Chapter 539

Watching over his nephew’s training Ajax decided that it would probably be best to let most of his training up to the teachers. They had ple

Watching over his nephew’s training Ajax decided that it would probably be best to let most of his training up to the teachers. They had plenty of experience teaching young nobles whereas all the experience Ajax had was from training himself and he was self aware enough to know that it wouldn’t apply to his nephew.

Instead of going over the possible future deal with the crown Ajax instead chose to take a closer look at his status. 

Name : Ajax Hearthbound

Level :53 -> 55                                                 

Experience : 62325/154000 

Traits: Divine Witness, Duke, Aura

Health: 4770/4770     

Mana: 4920/4920

Stamina : 3980/3980

Vitality : 470 -> 477

Strength :426 ->432

Endurance :397 -> 398

Dexterity : 438 -> 444

Intellect : 484 -> 492

Wisdom : 471 -> 478

Mind : 485 -> 492

Perception : 398 -> 399

Stat Points : 0 -> 0

Skills :

• Common :[Mathematics Lvl 38] [Stealth Lvl 60][Drawing Lvl 40][Athleticism Lvl 58] [Running Lvl 61][Reading Lvl 30][Writing Lvl 30][Cooking Lvl 40][Sewing Lvl 22] [Cleaning Lvl 29][Haggling Lvl 30][Gardening Lvl 40][Axes Lvl 73][Hammers Lvl 74][Deception Lvl 45][Sword Lvl 72][Shield Lvl 72][Bow Lvl 71][Spear Lvl 65][Throwing Lvl 53][Persuasion Lvl 41][Unarmed Combat Lvl 50][Knives Lvl 62][Skinning Lvl 52][Tanning Lvl 23][Dismantle Lvl 60][Climbing Lvl 43][Tracking Lvl 55][Heat Resistance Lvl 41] [Poison Resistance Lvl 57][Pain Resistance Lvl 50][Trapping Lvl 31][Cold Resistance Lvl 37][Conversationalist Lvl 27][Cataloging Lvl 6][Scheduling Lvl 7][Bookkeeping Lvl 3]

• Uncommon :[Meditation Lvl 75][Sense Mana  Lvl 79][Expel Mana Lvl 77][Sprinting Lvl 58][Mining Lvl 41][Lumberjack Lvl 21][Smelting Lvl 20][Blacksmithing Lvl 15] [Chanting Lvl 12][Mana Farming Lvl 44][Increase Price Lvl 23][Lower Price Lvl 23][Danger Sense Lvl 60][Leatherworking Lvl 29][Alchemy Lvl 74][Mana Milling Lvl 58][Precise Cut Lvl 61][Precise Blow Lvl 62][Judge Threat Lvl 53][ Piercing Shot Lvl 57] [Berserker Lvl 33][Cooperation Lvl 39][Berserker Style Lvl 25][Basic Truth Detection Lvl 26][Unnatural Balance Lvl 27][Feigned Interest Lvl 21][Illusion Resistance Lvl 10][Focused Aim Lvl 23][Focused Mind Lvl 10][Accounting Lvl 5][Emotional Suppression Lvl 1]

• Rare : [Manipulate Mana Lvl 69][Water Aspect Mana Lvl 63][Fire Aspect Mana Lvl 62] [Air Aspect Mana Lvl 62][Earth Aspect Mana Lvl 64][Inject Mana Lvl 59][Spot Weakness Lvl 53][Residue Recognition Lvl 38] [Light Aspect Mana Lvl 61][Shadow Aspect Mana Lvl 63][Mana Skin Lvl 55][Teamwork Lvl 34][Beekeeping Trailblazer Lvl 21][Curse Resistance Lvl 27][Dungeon Crafter Lvl 52][Battlemage Style Lvl 42] [Impervious Senses Lvl 20][Alchemist’s Examination Lvl 45][Stabilize Mixture Lvl 37][Mass Production Lvl 25][Magnetic Aspect Mana Lvl 23][Assassinate Lvl 3]

• Epic : [Mana Augmentation Lvl 54][Mana Conjuration Lvl 49][Lightning Aspect Mana Lvl 53][Metal Aspect Mana Lvl 54][Ice Aspect Mana Lvl 52][Magma Aspect Mana Lvl 53][Holy Aspect Mana Lvl 49][Void Aspect Mana Lvl 55][Curse Slash Lvl 39][Reckless Researcher Lvl 12][Unstable Alchemist Lvl 22] [Empowering Restriction Lvl 11][Creative Application Lvl 7][Vibrating Strike Lvl 5][Limit Suppression Lvl 9][Alchemical Researcher Lvl 5][Gravity Aspect Mana Lvl 1]

