Power Boost
Ding!
Since Aurus enabled the option of letting him see the instant benefits of the skill evolution, he was able to decide which skill would help him in the long run.
________
Please choose the skill that [Roll++] would evolve into:
[Ascended Roll]
[Sonic Roll X Burst]
[Tempest Roll (Special)]
________
"Eh? Another Special skill? How does that even happen?" Aurus was in disbelief after seeing that evolving his [Roll++] skill would lead him to getting another Special skill. Getting [Infused Nut Shot] was understandable since he had more SP than usual, allowing him to choose that option.
"But seriously though...a Special movement skill? Ah whatever. I'll just identify each and every of them."
And so he did.
Ding! Ding! Ding!
________
[Ascended Roll]
You're already rolling at a speed that's fast for a stick, but I guess you want to roll even faster.
Rate of movement: 150 meters per hour -> 250 meters per hour
________
________
[Sonic Roll X Burst]
Look who's back to haunt you, indeed it's the upgraded version of [Breeze Burst].
Rate of movement: 150 meters per hour -> nothing changes
Burst distance: 0 -> 500 meters
Cooldown time: 0 -> 3 hours
________
________
[Tempest Roll (Special)]
Being one with the wind, your proficiency with the Roll series of movement skills has ascended to another level, allowing you to move at high speeds for a short amount of time.
Rate of movement: 150 meters per hour -> 250 meters per hour
The skill [Tempest Burst] is created.
________
"Man, looking at these short descriptions, it feels like it's telling me to choose [Tempest Roll] rather than the other two." Aurus sighed. "I'm sure as hell that I'm gonna choose [Tempest Roll] since it's a Special skill, but what's [Tempest Burst]?"
Ding!
________
[Tempest Burst]
With high proficiency and affinity with the wind, the stick can temporarily control large amounts of wind, allowing the stick to either move faster, attack faster, or attack with stronger force.
Effect: 2x the movement speed, attack speed, and attack power
Effect duration: 10 seconds
Cooldown: 6 hours
[Note: Effect, effect duration, and cooldown amount is proportional to the level of the [Tempest Roll] skill]
________
Aurus instantly became speechless after reading the effects of [Tempest Burst]. Since [Tempest Roll] was a Special skill, he expected some special effect, and [Tempest Burst] was that special effect. But who knew that [Tempest Burst] did not just increase his firepower and movement speed, but it also did not use any SP at all?!
Without hesitation, Aurus chose [Tempest Roll]. It was a skill that was hard to pass.
Ding!
'[Roll++] has been evolved into [Tempest Roll].'
"Okay next..." Aurus said. "Evolve [Condensed SP Storage]."
Ding!
________
Please choose the skill that [Condensed SP Storage] would evolve into:
[Purified SP Storage]
[Broadened SP Storage]
[Condensed Flux SP Storage]
________
"Hmm..." Looking at his choices, Aurus had a feeling that each of these choices either revolved over three aspects: purification, expansion, and regeneration. But of course, heeding the words of his mage friends, maxing out the purity of SP will be useful in the long run.
"Identify."
Ding! Ding! Ding!
________
[Purified SP Storage]
When you thought SP couldn't get anymore purer, but it did.
Maximum SP capacity: 10 SP -> 10 SP
SP regeneration rate: 1 SP per minute -> 1 SP per minute
[Note: SP cost of skills have been halved]
________
________
[Broadened SP Storage]
The SP is already condensed so why bother condensing it further if you can expand the amount of SP you can hold?
Maximum SP capacity: 10 SP -> 20 SP
SP regeneration rate: 1 SP per minute -> 1 SP per minute
________
________
[Condensed Flux SP Storage]
Condensed SP but faster regeneration rate. Neat.
Maximum SP capacity: 10 SP -> 10 SP
SP regeneration rate: 1 SP per minute -> 2 SP per minute
________
Of course, Aurus wouldn't waver in his choices, picking [Purified SP Storage] from the get go. Did he need increased SP regeneration rate? He had the Fruit Creation skill for that. Expanded SP storage? Fruit Creation skill.
Ding!
'[Condensed SP Storage] has been evolved into [Purified SP Storage].'
Before continuing to evolve the two skills he could evolve, an idea flashed through his head, making him slap himself.
"How could I forget about this...System, make the skill grades visible."
Ding!
'Skill grades are now visible.'
Aurus nodded at the system's voice before continuing.
"Evolve [Regenerative Fruit Creation]."
Ding!
________
Please choose the skill that [Regenerative Fruit Creation] would evolve into:
[Siphoning Fruit Creation]
[Hallucinatory Fruit Creation]
[Revitalising Fruit Creation]
________
"Oh?" Aurus raised his nonexistent eyebrow after looking at the choices for the evolution of the [Regenerative Fruit Creation] skill.
"Identify."
Ding! Ding! Ding!
________
[Siphoning Fruit Creation]
Grade: A (Mortal)
Rather than regenerating naturally from the environment, why not just siphon them from your enemies.
Maximum amount of fruits: 10 -> 10
Maximum amount of regenerative fruits: 3 -> 0
Maximum amount of siphoning fruits: 0 -> 3
Maximum SP capacity per fruit: 5 SP -> 5 SP
[Note: Only 20% of the enemy's HP and SP will be siphoned at most]
________
________
[Hallucinatory Fruit Creation]
Grade: A (Mortal)
In exchange for regeneration, instead you inflict debuffs on your enemies, allowing you to kill them faster.
