There were all sorts of basic tier 1 and untiered skills. For orphans and people who wanted to diverge from what their parents did, these skill books were where they started from. He wasn’t sure what kind of skills were taught in public schooling or if only language and common sense were taught.
Ridiculously overpriced tier 2 skills were also on sale. All the books were locked up behind glass or crystal cases. If the information wasn’t a lie, following the book to the letter and refining to the limit could get a base 200% on average which was actually not that bad. Following a set of instructions blindly wasn’t ideal but it was enough to get people on track.
They were only 3 tier 2 skills on sale. One was titled, [Light Sprint] and advertised to be very stamina friendly but only a known max of 150% base. The user would have to improve the skill further beyond the instructions stated in the book.
The second skill was [Stout Brawn], it was a defensive skill for warriors that utilises extreme exertion of muscles to momentarily increase their toughness. It was interesting to say the least, the sky high price of 223 Blues prevented purchase because it supposedly required 800 points in Endurance to activate the skill for 3 seconds.
However, the toughness increase was a minimum of 250% if the user refined the skill according to the book. The drawback was that the entire body wouldn’t be able to move for some time after casting it. Unless, the user had over a certain Constitution, Endurance and Strength stat. The skill book’s information was so detailed that he believed the writer was a high level Grandmaster.
The store employee went into storytelling mode and said the writer died and left his only child the book but the child didn’t want to be a fighter and sold a lower tier version of the book.
‘The drawback is terrible and few people have 2000 points in Endurance, 1300 in Strength and 1500 in Constitution to be free from the drawback. The duration is also so short for such a costly skill but this is quite a hidden treasure.’ Even he did not have the stats to be free from the drawbacks. If the stated information wasn’t a lie, the skill was amazing as long as he could improve it. Not to mention, he wanted more active skills that draw stamina so he can get a better feel for how stamina moved around.
Lastly, [Field Camouflage] that didn’t have much information and was ten times cheaper than Stout Brawn. It was more of a book on using the environment to hide. In the end, he skipped the other books and just got a copy of these three.
❅❅❅
Back within the comforts of their trailer, Ebony revved up the wheels and set off. Previously, the Jetfins were fearsome enough to scare off creatures in the Icy region but without those pursuers they had to brave nature themselves. It was warm inside the trailer and Ning Xin wouldn’t have to expend mana to keep herself from getting frozen.
Visiting the dungeons he passed by while they were on the run was also an option. He drove out the gates in an ash grey trailer with a Glacial Model sitting on top. He wanted to let it drive but he still needed sight and he was the one powering the vehicle. He would also have to spend time and effort to input Will dedicated to driving if he wanted to be lazy. There was an engine and a power source, he didn’t necessarily have to be the one magically powering the vehicle now.
With mana to spare, he started up the mirage runes and they travelled in incognito. Trailane Plains was easy to traverse as the ground was even and flat and he could carry the trailer past Bubble Hills. He might have to let the vehicle land a few times since it was too heavy but it was better than twisting and turning between hills.
Trailing across the Plains, not even ten minutes past when he slowed down.
“Stop!”
‘Why is there mist?’ His hair got moist and he quickly cast Chaotic Repulsion Membrane on the entire Trailer. Ning Xin quickly exited the trailer, already geared up. She put her hand on his shoulder as they scanned for abnormalities.
“Are we hidden?” She asked for confirmation through a silenced bubble of mana surrounding them.
“Mmm, ever since we got past the city gates.”
“Something’s around, I don’t think they or it see us.”
“I’ll move slowly, should we continue onwards to the Glades?”
“I don’t know, my Intuition isn't telling me enough. I think you can start moving.”
Their trailer started to cruise at a low speed. He wasn’t picking up anything and the mist was thick and prevented his sight past a couple of metres. "We've driven past this area multiple times, I doubt the mist is natural. There’s no monster around that can blind our sight so much either.’
Half an hour went by on their slow crawl towards Bubble Hills. “I see something. Buildings and…people? I’ll avoid it.”
He suddenly recalled a warning he received in the past. Mysterious village within the Plains that shouldn’t exist. However, nothing in the warning talked about a large glass or crystal clear building with humans hanging down from ropes and getting steamed.
“Too late. Malice!” She burst off the vehicle leaving him behind to pull the trailer back into his bracelet.
It took a second for him to store it, Ning Xin clashed with the unknown figure that attacked him. The clashing of metal informed him that it was likely a person. “Trespassers. Submit or die.” The flaming swordswoman was sent tumbling in the air after the clash and he caught her before she dug her feet into the ground.
