Chapter 174: Pondering Skills (Patreon)

I spend the rest of the day testing out my new abilities and making more mind components in my soul to make efficient use of my minds without bottlenecking my mind component processing power. First, I test [Duplicate Swap] seeing if it will allow me to teleport into the dungeon; however, even with my device that allows me to see and control clones through the entrance, I still cannot teleport into it.

Next, I test the mana efficiency, teleporting all around the Nexus with the help of my now thirteen Minds and clones. It takes several tries and calculations, but I see that the mana cost is linear, with one meter costing one point of mana. This means that if I have roughly nine million mana, I can teleport to Lunaley Island.

Considering all of that mana will be used at once, or quick enough to not tell the difference, it means that I can't just use batteries to subsidize the cost of the mana, but maybe I can make an inscription to do something similar? I haven't touched portal technology in a while, not since the start of the flagship construction, but this may be something to study further.

Next, I test [Mind Boost]. I quickly find out it boosts my clarity of thought, focus, speed of thought, and processing speed, allowing for bullet time. This has good breakthrough potential. If it can give me epiphanies, inspiration, and more, it can come in clutch for a lot of things. I rate its potential use as good as [Inquisitive Perfection], which is already a great skill. The only downside is the temporary nature of this skill which starts at thirty seconds and gains ten seconds per level.

[Mind Gain] is just as good as I think it is. It gives me one extra mind for one minute per level, and my guess is that every ten levels, it will give me more. It's not so useful to be used constantly, especially with its high mana cost, but its purpose seems to be in high-stress situations like combat. Overall a decent skill but not possible to keep it active yet.

[Alter Duplicate] only makes minor, surface-level chances to my clones. Color, clothes, hair length, but it won't change things that are unique to me, like my extra long tails. Basically, the clone still has to be 'me' even if it has a makeover. It's a... 'meh' skill; it's possible it can become really good with breakthroughs, but ultimately I don't use my clones to pretend to be other people and likely won't plus I can't level all my skills without increasing my level cap too high, so this skill is perfect to neglect for now, although it does have potential to merge with [Acting] which is something to think about.

This brings me to my only new passive skill, [Identical Duplicate]. This skill is possibly one of the best defensive skills I have. Right now, it only makes my clones match my mana signature, but with more breakthroughs, it can possibly make them match my Vitality, mana reserves, and maybe even make them look like they have my soul! It is only an Illusion skill, so they won’t actually have a soul, but if it can fool others, then it does its job!

Of course, I can’t level my other Class skills too much; otherwise, I’ll miss an evolution opportunity, and considering my Heirloom tier, I’ll need more and greater achievements to get good evolutions which takes time and opportunity. Plus, I need to level up my Bond more to get good evolutions, so, unfortunately, I can't do much with this Class yet, but considering the current boosts I already got, the most important one being my [Many Minds] upgrade, this is good enough for now.

With my Class skills explored, I now have the task of figuring out what to fill my four new General skill slots with. First to consider is retaliation protection. Having a skill dedicated to hiding from trackers like stealth ring should be one of my priorities, but I’m not sure how to get a skill like that.

The next skill I will absolutely get is [Multitask]. I’ve been wanting this skill for a long time, and it can help with just about everything I do. It will allow me to do with one mind what I may take with two or three previously; this should allow me to make more efficient use of my minds.

Casting skills will be another boon for me, but it mostly has use in combat which isn’t a focus for me, and it’s not a life or death skill for me with my build, so unless I have room for them, I won’t get them.

Thought Acceleration and other Mind enhancing skills. I already got a class version, although it’s an active, a temporary one, not a permanent passive skill, so maybe I can double up? On the plus side, it will have a greater chance to merge with the active skill.

Sense Space is one that I am interested in, and since I already have projects that can make use of space study, I might as well take it.

Lastly are gaze skills. I only got offered one, [Fear Gaze], which may help getting out of dangerous situations but what I am most interested in is the potential of weaponizing my best skill, my perception. Imagine me being able to turn enemies to stone over ten thousand kilometers away; it’s a whole realm of fighting that may allow me to not even be there with my clones. The only issue is the lack of killing power for now but getting my third Class centered around this possibility is an idea I will definitely entertain.

[Multitask], [Fear Gaze], and [Sense Space] for sure; this means I have one slot left. Casting skills are going to be cut out from the selection for now, and mind-enhancing skills will also be cut since my Class is filling that role; for now, this means retaliation protection is left for my last slot.