• Legendary : [Mana Syphon Lvl 49][Enigma Lvl 31][Inspector’s Eye Lvl 29][Life Aspect Mana Lvl 16][Vibration Aspect Mana Lvl 9][Telekinesis Lvl 4]

New :

Gravity Aspect Mana 0 -> 1

Emotional Suppression 0 -> 1

Telekinesis 0 -> 4

Upgrades:

Mathematics 37 -> 38

Athleticism 54 -> 58

Running 54 -> 61

Axes 71 -> 73

Hammers 71 -> 74

Sword 71 -> 72

Shield 71 -> 72

Spear 62 -> 65

Dismantle 58 -> 60

Tracking 48 -> 55

Heat Resistance 40 -> 41

Poison Resistance 46 -> 57

Pain Resistance 44 -> 50

Cold Resistance 35 -> 37

Conversationalist 22 -> 27

Cataloging 1 -> 6

Scheduling 1 -> 7

Bookkeeping 1 -> 3

Meditation 73 -> 75

Sense Mana 75 -> 79

Expel Mana 75 -> 77

Sprinting 50 -> 58

Mining 35 -> 41

Mana Farming 42 -> 44

Increase Price 20 -> 23

Lower Price 20 -> 23

Danger Sense 55 -> 60

Alchemy 70 -> 74

Mana Milling 55 -> 58

Precise Blow 60 -> 62

Precise Cut 60 -> 61

Judge Threat 50 -> 53

Berserker 27 -> 32

Basic Truth Detection 21 -> 26

Unnatural Balance 25 -> 27

Feigned Interest 17 -> 21

Focused Aim 21 -> 23

Focused Mind 2 -> 10

Accounting 1 -> 5

Manipulate Mana 64 -> 69

Water Aspect Mana 60 -> 63

Fire Aspect Mana 60 -> 62

Air Aspect Mana 60 -> 62

Earth Aspect Mana 60 -> 64

Light Aspect Mana 60 -> 61

Shadow Aspect Mana 60 -> 63

Inject Mana 56 -> 59

Spot Weakness 48 -> 53

Residue Recognition 31 -> 38

Mana Skin 50 -> 55

Dungeon Crafter 51 -> 52

Battlemage Style 38 -> 42

Impervious Senses 14 -> 20

Alchemist’s Examination 41 -> 45

Stabilize Mixture 31 ->37

Mass Production 17 -> 25

Magnetic Aspect Mana 21 -> 23

Assassinate 1 -> 3

Mana Augmentation 50 -> 54

Mana Conjuration 47 -> 49

Lightning Aspect Mana 50 -> 53

Metal Aspect Mana 50 -> 54

Ice Aspect Mana 50 -> 52

Magma Aspect Mana 50 -> 53

Holy Aspect Mana 48 -> 49

Void Aspect Mana 50 -> 55

Curse Slash 34 -> 39

Reckless Researcher 10 -> 12

Unstable Alchemist 15 -> 22

Empowering Restriction 5 -> 11

Creative Application 2 -> 7 

Vibrating Strike 2 -> 5

Limit Suppression 2 -> 9

Alchemical Researcher 1 -> 5

Mana Syphon 45 -> 49

Enigma 28 -> 31

Inspector’s Eye 25 -> 29

Life Aspect Mana 9 -> 16

Vibration Aspect Mana 2 -> 9

It hadn't even been that long since he chose the threshold upgrades for most of his Skills, barely a few months yet his progress was significant. Three new Skills, one of which was Legendary. Even more shocking was that he gained two levels, that simply didn’t happen so quickly at his level. Two levels was the result of an entire year of hard work, not merely a few months. 

Looking over how his Skills had grown it was obvious what had pushed him to grow in this time. Three big events directed his growth, the first was his alchemical work with developing cement further. The second was the political work he put in as a Duke and the final was the nearly lethal battle he fought a couple of days ago. 

“Are you feeling a flare up?” Lexi asked as she sat down next to him.

“No.” Ajax said, now aware of the expression he had on his face. “I think that a lot of my Skills have finally reached the training limit.” 

