New Skills

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT!!??"

'It seems I've forgotten about something important again.'

"That was indeed very exhilarating, but Shizue is safe now."

Elen, Kabal, and Gido popped out of the half-burnt bushes after I finished dealing with Ifrit and Shizue.

"How are you so powerful?? And what did you do to Shizue-san? Where is she?" Elen started demanding.

*BOOM*

I released a bit of my [Haki]

"I may be acting casual with you, but remember that you're still guests. You have no right to demand answers from me."

The effect was instantaneous. Their faces paled.

"I'm sorry for my outburst there, Ashborne-san. I was just flustered from what I saw." Elen responded.

"That's alright, I just showed you strength that is unexpected from a regular village leader."

"Yeah about that, you aren't really a human are you?" Kabal enquired.

"That's correct, I'm a Majin, who rules over this settlement."

"That's awesome!!" Kabal exclaimed.

"About the thing Elen asked earlier, can you answer that please?" Gido continued.

"I sent her somewhere she can recover safely. She was the vessel of a Greater Elemental and lost control, which led to this."

"No shit! We saw that!! That was the Fire Giant Ifrit!!"

"That means that Shizue-san is the Champion, Conqueror of Flames!!"

"What's more impressive is that you managed to beat her!! That's absurd!!"

Hehe... Now you're making me embarrassed.

Showing no indication of my inner thoughts, I replied, "It's nothing much really."

I talked with the trio for a while longer after which they decided that they would head back to Ingrassia and report to the Guild Master.

After a bit of convincing, they even agreed to report Veldora as missing from his seal, and also keep the Guild Master in the dark about me and the village.

We decided on the excuse that Shizue-san decided to go her own way after reaching Jura, which is the reason she couldn't return to Ingrassia with them.

They left almost immediately after that.

------------------

I took a big rest following that...

Fighting Ifrit, and then adding the two to my Legion took quite a bit of my energy. And unfortunately, I don't have the Veldora Battery.

I wanted to decide my next course of action. However, before I could do any of that, another important thing came up.

One which I was very much looking forward to.

The teams I had sent out all over Jura to find monsters, had returned.

Rigur told me that their expedition was quite successful too. I'm looking forward to this.

I used [Soul Shift] to teleport to the Soul Realm.

Rigur was waiting for me with the team. Along with them, were 3 monsters.

"We have succeeded in capturing the monsters, my Lord. All 3 of them are alive as per your instructions."

"You have all done well, you can rest now. Thank you for your hard work."

"You don't have to thank us, Lord Ashborne!! We're merely doing our duty as your Legionaries."

They then bowed and left.

Now then, time to check out the monsters.

--------------------

'[Great Sage], can you give me an overview of all the monsters here?'

<Received. Analysis is being conducted.....Successful.>

< 1. Hellfrog : C+

2. Crazed Mole: C+

3. Incarnated Medium Wind Elemental: C+ >

'An Elemental?!! How the hell did that happen??'

The supposed elemental just looked like a regular eagle.

<Report. The Eagle body is being used as a material vessel for Medium Wind Elemental.>

'Hmmmmm....'

*SHRIEK* *SHRIEK*

Suddenly, the Eagle, who was supposed to be unconscious, got up at attacked me.

At least, he tried to attack me--

*BOOM*

"YOU MONGREL!! You dare attack Lord Ashborne!!"

*BOOM*

"KNOW YOUR PLACE, PEASANT!!"

'Ahh Shit'

Coatl was absolutely outraged.

And the Eagle was paralyzed and it's mind was being corroded, as a result of Coatl's skill [Celestial Snake Eyes]

"Stop Coatl, your aura is hurting the other Legionaries."

His rampant aura was truly very powerful. Not only was the eagle on the verge of death, but even Rigur and the other Ogres were sweating and panting.

"I'm sorry my Lord." He apologized and immediately retreated.

