Chương 169: Chapter 54 - Reflection

The forest settled into that hollow quiet that comes after a kill. Mist clung low over the roots, pale in the thin light that slipped through the canopy. The air smelled of resin, damp earth, and the sharp bite of venom. Somewhere deeper in the trees, something small moved and went still again. After a few minutes, we collected the Venelion's fang, tail, and claws. Right now, our squad was at its most vulnerable; even a Tier 2 might have been able to take us all out.

Thankfully, we were deep inside a Tier 3 beast's territory, so the chances of another attack were low. Still, we put some distance between the Venelion's corpse and ourselves and found a small clearing, still within its domain, to recover some mana and health. We sat in a loose ring, catching our breath. I set my pack down, rolled my shoulders, and started channeling [Minor Restoration (C)]. My health was mostly fine, but my mana was low.

As the steady warmth worked through bruises and strain, my mind drifted back over the fight. The Venelion was a completely different kind of beast. If it hadn't already been tired when I joined the fight, it might have knocked me out with the pressure of its mana and presence alone. [Applied Military Theory (UC)] had been far more useful in active combat than I expected. I'd activated it just to find the best position to attack from, but it did much more than that.

It didn't just analyze our formation, it analyzed the opponent, even though it was a single beast, and kept feeding me adjustments: where our line was weak, how to patch it, when the beast would angle for a flank, and the best ways to avoid those attacks. Angles, stance cues, and small rotations that stopped us from breaking formation. But that insight wasn't without cost; it burned through most of my mana in less than ten minutes of fighting. For a moment, a familiar regret flared.

If I'd had even a few connections, I might have been leading a unit by now, like some noble kids do. In a leading position, I could have gained far more experience directing a fight and shown what I was actually capable of. Thinking about the fight brought me back to a few things that hadn't stopped bothering me. First: Walter's spear. He'd covered it in flames. From what I'd read, only Tier 4s could manipulate mana outside the body. Walter wasn't close to that; he was peak Tier 2. So how did he do it?

Second: if Walter had that level of striking power, why wasn't he in the assault group? He wasn't even in the initial plan to attack the Venelion. The sergeant's plan had put himself, Colin, Owen, and Jack on offense, after Kael's injury, Owen replaced him in defense. But wouldn't it have made more sense to put Garran and Walter forward? Walter had already proven he hit harder than most, and Garran was a butcher; he had to have high-damage skills. With his size, he might have been more effective than Jack.

The thought that followed was ugly, and I didn't like it. Was the sergeant angling to claim the credit, and the benefits, for himself and the men planning to join his house? After all, he'd barely fought during most of the expedition, taking on a purely commanding role, yet for the Tier 3, he suddenly became the main attacker. I was sure that killing a Tier 3 wouldn't just bring merit but also class experience. It felt like a rebellious thought, the kind that earned you enemies if you said it out loud.

But the biggest thing that stuck like a thorn was the use of the mana oath on Kael. He was a conscript, yes, and maybe he wouldn't have followed a shouted order to put himself between the sergeant and the beast, but after the early warning I gave, the sergeant should have had enough time to prepare his own defense. If Kael could move to interpose, then the sergeant could have braced. Forcing the oath through his badge led to Kael getting injured in a critical Tier 3 fight.

That decision cost us a Tier 2 fighter; it was hard to file that under "necessary." Speaking of the early warning, [Guard Duty (C)] hadn't recognized the Venelion as a threat for some time. If that faint tickling sensation I felt earlier had been the Venelion following us, it meant there were ways to trick skills, and even a beast could do it. [Guard Duty (C)] only reacted after I activated [Mana Sensitivity (C)]. It was as if the two overlapped for a moment, sharpening each other.

Which could also mean that the experiment I'd been trying, layering those skills, had worked. I opened my status with a sense of anticipation and checked the [Guard Duty (C)] upgrade. Skill [Guard Duty (C)] available for upgrade [Guard Duty (C)] → [Sentinel's Vigil (UC)] Type: Class Skill (Perception) Associated Attributes: Constitution, Willpower Source Skills: [Guard Duty (C)], evolved through extended watch service and exposure to live combat.

Description: An advanced vigilance skill honed through constant exposure to danger and battlefield tension. Where [Guard Duty] merely reacts to threats, [Sentinel's Vigil] anticipates them. By maintaining a refined mana field anchored to the user's awareness, it detects irregularities in motion, killing intent, and mana turbulence within a larger radius. You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

Effects: • Expanded Perception Field: Detects movement, emotional hostility, and mana spikes within a 40–50 meter radius. • Predictive Reflex: Grants a fractional precognitive response (~0. 3 sec reaction edge) against detected threats. [Guard Duty (C)] → [Perceptive Instinct (UC)] Type: Hybrid Skill (Perception / Mana Sense) Associated Attributes: Constitution, Intelligence, Willpower Description: [Perceptive Instinct] reads internal mana flow—the life energy circulating within nearby beings.

