Activating the skill upgrade shards was as easy as breathing. A little harder perhaps, considering that he still needed to think about doing so. Breathing was instinctual, and Ronan wasn't yet at the point he could use skills instinctually. Maybe one day.

[Skill Upgrade Shard (Common)] x8 has been consumed!

[Magic Strike (Common)] is evolving…

[Magic Strike (Common)] has evolved into [Magic Strike (Uncommon)]!

Magic Strike (Uncommon): Infuse mana into your strikes to bolster their power and apply extra magical damage as a percentage of the original blow's physical damage. (Cost: 12 Mana + Variable Mana Cost based on power of strike)

What the hell, system? All you did was make it more expensive! Ronan inwardly cursed. However, before he truly lost his shit, he first threw out a punch and activated the newly upgraded magic strike.

Unlike before, the mana flew from his heart to his fist seamlessly, in a fraction of a second. The explosion of mana felt more concentrated. After a few more tests, Ronan found that his ability to control the resulting explosion was far greater than before.

As a common skill, he had been able to adjust magic strike to be more condensed, like a spike, or an explosive wave. Although adjustable, it had been crude at best, and often let him down.

Upgrading the skill to uncommon rarity had given him a far more precise level of control over the ensuing blast. If before, his range had been from an uncontrolled blast down to a thick spike, now it was between a shaped charge and a sword.

He noticed that when it came to mana and magic, control was the name of the game. Sorcery relied on his ability to manipulate, cycle, and control his mana. So too, did magic strike. Ronan vowed to redouble his sorcery practice in future iterations.

Having upgraded his skill, there was only one piece of loot left to open from completing the hard difficulty tutorial. His first epic rarity endless treasury token.

There was also the matter of the rift key, but he'd not had a single opportunity to use one of those, even when it was the common rarity he'd been obtaining. Perhaps after I claim the sector pillar? There was no point speculating.

Rather than rush through it, Ronan took a little more time and care when handling the epic token. Not that it needed it, but he felt that first times were important and should be treated as such.

From the tacky jingling that the common tokens made, the epic token was worlds apart. A celestial trumpet played, and right as the token burst into purplish light, a booming gong echoed through the throne room. Or at least, it felt that way to him, but the others didn't react.

[Endless Treasury Token (Epic)] has been consumed!

You have received [Skill Stealing Mirror (Epic)]!

Skill Stealing Mirror (Epic)

A magical mirror which allows you to copy the last used skill (up to epic rarity) of any other sapient being, and then absorb it to gain the skill for yourself. Takes 30 seconds to store and process the stolen skill. (Cost: 50% Max Mana + 25% Max Stamina)

His first epic item obtained from the endless treasury was an awesome one. That he could steal a single skill from absolutely any opponent was a terrifying ability. So terrifyingly potent, in fact, that Ronan decided on the spot he was going to use reverberating path before he even left the tutorial. He almost wished he could go back in time to use it on Tharaxes. Alas, that was not an option.

You are attempting to set a time anchor, and initiate a new path. Would you like to start an anchor path, or a branch path?

Ronan had no plans of solidifying anything he was about to do. There would only be one purpose in this branch path, and that was to steal the skills of all the most powerful figures he'd encountered thus far. First on the menu were his current allies, followed by Lord Rockmore, Vulparis, and if he could pull it off before he died, Veloxis the Dreamweaver.

Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

Estimating chrono cost based on implications of branch path…

Estimation complete!

Chrono cost of this branch path has been determined on a cascading iteration basis, accounting for the descendant's soul weight:

1+ Iterations: No chrono cost

2+ Iterations: Low chrono cost

5+ Iterations: Medium chrono cost

7+ Iterations: Chrono cost not payable

The costs were slightly different to his previous branch path. That tracked, given that the items in his possession, what he could do with them, and how he'd fared until now were completely different from that time.

Still, he accepted them. There was no other choice. Although it's possible that after 5 I'll need to sacrifice my multipliers. Not sure I can accept that, he thought to himself. I'll deal with it when I get that far.

