ALL NOVEL Chapter 5 - Skill 1
[Skill ‘Hecleus’ Fist Style – Straight Punch’ has been created.]
The skill system. When a skill is created, ‘corrections’ are applied to the apostle’s actions.
During lesson time about skills, many students including Doyun didn’t understand what it meant for corrections to be applied to their actions.
The instructor provided additional explanations, but the conclusion was ultimately, ‘You’ll know once you use a skill.’
‘But… if creating skills was supposed to be so difficult, why did one manifest right after using the technique?’
The growth paths for apostles utilizing the System were quite diverse – raising stat levels, creating traits, collecting rare items, and so on.
‘It has become much better than the old days when gritting one’s teeth through training was the only way.’
Raising skill levels was one such method.
The System’s corrections became greater as a skill’s level increased, so the types of skills and their levels were said to be indicators of an apostle’s strength.
‘I should experiment with skill corrections once my body recovers.’
In his current condition, he could never unleash Hecleus’ Fist Style again.
Doyun sat cross-legged on the dorm floor. For now, he needed to focus on unblocking his channels rather than skills.
He closed his eyes and absorbed the mana in the air through his breathing. After filling his lungs with a sufficient amount, he compressed it into his heart.
A powerful pump that circulated blood throughout his body. Using that force, he fired the mana through his entire body in one burst.
“Pffft…! Gulk!”
Black blood sprayed out like a mist with each cough, filling his mouth with a metallic tang. Internal bleeding from the strain.
The reckless method of forcefully blasting mana to clear the blocked paths, shredding his channels in the process. But there was no more effective way.
He had already confirmed through experimentation. This body with its vitality stat of level 7 had an astounding regeneration rate, quickly self-healing such internal injuries.
Of course, the process of tearing through the blockages in his channels was excruciatingly painful.
But Doyun was no meek new apostle. He was the hero Enoch Ruszvolnik, who had overcome countless ordeals and crises through 17 deaths.
For him, pain was a daily reality.
This was a method only possible for Enoch Ruszvolnik, who neglected his physical well-being and possessed a transcendent talent for mana control.
Even as he endured the agony of being pierced by thousands of needles all over his body, Doyun continued the process without flinching.
+++
A week passed since the mana test, marking the end of the Cradle’s second week.
During that time, Doyun remained confined in the dorms, fully devoted to unblocking his channels.
He only showed himself during roll calls and meal times, but whenever he appeared in the cafeteria, the instructors would swarm him like bees.
Just like on the training grounds, they bombarded him with questions without a moment’s respite, particularly about his acquired ‘Mana Deficiency’ trait.
From their perspective, they had to determine whether Doyun’s mana deficiency was permanent in order to assess the value of this talent.
If it was curable? Needless to say, he would be a top talent they must recruit no matter what.
But Doyun’s declaration caused many to back off in disappointment.
“I am an Earthling.”
The instructors sighed with regret.
An Earthling.
A civilized dimension devoid of mana, filled only with dust in the air. The implications were clear.
While Doyun’s mana deficiency could be cured, the channels that should have been sensitive had already hardened, greatly diminishing his potential. His value had plummeted.
Of course, it didn’t matter to Doyun.
Doyun’s body was the divine beast body vouched for by the System. A little dust clogging his channels wouldn’t diminish his potential.
If he simply cleared out the dust, he would be in perfect condition, but the instructors were unaware of such details.
In this world, lagging behind in mana talent was fatal. The major guilds all backed off, leaving only the medium and small guild instructors to throw scraps his way.
They were still covetous of Doyun. Although his potential was low, he was an advanced talent who could be immediately deployed without training or investment costs.
His combat ability demonstrated in the test already made him a full-fledged apostle, even if his potential was lacking.
Still, the number of people bothering Doyun had significantly decreased compared to before, allowing him to enjoy his meals relatively peacefully.
And there was one other change.
“Find them no matter what! No matter what!”
As time passed, the identity of the boss monster killer, known only to the archery instructor, spread throughout the Cradle.
Doyun’s issue was quickly forgotten. The meteoric newcomer and his mana deficiency had been quite an interesting topic, but paled in comparison to the boss monster killer.
News of the boss monster killer’s appearance was swiftly reported to each guild. Naturally, the Skeletonia Kingdom where Doyun’s Cradle was located was thrown into an uproar.
Under the royal family’s leadership, the guilds immediately formed an information control pact to prevent other nations from learning about the boss monster killer’s existence.
The guilds continued to pressure the Cradle, demanding information about the boss monster killer. As a result, the Headmaster and Deputy Headmaster found themselves overwhelmingly busy.
Whenever two or more instructors gathered, they would inevitably discuss the boss monster killer.
Initially, Doyun was considered a strong candidate, but he was soon eliminated. The wounds on the boss monster’s body were from blades, after all.
No one could have imagined Doyun’s main weapon was a sword.
Thus ended the Cradle’s second week, more tumultuous than any other batch.
[Acquired Trait ‘Mana Deficiency’ has been removed.]
[Skill ‘Războlnic’s Flow Mana Cultivation Method’ has been created.]
Doyun had finished unblocking his channels.
+++
“Phew…”
A heavy exhalation flowed from the seated Doyun’s mouth, settling heavily on the ground.
