Seed of Titan-Chapter 71: All These Skill Points Gone in a Flash

Drai opened the titan skill once more.

’After looking at the other skills, this skill looks even more awesome. This should be the core skill that the System mentioned before. I wonder when it would be unlocked if not for the procedure, maybe after my second evolution.

’Even the pricey cost seems justified since this skill is basically a 4-in-1. And each of its effects is comparable to a 2-cost or 3-cost skill. If only the other skills were this powerful... But then I probably wouldn’t have enough SP to purchase them.

’No need to think further. Let’s just get it now.’

[Acquiring Lesser Titanic Physique will cost 10 SP. Proceed with acquisition?]

’Yes.’

[10 SP deducted. You have learned Lesser Titanic Physique.]

The skill instantly disappeared from the list, and Drai felt a slight change to his body.

’Is it already in effect?’ Drai asked to himself as he opened his status tab. There he saw that the skill had been listed below Colossal Augmentation.

’Maybe I should test it...’

Drai promptly bit the tip of his finger until bled a little. He then watched the tiny wound closely, and around a minute later it finally closed up completely.

’It’s not crazy fast, but it will help with my training. Maybe I don’t have to ask for Flo’s help anymore,’ Drai said gleefully, already imagining his heightened recovery after tomorrow’s training session.

’Now I only have 2 SP left. It’s funny how I had tons of unused SP for months before I purchased the colossal skill but now I’m spending it all in no time. Anyway, I should get the training skill first and save for the rest for the combat skill unless I get into a situation that forces me to get one of the 1-cost skills.’

Drai went over his decision once more before finally purchasing the last skill for the day.

[Acquiring Training Freak will cost 1 SP. Proceed with acquisition?]

’Yes.’

[1 SP deducted. You have learned Training Freak.]

This time Drai didn’t feel any change. He didn’t really have a way to test the skill in a short time, so he could only trust that it has been applied already.

Drai looked at his stats once more.

[Name: Drai Varz]

[Class: Seed of Titan]

[Level: 4]

[Strength: 54]

[Constitution: 56]

[Agility: 19]

[Dexterity: 14]

[Intelligence: 14]

[Transcendence: 8.2]

[Skills:]

{Titan’s Fortitude} {Colossal Augmentation} {Lesser Titanic Physique} {Training Freak}

[SP: 1]

’I wonder how my stats fare compared to the seniors. Too bad asking one’s stats is taboo. But I can see how revealing our stats can be dangerous, and I definitely don’t want to reveal mine if I can help it, unless it’s to people who I really trust.’

Drai glanced at Jian and saw that he was still meditating.

’I guess I should go to bed now. Tomorrow’s gonna be a busy day with all the theory classes. And there will be a party meeting too at the headquarters in the evening.

’These days I feel that there’s not enough hours in a day for my training. I really shouldn’t complain with my relatively fast progress, but I kinda miss those days where I could train all day long without any obligations...’

As Drai was reminiscing, the door suddenly opened.

"Hi," Christo greeted before taking of his jacket and shoes.

"Hiya. Were you studying in the library again?" Drai asked.

"No. I just came back from Professor Irina’s place."

"Auri’s aunt? Oh right, she did ask to meet you privately."

"Yeah. We had a nice chat over tea. You should’ve seen her expression when I gave her my specialty tea. That lady is definitely a teaholic."

"I think most people would love your tea, Christo," Drai praised. He still occasionally asked for a cup whenever Christo’s available. It was a welcomed calmness after a hectic day. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

"Hahaha, thanks. Anyway, what were you doing, Drai?"

"Just checking out some skills."

"Oh?"

Christo looked at Drai with a raised eyebrow. He was one of the few people who knew about Drai’s lack of skills.

Sensing Christo’s intrigue, Drai said, "I’ve just leveled up again after my last procedure with the professor, and several skills became available to me."

"Wow, congrats! Now you don’t have to deal with questions regarding your lack of skill use anymore," Christo said, smiling widely.

"Uh... The thing is, most of the offered skills are passive, and I could only afford to get two of them."

"Really? And both skills that you got are passive?" Christo inferred.

"Yep. So I still can’t use my skills except for—you know..."

Christo nodded silently. They had made it a habit to avoid mentioning Drai’s secret skill too much in case they accidentally let it slip out.

"But why are you mostly offered passive skills?" Christo asked.

"Hmm... I don’t actually know. Wait, let me ask the System about it."

’System, why are most of the available skills passive?’

[It is because you lack the resource to use most active skills.]

’Oh. Like mana?’

[Yes, and other similarly expendable resources.]

’I guess that’s why I got offered that headache skill since it uses stamina instead of mana...

’System, does it mean that I can only use my transcendence for my class skills?’

[The transcendence attribute seems to operate differently from mana and other resources since it doesn’t regenerate from external sources. It is highly likely that transcendence cannot be used interchangeably with other finite resources.]

