'With the money I had on me plus what I was given earlier I can buy myself a few articles of good Equipment which are compatible with my Magician-Class or I can Evolve the Mystique-Door Skill as an alternative. There's the other option is to maintain passivity until I accumulate enough Proficiency Points to Level-UP Recovery, Identify, and Nimble-Feet.' Aaron thought while climbing the obstacles of the trial under the watch of old man Sid and his partner.
'There's also 40 Ability Points awaiting me to allocate but it's a no brainer what I'm going to do with them, it felt great to be physically strong, fast, and durable last night but that experiment proved that I don't really have to move a single step to achieve anything!
'A simple Energy Bolt being activated made me feel like I control the life and death of everything within 500 meters from me.
'As much as it hurts me to actually allow that opportunity to pass without experimenting what a Flame Orb would feel like, deep down I know that I made the right choice in not using it.
'Heck, even the weakest Skill in my arsenal was so magnified in power that I was starting to worry of causing needless devastation to that area of the canyon.
'Fuck it mate. I'm not waiting for these Skills to Level-UP, who knows? All of them might turn out to be useless or so great that I'd feel even more hesitant on which to choose.'
Once the kid made his choice he watched as his Gold Coins almost completely vanished and once again he was left with too little Gold Coins which wouldn't sustain his, and his Army's, needs for more than one or two days!
Sublunary Portal Uses Mana to generate Sublunary Portals of Myth which leads to pre-set destinations
Sublunary Portal Level 1 Mana Points Cost 50/Sec for each active Portal Requirements 20 Magic Rocks/Portal Duration Indefinitely as long as the conditions are met Proficiency Points 2/100
"Fuc-"
*Ouch*
Aaron was shocked by the details of this Evolved Neutral-Class Skill that he lost focus and got slammed by one of the moving objects of the trial.
But despite ending up with a bloodied nose this kid was smiling when he got up from the muddy ground then shook his arms and legs free of the mud before continuing the trial while thinking : 'This is crazy, so far I have 7 pre-set destinations and I can feel each and every one of them!
'Now I can activate them with a single thought and no longer need to be there to do it, I can also sense that I'm able to activate and link the ones I want without having no control over which to activate.
'As long as they're linked they all got activated at once in the past and that's why I didn't link the one at the massive cave and the one at my basement with the one I created at the other edge of the canyon.
'That one is buried beneath a few tonnes of rocks after the landslide that followed the explosion of my Flame Orbs, I better dissolve it and empty its spot in case I need it in the future.
'But god damn it that's a lot of Mana, just to activate two Portals and keep them activated is going to cost me 6,000 Mana per Minute!
'Activating the 4 Portals at once and linking them only with my the balcony at my backyard is going to cost me 12,000 per Minute, linking all 4 Portals and allowing others to travel from any Village to all other Villages directly is going to cost me 21,000.
'This Skill is crushing my ego, I was being so smug about having almost 10K of MP while my HP bar is barely 3K and half with all the supplements and Potions I've been taking.
'Now I feel like I need to keep taking care of my Wisdom Attribute in the future or I might end up having Skills which I can barely use.
'Not to mention what happened when I was in King-Kong mode last night, even the simplest of Skills ended up consuming a lot of my Mana because my M/Attk was through the roof.'
Aaron immediately added 25 Ability Points to the Intelligence Attribute and 15 Points the the Wisdom Attribute.
There was an oddity which Aaron noticed after he Evolved the Mystique-Door Skill.
Unlike what happened when he Evolved Monster-Tamer and Hero's Echo, the leaf on the Skill-Branch didn't fall but grew wider and changed in color from Light-Green to Deep-Green in color and the Skill-Leaf had Silver Veins on it!
But the kid didn't think too much about the reasons since this Neutral-Skill is already amazingly-helpful despite being extremely Mana-costly.
On the Beast-Master Skill-Branch Aaron had two available options while the third was locked until the first three Skills were unlocked and upgraded to certain Levels, one of them was called Flame Gear and it requires him to spend 2 Neutral-Class Skill Points.
Flame Gear Temporarily coats your pets with an armor of fire
The other Skill was called Destruction Wave and it requires him to spend 3 Neutral-Class Skill Points.
Destruction Wave Pet attacks multiple enemies in front with an onslaught of long-range attacks like waves
The final Skill which was locked was called Rage and it'd cost him 4 Neutral-Class Skill Points just to unlock when he satisfies the requirements to unlock it.
