[STT] Chapter 96: New Skills! (Patreon)

Ben read through the notifications while Vanessa and Bobby finished their checkup. They discussed his condition, and the best way to proceed, but his mind was nowhere there.

Two skills, at the same time? Ben had thought it would take longer to max out his skills, but it seemed like everything was coming together.

Neat.

He'd evolved his skills before, but never two at once.

Now the problem was figuring out what they would turn into, and he had the same issue as with [Mana Construct]—there were so many possibilities. Good possibilities...

Yes.

He said yes to both, and the notifications vanished, replaced by new ones.

The offered skill paths are based on your performance up until now. Choose carefully!

Please select your path:

- [Regeneration] (Rare)

- [Adaptive Regeneration] (Rare)

- [Last Breath] (Rare)

- [Tireless Body] (Rare)

First was [Regeneration]'s evolution, and from the looks of it, it seemed rather promising. As always, the evolution paths had no descriptions, and only showed the rarity and names of the skills.

[Tireless Body] sounded very interesting, and so did [Last Breath] and [Adaptive Regeneration. [Regeneration] would be a great evolution without any changes.

As for [Mana Manipulation]... that was actually quite a bit harder.

The offered skill paths are based on your performance up until now. Choose carefully!

Please select your path:

- [Mana Manipulation] (Rare)

- [Mana Control] (Rare)

- [Mana Compression] (Rare)

- [Mana Projection] (Rare)

[Mana Compression] had his attention the most. [Mana Control] sounded very useful, too.

He had no idea what [Mana Projection] could be, but he had a gut feeling it would help him project mana outward? But what use was that going to be for what he usually did?

It would be better to have better, well, control over his mana compared to projecting it outward.

That was why [Mana Compression] had his attention the most, as it paired well with what he usually did.

It sounded like it could help him compress his mana tighter, and given the kinds of attacks he typically used, paired with [Focus], that could be very helpful.

...I guess I'll ask Alice.

He was pretty set on [Mana Compression], but he didn't know what would happen with the other skill.

[Regeneration] seemed like a waste of a Rare evolution, and [Last Breath] might be better, but [Tireless Body] seemed promising as well. But [Adaptive Regeneration] just sounded broken. What would it even do?

Adapt to what?

If it meant what he thought it meant, though, it would be amazing. But he didn't want to pin all his hopes on that, so he would rather talk with the living encyclopedias he knew.

He also wanted to ask Ethan, but Ethan wasn't here, so Alice it was.

"Is it more than just level ups? You've been dazed for quite a bit," Lady Vanessa said, snapping Ben out of his thoughts. "Is it a skill evolution, perhaps?"

Sharp eyes.

Ben did not answer, and Vanessa let it go with a sigh, apparently not expecting one. Bobby, on the other hand, was looking at him curiously.

"Cross out what you wrote and put down what actually happened. He took the third grade pill and he's fine and the whole process went rather smoothly. He has my go ahead to use a pill a day from now on."

Ben wanted to try more than one a day, but he guessed it was probably not a good idea to push, what he'd gotten was more than enough for the time being. Besides, he was warned one a day was the max.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, Bobby."

Bobby nodded, and changed the log.

"I have to admit, though, I didn't expect you to do that. What's surprising is that you didn't just get through the tempering process. You actually came out of it better than you went in when I expected you to just bear through it today and maybe get some benefits tomorrow. Your body got tempered quite well. Of course, one session is not enough at all, but it's still better than it was before the session."

"I see."

"You may come back tomorrow, I will have Bobby register you as a regular and fetch a pill."

"Thank you."

Lady Vanessa nodded, and gestured for Bobby to see him out. As Ben was leaving, Bobby asked, hesitatingly.

"How did you keep your mana like that? When she did it to me, I couldn't control my mana at all. It just went everywhere, and somehow you could get up right after. Like, how did you do it?"

Ben gave it some thought. "I don't really know. Mana for me is like controlling a very injured limb. It's hard, but I can do it, and the more I grow the more clear the connection becomes."

"Ah. Well, I hope I can do that one day. I've been stuck for ages." Bobby scratched the back of his head.

"Yeah, sorry Bobby, I don't know how else to explain it. If I can, I will help you out."

"Really? That would be great. Thank you." The assistant beamed.

As Ben was leaving the infirmary, he checked his body for the first time in a while with his skills, and he was surprised at what he saw. There was a visible change, especially around his core, where the mana had settled and was now less of a mess.

What in the...

###

"I went to get you for lunch but you weren't in your room." Alice said as she found him walking toward the guest house. "You okay?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be? I was just getting tempering pills. Your grandfather sent me there."

"Oh, that makes sense. I should've expected that. So, how was it?"

"It was painful."

"Yeah, I know. First time I took one, I felt like dying. You get used to it. Anyway, come, the food's ready."

"What? Where are we eating."

"Well, since it's your first time here, I thought I'd show you around the training grounds as well as the dining hall. You haven't eaten, right?"

"I had a... pill, I guess?"

Alice looked at him with a deadpan expression.

Ben silently followed her, passing a few maids on the way to the grounds. The place was beautiful, much more so than the soldier camp he was used to, or the expedition camp.

Now that he thought about it, his life had been nothing but camps recently, so he was glad to be here.

The training grounds were huge, and there were a lot of people there.

Some were training alone, some in groups, and some with instructors, but before he got a good look at it, Alice led him to another building where they found themselves inside what Ben could only guess was the dining hall.