‘Is that a person?’ They finally managed to see the attacking figure. It had a humanoid silhouette. That was about it. They were looking at a grey, misty silhouette with no visible facial features that was slightly shorter and smaller than both of them.
In the sillouette’s hands were a single one-handed sword that was similarly a misty silhouette. Appraising him got him nothing but from Xin’s reaction, she got a lashback from Appraising the assailant.
‘If he’s talking, he can be reasoned with, right?’ He generously assumed. “We were on the way out.”
“Submit. Or. Die.” The silhouette didn’t yield or even listen.
“Is everyone who exits Plainston a trespas-” Ebony attempted conversation with a genuine question. The greyish silhouette flashed towards him with its weapon thrust towards his neck.
A gentle heat wave blew from his side and the silhouette was sent sprawling back in a similar fashion.
‘Not that strong but its blade was faster than I can react to as a surprise attack.’ Ebony put his right hand on his chin, unbothered by the cheap shot.
“Would you like to tell us why or what you’re rambling about?” The silhouette replied with another burst of speed and fury. “You saw something you shouldn’t have. Unfortunate, savage one and battery.”
“Oh you mean those people getting steamed alive. Isn’t that just some heat resistance training or maybe mist magic training?”
“...”
“Is it your village’s sauna or some kind of recreation?”
“...”
“Maybe we can join, I haven’t dedicated time to heat resistance training for the past few months. Why are you staying quiet? You can say no if outsiders aren’t welcomed.”
“...”
“If you’re not going to say anything, we’ll be on our way. Goodbye.”
“You can enter if you dare.” Another silhouette appeared beside the first one. Ebony was impressed, he couldn’t see or sense them coming at all. He tried to smile to express his appreciation. “Great, what kind of cuisine do you serve?”
“...Trespasser cuisine.”
“I see. Are we on the menu?”
“Yes.”
The mist got thicker but the silhouettes stepped back when their misty cover was slowly getting blown apart and evaporated. Ning Xin spoke out for the first time, “So are you the chef, or the hunter?” Her hair burned bright hot and she took a step towards them with her longswords resting right above the ground.
‘So they are people after all.’ He saw their misty cover getting torn apart and normal brown pants and leather armour was under the mist.
They were surrounded in the next moment, most figures were larger than the first. The killing intent aimed at them was intense and palpable.
They didn’t even stop for a chat and attacked them without further warning.
“You people are very rude. We were just passing by like everyone else and you chose to attack us.” He Flickered and allowed their slashes and stabs to glide past him. They were all wielding single handed swords.
“Submit or die!” A different voice demanded.
“Fine. Can I take that as your village’s stance?”
“Naturally, dull battery.”
Ebony nodded, they finally gave a satisfactory answer as if acknowledging he was talking to them. He Flickered above their village, a few kilometres away from his original spot. Floating above the village of about a hundred misty silhouettes he exerted his Domain down on them.
“Submit or die.” He tried to copy their tone but it came out as toneless as usual. ‘I should’ve used sound magic, now I don’t sound as angry or intimidating.
Once again, no one replied to him. A few reacted and attempted to leap at him but were stunned when their misty cover started to dissipate and receive vibrational attacks. However, a dozen or so figures floated up and met his nonchalant glare.
Their misty armour untouched, gravity seemingly ineffective. But it wasn’t magic resistance since he was able to exert direct manipulation near their bodies. The figures were just resisting or holding their misty armour together through sheer power. None of the wooden buildings were groaning under his strengthened gravity either.
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“Arrogant boy. Sit.”
Ebony cocked his head at them. ‘Did he just ask me to sit? They really have some screws loose.’
The silhouettes stared at him and began to look at each other. He couldn’t tell what they were thinking but that may be the same even if they didn’t have the misty silhouettes to hide their facial expression.
“Down!”
“Sit!”
“Bow!”
“What in the world are you people shouting?” He glanced back, slightly surprised that Ning Xin was getting suppressed or being held where she was. Although, the numbers around her increased to twenty or so.
“What’s wrong, are there some strong ones?” He transmitted.
“Weird magic, it’s slowing down my reactions and making me pause every time they give those commands.”
“Oh, I used to play with something similar didn’t I?”
Ebony extracted the liquid mana out of his body and flooded his domain with it. He was about to repeat himself like they did with him but the dozen figures floating near him plummeted all of a sudden. He looked down to see that all the silhouettes that couldn’t fly were lying on the ground, unconscious.
Before he noticed, the ones attacking Ning Xin retreated and went after him but they similarly fell unconscious the moment they charged into his domain that stretched over the tiny village. A handful managed to stop their charge and stare at him.
