Chapter 908 - Bye bye Mana Weaver
One thing is obvious: even the system doesn't trust the fraud that is the destroyer of the Ancient Armory, and it had to ask a lunatic who happens to be the Ruler of Wrath for confirmation.
I take a bite of the cheesecake and then take a sip of my drink. For a few moments, I close my eyes and breathe out. Things are as they should be. Life is good.
Honestly, I quite like three of the classes, but the fourth one is straight-up vile. It's a clear attempt on my life, a spit in my face, and a monstrosity that should not exist.
Dominion Juggernaut can crawl back to the hellhole it came from. What do you mean, "reduce mana to 1 point"? How stupid does the system think I can be?
I take two more bites and reread the class descriptions again while using Redacthaniel to erase Dominion Juggernaut from my memory because it induces severe anxiety in me.
It is a bit weird that the system has offered me only three classes, but all of them are quite nice, so that might be why.
Primordial Weaver is interesting, not because I am thinking of selecting it, but because it hints at the things I might be able to learn on my own. Maybe I could truly give my mana different properties. With my ongoing experiments using my tempering passive against kinetic energy, I can expand this concept further.
Maybe I could create a more explosive mana with the help of kinetic force? Or a mana that behaves like flames?
Anyway, it means more testing, and that isn't something I would mind.
Empyrean Heir is cool too. Selecting it could lead to a true Divine Heart. It would mean a more powerful Ichor, likely a new Empyrean skill, and, in the end, a more powerful connection to Black Mana.
I still know very little about the Black Mana God and the Empyreans, so there could be a lot to learn. However, the endgame sounds like joining the side of the gods and going against the system, or getting merked by one of the system's executioners because I stuck my nose where I shouldn't have.
Not that any of that would stop me. The system, so far, continues to work in a way where it cannot take away what it has given, or at least not without your agreement after a fair trade. Judging by this class, it must evolve and strengthen even if doing so might be against its own interests.
Maybe that is just how it is, or perhaps it's one of those things the Black Mana God changed through his contract with the system. I also wonder if I'm humanizing the system too much. Sometimes it feels like a machine or a program, while in other cases, it acts like someone or something that must very strictly follow the rules set for it.
Overall, I have no interest in rising as the leader of the Empyreans, and honestly, I don't feel a need to rise up or fight against the system. Does that make me a system slave, as the gods or that elder grandfather of Biscuit's disciple think?
Who knows. It has only been a few years since I have been awakened to the system, I have plenty of time to think about it on my own.
Mana Primarch is the most obvious selection out of the three options offered to me, though I will have to ask Ruby if getting just three offers for Primary class is good or bad. The last time, at level 300, I had five options.
Well, before I select my new class...
I close my eyes and appear inside my mental space, back in the humble flat where I grew up.
There, with a sigh, I look around as I walk from room to room.
I check under beds, behind curtains, behind the couch, under the kitchen sink, in the fridge, and through a few drawers as well.
Slowly, I make my way through the apartment, and finally, I reach the bathroom, where a piece of a washed out red blanket is sticking out of a closed laundry basket. From inside, I hear quiet giggling and take a few steps closer.
When the giggling stops, I move and smack the top of the basket with full force, getting a loud yelp from within.
I open the lid, revealing a young boy with one gray eye and one brown eye looking up at me. His hair is black and slightly curly, and his face is familiar.
"What do you want?" he asks with an annoyed snort.
I close the basket and start to shake it while he shouts and screams from inside. I keep it up for ten seconds before stopping and opening it again.
Once again, he looks up at me, this time with messier hair and a dizzy expression.
"What have you done? Why can't I get a 10th skill? I'm asking because this is important for deciding when to select a primary class," I ask him.
"Eleventh time! That's how many times you've asked me that same question!" he barks from inside. "You stupid buffoon, just leave me alone! Annoy Mapthaniel or Nerdthaniel. Or if you're so brave, try to fight Assholethaniel instead of picking on someone smaller!"
I'm about to close the basket again when he thrusts his hand out, stopping me.
"Okay, okay!" he shouts hurriedly. "You… well, we, currently have 10 skills. Removing your current class will remove [Empyrean Lance], so you'll only get 1 active skill from your new primary class, and the system will offer you some other improvement in exchange. If you want two active skills, don't rely on the fact that your skill count shows 9/10, go combine some of your skills instead!"
