Special Skills

Asher remained rooted to his spot as a bright twinkle was bursting within his eyes. His whole interest was entirely enraptured by the sight before him.

He was currently staring at a considerable large shelf filled with numerous rows of scrolls. Each Scroll didn't look distinctly different from the others and could've been mistaken for just containing some old texts.

But these scrolls hold information that every single student in Balreth Academy desperately wants.

It didn't matter if the student was in the General Job classes, the competition year, or on the Genius Ranking list. Everyone would want at least one of these scrolls.

These Scrolls' utmost importance held what gives Spirit Tier cultivations an absolute edge in battle.

These Scrolls all contained Special Skills!

It didn't matter what kind of Special Skill it is; it would always shift the tide of battle or cause an unpredictable outcome.

Like in Asher's duel with Zara, she could erupt with power far beyond what she can regularly output. Furthermore, even in an absolutely drained state, she was still able to unleash a powerful skill that could've caught most foes off guard.

Although, neither of her Skills matters a single bit to Asher's overwhelming power. Still, even as he was able to neutralize her skills, it didn't lessen Special Skills' overall value in Asher's mind.

He did experience considerable pressure just from the sheer power her Battle Skills Magical Aura could exude. This is why Asher was carefully looking over each Scroll, making sure to spot every finite detail.

Balreth Academy had a plethora of Special Skills. Each Special Special Skills ranged from Battle, Defensive, Enhancement, and unique Skills.

Asher had read that there were more types of Skills than this, but he wasn't in significant need of those right now.

These Special Skills were only at the lowest rank of Skills, the E rank.

But even that was divided into layers which are low E-Rank, Mid E-Rank, or High E-Rank.

Though their ranks were the absolute lowest, each Special Skill here holds a massive sum of power.

And the higher the rank the Skill is, the more complex it was to even start to comprehend. For all Magical Powers that exist in their world, there was an array of Special Skills that have an efficient or perfect affinity with them.

And Asher was looking for something that had the highest affinity with Lightning-type Powers. The current class he's in allowed Asher complete free range to carefully select any Special Skill he wants.

The class was held in a massive gymnasium-type area, and everyone else was involved in some sort of physical activity. Whether it was a rigorous training method or an intense spar, everyone was busy exercising their bodies.

Because of his duel, Asher was able to request specifically learning a Special Skill and skip over the physical training for today.

The speed Asher showcased and his sheer strength to overpower Zara was more than enough to tell that he had decent physical prowess.

The Professor here had observed a recording of his duel and could precisely analyze the state of Asher's physical prowess. Zara has an experienced Spirit Tier body which would naturally trump any newly awakened students in physical prowess alone.

But not only was Asher faster than her, he could directly clash his fist with her and keep all of his bones intact while also dominating her. That spoke volumes to the Professor than anything Asher could ever normally show during class.

The other students couldn't overly complain as well since they also know their arms would've turned into mangle mash from trying to clash fists with Zara.

Although, the students still felt a pang of envy since Asher can skip out on these grueling exercises.

Asher never even paid attention to the other students' envious glares. He was entirely focused on selecting a particular Skill most suited to his fighting style.

He wanted to go for something that was quick and powerful.

Unless it's a specific situation, Asher never likes to have a fight drag on. The longer a fight stall, the more chances he has to lose it. This was especially crucial for him as he constantly fought life or death battles in the Decrypted Woods.

For two minutes, all Asher was doing was trailing his hands over the various scrolls. He slowly walked along each row of a shelf, narrowing his eyes at multiple descriptions that looked nearly suitable for him.

It wasn't until he had hovered his hand over another seemingly ordinary Scroll that he suddenly heard Yuki's booming voice echo in his mind.

"Stop! Stop right there! You're red hot on a suitable skill."

And as Yuki prompted him to do, Asher stopped on a dime. He picked up the Scroll while saying in his mind, 'So you can even sense what would be a good Battle skill for us without even looking, huh?'

'Hm, a Ghost ability has many things that will open your mind up. But for now, just read the Scroll over.' Yuki's tone was as confident as usual.

At this point, Asher nearly has blind faith in Yuki's words.

Legitimately, he couldn't tell a single moment where she had led him astray and didn't make the situation better for him. Even though she is selectively secretive at times, he only chalked it up to her being a very experienced being far beyond his comprehension.

