Pondering for a long time about which skills to combine next, he decided to test it with unimportant skills first. Sol willed [Basic Trapmaking], [Nature Sense], and [Iron Stomach]. He believed they all shared similarities in wilderness survival and could create something related to self-sustainability.
It was not until he began combining skills that he suddenly felt the need to also include [Pursuit]. Sol wasn’t sure why, but his gut hadn’t led him wrong yet and willed the gray string that represented [Pursuit] to join the other three skills.
Something was different with this combination. When he combined the weapons skills and his magic skills, the strings seemed to lead to a predetermined location. Now, they seemed to be directionless, aimless. They were moving from one side to another as if trying to latch onto a new direction that would tie all the skills together.
Sol was worried the process would fail if this kept going, but eventually, it seemed to hook onto something and fully tied all the skills together.
Learned [Wild Hunt] Lv 1!
[Wild Hunt] Lv 1: Those you designate as prey will never be able to escape you. Once a prey has been designated, you will always know their exact location at all times within 100 miles. If further than 100 miles, you can once a month communicate with nature to find their location.
Sol mumbled to himself, "Could this be considered a success or a failure?"
The addition of [Pursuit] influenced the end result of the skill way more than he thought it would. Although he didn’t care much for the other skills, which is why he used them in this test, most of their effects were erased to make way for this one.
’Was it because I didn’t have any idea what it should become that this happened?’
It was a theory, and there was one way to prove it. Sol chose a new set of skills to test if he could influence the direction they combine into.
The strings representing [Blinding Fury], [Blurry Steps], and [Meditation] began to move closer to each other. While at first glance, it seemed like these skills had nothing in common, Sol believed their effects when combined could produce a complimentary effect.
The strength and power from [Blinding Fury], the speed from [Blurry Steps], and the concentration from [Meditation] to balance out the negative effects of the rage skill. Keeping an image of what he wanted them to become at the forefront of his mind, Sol willed the strings together.
They twisted and tied together, and unlike when he made [Wild Hunt], this one was locked onto one direction. The process went much faster, and soon he was met with the results.
Learned [???] Lv 1!
New entry detected.
Permission level 1 confirmed.
Name the new skill.
Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Sol asked out loud, "I can name it?"
[I Can Name It] Confirm name?
Sol’s eyes widened as he quickly yelled, "No!"
The system erased the previous name and asked once more for a name.
Amber, who heard his scream, looked over to him trying to figure out what happened. Sol gave her a helpless smile and shook his head. He would have spoken up to explain, but he didn’t want to accidentally name the skill something weird.
’That was almost a disaster.’
Sol shuddered at the thought of fighting someone and pulling out his trump card [I Can Name It].
’What do I name it…’
Similar to previous combinations, Sol instinctively knew what this new skill could do. It managed to reach his expectations and even surpass them in some aspects which put a smile on his face. After pondering for a while, he decided on a good name.
"Limit Break."
Error. That name is already taken.
"Rats…"
Error. That name is already taken.
’Are you kidding me?’
"Last Stand."
Error. That name is already taken.
"Outburst."
Error. That name is already taken.
’...This is gonna take a while.’
Seventeen tries later, Sol was able to come up with a decent name for the skill.
[Overpower] Lv 1: Temporarily increase strength, agility, and intelligence by 120%. Duration: 30 seconds. Cooldown: 4 hours.
The downsides of [Blinding Fury] were gone, and not only was strength increased, but agility and intelligence as well. An overall powerful skill he could use to turn a situation around. Even with its short duration of 30 seconds, with the amount it increases his stats by, Sol was confident he could resolve it within that time limit.
It did cost Sol’s [Blurry Steps], which drastically increased his speed temporarily, but if he needed speed, he could use [Ground Shrink] or [Destructive Charge]. This new skill directly increased his agility stat, which not only affected his speed but his reaction time and dexterity as well.
’It’s also at level 1, so it has a lot of room to grow. But will I be able to use [Siphon] to increase its level?’
Since this is a new skill, that means no one in the world had it. Sol didn’t know how he was supposed to level it.
