"Mana emission abilities always require accuracy, as to most spells. Only spells can be capable of honing in on their target. Now if you want something that doesn't have to be aimed an area of affect could work, but that would also take alot more energy as well. Essentially you will have to increase your accuracy no matter what. Plus you might want to work on your reflexes as well. Being able to dodge attacks is just as important, if not more important, than having them be able to hit, especially for people like us who don't rely on weapons."

Then Saito listened to Lucian's statement of the fact that he gained EXP whenever they killed these elementals, which made his eyes widen. "Wow... even if its only one fifth... wow... so if we were to fight stronger elementals eventually I could potentially level up... I wonder how that would work..." During his contemplating statements he heard Lucian's remark of getting back to the grind, which just made him nod as he then watched Lucian charge forward albiet at a somewhat slightly slower than average speed, able to get within a short enough distance so that he could still get some distance advantage, but at the same time not be open for attack as he fired his mana wave, Saito also taking note of a bigger monster possibly appearing, something he had never seen before judging by his raised eyebrow when Lucian said this.

Luckily, despite provoking the elemental with his charge, Lucian was able to get out a Mana Wave right at the elemental before it attacked.

---

Lucian Mana Wave: 41 - 25 Distance Bonus - 5 Projectile Weaponry = 11

Hit! (Max Damage)

Damage Dealt: 19

---

The attack hit straight on, dealing once again a really large chunk of its HP. Unfortunately Saito wasn't able to chant fast enough with his next spell as the creature in the moment after Lucian's attack managed to unleash a ranged attack of its own, also apparently taking advantage of the short distance between them to make the attack harder to dodge just as Lucian did.

---

Air Pulse: 33

Hit!

Damage Dealt: 16

---

The pulse hit somewhat straight on, Lucian taking nearly all of the blast, but not feeling it. Instead the blast slammed into the shimmering barrier of magical energy surrounding him, it seeming to absorb the full force of the blast instead of Lucian. Before it could do anything else though Saito finished chanting his spell, a familiar four small missiles of magical energy flying from Saito's hand and towards the creature, honing in on it and all of them slamming into it in rapid succession. The first three missiles were enough to drain its HP completely and kill it, the fourth only being a bit of overkill as the beast vanished once again into nothing as the others before it had, this one this time leaving behind yet another Weak Air Crystal as the others had.

The moment the Weak Air Elemental was defeated a familiar window appeared for Lucian, stating the following.



"Well, glad to know my shield held up well. Hey your Level also went up now. What happens now? You apply your stat points or something? If so, I recommend boosting your physical abilities a bit if you can, like speed and endurance and stuff, or whatever it is for you. Being able to dodge and take hits is quite important. Lets you live longer." As he said this he walked over to Lucian, picking up the Air Crystal that had dropped and looking over it for a few moments before handing it and the one he pocketed earlier to Lucian. "You hang on to them in that Inventory of yours. We can sort out who gets what later. Hate for them to accidentally get damaged in my pockets if we do have to fight something a bit more difficult"

Genji looked at the two of them as they chose their weapons, nodding at their choices. First he looked at Sasha. "Ah, respectable choices. A dagger and short sword are good weapons for those who prefer speed over strength, although if you want to wield any weapons you still need to build physical strength regardless. Heck, you should probably build up physical strength anyway, especially if any Hunter or other such type tries to grab you. It'll help you get away."

After that he looked at Silas' choice as well as his decision to leave the book there. "A good choice indeed. A katana is an all around powerful weapon. Luckily our clan's techniques can be applied to kendo as well, although I don't do so since mine are... different. Also about the book. Feel free to read from it while you are here if you want. I trust ya, just don't take it from here that's all. Its not the copy that's important, but what's inside of it." After that he took the two of them around back to what appeared to be a small shed with a big iron door that had a keyhole in it.

