hotmtlnovel Chapter 90
Chapter 90
Chapter 90 – Before an End (3)While Koise and I were preparing for the trip to the Central Cities, which would take a few days since I wouldn’t just be trying to sprint there on my own, we discussed what we’d find.
“You remember Earth?” he asked me. “Well, it’s not quite at that level yet, but imagine a place where the streets are actually clean, magic-automated steam cars carry people from place to place, and the buildings—at least compared to here—tower over you.”
I’d been in the area of the Central Cities during the initial Merge, but the cities hadn’t existed then. Naturally, I hadn’t seen the true cities in all of their supposed splendor.
We were in the Association’s storage basement, rummaging for supplies.
Listening to him speak, I idly noticed dried drops of blood on the basement stairs along with a bloody handprint on the side of the stair support.
‘Was someone hurt while
Walk it Off
Strike
Second Wind
Fiery Constitution
Redirection
Echo Sight]
⟬Skills
Enhanced Stamina
Eruption
Piercing Eruption
Earth Control
Heat sense
Body Control
Heat Manipulation⟭
The clear option was Enhanced Stamina. With that, I could stay awake for longer and use my Second System abilities more without tiring.
When I selected it, though, a new window popped up.
⟬You can only enhance active skills.⟭
‘Okay, not quite as useful as I was hoping it’d be, but it’s still not bad.’
My two most used abilities were «Piercing Eruption» and «Strike». Since «Piercing Eruption» was governed by the Second System and was sort of a ‘finishing’ skill, I reasoned that «Strike» would make more sense.
⟬You’ve selected ‘Strike’ for enhancement.⟭
[Strike
Spend mana to empower a blow, increasing the strength and speed of the blow twofold.
Cost: 25 Mana]
The window changed, showing the altered effect of the skill.
[Strike
Spend mana to empower a blow, increasing the strength and speed of the blow threefold.
Cost: 20 Mana]
The effect both increased the power of the skill and decreased the cost. Five mana might not have seemed like much, but it could make all the difference having one or two extra uses in a prolonged fight.
By then, Koise was almost ready, and I hoped some monsters would dare to ambush us on our trip.
Unfortunately, I didn’t think it’d be put to the test so quickly.
***
In the Central City of Londo, in an opulent room lit by bright mana crystals and the sun shining through a one-way translucent ceiling, highlighting the almost sickening waste of luxury resources used to make the room’s sleek black marble floor and golden wall trimming…
An emaciated woman held out a shifting purple crystal to the man in front of her, who looked like he could’ve crushed her with the flick of a finger.
Despite the stark contrast between them, the man took the crystal in a quick and almost fearful motion.
It wasn’t the first time Gregor had dealt with the occult, but power always had its costs.