Souls Online: Mythic Ascension-Chapter 97: Phantom Bloom & Blink

It took a few minutes for Leo to swallow the urge to smack Lily upside her head. The sparkle in her eyes as she stared at him awaiting an answer somehow irritated him. He covered his eyes with a hand and sighed.

"Haaah....No Lily. Moku doesn't get a pick."

Lily puffed her cheeks up and held Moku up towards Leo.

"How could you deny such a cute face? You are gonna make him sad!"

"Pyu~?"

As if on cue, Moku tilted his head and let out an adorable squeak. Nyx and Luna clutched at their hearts as the fluffball's cuteness was lethal to them.

Horo and Sonata both stifled their own chuckles, not wanting to step in. Sonata didn't think she should intervene as she was the newest member while Horo did nothing because he found it amusing and cathartic that someone else was suffering.

"Lily....I am not saying no to Moku. I am saying no to you! Stop trying to be sneaky and getting more loot. Sis is probably gonna spoil Moku rotten anyways.

"H=Hey! Says who?!"

Luna interjected, caught off guard and a bit embarrassed about Leo's assumption.

"Am I wrong?"

"....No..."

"See?"

Luna crossed her arms and pouted a bit at being called out so accurately by her brother. Lily glared softly at Leo while she hugged and stroked Moku's soft fur.

"It's okay my Baby...Leo is just a big meanie~!"

Leo rolled his eyes as he approached the pile of loot.

"Yeah sure. Whatever".

Leo inspected the pile of loot and was genuinely surprised. The boss had dropped silver coins, a few potions and a grand total of 7 items. There were 2 books, a Dagger, a necklace, A ring, boots and a weird vial with the contents unknown.

Leo picked up the two books and realized that they were actually skillbooks. Inspecting them, he turned to Nyx and Lily and passed them one each.

"Here. These would suit you guys best."

"What about picking?"

Lily asked but Leo narrowed his eyes and with a hint of annoyance in his tone replied

"Well someone was trying to cheat the system so I will dole out the loot to those who suit them best. So Lily...Take the book and learn it."

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Lily handed Moku off to Luna who tried to hide just how thrilled she was to hold the little fluff ball. Glancing at the title of the book, Lily was surprised to find that the book taught a plant magic skill. She opened the book and with a soft pulsing light, the book dissolved into particles of light.

Player Lily has learned the Skill [Phantom Bloom]

Skill Level: 1 (Max 10)

Duration: Channel 

Mana Cost: 30 MP (Summon)

Mana Cost: 2 MP/Second (Sustain)

Effect: Conjures a beautiful, semi-transparent ethereal flower at a chosen location. The flower emits a faint aura that distorts light and perception in a wide radius (5m) Any creature or person inside the aura becomes slightly harder to perceive, with allies gaining a mild blur or mirage-like effect that can fool enemies or targeting spells.

"This is amazing~! I feel safer already~!"

She shared the details of the skill with everyone who shared equal measures of surprise. This could technically be considered an AoE defensive ability. And that was its effect at Level 1.

"Well it's my turn then I guess. Let's see if Cutie really does love me~!"

"Why would you say it like that..."

Was the only thing Leo could say with a grumble as Nyx opened her own skillbook. A soft glow covered her body as her book, dissolved with a black glow. Nyx's eyes opened in shock as an unfamiliar power coursed through her.

Player Nyx has received an Enlightenment.

Player Nyx has received a Doubling Effect. 

2 Skills have been Learned. 

Player Nyx has learned [Blink] and [Shadow Clone]

Skill: Blink

Skill Level: 1

Duration: Instant

Mana Cost: 25 MP (Activate)

Cooldown: 1 Second

Effect: Teleports the user to a chosen location within a 10-meter radius. The destination must be visible or known to the user. The skill has a brief cooldown before it can be used again, with a maximum of 3 uses per minute. During the teleportation, the user is momentarily invulnerable. Skill does not work through solid objects, and the teleportation distance increases with skill level.

Skill: Shadow Clone

Skill Level: 1

Duration: 20 Seconds

Mana Cost: 40 MP (Activate)

Cooldown: 5 Minutes

Effect:

Summons a shadowy clone of the user at a chosen location within a 10-meter radius. The clone mirrors the user's actions and can deal damage with basic attacks or abilities, but its damage is reduced to 50% of the user's own. Upon activation, the user can instantly swap places with the clone. The clone continues to mimic the user's movements, acting as a decoy, while the user can attack, evade, or reposition without alerting enemies to the change. The clone lasts for 20 seconds, or until it is destroyed or the duration expires. 

The mysterious power dissipated causing Nyx to be left speechless. The skillbook had been for Blink but she had learned another skill on top of that. Unable to stave off her curiosity, she used Shadow Clone.

From her own shadow, a 2nd Nyx climbed out and stood up with a flourish. Horo had a confused expression while Leo looked slightly horrified.

"This is getting out of hand. Now there are two of you?!"

Nyx had a devilish grin on her face as she turned to her clone and said

"Damn I look pretty hot in this outfit don't I~?"

Shocking everyone, the clone opened her mouth and spoke as well

"Indeed I...No we do~"

Luna wordlessly handed Moku to Sonata who gave the rabbit girl a strange look as she got the feeling she was about to do something crazy...or stupid.

"So, my sister without a mister. What shall we do today~?"

"Same thing we do every day my monkey in crime~: Try and convince our Cutie to have 'fun' with us~"

"That's just sexual harassment at this point.."

Leo grumbled in complaint. Nyx opened her mouth as she was about to say something only for a sudden gush of win brushed past her. From there, Nyx turned her head and saw her clone...or what was left of it after Luna had bisected it from head to crotch.

"Care to join her? Don't mess with my Leo! Back to the loot!"

Luna growled as Nyx felt cold sweat running down her back. Luna had shown no hesitation to cut her down, even if it was a clone. With nothing good to say, she could only nod her head meekly in response.

"Yes Ma'am"