Ebony's Fable

“Oh, this brisket is delicious.” Ebony praised. The smoky flavour didn’t irritate his taste buds at all.

“They have special wood for smoking jerky to preserve over winter.” The chef curtly explained.

She was staring into her bowl and plate during the entire celebratory meal but he caught her peeking at him dozens of times.

Most of the food was consumed by him and Kong Jing who appeared to have been starving.

Roya was trying to get Kiva and Clovis to help with the dishes. Ebony helped with wiping the house down with the heavy scent of fat and oil instead. The Lasil’s made a type of perfume that removed the scent that wood absorbed and it was something he had obtained a while back. It was very useful for their trailer.

The villagers all had pretty good perceptions in general and they shared the same problem of being too sensitive. Especially mana-wise. Even with his evolution, the house completely stopped his mana sense from penetrating different rooms.

After waking up, he shook off the physical and mental dissonance and got straight to writing his experience in that evolutionary space down.

His body quickly refuelled the lost essence and his body got heavier by the second when he wrote. He wanted to conjure a few arms to write a few pages at the same time but the mental dissonance made it close to impossible.

His mana regeneration, natural gravitational flow, the reflection of physical vibrations, mana compressibility and density increasing or strengthening threw him off. The change was drastic and his body had remained static for likely more than a month.

After over two hours of painfully writing, he stopped ignoring the stench coming off of him and went for a bath. The room looked fine with no broken bed frames, just layers of shattered ice everywhere.

Embers of freezing flames had been quietly burning around the room but didn’t damage the furniture. He blew them out and left with a change of clothes after wrapping his naked body up. The clothes he wore before probably froze and shattered something during his hibernation.

He could smell dinner sitting out so he hurried to clean himself up. Including clipping his nails and taking care of general personal hygiene. He was hungry anyway.

Ebony could still feel the after-evolution effects that made him imagine he was all-powerful. It was an addicting feeling.

He dragged his unexpectedly tired feet faster as there was someone he wanted to see more than a meal.

Although his mana regeneration should have increased rather drastically, it hasn’t filled his body up yet even though more than 3 hours had passed. Most mages saw mana compression partly as a mana capacity expansion skill, even if he didn’t see it that way it still increased the amount of time he needed to fill up.

He nodded to the family and exchanged eye contact with Ning Xin. She was looking even better than before, especially since her mask showed eyes again. She must have learnt to control that function like the mouth area.

Kong Jing’s mask could turn into a helmet. It made him wonder if they could one day form a full body armour with it.

Ning Xin’s had less coverage but it didn’t matter if she didn't get hit.

Ebony yearned for her not to break eye contact but she did, staring at her food intensely. ‘I lost to her gluttonous nature huh.’

After eating and wiping the house down while listening to Clovis and mostly Kiva talk about what she had been doing, he was left alone.

As much as he would like to catch up with Ning Xin, he was also curious about the finalised details. Perhaps his memories of choice were just a dream. A fleeting one that he barely recalled.

‘Ting’ ‘Evolution completed.’

‘Class evolved to Frigid Tranquility’s Martial Grace’

‘Frigid Tranquility’s Martial Grace Fortification:

Base Mana and Stamina regeneration increased by 750%

Mana efficiency with Ice Magic increased by 300%

Mana efficiency with Body Enhancement Magic increased by 300%

Balance and fluidity when wielding a greatsword increased by 300%

Movement speed increased by 300%

Ice Magic is 750% more resistant to heat

Flames of frost are 750% more fluent in seeping.

Ice Magic is 200% colder

Ice Magic has an increased effect of 100% Intelligence

Sealing magic is 100% more efficacious at sealing essence

Will is 100% more compelling’

‘Great, I’m no longer lagging behind by 2 whole 250% fortifications. It’s a pity I thinned out on ice magic by branching out to both Will and sealing magic but I’m sure it’ll work out. It’s been going great with both of them.’

Ebony didn’t think he would change his mind but it was true that doubling down and strengthening ice or body enhancement magic might have brought about more direct power boosts.

‘Ting’ ‘1 Core Skill Slot gained

Core Skill Icy Weighted Quiver Domain evolved into Arsenal of Will Domain

Arsenal of Will Domain - Spread your personal domain into existence with consolidated Will. Turn your body into the central core of your domain or summon a separate arsenal. The central core of the Arsenal of Will’s magic is strengthened by 750% + 5.0% per level. Control over your elements and magic is a static 1000% more robust.

