[You have reached level 10.]
A week had passed, and many things had happened during this time. Moon and Selene had continued their expedition through the frozen wasteland, constantly battling the brutal cold and the increasingly dangerous beasts that inhabited the hidden realm.
They had been checking the cave every day at different time intervals, observing from their hidden vantage point. But only one person ever left that cave. Gareth. Always alone. Always returning before nightfall. Never any sign of the other "survivors" he'd claimed would return each evening.
At this point, both Moon and Selene were thankful to have escaped when they did, even if guilt still gnawed at them for leaving Derek, John, Elara, and the others behind.
Still, in this world, only the strongest survive. That was the harsh truth they'd learned.
[ Name: Moon ]
[ Race: Human ]
[ Class: Classless]
[ Level: 10 ][ 6% ]
[ Lives: 1055 ]
[ Strength: 19 ] [ Agility: 21 ] [ Constitution: 24 ] [ Mana: 26 ]
[ Attribute Points: 5 ]
[ Skills: Elemental Attack, Four Element Affinity ]
[ Talent: Grim Reaper ]
[ Class Skill: Class Slot {0/1} ]
With all the beasts they'd killed over the week, Moon and Selene had both reached level ten. The progression had been brutal but steady—hunting during the day, retreating to shelter before dark, avoiding the thing that prowled at night.
Finally, both skills are mine, Moon thought with satisfaction as he stared at the two skills that were now permanently his.
It had taken several days of constant combat for his proficiency to reach maximum in both skills, resulting in his complete acquisition of them. He no longer needed to copy Selene's class to use the abilities. They were his now, independent of any borrowed power.
The hard work had been worth it. For the first time, Moon was finally able to use his accumulated lives more efficiently.
[Four Element Affinity]
[Rank: Rare]
[Level: 1] [Evolve]
[Details: You have low affinity to the four elements. Water, Earth, Wind, Fire. +100% Extra Control]
[Elemental Attack]
[Rank: Common] [Level: 1]
[Evolve]
[Details: You are able to conjure an elemental attack using mana and your affinity towards the element. +100% Extra Damage]
Staring at his status screen, a subtle smile formed on Moon's face. Unlike other awakeners, for the past week, he'd been unable to evolve his skills because he'd never truly possessed them until now.
Selene and other awakeners had the ability to use the lives they'd accumulated to evolve their skills, making them stronger, more efficient, more deadly. Of course, as new awakeners, it was generally considered wise to keep lives as a safety reserve and only evolve skills once you had a comfortable buffer. But for Moon, who had an abundance of lives thanks to his Grim Reaper talent, the calculation was different.
He pulled up the evolution interface for Elemental Attack.
[Elemental Attack]
[Rank: Common]
[Level: 1 → 2]
[Cost: 2 Lives]
With over a thousand lives in his reserves, he had more than enough to push this skill to its limits.
So he did.
[Confirm evolution? Cost: 2 Lives]
Moon selected yes without hesitation.
Moon watched as the notifications cascaded across his vision, each evolution costing exponentially more lives than the last:
[Level 1 → 2: 2 Lives consumed]
[Level 2 → 3: 4 Lives consumed]
…
[Level 8 → 9: 256 Lives consumed]
[Level 9 → 10: 512 Lives consumed]
[Total Lives Consumed: 1,022]
[Lives Remaining: 33/1055]
[Skill evolution complete. Elemental Attack has reached Level 10 and evolved to Uncommon Rank.]
At the end, he'd reached level ten with the skill and spent a total of 1,022 lives.
The result? It was more than satisfying.
[Elemental Attack]
[Rank: Uncommon]
[Level: 1] [MAX]
[Details: You are able to conjure intermediate elemental attacks using mana and your affinity toward the elements. Attacks deal significantly increased damage and possess enhanced elemental properties. +200% Damage.]
Reading through the upgraded description, Moon felt power surge through his mana pathways. The skill had evolved from Common to Uncommon rank, the next tier in the progression system. But he also realized something—after this evolution, the [Evolve] option had disappeared entirely.
The skill had reached its maximum potential. Uncommon rank was as far as this particular ability could grow.
Moon frowned slightly. He'd expected to be able to push it further, perhaps to Rare or even Epic rank later on. But skills had natural limits based on their fundamental nature. Elemental Attack, despite being useful, was apparently capped at Uncommon.
Still, the improvements were substantial. Double damage, faster casting, better efficiency. For 1,022 lives, it was an investment that would pay off immediately.
Now he had a decision to make about Four Element Affinity.
[Four Element Affinity]
[Rank: Rare]
[Level: 1 -> 2]
[Cost: 8 Lives]
Looking at the skill, Moon's happiness faded. Starting at 8 lives for the first level up, it would cost in the five digits for him to evolve the skill to epic rank.
"Are you ready?" Selene looked at Moon with a hardened expression on her face.
"Let's go." Moon nodded, making his way out of the cave.
He hadn't powered up without reason; they were going to Gareth's cave to confront him, then they were going to head to the temple. They had been slowly accumulating strength for the past week, and it was finally time to confront him without simply providing themselves for slaughtering.