[Book 1 Completed] Industrial Mage: Modernizing a Magical World [Kingdom Building LitRPG]
B2 | Chapter 17 – Skill Evolution!

Theodore POV

[Mana Bolt] has leveled up! - Lvl 6 > Lvl 8!

[Healing Touch] has leveled up! – Lvl 9 > Lvl 12!

[Mana Shield] has leveled up! - Lvl 9 > Lvl 14!

[Arcane Awareness] has leveled up! – Lvl 5 > Lvl 7!

[Mana Reinforcement] has leveled up! – Lvl 3 > Lvl 5!

[Elemental Spells] has leveled up! – Lvl 23 > Lvl 24!

[Elemental Spells] has leveled up! – Lvl 24 > Lvl 25

[Elemental Spells] has reached MAX!

[Elemental Spells] is Evolving!

Life and death pressure and danger worked wonders for leveling up his skills. It was almost undeniable now… It worked.

How come it wouldn't work? Pressure to live or die, danger, high stakes, adrenaline, etc. There was something primordial about it.

Progress actually occurs at that point. What other reason might it be? No amount of practice dummies or sterile little training halls ever did this.

Gods above, in a single chaotic day, he had learned more than he had in a month of leisure training back home.

How is that fair? It's not. But maybe the System doesn't care about fairness... From what I've noticed so far in both humans and monsters, the System just encourages fighting and evolution. Heck, monsters even have that instinct compelling them to pursue evolution.

This was sufficient evidence for him to conclude that his theory was correct. He ought to have taken more risks earlier. From day one, he ought to have been rushing headlong into monsters. Why didn't anyone say it directly?

His skills had grown significantly; in fact, he was very certain that the growth curve wasn't even typical. He had rapidly accumulated many levels. Something like this had happened before as well, when he had fought the Outer God during the incursion. He ought to have understood what was going on at the time.

In any case, he was moving in Roland's direction while all of it was going through his mind. Roland appeared to be simply relaxing. More clones had been made by the Slime King, and they were being sent their way, but the survivors had already united and were battling them. They could deal with the slimes much more easily now that they were in the right formation and more prepared.

Theodore could afford to take a little break. He needed to persuade Roland to take care of all the clones in order to carry out his plan to attack the Slime King now. He glanced at the notification he received as he was walking.

Congratulations! Evolutions available for: [Elemental Spells]!

Evolutions available:

[Elemental Mastery], [Elemental Infusion], [Precision Conjuring], and [Residual Channeling].

This was exciting. His fingers continued to quiver with mana, and the adrenaline had not yet completely left his veins. He forced himself to stop even though everything inside of him wanted to do something. After all, this was the moment to reflect, not to act.

There was more to this choice than a flashy power-up. His future use of magic would be determined by this, so he inhaled deeply, closed his eyes for a time, and let the sounds of combat fade into the distance.

He had four choices, it seemed, so he began reasoning through them one at a time.

[Elemental Mastery].

The name alone said enough. This skill appeared to be a general upgrade of [Elemental Spells] and it was promising the culmination of everything he'd worked toward. He brought up the description of the skill.

Elemental Mastery

Type: Active

Effect: Enhances the potency, range, and casting speed of all basic elemental spells and unlocks additional elemental affinities.

Simply said this was a stronger, quicker, and more effective version of the skill. It was just a general upgrade. In addition, more elemental affinities would be unlocked. What was included in that? No information was provided. He had to follow his instincts. However, based on his best assessment, this must have been metal, wood, lightning, or something similar. He had no clue. Or did they not count as elements?

It was very tempting to select this skill.

But is it really the best option? He pondered. It was secure. Similar to upgrading or forging a new blade instead of sharpening the old one. Would this be enough? Still... it was hard to argue against "stronger everything."

[Elemental Infusion].

The name alone told him a lot about this one, and it had caused him to halt. He nonetheless had a look at the skill description.

Elemental Infusion

Type: Active

Effect: Allows the user to imbue weapons or physical attacks with elemental energy.

