Chapter 643 Four Pillars: Reviewing Skills (2)
Ding!
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[Hunter's Tracking Eyes] (Lv. MAX)
Rarity: Epic
There are only two kinds of beings in the world of the jungle: the hunter and the prey.
The prey employ all sorts of techniques to make sure that they would not end up being caught by the hunter, giving themselves the chance to become the hunter in the future.
On the other hand, the hunter does everything it can to hunt the prey, even going so far as to use the environment and its senses as its tools.
To discern and discover peculiarities, then to exploit said peculiarities in order to kill the prey to keep its dominance. That is what a hunter does.
And these eyes are the symbol of such a hunter.
This skill gives the user the ability to view weak spots on anything they focus their attention on, whether it be a creature or an item. With enough time, the user can also see the origin of all of those weak spots, giving them the opportunity to capitalize on it.
This skill also increases the user's PER stat by 15%.
<Innate Skill 1: Hunter's Aura - Whenever this skill is activated, the user radiates an aura that petrifies those weaker than the user into place. Those that are stronger than the user are unaffected by the aura, though it makes them focus more of their attention on the user. Can be toggled on and off.>
<Innate Skill 2: Boundless Gaze - Whenever this skill is activated, the user can choose to view weak spots from two perspectives: normal vision or hyperfocus. Hyperfocus allows the user to view targets from near or afar in greater detail.>
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"Huh." While reading through the description of [Hunter's Tracking Eyes], Valyr realized that there really wasn't much need for him to read through the upgraded skill in the first place.
From the experience he had gained in using [Gambler's Discerning Eyes] while forging items, as well as the lesson Jekyll had given him in utilizing the skill from a combat perspective, the only thing of note from the skill he hadn't used yet was the first innate skill.
Whoosh!
Willing [Hunter's Aura] to be activated, the young man instantly felt his body radiating an aura, taking on some of the properties of his aura when he flared out his strength to its entirety.
However, after focusing on the aura for a bit, he gradually began to notice that there was another feeling embedded deep within the aura.
Closing his eyes for a bit to get a better idea of what the feeling was, Valyr gradually took on a slightly confused expression. "The aura of a predator?"
"No... the aura of danger." Though after examining the feeling for a bit more, the young man eventually figured out the exact feeling embedded deep within the aura he was passively emanating, disabling it not long after.
"I wonder if it's useful against the primitive humanoids," asked the young man to himself, wondering if the aura took stats into consideration or levels into consideration for it to have an effect.
After switching between the two modes of vision the second innate skill had given him access to for a bit, the young man then moved onto a skill he had only briefly touched whilst he was in the Shadow Plane.
"Identify [Shadow Serpent Magic Style]."
Ding!n-(o-/V-.e--L(-B.-I)-n
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[Shadow Serpent Magic Style] (Lv. 20/20)
Rarity: Uncommon
The human race is considered to be a race specializing in adaptation... description has been omitted
This skill grants the user the ability to cast a modified version of the magic of a Shadow Serpent, making use of Shadow Energy and mana to conjure magic of the Shadow element, an element that is considered to be almost as destructive as Dark, while being almost as corrosive as Poison.
This style consists of 5 offensive moves, with each subsequent move being more destructive than the previous.
<First Technique: Shadow Bolt - Allows the user to cast a bolt made out of Shadow Energy and mana. This skill deals damage equivalent to 200% of the user's Attack stat (scales off INT).
Has a chance to inflict Shadow Poison that deals 50% of the user's Attack stat (scales off INT) as damage for 5 seconds. Cooldown: 5 seconds. Cost: 1 Shadow Energy, 500 MP.>
<Second Technique: Noxious Rain - Allows the user to cast a rain of bolts made out of Shadow Energy and mana. Each bolt deals damage equivalent to 75% of the user's Attack stat (scales off INT).
Each bolt inflicts Shadow Poison that deals 20% of the user's Attack stat (scales off INT) as damage for 1 second. Cooldown: 3 minutes. Cost: 3 Shadow Energy, 3,000 MP.>
<Third Technique: Domain of the Shadow Serpent - Within the domain, the Shadow Serpent reigns supreme. Allows the user to create a domain out of Shadow Energy and mana, empowering magic damage and mana regeneration by 20% while reducing mana consumption by 10%.
