Chương 140: Chapter 138 - A Master’s Eye

" … eventually after the energy infusion finished, I was ejected out into the stars and I woke back up." Elias had given Mira a mostly accurate breakdown of his evolution, although he did skip over his meeting with Vael. The pointed look from Astra and the slight ripple of disappointment down the tether told him enough about her feelings on the subject, but the truth of the matter was that he just wasn't ready to let that particular cat out of the bag.

He was gratified that she kept her silence on the topic, and made a mental note to tell her that he appreciated it later when they had a moment, although the look she gave him a thread of affection trickled down the tether had probably done so already." Fascinating." Mira leaned forward gently tapping one bandaged finger on her knee as she was lost in thought. A couple minutes passed in comfortable silence before she spoke again, turning to meet Eli's gaze." Was that an accurate rendition of your world?

If you are amenable I would very much like to discuss the subject further at your convenience. Finding something that is both so alien and so oddly familiar is truly exciting, but not the reason we are here. Kindly share the Skill description with me if you please? Let's start with the ones you are familiar with so far, [Displacement] first." Eli followed the pattern of intent she had taught him and shared the description with both her and Astra.

[Displacement: Lv 1 - The Veilcutter is deadly at close range, but needs to survive long enough to get there. Harnessing the power of the Weave the Veilcutter generates a sphere of force to repel attacks. This skill can produce either an omnidirectional sphere or a small thin plane of repulsive force centered around the palm of the hand. When in active use this skill creates a locus of directed force that must be channeled to be maintained at a moderate ongoing mana cost. Minor reduction in channeling cost per level.] She hummed thoughtfully, " Hmmm. And this is the one you were using to launch those spikes? Show me." He pulled one of the small spikes from the sleeve around his wrist and with a flicker of [Displacement] shot the small metal spike towards the treeline, although the trajectory angled sharply upwards when it passed through the swirling winds that were currently cocooning the trio as the sharp snap of the air displacement echoed through the small space.

A proud smile on Mira's face spread into a full on grin at the display, " Excellent. And that is why I am proud to call you my pupil, as short as your tutelage has been. How is your accuracy so far?" Eli winced before sheepishly admitting, " Atrocious. Even terrible would be generous if I am being honest." Mira shrugged, " You have had it for less than a month with little time to practice? Perfectly reasonable. Show me again, both versions, but do not launch anything."

Eli flicked on both the sphere and the plane versions, holding both for a few seconds at a time before switching. Mira stayed seated but asked him to show her nearly every angle of the projections, her white irises faintly glowing as she studied the structure of the magic. She had him show her all the different projectiles he had tried during his initial experiments with the Skill." I believe you are going about this the wrong way.

You are currently using the sphere for offense and the plane for deflection, however, you would be better served with the opposite, albeit not with the skill in its current form." She pulled a small notebook from the pocket of the dark leather trousers she wore. Mira had opted for what he was coming to see as the on-duty but casual attire of the Emberholdt soldiers, fitted leather trousers, knee high riding boots, and a blue tunic with the ducal crest embroidered on the breast.

Although given the faded colors of the tunic and the gentle wear on the embroidery of the crest, Eli suspected that the shirt might be older than he was. With precise and confident strokes unmarred by her injury, she traced out a sphere with a series of intricate lines inside, spiraling out from the center in a complicated pattern before diving back inwards to renew their journey." This is not the most accurate representation, but it is close enough to illustrate my point.

I am unsure if you are aware, but this is a general pattern of the direction lines of force inside the sphere. As you can see it is not an omnidirectional repulsion but one with a distinctive swirl and disruptive currents." She sketched another sphere next to the first, this one missing all of the eddies and diversions in the inner swirls, but instead producing an even flow of the distinctive swirling."

As it stands you are sinking the rear of the projectile directly into the locus of force expecting an even distribution of momentum, which is a reasonable assumption, but it is introducing an erratic spin that is not only throwing off your trajectory but also making it unpredictable. This is no fault of your own, just an artifact of your lower tier [Mana Sense] Skill being unable to perceive the construct."" Huh." Eli fell silent for a moment, his gaze drifting between the two sketches as a distant memory surfaced.

