It's been three hours since Ethan began destroying the outer layer of the forest, and he had completely reduced it to ashes and dust.
Every forest snake monster that had been in the area was completely incinerated.
"Finally finished with the outer layer," Ethan sighed.
His attention then shifted to the Attribute Gem Fragments he had collected from this layer alone.
[Attribute Gem Fragments: 242]
Ethan had assumed it would take clearing all the way to the middle layer to gather enough fragments to form even a single Attribute Gem.
Yet, as if blessed by the Goddess of Luck, he had gathered enough to create two Complete Poison Attribute Gems from the outer layer alone.
"Maybe this is also because of maxed-out luck?" Ethan wondered.
He did not linger on the thought because he had more important things to focus on, such as filling his skill slots and preparing to become a Tier-2 Awakener.
"Let's merge the Attribute Gem Fragments."
He had enough to form two Attribute Gems, and the merging process was something he had figured out already.
Ethan arranged hundreds of Attribute Gem Fragments close together and then sat cross-legged in front of them.
He raised his hand with his palm open and began channeling his spiritual energy.
Carefully regulating his Spiritual Energy, he allowed a controlled stream of it to fall evenly across the fragments.
As soon as his energy touched them, each fragment emitted a soft, eerie glow.
As if pulled by an unseen magnetic force, they snapped together and locked into place with perfect precision.
The tiny gaps between them dissolved as the fragments fused seamlessly.
Within seconds, the scattered pieces reshaped into a single hand-sized crystal sphere, its deep dark green body pulsing faintly with condensed power.
He repeated the process with another batch of fragments and formed a second Complete Attribute Gem.
"I can probably collect enough fragments to fuse two more Attribute Gems by the time I clear this dungeon," Ethan muttered, admiring the beautifully glowing gem in his hand.
---
[Complete Attribute Gem]
[Attribute: Poison]
-Can be used to imbue an existing skill with a Poison attribute or a poison-type effect.
-Can be used to enhance a weapon or equipment to grant it a Poison Attribute.
---
Ethan poured his spiritual energy into the gem. In the next second, he felt an unfamiliar stream of information enter his mind, settling deep within his spiritual space as his profession automatically began processing it.
The gem in his hand melted into a glowing green substance, then completely disappeared without a trace as it seeped into his body.
[You have used a Poison Attribute Gem]
[You can enhance your skill with the Poison Attribute]
[You currently possess two Poison-compatible skills: [Summon Undead Knight] and [Mourning Rain]]
Ethan selected [Mourning Rain].
[Enhancing your Active Skill [Mourning Rain] with the Poison Attribute]
[Enhancement Complete]
---
[Active Skill: Mourning Rain]
-Summons a decaying rain from the Realm of Souls. Any creature that comes into contact with it will experience severe confusion, blurred senses and severe disorientation.
-Affected targets are instantly poisoned, weakened, slowed, and will rapidly lose Strength and Stamina. Prolonged exposure intensifies all weakening effects.
(Note: Effect severity varies depending on the target's resistance and level disparity.)
----
"Now it's a complete debuff skill." Ethan nodded in satisfaction. He activated the second Attribute Gem and chose Summon Undead Knight.
[Enhancing your Summoning Skill [Summon Undead Knight] with the Poison Attribute]
[Enhancement Complete]
---
[Summoning Skill: Summon Undead Knight]
-Summons an Undead Knight that possesses the attributes of a Knight-Class Awakener of the corresponding level.
-The summoned knight retains only basic, low-level combat instincts.
-All Undead Knights gain the Passive Skill:[Poison Coating].
---
"Finally, my undead knights have a skill." Ethan turned toward his already-summoned Undead Knights, immediately sensing the subtle shift within them.
---
[Undead Knight]
[Level: 10]
[Skills]
-Poison Coating (Passive): All attacks executed by the Undead Knight are imbued with a poison attribute. Targets struck suffer heavy immediate Stamina loss, reduced Strength, and decreased movement speed. Repeated exposure amplifies all poison-based effects. This skill also passively increases the Undead Knight's poison resistance.
----
"I wonder if these effects will grow stronger if I use Skill Enhancement on the skill," Ethan muttered as he glanced at his knights.
"Time to clear the middle layer of the forest."
Ethan stood, and after wandering for a few minutes, he stepped into the middle layer of the forest, where he encountered his first batch of monsters.
There were around eighty normal serpent-type monsters with poisonous fangs.
Leading them was an elite monster.
Unlike the others, the elite monster possessed claw-like arms and hands, wielding a spear in one of them. Its lower body was that of a snake, while its upper structure included a humanoid neck topped with a serpentine head that radiated intelligence.
---
[Elite Monster: Snake General]
[Level: 13]
[Skills]
-Poison Field: Manifests a field filled with poisonous substances that continuously weaken targets. Prolonged exposure eventually paralyzes them.
-Poison Spear: Releases a spear made of burning, poisonous energy that pierces through the target's body before exploding and scattering countless toxic substances. Weaker targets die instantly from the overwhelming poison.
-Tail Attack: Uses its massive tail to physically strike and deal heavy damage.
-Venom Bite: Bites the target with its fangs to inject lethal venom.
---
"Poison can be a very dangerous thing," Ethan muttered.
He gave a single command for the Undead Fire Spirits to use [Heat Wave] in perfect synergy.
He had no intention of allowing the snakes to use their skills. He did not even want them to prepare an attack.
With the range and power of the synergized [Heat Wave], he could eliminate the entire group of snakes in an instant.
A miniature sun appeared on the battlefield. The Snake General, showing signs of high intelligence, sensed the danger coming from Ethan and immediately activated its skills.
With a sharp screech, it released a burst of green energy that transformed into an expanding ring of poison.
The poisonous field spread rapidly and surged toward Ethan.
Right after this, the Snake General formed a spear of concentrated poison energy and launched it at him, and at the same time commanded the Forest Snakes to attack from all directions.
The miniature sun exploded.
A towering and wide wave of fire surged outward, burning everything in its path as it rushed toward the Snake General and the other snakes.
The Snake General's poisonous attacks collided with the synergized [Heat Wave].
As Ethan expected, the overwhelming fire instantly burned away all the poisonous substances released by the serpent.
A few moments later, the inferno reached the snakes, and just like the surrounding trees, they were reduced to ash in seconds.
"As I said, it is too easy." Ethan stepped forward.
"The offensive skills of those elite monsters seem dangerous. If even one of them lands, it could be fatal. I should increase my defenses."
He summoned more of his Undead Dragon Spirits and arranged them around himself in multiple layers to strengthen his protection.
"Although, why do I need protection when I have the [Death Link] skill?" he wondered.
Since it was a passive skill that constantly worked on its own, he had never given it much consideration.
"These skills make me practically immortal against all attacks and negative effects as long as at least one of my summons remains alive on the battlefield."
His thoughts about increasing his defenses faded instantly.
Ethan then spent the next two hours clearing the forest of the second layer.
The middle layer was smaller than the outer layer and contained fewer monsters.
The monsters here had significantly higher levels and attributes, but even they were weak against the synergized [Heat Wave].
Before entering the core area, Ethan prepared to use Elemental Fusion.
Elemental Fusion was considered a higher form of synergy.
Synergy used two or more skills or attacks of the same or compatible nature and combined them to create a much stronger attack of that same nature.
Elemental Fusion occurred when two or more skills or attacks of different natures were merged to create a powerful new skill or attack of a new nature.
In some cases, the skill with the dominant nature absorbed the weaker one and greatly increased its power.