"Well here we are." He opened the door, revealing a very large field and a wide blue sky through the door of the shed, this probably being the special Pseudospace that Genji went to open. When inside the door looked like it was just standing there in space, leading back to the grounds of the Ban clan's house. In the field were dozens upon dozens of strange dog like creatures. Above their heads were Kobold Level 10. "Kobolds. The perfect monster for beginner's to train on, especially if you want to learn how to fight against human like opponents. Don't worry about getting killed, ill step in and help you out if it looks like it will get dangerous. Also at first I will make sure you are only fighting one at a time, taking care of any others that approach you since these guys are just chumps for me. So..." He looked back at the two of them.

"Any questions before we get started?"

"Level ten... that's around our level. Shouldn't be too difficult, I reckon," Sasha said after surveying the room. The room amazingly opened into blue skies and green fields, stretching as far as her eyes could see. It frankly looked like a lazy attempt at level design, but for training it was practical. The dojo didn't make pseudospaces for entertainment purposes.

"But this is pretty amazing. Who knew such things were under our noses all the time? I'm pretty sure I've passed by the dojo in the past. Crazy." The dagger and short sword she had grabbed from Genji's stash were already in her inventory. She retrieved the dagger first. With no prior experience with knife handling, she simply held it in her right hand in a forward grip.

"Okay, I'll give this dagger a try."

She carefully approached a lone kobold, trying to enter through a blind spot in its vision. From the past fights, it seemed as if she had a knack for surprising enemies. It was also much easier than facing an enemy head on. If she managed to sneak up behind the Kobold, Sasha intended to slit its throat without hesitation. Her fears were completely negated by the gamer effect.

"Level 10?" For a moment Genji was confused, but then remembered that Sasha mentioned that they could see the levels of creatures and people above their heads. "Ah, right. Just remember though that strength isn't everything in a fight. Skill, experience, and even luck can play into the outcome of any battle." After that he stood back, watching as Sasha attempted to stealthily sneak up on a Kobold. Genji would have rather charged it and punched it in the face, but figured a stealthy approach could work, but in a real fight stealth isn't always the best choice. He figured he would save his comments until after she defeated this Kobold.

---

Sasha Stealth: 35 - 28 Stealth - 3 Skill Bonus = 4

Kobold Observation: 25

---

Luckily, despite how keen the Kobold's canine senses were, although its not like Sasha would know about that, she did indeed manage to sneak up undetected. Luckily with the small tanto it would be easier to assassinate the Kobold than it would be with a baseball bat since its sharp edge could be used to try and cut the beast's throat.

---

Sasha Assassination Attempt: 31 - 25 Distance Bonus - 17 Melee Weaponry = -9

Kobold Defense: 75 (Off Guard Static)

Hit!

Second Stealth Attempt: 50 - 28 = 22 (Success)

Damage Dealt (Assassination 2x Bonus): 74 Damage

---

With her stealthy, careful hands Sasha was not only able to get behind the Kobold with her Tanto and get in a strike, but she was both stealthy and quick enough to slide the blade across the throat of the large creature, a 74 appearing above its head as the blade slit its throat. As quiet as the grave the creature fell to the ground, luckily not provoking any of the other nearby Kobolds since they were still around twenty or so yards away, Genji watching the other small groups just in case they were provoked, fists clenched and at the ready.

When the creature fell after having its throat slit it vanished when it hit the ground in a poof of slightly reddish, whitish smoke. When it vanished the club it was wielding and two Small Recovery Potions like what Ren had obtained from the Big Imp were left behind. Genji looked a bit surprised by this and walked over, looking down at the items. "I heard that creatures in games drop items and had my doubts that they could like you stated since these monsters are only metaphysical entities made physical in Pseudospace, but...I guess I was wrong..." He bent down and picked up the heavy looking, stone club, wielding it in his hand as easily as though it were a baseball bat meant for a child, giving it a few powerful swings with one arm. "This is a pretty decent weapon... crude and somewhat heavy in an awkward sense... but it has pretty decent crushing strength..." He then held it towards Sasha. "If you don't want this, I believe that the Ban clan would be willing to buy anything you get here that you don't want for money. For now... maybe you could hold it in that... Inventory thing of yours..."

