deciding to focus on the moment, echidna opens up a book about paths of power, specifically on the page about martial artists.
"martial artist first begin by creating their aura core, upon creating an aura core, a martial artist will then use a cultivation technique to expand the capacity of their aura and increase its purity, cultivation techniques are ranked from f-sss, upon reaching a certain level in your cultivation your aura will begin to then take on what's called a trait, giving their aura a specific characteristic, these traits are influenced by the cultivation technique the user trains in, their experiences and beliefs"
"for example, the sword saint has recently disclosed that his trait is 'perfection' meaning, unless a slash or a technique isn't executed perfectly to the millimeter, his aura wouldn't even activate, rendering his slash practically useless in a real fight, that is unless the sword saint hadn't already mastered the sword to such a degree he needn't worry about such things"
'hmm.. that means iv basically already skipped the first stage, and while my aura core is still that of a beginner since its the aura core of echidna, my aura has already taken up her trait. tyranny. in a dumbed down version it basically means you dominate the fight and don't let your opponent breath, and as for the cultivation technique..'
"I'm already set."
since her gift gives echidna mastery over the trident, that means I have the habits and techniques of echidna, which include her cultivation technique, and since echidna had already reached the level of grandmaster in echidna's previous life, the cultivation technique is at least s+ rank
'its basically a set path to the grandmaster level, sadly though.. I still need to train the gift, since even with gift of the beloved, it was at such a rudimentary level that I could only make mirrors float, so at best.. my ability to wield the trident is at most advanced, the cultivation technique should still be on the same level still, but its efficiency will still be deteriorated, as if I was handed a manual for it and I have to learn the technique from scratch.'
and so, Echidna decided to check her stats, since they should be different now, having an aura core and being a martial artist.
'I'm pretty sure its only in the form of echidna though, so my stats will be the same as yesterday once I turn back into my original form as Asher and il be quite physically weaker without an aura core, now if you please, system?'
[Status]
name: Echidna(Asher)
Age: 17
Stats:
Strength- 23
Agility- 24
Endurance- 20 (25 with the gift of drink smith)
Charm- 23
Intelligence- 21
Aura:
Trait- Tyranny
Cultivation Technique: non (must have basic mastery of the technique to register)
Combat technique: non (must have basic mastery of the first technique to register)
{Blessing}
gifts of the past:
1st function-once a year, on your birthday, you will gain a gift from one of your previous lives, weather it be an ability, item, or memories
2nd function-upon finding something heavily related to one of your previous lives, you will automatically gain a new gift from that life, without having to wait till your birthday.
{owned gifts:6}
Gift of the royal chef
Gift of the drink smith
Gift of the craftsmen
Gift of the beloved
Gift of the collector
Gift of the Maren crown
[status end]
'she was an empress after all.. so charm makes since, she probably had all the beauty care in the world'
"now.. lets see what this body can do.. I don't really have a trident so can't unlock any techniques yet.. and while I have the knowledge of the cultivation technique I haven't used it yet, and i cant really transform into a sea serpent since it would be far to big.. so lets start with water manipulation"
Echidna says as she extends her hand to the cup of water next too him, and slowly, the water begins to float becoming a floating blob of water, at least before he reaches his limit and places it back in the cup..
"well.. its about as disappointing as the gift of the beloved was at the start, but ya have to start somewhere right..?"
saying so, Echidna tests the water manipulation a bit more, before returning to her original form as Asher, as he begins to dress up to leave for the academy, as the earlier he gets, the shorter the line will be, at least as short as it can get, considering tens of thousands of people and nobles are probably going to be registering for the test, and even then not even a tenth will pass probably
"well.. sucks to suck, since people with blessings are automatically passed without taking the free for all test, although id probably still go watch to see who my classmates will be"
"and since I'm going to be registering with gift of the beloved as my blessing, since my actual blessing is a bit too much.. even so, the beloved is still enough to place me at the top thirty, which will place me in the elite class."
thinking so, Asher looks at the mirror, and staring back at him is a 6 foot 1 tall man with chiseled yet lean muscles, long black hair at shoulder length like a waterfall of black silk, wearing black pants, a long sleeved grey buttoned shirt, the sleeves to hide the new tattoo he now has in both forms, and most strikingly of all, beautiful amethyst purple yes, deep and dark, like they can peer straight into your soul, and funnily enough.. they do.
"handsome as always.. and lets make it even better.."
says Asher as he puts on his two amethyst earrings, the buff they had gotten a year ago from the collectors gift raising his charm by one, making it a whopping 21 now.
"well.. hopefully the teacher will give me some brownie points for being handsome.."
and soon after making sure he has everything on him, Asher leaves the tavern before saying goodbye to old will, going up to a carriage Asher says
"take me to the academy's building in the capital, since its a weeks journey ill pay ya a gold coin"
"ah, another one o' those country bumpkins thinkin they can make it.. sure, but make it a gold and 5 silva' no less"
"tch, stingy bastard, one gold three silver and ya got a deal."
"hmm.. fine kid, ya win."
handing him the money, the driver begin the journey to the capital, since the actual academy is hundreds of meters in the sky, you must apply first at the capital where you'll take the entrance test, and only then will you be taken to the academy if you pass
'although I don't need to take the test since I have a blessing, although ill probably still need to be tested by a teacher in private to determine my rank'
-Seven Days Later-
'huh, I seriously thought id have to fight like one of those novels.. but carriage drivers here aren't stupid luckily, they hire mercenary's to guard them here'
"alright sir, thank you for the ride."
