Lament of the Slave

Chapter 112: Skills, Skills and More Skills

Me training Deckard was a ridiculous notion. How could I when I had so much to learn myself?

My combat training hadn't even started yet, and I barely had two Standard lessons with Ria. I'd only just touched magic, found out that my mane was more than what I thought it was, and learned that my presence, despite its power, needed practice as well. Then there was the full blue moon, due in four days. Meaning my visit to Esulmor and the mossbears was coming up, and I haven't even mentioned the skills.

Ah, the skills!

I felt a headache coming on just thinking about them, and I hadn't even read the descriptions. What to choose and what not, what skill to replace which one was worth keeping? Questions I knew would be hard to find answers to.

It was hard not to sigh when I looked at my current Status Screen.

Class Skills (6/8):

Indomitable Will (Passive V): lvl 119

Painless Agony (Passive II): lvl 26

Tireless Machine (Passive II): lvl 28

Swift as a Whip (Active II): lvl 25

Master's Lover (Passive I): lvl 6

Master's Shield (Active II): lvl 19

General Skills (8/10):

Eleaden Standard Language (Passive I): lvl 4

Perfect Equilibrium (Passive II): lvl 19

Spatial Domain (Passive II): lvl 21

Beast (Passive III): lvl 30

Never-Dying (Passive III): lvl 40

Tail of Poison Empress (Active II): lvl 12

Heart of Magic (Passive I): lvl 9

Inner Perception (Active II): lvl 13

Master's Lover was the obvious choice for a replacement. A skill I selected in the hope that it would help me regain my pure human body. That was before Esu showed me that my hatred of the changes Dungreen's experiments had left on my body was just a memory I was clinging to, my attempt to hold on to the old. That was now behind me, and this skill was no longer needed.

But what about the rest? Indomitable Will was a skill I wasn't going to replace under any circumstances. Without it, I wouldn't be where I am. I needed some pain reduction, and without the Tireless Machine, I wouldn't had been able to push my limits as much as I have been. Swift as a Whip allowed me to match the guardsman and face my squad while I finally found a use for my shield in these fights.

Was it really just one skill and two empty slots? Three new skills out of a dozen?

General Skills were the same story. What skill could I replace besides Eleaden Standard Language? Once I learned to speak the language properly myself, of course. Perhaps Inner Perception, but honestly, I'd gotten used to perceiving my injuries, disturbing as it was.

If it wasn't embarrassing, I'd be pulling my hair out. It was so frustrating, even though my skills were low-level. I couldn't imagine how challenging it must have been when the skills levels matched that of the class.

I twitched my ears, moved my wings, and looked at the two. "Would you like to hear a description of the skills as well?" I could have tried the skills by trial and error, but why not hear their opinion.