Maximum amount of fruits: 10 -> 10
Maximum amount of regenerative fruits: 3 -> 0
Maximum amount of hallucinatory fruits: 0 -> 3
Maximum SP capacity per fruit: 5 SP -> 5 SP
[Note: Debuffs at the starting level are only paralysis and confusion. When eaten by another species, they might become high.]
________
________
[Revitalising Fruit Creation]
Grade: A (Mortal)
Enhancing the limits of regeneration, the fruits can heal more SP/HP amount of time. Not to mention, the fruits can hold more SP thanks to the fruits being evolved rather than replaced.
Maximum amount of fruits: 10 -> 15
Maximum amount of regeneration fruits: 3 -> 5
Maximum SP capacity per fruit: 5 SP -> 10 SP
________
Without a doubt, Aurus chose the last choice, [Revitalising Fruit Creation]. Of course, who wouldn't choose a skill that increased your SP capacity and regeneration rate when you're aiming to become a mage?
Ding!
'[Regenerative Fruit Creation] has been evolved into [Revitalising Fruit Creation].'
Aurus looked at the two A-grade skills he had and the S-grade movement skill he had. He was truly happy to be able to evolve these skills at this grade while he was still a B-grade Inanimate. He was bound to get at least Special evolutions once he reached the MAX level.
"And finally...Evolve [Infused Nut Shot]."
Ding!
His offensive skill that helped him kill enemies so he could level up...well his only offensive skill to help him kill enemies so he could up. He was finally evolving it to A-grade.
________
Please choose the skill that [Infused Nut Shot] would evolve into:
[Extreme Infused Nut Shot (Special)]
[Lowest Nut Spell Core (Special)]
[Nut Trident Triad (Special)]
________
His eyes lit up at the options given to him.
"It came. It came!" Aurus was exhilarated to see that a Spell Core skill appeared on the choices of his possible evolutions for the [Infused Nut Shot] skill.
To a mage player, a Spell Core skill was the gateway to start learning magic spells and is even the foundation for the power of said magic spells.
"But wait a second... just a normal Spell Core?" Aurus felt that something was off after looking at the name. "I'm a Wind Walnut Stick, which means that my magic spells should have the Wind element to them. In that case, it should be called a [Lowest Wind Nut Spell Core] or something."
"Hmm...maybe it's because I haven't raised [Wind Affinity] yet?" Aurus felt that this might be the reason why he couldn't get a Wind Nut Spell Core skill as a choice.
"If that's the case, I'll just evolve it to the one of the two choices then. Nonetheless, I want to see its effects."
"Identify."
Ding!
_______
[Extreme Infused Nut Shot (Special)]
Grade: A (Mortal)
With the stick's SP capacity being extremely high, the nut could be infused with more SP, thus being granted more power.
SP Cost: 2, 5, 10, 20 SP -> 3, 10, 20, 30 SP (Level 0-3), 50 SP (Level 4), 70 SP (Level 5)
Cooldown: 10 seconds -> 15 seconds
________
________
[Lowest Nut Spell Core]
Grade: A (Mortal)
Understanding how SP is formed and utilized, the stick gains the idea of using its nuts as a foundation for the spells that consume SP, thus creating a Spell Core. Every time the Spell Core becomes stronger, more magic spells can be used and the spells' attack power gets stronger.
Spell damage boost: 5%
Maximum number of spells: 1
Spell list: [Energy Bolt]
SP Cost: 2, 5, 10, 20 SP -> 20 SP
Cooldown: 10 seconds -> 0 seconds
[Note: The Spell Core can be created and disassembled at any time.]
________
________
[Nut Trident Triad (Special)]
Utilizing the intricacies of SP and the walnut produced by the stick, the stick is able to use its ingenuity to allow the nuts shot to have three forms: one being endless, one being deadly, and one being unavoidable.
SP Cost: 5 SP per second (Sanction form), 30 SP (Judgement form), 20 SP (Law form)
Cooldown: 10 seconds -> 15 seconds
[Note: The Sanction form shoots out an endless amount of nuts, Judgement form shoots out a single nut having extreme attack power, and Law form shoots out a single nut that's unavoidable by the enemy.]
________
"As expected from the lowest grade of the Spell Core skill, only the most basic spell is added," Aurus muttered as he remembered his mage friends using [Energy Bolt] multiple times to increase their spell repertoire.
"The [Extreme Infused Nut Shot] is just an upgraded version of [Infused Nut Shot]. It doesn't really bring anything new to the table. But [Nut Trident Triad]...I wonder if it could make the possible Spell Core skill become more special once I evolve [Wind Affinity] to a higher grade?"
After a bit of pondering, Aurus decided to choose the [Nut Trident Triad] skill. He was eager to see the possibilities while fighting enemies of the Tempest Cliff.
"Since they're at least S-grade, I'm sure that [Nut Trident Triad] will help me become flexible for every situation."
Ding!
'[Infused Nut Shot] has been evolved into [Nut Trident Triad].'
Aurus nodded and then used his newfound [Tempest Roll] skill to shorten the distance between him and the Tempest Cliff.
"I hope I survive the oncoming onslaught."