"good luck kiddo, the test will be hard"
laughing to himself at the mans joke, receiving him a weird gaze from the driver, he enters the academy's building in the capital, where he instantly regrets entering, since despite it being 6 in the morning, there are already easily 200 people in line
'fuck me sideways I guess..'
entering the line, he stands in line as an energetic looking kid with dark blue hair taps his back
"oh hi! are you an applicant too?"
"is there another reason I would be standing in line here..?"
"ah... I guess not, well. my name's Eric, Eric Watson. what's your name stranger?"
"Asher"
"tough crowd you are Asher.. well, what do you suppose we do till this line passes?"
"I read a book while you mind your business."
"ah.."
with a dejected look, Eric turns to the person behind him to start up a different conversation, as true to his words, Asher pulls out a book about martial artists, along with a pair of stylish borderless glasses, which had gotten a +1 intelligence buff from the collectors gift
'so at a high enough level, a martial artist can create what's called a domain, like a.. spiritual pressure upon another person, and a martial artist can then learn to manifest that domain in the physical world to fight, usually coming in the form of a creature that represents them, like the sword saints white eastern dragon. although it can come in any form really, like a powerful weapon or the such'
'if I'm guessing correctly.. perhaps echidnas great serpent transformation was actually her domain manifestation, but instead of summoning it, I become it, neat.'
Asher thinks to himself, as he gets more engrossed in reading, and hours later, its finally his turn as he goes up to the receptionist
"hello sir, I'm Emily, please state your name and what type of student your registering as."
the young woman says the kind smile, internally incredibly happy that she finally has a handsome client
"hello ma'am, my name is Asher, I'm here registering as a blessing student."
"ah! a blessing! how rare, if you aren't aware, a person with a blessing needn't take the entrance exam, so please go to this room and wait for someone to come and assign you a rank."
saying so, Emily hands him a key with a room number on it, as he goes to the assigned room, taking a deep breath he mutters
"and now we wait.."
EMILYS POV
'hmm.. I should go assign him someone to test him.. lets go to miss Sophia'
happily skidding to Sophia's office, Emily knocks on the door enthusiastically
"come in."
opening the door, a beautiful woman with long, blond hair and two long ears, clearly an elf, and one of the top instructors of nexus academy, the spirit mage Sophia is revealed
"um.. hi miss Sophia! we just had a blessing holder applicant come in and i was hoping you could go test his rank? since your the instructor of the elite class there might be a chance he will be in your class! and he's quite handsome too.. hehehe!"
"a blessing holder..? how rare, sure ill go. its not every day your meet a blessing holder, even iv only seen a handful and iv lived a long time as an elf"
"and handsome..? with your standards Emily, I better have my hopes up fufu, he better not disappoint."
Sophia says with her sultry voice, her eyes taking a sharp glint, intrigued by the prospect of seeing a blessing holder after so long, and partly because he is handsome.
ASHER'S POV
'so.. I explain to the instructor that my blessing lets me manipulate mirrors.. no, that sounds too underwhelming, I need to end up at least at elite class.. so top 30.. ah fuck, what do I say?'
and before he can come to an answer, he hears a knock, then the door opening, revealing Emily and a stunning elf lady
'fuck yes! my first glimpse at another race in this damn fantasy world!'
"hello applicator Asher! this is miss Sophia, she will be the one determining your rank, il just be here to observe."
Emily says, and being the whore that he is, Asher walks up to Sophia, giving a small bow and kissing the back of her hand, causing Emily to blush at the interaction
"greetings, miss Sophia, my name is Asher. its a pleasure to be your acquaintance."
Sophia smiles, intrigued by the boys demeanor "interesting" she mutters under her breath, before saying
"you flatter me, Asher. and while I would love to chat with a man as lovely as you, were here on business are we not? so please, go ahead, explain your blessing and we can move to more practical tests."
"understood, Sophia, if you would allow me to call you that.
"hmm.. sure, go ahead."
'id be stupid not to hit on a busty elf, and it would be good to have connections in the academy'
"my blessing is called the gift of the beloved, Sophia."
"basically, I can manipulate mirrors and reflections."
"hmm.. interesting, please expand on that."
Sophia says, her tone changing from warm and kind to serious
'seems she takes work seriously.'
"well.. I dare say I'm the most versatile student that will be among the first years once I'm admitted"
"that's a tall order Asher, unless you explain I will assume your simply ignorant."
"well.. the reason I say that, is I can basically take any role in a party, for support, since i can teleport using my mirrors, I can be an exceptional strategic unit in surprise attacks or escape in moments of danger."
"as for defense, I can summon mirrors, and they become harder to break the more energy I put into them, using this. I can block enemy attacks from a safe distance, and even inflict damage, since I can give mirrors certain properties, for example, I can put the property of 'reflect' on a mirror, and up to a certain capacity, once struck, the mirror will repel the damage on the attacker."
"and lastly, attack, if by chance my mirror were to break from an attack, the shards broken from the mirrors could then be used like hundreds of flying, homing projectiles, and for my last means of attack, since eyes are the mirror of the soul, by locking eyes with someone, I can enter a soul battle, where only ones will decides the winner, so as long as my mind is stronger, even if its a grandmaster, they will simply become a soulless husk."
finally done with the explanation, Sophia lets out a satisfied "oh?"
"that's quite an interesting ability, Asher.. that by itself, taking into consideration the sheer potential of a blessing, would put you in the top thirty applicants."
"however.. for a specific rank well need to do something more.. practical."
CHAPTER END
hi yall! friendly new author here! I hope the chapters are slowly getting better in quality as I write, and hopefully. I wont screw up the first ever fight scene on the next chapter..
also I probably should have been saying this this entire time, but please give me power stones so I know you all are enjoying this and I know to continue writing!
peace!