Luck watched as his summon wore the armor. It was a perfect fit.
Valerian seemed to think so too, as he was busy admiring the sleekness of his new gear; his teeth chattering in happiness while Luck cast Appraise.
Since he was technically the one who created the set, and Valerian was his undead, the full capabilities of the set were revealed to him.
The set was pretty special since it had the capabilities of numerous pieces of Average equipment, as several skills caught Luck's eyes.
One more than others.
[Life Saver(Ep)]
Allows the user to survive a hit that is guaranteed to kill them, leaving them with 1% of their current health. (Active Charges:1/day)
Luck nodded in satisfaction, seeing the details of his skill. This skill would basically allow Valerian to perform his role as a meat shield even better.
"Now for a weapon."
Luck scratched his chin in thought. Even though gauntlets were part of the new set he had created with Gard's trash, he didn't think it really suited his shield warrior.
He wanted to give him something that would give him the range and extra damage that a fist couldn't deliver.
Luck's face brightened up abruptly at this thought. His shadow flashed as a short-armed mace appeared in his hand.
(It isn't a hammer, but it will do.) Luck thought as he handed it to Valerian, allowing the shield warrior to familiarize himself with the weapon before dismissing him.
Luck looked up as he saw his friends in various stages of training, from sparring to just plain meditation. It seemed they knew they needed all the preparation they could get.
Glancing at the remaining cores with him, Luck sat back down.
"It's high time Asher got an upgrade," he muttered as he pumped all his cores into his named creatures.
*Ding*
[Asher has reached C-rank (Low-tier)!]
[Asher has reached the stage to evolve! Commence evolution? Y/N]
[Dwayne has reached C-rank(Low-tier)!]
[Dwayne has reached the stage to evolve! Commence evolution? Y/N]
[Freya has reached D-rank(High-tier)!]
[Freya has learnt the skill [Shadow Sphere(R)]!]
[Freya has learnt the skill [Side step(Av)!]
To Luck's pleasant surprise, Asher and Dwayne had met the requirement to evolve. He immediately accepted, thereby concluding part of his preparations.
Now let's move on to the next part. Luck thought as he summoned his named Grandarcher, who looked around, seemingly confused that she was not summoned into a battlefield.
"Did you really think that the battlefield was the only place I had use for you?" Luck asked.
Freya nodded immediately.
"..."
Freya only shrugged at her master's flat gaze.
"You make me sound like some heartless taskmaster. Never mind, though, I have something else for you this time." Luck's eyes grew sharp. "I need your help to train."
...
*Thunk*
"Fuck!"
Luck cursed for the umpteenth time as Freya's bolts pierced his skin.
His training had started hours ago, and within that time, Freya had launched numerous bolts at him.
Luck gritted his teeth as he struggled to dislodge the bolt from his shoulder, and Freya shook her head in disappointment as she witnessed her master's failure.
"I know, I know; I suck at Vector Manipulation."
Vector Manipulation was the only skill from his previous 'purchase' that he hadn't learnt. It was way harder than he thought, though.
(Note to self: Having a skill in your head does not mean you can use it.) Luck thought, his body twitching as another bolt hit him.
Luck gestured for Freya to stop and immediately sat in a lotus position, extending his senses into his body.
He watched as his mana circulated through as he practiced his Mana Circulation nonstop.
He immediately tried to cast Vector Manipulation, watching as his mana reacted to his command.
Until it didn't.
Confusion marred his features as he saw his mana halt before it could leave his body.
He immediately tried to sense the magical energy around him to see what was causing the problem.
A costly mistake.
"Kyarrrgh!!"
A pained sound left Luck's lips as he threw his head back, and blood leaked from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth.
He had only looked at the mana outside for a second, but apparently, that second was enough to overwhelm him, causing a severe backlash.
Luck opened his eyes as he wiped the dripping blood with his sleeve. Surprisingly, after experiencing pain that was enough to rattle his brain, Luck was grinning like a madman.
This was the closest to progress that he had made since he started practicing. He'd be damned if he let this opportunity slip through his fingers.
(Again!)
Luck closed his eyes as he projected his senses to sense the mana outside.
Luck let out a groan as his orifices began to bleed again. It only served to widen his crazed smile.
(Again!)
(Again!)
(Again!)...
Luck continued. He continued even as the moon replaced the sun. He continued even when the star obtained its original position again.
That was when he experienced his breakthrough.
By this time, Luck's face was covered with blood, barely masking the unhinged grin he had on his face.
If any of his friends were to see him now, they would kill him without hesitation, convinced he was possessed.
Luckily, their focus on their own training prevented them from bothering with him.
Luck extended his senses again, already readying himself to stop himself from collapsing from blood loss.
It never came.
Luck could see countless lights pass through his 'vision', causing him to wipe the blood from his face in excitement.
There was pain as he looked at the energy. A kind of dull pain in his head, that resembled a severe headache, but at least he wasn't flung back like a rifle victim.
[Your [Perception(R)] has obtained the subset skill [Mana Sense(R)]!]
Luck was visibly excited as he immediately tried to cast Vector Manipulation again.
A sudden feeling of weakness overcame him, reminding him that he was suffering from both mental exhaustion and blood loss.
(No matter.) Luck thought as a red-colored pill appeared, entered his hand as he threw it into his mouth.
A warm feeling spread through his body as Luck's wounds began to heal at a slow, visible rate.
He had just taken a Health pill that would heal his body faster. Sadly, it wouldn't do anything for his fatigue, but he figured he would just have to manage it for now.
He was an Awakened after all. His body was significantly more resilient than that of the average human.
He cast Vector Manipulation again as he 'watched' his mana try and fail to interact or influence the mana he believed was spatial mana.
Luck knew the solution almost immediately. He transformed his mana into that of space and immediately begin to circulate while interacting with the external spatial energy.
He smiled as he looked at his success.
(Mana of the same attribute attract each other) Luck thought triumphantly as he glanced at his summon with resolute eyes.
"Again!"