BXBX NOVEL Chapter 46: Evolution
Age: 21
Race: Human
Class: Tier 1 - Swordsman
Level: 2
Titles: Veteran Undead Slayer, Scholar, Sword Child
Aptitude:
Body: S+
Energy: S+
Spirit: (S+) - Locked. Tier 2 req.
Final rating: S+
Skills:
Actives: Sword Ki (M), Kickboxing (M), Iron Skin (M), Multi-Stab Lv.3, Air-Hop (M)
Passives: Vision (M), Learning (M), Ki Mastery (M), Smell (M), Multitasking (M), Taste (M), Touch (M), Listening (M), Intuition (M), Footwork (M), Recovery (M), Tolerance (M), Tactics (M), Deception (M), Willpower (M), Education Lv.3
[Mandatory Task:]
: Hell Dive - Survive the Endless Undead Horde for 3 hours.
: Rewards - 100% Demon Soul gain, Clearance Streak +1
: Punishment for Failure - Failure Streak +1.
: Record: Clear Streak - 6, Failure Streak - 0
*
Cedric just got done training for the day.
He rested inside his hotel room, wiping off his sweat as he stared at his enriched Profile Page.
'I've truly grown since then...' he mused to himself, feeling pleased about his progress.
If people were to witness the sheer difference between his stats then and now, none of them would dare to disagree with his claims. The results were plain to see, it's undeniable and it shows.
With how much Undead he killed so far, the 'Undead Slayer' title evolved from Junior to Veteran. It gave him increased intimidation against the undead, making them easier for him to deal with.
Skills-wise, he had grown too. He had long mastered the usage of Sword Ki or just 'Ki' in general, meaning that he had full control over it. He could fully adjust its output. He also refined it to the utmost degree he could handle right now. Not even an ounce of it would be wasted due to his sheer mastery over it.
This, however, doesn't mean that he had an inexhaustible supply. What shows in his Profile is his skill, not the quantity he has. Mastering the skill doesn't mean that he magically had oceans' worth of it.
As for his new Active Skills:
*
[Iron Skin]
: A defensive skill that provides an additional level of protection to the user. Depending on the user's mastery of this skill, the protection it provides varies.
: Mastered - When active, the user's skin becomes as tough as an iron plate.
[Multi-Stab]
: A basic skill refined to its utmost degree. This skill represents the user's mastery over the Basic Swordsman Skill: Stab, which they could perform multiple times in a row at a pace that transcends the norm.
: Current Record - 5 Stabs in a second.
[Air-Hop]
: A mystical footwork skill that allows the user to step on air.
: This skill could only be learned by those who have access to special energies - Ki, Mana, Spiritual Energy, etc.
*
『Iron Skin』 was something he bought at the System's Shop. He figured that, since the challenge of his Hell Dives was rising sharply in conjunction with his growth, having an additional layer of protection wouldn't be a bad idea.
With this skill, his defenses essentially skyrocketed. His physique was already refined to an absurd degree, add this skill and his 『Tolerance』 passive, Cedric could now shrug off most of the attacks that tend to be dangerous for him before learning the active skill.
With the Iron Skin skill, he could take his time walking off the acid of the Spitter Zombie, tank a direct hit from Brute Zombies, shrug off the explosion of the Boomers, and so on...
This skill can evolve, but its evolution depends on the user. From what Cedric could recall, the next stage was the 『Iron Flesh』, followed by 『Iron Bones』. There were more iterations of this skill as well such as Bronze, Silver, Gold, Obsidian Crystal, Platinum, etc.
As for the 『Multi-Stab』, that's something he learned on his own. It appeared during one of his practices where he was refining his basic skills to the utmost degree.
He vaguely recalled entering a trance-like state then. After that, he was awoken by the sudden alarm from the System.
See, Cedric has never been a fan of fancy/pompous skills. To him, simple was best. He isn't into theatrics, he believes that the most effective skills are the ones that kill the enemy before they could even do anything about it.
The Multi-Stab skill might not sound fancy enough but with his mastery over it, even Brute Zombies - ones that arguably have the toughest flesh in all Undeadkind, turn into Swiss cheese. Granted, he hasn't completely mastered it yet, but even so, its lethality wasn't anything to scoff at.