Through mana resonance, the user senses the density, rhythm, and turbulence of mana cores, allowing for the identification of relative power, elemental affinity, and emotional volatility. This fusion marks a soldier's transition from blind reaction to mana-based situational awareness, turning instinct into intuition. Effects: • Mana Resonance Field: Creates a focused sphere (MP-scaled) that maps mana flow signatures of all entities inside.

• Threat Assessment: Detects mana stability and fluctuation patterns to gauge Tier range; can roughly estimate relative Tier difference. • Elemental Reading: Roughly recognizes the dominant mana type. • Emotion Trace: Subtle read of hostile or fearful intent. I stared for a long moment. First, at how detailed the options were. During awakening, a new skill came with a memory and a feeling. Now it was structured, almost like a page from a manual. [Sentinel's Vigil] was the practical choice.

Sharper reflexes, wider field, a soldier's dream in close quarters. It would save lives. Mine, probably. Early warning of ambushes, smoother dodges, faster reactions. [Perceptive Instinct] was different. It was about understanding mana and intent—no direct edge in a close-quarters scramble like [Sentinel's Vigil], but it offered a better picture of the battlefield.

And if uncommon-tier skills continued granting bonus stats on level-up like my other uncommon-tier skills, then [Perceptive Instinct] would grant an extra attribute boost. I kept turning it over. I wanted my path forward to be more about command and less about survival. [Perceptive Instinct] scaled its range with mana capacity, and I had a large pool. If I could combine its information with [Applied Military Theory (UC)], I might be able to command a space bigger than a single squad.

After some consideration, I chose [Perceptive Instinct]. STATUS Name: Edward Novice Class: [Junior Officer (Cadet)] – Level 12 (700/1200 EXP) Elemental Affinity: 0. 1% Wind Mana Cultivation: Tier 1 (20. 5/100) HP: 190 / 205 HP Regen: 55. 8/day MP: 50 / 417 MP Regen: 49.

1/hr Class Skills • [Applied Military Theory (UC)] – Level 10 → 12 • [Soldier's March (C)] – Level 23 • [Defensive Spearplay (C)] – Level 25* • [Perceptive Instinct (UC)] – Level 1 • [Minor Restoration (C)] – Level 22 General Skills • [Memory Recall (UC)] – Level 8 • [Field Medicine (C)] – Level 22 • [Basic Rune Theory (C)] – Level 20 • [Siege Rigging (C)] – Level 15 • [Map Reading (C)] – Level 12 • [Mana Sensitivity (C)] – Level 25* • [Hand-to-Hand Combat (C)] – Level 20"Huh," I muttered.

[Mana Sensitivity (C)] was still there. I'd thought it would merge with [Guard Duty] on upgrade, but I guess that isn't how hybrid skills work. It made sense, gaining [Perceptive Instinct (UC)] hadn't felt like a simple combination of existing skills, but more like I'd developed something new through experimentation. Still, part of me had hoped to free up another general-skill slot so I could gain a stronger mana-related ability in its place.

But since that didn't happen, and [Mana Sensitivity (C)] seemed to have reached its limit, maybe it would evolve next into a more advanced mana-based skill. Around the clearing, the others were coming back to themselves. Barry chewed slowly, staring at nothing. Varric had his eyes closed and his head tipped against a root, but his hand never left his spear. Walter sat at the edge of the mist like a post, watching the trees while he breathed. After about forty-five minutes, we were steady enough to march.

The sergeant stood and dusted his hands. He looked tired.

"We're heading back to Fort Darrow," he said.

"Four to five days if nothing delays us. Form up." We sorted ourselves by habit. I ended up close to Walter. The forest closed in again, damp and dark, our footsteps thudding into the soft ground. I waited until the rhythm of the march settled before speaking.

"Walter," I said, "if you don't mind me asking… how were you able to hit the Venelion with a burning spear? I thought manipulating mana outside the body was something only Tier 4s could do." He frowned and shook his head.

"Common misconception. If that were true, there'd be no mages until Tier 4." He scratched at the strap on his shoulder.

"I'm not a mage, but once you reach late-Tier 2 in mana cultivation, you can push mana out a bit. What I did was coat my spear with fire mana. It costs a lot to keep up and isn't feasible in a long fight. I only use it in an emergency." I nodded, then curiosity got the better of me.

"Do you know how mages progress? What kind of classes do they get?"

"No." He shook his head once. The sergeant snorted from ahead without turning.

"Mage training and classes are closely guarded secrets of the kingdom. They're not allowed to reveal details, even to their families."

"I didn't know that," I said, mostly to myself. I dropped the mage angle and focused on the information Walter had just given me. If late Tier 2 allowed a bit of external manipulation, then even with my poor affinity, I might still be able to reinforce my spear and shield with mana. I might not be able to create a flaming blade, but I could thicken an edge, stiffen a guard, or harden a parry at the moment of impact.

With my mana pool, that edge might be enough to compete with people who had better affinity but smaller reserves.