Chapter 68: Limited Options
Sol was facing an internal dilemma.
'If I wasn't limited to just two, this would be so much easier. The main issue is that Weaver's strongest ability, [Thread Control], required at least three other skills to be able to use just as well as him. There was also the problem of the skill itself degrading in the siphoning process and becoming level 9, which would also weaken them even more…'
Although Sol wanted [Thread Control], he also needed [String Enhancement] and [Thread Creation] at the very least for it to be useful. If not, then the strings would be easily broken in any encounter, and he would also need to carry a constant supply of them. In addition to also being able to control them anywhere near as well as Weaver, he would need [Precise Coordination]. That made it a total of four skills to barely compare to Weaver's actual combat prowess. Even if he chose two of them now, he doubted he would meet anyone with similar skills in the near future, and he wouldn't hunt them down just to complete it either.
With only being able to take two skills, Sol had to think of it from another perspective, to enhance his current abilities and skills common enough that he could reliably keep leveling them. The first easy pick was [Mana Efficiency], as he knew it would greatly improve his spellcasting ability. The second, after examining all the other skills, he ended up choosing [Precise Coordination] because Sol believed it was the evolved version of the skill [Coordination].
Attribute-enhancing skills could be gained later, and Sol felt it would be better to gain them in dungeons like what he did with [Strength Up] and [Vitality Up]. [Intermediate Dagger Mastery] was tempting as well, but he rarely used other weapons at this moment, so it could be held off for later.
Both Skills degraded by one level but Sol was still satisfied with the results.
[Mana Efficiency] Lv 5: Reduced mana cost of all spells by 25%.
[Precise Coordination] Lv 6: Superior bodily coordination allowing for incredibly precise movements or multiple well coordinated actions at once.
[Mana Efficiency] was an important skill Sol lacked compared to most mages. With it, spells that had a constant or high consumption of mana were more usable and he might be able to keep them active permanently. For example, with [Fire Aura], Sol should be able to now maintain it for as long as he wants, granted he casts no other spell simultaneously.
The other skill Sol chose, [Precise Coordination], did exactly what Sol hoped it would. It made his body control much better in ways he didn't think were possible. Now he could switch attacks easily and even do complex maneuvers that required a lot of focus and attention to detail. Overall this skill greatly supplemented his combat prowess.
There was one more body Sol had to deal with, and it was the body of the bald man. When Sol used analysis on him, he realized a problem.
Name: Gus
Race: Human
Talents: [Calculations], [Mind Shaper]
Level: 29
HP: 250
MP: 400
Str: 15
Vit: 25
Agi: 30
Int: 40 (+10)
Wis: 40
Talent Skills:
[Accelerated Thought Process] Lv 4, [Mind Mold] Lv 4
Passive Skills:
[Mathematics] Lv 3, [Prediction] Lv 1, [Intelligence Up] Lv 2, [Basic Psychic Mastery] Lv 5
Active Skills:
[Psy Blast] Lv 3, [Psychic Manipulation] Lv 4, [Telepathy] Lv 3
'This man…'
There were two main issues with Gus; the first one was that all his skills had barely been trained. For five whole years since Gus gained his psychic abilities, his highest skill was in manipulating others and even that wasn't very high. Gus wasn't able to develop his psychic abilities because of Cane heavily monitoring his actions. Fearful of being overthrown by Gus, Cane only allowed him to use his abilities when under heavy supervision.
The other big issue is that Gus was still technically alive, at least his body was. Although Sol's logic told him he was unable to use [Siphon] as the bald man was still alive, a gut feeling led him to believe he somehow could.
Of the limited selection of skills available, [Basic Psychic Mastery] needed to be taken. It was a core skill that he needed if he wanted to grab any of the active skills. Similar to weapon skills like [Cross Slash], it required the appropriate weapon to use. Unlike weapon skills, these didn't need any physical tool to use, but if Sol selected [Psy Blast] and [Telepathy], he would still be unable to use them as he didn't have [Basic Psychic Mastery] to control the skills.
For the second skill, Sol was unsure what to pick. He decided to cross off [Psy Blast] as he already had plenty of offensive means and deliberated over [Psychic Manipulation] and [Telepathy]. [Psychic Manipulation] could be useful in a number of scenarios and even possible to help Red Sands restore her memory, but after remembering that the skills will likely degrade, it might be impossible to repair the amount of damage by himself. In the end, Sol decided [Telepathy] could serve a better purpose for more scenarios.
Selecting [Basic Psychic Mastery] and [Telepathy], Sol felt the strands of mana leave his body as they combed through Gus. The body began to convulse on the ground as [Siphon] was extracting the ability. Sol was worried it might have actually failed until he saw the system prompt.
Learned [Basic Psychic Mastery] Lv 2!
Learned [Telepathy] Lv 1!
[Basic Psychic Mastery] Lv 2: Increases the effectiveness and power of all psychic abilities by 10%.
[Telepathy] Lv 1: Create a one way connection to the mind of one other person within 30 feet. Cost: 1 mana per second.
'It degraded so much…'
Sol knew exactly why as he felt it. [Siphon] scans the body and the brain to learn the inner workings of the skill before bestowing it onto Sol. Because Gus' mind was completely erased, any knowledge on using the skills was gone, and Sol was left with just the basic muscle memory the man used to have. From what he understood, even if Sol killed Gus and then used [Siphon], the end results would have been the same.