CHAPTER 106: ASHURA AND TEMPEST MODE

The black-haired woman reached out her hand, her fingers touching each of the two swords one by one, displaying the status of both items.

She carefully examined the stats and numbers on the panel, a faint smile forming on her lips as if she already knew what to do.

She opened her skill set list panel, showing dozens of skills available just for the warrior class.

However, since Ethan wanted a skill set that matched his sword’s abilities, she began narrowing them down.

Ethan waited patiently, watching as the black-haired woman adjusted the skill list, filtering through the ones she could recommend to him.

Out of dozens of skill sets, she displayed twelve that all had fire affinity and matched the power of the Bloodblade Ashura.

[List of Skill Sets:]

[Crimson Surge] [Ashura’s Rift] [Blood Requiem] [Infernal Execution] [Flameblood Resonance] [Hellscar Cleave] [Blazing Sacrifice] [Scarlet Dominion] [Rage of the Fallen] [Emberfang Assault] [Crimson Overdrive] [Bloodflare Cataclysm]

Ethan carefully studied the twelve skill sets recommended by the item shop owner. He had the chance to check each skill’s details, demonstrations, and attributes.

Since the Bloodblade Ashura’s base ability is similar to rage skills, I’ll focus on skills that boost ATK through sacrifice.

There were four available skill slots, both for Bloodblade Ashura and for Tempest Reaver.

In total, Ethan could unlock five skill slots, though the fifth would only open once he reached a certain level.

"You can keep your old skills or replace them with new ones," the woman said.

Ethan nodded in understanding. From his experience, he considered his Crimson Slash still useful, as well as his third skill, Skybreaker Leap.

He felt that Iron Fang Thrust, his second skill, hadn’t been that helpful lately, mainly because of its short attack range — a close-combat move.

His eyes stayed focused on the recommended skills. His attention locked on Ashura’s Rift and Bloodflare Cataclysm.

"I’ll choose Ashura’s Rift and Bloodflare Cataclysm," Ethan said.

The woman nodded and selected those two skills. In an instant, two skill cards appeared before Ethan, each showing a demonstration video of the skill in use.

"Will this be enough?" she asked. Ethan nodded in reply.

The transaction began. The price for both skills was 200,000 gold. Ethan was surprised at first, but the woman explained that advanced class skills were more expensive than basic class ones.

[Transaction Successful]

[Item: Skill Card Ashura’s Rift || Skill Card Bloodflare Cataclysm]

[Cost: 200,000 gold]

After paying, Ethan received the two skill cards and stored them away. The setup for his Ashura mode was done; now it was time to move on to Tempest mode.

The woman got back to work, sorting through the recommended skill sets suitable for Tempest Reaver.

It didn’t take long before seventeen recommended skills appeared before Ethan.

[List of Skill Sets:]

[Gale Rend] [Stormstep] [Tempest Drive] [Cyclone Edge] [Thunder Pulse] [Windborne Assault] [Sky Severance] [Aero Shatter] [Lightning Veil] [Hurricane Mirage] [Zephyr Cascade] [Tempest Resonance] [Stormbreaker] [Eye of the Typhoon] [Arc Reaver] [Gale Dominion] [Heavenfall Tempest]

There were seventeen skill sets recommended by the item shop owner. Just like before, each skill displayed its demonstration video and power level.

The price was the same as before — around 100,000 gold per skill.

With the characteristics of the Tempest Reaver sword, Ethan couldn’t use the same skills he had for Ashura mode.

In total, Ethan would need to spend 400,000 gold to buy four skills. Still, he hadn’t yet decided which ones to choose for Tempest mode.

Tempest Reaver is known for its speed and high critical rate — similar to an assassin’s abilities. I need to choose skills with high crit chance and high AGI.

Ethan stared intently at the seventeen skills before him, studying them with focus and caution, hoping the ones he picked would make a real difference for him.

All the displayed skill sets emphasized high AGI, along with lightning and wind elements.

His attention centered on four skills that stood out to him: Gale Rend, Tempest Resonance, Lightning Veil, and Stormbreaker.

"Do you know how to use these skills?" the woman asked. Ethan nodded.

The transaction went through. The woman didn’t ask any further questions.

As an NPC, one of her advantages was her calm, non-intimidating nature.

[Transaction Successful]

[Item: Skill Card Gale Rend || Skill Card Tempest Resonance || Skill Card Lightning Veil || Skill Card Stormbreaker]

[Cost: 400,000 gold]

Ethan realized his money was running low after buying so many things. He decided to sell other items to the woman, such as level 1 HP and MP potions and unused Crystal Spirits.

The black-haired woman carefully calculated the total value of the items Ethan sold.

It didn’t take long before the total amount appeared, reflecting the prices of each item.

The total came to 220,000 gold, mostly because he sold some Epic and Rare Crystal Spirits he didn’t really need. The high value of those items helped boost his balance.

His shopping was done. Ethan hadn’t used the new skills yet or even slotted them into either mode’s skill set.

He planned to do that later, once he returned to his inn room — the safest place for him to allocate his skill cards.

After finishing his purchases, he left the shopping district at the city center. As usual, people still gave him sharp looks because of his PK status.

"Look at that! What’s he doing here?"

"That player with the Red Notice —I’ve heard of him. They say he killed half the players in Nile City by himself."

"That’s insane. Nile City is full of beginners. He won’t be able to do anything like that in a city full of pro players."

"I agree!"

Ethan heard their voices but didn’t turn his head toward them. He could easily kill them all, slicing through their necks in an instant. But it would be pointless.

He wouldn’t gain anything —no EXP, no gold, nothing. He’d only create another chain of hatred that could never be broken.

That cycle would just keep repeating if he kept killing without reason. Killing them just because he was annoyed wasn’t worth it.

Ethan decided to walk away, ignoring them for his own good.

As he walked through the city streets, he kept checking his skill set status.

He was genuinely curious about how things would turn out once he used all the new skills he had bought. He would need to train and adapt to them properly.

He arrived at the inn without any trouble. Nothing bad happened on the way, and that brought him some peace of mind.

Once inside his room, ready to rest, his attention turned to a message notification that appeared before his eyes. Curious, he opened the message panel right away.

[Direct Message]

[AshleyLeon123: Ethan?]

[AshleyLeon123: Where are you?]

Ethan smiled. Maybe showing Ashley his new skill sets wouldn’t be a bad idea. He could even practice them with her, since she was the only one who could fight him evenly.

[EthanArk: I’m in my inn room. What’s up?]

[AshleyLeon123: Have you bought the skill sets for your Omniblade class?]

[EthanArk: Yeah.]

[AshleyLeon123: Can I see them?]

[EthanArk: Sure.]

[AshleyLeon123: Come to the base. We can train once you allocate those skills.]

Is she a mind reader or something?

[EthanArk: On my way!]