As the skill book containing [Basic Mana Affinity] gradually disappeared into thin air, Valyr brought up the notification screen in front of his field of vision before moving it to their side, deciding to prepare himself in advance since he would have to sift through a lot of notifications later on.
"Well then. This is quite the odd sensation." Reading through the notifications he had received from learning his first skill book, an influx of information regarding the knowledge of mana entered his mind, prompting him to quickly organize and process this information as he soon felt the ambient mana that could be found within the surroundings.
Focusing his attention on a small particle of mana in his surroundings, Valyr then willed the mana particle to move according to his thoughts, only for a bitter smile on his face to appear soon after as he muttered to himself, "Of course I'd need the manipulation skill to do that."
With that in mind, he then went ahead and brought out the skill book containing [Basic Mana Manipulation], only to bring out the four other manipulation skills he had bought soon after. As he took out the elemental affinity skills that corresponded to the four elemental manipulation skills he had gotten, Valyr recalled the sensation he felt after being able to sense mana in his surroundings for the first time.
Back when he was a player, obtaining [Mana Affinity] allowed him to see ambient mana in his surroundings, even allowing him to control it if he had the corresponding manipulation skill needed for it. However, now that he was an NPC, not only did learning [Basic Mana Affinity] allow him to see ambient mana just like his player counterpart, this sensation also expanded to his other senses, as if being able to sense mana had created a new sense altogether.
He briefly wondered if it had something to do with the fact that he was now a part of Greater Beyond itself, feeling as if it was a plausible reason for the difference in sensation. However, in the end, he thought that there was not much point in thinking about it, instead accepting the greater level of sensitivity for what it was.
Taking in a deep breath, he then went ahead and learned the four elemental affinity skills he had obtained, which was followed up by the five manipulation skills, causing a great amount of information to enter his brain in response.
For a while, he felt as if he were underwater. Yet, no matter what he did, he wasn't able to reach the surface. Fortunately, this feeling only lasted for around a minute or so as [Basic Mana Affinity] aided him in comprehending the other affinities and manipulation skills. Nevertheless, the sensation of not being able to breathe reminded him of the time he upgraded multiple skills to their maximum level in one go, prompting him to change his approach on learning the skills he had bought.
"10 down. 29 to go." Psyching himself up for what was about to come, Valyr took out the remaining skill books that had something to do with magic, starting himself off with skills that tackled what was considered neutral magic. One by one, he learned [Basic Spellcasting], [Basic Incantation], and [Basic Mana Magic Style] in succession, giving himself some time to rest his mind before continuing with the four other magic skills that remained.
"17 down. 22 to go." Feeling as if he was on the verge of fainting by the time he had finished learning [Basic Earth Magic Style], the last of the four magic styles he had learned that corresponded to the elements, Valyr decided to rest for a bit longer, utilizing the gray orb to get a small snack, which was swiftly delivered to their door minutes later.
Noticing that the strain on his mind was gradually being washed away by the snack he ate, Valyr took a brief look outside through the large window adjacent to his bed in a bid to reduce some more of the strain his mind was experiencing before continuing.
Considering that the Hama Inn was located in one of the busiest parts of Algerie City, Valyr entertained himself by watching the people that roamed the streets under the dim moonlight. By the time around ten minutes had passed, Valyr felt like his mind had been refreshed somewhat, giving him enough of a reason to continue what he was previously doing.
However, rather than diving head first into the physical-focused skill books he had bought, a thought popped up in Valyr's mind as he took out all of the remaining skill books he hadn't absorbed yet from the bracelet, as well as the Shadow Serpent Essence Braum had given him.
"Hmm… yeah. I'd still need to get someone to apply spatial compression magic on my equipment." Taking a look at the available space within the spatial bracelet given to him, Valyr let out a low sigh once he realized that his entire armor set wouldn't be able to fit within the bracelet. From what he could infer, around half of the pieces making up his Half Wyvern Armor would be able to fit inside the bracelet.
Then again, that was already pushing the bracelet's space to its limits.
"Now that I think about it, I could just have someone cast spatial expansion magic on the bracelet instead." Pondering over whether to take the spatial compression magic or the spatial expansion magic route in solving his problem, Valyr eventually decided that he would think about it after he was done absorbing all of the remaining skill books, starting off with the three offensive skills he had bought to diversify his combat style.
"Huh. Cool." Surprisingly, after he had absorbed the three skill books he had chosen, a far more manageable influx of information entered his mind, allowing Valyr to let out an inward sigh of relief as he swiftly organized and processed the information he had received.
Sensing that he had gained knowledge regarding the spear movements that corresponded to the skills, Valyr went ahead and applied the knowledge he gained firsthand by wielding his trusty spear for a bit, nodding in satisfaction once he noticed that his movements seemed smoother than before.
"Now, what should I go with next?" Looking at the selection of skill books he had yet to learn, Valyr noticed that most of them were prerequisites for a skill that would only be obtained after the prerequisite skills had merged together.
Wondering as to which skill he should absorb next, Valyr did not take long to make his decision, picking up the skill book that seemed to be the obvious choice in his current situation.
[You have gained the passive skill 'Basic Weapon Mastery'.]