Leon quickly checked the new items resting in his inventory the moment the [Legendary Treasure Chest] finished opening.
His heart was still beating faster than normal. Even now, it felt unreal.
Without wasting time, he first pulled out the three [Howler Wolf Essences] he had been saving.
Those monsters were the very reason he had managed to reach level 10 in the first place, and there was no reason to hold back anymore.
Leon consumed all three of them one after another.
A familiar warmth spread through his body as the energy dissolved into him, reinforcing his stats and stabilizing his growth. Compared to everything else he was about to deal with, this part felt routine.
Once that was done, Leon finally turned his attention to the true prize. The chest items.
And the moment he looked at the list, his eyes widened.
There were far more items than he had ever seen come out of a single chest before.
[Gold Shield (Legendary): +500 Defense, 250 Constitution. Forms a protectiove armor outside the body, able to withstand some attacks. Requirement: 300 Constitution and Level 10.]
[Sub-Talent Scroll: Strength Enhancement (F-Level).]
[Skill Stones x10]
[Enhancement Stones x10]
[Silk Belt (Epic): +250 Defense, +100 Constitution, +150 Agility. Requirement: Level 10.]
[Healing Potion x3: May fully heal injuries.]
[Vine Bow (Legendary): +500 Attack, +300 Strength, +250 Agility. Has a chance to fire "Vine Arrows" that can restrict enemies. Requirement: At least one archer-type skill and Level 10.]
[Divine Elven Essence (Legendary): A rare essence left by high elves, consuming will increase all attributes by 100 and enhance bloodline.]
[Intermediate All-Attributes Pill: Increases all attributes by 50.]
"...DAMN!"
The word slipped out before Leon could stop himself.
In his past life, he had opened plenty of treasure chests. Some were good. Some were disappointing. A few were memorable.
But never had he seen something like this.
This wasn’t just generous. It was absurd.
Usually, the rank of a chest didn’t only affect the quality of the items inside. It also influenced how many items you could get in the first place. Treasure chests followed strict rules.
At minimum, a chest would always give one or two items. That part was guaranteed.
Everything beyond that depended on luck.
The higher the rank, the higher the odds of additional drops, but even then, it was rare to see more than four or five items at once.
Legendary chests were different.
They didn’t just improve quality. They increased guaranteed rewards too.
That was why they were so coveted. And also why they were so rare.
Leon slowly exhaled, forcing himself to calm down. Getting excited wouldn’t help him organize this mess.
He began sorting the items in his mind, separating what he needed immediately from what could wait.
First priority: anything consumable, that could strengthen him right now.
That narrowed it down to two items.
The [Divine Elven Essence]. And the [Intermediate All-Attributes Pill].
Leon paused for a brief moment, his thoughts drifting to a familiar face: Emilia.
The elf he had saved earlier, back when she had been poisoned in that cave.
If she were here... what would she think about this?
High elves weren’t just a myth or a title in [Eternal Ascension]. They were an actual race, with pride, history, and power behind them.
What would they think if they saw a human casually drinking something derived from them?
"Hm..."
Leon shook his head. That wasn’t his problem right now.
Strength was strength. He picked up the [Intermediate All-Attributes Pill] first.
Without hesitation, he swallowed it.
Ding!
[You have consumed the "Intermediate All-Attributes Pill" and all your attributes have increased by 50.]
The change was immediate but subtle. His body felt more balanced, more stable, like everything had shifted into better alignment.
Satisfied, Leon reached for the second item. The [Divine Elven Essence].
It came in a small bottle, no bigger than his thumb. The liquid inside shimmered with a soft golden glow, almost alive.
Just looking at it made his instincts stir.
Leon didn’t hesitate. He drank it. The effect was instant.
Power surged through his veins like a tidal wave. His senses sharpened, his body hummed, and for a brief moment it felt like his entire being was being washed clean from the inside out.
"Wow..."
He had never experienced anything like this. It was... incredible.
Ding!
[Your bloodline bas been purified by 1% by the Divine Elven Essence, all your attributes have increased by 100 as a result.]