He was reminded of a time long ago in a different world, a young man laying in the warm sun of a dusty rifle range as an instructor hammered the lesson into them again and again.

"... Aim small, miss small." Mira nodded, " Aye. Precision is decided long before the arrow ever leaves the bow." She tapped the second sphere, " On the other hand if you can shift the lines into a cleaner flow, not only will you increase the repulsive force, you will also introduce a reliable spin to your deflections allowing you greater control over where your opponents weapon or projectile goes afterwards as well as redirecting more of the momentum from their blow."

Mira traced out two more shapes, a deep conical v shape, and a second bell shaped structure close to a slim vase with conical bottom that would never stand on its own." This modification will take a little more work. I think it would behoove you to standardize your ammunition, pick just one or two, canister shot, a ball, a spike, a dagger, whichever you like, and customize the plane to fit.

If you asked me I would most likely choose both a ball shot and a spike, one can be used for a bludgeoning blow and the other for piercing and both could fit the same launch patterns with the correct sizing." She tapped the deep cone, " Here is where you want to start. If you retain the unidirectional repulsion of the plane, with this shape you can not only stabilize your projectile natively, but you will still impart more force. Less wasted energy and a more reliable delivery system."

Mira tapped the second figure, the U shaped tubular structure, " This will be the goal. A broad bell to start, but if you can refine the shape into a narrower tube you see a marked increase in both speed and precision." A small smile on Eli's face grew into a wry grin as she continued, " Once you are able to maintain a stable version of this shape over a greater length, we can begin adding a shallow spiral to the inner surface." If you come across this story on Amazon, it's taken without permission from the author.

Report it." To add spin to increase stability?"" Aye! An excellent addition especially to assist in long range… wait." Mira glanced up at him, " You are smiling, I assume you have seen something similar?" Eli chuckled, " You could say that." Mira grinned, " Excellent! That will save me more than a few lessons on how objects handle applied force. I really must applaud your realm's educational system… Perhaps your realm and ours are not so different after all."" Now, show me [Veilrend]."

[Veilrend: Lv 1 - Few things are as strong as the threads of the world, so as the Veilcutter can slip through the weave so too does their blows strike through their opponents defenses. Coating your blade in a thin layer of spatially aspected mana you generate a surface that can part most defenses, physical and energetic alike. When in active use this skill coats a surface in a layer of aspected mana at an initial moderate mana cost, that must be channeled to be maintained at a minor ongoing mana cost. WARNING: This skill produces a minor protective effect on the inner surface, but extended use may have deleterious effects to structure the effect has been applied to. Minor reduction in casting cost and moderate reduction in channeling cost per level.] Her brow furrowed as she read over the system message, " It's not often that you see a warning directly from this System." She glanced over at Eli, " Has this been a problem for you?"

Astra laughed, " I doubt you failed to notice all the spares he has been lugging around?" Mira chuckled, " Is that why all the men have been calling you the quartermaster instead of Corporal Brewer? Can you show me?" Eli started to reach for one of his home made tusk daggers before stopping, " Any chance you have a blade that you don't care about? These are kind of sentimental, and I just ground the last of the pits out of my poleaxe last night."

He hefted the shaft of the one in question, " I have a few spares, but this one has the best balance out of the lot and I would rather not ruin it just yet." Mira rose and stuck her head through the encircling wind wall and shouted something unintelligible at Cooper on the driver's seat. He tossed a small object to her and as she walked back over and sat down she handed him a small steak knife." The Skill should still work for a dining utensil, no?" He shrugged, " Can't see why not."

Triggering [Veilrend] a trickle of pale yellow mana streamed down the handle, coating the blade in a razor sharp plane of distorted space, transparent but warping the image of the blade when viewed directly through the pane. Mira examined it through a few different angles, before running him through a few exercises.

She had him drop the blade, throw it, hold the blade and try to enhance the handle, make a few test cuts on various materials she had collected in a small pile, she even had him try to enhance the tines on one of the utensils from a mess kit. Eli chuckled as he speared the utensil deep into a hunk of wood, the tines piercing as smoothly as if the wood was immaterial." Guess I'm fully prepared if I need to murder someone with a spork. Good to know, but I'm not sure how relevant it is?"

