Devouring Dragon Heir-Chapter 24: Ch Choosing his elements

[Congratulations on getting the skill: Phantasmal Veil (S)]

EFFECTS:

Invisibility: Beyond optical. The user seems to literally "not be there." Their very presence feels absent to the senses. Even advanced magical/technological detection struggles significantly.

Stealth: Perfect, absolute silence. No sound is made.

Full Spectrum Dampening: Suppresses all detectable signatures: optical, thermal, magical aura, even minor scent.

Passive Interaction: Can open doors, manipulate objects, and perform light physical interactions without breaking the veil, as the effect subtly extends to the immediate interaction point.

Sensory Muting Field: Creates a very small field around them that slightly dulls the senses of anyone actively trying to perceive them, creating a feeling of "nothingness."

***

LIMITATIONS:

True Omni-Sensors: Only truly omniscient or god-like entities could easily perceive the host. Rare magical beings with unique "true sight" might perceive a distortion in reality rather than the user.

Direct Combat: A direct, forceful physical attack (punch, spell impact) on the location they occupy will briefly reveal them due to the force disrupting the field.

Exhaustion: Maintaining this level for prolonged periods or while doing complex actions is highly taxing.

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"Amazing," Klaus commented, a slow grin spreading across his face as he read the description of his new S-rank skill. This wasn’t just mere invisibility; this was true non-existence.

The Full Spectrum Dampening was critical. It meant he couldn’t be tracked by heat signatures, magical energy, or even scent.

This wasn’t something a normal hunter could achieve. The Passive Interaction effect was also a significant bonus; it meant he could actually move through environments, open doors, or pick up objects without giving himself away.

He wouldn’t be limited to just being a silent observer; he could be an active, unseen force. And the Sensory Muting Field? That was just overkill, a layer of psychological confusion on top of absolute concealment.

This skill entirely resolved his immediate problem regarding public gates. He no longer had to worry about security personnel, high-level hunters, or guild members catching him trespassing or absorbing dungeon cores. ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com

He could slip in and out of any gate undetected, a literal ghost. The limitations were negligible for his intended use.

The exhaustion was a minor issue he could manage with rest and his growing mana pool. Plus the skill’s cost would reduce once he awakened the darkness element since it was a darkness elemental skill.

This skill was a game-changer now, making him virtually untraceable by mortal means.

"Now that the issue of entering a gate is resolved, a few things are left to do before I proceed," Klaus stated, outlining his immediate objectives.

"First, I have to ensure a steady state of income. Money would be essential for resources, getting a house and fulfilling his daily needs"

"Second, I have to increase my rank to gain a higher place in society. This wasn’t just for prestige, higher ranks meant access to more information, better equipment, and perhaps even clues about the Heavenly Will."

With those two points firmly in mind, Klaus decided that he would go to the Hunter Association to update his rank once the time was right.

"System, I have a doubt," Klaus mused, looking at the panel. "Since I won’t be following the conventional interface of this world to rank up,

and you said that defeating ten enemies of a higher rank is the way to reach that rank earlier, I can’t understand the logic behind this.

How will my stats grow just by killing ten beings of an upper rank? Usually, rank-ups are a mysterious process of mana and strength surging within you."

[Host, the growth of a person in this world is overseen by the Heavenly Will,]

the system’s voice resonated in his mind.

[When it acknowledges you, you rank up. But since your connection has been cut, and you are using the system’s panel, your rank-up is in the hands of the system.

To prove it to the system that you are worthy, you need to defeat at least 10 beings at that specific rank. Otherwise, normal people only have to defeat a single person for the same acknowledgment from the Heavenly Will.]

"Oh, so that was the case" Klaus nodded in acknowledgment. The explanation made a cold kind of sense. He didn’t complain about his rank-up quest being more difficult than others.

At least he was in safe hands, free from the manipulation of the Heavenly Will. His growth was now dictated by his own efforts, not by some unseen entity’s approval.

So, he now had two rank-ups to consider:

- his actual rank-up through the system’s requirements

- his official rank in the eyes of the world.

He opened his laptop again, searching for various gates across the country, starting to strategize his next moves accordingly.

It had just been a week since he had been evaluated at the association and given his initial D-rank status.

He had to wait three more weeks to get re-evaluated for an official rank update.

Coincidentally, exactly after one week, the entrance competition for the Guardian Academy would begin. This aligned perfectly with his plans.

He decided to invest those three crucial weeks. The first two weeks would be dedicated to his actual rank-up through the system, pushing himself to defeat ten monsters of successively higher ranks.

Then, after that, he would go to the association to get re-evaluated, aiming for a significant official rank jump.

Following that, he would apply for the Guardian Academy’s entrance competition, where the ranking of humanity’s top talent would be decided. It was an ambitious schedule, but with his new skills and the system, it felt achievable.

