The next morning, I made a plan of action, to tie up any loose ends. The horde of ghouls that had appeared the night before had to be related to some kind of incident. Truthfully, situations like these weren't that rare. If they were, it would've had to have been a deliberate occurrence. As a result, I couldn't be sure if the horde attacking us had been a coincidence or not. Still, it paid to be cautious, which is why I immediately sent a letter to Reito's guild master to share all of the information I had. Fortunately, all undead fell under the witch hunters' guild's authority, which saved me the trouble of dealing with the slimy adventurer's guild master that was in charge here in Rolla.

I spent the morning with my family, who were still shaken up by that night's events. My father seemed to put on a brave front, but my mother hadn't taken the news of the attack well. Still, she was holding up, despite her fears. After a while, I excused myself for a toilet break.

Once I got out of the house, I ran towards a nearby clearing that seemed to be empty.

"You can come out now. You've got some explaining to do."

...No response.

"I don't know how much my uncle is paying you, but I assure, I can make it less." I grumbled, frustrated by their inactivity.

This time, I got a response. First, I heard a rustle in the trees. Then, a man covered in black clothing appeared. He was covered from head to toe in black rags, and even his eyes were hidden. Only two blue orbs were visible in between the slits of his mask. As he approached, he gave a slight bow in greeting, to which I replied with a stubborn nod.

"There you are. Tell me, why did you leave my father out there to die?" I hissed between my teeth, restraining my anger against this higher-tiered classer.

When the black-clad man opened his mouth, a voice as rough as gravel and as deep as an ogre rang throughout the clearing.

"Sorry, young master, but we have orders not to intervene unless absolutely necessary. If a higher tiered classer was using those ghouls in an attempt to test your family's security, we could have been ambushed. In our line of work, maintaining secrecy is paramount. Besides, we knew you would arrive on time." the man explained.

By the end of his argument, I could somewhat see his point. Despite this, my rage at the whole situation didn't lessen. Unable to retort, I spoke out in frustration.

"If a family member dies because of your inactivity, I will chase you to the end of this world, understand?" I threatened. When I received no reply, I sighed. "...Dismissed."

The shadowy figure turned into a strange twisting form and disappeared into thin air a moment later.

Having resolved that issue, I decided to move on to more important matters. I had two skills to tier up. Both [Overloaded sword] and [Dark blade maelstrom] had reached completion in last night's chaos, which meant that they were ready to tier up at a moments notice. I opened [Dark blade maelstrom], by signature skill, first.

[Dark Blade Maelstrom](100%)

Tier 2 skill.

Encircle yourself with blades created out of expelled overloaded mana. The speed, sharpness and durability of the blades depend on the skill [Overload Aura].

Skill is dependent on the parent skill [Overload aura].

Use this skill in battle to increase progression.

Tier 3 upgrades

[Onyx chain wind]

Encircle yourself in onyx chains that move like the wind.

Onyx chains act like equipment.

The speed and length of the chains depend on the skill [Overload Aura].

[Dark blade whirlwind]

A direct upgrade of [Dark Blade Maelstrom].

Encircle yourself in a whirlwind of tiny black knives. The whirlwind can be directed after creation. Has no mana upkeep cost.

Size and speed of the whirlwind depend on the skill [Overload Aura].

[Blade gale]

Send a stream of tiny black knives at your opponent.

Size and density of the stream depend on the skill [Overload Aura].

I read each of my options and decided to analyse their potential first.

First, I looked at my current skill's direct upgrade, [Dark blade whirlwind]. It seemed to be a basic upgrade, that no longer required mana or concentration to maintain, while still being malleable and manoeuvrable. This, on its own, made it incredibly useful, because it meant that I would be able to focus on offence with all of my brainpower, even when I was defending.

On the other hand, that seemed like a solution to a problem that was slowly solving itself. As my intelligence grew, the need to concentrate on one skill at a time was starting to wane. Eventually, I would be able to use multiple skills at the same time, which would mean that this direct upgrade path would become obsolete. Even worse, the more my [Blackened essence] skill evolved, the less concentration I would need to cast any skill. In other words, intelligence raised how much concentration I could spend on any given task, while my essence lowered how much concentration was necessary to use skills. These two combined meant that I would outgrow this skill before I even reached tier 4.

