Vile Evil Hides Under The Veil
chapter-1704

1704 Unique Skills

"It seems you took care of the… formalities."

Eren said while looking around him. "Good job, Roza," he gave a nod of approval as he got up from his position.

"You know what they were talking about right? I think I got some of it. Nonetheless, could you shed some light on it? You were here with them for well over two weeks. Anything you want to say apart from the things you said in your daily reports?"

Eren asked Roza as he stretched his arms. His Ability Unlimited Weapon Works had always strained his wrists and finger joints because of how logic-defying his weapon movements got under its influence.

However, the repercussions of using Unlimited Weapon Works after it was converted into a Skill were even more noticeable. Especially if and when he used that Skill for an extended period. Of course, unlike his other Skills, the effects of the Unlimited Weapon Works had also been enhanced for some reason.

The butcher concluded that the Mesh gave bonus to Skills that were weapon-handling related, provided the wielder had sufficient mastery over the respective weapons. He had a wide array of weapon comprehensions assimilated into his battle style. As such, the bonus his Skill Unlimited Weapon Works received because of it was significant.

"Um…. are you talking about the appearance of the Hvergelmir Springs, my liege?" Roza asked Eren as she followed right behind him. Both of them were heading towards the den's exit, leaving a fresh and processed murder scene behind them.

"That's right. I know that Hvergelmir Springs is an Existential Concept," Eren nodded as he kept on walking ahead.

"I know that Existential Concepts are bound to manifest in one way or the other all across the boundless cosmos. It's how the Existential Concepts highlight their state of being after all.

However, I don't understand the significance of Hvergelmir Springs for these wanna-be demons. What will it mean for them if the Hvergelmir Springs appear in Labh Salem? How will it benefit them?"

Roza pondered a bit on Eren's question before answering.

"My liege, witnessing Hvergelmir Springs is like the blessing from the Demon Realm itself. You must have known by now that there's a difference between different kinds of blessings. We can get blessed by gods or Demon Princes. However, their blessings have limitations.

A chance to witness and accept the Hvergelmir Springs is like accepting the Seven Sin Series Marks from the Seven Immortal Planes. It can allow one to break past their limitations and become a higher level of existence."

Eren processed Roza's words calmly. "So the Sin Series Marks are a form of a demonic blessing. The only difference is that it does not come from a god but from the Immortal Planes themselves. But I thought the Sin Series Marks represent Faustian Contracts. Was I wrong in my assumption?"

"No. You were right in your assumption. But that's not the whole truth," Roza replied promptly.

"The Sin Series Marks represent Faustian Contracts as well. However, the Marks evolve as one progresses further in their respective Paths to Power. This is why the Sin Series Marks bestow different powers to their wielders according to their souls and inclinations.

As the user keeps using the power of these Marks, the connection between the user's soul and the Immortal Plane they are associated with through the Faustian Contracts gets deepened. The Faustian Contracts themselves offer a blessing to the users when they get demonically attuned in a true sense.

Further, you need to know that the blessing one can obtain from Hvergelmir Springs is a no-conflict blessing. It will not interfere with their existing demonic blessings or the Faustian Contracts. In fact, it can be used to alter their Faustian Contracts in their favor.

Usually, Faustian Contracts can not be messed with once they have been formed. That means the users of the demonic arts and the demon soul fragments slumbering within them have to fulfill their end of the deal no matter what.

However, getting a blessing from Hvergelmir Springs offers the users of the demonic arts a one-time chance to alter their Faustian Contracts– meaning upgrade the benefits they obtain through the contracts to a higher tier."

"Hmm," Eren scratched his chin as he asked Roza his next question. "That's great and all. But like… what does it mean in reality? What are the tangible benefits one can have after receiving a blessing from Hvergelmir Springs?"

"Oh," Roza didn't take long to answer Eren's question.

"It means the users of demonic arts have a chance to obtain powerful Skills for themselves. There's a chance one of their most used Skills gets converted into Greater Skills as well. They can also obtain a Tantra that has been created especially for them.

It is also possible for them to obtain a Unique Skill, a Skill that can potentially rival a Greater Skill in effect without the necessary cooldown attached to the Greater Skills. However, Unique Skills are rare and not something everyone can have. As such, most consider it to be a pipedream to obtain.

What's interesting is the fact that they won't have to spend Menaka's Runes to get such benefits from Hvergelmir Springs. This blessing and all its effects would be… um… free of cost… so to speak."

"Aah," Eren came to an understanding when Roza explained the tangible benefits of obtaining the blessing from Hvergelmir Springs. "No wonder those petty goons were so hard at work inside the den. Any other benefits apart from what you have mentioned so far?" he asked as he stopped in his tracks.

***

A chance to obtain Greater Skill was indeed tempting. However, Eren was interested in a chance to obtain a Unique Skill. The term implied that only one user could have access to such a Skill at any given time.

If Greater Skills were the higher forms of Skills then the Unique Skills could be defined as Skill anomalies to some extent. They would allow their users a tangible edge over their opponents.

The Greater Skills had a lot of limitations in their use. They couldn't be used frequently due to the cooldown times. Plus, they had a higher rate of mana consumption.

This was not the case with the Unique Skills. In some cases, they could even outshine the Greater Skills, provided their users used them in the right way.