He was excited about the competition, the chance to test himself against the best. But he had to remain cautious.

He had died earlier, almost twice, and the memory of near-death was a potent reminder of the dangers ahead. His divine skills and growing power gave him confidence, but not arrogance.

He decided that he would start by entering B-ranked gates. With the Phantasmal Veil skill, he didn’t have to worry about the powerful guilds that typically owned and guarded these high-level dungeons.

He could freely trespass on their property, invisible and undetectable, taking what he needed without consequence.

There was another concern, the association’s instruction not to travel out of the capital station during this first week, to comply with the ongoing investigation into the vanished gate.

Klaus recognized the necessity of adhering to this. He couldn’t afford to raise any red flags so early on.

So, out of the three weeks he had, the first week would be spent devouring the local dungeons within the capital’s vicinity.

Thankfully, this was the capital city for a reason; it boasted the highest number of gates across the country, providing him with ample targets.

He also had to make a crucial choice regarding the elements he was going to awaken.

Ice was already on the list, newly awakened providing strong debuffing and offensive capabilities.

He wanted to add the Shadow element for various reasons lilke stealth, dark magic, and its natural synergy with his elusive combat style.

But he needed two more elements to reach his goal of mastering four, and they had to be versatile, capable of fulfilling various purposes.

His plan was clear: Ice for debuff and attack, Shadow for stealth and dark magic. What should he choose next?

He initially wanted to choose a Space element for skills like teleportation, dimension manipulation, and evasion.

It seemed incredibly useful for both combat and traversal. But when he searched for gates where space-related monsters were present, he couldn’t find any. It was as if such monsters simply didn’t exist in the accessible dungeons.

Then he asked the system a genuine, logical doubt that had been bothering him. "Shouldn’t absorbing the gate itself increase my space affinity? Since the gate is literally a portal to another space?"

[If the Host wants to gain Space Affinity from a gate, you will have to sacrifice all other rewards you obtain from the gate core,]

the system explained, its voice unwavering.

[If the Host chooses to do so, you will get almost a very small percentage of Space Affinity that is not much useful until it reaches 1%. This would probably only be possible if the Host consumes all the gates on this planet.]

"Space is that difficult to comprehend???" Klaus had not expected this level of difficulty.

To sacrifice all other rewards from a dungeon core for a minuscule amount of Space Affinity seemed like an incredibly poor trade-off, practically a waste of a dungeon core.

[Time and Space are those two elements that come very close to being concepts, which is why their difficulty is off the charts]

the system continued, providing context that was both humbling and awe-inspiring.

[Even at their time, the Time-Dragon and the Space-Dragon were the strongest of their lot. Of course, they were still weaker than their father.]

"Guess I’ll have to drop it for now," Klaus said, a touch of disappointment in his voice, but understanding the sheer impracticality. Time and Space were simply beyond his current reach. He looked at the other elements on his mental list, weighing their pros and cons.

Light might give him a holy hero vibe, good for healing and also movement speed. It could be effective against demons and shadow skills.

Fire was ferocious and had many applications, including devastating offensive spells, and even practical uses like blacksmithing and alchemy.

Thunder was cool and destructive, also granting immense speed and reflexes. He could become a lightning-fast warrior, like the mythical god Thor.

Water was calming yet dangerous, capable of healing properties and diverse applications, from controlling tides to shaping the oceans. He envisioned himself like posieden.

Wind gave immense speed, crucial for evasion and mobility, but could also bring destructive storms.

Earth granted powerful area-of-effect abilities, strong defense, and stability in battle, plus terrain advantage almost all of the time, except when he was in water.

Time and Space were out of the equation. He could choose two more from the remaining options, but all of them seemed tempting, each offering unique advantages. He considered their availability first.

Light element was not available at all.

Klaus found out that none of the public gates had light elementals in them. After all, he could remember that the light element was usually associated either with the church or with mythical beings like angels, not common dungeon monsters.

Coincidentally, there was a powerful guild called the Holy Sword Guild in the capital, where many of the users had light element skills. But he couldn’t just rightfully kill these people when he had no reason to.

So, the light element was out for now.

Among the remaining elements -> Fire, Water, Earth, Thunder, and Wind—Fire, Water, and Earth seemed to have the most diverse and immediate applications for his current needs.

Out of these, Klaus finally decided to go for Fire and Earth elements. Their applications were more useful right now.

Fire offered raw destructive power with application in other side professions, while Earth provided solid defense and control. Although he would lack the healing properties of Water, he still believed he could compensate for that with healing skills or items he might acquire later.

And it was not like he could not use other elements’ skills entirely, it was just that the mana cost and execution would be prohibitively expensive compared to those elements he had affinity for.

For now, focus was key. Ice, Shadow, Fire, Earth. These four elements would form the foundation of his evolving power, each strategically chosen for its utility and potential.

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