CHAPTER 18: CHAPTER 18: ALL OFFENSIVE SKILLS TO ELITE-RANK, THE WEIRD WOMAN

Ding!

[You have killed "Abandoned Fate Guardian (Level 10 Elite-Rank Boss)"]

[You have gained 10,000 experience points.]

[Congratulations, you have leveled up to Level 10!]

[You have gained 5 points in all of your attributes, and 5 free points to distribute.]

[You have gained 8 Evolution Points!]

[You have gained 58 Lives!]

---

Stark exhaled sharply, lowering his staff.

Stark managed to easily overpower the [Corrupted Fate Believers].

The [Revenant Bell] helped a lot, as even those small seconds of stun allowed him to throw spells that damaged the majority of them.

It also allowed him to re-position himself and not be surrounded.

Eventually, after two minutes only, all of the believers were dead, killed by him.

Still, if he had to credit one skill above all... it was [Magic Barrier].

The translucent shield shimmered as it absorbed blow after blow, allowing him to fight with far more freedom than expected.

’I might’ve underestimated this skill,’ Stark admitted to himself, ’Based on how much it endured, I’d say it can block at least a thousand damage before breaking.’

The thought made him grin faintly.

Ding!

A new panel flickered into view in front of him.

[You have reached Level 10.]

Stark glanced at it for a moment but dismissed it just as quickly.

He still had to finish clearing the zone and claim its final rewards.

After all, reaching level 10 was the next big milestone.

And so a lot of panels appeared around him to inform him of the next steps, even though Stark knew about them all.

He extended his hand, activating [Hand of Avarice].

The massive hand of darkness grabbed the corpses.

Ding!

---

[You have gained 6 Evolution Points!]

[You have gained 76 Lives.]

---

"Not bad," Stark muttered, grinning.

In total, he had gained over a hundred lives just from this fight alone.

But more importantly, he’d earned a massive 14 Evolution Points in one go.

[Current Evolution Points: 17.]

The number glowed brightly on his panel, and Stark felt his pulse quicken.

With that much, he could evolve multiple skills.

But first came the basics.

"Ten points into Spirit, ten into Agility," Stark decided aloud, distributing the twenty attribute points he’d saved up from leveling up.

Ding!

---

[Constitution: 55]

[Strength: 55]

[Agility: 77 (+17)]1

[Spirit: 78 (+44)]

---

"Perfect," Stark muttered with a satisfied grin.

His Spirit and Agility had skyrocketed, leaving his Strength and Constitution lagging a little behind.

That was fine.

His build wasn’t about brute force or tanking damage, it was about speed, control, and overwhelming magical power.

A faint grinding sound broke his focus.

Fwish! Click!

The massive stone door at the end of the chamber rumbled as the glowing fate-symbol on its surface cracked and shattered.

Slowly, the seal faded away, leaving the door free to open.

Stark’s eyes lit up.

That was the way forward, the zone’s final reward awaited him inside.

But before moving on, there was still one last matter to take care of.

The guardian had dropped something.

He crouched down.

But what he found instead made him groan in frustration.

---

[Guardian Armor (Elite): Warrior-type Armor, +50 Constitution, +28 Strength, +15 Physical Resistance, +8 Magical Resistance. Requirement: Level 10]

---

"Of course..." Stark muttered, shaking his head, "An incredible piece of gear... and I can’t even wear it."

The armor’s stats were monstrous, far beyond anything most players could even dream of at this stage.

For a warrior-type Awakener, it would be priceless.

For him, though? Completely useless.

Still, useless didn’t mean worthless.

He stored it in his inventory, one day, he could maybe sell it for a good amount.

With that settled, only the Evolution Points remained.

Stark’s gaze drifted to his skill panel.

[Skills: Scorching Fireball (Elite), Magic Barrier (Rare), Hand of Avarice (Epic), Toxic Crystal (Rare), Vine Smash (Rare)]

’It takes ten EP to push a skill from Epic to Legendary,’ Stark recalled, ’But I’ll prioritize the attack skills for now.’