He then saw the potions, eyes widening a bit as he looked down at them. "What are those? They look like some kind of potion...any ideas?"

"Fuck yeah!" Sasha exclaimed exuberantly in victory. Her attack did a disgusting amount of damage. The kobold dropped down onto its knees and collapsed without uttering a word. Sasha turned around to flash a "V" sign at Genji. The kill even earned her some sweet loot. Following Genji's suggestion, she put the club into her inventory. It didn't seem like something she'd be comfortable using, so his offer to but the item was great.

"Uh... I guess they are potions? They dropped once when one of us killed a big monster." Sasha scooped them up and peered at the clear bottles of ruby red liquid. "I think you drink them to heal your wounds. At least, that's how most games work."

"Oh yeah, I was supposed to be practicing how to fight... not win with cheap shots." Scanning the vicinity for a second target, she singled out another kobold. The bipedal dog like creature was facing her direction this time, perhaps alerted by her voice. Grinning, she aimed her index finger at it and mouthed the words "energy revolver". Bright light lit up from the tip and shot outwards in quick succession.

Sasha was merely intending to soften up her opponent. She widened her stance and pulled out the short sword from her inventory. The dagger was easy to use, especially when she had the element of surprise, but its reach was just pathetic. She figured she had a better chance of killing the kobold with the short sword, but still held the dagger in her left hand. However, the kobold's club still had superior range, so Sasha planned to sidestep or deflect its first swing and strike at the beast's side.

Taking the crystals handed to him by Saito, Lucian opened up his inventory and placed them safely inside, "I can understand why you wouldn't want to damage these things if they are naturally so valuable," Closing that window, he then began to apply his level up. "Thanks for the advice, but first off I need to raise the stats that will let me use the book I got from you, after that I will get myself to a stable point, and then focus on the stats which will allow me to optimize who I am, and what I will be." For now he raised his Vitality to 10 and his wisdom to 14. Closing that window to open his talents, he chose to only use two of the points now, saving the remaining one to be put into the talent he could get from his skill book, He increased his focus and projectile weaponry, since he kept missing all the time. "Well, with that done, Let us continue, though it will probably take a bit longer now, as most games, monsters give less experience as you level up. Well, lets see how many crystals we get during this."

(Retro-Posting shit I forgot)

After Sasha successfully pulled off her skillful assassination four windows appeared. Two stating that her Sneak Attack and Sneak Expertise Skills had both gone up in level by one, and two more giving a rather familiar message.

---

"Potions that... can recover your wounds instantly?" Genji looked a bit surprised at this. "Things like that are extremely rare and can sell for tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of yen on the auction. Your power really is something else if it can make rare and expensive recovery potions out of nothing...i'd recommend hanging onto them though. They can be extremely useful" After that remark, and Genji composing himself after that bit of shock and awe from the fact that they just produced super rare recovery potions out of nothing, he listened to Sasha's next remark about not using stealth.

"Indeed. Plus stealth may work good on monsters, but against real opponents who are highly skilled you may not get so lucky to sneak up on them, which is why I recommend building up your physical strength as well, as more physical strength lets your hits do more, helps you get away if an enemy grabs you, and lets you take more hits." After his piece of wisdom Genji watched, a bit impressed as he raised an eyebrow when she suddenly shot small bullets of energy from her fingertips, at the Kobold in rapid succession.

---

Sasha Energy Revolver: 49 - 20 Projectile Weaponry = 29

Hit!

