Chapter 21.3 - Winding Down [3]
[Entering [Yuriele]]
[Set Location: [Dun Stadia]]
~~~
Slowly, as the light fades away, the ample village of [Dun Stadia] comes into view.
Or, well, more like the city of [Dun Stadia].
For one thing, the island's size has increased, quite drastically actually. From what I can see with mystic eyes, the area is...about two, maybe three times bigger than last time? The buildings remained mostly in the same medieval style though, with houses made of wood, bricks, and rough stone.
But what's most surprising is that they started to build underground. It's something I actually suggested Oswald to do, since the area under the surface can be used just as well as the area above, but I didn't think he'd do that so quickly. Still, the benefits of having an underground area is tremendous, so I can't blame the man.
Now, to find where Wanda is…
Ah, okay, found her! She's at the far northern end of the island, mostly training with her spear on her lonesome. Smiling, I begin making my way to her, greeting the people I pass by and deflecting the many praises and 'thank you's they shower me with.
Soon, I come up to Wanda, who's currently a bit too focused on training her skill with the spear to notice me watching her from the side. Her body snaps back and forth, her arms moving from one place to another as she dances across the grass, her spear flickering and blowing gusts of wind.
It isn't the best display of spearmanship I've seen, especially when compared against the Lancers within the [Throne of Heroes], but for a girl who've learnt this for about a week or two, this is quite an achievement. Not only that, but the forms and stances she takes as she moves is strange, different, and far too interesting for me to not use my mystic eyes on her.
Name: Wanda
Age: 13
Sex: Female
Race: Human
Class: [Empty]
Level: 11 Exp: 44/1500
HP: 1760/1760 (35.2HP/min)
MP: 5261/6820 (30.8MP/min)
Stamina: 45% (16%/hour)
Strength: 24 (+6)
Vitality: 16
Dexterity: 31 (+9)
Intelligence: 38.5 (+9.5)
Wisdom: 23.5 (+9.5)
Luck: 14
Skills: [Od Manipulation Lv - 12], [Reinforcement Lv - 3], [Wing Chun: Spear Arts Lv - 6], [Sprint Lv - 7]
Ey~! That's nic-, wait, hold up, [Wing Chun: Spear Arts]?
What the hell is that?
[Wing Chun: Spear Arts Lv 6]
A form of martial arts, originating from ancient China. Created not to emphasize strength or size, but speed and flexibility. The practitioner's body will be relaxed, gentle, yet carry within their strikes the power of a typhoon. Their movements are sharp, and the attacks of a master's are near invisible to the naked eye. Such techniques have now been implemented into the spear, the weapon striking with the same philosophy and belief.
Grants +16% to natural Strength and Dexterity when wielding a spear
The spear's strikes have become sharper, cutting past 12.5% of the enemy's Vitality
Passively grants +6 Strength and Dexterity
...Woah. Where did this come from!?
I mean, the things it gives are standard, but that defense pierce? It's currently at 12.5%, but if my math still goes strong, then it should come up to about 60% at Max level! Her spear would cut through over half of the enemy's defense at that point! That's insane!
How did she-
Wait, didn't I give her a skill book on [Wing Chun]?
...Oh. Oh damn. She learnt from the book, got the skill, and then applied it on her spear, all without the aid of the [Gamer]'s instant skill system!?
Holy hell.
To go back a bit, I got 10 mysterious skill books several chapters back from a bundle, and one of them, which was a skill book on [Wing Chun], I gave to her to see if she could somehow learn from it. Turns out, yes! Yes she can, and she can improve and combine it with other skills on her own!
Which, in hindsight, kind of makes sense. The skill book is still a book one can read and learn from, so her learning something from it doesn't sound too far-fetched.
Still, damn.
"Doing good there, Wanda!"
At my voice, Wanda snaps out of her focus, nearly tripping on her own leg as she quickly turns to me. "M-Miss Hanami!?"
"Hey there~" I say with a small wave, and the girl quickly brightens up, running up to me with stars in her eyes. I can't help but smile at the girl's enthusiasm, and I gently pat her head. "How've you been doing? Sorry I couldn't visit for a while. Had some...important things I needed to finish back at home."
"I'm fine! Everyone has been doing well after you came!" She says, before she frowned slightly. "But are you sure you can come here? Aren't you still busy?"
"Hmm? Oh, don't worry, all's done and good, so I'm free right now." I say, giving her head another gentle rub. Then, I grin. "On that note, are you free right now? Wanna go grind some monsters?"
"Mm!" She nods with no hesitation, and so I did as I say, casting [ID:Create] and causing the world around us to shift. The skies turn dark, the ground expands, and modern buildings seem to sprout from the ground. All over the ID, groans can be heard as the undead begins to crawl out of the ground and onto the roads.
