*Nature-Attuned Pugilist class skills available. Choose one of the options*
Earthen Grasp (Uncommon):
Channel a surge of nature mana into the ground to create roots that erupt from below and bind your enemies in place. The roots lock the target in place and the strength of the roots are proportional to the amount of mana imbued in them.
, Archie thought as he read the skills description. is just for momentary stunning and gaining aggro.
, Archie commented. He could see himself using it often, but a question did pop into his mind;
It was a good option—he had been lacking a sustained crowd control ability. Setting the skill aside for now, he turned his attention to the next option.
Nature's Vigil (Uncommon):
Temporarily connects with nearby plant life to increase awareness, granting heightened senses, boosted evasion, and an early warning of approaching threats.
This was the same skill he was offered previously when he was level 60 in his Class.
He could see its uses when fighting; he could use it to get a quick boost before he fought, acting similarly to his Adrenaline Rush. Albeit it would be a lesser boost, but a boost is a boost. Plus, it would give him a watered-down version of some sort of precognition.
The only question he had would be about the first part, ‘Temporarily connects with nearby plant life’. Would the plants connect with his brain and send images of what they saw, or would he get some sort of vision like a spider?
Would his brain even be able to handle all that information given at once? Would the system help him cope with the information overload, by lessening the flow? Would it connect to the plants around him automatically or would he have to manually choose the plants?
If so, it could be great for spying on enemy bases,
, he thought before moving on to the next option.
Nature’s Veil (Common):
You blend with your surroundings, drawing on the natural energy around you to enhance your movement. While activated, your body becomes camouflaged within natural environments, allowing you to move silently and with increased speed.
Another skill he’d seen previously, and from what he understood it was just a stealth/speed skill. Not really something he was interested in; he wasn’t a hunter. Besides if he used Spirit Bond
All in all, while previously he was interested in it, he wasn’t anymore.
Stone Shroud (Common):
Creates a layer of stone around your body that absorbs damage when struck. The amount of damage absorbed is based on the amount of mana imbued within the stone.
This skill was something he’d be debating if he should get. Currently, his armor was useless when attacked by mana. According to the skill it ‘absorbs damage when struck’, not just physical. With that wording, it most likely meant all types of damage,
If he had chosen any profession other than a smithing one, it would have been an instant pick. But wouldn’t it be a waste of a skill if he could just make better armor?
His armor was great against physical damage, very good in fact. It was just a bad match-up against the Cursed Dungeon and he just hadn’t found any good metal that was resistant against magic yet.
But that was something he could try to piece together as he had the mana guns, and after a lot of experimenting his understanding of how mana works should skyrocket. Which would hopefully translate to making runes that would resist mana attacks.
He just needed to take the gun apart and look at its internals. Something that he did learn after gaining his Profession was that as a Novice Forgesmith, he could take apart equipment that was a higher level than himself, but within his own Grade and he just couldn’t put it back together once he finished.
It was pretty cool considering how you couldn't effectively attack with weapons that are higher than your own level.
He wasn’t really sure why though, something he would have to test out when he experimented on them.
Moving on to the last skill option, his interest was grabbed.
Last Stand (Rare):
When health is critically low, a rush of adrenaline floods your body, allowing you to recover quickly from exhaustion and fight with renewed vigor. Increases damage and grants a health regeneration boost when health falls below 15%. The records of the skill have been heavily touched by the records of Adrenaline Junkie.
This skill was influenced by his bloodline. He didn’t know the system could give him skills related to his bloodline. He knew that he could evolve his skills to incorporate his bloodline, but not this.
This was interesting, he knew he most likely got this skill from fighting the Verdant Serpent. His adrenaline was the main reason why he was able to push on. This skill was perfect for what he was currently doing; killing above his weight class.
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If his theory about how the Group Tutorial Boss was a max level E-Grade or early D-Grade was true then, he needed all the survival skills he could get.
Besides, this skill was made with his bloodline in mind, it was more tailored to him. If he got offered Earthen GraspLast Stand
With the Compass of Desire out, Archie followed its direction Northeast, pointing past the Assistant village and towards an area of the jungle that he had yet to explore. But as he reached the Assistant village, he put away his compass and went over to Xelgar who was shadowboxing yet again in front of his house.
Making his way towards him, Xelgar stopped shadowboxing and took out a rag and a water bottle from his spatial storage. After wiping his face and taking a sip of his water, Xelgar greeted Archie with a handshake clap.
“I love this,” Xelgar smiled as he finished greeting Archie. “My martial league, Raging Storm, would love this greeting.”
“Oh? Is that a team in the MFAL?” Archie questioned, curious if he was referring to the team he supported in the Multiversal Fighting Association League.
“Yes, we are in the top 10 within our grade division,” Xelgar proudly declared. “Soon, we’ll be number one.”
“If they practice as much as you do before the next season begins,” Archie chuckled, looking at the goofy smile on Xelgar’s face.
“I sure hope so,” Xelgar chuckled before placing his rag and empty water bottle into his spatial storage. “If I found them screwing around and not practicing, I’d sick Sharna on them.”
“Whose Sharna?” Archie asked.
“My second in command,” Xelgar responded confused at Archie’s question before laughing. “It seems I forgot to explain. I am the leader of Raging Storm!” Xelgar proudly declared, chuckling at Archie’s shocked expression.