Rage Improves the Physical-Attack of pets and reflect multiple the damage they receive in battle
Instead of being hasty he checked the Neutral-Class Skills on Emphatic Resonance's Skill-Branch.
Like the earlier Skill-Branch this one had two available options for him and the third was locked.
The first is called Iron Will and the requirements to unlock is 2 Neutral-Class Skill Points.
Iron Will Increases Physical and M/Def of all allies for a period of time
The other one is called Self Recovery and it requires him to spend 3 Neutral-Class Skill Points.
Self Recovery Allies restore some HP and MP every 4 seconds for a period of time
Aaron stood at the end of the trial and checked the final Neutral-Skill which costs the most Neutral Skill Points on this Skill-Branch.
Endure Allies receive enhanced Resistance to Abnormal Status and Elemental Resistance
'One of them focuses on strengthening my pets while the other Skill-Branch focuses on strengthening my allies even further.' The kid fell into deep thoughts.
'But Iron Will and Self Recovery can benefit Nephrite, her Royal-Guards, and the rest of the Wasps.
'Meanwhile Flame gear and Destruction Wave only focus on the ones I've tamed which are Paws, Nephrite, the 9 Gold-Guards, and the 5 Silver-Guards!
'If I had 10 Neutral Skill Points instead of 7 then I wouldn't have hesitated to unlock Flame Gear, Iron Will, and Self Recovery.
'These 3 Skills plus Emphatic Resonance's effect must be great to have, but unfortunately I'm going to have to wait on Flame Gear for now.'
Iron Will Increases Physical and M/Def of all allies for a period of time Iron Will Level 1 Mana Points Cost 250 Duration 30 Seconds Physical Defense +30 Magical Defense +20 Cooldown 2 Minutes Proficiency Points 0/100
Aaron was happy with the benefits of this Neutral Skill but the next one made him glare at the notification window while thinking : 'And why the hell didn't you freaking give me that Self Recovery Skill in the first place?'
Self Recovery Allies restore some HP and MP every 4 seconds for a period of time Self Recovery Level 1 Mana Points Cost 250 Duration 60 Seconds Health Points +100 every 4 Seconds Mana Points +40 every 4 Seconds Cooldown 3 Minutes Proficiency Points 0/100
Finally the kid got over his frustration and waved goodbye to old man Sid then left the shop with his group of soldiers which stood guard outside all this time in order not to disturb Sid's quality time with his lady.
But he was met with Roger at the gates of his house and the big guy seemed anxious to meet him for a while now.
"Little Ron. Can you give me some of that milky white liquid which you used to heal the wounded soldiers?" Roger asked while revealing signs of expectations on his expression and showing deep longing within the depth of his gaze!
"Are you wounded?" Aaron asked.
The muscular big guy frowned before denying it with a shake of his head then answering : "No!"
The kid shrugged before saying : "Then no!" While raising an eyebrow and showing a twisted smile at the corner of his mouth.
"Why?" Roger looked like a deflated balloon and Manji glared at the kid once she saw him sadistically torment her man.
"You just didn't give me a convincing reason." Aaron walked towards the group leaders behind these two after saying that but he was stopped by Roger who held him by the shoulder.
The group of Staff-users behind the kid were comically enough lacking Staffs but they still had their Weapons like Swords or Spears and they seemed tense enough to the degree where they were about to unsheath their Weapons in the face of this big guy which they don't really know well enough or carry much respect for... at least not yet.
"Wait! Wait, wait... let me at least explain." Roger sensed the hostility from the couple of dozens of soldiers behind the kid and calmed them repeatedly while gesturing with his hands before looking at the boy.
The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.
Aaron looked at the group of soldiers behind him then nodded to show that they've indeed passed this test of his, "You really should've started with the important lines big guy, being straightforward is what makes you unique among this group plus... you already have someone taking care of the issues which can only be solved with roundabout methods." The kid looked behind roger and winked at Manji who was relaxing her arms and fixing her pose after sensing the hostility from these soldiers she was ready to strike to cripple or maybe kill whoever dares to strike at her man, not to mention that she trusts that Roger can handle half of this group on his own which doesn't pose any danger on him but she had to defend his reputation in front of these newcomers which the boy took under his wing after defeating some lame and useless Noble!
