They had returned to the village after a long trek back. Emil already had plans to return to the bandits' base tomorrow, but for the time being, they needed to organize some things. There were some very valuable things tucked away in that mountainside, and it would take time to recover all of it.

Julius wouldn't be surprised if Emil repurposed the base for something else. There had to be a use for the already established base, and going off the advanced enchantments placed around the mountain, he assumed Emil would find a good use for it.

On the other hand, Julius let the others take care of the cleanup. He felt like he had done more than his fair share of work. Once he had regenerated more mana and healed the wounded, he relaxed.

As he relaxed, he finally took some time to review his skill options. There weren't that many attractive choices to choose from. But that was to be expected from an uncommon skill. The more powerful skills would come once he evolved them to epic rank.

Skill [Kinetic Energy Control] is evolving… possible advancements: [Kinetic Energy Mastery], [Kinetic Force Adept], [Kinetic Energy Refinement], and [Kinetic Energy Amplification].

He had already discussed possible evolutions with Cain prior. The man had explained to Julius that it wasn't a bad idea if he chose the general upgrade and waited until epic rank before deciding the path he wanted to go down.

Cain immediately admitted that he hadn't done that when he was younger, but the man also didn't have another affinity to specialize in. He had plenty of other skill slots for various kinetic skills, which gave him some flexibility to select niche skills.

From what he could tell. [Kinetic Energy Mastery] was the usual general upgrade, and it would give him the small boost he had become familiar with, only a smidgen more powerful. It wouldn't be a bad skill to choose at all. He had many applications where that small boost made it very handy, especially with his limited skill slots.

[Kinetic Force Adept] was a bit of a surprising option to see. Adept made it seem like the next general skill would be something like "expert" or something similar. It also sounded more like a title than a genuine skill name. He hadn't seen such a thing before, and it admittedly made him curious. A small piece of him wanted to choose it just for that reason, but refrained from doing so with a demonstration of immense willpower.

[Kinetic Energy Refinement] was next. It was a skill that seemed to enhance the quality of his kinetic energy. Truth be told, he had no idea how the skill would accomplish this. However, he was fairly certain that some students at the Shattered Winter School possessed a similar skill.

It had always felt like some of their kinetic energy had this sheen and quality that he wasn't quite able to replicate, no matter how much he compressed it. This was a skill that intrigued him and would change his already powerful kinetic energy into a truly monstrous resource.

He had a feeling that this was close to the skill that Barath had that made the other kid's kinetic energy feel the way it did.

The final skill was very similar to [Kinetic Energy Refinement]. [Kinetic Energy Amplification] sounded like the previous skill, only that it moved in a slightly different direction, instead of improving the sheer quality of kinetic energy. The skill seemed to increase the amount he could use at once.

A quality of its own in the right hands. However, it wasn't like he was starving for more kinetic energy to use. He had more energy than most people, and definitely more than the other students his age. With that being said, he found himself wishing he could use more when fighting a Tier 5, as he had just done, or when battling Tier 4s.

Then again, his body could only handle so much at once. So even if he had more to use, would his body be able to handle it? That was the question.

There were other potential explanations for [Kinetic Energy Amplification]. Perhaps, it would be very much like [Kinetic Energy Refinement] and enhance the properties of the energy, just in a different way. It was hard to know for certain, and he would ask Cain before making any decisions.

In the meantime, he would think deeply about each one. But more importantly, he needed something to eat. He was absolutely starving. He didn't know why, but almost dying had that effect on him.

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***

He didn't stay in Kastila for long. He stayed long enough to help get things settled, but once that was done, he got the go-ahead from Emil to leave. The good news was that Emil told him that he could keep the Tier 5's ring.

It was partly because Emil had taken a glance at the ring and was quite confident that he wouldn't be able to break the enchantments, but it was also because Emil believed that Julius deserved a valuable reward. As such, a ring that contained the contents of a Tier 5's belongings was only fitting, at least according to Emil.

