Chapter 1675: Comprehending Concepts (1)
Ding!
[...]
[Your Intent Seed of Mystic Energy has ascended to become a full Intent.]
[Your Intent Seed of Mystic Energy has transformed into the Intent of Mystic Energy.]
[The grade of your Intent has been determined to be at 7th Grade.]
’...Oh wow.’
’It’s already at 7th Grade after becoming a full Intent?’
Feeling his connection with the world undergo a transformation through the path of Mystic Energy, Valyr decided to take a short break as he took a look at the notifications he received from the system.
’Then again, I did put in a lot of effort into fortifying its foundation before having it ascend into a full Intent,’ murmured the young man to himself, only to then shift his attention towards Ataraxia. ’Say, how much progress did you make on the Intent?’
’Surprisingly, my own version of the Intent is at the same grade,’ said the latter after a bit of thought, his expression containing a hint of disbelief. ’You think it has something to do with the ocean?’
’Definitely has something to do with the ocean.’ Valyr nodded in response, briefly glancing at the iridescent streaks surrounding them. ’But then again, this is the first time it’s happened. If this happens a few more times, then it’s definitely got to be the ocean.’
’Speaking of which, how much time did we spend on comprehension?’ he asked after that, pondering whether or not to spend a bit more of their time towards pushing the Intent to a higher grade.
After all, even though he hadn’t really thought about it for quite a long time, Valyr still aimed to fuse both mana and Mystic Energy together, getting the feeling that a new type of energy like Azure Energy could be born out of it.
However, if it took them far longer than he thought it did for them to get there, then it would be better for him to focus his attention towards other concepts instead.
’Let’s see...’ Bringing up a screen in his mind containing the current time, Ataraxia did a bit of math in his head before giving his other self the answer he was looking for.
’We spent... one and a half days.’
’...Huh?’
’...Could you repeat that?’ asked Valyr in response, briefly wondering if what he heard was wrong.
’One and a half days,’ replied Ataraxia, slightly shrugging his shoulders. ’Not gonna lie, even I’m surprised it took that long.’
’One and a half days...’ With the latter confirming he hadn’t heard wrongly, the young man fell into pensive thought. ’Compared to the time we spent comprehending those concepts in the inheritance, this is around... five times faster?’
’In a way, I guess it makes sense.’ Letting the gears in his head turn a bit more, Valyr eventually nodded in understanding. ’After all, without [Perception of the Grand Origin], we’re already comprehending concepts 80 times faster than usual.’
’If we were to consider it from the perspective that the skill’s effect stacks additively on top of it, then we’re comprehending concepts a hundred times faster than before.’
’...Man.’ Coming to that realization, the young man could not help but let out a sigh. ’And here I thought having the skill activated would have us comprehending shit a thousand times faster or something.’
’...Same here,’ replied Ataraxia, letting out a sigh as well. ’At that speed, we could’ve pushed all of our concepts to 1st Grade within these three months.’
’Perhaps... we could’ve pushed them to Legend Grade.’
Briefly falling silent after that, the two looked at each other after that, pondering on what they’d do now that they knew how much faster they were comprehending concepts.
In the end, they decided to push all of their concepts to 5th Grade for the meantime, seeing as it wouldn’t take up much of their time while doing so.
Though, wanting to maximize his gains during his time at the Ocean of Crystallized Truths, Valyr decided to tackle something else.
’Meyers, could you not support me for the meantime?’ asked the latter through their connection. ’I don’t think you’d want to comprehend this concept.’
’Nor do you have a need for it.’
’Sure.’ Knowing what his other self was aiming to do even before he got the question, Ataraxia did not hesitate to agree, deciding to push his own concepts to 5th Grade for now. ’Just tell me when you need my help.’
’I will.’ Nodding as he gave his other self a word of thanks, Valyr shifted his attention away from their connection as he focused his thoughts towards comprehending a brand new concept.
Specifically, a concept related to firearms.
’If I remember correctly, the quest told me to comprehend a concept related to firearms and push it to 5th Grade,’ thought the young man to himself, finding it slightly amusing that they aimed to reach that same grade. ’Quite serendipitous.’
’In any case, what kind of angle should I tackle this concept?’
As this question lingered in his mind, a couple of possible paths he could take gradually began to take shape.
Unsurprisingly, one of those paths involved bombarding one’s enemy with an insane amount of bullets, believing that anything could be killed as long as one had enough.
On the flip side, he had a path in mind wherein a single bullet was all it took to kill any enemy that stood in his way.
For a while, the young man was inclined to tackle the latter path, already imagining the concept to have a name along the lines of [Intent of the Calamitous Shot].
However, after giving the idea a bit more thought, he realized.
What use would there be in a single deadly shot... if it missed?
And thus, Valyr found his answer.
Whoosh!
Focusing his attention towards comprehending a concept related to accuracy with firearms, the young man gradually felt the first building blocks of the new concept fall into place, causing him to feel a hint of excitement as he felt a new connection slowly appear.
Processing and then transforming all of the inspiration and knowledge he was receiving towards forming the concept, Valyr’s efforts eventually bore fruit the moment it all clicked in his mind.
Ding!
[Your understanding of firearms has reached a culmination point. The world has taken notice of this, allowing you to borrow a portion of its nigh-infinite power.]
[You have awakened the Intent Seed of the Accurate Shot.]
Sensing the new connection he had with the world the moment the Intent Seed took shape, the young man went ahead and tested the concept’s effects for himself.
Whoosh!
Feeling his senses grow slightly sharper while the Intent Seed was activated, Valyr faintly nodded in satisfaction. After all, the improvement in his senses was the effect he was aiming to achieve while forming the concept.
However, after experimenting with the Intent Seed’s effects for a bit more, the young man began to notice something.
The concept he comprehended... was actually incomplete.