"What skill do I have?"
"Not telling!"
I look toward the ceiling at that corner that was always getting moldy no matter how much we tried to fix it. Even the light flickers and slightly buzzes in that familiar way.
Then I look back at him. "Okay."
"Okay," he answers.
"Good job hiding it, I guess," I say.
"I am sneaky!" he smiles brightly.
Something about that smile on that face makes me look at him for a while before I wave to him and disappear, appearing back outside.
In confusion, I look around and shake my head.
Have I been spacing out? I narrow my eyes and try to remember what I was thinking just a few moments ago, but nothing comes to mind. Just something... a feeling that I won't be getting two active skills from my class if I don't free up one more spot, even if my current number of active skills shows 9.
The feeling of trying to remember is annoying. Frustrating, really. It's that feeling of having just remembered something, only for it to constantly slip away.
Well, anyway, the question remains whether I want two active skills from my primary class or just one, and if I want the improvement it will offer in exchange.
From the information gathered previously, I know that this Primary Class upgrade is even more personalized than the previous one, but it remains true that you usually get two active skills, one passive skill, or some form of improvement.
The question is whether that improvement is worth more than an active skill, which would be quite something coming from a class that is Unique Pristine.
I mean, it is a bit ridiculous. I fought for it, I put in a lot of effort, and I went through a lot to turn my body into what it is to allow my active skills to level faster and root deeper inside of me. But still…
As of now, I'm of the opinion that I don't need two new skills. I have plenty of powerful ones, as shown by the skill combination tokens not even being usable for combining them.
It's a bit of a gamble, and getting two active skills might be better. If I really want to, I could try to combine some of my active skills without using a token to free up that slot.
[Selective Adaptation] and [Attunement], for example. I bet if I put all my effort into it, I could do it in a few weeks and hold off on my class selection until then. Or I could complete the 12th floor in hopes of getting a skill combination token, or hope for a side quest that grants one.
Still, the last time I was in the same situation, I remember getting four options instead of the second active skill, among which were trait and active skill evolutions. And I liked that.
At this point, I think I'm just putting it off and trying to come up with excuses, as my decision is already made.
"I select Mana Primarch," I say, and then wait for a pop-up.
Congratulations! You have chosen the Primary Class - Mana Primarch (Unique Pristine). In the future, you may be able to upgrade your class or exchange it for a new one, befitting your actions at that point within the tutorial.
And another window appears.
Your Primary class, Mana Weaver (Unique Arcane), has been removed.
[Empyrean Lance] has been removed from your active skills due to the loss of your Primary class.
500 stat points of Mana have been removed due to the loss of your Primary class.
Congratulations! You have acquired a new Primary Class:
Mana Primarch (Unique Pristine)
Active skill: [Usurpation] - A skill able to forcibly overwrite the target's authority over their own powers. Dependent on your capabilities, usurped power bends to your will.
Active skill: No available slot detected.
Passive Skill: Synergy Feed (Mid Pristine) - The user's mana passively strengthens the effects of their other passive skills simply by being present and active, meaning it makes their existing passives more powerful without any of them being directly linked or combined. The effect scales with the level of mana present.
Bonuses:
Mana +3000
The rarity of Synergy Feed has been restricted to Mid Pristine due to your current physical condition. Granting it at Upper Pristine rarity would have resulted in complete bodily destruction.
Upon reaching Level 500, the skill will revert to Upper Pristine rarity. Adequate preparations are strongly recommended.
Active skill slots at maximum capacity.
Performance assessment initiated.
Unique class classification confirmed.
Achievements verified.
A tailored offer has been generated.
You may be granted a single unique active skill instead of two active skills or other additional personalization parameters given in place of the second active skill.
Do you wish to select a single unique active skill prior to proceeding with class selection?
Yes/No
I stop there for a moment and look over all these notifications. The passive skill especially catches my interest, and my annoyance with the system rises a little at its underestimation of me, thinking I would die merely from being given a passive.
Yet... am I doing something illegal? Isn't the tutorial limited to Low Pristine, or possibly Mid Pristine in super rare cases?
Will Diligence manifest himself in front of me, grab me in his mandibles, and shake me until all these beautiful rewards fall out of me?