Julius wasn't able to complain either. He had been looking for a new ring since his current one didn't have enough space anymore. He found himself constantly limited by the amount of food he could fit in there.

The moment he left the village, he found a small place in the middle of nowhere to begin his attempt to crack the ring open. He rolled the ring around in his palm a few times as he examined it with all of his senses.

He knew right away that the ring was very dangerous. It wasn't like the one he was currently wearing. There was still the aura-protected signature to access it, but there were several other enchantments as well.

For someone like Julius, who didn't have that much education about various enchantment arrays, he relied on instinct and intent to decipher the enchantment's purpose. From what he could glean, they felt very insidious.

He knew right away that anyone who tampered with them would find themselves in a world of hurt. That was the reason he immediately directed his aura to poke the ring. He couldn't help himself.

He wasn't dumb enough to brute force his way through the ring like he had done with many other rings. He merely used his aura and mana to play around the edges. He felt around the array of enchantments, and after a few minutes, he found something interesting.

There was a small string dangling from the corner of an enchantment. It almost felt like a frayed thread of a blanket, and with a pursing of his lips, he gave this thread a slight tug.

The thread gave way easily, much too easily, and he quickly found out the reason why. The thread was a bait, and he had fallen right for it. In a powerful pulse of mana, one of the enchantments activated, and before he could pull back, it latched onto his aura and his hand that was holding the ring.

Thick, ugly black lines spread through his hand, and before he even realized it, he was already slashing his hand downward. His hand fell to the floor with a wet smack. The black lines didn't stop when his hand was removed, and he watched with fascination as this black substance swiftly devoured the hand.

What had once been a healthy hand was now a melted pile of flesh. The acrid bitterness reached his nose and had him wave a hand of aura to get rid of the stench. He looked down at his forearm that no longer had the corresponding hand with a tilt of his head.

He had acted quickly and removed his hand before the black substance could spread too severely, but there were small remnants that made their way past his hand. His healing skill and aura took care of it, though. With such a small amount, the substance found it hard to fight against his ruinous aura and Phoenix Concept's backed healing skill.

He gave the substance one last examination before he decided to wipe it out with his aura. Then, he quickly regenerated his hand without blinking and bent down to pick up the ring that had fallen to the ground.

The ring was no longer putting out that black substance, and he fiddled with the ring in his palm a little more before deciding to tuck it away. He had been curious about how the ring worked, but he also knew when he was out of his depth.

As much as he wanted to continue to play with the ring, he didn't want to accidentally activate an enchantment or failsafe that would destroy the entire ring and its contents altogether. That would be depressing and a ginormous waste of potential goodies.

So, with a defeated drop of his head, he reformed his wings and continued his way back to Auraulos. Hopefully, Freya would be able to offer him some assistance.

***

Emil POV

Seeing the young boy leave left him feeling humbled. He had seen his fair share of powerful people on his many journeys across the continent. Yet, seeing a Tier 3 go toe to toe with a Tier 5 wasn't one of them and likely wouldn't be something he would ever see again.

He wasn't proud to say it, but he and the rest of the villagers would have died if not for Julius. It was why he had given Julius the valuable ring. Such a reward still wasn't enough to repay his gratitude.

The Shattered Winter School's reputation was well earned. For one of their members to be that powerful demonstrated that the school wasn't to be underestimated. Most of the villagers hadn't believed them when they were told what had happened.

Not that he was surprised. It sounded like a fanciful tale, and people believed the Shattered Winter School had commanded those who participated in the mission to spread it.

However, those who had made it back knew better. They had all seen something impossible, and that experience had been engraved into their souls.

On the bright side, Frida had even gotten some inspiration from this. The woman hadn't stopped holding her battleaxe since they had returned. Emil had always thought it was a shame that she had stopped fighting. But after losing her husband to the Frost Bear Clan, something had unlocked inside of her.

Then, seeing someone like Julius seemed to be the trigger for that as well. If he was correct, then Kastila might have another Tier 5 amongst their people.

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