Chapter 14: Phantom Strike

Anna decided to go check with the creatures of the dungeons first level. Since they had now been through 2 runs she wanted to make sure everything was good and they didn't have any complaints. She would also check to see if they had any ideas on how to improve things.

Max was curious too but he had been following Anna around a lot lately. He didn't want her to think that he didn't have confidence in her. In the evening he would find out how the creatures felt when they talked.

For now, he decided to head to the underground training room beneath the manor. Since he had picked up his first skill, he wanted to test it out. He stopped by his room to change out of his suit and into sweats.

The large chamber under the manor held all sorts of targets and training dummies. Max approached the nearest training dummy and walked into range.

Based on the information he received when he appeared in this world, as long as he had enough stamina or mana, he just needed to reach out and activate the skill he wanted to use.

That was what Max did.

But nothing happened.

Max frowned. He was 10 meters away, the target was in sight, but for some reason it still wouldn't trigger. Taking a few steps closer, he tried again.

Since it was a new skill, he might not be able to use the maximum range. Max considered that reasonable.

When he tried again, nothing happened.

Max walked up until he was just a step away from the training dummy.

When it failed again, he started getting annoyed. "Work darn you. What am I doing wrong?"

Max looked through the skill description again and didn't find anything wrong. The only thing he found was the skills required to learn Phantom Strike.

But those were just required to learn it, not use it. He had seen skills that actually required other skills to use it. That wasn't the case here.

He considered buying the skills needed to learn it just to be sure, but that posed a whole new set of problems.

One of them was a skill that could only be used by an assassin. That would require him to pick up the class. That was something he didn't want to do. Picking up one class was cheap. It would give him some bonuses to do so, but it would also give him restrictions. Taking a second class was expensive, and a third… the cost was ridiculous.

He didn't want to pick a class because every time he did, he would be closing off pathways for himself. He could do without the little bonuses. He could always use money to purchases some passive skill that was equivalent to it.

Max approached the training dummy again this time from a different angle.

Still nothing.

"Damn it. maybe it only works on a live target. No that doesn't make sense, it would be incredibly hard to train the skill if that was true. What am I missing?"

[Reminder]

[Phantom Strike requires a weapon to be equipped.]

Max read the message from DC. Was it really that simple?

He bought a cheap dagger for a few DP, he then circled around the dummy. When he stepped into range, he teleported to behind the wooden figure. His hand was already coming down.

The back end of the dagger landed on the base of the training dummies neck. The dummy was either too weak, or Max was too strong. The dummy exploded into little wooden bits.

"Cool!" Max said with shining eyes.

He then moved to the next dummy and tried it again. This time he walked towards the front of the dummy. When he stepped within 10 meters, he disappeared.

*Bang*

The training tool exploded as Max appeared behind it.

"Awesome."

Max walked to a third figure and this time he entered range but turned around with his back to the target. With a mirror on the far wall he could still see the dummy. He didn't know if that would be good enough to meet the requirements of having the target in his line of sight.

Max activated the skill. He felt the energy in his body churn like it had the first 2 times, but in the end it didn't work.

"Ah, well, it was worth a shot."

[Reminder]

[Phantom Strike requires a weapon to be equipped.]

Max frowned and then looked at the dagger in his hand. He saw it was covered in cracks and was barely held together.

He tossed it aside, as it hit the ground it shattered. He bought another dagger and tried again. This time it worked when he used the mirror to view his target.

As a Dungeon Master, his experience with skills was different. But if Gilmore ever acquired Phantom Strike he would inform the man of the work around on line of sight. Who knew, maybe there were some magic items or buffs that could let a person see through walls. Would that also let the user teleport through walls when the skill activated? That would be pretty neat.

Max checked the dagger and saw that it was fairly damaged from a single strike.

"That's what I get for buying a cheap dagger." Max said to himself.

Yes, he was powerful, but maybe it was a good idea to get a weapon and start training. He could buy proficiency with a weapon, but if he wanted to master it, he had to put in the time. In the perfect world he would never need to fight, but he doubted that this was a perfect world.

"DC show me some weapons that won't just crumble when I use them. Don't suggest the low quality junk."

[The issue isn't quality. Weapons made from normal materials have a hard time dealing with the stress of your actions. The dagger didn't crumble because you hit the target, most of the damage was caused by the blade traveling through the air at incredible speeds, though, the impact didn't help.]

"Okay, okay, then what would you suggest."

[You have a few options.]

"Such as?"

[Weapons made from magical materials]

[Weapons made from normal materials and enchanted with high level magic]

[Weapons made from magical materials and enchanted with high level magic]

"I am guessing the third option is the most expensive?"

[Incorrect]

[The most expensive option is the Battle Monk skill: Deadly Weapons(Passive)]

"Oh, I didn't think monks could use weapons."

[They can use very few. The Battle Monk Skill: Deadly Weapons turns the body into a weapon. A fist becomes a hammer, a hand becomes a sword, a finger becomes a knife, a leg can become a whip. Your body will become a deadly spear.]

"Woah, that sounds pretty cool. Would that work for skills that require a weapon?"

[Yes, a hand can be used for sword skill. A finger can be used for knife skills and so on. The monks who learn this skill can also improve their weapon masteries through practice and use.]

Max rubbed his chin. It all sounded pretty good. He would even be able to work on several weapon masteries at once. He also wouldn't need to carry around weapons if his body was one.

"I am thinking about buying that skill. What are the downsides?"

[The monks who train in this skill have tempered their bodies to the extreme. While you can make use of this skill, if you ever encounter some one who has ability points similar to yours, using your body as a weapon will not be as effective as a real weapon.]

"Hmm, that makes sense" Max took a closer look at the Battle Monk class.

Some of the body tempering came from the class itself, others were skills and passives. He could always buy that latter while ignoring the class. He could probably find some skills to fortify his body in the other classes as well.

"Worst comes to worst I can just raise my ability scores, that would avoid the whole problem." He said.

[That is a positive of the skill. When you raise your ability score by a large degree, your weapons will need to be replaced. With the Deadly Weapon skill, your weapons will be strengthend when your ability score is raised.]

"Ah, good point. Tell me the cost?"

[800,000 DP]

"Wow, that is expensive."

When he purchased Phantom Strike it had only cost him 15,000DP. Max looked at his balance. Even though he had over 600 million remaining, he had a lot of it bookmarked. It was easy to spend when it would eventually earn him money. It was a bit harder when he knew there wouldn't be a physical return.

Max shook his head. That was the wrong way to think about it. He was the Dungeon Master. He needed to be strong to protect his people and give them a sense of safety.

He stopped hesitating and made the purchase.

When the tingling sensation spread through his limbs and body, he closed his eyes and enjoyed the feeling.

A moment later Max walked to a dummy with nothing in his hands. He appeared behind it and with a chop the dummy exploded.

He smiled happily as he made a note to get stronger dummies in the future. He called and end to the training when he realized that Anna had returned to the manor for dinner.

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