Ashen Ascension: The Divided Flame-Chapter 75: Attack And Defense Skills

Just as Ivor was untying the scroll, a crushing hunger hit him, blurring his vision. It wasn’t the usual hunger. It was a sudden, fierce demand that made him instantly feel empty and weak.

He thought he might pass out from the shock. He controlled his breathing, grabbed the meal box from Nara, and opened it quickly. The smell of the food hit him, and a powerful hunger immediately took over.

He ate quickly and impatiently, gulping down the meat first, then the rice, then more meat. He was practically inhaling the food, trying to outpace his growing weakness. When he finally bit into the mana fruit, the warm, soothing energy that spread through him immediately calmed his intense hunger, bringing it under control.

He ate until he was full because the hunger was still strong. Once his stomach wasn’t empty anymore, he leaned back and rested. He was surprised to see he had eaten a huge amount of food.

The beast awakening made him much hungrier. He hadn’t realized how much the soul circuit was changing his body and demanding food. Since he disliked surprises, he knew the easy solution was to keep food handy. He put the box aside, concerned about how fast he’d empty it without careful management.

Once his hands stopped shaking, he went back to the scrolls.

He unwrapped the cord slowly and spread the seven scrolls on his lap. They were marked with different scripts, ink colors, and small category stamps. Ivor didn’t choose randomly; he chose to feel in control.

He picked the scroll about the attack first.

The parchment unrolled quickly, and the moonlight let him read the short, precise title easily.

Skill: Edge Compression.

Type: Mana.

Nodes: Seven.

Category: Weapon Reinforcement.

Skill Type: Intermediate Skill

Ivor noted the high requirement of seven nodes. He couldn’t waste that much, so he needed to fully understand the structure before committing. He continued reading.

The scroll explained the technique: compress mana at a weapon’s edge to improve cutting and swinging power. Instead of brute force, it was about shaping and holding dense, sharp mana along the steel.

The blade became sharper because its structure was denser, not from heat or physical change. It met less resistance when it hit something, improving its ability to cut into joints, gaps, and weak spots. It did not make the blade reach farther.

Ivor liked that immediately.

Flashy tricks attract notice, which he didn’t want. He preferred efficient, clean kills. A technique rewarding precision fit his style: targeting weak points like joints, spines, and skulls, avoiding strength contests.

He read about who the skill was for. It was clearly a good fit for him. It used a sword and a dagger, focused on hitting weak spots instead of fighting head-on, and prioritized efficiency, which felt safer.

He realized that compressing mana along an edge was the same as compressing it anywhere. If he could line a steel edge, he could line his own hand. Coating wasn’t just covering; it was shaping and holding mana. Edge Compression was practice for that, just harder.

He kept reading and reached the training section.

The scroll explained that failures happened when people tried to "force sharpness" with a lot of mana instead of focusing on building density with control. The first step wasn’t to strike, but to keep the compression steady.

The instructions were to start with a dry weapon, no fighting or moving. Draw a thin stream of mana from the core, guide it to the weapon, and press it into the edge like a thin seam. Don’t coat the weapon with mana, as that weakens the effect. Compression needs mana to be narrowed, tightened, and stable.

There was a simple test: if you can’t hold the edge steady for a full breath without it flickering, you’re not ready to swing. If it wavers while moving, you’re wasting mana and forming bad, permanent habits.

Ivor realized this was similar to Flashstride’s lesson: Circulation and stability must come before motion. This consistent pattern suggested the system was reliable.

He slightly lowered the scroll and looked at his ordinary, scarred sword. It wasn’t the best for the long run, but fine for training. He didn’t start right away. His mana was full, but his earlier experiment had drained his soul energy, and his eyes still ached.

So, he carefully rolled up the scroll and set it aside.

Then, he picked the defensive scroll, which had a title written in heavier, darker ink.

Skill: Shadow Weave

Type: Umbra.

Nodes Required: Seven.

Category: Stability Reinforcement.

Skill Type: Intermediate Skill

Ivor realized Umbra skills were different from regular mana use. Umbra felt like a shadow on his mana circuit, making his mana coating smoother, easier to hold, and able to compress without leaking light. It responded well to calm.

The scroll explained the technique: activate the Umbra matrix to reinforce a single limb or weapon with shadow-density. This Shadow Weave was not a full armor, but a focused, stable reinforcement.

Its benefits were: easier maintenance than pure mana, slight impact dampening by absorbing force, and a minor close-range interference with an opponent’s mana. It was also more stable and cost-efficient than a similar technique called Veil Skin.

He liked this too, for different reasons.

Umbra felt natural to him. He preferred quiet control over brute force, so the defensive Umbra skill suited his style and future mastery of his mana.

In the training area, the scroll focused on practice, not perfect form. It told him to coat a limb or weapon in shadow and hit things, trees, stones, metal. The point wasn’t to break the object, but to keep the shadow stable when the force hit back.

The second instruction made him focus: Train the body even without coating. A tougher body makes the weave stronger. This wasn’t magic, it was common sense. Weak bones and tendons would fail despite any protective weave. A durable body lets the weave enhance that strength, instead of just making up for weakness.

Ivor realized this matched what he knew: Skills don’t replace basics; they multiply them. If the foundation is weak, the multiplier is useless.

He put Shadow Weave next to Edge Compression. Two valuable skills, both needing seven nodes, and both risky to commit to too soon. He looked at the unopened scrolls and the two he’d just read, forming a quiet plan.

He wouldn’t rush to commit to a mana node. He had one attuned node, and seven-node skills were far off. However, he could start training now, which only required understanding, while he gathered crystals and attuned his nodes.

He re-read "Edge Compression," slowly imagining the mana path from core to weapon, narrowing and holding it steady. He pictured applying this compression to a fist for a dense, stable layer. He then re-read "Shadow Weave’s" impact training, imagining how Umbra could stabilize a limb for safer, heavier close-range strikes.

He secured the two scrolls on top of the pile. His main focus was clear: precise control, steady progress, and remaining hidden until he was too powerful to stop.