First Outer World Story Series: The Black Mist that Devours - Chapter 95
Translator: MadHatter Editor: MadHatter
This is how it looks when a lone Kurokiri practices on his own.
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(Kurokiri POV)
“Fuuuuuu….”
In my own room, I took on the form of a human being, and while closing my eyes and regulating my breathing, I slowly but surely utilized the power of ?Circulation? throughout my body.
From my abdomen to my heart, from my heart to my limbs and head, from my limbs to each of my fingers, and from my head to my eyes, ears, nose, and other parts of my body related to my five senses, I concentrated the power I had channeled to my body.
I lifted my eyes.
My whole body was invigorated, my vision was broadened, and my hearing and sense of smell were greatly heightened.
“I feel great.”
I moved my body in this state to confirm my condition.
Compared to when I am not using ?Circulation?, my physical capabilities had probably been enhanced by 1.5 to 2 times.
Now, as for why I was doing this, it was, of course, for training.
For the past ten years, I had been developing Outer Skills by fundamentally reviewing the usage of each skill. After all, half-hearted efforts were futile against the God of Calamity.
“Well then, let’s start with this state.”
While retaining the enhancement by ?Circulation?, I assumed a posture.
“‘Black blood flows in my body. All is devoured by the black mist. Now, let my blood become an ice storm and devour everything. Outer Skill? Kurokiribaku’.”
A black sphere was conjured in my right hand and flew forward at the same time I waved my right hand. And along with the sound of the explosion, it scattered more black ice and mist than a standard Kurokiribaku.
Apparently, thanks to the power of ?Circulation?, the activation efficiency of the skill had also improved.
Then, next is…
“‘From the land of illusion arises the black water of death. That freezes and revolves, and revolves and freezes. The form to serve is the sword. What is severed is reality. Behold, hear, and feel. The moment when the illusion is replaced by reality. Outer Skill ? Kurokirino… ugh!’.”
A black sword was about to be sprung into existence in front of my eyes. However, right before it could materialize and become an actual thing, the ?Circulation? that had been reinforced throughout my body burst out accompanied by acute pain, and the Kurokirinodachi also reverted to its original illusion and dissipated.
“Ugh… hah… it’s still tough to get Kurokirinodachi in an enhanced state.”
Why did the Outer Skill fail? I knew the reason for that.
The Outer Skill was a technique that involved the usage of skills external to the system of skills created by the God of Calamity. Neither the safety and lock that each skill was equipped with in advance were imposed on it. Therefore, its destructive capability was boundless, and as its power escalated, so would the competence demanded of the user.
And if the user lacked the ability to activate the skill, the result will be as it was now.
“Well, perhaps the insufficient ability isn’t something that can be measured in terms of status.”
I calmly searched for the cause of the earlier failure.
Why could Kurokiribaku be employed in the enhanced state utilizing ?Cycle? whereas Kurokirinodachi could not? That difference is probably the disparity in the number of skills utilized in the usage of these two outer skills.
Kurokiribaku was based on ?Devouring Black Mist? and ?Mist Plosion? while Kurokirinodachi was based on ?Circulation?, ?Bewitching Mist?, and ?Sharp Aqua Pillar? with a total of five skills which were analyzed, decomposed, and reconstructed in parallel.
The bottom line is…
“Insufficient capacity? I guess everything depends on this…”
I heaved an involuntary sigh.
“Forget it. I’ve already got other things to do.”
While reinforcing with ?Circulation? once more, I pictured in my mind the skills I had mastered one by one and thought about what they would look like if I simplified them.
?Devouring Black Mist? had the ability to atomize one’s own body and at the same time absorb the HP, MP and SP of the opponents who came in contact with the mist.
?Circulation? was to transform various flows into the predetermined one.
?Mist Plosion? was an explosive skill with a designated point of origin, which scattered mist and ice around the point of detonation.
?Bewitching Mist? created visual illusions in the midst of the mist.
?Sharp Aqua Pillar? converted magic power and generated a sharp pillar of water from the ground to carry out an attack.
And by combining these to create outer skills… well, to put it bluntly, it’s a matter of creativity. The same skill can vary depending on whether it is used as the main or auxiliary skill.
If I gave it a second thought, it reminded me that I had two more skills that I can exploit. To simplify these two skills, I can think of…
?Monster Create? was the skill to bring forth new life at the price of one’s own power.
?Dungeon Create? was a skill to create a special substance in exchange for one’s power.
Then, the question is, how can I incorporate these two skills into my outer skills?
“…Let’s give it a try.”
To keep a minimum of capacity available, I ceased the enhancement by ?Circulation? and activate ?Monster Create? as well as ?Devouring Black Mist? in parallel, in the form of creating only the eye of Mystic.
The only reason I chose ?Devouring Black Mist? was that it was the skill that constituted the foundation of my body, and therefore it was the most manageable.
“Suhaaah.”
I drew in a deep breath once.
“Hmph!”
And then, I produced the ?Monster Creatr? formation in my right hand and the ?Devouring Black Mist? formation in my left hand, forcing the two to unite together in front of my chest. At this stage, I concentrated my mind on the development of the skill so that I can create something that can penetrate the depth of the skill.
This may sound absurd, but this was how I always proceed when I conduct the first experiment in creating a new outer skill. When this worked, I would refine it, and when it failed, I would investigate why it failed. That was how I create Outer Skills.
“‘The black blood that flows in my body and the secret art of bringing forth new life. When the two forces are merged and united, a new life is born, separated from the form of life as ordained by God. Outer Skill ? Kurokirinoshinma’.”
While I was mulling this over, the combination of ?Monster Create? and ?Devouring Black Mist? repeatedly disintegrated and consolidated, eventually emerging as a single formation.
At the precise second when the formation was sparkling and the new Outer Skill manifested its effect…
“Guaaaaaaaaaaahhh!!?”
My left eye was crushed and a black pearl-like eye with a golden iris was floating where the formation used to be.