When everybody got word of her improvements, they pretty much forced Mikella to reveal her notifications.
Only to the ones in charge, of course, and her very pestering sparring friends who refuse to be denied this access no matter the cost. Zeke could only shake his head at the absurd amount of skill leveling this woman had gained.
> Hawk Eyes Level Up! It is now Level 10 (Maxed).
>
> You have gained +2 STR from your skill.
> You have gained +1 DEX from your skill.
>
> Hawk Eyes has been maxed. Bonuses are now applied.
>
> -Increased damage when attacking weak points.
> -Decreased stamina consumption.
> -Advancement available.
> -Evolution available.
…..
> Spear Mastery Level Up! It is now Level 10 (Maxed).
>
> You have gained +5 STR from your skill.
> You have gained +5 DEX from your skill.
>
> Spear Mastery has been maxed. Bonuses are now applied.
>
> -Increased Spear Damage
> -Attained Spear Arts
> -Advancement available.
…..
> Kinetic Manipulation Level Up! It is now Level 4.
>
> You have gained +3 DEX from your skill.
> You have gained +6 END from your skill.
…..
> Sword Mastery Level Up! It is now Level 2.
>
> You have gained +1 STR from your skill.
> You have gained +2 DEX from your skill.
…..
> Axe Mastery Level Up! It is now Level 7.
>
> You have gained + 2 STR from your skill.
> You have gained +2 END from your skill.
…..
> Hammer Mastery Level Up! It is now level 6.
>
> You have gained +2 STR from your skill.
> You have gained +2 END from your skill.
…..
> Acrobatics Level Up! It is now Level 3.
>
> You have gained +6 STR from your skill.
> You have gained +6 DEX from your skill.
…..
> Draconic Fury Level Up! It is now Level 3.
>
> Increase attribute increase (x2).
> Decrease cooldown and energy consumption (x2).
…..
> Forced Regeneration Level Up! It is now Level 3.
>
> Increase regeneration rate (x2).
> Decrease damage needed to regenerate (x2).
The one that stood out the most was her Spear Mastery. As far as he remembered, she only had it at level 5.
Level fucking five. And somehow, it jumped straight to max after her fight with Zeke. How she managed to raise a skill all the way to max from being at half level was too unprecedented.
Despite all this craziness involved, Mikella, according to Myra’s own words, had the gall to go ahead and upgrade her skills right in front of the group while they were discussing this turnabout.
> Skill Advancement has commenced.
>
> Your skill Spear Mastery (Uncommon) has advanced into Spear Mastery (Rare).
>
> You gain points based on the advanced rarity:
>
> +9 STR
>
> Your skill Spear mastery has been reset to Level 1. You will still retain the stat bonuses you have acquired before the advancement.
…..
> Skill Evolution has commenced.
>
> Your skill Hawk Eyes (Rare) has evolved into Dragon Eyes (Epic).
>
> Your skill Dragon Eyes has been reset to level 1. You will still retain the stat bonuses you have acquired before the evolution.
…..
> Dragon Eyes (Epic), Level 1
> Your prey will never escape you. Weak points will be shown to you and damage will increase upon striking them. Your draconic heritage will also allow you to pierce through any form of illusion, mental or otherwise. Your perception of any weak point and damage increases according to the level of the skill and the current Dexterity stat and Spirit stat.
Despite what she did was considered rude (somehow), everyone clammed up when they saw her Hawk Eyes evolve into Dragon Eyes.
“Huh, did it…” Mikella tilted her head. “Did it evolve thanks to my class? It says here ‘Draconic heritage’ or something…”
“Most likely,” Cloud said, nodding while he rubbed his chin. “A Class-defined skill evolution… Now that’s rare.”
“Does that mean it’s stronger than a normal evolution?” Myra asked. Rather than steeping in envy, she was more keen on how it works. It wasn’t like Mikella was the only one capable of such a feat.
“Not exactly,” Cloud shook his head. “Actually, Val here can tell you herself.”
Val rolled her eyes, a surprise coming from her considering she would always answer any questions. Somehow though, her frown proved that this particular question wasn’t something she wanted to answer.
“I have my own Hawk Eyes, and it evolved into a skill based on my class as well. Though it didn’t evolve into Dragon Eyes…”
When she trailed off, nobody in their right mind wanted to ask for more details. Not even Mikella who noticed Val’s hesitation on whether to reveal her evolved skill name or not.
“Anyways,” Val quickly continued. “The effects would turn out differently than normal. In this case, her skill allows her to pierce through illusions. That’s an incredibly useful effect, especially since Mikella doesn’t have any skill related to mental defenses yet.”
“I was kinda hoping to get Steadfast Mind, but this works too…” Mikella added, then she paused as she pursed her lips. “Though, those aren’t the only skills I gained.”
Everyone turned to her. Even Zeke turned back to her in surprise.
“You learned a new skill?” Zeke asked, and she nodded. When he looked back at their fight, he didn’t think she would gain anything other than leveling the skills she already had. What else could she have learned?
