Chương 7: Awakening Mana!

As Shiva delved into the descriptions of his newly rediscovered old skills, a surge of excitement coursed through him. In his previous life, he had been oblivious to the potential of these abilities, unaware of their capacity to elevate his power to unprecedented heights within the Tower. But now, everything was different. He not only understood how to wield these skills efficiently but had also acquired the class much earlier than in his past life.

With a calmed heart brimming with excitement, Shiva immersed himself in the descriptions of the skills.

First on the list was "Crazy Combine," an Ex-rank class exclusive skill that allowed him to merge items of similar types to create a unified product. The outcome of these combinations varied depending on the specific items utilized, offering both boon and bane in equal measure. Despite the element of luck involved, Shiva was confident in his ability to utilize this skill. He eagerly anticipated crafting powerful artifacts and tools to aid him on his journey through the Tower.

Turning his attention to "Raise Dead," an F-rank class exclusive skill. Its ability is to summon departed spirits from the depths of the underworld. Although these summoned undead were mere echoes of their former selves, possessing only a fraction of their former strength, Shiva knew the potential of the skill, to be able to amass an army of loyal servants to fulfill his bidding.

Drawing from his past life experience, he knew that the summoned beings would retain only a quarter of their power along with some of their skills, yet even this would prove immense as the number of his summons increased.

Continuing his examination, Shiva's eyes fell on "Blazing Skull," another F-rank class exclusive skill that launched a blazing skull towards enemies, unleashing devastating splash and flame damage upon impact. The possibility of inflicting lingering burn effects on his targets causing chaos and destruction.

Finally, he encountered "Reanimate," another F-rank skill that whispered ancient incantations to resurrect fallen undead. Although limited to once every six hours at F-rank, Shiva imagined a future where he could amass an army of undead who would rise again and again, even after destruction, as he increased the skill level.

"Hehehe…"

Just the thought of commanding an army of indestructible undead warriors once again filled him with a sense of grim satisfaction, knowing that death held no sway over his dark arts.

Next, he studied "Bone Embrace," the last F-rank class exclusive skill that summoned skeletal hands to ensnare adversaries with spectral precision.

Although summoning the hands to aid him in battle would require precision and control, Shiva harbored no doubts. After all, he had done it in the past..or the future.... it was only natural that he could do it again! The thought of immobilizing his enemies with dark magic thrilled him, envisioning the terror and chaos he could unleash upon those who dared to oppose him.

Finally, he turned his attention to the passive skills, starting with "Crazy Growth," an F-rank class exclusive skill that rewarded daring feats deemed insane or unattainable by Tower dwellers. It was a skill tailor-made for him! With the knowledge of his past life, Shiva knew plenty of situations where he could trigger this skill.

Last but not least was "Undead Confederate," another F-rank class exclusive skill that fueled a necromancer's power in the presence of their summons. With every summoning, the necromancer's energy replenished at an accelerated rate, empowering their dark arts with increasing potency.

In F-rank, each summon would increase his energy replenishing rate by 0.5%, which, although small individually, would become invaluable as time went on!

With a satisfied smile on his face, Shiva marveled at the array of skills at his disposal, feeling more confident than ever in his ability to conquer the challenges that lay ahead. Each skill represented a step towards his ultimate goal of surpassing his past achievements and claiming his rightful place as the strongest being in the Tower.

<The individual has met the conditions for awakening mana.>

"Huh?" As if a sudden realization dawned on him, Shiva's eyes widened.

"Come to think of it... I already meet the requirement for awakening mana?"

There were two requirements for awakening mana. The first was to have a class, and the second was to have an intelligence stat above 20.

In his past life, Shiva had awakened mana after five days from the appearance of the tower, as the initial intelligence stat was quite low. But now, he had acquired that in advance!

<Commencing awakening mana.>

As the runes stating the awakening of mana appeared in front of him, Shiva felt something stirring deep inside him.

With a groaned pain, he clutched his chest and closed his eyes. The sensation was not painful or unpleasant, yet it felt as though his soul was being shaken awake, infused with new energy.

The energy, however, didn't come from an outside source. Rather, it emanated from within, as though it had always been there, sleeping.

The energy, or the mana, filled every fiber of his being. Shiva felt his mind, which had been quite crowded after the recent events, becoming clearer and sharper. The feeling was so strange that he felt like he had discovered something within himself which had been hidden all along.

It was exhilarating!

After some time had passed, the mana coursing through his chest finally cooled down. A soothing coldness surged through his being, alleviating the exhaustion that had piled up from fighting against the monsters.

As Shiva opened his eyes, his vision was strangely clear. The voice of the tower suddenly pulled him out of his thoughts.

<Awakening of the mana successful!>

"...that was sudden."

Despite his thoughts, there was a smile on Shiva's face. Things were progressing faster than he had expected, and Shiva felt the need to adjust his plans a little.

"I should visit 'there' a bit early then...."

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