"Recover your mana and use your strongest healing on me," he said.
She took a mana potion and concentrated on him.
Cipher activated the Regeneration skill and began recovering 1% max hp per second. He then shifted his body, entering the final stance - the twelfth form.
The moment he settled into the stance, he felt the entire world shift around him.
He hadn’t even swung the sword yet. Just the stance.
Slowly, one by one, colors began disappearing from the world around him. The vibrant colors of the training area faded. The red of his own blood dulled. Everything drained away, leaving him in a stark black-and-white world.
Then the textures began disappearing. The rough surface of the training floor, the grain of his sword’s handle, the fabric of his clothes - all of it flattened. He saw everything around him as pure shapes.
Then space followed. He felt the world freeze around him. His body wouldn’t move. Couldn’t move. He was locked in place.
Next was time.
Time slowed to a crawl. His senses amplified and turned inward, peeling away from the external world to focus entirely on what was happening inside him.
He felt his heart beating. Each thump was deafening, like a huge war drum. He heard the loud rush of his blood flowing through his veins.
He felt his torn muscle fibers being repaired - Maya’s healing magic and his Regeneration working together to put him back together.
He felt his mana core start pumping. Mana moved outward, flowing toward all the required pathways for the Heavenly Demonic Sword Art’s final move.
As the mana moved, it tore through everything in its path. His meridians that weren’t strong enough to withstand such a load simply gave out. The pain was indescribable - every nerve ending in his body lit up like fire.
And when the mana finally hit the final point...
His body moved.
He swung.
Just a single downward slash.
[Congratulations! You have awakened a skill]
[Skill: Pain Tolerance (S-Rank)]
[Cost: 0 Mana]
[Description: Reduces all pain sensations by 95%. Allows the user to maintain full combat effectiveness regardless of injury severity. Mental clarity remains unaffected by physical trauma. ]
[Note: Does not reduce actual damage taken - only the pain.]
As he fell on his back, the world around him slowly returned to normal and he noticed Maya’s concerned face as she rushed toward him. She seemed to be screaming something to him but the hearing sensation hadn’t returned yet so he couldn’t make out what she was saying.
"Fuck," he cursed.
"Pain Tolerance? What a rip-off. It hurts like hell."
That was his last thought before he passed out.
...
Cipher’s eyes suddenly snapped open.
"Would you look at that, you’re finally awake."
Cipher froze once he heard that voice. "Professor?" he spoke in confusion.
"Why are you acting so distant? Just Elaine will do," Elaine said as she moved next to the bed. She smiled. "Or you can just call me Doc, since you’re my patient now."
Cipher tried to rise from his bed, but she pushed him back, pressing her hand over his chest. "Don’t get up yet. I still have to do some checks."
Her expression then changed, becoming crazed. "Your body is so interesting. If I could open you up and study you..."
Cipher didn’t waste a second and leaped off the bed, catching her arm and twisting it behind her back, pressing her against the bed.
"Wait, calm down! Calm down! I was just joking!" she screamed for him to let go.
At that moment, he heard the sound of someone else moving and looked to the side. It was Maya. She had been kneeling on the floor, asleep with her head resting on the bed.
"Maya?" he called out as she began to stir.
"Oh, Maya. You’re awake. Tell your boss to let me go," Elaine said.
Maya cleared her eyes, wondering if she was seeing things. "Cipher? You... you’re really alive?" She charged at him, hugging him tightly.
Cipher hugged her back with one hand, maintaining his hold on Elaine.
"Why don’t you let me go and we can all celebrate together?" Elaine asked.
"No. If I let you go, you’re going to use that Charm skill on me," Cipher said.
"What? Is that what you were so scared of? With your Intelligence stat, shouldn’t you be immune to it?" she said.
Cipher thought it made sense. The way it worked was through the mana provided. Since the skill was E-rank, it had to follow the established rules, meaning it shouldn’t be able to work on a C-rank like him.
Of course, she could always use her Prayer unique skill to improve it, but now that he thought about it, why would she go so far just for him? Even if he knew about her cosplaying secret, it wasn’t that deep.
It seemed he had been too cautious.
Besides, she had helped him.
As he thought this, he felt her squirming and breathing heavily. "If you don’t let go soon... I might begin to like it..." she said.
Cipher instantly let go and jumped back a few paces.
She rose and composed herself. "Seriously, is this the way to treat your savior?" she asked.
"My apologies," Cipher said, bowing deeply.
She waved her hand. "It’s fine. I wasn’t really your savior anyway, just your caretaker."
"What do you mean?" Cipher asked in confusion.
She smiled. "Congratulations. Your team now has a unique skill holder."
"You mean..." Cipher turned to look at Maya next to him. "You awakened a unique skill?" he asked.
She nodded. "That time, I was really desperate to save Brother Cipher. Then I heard the voice of the system."
Did unique skills really grow on trees? Cipher wondered. Before, he had never heard of so many of them. Well, he was just a civilian, so the information he got was limited, but still...
He activated Appraisal:
Name: Maya
Level: 20
Rank: D
Species: Human
Class: Archmage
Health:
Mana: 300/300
Strength: 5
Stamina: 10
Agility: 7
Intelligence: 30
Skills (5/7): Mana Recovery (C), Over Heal (D), Blessing (D), Water Shield (E), Heal (E)
[Unique Skill: Timeless]
[Type: Passive]
[Cost: 0 Mana]
[Description: All skill cooldowns are removed completely. All magic can be cast instantly without requiring chants, gestures, or casting time. Skills that normally require preparation or charging can be activated immediately at full power.]
[Note: This skill does not reduce mana costs. Spells that would normally require longer casting times for increased power are automatically cast at their maximum potential.]