Consumes 355,000 MP/Min

Classification: Domain Magic - Ice, Gravity, Sound, Sealing & Lightning’

‘Hmm? That’s a short description, I’m going to have to figure the specifics out myself. But it's considered domain magic now. And the elements are sub-classifications? That’s a first. Lightning magic too, even though I don’t have any fortifications for it. The mana cost is surprisingly reasonable, only costing a little under seven times more than before. If I take my current fortifications and physique into account, it should be possible for me to sustain a small range for some time.’

‘Ting’ ‘Generic Skills Converted to Class Skills:

Frostweave Vital Constriction - A combination of arcane and ice, a seal of vitality is woven. Frostwoven targets have all activity slowed down by a static 70% + 0.025%. Vehement Will is consumed and imbued to guide the target's life force to condense towards regions leaking vitality. Block out Vitality from escaping with the effect of 250% + 2.5% Intelligence and mana with 100% + 2.5% Intelligence. The spell is 200% + 2.5% of Intelligence more physically robust from internal force and 250% + 2.5% of Intelligence more physically robust from external force.

Consumes Mana

Classification: Sealing Magic - Ice Magic’

‘Nothing changed about the skill, it just moved up.’ Ebony knew he didn’t upgrade it but he still thought it was a shame. It used to be sealing magic alone but he mutated it with ice magic to use it in combat. It was much better at blocking out vitality compared to mana as that had been the whole point of him learning the skill.

Although the skill description said nothing about redirecting the vitality, that was likely because it was simply the nature of vitality. His target’s vitality would naturally flow to other parts of their body if there was one area that got blocked out.

‘Stemmed Class Skills:

Ethereal Form Arts - The Ethereal Form Arts are elusive and challenging to perceive. A spectre amid battle, distinguished by adapting to your opponents with uncanny precision. Employing the arts obscures the line between tangible and illusory. Fluidity, balance, stability and deftness increase by 800% + 10.0% per level. Strength and Agility while brawling with the Ethereal Form Arts increases by 100% + 10.0% per level. The Ethereal Form Arts reduces the burden on your body from its own power by a static 80%.

‘Ting’ ‘No empty Class Skill Slot.’

‘Ting’ ‘Class Skill redundancy reconstructed, Entwined Ice Armament and Imperishable Frost Shell merged into Imperishable Frost Armament.’

‘Ting’ ‘Class Skill Ethereal Form Arts encompasses Generic Skill Kicking Mastery, skill merged. Ethereal Form Arts level up 1 → 6’

“Holy…did the skill just force Entwined Ice Armament and Imperishable Frost Shell to combine? I mean, I knew they were technically one spell but never mind. What in the world is this arts…kicking mastery was at level 200 and now it's gone.” Ebony personally felt that the rushing of bells in his head was the skill, Ethereal Form Arts acting up.

He could almost sense its impatience and fury but that was obviously just his imagination. Entwined Ice Armament was the skill that buffed all his conjured weapons or just a random ice projectile. Frost Shell was specifically built for his defensive scales and walls but they were both technically just conjured ice in different shapes.

However, the way both skills work was slightly different so he didn’t think to merge them. Imperishable Frost Shell was a lot more complicated. It took structure heavily into account but Entwined Ice Armament basically worked for anything he conjured, even his Glacial Models were buffed by the skill.

In fact, he knew that Entwined Ice Armament buffed Imperishable Frost Shell slightly. Hence, he assumed that defensive and offensive spells were fundamentally different.

Putting the loss of a skill or perhaps a gain in skill slots aside, Ebony couldn’t get over the stunning skill description.

Fluidity, balance, stability and deftness were exactly the same as his greatsword style. It was no surprise since this was what he incorporated into his sword handling. The base of 800% was shocking but he wasn’t phased by it. But the Strength and Agility multiplier was just ridiculous. Just at level 1, it doubles all his physical prowess as long as he consciously fights in close combat with this mastery.

‘No wonder those Knights could pull off such power even without compressed body enhancement magic. A high degree of refinement for mastery-type skills scales up a lot.’ Ebony had evolved his mastery of greatswords into tier 2 style during his training with the Apex Apes but it wasn’t even close.