[You have absorbed a trace of Elven Power, but the concentration is too low to inherit any skills.]
"Huh."
Leon blinked. That last message caught his attention.
Absorbed a trace of Elven Power? Too low to inherit any skills?
His mind immediately started working.
Did that mean if he obtained more of these... he could actually gain elven-related abilities?
The thought alone made his heart beat faster.
The [Divine Elven Essence] was probably one of those absurdly rare items, the kind with a drop rate so low most players would never even see it mentioned.
A 0.001% chance, maybe even lower. No wonder it was so powerful.
Leon forced himself to move on before he got lost in speculation.
Next came the sub-talent scroll.
He attempted to fuse the [Strength Enhancement] scroll with the sub-talent he already possessed.
Beep!
[Fusion failed.]
"...Damn."
Leon sighed, but he wasn’t too bothered.
Failure was always a possibility with these things. At least his existing sub-talent hadn’t degraded.
That alone was a win.
With consumables out of the way, Leon moved on to equipment.
He equipped the [Silk Belt (Epic)] first.
The moment it settled around his waist, he felt lighter and sturdier at the same time. His movements became smoother, more controlled.
Then he equipped the [Wild Forest Sword (Epic)].
The familiar weight of the blade rested comfortably in his hand, perfectly balanced.
Finally, Leon pulled out the [Crescent Slash] skill book.
He poured mana into it, letting the knowledge flow directly into his mind.
Ding!
[You have learned "Crescent Slash"]
[Crescent Slash (Epic-Tier Level 1): Charge your power into your sword before slashing forward, releasing a powerful crescent slash.]
"Nice."
Leon smiled.
He really wanted to test it immediately, to feel how it differed from his other attacks.
But when he checked the timer, he stopped himself. Only two minutes left before teleportation.
There wasn’t enough time to experiment.
As for the [Gold Shield (Legendary)] and the [Vine Bow (Legendary)], Leon already had people in mind: Aaron and Eleonore.
Both items suited them perfectly. Still, he didn’t give them away. Not yet.
These items were valuable, far too valuable to hand over without thought.
And even if he did, neither of them met the requirements yet.
’I could also sell them to the other races...’ Leon thought. ’I’ll be meeting them soon.’
That option stayed in the back of his mind.
With equipment handled, Leon moved on to the last part of his preparation: the stones.
[Skill Stones x24]
[Enhancement Stones x21]
Seeing those numbers alone was enough to lift his mood.
With this many, he could make real progress.
He quickly decided how to use the skill stones.
Ding!
[You have upgraded "Appraisal (Level 3)" to "Appraisal (Level 4)"]
[You have upgraded "Strong Fireball (Level 5)" to "Powerful Fireball (Level 6)"]
[You have upgraded "Lightning Strike (Level 2)" to "Lightning Strike (Level 3)"]
[You have upgraded "Crescent Slash (Level 1)" to "Crescent Slash (Level 2)"]
Four upgrades. Every single skill stone was gone.
Leon let out a slow breath. It was worth it. Especially his fireball.
It had changed names again. That alone showed how much stronger it had become.
Leon quickly checked the updated descriptions. Only two of them had changed.
[Appraisal (Level 4): Can be used to appraise monsters, item information, terrains, special materials and ores.]
For blacksmiths or alchemists, this ability would be priceless, especially this early in the game.
But Leon didn’t care much about that. For him, Appraisal was a tool.
And he wanted it strong enough to reveal more information than it normally should. That was the real value.
Next came his fireball.
[Powerful Fireball (Level 6): Focus your Spirit and condense it into a powerful fireball that hits several targets in a wide radius, and that has a good chance to "burn" them.]
"Hm."
The radius had increased. The power too.
Leon nodded, satisfied.
Then—
Beep!
[Warning: One minute remaining before teleportation to the "Novice Divine Temple".]
"Shit," Leon muttered. "Gotta be quick."
He immediately turned his attention to his remaining items, fingers flying as he prepared to use his [Enhancement Stones] before time ran out.