At first look, it wasn't a natural fit. He wasn't a swordsman. Well, he was, but he didn't carry himself as one typically, and recently his fighting style had also shifted from up and close to more of a caster. However... He had witnessed firsthand Roland's agility and accuracy. Roland was lethal without having to toss fireballs. Furthermore, he realized that using physical strikes in conjunction with elemental magic didn't always require fists. It could refer to thrown weapons, arrows, or even traps.

Could he use lightning to enchant a whip? Could he throw daggers like winter shards after coating them in frost? It was a specialty, and he was aware of its origin. It was a holdover from the days he used a sword. However, now... It would require a change in his perspective on fighting.

However, the drawbacks were obvious, and he wasn't certain he wanted to follow this specific course. Although the skill was intriguing, it didn't appear to be something that [Elemental Mastery] couldn't do. What would even stop him from infusing elemental mana using the more general upgrade of [Elemental Spells] now that he had been introduced to the concept? He had never considered incorporating elemental mana into anything, but now he was considering it.

Regardless, onto [Precision Conjuring].

This was the one that had most immediately attracted his attention.

Precision Conjuring

Type: Active

Effect: Focuses on shaping elemental spells with exact control. Enables elemental spells to perform utility or surgical tasks.

It was less ostentatious than the others. Not a simple, straightforward evolution like [Elemental Infusion] or [Elemental Mastery]. This was more about control, and it seemed to be made for him. He had always been more meticulous, after all. He had attempted to find out how to sculpt mana rather than tossing it like a rock as others threw broad fireballs or crashed waves of water over the battlefield. And this would make that possible, although with more precision.

This made it more difficult to use, as well. Would he have time to keep a form or set up a precise shot in the chaos of combat? Would he be slowed down by the concentration it required? Perhaps.

Since it was a vague evolution and he had no idea how it would work out, he didn't find this one very appealing on a personal level. He made some educated assumptions as to why he got this skill as an evolution. Could it be because of his deeper tempering? For example he'd played with purple fire and the ball of doom, so it would make sense if that was where the idea of the skill came from.

In any case, he looked at the last skill.

[Residual Channeling].

The strangest one. Not because it was flashy but because it wasn't.

Residual Channeling

Type: Active

Effect: Allows the caster to draw low levels of elemental energy from the environment to cast spells without expending mana.

Mana was precious. He had experienced the nausea of being depleted and the empty aching in his head. He had to wait for his mana to recover. If he was able to cast without using up his own reserves...

Even if it was just small spells, that added up. All without the need of mana. It could eventually save his life.

Was that enough, though?

He frowned.

It was by far the most subtle of the four. And, in a sense, the most ordinary. That being said, this was also the least intriguing option.

Okay. Think clearly now.

[Elemental Mastery] was a definite improvement, safe, and reliable. [Elemental Infusion] was innovative, dangerous, and had the potential to open up completely new fighting styles. [Precision Conjuring] was incredibly versatile, controlled, and brilliant. Of all of them, [Residual Channeling] was the weakest and least interesting. At least to him.

He was unable to have all four. What kind of a [Mage] did he wish to become, then? As he took the final few steps toward Roland, who was still sitting calmly, he allowed the question to linger in his mind.

"You look like you've been having a philosophical crisis. Pick a religion or something?"

"One of my skills reached the threshold and evolved. I got four options. I'm... stuck."

"Let's hear them."

So he told him. All the while, Roland remained silent. He didn't smile or give any expression, in fact he didn't even say anything. He simply listened. The silence lingered for a moment after Theodore finished.

"Alright," Roland said. "Wanna know what I'd pick?"

"Sure."

"None of them."

Theodore furrowed his brow.

"You're not me," Roland clarified. "You're you. And that's the point. So what do you want to do with magic? Not what sounds cool. Not what saves mana. Not what wins one fight. What do you want your magic to be? Which skill calls to you on a personal level?"

