Chương 71: Chapter 72: Tier 6

"To develop a skill, there are two main factors you need to be careful about," Dawn said, hurtling a nifty kinetic push that sent him flying several metres into the air.

"First, there are the inner workings of the skill itself, which I have already explained to you. The other is the external impact, which is essentially the ability to keep your skill active despite everything your body goes through.

"The hardworking ones mostly push through the latter quicker, whereas the clever ones focus on the former from the get-go." Once again, Ember jumped to his feet and charged at her, brandishing his fist. Mana surged through his channels as he ran mana augmentation to its limits, empowering his body. Not that it made that big a difference. Once again, Dawn tossed him into the air, a yawn escaping her lips.

"You would want to be a smarter worker, one who focuses on both. Lord forbid, there's already an epidemic of them, even in the Songrise Academy." Re-establishing his dominion over Mana Augmentation and Blitz Steps, Ember bolted towards her. This time he decided to dodge the first attack she hurled at him. Unperturbed, she merely rushed him, weaving Kinetic Push from both directions before wedging him between them. For a moment, it was as if he was in a meat grinder.

Of course, he didn't attempt to sling any spell of his own, as that would be counterproductive. Dawn was teaching him how to develop his skills, after all. Although she might be having too much fun with it, he believed dividing his focus any more would only exhaust him quicker. He merely needed one level in one of his iron skills to finish this masochistic training.

"You can try weaving too, if you like," she offered.

"It's a new skill; there's a greater chance you will improve in it too." Of course, Ember was weaving, though most of it was spent internally. On one side, he was weaving his mana to have a better effect on mana augmentation. On the other hand, he was still attempting to learn Haste. The two activities were already testing his mental fortitude to the brink of collapsing.

"Oh, that reminds me, I have a theory about two of your skills that you unconsciously accepted." Dawn varied her attacks by adding a deluge of elementary mana bolts into the mix. He didn't evade them all. With his hunter's gear removed from his body, Ember took a few of the attacks head-on as patches of angry bruises marred his back and torso. Following her tips, he had easily grasped the internals of mana augmentation. All he lacked were some external factors to pin in gains.

The training might be a little over the top, even beyond what his grandfather's regime was, but with her healing ability, he had nothing to fear.

"I have a theory that your soul might not be completely dormant," she continued.

"Time and time again, when you are at death's door, it stirs to semi-wakefulness, perhaps for a split second, to accept the skill that will give you the highest chance of survival. It was kind of a survival instinct." Ember grunted and wiped the blood dripping down from his lips.

"So you are saying that I only have myself to blame for screwing up my future skill set?"

"I am not entirely certain, but that might be the case." That didn't make him feel better at all.

"What do you think the chances are of me unconsciously messing up my skill set once again in the future?" Dawn tilted her head, considering him.

"It's minuscule, unless you go off fighting monsters a hundred times your bulk."

"I don't plan on it anytime soon," he said, letting out a forlorn sigh.

"Yet, somehow, I'm not reassured." She withdrew all her mana.

"Take a break for 15 minutes. We will continue for another session." As soon as she gestured, all the tension from his body evaporated as he settled to rest. Dawn drew close to him, intending to mend all his wounds. [Mana Augmentation (Iron) +5 → 6.] [+600 EPs.] [Congratulations! You have met the Evolution Points requirement for Tier VI. Please calm your heart. The Advancement is underway.]"I don't think there is a need for another session," Ember said, quickly sitting down right there.

"I got all the evolution points I needed." Dawn said nothing, only stood before him protectively. Her presence was reliable enough that Ember had no issue closing his eyes and focusing on the advancement. Since it was merely a minor advancement, there wasn't much to worry about. It came and went like his Tier 5 advancement, though it pushed his physical body, muscles, and even his bones through some diabolical restructuring.

It might be because of all the injuries he bore, or there might likely be more monumental changes in his body. Ember had cultivated his physical body religiously for the last couple of years, and the advancement tended to improve whichever direction he trained his skills in. The torment was suffocating. Ember would have let out a squeal before Dawn if not for Mindwall muting his agony.

On that note, he didn't know when, but after meeting Dawn, he had unconsciously begun to stop relying too much on Mindwall for everything. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. Soon, a warm flow of life energy joined the race with the chaotic surge of power rushing through his veins. Like last time, Dawn's life mana avoided the flooding force and mended his wounds from the inside out.

She didn't even need to heal extensively, as most of the injuries had been fleshy bruises. [Human (Iron) Tier 5 (9415 → 10015/9600) → 6 (415/19200)] [+19 Skill Slots.]"Thank you," was the first thing he said, opening his eyes. She smiled.

"Don't mind me. Check your status to your heart's desire." Ember did exactly that, opening his status window before she could even finish. The golden boxes were more filled than before he came on this expedition. All in all, he had gained over 6, 000 evolution points in less than three weeks. Of course, he had to give credit where it was due. First was obviously Dawn; if not for her, half of those points would perhaps be impossible. Then there was that blasted basilisk.

