Nael focused on the rewards listed under the [Giant Slayer] achievement. He claimed the attribute enhancements first.
[ +2 Strength ]
[ +2 Vitality ]
A warm, solid sensation bloomed within his muscles, a fleeting but noticeable feeling of density and coiled power. It was gone almost as quickly as it came, leaving behind the simple, factual knowledge that he was slightly stronger and more resilient than he had been a moment before.
Next, he reached for the Skill Essence.
Swoosh!
A shimmering, silver mote of light, intricately patterned like a spider's web, materialized just above his palm. Without hesitation, he willed it to merge with him.
The essence dissolved into his skin, and a cool, needle-like sensation shot up his body and settled directly behind his eyes. It wasn't painful, but intensely focusing, like a lens snapping into perfect clarity.
A new layer of instinct, a subconscious understanding of structural weakness and trajectory, wove itself into his mind. He blinked, and the world seemed to have subtle, invisible fault lines.
Curious, he summoned his Soul Tome to check the description.
━━━ ◇ ◆ ◇ ━━━
[Weaver's Precision]
· Rank: E
· Type: Passive
· Description: Attacks have a slight chance to find critical weak points, ignoring a small amount of the target's physical defense.
━━━ ◇ ◆ ◇ ━━━
Nael nodded to himself. A passive skill was perfect. It required no active effort or precious resource expenditure; it was simply a permanent improvement to his combat effectiveness. It was exactly what he needed.
'Now, for the monumental one.' He turned his attention back to the [Architect of a Legend] achievement and willed to claim the massive attribute reward.
[ +5 Strength ]
[ +5 Vitality ]
[ ... ]
[ +10 Wisdom]
A wave of raw power crashed through him, so potent it stole his breath. His muscles tightened, his bones felt denser, his facial muscles contorted as he fought to suppress a groan, and his heart thumped with a stronger, more vital rhythm.
The +5 to all attributes was a comprehensive overhaul of his entire being. After all, it equaled leveling up 5 times. Not to mention the fact that it even increased the Charisma attribute.
But the +10 to Wisdom was something else entirely.
It was as if a fog he hadn't even known was there had been violently scoured from his mind. His thoughts accelerated further, sharpening to a razor's edge.
His perception expanded again; he could track the slow drip of water in the tunnel with pinpoint accuracy while simultaneously calculating the rough porosity of the rock based on the sound.
'...This... This feels amazing...'
He took a long, deep breath, steadying himself against the overwhelming rush of emotions.
"Huff..."
Finally, he reached for the last two rewards.
First, he claimed the skill. Knowledge flooded into his consciousness, not as a foreign implant like the [Weaver's Precision] but as a foundational truth he had always known but just remembered.
━━━ ◇ ◆ ◇ ━━━
Class Skills:
[Investment Appraisal (B)]
· Rank: N/A
· Cost: Variable Focus
· Description: Analyze a target to assess its viability for Investment, revealing information on hidden potential, future risk, and projected growth. Effectiveness scales with Wisdom.
━━━ ◇ ◆ ◇ ━━━
'Good, now I will be able to make better investments!'
Nael smiled as he claimed the title.
This time, there was no flashy light or physical sensation. Instead, a profound and subtle shift occurred in the metaphysical weight of his actions.
He could subtly feel it — a new efficiency in the way his Focus would now be channeled for his primary purpose. The title [Prime Investor] settled upon him like a perfectly balanced tool finally placed in its master's hand.
'I can't wait to try it out together!'
He then checked the changes in his personal info.
━━━ ◇ ◆ ◇ ━━━
Name: Nael
Age: 16
Class: Investor
Grade: Common
Title: Prime Investor
Achievments: Architect of a Legend | Giant Slayer
Level: 3
Essence: 30/500
━━━ ◇ ◆ ◇ ━━━
Noting the changes, he opened his stats page.