But Manji was still annoyed because this little Ron keeps playing mind games with her and keeps demonstrating that he's ahead of her in scheming or manipulating others be that through incentivizing methods or by forcing them against their will, sometimes she feels like he's doing more behind the scenes to control everything like a puppeteer pulling at strings to deliver a show to the crowd.
She was indeed the one who insisted that Roger asks simply without revealing a reason because only Roger who activated his Vitality-Aura could sense the signs on the ones who received the milky white liquid from the boy and had their wounds healed yesterday.
Maybe the 3 Honorable Sisters also noticed it but they usually don't interact with anybody else other than little Ron which is their host or Betty and old man Todd who take care of supplying them with food and drinks.
The rest are treated like they don't exist by these Whispering Sisters who care more about their drinks than people, however she's confident that these 3 would certainly react once the Village is facing true danger!
Roger nodded before pointing at the ones who were wounded yesterday and saying : "These soldiers are about to awaken their Vital-Aura, I'd give it two or three days before it happens. The reason I'm asking for that milky white liquid is because it can benefit me in elevating my Vital-Aura's Ranking from the Peak-Stage of the Preliminary-Grade to the Initial-Stage of the Embryonic-Grade, I've been stuck at this stage for more than a decade now so... Please!"
"Hmmm..." Aaron looked at his soldiers before asking : "How's your chances as a person who awakened his Vital-Aura and is at the Peak-Stage of the Preliminary-Grade in beating my soldiers and how much of them do you think that you can take at the same time?"
The big guy looked at the dozens of soldiers standing behind the kid and squinted his eyes which made some of them fidget slightly while taking defensive poses because they felt like they were stared at by some feral and bloodthirsty Beast.
"A dozen of them would be my absolute limit and I wouldn't be able to avoid having to trade punches with a few of them but since they're using sharp Weapons instead of fists then I'd be considered lucky if I come out without at least one or two heavy wounds however, since some of them are actually taking defensive stances then it means my chances are getting better if we actually fight which means things won't get so ugly after all." Roger spoke openly but the ferocity of his words were heavily tinged with bloodlust, he sounded like he's ready to take his chances against these soldiers if it means getting what he wants.
Manji nodded because this estimation coincided with her own then retreated to show the kid that she isn't planning to take part in this but of course she's going to intervene if things looked dangerous for her man.
The Staff-users behind Aaron were looking at the kid with various expressions on their faces but he was intentionally giving them his back while actually studying their body-language and the tiniest detail on the expressions of their faces and the looks within their eyes.
"You guys like using the Staff but unfortunately you still don't have any on you, use these." The kid bought a few from the Store and made sure to buy Staves which were made from solid and heavy steel for the most part especially the top end which was worryingly thick and full of circular points!
Heavy Steel-Studded Polearm (Unisex-Common) Required Level 0 Required Class Any Required Basic-Attributes Strength +20, Vitality +15, Agility +10 Attack Speed Slow (Stage 7) Physical Attack +42 Number of Upgrades 7 Tradability Tradeable Refunded For 1 Gold Notes Sometimes all it take is one hit and your opponent wouldn't know which way is North!
Roger was cracking his knuckles and twisting his upper body to get ready while waiting for his opponents to come forward, take their Weapons, and face him!
'Since little Ron has tossed exactly 23 of these heavy looking Weapons then he might look like he was treating these soldiers equally, but when he didn't specifically order anybody to step forward and face Roger he's leaving these soldiers to decide amongst their own.' Manji thought while glancing at the kid who kept his back towards the group of soldiers behind him.
'He's testing these morons and they don't seem like they're aware of it yet, I bet the first to come forward would be treated the best among this group and would become the closest of them all to this kid.
'Unfortunately Roger has been unleashing his Aura to the maximum which is making it hard for them to even think reasonably in this situation at all.'
While the stealth expert was enjoying the sight of these 23 soldiers one woman who looks to be in her late twenties grit her teeth before walking forward then bending to take one of the Heavy Steel-Studded Polearms from the ground then frowned slightly while getting a feel of the Weapon in her hands during her experimentary swings.
The woman looked behind her at a young man who's around her age before squinting her eyes then gestured with her chin as if saying to him to get his tight ass over here and stand right next to her.
The soldier released a sigh before rolling his eyes at the woman as if replying to her you're being reckless and this is some dangerous shit because this big dude seems ready to wreck and break everything which stands in his way!