That stuck with him. He lowered his gaze to his hands. What did he want? Theodore looked up.

"I think I know what I'm choosing."

Roland gave a nod, and Theodore made up his mind.

Evolve [Elemental Spells] into [Elemental Mastery].

Congratulations! You have evolved skill: [Elemental Spells]!

Congratulations! You have gained skill: [Elemental Mastery]!

His immediate thought was that something was awry. Like sliding on wet stone, like stepping off a cliff you didn't see, or like that nasty twist of a lie you didn't realize you'd said until it was too late and everyone was staring.

Something inside him was coiling backwards, like a snake unwinding from the inside out, and he gagged as his stomach flipped. The world swayed. No, it actually slanted; it wasn't a metaphor or an exaggeration. Maybe it didn't tilt so much as his head swam and he stumbled forward. Wait, did he stumble? Wasn't he sitting? Or was that all in his imagination?

Then the light appeared. The light didn't come from the outside… no, it was a weird sensation but he knew that it blossomed inside him. Not even his body, but rather… his soul? Then he experienced the agony of runes growing inside of him.

They didn't enter one by one, neat and orderly… they rushed, all of them. A deluge of runes suddenly crashed against the boundaries of his mind. Three, maybe four. No—six? Seven? How many was it? He couldn't count. They weren't meant to be seen, not with eyes, but he saw them anyway.

He let out an audible gasp as they inscribed themselves into him. And now he was sweating. Why did he sweat so much? His back was wet. His breath came in quick gasps, and his hair stuck to his forehead. Like fire through parched leaves, mana—too much mana—roared through his body. Each nerve erupted. All the muscles jerked.

What was this? The world remained blurry at the edges even though he blinked hard, as though something was still getting used to it, like an eye that had stared into the sun and was now unable to see for some time.

"What?" he whispered. Or maybe just thought it. "How?"

Roland's voice pulled him back and brought him back to earth.

"What happened?"

Theodore opened his mouth, closed it, and then opened again. Then finally: "I got… new runes."

With a sound that was halfway between a sigh and a laugh, Roland leaned back as if he had anticipated it.

"That happens when a skill evolves. You get new runes to make the new version work. Usually only one or two, though." He was now paying greater attention to Theodore. "You okay?"

Theodore slowly shook his head.

"I don't know."

Roland nodded.

"Look inward. See what you can do now."

So he did. He saw flames there. It was his old friend, of course. The warmth in his heart was still there, constant and scorching. But beside it now was heat. No wait, it was thermal energy? Something larger. Although it was difficult to translate runes into language, but it was not a torch but the concept of heat. Fire was just the puppet, this was the puppeteer.

Next, he saw lightning and life, as well. But just beyond that… Its twin which was death. And finally, something strange. It felt unfamiliar to him. He'd had a relationship with fire, death and life. Lightning didn't feel foreign, for some reason, but this one did. It was a kinetic rune.

That was it.

Slowly, he opened his eyes. He didn't feel the same, even if the world appeared to be the same. He felt like a library with new wings built overnight. And they were dark and dusty and filled with books that hadn't been read yet. But he knew this much: he couldn't use them yet. He would require time, levels, and effort to truly utilize his new affinities because this was only access. Wiping a bead of sweat from his forehead, he stood slowly. Even though his hands were still shaking, they were more steady now.

"Well?" Roland asked.

Theodore was silent for a moment.

"I've got more affinities now."

Roland's brow rose. "More?"

Theodore nodded.

"Fire's still there, but it's like it's evolved into… thermal. I've got lightning, life and death, and something I think is kinetic."

Roland whistled. "You got all that from one evolution?"

"Apparently."

"Well. That changes things."

Theodore nodded and turned to face the men engaged in combat with the clones.

Theodore turned to face Roland as his breath evened out.

"Let me test this out on the clones."

"Are you sure about that?"

"Yeah. When I'm done can you stall the rest? Maybe take them out while I go for the Slime King?"

"Sure."

***

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