Maybe I can hide it all. I SHOULD hide it all. The question is how much that would even help, there are assholes who likely stalked me and watched the fight, gaining a basic idea of my choices, so the information is already out there. Well, whatever. It doesn't matter currently.
I like [Usurpation], and in combination with my eyes, [Eclipse], and some other stuff, it could end up quite fucked up. Maybe I could usurp stats. Usurp passives. I doubt that skill is that simple.
But honestly, getting a skill that is a combination of the two active skills I could have been given is a clear winner. Though there is the question of whether it's a true combination of them, or if it's just a single skill equal in value to the two active skills combined.
Now that I think about it, I hope it's the latter option. If you combine the wrong skills, the result could end up being trash, and the system is an asshole.
"I want to proceed by being granted a single active skill," I say, mindlessly reaching into the bag of chips while keeping my eyes glued to the notifications.
A decision has been recorded.
[Usurpation] has been removed from your Primary Class upgrade.
Based upon your Primary Class and cumulative performance up until now, a unique active skill has been selected for you.
Congratulations. From the total pool of prototype skills, you have been granted a skill never previously assigned.
***
Author Note: Not fully locked in and a few things might change. If the change is too big, I will let you guys know!
Comments (136)
Could Usurpation be the key to killing Kindness?
@cerim Juggernaut is the second option Empyrean Heir is the third Unless he’s saying empyrean heir is an attempt on his life? Anyways. Figured I’d say something. 4 classes. Second was juggerNOTGONNAHAPPEN. He erases that from his mind. 👍
Quiffer this is just a deterANt, my legion arise
Thanks for the chapter
Ok, now having reread the chapter yet again.... I feel like it needs to be said that the series suddenly ending with Nat reaching his primary class upgrade after an epic battle and LITERALLY exploding because the system chose to give him EXACTLY what he had earned would be rather poetic. I don't want it to end. But that would be a perfectly Nat way to go.
Okay, so since his constitution is shit, doesn’t that mean his body is that of a regular human? And if that’s the case, doesn’t that also mean he’ll age like one, among other things???
His mana just doubled purely off of the Class stat bonus, what the fuck.
Hello cliffhanger, long time no see.
ooo i just noticed now but primarch literally means "first ruler" :0(and some rewords of that also work)
I wonder if, because of the eradication quest given to kill Pride, the system is more willing to give crazier stuff out like prototype skills that are untested. I wonder if that is an angle Pride is using for some reason. I’ve seen people wonder if Pride is either Nat’s real dad or somehow was connected to him pre-tutorial. Adrian is proof it’s possible. Maybe he’s attempting to push the system to be more experimental to help Nat and the other Earthlings for some reason? Or for his own experimentation? idk very fun though!
I want to say cerim once commented in the chat that Pride was definitely not Nat’s father, but I have no idea how to dredge that up.
I have a feeling the 10th skill will be revealed in the fight against Fraudrian. I am assuming that if it is hidden by Sneakthaniel, it because of Adrian's empathy/ mind reading skills and it could be a major weakness for him. But I have no idea what it could be
Evil ass cliffhanger
It would be cool if the skill is called Absolute One 💯 😂
I bet a high usurpation level could steal other's mana stat.
Bro I just want to know the 10th skill. I swear it has something to do with the mana slipping against each other, but what is it!
TFTC
The system: "One day it might be you who will be granted something the system has never granted before." Nat: "Do better." The System: "Congratulations. From the total pool of prototype skills, you have been granted a skill never previously assigned." ... Also, imagine that the upgrades are so intense that they force his Mana Amplification straight to second stage. He'd jump from 5k Mana to 10k and then suddenly to 15k+. 👀
was looking back at his passives, levels and other stuff, and he might be able to just forever have his heart unsealed due to mana tempering, adaptive defense and Heat Resonance Restoration all getting boosted from his new passive. plus selective adaptation helping i guess. if he did fully unseal it at all times he could probably just get rid of it in the construct section entirely because its the seal that's the construct, not the heart
if the upper pristine version was going to also upgrade traits then ya, that might kill him if he used any mana
Nonononono you cant end it THERE! Just one or two more sentences wasn't possible??