Now then, before any more incidents can happen, I should get this over with.

"[Soul Seize]"

Dark Miasma seeped out of my hand and covered the 3 monsters whole.

In just a few seconds, they were successfully added to the Legion.

But there was one complication, with the Wind Elemental.

<Report. The vessel holding the Wind Elemental has been dead for too long and hence cannot be revived. itself successfully added to Soul Circuit. However, it is in need of a Material Physical Body order not disappear.>

<Suggested solution. Use Unique Skill [Degenerate] to separate the Wind Elemental from it's current dead body and give it a new body.>

Let's see, the Elemental will require a new body....What to do?...

Oh that's right!! 

"Hey Coatl, do you mind if I seal this Elemental inside you?" I asked.

"Of Course my Lord!! I would be overjoyed at such an honor!!"

"Nice!"

'[Great Sage], do it.'

<Report. Using Unique Skill [Degenerate] to separate Medium Wind Elemental from Physical Body....Successful.>

<Using 'Synthesis' function of [Degenerate] to fuse Medium Wind Elemental with Individual 'Coatl'.....Successful.>

Coatl started glowing an electric blue and then fell asleep.

'Hey [Great Sage], what's going on? Is he ok?'

<Report. It seems that the Individual 'Coatl' is having a battle of wills with Wind Elemental, over control their body.>

'So similar to Shizue and Ifrit.'

I just have to have faith in Coatl, he'll win. No need to worry.

Though I should be prepared to crush the Elemental's soul and mind in case something goes wrong.

My Legion's safety is the thing that matters the most after all.

'Phew'

I just wanna rest for now, I'll review the new abilities I've gotten later.

----------------

*YAWN*

That was a good rest. Even if I don't require sleep anymore, it just feels good. And it also helps in magicule recovery.

"I have returned, my Lord. I have succeeded in assimilating the pesky Elemental." a voice hissed out.

"That's a relief Coatl. Congratulations on your strength boost, by the way."

"I am deeply grateful for your words, Lord Ashborne. I shall strive to use my strength for you and the Legion." he replied.

He was now undoubtedly the strongest of my Legion, by quite a wide margin.

[Great Sage] told me that he had completely destroyed the Wind Elemental's soul and absorbed it's power. This had resulted in him gaining more magicules and skills.

All in all, he, and as a result had gained:

1. [Dark Lightning]

2. [Wind Manipulation]

3. [Gravity Flight]

4. [Lightning Transformation]

Additionally, he had also gained [Electricity Nullification] from the Elemental.

As [Great Sage] put it, the Elemental had actually given him [Lightning Manipulation], but Veldora's influence through me, had transformed it into the skill [Dark Lightning]. This was because [Dark Lightning] is one of Veldora's abilities as a part of his True Dragon [Storm Magic].

In conclusion, this was a beautiful harvest. So many good skills.

It seems the time has come to finally to review all my powers and optimize my skill set.

"I'm proud of you Coatl, you can do whatever you want for now, I'll call you later."

I said this because I know he wouldn't be able to leave my side by his own choice, but he still wanted to test out his new powers.

"I shall return immediately on your call, my Lord."

After he went away, I decided to follow Rimuru's decision and head to Veldora's cave.

----------------

"AYYYY!! How's it going?"

"It's nice seeing you again my friend. KUAH-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!!"

"What're you doing nowadays anyway? Did you finish watching Naruto?"

"Of course. It was beautiful, except for the filler. I've already watched over a 100 anime from your memories."

"You're an addict Veldora, I sent you so many books, T.V series and documentaries, yet you chose to only watch anime. Although as a fellow veteran weeb, I approve."

"KUAH-HA-HA-HA!! It's truly amazing my friend. I want to fight Shenron and Kaido and Acnologia!!"

"Of course you wanna fight them, you crazy dragon. What's next, you wanna get together with Ophis and Grandeeney?"

