B2 Chapter 187: Predictions

Kaius came to with a groan, shaking his head to clear out the fugue that clouded his mind.

The process of learning Slip Step had been almost identical to that of Stormlash. The system’s agent had appeared, greeting him briefly before leaving him to his work until he needed someone to talk through a particularly troublesome issue with his learning.

After that, the system had impressed a knowledge of his new spell-hymn upon him. If it had just been that, it wouldn’t have been too bad – it was similar to how he learned his class skills after all.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t just like that. Unlike his glyphs, where the system did the heavy lifting of binding them to his body, Kaius had to reinscribe his spells himself.

With their twisting three dimensional nature, it was a hellish task—not one he could lean on theoretical knowledge alone to bridge the gap. Especially since the system only granted him knowledge of its shape—not the process of actually weaving it.

Instead, he was left in that room—with access to a seemingly unlimited well of mana to draw on—to weave the spell himself. The system hadn’t been satisfied until he could do it flawlessly every single time. It had taken hours.

The one saving grace is that he had somehow been insulated from the devastating effects of a destabilised array. With how often he’d failed, no doubt he would have blown one of his feet off without the system’s protection.

Looking around the room, Kaius saw that the training hall was unchanged. Rieker was still gone, his armour was still tacky and bloodied, and his teammates still sat there—curiously watching him.

“How long was I out?” Kaius asked, clearing his throat as he realised how dry his mouth was.

“Only a few minutes.” his brother responded.

Ianmus nodded. “I assume it was much longer for you? I have read that the system can use time dilation for spell-learning skills.”

Kaius grunted in response, giving the half-elf a quick nod. “Yeah, took bloody hours. I was only allowed out once I could get through the whole process without failure.”

Both Ianmus and Porkchop winced in sympathy.

“My condolences—but I suspect it is better than the alternative where we live in a world where the system’s gifts can lead to bodily injury due to lacking understanding.”

He supposed that was true. Still, even if it was a relatively draining and annoying experience to go through, it wasn’t enough to quell the small bubble of fizzing excitement within his chest.

Aelina. His second glyph! And one that broadened his spell casting to more than just brute strength.

Kaius had always loved magic for its strength, but it was its versatility and the options it gave that had really drawn him in. It was nice to finally be taking some steps in that direction.

Through his bond, Kaius felt his brother mirroring his own excitement—though it was clear that most of it was directed to his own upcoming skill selection.

Looking over, he saw that Porkchop was barely restraining himself, muscles tensing in thick furred legs as the meles forced himself to sit still.

Kaius let out a wide smile. “Go on then, check what you got.” he told his brother warmly.

Chuffing in excitement, Porkchop’s eyes immediately unfocused as he dived into his notifications. Then his ears perked up, and he refocused on his team.

“There’s some really good stuff here!” he said, straightening up. “First one’s Bulwark’s Challenge. It’s a roar that will focus the attention and aggression of our enemies on me, while infecting them with some sort of rage that weakens them and makes them sloppy.”

Listening with interest, Kaius thought on the skill. It certainly sounded useful. Porkchop was their Bastion, and any skill that allowed them to take more of the heat from their squishier team members was a valuable part in any composition—especially if it had affliction-like effects as well.

“Then there’s Splintered Punishment. It does sound good, but I’m not sure if it’s as good as the others—both the first and last skill are Heroic. It’ll make the next hit on my armour send out an explosive spray of shards at my attacker. I have been wanting an offensive skill, but I’m not sure if one that requires me to get hit first is a good fit.” Porkchop continued.

“And the last?” Kaius asked. While an offensive skill did sound good, and retributive skills had their place in a build like Porkchop’s, he had to agree that it sounded like it didn’t match up as nicely.

“Intercede the Faithful. I’m honestly thinking about picking this one. It will let me rapidly put myself in front of an opponent’s attack within a certain distance—regardless of who it is aimed at. It’ll also summon a shield of crystal to help me withstand it.” Porkchop finished, watching them curiously to hear their thoughts.

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Kaius leaned back, scratching his chin as he thought about the skills. That last one…it sounded very handy. It would let Porkchop survive bigger hits, but most importantly it would give him a better method of supporting the team. As their Bastion, one of Porkchop’s jobs was to ensure the safety of their backline—if something got past them, this skill could just help them keep Ianmus alive.

“What do you think?” Kaius asked his brother.

Porkchop shuffled for a moment, before he shared his thoughts. They ended up being remarkably similar to Kaius’s own, the meles leaning towards the final skill as one that would best let him support the rest of the team—taking hits that others could not survive.