Ascension: Online

With all the level-ups happening recently plus the AP I had leftover from before, I now had a total of 52 AP I could spend.

I kind of wished I had Aisa here so she could tell me which skills were overpowered and I should get, but at the same time, I didn't want to wait until we returned to use all this AP either.

So, after eating the meal Mei'Er cooked using a few Magic Beasts we took down, I spent that afternoon just browsing through my System and working out what skills I should get next. By the way, her cooking was quite delicious, surprisingly enough. I didn't think she knew how to cook given how brashly she usually acts, but I suppose I was too judgmental.

After taking a shower, I returned to my own room and shut the door tight. This was so I could have some time to myself and think alone without any disturbance — hell, I even locked it for good measure.

Hopping onto my bed, I opened up my System and went to the Skills tab.

"Now then, let's see here…"

I feel like I had explored enough of Tank and Knight, so I automatically ruled those classes off. I wanted to get some more Marksman skills since range was a powerful ally, but I didn't actually have any weapons that were made for that class. That only left four classes I could expand on — Support, Assassin, Mage, and Engineer. I decided to browse their skill trees in order to see if there's anything that catches my eye.

Panning my screen to the Support area first, my eyes immediately fell upon the second skill, as the first one was just the average Way of the __ skill.

[Name: Minor Heal]

[Type: Active]

[Description: Heals any and all light injuries on yourself or an ally.]

[Cooldown: 5 minutes]

[Cost: 2 AP]

"Huh… 2 AP right off the bat?"

Usually, skills this early on the tree were supposed to cost only 1, but I guess Support-type arts were just that valuable — yet no one appreciates them.

Still, this was a mere Minor Heal, and could only heal light injuries… was it really worth it?

After some thinking, I decided to buy it — not because of this skill alone, but because of all the ones that came after.

[Name: Major Heal]

[Type: Active]

[Description: Heals any and all non-fatal injuries on yourself or an ally.]

[Cooldown: 1 day]

[Cost: 4 AP]

-

[Name: Angel's Blessing]

[Type: Active]

[Description: Heals any and all injures on yourself or an ally. Can prevent death if used in time.]

[Cooldown: 1 month]

[Cost: 10 AP]

So… yeah. These skills were quite expensive, but that last one, Angel's Blessing, was absolutely insane. It was essentially a second life. Any amount of AP would be worth it for that, especially now that I can actually lose items upon death. I had an abundance of AP right now anyway, so there was no reason not to get this. But what really shocked me was what came next in this skill line:

[Name: Divine Protection]

[Type: Passive]

[Description: Defy the laws of death and resurrect when receiving fatal damage. Upon resurrection, become completely invincible for ten minutes. For this duration, gain the ability to fly, see through walls, and wield angelic celestial fire as a powerful weapon. In addition, all stats will be temporarily boosted (+100).]

[Cooldown: 1 year]

[Cost: 20 AP]

Now this, was really a second life. Angel's Blessing could still be countered — for example, if I accidentally ran out Essence, or if my enemies somehow prevented me from casting an art. But there was no counter to this 'Divine Protection'. It was like a guardian angel, shielding me from death no matter what.

After some hesitation, I purchased it. 20 AP was a hefty amount, but I decided that it was worth it. The thing with this skill was that I didn't necessarily have to use it 'defensively'. For example, if I'm facing a powerful opponent that I have no choice but to beat, I could purposely bait them into killing me, then resurrecting with this 'Invincibility' to catch them by surprise and take them down.

There were a few other branches in the Support skill path, but they were awfully specific. For example, Fire Resistance, Poison Resistance, and more. Of them, I bought Water Resistance I and Poison Resistance I, both of which cost 2 AP. I could use my pre-existing skills to get out of almost any sticky situation as a last resort, but if I am submerged in water or struck by poison, I would be rendered vulnerable.

Therefore, I decided to purchase these two arts just in case. They were quite different from any other one I've seen in the past, as these were a mixture of passive and active. They passively provided me resistance against water and poison, but also allowed me to use this as an active skill to grant others temporary resistance against these elements as well. I didn't think I would be using the latter part of this skill that much, but it was nice to have just in case.

In any case, with all these skills purchased, I was left with only 11 AP, since Way of the Support also cost 1 AP. I kind of wanted to explore the Engineer class more, but I figured that could be saved until next time. For now, I decided to just acquire a few new moves from the Assassin class. I'll get some new hidden arts next time as well.

Panning my screen to the Assassin skill path, I decided to see what skills came after Many Must Fall — the strongest one I had right now… only to see that I had reached the end. I did see that the other skill branches beside this one went on for longer though, so I decided to just outright explore a new branch — one that seemed to be focused on ranged, single-move arts rather than ones that had durations such as Many Must Fall.

[Name: Throwing Knife]

[Type: Active]

[Description: Throws a silent heavy knife at target. If an enemy is killed with this skill, the cooldown is refreshed.]

[Cooldown: 1 minute]

[Cost: 1 AP]

"Throwing knives, huh…?" I muttered in thought, narrowing my eyes. "That seems like it's going to be pretty hard, but… I suppose leveling up my DEX stat will help with this. And besides, the skill itself will most likely provide me with some aim assist, so…"

I decided to buy this skill, since I was in need of a silent ranged attack anyway. Hidden arts were just too loud and attracted too much attention, while I didn't have a Marksman weapon. Thus, in the meantime, I could use these throwing knives as a substitute.

From here, two new branches split off from this one. The first was more offensive focused:

[Name: Explosive Knife]

[Type: Active]

[Description: Throws an explosive knife that bursts into flames upon impact or remote detonation.]

[Cooldown: 2 minutes]

[Cost: 1 AP]

… While the second was more utility focused:

[Name: Flashbang Knife]

[Type: Active]

[Description: Throws a lightweight knife that explodes into a dazzling ray of light upon impact or remote detonation. Blinds and deafens nearby enemies.]

[Cooldown: 2 minutes]

[Cost: 1 AP]

I decided to buy both of these, because they seemed useful, though for different purposes. Explosive was good for taking out a tiny group of enemies all at once, while flashbang affected a larger radius and provided time to slip past enemies unseen. I had invisibility so it didn't matter all that much, but when in group operations, not everyone could just go invisible.

The next skill in the utility path didn't seem all that great — basically, the same thing as the Flashbang, except this time you can throw three all at once in different locations. Flashbangs aren't meant to be used so excessively anyway, so I just turned my attention back to the offensive-focused branch of knife throwing.

[Name: Blade Barrage]

[Type: Active]

[Description: Leap up into the air and unleash a storm of explosive knives upon enemies all at once.]

[Cooldown: 1 hour]

[Cost: 3 AP]

Oh… now this is interesting. This skill not only propels me into the air, giving a surge of momentum, but also is extremely useful against large groups of enemies clumped up together. The smoke given off by all the explosions could also provide me with a clean getaway. Not bad, not bad at all.

I decided to buy this, since I could use it both offensively and just as a panic run away art. I was now left with 5 AP, and there was one final skill in this branch of the Assassin skill path.

[Name: Lotus of a Thousand Cuts]

[Type: Active]

[Description: Surge into the air and begin spinning rapidly, shooting off thousands of different knives all around you. Lightweights move quicker and are more accurate, heavies do more damage, and explosive ones blast in a small radius. Duration lasts for 5 seconds. Can also choose to target single enemy.]

[Cooldown: 1 day]

[Cost: 5 AP]

I smiled. "Lotus of a Thousand Cuts, huh…"

Then, clicking on the skill, I pressed 'Purchase.'