"Ok, so who's next~."

  "I'll go."

  "Oh~ You're going to be rich! Even if the military gets a hold of us, they'll spare you just for your Restore Body skill. Healing centers have difficulty producing individuals with limb-restoration skills."

  "Most of their members focus on accelerating healing or on group healing. Oh! Have you tried it on hair restoration? If it works for that, you'll be set for life."

  "Oh..." Donna wasn't happy about this news. The thought that she'd be the only one to survive if the military caught them was disconcerting, to say the least. Only to be used as a tool for the rest of her life.

  "The General Spatial Storage is good. I've always been a firm believer in a balanced skill set over going all in on one aspect. Far too many things can go wrong, and you're not always going to be able to have someone to cover those deficiencies."

  Elaina continued with her critique. "Look to get something that will shore up your defenses next. You should try to apply one of your current abilities for this. Can you expand further on your Enhanced Water Control?"

  "Oh, um... It allows me to change water into ice or vapor. The process is still somewhat slow, so we use Frey's fire to accelerate it. I can also change the viscosity of water or mist. I've used it to turn steam clouds into rope or a thick net to slow monster movements."

  "Hmm... Can you use it on the stream right here? I'd like to see it."

  Donna extended her hand, and the water nearest to them became slow-moving and thick, like the sap from a tree. Elaina dipped her shoe into the water, and a long strand of it stuck to it.

  "How long does it last? Can you make it slippery?"

  "A couple of minutes at the minimum, hours if I push in more mana. Um, I've never tried to make it slippery before; we've used ice for that in the past."

  "You'll definitely want to test making water into a slippery surface; an enemy could just melt or break the ice."

  Donna wrapped both hands around her staff; her knuckles were turning white from the pressure. Alex still had her arm around her, but Frey moved in to surround her as well.

  "How about ice control? Can you wield it like an ice mage?"

  "Yes, although it's still slow forming compared to shooting a bolt of water, I've found using my water bolt to be more effective with my mana use."

  "You'll definitely want to practice with that as well. Instead of turning a whole water bolt into ice, you could create a shell of ice around the water or just the front."

  "There are some devastating shapes you could adopt that would cause greater damage to internal organs. I'll have to describe them to you later. They are designed to break apart once they enter the body, shredding the internals and promoting bleeding."

  "... Ok. I think I'll need that help."

  What was Frey's sister trying to turn Donna into? A kill first and ask questions later kind of person?

  "Also, practice doing the same with water shields. Although you don't have a skill to enhance a shield of water, a layer of ice could be the difference between life and death."

  "Ok..."

  "Um, I also have the sister staff to Frey's. I'm also holding two backup staves that allow for greater control of your mana."

  "If you have the sister staff of Frey's, make sure to call me Big Sis! Hmm, the lightning staff is good, very effective with your element. As for the staves that aid in control, I'd avoid using them unless necessary."

  "You can typically gain the same degree of control through practice. The staff will eventually become a hindrance to your own growth. It's a good tool to allow you to see your potential, though."

  "And just a reminder, I know that they say to use the water in your vicinity and air first before creating ethereal water. But just because it's more mana efficient, you shouldn't waste it, especially for your projectiles. It's much more efficient to keep that water close by for defence; that way, you can keep reusing it."

  "Plus, if your enemy has a water controller on their side, you're just making their life easier. Oh! And you're keeping some water in your spatial storage, correct? Just double-checking."

  "Yes, I do, although it's not a lot since I'm able to reuse it in the dungeon and store it away again. Thank you... Big Sis."

  Elaina reached her hand back and patted Donna on the head. "That's more like it~."

  Elemental skills would allow you to control the element in nature or create an ethereal manifestation of the element that would quickly disappear after used. However, the cost of this manifestation differed significantly between the elements. Fire and wind didn't cost much more than using the genuine article.

  When a physical element is empowered with the wielder's mana, it will no longer harm them. So if there was a terrible fire and you were in the middle of it, as long as you took control of the nearest flames, you would remain unharmed. That is, if you don't consider the smoke and other hazards that come with fire.

  Water & earth were significantly more taxing to create in their ethereal form. That's why Alex's storage skill had manifested. Her own mana pool was lacking, and her control isn't very good.

  Her new sword's earth shot was going to be a great boon for her. It handled the control of creating the earth shots and even had a minor mana pool to aid her.

  One notable element that was even more taxing was metal control. Numerous strange control types exist and would take varying amounts of mana for their ethereal creation.

