Chương 10: Auras

"I haven't said anything, and I don't think my face can make any expression either," said Alex.

"So who were they?"

"Technically my brothers," Gryg replied.

"They were the youngest batch of warriors and mages my mother gave birth to three years ago."

"They were only three years old?" Alex felt a strange unease. Perhaps if he had still been human, the guilt would have struck deeper.

"Yeah. Mountain Trolls reach adulthood at three years of age… well, males do," Gryg explained.

"They have shorter lifespans and grow faster. Females take around ten years."

"I see," Alex said.

"It takes humans roughly twenty-one years to become fully functioning adults, at least in most countries."

"Twenty-one?!" Gryg burst into laughter.

"You guys sure grow slow! No wonder you're so weak! Hahahaha! To think you need that much time just to grow up—and all the food that requires. Completely unsustainable. Even the oldest races, the Elves, reach full adulthood at eight."

"That's honestly bizarre to me," Alex admitted.

"I suppose that's simply the difference between our kinds."

"I guess so," Gryg shrugged.

"So what are you doing with that stuff?"

"I was thinking of sharing this Race Exclusive Skill Book with you," Alex said.

"After considering it for some time, I realized that rewarding your company and help would help secure your loyalty."

"Stop talking like a weirdo and just say you're being nice," Gryg sighed.

"And thank you—I'll take it!" Gryg snatched the small book from his hand and activated it instantly. Runes poured into her as the book dissolved into light.

"Oh? Not bad!" Ding! [Your familiar: [Troll Queen – Gryg: Level 21] has learned the Racial Skill: [Giant's Pressuring Force (Tier 1)]!]"Pressuring Force?" Alex asked.

"Yeah, check this out!" Gryg smirked. She thrust her hand forward, and a potent force erupted from her palm, crushing a stone several meters away with a sharp crack.

"It's a kind of telekinetic pressure fueled by my Aura."

"Aura…" Alex murmured.

"What exactly is that?"

"Aura is Aura. What do you want me to explain?" Gryg asked, then rolled her eyes.

"Ah, right—you humans don't know anything. Umm, Aura is the essence that radiates from your body. It's mostly built from Lifeforce, or Qi as some call it. There's also Mana Aura and Spirit Aura, but they're different. You can combine them to create Superior Auras, which can then evolve into Beast Auras. Though you lack Lifeforce, so I doubt you could ever learn Aura Arts."

"Aura…" Alex thought.

"I will try."

"What do you mean you'll try?" Gryg asked.

"I already told you that you can't—""Channel Aura." Through Self-Binding, Alex commanded his body. His energies surged on their own, rapidly fluctuating before condensing into a solid, ethereal essence that pressed heavily upon him. In seconds, an Aura emerged—not from Lifeforce, but from pure Nether. It glowed with phantasmal energy, flickering like will-o'-the-wisps and ghostly fire drawn from the Netherworld itself.

"I suppose the lack of a Stamina Stat makes Nether a fitting substitute," he explained.

"I see what you meant. Releasing Aura boosts my power in more ways than I expected. My body is now roughly sixteen percent heavier, my bones roughly eighteen percent tougher and stronger, and my agility has increased by about twelve percent. Fascinating." Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

"W-Wha…?!" Gryg stood speechless, mouth agape, as she watched Alex unleash his Aura with effortless ease—something that had taken her years to master.

"Covering my sword with Aura makes it stronger and faster as well," Alex said, testing his Bone Blade.

"And my Bone Blade resonates exceptionally well with Nether. What about the other Auras?" In the next moment, his Mana Aura ignited like an intense azure flame. Then came his Spirit Aura, radiating black and crimson darkness that spread like venom through the air. He felt his Mana Aura increase his Magic Power and Spell Casting Speed by around sixteen percent, while his Spirit Aura boosted the same attributes plus Mana Recovery Speed by roughly fifteen percent. When he stacked all three together… BOOOM!

