Michael had to reapply his ‘Stat-Boost’ buff every seven minutes, but the cost was a static twenty-points of mana. Essentially, it was very inefficient at low levels, but as his Aura stat increased, so did the duration.

After thirty minutes, the agony from consuming the mana-core had receded and he began searching for a new test-subject to experiment on. While reading the holographic words that were floating above the book in his left hand, he muttered “Okay~, so I guess a monkey is better than nothing…”

Slowly walking with its fists against the ground, there was a level-eight, rank-G, Silverback Gorilla glaring at him from a few dozen meters away. Michael smiled at it and yelled “Oi, Asshole! You gonna fight me or what?!”

His ‘Taunt’ skill reached level-two and the ape was immediately enraged by the irritating Human, who arbitrarily invaded its territory. The beast let out a ‘Deafening Roar,’ but it had no effect on him, so it became even more furious.

As the gorilla charged, Michael aimed the glowing ball in his hand and shouted “Arcane Bolt!” as an incredibly fast blob of prismatic mana was fired towards the creature’s relatively large body. However, even after the attack hit, it only dealt seven points of damage.

Since the Silverback had 53/60 HP left, he pitched his orb at the beast’s face. Even though it tried to dodge, it’s Agility and Perception weren’t very high, so by the time it even noticed the attack, it was already too late.

However, even after being struck in the nose, there was no physical damage, but the creature was certainly even more furious with the smirking man. When the ape finally arrived in front of him, Michael took a few quick steps around the side of the relatively large gorilla and said “Tag~, you’re dead.” as he tapped his glowing ball against its right shoulder.

As the beast that was swinging its fist forwards, in an attempt to strike the evasive Human, had its Health reach zero: dying instantaneously. He placed the carcass into bag-slot eleven, while looking at his newly acquired skill: “Arcane Bolt Level 1: Launches a single ball of the caster’s aura towards the enemy, homing in on the target’s mana and dealing Arcane-damage. Damage and mana-cost are equivalent to the Aura stat.”

Aside from those two spells, everything else under the ‘Illusory Combat’ section required him to have reached a certain degree of mastery in those two abilities first. Thus, he moved onto what was probably the part that he looked forward to the most: ‘Telekinetic Training.’

He had already been playing around the the skill enough to reach level-three, but he could only use it by forcing his mana into inanimate objects. Essentially, there were a myriad of different techniques which he had no idea how to utilize, until reading that instruction manual.

Telekinesis at low levels was only usable on objects that he could first physically touch and imbue with his aura, then he would be able to manipulate them. It was a skill that was extremely flexible, allowing him to move ridiculously heavy objects, assuming that he had enough mana.

He could also use it as a weapon and throw projectiles at unreasonably fast speeds, but it was also incredibly inefficient: unless it was used on Arcane items. However, there were other spells as well, ones which could be used directly against enemies.

Finding a level-nine Bengal Tiger, Michael couldn’t help but laugh as he attempted a particularly important ability for any Tank to have. The beast wasn’t particularly interested in the Human and casually strolled by, so he had plenty of time to put away his book and then mentally prepare for what he was about to do.

After a few seconds, he muttered “I really wanna say it, but I probably shouldn’t…” then yelled “Come… over here!” Pitching the Arcane orb at the big-cat’s left hind-leg, it didn’t deal any damage upon impact, but all of that mana was used to adhere to the creature’s aura, and then he was able to yank the six-hundred pound tiger towards his body.

It was a spell that seemed absurdly overpowered, considering how low the cost to use it was, but techniques like ‘Shadow-Step’ were even more ridiculous. However, once the beast was flying through the air and about to hit him, he was thankful that he didn’t pull it by the head.

Since the tiger was falling towards him backwards, it obviously wasn’t able to launch a counterattack. He grabbed it by the tail with both hands, shouting “How the hell is eight Strength this ridiculous!?” as he used the momentum to swing the entire cat into a miscellaneous bright-orange tree.

A ‘-31’ appeared, and the beast’s neck was actually broken. The animal was unable to move and was on the brink of death anyway, so he telekinetically pulled the Arcane Orb back into his right palm, and used the other skill.

