To be honest, Leo didn't expect to get a new skill right away. After all, according to the ancient Akirian, this should happen only once he had practiced the chaining of those three skills for some time. So either the trial somehow sped up the process, or the System decided that his short battle was enough to grant him a new ability.
Either way, I'm definitely not complaining. Let's see…
Spectral Fury (Legendary)
The fury of blood has shown you the way toward victory. Walk it, never hesitate, or you will face defeat. Use this ancient knowledge and make your enemies tremble in fear.
Effects:
This ability allows your bloodlust to passively assist you during every fight without having a negative impact on your mind. When used actively, this skill greatly enhances the armor penetration of your blades and the overall power of your strikes. Additionally, each hit on the enemy will leave behind a Spectral Tear that will attack the target again after a short delay. The efficiency of this skill improves thanks to all attributes.
That's a long ass description. Leo whistled. Not without a reason, though. My first legendary skill… And damn, is it powerful…
Some people might have disagreed with him as, quite honestly, from the description alone, this skill didn't look that special. However, he had access to more than just that, as this time, the System decided to impart quite a bit of information on him.
For one, while far from his Apex aspect, his bloodlust could help him now without restrictions. He had already seen the effects of that during his fight against the phantom Akirian, and he couldn't wait to push their newfound teamwork to the next level.
Next was the enhanced power of his strikes. Sure, Kiss of Death and Phantom Erasure already did that, but thanks to Spectral Fury combining those two, he already felt that the results would be much better. With this, the scales of the Myrdrak probably wouldn't stand a chance.
And finally, the Spectral Tears…
If there was one thing that contributed to this skill's legendary quality, then this was definitely it. At first glance, it might sound a lot like the effect of Phantom Erasure, but nothing could be further from the truth.
While the old skill delivered an additional hit only after drawing blood, Spectral Tears could be created even after a simple clash of blades. They also didn't attach themselves to the enemy and instead stayed behind, waiting for the delayed activation.
Once that happened, a literal specter of him would come out of the tear and rush the enemy to deliver a single attack. Of course, it could be defended against, but Leo could only imagine how annoying it would be to fight such a thing when every single hit created more of those ghosts.
Can't wait to see it in action. He grinned, dismissing the System notification. Hmm, might as well.
He stood up and nudged the sleeping feline with his tail. "Wake up, Nyx. It's time for the last hunt before our trip into the Void."
The overgrown cat blinked slowly and let out a long yawn. "You said we're resting for an hour," she grumbled. "It hasn't even been thirty minutes…"
"Sorry," he patted her head and quickly stepped away before she could take a swipe at him. "Got a new skill, and I want to test it now. Come on, the sooner I get to level fifty, the more time you will get to rest afterward."
"I guess so… Lead the way."
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Nightmares screeched all around him as Leo sped through the deepest tunnels of the Supercluster. This was where the strongest monsters on Earth lived—the only ones that still gave him a fair amount of experience.
Nyx trailed behind him, her shadows, claws, and tail cutting apart every Collector that dared to chase them. There was no mercy for those beasts, and even with active pursuit, they could do nothing to stop the two apex predators from hunting in their home.
In the meantime, Leo wasn't idle, though he refrained from using his affinities. Only Reinforcement and Spectral Fury were fully activated, burning within him as he leaped from Nightmare to Nightmare, his blades and tail slicing through the air.
Up ahead, two Scouter released their wind blasts at him, but he just pushed past it with a Blink and appeared next to them. His blade cut the closer monster in two while his tail sliced a wing off the other.
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He could have finished it with a following strike, but there was no need to. After a second or three, two silver, crackling tears floating in the air erupted, releasing specter clones of his body. They rushed at the fallen Scouter and ended its pitiful existence.
I love this skill. Leo grinned, uncaring of the alien blood dripping from his body.
Another group of Collectors—all above level forty—ran at him, and he faced them head-on. With whispers of blood in his ears, he fought like a beast, yet all of his moves were fluid and controlled. Each hit or clash created another Spectral Tear, slowly overwhelming the Nightmares until only one was left.
Once more, Leo didn't move at first, allowing five of his clones to pounce on the lone Collector. The beast cut through the first and second specter but could do nothing as the other three jumped on its back, each delivering a powerful slash.
The Voidling howled and collapsed to the ground as its life slipped through its claws. Leo snorted and finished its struggles with a blade into its head.
And another tunnel clea—
Congratulations! You have reached level 50. Class and Racial attributes have been distributed.
There it is. He smiled. And more notifications are waiting, just like I hoped.
Quickly turning to Nyx, who was finishing the last Voidling in her group, he shouted, "You can go ahead or guard me. I need to check what I got!"
"I will wait. We got what we wanted anyway."
Leo shrugged and returned his attention to the notifications. He summoned the next one and instantly grimaced as pain spread through his entire body. He collapsed to his knees, but before he could go down completely, everything returned to normal.
Ouch? What the hell was that?
He didn't have to wait long for an answer.
Congratulation! Your Grace has ascended past the Supernatural Tier (500). Welcome among the Transcendent. The effectiveness of all Grace-dependent skills has been greatly enhanced.
Ah…That explains a lot. Leo grimaced, standing up. While the phantom ache was still there, his entire body felt lighter and faster. Suddenly, the increased size of his new evolution didn't matter. Well, I will be damned. My gamble paid off. Five hundred really was the limit for Supernatural…
To make it even better, this was far from the last notification waiting for him.
Your class, Nightblade, has reached its maturity. Attributes awarded per level changed to: +5 Might, +6 Grace, +5 Vision, +6 Mind, +5 Soul.
Leo's mouth opened as he blinked repeatedly to make sure the System wasn't playing jokes on him.
Nope. Still the same. He noted, doing some quick math in his head. That's almost twice as much as I got before. From fourteen per level to twenty-seven… Holy shit. Wait…
He stopped the next notification from appearing and summoned a part of his status. Just like he had expected, something very important changed there.
Name: Leonardo Brown
Title: Void's Heir
Evolution Stage: III - Prime Indomitus Venax
Class: Nightblade(M) | LVL. 50
Job: Hunter
Rank: D-
D minus. So that's what I needed to finally break past the barrier.
Even though the System advised him not to focus too much on the ranking it displayed, he couldn't help but care. So far, it hadn't really led him astray, and considering where he was going in a few hours, he couldn't be happier about this change.
Maybe I will have a fighting chance after all. Leo smiled. Putting all my hopes on stealth didn't really sit well with me.
Nightblade maturity skill granted: Moonless Night.
And there is the last thing. He still had no idea what exactly class maturity meant, but quite frankly, he didn't care. As long as it helped him survive, he was happy.
Moonless Night (Radiant)
Not every night comes with the end of the day. Sometimes, you have to force the darkness to come to you. Claim it and use it. The battlefield is yours.
Effects:
This ability allows you to plunge a limited area into artificial night. As the caster, only you can see and hear through the darkness. There is nothing that can hide from you within this territory. Nighttime bonuses become active inside Moonless Night. Warning: This ability protects Nightmares from the light.
Another great skill. Leo's smile widened. Only limited info about it this time. Gotta work out how to activate it on my own… Well, nothing I can't handle. I still have a few hours.
He dismissed the System and looked at Nyx. "Change of plans. We're going a bit deeper so I can test a new skill of mine. Don't worry, we won't be long."
The feline sighed. "I hate you…"