Chapter 3-Level Up—God Rank Skill!

Inside the Skill Book Vault of Violet Commerce— Mary, the blonde-haired attendant, pointed gracefully at a rustic bookshelf and began her introduction: "Your Highness Daniel, lightning-element skill books are exceedingly rare. Even for our trade guild, this is the full extent of our collection. Please feel free to browse and see if any meet your requirements." "Of course, if you'd like, I'd be more than happy to explain the effects of each skill book for you." Daniel shook his head, raising a hand to politely decline. Sёarch* The NôvelFire.nёt website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. "I'll take a look myself." Mary gave a slight bow and respectfully stepped to the side, remaining quiet and poised. Daniel's gaze swept across the shelf with sharp focus. [S-Rank: Flashbolt] [A-Rank: Whip of the Thunder God] [A-Rank: Sovereign Lightning Lance] [B-Rank: Cage of Storms] ... [C-Rank: Thunderfall] Thunderfall?! Daniel's eyes narrowed, a gleam flashing deep within. According to Fundamentals of Skill Theory, a principle known as Effectual Continuity governed the evolution of skills—meaning that low-tier skills, even when promoted to higher ranks, would typically retain their core effects. Though anomalies existed, they were often unpredictable and wildly varied. So if he started with [C-Rank: Thunderfall] and leveled it up using Infinite Skill Points, there was a high chance it would evolve into [SSS-Rank: Thunderstorm]! Without a second thought, Daniel pointed at the book. "I'll take this one." Mary maintained her professional smile, her voice smooth and gentle: "As a holder of our distinguished Purple Card, Your Highness is entitled to a 20% discount. For this skill book, we will only charge you 100,000 Gold coins." Daniel winced. 100,000?! For just one skill book? That was practically robbing him blind. After this, he'd barely have enough money left to eat... Wait. No—he was a prince. He didn't need to pay for food. Thinking this, Daniel sighed in relief. It's fine, he told himself. Even if he went broke, it was still money well spent—an investment in power. Just then, something caught his eye. On the lowest shelf, half-buried under dust, sat a neglected, forgotten skill book. It looked like it hadn't been touched in years. Curious, he examined the label: [F-Rank: Damage Conversion] [Effect: Permanently converts 0.1% of dealt skill damage into personal attribute points.] At first glance, it sounded like a hidden gem—any permanent stat gain was a rare and valuable effect. But the problem was... the conversion rate was pathetically low. Most skills gained their power from a user's base attribute values. Even [God Rank Skill: Thunderstorm] had a base damage of just 500. A 0.1% conversion would net him 0.5 attribute points. Not even a full point. In other words—utterly useless. No wonder this thing had been shoved into the shadows. To others, it was a total joke—a waste of money and training effort. But Daniel wasn't like others. He had Infinite Skill Points. If he maxed out Damage Conversion, and it scaled the percentage as well... then what would happen? Would it jump to 1%? 10%? 100%? Even if it just reached 1%, the effect would be incredible—especially when combined with high-damage spells. Daniel's heart began to pound. He pointed at the dusty skill book and asked, "What about this one? Why doesn't it have a price?" Mary blinked, momentarily caught off guard. That skill book had been sitting unsold for so long, she had nearly forgotten it existed. "If Your Highness happens to enjoy collecting unusual skill books," she said gently, "our commerce guild would be happy to offer it as a gift." "You may not know this," she added with a slight smile, "but this skill was reportedly recovered by a demigod-rank adventurer from an ancient underground labyrinth. So despite its weak effects, it does carry a bit of collector's value." Daniel nodded in acknowledgment. Then a thought struck him— He had spent almost all his money, but hadn't purchased any potions yet. "Thank you," he said. "Actually... I still need some potions. But I'm afraid I'm a little short on Gold coins right now..." "No need to worry, Your Highness," Mary replied without hesitation. "As a valued Purple Card member, such matters are minor." "I'll personally file a request under my name to provide you with enough potions to clear your first underground labyrinth mission." "Then I owe you once again," Daniel said gratefully. Daniel returned to his dorm with everything he needed. He spread the materials across the table, lining them up just as outlined in the Thunderstorm synthesis recipe. Then, without hesitation, he activated the skill book: [C-Rank: Thunderfall] Instantly, his interface updated: [Skill: C-Rank Thunderfall, 1-Star (Upgradeable)] [Would you like to allocate skill points now?] "Absolutely." He tapped YES without hesitation. Immediately, a brilliant explosion of light erupted before him! Rays of prismatic color danced in every direction, dazzling his eyes and flooding his vision with vibrant energy. When the light finally faded, Daniel blinked, heart racing, and looked again at his skill bar. [Skill: SSS-Rank Thunderstorm, 2-Star (Max Level)] He had been right! Daniel clenched his fists with excitement, practically shaking with joy. He quickly issued the next command in his mind: [Synthesize] A surge of blinding violet energy burst forth, illuminating the entire room. When the light finally dissipated, Daniel stared at his interface, a giddy, disbelieving grin spreading across his face. [Skill: God Rank Lightning Skill — Raging Thunderstorm!!] Success. It had worked. He had created a God Rank Skill—something no one in human history had ever possessed! He was the first. But then... his gaze drifted downward. To his Spell Power stat. Still stuck at a miserable 1. Such an awe-inspiring, divine-tier skill—wasted on a base stat this low? Unacceptable. Daniel's eyes sharpened. Without hesitation, he picked up the [F-Rank: Damage Conversion] skill book and activated it. A soft pulse of light shimmered through the room. [Skill: F-Rank Damage Conversion (Upgradeable)] [Would you like to allocate skill points now?] Do it. Max it. No second thoughts. Daniel tapped the screen hard, practically holding his breath. Light flared again. The system processed his allocation—and then, his updated panel appeared. [Skill: SSS-Rank Damage Conversion] [Effect: Permanently converts 100% of skill base damage into personal attributes.] "WHAT?!" Daniel's eyes went wide. His jaw nearly hit the floor. 100% conversion?! That meant if he cast Raging Thunderstorm—with a base damage of 500—he would gain 500 Spell Power per use. Shaking with anticipation, he immediately opened his character panel again. [Spell Power: 501]