━━━ ◇ ◆ ◇ ━━━
Primary Stats:
- Vigor: 295/295 (+105)
- Aether: 250/250 (+80)
- Focus: 440/448 (+110)
Attributes:
- Strength: 18 (+7)
- Vitality: 21 (+7)
- Agility: 17 (+5)
- Intelligence: 24 (+5)
- Wisdom: 40 (+10)
- Charisma: 18 (+5)
━━━ ◇ ◆ ◇ ━━━
"Oh, it looks like I was right." He muttered as he noted the changes.
His Vigor increased like this - (VIT * 10) + (STR * 5).
While Aether was probably like this - (INT * 10) + (WIS * 3).
And finally his Focus - (WIS * 10) + (INT * 2).
'...Although Focus seemed to be increasing the lowest amount, it's actually increasing the highest, since I'm getting +5 Wisdom with every level up.' Nael squinted his eyes. 'Thankfully, I now have a skill to actually use this massive pool of Focus more efficiently.'
Then he inspected his attributes again.
'Hm... I feel like I have the attributes of an average Lv4 Warrior now. Then...' A crazy but amazing idea appeared in his mind. 'I hope it will be enough.'
Nael then closed his Soul Tome with a soft thud, the profound changes settling within him like a well-balanced weight.
It was time to put his new strength to the test.
He shouldered his pack, now lighter after giving the bulk of the Patriarch's loot to Kira's party, and gripped his new spear.
His destination was clear in his mind: a section of the outer tunnels he had mapped earlier.
He moved with a new confidence, his enhanced attributes making the journey quicker. Soon, the familiar, damp scent of the fungus-filled cavern reached him.
Peering around a corner, he confirmed his targets. Three Rock-Tails, just as his earlier scouting had predicted, scraped against the cavern floor as they gnawed on glowing growths.
'Perfect.'
He set his pack and quarterstaff down quietly against the tunnel wall.
He quickly uncorked the Vial of Paralytic Venom and carefully dabbed a small amount onto the tip of the spear. The clear, viscous liquid gleamed ominously. He recorked the vial and put it back in the pack.
Now prepared, he hefted a loose stone. With a sharp flick of his wrist, he sent it sailing across the cavern to clatter against the far wall.
Clack-clack-clack.
The three monsters' heads snapped up in unison, hissing as they focused on the disturbance.
Nael surged forward. He closed the distance to the nearest Rock-Tail in a heartbeat and drove the poison-tipped spear forward in a decisive, two-handed thrust.
Swoosh-!
And as the spearpoint found its mark, he felt it — a subtle give as the tip found a seam in its stony hide. [Weaver's Precision] had already paid for itself.
Squish.
The Rock-Tail let out a choked gurgle, its limbs seizing up almost instantly from the potent venom.
It collapsed, twitching.
The other two monsters spun around with hostile hisses. Nael was already among them. He yanked his spear free and sidestepped a lunge. He reversed his grip and slammed the spear's butt into the second creature's leg, cracking a joint. As the third lunged, he dropped into a low crouch and came up, driving the venomous spearpoint upward into the soft underside of its throat.
The creature recoiled, choking, its movements turning sluggish.
The second monster, hobbled, tried to scramble away. Nael gave chase. A quick thrust to its side found another weak point. It shuddered and fell still. A final, merciful thrust ended the third, paralyzed creature.
Silence returned. Three notifications chimed softly in his mind as their essence flew to him.
[ Rock-Tail (Lv2) Defeated: +10 Essence ]
[ Rock-Tail (Lv2) Defeated: +10 Essence ]
[ Rock-Tail (Lv3) Defeated: +15 Essence ]
35 Essence. Just a fraction of the 500 he needed for Level 4. At this pace… it would be dozens more kills. Still, it was progress. And he was just testing himself now. And the results were...
'Good.'
He wiped the spearhead clean with a cloth, a faint smile touching his lips. He felt like he could really do it now. Reach level 10 solo.
'Let's continue.'
Just like that, solo leveling was back on track.