Chapter 35: Learning

Chapter 35: Learning

Leif was halfway through constructing a hog pyramid when Sieg emerged from the partially wrecked house. The spriggan had periodically checked on both sleeping humans every other hour.

Both men should be in peak physical condition, from what he could tell from their lack of wounds and restored lifeforce. But there was more to someone's well being than physical wounds.

Leif could still feel the ache in his very soul from the overuse of his skills. Speaking of skills... As Sieg sat down on a fallen log Leif looked through his current list in search of his next fusion.

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[Amber Blight Spriggan]

Gold Iron Physique / Amber Awareness / Blight’s Bounty / The Well Within II / Settle

[Noble]

Aura of Nobility I / Court Empath / Grand Action / Under My Protection / Legacy

[Brawler]

Grounded Stance I

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“What on earth are you doing?” Sieg asked.

“Looking at options for my next skill fusion.” He replied, still reading over the descriptions of each ability in turn. He noticed something odd about [Aura of Nobility] but chose to ignore it for now.

I don’t know what a note is, or how it got there, but it doesn’t seem important at the moment.

Sieg glanced at the orderly pile of sleeping hogs. “Right... listen, I owe you a whole lot. Me and Marcus both. If you need help with anything I promise to keep it between us.”

Leif closed his skill list. “What do you mean?”

“People are usually very secretive with their attributes, classes and skills. Even at the Academy only the most basic information is freely available.”

The spriggan nodded, it made sense. If someone knew the ins and outs of your abilities they had a major advantage if it came to a fight. “What about you, how can I help?”

“You’ve helped more than enough. I owe you more than you could know. Even if we lost most of the mana shards we still have a small fortune. I can finally promote my [Frost Slayer] class, I gained three whole levels from the craziness of the past few days. I’m almost level fifty now.

“His gauntlet?”

“Mhmm.” The man picked up his axe, ice began to build on the weapon's head. “For me it's a skill called [Frigid Edge]. It worked for us, but it isn’t easy. Don’t forget that each fusion increases the difficulty and cost of the next. Fuse like with like, avoid fusing things that are too different. For skills with ranks like aura, comprehension and cultivation you should try to consolidate them.”

The spriggan reread the skills again. Reevaluating his choices.

“But don’t take my word for it. I’m only an Academy second year. There are surely things I don’t know.

Leif nodded and had one final look through his skills. What could he do? And what did he need? There were a myriad of options, but only a few he could clearly picture the potential outcome of.

Initiate a skill fusion?

Primary skill: [Amber Awareness]

Secondary skill: [Court Empath]

Fusion success rate: Major

Warning! Skills used in this process are lost after a successful fusion!

Warning! Newly fused skill will belong to the class of the primary skill!

You may only attempt a single fusion at a time!

Commence skill fusion? Y/N

In his time under Pherin, Leif had truly begun to understand the sheer usefulness of [Amber Awareness]. The ability to clearly see his mistakes from another perspective had been invaluable.

Would the fusion allow me to see the present and past in greater clarity? He pictured a skill that could observe his surroundings, then replay them with ever increasing detail.

Like my personal window into the past.

He accepted the fusion and picked up another hog.

Commencing skill fusion!

Fusion of skills [Amber Awareness] and [Court Empath] 1/100%