—
[Profession {Mnemonic Anato Scribe} has shown great progress]
-
>[Mnemonic Anato Scribe: F+]
…
>[Mnemonic Anato Scribe: E+]
…
>[Mnemonic Anato Scribe: D+]
—
The accelerated progression was like watching a rocket shoot to the moon.
Zarek was using three lifetimes' worth of experience and distilling it into a Matrix. He was only focused on a single Skill, one that he knew like the back of his hand, and he was forcing Mnemonic Anato Scribe to keep up.
Something told Zarek that even a normal S Class Profession wouldn't be able to do this even with all the stacked benefits. But he couldn't focus on what was so special about this Unranked Profession right now…
That was because, as expected, Mnemonic Anato Scribe's progress was slowly dragging Axiograft up along with it.
—
[Talent {Axiograft} has shown great progress]
-
>[Axiograft: E-]
-
>[Axiograft: E]
-
>[Axiograft: E+]
—
It was far slower, and by a large margin at that; however, this was already what Zarek expected to happen.
Beads of sweat were falling from his brow, veins popping along his forehead as he forced himself to concentrate.
His Charisma was already at C- now, having broken through from a perfect twice-limit-broken state, but it was already running to the end of its abilities.
Zarek was distilling what was effectively S Class comprehensions through C Class Charisma. That was a recipe for its own disaster.
But Zarek forced himself through nonetheless. In fact, he flicked a finger on his free hand, sending the bead of concentrated Godsfall Droplets into his mouth. Then, he circulated \\[Limit Break] and \\[Tearing Gut] at the same time.
BOOM!
An eruption shook his stomach, but Zarek was only growing more focused, more intent, his mind sharp and his thoughts unhurried. He had a calmness to him that stood beyond anyone his age. And that was because he was far older than anyone knew.
Three lifetimes he had been through. So much heartache, so much pain.
To him, Thalion staying here to train in seclusion was a foolish decision because he was lacking in too much experience.
But he was Zarek Ashborn. He was far from the same.
'Come on.'
Zarek's wrist trembled, every stroke feeling like it carried the weight of the world with it. But he was confident nonetheless. He knew his Path like the back of his hand, and though he was only trying to convey the simplest pillar of it all, it was a push that could raise his new Profession and Talent to untold levels.
This synergy between his Talents… honestly, Zarek hadn't thought he would get them so soon.
The reason he had thought of using Axiograft like this so quickly was because this was his idea from the very start.
Every one of his enemies was wondering why the Ashborn Demon, known for his physical prowess, was suddenly focusing on something that was so heavily Charisma- and Intelligence-based… not realizing that from the very start, he was building himself toward becoming a monster.
His goal from the beginning was to make certain that Temp Duplicate and Harmonic Recall could be used on organic matter, then turn it on himself to rebirth everything he had lost from his previous lives.
But Axiograft did it far better than he could have ever imagined, and far quicker than he had expected as well.
Maybe, just maybe…
The system was right to hate him.
Zarek grinned.
BANG!
An explosion shook Zarek's mind.
—
[Charisma has shown great progress]
—
>[Charisma: C-]
-
>[Charisma: C]
—
Zarek felt something shift within him again. He flickered a glance toward his status screen only to see that his Charisma Growth Potential had shot up to A Class. And it stayed there.
'No way…'
It felt like every moment was coming with another shock to Zarek. Axiograft wasn't just taking Skills, Talents, and Roles from his past lives, it was taking his Growth Potentials as well.
Zarek had never even had A Class Charisma before. His best, in his very first life, was B+. On top of that, there were none of Marx's people who had A Class Charisma—Marx's was S Class.
Did this mean that it was combining his Potentials from his previous lives? But what about his Hero Candidate Role? Was all of this happening because the two were clashing and fighting for control over his body?
A Skill was beneath a Talent, and a Talent was beneath a Role. How powerful was his Talent that, despite this truth, it was overwhelming his Role?
SHUUUU!
Zarek's hand trembled as he finished the last of his strokes. His Charisma Growth Potential fell back down to B Class and he swayed on his feet, almost collapsing to the ground.
However…
—
[Profession {Mnemonic Anato Scribe} has shown great progress]
-
>[Mnemonic Anato Scribe: D+]
…
>[Mnemonic Anato Scribe: C+]
…
>[Mnemonic Anato Scribe: B+]
—
[Talent {Axiograft} has shown great progress]
-
>[Axiograft: E+]
-
>[Axiograft: D-]
-
>[Axiograft: D]
-
>[Axiograft: D+]
—
Zarek collapsed, heaving for breath. Every inhale came with a large amount of air filling his lungs to the very brim. The booming in his gut also came to a slow stop.
He knew that this was as far as he could go for now. A Class was a huge leap.
However… he bet that tomorrow he might be able to forcefully raise Axiograft up just a little bit more.
He would stay here for a while, rest, recover, eat.
Then, when he was ready, he would go and seek out the place on his map. He had a feeling that more than one person would be interested in it. He didn't believe that there was such a hidden place here that those so-called Demons wouldn't know about.
But even huffing for breath, Zarek was smiling ear to ear.
He had thought that his six-month promise would be tough to keep. It seemed that… he had been thinking too much.
Maybe he should thank Thalion for being such a busybody.
What Zarek didn't know, though, was that as he was laying there, he wasn't the only one improving.
A certain couple he had all but forgotten about was standing in front of something peculiar, staring at a Skill that Zarek had been interested in from the very start.
It was just that Zarek couldn't have guessed that that Skill had actually come from here.
**
[Learn Skill {Ironbound Compulsion}?]
[Yes][No]