to determine the secrets of the reason his Flux had moved in such a way.

'That means I have to be careful while appraising in public.' Thinking as such, Rael wore his uniform and arrived at his class, of course arriving 30 minutes early, just as he had done all the time.

At present, classes were conducted within the training room, so the moment he entered it, he began to practice Pulse Refinement, anticipating what he would be learning today.

After all, the basic course was split into four segments, with the first segment taking up three days and the second taking up a week. And, based on what he had gathered from the students that he conversed with recently, he found out that they would probably start the fourth segment today.

Soon, it was time for classes as all the students arrived on time, clutching their stomachs from time to time. They were feeling pain there due to accumulating heat in their abdomen for prolonged periods.

Even though they later cooled down the place using their Plasma, the effect in the muscles was still there. After all, while they were training, they maintained heat there for extended durations.

Arriving right on time, the professor noticed the students clutching their stomachs, saying after a smile, "The reason you're feeling pain in your stomachs is because you've yet to master this technique. As long as you perform five loops within a second, you've managed to master this technique. From there, the pain would vanish."

'Five times per second?' Rael was shocked, for he was barely able to perform one loop per second. And even that was hard since he wasn't able to replicate it every time.

"If you practice it daily for a month, you'll master it." The professor said, "And, that's when you would be able to truly attain the training efficiency of Pulse Refinement. As there wouldn't be any pain, you'll be able to train without any break."

"It's also due to the fact that your body would have adapted to this Refinement Technique by then." The professor said, "Pain would accompany every Refinement Technique. And depending on its methods, the body part that would feel painful would vary. And, once you adapt to that Refinement Technique, you'll be able to take advantage of it and raise your Plasma at faster speeds."

'If I master it, I'll be able to train without pain?' The moment he heard it, Rael wished to achieve it before his course ended, no matter what. With that, he would truly be able to take advantage of the training room and save some Credits.

"Today, we'll begin the final segment of this basic course." The professor paused for some dramatic effect before stating, "Plasma Skills."

Before anyone could express their doubts, the professor spoke, "Plasma Skills are techniques that have been created to vary your Flux and condense effective combat means through your Plasma."

"Normally, it'll be hard for you to emit your Plasma." He continued, "If you try it haphazardly, it'll only put a strain on your body while the desired effect wouldn't be anything worth nothing about."

"To damage an enemy, your Plasma should be sharp to target accurately, shaped to gain an advantage over the enemy, and finally," He smirked, "It should be hot enough to melt them into a puddle upon contact. Also, they should achieve all these by consuming the minimum most Plasma. That's why Plasma Skills are created with the best of our interests. Anything self-derived isn't efficient enough on the destructive scale."

He then began to explain about the basics of Plasma Skills. There were branches of Plasma Skills, with their objectives being different. Summarising them would be as follows: Attack, Defence, Mobility, Sensory, and Transmission.

"In Attack-based Plasma Skills, you have both single target and area effective abilities. And, both variations are those that you can unleash either through contact or as projectiles." The professor said, explaining things related to all the various modes.

Finally, after three hours of lecture about the basics, he brought them to one of the most guarded buildings in the Institute, saying, "Here, each floor represents a rank of Plasma Skills. The First Floor is for F-Rank soldiers and only contains F-Rank Plasma Skills."

He then gazed at Rael, "Since you've already reached E-Rank, you'll get access to the second floor."

Glancing at the sullen expressions of others, he laughed, "Of course, if any of you manage to reach E-Rank by the end of this basic course, you'll also gain access to the second floor."

He brought them to the counter at the start, using their ID cards to register them at the place before saying, "As part of the basic course, you're able to learn three Plasma Skills of your respective rank. After this, you'll have to save up the necessary Credits to learn any Plasma Skill."

"That'll be the end of today's lessons." The professor said before turning around to walk away, "Take your time to select your Plasma Skills. I'll look into them tomorrow and help you practice them. Don't be in a hurry to choose, since it might affect your life and death during missions."

Rael bowed towards the professor before asking the counter about the details necessary to head towards the second floor.

"You're officially not recognised as an E-Rank soldier yet." The lady behind the counter said as she handed him a chip, "Carry this with you. That way, you'll be able to access the Plasma Skills there."

Nodding in response, Rael boarded the lift nearby and arrived at the second floor. Each floor was around 20 metres in height. As for the area they spanned, he wasn't able to make an estimate. It was a massive building the likes of which he hadn't seen before.