’It’s possible that using [Siphon] on the skills that made this new one can increase its level, but if that doesn’t work, [Reinterpret] could help increase its level.’
Sol decided to try [Siphon] later when exploring the 5th floor and leave [Reinterpret] until he was done combining other skills. There was still one more skill he wanted to combine.
The strings for his defensive skills [Natural Armor], [Physical Resistance], [Harden], and [Defiance] all began to combine. Sol was originally not going to include [Defiance], but he wanted this skill to be more than just physical defense; he wanted it to protect him from anything and everything. Sol guided the skill combination with a mental image of him standing still with all sorts of attacks flying at him, weapons, arrows, spells. The moment they made contact with his body, they would simply bounce off with some shattering upon contact.
The strings felt his will and pointed into a direction immediately. Now that Sol knew he had to guide the combination, the process was becoming even easier each time. Soon he saw a new message.
Learned [???] Lv 6!
New entry detected.
Permission level 1 confirmed.
Name the new skill.
Sol crossed his fingers as he hoped the name he had in mind wasn’t already taken.
"Invincible Body."
[Invincible Body] Confirm name?
Relieved, Sol exclaimed, "Yes!"
[Invincible Body] Lv 6: Increase Defense by 220. Nullify physical damage by 30%. High chance to ignore mental status effects.
After reading its description, Sol shook his head, ’It’s incomplete.’
The results could be said to be more than great, but Sol knew there was more that could be done. Although Sol had a strong vision of what it was meant to become, he lacked the foundational blocks to build it. This didn’t worry Sol as he knew he could later combine more skills into this one and perfect his creation.
Sol took this moment to check on his new status page.
Name: Sol
Race: Human
Talents: [Siphoner], [Transformer]
Level: 62
Exp: 44,190/9,700,000
HP: 1250
MP: 1000
Str: 60 (+60)
Vit: 60 (+70)
Agi: 60 (+40)
Int: 65 (+40)
Wis: 60 (+40)
Available Stats: 5
Talent Skills:
[Siphon] Lv 4, [Analysis] Lv 5, [Aggregate] Lv EX, [Reinterpret] Lv EX
Passive Skills:
[Muffled Movements] Lv EX, [Counter] Lv 1, [Shortened Cast] Lv MAX, [Agility Up] Lv 8, [Gargantuan Strength] Lv 1, [Endless Vitality] Lv 2, [Increased Mana Regeneration] Lv MAX, [Mana Perception] Lv 6, [Wisdom Up] Lv 8, [Increased Health Regeneration] Lv 3, [Intelligence Up] Lv 8, [Mana Efficiency] Lv 5, [Precise Coordination] Lv 6, [Basic Psychic Mastery] Lv 2, [Intermediate Weapon Mastery] Lv 5, [Wild Hunt] Lv 1, [Invincible Body] Lv 6
Active Skills:
[Cross Slash] Lv 3, [Ground Shrink] Lv 1, [Snap Punch] Lv 4, [Blast Arrow] Lv 7, [Concealment] Lv 9, [Death Cyclone] Lv 8, [Earth Hammer] Lv 5, [Rock Throw] Lv 4, [Burrow] Lv MAX, [Fell Cleave] Lv 8, [Crippling Strike] Lv 8, [Destructive Charge] Lv 8, [Telepathy] Lv 1, [Barricade] Lv 7, [Barrage] Lv 7, [Intermediate Elemental Magic] Lv 4, [Overpower] Lv 1
Sol placed his 5 available stats into intelligence as he thought to himself, ’I can combine more skills but it would be better to wait a bit more before doing so.’
Sol was specifically thinking about his attribute enhancing skills. The combination wouldn’t really bring about any fundamental change, and he would rather evolve them all first before doing so, in fear of his strength and vitality bonuses lowering drastically to compensate for the other lower leveled skills.
The process was much more involved than he initially believed and he still had many questions. He wanted to know where those strings led and why a mental image was so important, but these questions could only be left unresolved for now.
All that was left was to test out [Reinterpret], but even with all his excitement to try it out, his body’s exhaustion won in the end, and Sol decided to sleep for the night. Sol didn’t even bother to set up his tent as he took out his sleeping bag and went to sleep.