'Aren't these the two monkeys who were shagging under my roof last night? But this chick really has more balls than this guy, no wonder she was enjoying her time on top when I caught them having at it!' Aaron thought while looking at the courageous ones among the 23 soldiers who dared to follow the woman and her man which paved the path of daring to actually face Roger.
Seeing the big guy look at him as if to say whenever you're ready little Ron, just give me the signal.
The kid smirked before activating Emphatic Resonance, Iron Will, and Self Recovery while targeting the twelve soldiers which stood behind him in two groups of six and held tightly to the Heavy Steel-Studded Polearms in their hands.
"Now tell me what are your chances against them?" He asked while looking at Roger and enjoyed seeing him shocked and gawking speechlessly from surprise.
"I think I can barely take two... maybe three if I'm risking my life!" The big guy answered while frowning because his instincts shifted from calm to prickly as if he was facing some harmless rabbits which suddenly bared their fangs at him and shapeshifted to starving Beasts without his own sharp instincts picking up any signs of warnings like he's used to feel from experience!
Aaron looked behind him and smiled while seeing the dozen soldiers overly excited after feeling the benefits of his Skills before looking at the ones standing behind these courageous soldiers and shaking his head then saying : "You guys can pick these Weapons and go report to Aeona, you're no longer under my command. Dismissed."
'I knew it!' Manji's eyes brightened once she saw shock and confusion on the faces of these eleven soldiers before looking at the kid as if to say I'm not so far behind your thought process little boy, I can read you clearly right now.
However Aaron probably wouldn't even care if he could hear what Manji was thinking at that moment.
He tossed Roger 3 wooden flasks of Reindeer Milk before ordering : "You're to use this Reindeer Milk however you see fit but under one condition."
The big guy caught them while asking : "What condition?" He was feeling both excited and slightly wary because this kid could make life difficult for him and he wouldn't be able to refuse him in this situation.
"Relax!" Aaron gestured while walking away then added : "Just take care of the ones about to awaken their Vital-Aura and teach them everything you know."
The kid glanced back at the twelve soldiers which were relieved yet somewhat disappointed once they noticed that they're not going to face this Aura-user.
"You pass, but I wouldn't tolerate any hesitation in the future... go report to Aeona with the rest if you're not willing to jump into a sea of fire or crawl through a continent of sharp Blades once I give an order."
The twelve soldiers shivered because only now did they understand that from beginning to end there was no intention from the boy to pit them against this big Aura-user at all, he was just testing their courage and the proof was when he made all of them feel like they can bully this group leader to their heart content with their young master Ron's help!
"Pio, Lucas, Sherry, Aeona, Rhinne, Roger, and Manji."
"Yes young master Ron."
Aaron stood at the stairs leading to his house and looked at the soldiers and their group leaders before pointing at the stack of tied up and unconscious Mice then saying : "You're to supervise the transportation of these Mice is completed at once, also once you arrive at the three Villages do notify them that I'm going to allow others to travel between the 4 Villages as they like at the cost of 1 silver per person."
"The Portals are going to be active for 10 Minutes every hour of the day as well as the first 3 hours of the night.
"The ones who dare cause trouble in the territories of others are to be captured and brought to me.
"The ones who don't pay or presumably say they can't pay are to be brought to me to present their case.
"The ones who respect the rules are to be protected within the territories of the union.
"Also warn them of keeping an eye on the prices of the products because we can't have ridiculous fluctuations of prices, I'm allowing this to revitalize trade not to see others taking advantage of me.
"And for goodness sake tell them to visit grandpa Sid's shop and see to it that he gets the materials and ingredients he requires to do his damn job!"
The kid said before gesturing to them to get on with it then walked the stairs upwards towards the top floor.
"Young master." Pio called while frowning before asking : "Aren't you going to the balcony to use your Technique so that we can start getting these Mice out of here?"
"And have complete strangers from the 3 Villages walk all-over my house! Can't you see that this place is already crowded more than it should be?" Aaron stopped and looked back when he asked, he saw the soldiers nodding and Betty sticking her head from the window and nodding repeatedly with tears almost bursting out of her eyes!
He sighed before gesturing towards the metal gates of his house, "You'll find the Portal other people can use to travel between the 4 Villages outside the walls next to the gates, make sure to have some teams be on guard shifts over there all the time and others to collect the travel fee from the ones using the Portal not the ones exiting from it.