Astra broke out in laughter as Mira rolled her eyes and huffed, " I am glad to see your wit extends beyond enumerating appendages Mr Mercer, but I was testing the range of surfaces the Skill would natively enhance. Luckily, it seems quite versatile, if fairly straight forward." She arched a brow in his direction, " I assume you have already puzzled out the pitfall of a channeled skill?" Eli nodded, " Yeah. Keeping the activation short, flicking it on and off right before and after a strike." Mira nodded, " Aye.

Try to avoid falling into the novice trap of leaving the skill active simply because you can, maintaining one's reserves over the course of a long battle is paramount." She gestured for the knife and examined it closely, the glow from her irises brightening for a moment before subsiding." Have you tried other materials?" Astra winced and nodded, speaking for Eli, " Aye. Sturdier metals hold best, but even Emberholdt Steel has trouble keeping up with the damage.""

Yeah, most get chipped and pitted after a few minutes of active time, and even the good stuff lasts less than ten minutes before it starts to lose its edge." Mira nodded thoughtfully, " Hence the wagonload of disposable blades…" She glanced over at his current poleaxe, " You like the balance of this one?" Eli nodded."

Very well, there is an arms merchant with the column… one of the mountain folk from the Northern Spine?" Eli furrowed his brow in confusion, " Old Graff?" Mira snapped her fingers, or at least made the motion as no sound came from the bandaged digits, " Aye that is the one, commission a handful of identical heads from the man. He should be able to source the materials when we pass through Theron's Watch, and you can at least retain a form you prefer and swap the heads when they wear through."

She sighed and glanced off into the trees, " We will likely have to wait until we reach Emberholdt to find a permanent solution. I would find it difficult to believe this is a completely new problem, and if anyone has solved it before, someone at the Foundry will know how." Astra nodded thoughtfully, her gaze lingering on the worn edge of Eli's poleaxe for a heartbeat longer than necessary before the conversation moved on." An excellent skill but without much room for improvement at the moment.

Refinement and control is called for here, but if you can increase efficiency without reducing severance or penetration, this is the sort of Skill that will follow you to the very end of the Path." She gave Eli a warm smile, " Even I still possess [Keen Strike] on my Skill list. Granted at my level of power I rarely have cause to invoke it…" The corner of her mouth ticked upwards, " Well, unless I am sparring with Roderic and he needs a reminder as to why frost reigns supreme."

She set the knife aside on top of the pile of punctured wood, metal, and stone, " Next I would like to see [Veilstep], if you please Mr Mercer." [Veilstep: Lv 1 - You can not cut what you can not reach, so the Veilcutter slides through the threads of the world to reach their target. Weaving a shroud of spatially aspected mana to protect your form from the ravages of the void between realms, you slip between the planes to shorten the distance between you and your prey. This skill allows the user to enter liminal spaces with a protective shroud. When in active use this skill protects the user from deleterious effects of adverse environments with expansive prime realm translocation properties at a massive mana cost. WARNING: The shroud produced by this skill is a requirement for safe travel, interruption of shroud projection comes at the risk of grievous bodily harm. Slight reduction in cost and moderate increase in casting speed per level.] Her brow furrowed, " Another warning?

Maybe you should have listened when the Avatar told you not to choose this class… through the void? Protective shroud…"" Curious… that is unusual wording. Is it not a translocation skill?" It was Eli's turn to be confused, " I'm sorry maybe this is a translation issue, what's the difference between teleportation and translocation?" Mira sighed, " We really must see about language lessons Mr Mercer, those are both different words to my ear, and they both belong to a category with a few more depending on the method.

It is unusual to receive a translocation Skill at such a low tier. They swap spatial coordinates between two positions in a defined space and are extraordinarily demanding." She glanced over at him, " I assume you have experienced some of the side effects, minor nausea, disorientation, a vague sense of impending doom?" Eli nodded, " Mild's not exactly the word I would use, but… yeah. I could really do without the tongue bath though…" Mira paused before slowly narrowing her eyes." Pardon me… the WHAT?"