’Yeah,I thought so. It’s basically an exclusive fuel for the titan skills. I hope there’s a chance that I’ll unlock another power source though so I can get more active skills.’

As Drai was consulting the System, Christo had put away his stuff. He was preparing to enter the bathroom when Drai finally came back to him.

"So, it’s because I don’t have a resource to use most active skills," Drai said.

"Hmm... Then make sure to pick the best ones from those passive skills. There’s a reason why active skills are limited by mana or the like."

"Yeah, I know that they’re game changers. Even my power drops significantly if I don’t use that skill. But don’t worry, the two that I chose were the best ones available," Drai said with a thumbs up.

"Didn’t you use to consult me first before deciding these things?" Christo questioned, looking a bit amused.

"I don’t know. I was just sure that my decision wouldn’t change even if I consult you. I think this is an effect of my increased int," Drai guessed, tapping his head.

"Then keep it up, Drai. The wiser you are, the safer you’ll be."

Having said these words, Christo entered the bathroom.

’With wisdom comes safety, huh? I guess so...’

Glancing at the meditating Jian once more, Drai let out a big yawn. He set up his alarm and tucked himself to bed.

"Goodnight mom, dad..." he whispered before falling asleep.

***

At Valiant Ventures’ basement, Natalia was having a spar with Muzie. Meanwhile, Enda and Drai were watching them from a distance.

Muzie was currently on the defensive, blocking and dodging Natalia’s rapid attacks.

Natalia had been pressuring Muzie with her boxing, unleashing various combinations of jabs, crosses, and hooks, with a few uppercuts in between to catch her off guard.

However, Muzie didn’t seem too fazed. She was mostly successful in staving Natalia’s barrage, only getting brushed a few times since the beginning of the spar.

Seeing that her attacks weren’t effective, Natalia changed her strategy. She began to incorporate kicks into the mix.

The sudden change slightly caught Muzie off guard as she was knocked away to the side despite blocking Natalia’s side kick at the last second.

Muzie slid to a stop and straightened herself. She looked at Natalia expressionlessly and remarked, "Good."

Natalia rushed to corner Muzie, but she was met by Muzie’s own charge.

"Argh!" Natalia grunted as Muzie dodged her punch with a spin and stabbed her right ribcage.

The combination of her swing and reverse grip allowed Muzie to put more strength into her knife strike, compensating for her small stature.

Muzie immediately followed up with a leg sweep, taking advantage of her leftover inertia.

However, Natalia was able to recover quickly due to her scales which had reduced the damage from the stab.

She jumped slightly to dodge the sweep, and shifted into an attacking motion, dropping an axe kick onto Muzie who was still positioned close to the ground.

Yet, rather than dodging to the side, Muzie leaped into Natalia instead, slamming her with a three-point strike using both knives and a knee.

Natalia was caught in the middle of her jump and was knocked backward, dropping onto the ground.

Once again, her scales had softened the impact, enabling her to quickly recover her footing.

As Natalia was about to charge in again, Muzie suddenly gestured her to stop.

"Use skills," she curtly ordered.

Natalia was stunned for a second before breaking into a smile.

"Don’t get hurt, Muzie."

Following these words, Natalia rushed forward. But this time, her movement was so slick and fast as if she were gliding.

Muzie was startled but quickly responded with her own attack, aiming to cut Natalia off in the middle of her tracks. But this time Natalia easily weaved around Muzie and unleashed a claw attack at her shoulder.

Muzie’s reaction time was commendable as she was able to spin and meet Natalia’s hand with her knife. But to her surprise, Natalia’s claw strike broke through her knife and knocked her hand away.

And before Muzie could put up a defense, Natalia had already sent another claw strike with her other hand.

"My loss," Muzie said as she glanced down at Natalia’s hand that had stopped just before hitting her neck.

"Good job, Natalia!" Enda shouted as he and Drai walked toward her.

"Wait," Natalia suddenly said. "I want to try fighting Muzie at her full power."

Natalia was aware that her senior had gone easy on her since she didn’t seem to have used any active skills.

Enda stopped in his tracks and looked at Muzie who was staring blankly at the broken training knife in her hand.

"Uhm... I don’t think that’s necessary, Nat."

"Why? Even if I can’t match her, I can at least try my best," Natalia protested.

"Sigh... Okay then, but as soon as the winner is clear, the fight should stop," Enda relented.

"Okay."

Right away, Natalia distanced herself from Muzie. She looked at Muzie with excitement, eager to duke it out against her best.

"Ready, Muzie?" Enda asked.

Muzie nodded and looked at Natalia indifferently, seemingly unmotivated.

"Okay then. Ready... Start."

Natalia planned to make the same move as before, utilizing her movement skill to close their gap. But before she could even take one step forward, something flashed and she instantly felt a rough object grazing her neck.