Damage Dealt: 24

---

All four shots slammed into the creature in succession, each one doing a bit more damage than the last, although its tough looking armor seemed to also absorb a bit of the damage of the magical attack as did its hide. Enraged, the beast let out a bellow, alerting some of the other few kobolds in the nearby area, Genji watching as one charged towards Sasha while a few others began to move in on them as well, one seeming a bit more alone in its approach towards the group than the others did.

"Silas, you take care of one of them, that lone one over there should do it. Ill get the rest of these so you two aren't overwhelmed." With that, Genji sped off, moving very swiftly, almost inhumanly so. Genji seemed a bit faster than the kobold's moving in on their position or even the one charging, a powerful punch coming from him, his fist wrapped in a green, misty like energy as it slammed straight into a Kobold, making it vanish nearly a moment after the punch made full contact, the blow being powerful enough to one shot it as he punched it straight in the head.

There was no time to watch Genji be incredible though as he took on a few Kobold's by himself. The one charging Sasha seemed to be able to make close enough to her to strike with a somewhat decently swift charge, although not all that swift, but swift enough to have Sasha in club reach, which the beast seemed to now bear down upon Sasha.

---

Kobold Club Strike: 10

Hit! (Max Damage)

Damage Dealt: 33

---

Unfortunately Sasha could neither dodge nor parry the blow in time as the beast brought down its club upon Sasha, the heavy stone club being incredibly heavy and the swing being very powerful, these combinations both bringing alot of pain to Sasha as the beast struck rather true with its attack, dealing some very nasty damage to Sasha, taking out well more than half of her HP and bringing her an incredible amount of pain, nothing breaking luckily even though it should have, the attack just draining away her HP instead.

With one heading in Silas' direction and Genji quickly finishing up the ones he was fighting so that he could go help Sasha out, Sasha would be in a bit of a pickle here.

Saito watched as Lucian appeared to be just pressing the air, a small laugh escaping from him. "You look really crazy while just pressing the air like that... I guess that is applying your stat points, but if I didn't know you could see those windows I would think you a crazy person." After Lucian was done Saito gave a small smirk. "Sure, sounds like a good time. Maybe we can get more Crystals from this as well."

And so the grinding continued. The two of them did quite well. Lucian's shield took a couple more hits, but overall not enough to break it, the shield probably having around 15 or so HP left total, meaning it could probably take one more full powered hit from an elemental. After killing eight more Air Elementals, as that was the needed amount to get Lucian to the next level, Lucian would get that level up window as well as more Stat and Talent points to apply. He also achieved two level ups in the Mana Wave skill as well as he managed to unleash it at nearly every air elemental, although Saito decided to let Lucian save his MP on two of them as he offed them himself.

Seven of them gave just more Weak Air Crystals. One of them, however; gave not only a Weak Air Crystal, but something else as well. The last one that they defeated, the one that gave Lucian his level up, seemed to drop a Weak Air Crystal and something else. It looked like a small sphere with wind and mist swirling in it, the sphere itself looking more ethereal than it was tangible, but it clearly was tangible as it could be touched. "Well... this is new... what does your Observe Skill have to say about this thing? Also now that you are Level 9, I take it you can now meet the qualifications for learning that book?"

If Lucian did use the Observe Skill on the new item a window would appear, stating the following.



This item appeared to be a bit more rare than the Weak Air Crystal and possess a bit more usefulness as well judging from its description.

Silas quickly headed for the lone kobold after Genji ordered him to do so. Silas wasn't really the one to take orders, but this was training and he didn't want to get himself, or Sasha, into trouble. Silas had a decent amount of MP at the moment, so he could preform multiple Energy Strikes as it would only cost him 3 MP. It was the same as in video games, he only used MP costing abilities when he had enough MP as he didn't want his MP to go empty. Silas ran to the kobold with the katana in his left hand. "Energy Strike" he said monotone as the sword began to glow blue and when in reach of the kobold he slashed it horizontally across its body. If the attack would be successful it would have probably finished off the kobold. If not he would give some simple slashes afterwards.

