Chapter 322 - A Bout with a Serpent (1/2)
Swoosh!
As Argentum continued to walk while allowing the brown light around him to engulf his sense of vision, he could not help but ponder as to how far he still had to walk before reaching the proper portion of the Desecrated Inheritance. Fortunately, after about twenty steps or so, the brown light surrounding him was gradually changed to reveal what seemed to be the interior of what was a cozy home. Well, to be honest, it was more accurate to call it the interior of a luxury home focused on making sure that the person inside it was as relaxed as possible.
Taking a look at his new surroundings, Argentum was greeted with the sight of a few sofas circling around a stunningly crafted table made out of chiseled marble. These sofas were made with what seemed to be soft red fabric, which complemented the hardwood floor of the area he was in. If one also took into consideration the cream white walls of the area, as well as the candlelit chandelier above the marble table, which gave off a dim yet soothing light, then one could definitely consider this as the place where one would attend to guests.
”Definitely a weird hall when compared to other inheritances,” Argentum muttered to himself as he made his way to one of the sofas, sitting down before letting out a sigh of relief. While doing so, he went through Aurus' memories regarding the trials of the Desecrated Inheritance, wanting to make sure that he was prepared for the trials. Of course, he still gave himself some leeway in case the trials changed. Although this world was based on ISE, he knew that not all would be based on it since this was a living, breathing world.
After being certain that he had remembered all of the trials Aurus had gone through in the Desecrated Inheritance back then, he then took another look at his surroundings, noticing that a small doorway that shone with white light had appeared on one of the cream white walls. It was no surprise that this wall led to the start of the Desecrated Inheritance, given by the fact that the doorway seemed to radiate an aura that was beckoning Argentum to enter it.
Although he wouldn't mind heading through it at this instant since he didn't need to prepare for anything, he still recalled the words mentioned by the disembodied voice before he left the Evernorth Desert. This thought soon made him ask himself, ”If I remember correctly, the voice said that I've obtained a chance to select skills from the inheritance. Do I have to do something to allow me to use that chance?”
Swish!
Surprisingly, just as he was thinking about how he was going to use the chance he had earned, a small screen made out of Earth energy particles had appeared in front of his field of vision, slightly surprising Argentum in the process. Taking a look at the content written on the screen made of earth, he could not help but mutter with a hint of awe, ”For someone like Lord Calcifas to have the ability to make something like this, I presume he's pretty strong.”
As he said, he wondered if the screen in front of him was driven by thoughts, prompting him to think about selecting a skill. It turned out that his hypothesis was indeed correct, with the content of the screen being hastily replaced with multiple rectangles not long after. A few seconds later, the insides of these rectangles were filled with texts, with the top portion of the rectangles having larger texts.
Just as he was about to choose a skill, Argentum noticed that there were a few lines of text at the top of the screen, prompting him to read it out as he murmured, ”Due to the inheritor achieving Prodigy grade, the inheritor has obtained access to Prodigy grade skills.”
”What's the Prodigy grade?” he soon asked himself, hastily rummaging through Aurus' memories after that to find out what it was. Unfortunately for him, Aurus' memories did not have anything that tackled the Prodigy grade whatsoever, though it was not impossible for him to have his own thoughts on the matter, thinking that the Prodigy grade was a type of reward grade.
”If it is a reward grade, then I hope it's high up there,” he said with a light chuckle before sending out a thought to the screen that he only wanted to see Prodigy grade skills. It did not take long for the screen in front to comply to his wishes, with the number of rectangles on the screen now being countable on two hands. With only a few skills to choose from, Argentum went ahead and read through the title and description of each and every skill, taking into consideration what he would possibly need for the future trials.
”No…not that…this one ain't it either…ah. Found the one that suits me for now.” With only less than 10 skills to choose from, it was no surprise that it only took a few minutes for Argentum to choose a skill from the list that felt like he needed. Without hesitation, he sent out a thought that he would like to learn the skill he had chosen from the list, to which the screen complied as it sent out an array of Earth energy particles towards his forehead. These particles were then absorbed by his body as a notification sound resounded in his mind not even an instant after.
Ding!
'You have learned the active skill [Mountain Reformation Scripture]!'
”Identify the skill I've just obtained,” Argentum said not long after obtaining the notification, prompting a holographic screen to appear in front of the screen made of earth. Although he had already confirmed that he had obtained the skill he chose from the name alone, he wanted to make sure that its effects were as described, skimming through the skill's description.
________
[Mountain Reformation Scripture]
Grade: Mortal (C)
An ultimate art that condenses the specialties of the Earth element into a single skill, it is an art that allows the user to bend the Earth element to their will, allowing them to use as a means of defense, or as a means of offense. When the user enlightens themselves through this skill, it wouldn't be far-fetched to say that they could wreak havoc through the Earth element alone.
________
Nodding in satisfaction, Argentum then closed the screen he summoned as he sent a thought to the screen made of earth that he was now done looking through the screen. Interestingly, after that thought was sent out, the screen made out of earth transformed into dust that was dispersed all over the surroundings, only to dissipate into thin air soon after. Seeing this, Argentum could not help but mutter, ”Quite flashy.”
After that, he stood up from the sofa and made his way towards the bright doorway, recalling the information he had committed to memory as he took in a deep breath. Gazing into the doorway, as if he was seeing something else inside it, Argentum muttered, ”If Aurus' memories serve as a good guide, then the first trial given to me will be an endurance trial, prompting me to clear as many waves as possible.”
”Now that I think about it, I should have obtained some passive skills that increased my rate of mana recovery,” he could not help but say, only to shrug his shoulders soon after as he added, ”Oh, well. I still have a large pool of mana.”