The moment Liam said yes to the system, he could feel a tingling sensation coursing through his entire body. It felt like a thousand needles were pricking him from the inside.
This tingling sensation went all the way through his body, until it eventually reached the top of his head. His brain felt like it was being tickled from the inside, from the front all the way to the back.
"Arghh, stop it, stop it!" Liam said, almost clawing at his own head as he fell to his knees.
[Once accepted, the process cannot be stopped.]
The feeling continued on, but only for a short while after, until he heard the voice once again.
[The skill, Quick Bite Slash, has now been learned.]
The sensation had gone from his body, and standing there, Liam felt no different from before. His body didn't feel lighter, nor had the world around him opened up. It wasn't the same as when one would reach the next stage. When this happened, it felt like they had entered a whole new body of a new person.
"Should I try the skill then?" Looking around the hollowed tree, Liam had eventually found his sword propped up against the side. It hadn't been destroyed because in the fight, his arms had just been sliced off. Picking it up, Liam did notice something—that it felt slightly lighter than before.
[Your body has a stronger starting point compared to other Pagna warriors. The nanobots inside you give you superior strength and speed.
[Since the nanobots inside are also a part of you, if you infuse them with Qi, you will be able to perform at a higher level.]
The smile on Liam's face couldn't be contained as he held his sword and decided to step out of the hollow tree. When looking around, he noticed he was still in the same fields, the same area, but he couldn't see blood on the ground, dead beasts, or Royo's body. If he wanted to get back, it would be difficult because he didn't even have any reference as to where the portal was.
Still standing there, he placed his sword by his side, inside the sheath.
"So, how do I do this then? Do I just select the skill?" Liam asked.
The interface appeared underneath his eyepatch once more, giving him the options. He just needed to think about the skill, and he could see it light up.
Just like that, he was starting to feel something in his body, his brain—the actions—it was as if they were moving on their own. His body started to crouch down. The Qi was coming out from his dantian, and right after, the sword was pulled out, and a large diagonal slash appeared in front of him.
The grass strands were sliced, even though the sword hadn't gone through them from where he was.
'This sensation.' Liam looked at his own hand. 'This is a lesser version of the strike, and it was still so powerful?'
[Correct. Once you train your body and have the right quality of Qi, your skill will automatically be upgraded to be used.]
[When using the skill through the system, there is a slight delay. A suggestion would be learning the feeling and movement of the skill on your own, so you can perform them as needed.]
Everything—it felt like fantasy to Liam right now. He had been struggling so hard before, and now it was all at his fingertips.
'Some people would think this was cheating, but I'm just going to use every advantage I get to get ahead of everyone in this world.' Right there and then, Liam started to open his mouth wide and let out a belly of laughter.
"Mahaha, Mhwuaha!" Liam cheered, until the ground started to vibrate near him.
[Warning, warning, a nearby creature has been detected.]
Turning his head to where the sound was, Liam could see it—a large creature the size of a house. It was on all fours and had a relatively large head that looked like a giant shield with a pointy nose at the front.
'I almost forgot that this was a dimension filled with creatures and monsters.'
The beast started to drag its front legs through the field of grass, and before he knew it, it began to charge right at him.
[Suggested combat mode on.]
In his eyepatch, Liam could see it—the skills it was suggesting him to use. For now, he would go with the flow and trust it. When the beast got close, the system told him to dodge, and that's what he did—rolling to the side. The beast continued to charge forward, trying to slow down, tearing up the grass beneath its feet.
Right before Liam had rolled though, he threw his sword up in the air, because what he was using was the Juggling arts. Jumping up, he grabbed onto the sword and then stabbed it right in its back—a strike filled with Qi. The next suggestion from the system was to leap off the beast, which he followed.
Then, the moment his feet touched the ground, the system told him to use his new skill, the Quick Bite Slash. Drawing his sword out, the sword slashed right at the beast's neck underneath it. The Qi was enough to cause the beast to lose its life as its body plopped onto the floor.
[The enemy has been defeated. Your Qi levels are running low.]
'Freaking hell, you're even telling me about how much Qi I have, and I can see the Quick Bite Slash; it's faded in color.'
[Yes, this means you currently do not have enough Qi to use this skill at this moment. If the skill is forced, a lesser version of it will be performed, and it might harm the user.]
[For example, the nanobots might no longer be able to perform healing if there is inadequate Qi.]
'You keep getting more and more impressive by the day! Haha, this is the best cheat ever. It's something that I can easily hide from the others.'
'When I get back, I can just imagine them saying, "How did you get so strong? You're a genius who managed to learn a skill just by looking at it!"
'And then, Safa will jump to me, asking me to teach her my ways!'
The grinning form Liam couldn't stop. He had been through a lot, facing Royo, his poor heart—he felt like he was going to die multiple times, and finally, for everything he had been through, it felt like he was now rewarded for it.
'Wait, you can heal me, right? Doesn't that mean my eye is better? I should be able to take off this eyepatch as well then.'
Liam went to raise his hand and was about to rip off the eyepatch to see. How long had it been since he could see with both eyes?
"I would leave that eyepatch on if I were you," a voice said from behind. "I mean, unless you want everyone to know you're now different."
Turning around, Liam's eyes were now on the mysterious man clad in metal armor—the man known as Zon, the one who had turned Liam into what he was now.
