"But... I did match the flow! I literally synced my movent with it! Perfectly! I was completely aligned i know there was no resistance! What the hell?!" Razeal shouted, arms flailing in frustration. He definitely didn’t forget to complain.
[No, Host. You weren’t even close,] the system replied flatly. [You were only trying to match the flow. But even the slightest vibration in your body can disrupt it. It’s like trying to stand on a beach as a massive wave crashes toward you. What you’re supposed to do is move with the wave without breaking it, without creating even a splash. If the flow feels even a micro discomfort from your movent, you’ll face the entire brunt of it.]
Razeal groaned, running both hands down his face. "Yeah, I get it. But how the fuck am I supposed to do that?"
[Just try, Host. And did you forget the old man’s pointers? He told you to learn how to limit the amount of flow you want to accept and use. Maybe start there. At least you won’t get blasted apart every ti you ss up.]
"Yeah, and how the hell do I do that?" Razeal gritted his teeth, irritation flaring. "That bastard just told what to do, not how to do it. I should’ve asked for more details. But nooo, I had to cram everything into that short lecture and didn’t get to dive deep into each damn point."
[Figure it out yourself, Host. With your talent, it shouldn’t be too hard. And by the way, in twenty seconds, a fresh batch of 1000 F-ranked Mantises will attack. Just saying.] The system sounded bored now, probably tired of the tantrums.
"Tch, yeah, yeah, whatever. Let try again," Razeal muttered, shaking off the irritation.
He focused again, trying to "cut" only a portion of the flow. He imagined it like a faucet a valve he could turn, letting only a trickle pass through instead of the flood.
Four hours later...
"What the fuck?! It’s not working!" Razeal yelled, almost yanking his hair out. For the last four hours, he had tried everything he could think of to limit the incoming flow, to sync, to move with it but every single attempt ended in catastrophic failure. Death after death. Explosions. Crushed organs. Vaporizing his at.
He didn’t even know how many tis he had died anymore. Every attempt ended the sa way. He hadn’t survived more than 30 seconds per attempt the Mantises rarely even got the chance to kill him. The flow did it first as Razeal think being killed by experinting is better then killed by insects.
"System! Wasn’t your so called Absolute Dark Genius talent supposed to make a fast learner? Here I am, hundreds of tries later, and I still can’t figure out a basic application! Is this what counts as ’the greatest talent in existence’?!"
[Host, the technique you’re learning is one of the highest and most complex in existence. If it were easy, everyone would do it. Do you think sothing SSS ranked would be simple enough to learn in a day? That would defeat the whole purpose. And as for your talent didn’t you say it’s your own ability? So, now it’s not the skill that sucks, it’s your fucking talent?]
"Ugh... forget it." Razeal’s lips twitched in annoyance.
He exhaled slowly and opened his stats panel. He scrolled until his eyes landed on the one skill he’d been obsessing over:
[Flow (SSS)]
"System, how is this skill progress? There’s no EXP bar or anything like my other abilities. Is there a way to upgrade it or sothing?"
[It’s just like your Keen Hearing skill, Host. It progresses in stages: Basic, Interdiate, Advanced, and finally, Ultimate. Right now, you’re not even at Basic which is why your usage is so limited.]
Razeal blinked. "Wait... wasn’t I at Basic right from the start with Keen Hearing?"
[Correct. But Keen Hearing is an S-ranked skill. Your talent activated and synced with it instantly. Flow, on the other hand, is SSS ranked multiple dinsions more complex. Skills at this level may require actual training and mastery before they even recognize you as a user. That’s why you’re struggling.]
Razeal sighed deeply, feeling the weight of reality press on him again. The excitent he’d felt when first receiving the skill had faded into hours of frustration and bloodless deaths.
[And another thing, Host. You’re approaching this wrong. You’re trying to use an ultimate-level ability from the middle you’re skipping the foundation. Start where the old man told you to: Master your internal and physical flow first. That’s the beginning.]
[You can’t leap to environntal or planetary flows until you’ve built the groundwork. It’s like trying to summon a thunderstorm when you don’t even know how to create a spark.]
[So listen clearly: Start from the bottom. First, internal. Then physical. Then environntal. Then planetary. And lastly, cosmic. That’s the correct path.
