"These must be hard to get." Elias exclaimed, eying the different Attribute Crystal in his possession. In comparison to the different Manuals, the Attribute Crystal are one tier higher in terms of grade. With the Luck Crystal being the rarest item in his possession, the sole Rare one.
"Let's look at the last item first." The last item being a sword, which should be better than the one he currently possesses.
Picking the new sword, a gleaming silverish-white blade, out of the chest, Elias inspected it, which soon brought out a smile from the young man.
[Silver Steel Sword
Grade: Uncommon
Description: A sword made from iron and silver alloy, being stronger than a common steel sword.]
The description and different details were rather sparse, but he somewhat expected it.
"I need to deepen my knowledge before more information is revealed to me." He assumed.
"Now then, I should not waste time," he eyed the clock, almost five minutes had passed.
"But at the same time, I should see if I can learn new things and get extra Knowledge Points." He did not know when it would be used, but he assumed it would be important in the future.
"First, compare the damage between the two swords." It's the easiest thing to compare between many theories he had for the mechanics of the game.
Picking his first sword, Elias struck a wooden puppet, one that had spawned with the clock. He created a mark, though a shallow one. Picking the new steel sword, Elias struck at a different spot, next to his earlier blow.
Sure enough, it went deeper, maybe double his first strike.
"Yup, definitely using this." He would be a fool to not use the sword when fighting the next boss.
[GRADE EFFECT
Different Grade weapon cause different amount of damage. + 3 Knowledge Points]
So, something simple can give Knowledge Points. Good to know.
"Now, let's learn a Sword Skill." He decided to pick the Energy Slash I as the first one to learn. Reading the manual for Energy Slash, Elias quickly get the gist of it. Though for the first attempt, he will use his first sword.
"So, feel the Energy inside, focus it into the sword, and then swing it." He followed the steps, slashing from a distance. A white sword light flew towards the wooden puppet, creating a deeper mark than the one he did before.
As he cast his first Weapon Skill, a new screen appeared in front of him
[Congratulation player Alisnair on being the first player to learn a Weapon Skill
+ 10 Achievement Point]
"Wow, even a common weapon can cause deeper damage than an uncommon one if I use a Weapon Skill." It's a good thing to know, as it helps him determine what would be more dangerous, someone with a better weapon, or someone with a Weapon Skill.
Yet, as he did a single Energy Slash, he could feel a slight drain in his strength. He could tell it is slightly different from Stamina depletion.
"I can probably use a Weapon Skill 4 times, and that is if I just spam Energy Slash." He spoke to himself before picking up the Silver Steel Sword.
Following the same step, Elias unleashed an Energy Slash, the white sword right being the same color and intensity as the previous one, though it did more damage, almost cutting the wooden puppet into two.
"So, a better weapon does not result in better Weapon Skill, though it can improve its effect."
[GRADE EFFECT
Different Grade weapons cause different amounts of damage with Weapon Skill, but not improve it outright. + 3 Knowledge Points]
Elias raised his brows at that. He did not think he can easily get Knowledge Points like that. But more Points is probably better, right?
"For the next test," Elias picked up the Sword Manual I, while checking his Sword Mastery.
"15, probably from beating up the Human Puppet," he mused to himself, before turning his full attention to the manual.
Yet, even as his focus is on the explanation of swordsmanship, he occasionally turn his attention to his Sword Mastery stats. After 7 minutes, it rise to 16.
He stopped reading, picking up the Intelligence Crystal. Putting it between his brows, he could feel it being absorbed into his head.
Elias could not see it himself, but should he had a mirror, he would see his eyes gleaming for a brief second. Once the Crystal was gone, as it disappeared from between his fingers, Elias removed them, trying to sense any changes.
He did not feel smarter in any way or form, but the increase in his Intelligence Stats was proof enough it worked.
"Let's see if it works like I assume." picking the Sword Manual I back, he continued reading, while doing the same thing he did before, observing changes on his Sword Mastery. When it changed, he looked at the time, having done it before reading.
"4 to 5 minutes. Sure enough, a rise in Intelligence equal a rise in reading comprehension, making it easier for me to improve my Sword Mastery by reading the manual. This probably the same thing for Weapon Skill. A rise in intelligence probably make it easier for that."
[RATE OF LEARNING
High Intelligence equates to faster learning speed. + 10 Knowledge Points.]
Ignoring the increase in his Knowledge Point for the moment, Elias focused back to the Sword Manual, hoping to finish it before the 30-minutes mark.
-x-
'That's probably all I can get.' Elias thought. His Sword Mastery had reached 20, and it did not rise any higher. He even went beyond the 30 minutes he set for himself. To no avail.
"Now, time to test my Mastery." Wishing for a new wooden puppet, a new one emerged, while the previous one remained beside it, allowing Elias to do another comparison check.
Slashing at the new wooden puppet, the difference was more than obvious. It did not went as deep as when he used Energy Slash, but it definitely went deeper than his previous blow without using it.
Aside from an improvement in his blow, he could feel his movement is more fluid, not stiff like before.
"Next, learning Weapon Skill." picking up the Energy Slash manual, Elias started to understand something beyond pouring energy to his sword, then slash.
"Stances can be fluid, but the Energy flow must be smooth," he said out loud, his understanding of the Weapon Skill rising in a matter of minutes. Once he felt his understanding is sufficient for a new test, Elias wished for a new puppet, to test how much he improved