His eyes lingered on [Vine Smash].

A good skill, versatile and strong, but limited by its long cooldown.

Alongside [Toxic Crystal], it was still stuck at rare rank.

That made the decision easy.

[Do you wish to consume 5 + 7 Evolution Points to evolve "Vine Smash" twice?]

"Yes."

Ding!

[You have evolved "Vine Smash" (Rare) to "Vine Surge" (Elite) to "Vine Cataclysm" (Epic).]

[5 Evolution Points remaining.]

"Now we’re talking."

---

[Vine Cataclysm (Epic): Summons several vines from the ground that will strike with immense force at multiple targets. Deals 200 → 300 → 500 base damage + 150% → 200% → 300% Spirit. Cooldown: 35 → 30 → 25 (12.5) seconds.]

---

Stark’s eyes widened as he read through the description.

"Holy shit... this thing will deal over eight thousand damage at least!"

The sheer destructive potential made his blood race.

And he still had points left.

He turned next to [Toxic Crystal].

[Do you wish to consume 5 Evolution Points to evolve "Toxic Crystal"?]

"Yes."

Ding!

[You have evolved "Toxic Crystal" (Rare) to "Corrosive Crystal" (Elite).]

---

[Corrosive Crystal (Elite): Summons a corrosive crystal that deals exactly 150 → 300 damage. Applies the "Poison" status effect. Cooldown: 10 → 9 (4.5) seconds.]

[Poison: Deals 20% → 25% of received damage for 5 seconds.]

---

"Perfect."

Now all three of his offensive skills were at least Elite-rank.

Only [Magic Barrier] remained behind at Rare, but for the moment that was fine.

A defensive skill could wait, his offensive power had just skyrocketed.

Closing his panel, Stark turned his attention back to the massive stone door.

Beyond that door lay the true reward of the zone.

Now that he was level 10, he would be able to go through his [Class Advancement].

And also head to the [Eternal Continent], where the game would actually begin.

He placed his hand on the stone and pushed.

The heavy door rumbled, grinding open inch by inch.

Stark immediately stepped back, prepared in case some hidden monster was waiting to ambush him.

But no monster appeared.

Instead, the chamber beyond was vast and silent, bathed in a soft starlit glow.

At its center stood a raised altar, faintly radiating golden light.

And beside it... a figure.

"Huh?" Stark’s eyes narrowed, "What the..."

A woman stood beside the altar, dressed in a flowing white robe.

A translucent hood draped over her head, obscuring her features.

Even so, her presence was impossible to ignore.

---

[??? (???)]

[Rank: ???]

[HP: ???]

[Skills: ???]

---

Stark’s expression hardened.

He couldn’t read her stats, but the fact that she had a "Skills" section meant she was an NPC.

As her head lifted, her aura exploded outward.

It pressed down on Stark like a crushing wave, forcing him to take an instinctive step back.

’Too strong,’ he thought immediately, ’If she attacks, I won’t stand a chance.’

Through the veil of her hood, he caught a glimpse of her eyes.

Dark, with eerie purple pupils, the same as the [Corrupted Fate Believers].

His heart tightened.

She raised her hand, aura gathering like a storm around it.

For a moment, Stark tensed, ready to throw everything he had at her...

But then, just as suddenly, her body dissolved into glowing particles.

Within seconds, she had completely disappeared.

"She’s gone..." Stark muttered, frowning, "Weird. What the hell was that about?"

The silence stretched, but there was no further sign of her.

Shaking his head, Stark turned his gaze back to the altar.

And then his breath caught.

Right in front of it stood a glowing chest, its surface golden, its presence radiating unmistakable power.

[Legendary Chest]

Stark’s eyes widened in pure excitement.

He hadn’t expected the zone’s reward to be this valuable.

Revenant staff increases agility by 17