Shelled Armor

Arriving at the association the next day Lake found it to be just as packed as before, whether they were taking up missions or purchasing items all sorts of adventurers were there.

Lake was just there to collect his evo style so he went up to the receptionist and asked her how he would collect.

"Are you a copper esper already?" She was surprised seeing a child like Lake had already become an official esper.

Nodding Lake willed his energy to surround his hand and an orange aura formed on his hand. The receptionists eyes widened at the sight but she quickly recomposed herself.

"To collect your evo style you have to go to the Evo Hall. As a 1st stage copper esper you only have access to low-tier evo styles. You are awarded one for free, any other evo style must be purchased. At the time that you reach the next stage you are awarded another one."

Lake thanked her before walking to the location she told him, what she had told him he already knew but he didn't have any contribution points at the moment.

Walking inside he saw rows of boxes lined up next to each other, 4 rows made up an entire shelf. Each box contained a scroll pertaining to the evo style that they held.

Each row held the different tiers of evo styles, the lowest row held low-tier evo styles. 2nd lowest row held middle-tier, 3rd row held high-tier, and the top row held top-tier evo styles.

Lake only had access to the lowest level since he was only a copper esper. When he became a bronze esper he'd have access to middle-tier evo styles.

Lake looked through his current skills and decided that what he needed most was a defense type evo style. He had Ape's Might and Quick Feet for attack and speed so the only thing he was missing was defense.

Though his body was tough on it's own it wouldn't hold up well against a fireball.

In front of each box was a small display of the name and a small description of the evo style. After a moment Lake had already picked out a few and decided to choose from them.

Copper Body, tempers the body using energy to increase the toughness of the body, making it as tough as copper.

Minor Wave Block, creates a small barrier of energy that can redirect small attacks within its range of damage.

Shelled Armor, creates a layer of energy on the users body akin to the shell of a turtle which acts as a barrier to ward off attacks.

The three Lake had chosen were the highest tiered within low-tiered evo styles. They each had their own uses and advantages compared to the other.

Copper body caused the body's toughness to change to become as hard as copper, the advantage was that it was a passive style, it didn't require the user to actively use it while fighting. The issue it held was that it took a while to make any progress.

Minor Wave Block was the utilization of energy to create a small shield of energy that repels attacks. It projects a small shield that uses energy to push away attacks from the user, the advantages of this were that it could ward off most attacks and that it doesn't require too much energy.

However, it couldn't cover much of the body so the user had to actively move the shield to block attacks.

Minor Wave Block was only a low-tiered evo style but it didn't mean it was weak. When one became a bronze esper they'd have access to the middle-tiered Greater Wave Block which was much more powerful in comparison.

Finally Shelled Armor was a barrier that covered the whole body, it acted similarly to minor wave block in that it repelled attacks. However the energy requirements were much heavier than other techniques.

Lake looked between the three evo styles he had chosen and decided on Shelled Armor. To be able to repel attacks was an attractive prospect to Lake and the high energy requirements didn't frighten him, who had the levels of a 2nd stage copper esper.

Though copper body was more powerful in terms of defense Lake had the feeling that he would grow too quickly for it to be put to use.

Lake tried reaching in to take the scroll but a light screen flashed when his hand got too close. A screen appeared in front of the box asking him to confirm his choice on Shelled Armor. After selecting yes the screen changed and his information appeared on it.

It showed off the information the association had on him after he had registered as a copper esper.

The light screen didn't disappear however, instead a data block was sent into Lakes wrist device containing the evo style and it's training.

Lake was bewildered, looking back and forth between the scroll and the data on his device he thought to himself, why would they have scrolls in the first place then?!

Shaking his head Lake headed home after getting his evo style. Passing by the receptionist again he asked her, "Why are there scrolls in the Evo Hall if the evo styles are just sent through data?"

Looking as if she expected this question she rubbed her head and said, "That's just something the association head thought to do. The scrolls themselves are empty, they contain nothing and are just decorations. He just thought it would look... cool." She laughed lightly after talking.

Lake chuckled slightly before heading off, thinking to himself that the head must be a strange person to have thought of that.

He was curious about the identity of the head. Someone who could hold authority over the entire association must be a person of immense strength.