CHAPTER 21: SKILL COLLECTION

The emperor had given Aric an ultimatum of seven days to depart for the Byzeth Kingdom—of which only three remained. Ordered to embark with no support from the empire, Aric’s preparations were necessarily minimal.

First, he went to the exchequer and accessed his personal vault, where twenty million gold coins were stored. He placed five million into his inventory and dedicated two million to renovations of his estate while he was away.

But the final, and perhaps most important, preparation was visiting the imperial library. Aric was no scholar; he had no interest in books of history or war. He lived by experience rather than relying on the words of others. Yet within the grand confines of the library was a section of great importance to the fourth prince.

Aric stepped up to the librarian’s desk.

"Your Highness. Surprised to see you here," the librarian greeted, sparing Aric only a brief glance before continuing to write on a scroll.

"How may I help you?"

"The martial arts vault."

The librarian paused, then looked up again, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"Hmmm... and what reason does the prince have to go there?"

Strange.

Aric did not show his surprise, but he was unsettled. Even the librarian could not sense his ki.

"For personal research," Aric replied simply. If even the librarian didn’t know he possessed ki, there was no reason to reveal it himself.

The man, aged and silver-bearded, rose and gestured for Aric to follow. They wound through the library’s vast halls, the path twisting so often it felt like a maze.

Finally, they arrived at a door. It was plain wood, fragile-looking—as though Aric could splinter it with a single effortless kick. He had expected something more impressive guarding the empire’s most valuable martial techniques.

"Walk closely behind," the librarian warned, his tone sharp.

Aric nodded and followed.

The door creaked faintly as it opened, and Aric stepped inside the martial vault.

It was... simply a room.

Frankly, nothing remarkable could be said about it. It wasn’t large, lined only with shelves stacked with manuals. At the far end stood another wooden door, identical to the first.

"You are not authorized to enter the next vault," the librarian cautioned. "Do not attempt to go through that door. It is... quite a painful experience." He turned back toward the exit. "You are allowed six hours per day here. I will return when your time is up."

Aric gave a silent nod, watching him leave.

When the door closed, he turned to the guide floating unseen beside him.

"Okay, what now?"

"You may begin to search for martial techniques that interest you."

Aric clicked his tongue, scanning the shelves. His eyes trailed from one manual to another until he plucked one from the nearest row. Its leather cover felt like worn hide. He opened it.

[Scanning technique]

[...]

[Scanned]

————————

// Mouth Gust //

Allows the user to create significantly stronger force when blowing from the mouth.

Skill rank: Basic

————————

[Would you like to copy this skill?]

"When you scan a martial skill, it can be copied and saved. It may then be learned afterward," the guide explained.

Aric nodded, studying the glowing screen.

"That... doesn’t seem very useful," he muttered, disappointed. It was a random pick, but he had expected more from the sacred martial vault. "Still, I should probably copy as many as I can. They might be useful later."

The guide shook her head.

"You may save only four techniques at present. I advise you choose wisely."

Aric sighed, stroking his chin. He returned the manual and picked another.

One after another, he repeated the process: select, scan, review, and decide whether the technique was worth copying. Manuals he dismissed were reshelved, while promising ones were stacked on a nearby table.

After about an hour, he had scanned every manual in the room. The process had been swift; the vault was smaller than he had expected and contained only a modest number of texts.

At last, he stood over a pile of twenty or so manuals, sighing with exhaustion. He began to sift through them carefully. Within half an hour, he had narrowed his choices and copied the four skills he deemed most valuable.

His time spent: an hour and thirty minutes.

As he prepared to leave, a question tugged at him.

"Tell me—why can my ki not be sensed?"

The guide’s large eyes widened. She hesitated, then answered,

"I cannot be certain, but most likely your illness not only limits the flow of ki within you, but also prevents it from radiating outward. That makes it nearly impossible for other martial artists to detect."

"I see," Aric murmured, exiting the vault.

He retraced his steps through the twisting library until he reached the front desk. Offering a quick, "Thank you," he passed by the librarian.

Aric did not see it, but the man’s face turned pale.

