After returning to the RV, Su Chen began to take stock of his spoils and check his current reserves of Rune Essence.
Since Rune Essence was equivalent to currency, this was also a way of calculating his personal assets.
He started from the highest level and worked his way down.
Lv. 7: Acceleration Skill.
It was currently with Gong Jun, who was preparing to use it for an Enchanted Gun Barrel to upgrade and modify his shotgun.
Lv. 6: Lightning Warp, Fireball Technique, Wind Blade, Wind Split, Golden Armor Skill, Shadow Leap, and Flashing Skill.
The last two movement skills had undoubtedly come from the goat-man chimera he had hunted down. It alternated between light and shadow, supplemented by concealment techniques and empowered by its class Authority. It had taken Su Chen considerable effort to finally pin it down and kill it.
'My Perception is still a bit weak.'
Su Chen's Elemental Resonance trait was limited to a hundred-meter radius, and his Telekinesis Perception range was currently approaching that same limit.
Beyond that range, he could only rely on the target's residual elemental embers and his own superior vision to judge their direction of movement.
Additionally, the chimera's Light-Dark Dual Element class Authority belonged to the newly revealed Three-Star class, Radiant Shadow Warlock, which was known for being mysterious and unpredictable, coming and going without a trace.
In comparison, the Light Erosion Warlock class was more focused on destructive power.
It was worth noting that people unofficially ranked classes of the same Star Level as strong, medium, or weak to create a sort of power tier list.
Since Rune Mages were generally frail, classes that offered self-preservation, agile movement techniques, and strong survivability were always highly sought after.
The Radiant Shadow Warlock, at least, was rated much more highly than the Light Erosion Warlock.
Su Chen absorbed the Lv. 6 Shadow Leap without hesitation.
Promotion Requirements: Shadow Leap Rune 32/32, Spiritual Dust Sand 8/8, Spirit Marrow Crystal 1/3
This was a huge leap forward. He only needed two more Spirit Marrow Crystals, and he happened to have exactly two. However, considering other runes had a higher priority for promotion to Lv. 6, he didn't use them rashly.
'I should absorb the Flashing Skill, too.'
The Shadow Jumping Skill had its limitations. While the three-in-one composite Rune Technique, Void Wanderer, could compensate for them, it required the use of the important Gravity Skill Rune.
A composite Technique doesn't inherit one hundred percent of the effects from its component runes.
Besides, after it was woven, it had to be unbound to form another major AoE killing move, "Molten Core Collapse."
'Is there a perfect way to keep it woven together, without having to constantly dismantle and reassemble it?'
'Flashing Skill, Shadow Leap, and Flying Skill combined should perfectly unlock the Radiant Shadow Warlock's Core Authority, and maybe even surpass it.'
Without hesitation, Su Chen immediately absorbed the Flashing Skill Rune.
HUM!
A dazzling light flared within his Sea of Consciousness. Once it stabilized, the Rune's information was parsed from it.
[Flashing Skill (Lv. 6): The Spellcaster ignores all obstacles and can leap through space to any illuminated area within their line of sight. Maximum range: 150 meters.]
In terms of effect, it was nearly identical to Shadow Leap; the only difference was one used light and the other, darkness.
Delving into its specific properties, Flashing Skill also included a fading effect upon landing that acted as a form of Light Element camouflage.
But that wasn't the main point.
「Soon.」
In Su Chen's Sea of Consciousness, the Flashing Skill, Shadow Leap, and Flying Skill Runes slowly pieced themselves together, woven into one. Light and Shadow intertwined like twin serpents as Wind flowed between them, giving birth to a brand-new composite Rune Technique.
'Aurora Flash'!
Compared to Void Wanderer, it naturally lacked the ability to resist gravity, meaning he could no longer perform the various "spacewalk" maneuvers that ignored Gravity.
There were trade-offs.
The ultra-high synchronization frequency of overlapping light and shadow, enhanced by his mastery traits, extended his maximum leap distance to nearly a kilometer. Furthermore, he could now execute multiple, uninterrupted forward leaps in an instant.
His travel efficiency had increased dramatically.
The phase-stealth property was also significantly enhanced.
HUM!
Sitting on the RV sofa, Su Chen activated the effect. Countless tiny Light and Dark Particles burst forth along the outline of his body.
In the next instant, his figure faded away, and even the cup he held in his hand disappeared from sight.
'Light Erosion Warlocks excel at annihilating others, while the Radiant Shadow Warlock erases its own existence.'
Enveloped by the stream of particles, Su Chen felt himself enter a state of phase superposition. He reached out and his hand passed right through the tabletop without obstruction.
Five seconds later, the energy balance began to destabilize.
He was forced out of Vaporization. As his form re-solidified, multiple afterimages appeared around him—a "phase echo" that made it difficult to tell which was his real body.
'Not bad.'
'At least from a phase-stealth perspective, the duration is definitely longer.'
What's more, while flying, he could use the light-and-shadow camouflage to create a spatial blink effect every so often.
This Aurora Flash made his movements even more mysterious and untraceable than those of a Radiant Shadow Warlock.
'Time to take stock of my Lv. 5 reserves.'
Su Chen wasted no time and continued inventorying his assets.
Lv. 5: Phantom Clone, Invisibility Skill, Wind Wolf Summoning, Shadow Armor, Shadow Summoning, Shadow Ball, Curse Skill, Purification Skill, Earth Armor, and Holy Light Armor.
He chose to absorb the Shadow Summoning Rune, then summoned Xiaoye and had it consume the Phantom Clone Rune.
(Phantom Clone: Creates three Illusions of the Netherworld War Dog that inherit 85% of the original's Basic Attributes. Duration: 12 minutes.)
He had intended to press his luck and feed it a Shadow Armor Rune as well, but Xiaoye spat it back out, unable to consume it. Apparently, its personal Magic Slots were limited.
'So few.'
'A magical beast's intelligence is bound to be lower than a human's,' Su Chen mused. 'Its Sea of Consciousness probably isn't very large, either.'

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