Ashen Ascension: The Divided Flame-Chapter 78: So Many Choices

The final scroll was different. Unlike the previous scrolls, which had clear, weapon-like instructions, this one felt like advice for someone who survived by luck and needed a better plan.

It had three simple, non-dramatic skills, grouped under one seal. The first section had a plain title.

Skill: Absorption Efficiency

Category: Intake Optimization

Nodes: 7

The goal was to get more usable mana from external sources like crystals and the environment. This meant less waste and fewer impurities, especially important in places where mana is scarce.

Ivor stared at it. He’d wasted many crystals just to finish one node, all because he didn’t want the worst residue in his core. If a skill could cut waste, his careful method would become efficient. He could then grow without having to choose between fast growth and better results.

Then he looked at the node cost again.

Seven.

Spending seven skill nodes didn’t directly improve his fighting abilities—it didn’t make him faster, stronger, or tougher. While it saves resources and would be useful later, he needs combat skills now to survive the immediate threat, the Scar. Investing so much now, nearly a third of his starting capacity, in a non-combat skill is too risky.

He moved on to the second section.

Flow Regulation

Category: Circulation Control

Nodes: 7

The author seemed to dislike sloppy fighting. Flow Regulation stabilized mana circulation during movement and combat. It reduced mana leakage and improved skill transition speed, leading to cleaner skill chains and better execution consistency, but it didn’t increase power output.

Ivor immediately grasped the skill’s importance. Most failures in young people weren’t due to a weak core, but because their control failed during movement.

They tried to use abilities with improper breathing, turbulent circulation, or split focus. Flow Regulation seemed like a basic skill that would simplify everything else. It would make stacking skills, transitioning between offense and defense, or shifting from stealth to attack much cleaner and prevent wasted mana.

The problem was the same.

Seven nodes for stability, not for direct power.

He already knew stability could be learned without committing nodes, even though having the full skill structure would help.

Flashstride showed him that circulation was the true skill. His own experience proved that focus controlled mana. The Ember Seed helped more than he thought. Flow Regulation would probably increase that benefit, but at seven nodes, it was still a lot of space.

He moved to the third section.

Core Reserve Seal

Category: Emergency Retention

Nodes: 7

This technique is a form of extreme caution. It lets the user set aside a protected amount of their main mana. This prevents them from accidentally running completely out during heavy use. The reserve can only be used on purpose and doesn’t increase total capacity. It’s essentially "survival insurance."

Ivor understood its importance. Running out of mana in the Scar is deadly. It means slow movement, weak attacks, bad decisions, and losing his mana shield. A sealed reserve stops the worst case: dying to a second enemy after using all his mana on the first.

He knew relying on a safety net was dangerous. If he had a reserve, he might push too hard, assuming he had a hidden backup. This could lead to bad habits and a poor understanding of the true cost of effort. A reserve is helpful but often suggests a fighter who constantly gets into trouble.

Ivor didn’t want to be that fighter. He wanted to be the one who chose when to spend and when to leave.

The scroll explained how to train for skills like optimizing intake, regulating flow, and using the reserve seal. However, it didn’t clearly state the benefits, like how much efficiency or smoothness would improve, or the maximum safe mana to seal. It seemed like a cautious guide written to avoid blame if a trainee messed up from impatience.

That lack of numbers bothered Ivor. He didn’t need certainty, but he preferred clear cost and clear return.

He rolled up the other scroll and put it with the rest. Leaning back against the trunk, he cleared his mind. He wasn’t disappointed. He understood better now. These skills weren’t bad, just not the most important to focus on first.

He mentally calculated his node points.

Before becoming an Initiate, he’d have 23 nodes for skills. His first attuned node was set, and future choices would limit options. Nara’s scrolls were intermediate, mostly starting at seven nodes. Committing to three seven-node skills would use 21 nodes, leaving little flexibility. A nine-node movement skill like Overdrive Frame would use almost half his points alone.

He finally understood why basic skills were popular early on. They used fewer nodes, so they were ready sooner. In a dangerous place like the Scar, being usable sooner was often better than being better later. If you waited for seven nodes to get a powerful skill, you had to survive a long time using only basic abilities

Ivor could survive that way, but it would not be easy. It would also become harder as he moved deeper.

He recalled Nara’s description of the Scar’s levels.

The first was relatively safe. The second had powerful mana fruit and valuable treasures, attracting stronger youths, where mistakes were riskier.

The third level contained a boss almost as strong as a twenty-four-node fighter. Since he was already nearing the midpoint of the first layer with just one mana node, he would probably be in the second layer by the time he reached fourteen nodes.

That made the node choices feel heavier.

He sat still, breathing calmly, considering his options like tools set out before him.

Edge Compression, Shadow Weave, Overdrive Frame, Quiet Field, Vector Shift, the two sensory skills, and the three others. Each skill had a use and a price. The crucial decision was not which one he preferred, but which one would ensure his survival until the next choice.

One conclusion stayed firm no matter how he shifted the pieces.

He needed an attack skill.

In fights, the goal of attack was not aggression, but quickly ending the exchange before it became messy or dangerous.

Edge Compression was perfect for this because it emphasized precision and targeting weak points. It worked well with both a sword and a dagger, teaching control as much as damage. Most importantly, it made him efficient against skeletons and humans without relying on brute force.

He was certain that Edge Compression would be his first real skill.

The next choice was tough. Shadow Weave provided defense and Umbra control, which suited him.

Overdrive Frame gave a quick speed boost that could win fights. Both were tempting but needed many skill nodes. Choosing Edge Compression, Shadow Weave, and one other seven-node skill would use up twenty-one nodes. Edge Compression and Overdrive Frame would use sixteen, but he’d still need to survive to add more. Either way, his options were quickly limited.

He realized he didn’t need to decide his whole future tonight. He just needed to clearly and firmly choose the next step.

Ivor slowly breathed out and neatly stacked the scrolls. He held the Edge Compression scroll on his lap. He felt focused, not excited. He reread the title, the requirement, and the training instructions, making sure he fully absorbed them.

He wasn’t committing nodes yet. He was building the habit first, because the scroll had made that rule clear and the Scar had proven it true.

Circulation preceded motion. Motion was consequence.

If he could compress mana into a clean, stable seam along a blade without flicker, then when the time came to anchor nodes, he would not waste them on sloppy execution.