Although his fury at it had quenched after its demise, he still relegated its position to second after her and above his grandfather. That old man had never managed to get him a silver skill, much less gold. Ember Blackstone [Human (Iron) Tier 5 (9415 → 10015/9600) → Tier 6 (415/19200)] Class: N/A Titles: Knight Squire, Gifted, Hunter, Magic Apprentice. Mana Foundation: Tier 4 Mana Aperture: 30 Breath of Mana: 127 → 129 Attunements: Mind (Minor - 12. 3%): Sensate (Tier 1) Kinetic Force (Minor - 16. 8%): Kinetic Push (Tier 4), Force Shield (Tier 2), Mana Bolt (Tier 1), Kinetic Pull (Tier 2), Elementary Telekinesis (Tier 1) Attributes: Might: 17. 7 → 26. 8 Speed: 24. 3 → 35. 7 Will: 50. 2 → 64. 7 Insight: 93. 1 → 104. 6 (+10) Mystic: 122. 2 → 156. 3 (+10) Immunity: 55. 7 → 72.

1 Class Skills: General Skills: [Skill Slot: 74/102] Common: Language Acquisition Max | Archery Max Copper: Hunting +8 → 9 | Advanced Swordsmanship +8 → 9 | Toxin Tolerance +2 Iron: Mana Shaping +8 | Split Focus +6 | Blitz Steps +7 | Mind Wall +6 | Mana Augmentation +5 → 6 | Walking Meditation +1 → 2 | Mana Weaving +3 As he imagined, there were stark improvements in his physical attributes. And... there was nothing else to note.

Other times when his racial tiers improved, there were noticeable improvements in his mana circuit and apertures. But now that he had finished with the circuit, his mana apertures seemed to have stagnated at 30. There were some high-quality potions for that if he continued to falter in that path, but that was a consideration for later. Currently, he could not even put half of them to good use. But as his gaze fell upon the skill tab, his eyes lingered on his skill slots.

Ember had already gained enough slots to acquire the silver skill. He had left the issue of gold and silver skills for his future self to solve, and yet he was once again being forced to dwell on the same debate within a few hours. Well, I can leave the skill slots available for some time, he thought as suddenly an idea came to him. Yes, with upgrading Hunter, he wouldn't lack Iron skills to grind his way to Tier 7, even if the requirements had doubled once again.

But what if he worked towards gaining some more extra skill slots, which would give him more room to work with? Well, 27 to be exact, so that he could accept one of the gold skills right after his Tier 7 advancement. Upgrading his Gifted title to Prodigy would give him an extra 6 skill slots. Ember believed he had a fair chance of reaching Tier 6 in Mana Foundation as well.

Tier 7 might still be on the cards, but it would be difficult considering the requirement for the number of breaths of mana doubles on each tier. And he would have to solidify his mana. Ember was unsure how difficult that might be. So that's another easy 6 extra slots. Adding one more bonus from Knight Squire at Tier 7, which only left him thirteen slots off his goal of twenty-seven. Perhaps he could work tirelessly to get to Tier 7 in Mana as well, but that would still leave him 10 skill slots short.

After a little consideration, he asked Dawn about the requirements for upgrading Magic Apprentice again.

"It's Tier 7 in Mana Foundation, 18 intermediate spells and 6 advanced spells." She considered the question.

"Learning 18 intermediate spells shouldn't prove too difficult for you within 3 years, if you can acquire a couple of other attunements. It's the six advanced spells that stop most magelings." She didn't have to tell him about the gulf between a Tier 6 and Tier 7 spell for him to know the difficulty. Most Magelings couldn't even meet that in their lifetime, much less before their trial. For now, he left the option of upgrading Mana Apprentice off the table.

Even if he poured everything into it, it would still take half a miracle for him to make it. And still, the advancement would likely come too late for it to be of much use. The other option was obviously to learn runes and find a way to become a Rune Apprentice.

"What do you think of my chances of becoming a Rune Apprentice within a couple of years?" Ember asked. A line formed between her brows as she regarded him.

"You're thinking of acquiring the gold skill with slots rewarded from titles?" She paused, humming.

"It's not as bad an idea as I had imagined, but Rune Apprentice alone shouldn't be enough, not to mention the sheer amount of time it costs to even learn 6 basic scripts. The easier choice would be Apprentice Alchemist. You merely need to half-arse six elementary potions, and voilà! You've got the title." Although she made it sound rather easy, Ember was unsure if that was really the case.

"Don't worry," she said, assuaging his expression.

"The basics of alchemy are nothing more than chemistry. I bet it won't take you six months to brew six elementary potions."

"Won't I need Life attunement or something?"

"Life mana would help, but it's a requirement for the intermediary and advanced stages. You don't need it to make basic Tonics and Recovery Potions. But if you feel ill at ease, you can always buy vials of liquefied life mana. Your control over it might not be as intimate as your own mana, but I have still seen many people become true alchemists even without a life attunement." That put him more at ease, as he unconsciously let out a breath of relief.

"But you would need to acquire both Rune Apprentice and Apprentice Alchemist titles to give you enough slots." She paused, contemplating.

"Two years should be enough to earn those titles, though I can't be sure with Rune Apprentice. Well, the best option would be if you can find yourself a mentor or two in either of those two fields.

"If not, you might have to strip off a low-level skill you do not fancy."