[NR] Piercing Knowledge - Chapter 682

Siegfried is about to go on some more, but Jason looks run down, “You know what? How about you go get some rest?”

Jason laughs, “I wouldn’t say no to that! Just make sure Courtney knows what is up and I’ll be fine. Anyway, I forgot to check my status before going out there, so I’m going to sort through that mess.”

Siegfried laughs, “Boy! I miss when my status would change often enough to worry about that. If I check mine once a year, that is almost more than I need to. Most people at my level only check when actively working on a skill.”

Jason laughs as well and then heads back to his room before opening up his basic info and skills.

{

Basic Info

Name: Jason

Level: 37 - 1.37%

Legal Status: Player

Title: Combat Monk

Normal Stats

• ☆Strength 165 ( 161[Base] + 4[Ascendance] )

• ☆Toughness 186 ( 182[Base] + 4[Ascendance] )

• ☆Agility 167 ( 163[Base] + 4[Ascendance] )

• Control 360 ( 360[Base] )

Auxiliary Stats

• Defense 87 ( 84[Energy] + 3[Substance] )

• Stamina 169 ( 78[Base] + 84[Energy] + 4[Ascendance] + 3[Substance] )

• HP 422 ( 335[Base] + 84[Energy] + 3[Substance] )

• Energy 42 [+2 stat for every 1]

Tripartite Conceptual Energy

• Civilization 0.327% [knowledge bonus below]

• Ascendance 0.401% [+1 stat for every .1%]

• Substance 0.310% [+1 stat for every .1%]

Organizations

• Adventurers Guild - Basic Member - Rank D

• Odd Ones Out - Team Member - Leader

—

Bonuses

Knowledge Bonuses:

• +2% success rate when using an Energy Herb as an ingredient or growing one

• Ability to identify the maturity of a Herb with relevant Identify Skills

• +3% malleability to inner self

• +5% damage bonus against cats

• +5% damage bonus against swarms

• Swing bonus of 1% for every .1% in [Civilization]

• +2% success rate when guiding World Herb roots

• +2% success rate when using a World Herb as an ingredient or growing one

• +1% piercing bonus against undead supernatural defenses

Discovery Bonuses:

• +2% success rate when using an Energy Herb or growing one

• Able to get a feeling for the maturity of a Herb without a skill

• Control of Experience intake

• Increased chance to learn power manipulation skills

• +2% success rate when using a World Herb or growing one

Bottleneck Bonuses:

• Roaming Loam - The material you grow plants in will absorb nature based energies from the land as you travel

• Life For A Life - Once a month at any religious site that freely allows you entrance, you may trade your own life to revive any player companion that hasn't died of natural causes within the last month or your own companion if they haven't died of natural causes within the last year.

Titles:

• Willful Survivor - Increased ability to affect the System through your Will

• Core Genius - Provides feedback on how suitable your current location is for your cultivation technique and hints on how to improve it

• Body Cultivator of Pure Energy - Formed from the titles "Pure Being", "Body Cultivator", and "Energy Controller"

• Energy Cycle Genius - Gives warning when Energy draw could destabilize the cycle

• Combat Monk - Increase gains from mediation while fighting

• Energy Specialist - Increased ability to manipulate one’s own Energy

• Immortal’s Prodigy - Your senses are more attuned to the difference between mortal and primordial powers

• Stealthy Assassin - Increased chance of a killshot against enemies that is unaware of you and not on alert

• Endless Runner - Stamina has increased effect when running on System recognized roads

—

Skills

Energetic Body Reinforcement

Accepting only purity of body and mind you have given up past concepts of self for the uncertainty of truth.

Apprentice Level 9 - 99.99%

Rarity: Truth

Type: Passive, Cultivation

Effects:

• Filtering Cycle - Gain only 10% of absorbed energies but they are extremely pure

• Purity of Energy - Because of the purity of your energy higher levels have a lower scaling on what is needed to level up and the energy does more

• Self Contained - Growth comes from within, forsaking outside bonuses in exchange for personal control. Stat bonuses from Equipment negated up to total Energy times 2.