Those that could fly landed properly and didn’t faint. “Mere Master.” They glanced at each other, it was really hard to tell with their misty figures. ‘They can Identify me, or perceive that through some other methods’ Ebony wasn’t surprised they knew, whether a person was a Journeymen, Master, Grandmaster and so on was actually somewhat instinctual. It was the reason people could tell even with the lowest tier Identify what rank another creature was despite not being able to pick out the level.
“Cancel Flight.” All twelve of them muttered together.
Ebony descended to the ground against his Will. ‘My head feels numb, a mental type attack?’
“Limp Weaponry.” They chanted together. Ning Xin practically teleported over with how fast her charge was but the moment her thrust hit one of them, her weapons bent out of shape to her shock. ‘Its not just mental?’ Ebony didn’t expect such a physical reaction from her twin blades. He summoned freezing petals at them that froze the mist throughout the village.
“Freeze Inhibit.” They reacted in tandem, fully aware what to do against ice and cold. They panicked a little when his petals continued to freeze and burn everything around. Ning Xin was still in shock at her swords that went limp.
“Defy Freeze!”
They ran around putting out freezing flames with their personal mist which was much stronger than the mist covering the village and their people. But their commands didn’t elicit a response.
“Resist Freeze!”
They breathed a sigh of relief when the mist slowed down in hardening.
“Stop Breath.” They faced him and chanted.
“Pained Breath.”
“Muscle Failure.”
“Muscle Exhaustion.”
“Muscle Weakening.”
“Mana Expulsion.”
“Mana Inhibition.”
“Mana Weakening.”
They spewed out words but he had no idea what they were doing because he was breathing fine and his muscles were working normally. He didn’t sense any changes to his mana unlike how the freezing of the mist slowed down earlier. ‘So there’s a criteria, if it's above their limits to debuff they have to use a weaker version. Fascinating but the limitations are pretty bad if they can’t stop me when they're probably not just a mere Master.’
“Get on, see if they can go back to normal after leaving a certain range.” He summoned the trailer and put the shocked swordswoman on board and let it drive away with one of his hastily put together Model.No one stopped her from leaving, too occupied with putting out fires.
They left him a way out by asking him to submit instead of just outright killing them and he didn’t see any benefit to killing these people. Ebony wanted to leave when he saw that they got knocked out by his mana but the stronger ones didn’t let him.
He gathered his essence and cast the imitation roar. He didn’t expect them to be able to resist getting stunned like the Jetfins did. So he copied Korta and repeatedly cast the roar over and over again. His health, mana and stamina were consumed at an immense rate but similarly refilled at the same rate if not greater.
It finally worked and stunned them so he gave them a neck chop only to find them staring hard at him. ‘They have even tougher physical bodies… how troublesome.’ He brought every villager together and tied them up. Those that stopped their charge outside his domain couldn’t dodge when he Flickered to them.
The twelve that were capable of flight were much more resilient and strong. The misty silhouettes of the twelve were very impressive. So impressive that he couldn’t destroy it, be it his sword or magic. They weren’t able to give commands anymore as he spammed the roar. One of them started to get a nose bleed. Ebony tied the entire village with ropes woven from ice. He froze all of their mouths together, hoping that was enough to stop them from their unique magic.
“Alright, I’ll be leaving. It was nice seeing that interesting magic. I’ll see you again the next time I, hmm. Trespass, won’t I? Maybe you will be up for a conversation next time.” He walked to their glass building. Within it, unlike what he initially saw, was not people being steamed. Beastmen were being hanged and had mist coming out of them and not the other way around.
“Existence Perplexion.”
He ignored what they were doing and walked off.
‘They’re awake. This building protected them?’ Since they were awake, Ebony pointed at the tied up villages not too far away. He could see their mouths moving but he couldn’t hear them at all so he mouthed his words instead of speaking out. He couldn’t find the entrance of the building and couldn’t be bothered to.
“Take care of them, they should be free pretty quickly.” He hurriedly Flickered away because this place had something more dangerous. At least, Ning Xin’s Intuition was alarmed. ‘Maybe it’s because they are a threat to her? Their magic doesn't work well against me though.’
❅❅❅
“Father, wh-what was that man…”
“How can a Master resist our combined power?”
“And what is that roar? I-I can’t get it out of my head and my body’s still shaking.”
“What kind of water can knock out all of us?”
“We can cancel flight completely but only make use of the lowly resist for freezing and none of the physical weakening worked.”
The largest phantom figure, Phaneel didn’t reply. Snapping themselves free once the stun effect disappeared was simple.
