'Hmm. I can still sense some resistance.'
Eren looked around as he thought to himself.
'Even with the number of Abilities I have access to, I shouldn't get complacent. It'd be better for me to turn them into Skills for easier casting. But for that to happen, I'll need Menaka's Blessing.'
Eren hadn't entered a foreign world with a blank slate. Through the information he gathered from the three witches as well as Hettie, he knew that Goddess Menaka was one of the few neutral gods who didn't support the divine or demonic factions.
Her divinity revolved around facilitating the use of magic to all living beings, irrespective of their race, faction, or inclinations. It was said that her eyes, ears, and mouth were sealed so she couldn't diverge the information about anyone to anyone even though she knew everything because of how widely her Blessing was being used across myriad worlds in the boundless cosmos.
Menaka was also not a goddess who could be pressured by anyone. It was said that she was one of the oldest divine beings whose divinity had never stopped growing ever since her inception as a goddess.
As such, her Blessing was used by both factions to get access to some exclusive perks. These perks and powers were only available in worlds with Menaka's Mesh spread over them.
Menaka's Blessing allowed one to get various Skills for themselves, irrespective of the elemental compatibility. The use of the Skills was instantaneous and there was no learning curve involved.
Meaning one didn't have to spend days and weeks perfecting a Skill from scratch. As long as one successfully gained access to a Skill, they could wield it to perfection from that moment on.
The one Advantage Eren had over the other Rankers and mana-harnessing entities had also been robbed after he entered Labh Salem. If everyone was capable of wielding multiple elements with the same proficiency as him, then the fact that he had Elder Ichor bloodline did not give him an edge over the others. At least when it came to casting multi-element spells.
'The advantage is gone. But at least I won't be regarded as a freak if I wield my bloodline powers here. Yeah. I should focus on the positives.'
Eren thought to himself. One could say that it was his conscious effort to cheer himself.
'I shouldn't wait too long. I'll need to get Menaka's Blessing as soon as possible. Maybe these witches can help me,' he concluded before looking at the people surrounding him with hopeful eyes.
***
Menaka's Mesh was akin to a canvas. A Skill was similar to a set template of a drawing. When these two things were brought together, one only needed to inject their mana into the layout that would act as an ink, allowing for a picture-perfect image to manifest.
Casting Skills was an entirely different experience than casting spells. One could cast Skills and alter the output of the Skills using the Perks even if they didn't have sufficient Elemental Attainments. It meant that anyone from Labh Salem could fight with a genius Ranker from Anfang with an equal footing as long as they had sufficient resources invested into Menaka's Blessing.
Of course, one could manipulate the output of a Skill to some degree using intent-based magic as well as external factors like potions and artifacts. They could also tweak the end result using their Elemental Attainments as a strong influence. However, the outcome didn't differ much from its default value.
Thus, one could say that geniuses didn't matter much in Labh Salem. Not really. One only needed to strengthen their Menaka's Blessing for them to conquer all their obstacles.
This was why the use of Skills was seen as a shortcut by all the Rankers of Anfang as soon as they came across it. Eren wasn't the first Ranker who felt a bit downcast after learning about the use of Skills.
Unlike Anfang, the information related to Skills was freely available to anyone carrying the Menaka's Blessing. The free flow of information allowed the denizens of Labh Salem to choose wisely. It allowed them to make well-informed decisions related to their respective professions.
Of course, only knowing about the Skills was not enough for one to conquer their difficulties in Labh Salem. They also needed a seemingly illusory form of currency to get those Skills for themselves.
Or they could do what Rankers were used to doing, which was to learn a spell from scratch. Practice it long enough for it to become their Ability. And then convert those Abilities into their personal Skills with the use of Menaka's Blessing.
It was obvious that almost nobody in Labh Salem wanted to take the traditional route of learning magic the hard way. Who would spend years perfecting spells and wait for them to turn into their respective Abilities?
The mana-harnessing entities had different circumstances than the Rankers of Anfang. As such they never thought of following the classical way of casting magic.
Menaka's Blessing also had a lot of other functionalities apart from granting Skills to its users. It could be used as a mode of communication as well as personal storage. It could also be used as a way to keep track of one's progress in their respective Paths to Power.
Menaka's Blessing was a runic fragment that one could bind with themselves and have access to at all times. It could be used by Rankers, Body Cultivators, Spirit Tamers, Elementalists, Soulweavers, etc alike.
It would adapt as per the user, allowing them to make the most of the Skills and other personal belongings they bought through a special portal. The users didn't need to do anything from their end to personalize Menaka's Blessing either.
The blessing would adapt on its own, making it easier for them to use magic and Skills with each passing day until the saturation. In rare events, the Skills would evolve into Greater Skills, allowing the users to gain a tremendous advantage over their counterparts.