“Oh wow!” Archie exclaimed, astonished. Considering what he learned from Thalindra, the population of the multiverse is within the trillions of trillions of trillions. So, keeping in mind that MFAL was a major thing within the multiverse, being in the top 10 within your Grade was an insane accomplishment. “Congrats, man!”
“Thank you,” Xelgar smiled proudly. “We have worked hard to reach where we stand. And soon we shall take our place on top.”
“I’d love to see it,” Archie smiled. He’d love to see how Xelgar would fight when he went all out. Considering how he easily took him out, seeing him go all out would be quite a sight to see.
Remembering what he came for, he took out the Sigil of Challenge from his spatial storage, grabbing Xelgar’s attention.
“Oh, I see you killed a Sigil Guardian,” Xelgar smiled, proud at Archie’s accomplishment. Considering what he knew about Archie, he most definitely faced the dungeon alone and keeping in mind that the lowest level a Sigil Guardian dungeon could be was level 80… This was a pretty great accomplishment, more so with him being less than two months integrated into the multiverse.
“Yeah,” Archie smiled. “I was wondering if you could explain to me what it's used for.”
“You think it’s for something?” Xelgar questioned, mirthfully while handing Archie the Sigil of Challenge back.
“It’s called a Sigil of Challenge and there are four of them within the Group Tutorial,” Archie pointed out. “If that doesn’t hint at something, then I don’t know what would.”
“You are correct, it's used for something,” Xelgar teased, chuckling at Archie’s pointed look. “Alright, Alright…The Sigil of Challenge empowers the Group Tutorial Final Boss, once thrown into the Pyre of Challenge, but this must be done before it’s released into the Isle. ”
“When will it be released? Five days before the end? Like the Solo Tutorial Boss?” Archie asked, he needed to know how long he had to gather the other three Sigils of Challenge.
“Yes, the Final Boss of the Group Tutorial will be released at the start of the 55th day of the Tutorial.” Xelgar answered, before continuing; “The Pyre of Challenge will appear in place of the Assistant Village on the 50th day of the Tutorial. You have to toss the Sigils of Challenge into the Pyre before the 55th day begins.”
“Wait, You guys will leave on the 50th?” Archie questioned; he thought they would stay until the end of the Tutorial. “…That’s in five days.”
Group Tutorial
The 72nd cycle has begun; thus, a tutorial is needed to increase the survivability of the newly integrated myriad races. The Emernigan Isle is filled with various creatures from across the universe, each providing Tutorial Points upon their death to their killer. Tutorial Points can be exchanged between individuals, as a form of currency. Tutorial Points will be used to gain rewards after the full tutorial is completed.Completion Criteria: Number of Survivors:Time Remaining:
He would need to gather the remaining three Sigils of Challenge within ten days. Normally that would have made him anxious, but with his Compass of Desire, finding those dungeons would be easy enough.
All he had to do was focus on his desire to find the dungeons with Sigil Guardians and he would find them. Simple enough really. He could probably do one more dungeon before he would have a full day to prepare for the raid against Oliver.
He would need to go over the plan with Michael and get to know the team he was going to raid with. And taking into consideration that he was the highest leveled person, he would most likely either lead the assault or attack from the flank. He wasn’t sure which, but it was definitely one of the two.
But then again, those were the two strategies he’d known while playing as a warrior and monk in games. And with Michael being part of the military the plans were most probably going to be more complex than just a frontal assault.
“Yes, in five days my Assistant contract with the system will end and I shall leave the 72nd universe and return to my own,” Xelgar confirmed, but seeing a melancholic look on Archie’s face he smiled and placed his hand on Archie’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, once your universe becomes open to the multiverse completely we can meet once more. Hell, you can come to my house and visit once you can.”
Taking out a slip of paper and a pen, Xelgar made a clipboard of mana and quickly jotted down something in an illegible script to Archie. Once he finished jotting down on the piece of paper he handed it to Archie. “You’ll be able to read it properly after the Tutorial,” Xelgar said.
“This here is my home planet’s address within the multiverse and under that is my home address.” Xelgar explained, before smiling once more at Archie’s confusion. “While I haven’t known you for long, I do know that you’re a good kid; you’ve got a good heart and I’d love for you to visit me once you’re able to, maybe by then you would be able to land a proper hit on me.”
Rolling his eyes at Xelgar’s jab, Archie smiled, sending the slip of paper away before pulling Xelgar into a hug.
Xelgar chuckled, reciprocating the hug. He was over five hundred years old, just around half the average total lifespan of D-Grade. To him, he viewed Archie as one of his many children, as Archie was not even a tenth of his age.
After all, what was an extra one to the thirty or so he’d had?
The reason he viewed Archie as such was from their interactions with him and from sparring. You can tell a lot from a person when sparring with them, hence why most MFAL fighters watch matches of their opponents.
It was hard to explain it in words, but in a fight, you learn the true nature of both the person you are fighting and yourself.
When he sparred with Archie, he could feel his love for fighting. There wasn’t any speck of hatred or anger when he fought.
Compared to most of the people he’d encountered throughout the multiverse, Archie’s personality was saintly—perhaps even approaching the level of one of the Choir’s Saints, but he dared not to utter such words; his home planet would be destroyed if he was heard by anyone of the Celestial Choir.
Breaking the hug, Xelgar gave Archie a final few words, ones that he should have taken seriously. “Be careful with the amount of Sigils of Challenge you throw into the Pyre. Each of them greatly empowers the Group Tutorial Final Boss.”
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