Simple skills are Minor Skills; the push and pull. Any gravity wielder, C or SSS rank, can do them with ease.
Standard Skills are a bit more complex. Levitation, Floating, In-circulation, etc. are Standard Skills. They usually require a few Minor Skills to fully realize.
Of course, Minor Skills like Push or Pull can be trained to a limit where they become Standard Skills.
Major Skills are more complex, like levitating a stone, then riding it toward a destination. Also, shaping a rough stone into a drill and shooting it. These are Major Skills.
Elias's Talent was OP, but because his Mastery hadn't even reached Standard, he was facing problems. His outrage had shown him that he was more than a match for a Rank 1 Calamity Beast, but could he truly beat it now?
The answer is no. Fighting is not just about power but the experience of using that power.
Brand Skills are a different breed; they make one a genuine Master of their Rank. In the world now, no one will take any awakened seriously if they don't have Brand Skills—unless, of course, they can fart black holes.
Brand Skills are skills that one pushed their mastery to the limit until they saw it align with their Talent. Everyone has this sub-view of what they have; for Elias, it was like this:
___
SSS Rank Potential
Talent: Black Hole
___
A Brand Skill will appear beneath the Black Hole.
Brand Skills are extra arms and legs; they are extra organs that one can just spam until they are out of Talent Energy or stamina.
Brand Skills affect one's Talent Rank. C-Rank Talent can only have a maximum of 5 Brand Skills at Rank 1, 2, and 3. The moment they manage to reach Rank 4, they will have an additional slot, and at Rank 5, there is a hypothetical theory that their Talent will shift to B or even A.
As of now, the highest Rank a C-rank Talent reached was Rank 4, which was a very influential former president of Nine Leaf Clover Country.
B-rank can have a maximum of 7 Brand Skills, A-Rank a maximum of 10 Brand Skills, and S-rank seemingly has no limit.
However, Brand Skills have weight, and that weight affects S-rank more than SS-rank.
"Basic Push and Pull are a must. Let's move them to Standard Strong Mastery," Elias said.
From now on, he will focus on them.
Minor to Brand Skill represents the complexity of the skill and some mastery. But what truly represents Skill Mastery are: Weak Mastery, Standard Mastery, Strong Mastery, Complete Mastery, Great Mastery, Grand Mastery
Having Complete Mastery over a Skill lands you with a Brand Skill.
This mastery does not represent absolute power output of a skill but of control and how one employs the skill in chaotic situations.
***
Days flew by like a fly. In a tight black uniform, knee-length shirt with a belt at the waist that held both the trousers and shirt in place, then black shoes and a flat umbrella hat with a veil attached to their jacket.
It took Elias gruesome minutes trying to wear them, and he still dreaded removing them.
His left hand could now clench things but was not that effective on heavy objects. Using a bracer, the hand was tied tight to his body to prevent dangling.
"I have become a cripple. Sigh!"
His other stump was normal; he needed it free to pick himself up, scratch places that needed scratching and to make himself feel in control.
"Sigh. After this mission, I will go home... damn it. I don't want my mother to see me like this!" Elias sat with a downcast look.
"Elias, we are getting late!" Sasha's caring voice came to him.
She too wore the same black uniform and the flat umbrella hat. There was an extra bag on her back filled with stuff, another bag around her shoulder dangling on her hip, filled to the brim with other resources.
On her hand was a stack of papers, more like a Formal Written Request to explore the ruins with clear detailed explanations of places she needed to go and things she needed to obtain.
"This is a badge you will be using. Don't drop it and don't give it to anyone. They will know it isn't yours, and that is a capital offense."
She slid it into his jacket pocket and sealed it with a zip.
Elias nodded in understanding.
"Sit, I need to feed you... I can't wait for you struggling to feed yourself. We are late; we need to be first into the ruins because the new place that's opening is filled with untouched relics I want us to have, along with my surprise for you."
Elias couldn't help but say, "You are very kind."
"Hmm. Ha, open your mouth!" A spoon filled with food, she shoved it gently at him; embarrassed, but he opened his mouth.
"I feel like you know Elias Grimhammer. You might even be part of that family or you are from Worldbender."
"Ah, so you want to get payment from the big family!" Elias asked after swallowing.
"Who doesn't want payment and connection with big powers?"
"What if I'm not connected with them and I'm poor?" he asked.
She stared at him, then she smiled, embarrassed. "Then you can take jobs. We have to register you first, know your background, talent, and potential."
She was ready to accept him staying here. "You know, we never lack jobs here. And with gravity, ha! You are a wanted man. So many jobs that would suit you. Well, maybe the government will take you. Too valuable."
She talked, and her hand never stopped feeding him. Elias was feeling awkward, but it was like she had done this a thousand times.
This kind of help was second nature to her.
"Your brother is reckless. If I were him I wouldn't leave my baby sister with a stranger," Elias said.
"Hehe. I'm strong, and in this house, I wouldn't fear even a Rank 2 Hunter."
"Hmm!" Elias realized she was right. "How did you master your talent pretty fast?"
"Thunderspark Family secret!" she said.
***
Elias's mind was blown away when he walked the streets of Gravel Stone City. There were a few occasional normal tech items like cars and bikes, but the rest were all stone-made.
True to what Sasha said, a lot of people are wearing stone prosthetics serving as legs or hands; one person was bragging that he sold his wrist to get a fashionable stone hand.
The street was layered with asphalt gravel road; the buildings were a mix of gravel stone and iron, silver, and copper.
Elias passed a skyscraper made of stone floating atop a stone, held by nothing between them.
"Holy... Is that a stone ship?"
"Yeah… Let's go!" Having nothing to grab, she held his black jacket and pulled him over.
"Does it have some gravity holding it, or what? That's what Six Leaf Clover uses!"
"There is a gem called Anti-gravity Gem. When used, stone will move up. Another gem will make it glide!"
"Amazing."
"But those gems in particular are hard to find, if depleted they break. Can't recharge or reuse."
"They must be expensive."
"Exactly. My brother's goal is to find some, and I'm helping him with that!"
They arrived at a 100m stone mountain; coming close, it opened, and they walked inside and they both came to a sudden halt, hearts skipped beating.
'Why is he here?' Sasha trembled.