If Silas managed to defeat the kobold he would go to Genji, as he was on a winning streak. Upon coming closer to the group of kobolds he would use his Energy Strike in combination with a Chain Attack to damage, or even kill, multiple kobolds. He rarely used his Chain Attack so now would be a good time to put that to the test.

She slipped up. Whether if it was lack of concentration or the kobold's skill, Sasha simply failed to evade the swing. It wasn't even very fast. The stone club smashed into her body, pushing her back but causing her no pain at all, save for a worryingly large number that was marked off her health points.

She wasn't sure if her short sword connected when she lashed out reactively. Her health was now down to less than half. These opponents were to dangerous to try something new. She leapt backwards to gain some distance while bringing both her arms forward, fingers pointing outwards, and opened fire with the energy revolver skill on the kobold.

If it succeeded in killing the creature, she would quickly retrieve the yakisoba breads and chow down in them to recover health.

First came Silas' Energy Strike to the one Kobold, who seemed to prepare itself by getting ready to parry the attack as Silas charged over. Even if these creatures were beasts they were still warriors somewhat and thus possessed some skill.

---

Silas Energy Strike: 1

Critical Strike!

Damage Dealt: 95

---

With his Katana filled with energy Silas would manage to cut past a weak point in the armor, bypassing it completely as his Katana slashed right through the creature, the power of the Energy Strike skill enhancing the strength of the strike. Needless to say the Kobold stopped right after the Katana went right through it before its top half slowly fell off of its bottom. Fortunately, or maybe unfortunately if one wanted to see a cleaved in two Kobold, it disappeared before it completely fell into two, leaving Silas to either go and help Sasha or go help Genji, who didn't need any help.

When Silas performed that Critical Strike on the Kobold, as a 95 with the word Critical appeared above its head with that strike, after it was defeated he would receive a few special notifications.













Sasha, on the other hand, could use some help as she jumped back from the Kobold, attempting to blast it with two Mana Revolvers, one from each hand, but as she quickly scrambled backwards the Kobold came down upon her for another quick, reaction based swing.

---

Kobold Free Strike: 78

Miss

---

Luckily Sasha was agile enough to avoid what would have been a very painful and mortal swing as she jumped backwards, letting off another Mana Revolver barrage on the Kobold.

---

Sasha Mana Revolver 1: 17 - 20 Projectile Weaponry = -3

Hit!

Damage Dealt: 24

Sasha Mana Revolver 2: 78 - 20 Projectile Weaponry = 58

Miss

---

While the first shot of bullets hit, prompting a window stating that Mana Shot's Level had gone up by 1, the second barrage missed, prompting another attack from the angry and strong Kobold. Luckily Genji by this point had swiftly defeated the Kobolds that he was fighting, since it was only four of them and they were chumps compared to him. Before the Kobold could get its attack off Genji suddenly shot forward from the spot he was fighting the Kobolds towards the one Sumi was fighting, his feet glowing with that same misty, green energy that seemed to enhance his speed as suddenly the Kobold's head met with his fist, a loud crack being audible as the punch effectively broke its neck and sent it flying to the ground a good ten or so yards away, the Kobold disappearing when it touched the ground. Genji was ridiculously strong.

"Phew... that was a close one..." He looked to Sasha, a concerned look on his face. "You alright? That was a pretty nasty hit you took there. These guys can be dangerous if you're not careful, which is why I recommend building up physical and bodily strength. Makes you more durable, but..." He looked Sasha over for a few moments. "An attack like that should have broken a good number of bones, yet you seem perfectly fine minus the pain... does your power have anything to do with that?"

Before she could even retaliate with the energy revolvers, the kobold managed to recover its balance and swing a second time at her. Her backstep allowed her to evade the swing, but it was evident that she had severely underestimated the creature's speed. It was her mistake to even try something she wasn't used to on an enemy that was higher leveled than her. A string of profanities were coming out garbled through her clenched jaws. They increased in volume when the kobold didn't falter after she fired. It was probably on its last breath, but still managed to raise its stone club once more.

