Chapter 98 Learning New Skills Part 1
Rishi and his roommates have been playing 'Royal Hide and Seek' with other students in their ward on a daily basis; it has now become part of their daily routine. Many students came to join in the fun, and it quickly grew into a big game with over fifty players.
There were other students too, but Rishi suggested they play separately with different players. "Rishab, it really became so popular in just a week," Manu said.
"Yeah, I never expected this to be so popular, but it's good that I'll be able to practice while others are also having fun," Rishi said.
Rishi had been practicing his hiding skill on a daily basis and had mastered it, but there were also many new players who were better because they had added a new rule that the one who got caught at the end would play the next game while the others would be changed every turn.
Some students were exceptionally gifted in this game, giving them a significant advantage. A mage student had a skill called area search, which gave him a significant advantage over other players.
Rishi has also begun to learn other basic skills described in the guide, such as camouflage, which is the inverse of hiding. It was also difficult to comprehend; it required a high level of mana control and channeling. It was difficult for others to master, but Rishi found it easier than the 'Hide' skill because of his self-created mana-channeling technique.
Rishi camouflaged himself so well in one game that many seekers did not notice him when he was right in front of them, but even with such perfect camouflage; Rishi was easily caught by a seeker using the 'Area search' ability. This made Rishi realize that his technique had a major flaw—even camouflage had its limitations.
After realizing what had happened, Rishi read the guide again and began learning the 'concealment' skill, which took him two weeks to master. This was the lowest-level concealment skill, but it was also the simplest to learn; This ability rendered Rishi invisible in search skills or any other skill used to locate opponents.
The basic theory behind this skill was that the user used mana to manipulate the area around him to confuse the search skill by imitating the properties of an average area.
Rishi was able to hide himself from search skills after learning this skill, and he was also the last person to be caught in the game. Still, as the game progressed, the seekers began forming small groups of two or three people with search skills and using the skills simultaneously to cancel the effect of the concealment skill.
When Rishi had mastered all three, it was time to master the fourth skill, 'play dead.' Some assassins used this skill to trick enemies into approaching them, and once they were close enough, they stung them with a vicious attack.
The expert assassin explained in the guide that after mastering it to the maximum level, this skill could be used while moving, making the user look like any other non-living object. With camouflage and concealment skills, It will make the user virtually undetectable.
Rishi now understood why this guide was so expensive, It had many low-level skills, but when combined, they could give the user a significant advantage. Rishi gained a new perspective after hearing expert advice on how to use his skills. He began by learning the 'play dead' skill, which was simple to learn but challenging to master.
Rishi began practicing it whenever possible, including while training, walking, eating, playing, and even sleeping. As the days passed, Rishi's presence became less and less. Rishi could have used the skill points to master these skills, but it was clearly stated in the guide that these skills become more profound when practiced on a daily basis. The skill points should be spent on learning complex and powerful skills.
Rishi had been practicing his stealth skills for a month while also learning the new sword technique 'Sword Dash.' It took Rishi two days after using it on Agastya clan members to chain it to two enemies. He practiced increasing the accuracy of his attacks for a week while also learning to combine this skill with 'Quick Draw' to gain bonus damage. Nina learned it in five days, which surprised him.
When Rishi was sure of his ability to chain from one enemy to the next while using the 'Sword Dash' technique, after which he began practicing chaining down into three enemies using the 'Sword Dash' technique. It was difficult, but Rishi eventually mastered it in one week, after which Rishi began increasing the difficulty by attempting to chain between four opponents in a random location because Rishi believed it was very easy to chain between opponents if they were standing in a straight line.
Nina was taking her time learning this technique, She was initially disappointed that Rishi was so far ahead of her, but she never gave up hope and eventually caught up to him. She even had a skill known as 'Target Hunting.' When her multiple attacks landed on a single opponent, the damage of her next attacks increased.
Rishi had begun learning 'Spiral Arrow' while honing his sword skills; Rishi was able to create a magical rune on his arrow after a month. The first time he did it, his arrow was blasted into pieces, which didn't hurt him, but the shock was so intense that his heart jumped into his mouth.
He looked at his teacher with both eyes wide open; she comforted him and asked if he was okay before telling him it was time to get the special arrows.
Rishi began practicing with new arrows that were both stronger and easier to transfer mana with, Just a week later he was able to cast the 'spiral arrow' skill for the first time. The arrow's effect was not as good as a professor's, but he was satisfied and practiced for a few more days to get better at it.
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Rishi was sleeping one day when Manu shook his entire body and yelled, "Rishab, are you okay?"
Rishi awoke to Manu's confused and relieved expression and asked, "What happened?"
"I woke up and saw your lifeless body; I assumed something had happened to you," Manu explained.
"You don't need to worry; it's because I'm practicing a new skill," Rishi said, putting Manu at ease. Finally Rishi had mastered the 'Play Dead' skill; he smiled because he was getting very close to his goal of mastering the Stealth skill.