Atticus whistled.
It was the first time he had ever done such a thing, but this whole situation was just too shocking that he had no choice but to express his amazement.
His punches were explosive, and they were casual punches! Not even close to his full power.
He could also feel that his mind had become sharper and more focused. He could process information more quickly.
Atticus stopped punching the air and focused on himself internally. His mana core had become significantly larger, and his mana pool had also increased. He had access to more mana than before.
Atticus was excited to see how the changes would reflect on his katana arts. More so than that, Atticus's gaze suddenly narrowed and landed on his katana lying next to his clothes.
Now that he was in the Master- rank, he hoped that it would give him enough power to learn the third katana art.
Atticus approached and grabbed his katana, which suddenly started vibrating with intensity. He could immediately feel the katana's emotions—it appeared excited.
'I guess I pass,' Atticus smiled.
He could feel that the katana was calling to him. All he had to do was want to enter the katana's world, and he would be in it. However, Atticus held himself back.
The time in reality and the katana world was different, as he had learned when he attempted to learn the first and second arts.
However, Atticus had his reservations about the whole thing. Cedric, the Ravenstein ancestor, had done something to him back then after he learned his katana's second art. The katana might be broken, who knows.
It most definitely seemed far-fetched, however, Atticus was currently in enemy territory. He couldn't afford to leave his body unprotected.
He had spent more than a month in the chasm already; he only had to spend another before he would have to leave.
'I'll just focus on absorbing mana and learn the art after I leave,'
Having decided his next course of action, Atticus decided to check his status and see his changes.
Character Profile:
------------------------
Name: Atticus Ravenstein
Age: 16
Gender: Male
Race: Human
Attributes:
------------------------
Strength: 401>> 589
Agility: 411>> 607
Endurance: 425>> 619
Vitality: 483>> 634
Intelligence: 59>> 65
Perception: 49>> 54
Charm: 44>> 50
Will: 45>> 49
Level: Expert+ >> Master- New!
Talent: Mythical
Bloodline: Primordial Elemental Bloodline
* Level 3
- Fire: 97.3 %
- Air: 97.1%
- Water: 97.5 %
- Earth: 97%
- Light: 83.4%
-Darkness: 85.3%
-Lightning: 84.5%
-Ice: 83.9%
*Level 2
-Space: 31.6 %
*Level 1
NONE
*Locked Bloodlines -
- PENDING
Abilities:
------------------------
Innate Skills:
* Conceal [Potential: Mythical]
- The ability to conceal your level from anyone regardless of rank. You may choose what level you want to be shown.
- Current mastery: Mythical
Life Weapon Skills:
* Transcendent Slash: Godspeed Grace
* Endless Strike
Normal Skills:
* Arcane Barrier [Potential: Transcendent]
- Current Mastery: Expert+ >> Master-
* Elemental Mimicry [Potential: Transcendent]
-Current mastery: Expert+
*Ethereal Cloak [Potential: Empowered]
-Current mastery: Expert-
Atticus was speechless. The changes were exponentially large!
'They are even more than that time,'
He could remember the intense buff the exo suit had given him when he first wore it—his stats had been in the 400s! But now they had entered the 600s! It was crazy. His Arcane Barrier art had also ranked up along with his other abilities.
'The pure mana in the air might have played a role.'
Atticus was beyond excited. He was progressing at a very fast pace. Only two months had passed since he left the academy, and he had progressed so much. Truly, the academy was dampening his progress.
'I miss them though,'
But he couldn't ignore the fact that his friends and family were there. Thinking about them made Atticus feel a slight sadness. But he quickly recovered.
'Let's put this power to the test,'
Now that he had advanced to the Master- rank, Atticus was confident that he would be able to handle that water beast roaming in the river.
Before that, he put on his clothes and quickly ate the rest of his food. Although he had just advanced and his body was brimming with energy, Atticus still felt a slight fatigue.
After eating, Atticus performed some slight and major movements to make sure he got used to his newfound strength.
Then, he dived into the water and left the cavern.
Atticus didn't use a shred of the water element to move, however, his movements were explosive!
Every slight contraction of his muscles would cause him to shoot through the water with speed. He could feel that his senses had gotten sharper, his hearing had improved to such a level that he could hear the forest sounds from underwater.
Atticus didn't even make any attempts to be subtle. He swam loudly through the water, making sure the beast could hear him loud and clear.
Soon enough, his wish came true. Atticus sensed multiple tendrils coming at him from different angles.
His gaze flashed, an intense grin appeared on his face. The speed at which each tendril shot toward him was hard to measure. He couldn't imagine himself reacting if it had been his old self. But he wasn't his old self.
Atticus's next movements were unreal. His hands moved like a blur, as though the usual viscosity of the water that slowed down movements didn't exist.
His body abruptly swirled and grabbed each tendril with lightning speed.
With intense power, Atticus pulled with all his might, the ginormous figure of a beast coming into view.
It had a perfectly circular torso dotted with numerous large yellow eyes that constantly moved around rapidly. A wide and large mouth was at the middle of its torso, and a staggering number of tendrils stretched out from behind the creature.
Atticus smiled and let go of the tendrils, but the beast had already been angered.
The beast opened its mouth and let out an intense scream that made the water vibrate and the earth tremble.
However, Atticus appeared completely unaffected.
His body suddenly leaned forward towards the beast and shot forward in the next instant. A large shockwave that caused a water burst at the surface ensued, and Atticus crossed the distance between him and the beast before the latter could react.
His hand erupted forward in a torrent of short bursts, striking the beast with intense power.
The beast screamed and tried to retaliate, the water around it came under its control and wrapped around each of its tendrils before whipping towards Atticus.
However, his movement underwater was surprisingly swift and fast, his senses sharp. It was as though he could see right through the beast before it even moved.
The inevitable happened, the beast ending up dead after a few minutes.
'It's even stronger than I thought,'
Atticus clenched his fist a few times. Then he reached out and grabbed a tendril of the sinking beast. Just as he was about to swim back to his cavern, Atticus abruptly paused, his gaze snapping upwards.
'Hm?'
Numerous thoughts flashed through his head, but eventually, Atticus finally decided on one that shocked even him.
He let go of the beast and shot upwards, reaching the surface in under a second.
In the next second, a voice, calm but commanding echoed,
"Human, the Sovereign wishes to see you. Refusal is not an option."