Before he could ask any further, she showed the notifications to everyone else again.
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> General Skill learned: Mana Perception.
There was no need to expand on that. Zeke’s eyes widened when everyone else looked at her in surprise and awe in their eyes.
“Not only all of that… you even got Mana Perception. Seriously, what exactly happened during that fight?”
At this point, Myra was just baffled at her explosive growth. And it looks like this time Mikella was honestly too embarrassed to look her in the eyes. She fidgeted as she tried to figure out what to say.
“Umm… I guess the fight just really pushed me over the limits?” Mikella said, grinning sheepishly.
“Well now,” Cloud chuckled. “Welcome to being a mage then, Mikella. I’m sure you’ll become even more chaotically powerful than you are now thanks to that.”
Everyone just nodded their heads in approval, though Zeke did notice Mikella furrowed her brows at the supposedly unnecessary added adjective to ‘powerful’. In the end, however, she beamed as one of the most difficult goals for any warrior was finally attained for her.
Then, she turned to Zeke. “So what did you get?”
“Me?” Zeke asked, actually confused for a second. Then he paused when he realized that the corner of his vision showed blinking notifications. Several of them, in fact.
> General Skill learned: Kinetic Perception.
…..
> General Skill learned: Unarmed Mastery.
…..
> Unarmed Mastery (Uncommon), Level 1
> You refuse to use any weapon, deciding that your own body is enough. When you do not wield any weapon, your damage increases and your movements become faster. Each of these will increase according to the level of the skill and the current Strength, Dexterity, and Endurance stat.
Zeke had to take a double take for each of his new skills. He only gained skills based on magic or his runecraft, so he was shocked to find out that his first real combat-styled skill was his literal fists. It was even at Uncommon rarity, somehow.
He showed them to everyone, each of whom shared a baffled look on their faces. Piker was the one that spoke next.
“So not only Mikella, but Zeke too… And here I thought Mikella was the only one who could learn skills on the fly.”
“Well, I feel vindicated now,” Myra answered honestly, getting Mikella to glare at her. Myra only just ignored her. “I was starting to worry that only Mikella can advance faster skill-wise.”
“It looks like she wasn’t the only one that was invigorated in the fight,” Val said, a beaming smile flashing on her face.
Zeke could only just look away in embarrassment. He wasn’t sure why, but somehow he felt like he should be embarrassed.
Still, that explained that sudden burst of physical action when Mikella drove her spear through his barrier. At the time, all he wanted to do was to keep her away. So if his barrier broke, then his body would be the one to keep her off. He kept battering her, not really thinking about damaging her or even punching her like a madman, and for each blow, he felt… something.
That very something that Mikella was trying to teach him. The ‘flow’ of combat. He thought it was just prodigy talk–how a talented person can’t really explain how they can be so good at something and can only speak in terms they could understand. But he felt it then.
The flow… that was actually kinetic energy surging through him. It was vastly weaker than his mana, but it was there. And as it flowed through his shoulders, his arms, then to his hands–he felt that he needed to expel them out or else he might have exploded.
He didn’t think that his body being charged with so much mana could actually help him understand the fundamentals of kinetic energy. And that was just for Kinetic Perception.
Unarmed Mastery… he didn’t think he wanted such a skill, but somehow it fit him. He might consider getting a sword or any other types of weapon in the future, but right now his body is enough. He still had plenty of kinks to iron out with his fighting style after all.
While all that was happening, Zacharia came in to completely disrupt the good vibes all around them. He approached Zeke with his usual stoic look, looking down on him thanks to his near 7-feet tall height bearing down on Zeke’s measly six feet.
“Zeke… you said you were the one who made the runes, correct?” He asked, his voice gruff and serious.
Zeke only nodded. He wasn’t sure what Zacharia was trying to get. Considering his distaste for mages, is he going to complain that using magic to gain easy power is shameful?
Apparently, it was the opposite.
“Do you think you can do the same for others?”
Zeke paused at that. Really, he actually paused for a few seconds. His Parallel Thought went into overdrive at that point, something which he still doesn’t have much control over considering its low level.
But that idea sparked so many ideas into his head that he couldn't help but use the skill to realize them all in full. While that was going on, the others quickly caught on to what Zacharia was saying.
“Are you saying you want Zeke to carve runes into your soldiers?” Cloud asked, not seemingly mad but more surprised. “You do recognize that Zeke raised his Pain Resistance to Rare rarity to handle that process, right?”
“I do, which is even better in my opinion,” Zacharia said without remorse. For a moment, Zeke noticed in the corner of his eyes that Piker flinched slightly. “Runes that allow the fighter to naturally alter their stats based on their highest stat. It is an incredible ability to have, all without having a skill on hand as well. One can easily change the course of battle if they use their stats to the fullest.”
