The Villain has Perished

|| Would you like to unlock the hidden avenue [Soul Avenue]? ||

"There are more Avenues than the ones shown?"

The Grimoire originally had 9 Avenues that I was able to see. Insect Avenue, Beast Avenue, Plant Avenue, Reptile Avenue, Undead Avenue, Mecha Avenue, Spirit Avenue, Titan Avenue, and Divine Avenue.

But after the message a new Avenue appeared on my Grimoire.

"Unlock Soul Avenue"

Ding!

|| -1 Soul Point ||

|| Soul Avenue has been unlocked! ||

|| Congratulations on discovering your first hidden avenue. You will be rewarded 10 Soul Points and 10,000 Life Points! ||

|| +10 Soul Points and +10,000 Life Points! ||

The pages of Grimoire flipped and the information written on it was updated.

Name: Sol Lionel

Life Points: 19,471

Soul Points: 10

Occupation: Summoner

Occupation Level: Level 3

Summon Capacity: 1000

Accumulated Life Points to next Level: 35,121/100,000

Skill(s) Unlocked: <Extract>, <Summon>, <Cancel>, <Summoner Card>

Avenue(s) Unlocked: Insect Avenue, Beast Avenue, Plant Avenue, Soul Avenue (New)

—

[Soul Avenue]

<Enchant> Level 1

?? (Locked)

—

Soul avenue turned out to be different from other avenues. It didn't unlock summons but skills.

The in-depth information about skills was written on another page dedicated solely to Soul Avenue.

—

<Enchant>

<Level: 1>

<Cost: 10 Soul Points>

<Description: Allows you to strengthen any inanimate object. There is a very small chance of the enchanted object gaining a skill. The skill can be used once at level 1.>

—

?? (Locked)

Unlock Cost: 10,000 Soul Points

—

"The skill can be used only once?"

There was more information written in the grimoire.

'Although I can use the skill later, I shouldn't delay it. After all, the forest is a dangerous place and no amount of high grade items can be too much, to reach the inner section safely.'

'But what should I enchant?'

All I had on me were low grade items except the crown and maybe Gylothyn too.

'I can't enchant the crown. It would be troublesome if its kill point system changed after strengthening it.'

Crown of Massacre uses Kill Points that are gained from killing others to temporarily increase Physique stat. The increase in stat is equal to the total amount of Kill Points in possession divided by the duration of activation.

Strengthening the crown can possibly alter the kill point system. Even if the strengthening won't be a drawback, it can certainly become one if the change was too drastic. I had a complete and well-thought-out plan of how I had to proceed in the forest. The crown was important in those plans and a change at this point can cause unnecessary delay and I wasn't too keen on that. As I was on a strict deadline.

'I'll enchant the crown later, let's use Gylothyn this time.'

The process to enchant an item wasn't complicated. I only had to place my palm on the black blade and mutter, "Enchant"

|| Applying <Enchant> on Gylothyn ||

|| -10 Soul Points ||

|| Enchantment complete ||

|| The equipment has been bound to the user: Sol Lionel. Please check its status to confirm the changes. ||

|| Congratulations, the skill <Holy Slash> has been generated! ||

'It became a bound-type equipment? If all items become bound-type with <Enchant> then the skill is a lot more useful than I thought it was.'

—

<Gylothyn>

Grade: High-Rare (Upgradable)

Attack Damage: 50-75

Durability: 247/250

Skill: <Holy Slash> F

Description: This sword belongs to a legendary swordsman who once stood at the peak of swordsmanship. It has lost its edge due to the passage of time and neglect. Nonetheless, this is a trusted sword of the once legendary swordsman and it is incomparably better than anything in the same grade. Restoring the sword may bring pleasant surprises.

Upgrade Cost: 100 Soul Points

—

My eyes almost popped out when I checked Gylothyn's stats.

'It became a growth-type sword on top of being a bound-type sword…? It also gained a ranked skill…'

I had to pinch my cheek to make sure I wasn't dreaming.

High-Rare grade equipments are mostly used by Grandmaster rank warriors and above. It was an overpowered weapon for a 2nd Mortal Awakening rank human like me.

The ability to grow wasn't something I had imagined. Bound-type equipment is rare, but every powerful ascender will have one or two bound-type equipment.

A growth-type equipment was a lot more scarce in comparison. It can become the cause of wars between high-rank ascenders to get its ownership. It was an extraordinary even among rare treasures.

'I think I should upgrade <Enchant> to Level 2 as soon as possible, then….hehehe….'

<Enchant> skill was better than my wildest imagination! It made the strengthened items bound-type as well as growth-type!

I was drooling at the thought of having multiple growth-type equipment.

—

<Enchant> Level 2

Unlock Cost: 1000 Soul Points

Description: Increases the limit of items to 5 at level 2. The probability of gaining a skill is also increased.

—

'Only 1000 Soul Points? So, I need to kill 1000 people and… no, no! What am I thinking! I shan't give in to temptation!'

'But 5 growth-type equipment… the exchange is fair…'

'No! I already decided! No genocide!'

'But…'

The dilemma was real and I couldn't help but lament. If only killing monsters gave Soul Points too. There wouldn't have been a problem then!

'Forget it, I should focus on the skill for now.'

—

<Holy Slash>

<Rank: F>

<Attack Damage: 200-250>

<Cost: 400 MP>

<Description: Creates a 5-meter wide mana attack. The attack has a low probability of applying corrosive damage.>

—

My mood was again cleared in a jiffy when I thought about the ranked skill.

The skills are broadly categorized as Ranked and Unranked skills.

The unranked skills can be called techniques and are also divided into level and non-level skills. Level skills can be upgraded into ranked skills while non-level skills cannot be upgraded.

There is a massive chasm between unranked and ranked skills. Unlike unranked skills, the ranked skills cannot be called techniques. They are greater than that.

Ranked skills are a realm where your techniques have transcended natural laws and using them causes the fabric of reality to bend. They can shorten or even omit the entire process and directly bring results.

An example would be <Arrow Barrage> F. It is a skill that Charlotte, the 2nd princess of the Swordsmith empire and a main cast member, has.

<Arrow Barrage>, as an unranked skill creates mana arrows alongside the real arrow you shoot. But in <Arrow Barrage> F, the mana arrows turn into real arrows! During the skill activation time, the mana transforms into a 100%-tangible material, similar to the main arrow's material!

If this wasn't reality bending then what was!

'Holy Slash, it is similar to the attack Matthew used. Its damage is among the top attack-type F rank skills and it is a ranged attack too.'

The MP requirement was outrageous to balance the skill's insane output, but it wasn't detrimental to me. Although I was only 2nd Mortal Awakening rank, my total MP was outrageous in itself. I can use the skill without any issues.