Chapter 99: Chapter 98: Warrior and Mage Hit Level 10, New Skills

"This isn’t working out. Did I just come at the wrong time?"

Jon’s expression was grim after he had scouted several locations.

In theory, in a world without any other players, the rare beasts should be right where they’re supposed to be, with no one to compete against him for them.

But the reality was that after hiking for hours along mountain paths and checking every spawn point he remembered in the area, he had come up completely empty-handed!

Forget rare beasts; he had barely seen any ordinary ones!

This gave Jon the distinct feeling that he had miscalculated.

’Could it be because we’re heading into deep winter? Have they all gone into hibernation?’

Realizing this, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of resignation.

If that was truly the case, he’d likely be returning from the mountains empty-handed.

Rare beasts were rare for a reason. Their unique talents or experiences made them stand out from the rest of their kind. If they weren’t exceptionally gifted, they would never have survived long enough to become "rare" in the first place.

The difficulty of finding them during their inactive period was plain to see.

Unfortunately, he didn’t have that much time to waste here.

As night fell and visibility dwindled, Jon had no choice but to halt his search.

’Forget it. I’ll rest for now and continue searching at dawn...’

’Perfect time to level up, then!’

After finding a rocky hollow sheltered from the wind to rest for a while, Jon replaced the Crystal Energy Cores on his two Walker V Types. Then, he lit a fire, leaned back against a rock, and opened his panel.

He currently had 86,660 experience points stored up. It took 28,000 points to raise either Warrior Apprentice or Mage Apprentice from Level 5 to Level 10, which meant he had more than enough to level up both professions.

Considering he would have to deal with the Blood Eye Association later, this was an entirely necessary expenditure.

Gaining power was all about facing stronger enemies and reaping greater rewards!

’Alright, let’s do this.’

He selected Warrior Apprentice and allocated his experience.

[Warrior Apprentice LV.5 (4000/4000) → LV.7 (5600/5600) → LV.10 (0/8000)]

[You have leveled up. Power +5, Constitution +6.25 (25% Constitution growth rate)]

[Free Attribute Points +5, Skill Points +5]

Next up, Mage Apprentice!

[Mage Apprentice LV.5 (4000/4000) → LV.10 (0/8000)]

[You have leveled up. Intelligence +5, Spirit +5]

[Free Attribute Points +5, Skill Points +5]

"Haaaah! Awesome!"

Jon couldn’t help but let out a long breath after leveling up both professions.

The effects of this level-up were especially potent.

It was a feeling of all-around enhancement!

Power and Constitution were physical enhancements, while Intelligence and Spirit were mental ones!

Moreover, as both sides grew stronger in tandem, the power of his [Heart of Balance] began to thrum, as if on the verge of bringing about some new change!

But unfortunately, it was just shy of a breakthrough.

Perhaps there wasn’t enough pressure, or maybe a simple numerical increase wasn’t enough to meet the trigger condition. In any case, Jon didn’t see the notification about grasping the true meaning of [Balance].

’Can’t force it. Gotta keep a good attitude.’

After calming the excitement that had unconsciously welled up as his Life Origin grew stronger, Jon went ahead and allocated all 10 of his Free Attribute Points to Constitution.

And so, his attributes now looked like this:

[Nickname: Joe Nide]

[Race: Human Race - Havia Northern Species]

[Life Value: 1372/1372, Magic Power Value: 510/510, Qi Value: 303/303, Will Value: 175/175]

[Attributes: Power: 15, Constitution: 40.75+5, Agility: 5, Intelligence: 16+1, Spirit: 17+1]

[Profession: Warrior Apprentice LV.10 (0/8000), Mage Apprentice LV.10 (0/8000), Sword and Shield Warrior (Locked), Dragon Blood Warrior (Locked), Immortal Venerable Master (Locked)]

[Sub-profession: Artisan LV.2 (430/1500), Alchemist LV.1 (320/1000), Blacksmith LV.1 (10/1000)]

[Talents: Tenacity, Rugged Physique...]

With his Constitution surpassing 40 points, his Life Value shot past the 1,000-point mark, reaching 1,372!

An ordinary Constitution-focused Professional would barely have that much even at the Official Level!

The advantages of having Dual Professions were already beginning to show!

Especially with his Qi Value breaking 300 points, he could now rely on the unique advantages of his [Modified Dragonman Swordsmanship] even under normal conditions, giving him enough suppressive force when facing enemies.

And with the new skills unlocked from reaching Level 10 as a Warrior, he would be even more formidable!

Every 10 levels was a major milestone for a Professional, so Jon learned a relatively large number of skills at Level 10.

First were three skills that any ordinary warrior could master at this level.

—

[Vibrating Shield LV.1 (Ordinary): Consumes 15 Qi. Intercept the enemy’s next attack with your shield. A successful block deals 50 + 80% weapon damage and has a chance to stun the enemy. Cooldown: 15 seconds.]

[Triple Slash LV.1 (Ordinary): Consumes 20 Qi. Quickly swing your weapon to launch three slashes, each dealing 90% weapon damage. Cooldown: 20 seconds.]

[Leaping Strike LV.1 (Ordinary): Consumes 30 Qi. Leap and attack an enemy, dealing 220% weapon damage. Cooldown: 40 seconds.]

—

A counterattack, a quick damage-dealer, and a mobility skill. They weren’t useless, but they paled in comparison to the rarer, more powerful skills that followed.

—

[Heavy Blade Execute LV.1 (Excellent): Consumes 40 Qi. Launch a fatal strike that deals 300% weapon damage. Deals an additional 20% damage to enemies below 50% Life Value. Cooldown: 1 minute.]

[Pursuing Victory LV.1 (Rare): Consumes 20 Qi. Launch a quick attack that deals 200% weapon damage. If the attack successfully damages an enemy, your Attack Speed and movement speed are increased by 15% for 20 seconds. Cooldown: 15 seconds.]

[Blood Scab Coagulation LV.1 (Rare): When taking damage, gain 1 stack of "Blood Scab." Each stack increases Life Value recovery speed by 10% and status effect Resistance by 1%. Maximum 20 stacks.]

—

[Heavy Blade Execute] and [Pursuing Victory] were both skills geared toward offense and direct combat. The former dealt massive damage to low-health enemies, while the latter was highly advantageous in skirmishes; using it at the right moment granted a speed buff that would further press his advantage.

[Blood Scab Coagulation] was a considerably rare Passive skill, and it was a reward Jon had obtained during a Trial Task after reaching the Official Level.

Its effect was also extremely practical. Without teammates to help with recovery, he could rely on the high Life Value regeneration from max stacks to accelerate the effects of healing potions, achieving a "rapid healing" effect.

For Jon, its significance for "soloing" was also immense.

With no teammates in sight, he would likely have to rely on this skill to fight his way through many future encounters.

After finishing all this, Jon added some firewood to the campfire and sighed softly.

’I’ve gotten stronger again... How many days has it been since I came to this world?’

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