Soooo. Will mana now passively refine his Ichor? My mans guna end up with a divine heart one way or the other.
and at the top of mount Everest was a cliff, one of the biggest cliff hangers, we are not getting the same mercy we got last time with at least getting to see the classes
I was curious if redacthanial hid any classes besides the 4th
So Nat really relied on Lance for offensive distance dps. Can he make then without the skill?
There were a couple of times recently where he got Empyrean mana from his blood, so my guess is he’s going to work on making his own Empyrean constructs without the skill
'it makes their existing passives more powerful without any of them being directly linked' I think this part of the sentence may be more important than we initially comprehend. It seems to suggest there is some way to link passives together, aside from combining them.
At least the system understands he only wants one thing and one thing only. 4k mana is exactly what he needs
Thank you!
Damn it! Fuck you Cerim!
The hidden skill is probably "sacrifice," the skill his copy used on the 5th floor to rip Gayathra or whatever the snake was called apart. It would be a nice loop, idk how that would be a good skill for him. Maybe it's something even cooler.
I think it's high level Control.
"I am Sneaky!" and then "Something about that smile on that face"... I don't want to say it. I am afraid the Ruler of Diligence is clouding my mind. ButWhatIfHisTenthSkillisSneakor SneakRelated.
Tftc
TFTC. I hope the reveal of the hidden skill isn’t an anticlimax.
He cant keep getting away with this. Call in the ruler of oblivion.
I think the skill will be [Authority]. Usurpation is already in that vein but more specific, it would go well with the Primarch class name giving him authority over all mana within his range, and lastly it’s never been given because the system would normally never allow another being to have authority (the rulers just have more power within the system)
That’s a good one ☝️
I knew the last few not-cliffhangers were a ruse to lull us in to a false sense of security!
God I love this story. It seems to run counter to the general Litrpgs. I love how's he's basically taking his 'cheat ability', black mana and rejecting synergies with it to pursue his own path. I've said it before but his Pride is so well done! I love how the system seems to be rewarding him for rejecting the path of rebellion. It's like 'Yeah you don't need that old trash, take more mana!' It even helped him not explode in the process.
This hidden skill bit is getting kind of old
Honestly, I don’t even care anymore. It’s not the first time Cerim is doing it and after months of waiting I stop caring- like, at this point I don’t care about black mana true name or the history redacted skill..is it me?
Cant wait to see the new skill, tftc!!!!
Skill granted: Domination You have received: mid pristine Leather Whip of Coolness
Holy hell no wonder he got beat so badly by Nyssa. Lvl 450 Class Upgrades are a game changer.
Ok so... - [Heat Resonance Restoration] is a passive that lets him heal continuously in order to keep fighting longer. - [Mana Tempering] is a passive that allows anything he creates with his mana to get stronger as a fight goes on. - [Adaptive Defense] is a passive that makes him harder to hurt as a fight goes on. - [Selective Adaptation] is an active that makes him harder to hurt as a fight goes on. - [Cognitive Vector Module] is a passive that lets him think faster, multitask better, and quickly learn about his opponent's fighting style during a fight. **AND IT SCALES WITH MANA**. - [Sovereign Chassis] is a construct that is connected to the Cognitive Vector Module, meaning it gets stronger as the passive gets stronger and **ALSO** scales with mana. - [Synergy Feed] **SCALES WITH MANA** and boosts all his passives. Allowing him to get even stronger as fights go on and apply the mana scaling **TWICE** to Cognitive Vector Module (and probably the Sovereign Chassis too, due to the connection). I know most of Nat's previous opponents mentioned that he seemed to get stronger as a fight went on, but now it's literally true. Every single one of his passives, and a good portion of his actives, are helping turn Nat into an endurance fighter. "Endurance Fighter" is a bold choice for someone with the constitution of a hummingbird, but who needs constitution when you have mana?
TFTC!!
The skill is just called Mana
Imagine if it was [Control].
I feel like this ch is soooo short. When it comes out in book form you might think of combining it with the last ch or the next ch.
Last chapter was almost twice as long as normal, so this feels short by comparison
What if the skill nat is hiding is upper pristine? Or whatever comes after pristine? And he is trying to hide that from even the system? Great chapter.
He's not hiding it from the System. He's hiding it from his mind so that Fraudrian amd others that can affect him don't know about it or can't use it against him. The System gave him that skill, it can't not know about it.
