Chương 78: Defense Skills

On the way to the adventurers' guild, Kyle casually looked around. The weather had gotten much hotter lately. Most people and adventurers wore thin linen shirts. Even though it wasn't long after dawn, the temperature wasn't low. It had been around four months since Kyle recovered his past life's memories. At the time, it was around the start of spring. Now, it was mid-summer.

'I can't imagine how hot the guys wearing heavy armor must feel.' Kyle thought, pulling the straps of his leather armor slightly. That was another reason he didn't like heavy armor. He soon reached the adventurers' guild and walked in without hesitation. It was quite lively, with adventurers either having breakfast or competing for the good quests on the board. Kyle looked around for a bit before walking towards the stairs to the second floor.

"Good morning." He said as he passed by Celia's counter.

"Good morning, Kyle." Celia waved back with a bright smile on her face before going back to work. Quite a few adventurers waiting in line looked on with surprise and envy, but they quickly shifted their gaze upon seeing the copper tag hanging on his neck. He quickly walked up the stairs and headed straight to the counter on the other end of the second floor, the kiosk selling spells and combat skills.

"Hi," Kyle greeted the person behind the counter. A brown-haired woman with a beauty mark near her mouth glanced up from behind the counter. She bookmarked the page she stopped at before closing the book she was reading.

"Good morning. What can I do for you?" She said, placing the book she was reading on the counter.

"Do you have defensive skills suitable for swordsmen, or even warriors in general?" Kyle asked.

"Yes, we do. Please wait a second." The woman said before taking out a list from the side of the counter and handing it to him. Kyle thanked her before carefully looking at the list. [Iron Guard] [Rank 1] [Deflecting Current] [Rank 1] [Reactive Shroud] [Rank 1] [Stone Mantle] [Rank 1] [Blade Aegis] [Rank 2] Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

'As expected, in this small branch, they don't have many rank 2 combat skills.' He thought. Kyle carefully scanned each combat skill. He pondered for a moment before eliminating [Iron Guard] and [Stone Mantle], which were more suitable for knights and shield bearers. In the end, his gaze paused on the remaining three. [Deflecting Current] [Rank 1 Combat Skill] [Type: Active Defense] [Class: Swordsman, Warrior] [Description: Circulates mana along the surface of the arms and torso in a flowing pattern. Upon contact with an incoming attack, it redirects a portion of the force rather than absorbing it directly.] [Limitation: Requires precise timing. Ineffective if activated too early or too late.] [Price: 6 gold coins] [Reactive Shroud] [Rank 1 Combat Skill] [Type: Passive Defense] [Class: Swordsman, Rogue, Warrior] [Description: A thin mana layer that remains dormant across the body until the moment of impact, activating automatically to absorb damage. Minimal mana drain while inactive.] [Limitation: Each activation consumes a fixed amount of mana regardless of the attack's strength. Repeated hits in quick succession will rapidly drain mana reserves. Has lower defense than dedicated active skills.] [Price: 8 gold coins] [Blade Aegis] [Rank 2 Combat Skill] [Type: Active Defense] [Class: Swordsman] [Description: Extends mana outward from the blade to form a short-range protective field. Can block both physical and magical projectiles within the field's range. Doubles as a parrying enhancement.] [Limitation: Requires the user to hold their weapon. Field range is limited to approximately 1 meter from the blade.] [Price: 45 gold coins] Kyle looked longingly at [Blade Aegis]. It was the best defense skill for a swordsman, and it almost perfectly met his expectations, but it was something only a rank 2 elite could use, requiring the ability to manifest mana outward.

'I also don't have the money for it.' Kyle shook his head and eliminated [Blade Aegis]. His gaze drifted between [Reactive Shroud] and [Deflecting Current]. One active and one passive. One with rather high defense but requiring extremely sharp reactions and on-the-spot judgment. The other had mediocre defense but was much easier to use.

'If only deflective current could become a passive skill as well,' Kyle thought.

'Wait, I can merge these two into one defense skill that combines both of their advantages.' Kyle's eyes sharpened. However, looking at their price, he started hesitating. If he bought them both, he wouldn't have much money left. After looking at them for a while, Kyle gritted his teeth and decided to buy just [Reactive Shroud] for now. He still had the necklace with the arcane armor spell. [Reactive Shroud] would be just enough to ensure that he wouldn't be instantly killed even if he were ambushed.

"I'd like to buy [Reactive Shroud]," Kyle said, handing the list back.

"Please wait a moment." The brown-haired woman said, standing up and walking to the shelf filled with books in the back, and picked up one of them.

"Here you go." She placed the book on the counter. Kyle placed 8 gold coins on the counter before picking up the book.

"Thanks." He said before walking towards the stairs. He didn't plan to lounge around anymore. He still had much training to do. Kyle walked down to the first floor and headed towards one of the places he wanted to go into but couldn't for a long time. Mirevale's guild training grounds. He stopped in front of a door near the stairs, showed the clerk sitting next to it his adventurer tag, and then pushed the door open and walked in.

'I no longer have to walk several kilometers outside of Mirevale just to find a quiet place to train.' Just this thought put Kyle in a good mood. The training ground wasn't much different from the one in Velkaris, just a bit smaller.

'They have private training rooms too.' Kyle looked at the white building not far away before walking to an empty corner and unsheathing his sword.