Razeal listened calmly, rubbing his tired eyes. "I thought this talent would help leap over all the steps and just get there directly... but whatever. It’s just so ti," he muttered under his breath.
Despite the frustration bubbling inside, he tried to stay grounded. "It’s not like I didn’t make any progress. My perception ability... I’m too familiar with it now. And not to ntion how far I’ve co with flow sensing. I can even control which flow I want to see or not. I am improving at a very fast pace," Razeal whispered, half to himself, half to the air, trying to convince himself that the effort hadn’t been wasted.
[It’s not fast enough, Host.] The system interjected flatly. [You have actually wasted six hours, and so far, you haven’t learned anything significant enough to increase your combat strength to the level required for the duel scheduled in seven days.]
"I know... I know," he said through gritted teeth.
Razeal clenched his fists tightly. The reminder stung, but it wasn’t wrong. Sure, he had gotten his hands on an SSS ranked skill, sothing even legends might never achieve. But that alone wasn’t enough. To make it useful, he had to develop it. Sharpen it. Master it. And ti... ti wasn’t on his side.
And he couldn’t afford to waste a single second.
"System... create a plan for . The fastest route to increase my strength using everything I have. Consider every skill, ability, and condition we have access to. I need the most efficient path, now."
[Analyzing...] the system replied.
A mont passed.
[Analysis complete. Based on your current resources and skillset, this is the optimal path for rapid strength acquisition:]
[Your two most powerful and growth efficient skills are both SSS-ranked:]
[Flow (SSS)]
[Killing Intent (SSS)]
[These two should be prioritized imdiately. Each has scalable effects, benefits that increase with proficiency and usage.]
[Additionally, you possess a D-ranked healing skill: [Basic Healing (D)] with current proficiency: 1621/10,000. While its rank is low, the utility it provides during prolonged combat and training is invaluable.]
Razeal listened, his expression sharpening with each point. The system continued.
[Next, to maximize your ti: utilize the system’s Training Grounds. The rank you currently occupy is F-rank, which has no ti amplification aning ti flows exactly the sa as the outside world.]
[However, advancing to E-rank Training Grounds will give you a ti amplification of 10x. That ans for every 1 day outside, you’ll have 10 days inside. Climb two more stages and you’ll reach 1000x ti flow 1 outside day becos 1000 training days.]
This is critical for you, Host.]
[Hence, the recomndation: climb the training ranks as quickly as possible. Engage in constant combat within the system training function. Fight, die, heal, learn repeat. This will rapidly accelerate your growth in multiple domains.]
[1. Flow (SSS) - Master perception and body flow within training combat. Combat will naturally develop your body to sense, move, and eventually rge with various flows.]
[2. Killing Intent (SSS) - Proficiency currently at E-rank: 0.08/1000. Even though the training monsters give 10x less killing points than real opponents, the sheer number of enemies you face will make up for it. This skill grows by killing.]
Razeal nodded silently. That one was simple enough.
[You’ve also unlocked a new effect from reaching E-rank in Killing Intent:]
[Killing Body: Physical stats increase the more enemies you kill.]
Strength: E
Agility: E
[So, aside from leveling the skill itself, you’ll gain raw power the more creatures you slay. Upon reaching D rank, you will awaken another effect, as you keep upgrading progression more effects will unlock by ti.
[3. Basic Healing (D) Proficiency: 1621/10,000. This skill improves the more you get injured. By engaging in extended combat against higher ranked enemies, you’ll sustain more damage and naturally push this skill towards evolution.]
[In summary, Host this is your optimal growth path:]
1. Climb to higher-ranked Training Grounds for ti amplification and stronger enemies.
2. Focus on Flow (SSS) and Killing Intent (SSS) for foundational mastery.
3. Simultaneously improve your Basic Healing skill through battle injuries.
4. Kill as many enemies as possible to upgrade Killing Intent and gain physical stat boosts.
[This is the fastest, most efficient route to power within your ti limit.]
Razeal exhaled slowly.
"Got it. That’s the plan, then..." Razeal totally agreed with system plan just close by as he had calculated.
The system’s voice echoed inside Razeal’s mind once more, a bit more serious this ti.
