Chapter 107: Incomplete Skill

Xiao Fen was rather curious about the old man’s novel statement regarding skills; he could not help but ask: “Why would such a skill appear?”

The old man scoffed, glanced at Xiao Fen again, and said: “A novice like you surely doesn’t have enough Gene Points to buy this scroll. However, seeing as I’m in a good mood today, I’ll give you some pointers and tell you about the special features of this kind of Skill Scroll.”

Looking at the scrolls on his shelves, a look of clear fondness appeared on the old man’s face. He paused, then said: “These skills are all active attack skills, and they belong to the category of public skills. Regardless of ability, regardless of level, anyone can learn them. However, such skills are very hard to come by, even harder to obtain than set items.”

“On the other hand, the World Tree has placed a constraint on this kind of skill. Any kind of active attack public skill is an incomplete skill, not a whole one. Only by finding the other half of this skill, which is another active attack skill, can it become a complete skill again. Do you understand what this means?”

Xiao Fen thought for a moment, then said in a low voice: “Upgrading to the Intermediate level is extremely difficult, and upgrading to the Advanced level is almost an impossible task.”

The old man nodded and said: “That’s right. Just gathering the two different Basic skills is a difficult task. To upgrade to the Intermediate level, you also need the Intermediate scrolls for these two skills, and then the Advanced ones. Being able to gather all of these completely… the ratio of people who can do so is very small, even when looking at the entire scope of Awakened.”

Picking up the Qigong Skill Scroll written in Greek, the old man continued: “Moreover, upgrading these skills is a lot of trouble. It takes 2 Skill Points for Basic, and 6 Skill Points for Intermediate. Skill Points are scarce for every Trialist. Such a luxurious investment might ultimately fail to reach the Advanced level. This kind of risk is unbearable for most Trialists.”

Xiao Fen frowned and asked: “If they could be exchanged, wouldn’t that be fine? Everyone could exchange for the skills they need.”

The old man laughed. His gaze turned outside the room; no one knew what he was looking at. At the same time, he said: “That’s right, if exchange was possible, of course that would be good. But someone interrupted this exchange in order to seek greater profit.”

Xiao Fen paused for a moment, then asked in a low voice: “The Council of Elders?”

The old man nodded and said: “That’s right, the Council of Elders. They control the transactions between Awakened. These active attack public skills are often taken away by the Council of Elders as soon as they appear, and become the private property of the major families within the Council of Elders. Over time, the families of the Council of Elders have more opportunities for pairing and become stronger, and their control over the Awakened also becomes stronger.”

Xiao Fen asked: “Doesn’t the World Tree manage this kind of thing?”

The old man shook his head and answered: “What the World Tree needs are powerful Trialists, powerful Awakened. As long as they are powerful enough to divert the Apocalyptic Disaster, it doesn’t matter that much where these Awakened come from.”

Xiao Fen let out a long breath and asked: “If I want to obtain the other half of the skill myself, what should I do?”

The old man’s eyes lit up as he looked at Xiao Fen and asked: “Are you sure you want a skill like this?”

Xiao Fen nodded. What he lacked most right now were various attack skills.

The Gene Control Ability was essentially not an ability for charging into battle, a point that could be verified from Farrah’s notes.

The reason Farrah devoted himself wholeheartedly to the research of Weapon Crafting was also to make up for the flaw of insufficient lethality in the Gene Control Ability.

The old man nodded and said: “Alright, 10,000 Gene Points, final price.”

Xiao Fen coughed violently twice. He hadn’t expected the old man’s attitude to change so quickly. In the blink of an eye, he had gone from a kindly old man giving earnest guidance to a wretched-looking profiteer.

He thought for a moment, feeling a bit hesitant in his heart.

A skill for 10,000 Gene Points wasn’t too expensive. After all, you have to be alive to spend Gene Points. At this stage, having one more skill meant one more chance to save his life.

Moreover, for him, who had 4 spare Skill Points, spending one Skill Point to master an active attack skill wasn’t considered extravagant. Even if this skill ultimately couldn’t be upgraded normally, it would just be a matter of spending one Skill Point.

As for the 10,000 Gene Points, that was also within his payment range. It was just that once he paid these Gene Points, his previous plan to buy a Potion Crafting scroll would fall through completely.

A Potion Crafting scroll or a skill, this was the reason for Xiao Fen’s hesitation.

The old man glanced at Xiao Fen, clearly seeing his hesitation. He smiled slightly and asked: “Do you think it’s normal for someone of your level to possess 10,000 Gene Points?”

Xiao Fen was shocked and immediately realized that let alone 10,000, even 5,000 would be too abnormal for him at Level 1.

If the Council of Elders really controlled all commercial transactions, it would be easy for them to trace it back to him. By then, he would likely be suspected by the Li Family due to the issue of timing, and that was no laughing matter.

When it came to unnecessary trouble, less was better.

In other words, before his level reached Level 3, he had to strictly control his commercial transactions. Unless it was a barter trade, easily taking out a large amount of Gene Points for transactions would definitely cause unnecessary problems.

Thinking of this, he nodded gently and said: “Okay, 10,000 Gene Points it is. But you have to tell me where I can obtain the other half of this skill?”

The old man smiled slightly. Holding the Skill Scroll in one hand, he reached out the other hand without saying a word.

Xiao Fen understood the old man’s “cash on delivery” meaning. He gave a wry smile, summoned his Light Screen, and clicked the transaction option.

After a large sum of Gene Points arrived in the old man’s hand, the old man’s attitude changed noticeably.

He scrutinized Xiao Fen once more, handed the scroll to Xiao Fen, and said: “A rookie can’t produce that many Gene Points, unless they had a lucky encounter, or they’re a young master from a big family. But I won’t delve into that. Since I’ve taken your Gene Points, I’ll tell you where the other half of the skill might appear. After I finish speaking, let’s not see each other again. I don’t want those bastards from the Council of Elders tailing me.”

Seeing Xiao Fen nod, the old man continued: “Look at that scroll. The scroll itself holds a hint for you.”

Xiao Fen paused, about to speak, when suddenly the Light Screen flashed, and a line of text appeared.

“You are not welcome by the Master, you are about to leave this room.”

Before Xiao Fen realized what was happening, specks of light constantly floated up around him. The next second, he had retreated back onto the street, and the small shop before him had vanished without a trace.