Devourer System : Infinite Paths

'The sword is priced at nine thousand gold coins, but that is probably because of its condition and not offering any strong, active inscriptions, and it's also missing its sheath,' Nero mused as he happily observed his new blade.

'Should I also buy an armor?' Nero asked. A realization dawned on him as his eyes froze at an armor display on a statue.

'There is no need since an armor will only slow you down and give a false sense of security. It is also better if you first learn to fight and develop your skills,' Draven answered, recommending against it.

Nero shrugged his shoulder and left the armory, not bothered by the thought of fighting without extra protection. At the moment, the only thing on his mind was to leave and test his skills under the open sky.

"I want this sword," Nero said to the bearded man seated right outside the armory, "I didn't find a sheath with the blade, so can you give me a spare one," He added, holding the blade upside down to give the man a clear view of his pick.

"Are you sure you want this blade? It is not in the best condition, and it is also not cheap, so if you wish to change your mind, do it now because there will be no refunds," the man said, as if he could see the sword's status or just knew it.

"You can test it inside a training chamber to be certain because I am telling you there will be no refund once you leave the guild with it," He continued with a calm look, making sure Nero knew what he was buying.

'Do they not want to sell this sword, or did its previous owner return it,' Nero wondered, frowning slightly at the man's insistence. 

"I will take it," Nero answered, not worried about the sword's condition since, in time, it should fully recover, and that was enough for him.

"It's your choice," the man grumbled, rising to his feet, and then, he handed Nero a dark pouch.

'Now, what is this?' Nero questioned, and Draven was quick to answer, 'It is a space pouch, the same thing as a space ring but not organized, and you can transfer the coins in it by first channeling mana into it to activate the space expansion inscription, and then place your ring at its mouth and began to transfer the coins,'

'Ok, this sounds simple,' Nero thought half-heartedly and began to focus on channeling mana into the pouch and the ring.

Nero swiftly sensed the small coins inside the ring and began to pull them out ten at a time, but he quickly felt the need for urgency. While every turn only took him two to three seconds, if he maintained the same speed, it would take him nearly an hour to transfer the nine thousand gold coins.

So Nero decided to push it, sending more and more mana into the ring and, in turn, increasing the outflow of cions, quickly raising it from ten to thirty.

However, with his focus slipping between channeling mana and counting and retrieving coins from the ring, he finally hit his limit once the number of coins reached fifty in each cycle.

"Sring" "Sring" "Sring" 

Nero only realized that he had stopped channeling mana into the pouch and closing the space pocket when the fifty gold coins flew out and fell to the floor.

Nero heard the sound and quickly realized what had happened, so he stopped channeling mana into the ring and opened his eyes, only to confirm his fear of seeing the floor covered in gold coins.

"I learned to use storage items very recently, so I am still getting used to it," Nero said, feeling a bit embarrassed thinking he had made a rookie mistake.

Nero returned right to transfer the coins, the space between the ring and the pouch blurring, with a thin line of gold connecting them every other moment.

It took him nearly ten minutes at a pace of forty coins per cycle, and, to be certain, he transferred an extra hundred coins, aware he only had an approximate count of the total amount he had transferred.

Nero returned the pouch and quickly began to collect the coins on the floor, while the bearded man left for the armory and returned moments later with a dark sheath with a waist belt attached to it.

Nero took the sheath and ensured it fitted the sword perfectly before saying his thanks to the man and making his way to the stairs, ready to take his leave.

"What a waste of Resources, he has reached third Assendent Rank, and yet he still can not properly control his mana," The bearded man scoffed under his breath, but his words did not escape Nero.

Nero was more happy than annoyed hearing the comment, a smile unconsciously creeping across his face as he silently descended the stairs.

He left the guild building, eager to leave the city, but Draven reminded him to buy a few sets of cloaths, potions, and food first since they would not be returning to the city soon.

Nero visited the adventurer shop and bought everything he needed in large quantities, including rare-grade parchment paper for creating scrolls and maps.

Now, with everything prepared, Nero swiftly made his way out of the city and entered the endless jungle, wandering into the territory of sword-tooth tigers and other predatory creatures.

He did not stroll in looking for a battle right away because even with the sudden growth, he knew his limits and wanted to test his skills and physical limits.

The first ability he tested was the mark of the moon, its first available face, New Moon, which, when activated, granted him a shadow cloak that would hide his presence and help him blend into the shadows.

He activated the skill, instantly making a small black orb appear on the palm of his right hand. Once he placed his right hand atop his left, the mark sprung to life, swiftly draining his mana and releasing a thick blanket of flowing darkness that moved to cover his body, guided by unseen forces.

In a matter of seconds, it took the form of a hooded cloak made of flowing darkness, covering him from head to toe, and while Nero did not know how much it lessened his presence, he sure liked the look it gave him.

Nero checked his mana and saw that it cost him a hundred points to cast the ability and then ten points every second to maintain it, and seeing that he had over twenty-six hundred points, maintaining it for long did not seem to be a problem.

The second mark, Waxing Crescent, appeared as a dark sphere, with a quarter of its surface illuminated in a silver crescent, and granted the ability called Life Leech.

The ability itself manifested as dark, cloudy energy with strands of silver that cloaked his hands in a thin layer and even spread to his sword when it was drawn. Any contact the energy made with other beings would result in it siphoning a minimal amount of vitality and slowly restoring his own.

They were both good, and the skill description said that there were eight faces of the moon, so Nero would have six more such great abilities, and the sheer thought of it made him smile ear to ear.

He first stopped using the second mark which was as easy as imagining it, and then used the Lunar Forge skills, which unlike the first was not easy to use, as once activated his hands began to release an icy white energy with a hint of blue sheen.

Nero tried to coalesce the energy into a sword, but it was much harder than expected. While it took form, it was quite janky and weak, and a simple swing shattered it, turning it into energy that drifted away.

Each second the skill was active, it burned through twenty points of mana, but Nero quickly figured out that he could easily stop releasing the lunar energy and could even increase or decrease its flow by manipulating the flow of mana.

He also realized that once the lunar constructs left his hand and their mana supply was cut off, they began to dissipate, their breakdown depending on the density of energy made to construct them.

It took him a few tries to get used to manipulating the energy, and with each try, he got better at it. After nearly twenty minutes and depleting most of his mana, he could create simple weapons like swords, knives, and shields.

He decided to rest and recover his mana while thinking of ways to use the Lunar Forge ability in battle, and once he recovered, he was back to testing the remaining three skills.

Nero spent nearly an hour before he was done testing all his skills. Once the skills were tested, he fully recovered one final time and decided to test and get a bit familiar with his sword and newfound strength.