• Self Sustained - Your Energy can sustain you

• Energized Flesh - Can hit incorporeal things for 60% of normal damage with body

• Material Body (Wood) - With time your body can become like living metal or hard like a diamond

• Untainted Core - No longer is your body that of a normal mortal as your heart has stopped but you haven’t. Your body doesn’t attempt to mimic internals so status effects like broken bones heal twice as fast because you don’t have any

• Sub-Skill Acquisition (Unique) - Allows one to gain sub-skills

  • Freeform Energy Movement [Apprentice+] - Allows use of Energy to move

Energetic Poison and Venom Resistance

One of the rare active skill based resistances. While still able to passively provide benefits, this skill really shines when directly used. Beyond that, the skill has been changed to treat all venom and poison the same. So while the nuance has been lost and percentages harder to increase, this variant has become more suited for its current user.

Apprentice Level 7 - 5.12%

Rarity: Variant

Type: Passive/Active, Energy, Adaptive

Effects:

• Willful Purge - Able to send charges of Energy through the body to break down poison and venom in the body

• Mundane Poison & Venom Resistances -

  • Trash rank - Immunity

  • Low Normal rank - 11%

  • Normal rank - 7%

Body Blast

What started as just a variant of Blast Punch meant for Energy Users has evolved into something much less restricted. The biggest feature of this new skill is the ability to any part of the body as a weapon to project the blast from. Not much else is known about the skill yet as the creator is still shaping it.

Apprentice Level 8 - 33.02%

Rarity: Variant Beginner

Type: Energy Attack

Effects:

• Frugal - This attack only uses energy on a successful hit

• Pure Force - Not affected by most types of resistance

• Armor Piercing - As the attack partially forms inside the enemy some damage will ignore armor. At the current level this distance is short and so will not pierce equipment or exceptionally thick natural armor.

Herb Farming

You have shown yourself to be proficient at this classic skill. Don’t look down on it as these lands contain many mysterious plants with uncountable effects. Though you seem to have already taken a step towards understanding this.

Apprentice Level 9 - 99.99%

Rarity: Uncommon

Type: Passive, Production

Effects:

• Sub-Skill Acquisition (Farming) -  Allows one to gain the sub-skills related to farming

  • Harvest [Apprentice+]

  • Analysis (Plant) [Apprentice+]

  • Distillation [Initiate]

  • Analysis (Farming) [Initiate]

• Land Sense - Grants a sense for the condition of any area you could grow your plants

• Growth Assist - Plants under your constant care grow up to 10% faster

• Specialty (Herb) - Having gained the skill through exclusively growing one type of plant, all effects of the Farming skill and Bonuses are doubled for it

• Harvesting Common Sense - With the knowledge of all basic harvesting methods you will be prompted with the best way to harvest plant that you know of and slightly increase the success rate of harvesting

War Stomp

A classic powered kick attack. Despite the tendency for it to be used with Qi the skill can be powered with any type of resource pool. The different power sources will cause different effects to happen and so the possibilities of this skill are technically unlimited.

Initiate Level 9 - 3.22%

Rarity: Common

Type: Primal Energy Attack

Effects:

• Primal Simplicity - Through uncountable iterations the creator of this skill has reduced it to the most simple form which allows for an impressive speed of use

• Inheritance - This version of the skill was personally learned from the creator and there is a possibility of others being able to recognize this, however the skill is easier to advance because of the more in depth teaching you received

• Potential - The creator of this skill does not believe in perfection and so it will grow with the user, more so than other skills

• Otherworldly - The first of the main runes of this skill is based off of knowledge and shapes from outside of NeoRealm which makes deciphering the skill harder with System skills

• Banked Spiral - The second of the main runes of this skill is a simple spiral and this simplicity allows it to direct the power more efficiently than others would expect and the skill needs less power as a result

