It was extremely user-friendly.
"Thank you." Ethan said sincerely.
"You've earned it." General Zhao's expression turned serious again.
"Additionally, regarding the national resource library redemption voucher—it will be recorded in your official file. Every time you successfully complete a transcendence, you only need to present your identification at any military office or Transcendent Association headquarters in a major city to activate and use the voucher."
"Remember—this opportunity is extremely precious. Choose the item that best suits your current development path carefully."
"I understand."
Ethan nodded solemnly.
"Alright, that's all for official business."
General Zhao's tone softened.
"Your team has been through a lot this time. Do you plan to return to Lincheng, or stay here until the Seven Academies Training Camp begins?"
"We'll probably head back to Lincheng first."
Ethan replied.
"I see." General Zhao paused for a moment, then added casually, "Lincheng and its surrounding areas might not be very peaceful lately. Be extra careful when you go back."
"If you run into any trouble you can't handle, don't hesitate to contact Major Frostburn."
Ethan's heart skipped a beat, catching the undertone in the general's words.
Could it be related to the Cultists of the Fallen Gods?
Or had the military already detected some suspicious activity?
"Thank you for the warning, General. Though I'm not entirely set on returning to Lincheng just yet."
"Haha, no need to worry too much. If the sky falls, we'll be the ones holding it up!"
General Zhao laughed heartily, then turned and left with his adjutant.
Major Kris stayed behind, smiling at Ethan.
"Have you picked out your skills yet? The military's skill library has plenty of good stuff—many of which you'd never find outside. If you're not sure what to choose, I can give you some advice."
"No need to trouble yourself—I've already made my selections." Ethan smiled.
The military's skill library catalog had categorized the skills in great detail, and there weren't that many skills suitable for Clerics in the first place. Ethan had quickly picked out the ones he wanted.
"Major Frostburn, these three."
Ethan pointed to the three skills on the screen.
Major Frostburn glanced at them, and a look of surprise crossed his face.
"Oh? One S-rank, one A-rank, one B-rank… I thought you'd pick three S-rank skills. Besides, apart from this S-rank skill, the other two have extremely high mana costs and require prohibitively expensive casting materials. Are you sure you want to choose these two?"
He knew Ethan's background—he was just an ordinary kid from an ordinary family.
The casting materials for these two skills cost no less than a million credit points apiece.
To cast them once in full would cost hundreds of millions, or even billions of credit points!
The money Ethan had just received wouldn't even be enough to buy the materials for a single full cast.
Even if Ethan was a prodigy in the Cleric class, without sufficient financial support, these two skills would be completely useless—nothing more than fancy paperweights.
"I'm sure."
Ethan nodded firmly.
Mana costs?
Casting materials?
Thanks to his Grace talent, those were practically non-issues for him!
What he cared about was their game-changing effects!
"Very well! However, these skills are quite rare—we don't have them in stock at the base right now. They should be delivered by tomorrow."
"You have until then to change your mind. If you reconsider, just give me a call."
After thinking for a moment, Major Frostburn added a final reminder.
Ethan just smiled and nodded, saying nothing more.
The tablet in his hand still displayed his chosen skills:
[Flesh Reconstruction] (Overall Rating: B-rank)
[Skill Type]: Single-Target Ultimate Heal/Regeneration
[Effect]: Consume 100% of your current MP. Using 100 Amethysts, 50 Life Crystals, and 100 Blood Crystals as casting materials, channel the powerful life energy within them to accelerate the target's flesh and tissue regeneration.
[Cooldown]: 300 days
(According to current world data, the effects of this skill include but are not limited to: severed limb regeneration, restoring eyesight, organ regeneration…)
(Note 1: This skill is not guaranteed to succeed. Higher proficiency increases the success rate. On average, 30 practice attempts are required to achieve a high success rate.)
(Note 2: Please prepare sufficient materials when practicing this skill. Insufficient materials will result in the skill siphoning the caster's own life energy, which may shorten your lifespan if overused.)
(Note 3: When treating a Transcendent of Tier 5 or higher, double the amount of casting materials. For each additional tier above Tier 5, double the materials again.)
[Mind Barrier] (Overall Rating: A-rank)
[Skill Type]: Single-Target Buff/Mental Protection
[Effect]: Consume 100% of your current MP. Using 1 Eternal Crystal of Clarity and 5 Pure Nightmare Essences as casting materials, construct an indestructible barrier around the target's mind. Grants the target 80% Mental Resistance and immunity to all mental control, fear, charm, and mind-reading effects for 2 hours.
[Cooldown]: 30 days
(Note 1: Ensure all casting materials are complete. Insufficient materials will result in permanent Mental Value loss for the caster!)
[Font of Mana] (Overall Rating: S-rank)
[Skill Type]: Single-Target Mana Restore/Mana Infusion
[Effect]: Consume 10% of your maximum HP. Instantly restore (50% of your maximum MP + 25% of the target's maximum MP) to the target. Additionally, restore 5% of the target's maximum MP per second for the next 15 seconds.
[Cooldown]: 2 hours
These three skills were undeniably overpowered—their effects were nothing short of legendary!
If rated purely on their effects, all three would easily be S-rank.
But the military's skill rating system took various factors into account.
Flesh Reconstruction was downgraded to B-rank due to its exorbitant material costs, extremely long cooldown, and high difficulty to master.
Mind Barrier was downgraded to A-rank for the same reasons—steep material costs and a lengthy cooldown.
But these drawbacks were irrelevant to Ethan!