Smiling a little bit, Asher readily complied with Yuki's guide and began opening up the Scroll. His eyes instantly let up from just seconds into reading.

On the Scroll was, 'Middle E-Rank Omni Striker; Has high affinity with Lightning Type Powers. Unleash a single powerful voltage lightning bolt or barrage voltage lightning bolts.'

Asher quickly thinks over the usefulness of these skills. If he was exchanging moves with a foe who has a high vitality like that masked creature, then this move could be used to build upon the damage.

Or if he's in equal power to his foe, he could unleash a strike that could win it all. Moreover, with the speed of Lightning, he could potentially unleash a surprising attack that can completely catch his foe off guard.

'Though I already expected it, this one would do me nicely. Thanks, Yuki.'

Asher only heard a slight melodic hum in reply. He had then begun searching his eyes through the gymnasium area.

For the more physically intense class, there were nearly fifty students here compared to the usual standard. Although, even as there were more students, they couldn't take up much space in the massive gymnasium area.

Asher's eyes quickly settled on an isolated spot where he was sure he wouldn't get bothered. He had then walked over and sat cross-legged in this spot and fully unfolded the Scroll.

Beneath the description of the Battle Skill was a beautifully crafted symbol. This Symbol honestly looked amazingly life-like that appeared like it was popping out from the Scroll.

Just from gazing at it alone, Asher sensed a stream of Magical Power flow of the Symbol.

This Symbol is how anyone starts to learn any Special Skill.

For starters, a student would need to pour their Aura Sense into the Special Skill Symbol to even see they had the ability to comprehend the energy flowing within it.

Asher was aware that there are some Special Skills that need insanely high comprehension abilities to even begin learning them.

And even then, just for normal rank Special Skills, it would require even the average experienced Spirit Tier cultivator numerous weeks to learn.

But Asher held a level of assurance with gaining his own Battle Skill.

He did, after all, perceive and comprehended Spirit Mana in a short amount of time. Furthermore, he can also refine it and see insights into his Ghost Lightning and Ghost Powers.

Right before he was about to start, a thought streaked into Asher's mind. As he was about to potentially get a new powerful ability, his mind briefly wondered about Reese and Kylee.

With this Battle Skill, the distance between them in terms of power will only further grow.

Because he got so caught up in controlling that conversation with the ranking students and ignited his will to challenge them, his mind slipped on the potentially depressive state they were in.

Thinking about it more deeply, Asher could say he was feeling a little split on his decision.

From how he was raised, he grew accustomed to picking himself up from a negative mindset and using that to strengthen his will.

The problem for him was that he needs to keep on remembering that for basically every common student here, their lives aren't anywhere near as experienced as him.

They all were the definition of a standard City person.

And Asher needs to remember that Reese and Kylee weren't exceptions to that standard.

Though he wants them to grow strong on their own with only minimal help from him and Yuki. He also realizes sometimes, they would need that extra boost of confidence.

Asher would have texted them both already if he didn't have to rush to class from being late. And the use of phones is prohibited in any class.

Knowing this, Asher reminded himself to text them both after class before dealing with another significantly important meeting.

With his mind all made up, Asher had then focused upon the Battle Skill. He began to pour his Aura Sense directly into the Symbol. Almost immediately, a faint glow sparked within the depths of Asher's eyes.

Inside his mind, he was assaulted with a confusion sensation of the Battle Skill's foreign energy. In his mental scape space, Asher witnessed a blurry form of energy slowly flicker into existence.

Sparks of blue lightning arcs flashed out of the blurry energy, but Asher could only catch a faint afterimage trace of it.

Those blue lightning arcs were too fast for even his mind to comprehend!

It was a bit surprising to Asher, considering he had recently touched upon a new boundary of his Ghost Lightning which majorly boosted his speed.

Feeling even better about this Battle Skill, Asher began to merge his Aura Sense with this blurry lightning energy.

Because this wasn't anything coming from his body or Spirit Mana, the process was relatively simple to begin comprehending. Although, how far Asher could get all depended on himself.

At first, the sensation he was perceiving was all confusing and jumbled up, not making any lick of sense. Thankfully, Asher didn't need to worry about this blurry energy disappearing since it came from an external source.

And slowly but surely, Asher's decently high comprehension abilities began to perceive bits and pieces of the Battle Skill's blurry energy.

Like this, Asher fell into a smooth rhythm and went still like a statue, being entirely absorbed in cultivation.