Its just crazy how he has a upper/unique pristine Class with 1.5y left in the tutorial. Will he get another class choice inside the tutorial? would be insane!
Agreed! I've been wondering where we are in time at the moment. Surely we are close to the next tournament?
Thank you for the chappie!
It seems they really are slaves to the system. The system is giving them prototype skills for experimentation. And in the end,it don't even know what the result will be; the system is just conducting a large experiment, and it makes you wonder why or for whom?
Author, you forgot to finish the chapter. Or perhaps must have deleted some lines at the end by accident.
It's Redactaniel and Dilligence conspiring.
Thanks for the chapter!
You can't keep doing this to us 😭
Usurpation has the potential to be the most broken skill ever, in the Hands of Nat it would have been insane. Probably a good idea to get rid of it haha.
This skill has the potential to kill kindness, right?
My god what is this blue balling? How am I supposed to go about my day without knowing which Skill he got? I hope your bed gets hot tonight Cerim
And u can't find your right shoe!!!
"Do you wish to select a single unique active skill prior to proceeding with class selection?" This is confusing wording, seems like he hasn't selected yet or he's going to somehow be given a new class selection straight away. Perhaps "new class integration" instead of "class selection", or something?
"Granting it at Upper Pristine rarity would have resulted in complete bodily destruction." Nat's overwhelming mana pool, body modifications and megaconstructs constantly threatening to explode his Hummingbird constitution body: Yo, get in line buddy
Asshole!
It's over 9000!!!!!!
Once reviews his final stats he 100% needs to say this
Why do I feel like the hidden skill is something like NORMALIZE he makes everyone his version of normal ie. he gets all the power they lose all power
My guts say its related to the luck he keep having during the fight with the champions, as been stated by the watcher..
SneakyNat pls delete my last comment about „the kindness of Cliffdaddy“ its always dilli who wins in the ant..
Nat walking around with 10K mana points is scary...
Shouldn't the passive be called 'Synergistic Feedback' or 'Synergistic Loop' instead?
Given that the 3000 mana was a bonus, and that was a way to compensate for only oen skill, does that mean he sacced 3000 mana for an improved active skill?
There's a bonus for the class separate from the 2 active and 1 passive. It was +500 mana for Weaver and +3000 mana here.
So essentially Nat is going to get a combination of two skills that themselves are the result of a class that is already enhanced by being unique. So, like, they will be unique squared?
This chapter implies, that there were 5 classes to choose from and the 5th class got redacted and that the ridiculous achievements (with confirmation of 2 rulers) are for that class. The question is, what could the class be that it needs to be redacted?
You're dead wrong dude. Read both chapters again. The confirmation of the two rulers was for mana prim arch, there is no 5th. And the redacted deletion was for dominion juggernaut because Nat hated it. Actually Read it two more times. Don't blow past it. read each sentence like it's owes you money and then understand where you got it wrong
Not gonna lie I burst out laughing when I saw Mana +3,000. That'll stave off his death by mana deficiency for a couple months.
Usurpation sounds a lot like Control, but broader in exchange for being limited to taking over other people's skills. Without seeing the other skill, it would seem like Usurpation would combine with it to make Control, but Control was already assigned to someone else a long time ago.
Why limit usurpation to skill? In the description it says other "powers".. it can be stat, it can be skill, it can be passive, it can be fragment, it can be trait, it can be primordial energy..
Duh tftc duh
In this case, TFTC stands for thanks for the cliff?
Another Cliffhanger brought to us by the Ruler of Diligence's black mandibles. I'm glad to see Nat felt like could try some of the Primordial Weaver stuff on his own, I just wish he felt that way about a Divine Heart as well on the Empyrean Heir side. Minion would advocate for Heart-improvements. Pump those Ichor numbers up, maybe? The Mana + New Passive with his existing unique pristine is... silly. Broken. Imagine if he figures out how to replicate this passive actively, like he's tried for some of his other passives in the past. Good for Nat. Prototype skills? Untested skills? The kinda shit that the system accidentally makes too OP like in the early days and some maniac finds an abusive loophole so the system regrets giving out? I see the vision
Or if these passives can work with Maya's Compound skill... Mhm.
