Shadow Step was a Common tier movement technique. It had the ability of allowing the user to be able to suddenly burst in speed for a distance of 2 meters.
But more than that, it enhanced body balance and evasion through improved muscle control and footwork. As for the speed, even though it increased the speed of the user, it was not by a huge margin, unless the burst was used.
But each and every time that the burst was used, it could not be used again in a short time. It required at least 1 minute of cool down in order to use it again.
Bob had decided to purchase this skill because he thought, if he advanced this skill to the Epic tier, not only would this increase his combat strength, but in case he faced danger that he could not handle, he could always run away.
While he was not planning to venture out of the stronghold any time soon, nobody could tell the future. So, it was better for him to be prepared, considering that even within the stronghold, sometimes, demons would managed to sneak in.
It was just that Bob did not understand how those demons managed to sneak into the stronghold. Considering that there was a barrier that was capable of isolating the grey mist that was outside at the stronghold, and there was such tight security at the gate, so, how did they really make it in?
But this question did not have any answers, so Bob did not linger much on this topic. Instead, he immediately began with the upgrades.
To upgrade this technique to the Uncommon tier, Bob had to spend 40 skill points. But even then, with an infinite number, the cost was completely ignored.
Shadow Drift was the Uncommon tier technique that emerged. This enhanced reflexes. Additionally, it allowed the user to be able to dash at a high speed and cover 5 meters within a very short time.
But more than that, it had the special effect of creating afterimages. These afterimages were not created due to the speed, but instead, due to the effect of the skill. They were more like an illusion.
The next upgrade was Flicker Movement. This Rare tier technique had the ability of creating a visual distortion, leading to a delay in visual tracking.
This implied that if Bob used this technique in front of someone who was intending to attack him from a long range, they would end up shooting a position that he had passed by, not where he had reached. This was a very good effect.
More than that, this skill had the ability of reducing vibration and footprint marks created on dust or mud when moving. It also allowed slight change in directions during the movement.
Completely different from the two previous techniques, this one allowed one to be able to move at a high speed in a single direction. But the energy consumption was extremely high and it could not be maintained for a long time.
And unlike the other two, which during burst speed, someone could not change the direction, this one allowed it. While the flexibility of changing the direction was quite low, but at least it allowed it.
The final upgrade was Rift Trace. The energy consumption was reduced for this. Additionally, within 100 meters, this distance could be covered within almost an instant. Additionally, there was full directional control during the use of this technique.
But that was not what actually caught Bob's attention. What caught Bob's attention was the fact that when using this technique, he could actually phase through attacks. It was not that he could do that for all attacks, but it allowed him to be able to dodge attacks that were from an opponent two levels above him.
This time, it was not power level, but the level within the same rank. Currently, Bob was a level 4 commander. That implied that he could actually use this technique in order to be able to phase through the attacks of a level 6 commander and below.
This was something that made this technique overpowered. Bob could not help but wonder, what other functions would this technique possess later on with future upgrades?
Just thinking about this made him excited. With this technique, he had gotten another means of dealing with enemies. In the situation where he was attacked and had little time to react, he could just use this technique, allowing the attack to pass through him.
And in case he had to deal with the opponent as fast as possible, he could ignore the attack from the opponent, easily closing in the gap between them and dealing with the opening as fast as possible. To say the least, Bob was satisfied with this technique.
And finally, Bob shifted his attention to the final skill that he had acquired. Mirage. This was a skill that allowed one to be able to create a single illusory clone that mimicked the last movements of the user.
Well, it was something like a loop, and this illusory clone would do the same movements that Bob would have done 5 seconds ago, before the skill activation. And after 5 seconds elapsed, the clone would also dissipate.
This clone did not have physical or magical impact on an enemy. That implied that it could not be used in attacking. But if it was attacked before the 5 seconds elapsed, it would also dissipate.
It was clear that this was a good skill to be used as a bait or a substitute in order to escape. It was just that the duration for this skill was quite low, not allowing for greater maneuvering.
To upgrade to the Uncommon tier, 34 skill points were required. The upgrade led to the Uncommon tier technique Walking shade.
Just like mirage, this skill allowed for the production of a single illusory clone. This clone was capable of doing some independent movement and actions that were different from the main body.
More than that, this illusory clone could follow the commands from the main body, and it could last for 20 seconds. Of course, to produce this clone, a certain amount of energy was required for the production, and there was a cool down as well. The cool down was 2 minutes.
Regardless, this was way more advanced than Mirage. If it was to be used as bait or for confusion, it was definitely better. After all, it could do many things, and by following the commands, it could easily create an impression that was required.
Unfortunately, since this was something illusory, it was impossible for it to be able to speak. And, it did not possess any combat strength.
The next upgrade was called Spirit Double. Yet again, this was just an illusion that was created. But the difference was the fact that it could actually make contact once.
This implied that it could be used to attack once, or it could even block an attack. It could last for an entire minute as long as it was not attacked or did not use the energy that it possessed to attack.
As for the combat strength that it possessed, it was only 10% of the original body. And, it can only exist within the range of 100 meters from the main body. So, it was impossible to use it in order to attack someone from a long distance, at least longer than 100 meters.
If the distance between the main body and this illusory clone exceeded 100 meters, then the clone would end up dissipating. And for this, there was actually no cool down to create the clone. Instead, it only depended on the amount of energy that a person had.
The only other limitation for this skill was that, it could only produce a single illusory clone at a time. Otherwise, with many illusory clones that could launch an attack that possessed 10% combat strength of the main body, they could definitely do a lot of damage.
Bob continued with the final upgrade, which led to the production of Echo Wraith. This skill at the Epic tier was capable of creating a clone that had a physical body.
This clone could last for 24 hours, and only two clones can be produced at a time, and after 24 hours, they will automatically dissipate.
The clones possessed a physical body just like humans, and they could actually bleed. It was just that they only possessed a power level one realm below the original body.
Unfortunately, they did not possess intelligence of their own, and could only react instinctively in case they were attacked. Simply put, they only knew self-defense unless they were controlled by the main body.
But that was not the big thing here. The main thing was the fact that the main body and the clone could switch places at most once. What did this imply? If Bob was facing danger, and he could not deal with it, he could simply replace his body with the clone.
The way that the swapping happened was not something that could be detected by anyone. That was unless they possessed some observational skills or techniques that were in the tier above the Epic tier.
There was yet another function, and that was, other than just issuing commands which would be mechanically followed by the clone, the main body could also take control of this clone. This could happen at any time, as long as the clone existed.
It was just that the power level of the clone would not change even if the main body took over. And during the time that the main body would take over control of the clone, the consciousness would be divided into two.
That implied that he could control two bodies at the same time, but he could only focus on a single body. This implied that if he was controlling a clone, he would not be able to effectively use his own body.
But this was already more than what he wanted. When he selected the cloning skill, he had already thought about where he was going to use it.
But that was something that was going to happen the following day. For the time being, Bob decided to focus on increasing his own strength first.