Ignited Frozen River Greatsword Style - Having incorporated your magic into your greatsword style birthed this unique skill with the greatsword. Ignites anything where your blade touches into freezing flames of frost. Fluidity, balance, stability and deftness increases by 2.5% per level. Strength and speed wielding a greatsword increases by 2.5% per level. Flames attached to the Greatsword deal an additional 0.25% intelligence per level.

There was no base increase but he was already impressed as the tier 1, Blazing Flow Greatsword Mastery didn’t even give him a power or speed boost. With a tier 2 style, he was finally able to argue that using a greatsword allowed him to hit harder than simply kicking or punching.

With the Style at level 553 and a strength and speed boost of 1382.5% or a multiplier of 13.825, he was capable of hurting the Apex Apes.

There was a difference in that he got an Agility buff instead of a speed buff for the Ethereal Form Arts. There was more focus on flexibility compared to speed. Ebony had long figured out that the Strength stat gave as much if not more physical speed than the Agility stat but Agility was necessary to use that speed.

He learned how warriors were supposed to match monsters and the main reason why hybrids weren’t well looked upon.

Just practising and refining a good style was enough to challenge someone who spent half their energy on enhancing themself. They wouldn’t have to worry about running out of mana quickly or spreading their stats over widely.

When he saw the Imperial Knights or soldiers fight, he was just slightly impressed by their speed and power but he assumed it was thanks to their armour enchantment and some form of body enhancement. But if they all had a minimum of tier 2 styles, it would also explain how they were capable of enduring long fights despite their pitiful mana pools.

‘I see, the mastery route is the traditional route that separates different classes. I bet crafters and support classes all have their types of masteries, styles and the like. Armour blacksmiths will have some kind of armour-crafting mastery, weapon blacksmiths will have the equivalent. So…I’ve been keeping up even without this? I should’ve known since I know Xin’s sword style increased the strength and speed of her attacks.’ Ebony could imagine that if he had this skill at level 600 right now, he would be on a different scale.

He would have been more excited about his chances of beating Ning Xin if he didn’t know that her Art must be as ridiculous if not more. The unlimited scaling based on the endurance and durability of her body was already present when she had it at tier 2. Before they even evolved, she already gotten into an Art.

But she couldn’t sustain it and only used a small fraction of combos before she reset her swing path so that she didn’t rip her arms off just by swinging them. She was treading an unstoppable path of maximum aggression and offence. No matter how much she strengthened her physique or constitution, it lagged behind her ability to pull out more strength.

No matter how much Ebony tried to achieve greater destructive capabilities, he ended up balancing himself by bringing all aspects of himself up.

It was just their nature.

There was no more information about his class as he didn’t evolve or mutate any skills.

‘Ting’ ‘Sub-Class evolved to Oppressive Resonance

Oppressive Resonance

Mana efficiency with Sound Magic increased by 300%

Mana efficiency with Gravity Magic increased by 300%

Body’s natural gravitational flow reversed and increased by 300%

Body naturally reflects physical vibrations with mana vibrations at 200% frequency.

Gravity Magic has an increased effect of 200% Intelligence

Body natural ability to absorb and pad out vibration increased by 100%

Sound Magic has an increased effect of 100% Intelligence’

‘I can’t believe there are people who only have one or two original Fortifications and some don’t even get a new one when they evolve. The value of evolving is subjective. I guess some just use it to extend their lives while others use it to gain more and go further.’

Ebony felt like it would be a pity if he were to one day face the issue of a nonoptimal evolution. As it got harder, it wasn’t hard to imagine that it would be more costly in terms of Natural Potential or what he called ‘liquid potential’ to upgrade his fortifications in future.

Other than the crystal monoliths with weirdly shaped vessels, most of the other cups and jars had a common feature of having a narrow base and increasingly wider mouth. It wasn’t hard to guess that the higher the tier of skill or degree of Fortification, the more potential he needed.

“Haha, that was underwhelming. I guess this is what I should expect to see in future evolutions.” Ebony knew that he wouldn’t have any skill evolutions, mutations or stemmed skills that were completely new but unfortunately there were no pleasant surprises.