Any enemy caught within the domain is inflicted with Shadow Poison that deals 30% of the user's Attack stat (scales off INT) as damage per second. Lasts for 5 minutes. Range: 100 meters. Cooldown: 15 minutes. Cost: 5 Shadow Energy, 15,000 MP.>
<Fourth Technique: Grand Serpentine Fang - Among the Shadow Serpent's many weapons, the fang is the deadliest. Allows the user to create a large fang out of Shadow Energy and mana that could be conjured in any place.
This skill deals damage equivalent to 350% of the user's Attack stat (scales off INT). This skill inflicts Shadow Corruption on the target, which increases the damage dealt by any subsequent Shadow-based magic skill by 50%. Cooldown: 10 minutes. Cost: 10 Shadow Energy, 10,000 MP.>
<Ultimate Technique: Memento Mori - Within the world of Shadow Energy, only death awaits those who are not part of it. Allows the user to summon a small chunk of the Shadow Plane into their surroundings, dealing damage equivalent to 500% of the user's Attack stat (scales off INT) to those caught up in it. The duration of the summoning lasts for 1 minute.
Those that remain standing after the summoning are inflicted with Shadow Poison that deals 100% of the user's Attack stat (scales off INT) as damage for 1 minute, as well as True Shadow Corruption, which increases the damage dealt by any subsequent attack from the user by 50%. Cooldown: 3 hours. Cost: 50 Shadow Energy, 25,000 MP.>
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"Damn." Letting out a brief whistle in admiration of the power the techniques had, Valyr took a bit of time to formulate ideas on how he would use the magic style during combat.
Unfortunately, by the time he was finished pondering over the idea, the young man came to the conclusion that the magic style was a standalone combat style.
It was unlike the two combat styles he currently used to fight against the humanoids. Even though they did not have any synergistic effects like the techniques on [Shadow Serpent Magic Style], the flexibility and interchangeability of the two styles made up for it.
Remaining silent for a bit, Valyr eventually muttered, "If I only use the first two techniques, I could probably weave it into my usual string of attacks just fine and increase my offensive capabilities."
"As for the last three, only [Memento Mori] would probably form synergistic effects with the other styles," added the young man soon after as he faintly chuckled.
"Then again, I wonder how much damage I'd be able to deal with [Ruination of the Dark Arcanum] with True Shadow Corruption taking effect?"
Valyr grinned. "I'll have to try that out sometime."
Satisfied with what [Shadow Serpent Magic Style] was capable of, the young man then took a look at its counterpart that was similar to [Intermediate Crimson Flame Manipulation].
"Identify [Intermediate Shadow Energy Manipulation]."
Ding!
As the notification sound resounded in his mind, Valyr hoped that the skill was similar to the other element manipulation techniques since that meant it could replace [Intermediate Crimson Flame Manipulation] as his main form of magic.
Thankfully, after reading through its description, that was indeed the case, prompting the young man to let out a slight sigh of relief.
"I guess this could be considered another combat style?" said Valyr to himself with a slight smile, thinking about how there was the possibility of the skill following the path [Intermediate Mystic Energy Manipulation] had taken.
'Perhaps it's because Shadow Energy is focused on destruction that it transformed into a skill similar to the other element manipulation skills.' At the thought, Valyr could only shrug his shoulders.
After all, he did not know the actual reason behind it, nor did he really have a motive to find the reason.
Taking a brief glimpse at the sun's position, Valyr closed the screen in front of him and stood up.
Having sat down for so long, the young man decided to do a few basic stretches as he brought up a prompt he had ignored for quite some time.
Ding!
[Would you like to do the quest 'Gates of Enlightenment' Trial (3)' again?]
"Time to prove whether my hypothesis is correct or not." Letting out a bit of laughter as he confirmed the prompt, Valyr took a look at the primitive humanoids that roamed the streets of the west quadrant.
Then, just as he was about to start fighting them, the young man stopped in his tracks as thoughts of the skills he had viewed not long ago began to linger in his mind.
At those thoughts, Valyr could only smile.
"Then again... it wouldn't hurt to have a bit of fun while doing so."
