In the fourth skill arena of Chapter 25, a confident Mordo waited for Finney to equip 'Haunted', unaware of the changes it had undergone.
Indeed, without close observation, the changes were difficult to detect; the originally bright silver armor had dimmed slightly, but subtle hints of azure, like snow-white ice crystals, occasionally glistening across its surface, almost imperceptible.
"Ready?"
Mordo, having already devised a way for Finney to lose, asked.
"Come on!"
Finney replied, feeling the power of the armor.
With Mordo's announcement, Finney's body suddenly became transparent, as if merging into the air, and then vanished in an instant.
Mordo, who was about to launch an attack, froze. While invisibility spells existed in Kamar-Taj's magic system, they were rare, and he couldn't immediately break them.
Fortunately, his extensive combat experience allowed Mordo to quickly regain his composure, switching from attack to defense and carefully listening to his surroundings.
Seeing this, Finney couldn't help but praise Mordo's appropriate handling of the situation.
He had only recently acquired the ability to become invisible and was still quite clumsy in using it. With careful observation, one could still detect traces of him, and the ability consumed a lot of energy, so it couldn't be maintained for long.
"Looks like I really can't kill him instantly."
Unable to defeat Mordo in one move, Finney was somewhat disappointed, but didn't dwell on it too much, cautiously approaching using his invisibility.
Meanwhile, Mordo was under immense pressure. He was a proud man; he had just boasted, and if he were to be instantly killed, it would become a meme and embarrassment for life.
"Here!"
With this seriousness in mind, Mordo's rich combat experience came into play. He immediately sensed Finney's approximate location, his magic transforming into an energy whip that swept across, greatly increasing the attack range.
Seeing this, Finney could only jump helplessly, but upon landing, his position was detected again, and Mordo's attack followed closely.
After a back-and-forth exchange, Finney ultimately failed to defeat Mordo. After expending considerable energy in stealth, he narrowly lost due to a slight opening.
This result still pleased Finney; if he hadn't misjudged the energy drain of stealth, the outcome might have been different. This also proved his significant progress.
Most importantly, his experience bar was full, allowing him to draw his fourth skill!
This result also secretly relieved Mordo; his pride was temporarily saved. He then sensed Finney's progress, feeling both pleased and somewhat nervous.
Finney had only been training for a year, yet he was already close to defeating him in sparring. Although not through magic, his combat strength was already comparable to Mordo's.
"Even without armor, I absolutely cannot lose in magical training."
Unaware of the truth and feeling unappreciated, Mordo silently resolved to work hard and not let Finney surpass him in magical prowess.
"Here!"
With the contest over and the 'evil spirit' gone, Finney walked over to Mordo, who was deep in thought, and casually summoned two 'Violet Chicken Wraps,' handing one to Mordo. He casually asked, "I haven't seen the teacher for days, have I?"
Taking the chicken wrap, Mordo snapped out of his reverie. Hearing Finney's question, he replied, "The Ancient One must be investigating the whereabouts of a magical artifact."
Speaking of magical artifacts, Finney remembered the cloak on the second floor of the New York Sanctum Sanctum.
He vaguely remembered the Ancient One saying that the cloak was very promiscuous, but why did she ignore him? He was much more handsome than Doctor Strange!
The Ancient One's absence ultimately made Finney abandon the idea of asking her for help, partly because he didn't have a plausible reason.
After treating Mordo to a hearty chicken wrap meal, Finney opened a portal and returned home. As before, he bathed and cleansed himself, washing his hands before sitting on the bed and praying:
"I must draw a good skill!"
When drawing the third skill, he tried to cheat by using the power of the 'Golden Great Evolution Technique,' such as controlling what type of skill would be drawn next, but he failed.
After a year of training and understanding of the power of mages, the 'Golden Great Evolution Technique' had also made significant progress, and he understood that this power should not be able to directly affect the system's drawing.
However, he could try to influence himself, like this:
"For the next three seconds, my luck will greatly increase."
Luck is a somewhat abstract concept, divided into good and bad. Such conceptual ideas are actually very, very, very difficult to realize because Phine must ensure that it does not constitute concrete content.
For example, what exactly does an increase in luck manifest as?
If it's finding money on the street, winning the lottery, or being approached by a beautiful woman, that's easy to achieve, but if he wants to be 'lucky enough to draw a powerful skill,' it's impossible because of the system.
Therefore, the idea he needs to realize must be a simple conceptual idea of 'good luck,' and it cannot be manifested as an event.
Fortunately, he had gained a deep understanding of the power of mages over the past year; otherwise, he would have been completely unable to do it. This was also the first time he had relied on the power of a mage to guide the 'Golden Grand Evolution Technique'.
As he uttered the command, Finney guided the mage's energy into the 'Golden Grand Evolution Technique'.
Instantly, a strange and indescribable feeling descended upon his body. Without time to think, he entered the system in the next second, drew the skill in the next, and waited for the result in the last.
Fatigue swept over him, but Finney was excited. Although the cost of this single command was more exhausting than opening portals for a whole day, seeing the skill drawn by the system made the extra effort worthwhile.
The fourth skill came from an anime world he was familiar with:
"Soaring Technique."
"From: Dragon Ball."
"Description: One of the martial arts of the Crane School."
Dragon Ball is an anime where the destruction of the universe is commonplace in the later stages. Although it was a pity he didn't draw a super skill like Ultra Instinct, Soaring Technique was still something to be happy about.
After all, humanity's pursuit of flight is beyond imagination, and Finney was one of them.
Moreover, while the Flying Technique may seem like just one of the martial arts of the Crane School in Dragon Ball, it's actually an essential ability for every strong person, much like beam attacks. Those who can't use it are practically trash with a power level of 5.
Looking at the Flying Technique in the system, Finney couldn't help but smile. He had been somewhat worried about aerial combat, and now he had finally filled a gap in his knowledge.
After drawing the skill, Finney couldn't wait to test it. The Flying Technique wasn't a dangerous skill, so even though he was exhausted, he couldn't resist testing it immediately.
Without even leaving the room, Finney began using the skill.
In the bedroom, as the skill was activated, Finney's body slowly floated up, almost unaffected by any movements.
This unprecedented experience filled him with wonder, and the Flying Technique was even more powerful than he had imagined, as it consumed almost no energy.
Dragon Ball contains a special energy called ki, and the Crane School's Flying Technique relies on the user's manipulation of ki to overcome the limitations of gravity and move freely in the air.
Finney didn't cultivate ki, but his Flying Technique was a skill. Perhaps due to the system, he utilized the free ki, or energy, in the surrounding space, thus consuming no energy.
This also meant that as long as he wasn't in a place devoid of energy, he could fly freely using the Flying Technique.
The only pity was that he could only control this power with the Flying Technique, not with something like a Kamehameha like Goku.
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(End of Chapter)