『Ding! Congratulations. You have killed the Snow Wolf Leader. You’ve completed the “Avenge the Dead” Quest!』
『Ding! Congratulations, all three rewards for completing the quest are rewarded to you!』
『You gained 1000 Experience Points.』
『You acquired the first and second pages of the Manual of Shadow. 』
『You earned the Snow Wolf Leader Slayer Title.』
Roy saw his experience points surging to 1200 points and smiled with his eyes.
“Holy… fuck! I had to kill 35 or so snow wolves for that much EXP, but just completing one quest has given me that much. This comes as a… as a shocking surprise to me! Questing is really profitable!”
Roy felt elated. Why wouldn’t he when he had earned so much EXP in so little time?
『You’ve reached the 10th level of the Body Tempering Stage. This level is recognized as the peak of the first stage by the inhabitants of the Far West. With a 100% chance, you can advance to the next stage if you use 30000 EXn awakening stone or undergo baptism on an awakening platform, but you can level up to the next stage of body tempering to increase your World Energy Sensitivity beyond 70%.』
“Holy… cow!”
Just like Roy expected, it wouldn’t be easy for him to advance to the Weapon Master Stage.
He didn’t have access to an awakening stone or the awakening platform. The Royal Family had a monopoly over the first one. Even if he were willing to use all his wealth, he wouldn’t get it. The only way to obtain it was to play by the Royal Family’s rule.
The Weapon Master stage was a stage many yearned to reach but failed to in their entire lifetime.
The chance of reaching this stage was very little.
The lower one’s sensitivity to the energy of the world, the lesser the chance that they would advance to the Weapon Master Stage from the Body Tempering stage.
If they failed to advance, it would become harder for them to advance as not only would they find it harder to sense the world’s energy, but they will also be injured.
‘I don’t have to worry about all that. I am pretty sensitive to the energy of the world. The chance of me successfully reaching the next stage is 70%, nearly two times higher than the chance of failing to breakthrough and being stuck in the first stage. Furthermore, I can increase my success rate to 100% using the system.’
‘I just need to level up….’
Roy moved his gaze, concentrated it on the EXP bar, and willed himself to level up.
Immediately, the system’s message appeared in his vision.
『Would you like to advance to the 11th Level of the Body Tempering Stage?』
『It’ll cost you 1100 EXP.』
Honestly, even if his sensitivity to the energy of the world increased by 1%, he wouldn’t regret it.
Why?
The higher one’s World Energy Sensitivity, the faster they can absorb the energy of the world from their surrounding, refine it into Aura, and channel this Aura into their normal moves to transform them into something supernatural. It just didn’t increase the chance of advancing to the next stage!
“Level up…”
『Ding! Congratulations on advancing to the forgotten eleventh level of Body Tempering.』
A torrent of warm energy entered Roy’s body. He felt like a toddler who was hugged by a gentle mother. He only got to experience this feeling for three seconds. But in this short amount of time, he had undergone tremendous changes.
『Your Stamina, Agility, and Strength have improved 』
『Your strength stat has increased to 50 points.』
『Your strength has reached the peak of first grade.』
『You won’t be able to increase it any longer until you reach the second stage.』
『Your World Energy Sensitivity has increased to 80%』
『There has been a significant change in the requirements to advance to the next stage. The experience points have decreased to 2000.』
‘A total of 10% increase. It’s far more than he thought. Wait, doesn’t that mean my World Energy Sensitivity will be at 100% if I level up twice while remaining in the Body Tempering stage. A 100% World Energy Sensitivity… that’s equal to the Great Sun Emperor!’
His gaze of interest was carried to the other reward, and his eyes widened.
The Snow Wolf Leader Slayer Title didn’t increase his stats, but it increased the damage he would deal to snow wolves by 30% and any mammal below Level 11 by 10%.
On top of all that, it granted him the fear skill. He could use it on any monster to frighten them to a standstill for half a second to 3 seconds. The duration depended on the willpower and level of the monster. For example, it could fail if used against a courageous monster higher level than Roy. But it would be extremely effective on a cowardly monster below Roy’s level.
This title was too good.
Roy immediately equipped it.
『Ding! You can only equip one title at a time. Do you want to take off the Young Lord of Cruelty Title and equip the Snow Wolf Leader Slayer Title?』
“Ah, shit!”
The Young Lord of Cruelty Title increased his basic stats by 1 point.
Its color wasn’t as vibrant as the bright violet color of the other title, and although It was good, it wasn’t as good as the Snow Wolf Leader Slayer Title.
Roy quickly made up his mind and decided to go for the greater good.
“Do it!”
『Ding! You’ve taken off the Young Lord of Cruelty Title. All your basic stats decreased by one.』
『Ding! You have equipped the Snow Wolf Leader Slayer Title. You gained the Intimidation Skill. For it to work, you need Aura. All the damage you would do against mammals will be increased by 10%. All the damage you would deal to snow wolves will be increased by 30%』
Nothing comes for free; Roy thought so after realizing he needed Aura to use Intimidation.
Roy was silent for a moment. ‘My Aura Gate has fully opened, and I’ve gained access to my inner world. All the Aura inside was used up to nourish and strengthen my body, causing it to go barren. So I don’t have any Aura left in my body. But… I have a way… a way to fill up the barren land with Aura!’
Roy turned to the last reward.
The first part of the Manual of Shadow, which was made up of only two pages, was a technique for sensing and absorbing World Energy, refining it into Aura, and channeling it into attacks.
It was the thing Roy was lacking the most.
『Would you like to learn it? It will cost two SP.』
Roy had gained ten skill points so far by leveling up 11 times, but he hadn’t used a single one as he had normal skills, and he didn’t want to waste his precious points on them.
But the Manual of Shadow was a technique he wouldn’t regret using Skill points to learn.
“Yes.” Roy immediately said.
『Ding! Congratulations. You’ve learned the first part of the Manual of Shadow in exchange for 2 Skill points.』
A lot of information drilled into his mind. He closed his eyes, absorbing them.
『You’ve learned the forms and mindset necessary to sense the world’s energy.』
『You’ve learned the world’s energy absorption breathing method.』
『You’ve learned how to refine the world’s energy into your Aura and store it in your inner world.』
『You’ve learned the way to channel Aura out of your inner world and into your attack.』