"To avoid corruption, greed, and all that shit you better also appoint our own people to guard the other 3 Portals and collect the fees!
"But I'm only going to give this warning once, steal from me and I'll have your head then these guys would feast on your flesh and bones."
*Buzz*
The Gold and Silver Guards suddenly appeared on top of him and glared at the soldiers with frosty, emotionless, and ruthless eyes.
"I'd go just as far to protect you if some brainless moron tried to even attempt to bully you, so I guess it's just as fair that I go this far against the ones who betray my trust!" When Aaron said that every soldier looked around then nodded as if saying that's to be expected indeed.
Seeing his young master leaving Pio stopped him once again while asking : "Young master! Aren't you supposed to go to the walls and use your Technique for us to transport these Mice then?"
"No I'm not, But all of you are!" The kid raised and eyebrow while staring at Pio and thinking : 'This fellow is getting so comfortable with me lately huh! I bet Betty's warm bosom has softened his edges.'
Pio was frowning deeply because so far his young master Ron would stand directly in the center where the diagram was first drawn on the ground before using his Technique! "But it doesn't work this way." His bodyguard mumbled while tilting his head slightly before scratching his cheek.
Aaron turned around and started going up while saying : "How the hell would you know what I can and can't do? Piss off already before I lose my patience, scram over there and you'll see that despite following me the longest you still don't know anything about me at all."
Lucas shook his head before urging his group of soldiers to get a move on before they get confused with these Blade and Knife-users!
Sherry followed and the rest of the leaders took their soldiers and dragged the Mice towards the location their young master Ron mentioned earlier.
Pio was still in denial during the whole thing until he and the group leaders moved outside the house and looked left and right but there was not a single trace of the familiar door-like Portal or the lines and inscriptions on the complicated diagram on the floor.
Right when Pio was about to release a sigh of relief since he was correct in his understanding of their young master Ron's Techniques and the conditions which need to be met for them to actually work!
The reality of things suddenly shifted once a swirl happened in thin air and a much more complicated and bigger diagram appeared on the ground and a hole taller than the walls appeared.
Some sort of tunnel which is padded with a layer of water-like in the deep blue color appeared and right before the end that tunnel was split into three and from where they stood everyone could see expressions of shock, fear, and worry on the faces of the people on the other side.
Aeona patted Pio on the shoulder and shrugged before leading her soldiers to Black-Fog Village where she's supposed to deliver some of the captured Mice.
Rhinne smiled and did the same as her rival before leading her soldiers to Reapers-Fort where she's supposed to deliver the biggest share of the captured Mice.
Sherry smirked before following the lead of her big sisters then led her soldiers to Blue-Flowers Village where she's supposed to deliver the second biggest share of the captured Mice.
Manji and Roger patted Pio's shoulder before taking their soldiers and the captured Mice they were given to deliver to Sen who's tasked with the distribution within Pine-Breeze Village.
Lucas patted Pio's shoulder and said : "You and I are bodyguards not his spokespersons, maybe you should've kept your mouth shut my friend. What were you thinking questioning him over and over like that? You're not alone with him in the forest anymore! I bet he wouldn't even pat an eye if that happened with only us being with him even if you questioned him a thousand times more, but this time you almost ruined his image and you of all else should've known how he deals the harshest of blows to those who try to stand on his shoulder.
"I know you meant no harm and he did too, but next time just follow the orders and try to speak with him in private.
"For a while there I really thought he would drop you from the clouds!" After saying that Lucas turned towards his soldiers and started choosing some of them then separated them into 16 teams.
Their duty is to guard and collect the travel fee from those who wish to use the Portals and they work in two shifts.
"The rest of you are going to be with me and tasked with guarding young master Ron's house." Lucas ordered before returning to the house.
Pio finally shook off his daze and did the same as Lucas before taking the rest of his soldiers back into the house.
"Hahaha... How was that? You bastard dare question my abilities huh! Come up and spar with me, I'll beat you bloody and poor Betty would do all the work for you tonight!"
Aaron was standing at his balcony at the top floor and smirking.
"Young master!" Pio felt like he was snatched from hell and tossed into some garden once he heard what the boy just said, he looked up then smiled before running up the stairs.
"This idiot!" Betty looked through the window of her kitchen and glared at her man's back once she saw him run excitedly and for a second there she almost swears she saw him having a tail and it was wagging from side to side!