The [Ghoul ID]! Man, this makes me feel all nostalgic~
At my side, Wanda is silent, her mouth open as she stares at the modern setting she finds herself in. It's incredibly cute, but I gently push her jaw back close and smile. "Alright, no time for gawking, Wanda. The ghouls are coming."
"A-Ah, right!" She swiftly snaps to attention, bringing forward her spear as ghouls begin to come out of the alleyways and into the streets. A fairly large group of undead forms before us, numbering around 80 ghouls, all of them most definitely brought here because they felt the magical energy I was leaking into the air.
But that's fine, because that simply means more Exp for little Wanda over here.
With the enemies in sight, Wanda moves, rushing forward and stabbing her spear right through one of the ghouls. It doesn't get to say much before its head is ripped off as her spear snaps to the left, puncturing through the eye of the ghoul on her left.
And so begins the slaughter, with Wanda rooted in place as her spear snaps back and forth, piercing and tearing through with speed and precision. It's definitely not the normal way to hold a spear, but it's definitely effective.
Although, when I try to analyze it with my eyes, I simply come up blank, with no skills for me to gain. Is it because it's such a new skill that my eyes can gleam nothing from it, or is it because of some other factor?
A problem for another time I suppose.
After some time, and with one last ghoul stabbed through the skull, the battle finishes. Wanda lets out a short breath, heavy yet not quite tired. I smile. "So, shall we continue on?"
With another short breath, the girl smiles. "Yes…!"
And so we did, with me guiding us through the rural cityscape and letting Wanda carve through the hordes of ghouls coming our way. As we go on, I let my prana leak out, just to alert even more ghouls to come and to bring more Exp for Wanda to powergrind through.
Overall, it was very effective, too effective perhaps. Wanda, for as fast she is, still got hit quite a bit, and her clothes suffered quite heavily through the many attacks. It didn't help that her skill with [Reinforcement] was still fairly low, which meant that casting the magecraft on her body would be a bit too dangerous.
Her spear didn't fare any better, with the original thing being reduced to about half its length, and the sharp edge it had now gone, broken away when she was forced to fight the [Ghoul Culmination: Test #314]. Still, for how limited her current set of skills are, I'd say she dealt with the entire thing extremely well.
So, for now, I've given her a new set of clothes and let her rest. She's more than earned it by this point. I'll leave the things I want to teach her for a later date.
On the other hand, I'm currently busy with making a new spear for Wanda to wield. It's nothing crazy, since I do want her to be able to hold it in the first place. It's just a slightly longer polearm, this time a halberd to better fit with the way her spearmanship is now, and made from [Thorium], which is basically [Steel] but more magical.
I've also enchanted it with [Gehen], just to give her an even easier time shredding through enemies.
Which now leads me with nothing to do. I mean, I could go and kill some monsters, but I think I've seen enough action for today. I could also start making armor for Shirou and I, but I...I don't know, I just don't feel in the right headspace right now, so it probably won't turn out as good as I want them to be.
Hmm...maybe I should just review the other 7 remaining mysterious skill books?
...Actually, yeah, why the hell not.
[[Brigand Counter] Skill Book]
-Requires 400 Intelligence and Wisdom to use-
Through sending an overpowering burst of prana, you can counter an incoming attack, sending your own back at the enemy. Crude? Yes. Inefficient? Perhaps. Does it work? Definitely.
-At Level 1-
Costs 30000 MP to cast
Repels any attack Rank A+ or below
If the counter hits, the enemy will be [Stunned] for 10 seconds.
-Note: [Stunned] effect can be reduced or negated by certain enemy types and skills-
This is the first one, and...well, it's not bad, per se. The effect itself is quite strong, and I can definitely see it working if I put some training into it, but as the skill itself says, it's 'Inefficient'. It'd probably get better the higher level it becomes, but that initial 30000 MP cost is the final nail in the coffin. I mean, not even [Thunderclap and Flash] costs that much to use!
I'm probably just going to sell this one to the [Obelisk], or give it to someone else. I don't know.
[[Air Step] Skill Book]
-Requires 150 Intelligence and 100 Dexterity to use-
By creating a platform of solid air under you, solidified by your magical energy, you are able to leap up into the air from seemingly nothing. Chained together, and you'll achieve pseudo-flight.
-At level 1-
Costs 200 MP every platform created
Passively Grants +1 Intelligence and Dexterity
This is actually quite a nice skill, one that has a lot of possible ways to use it. It's just, well, I have both [Prana Rocket Propulsion] and [Morningstar] to solve the flight issue, and [Morningstar] can pretty much do everything this skill can. Not gonna throw it away though. Since I now know that other people can actually learn from skill books, I might just give this to Shirou, just to give him some way to battle in the air.