  There are old folk tales of tier 9 heroes from legend who could create the elements indefinitely. That they could summon a small lake of water, and it'd stay there forever, no different from any common water you might find.

  There are numerous tourist sights in small towns that make these claims. It was hard to believe that a simple lake had such grand origins. Most were likely fabrications.

  'sigh'

  "Me next!" Alex waved her arm that wasn't around Donna.

  Alex then described her new weapon, Thunder Strike.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  "You've all received impressive gear. Do you have a sponsor?"

  "Oh!" Frey recounted all the events of the last two days. When Frey mentioned taking on the tier 6 ape wraith, Elaina's brows started to knit, and she began to massage her forehead.

  "Well, it's a miracle that you all managed to do that. As they say, great risks *can* lead to great rewards."

  'sigh' "And you're also fortunate that Ms. Sanderson allotted you such a large percentage. A miser would have fought you tooth and nail for much less. On top of that, having gear this powerful would probably bring you closer to tier 5 adventurers. Maybe half a tier more."

  "As for advice for Alex, I don't have too much to say other than to practice your earth shaping. If you could turn much of the rocks and dirt into javelins or other throwing weapons, you'd have a much easier time dealing with enemies at range."

  "Maybe practice throwing your sword as a weapon and catching it with a tether. Although I don't really recommend that last one. It's more of a last resort or surprise attack."

  "Say if you could throw your weapon behind an enemy and have the tether stab them in the back. Not the most practical thing, but a possibility you shouldn't close yourself off from."

  "Ah! By the way, I didn't ask, does your spatial storage allow you to store ores, coal, or weapons made from metal?"

  "It does let me store ores and coal, but once it's been cleansed of impurities and made into a bar, I lose the ability."

  "Hmm, maybe have some weapons custom-made that retain a lot of their impurities. If you can store them, you'd have an excellent backup. By channeling your mana into a blade with earth impurities rather than over a blade without them, the stability won't matter as much. As for coal, it's never a bad idea to have some on hand~."

  "Thanks, Big Sis~" Alex said while flashing a smile at Frey. Now was the season that we could tease her to their heart's content.

  "Ok, let's finish with the girls~."

  "Huh?"

  Damian turned to look at Higgins. She had been at the back of the group since they entered the orphanage and hadn't made a peep since arriving. He had assumed that she was a champion of justice, so, in retrospect, he was surprised that she didn't say anything about the smuggled goods.

  Maybe the orphans' living conditions stopped her. They lived in favorable conditions despite their social position. All made possible by smugglers and a caring big sister.

  "Ah, ok. But it's pretty straightforward. I'm not sure what advice you could give me."

  "Hmm~ Are you humble or simple?"

  "?"

  "Simple it is~."

  "Psh!"

  Higgins gave Frey a confused look.

  "Ok, sweetie~ You have a lot of untapped potential. Let me make an assumption, you've always focused on defense and let your allies do the attacking?"

  "...Yes?"

  "Ok, first of all, have you ever tried using your Project Tool skill on a ranged weapon?"

  "No... I've never fired a bow or staff in my life."

  "Let's change that. ~Donna, could you bring out one of the hand crossbows from one of the crates? There should be bolts there as well."

  The party took a break, and Elaina loaded a hand crossbow and placed it in Higgins's hand. She got behind her and raised her hand to help aim it.

  "So this is an enchanted hand crossbow. You can channel mana into the handle, and it will travel up to the arrow and imbue it with your mana affinity. Try using your Project Tool skill, and we'll fire it."

  Higgins did as asked, and a large ethereal blue hand crossbow appeared in the air.

  "Ok, now, try firing the bolt from the projection while not firing the one in your hand."

  A massive bolt fired off and struck the far wall of the tunnel. *CRASH* A giant blue bolt embedded into the wall, cracks spreading from its impact point.

  "Wow!" The group unanimously applauded the display.

  "Ok, now, try to form another bolt on the crossbow and pull back the string."

  It took Higgins a while to accomplish the task. For the time being, she was likely faster at dismissing the skill and reapplying it.

  "Ok then, I don't think you should use this too frequently until you practice your aim and reloading." She promptly unloaded the hand crossbow so that Higgins didn't cause a minor incident.

  "I suspect that you can probably project any tool on your person. So with practice, you should be able to have a loaded hand crossbow tied to your hip and summon it."