"W-What!!? Of course not!! Why would you even suggest something like that?? I would never think of something like that!!" Veldora stammered out.

Is this guy for real. He's truly turning into a weeb, simping for 2D girls....or dragons.

Wait-- Are they real too?! Are all the fictional characters from my old wolrd true?? 

Man I hope they are, though it's unlikely. I wanna meet them so bad. 

Though they say that you shouldn't meet your heroes. 

I don't care, I just wanna have a drink with Whitebeard. 

"A-Ahem. Anyway, I saw that memory you sent me. I rate it a solid 7/10. You were cool, but not as cool as Madara. Also I've noticed. You've grown very powerful compared to when we first met, and it has only been a few months."

"Trying to change a topic with compliments huh? Very well, I'll accept it."

We then talked for a long time. About anime, things from my old world, my feats in this world etc. etc.

It was fun, very fun.

I was really glad to have Veldora. I can't wait to get him out of the Prison.

Then I bid him goodbye and headed to an empty cavern in the cave. I would need a lot of space to try out all of my skills. 

----------------

'Give me a brief overview of all my skills, and then we'll optimize.' I ordered [Great Sage].

<

Unique Skills:

1. [Necromancer]

2. [Great Sage]

3. [Archiver]

4. [Degenerate]

----------------

Intrinsic Skills & Legion Set-skills:

1. [Magic Resistance]

2. [Magic Jamming]

3. [Magic Sense]

4. [Soul Shift]

5. [Self-Regeneration]

6. [Perfect Memory]

------------------

Extra Skills:

1. [Dark Lightning]

2. [Lightning Transformation]

3. [Ranged Barrier]

4. [Celestial Snake Eyes]

5. [Shadow Motion]

6. [Spatial Manipulation]

7. [Ultra Instinct]

8. [Ultra Acceleration]

9. [Wind Manipulation]

10. [Water Manipulation]

11. [Flame Manipulation]

12. [Earth Manipulation]

13. [Body Double]

14. [Sticky-Steel Thread]

15. [Haki]

16. [Magic Aura]

17. [Death Roar]

18. [Keen Smell]

19. [Consumption]

20. [Explosive Blood]

----------------

Common Skills:

1. [Thought Communication]

2. [Body Armour]

3. [Gravity Flight]

4. [Sense Heat Source]

5. [Ultrasonic Waves]

6. [Drain]

7. [Scale Striker]

8. [Organic Web Network]

9. [Create Material]

10. [Size Manipulation]

>

"GODDAAMN!!!"

Putting them in a list makes me realize just how many skills I have. If I put them all together, I have 40 skills!

I have no need for these many skills, they can be merged and optimized into less than even 30.

Now then, time to start off, I'll test my skills later on.

'[Great Sage], tell me all the possible skills that can be merged using [Degenerate] right now.'

<Report.< p>

1. Extra Skill [Ultra Instinct] can be integrated into [Great Sage] to increase it's danger precognition abilities.

2. [Body Armor] can be merged with [Scale Striker] to create Extra Skill [External Armor]

3. [Organic Web Network], [Sticky-Steel Thread] and [Shadow Motion] can be combined to create Extra Skill [Dimensional Thread]. [Shadow Motion] can be integrated into this skill as all it's functions are covered in [Spatial Manipulation

This concludes all currently available skill combinations. Upon further analysis, few more skills will become available for optimization.]>

Perfect.

I have no problems with all these upgrades. I'll basically get more powerful and versatile skills for the cost of multiple weaker ones.

'Do it.'

<Using [Degenerate] to combine skills.....Successful.>

<Individual 'Ashborne Pendragon' has acquired Extra Skill [External Armor] and [Dimensional Threads].>

The <VOTW > announced my new skills. 

It's really annoying that [Great Sage] and the <VOTW > have the same voice. Hopefully it's voice gets more humanlike as it gets more powerful and time passes.

Anyways, time to try out the new skills.

