Swirling masses of crimson fog and arcs of energy formed around Zarek. It wasn't the sort of sight that one would see when breaking into E Warrior, but honestly, most breakthroughs weren't so violent at the start to begin with.
However, because Zarek was triggering [Tearing Gut], [Godsfall Eclipse Resonance], and [Limit Break] all at the same time, the sheer amount of Godsfall that he was controlling was enough to put most D Warriors to shame.
That was skill that came from experience.
As low as his tolerance levels were now, the muscle memory from years of circulating Godsfall was still very much there.
And this time, his breakthrough wasn't interrupted. It was as smooth as butter…
Other than the pain, of course.
He sensed it the moment his Dexterity managed to break into FF, and he couldn't help the wide grin that spread over his face.
When he first started, his intention was only to ensure that his Strength and Endurance successfully Limit broke. The issue with hoping for the others to do the same was that their Growth Potential was far too limited.
However… under certain special conditions, that could be changed.
When he pushed his Strength to FFF, his Growth Potential had progressed from A- to A. But that was also because he was teetering on the edge of A to begin with. Strength had always been his very best stat.
But by comparison, pushing his Charisma to FFF had done nothing to improve his Growth Potential.
Until now.
—
Name: [Zarek Ashford]
Role: [N/A]
Core Stats:
>[Strength: E-] <A>
>[Dexterity: E-] <B>
>[Intelligence: E-] <C>
>[Endurance: E-] <B+>
>[Charisma: E-] <B->
Talents:
>[Temp Duplicate: F] <B->
[Abilities: Mirror]
[The world's matter can be mirrored by you, but you are not God. Their connections are lacking and their structures are weak. Replicating weight and size if very much possible, but if you think this will be enough to match durability, you will be sorely mistaken]
>[Harmonic Recall: F-] <B+>
[Abilities: Echo]
[The echoes of the past speak to you. Replay the previous state of an item, see through its history and what it has been through. Only functions on inorganic materials, and the Recall time is limited]
>[Empty]
Skills:
>[C Class Scouting: C+] <C+>
—
On the surface, he looked like any other E Warrior, except for the fact he had seamlessly broken through in all five stats at the same time, something that was nearly impossible for the vast majority.
But not only had the Growth of his Intelligence and Charisma improved, but E- to Zarek now carried far more weight than an E- stat from someone who had broken through from F+.
This stat was what was known in the future as a Core Breakthrough.
The five Core Stats all heavily relied on one another. One couldn't exert great Strength without great Endurance because your tendons would snap. One couldn't have great Intelligence without great Charisma because if you didn't have the mental capacity that came from the latter, controlling a ton of energy that came from the former would be impossible.
A Core Breakthrough helped one's stats to blend in with one another more, allowing one's greater Growth Potential stats to have a better chance at pulling along your weaker Growth Potential ones.
The details of this would only be known after they were decades deep into the Godsfall Apocalypse and children began to be born in adequate numbers again.
But why would Zarek need to wait for then when he could benefit from it now?
There were some disappointments, like how his Strength Growth Potential was still at A and hadn't progressed to A+, but that was fine.
Right now, to Zarek, his Core Stats and Growth Potential weren't of utmost importance.
He turned his head toward the desert now littered with tunneling holes. After turning a glance toward Priya in the far-off distance to see that she was still okay, he leapt down one of them and began to follow it.
Even now, the lingering energy of the Springy Menace was still churning through his body, and with [Tearing Gut], what injuries he had from pushing [Limit Break] so far were slowly being ebbed away.
With every step he took, his stride became longer and his back straighter. There was a calmness to him that slowly returned as well as his boiling blood was soothed into a more gentle temperature.
'Unfortunately, I don't have night vision. I'll probably have to burn through quite a bit of Godsfall if I want to make it through here…'
Without a night vision Skill, he had to keep his Scouting Skill deployed constantly and at a range he was less than comfortable with.
Deploying it in short range for short periods of time was fine, but when he used it like this, it was easy to remember that it was a C Class Mastery Skill now.
'Oh, there really is something down here.'
He had thought it was odd for a Turned with D Class stats to appear here, so he thought to check. But he didn't actually think he'd find something.
He rounded a corner bleeding ruby light and found an unexpected Godsfall Tear.
Zarek stood there for a while and eventually shook his head.
For a Godsfall Tear to produce enough Godsfall to evolve a D Class stat in such a short time, it definitely had something shocking within. The problem was that it would also be too dangerous.
By his calculations, it would have at least C Class difficulty to produce a D Class stat so quickly.
Unfortunately, a simple Skill wasn't enough to analyze a Godsfall Tear before you entered it. You either needed a special treasure, or someone with a special Role. So all of this was just Zarek's personal experience talking.
With the little worm gone now, there'd probably be another apex predator that moved in very soon to dominate this region.
'Should I…?'
After some more thought, Zarek shook his head.
He wasn't thinking of entering, that was foolish. He was instead thinking of using the Elixir he had gotten to resist the Godsfall and practice here for longer.
Godsfall Tear energy was a lot like the crimson rain. Too much of it could forge one into a Turned, which was why Zarek didn't immediately jump on the chance to just stay here and improve like the little worm did.
'But… if I can get that item on the wheel, I could save this Tear for later…'
A C Class Godsfall Tear appearing this early almost certainly meant that it was a rare Timed Godsfall Tear. Meaning, it would disappear after its moment ran out.
And such Godsfall Tears represented very specific things.
A high Class Unique Role.
Maybe a chance to claim a Growth Treasure that could help you along your journey.
Or a rare chance to do something that would usually be impossible…
Like maybe upgrading the Growth Potential of a Talent.
The chance was too intriguing to miss out on, but entering a Tear like this right now was suicide. He had to be at least D Warrior first.
'Dammit. Where the hell am I going to get a Godsfall Crystal? Where are those Mutants when you need them…'