Confirmation received, preparing to generate branch path…

Freezing local spacetime…

Replicating universal probability matrix…

Anchoring descendant's soul…

Branch path created!

May the endless rivers of time guide your path, chosen son of chronos!

Nothing changed outwardly, but Ronan knew that all his actions from then on would be impermanent, save for his acquisition of certain skills, traits, and other boons that could be kept by his heritage. Stat fruits, for example.

The first thing he did was stand up and stretch, taking the opportunity to check on the other three and see what they were up to. Of the three, Jenna was the one whose skill he was most interested in. She'd shown off a few different spells. If he could obtain that black lightning, it would be a great tool in his arsenal.

Luckily, Ronan had the perfect excuse. "Hey Jenna, you wanted me to show you the anti-magic skill, right? Let's do it now. We've only got a minute left here, and who knows where it will send us after the timer runs out."

Jenna had been swinging her legs while sitting on Tharaxes' throne, staring absent-mindedly into space, as people were wont to do while reading and interacting with the system. The moment she heard his offer, however, an excited grin stretched across her face and she leapt to her feet, bounding over to Ronan.

"Yes, yes! Show me. I'll cast a mana bolt at you." The excited sparkle in her eyes worried Ronan a little, but even if a stray mana bolt hit him, he would be fine. "And go slowly. I'll need to analyse the mana structure."

Wait, what does she mean? How is that possible? Even I can only roughly sense mana around me, not see it with detail. Despite his shock, Ronan did as he was asked.

Jenna raised a hand and cast a mana bolt that screamed towards him. Lifting his own hand—although not necessary, he figured it might help her with analysing the spell—while subtly taking the skill stealing mirror out with the other, and focusing it onto Jenna, he activated dispel.

Halfway between the two of them, the spell simply unravelled and dissipated into the air. Even the mana that formed it dissolved into the surrounding mana, becoming untraceable. To Ronan, anyway.

Jenna, on the other hand, rushed up to the spot where the spell disappeared. She raised a hand, waving it through the spot a few times. "That's crazy. It's just how it happened against the skelly, but seeing it used on my own spell is strange." She then ran back to her original position. "Do it again!"

Before even giving him time to prepare, the plucky girl fired off another mana bolt. Ronan repeated the process. He was more than happy to comply, knowing that the longer he kept her distracted, the better. The skill mirror needed about 10 more seconds to finish working.

It hadn't extracted the cost yet, which told him that would come either when it finished analysing Jenna's skill, or when he absorbed it. He wasn't sure which would be better, but regardless, he would be paying it. He wanted to know her skill even more now that he'd heard her comment about analysing the mana structure of his skill.

They repeated the process three more times. Each time, Jenna would rush to the exact spot that her spell fell apart and bend down to stare at the empty air.

Ronan wasn't sure what she was up to, but she seemed satisfied. Excited, even. The thirty second mark for the mirror had passed a while back, but he still hadn't lost mana or stamina. That meant the cost would come after he absorbed her skill.

"I know you're excited, Jenna, but we only have 30 seconds left here. We should say goodbye, and prepare ourselves for what's waiting back home," Ronan said, putting an end to their magical spar.

"Oh! I didn't realise. I was so engrossed in this. It's fascinating. There are faint traces of the mana bolt in the air, but it no longer felt like my mana, y'know?" Ronan didn't, but he nodded to keep her happy. "Anyway, let's go. I can't believe I might not see any of you guys again."

As Jenna skipped towards Alyssa and Howard, Ronan raised the skill stealing mirror up. It was unremarkable at best, a round silver frame containing a shattered mirror. However, there was now a green glow surrounding it, and he felt that whenever he desired, the skill stored within could become his.

With no reason to hesitate, Ronan followed the subtle sensation, and gasped as the mirror burst into green motes of light that rushed into his arm, freezing the limb as though it had been plunged into an ice bath.

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