Chapter 899 T.D.O.N.B: The Solid 5%
The class unlocked the following skills: 'Blade mastery', 'Breathing technique', 'Ki', and 'Ki edge'.
Some do sound familiar, don't they? I'm gonna omit those, to focus on the new ones, because it's pointless to explain the same stuff twice.
'Blade mastery' although it might around similar to 'Weapon mastery', and all of its evolved versions, it was slightly different, as the whole approach was less about the weapon itself, and more about the balance between the weapon and the body of the user.
'Ki edge' was a technique to fill only the cutting edge of the weapon with Ki, which allowed better density of the energy, while keeping the flexibility of the whole weapon. Kinda like they make katanas.
I upgraded all of them to the max, unlocking myself the evolution of the class called 'Blade carving heaven and earth', aka the longest name ever. This gave me access to the following skills: 'Blade mastery II', 'Breathing technique II', 'Ki II', 'Ki edge II', 'Heaven-carving blade', 'Earth-carving blade', and 'Sword dance'.
I didn't know that, but thanks to this evolution of the class, I've learned that Ki could have two colors based on how it was manipulated. It could be dark, or bright. The bright Ki was based on harmony. It was less potent but more lasting. The dark Ki on the other hand was based on bloodthirst. It was more explosive, more violent. I guess I could've found this sooner if I were to go deeper into the 'Monk' type of classes, but I didn't. I discovered it after buying the 'Heaven-carving blade' skill.
'Heaven-carving blade' filled my weapon of choice, limited only to cutting and stabbing stuff, with the bright Ki. It was very potent against enemies without bodies, like for example the fire elementals. Probably there was more, but I've never really encountered anything like that. It made it possible to actually cut creatures like that.
'Earth-carving blade' on the other hand was based on the dark Ki. If I were to use it, my weapon got stronger against physical creatures, dealing more damage to them, while being completely useless against the more spiritual beings.
'Sword dance' was a technique of fluid movement while striking, to never get pushed off your game while attacking. You could use all maneuvers as strikes with that, no matter in what position you found yourself. Of course, if used correctly.
I upgraded all of those to the max, unlocking myself the next evolution. 'Blade of harmony' it was called, and it gave me access to the following skills: 'Blade mastery III', 'Breathing technique III', 'Ki III', 'Ki edge III', 'Heaven-carving blade II', 'Earth-carving blade II', 'Blade dance II', 'Balance of body and mind', 'Blade union', 'Disrupting strike'
'Balance of body and mind' was another one of those harmonizing skills, putting my thoughts and actions closer together, so I was able to move more according to my wish. Only slightly, as I was already a master of that.
'Blade union' put my weapon and my body into a single, solid piece. My blade has become me, and I became my blade.
The 'Disrupting strike' strike was a nice one, as it made my strikes with a weapon reinforced with Ki disrupt the flow of the energy in whomever I would cut, causing significantly more damage than an eye could catch.
I upgraded all of those to the max, unlocking myself the 'Spirit blade' class, which I immediately bought, gaining the access to the following skills: 'Blade mastery IV', 'Breathing technique IV', 'Ki IV', 'Ki edge IV', 'Heaven-carving blade III', 'Earth-carving blade III', 'Blade dance III', 'Balance of body and mind II', 'Blade union II', 'Disrupting strike II', 'Spirit blade', 'Hunting strike'.
'Spirit blade' allowed me to not only cut the flesh but to cut the spirit of my opponent too, damaging the whole structure of Ki flow. To put it in a better perspective, I'm gonna give an example. Somebody with very tough skin, able to withstand a strike from me, now would still get damaged, because although his flesh reminded intact, his spirit would get wounded.
'Hunting strike' was even better. This skill had a massive cost of Ki but made me able to hit somebody even after they dodged my attack. The attack was literally hunting them, making it impossible to dodge, although somebody could still block, or simply endure the strike.
I fully upgraded them all.
Very happy with my purchases, I decided to make some investments in my flat statistics. I started by upgrading my condition 79 680 000 times, putting it at the same spot my strength was. It was very painful when my body started to change, but somehow not anywhere close to what it was before. I would call it a slight feeling of sickness now.
Then I upgraded my dexterity the same amount of times. It once again felt unpleasant, but now even less. Like I had a fart lurking in my guts. Then I also upgraded my strength 200 000 000 times, making myself a beast.
I had to put seals on my body to contain all that power and be able to move normally, and I mean seals stronger than usual. A lot stronger. I still had some points, but actually not that many. Enough for an emergency, but that was it. I felt strong though. Strong enough to stop thinking about my mission like it was a suicide. Instead, I felt like I had a decent shot. A solid 5%.
Which, if you asked me, was an incredible, unbelievable amount if you were really thinking about what we had to deal with.
Still, nothing to brag about, but if everything went our way, then we really could win.
With those thoughts, I returned to my house to cook something, since I was really hungry because I haven't eaten for a while. Working in the kitchen I also decided to go and check on everybody else, just to see how they were doing.