As for the 『Air-Hop』, well this is more of an insurance. Since he has mastered the skill, he could keep using it so long as he has Ki, and with his control over his Ki, the cost of using Air-Hop drastically fell.
He couldn't use it indefinitely of course, but he could get up to a decent height in one go. That being said though, he needed to be careful with this skill, especially once he decided to land.
For Cedric, this skill is something that could help him deal with pesky flying enemies. Not that he has encountered anything so far, but it's best to prepare just in case.
With how much the Undead evolve during his runs? He wouldn't be surprised if one of them decided to fucking grow wings (because why the fuck not?) and start harassing him. He doesn't want to fail his attempts just because he can't deal with a flying unit.
*
[Education]
: This skill represents the user's knowledge of both the mundane and mystical aspects of the world. It also provides an additional bonus to the user's learning speed.
: Current Learning Speed Bonus - 10%
: Note - this skill's level cap is currently unknown.
*
Most of his Passive Skills have reached full mastery. The new one; Education, was the only one he hadn't mastered yet. And with its description, he wouldn't be mastering it anytime soon.
The learning speed bonus was nice, though. Add his, quite frankly broken, rate of learning thanks to the 『Learning』 skill, plus the bonus of the [Scholar] Perk, Cedric was like a black hole when it comes to absorbing knowledge and information.
Sighing in content, he dried himself and rested on his bed. He stared at the ceiling, feeling bored for a bit.
But that's when a sudden development alarmed him...
A grimace suddenly appeared on his face as he abruptly sat up from the bed. Closing his eyes, he sank his perception within his body, more specifically at his heart.
There, he saw that his White Lotus Hollow Core was stirring. The abundant Ki circulating within his body was causing a development that was quite troubling.
Silently cursing to himself, he forcefully calmed down and stepped out of his room. He then speed-walked into the hallway, making his way towards the Gym on the ground floor of the hotel and occupying one of the reinforced rooms there.
Locking the door behind him, he sat down in the middle of the room and sighed. He then released his suppression over his Ki and allowed the development to naturally happen.
His Hollow Core suddenly started quaking. It then siphoned all of his Ki out of nowhere. Cedric's body then turned into a funnel that absorbed the potent energy within his surroundings, turning them into Ki to support its growth.
Shortly after, the Hollow Core changed. It's no longer hollow, it has now turned into a Solid Core, meaning that Cedric had a breakthrough and entered the Second Stage of the [White Lotus Core Technique].
But as Cedric was about to sigh in relief, a series of System Alerts swarmed his vision.
[Alert! Host's body gained an abundance of Ki which could be used to enhance the User's aptitude.]
[Checking parameters....confirming User's current Aptitude...]
[Notice! The user's body is now eligible for a qualitative upgrade. Upgrade commencing in 3...2...1!]
Cedric then immediately lost consciousness, which was probably for the best since the sudden elevation of his aptitude was bound to be incredibly painful and torturous. The pain was something that he couldn't tolerate at his current Class Tier and Level.
[User Cedric's evolution is underway. Referring to the database for following protocols...]
[Applying for the 'Genius Protection Protocol'...]
[Confirmed! User Cedric is deemed to be a Heaven-Defying Genius! Deploying the Isolation Barrier!]
Within the reinforced room, Cedric's unconscious body was writhing. His muscles were squirming and his blood curdled. An invisible forcefield appeared around him, isolating the commotion that was happening. This was done with the Acala System.
After two hours, strings of notifications appeared once more.
[User Cedric's evolution was successful. Overall Aptitude Rating changed to [EX] - Rank. It is confirmed that User Cedric was the only one who achieved this within the past century.]
[Unbelievable Achievement, acquired! Congratulations, User Cedric. Acala has granted you: "2nd Class Card Slot (L)", "Sub-Class Card Slot", 10k T2 DS, and a "Hell Dive Pardon Ticket".]
[Alert! Due to the User's evolution, changes have been made:
Race: Human - 『Human II』
Title Added: Heaven Defying Genius
Titles fused: Scholar + Sword Child + Heaven Defying Genius = "Son of Heaven"
Skills Fused: Vision + Smell + Touch + Taste + Listening + Recovery + Tolerance = 『Superhuman Physique』
Skills Fused: Learning + Multitasking + Intuition + Tactics + Deception + Willpower = 『Superhuman Perception』]