229 Psychedelic
Still, Sylas didn't get ahead of himself. The Fragmented requirement for the Quest was already to defeat a Level 10. Who knew how much worse it would get from here on out? If he was correct, this was just the beginning. In the future, he would probably have to face off against not only powerful beasts, but also complete side quests and other requirements as well. it was doubtful that he would just need to defeat a beast and call it a day, though he hoped that would be the case. As such, he felt that he should take the easy way out when he could and consider other things later. All things considered, poison wasn't a bad path for him, especially since it would synergize well with his Vipermancer Profession, at least in part. Plus, poison was useful for many other things as well. It might be even more helpful in battling against those of a higher Level than himself thanks to its control and area of effect applications. Sylas slotted this matter into the back of his mind and continued looking around. Now, it was best to focus on what was in front of him, especially since there was only so much time remaining. By this point, he had less than 20 minutes left, yet still almost 40,000 coins to spend.
After some thought, he chose to abandon thoughts of everything else and just go to the Skill shop. Right now, he was already feeling that his Skills were a bit too lackluster.
'Let's arrange by Skills that can synergize with Madness. That way I can get a huge boost in Mastery without having to do much.'
Having a Skill was one matter. But if its Mastery was too low, it wouldn't be worth it. If Mastery was low, casting time would take a while. THis was why that government official that Sylas took the Stabilizing Bracelet from needed to load <Shadow Warp> rather than using it freely in battle. Ultimately, the bracelet only had three slots, and Sylas also needed to worry about its Durability. It was best if he used it as infrequently as possible. That said, Grade was obviously of great importance. For example, he had only mastered <King's Shield> to Bronze, but it already had triple the defenses of his Legendary Mastery <Solidify>.
Unfortunately, there were no FF+ Skills in this directory. Still, there were a few FF- Skills that met Sylas' requirements. And the expenses weren't so bad, the most expensive still being less than five figures.
[Mirror Step (FF-) (Skill)]
[Illusive and hard to grasp, you move like the fleeting clouds and your actions are a mystery to all but yourself]
[Create <1> mirror image of yourself for 1 Aether Unit]
[Cost: 4500 (F) coins]
It looked like an interesting skill, especially when he thought about the blade. But its description was too vague.
What happened to the mirror images after he formed them? Would he have to control them independently? Would that take up more of his Wisdom? Or…
'I see. Mirror image. They're just going to do what I do… That's less useful.'
Sylas thought about it. The cost was high, an Aether Unit for just a single image. But it was also just reflective of the Fragmented Mastery, after all.
He set the Skill aside for now and moved on to the next.
[Stunning Spike (FF-) (Skill)]
[Your mind is sharper than others, so much so that you strip them of even their own ability to think and reflect clearly]
[Cost is 10 Units of Aether in exchange for 1 second of confusion. For every 10% gap in Will, Cost will decrease by 1 Unit, with the lowest cost being 0.1 Aether Units]
[Cost: 9500 (F) Coins]
Sylas didn't hesitate this time, buying up the Skill instantly. And as expected…
[Your understanding of <Stunning Spike> has deepened]
[<Stunning Spike> has reached Silver Mastery]
Though it wasn't an immediate leap to Legendary, Sylas assumed that this was because there was quite a big gap between F+ Skills and FF- Skills. So long as he raised Madness up to Silver Mastery, <Stunning Spike> would certainly follow.
This should also be the reason why <King's Shield> was still only at Bronze Mastery because it was FF+.
Even so, the results were good.
[Stunning Spike (FF-) (Skill)]
[Your mind is sharper than others, so much so that you strip them of even their own ability to think and reflect clearly]
[Cost is 7 Units of Aether in exchange for 1 second of confusion. For every 10% gap in Will, Cost will decrease by 1 Unit, with the lowest cost being 0.1 Aether Units]
Sylas checked his remaining coin total.
[Coins: 39,723 (F)]
He had spent quite a bit, it seemed that he still had far more money to churn through. In that case, he would buy up the things that interested him.
He didn't know the next time he would get a Nexus Ticket, and money left behind here would end up being just as useless as buying something useless. So he might as well take a gamble.
He bought the Mirror Step Skill and two others.
[Astral Will Fission (FF-) (Skill)]
[Your mind is more flexible than others can fathom. Using your strong Will and a calm state, you can project your mind into the far-off distance, undetectable to all but those with a stronger Will than your own]
[Form Astral Will by severing some of your Will stat. Warning, the more of your Will you sever, the more drastic the consequences should your Astral Will be shattered]
[For every 100 Will severed, 5 Aether Units to complete Astral Will Fission]
[For every 100 Will severed, gain 1 minute of travel time. Otherwise, use 5 more Aether Units]
[Within 100 meters, there will be no additional cost of Aether. For every 10 meters beyond, there will be an additional 0.1 Aether Units of cost for every 10 seconds the Astral Will is maintained]
[Cost: 9500 (F) Coins]
This Skill was one that Sylas would have likely bought whether he was trying to spend money or not. It felt far too useful if he found the right situation.
In addition, after his Madness got its hands on it…
[Your understanding of <Astral Will Fission> has deepened]
[<Astral Will Fission> has reached Silver Mastery]
[Astral Will Fission (FF-) (Skill)]
…
[For every 100 Will stat severed, 2 Aether Units to complete Astral Will Fission]
[For every 100 Will severed, gain 2 minutes of travel time. Otherwise, use 2 more Aether Units]
[Within 100 meters, there will be no additional cost of Aether. For every 20 meters beyond, there will be an additional 0.1 Aether Units of cost for every 20 seconds the Astral Will is maintained]
This Skill would be endlessly useful in scouting out regions ahead of time, and if he had had it earlier, he might not have suffered so much at the hands of Azrael.
Though, it also required a lot of risk assessment.
An Astral Will formed by just 100 Will would be easy to detect by any somewhat powerful person. But if he used more Will than that to hide it better, then should it ever be found, the backlash would be several times worse.
He would have to choose very carefully.
Then, there was the last Skill. This one wasn't in line with his Madness, at least not entirely, but he felt that it was about time he had a true attacking Skill.
[Psychedelic Punch (FF-) (Skill)]