Chapter 112: Heads or tails.

Chapter 112: Heads or tails.

I scratched my head in contemplation. All three possible skill evolutions were powerful, which left me with some hesitation. As always, I decided to look at them separately first.

[Overloaded Triple unity sword] was a direct upgrade of my current skill, in the sense that it simply added to what was already there. More power, more difficult to dodge or block, more projectiles, that kind of thing. Usually, people would have to beg the system to receive such a straightforward upgrade. This time, though, the other options were far more powerful.

[Aura blade], for example, was supposed to act as a more general-purpose skill, the same way some swordsmanship skills transformed into a general weapons mastery. Instead of being limited to a single sword, [Aura blade] would allow a person with an aura skill like my [Overload Aura] to create multiple projectiles with their aura at once, as long as a sharp piece of equipment was used. In many ways, it was a rather mediocre upgrade, one that people would only pick if they wanted to use a particular weapon over their current setup. The only advantage it had was that multiple projectiles could be made, but, realistically, how many bladed weapons could a person wield at once? It wasnt like skills counted, since the [Aura blade] only accepted equipment.

Luckily for me, I had just acquired the perfect synergistic skill, [Onyx chain wind]. If I was lucky, each chain could count as a separate piece of equipment, which would allow me to send out a near-infinite amount of aura blades as long as I had mana. Such a concept would be infinitely useful in nearly every situation, which made the implication of the synergy hard to ignore. Normally, this skill would be an instant pick, its power simply too much for me to pass up on.

Unfortunately, my last option was a monster of a skill.

A laser beam that could destroy any skill it came into contact with, as long as its tier was at or below [Sword laser]. Furthermore, the system didnt mention a thing about me losing the ability to create normal sword arcs either, so chances were that I would be allowed to keep both functions.

The sheer destructive capabilities of a skill like that were almost unfair. As long as I tiered the skill up enough, I would be invincible among people of my own tier. Well, to be fair, I already was, at least for now.

All of this meant that my choice boiled down to two possible options. I would have to choose between a swarm of small but deadly sword arcs or a single unblockable black beam of pure destruction. Both were attractice options, to the point that I couldnt choose anymore. In the end, I decided to put it up to a coinflip. Heads, I go for [Sword laser], tails, I go for [Aura blade].Visit no(v)eLb(i)n.com for the best novel reading experience

My decision made, I pulled out a copper coin and tossed it into the sky. It flipped once... twice... several more times... and fell into my waiting hand. Slowly, I opened my clasped fist, revealing the copper sheen in the palm of my hand.

Heads.

~scene transition~

POV: A retired soldier.

As I sat on the porch of the destitute shack that had been given to me by the captain, I was left wondering: Where had it all gone so wrong?

I was sure I had handed in my letter of resignation properly... Did it get lost in transit or something? Why was I here, out in the middle of nowhere, assigned to a job that young men could do five better than myself?

I sighed and ran my fingers through the beard that I had slowly cultivated for the past few decades. These days, I was spending a good chunk of my retirement money on grooming the thing, since it had nearly reached my belly button. Humming a tune from when I was young, I pulled out an old pipe. My old man had left me the thing after his passing, along with a letter of recommendation. The greatest mistake of my life had been delivering the damn thing. Near 300 years spent in the army, with nothing to show for it, apart from something as arbitrary as reaching the fifth tier.

I was interrupted from my musings by a small speck that had appeared at the edge of my aura. A few minutes later, a shadow appeared in the shade that a nearby apple tree provided. The man was covered in black rags. Any passerby would mistake him for an assassin or a ruffian, but those in the know would recognize him as one of the kings hidden men, a Roanian soldier.

The man pulled a brown bag out of a small pouch and opened it in a way that I could see it. A severed head appeared.

Without looking at him, I spoke to my subordinate.

Another one? Doesnt this kid attract a little too much attention? I asked.

Wisely, the black-clad man kept his mouth shut.

I grunted. These young fellas were no fun. Back in the day, soldiers could still joke with each other. It seemed that, the stronger you became, the less fun the people around you would become.

Origins? I inquired.

Unknown as of now. His fighting style leads us to believe that hes one of the aristocracys dogs. the man said, nearly hissing in anger when he said that last part.

Just like were the kings dogs? I asked with mirth, making the tier 4 rogue fall silent.

You possess a dark core filled with dark elemental mana.

The core can passively absorb ambient dark mana incredibly quickly, but has a small total capacity.

The core is immune to overloading damage.

Ambient mana of any affinity can be absorbed and converted into dark-aligned mana with an efficiency of 1000-1.

[Dark radiance core] provides a very large amount of extra power to dark-aligned skills and reduces their mana cost by a minimal amount.

Increase proficiency by drawing mana into the core for prolonged periods of time.

Tier 4 unique upgrades

[Dark revolving core]

At the expense of pure dark mana, increase conversion rate of other mana to dark mana to 500-1.

Converted dark mana can be recycled into its previous state at the same ratio.

Has a small mana capacity.

Provides a very large amount of extra power to dark-aligned skills and reduces their mana cost by a mediocre amount.

[Twin chaotic core]

Create a second, smaller core. This core can absorb and store a limited amount overloaded mana.

(Note that mana inside of the core must first be expelled into your surrounding area before it can be used in skills.)

Provides a very large amount of extra power to dark-aligned skills and reduces their mana cost by a small amount.

The first core has a small mana capacity.

The second core provides a small amount of extra power to skills that use overloaded mana and reduces their mana cost by a minimal amount.

The second core has a small mana capacity.

[Overload combustion core]

Concentrate mana into your core to overload it more efficiently than your body can.

Overloaded mana can be reverted to pure dark mana at the same efficiency.

Has a mediocre mana capacity.

Provides an extremely large amount of extra power to dark-aligned skills and reduces their mana cost by a large amount.