Vile Evil Hides Under The Veil

The elemental sparks were lit around Eren as he tried to cast Wind-Fire shards.

However, it looked as if he was trying to light a fire by striking stones against each other. The embers of the sparks barely made themselves known before dying quickly after.

"Damn. It is really difficult to cast spells here."

Eren cursed the way magic was employed in Labh Salem.

He had been casting Wind-fire Shards for quite some time. But the Spectral Screen didn't show any update. So he had to keep on casting.

The more he cast the more stressed his mana circuits became. A simple spell-casting had become a chore for him because he wasn't using the Mesh.

"Guess I'll have to concentrate."

Eren sat down on the ground cross-legged and closed his eyes. He then regulated his breathing before tapping into his mana core. Channeling the mana through his mana circuits, he called forth his Elemental Attainments to aid him in the spell-casting.

The elemental sparks around Eren lit up once again. However, this time, they burned brighter and their forms stabilized. The elemental mana used in their creation was stabilized before the fusion of the two different types of elemental mana took place.

[ A new Skill detected. ]

Eren had a smile on his face as he opened his eyes. He quickly accessed the Spectral Screen and checked up on the new prompt he had.

[ A new Skill detected. Wind-Fire Shards. A unique Skill born by fusing two different elements and their distinct Elemental Attainments.

Insertion into Menaka's Mesh as a new entry is possible. Would you like to donate/sell this Skill to Menaka's Mesh? ]

Eren quickly discarded the "donate" option and selected "sell". In the next moment, just like what had happened in the previous instance, three choices flashed in front of him.

[ Option 1: One-time payment of 315,450 Menaka's Runes. The Skill will be completely owned by the Mesh after the successful payment. Wielder can spend the credited Runes to buy various items from Menaka's Market. ]

[ Option 2: Get a 1.4 percent share of Menaka's Runes every time someone buys Wind-fire Shards through Menaka's Market. Effective period: indefinite. ]

[ Option 3: Get a 6.8 percent share of Menaka's Runes every time someone buys Wind-fire Shards through Menaka's Market. Effective period: 20 years. The Skill will be completely owned by the Mesh after the effective period ends. ]

"So the Mesh considers Wind-fire Shards to be less valuable than Demi-god's Gaze, huh? Can't say I'm surprised."

Eren mumbled as he read the specifics of the three options. He had to say that he was a bit disappointed seeing the percentage of the share had also dropped down considerably for Options 2 and 3.

"I feel like I can safely choose Option 1 here and get a lump sum of around 300,000 Menaka's Runes. Wind-Fire Shards is something I created in a moment of spur. It is not that powerful and can be countered using normal means. Therefore, it was never something I used as my go-to tool.

However, let's take Option 2 for the sake of taking it. That way, this Skill will give me a steady flow of Menaka's Runes for as long as I want it to be. I'll see how many Menaka's Runes it garners me after a few months. If the numbers are lower than I expected, then I will switch to Option 2 and Three in the future."

Eren weighed his options before finally coming to a decision. Had he chosen Option 1, there was no way to reverse the decision he made. The Skill would be owned by the Mesh completely, depriving him of a steady flow of income.

He could go back to the remaining options if he were to select Option 2. It was just that the deal's conditions would be different and the profit he had earned by selecting Option 2 would be taken into account. This means his cut would be lower.

There was a reason Eren was okay with feeding Wind-Fire Shards into the Mesh and getting Menaka's Runes in return. It was because he could tweak Wind-Fire Shards however he wanted just by introducing minor changes to it.

He had created this spell in duress when he was caged inside Altashia's Burning Abode along with Argo. At that time, he had taken inspiration from Argo's way of using his Elemental Attainments to create this spell.

Eren had Elemental Attainments in multiple elements. The number of Elemental Aspects he possessed was even greater. As such, he could tweak the spell by employing different Elemental Aspects while keeping the fusion concept the same.

He knew that the Mesh recorded the Elemental Aspects employed while feeding a spell into it as a brand-new Skill. Therefore, no matter the case, Eren would always have an advantage over others even if his opponents decided to use his own spell against him.

Eren willed it in his mind and chose Option 2. A new prompt appeared on his screen when he did that.

[ Option 2 has been selected by the wielder. Proceed further? ]

"Yeah. Go ahead," Eren said out loud and made his choice known to the Mesh. In the next moment, his body was bathed in a white light which then proceeded to illuminate his room brighter. It was as if a mini sun had been summoned inside his closed-door room in the middle of the night.

Eren felt like his entire body and soul had been scanned by something. The elemental shards he had produced around him also vanished into thin air as if they had been robbed by the Mesh.

Eren waited patiently for the Mesh to process his spell and convert it into a Skill. Thankfully, he didn't have to wait long. A new prompt appeared in front of him within a few seconds.

[ Wind-Fire Shards #6669 has been successfully registered as a Skill. As a co-owner of the Skill, the wielder would not have to pay for getting the Skill for his own use through Menaka's Market.

Would you like to unlock the Skill for free right away? ]

"Hm? Were you planning to sell me my own spell as a Skill if I had chosen Option 1?" Eren asked the Spectral Screen in a suspicious tone. Unfortunately for him, he didn't get any reply.

"This goddess is capitalist by nature," the butcher sighed before saying "yes" out loud.

Immediately, Wind-Fire Shards was added to the list of available Skills Eren had in his possession. Without a delay, he activated the Skill to compare the level of ease and the casting effect of the shards post their successful port into the Mesh.

This time, the Wind-fire Shards appeared around him like fireflies. They appeared in droves and were packed to the brim with condensed forms of elemental mana. When he waved his hands, they cut through the air in unison. It was as if they had been turned into a school of fish that swam freely in water with a unique rhythm.

"This… I feel completely in control of this Skill."

Eren mumbled to himself as he analyzed the effects of the Skill. He had a strong urge to make these shards explode around him in the next moment. However, he controlled his impulses and made them disappear into thin air.

"Adopting to Skills in Labh Salem was a wise choice indeed. I just can't stick to Anfang's standards anymore even if I wanted to. It's like adamantly sticking to using a knife while the others have moved on to using mana guns."

[ A wielder in XXX bought Wind-Fire Shards #6669 from Menaka's Market. 28 Menaka's Runes have been credited into your account. ]

Just as Eren was about to move on to the next segment of the spectral screen, he received another prompt. He was surprised to find out that someone had actually bought Wind-Fire Shards just a few seconds after its successful insertion into the Mesh.

"Damn. I underestimated this Mesh. Choosing Option 2 was indeed the right choice."

He smiled as he swiped the prompt away from his Spectral Screen. He did some quick math as per the share he was promised and was surprised once again.

"So Menaka's Market is selling Wind-Fire Shards for 2000 Menaka's Runes as of now. I don't know if it is high or low according to the current standards. But it's a start.

I could always bring more variation to the Wind-Fire Shards and sell it to the Mesh as a different fusion Skill. But doing so might undermine the Skill I already sold. So I will wait for some time, and let the Skill reach enough people before bringing out the next variation.

Of course, at most, I could sell three variations before the importance of all three starts getting reduced with time in the Market. But with this, I now have a way to gain stable income from Menaka's Runes."

Eren got up from his seat and proceeded to lay on his bed. He had been very satisfied with the results he had obtained so far. He wanted to explore the new Spectral Screen some more. However, he decided to prioritize some rest for the time being.

"My first peaceful night in this world. I wonder how many of such nights I'll get to have in the future?"

Eren mumbled to himself before closing his eyes.