“I agree completely, but I’m afraid it’s a lot harder than you think,” Cloud continued. Zeke was still silent, so he let Cloud continue since he was there from the start. “First, you need a lot of mana regeneration to handle the changes. Zeke could do so since his Spirit is extremely high considering his circumstances. Not to mention to change stats mid-way, one needs a good handle on their magical energy. Mana Perception at a high level at the least, in my estimation.”
“I see… that is unfortunate,” Zacharia brushed his beard with his fingers, deep in thought. “I should’ve known such a thing would only work for Zeke.”
“That may not be the case,” Zeke suddenly spoke up, getting everyone’s attention. “I don’t have to alter their stats to give them some power-ups.”
Zeke’s lips twisted into a smile. The ideas churning in his head were all the possibilities he could do to his own body before eventually landing on altering his stats. It would work for him since he has a lot of mana regeneration like Cloud said.
But that doesn’t mean the other folks can’t use something else in return.
Without realizing it, Zeke’s manic grin was giving everyone goosebumps as he explained the possibilities. While the experts looked at him in shock, Mikella the only one excited about this, the Journeymen listened with fascination over his next course of actions.
…..
They decided to take the next few days to rest despite the overwhelming danger of Bastion getting a foothold into this. Being able to alter the fighter’s movements in mid-combat would be a perfect way to disrupt the energy and take them down once and for all.
Unfortunately, nothing ever works out in reality. In the end, Zeke’s plans and ideas were all just theories he could try out on the soldiers. That didn’t mean the soldiers were capable of making that a reality.
“Oh gods! It hurts! It hurts so much!”
“Please stop, I’m begging you!”
“Mommy!”
The soldiers, trained under a hardened veteran in the kingdom, were now reduced to crying men and women who wanted nothing more than to stop the man hurting them with the giant needle.
Well, Zeke was using his pen, but it was no different in either case to the soldiers’ wet eyes.
On the other hand, Zeke found himself more and more disappointed. He wanted to help (read: experiment) on the others to find out just how far he can go with his newly evolved Battle Runecraft. However, as one would expect, the process of having runes carved into their flesh was not a pleasant experience. Some did have their Pain Resistance level, yes, but neither of them had the benefits of having runes into their bodies.
And whenever Zeke tried to re-do the process, they instantly bolted despite Zacharia right there glaring at them. Hell, they’d rather go and fight monsters all day without rest rather than to go through another session of rune-tattooing.
The only ones capable of withstanding the pain and staying still were none other than Myra, Piker, and Mikella herself. Unfortunately, the process was a lot harder than Zeke expected.
Myra just straight up fainted. The pain was too much for her low level Pain Resistance to handle, and no matter how often she tried to fight it, eventually her own body failed her as she straight up slumped over. It made the entire process impossible without Myra conscious. He tried to continue despite her still being unconscious–with Val’s consent of course–but her mana just wouldn’t budge without the owner’s consciousness present, making it impossible to carve runes into her.
For Piker, despite trying his hardest to withstand the pain, Zeke found it difficult to find his magical channels with his Recovery, and even when he did, his dense kinetic channels were making it harder to pinpoint the spot he needed to carve runes into him. It was especially worse when his Spirit stat was the lowest out of all of his other stats.
Eventually, Mikella was next. This process was a lot better than the last two, as Zeke healed Mikella so many times that he recognized her magical channels as well as his own. Thanks to that, the first ever experimental rune tattoo on another person was a success.
Mikella handled the pain well, and despite tears brimming in her eyes as Zeke continued, there was a glint that told him that he better not stop or else he’ll get his ass kicked again. Zeke just smiled as he continued, putting the first ever tattoo with a special ability.
> Basic Rune of Wind has been activated. You are able to control the element of Air for the next 25 seconds.
He wanted to give her the opportunity to cast wind magic easily without the use of having a Air Mastery skill. Unfortunately when she tried to use it, the rune on her body began to spark dangerously, not unlike her usual lightning, and it nearly blasted her arm apart from the magical conflict. Mikella took it like a champ and Zeke managed to heal her without any permanent injury, but the tattoo just straight up vanished, as though her body refused to accept any other mana.
Zeke and Cloud theorized that her attunement was too powerful to accept any permanent foreign mana without it being strong enough to handle it. It was one thing to heal her, but another to try and take residence. It was a bit weird to think of her attunement as a tenant in her body, but some people just have those cases sometimes.
Still, that alone already got Zeke to vastly improve his skills.
> Mana Manipulation Level Up! It is now Level 6.
>
> You have gained +2 INT from your skill.
> You have gained +1 SPI from your skill.
…..
> Battle Runecraft Level Up! It is now Level 2.
>
> You have gained +2 INT from your skill.
> You have gained +2 SPI from your skill.
…..
> Phantasmal Runes Level Up! It is now Level 3.
>
> Increased potency of all created runes based on the Spirit stat.
> Decreases mana consumption of all runes.
…..
> Runic Echoes Level Up! It is now Level 3.
>
> Increases the potency of synchronized runes (x2).
> Decreases proper rune structure needs (x2).