Athar entered the library through its large wooden doors. To the right of the entrance sat a middle-aged man behind a large wooden counter. He was the librarian and had quite a reputation of maintaining strict discipline in the library.
Due to the sheer size of the library, it appeared to be sparsely populated. Students maintained absolute silence, as they remained engrossed in their readings, with only the occasional rustle of pages disturbing the stillness.
Without pause, Athar made his way to the third floor—an even quieter section of the library. Once the students decided and selected their battle techniques, there was hardly any need for them to come back here.
Over the past four days, Athar had diligently gone through nearly a hundred descriptions of Yellow Grade techniques. He had read each one carefully and analysed every technique down to their last detail. He had been studious in his approach towards the selection of the battle techniques.
He had a clear path in mind and was looking for techniques that aligned with his thought out cultivation path.
Weaving through the tall wooden shelves of the library, Athar picked up two booklets and sat down to study them.
These were the two techniques he had shortlisted for his final selection. After one final review, he intended to make his final decision.
First, he had wanted a movement based technique- something that could grant him sudden bursts of speed.
With Little Black as his companion, agility was the attribute he wanted to focus on.
Unfortunately, there were no pure movement techniques at the Yellow Grade level. As for Earth Grade techniques, they were far beyond what he could currently afford. The total points he had accumulated till now were only those points which he got for attending every class.
But he had found something that suited him—something that complemented the skill he had received from Little Black.
The technique was called Phase of Illusion, a Yellow Grade skill known for its unique effect.
While not many could practice it for there was a certain requirement to practice it, those who could would benefit greatly. The technique allowed the user to create illusionary duplicates of themselves, making it difficult for enemies to pinpoint their true location. It made difficult for the enemy to launch an attack in such a scenario and thus granted an overwhelming advantage to the user. In the chaos of battle, even a moment's hesitation from an enemy could prove fatal. And this skill exactly provided that.
However, the technique had a specific requirement for it to be mastered. It needed a physical, materialistic element to obscure the enemy's vision, something which could act as a camouflage. For instance, an Earth-element user could generate dust, while others might use mist or fog derived from their beast companions.
Athar fulfilled this requirement perfectly. He had the black mist from Little Black—an element that would serve as an exceptional camouflage.
From his understanding, this mist was superior to dust or fog and the effect which he could generate from this technique was a higher degree. The Black Mist could reduce the visibility to almost nothing, and when used at night, it would become a truly deadly tool. In the darkness of the night, to see through the mist was almost impossible.
This was the first technique Athar had finalized, and he was highly satisfied with his choice.
The second was a simpler one: Sword Slash, a Yellow Grade technique. It allowed the user to project their mana outward in the form of sword strikes. It was similar to what Instructor Sankul had demonstrated during his first class, where he had used a basic fist technique to launch an attack on the wall of the training hall.
Athar chose this sword technique as it would also serve as the foundation for more advanced sword arts in the future. To progress in sword based technique, one first needed the ability to channel and project their mana through the sword.
By choosing this technique, Athar had made it obvious—he had chosen the sword as his weapon.
There were many reasons behind this decision.
Firstly, the sword was among the most commonly and widely used weapons. As a result, martial arts and techniques related to swords widely and easily available.
Secondly, he believed the attributes granted to him by Little Black- the agility, would make him an efficient and lethal sword wielder. He could be fast in dealing damage to the opponent. He could be precise in his attacks.
Thirdly, he had been practicing with the sword for several years, even though he had no formal guidance. He would often imagine various battle scenarios and train accordingly. Though he not mastered any martial arts technique, his body was used to basics of the sword. How to slash it. How to stab it. How to block an incoming attack. He had developed a pattern suited for his body.
And lastly, though not a major factor, Athar admitted to himself that sword users definitely looked cool.
He spent about an hour thoroughly reviewing the descriptions of both techniques. Only after carefully understanding every detail did he finally make his decision. These two techniques were the final two techniques, he had selected for now.
With a satisfied smile on his face, he placed these booklets back on the shelves and he left the library. His next destination- Exchange Counter where he would get the techniques granted to him.
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