• Core Sensibility - The third and final of the main runes of this skill is the users own core rune which provides a very personal touch and means the attack will never harm the user no matter the size or power of it

• Free Form - Because of an in depth knowledge of formless martial arts the skill can now be freely used instead of just with a stomp attack

• Clad - For double the expenditure and an upkeep cost this skill can become a continuous effect

• Variable Attack -

  • Never Ending Threads - When the skill is used with Energy the attack will shatter into thousands of threads which will continue to shred the target until an opposing power wears it down

  • Runic Bloom - When the skill is used with Stamina a flower bud rune will bloom outward causing the razor sharp petals to slice through the target and when finished the bloom will rapidly wilt and any wounds in contact with it will become harder to heal

Wilderness Construction

You've proven yourself capable of building yourself a new life out in the wilds. While you might not be the best at using any fancy tools and materials that cityfolk might find normal to have, the wilderness has proven itself more than ready to supply what you need. Whether it is a small hut or a large homestead, you've got what it takes to construct whatever large scale project you set yourself too.

Novice Level 6 - 4.92%

Rarity: Uncommon

Type: Passive, Construction

Effects:

• Unsophisticated (Farming Settlement) - You gain a bonus or penalty to using tools and materials depending on how sophisticated they are compared to the average farming settlement

• Homecrafter - When making or maintaining the homes of those close to you, meaning in this case those who are in your party for more than a month and direct family, your efforts are boosted

• Eye For The Lay Of The Land - When planning a new construction in an area recognized by the System as wilderness, you more easily spot what areas are best for said project

Formless Butchery (Variant)

The normal Formless Butchery skill uses Mana focused through a variety of implements to create the perfect tool for any task needed to butcher a corpse. This skill was earned through exquisite control of Energy. The user shapes their Energy without any implement and forms tools capable of shifting and flowing around any odd shape while still cutting through others as if made of metal.

Initiate Level 9 - 99.99%

Rarity: Variant Uncommon

Type: Active, Production

Effects:

• Seeking Perfection - Gain an intuitive sense for when there is work still undone

Hands On Stone Carving

This skill represents all those who have decided to carve up stones using just their hands, not because of a lack of tools, but in spite of them. You specifically have chosen to use Energy for this to boost your ability to do so.

Initiate Level 9 - 99.99%

Rarity: Uncommon 

Type: Active, Production

Effects:

• Carver's Stone Sense - While carving stone without a tool, The feedback gives you an amazing sense for the stones structure

Efficient Energy Tools

Your use of Energy to form tools is both power efficient and material efficient. The tools you form are as if extensions of your body and can be maintained indefinitely. This was proven three times over in the effects of other skills and you have managed to strip those effects out and turn them into this very skill.

Apprentice Level 9 - 99.99%

Rarity: Exquisite Personal

Type: Active, Production

Effects:

• Efficient Recycling - Energy used for tools cycle back in and so the tool can be kept up indefinitely

• Perfect Tool - Suffer no penalty when using you Energy as a tool

• Efficient Material Processing - Remove non-innate penalties for using low quality materials and sometimes a material will become of better quality when personally used

• One with the Tool - You are able to feel through the Energy tools and are treated as if working through them is natural, as if not using a tool at all

}

Jason pets Lily as he parses through everything. “Huh, went up a few levels. Gained some in my basic stats and HP. Though speaking of HP, I bet that actually is even more critical to me. Not like the System has to pretend things like a brain or heartbeat matter to me as much.

“Oh! And a new knowledge bonus? I guess listening to Siegfried about the undead did more than just inform me. Hmm, piercing? In theory, a situational bonus, but I’m pretty certain undead have supernatural defenses by default. I wonder how it stacks with my Energized Flesh from Energetic Body Reinforcement. Does it go on before, after, or at the same time?