Because of that, I decided to move to the next skill, [Onyx chain wind]. This one seemed more my style. The tiny black knives from before would be replaced by a heap of chains that would, supposedly, move around me like the wind. I wasn't sure how the concept of 'chains' was better than 'knives', but it still sounded interesting, albeit not as deadly. That wasn't a dealbreaker, since my maelstrom skill was mostly used to ward of attacks, rather than deal damage, these days.

The chain's seeming lack of offensive capabilities was offset by their unique property, one that I had almost missed on my first read-through. 'Onyx chains act like equipment.' The implications of that had me thinking.

Did that mean that [Intrusive mana cascading swordsmanship] worked with the chains? No, that skill said it only worked with swords...

But what about my curse mark? Yes, those always worked, as long as I drew blood. That left two possible effects on the table.

With some luck, the chains could be covered in a layer of overloaded mana, just like my equipment, which would further enhance their strength and offensive power.

Finally, there was the most interesting possibility. If the chains acted as equipment, did that mean that they would work with [Ghost apparation]? Would I be able to take the chains with me as I turned intangible and teleported? That would be immensely useful in battle...

There was one final skill to look at, [Blade gale]. This skill was remarkably simple, for once. It sent a stream of overloaded knives at my opponent, all of which would home in on their target as long as they were marked. I mean, the same could be said for the chains, but still.

Its offensive properties were fantastic. Therein lies the problem, unfortunately. [Dark blade maelstrom] currently acted as my party piece, the ultimate defence. If I exchanged that for yet another mid-range offensive skill, then I would need to create a new skill to shore up my defences. Yes, my healing skill was powerful, however, it also sucked up all of my mana when I was seriously wounded, which warranted defensive skills. All in all, it felt like a trade-off I wasn't sure I was willing to make.

In the end, I decided to pick the skill that had potential, yet could still act as my defence.

A moment later, [Dark blade maelstrom] transformed into [Onyx chain wind]. The skill settled into my status, and I felt the skill change instinctually.

I walked over to the middle of the clearing to try it out, expecting a similar experience to the previous skill, only to be proven wrong.

The overloaded mana that I generated clumped together to form links which combined into a seemingly endless chain. The chain wasn't any thicker than usual, but there was enough of it for it to coil around me and blot out the sun that was resting high up in the sky. I suppose 'chain' wasn't even the correct term to use, either. At my mental command, the single chain split into many shorter ones, all of which still worked together to cover me in a dome-shaped structure of whirling, twisting chains.

Unfortunately, this brought its own problems. I couldn't see out of the pitch-black dome. Some small rays of light occasionally filtered in, but in a battle that would be far too little to work with.

Then, as if the chains felt my frustration, they moved back. The dense dome expanded until it looked like it wasn't there at all. Instead, I saw the hundreds of chains dance around me in the wind, weightless as they whirled around me from a distance. An innumerable amount of black lines were visible, but they kept their distance.

A few minutes of experimentation later, I had found out that I could create hooks and sharp knives at the end of each chain, though the chains couldn't be shortened anymore when they became 25 links long. The chains felt like a hundred extra limbs, each with their own extremities and functions. The little blades at the end felt especially useful, since the chains themselves were deceptively quick. When kept in a dome, I had a barrier that could both attack and defend, at the same time. All in all, I was happy with my new skill's performance. Even better, they did come with me when I apparated, making them infinitely more useful.

If only I could make them transparent as well...

Satisfied so far, I opened the second skill, [Overloaded sword].

[Overloaded sword](0%)

Tier 2 skill.

Extend the length of your sword by directing overloaded mana in an arc.

Skill is dependent on the parent skill [Overload aura].

Use this skill in battle to increase proficiency.

Tier 3 upgrades

[Overloaded Triple unity sword]

Extend the length of your sword by directing overloaded mana in an arc.

The arc splits into three separate arcs, which gather mana while they travel. The arcs recombine on command, turning into one giant arc that explodes on impact.

Skill is dependent on the parent skill [Overload aura].

[Aura blade]

Extend the length of any blade-shaped equipment under your control by directing overloaded mana in an arc.

Mana cost increases exponentially depending on how many arcs are created simultaneously.

Skill is dependent on the parent skill [Overload aura].

[Sword laser]

Channel a beam of overloaded mana at your opponent. The beam destroys any skills it comes into contact with, as long as the skill's tier is at or below [Sword laser].

Skill is dependent on the parent skill [Overload aura].