—
Name: [Zarek Ashborn]
Role: [Hero Candidate]
>[Hero Spirit: Ashborn Demon] (LOCKED)
Profession: [Mnemonic Anato Scribe]
Core Stats:
>[Strength: C] <B+>
>[Dexterity: C] <B+>
>[Intelligence: C] <B+>
>[Endurance: C-] <B+>
>[Charisma: C] <B+>
Talents:
>[Axiograft: D+]
>>[Abilities: Graft]
[Comprehend, Imprint, and Graft]
>[Empty]
>[Empty]
>[Empty]
Skills:
>[C Class Scouting: C+] <C+>
>[B Class Tempting Fate: D+] <B+>
>[A Class Ash Reborn: B+] <A+>
…
Notes:
[—]
—
A week passed in a flash.
Zarek's improvement seemed minimal, but this was the reality of life after the D-Grade. Every step was exponentially more difficult.
While it seemed that his stats hadn't improved, his raw strength was probably around double what it had been just a week ago, by his estimations. And his ability to fight above his weight class had gone up considerably.
That wasn't just because of \\[Ash Reborn], the Skill he had relied on so heavily in three lifetimes, but also because of a few other things.
For one, he had successfully raised the number of tattoos his body could withstand. Before, he could take just one. But now, he could take on three.
As his Endurance improved—because he had elevated his Profession and Talent so much—his ability to take them on would only increase exponentially.
Right now, he was happy with three, though. Because each one came with about ten or so uses, and he could re-up them whenever he got a chance. He could defeat anyone in this challenge with 30 uses.
The only variables came when he would be fighting more than one at a time, and his usual bag of tricks and experience wouldn't work if he wanted to kill an S Class.
He would need something far more powerful for that.
The second thing he did was improve \\[Tempting Fate], the B Class Skill he gained from the Hub, to D Class mastery. It wasn't as good as he wanted it to be just yet, but it was difficult improving a Skill he didn't have much hands-on experience with so quickly.
The fact he had elevated it to D Class so quickly was already a testament to his abilities and understanding of this world. That was especially so since it was a Charisma-type Skill, and his Charisma Growth Potential was probably his worst overall.
Even so, the third thing he had managed to do was raise his Charisma from C- to C, leaving his Endurance as—ironically—one of his only lagging stats.
Though Strength was his best Growth Potential stat, his Endurance wasn't far behind. Zarek definitely found it odd being his weakest right now—especially since it was the stat he needed to grow faster to endure more tattoos.
Then there was the final thing he had done.
Finally, he regained access to Core Harmony.
Even with his fluctuating stats, Axiograft and the sensitivity it gave to his body was much too high. In the end, the weaknesses of his Hero Candidate Title couldn't overwhelm Zarek's relentless pursuit of it.
But what Zarek found was that though he was at the lowest level of Core Harmony right now, it was practically like the third. The difficulty was so much higher that the Harmony he felt with his stats was on a completely different level.
It could be said that rather than his new Skills, or Talent, or Profession, it was his return to the Focus state of Core Harmony that was responsible for the largest leap in his power.
And that wasn't something Zarek expected when he set out to complete it no matter what.
It seemed that there was an unusual synergy between his Role and Core Harmony that he didn't quite understand just yet. But if he somehow managed to progress to the second stage of Core Harmony…
Well, it was safe to say that he was looking forward to it. It was just that it was exponentially more difficult once again.
Regardless, he was prepared.
The three tattoos he decided to keep came down to three Skills: \\[Angel Wing Flash], \\[Sudden Drop], and finally \\[Wind Shield].
Of them all, it was actually \\[Sudden Drop] that was the most curious of them. The other two were far more straightforward.
\\[Sudden Drop] worked by stripping a region of all of its air in a single instant of time, forming a vacuum. That was all it did, and quite frankly, it could very easily become a detriment to the one using it if they weren't careful.
But that was exactly the sort of Skill Zarek liked the most. Double-sided blades were dangerous to use, but when a fine line was walked, they were also the most effective by far. That was something that Zarek couldn't get enough of.
\\[Angel Wing Flash] was the sudden movement method that Zarek had learned first. It allowed him immediate movement to any location within ten meters, and it was nigh teleportation.
It wasn't very far, and there were definitely more limitations to it than true teleportation. For example, it could be interrupted, and there had to be a clear line between Zarek and where he wanted to go—but once again, those were the sorts of variables Zarek was best at dealing with in the middle of combat.
Finally, there was \\[Wind Shield].
It was actually one of the weaker defensive Skills Zarek could have chosen. There were easily dozens of various Skills, and Zarek had chosen these three specifically.
The use of forming a sudden vacuum in battle was extremely useful. The sudden teleportation of \\[Angel Wing Flash] was too useful. But this \\[Wind Shield]… what made it interesting was that it worked with a rotating sort of repulsion.
It didn't just form a solid barrier—it almost parried physical attacks away.
Though it wasn't very useful against Godsfall-laden attacks, Zarek could imagine countless scenarios where it would be of great use.
And with that, he felt that he was prepared.
Finally, Zarek stepped out, half expecting to see the boy-man long gone.
But there he was, still slumped to the floor, staring out into the distance as though living out the last moments of his life.