Chapter 186: Chapter 186 Acquiring New Skills
What's the first thing to do when in Kamar-Taj?
Of course, it's to dive into the library and read every book you can find!
Since the Ancient One mentioned that these books were not off-limits to him, Arthur didn't hold back anything.
However, Arthur soon discovered that reading all these books required mastering several languages and ancient scripts.
Arthur was somewhat exasperated. Wasn't there supposed to be a universal language across the galaxy? Why were there Sanskrit texts in the library?
Fortunately, with his exceptional learning ability, whether consulting the Ancient One, asking the library staff, or self-studying with the books, Arthur managed to learn several languages in less than a week and finally began reading the books as he wished.
But, just as the Ancient One had said, Arthur couldn't use any of Kamar-Taj's magic.
He was unable to draw power from the different universes or from other dimensions, which meant he couldn't cast any spells or perform any magic described in the books.
It was all for reference only!
This had a devastating blow on Arthur's massive enthusiasm.
What was once an all-day reading routine turned into a mere three hours a day, with the rest of the time spent trying to… take reckless actions!
This recklessness mainly involved using Space Energy.
Of course, he had considered developing the uses of his colorless energy.
But although meditation gradually improved Arthur's mental energy, he made little progress in understanding himself.
After all, staring at those 'Great Stars' inside his body every day, Arthur didn't know what else to do besides being at a loss.
Changing the energy attributes was simple, it was like how he could once create a fireball with a finger snap.
He could handle various attributes with ease.
However, the attack power, like the fireball, was not very meaningful.
An electric shock was less effective than a stun baton, and a gust of wind was far weaker than a fan. The most practical use was water, which he could use to cook instant noodles.
But water made from colorless energy had no taste, even with seasoning packets.
He sensed that the true use of colorless energy still relied on the Disassembler. Only skills obtained through Disassemble could truly harness this power and make it truly formidable!
Realizing this, Arthur turned his attention to Space Energy.
This marked the beginning of his reckless experiments…
First, he found that although Space Energy was just a blue mist, it could sustain consumption for a long time.
A small amount of colorless energy could keep Space Energy at its peak.
Additionally, he discovered that each time he used instant teleportation, only a tiny fraction of Space Energy was consumed.
This power had never been fully utilized.
Thus, Arthur read extensively, gathered knowledge about space from the books, and closely observed his space energy each time he used instant teleportation. He also noticed that Space Energy produced a specific kind of fluctuation every time he used it.
It was this fluctuation that gave him the ability to teleport.
He attempted to use mental energy to induce this fluctuation in Space Energy, and he succeeded.
Then, he whimsically tried the same method to induce colorless energy, given that colorless energy also contained Space Energy properties.
The result? Space Energy didn't cooperate.
In an instant, Arthur nearly met his end due to his own Space Energy.
After using Space Energy more cautiously, he found that his teleportation could now reach much greater distances.
Currently limited by his mental energy training, the farthest he could teleport was just over a hundred meters.
But that was still very impressive!
In the future, if his mental energy training reaches a higher level, he might be able to appear in any corner of the universe with just a single thought.
Of course, that would also require Space Energy to keep up with the consumption.
After the success of the teleportation experiment, Arthur began to explore other possibilities with Space Energy.
Although the initial attempts were unsuccessful, they didn't pose major risks. However, frequent manipulation of Space Energy seemed to cause it to develop a bit of an attitude.
One morning, Arthur woke up to find himself in a bizarre situation.
He wasn't dead, but the Space Energy had erupted unexpectedly, causing a spatial misalignment where his head was about twenty centimeters away from his body. From a spatial cross-section, one could even see the blood flowing inside him.
The cleanup job fell to the Ancient One. From that day on, the Ancient One had to regularly deal with the mess because Arthur's Space Energy continued to cause minor disruptions, resulting in him often losing limbs or other body parts.
This created an inexplicable fear among the Sorcerers of Kamar-Taj. After all, one moment someone might be having a normal conversation, and the next, their head could shoot up two meters in the air— it was quite shocking for everyone involved!
These small bursts of instability lasted for about half a month before finally stabilizing.
Arthur had used this time to master the method of these fluctuations, developing a highly destructive skill which he named the Space Slash.
With just a single thought, he could cut through space, causing instant and mysterious deaths.
This skill was extremely difficult to defend against due to its spatial nature.
However, it also had several limitations.
Firstly, the total amount of Space Energy inside Arthur's body was insufficient to use the power continuously as after two Space Slashes, his Space Energy would be depleted, and he would have to wait for the colorless energy to replenish it.
Replenishing the completely exhausted Space Energy wasn't quick either.
It would take about three to five minutes to regenerate enough for one more attack.
In a life-or-death battle, such time could often mean death!
Secondly, and most critically, this skill had a limited range.
Currently, Arthur could only accurately target within a three-meter radius.
Beyond three meters, he couldn't slash with precision; instead, it would become a random attack— like throwing something without coordinates, with no guarantee of where it would land.
This skill was also a bitch to master and some accidents occurred in mastering it. The most awkward incident occurred when the Ancient One was observing him practice Space Slash from a short distance, and a Space Slash accidentally landed right on the Ancient One's forehead.
Arthur was terrified, fearing he had struck the Ancient One.
Wouldn't the people of Kamar-Taj want to have a showdown with him?
But the Ancient One simply flicked her fan, remaining unaffected, and even smiled at Arthur before saying: "A good move."
Arthur could only manage a nervous chuckle in response.