Chapter 430 - Competition (1/2)
”Dud once again,” Nik whispered while opening his eyes. Through continuous travels in the dreamworld, not just Nie Li's but others that caught his eye, Nik started to classify the types of dreams he encountered. The first one is the most basic of all where the target dreams about some technique or information being detailed on. Nik called this type the knowledge dream. Till now, Nik had only encountered one such dream where Nie Li explained the purple demon eye technique to 'Ye Ziyun'.
The second type is what Nik likes to call as the experience dream. Old Kon's cooking experiences and the dream about Nie Li resisting the mysterious sage gave Nik great insight on cooking techniques and flying skills. The time when Nik's experience in alchemy grew was due to such a classification, too. This was the reason he could fly more gracefully and smoothly than before. The third type and the most frequent one is what Nik called a dud dream. Anything from complete irrelevant and illogical dreams to no dream at all fell into this classification. Right now, not only Nie Li wasn't dreaming but the same was the case for Old Kon and other few talented teachers.
Resisting the urge to nap once again, Nik slipped out of the bed and stealthily clicked the door open. His spirits had already receded into his spiritual world once again and today, they spread the joyous news of the imminence of their first spirit ring. Meanwhile, Nik had already decided to give up on creating a spirit ring of his own body. The spirit rings on items may touch the borders of this world's will, but at least, it won't induce a tribulation. Nik understood this fact after having a chat with Samya. But to form a spirit ring unique to his own existence instead of his spirit, that would greatly anger the will of the world, and Nik didn't wish to use the Smite Token once again. Deep down, Nik even doubted the usefulness of Smite Token that mobilized the will of the world to fight off the said will itself. ”So many things... I really wish I could just... spread the burden,” sighing to himself, he made his way towards the roof of the estate. Cultivating the purple demon eye technique was the highest priority for him right now.
Burying all his doubts regarding the system, skills, the world will, and his own fricking ancestry, Nik entered a state of complete calmness once again. He pushed away the thoughts that signified his paranoia regarding his situation and fear of the future. Any existence with a complex consciousness would have such thoughts regardless of their status and strength. To counter such thoughts, Nik delved deep into all the fortunate events that happened in his life. His birth and entry into the [Transmigration Paradise] certainly wasn't a part of it but when he recalled his time with Mitsuko and the others and the gut lovers Pavakā and Virya, the folds in the center of his brows smoothened and a genuine smile touched his lips. While recollected, a sudden thought appeared within his mind. Out of all the stats, the [LUK] happened to be the most mysterious of all. When Nik obtaining a single point in the stat, that very day, he obtained a page of Temporal Demon Spirit Book but after obtaining a rather large sum from Gojira, anything of particular interest hadn't occurred yet. Sure, he did get another page, but its use was shrouded.
Feeling the impending tangent in his thoughts, Nik cut the thought in its nascent stage and continued to calm himself down. Finally, as Nik attuned himself to the surroundings, he finally felt a strange sensation and he opened his eyes instantly. A thin, purple wisp entered his eyes at the same moment and a notification appeared within his mind that made all his doubts regarding the [LUK] stat disappear into a smoking poof.
[Skill Palace activated due to the fulfillment of all the requirements. Gained—
Purple Qi Manipulation (Lvl 1):
It allows the host to utilize the system energy to gain the aspect of ethereal purple qi. The ration of conversion depends upon the level of the skill.
Current Ratio (System to Modified energy)- 1:4
Next Lvl— 3 SP
---
Purple Demon Eye (Lvl 1):
This skill allows a passive boost to visual abilities. This skill requires a continuous supply of purple qi to level up.
Note: In case of using SP to level the skill, the user must have a large holding of purple qi or the eyes of the user may be permanently damaged.
Next Lvl— 3 SP]
Nik couldn't hide his smile as he clicked his tongue. Who's awesome? He is! Nik checked his status window and arranged the skill panel to group all the manipulation skills together just for his ease. After he gained the skill, his pool of knowledge regarding these skills was also widened to correspond to his current level. Manipulation of qi could be practiced into a high proficiency quite easily. Unlike Space Manipulation, the qi resembled threads of elemental energy, and Nik could use his deep experience in this regard to master purple qi. Meanwhile, his knowledge regarding the purple demon eye technique grew thorough and he now understood the minute details that were even missed by his treasured dream slave— Nie Li. Standing up and stretching, he gave the roof of the estate his final farewell for he would not require the assistance of the tiniest streams of purple qi right before sunrise any longer. After all, he could manipulate the purple qi generated by his own body.
Climbing down, Nik encountered a slightly troubled Korra in the backyard. In a moment, Nik jumped down with his deep insight in flying kicking in once again, turning his free fall into a graceful dive with elements of gliding as he skid across the grassy surface and stopped right in front of Korra. Smiling, he flicked her forehead, causing her to take a step back with a soft 'eh' and speak up, ”What was that for?” Korra touched her forehead and rubbed the afflicted region while Nik adjusted his tanktop and spoke with a straight expression, ”Letting troubled thoughts drown you first thing in the morning would only affect the rest of your day badly.”
Admiring Nik's exposed form stealthily, Korra shook her head and sneered, ”What troubled thoughts? I am only thinking if I should go all out or not.” Then, Korra adjusted her wrist bands before continuing, ”Teacher—”, Nik suddenly waved his hand and corrected her, ”I am thinking of changing the way you all address me... master sounds nice... not that I would force any of you but—”
”Fine, fine,” Korra rolled her eyes at the sheer shamelessness of her master and whispered the first word before continuing boldly, ”...ster, you already know that my second spirit ring boosts my physical defense and power by 400%... and, with the two spirit bones on my left and right hand, the physical attacks from my upper limbs are further multiplied by 2. If I go all out... I may accidentally crush someone's head.”
Korra heaved a deep sigh and sat down on the damp layer of grass while Nik shook his head and snapped his fingers. Instantly, Korra felt a rather large weight disappear from her shoulders as Nik continued, ”Due to the additional weight on your bodies, your attacks would be even greater than your estimation. Of course, this kind of advantage in a fair competition is distasteful. Now, you'll have to hold back based on your initial estimates... of course, you can kill a few eyesores if you want.”
Nii shrugged. Tilting her head up and looking at him, Korra chuckled mildly, ”Man, you are going to be the first master that is so easygoing.”
”Wait a minute,” Nik sat down and spoke with a slightly dirty expression, ”You've had masters before me? I am deeply hurt.” As a testament to his hurt feelings, Nik touched his chest and shook his head, making Korra roll her eyes once again. ”Master this, master that. You just like to tease girls. I know your kind well enough. Broke many of 'em personally.” Korra crackled her knuckles with a broad smile as Nik looked at the time internally. It was barely a few minutes past 6 in the morning. ”Lucky them,” Nik spoke while looking Korra in the eye and smiling suggestively, ”you must have enough experience then, right?”