Chapter 15: Improvements

"Well, Lili, whatever happened, I'm happy to be working with you again," I expressed, feeling a deep relief to have her with me from the start. Her affinity for darkness and her presence were invaluable resources that forced me to rethink all my plans from scratch, now considering her critical influence on future strategies.Despite my statement, something in the atmosphere seemed unsettled. I watched Lili for a moment before asking, "Lili, what's bothering you?"[Forget it,] she quickly responded.I was puzzled, not fully understanding her discomfort.[Forget everything I said before I died,] she added, evidently embarrassed by her last words back then. Remembering those moments, I could understand her reaction; Lili was not one to express her feelings openly, but the proximity of death had broken down her barriers, showing her to be genuine and melancholic. I decided to respect her wish and dispel the uncomfortable air."What did you say?""My memories of that time are fuzzy," I lied, offering her an out.She seemed relieved, though not entirely convinced; but she agreed to move on without pressing the issue.With that little interruption resolved, I suggested a change of scenery."Let's go to the lair to plan our next steps." I'm not sure what to expect from the children I left in Clayton and Eirlys' care, but I trust they handled things well."Upon arriving at the base, I was greeted by the sight of a group of youngsters diligently practicing the exercises I had set up. These routines formed the basis of a combat art I was teaching, crucial to their development and survival. Unlike skills, which depend on intelligence and mental capacity, the arts require repetitive training and an affinity for the specific element of the art. Most were becoming familiar with the basics of an advanced art, essential to their growth.I walked around the place, pondering the differences between skills, arts and spells. Each had unique requirements for learning them, particularly elemental affinity. An individual might attempt to learn arts associated with earth, but if their affinity was water, they could never maximize the potential of the art. Spells followed a similar logic; one could memorize countless spells of different elements, but would never succeed in casting them.At that moment, Lili, who was still hidden from the sight of the others, interrupted my thoughts. ['Hey, Lux, who are those kids?'] Her voice echoed directly in my mind.'They're my subordinates,' I explained.'They're the group I led before I was enslaved and others who were also captured with me and I brought them in while I was escaping.' I mentally explained to Lili what I had planned for the children.['That sounds good. It's true that we can't do it all by ourselves,'] she commented, picking up on the importance of building a strong group.The children, noticing my presence, stopped and greeted me with respect. Clayton, the most energetic, approached with a smile."Chief, you're back! I'm glad you're okay.""Good job, I see you have followed my instructions to the letter. We'll reconvene for a briefing as soon as everyone gets back. In the meantime, I'll go get some rest," I announced, placing a hand on Clayton's shoulder in approval before heading to my personal space, where I invited Lili to follow me for privacy.Once in my room, I closed the door and prepared to review my improvements in detail. I activated the status window to evaluate my progress:-------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------Status WindowName: LucienLevel: Awakened (2 stars)Elemental Affinities: Light, Lightning, DarknessElemental Characteristics:- Lightning: Acceleration, Conductivity- Light: Healing, Will- Darkness: Assimilation, Concealment----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Stats:- Strength: 8- Agility: 9- Intelligence: 11- Defense: 4- Vitality: 8- Free stats: 10-----------------------------------------------------------------------------Skills:- Eyes of Truth (D)- Blink (D)- Fusion (D)------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Spells:Lightning: [- Electric Impulse - Electric Spark - Volt Arrow - Lightning Net - Electrostatic Field - Ion Barrier - Charge - Static Glow - Lightning Reflexes -...]Light: [- Blinding Flash - Healing Light - Luminous Whip - Light of Clarity - Luminous Refuge - Prism Mirror - Dome of Luminescence - Beacon of Hope - Auroral Guide - Healing Pulse -...]Non-Elemental: [- Mental Impact - Detect Presence - Mana Shield - Noise Reduction - Mental Link - Reinforced Fortitude - Rapid Recovery -...]-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Arts:- Art of the Elemental Knight (all elements).-Art of the Sun God (Light, Fire, Lightning, Metal)-Art of Celestial Punishment (lightning, wind)--------------------------------------------------------------------->>Gaia System<<------------------------------------------------------------------------------Reflecting on the intense week of hunting and training I had experienced after reaching the first star, I realized how far I had come. During those days, I concentrated on rebuilding and perfecting the spells I remembered from my past lives. Every practice became a learning session, with each spell performed correctly being automatically recorded in my system profile.Although the spells I remembered and practiced were mostly of elemental range, I took the time to master those that I considered essential to my arsenal, thus establishing a solid foundation for more advanced and powerful spells in the future. In addition, I devoted myself to practicing the arts. Unlike magical skills, martial arts required a more physical and repetitive approach. I chose carefully which arts to practice, as accumulating too many could backfire.The elemental knight art is the one that most nobles teach their descendants or trusted people, because it creates solid foundations up to the sixth star and is adaptable, as it works with any element and also does not clash if you want to practice a more advanced art or several arts, so it is a well-kept art among the elites of this empire. And the others are arts that I can practice right now without stressing my body and they conflict with each other.Each art has its own postures and breathing techniques, and managing the flow of mana effectively to maximize its potential.Skills, on the other hand, are extremely rare and are mostly found in dungeons, mazes, or in some crevices, so they are extremely hard to come by and find on the market, even rank (E) skills are nearly impossible making their acquisition an arduous task. However, during my exploration of the system store, I discovered that some skills were offered for sale. Although the cost was high, the empowerment potential they offered was worth the investment.But, without a doubt, the most significant finding was the awakening of new elemental characteristics within my being. These characteristics or traits can be considered passive abilities, as they allowed for significant enhancement to elemental mana, especially when used in combination with spells and arts that corresponded to my elemental affinity.For example, the healing trait I developed in my Light element not only improves the effectiveness of healing spells, but also increases my body's natural regeneration during combat. This allows me to sustain myself in longer battles and recover quickly from wounds.Satisfied with the progress made, I decided it was time to prepare, since I escape everything about the future is uncertain I don't know what changes my actions will bring, but I am sure that anything is better than what happened in my previous life, but that doesn't change the fact that I must get the best possible results, otherwise this second chance would be a waste.