With a powerful throw, the glowing ball smacked into tiger’s ribs, but didn’t deal the normal forty or so damage. Instead, it was basically the opposite of the first technique he used on the feline test-subject.

If the orb had been made out of steel, it probably would have penetrated into the tiger’s chest, or at least impacted the specific area that he targeted. However, the nature of the spell that he was using had influenced the entire body at the same time, causing it to actually be torn in half by the relatively thin but sturdy tree, as both sides continued to be pushed forward for a few meters.

Michael started laughing hysterically, and yelled “Wow, wrecked~!” as he walked over to the pieces of the carcass and sent them into his inventory. As the orb returned to his hand naturally, he muttered “How the hell does this thing never get dirty?”

Both of his new spells were very similar to each-other, and he even complained “I bet the person who wrote these descriptions just copy-pasted them and changed a few words…” Then he opened his skill-list, grumbling “This is starting to get pretty ridiculous, and this is just the fucking basics? Ugh, why do Sarah and Elina only have a handful of abilities, when I have like two pages? Hell, the system even started categorizing them!”

[Spellbook

(Vocal Magic)

Taunt Level 2: After channeling mana into the vocal cords, the caster loudly curses and swears at the target, forcing them to blindly attack. Effectiveness depends on relative level. Potency is dependent on the Aura and Willpower stats.

Deafening Noise Level 3: Create a high-pitched and extremely loud sound, infused with mana. Every point of mana is equivalent to one meter of range. Potency is dependent on the Aura stat.

Intimidation Level 3: Instill fear into the target by releasing killing intent and using threatening language, infused with mana. Effectiveness is dependent on the Level difference between the caster and the target. Potency is dependent on the Charisma stat.

Enthrall Level 2: Charm the target by speaking in a calm and gentle voice, infused with mana. Able to remove fear-related debuffs from friendly targets. Effectiveness is dependent on the Level difference between the caster and the target. Potency is dependent on the Charisma stat.

(Ocular Magic)

Scan Level 3: Identifies the object and gives detailed information. Only effective on items below the rare quality and the caster’s current Level.

(Physical Enhancement)

Stat-Boost Level 2: Channels Arcane-Mana into the target and increases all base stats by two points: Does not affect Willpower, Luck or Aura. Duration depends on the Aura stat. Costs twenty mana per target.

(Electrical Manipulation)

Electrocution Level 1: Transforms mana directly into alternating current and channels it through the caster’s body, dealing lightning damage to enemies that are in physical contact with the caster’s skin. Potency is dependent on the Willpower stat.

Electrical Charge Level 1: Temporarily enchants an Arcane weapon, allowing it to deal additional lightning-damage for one attack. Damage and mana-cost are equivalent to the Aura stat.

Electrostatic Discharge Level 1: Releases the stored energy from an Arcane weapon, creating a lightning-bolt to strike the designated target. Damage and mana-cost are equivalent to the Aura stat.

(Mental Magic)

Illusory Shield Level 1: Creates a thin layer of condensed aura, which can be used to negate a single mental attack. Uses the Aura stat to temporarily reinforce the target’s Willpower. Costs five mana-points if used on the caster, ten when cast on a Companion.

Arcane Bolt Level 1: Launches a single ball of the caster’s aura towards the enemy, homing in on the target’s mana and dealing Arcane-damage. Damage and mana-cost are equivalent to the Aura stat.

Telekinesis Level 3: Manipulate objects by infusing them with mana. Potency is dependent on the Aura stat.

Arcane Pull Level 1: Infuses an Arcane weapon with the caster’s mana, and upon impact, adheres to the target’s aura. Once attached, the target’s weight will be reduced by fifty-percent, and using physical Strength, the caster can pull the target towards him or herself. Can be used on enemies or allies and deals no damage to either. Mana-cost is equivalent to the Strength stat.

Arcane Force Level 1: Infuses an Arcane weapon with the caster’s mana, and upon impact, adheres to the target’s aura. Once attached, the target’s weight will be reduced by fifty-percent, and using physical Strength, the caster can push the target away from themselves. Can be used on enemies or allies and deals no damage to either. Mana-cost is equivalent to the Strength stat.]

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