Cheat Skill

'But... it is a little bit, errr- concise.'

I examined the paltry information before myself, not sure whether to feel exhilaration or vexation.

-=Resources=-

[Stamina : 83%]

-=Skills=-

(Blood Flush - 0%)

{Acquisition Reversal - .1%}

The first thing I noticed was that a form of understanding was granted for whatever I looked upon in this panel, a kind of information that superseded language.

Stamina could be used by skills, but was also consumed through basic human activity. Stamina regeneration varied due to many factors, and was not clean cut. How much the subject has eaten, slept, rested, exerted themselves, and to what degree was just getting started when it came to the details of stamina.

Blood Flush appeared to be a kind of mechanism that traded a portion of my stamina in order to enact a temporary change in my body. The percentage next to it was something like a proficiency rating, which would enhance the effects of the skill, my own control over those effects, and more as it rose with the repeated usage of the skill. From what I understood while looking at it, the skill would cause a small area of my body to instantly engorge with blood, tapering out over the course of the next few seconds. During that short time frame the strength of the affected muscles would rise by quite an impressive amount by my own standards.

Acquisition Reversal was a very different type of skill, it allowed me to... transition? into an adjacent realm/dimension thingy where skills resided, and acquire one manually. The information did not include anything about a cost, however I highly doubted such a powerful skill would demand nothing in return, hopefully this 'new world' I had found myself in contained information about this kind of skill, or else I would be left to raise the proficiency level on my own to learn more. Even if the skill was far too vague for my liking, there was still an interesting implication that could be gleaned from the context, which was that skills were actually the ones to choose their owners.

Of course, it would appear that I went and violated that convention right off the bat...

"Hurry it up, or I'll bring the fight to you if that's what you need."

Anyhow, [Blood Flush] was not applicable to the current situation, as it was fairly obvious this was something that would count as what Auria had called an 'active'. Many considerations rushed through my mind in a hurry, as I felt the pressure to act mounting.

As it stood, there was little doubt that getting accepted into this academy would be the safest course of action. If I was rejected and found myself out in a cruel world with no belongings or connections I would only be able to lament my misfortune. I did not have the time or means to ascertain the fine details about my situation, and getting accepted into an institute of knowledge would go a long way towards fixing that issue.

However, there wasn't much of a chance of me being able to pass this test, unless I acted on the spot...

Also, it couldn't hurt to establish the limits of my strange skill in the meantime, right? So, I wasted not a single breath, voluntarily throwing myself right back into that terrifying situation as I activated my cheat skill.

{Acquisition Reversal}

A similar series of events as before played out, Auria's deepening scowl grinding to a halt as a myriad of extremely discomforting sensations invaded my senses, followed by the same divine light show.

I once again found myself in the vast expanse of LED fairy lights, except this time the terror and feelings of impending doom were just that much greater. I spent no time scrambling for the nearest skill, but I was keen to note a mild searing deep within. It did not have an exact location, and despite it's almost ignorable nature, it was uniquely torturous in a way I could not describe.

Like my own bleeding nails being grinded against a chalkboard... or something.

It was not long before I had my hands on a new skill, and as I snapped back to reality I was glad to see, and feel, that my efforts had not gone to waste.

-=Skills=-

(Blood Flush - 0%)

[Impact Dispersion]

{Acquisition Reversal - .2%}

'Sweet!'

[Impact Dispersion] appeared to be a type of passive skill, or more appropriately an innate skill that altered my physique. My body could now cope with the effects of repeated blunt force impacts and shock far more efficiently than it had before. I was actually really happy with this skill, as its broad nature made it applicable in a large number of scenarios.

Even as I was just coming back to my senses, I could feel the new skill changing my body. While it felt bizarre, the warm bubbling sensation could even be considered pleasant and relaxing if one did not think about it too much.

Not waiting to be threatened again, I began to approach the instructor, praying that there wasn't anything too horrendous about my stance, footwork, or whatever else I was effectively pretending to not have absolutely zero experience in.

Closing in on her, Auria remained motionless aside from her eyes which tracked me closely.

Once I entered within a few strides, I launched forwards abruptly, trying my best to keep my swing precise as I put as much force into the sword as I could, the wooden training sword closing in as a last second change caught me entirely unawares.