Assimilate All Talents

‘So there's more than one way,’ Sol thought to himself.

Zaman continued with the lesson. “In general terms, the three methods are rather similar to each other and are referred to as Ascension because of the changes your body undergoes when you comprehend a law technique. It doesn’t end with just obtaining a new power; your whole body becomes much stronger in all aspects. How much exactly depends on the law technique, with some providing more than others. Also, the enhancement isn’t always balanced. Sure, some equally increase all aspects, but most usually increase one or more attributes or aspects greatly while the rest have smaller increments. It all depends on the type of law technique you comprehend.”

Valerie leaned slightly forward in her chair and asked, “What law technique do you recommend we try to comprehend?”

The princess had once read a compendium of known talent skills, but it only contained their general characteristics. Though it didn’t detail the method to obtain the law technique, she believed it was possible to work towards it, only that it would be a bit harder without any guidance.

Zaman shook his head. “There really is no better law technique over another. Each has its own strengths and weaknesses. For example, my own law technique [Everlasting Present]. My overall attribute increase doesn’t compare to Grand Knight Lawrence’s agility and wisdom focused increase with his law technique [Light Drive]. Without any external factors, he is nearly three times faster than me, yet I can still win against him. Do you know why?”

Both Sol and Valerie took a moment to think about the answer.

‘It can’t be a level or skill level difference; he wouldn’t be mentioning it if it was…’

Sol knew that it had to do with Zaman's talent specifically, but not really knowing what it did made it hard to guess the reason why Zaman would win against someone faster than him.

Sol guessed, “Does speed not matter with your law technique?”

Zaman made a so so gesture with his hand and said, “Close but not quite. Speed does matter, but my law technique is faintly related to time. Though it's more accurate to say that with my technique, I am able to squeeze the most out of a moment. To find the perfect opportunity through the chaos to accomplish my objective. Even with how fast Lawrence goes, which nearly rivals the speed of light in short bursts, I can still find the infinitesimally small moment to strike where it matters most. This doesn't mean my law technique is better than his, mind you, just that in a one on one fight, mine beats his.”

“To attack at the perfect time—is that really a law technique?” Sol didn’t quite understand how; it felt like it was something achievable with really good battle sense.

Zaman smiled at his question but didn’t answer, instead moving on with the lesson.

“Like I said before, there are three methods of Ascension. In order from easiest to hardest, they are: Talent Ascension, Skill Ascension, and Enlightenment Ascension. The first method is to push your talent skill to the very limit, and once you reach it, break through those limits.”

Sol and Valerie waited for a deeper explanation, but the Commander stayed silent with a smile on his face.

Valerie couldn't believe it. “That's it?”

He nodded. “Yes. I can’t really provide much more advice beyond that, as it all depends on what talent skill you are working with, and even then, those with the same talent skill could comprehend different law techniques. For Skill Ascension, the rules are the same, but pushing a regular skill to its limit requires a lot more time and effort compared to a talent skill. The reason for this is because talent skills inherently start at a higher baseline compared to normal skills, being much closer to their associated laws. Oh, I should also mention there are a few exceptions to this rule.”

“What kind of exceptions?” Sol asked.

“Talent skills like [Analysis], [Status Deception], and generally any similar talent skill cannot become the foundation for a law technique. Any guesses as to why?”

Valerie thought for a moment before reaching a logical answer. “Is it because those skills directly interact with the system?”

“But why are skills that interact with the system an exception?” It was a good answer, but Zaman wanted a little more than that.

Thinking it over a bit more, Sol’s eyes shot open in realization. It finally clicked. “They aren’t real skills to begin with; they were added for people to have a better understanding of the system when it was first implemented.”

Zaman nodded. “At least it's the leading theory. After all, no one can really prove the reasoning behind the system.”

‘I could see it not being a real skill. Using [Analysis] sends a small wisp of mana that shouldn’t do anything by all means, but when paired with the skill, it provides the information of whatever I targeted. As it leveled up, it didn’t improve or change in any tangible way besides allowing me to see the status of higher level beings, which could honestly just be an arbitrary limiter put in place.’

“What about the last method, Enlightenment Ascension?” Valerie asked. While the first two methods were rather vague, she reasoned that the last one would be different.

The Commander knew what she was thinking and chuckled. “If you ever figure it out, let me know. It's known as the hardest method of Ascension because no one really knows how it happens; it just does. You could be a farmer with [Farming] as your only skill, but one day you suddenly comprehend a law technique that lets you create and destroy entire mountains for some inexplicable reason.”

“It kinda sounds like Ophis,” Sol said, but in this case, it was already a god with its own law, and it comprehended a second one.

Zaman agreed. “Most believe Ophis went through such an experience, but don’t wait around thinking it will happen to you; such a thing almost never happens. The best I can suggest for both of your Ascensions is to focus on improving your talent skills and try to achieve A-Rank through them.” The Commander was about to finish the lesson before remembering one final detail. “Also, keep in mind that you can theoretically comprehend infinite law techniques, but only the first three provide increases in all aspects, and each one provides smaller increases than the last. With that, you both know as much as I know regarding law techniques. Good luck, and I hope you comprehend one soon.”