A massive explosion of energy erupted from his body, forging a towering pillar of phantasmal light, swirling darkness, and roaring flames. Gryg staggered back in utter disbelief.

"Hooo…" Alex released a heavy sigh. Black fog poured from his empty mandibles.

"I can feel the power. This increases… all stats. By perhaps thirty percent? However, it drains my Mana, Nether, and Soul constantly. I cannot sustain this for more than a few seconds." Alex quickly dispelled the Aura. His skeletal body collapsed to the ground like a puppet with its strings severed, sending Gryg into a panic.

"Alex! What happened?! Are you okay?" she cried.

"I'm fine," Alex said, rising smoothly as if nothing had occurred.

"My body suffered some backlash, but since I'm only bones, it didn't truly hurt. I'll simply reinforce myself with Bone Clay." He mended the cracks using Bone Clay—Mana and Nether fused into his bones through the Bone Crafter Skill. The technique let him mold and reshape bone at will, repairing and strengthening his own frame in the process.

"So that's how you heal yourself?" Gryg asked.

"Makes sense, since you can't use healing potions or anything else."

"Yeah. It's essentially how Necromancers repair their Undead," Alex explained.

"I may learn a proper Undead Healing Spell later, but this will suffice for now. Let's move on to Alchemy. First, I'll use this." Alex unrolled the scroll. Dozens of runes surged forth, piercing his body and soul in seconds. Knowledge flooded his mind, and the System responded at once. [You have used the [Profession Scroll – Shamanistic Alchemist (D+ Grade)]] [You have attained the Profession: [Shamanistic Alchemist (F) – Level 0]] [Your Wisdom, Intelligence, and Spirit have increased by 5. MP has increased by +10.]"Hm?" Alex immediately felt his mind sharpen. The strange mental fog that had occasionally clouded his thoughts vanished. With such a sudden surge in Wisdom, Intelligence, and Spirit, his thoughts now raced at twice their previous speed. He gained no new skills, however. It seemed Professions developed differently from Classes, which often granted multiple abilities immediately. He still had much to learn about how Skills, Classes, and Races truly functioned.

He had gained most of his own Skills through practice and experimentation, but he knew that could not be the only way. Skill Points did not exist. There was no Skill Shop. So far, Tutorial Points served only as a performance score for players until the Tutorial ended. Thus, how did one truly learn new skills beyond raw practice?

"Gryg, I've obtained the profession, but I have a few questions," Alex said.

"Do you know how Skills are learned beyond being taught directly?"

"Hm? The System usually offers you a Skill List once your Race, Class, or Profession reaches Level 10," she explained.

"It happens every ten levels. You also receive one to three Skills when choosing your first Class, and Racial Skills are granted at birth. As a skeleton, what are your Racial Skills?"

"Hm. Undead Evolution, I suppose," Alex said.

"And a few others… I gained more Skills when I died and became a Skeleton. Interesting. I also learned swordsmanship, fire magic, and shadow magic through my own experimentation. Later, I acquired two more by absorbing death essence from corpses…"

"Huh?! You can learn skills like that too?" Gryg asked, shocked.

"Yeah. It's a unique power I gained after becoming a Skeleton who also serves as his own Undead Familiar as a Necromancer," Alex explained.

"What a strange and powerful ability…" Gryg said with a nod.

"Hmmm, now you've got me interested. But anyway, let's start with the basics: Potion Brewing and Herbology. Both of which… don't really benefit you much."

"That's fine," Alex said.

"Learning Potion Brewing might eventually let me craft special liquids that could strengthen my bones or soul."

"If you say so," Gryg shrugged.

"Here, I've prepared a few things. Alchemy is pretty simple at the start. My mother always says it's like cooking. You take magic herbs, cut them, crush them, mix them, add mana, add spirit, then wait—and use your own Mana to guide their properties together… like this!"

A/N: A reader made this for Alex: