A/N: Please refer to the new auxiliary chapter for tiers, stats and types of mana cores. Also after this chapter, I will no longer be writing every single skill in detail, I will put that in auxiliary also.
*
It is done.
Upon hearing those words, Michael immediately jumped out of bed, almost tumbling to the ground.
‘I thought you wouldn’t make it, the academy is in 6 hours’ He expressed a sigh of relief and called out for the status
+—+
Name: Michael
Age: 14 years old
Race: Human
Affinity: Light [Supreme]
Mana Purity: 14%
Mana Core: Flow
Mana Core Rank: Tier 1
-:- 0% Progress to next Tier -:-
-Titles:
* Ruthless Combatant
# Raise all your stats by 1 Minor Rank when facing enemies at least 1 tier above you
* Being of Light
# Increase the effectiveness of your Light affinity based spells by 25%
* ???
-Stats
HP: 100% / Regen 5% HP Per Hour
MP: 100% / Regen 10% MP Per Hour
STR: Tier 1 [C+]
END: Tier 1 [B-]
AGI: Tier 1 [B]
INT: Tier 1 [B+]
CHA: Tier 1 [D+]
-Skills / [Skill Merging]
[Herald of Light] [Advanced] [Passive]
# 250% increase in casting speed, 500% for Light affinity based spells
Eyes of The Healer [Intermediate] [Passive]
# See the ailments, illnesses, curses, and any kind of mind magic of those in your field of vision.
Hand to hand combat [Beginner] [Passive]
# Increases STR by 1 Minor Rank when fighting using only your hands
Discipline [Basic] [Passive]
# Mental magic has a 20% reduced effect on you
Shooting mastery [Beginner] [Passive]
# Any kind of projectile has a 20% increase in velocity
Purify [Intermediate] [Active]
# Purify everyone and everything around you, curing all diseases and illnesses
Cost: 5% MP
Radius: 200 Meters
Shield of Nourishment [Basic] [Active]
# Heal 20% HP and apply a 20% HP shield. Heal 10% after shield is broken.
Cost: 2% MP
Physical Enhancement [Beginner] [Active]
# Increase all stats by 1 Minor Rank
Upkeep: <1% MP/S Sword of Light [Basic] [Active] # Summon 1 or multiple swords containing the Light affinity. Cost: <1% MP/S Shield of Light [Basic] [Active] # Summon 1 or multiple shields containing the Light affinity Cost <1% MP/S Veil of Detection [Basic] [Active] # Feel the mana of everything and everyone in an area around you. Cost: <1% MP/S +---+ Michael's smile twitched slightly 'System..? Where are the skills you told me about?' Well.. to unlock certain abilities.. I had to sacrifice them. The system's nonchalant words made him widen his eyes in disbelief 'Are you fucking kidding me? Just how many skills did you sacrifice!?' Hm.. All but 1? I only left Herald of Light since it looked to be something you would want, the others would have combined into bad skills anyway. 'You are unbelievable..' Michael glanced at his new status a few more times, not understanding half of the things on there. However, one thing made a frown appear on his face. 'Did my healing skills get worse?' As I have told you, all your skills were readjusted for the future, you might think of it as worse for now, however, you would understand that it is much better for you. 'Yeah? Do tell me how exactly? I would need to cast my Shield of Nourishment 5 times to heal someone back to full health, does that seem good to you?' If you think your 8000 HP heals would work on those who have a Mana core, then you are wrong. The HP amounts can no longer be put into numbers once you are strong enough, percentages are the only way. Michael was still not convinced but it's not like he could do anything anyway so he merely nodded 'If you say so.' He didn't know how to feel, while he did grow significantly stronger, the loss of the skills felt like a big blow to him, even if most of them could not be used practically, some could be combined into better skills. 'So how do I increase my mana core tier?' Do you remember the feeling of the thread moving from your lower spine to the upper spine? Michael slightly shivered 'How could I not.. I don't think I'll ever forget that pain.' Whatever, you need to absorb mana and slowly weave it upwards, once you reach the very top, your tier will increase, simple right? 'Are you telling me I have to go through the same pain again?' Of course not, this process usually takes longer than a few hours, you were in pain because your mana core thread was forcefully stretched out. 'Fair enough, so I just have to what.. absorb mana into my spine?' Yes, to the very bottom of your spine, once a certain amount accumulates, you will see the mana thread forming, after that, you just have to absorb more and weave it upwards. 'Alright.' Michael stretched a bit and began walking towards the academy, it was still in 6 hours but he didn't really have anything better to do, he had already informed Alfred about him leaving again. The system explained some details regarding the mana cores and his new stat calculations and although it confused him, it was a bit better than not knowing anything at all. Along the way, Michael tested out his skills, shooting them high up in the air, his casting speed was indeed many times faster. It seemed his title added a small bonus to it as well, he had assumed it was only to general power, however, he was wrong. His casting speed was currently 525% faster than what it should have been, combined with his Flow core, he assumed it was at the very least double that. That made most of his spells instant cast, his spells cast even before he finished his thoughts of casting them, it was definitely something he was satisfied with. Michael tried asking the system about what kind of abilities it unlocked after sacrificing his hard earned skills, however, it refused to answer him. I will tell you when it's necessary, for now, just quiet down and use your skills or whatever. 'Why are you treating me like some sort of a child?' Michael grumbled and arrived at the inner city, he still had roughly 1 hour to spare before the academy started. He was addicted to casting his new spells, a thought was all it took to launch a destructive sword flying incredibly fast into the sky, he believed that no matter what he did, he had a combative advantage against most of his peers. As he slowly made his way to the academy, he noticed something something in one of the stores, it was a clock, displaying the time. '8:20..' Michael looked on blankly. 'I am late again.' As a sigh escaped his mouth, he picked up the pace and ran with his full speed towards the academy. He felt reborn, although he was still not at 100% since the mana core forming was pretty rough, he was many times stronger than he had been previously. It was like night and day. He ran inside the academy, zipping past the receptionist who barely even managed to react to his speed. '8:24..' Michael thought in relief before suddenly halting. 'I am not the Saint anymore.. will she let my bullshit pass?' What? Afraid you will be expelled the first day you come back? '...' He took a deep breath and stepped forward, pushing open the classroom door.