She wasn't sure if she could dodge this attack, even if it might mean her life, but she didn't need to. A fist appeared out of nowhere and smashed into the kobold's face, sending it spinning at a considerable speed. Even before it landed in an unsightly heap a good distance away, there was no doubt that it was dead. Sasha turned to see Genji right by her side, standing in a martial arts stance. He relaxed and talked to her.

"Yeah, I'm alive. Took a lot of damage from that one. I think I'll stick to my way of fighting for now... I'm really bad at real combat. It's not like I live in a dojo." Sasha flexed her body, feeling for any disabling wounds, but found none. She was essentially unhurt, yet closer to death than she had ever been before gaining the gamer ability. "I suppose it is the gamer ability. We just have health points- our bodies or even clothing doesn't really get damaged. We'd probably die if we run out of health points, but that's something... no one had the misfortune of finding out yet."

Sasha took out the yakisoba buns from her inventory and ate them up quickly. "And I hope it stays that way," she added between bites. The two buns would recover 20 HP, filling out her health bar nicely. It was an awfully convenient system.

"Alright, I'm fine now." She was aware it seemed almost cartoonish that she could heal wounds by eating bread, but by now little surprised her and she didn't give it much thought. "I'll continue fighting the kobolds. Except I'm not going near them until I get stronger."

She brandished her hand pistols instead of blades this time, and finding a good lone target, dropped down on one knee and proceeded to open fire on the hapless creature.

"Yup, that would do it,, I should know be able to hit the requirements," Running his fingers through his slicked back hair, feeling the crack of the gel as it started to loosen up his hair, if but a tad. That wasn't as bad as he thought it would be, and thankfully no mob bosses showed up either. He rotated his shoulder and walked over to the orb which Saito was indicating, using observe on it, it sounded like it was a bit rarer than the drops they usually got, "It is a Minor Elemental Spirit." He then went on to read off what his observe window had informed him, "Sounds like something fitting for what I was hoping to learn about."

He then opened his inventory, taking out all of the crystals they had gathered, and the book which he would be using shortly. "So I guess this is the moment of truth then, we shall divide the crystals, I will learn what this book teaches, and we will decide who gets the special drop." All of the items lay perfectly on the artificial grass in front of the two, and it was there Lucian opened his windows, and again, looked like a fool before Saito as he applied his level up, increasing his wisdom to the required 18, and his knowledge skill by one as well as his focus by one. Picking up the book once more, he would be prompted, "Here I go." A single bead of sweat trailing down the side of his face, He saw Ren do it, but it didn't make it any less intimidation. Suddenly knowing something that you never knew of in an instant, was a bit daunting to him. He clicked the accept button.

"Give me seven of the Crystals and ill let you have four and that spirit thing. I don't really have any usage for Spirits in my enchanting and research since they aren't exactly suited for Arcane magic. I am sure you would get alot better usage out of it than I could." It was a somewhat generous offer, since that Minor Elemental Spirit did seem quite rare as only one dropped from the eleven elementals that they killed and its Item rank seemed better than that of the Crystals. After that he watched Lucian look a bit strange as he applied his newest level up, then watched a bit in awe when something suddenly happened.

When Lucian hit the 'Accept' button the book did the same thing that Ren's Eldritch Flame and Black Magic Ritual book did. It began to glow and those same papery like lights flowed towards Lucian. Instantly he could feel the knowledge and power of what the book taught flowing into him, flowing into his mind. The understanding of how to perform the rituals, the incantations needed, the power needed. Everything that he needed to know or have the ability to do for performing these rituals of communing with the very forces of nature themselves flowed into Lucian and into his mind as he could also feel the power needed for performing them flow into him as well.