Next!
[[Gravity Well] Skill Book]
-Requires 200 Intelligence and Wisdom to use-
By the use of ancient magic, the space around you distorts, twisting, and your enemy is seemingly pulled close to you by an unseen force.
-At Level 1-
Allows you to forcefully pull an enemy close to you. Current Max distance between you and the enemy: 50 Meters
Costs 5000 MP to use
Passively Grants +1 Intelligence and Wisdom
Again, it's quite a nice skill, just something [Morningstar] has made redundant. It's definitely a powerful skill, especially for melee fighters who need to pull an enemy close. Shirou would make use of this quite well, though I think Wanda might as well, so I'm still not sure what to do with this one.
[[Sword Dance] Skill Book]
A skill, created for inhuman companions, modified for human use. By synchronizing with the steel in your hands, the blades you hold, you form a bond. Its strength becomes yours, and your strength becomes theirs.
-At level 1-
At use, when wielding a sword, all stats will be increased by 100%. This effect can increase in certain unique circumstances.
Costs 5000 MP to initially use, costs 500 MP/min to maintain
?
Passively Grants +2 Strength and Dexterity
-Note: Gaining this skill will irreversibly alter your soul. Use with caution-
Now, this one's quite special. The skill name seems rather familiar actually, but I can't quite remember where it came from. But that aside, all stats doubled when wielding a sword, at level 1!? That's insane!
But! I'm not going to use it for myself. Why?
Well, first off, for my skills with the sword, I'm not a sword main. More importantly though is that final line about how it'll 'irreversibly alter my soul'. I have a feeling it simply means changing my [Origin], and as weird and unpredictable [Change] is as an origin, I don't think I'mma changing that anytime soon.
That aside though, it's 'cause this one's for Shirou! I mean, Shirou's already attuned with swords, might as well add this onto his repertoire of skills!
[[Wings of Anemo] Skill Book]
A blessing given from the god of wind; magic given the form of a pair of magical wings. Through it wind is gathered, and through it one could fly and attain dominion over the skies above.
-Max Level at use-
Once the wings are created, you can fly
Costs 1000 MP to initially use, 100 MP/min to maintain
?
Once again, quite a good skill, just one that's sadly made redundant by [Morningstar]. The unknown bit of text is quite interesting, but the fact that it'll remain at Max Level means that it won't improve, so there isn't really any point for me to use it. I'll probably just give this to Wanda, since, you know, she lives in a world made of floating islands and all.
[[Armory] Skill Book]
A slightly more limited version of the [Inventory], but streamlined and maximized for absolute efficiency between storing and switching through the many weapons it can store. Automated firing of weapons might even become possible, but such skill would require massive amounts of time and effort to master.
-Max Level at use-
Allows the user to store and bring out weapons at moment's notice. The number of weapons and types of weapons capable of being stored is infinite. However, be careful not to forget what you've stored.
And here's another special one! It's, as it says in the description, a less-flexible but more efficient version of my [Inventory], one that can even be used like the [Gates of Babylon] with enough training and time. Just like the rest, not too sure what to do with this one, but I'll definitely save it for someone else in the future.
Last but not least,
[[Chain Dragon Lightning] Skill Book]
A lightning spell classified as a tier 7 in the world of YGGDRASIL. A powerful burst of lightning shot forth from the caster's hand, taking the shape of a dragon that'll strike your enemies down and burn them to ash.
-At level 1-
Fires a dragon made of lightning, dealing AOE damage in a small radius.
Costs 1000 MP to cast
Passively grants +1 Intelligence and Wisdom
-Note: Due to [Voltaic Charge] and [Hearth of Daedron], this skill will be nullified upon gain-
There's this. If my memory serves me right, this is a spell from...Overlord, right? Yeah, the one Nabe used against that undead dragon thing in the first couple episodes. Much like the other skills, it's definitely good, great even, and the passive stat boost it gives is always a nice cherry on top.
It's just, [Voltaic Charge] and [Hearth of Daedron] basically does the same thing, nullifying it's effect.
Which is...weird, actually. I mean, I have [Prana Bullets] and [Prana Construct] at the same time. Why doesn't [Prana Bullet] get nullified by [Prana Construct]? Also, why does [Gehen] exist despite me having [Od Manipulation]? Shouldn't they be combined into one?
Is the [Gamer] system starting to become stingy or something?
...Actually, I can kind of see that happening, for some reason. Hmm, that's something I should definitely ask System when she comes.
On that note, I haven't heard from System in a while. Wonder what System's doing right now…
For now, I think I've spent enough time grinding for the day. I got access to a new ID, fought some incredible monsters and leveled a bunch, and spent some time running through some old IDs with Wanda. Overall, quite a chill day.
It's time to go back!