The training limit for combat Skills differed from person to person, more than that it could also be pushed out depending on the experiences a person had when working on his Skill. It defined the point where regular training was no longer enough to push the Skill further and merely maintenance to maintain proficiency. True combat was required to push most Skills further.

“How can you tell?” It usually took years for someone to realize they hit their training limit, more than that they would realize it for each Skill in particular rather than grouping them all together, yet Lexi knew enough about Ajax to know his Skills were a special case.

“My weapon Skills and my Mana affinities have broken their lockstep growth.” Ajax answered as he looked over his most baseline combat Skills. Up until now the Skills had been kept equal mostly because of Ajax training with all of them almost equally and his varied use in combat. Now however his preferences were starting to become clear.

His reliance on his hammer, his consistent use of Void the most standout examples as both Skills took the lead in the pack. The same could be said of his affinity for Earth Mana as he used it more during combat to help with his footwork.

“Does that mean your leveling speed might stay only extremely fast instead of impossibly fast?” Lexi teased. 

“I doubt it.” Ajax answered with a cheeky grin. “Where my combat Skills have slowed down my social and ruling Skills have sped up, and my crafting Skills are still progressing.” 

With that Ajax took a look at what possible choices he had for upgrading [Meditation]. He knew the Skill was quite possibly the reason he managed to survive such a large dose of extremely toxic poison being shoved into him, along with [Poison Resistance] and Life Mana both of which had seen appropriate growth.

[MEDITATION] ADVANCEMENT OPTIONS :

Recovery : Increases Stamina and Mana Regeneration by a further 50% while in [Meditation].

Restfulness : Larger amounts of time spent in consistent [Meditation] (Over two hours) count as half the time towards sleep.

Focus : Mental acuity increases during [Meditation].

Awareness : Can maintain some awareness of surroundings during [Meditation].

All four of his options looked good, so much so that Ajax felt bad he could only pick one. Despite all of them being good there were some that were more useful than others.

Recovery was great for lowering his recovery from training but otherwise it would only be useful for setting up traps or preparing an ambush spot. Both of which were too situational to be worth it. The choice also deserved some merit for how it could speed up his recovery from activities such as setting up tunnels under their manor but the time saved wouldn’t compare to the other choices. 

Awareness on the other hand could be the best of the lot or it could get him killed. The description of the upgrade was too vague for Ajax to be able to pick it. Depending on how much increased awareness he had he might be able to maintain [Meditation] while in combat or it might just cause him to miss something lethal. This also took it out of the running. 

The choice came down to Restfulness or Focus. Focus was the clear choice for crafting, with it Ajax was sure his Alchemy and more importantly his Dungeon crafting would show remarkable improvement but it did also suffer from the same issue as Awareness, it was vague. 

Restfulness however was crystal clear about what it did. More than that it solved a problem Ajax hadn’t even realized could be solved so easily. With Restfulness Ajax would be able to go weeks without sleeping, this would be invaluable during his exploration of the Wild Lands or during times of war when sleeping would be an easy way to get yourself caught unawares.

After discussing the options with Lexi Ajax made his decision and chose Restfulness. “My grandfather has the Focus upgrade.” Lexi explained. “It’s mostly useful but it also makes it easy to get stuck on trying to brute force a solution instead of looking for other options.” 

Taking a closer look at his progress Ajax couldn’t help but grimace slightly at how little [Telekinesis] had progressed. He had trained the Skill a lot but he knew the reason why it hadn’t progressed further. His use of [Empowering Restriction] during his fight with the assassins meant that most of the progress he could make with the Skill during the life or death struggle was taken by the Epic Skill.

“You look determined.” Lexi noticed as Ajax looked towards his usual spot on the training grounds.

“I think it's time I change my regular training.” Ajax explained. “I’ll now mostly focus on training my newer Skills that haven’t yet hit the limit” 

“I suggest that you still return to your previou training at least once a month.” Lancel suggested from the side where he had been standing. “Your old Skills would still need the maintenance even if they won’t grow.” 

“You can think about training later.” Lexi said as she wrapped her arm around Ajax’s. “First you need to recover, if you want to be doing something productive come help your grandfather and Alana plan for the meeting with the royal representative.” 

Ajax put up a token of resistance at being dragged towards the manor but in the end he accepted his fate, he couldn’t leave the negotiations solely up to Alana and Elija. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust them but rather that he hoped this would be the perfect opportunity to kick off the building of his port city.