"Well… about that…" Waiting for Noel to go on a tirade on how he should have used his spear while fighting against the Shadow Mammoths to increase his combat efficiency even if sparingly, Valyr inwardly let out a sigh of relief as he noticed the old man silently waiting for his response. Scratching the back of his head, Valyr grabbed his trusty spear from his back before giving it to the elder to identify.
"It would be better for you to see it yourself, Elder Noel."
"Hmm?" Raising his eyebrow in slight confusion, Noel received Valyr's spear with both hands, staring at it for a bit due to the ferocious aura he felt faintly emanating from the spear, as well as how brutal yet exquisite its design was. After that, he went ahead and used his identification skill on the spear, only for his eyes to focus on a certain innate skill that the spear held.
"What kind of perverse skill is this…" Noel muttered in slight disbelief, staring at the description of [Tidemother's Vengeance] for a long time as he worked out in his mind as to how the innate skill would work. Closing his eyes for a bit after that, he then gave the spear back to Valyr, who quickly affixed it on his back before looking back at the elder before him.
"Correct me if I'm wrong in my speculations, but that innate skill reduces more and more of your stats the longer you fight, right?" Still having a pensive expression on his face, Noel looked at the young man as he threw a question at him.
"That would be correct, Elder Noel." Valyr faintly nodded.
"And does it only apply during fights?"
"Yes." Valyr nodded once more. "Whenever I'm not actively using it in combat, the innate skill doesn't take any effect."
"Is there a timer as to when the innate skill would disable after you're out of combat?" Noel rubbed his chin as he nodded, continuing to ask more questions for clarification.
"I'm not sure on that one." Responding to Noel's question, Valyr flashed a wry smile. "However, while I was exploring a dungeon, even though I had to traverse a great distance before arriving at another enemy, my stats continued to gradually decrease."
"Well, with that kind of innate skill attached to a weapon, even I wouldn't use the spear anymore." Letting out a low sigh after getting a better idea of how the innate skill on Valyr's spear worked, Noel looked at the young man with a hint of pity in his eyes as he flashed a wry smile of his own.
"Anyways, I have a suggestion."
"What is it, Elder Noel?" Raising his eyebrows in curiosity, Valyr watched as the old man took out a metal spear from his metal bracelet, causing the former to blank out for a bit as he instantly had a feeling he knew what the elder was going to suggest to him.
"Have you tried using another spear aside from the one you currently have?" Giving the metal spear to Valyr, Noel watched as the young man looked at the spear he had received with a blank look, only to look back at the elder in silence soon after.
Surprisingly, the thought of using another spear to see if the innate skill only applied to his current spear had not crossed Valyr's mind. After all, even though it was a curse, he found its effects a great boon as long as he utilized it correctly, as well as the fact that he would not have to go through tons of experimentation to find out which material would improve his spear the best.
Nevertheless, now that Noel had brought up the idea to him, the young man resisted the urge to slap himself on the face with all his might, taking in a few deep breaths before deciding to do a few practice movements with the metal spear.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
"So, is the skill activating?" Seeing as Valyr was getting used to the feel of the metal spear, Noel decided to pose the question to the young man, who only responded after he was done adapting to the spear.
"Well, we'll only find that out once I fight against something." Flashing a bitter smile at the elder, Valyr proceeded to move through the area they were in to possibly find a stray Shadow Mammoth they could test on. Unfortunately, with the effects of the mark still active, what ended up happening instead was a small group of Shadow Mammoths appearing within the duo's field of vision all of a sudden, all of which were charging towards Valyr.
"[Shadow Serpent Style]…" Taking in a deep breath as his grip on the metal spear tightened, Valyr watched as the group of Shadow Mammoths moved closer to him with every passing second, eventually deciding to make a move of his own as he interacted with the refined connection he had with Shadow Energy.
"[Dark Serpentine Repulsion]!"
Swoosh!
Slamming the tip of the metal spear into the ground, Valyr conducted the Shadow Energy through the spear, which caused a small magic circle to form on the ground. Not long after, this magic circle glowed as a barrier of dark energy swiftly surrounded Valyr from all angles, which was what the Shadow Mammoths had collided against.
Bang!
"Grooooogh!" With the fact that they didn't hold anything back in their charge, the momentum they had accumulated was swiftly sent back at them through the properties of the barrier, causing all of them to let out a pained cry as they were sent flying a couple of meters away. However, rather than remain where they were after they fell to the ground, as if their sense of pain was nullified, these Shadow Mammoths stood up once more and charged towards Valyr…
Only to be met by the barrier once more.
Bang!
"Groooogh!"
"What an impressive defensive skill." Considering that he was using the fourth technique of the [Shadow Serpent Combat Style] for the first time, Valyr looked at the sight before him with interest, staring as the Shadow Mammoths repeatedly slammed themselves onto the barrier as his mind came up with new combat strategies revolving around it.
"So, is the innate skill taking effect?" As the Shadow Mammoths let out their pained cries for the final time, sending a decent chunk of condensed Shadow Energy Valyr's way for him to absorb, Noel asked the young man the question he had asked earlier, wanting to see if his hypothesis was correct.
"Surprisingly, it's not triggering." In response, Valyr dispelled the barrier around him as he looked at the elder with a slight grin.
"I guess I can finally return to using the—gah!"