It was already so uneventful for a skill set mostly around the tier 2 and 3 range, that he had no doubt later evolutions might do nothing to his skills. Especially if he always had a choice. He would splurge on Fortifications or Physique on any day but skills were something he could and should do about by himself.

‘It's something like a plateau in growth. We faced this plateau in a few years as a Master but I have a feeling we’ll face it even sooner as a Grandmaster. Stats are good and all but they don’t give as the exponential growth we’re used to.

My Sub-Class has the slowest growth and I still have a few tier 2 skills so there’s a chance I can double their power once to tier 3 and a refinement here and there. But my Class and Profession are tough nuts to crack. Hints from the evolutionary space aren’t enough for me to improve them significantly in any measure.’ Ebony put aside the issue of plateauing in growth, he was getting ahead of himself.

‘Ting’ ‘Profession evolved to Mana Adjudicator

Mana Adjudicator

Mana Compressibility increased by 300%

Mana Resilience increased by 300%

Mana Density increased by 200%

Mana is 100% soother’

‘Ting’ ‘Remaining Natural Potential Infused to Physique.’

As he expected, the results matched his fading memories about the evolution process. Sadly, there were no notifications to the refinements of his Physique.

“Done daydreaming? Have some tea.” Roya asked when she opened the front door. He had been sitting on the chair they placed on the front porch

“Hey Roya, thanks.” He bowed his head slightly and took the tray with a tea set over.

“What were you thinking about?” She pulled the other chair over and sat.

“A hobby or job.” Ebony poured tea for both of them.

“Oh? Not planning to rush anymore?” Roya thanked him for the tea.

Ebony shook his head, “I can get twice, thrice or even ten times more powerful relatively quickly but other than that I want to do something else.” He wasn’t being boastful or even exaggerating.

With Ethereal Form Arts, his direct combat capabilities would rise without issue. Maybe not in terms of diversity but that wasn’t his only new skill. Besides, he could already feel the level limit for all of his skills disappear or rather, raised to the point where he couldn’t sense them.

“Haha…what did you have in mind?” Roya laughed awkwardly.

“Attending sho- an academy. I have much to learn.” Ebony replied with the first thing that came to mind. If he doesn't know something, he should learn it from someone else.

“I doubt you’ll find anyone who can teach you ice magic. Much less sound or gravity.” Roya did not share his enthusiasm.

“Maybe not ice magic but I’m sure there are plenty of things I can learn from others. I use magic a little differently from others, I could use a different perspective.” He knew where she was coming from.

The Frost Elves guided him in ice magic, vaguely or not. Sound mages were not rare but they weren’t common either. As for gravity mages, he hasn’t come across one other than himself. At least, no one that explicitly showed him.

There was no need to mention general mana manipulation. The only one he knew who was better than him in this aspect was Mallory. The Crown Princess was a pure arcane mage but even she couldn’t teach him the ways of mana. After all, she wasn’t partially made of mana like he was and everyone’s mana was unique. The more evolutions one has undergone, the more distinct the difference becomes.

“A little? I’ve lived in Tidal for some time and travelled around. I’ve seen mages of different races and ranks or orders. And I’ve seen you cast spells. ‘A little’ is an understatement.”

“That’s also good. The more obvious the difference, the easier for me to spot flaws and areas for improvements.”

“So you’re about to leave yet again…”

“Can I build a house in the village?” Ebony dropped his idea on her.

After Kiva was born, he felt a little uncomfortable. He didn’t notice in the past but he managed to pinpoint the reason for the discomfort. He was feeling out of place with Ning Xin. He might have treated this as his home but they were not part of the Thoya family and neither were they Frost Elves.

They had intruded on the Thoya’s for long enough.

“You…you want to move out!?” Roya raised her voice.

Kiva slept in the same room as her parents but she was about to be old enough to have her own room and the partial humans were taking up the rooms. Ning Xin shared one with Kong Jing and he occupied a guest room himself.

He saw Kiva growing out of her diapers and thought he might as well have a house built in the village. The Thoya’s would have more space and privacy. He would not disturb them with his presence. They wouldn’t have to make concessions or considerations in their daily life.

He stayed in the village for weeks to months at a time and troubled them long enough.

‘Why-why is she angered and…upset?’ Ebony knew that they helped around the house and took Kiva off her hands but having two or three more people in the cabin couldn’t possibly be pleasant.