  "You should also test and practice how far you can summon your Project Tool. If you could summon a shield in front of someone far away, that'd be a massive boon."

  Higgins attempted to summon her shield farther away to cover Donna. It didn't make it far from her person, only a couple of finger widths. Since it could be moved, Elaina said that with enough practice, she should be able to increase that distance over time.

  She had pegged the skill as actually being a remote type. Even if you were a kinetic or remote type, you could obtain new skills of the other type. As seen with Higgins, her ability to shift the skill was hampered by her being a kinetic type to begin with.

  "Lastly, try to summon your wings and wrap them around your body. Since they use shield energy, you should get used to using them as an additional shield."

  Wrapping her wings around herself wasn't much of an issue. She was able to cover her entire upper body with the feathers. It also didn't obstruct her vision since it was mostly transparent.

  "Maybe after you tier up again, you'll be able to summon multiple weapons and shields at once. Then you could become a one-woman army~ Now what do you say?"

  "... Thank you, Big Sis Elaina." She was then patted on the head by a happy big sis.

  "By the way... How do you know Ms. Sanderson?" Damian posed the question.

  He had assumed that, since Ms. Sanderson was highly experienced, she would have pointed out these aspects of her skill earlier. However, Higgins seemed unaware of her potential.

  "... Betty and I are in the same book club. We became friends after meeting there."

  Book club? Really? Didn't have Higgins pegged as the reading type. Given everything I've heard so far, I expect a deeper connection.

  "So she never offered to train you or anything?" Donna asked.

  "Oh! She did, but I told her it'd change our relationship and refused. We stick to book club and hanging out~."

  "Hmm~ Maybe I should join this book club~," Elaina suggested.

  "Oh! Yes! We're always looking for new members... It's just that our current meeting place at the Adventurers Guild blew up. We'll find a new spot!"

  A bloody book club... Probably a bad idea to invite Elaina. I have the gut feeling that she'll corrupt it.

  They continued to quickly walk down the long passage while Higgins discussed the club. It was extraordinarily ordinary-sounding. Not even a hint at a secret society or cult in the making. Damian supposed that everyone had hobbies, and you were bound to bond with someone who shared them.

  'sigh'

  "Oh, relax. I'll get to you in time~. But first, let's see what our healer is capable of~."

  "Ooooo~ Does it enhance the flavor of food?"

  "It does."

  "Well~ You're going to be rich! But for your combat capabilities, does your Burst Empower skill affect the output of a person's spells?"

  "They don't."

  "Have you rechecked since your tier up?"

  "... No, I haven't."

  "Ok, then, be a dear and cast it on Donna. Donna, would you summon a water ball and shoot it at the far wall?"

  Donna lit up in a golden light and summoned her magic. It was the same size as always, but once it struck the far wall, the outcome was markedly different.

  *CRASH* The impact left a large crater in the wall. Far more firepower than she had ever displayed before.

  "Buff-type enhancements often gain the ability to affect spells after a couple of tier-ups if they didn't before. It's always a good idea to test these things. The number of people I know who didn't realize that their old skills gained wondrous new aspects is staggering."

  "Well, make sure to try it with Frey's Scorched Laser. I'm sure the outcome will be something spectacular."

  "Also, the aspect of how the empowerment strengthens based on familiarity is unique and very powerful. Do you know if it also increases the connection to a person by feeding them your empowered food?"

  They had decided to test it. Fergus used his skill on Elaina, and she quickly moved a couple of steps forward. After getting some leftovers from Fergus's breakfast, they tried again. At least they wanted to, but it took Elaina a little bit to come out of her reverie.

  Successfully ensnared~ I need to create a brochure or something. We can pass it out after every meal. At the low, low cost of your current savings, you too can join the Cult Of Fergus~.

  After she experienced her bliss, the test proceeded, and it significantly improved her connection to his skill. Her speed was many times faster than before.

  "Ok then~. The only advice I have is something you probably already know. You should practice using your light as an offensive tool. Typically, light users can't use the 'base control' for offence until tier 5 or 6, but starting early never hurts."

  "At worst, you turn your light into a blinding attack; at best, you burn out their eyes, and they need to use a potion. You won't be poking holes into people like the legends of old any time soon. Now~ What do you say~."

  "Thank you, I appreciate your insight greatly."

  Elaina frowned.

  "Big Sis..."

  Elaina beamed.

  Fergus caved so easily to the frown. It's best not to get on the bad side of someone who is so 'kind' and helpful.