Given how much food there was, and the people eating, he was pretty sure he was right. Alice led him to a table where no one was around, and sat down, gesturing for him to do the same.

"Here, pick whatever you want, the plates are all portioned to be a meal, so eat whatever looks good to you," she said, gesturing to the tables full of food. "Oh and you don't have to eat more than a plate since it's all magical food, if you will, much like the nutrition pills, and will fill you right up."

Ben looked at the table, and realized that the food was all on platters of various sizes, some large, some small, and all of it looked delicious.

He was starving, so he grabbed a bit of everything, and sat down.

The food was amazing, much better than anything he'd ever had before. It was flavorful and rich, and it filled him up quickly, and he could feel his body absorbing the nutrients.

His mana grew from eating, refilling his core, which was an interesting feeling.

"So what was the pill's grade?"

"Third."

"Huh, already? I didn't get to that until a few months passed. Grandpa must really like you."

Ben didn't think Gerald liked him. The man seemed more interested in his mana than anything else, but he didn't say that out loud. Instead, he nodded, and continued to eat.

"Are you okay, though?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"You look tired."

"I am a little, but I'll be fine."

Alice stared at him, her eyes searching his face, and then she sighed. "So what did you want to talk about?"

"What?"

"Do you think me stupid? You had that stupid look on your face, the one you have when you want to ask about something but don't know how. So out with it."

"I have a stupid look?"

"Yeah. Like a kicked puppy. Now, what is it?"

Ben had almost forgotten he wanted to ask her something, and it took him a moment to remember what it was.

"Oh, right. I have skill evolutions."

"Skill evolutions?"

Ben bit down on a piece of bread, and nodded. "Yeah, two of them."

Alice leaned forward, her eyes wide. "Two? What skills? Let me see. You didn't pick anything, right?"

Ben gave her an offended look. "What do you think I am? Stupid?"

"Yes."

Ben huffed. "No, I didn't pick, that's why I want to ask you. I'm pretty set on the mana skill, but I have no idea what to pick for the other one."

"Oooh, [Mana Manipulation] evolved? Then again, knowing you, I'm surprised it didn't evolve before, I thought you'd have [Mana Control] for sure. But anyway, what do you mean you're set on it? There's a lot of choices there. Tell me."

"Shouldn't we get some kind of talisman for eavesdropping?"

Alice laughed. "Ha! This is my House! We're safe."

Ben paused, then nodded. It made sense.

Alice leaned in, and Ben showed her the options.

"Oooh, [Mana Compression], nice. I didn't even know that could be an option for you. Makes sense, I guess, given how you do things. [Mana Control] would've been my choice, [Mana Manipulation] is great and [Mana Projection] is a good skill, though a bit situational. [Mana Control] is a lot more flexible, it gives you fine control over your mana, which is always useful."

Ben stared at her, and she stopped talking.

"You want [Mana Compression]," she stated, "Well..." She gave it some thought. "Now that I think about it, [Mana Compression] is a good option. It will help you a lot with your fighting style, and it's a very solid skill. Better than [Mana Control] in your situation, I'd say, since your mana control is great as is. With the way you do your constructs, [Mana Compression] could be a really powerful skill. I say go for it."

"Okay," Ben said, a little happy she agreed with him, and then he moved to the next skill.

"[Regeneration], [Adaptive Regeneration], [Last Breath], and [Tireless Body]—"

"[Adaptive Regeneration]!" Alice interjected. "No question, take it. That's a crazy skill."

"Is it what I think it is?"

"If you're thinking what I think you're thinking, then yes. It adapts your regeneration to the damage. It's a very rare skill, and I've only heard of it, never seen it! You can become resistant to pretty much anything, and the evolution potential with the concept of adaptation in the mix is just insane. Take it, take it, take it!"

Ben agreed, but...

"At least tell me what the others do."

"Well, [Tireless Body] is a great skill, it reduces your fatigue and makes your stamina endless. Very useful for fighters. [Last Breath] is a bit of a gamble, honestly. It will make your normal healing worse but compensate as a last stand kind of thing, if you need it near death, it could save your life, but you already—"

"Have my [Healing Mark] construct for that."

"—Exactly! So I don't think you need it. And [Regeneration] is just a better version of what you have. I mean, [Regeneration] is a Rare skill, it's good, but you've got other options. [Adaptive Regeneration] is the best out of all of them. Take it. Please."

Ben looked at her, and she looked back at him with excitement.

"What about [Mana Control], and [Mana Projection]?"

"Those are good, but you don't need them right now. Your path seems to be a heavy mana build, so [Mana Compression] is the best option."

"Tell me what they do."

"Ugh, fine. [Mana Control] is just better [Mana Manipulation] and [Mana Projection] is well, projecting your mana outward. It's like a shield or an attack, but it depends on your creativity. Could pair well with [Mana Shaping] but it's very situational. Imagine a wall of mana or something. Not really your style, you don't do things like that. You prefer to blast your opponents with [Mana Cannon]."

Ben agreed.

"So, are you going to take it?"

Congratulations! [Regeneration - Lvl 20] (Uncommon) has evolved into [Adaptive Regeneration - Lvl 1] (Rare)!

Congratulations! [Mana Manipulation - Lvl 20] (Uncommon) has evolved into [Mana Compression - Lvl 1] (Rare)!

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