He shivered at the refreshing, reinvigorating sensation enveloping his body.
Opening his eyes, he looked at the damp blood on the floor.
Throughout the channel unblocking process, Doyun had been coughing up clotted blood, which had completely soaked into the wooden floor.
Having focused intently for a whole week without even stopping to clean, this was an expected outcome.
‘…Should I report this?’
Cleaning at the Cradle was handled through contracted services on a regular cycle, including the dorms.
While Doyun could rest even in a filthy stable-like place, this wasn’t his own home but the Cradle’s facility.
It would be better to report it before stains set in.
Doyun checked the time.
‘There’s still some time before the morning roll call…’
He closed his eyes again. Since the arduous task was complete, he decided to thoroughly examine his physical condition.
Taking deep breaths, he moved the densely compressed mana in his dantian. The pure divine beast mana flowed smoothly through his body.
From his fingertips to the tiny vessels in his feet, the mana flowed unobstructed everywhere without any blockages.
What Doyun keenly felt while unblocking his channels was that this divine beast body was outrageously advantageous.
‘But I’m certainly reaping the rewards of defeating the Demon Lord.’
First, his mana affinity was astounding.
Generally, natural mana in the air was unusable. One had to transform and accumulate natural mana within the body through mana cultivation methods to utilize it.
Yet for some reason, perhaps due to being a divine beast, the mana Doyun accumulated was unprecedentedly pure.
‘Including my previous life, I’ve never encountered such pristine mana before.’
Not a speck of impurity could be found in this immaculate mana. As pure and dense as it was, its potency was bound to be tremendous.
Moreover, having unblocked his channels once, the mana flowed swiftly and smoothly like a slide, demonstrating how clean and spacious they were.
The accelerated mana flow was truly encouraging news for Doyun.
It would greatly enhance the output of his main technique, ‘Localized Acceleration Control’.
But what surprised Doyun the most was:
‘The regenerative ability is truly… monstrous?’
The Hecleus’ Fist Style Doyun had demonstrated during the mana test was a toned-down version.
Even at the peak of his previous life, it was impossible for Enoch to fully withstand the recoil of Hecleus’ Style. It wasn’t for nothing that Hecleus never produced a single disciple in any of Enoch’s 18 lifetimes.
Enoch had modified it, reducing the destructive power to lessen the burden on his body.
Even so, he had been prepared to be bedridden for a week after using it during the mana test, planning to unblock his channels while recovering.
But he had walked perfectly fine from the first day and fully recovered within two days.
The same applied to the internal injuries from unblocking his channels. Right now, Doyun’s body was in perfect health.
Without any special emergency measures, just his inherent recovery alone accomplished this much.
‘With a bit of exaggeration, it’s at the troll level.’
Doyun looked at his status window and notifications.
[Acquired Trait ‘Mana Deficiency’ has been removed.]
[Skill ‘Războlnic’s Flow Mana Cultivation Method’ has been created.]
[Mana stat has increased by 1 level.]
[Status Window]
Name: Han Doyun
Race: Human / Divine Beast
Affiliation: –
Talent: Genius
Stats:
Strength – 5 levels
Agility – 2 levels
Vitality – 7 levels
Endurance – 4 levels
Mana – 1 level
Innate Traits:
[Trauma (Gluttony Compulsion)]
[Divine Beast]
[The First Ruszvolnik (Războinic)]
[The First Guildmaster]
[Acquired Genius]
Acquired Traits:
Skills:
[Războlnic’s Flow Mana Cultivation Method Lv.1 Rate.D]
[Hecleus’ Fist Style – Straight Punch Lv.1 Rate.S]
There were quite a few changes to his status window.
The acquired trait [Mana Deficiency] was gone, his mana stat had increased, and a second skill had been registered.
‘The rate… was that the indicator that directly showed a skill’s value?’
Hecleus’ Fist Style was S-rated, while Războlnic’s Flow Mana Cultivation Method was D-rated.
The harsh evaluation of the technique he had created himself made Doyun nod in agreement.
After all, Războlnic’s Flow Mana Cultivation Method had excessively severe side effects compared to its advantages.
Unlike general cultivation methods that accumulated mana in the heart, Războlnic’s method stored it in the dantian.
While the heart was the center of flow, the dantian was stagnant. Thus, accumulating mana in the dantian resulted in higher purity and easier control according to the user’s will.
But there were reasons why others didn’t practice it.
Only Enoch could utilize Războlnic’s Flow Mana Cultivation Method – the sole talent bestowed upon the dim-witted commoner he was born as.
While Hecleus’ Fist Style also had the major side effect of severe recoil, its overwhelming might was still worthy of an S-rate even considering that.
However, the mana cultivation method of storing it in the dantian had negligible benefits compared to its absurdly excessive drawbacks.
That’s likely why it received the harsh D-rate evaluation.
But Doyun didn’t care about the System’s assessment.
Regardless of the rating, this mana cultivation method was a technique that greatly enhanced the output of Enoch’s main skills, comprising a significant part of his combat prowess.
The technique that enabled him to defeat the Demon Lord and become the Enoch of the present. No matter the rating, its efficiency for Enoch remained unchanged.
Right now, Enoch was more interested in the skill system itself rather than the rates.
‘So this is what skill corrections mean…’