[And also, Host, one more recomndation aside from your current training focus, I highly advise you to begin paying attention to your mana stats and acquiring at so skills related to magical attacks.]
The system paused before continuing, tone low and cautionary.
[Yes, focusing on your current SSS-ranked skills will skyrocket your combat power, but magic covers areas where you’re currently lacking the most. Physical strength and raw combat ability can’t stand where magic can. Also, don’t forget so attacks aren’t even physical. If your opponent ends up being your... elder sister, for example, you wouldn’t even know when you were defeated. It’d be over before you moved.]
Razeal’s brows twitched at the ntion.
"Shes not my sister," he muttered under his breath, eyes narrowing in irritation. Even though he absorbed all the system’s warnings and valid points that was the first thing he wanted to correct.
[Yes, yes, slip of the circuits. Whatever. But let’s not dwell on her. Imagine instead if the Imperial Princess herself was your opponent. You wouldn’t even be able to move, no matter how many powerful skills you possess. You know the speical abilities that run in her bloodline. Even if you one day beco strong enough to fight her, as you are now, she’d defeat you without even blinking.]
Razeal let out a tired sigh, rubbing his temple. "I know that already... Why do you think I even dared to put that on the bet?" he muttered, more to himself than the system.
He Knows that and well had even already prepared for it but still he listened to system.
Well why?
Even though he didn’t always say it, Razeal held a deep understanding of his system.
Yeah, it had been useless at tis. Hell, even outright disadvantageous. It had done things or failed to do things that had directly caused him suffering, pain, setbacks... Razeal hadn’t forgotten any of it. But still, he couldn’t bring himself to label it as useless.
Because at the end of the day... the system was like a comrade to him.
Annoying? Definitely. Inflexible and filled with restrictions? Absolutely. A tsundere with a vile, sarcastic tongue? Without a doubt.
But it wasn’t a bad guy. Maybe it was to others but never to him. They had been through too much together. And maybe that’s exactly why Razeal never once called it useless.
Still, he had to admit the system’s warnings were helpful. They reminded him of things he might overlook. Well, not that he ever really did overlook anything. He was always prepared. Even now, he was fully ready for what was coming. But these monts... where the system would speak up and throw a warning his way they comforted him. They made him feel... cared for. Like soone out there was actually watching over him. Soone willing to say, "Be careful."
And sotis, that was all he really needed. Support. Soone to stand by his side, even if they were just a voice in his head.
That’s why, despite being confident in his current solution to the Imperial Family’s unique ability knowing he could undo it he still took the system’s words seriously.
But even if he could undo that, there was still a problem.
He needed a magic-related abilities as system said.
And yet, ironically, he didn’t even have a spec of ti to invest into raising his mana stats.
Razeal rubbed his temples in frustration.
"This damn ti... I hate it. If only I could control it," he muttered, sighing.
Even if he went out right now to gather monster cores to boost his mana stat even with his strength, even if he was able to kill the monsters with one blow the process of collecting them one by one would be a massive hassle. There just wasn’t enough ti. He probably wouldn’t even reach Mana: C in his stats. And honestly, even that wouldn’t be enough to survive in an actual battle. That’s assuming he even got a decent skill from soone villain.
Which, of course, he’d have to work for again. Alone.
If only there was a way to collect monster cores...
Without having to go out there and do it himself.
---
Ahhh, sorry guys! I was super busy yesterday and last night too. I was with my girlfriend, so I couldn’t get the update done.
Anyway, I’ll try to get so stacked-up Chapters ready today! But before that, I just want to take a mont to thank all the amazing Golden Ticket contributors.
We’ve already hit 81 golden tickets, which honestly shocks we’ve just started the book! Huge thanks to all of you! We’re currently sitting at 134th position, and who knows maybe we can break into the Top 100 this month if we keep pushing!
Now, as promised, here are the nas of the biggest supporters so far:
1. KarlKorn – 14 tickets (Once again topping the list this month!)
2. Ice_Demon_5 – 9 tickets
3. Red_Zer0 – 7 tickets
4. Count_Alucard – 7 tickets
5. Leon_Noxil – 7 tickets
6. Alistin_Core – 7 tickets
7. Julius_Green_8017 –
Thank you all so much!
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