“And what is with my newest skills? Since when did I manage to cap them? All while I still haven’t managed to cap War Stomp? Is War Stomp really that advanced compared to them?

“I guess the three skills aren’t actually some sort of heritage skill. I created these skills and so while they exist elsewhere, the System probably isn’t including all that baggage. Hmm, the skills will likely stay capped unless I have an actual breakthrough. That or get some training. Maybe I can get some training here?”

Jason now satisfied and Lily properly petted, he turns in for the day. Though the next night rolls around quicker than anyone would prefer.

Out in front of the wall, the line of melee fighters has been shifted around. People were trading places so no one had to be front and center multiple nights in a row. Except for Jason. He was still standing out in front.

And this night began much like the previous night. Except, most of the way through the night, Jason received a change to answer one of his questions.

Jason had already retired behind the shield wall for the current wave when a panicked shout rang out. “Ghost!”

And just as quickly, a commander in the back line responds, “Not a ghost! Lesser incorps only! Anyone with ghost touch, to the front line!”

Jason jumps up and charges towards the front, “Ghost touch coming through!” And people got out of the way to let him and a number of other fighters through.

Energy cycled through his body in preparation, a slight glow evident to those around him. Then he reaches the front where he can see what very much looks like ghosts. They aren’t, as evidenced by the fact people weren’t aging with every hit, but that didn’t mean they weren’t doing other nasty things with their negative energy.

One undead notices his approach and decides to try and swipe their arm through Jason’s body. And it utterly shocked when he blocks the blow with his forearm and palm strikes it with his other hand. A double shock when that palm hits instead of passing through them.

Though their shock doesn’t last long. The incorporeal undead bursts apart into loose ectoplasm. Jason then yells out at about the same time as others that they’re glass cannons.

With that, a mage up top drops a wide area lightning spell. This tingles and probably did a few points of damage to everyone on the front line. However, the incorps were weak to lightning damage, nevermind the mage having an anti-undead buff applied just moments before. So yeah, the incorps all went poof.

And for the rest of the night, everyone was on edge despite the fact no more incorporeals showed up. There was no helping it. The cat was out of the bag. Sure, they had known the “cat” was in the bag to begin with, but now it staring them in the face.

Early morning as people finished up on the wall, Siegfried had everyone stay a bit later. He stood in front of everyone that could stand. “I won’t hold you long.

“With the introduction of incorporeal undead, the playing field has changed. We can not continue as we have. A single actual ghost sneaking into our shield wall would cause deaths and a breach.

“So far, only three people have died and that includes everyone since the nonsense with those travellers and I want to keep it that way as long as possible. Starting tomorrow, we are bringing in the fourth breaks.

“However, in doing so, we face the threat of equally powerful undead showing up. We will remind you tomorrow, but if an undead wave shows up that isn’t packing the spawn point? Every one of you is to retreat right away. No waiting to see if it actually is a fourth break undead. You will not have the time. Anyway, to a peaceful rest of your day.” And Siegfried solutes them.

Jason starts heads off after this, but Rosha stops him. “Helina wants to talk to you.”

“Huh, a bit tired, but sure.”, and he shrugs and follows her.

They arrive at Helina’s office and hears her talking with Courtney. Though they stop as the pair enters.

Jason fake yawns, though it kind of turns into a real yawn halfway through. “So, I’m a bit tired right now. What do you have for us?”

Helina nods, “I’ll be quick. My brother will let you stay in the front line. You’re travellers.

“I have nothing to say about that. However, I saw how you handled the incorps. This whole nonsense? Once fourth breaks show up, we probably have less than a week, but more like three days till the end.”

Courtney interrupts, “Wait, how are you judging that? Siegfried doesn’t even have a guess and here you are saying less than a week?”

Helina raises an eyebrow, “Well, one, I didn’t give a specific time frame. I gave a guess for after fourth break undead show up, which is a timing we don’t know. Though my main reason is certainly what you travellers would call ‘meta’.”