Hopefully, [Multitask] will be merged into [Many Minds] or at least move over to the Class, maybe even just be gained as its fifth passive skill; if that happens, then maybe I’ll have room for mind enhancement skills.

I have already been offered [Fear Gaze] and [Sense Space], and the offer doesn’t go away unless I say ‘no’ to it, so I’ll take those now.

Ting! You have gained the Fear Gaze general skill!

Ting! You have gained the Sense Space general skill!

Instantly a new perception comes into view in a small radius around me. I can see the slight warping of space from the world’s gravity. I’ll need to dedicate a month or two to getting breakthroughs for this skill and visit that space-shifting rodent in the dungeon again. There are a few shared breakthroughs that I can try to get too, like perceptive pressure and perceptive vectors.

I’ll have to test Fear Gaze against dungeon monsters, but for now, I will try to get [Multitask]. In order to get the skill, I have to try my best to really do multiple things with one mind, like rubbing my belly and patting my head, or maybe I can ask Chyzu how she got it.

I opt to at least try to get the skill myself by doing some silly but difficult task designed to challenge my ability to multitask, and after an hour of doing the silly motions, I finally got the skill.

Ting! New passive skill available, Multitask! Would you like to accept this skill?

Multitask: Perfectly split your focus to accomplish multiple tasks simultaneously!

Ting! You have gained the Multitask Class skill!

It’s kind of a shame that it’s a Class skill since I won’t be able to level it up too much, but at least it didn’t take up a general skill slot.

Now for the hard one, hiding from perception trackers like Ruluna. I’m not sure how exactly to do this, and I’ll need to practice with Ruluna. This means that if I want to hide the location of the Nexus from her, then I need to go to the Lunaleyan Island. Unless there’s another way? In any case, I don’t think I can get it right now.

Mind enhancement is another difficult one to get; I’m not sure where to start with it. I can’t use a spell, Bond, or another skill; I have to find some way to enhance my mental capabilities by using mundane things. It’s possible that the brain may operate faster when in a dangerous situation, but if that’s the case, then shouldn’t many fighters have the skill? Maybe I should ask Esofy.

I send a clone into the dungeon to ask Esofy for advice. The first thing I see is that the forest has a large clearing made around the growing village. An airport is currently half made with dozens of people working on building the warehouses near it. The airship dock, or rather an airport, is a large open field where airships can land and warehouses nearby to store goods that will be transported from the monster dens.

The first airship is still being built, but its hull is completed, and the sails are being attached right now. Unlike airships for the Nexus, which has plenty of water to land on, the dungeon doesn’t have much water, so the airships are built like a boat with helicopter legs for amphibious landing capabilities.

I walk through the bustling village and several lumber yards. Monster slayers party at taverns, drinking wine while others clean gore off them and their equipment at one of the many bathhouses. The combat academy or, rather, the monster-slayer brach of the academy has moved to this village.

I go to the academy where Esofy is teaching students and wait for her lesson to be over before asking if she has any mental boosting skills.

“Yes, they are quite common.” Esofy answers. “Skills that enhance reaction time are the most common, but skills that increase your focus are more of a mage thing. A skill that covers all mental capabilities, however, is rare. You usually only get a skill that enhances only one asset, and even then, it’s not something that is always active. Your best option is to focus on improving what you already have and try to make it a permanent passive skill.”

I guess she’s right, plus what I really want from a mind-enhancing skill might be considered a class skill anyway and may not be eligible as a general skill.

“That makes sense,” I say, a little dejected. “How’s Tana doing?”

“She’s doing… well enough,” Esofy says hesitantly but stops putting up a front under my scrutinizing expression. “She’s been depressed and feels like no one accepts her. You don’t need to worry, though; I’ll make sure she will get over this tough part of her life.”

“I still feel guilty over rejecting Tana the way I did,” I admit.

“Don’t. You did what you thought was best, and you were right; Tana needs to find a healthier alternative, something for herself and not someone else. You are busy enough as it is; let me handle Tana.”

I nod and turn to leave, but Esofy stops me.

“Before you leave, Chyzu and I are getting married in a couple of weeks. We’d like to invite you to our joining.”

Esofy and Chyzu are getting married? They’ve been close for several years now, but I guess I thought this was going to happen. In hindsight, I should have expected it. What kind of gift should I get them for their joining?

As I ponder that, Tusile enter’s my family shop and asks for me.

“Alysara, I’ve come to let you know that there is enough liquid dark mana produced by the Mana to finish the Flagship.”

Finally, after years since I first started working on it, it will finally be done.