Chapter 94: Selecting Skills

Klofar Residence.

In the living room, the television was turned on. It was the local news channel. 

Opposite to the television laid a young woman on the sofa. She wasn't a breathtaking beauty but could be counted as someone pretty. She was wearing loose clothes and appeared to be asleep.

A fly sat on her cheeks and her eyes slowly opened. "Ha… how come I fell asleep at this time?"

Supporting her hands on the sofa, she straightened her back and raised her back. "The television is still running… ah, I forgot to switch it off." She searched for the remote in the table in front of her. 

'What's this paper?' Along with the remote, she also found a piece of paper.

Just as she was reading what was written in the paper, the door opened and Rewen appeared in the living room. "Are you alright?" He walked up to her and asked in a concerned voice.

*Pah!*

Rewen was slapped across his cheeks. He could have easily dodged it but he didn't. He knew how irresponsible he was.

"You said that NOTHING WOULD HAPPEN TO ME!!" Denny turned hysterical. After that, she threw the paper in the face opposite to her.

Rewen grabbed the paper and read it.

---

Good day, Mr. Klofar.

I got recent news of your victory. To be honest, I am surprised. This is the time I both overestimate and underestimate someone. 

I overestimated your strength and underestimated your methods.

Overall, I found your victory very entertaining and fun to watch. Now, I'll come to the point.

By now, you should have known what is the purpose of this letter. Yes, your cousin Denny also has an explosive inside her. We have already strictly warned you regarding this. No more needs need to be said. I'm sure you understand what you need to do from now on.

With regards,

Travil-Branch Secretary,

Real Waifu Corporations Limited.

---

Rewen's face was the same. He tore the letter and tossed it in the dustbin.

"You'll be alright. Nothing would happen to you." He took a seat beside Denny and patted her shoulders.

Hearing him, Denny didn't calm down. Tears slid down through her face and she turned to look at Rewen with a tired voice. "What more could happen? My life is already over."

"Sorry." Rewen could only give an empty apology.

"No, I'm sorry." 

"Why?" Rewen was puzzled by the sudden apology.

Denny bit her lips. "This is all revenge, right? You don't need to explain anything." After a moment of being furious, she cooled down and thought carefully about certain things. 

"What revenge?" Rewen, still confused, asked.

Denny didn't answer. She took a good look at his face and went back to her room.

Rewen was a stubborn person. He wouldn't let large misunderstandings stay as misunderstandings. He went to the door of her room and knocked.

*Knock*

*Knock*

"Please open the door." 

No response came.

Rewen sighed. "Listen, Denny. I'll be honest. You have given me a lot of bad memories. I could speak about it all day and I don't like you for that. However, do I really look like the kind of person who would put your life in danger because of that? What happened today is completely my misjudgement and lack of understanding of the matter. You have no part in this. Nothing more than just a victim."

Denny looked at herself in the mirror, silently listening to Rewen. 'He isn't lying. Everything can't work out well. I am just someone who got caught up in this. Instead of supporting him and fighting alongside him, I'm too obsessed with my life to care about others.'

With a bitter smile, Denny went to the bed. 'Can I even support him? Even if I wanted to, I can't. Not because I'm not strong enough but because I'm a coward.'

***

After a while, getting no response, Rewen went back to his room. "I'm a dumbass." Clutching his head, he muttered to himself.

'Not only Svety, I also brought Denny into this. No, I can't continue like this.' He got up from his bed and went to the garden.

Taking a stance, he activated [Freestyle Knights Combat] and started practicing it.

There was 'correct' way to practice it nor were there any specific moves. Any movement while activating [Freestyle Knights Combat] is considered a move.

This is also one of the reasons why he doesn't hate practicing it. 'It's easy.'

Ten minutes later.

[Ding! Daily Mission from 'Basic Knights and Magic System' completed! Would you like to receive the rewards right now?]

[Yes] [No]

'Yes.'

[+ 10 Mana Storage Capacity]

"Great." After a few minutes to practice, Rewen's gloomy mood turned back to positive again.

Reeking of the smell of sweat, Rewen went to the bathroom to take a shower.

While showering, he noticed that his figure has changed a bit. His abdominal muscles have become more well-defined. No change could be seen on his face. 

"It's interesting to note that even though the change is primarily because of increased stats, it won't continue changing. Maybe a bit more and then it would stop. Why does that happen? I have yet to know."

Washing his body with a towel, he wore light clothes and went to his room. 

He turned on the PC, then took a notebook.

"I have defeated the first squad. The information about the next would arrive most likely tomorrow or day after tomorrow. A clue has not yet been unlocked in the [Requested Mission].  While I still have some time, I should create an easy skill with [Custom]."

After over five minutes of internet browsing, he jotted down a list of yellow-ranked Rank 0 skills 

---

[River of Right Hand] - [Front-Attack] - Functions: Sharpens the fingers and hardens the hand. MP Cost: 50 MP - [SEQUENCES. PDF]

[Giant Leap] - [Evasive] - Functions: Gives a temporary strength in both legs. MP Cost: 12 MP - [SEQUENCES. PDF]

[Petal Dance] - [High-Regenerative] - Functions: Heals lethal wounds. Restrictions: Only Rank 1 and lower. MP Cost: 100 MP - [SEQUENCES. PDF]

---

These were the skills out of thousands that had caught his eyes. "It's not like these are the best of what I saw but these are what I require."

"With [River with Right Hand], I can hold my ground even without a weapon. [Giant Leap] could help me put up some distance and improve my 'hit-and-run' strategy. There is no need for explanation regarding [Petal Dance]. Despite it's high MP Cost, it's a life-saving technique. And it's even like it's too high. In fact, I could easily restore my MP within two minutes." Rewen paused.

"No, that's not the right approach to go about. Two minutes to more than enough in a fight. Most fights end under a minute. Even my battle with the Blood Squad didn't take more than ten minutes. A life-and-death isn't like those in books where you wait for your opponent to cast the spells. It's gruesome and cruel. I was dumb enough to let Banci as he pleased but my opponent won't be dumb like me."

Rewen wrote down several points in his notebook. "In other words, I need to learn all the three skills and cast it as quick as I can."

Rewen stood straight in the garden. His eyes were not focused as if he was thinking something. 'In the very beginning, there is the starting sequence which takes around 15 seconds usually but I haven't tried using [Mana Manipulation].'

He focused and tried to feel his Mana Points. 'Let's try moving the P-1.' He put some extra mana into the First Primary Mana Point filling it completely. It is important to note that there is a difference between 'catching' a Mana Point and move it around typing an Innate Mana String and 'filling' the Mana Points with mana. It's fairly easy to fill a Mana Point.

'And then…' He tried to control the specific Mana Point and…

He succeeded!

"Damn! No wonder it's an advanced skill!" Rewen was overjoyed. He remembered the pains he had to go through when he first tried out the <Starting Sequence>. 

'According to what I have read, I don't even have to connect an Innate Mana String to one another. As long as I 'try' to control each and every Mana Points that are required in the <Sequence>, it would be enough. I don't know the reason and while I have some curiosity in knowing how it works, now is not a good time. Maybe when everything's over, I can research a bit into it.'

The same way, he tried to complete the <Starting Sequence> that he had already memorized. 

In his first attempt, he failed to control every single Mana Points.

In his second, he succeeded.

In his third, he completed the <Starting Sequence> within three seconds. "From fifteen seconds to three seconds, if this isn't a huge leap, what is?"

After that, he didn't go and try one of the skills immediately. He completed the <Starting Sequence> more than twenty times. His best record was two seconds.