It would feel a bit strange. Maybe overwhelming, maybe exhilarating. It would all depend upon how Lucian looked at it. A few moments later though when the book finally disappeared a new window appeared in front of Lucian stating the following. One more window appearing after that one disappeared.





Saito watched a bit in awe, still not used to the whole book disappearing thing. After it was done Saito looked curiously at Lucian. "So... did it work? Do you know how to perform the rituals now?"

Right now, since the Talent was still very low ranked, Lucian would only know one basic ritual, and that was the Nature's Boon ritual. A ritual where one communes with the earth and the forces of nature to ask for aid, the aid Lucian could possibly get at this more or less infantile knowing of these rituals not being too great, but still being quite impressive for a beginner nonetheless. What exact kinds of 'boons' could be granted at this stage though currently evaded Lucian's knowledge, as with his current knowing of the rituals he would feel as though he would have to perform them first to see what kind of Boon he could acquire.

The Kobolds that both Silas and Sasha fought were quite tough on the attack, but when it came to defense they weren't too good, Sasha able to get plenty of blows in with her Mana Revolver, but Silas having a slightly hard time with his new katana. Of course the two of them would have an easier time fighting two on one rather than one on one, something Genji suggested since he figured they weren't ready to solo these creatures yet. Of course, Genji made sure they only fought one or two at a time, easily eliminating any Kobolds that tried to make the fight harder for them.

All in all, through the next couple of hours as a few breaks needed to be taken to help regenerate their HP from the several bad hits the both of them took, 10 Kobolds were defeated, which was a pretty good chunk of EXP. Of course, Genji had to finish a few of them off to save the both of them from death, so they gained less EXP from a couple of the Kobolds since Genji wasn't in their party when he finished off a few of the Kobolds they were fighting.

In the end the both of them were now Level 9, Sasha being close to the next Level Up, but Silas was still a short bit away. They both gained 2 Levels in Physical Endurance and Sasha a couple of Levels in both Mana Shot and Mana Revolver. Silas received a level in Chain Attack, a few levels in Katana Mastery since the new skill was easier to level since it was still level one and these enemies were tough. He also got a couple of levels in Energy Strike.

Genji looked at the two of them, not appearing the least bit tired since this was all pretty easy for him. Well he did wipe a little sweat from his brow, but all in all this was more like a warm up for him rather than intense exercise. "You two seem to have gotten a small bit better at fighting from that training session. I take it that is because of your power... or something giving you Experience Points as you two called it? Of course, getting real time battle experience in is a good thing as well. I feel as though you could do with some basic martial arts techniques though..."

Silas was very happy with the results. Out of the people in the room he may be the weakest in terms of level. But he could easily win from Sasha, and put up a good fight against Genji, but obviously he never hoped for that to happen. It was better to keep these people friends. As he kept fighting he could easily notice that the kobolds became much easier to defeat. His special attacks had gone up in level and he himself as well. And he kinda was getting the hang of the katana. He may be someone who can quickly learn how to use swords, a katana was one of the harder ones. No wonder they are often ranked as high-level weapons in games.

Once all the kobolds were gone, Silas stretched himself, making sure that he didn't poke someone in the eye with his katana while doing so. "I think the experience points are certainly helping us with this... but it feels like I just am mastering this on my own." Silas wiped some sweat off his forehead, and pulled his shirt a bit to let air go underneath it, although it probably wouldn't have much effect in pseudospace. "So what are we going to do next? If we're going to take a break, I'd like to read out of that book. Jeez that I would ever say that." Silas turned his head to Sasha. "Unless you want to learn some more about fighting styles?" he asked.

"That's right. Even if you can get EXP to increase your abilities, the experience of battle itself is a good thing to acquire." He then heard Silas ask what they would be doing next and that Silas wouldn't mind reading that book again. "Well you two should take a break while I go collect those items that appeared and bring them over here." He then removed the book from his pocket and handed it to Silas. "If you want to read and learn from it, just ask. I don't mind if you keep it and learn what you can while you are here. As long as it doesn't physically leave this dojo then I am all up for you reading the heck out of it." After that Genji walked off to go collect the various drops from the Kobolds and bring them back to the others.

