Chapter 157: A New Skill

A carriage rolled smoothly through the streets, while a heavy silence hung inside its luxurious cabin.

Malrik sat back in his comfortable seat, with Cedric beside him, as still and silent as a statue.

Three boxes rested on the small table.

Two were small and elegant. The third, however, was much larger, resembling a cage covered with dark silk more than an actual box.

Malrik reached for one of the small boxes and opened it.

Inside lay a crimson book, its cover wrapped in intricate yellow seals.

This was the book containing the sealed ancient soul... the very one he had purchased for a single copper coin.

Malrik tried several times to send some of his energy into the book and communicate with the soul, but she remained completely silent.

Malrik leaned back, his eyes fixed on the crimson book.

Was she still drowning in her sorrow over her forgotten empire?

Or had he merely wounded her pride?

After all, she had been the empress of a great empire thousands of years ago. Then he had come along and purchased the vessel containing her soul for a single copper coin.

Malrik had no idea how to console a soul that had lived thousands of years ago, so he decided to give her some time.

Malrik closed the box and placed the crimson book inside his storage ring before turning his attention to the second box.

As soon as he opened it, a dark blue glow spilled into the carriage.

Inside lay an ancient book bound in rough, familiar leather.

This was the Epic-rank skill book, the very same one the Second Prince had competed with his sister Velrosa to obtain, ultimately winning the auction.

Malrik studied the book in silence, still unsure what to make of it.

The prince had insisted on giving him the book as a gift after raising its price to a staggering fifty thousand platinum coins, as if to show that money meant nothing to him.

Damn it.

That bastard could have given me those platinum coins instead of putting on this ridiculous show.

The book’s starting price had been a mere fifty platinum coins, yet the Second Prince had raised the bid to a thousand times that amount, only to give the book to Malrik afterward as a gift, using their relationship as cousins as his excuse.

After such a blatant display of wealth, Malrik expected the Second Prince to want something from him. Contrary to his expectations, however, the prince asked for nothing and did not even hint that Malrik owed him a favor.

Instead, he was annoyingly pleasant.

He seemed like an enjoyable person to talk to and had shown clear displeasure at Velrosa’s sudden departure.

If Malrik had not known his own position and the kind of world he had grown up in, he might have believed the whole affair was nothing more than a generous gesture between cousins.

But Malrik wasn’t fooled.

People like the Second Prince did not spend fifty thousand platinum coins without a reason.

Every word they spoke, every smile they offered, every gift they gave... all of it served a purpose.

And Velrosa’s sudden departure only deepened Malrik’s suspicions.

Malrik did not understand why Velrosa had reacted so strongly to the prince that she had left, but he was certain his sister would not act with such hostility without a genuine reason. There had to be something deeper behind her reaction, something he had yet to discover.

Of course, the encounter was not devoid of suspicious details.

The prince did not let Archbishop Matthias’s tension upon seeing Malrik pass unnoticed.

He simply asked him if they had met before.

But the Archbishop insisted, in a tone that felt overly contrived, that he did not remember where he had seen him. He claimed that he sees countless believers every day and that faces sometimes blur together.

Malrik found the excuse laughable, but he said nothing. Something far more important occupied his thoughts.

Why would an Archbishop of the Temple of Lumiel accompany the Second Prince on his outings?

Wasn’t the Temple supposed to be a neutral power, unaffiliated with any of the factions fighting for the Imperial Throne?

From the way Matthias sat beside the Second Prince in the private box and accompanied him on his outings, there was little that seemed neutral about their relationship.

Malrik pulled himself out of his thoughts.

He did not yet possess the power or information to concern himself with which factions supported one another. For now, he did not know who stood with whom... or whether any of it would affect him in the first place.

Malrik took the book out of the elegant box, its rough leather cover still radiating a dark blue glow.

He immediately began reading the skill’s description.

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[ Skill: Ashura Manifestation ]

Rarity: Epic

Class Requirements: None

Description:

Manifest the phantom avatar of Ashura, the War Deity, around the user. Ashura’s mana envelops the user in a spectral form that moves in perfect synchrony with every movement and attack.

While active, the user gains a high understanding of all weapons and expanded awareness.

[ Warning: Maintaining Ashura consumes an extreme amount of mana. Activating this Skill while depleted will result in severe physical collapse. ]

[ Duration: 60 Seconds. Cooldown: 24 Hours. ]

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Malrik read through the skill’s description, a faint gleam appearing in his eyes.

The manifestation of Ashura’s spectral avatar, the War Deity.

The skill enhanced the user’s understanding of different weapons and heightened their awareness.

A surge of excitement rose in Malrik’s chest. He continued reading carefully, trying to understand how the skill worked.

Given the nature of its effects, it made sense that the skill required no specific Class. It did not grant the user a particular fighting style. Instead, it enhanced their understanding of different weapons and broadened their awareness, making it useful to mages and warriors alike.

Malrik stared at the description in silence. Then a faint smile appeared on his face.

This was good.

Very good, in fact.

Normally, he relied on his undead souls whenever he was forced into combat. But a skill like this would give him another option. If an enemy managed to close in before he could summon his forces, or if he found himself somewhere he could not rely on them...

He would not be helpless.

Then Malrik’s eyes fell on the warning, and his smile faded.

The enormous mana consumption was hardly surprising. A skill with such powerful effects was bound to come at a steep cost.

However, severe physical collapse was no minor drawback. If it happened in the middle of a battle, it could cost him his life.

Finally, his eyes reached the last line.

[ Duration: 60 Seconds. Cooldown: 24 Hours. ]

Malrik furrowed his brows.

One minute of activation against a staggering twenty-four-hour cooldown?

That was far too short, and the penalty far too severe. It meant this wasn’t a skill he could casually deploy in a common skirmish.

But his frown soon faded.

One minute was certainly not much time, but he was in no position to complain. A skill like this was not meant for prolonged battles, especially given how much mana it consumed.

Malrik already possessed a massive mana pool, but it no longer felt as inexhaustible as it once had.

That was especially true now that he had to bear the cost of summoning and manifesting souls of the Fallen rank with rare potential, such as Biggie, Winter, and Lady Mushroom, as well as the Raven and the Lizard.

This was different from Lokris and Lilith, whose potential was of Epic rank and who did not need to rely on his mana to manifest physically.

Malrik placed his hand on the book’s leather cover, and a familiar system window appeared before his eyes.

[ Do you wish to learn this skill? ]

[ Yes / No ]