Once he entered the second floor, Rael noticed some differences immediately. There was a row of booths at the entrance, with a plaque overhead that read, 'Browse Plasma Skills'.

There were rows and rows of booths everywhere, with most of them seemingly occupied. Rael was surprised to see how busy the place was, further realising the importance of Plasma Skills, 'Based on what the professor said, since it doesn't seem like there is a limit to the number of Plasma Skills one could learn, the students would obviously be learning as many as their Credits could afford. After all, they'll have to depend on them to survive in wars.'

There were a couple of empty booths among a set of rows at the farther back, seemingly the only empty ones at present. Rael was just about to enter one of them when a figure rushed inside, pushing him away, "Get lost, weakling!"

It seemed the figure that pushed him was clearly arrogant and didn't put others in his mind. And, since he was of such a nature, when he noticed Rael walking towards the closest open booth, he pushed him away.

Had this been the Rael of the past, he would have been helplessly pushed away, with no scope of retaliation. But due to the past few days of training, his physique had reached the standards of a normal human now, causing his childhood nature to slowly surface.

The moment he was pushed away, he instinctively kicked at the floor with his leg. This didn't do much other than acting as an obstruction to the other party, causing him to stumble into the booth, slamming face-first into the wall.

Getting up with a start, Rael peeked inside the booth, observing the face of the other party through the reflection from the screen there, calmly closing the door as he arrived at the nearest booth.

If possible, to avoid future trouble, he could have waited until someone exited from a booth before occupying it. That way, that arrogant dude wouldn't find out about his identity. But, these booths weren't those that were vacated that soon, as every student within would be spending considerable time to select and learn their Plasma Skills.

Left with no other choice, Rael could only enter the other empty room, closing the door as he noticed that it was pretty airtight and didn't seem like something that could be broken by an average human.

It felt like he was stepping foot inside a bank locker, surrounded by a thick layer of steel. Though, it wasn't all that was here. Embedded in the steel walls of the booth were long strips of Maurad.

And, forming an entire wall was a massive screen that spanned a breadth of five metres and height of three metres. The room was a square with a side of five metres and a height of three metres, so it was pretty big.

As soon as he entered, the screen switched on as hundreds of options appeared. Rael was curious as he selected single target Attack-based Plasma Skills, scrolling through the list as he clicked on the first option.

Immediately, the image on the screen changed as a student appeared, pointing his index finger at a target as a long sword—made from Plasma—extended out of it, reaching a length of one metre. And, as he slashed with it, the length of the Plasma sword reached three metres, making a large arc as it created a long gash on the wall.

"That's strong!" Rael looked at its statistics, muttering, "E-Rank Skill, Nail Arc. It can be upgraded until B-Rank. Currently accessible method: E-Rank only."

He then looked at the stats for the E-Rank version of the Plasma Skill—Nail Arc.

[Range: 1-3 Metres]

[Plasma Consumption: 8-12 Plasma/Second]

[Temperature Range: 276-498 Degrees Celsius]

[Force: 5280 Newton]

"If I remember right, the limit for an E-Rank soldier is 700 Plasma, Temperature Index of 540, and Body Tempering of 5400 Newton." Rael muttered, frowning, "This Plasma Skill isn't using the limit of an E-Rank soldier's capabilities."

"But, it's pretty useful though." He muttered before shaking his head, "I need a better ability than this."

He then looked through the Plasma Skills one after another, seeing the video of their practical demonstration before checking their stats. Truth be told, two hours into the process, he started seeing stars before his eyes, feeling his head spin.

Every Plasma Skill had its fair share of advantages of disadvantages. Some abilities were pretty strong but capped at C-Rank or in worst-case scenarios, they only existed among the E-Rank.

The greater their potential, the better it was to learn them. Since, once his rank improved, all he had to do was upgrade his Plasma Skill's rank. He would only be learning a complex variation of something that he had already mastered.

But, if he learned a Plasma Skill with no potential, then once his Rank improved, he would have to learn new Plasma Skills, waste a lot of time and effort to practice them, and accumulate battle experience with them.

And, in life and death situations that were ever-present in war zones, constantly experimenting with new stuff would result in his death sooner or later. So, he had to choose something with a long life that would at least last him until B-Rank.

But, when Rael chanced upon a certain Plasma Skill, he was in a severe case of conflict.