The field rose around us, and we found ourselves in a mountainous hill covered in rocky outcrops.
“Have fun wrecking the terrain. Let me know if you want to regenerate the field or move somewhere else.” Jezibel said.
The first thing I did was dump all of my skill points into my class skills, pushing them all to level 20, leaving me with a single spare skill point.
Reaching the maximum skill level on all class skills is a difficult task, yet you have accomplished it all the same. [Divine Shard] granted.
Now that that’s done, it was about time I appraised them.
[Elemental Dominion Lv. 20]
As the master of all the base elemental attributes and an atypical attribute, their mana is eager to bend to your will. Casting more advanced magic should come easier to you, and seemingly impossible spells should no longer be out of your reach.
Huh. I really should get to learning more advanced magic than just my mana blades and mirror space.
[Law of Exclusive Attraction Lv. 20]
Any two objects posses a gravitational attraction to each other, should they be within a distance proportional to their mass. You may choose any two targets and empower the power of their attraction by up to a value of 20 m/s2. This effect does not apply if resisted by one of the targets. You may also deny any and all other gravitational and electromagnetic forces applied to the targets.
This seems like a direct upgrade. This skill becomes additive with the targets’ natural gravitational attraction, rather than mutually exclusive like earlier. Though that’s only relevant when one of the two targets is the planet, or when I am going up against another force mage. For better or worse, the only other potential force mage I am aware of is Headmaster Iltani.
[Force Coefficient Lv. 20]
Multiply the force of attraction applied by gravity spells and skills with a value of up to an absolute value of 2. Cost is multiplied by 1.2 for duration of effect.
Well, that consolidated two of my skills into one, letting me get a new skill. Potentially the best upgrade the advancement offered.
[Herald’s Domain Lv. 20]
Multiply the effects of each force within a radius of 25 meters of you to your liking.
Simple, yet effective. This will make anyone or any group thinking of getting close to me think twice about it. An artificial terrain advantage like this could be a game changer. Even better, if my opponents try to keep their distance, I can simply take it to my opponent!
I take it back; this skill is the best upgrade my class got!
[Force Sphere Lv. 20]
Create a powerful black or white sphere with a force of attraction or repulsion respectively of up to 30 times that of gravity you are subjected to for 3 seconds. This sphere may be launched before being activated, and its force may be applied universally or directionally. When the duration of the skill concludes, all absorbed objects will be launched instantly at a direction of your choosing at up to 70 times the force of gravity you are subjected to. If no direction is selected, it will spontaneously combust with the same amount of force. No skills, titles, or other effects may apply to this skill. Usable once per twelve hours.
This skill is basically the same as black hole, but with a repulsive force option, and with nearly three times the duration. It also gives me the option to apply it directionally, so it should be a lot safer and less indiscriminate to use.
This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.
Now, for my new skill.
[Sky’s Wrath Lv. 20]
Target an object with a mass of up to 20 kilograms. You may raise it to the sky at a cost of 1 mana point per meter, up to a height of up to 20 kilometers. You may release the object and control its direction during its fall, with maneuverability depending on the user’s proficiency with force magic. The precision and velocity of the object depend on its shape and material. You may raise up to four objects at any given moment.
Isn’t this ‘skill’ literally just dropping heavy stuff from really, really high up? Strange. Also, isn’t a name like ‘Sky’s Wrath’ a tad overly dramatic for something like that?
“So, what did you get? Anything interesting?” Nico asked.
"I don't know, but it seems like it was mostly utility upgrades."
“Well, we won’t be able to tell how useful these skills are without trying them first. Why not take them out for a spin?” Nico said, as Ati had a contemplative look.
I nodded, then activated law of exclusive attraction on myself and the earth. As expected, I could deny gravity and float in mid-air. I then tried to apply the maximum force on myself added on to the planet’s natural gravity. It felt as if my weight increased three-fold.
“No surprises here.” I said, as I applied force coefficient to the field.
My weight doubled, and my feet began sinking into the dirt. Thankfully, I was more than strong enough to shrug it off.
“Force coefficient increases my spell’s powers, as expected. Now, how about this!” I said, activating Herald’s Domain to multiply the force yet again.
That was foolish.
Immediately, I slammed into the dirt almost as hard as when Nico used divine judgement to send me crashing down. I felt my bones creak and my muscles tear, as the force slowly crushed my insides.
I panicked, and in my distress, did the first thing I could think of. Which was changing the force coefficient into -2. Instantly, the force reversed, launching me into the sky like a bat out of a hell.
“WAIT, NO, GO BACK!” I screamed, reversing the change.
I immediately jerked back as the jarring transition sent me crashing down yet again into the dirt, causing the biggest explosion of dirt I’d seen today.
The next thing I knew, I was standing at an equal distance from the other two as the dome fell apart and revealed the dumbfounded expressions of the rest of the party.
Nisos’s jaw was on the floor, and Jezibel’s hands covered her mouth. Ati was covering his eyes with his arm, though that turned out to be unnecessary since Nicotris shielded them both from the dirt with sanctuary.
I don’t know how long we spent in shock, but Ati was eventually the first to break the silence.
“Kiara… Did you just kill yourself?”
***
The three of us stood once more in the mountains, having restarted the arena.
“Remember, Kiara, no more casting gravity magic on yourself.” Nico reminded gently.
The last few minutes were so harrowingly embarrassing that I wish the earth could just swallow me up and make the world forget me.
“Yeah, yeah, I got it.” I said in an attempt to shrug her off.
She shook her head and raised her hands in surrender.
Fortunately, Ati came to the rescue.
“What else do you have to test?” he asked.
Eager to jump on an opportunity to change the topic, I answered.
“I still have to test my new version of black hole and this new sky’s wrath skill. Let’s start with black hole; its cooldown is half a day now, and advancing my class reset the cooldown from my fight with Nico.”
I looked around and found a nice-looking boulder.
“That should be perfect!” I said, then I moved towards it.
The other two looked to each other then followed me.
I stood behind the boulder and looked for a target to destroy. A nearby rocky outcrop seemed like a perfect target.
“Alright; hide behind something, you two. This might result in some shrapnel flying your way.”
As Nico and Ati went to take shelter behind a nearby hill, I moved around and took aim at the outcrop. When I was done lining up my shot, I activated force sphere, and set it to directional repulsion in the direction I aimed at. The white ball in my hand slowly warped in the direction of the boulder, and then it activated.
The boulder moved with speed that was so comically rapid that it took off and completely overshot the rocky outcrop, flying into the distance and shattering into pieces long before it actually crashed at the mountain’s base.
The white, morphed sphere in my hand then shrank onto itself, and with a pop, was gone. Just like that.
“Well, I’ll be damned. That was fast.” I said out loud.
And useful.
“Kiara, that skill is going to be a godsend for any sieging army, and a nightmare for any defending force. It’s probably also invaluable in a choke point. Black hole was just as effective, but not usable due to concerns of friendly fire.”
She sighed.
“If you reveal this carelessly, some cities and countries might start treating you like rank S creatures and people, and consequently restrict your access in their territory. You should keep this hidden for now.”
Well, that would be a shame.
In any case, I still had one more skill to test.