Chapter 335 – The Daily Grind

Chapter 335 – The Daily Grind

Students filled the hallway of Caelum Tower. Complaints about the dull class and the stuck-up professor mixed with the background chatter.

Kai let his feet follow the stream toward his next class, though his mind remained a jumble of thoughts. An arm hung lazily over the bag slung across his shoulder, the notebook and pen balanced between his fingers.

…means I’ll have fewer skills at Green?

Delicate crystal arches intertwined above him in the vaulted ceiling. Was he already on the third floor? A hand pulled him aside as a group of second-years in rusty orange uniforms barreled through the packed hallway, shoving aside any first-year too slow to get out of their way.

Seniority privileges, my ass. They’re jerks.

Silently scoffing, Kai looked at the hand that had steered him clear, realizing Rain had spoken. “Uh, what?”

“You’re worrying too much,” Rain watched him with a wry smile that made it clear that wasn’t the first time he repeated the sentence.

“Sorry, I was thinking.”

That I need to redo my status. Maybe I’ve messed up some skills…

“You are doing fine.” Rain pulled him toward the right, where the hallway split. His amused expression shifted to one of apology. “Sorry I didn’t mention skills taking more slots at Green. It never occurred to me you wouldn’t know.”

“All good. I also never asked,” Kai said, shaking his head. The smidge of annoyance had already faded. From what little he knew of sirens, Rain must have grown up surrounded by Green grades or higher. If most other students also knew, it wasn’t surprising the topic never came up.

Besides, Green skills were a far-off issue compared to his skill paths. Had he fucked any of them? What about his profession? Professor Lysander had underlined their importance, saying they’d tackle them in future lectures.

Alright. One thing at a time. I never heard any adventurer in the Hall of Seekers or passersby mention this stuff. Flynn would’ve told me if he knew. Probably, most people in the Republic know nothing and live just fine. I wasn’t even the only student who looked surprised…

Breathing out to settle his jittery nerves, Kai stuffed his notebook into his bag. He’d seen a few patricians use spatial artifacts, but from the awed and envious looks they got, he’d rather avoid the attention.

I’ll figure this out.

He was on his way to his next course. Skill paths at Orange only seemed of relative importance compared to Yellow. The only issue might be that he’d already passed the first milestone of Mana Observer, but taking no specialization rarely created problems.

Focus on what I can do now.

“Uhm…” Kai turned to his personal encyclopedia on the arcane. “Do you know how it works exactly? Evolving skills to Green, I mean. How do you know how many skill slots you need? What if you don’t have any open?”

“I do know a bit.” Rain smiled and took the barrage of questions with admirable patience. “When you push a skill to the peak of Yellow, the Guide will tell you how many slots each evolution needs. Usually it’s between two and three. But it can go as low as one, or even above four,” he added, leading him up a ramp of stairs. “Most people who reach Green keep the new slots for that. Otherwise, the Guide can help you discard Yellow or lower skills to make space. Well…” He clenched his jaw with a faint scowl. “It’s not pleasant, but it’s better than doing it by yourself.”

Uh… he speaks of it as if he has experienced it personally… Wait! Does he have a skill at Green? That… Nope!

If his mind wasn’t already overflowing, Kai would have pondered the revelation for hours. Alas, space for thoughts was currently at a premium. He filed the tidbit away to focus on the current topic. “So, it’s possible they take a single slot? I just need to find the right evolutions?”

“Just that indeed.” Rain chuckled. “You’re the first person I’ve heard put it that way. It’s not that simple, though. From what my tutors said, having five skills that each take a single slot is already exceptionally lucky.” He glanced at the packs of students ahead. “I doubt the number’s much higher around here… no offense.”

Yep, it’s probably lower.

“None taken,” Kai said. “Still, hard doesn’t mean impossible.”

His slots were already limited. Based on the math, he would end up with fewer skills at Green than he had now—even with the increase from advancing in grade.

Rain looked amused at his stubbornness. “Perhaps it’s not impossible to get more one-slot evolutions, but you should ask if it’s desirable. Mana Sense is known to take two or more slots when you evolve it to Green. Even if you find a niche variant that takes one, it might twist the skill into something you don’t need.” He raised one shoulder in a shrug. “One skill that fits your path is often better than four random ones. And sometimes the evolution you want simply takes more slots.”

That’s… a good point. Kai begrudgingly nodded.

Between an evolution of Mana Observer that only let him perceive Water mana and one that improved his general elemental perception, he’d always choose the second, no matter how many skill slots it took. Same for the rest of his core skills. Selecting skills based solely on their slot requirements would turn his status into a patchwork of mismatched skills. For the skill slots to matter, the evolutions had to be, if not equally good, at least comparable.

There’s no point in having a higher-grade skill if it doesn’t do what I need.

Kai followed Rain toward the queue for what seemed like a magic elevator—for once, he wasn’t interested in analyzing the runes. “Thanks for the answers. I see what you mean…”

“Glad I could help.” Rain nodded before turning to speak with the other students in line.

A group of first-years had sauntered to the front. Kai didn’t see what his friend did, but the young patricians soon queued behind them, while he neared the opening metal doors, still mulling over his discoveries.

A dozen students emptied the elevator before more could enter. Rain tugged him to get on the round stone platform with a giddy smile. “Fifth floor for us, please.”

The attendant politely dipped his head in acknowledgment, took everyone’s instructions, and then shut the metal doors to operate the arrays.

Several enchantments lit beneath their feet. Rain craned his neck to admire the glowing runework decorating the cabin, stretching up to the brass ceiling of the lift. His eyes widened as the platform began to smoothly ascend.

It must be his first time. Not much point for an elevator underwater. Huh… Is it Gravity mana? Nope, don’t get distracted!

“How many skills do people have at Green?” Kai asked.

“Mmm… it depends.” Rain casually rested his ear against the wall of the compartment, unfazed by the glances he received. “Probably somewhere between twelve and eighteen. It’s not so bad. Where would you find the time to train twenty-eight general skills? Your lifespan increases with each grade, but your skills also become much harder to train. And that’s not even counting your professions.”

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“You do have a point…” Kai ran a hand through his hair in thought. He already struggled to juggle all his affinities with Alchemy and Enchanting. A few skills had inevitably fallen to the wayside, on top of those he planned to discard.

Green’s still far off…

Even his highest skill, Hallowed Intuition, would likely need over a year to reach level 100—depending on how much trouble found him along the way.

“I’ll have to plan all my skill paths…” He flipped through his notes as they exited the elevator into a quiet atrium. Wide glass windows illuminated the dusky turquoise flooring and offered a view of the snowy fields below.

“You don’t need to worry so much,” Rain said. “Having the right combination of skills and specializations helps unlock specific evolutions, but your experiences and achievements still matter more than any planned path. You’ll do well regardless.”

Kai looked up from his notes, noticing the sincerity in Rain’s amber gaze, a flicker of warmth creeping into his cheeks. “Uh… thanks.”

The siren was certainly kinder than he, but rarely gave out empty compliments.

Anyways…

Kai flipped through the pages of his notebook, adding the new information. From Professor Lysander’s examples, there were optimal and mediocre paths, but few that entirely closed off his options. Careful planning increased the chances of a desirable evolution, but Rain confirmed he could obtain the same results by winging it—it was just much harder.