The moment Silas was handed the book a window appeared for him. There were two buttons on the bottom of the window, stating yes or no on whether or not he wanted to learn it. Whether he could learn it or not though would come to if he tried to learn it by pressing the yes button on the window. After all, Genji did say he could read out of it and learn what he could if he wanted to.



Genji returned after a couple of minutes of gathering what the Kobolds had dropped. He came back and placed a few things on the ground, a bit surprised at a few of the things. He came back with five clubs, two suits of armor like the Kobolds were wearing, two recovery potions, a stack of yen notes, and two strange looking arm rings. "The clubs and armor I can understand. The potions... somewhat. The money and the two strange arm rings... those I do not understand at all. Is this money even real? There's about..." Genji paused to count it out. "19,000 Yen here. I didn't realize that these monsters would drop money as well. Your power is really strange indeed...."

Letting out a deep breath as the book disappeared from in front of him, Lucian clicked away the boxes, and opened his talent list to see the new talent, hoping he would be able to put his two points he had kept from other levels into it. Afterwards, he would address the question posed to him.

"Yes, I can understand it, the rituals, and how I am to do it. Its like remembering something that you forgot, but then it comes back to you perfectly. Its a really strange sensation to deal with." He then proceeded to plop himself on his butt on the grass, "If you don't mind, I think that I am going to try it now...oh and before I forget, yeah that sounds like a fair deal to me concerning the crystals." He looked at the ones that would be his, then held one in his hand as he proceeded to relax, and start off with his mana flow, focusing harder, he would try to commune with the wind and ask it for and about boons.

When Lucian began to flow his Mana into the ground it seemed to make the process a bit easier. As he began to commune with the wind around him using the Nature's Boon ritual the Crystal in his hand began to glow, seeming to also make the ritual easier for communing with the wind around him, the two extra points he put into the Talent making it a bit easier to use now.

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Lucian Nature Ritual: 23 - 17 Nature Force Ritual - 6 Focus Bonus - 10 Crystal Bonus - 5 Skill Bonus (Mana Flow)

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The Crystal seemed to simply help him open a channel of communication with the wind as his Mana flowed through and in the Crystal to the ground. As he began to communicate with the wind a voice could be heard in his mind. It didn't speak with words, but with feelings. With flow, with breath, with spirit. All of this though translated into words that Lucian would be able to understand in his mind with his very being, as if the very wind, the breath of the earth, was communicating with him.

"You wish for a boon from Nature? From the wind? If it is aid you request, then it shall be granted as the power of your prayers has been heard. A contract shall be formed between you and the wind. The wind shall aid you by protecting you from your enemies until the strength of the boon runs out when the sun and moon dance twice across the sky. ".

Suddenly Lucian would feel a powerful wind around him, Saito noticing this and watching with curiosity and great interest. The Crystal glowed brightly for a few moments and after that, it was over, the Crystal still being there for some reason, but that was probably because its power only acted as a focus rather than was expended thanks to how well Lucian executed the ritual. Lucian would feel as though the boon would last for 36 hours. The wind settled and while it didn't seem there, Lucian could feel that it was there, surrounding him. After it was over, a window appeared before Lucian, followed by a second one.





Saito was currently looking at Lucian with curiosity. "So.... I take it the ritual worked?"

"Exp or real battle experience, I think we're making a lot of progress here," Sasha said, stretching out lazily. She didn't feel very tired, even after all that strenuous activity. Using the mana revolver was still far easier than fighting in close range. She had a feeling that she eventually had to cover her weaknesses in this field, though. "Nnngh... You can have a look at the book first."

She took some of the items from Genji. There were more clubs, and even armor and arm rings. Sasha wasn't sure what to make of these items. How did the others do it again? "Observe?"