The Elemental Relics

After making an excuse of not feeling well, Ali retreated to his room early. Once he sat on his bed, he checked his prompt on what he saw earlier during instructor Tsie’s class as he thought he was imagining things.

What do you mean by inheriting trap abilities? I don't have any trap abilities to begin with.

<

After some investigation, the unknown relic in your possession has been identified. Such relics were rumored to exist only in stories. Once the effects were confirmed, the relic identity has been determined with a high level of certainty.

Loading results…

Relic: Inheritance

Type: Support

Subtype: Special

Tier: S

Level: N/A

Cost: None

Description:

The owner of the relic can be both a donor and an inheritor. Other individuals can be donors if they are within three meters of the relic and other, currently unknown, requirements are met.

The donor can load up to two abilities into the relic. The loaded abilities are stored in the relic and can be accessed by the inheritor. There are no limits to what ability can be stored but inherited abilities cannot be stored a second time. For the abilities to be accessible, the donor must be the current owner of the relic or be deceased.

The inheritor can only access abilities stored after the inheritor obtained the relic, including the stored abilities of the last relic owner. All other stored abilities are said to be lost forever due to no known way of accessing them. Inherited abilities are all at level 1 and are leveled up normally. Inherited abilities don’t count towards the ability cap.

>

An inheritance relic? If Dhad gave it to me, then it should have his stored abilities too, right?

<

Correct! The abilities of the previous owner are also accessible to you. Do you wish to see them?

>

Ali thought back to the only battle he observed Dhad in. Yet, it was an exaggeration to claim he was observing the battle. He was just a scared teenager who was too busy worrying about his life. Except for the metal walls, he could remember little else from the battle. With his accumulated experience, Ali was certain that he could now see with more certainty how good Dhad’s abilities were.

Yes, please present me with all the abilities I have access to that are from the original relic owner.

<

Loading now…

There are four accessible stored abilities.

Uploading the stored abilities from the previous relic owner...

[

Ability: Levitating Walls

Level: 1 ( 0 / 26 XP to Level Up)

Level Up Requirements: Take or nullify damage from foes of equal or higher level

Type: Defending (Light)

Description:

Summon sheet metal walls within 1 meter of the user to defend against enemy attacks. Limited to one sheet metal that is 1 meter by 0.5 meter in dimensions. Unlock more sheet metals through higher levels.

Cost: 2 MP per use

Cooldown: None

Defense: 2 (0)

]

Loading second ability…

[

Ability: Magnetic Repulsion

Level: 1 ( 0 / 26 XP to Level Up)

Level Up Requirements: Repel any metallic object over a certain distance when facing foes of equal or higher level

Type: Support (Other)

Description:

Can repel metallic objects within a 1 meter radius of the user. Ability can be used for a 5 min period per cooldown. Once activated, the ability cannot end until the duration expires.

Cost: None

Cooldown: 1 hour

Defense: 0 (0)

]

>

At first glance, Ali viewed both abilities as defensive abilities, even if the second one was categorized as a support type. The first ability was simple enough. He could summon a shield of a certain dimension that could block some damage. Leveling up that ability increased the defense and likely the the shield dimension, at least based on the shields he observed Dhad was summoning at the time. The second seemed like a great answer to foes that used any metallic weapons or anything possessing metal. For instance, the teenager had seen bows and arrows used in some instances so the metal arrowheads would make his second ability a good counter for them.

Can I learn both abilities?

<

Yes, you may learn both abilities. Please note that learning a single ability can be draining. Two abilities are the limits of what most could handle. Acquiring above two abilities can have unintended consequences. Unless you are going to rest afterwards, recommendation is to learn one ability per day.

Do you still wish to learn both inherited abilities?

>

Yes.

Seconds later, he was back in the summoner realm.

“Did I just lose consciousness?” Ali asked Tian.

“Yes! You really overdid it! You will feel all sore tomorrow.”

“Not much I can do now,” said the teenager. “Let’s try out my new defensive ability then.”

Ali tried out his new ability and was quite satisfied with it. The shield was easy to cast as it was no different from his air slash, though he needed more practice to get it exactly where he needed it. Unlike his air slash, the shield positioning had an extra dimension to it. Against Tian who had more damage than his shield had defense, the shield only slowed the air serpent down. However, the shield didn’t vanish upon being broken through. Instead, it remained with holes where it was penetrated through, reminding Ali of Dhad’s smaller shields to cover the openings.

What if…

As the two continued their duel, Ali tried summoning smaller shields to reinforce any openings Tian created. Not only were the smaller shields as sturdy as the big ones but they also required a lower mana cost to cast. As long as the total area of his shields remained within the limits, he could summon as many tiny shields as he could. This allowed him to strengthen his defense without needing to pay the full MP cost that came with his ability. The teenager could already see the versatility of his ability once he had a larger area to work with. He could either get a wider coverage or focus on a multi-layer defense, both with situations they were suitable for.

“Tian, don’t hold back!”