First off, [External Armor].

As soon as I activated the skill, blackish purple scales started appearing on my forearm. They were kinda fluidic in nature, but still felt solid.

I don't know how to explain it, but [Great Sage] said that the armor can change it's shape like a fluid but can harden to become extrmely powerful.

I can cover my whole body with it if I wanted, but I don't think I'll ever need to.

To further test out its durability, I decided to measure it up against my blade. 

*SCHWING*

My blade extended out from my wrist. 

Wait a minute--

There are a lot of similarities between my armor and this blade, at least in terms of looks.

Could my future self have made this bracelet-blade from something similar to this armor.

Hmmmm... Certainly an interesting idea.

Well, doesn't matter.

I then raised my right hand (with the blade) and held out my left hand in front of me

.

*CLANG*

I hit my left arm, covered with the armor, with all the strength I could muster without using any skills.

"OWW!"

The impact sent shockwaves throughout the cavern. Thankfully, the cave is stable, otherwise it would have collapsed right there.

As I inspected the effects of the impact--

I could see small cracks on the armor but absolutely no damage to the blade.

Still, its impressive that the armor withstood that hit with just a few cracks.

I don't wanna sound conceited, but I'm easily stronger than most people in the Western Nations already. So the fact that this armor can protect me from a full-strength attack performed with a Unique-Grade Weapon, is very comforting.

Not to mention, this armor is going to be my last layer of defense, I still have some things planned.

I then tried to change the shape of the armor into a full-arm gauntlet, and it worked!

I fine-tuned it even more and added spikes on the backside/dorsal side of the forearm. The spikes would provide extra protection against sword-wielding opponents.

The gauntlet covered my whole arm and provided claw-like extensions on my fingers for extra offensive power.

All in all, it was an extremely useful skill, that I could see myself using regularly.

Next up, is [Dimensional Thread].

I remember a skill called [Universal Thread] in the original series, which Rimuru got during his Harvest Festival.

How does this skill compare to that one?

<Report. The strength of the skills [Universal Thread] and [Dimensional depends on user, so it is difficult to determine which one them stronger. However, skill possesses Spatial Element lacks.>

'Is that so...'

[Great Sage] went on to explain that similar to [Universal Thread], [Dimensional Thread] can also be imbued with the user's resistances and nullifications.

Additionally, the threads can stick to any surface, are as durable as the things I create with [Create Material].

Due to the skill [Organic Web Network] being integrated into it, the threads can transmit encrypted information, and also transport anything without an ego.

However, the most broken function of the skill, comes from the sub-skill [Shadow Motion].

It basically made me able to pop out the threads from anywhere in my line of sight.

That meant that I could just create a few threads from my arm, and then make them pop out from behind someone to instantly disable them.

I immediately started testing the skill out.

I created 5 threads, one from each fingertip. 

'The hell?'

They were completely invisible. I could 'see' them with my [Magic Sense], but that was still difficult due to their faint magical signature and their thinness.

Moving on, I simply thought about the threads appearing at the edge of the cavern and--

There they were. 

It was extremely uncanny, seeing threads just hanging from nowhere.

The next experiment, involved testing the strength and sharpness of the threads.

Firstly, I tried to slice the stretched out threads with my blade.

And surprisingly, it took quite a bit of strength before they snapped. I'm sure these will be easily able to slice up most people and monsters with ease.

Secondly, I threw some big boulders at the threads, which were sliced up like smooth butter.

Certainly a successful experiment.

Finally, I was done with testing the first two new skills of my upgraded arsenal. And it was very satisfying indeed.

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A/N: New chapter is here!!

And along with it new skills!!

Stay tuned for the next one, Ashborne's gonna be doing a lot of experimentation. I'll upload the next chapter directly on Monday, so a two day gap instead of one. So to compensate, I made this chapter extra long, almost 3000 words.

Don't forget to drop some POWER STONES and REVIEW the story.