"Without my presence, that vault door cannot be passed by anyone below the 8th rank of the Martial Warrior realm... So how have you managed this, without ki... Fourth Prince?" the librarian muttered, half in shock, half in amusement.

———

Aric had returned to his chambers. He had already ordered a carriage prepared for departure, and Serina and Lerai were busy with travel arrangements, as they would soon leave the imperial city on their long journey to Byzeth.

But before setting off, the prince deemed it a priority to improve his martial arts now that he possessed ki. The quickest way to do that was by learning martial techniques.

Normally, this was anything but simple— even the most basic skills could take days of meditation and repeated study just to grasp their concept.

For Aric, however, things were different.

——————————

Learnable Skills

Muscle Burst (Basic – Upgradable)

Ki Fists (Basic)

Ki Barrier (Basic – Upgradable)

Breakthrough (Basic)

——————————

Of the hundreds of techniques in the martial vault, Aric had chosen these four as the most useful.

Muscle Burst allowed one to channel ki into specific muscles, enhancing speed and reaction time in swift, explosive bursts.

Ki Fists concentrated ki into the user’s hands, multiplying the strength of their punches several times over.

Ki Barrier created a simple shield of ki, strong enough to repel weaker assaults.

Breakthrough unleashed a burst of ki from the palm, capable of pushing back even objects of considerable weight.

They were not divine, world-shaking arts, but they were practical. If Aric wanted anything greater, he would need access to the deeper levels of the vault—an endeavor he had neither time nor opportunity for. For now, these would suffice.

[Would you like to learn this skill?]

The prompt appeared beneath the description of Muscle Burst.

"Yes," Aric accepted.

[Would you like to learn this skill using AR training?]

His eyes narrowed slightly in confusion. He turned to the guide floating silently at his side.

"AR training? What’s that?"

"Augmented Reality is a high-level system function that allows the user to learn through augmented entities. Would you like to try it out?" the guide asked, her tone bright with excitement.

"...Yeah," Aric replied, uncertain of what to expect.

The air grew cold, glowing with a soft blue light. A holographic humanoid figure materialized before him, its azure body humming faintly. Though it stood still, its mere presence sharpened Aric’s instincts. His body tensed, and he dropped into a stance.

His heart raced. "What the—!?" His fists clenched, ready to strike.

Before he could attack, the guide floated in front of him, chuckling softly.

"No need to be alarmed. This is an augmented entity, part of AR training. It’s here to demonstrate, not fight."

Aric exhaled slowly, relaxing. "An augmented entity...?"

"Yes," the guide chirped. "Think of it as a perfect instructor. It never tires and demonstrates every movement precisely—down to the smallest detail."

Aric’s eyes flicked back to the glowing figure, now motionless. "So it’s going to show me Muscle Burst?"

"Precisely," the guide said with cheerful authority. "Watch closely."

The entity moved without warning. It shifted into a refined stance, far more fluid than Aric’s. Ki surged visibly through its translucent body, flowing into its arms and legs. Its muscles bulged, then contracted in sudden bursts.

In a blur of motion, it dashed forward, the ground seeming to quake beneath its explosive speed. Then, just as quickly, it stopped—standing as still as before.

The entire sequence lasted less than a second, yet Aric had seen everything: the flow of ki, the tension and release of muscle, the exact timing of the burst.

"Oh..." Aric muttered, breathing deeply. "So that’s how it’s done."

"Now you can attempt it," the guide said, far too cheerful for what Aric knew would be an ordeal. "Follow the same steps."

Aric braced himself, copying the stance. He focused on channeling ki into his muscles—yet the energy slipped away. His legs trembled, tense but powerless.

Again, he tried. Again, he failed.

His jaw clenched. "Tch. It’s harder than it looks."

"Don’t be discouraged," the guide said gently. "This is your first time. Mastery takes patience. The entity will demonstrate as many times as you need."

The hologram reset, ready to repeat. Aric’s gaze sharpened. He had seen the process clearly, but executing it was another matter entirely.

"Alright... one more time."

His body burned from strain. His ki felt like sand slipping through his fingers. But Aric had endured worse for less—and he would not stop until he mastered it.