Pretty sure Ruby is eagerly watching him, and the handler logs, for his class selection. I have a feeling after accepting this passive and unique active Ruby is going to want to yank him in for a chat ASAP. Too bad she will have to wait since he will probably be passing out from the pain of his passive installation shortly. Either that or she will do it anyway and watch him collapse on her floor 😂
She can see his notifications as his handler (she said it when he created the scalar beacon)
ah my daily cliff hanger you were by my side all along.
The ruler of Cliffs must have been talking with Diligence again. Why do they keep doing this?
He is most diligent in his cliffhangers
So the 5th class offered was related to his hidden 10th skill and already redacted?
Oh thats brilliant. Wouldn't shock me at all.
He just was given an extra 2500 mana. Guys, I think one day he might actually get rid of his mana deficiency.
You're clearly just an Adept on Mana, there's never enough!
I have to wonder WTF is up with getting offered a unique primary skill. The potential behind that could be insane, and backbreaking. More than that though, is it possibly of a higher tier than Focus, his high-tier starting skill? What about being above Manifestation, his 3-way combination & powerful skill?
Norm i would say he was going to get control like his mentor. But this seems more promising
It shouldnt be control.. this is never seen before unique skill
I'm starting to wonder if Cerim is edging us this hard just to line up a spectacular weekly cliffhanger.
Wonder!?
I love the chapter but did this seem really short?
btw, thanks for the chappie - love it! i apprechiate the work that you put into these descriptions and system promts, its entertaining to read, intressting and thats not easy.
Well fuck Cerim that’s just mean, now we have to wait 24 hours to find out the skill
There's a comma or two missing in there.
I hate you Mr. cliffhanger !!! 😆
TFTC !!!
Falling down a cliff all week is hard for my health…
Arghhh not another cliffhanger!!!!! Usurpation though sounds ridiculous
I despise you ruler of diligence.
This one felt quite short. Is this Redacthaniel’s doing agai….TFTC!
Nat has become the System Beta Tester lol
I take everything I ever said about Cerim being benevolent with cliff hangers back. That one is devious
Repent, sinner
'The user's mana passively strengthens the effects of their other passive skills simply by being present and active' Umm, doesn't his unique pristine already scale with mana capacity? This seems like a broken synergy... 🙃
now that he went from 5k to 10k total Mana, and the mental passive sacles with mana. new passive strenghtens it based on mana so it sthrenghtens squared on mana, plus he doubled his mana😮💨 so like that passive went absolutly crazy
Tftc!
Nat reads " complete bodily destruction", grins stop promising me a good time system. cerim is the real cliff daddy
Did he Just factually double his existing mana? At this point Nat might be the guy with the most mana or close to that in all the system Plus damn you Cerim, these cliffs destroy my sanity
After all his level ups, his mana shouldve been around 2,614 + 2,614. Net mana he gained 2500, so yeah he effectively did double his mana to around 5,114 + 5,114 (10,228 total). From what I remember of the academy floor - i'd guess this is probably peak champion / low absolute amount of mana for mana amplifiers. For someone fresh off their primary class upgrade and not even a champion i'd say thats pretty good.
its the ant, isnt it? he demands daily cliffhangers like this
That does sound like what the ruler that destroyed the armory would do. How could he?!?
Holy cliff😭😭
Tftc
Chapter 1300 - Bye bye Mana Primarch
I read this before bed because I wanted to know. Now I'll have to try to sleep wondering what that skill is.
What a tease of a chapter 😂 TYFTC!
TFTC
TFTC! Usurping Fraudrian's Mirror then laughing at him would have been great, I wonder how much stronger the prototype skill will be.
It would have been a troll move, yes, but also potentially detrimental (since he'll get out of the tutorial stronger than Fraudrian and mirroring his lesser would be as bad as being mirrored by him). Plus it sounds like another long-term goal for Nat, something to aim for after a handful of other assorted eyes/manipulation/eclipse upgrades, that won't require a dedicated skillslot to manifest
Tftc!!!
Going on my first ever date tonight, pregaming with a HDT chapter, wish me luck :) Edit: Thanks for all the well wishes everyone! Went splendidly! She had a real good time and so did I, we're doing a movie night next weekend
Good luck!
Fortnite balls
Forked stalls
Scroted. Mayhaps goated