Ding!
————
[Pierce]
Rarity: Common
A skill capable of dealing damage through a thrusting motion. Best used with a spear or a rapier. Increasing the skill’s level increases the amount of damage the skill deals.
Prerequisites: [Guard] rank, a spear or rapier
Cost: 200 contribution points
————
Although the description of the skill on the contribution point shop was more or less bare-bones, Valyr could vividly recall the times he used the skill in his previous life, evolving it to a point where it was indistinguishable from its original version. Even though it was an incredibly basic offensive skill if all things were considered, to Valyr, it was the skill that fit his needs the most at the moment, as well as one of the best skills he could get that would pair greatly with his regained combat experience.
With that in mind, Valyr bought the skill from the shop without hesitation, leaving him with 30 contribution points to spare.
Ding!
[You have gained the active skill ‘Pierce’.]
Seeing as he didn’t have any more points to buy anything significant, Valyr went ahead and closed up the contribution point shop, commanding the system soon after to bring up the description of the skill he had just received.
Ding!
————
[Pierce] (Level 1/10)
Rarity: Common
A skill capable of dealing damage with a quick thrust. Best paired with a spear or a rapier. Deals 105% damage based on the user’s Attack stat.
Cost: 10 MP
Cooldown: 5 seconds
————
“Just like how I remembered it,” Valyr murmured to himself, feeling great joy at obtaining a skill that he had considered one of his bread and butter skills.
Although the Attack stat wasn’t a stat that couldn’t normally be seen on one’s status screen, it was generally understood by players and NPCs alike that it was a combination of the person’s STR stat and the damage the weapon dealt. In fact, the Defense stat worked the same way as well, being a combination of the person’s VIT stat and the defense modifier of the equipment the person wore.
Closing up the description screen, he then brought up his status screen, focusing his attention on the line that told him how much unused XP he had remaining. “I currently have over 2,000 XP, huh? Then again, most of the unused XP I have right now came from completing Tristan’s quest.”
“Should I save this XP for the next level up… or should I spend it on leveling up my skills by a couple levels?” he asked himself, only to come to a decision not long after. “With the disparity between my current level and the monsters, I’ll probably get all of the XP back I spent on the skills within a day, perhaps even more.”
Ding!
[Would you like to spend 958 XP to upgrade ‘Basic Spear Mastery’ to Level 3?]
[Would you like to spend 958 XP to upgrade ‘Pierce’ to Level 3?]
“Yes.” Accepting the prompts that had appeared in front of his vision as he had come to a decision, Valyr felt a small surge of information enter his mind not long after, making him take a quick glance at the wooden spear that was on the floor. While looking at it, he felt like the connection between him and the spear had marginally improved. At the same time, he felt the urge to pick it up and thrust it with all his strength, only for that urge to die down not long after.
Taking in a deep breath to calm himself down, he went ahead and checked how much the skills had improved after upgrading them by a couple levels. For [Basic Spear Mastery], the amount of increased damage he dealt with the spear had gone up from 1% to 3%. On the other hand, the damage modifier for [Pierce] had increased from 105% to 115% after upgrading to Level 3.
Satisfied with the small yet significant changes to the skills he now owned, Valyr took a look outside and noticed that there was still some time before he had to participate in the night patrol. Closing his eyes, he decided to take a nap, only to wake up a couple hours later.
…
Scratching his head as he stifled a yawn, Valyr slowly made his way to the entrance, somewhat regretting the fact that he woke up. Nevertheless, with him in uniform and his wooden spear affixed to his back, he looked more than ready to take part.
“Hmm?” By the time he had arrived at the entrance, he noticed that three people were already waiting there. However, rather than people he only became acquaintances with, the three people ahead of him were familiar, being the people he talked to on a daily basis.
Becoming slightly more awake than before, Valyr hastened his steps as he waved at the trio. “Leon! Jonas! Louie!”
“Oh! If it isn’t Valyr!” Hearing Valyr’s voice echo out from the corridor, Leon could not help but let out a chuckle as he waved back. Soon after, Jonas and Louie waved back as well with light smiles on their faces.𝐎𝐕𝑳𝐞xt.𝗇𝓔t
Once he had arrived where they were, Valyr went ahead and struck up a conversation with the three. “Were you three of you approached by Damian already regarding the oncoming monster tide?”
“Yeah,” Jonas said with a nod, Leon and Louie nodding soon after. “Since the main reason why we joined the village guards was because we wanted to protect the village we were born in, we agreed to it in a heartbeat.”
“How about you, Valyr?” Louie asked soon after. “Did you agree to help out in the monster tide? Well, it would make sense if you didn’t. You’ve only been here for a week or so, after all.”
“I did.” Valyr nodded, letting out a bit of laughter soon after. “Who could say no to those rewards? Plus, it’s a good way for me to test my newfound strength.”
“Newfound strength?” Hearing those words, Leon could not help but raise his eyebrow, only to sense that the pressure he felt from Valyr had grown significantly stronger. “Holy shit, Valyr! How the hell did you get so strong in just a span of a day?”
As Leon blurted out those words, Jonas and Louie went ahead and checked Valyr’s strength as well, their eyes widening in shock.
In response to those words, Valyr let out a chuckle and shrugged his shoulders as he walked outside. “Who knows? Perhaps someone with a high class passed by me and took interest in my talent.”
“Bah! As if that would happen!”
…
After a slight skirmish between Valyr and the others, with Valyr surprisingly winning thanks to his higher strength, the four continued on with their night patrol, returning to the barracks by the time the moon had reached its peak. Changing into a set of loose fitting clothes after taking a shower, Valyr laid down on his bed once more and closed his eyes, resting up for what he was about to do later.
Once the sun’s rays pierced through his window once more, rather than complain about waking up so early, Valyr was quite alert, going through his usual morning routine before grabbing breakfast from the cafeteria. After that, he went to the training field to become accustomed with his upgraded skills, noticing that the man who had a unique method of practicing the spear was already there.
After an hour had passed, Valyr left the training field, satisfied to have worked up a sweat. However, rather than head back to his dormitory to take a shower and rest for a bit, he instead made his way to the other side of the building, eventually arriving in front of the door that led to Damian’s office.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
“Come in.”