“Recover.” Phaneel commanded his fellow beastmen.
“What do we do? He’s a threat now that he sees us. Our location will be leaked!”
“Calm down, existence perplexion managed to work. Although it borders me to help them hide their presence, at least our aura won’t be leaked to our enemies.”
“How did he enter our ancestral spellweave?”
“The exact same way he resisted our Mandate.” Phaneel silenced them with his conjecture. “My best guess is that the creature is not human. Kory, what are your impressions? Before that, hurry up and cover yourself.”
The silhouette who first came into contact with their trespassers quickly patched up his mistsleeve.
“Sir, I agree that he’s nothing like the last or only human I’ve seen or even heard about.” Kory gave his mistsleeve a final check before speaking.
“Right, you’ve seen a human a decade ago. So, what was off?”
“I believe his mentality stands out.”
“Explain.”
“He tried to talk instead of fighting back. I was told all creatures fight back and respond to threats with violence especially humans. The female seemed more human but at the same time, less.”
“Seems like we’ve fed you too many slanted views. There are less violent humans that don’t resort to violence as their first choice of actions. As for the masked one, she’s likely one of the Savage that you should have heard about. What else?”
“He assumed our folk’s baptism was some kind of training or recreation and asked to join.” Kory stepped aside to let his senior who threatened and joked with the trespasser talk after reporting.
“I tried the tactic of leading him to think we ate people but the Savage…I felt it. S-she was actually planning to cook us in a literal sense.” They were not cannibals and didn’t eat people. Their village’s customs when their baptism tower was seen was to scare people into thinking they ate humans and beastmen alike.
“Sir, why didn’t our Mandate work on that man? It didn’t work too well on the Savage but at least the Mandate found purchase.” Kory was very curious, it was the first time that his Mandate was completely useless.
“Because he’s a battery. He’s a battery of the highest class. His existence is practically a folktale, a myth. That wasn’t water, it was liquid mana.” Phaneel laughed heartily. The eleven tutors who heard his words similarly cheered up.
“He’s still immature, perfect. We might stand a chance of obtaining him.”
“Our village might be free from debt far sooner than I imagined.”
“Haha, then we don’t have to hide or let the next generation descendents undergo baptism to hide our existence anymore.”
“We have to contact the Chief to bring the hunting party back. How unlucky, the stupid Emperor just had to be in the vicinity and the elders had to go and weave a redirection Mandate to force him to think he had to go somewhere else. If they had been here we would’ve caught the battery already. He’s only a Master and already so troubleso- what’s wrong with you?”
The tutors looked at one of their peers who stiffened up for a second. “No-nothing, I just imagined that…sound again.”
Phaneel continued to brag about finally getting out of debt and losing the need to hide from their debtors before they noticed all their youths and even his peers stiffening at irregular intervals.
“Refresh.”
He assumed that he didn’t heal them properly and went with a mental Mandate but they went silent when people continued to stiffen and hiccup.
“Our children!”
Someone yelled and they quickly rushed to their baptism tower. They saw that the children weren’t harmed and were sure the tower was unbreachable, hence their delay. Phaneel rushed to open up a speech channel, it wasn’t good to disrupt the process but he had to ask if they were feeling fine or if that weird mental attack hit them.
“Dad! Are you okay?!” Someone’s daughter pulled on her noose to free her vocal chords momentarily. They must have seen the villagers getting crushed into the floor and the mass fainting. That must have scared them greatly.
“I’m fine sweety, how about you? Are you kids okay?” Phaneel’s brother was a worrywart. For once, he had a good reason to worry.
“Did the creature do anything untoward towards you?” Phaneel asked.
“H-he threatened us!”
“I think he mouthed ‘I’ll take care of them, watch out’ with a devilish grin. He-he’s going to come back!”
The children started to panic and he had no choice but to put them to sleep with his Mandate before they let their fear spread. Phaneel’s heart skipped a beat and his lungs squeezed as the weird sonic attack echoed within his mind for half a second. He took a deep breath and gasped the next instant when his body control returned.
‘Even I’m affected?’ Phaneel couldn’t believe that he was affected by the repeated sonic attacks as a level 470 Mandate Physician. Amongst those present, he had the strongest and most refined Murk Hull Physique that made him very resilient to physical attacks and to a lesser extent, mental.
His peers were around 420 to 450 and they were similarly surprised at his gasp for breath.
“We’ll have to stress the urgency of this problem to the elders. They must be able to heal us and nip the bud as quickly as possible.” Phaneel had wisps of Mandate in his words despite the lack of such intentions.