The plan with the hatchlings went smoothly. They were sent in all directions with clear instructions—to blend in and rise through the ranks as quickly and safely as possible.
Though an influx of thousands of knight-level powerhouses might sound overwhelming, the Silver Flower Island was vast. It could easily absorb them without issue.
Of course, Edric didn’t send all of them away. He lacked competent subordinates here, so he kept a few hundred as assistants. They helped take care of the clones being used for reproduction, slightly accelerating the process.
Time passed quickly. Two months later, as expected, nothing unusual had happened.
Edric looked at his latest rewards, his excitement barely contained:
* 1 Mythic Chest
* 2 Legendary Chests
* 1,000,000 XP
* A Mythic-rank weapon
"With this, I can protect myself even against Mythic opponents! Finally, I can leave this place and see the wider world of the Flicker Empire!"
This island was too small for him. From the beginning, he had been determined to leave as soon as he no longer had to worry about his own survival. With Mythic-level power, he was confident—even in the Flicker Empire, he would not be easy prey.
From the knowledge he had gathered, while the Flicker Empire was filled with powerful knights and mages, it wasn’t as if Mythic and Ultra-ranked beings roamed everywhere. Even there, a Mythic-ranked warrior was considered strong.
Edric reached into his system storage and pulled out the Mythic weapon.
A lance.
Its shaft was forged from a strange cyan-colored metal, gleaming with an eerie light. The tip was so sharp that just its reflection in the light caused Edric’s eyes to sting—thin lines of blood trickled down his face.
Quickly, he wiped the blood away with a piece of cloth and stored the lance back in his inventory.
"This weapon is beyond my current rank… I need to be careful with it. If I’m not cautious, I might end up injuring myself."
It wasn’t uncommon for weapons of a higher rank to be dangerous to their wielders. Using equipment beyond one’s capability was always a risk.
But Edric didn’t dwell on it for long. He turned his focus to the real prize.
"System, open the Mythic Chest!"
Without hesitation, he gave the command, eager to see what fate had in store for him.
Ding!
Congratulations! You have received the following rewards:
* 1,500,000 XP
* [Mythic-Grade Skill] Mental Defense
* [Legendary-Grade Skill] Double Spell
* [Legendary-Grade Skill] Mana Detection
* [Legendary-Grade Skill] Bloodline Detection
* [Legendary-Grade Skill] Shapeshifting
* [Golden-Grade Skill] Spell Mastery
* [Golden-Grade Skill] See-Through
* [Golden-Grade Skill] Food Generation
* [Golden-Grade Item] Spatial Ring
* [Golden-Grade Item] Flying Boots
* [Golden-Grade Item] Full Body Armor
----------------------------------------
[Mythic-Grade Skill] Soul Defense:
Your mind and soul are completely immune to all attacks below Mythic rank, including mental manipulation, control, mind-reading, and similar effects. Greatly increases your resistance against Mythic-level attacks. However, it is ineffective against Ultra-rank and higher-tier abilities.
[Legendary-Grade Skill] Double Spell:
Applies a [Double] enhancement to all of your spells at no additional mana cost or casting time as long as the skill is activated.
* Can be used unlimited times for spells below Legendary rank.
* Can be used once per day for Legendary-rank spells.
* Cannot be used for spells above Legendary rank.
* The [Double] effect from this skill is separate from naturally [Doubled] spells, meaning it is possible to enhance an already [Doubled] spell.
[Legendary-Grade Skill] Mana Detection:
Allows the user to sense mana from various sources within a certain range:
* Detects all non-Legendary mana sources within a 50-mile radius.
* Detects Legendary mana sources within a 1-mile radius.
* Ineffective against Mythic and higher ranks.
By sensing mana, the user can gather details such as location, rank, and structure of the detected energy.
[Legendary-Grade Skill] Bloodline Detection:
Allows the user to trace the bloodline of a target up to unlimited generations—so long as no ancestor surpasses the Golden rank.
* If an ancestor is Legendary rank, the detection stops at that ancestor.
* If an ancestor is Golden rank, the detection continues further down the lineage.
* Generates massive amounts of data; the user must be cautious to avoid mental overload.
* [Bloodline Sensing] has been merged into this skill, enhancing its effectiveness (though not enough to upgrade its rank).
[Legendary-Grade Skill] Shapeshifting:
Allows the user to alter their body into any form, including inanimate objects.
* Completely undetectable by those below Legendary rank.
* Extremely difficult to detect for Legendary ranks.
* Ineffective against Mythic ranks.
[Golden-Grade Skill] Spell Mastery:
Find this and other great novels on the author's preferred platform. Support original creators!
Allows the user to understand the structure of spells simply by observing others cast them.
* Works exceptionally well up to Silver rank.
* Moderately effective for Golden rank spells.
* Ineffective against Legendary rank spells.
[Golden-Grade Skill] See-Through:
Grants the ability to see through solid objects, depending on their rank and material:
* Sees through non-Golden objects if their thickness is less than one foot.
* Sees through Golden-rank objects, except metal, if their thickness is less than two inches.
* Ineffective against Golden-rank metals and anything Legendary rank or higher.
* [See-Through (Silver)] has been merged into this skill, slightly enhancing it (but not enough to increase its rank).
[Golden-Grade Skill] Food Generation:
Allows the user to generate 50,000 pounds of food per day.
* The type of food can be chosen according to the user’s wishes.
[Golden-Grade Item] Spatial Ring:
* A storage ring with a capacity of 500 square feet.
* Can store food indefinitely without spoilage.
* Cannot store living beings.
[Golden-Grade Item] Flying Boots:
* Allows the wearer to fly for a limited duration, depending on:
* Their weight
* Their rank
* Environmental factors (wind conditions, gravity, etc.)
[Golden-Grade Item] Full Body Armor:
* Provides complete defense against Silver-rank physical attacks.
* Greatly weakens Golden-rank physical attacks.
* Ineffective against magical attacks.
----------------------------------------
Edric’s hands trembled as he read through the list. His excitement surged.
Wasting no time, he turned his attention back to the system.
"Open the two Legendary Chests!"
He wanted to see everything before deciding how best to use them.
Ding!
Congratulations! You have received the following rewards:
* 500,000 XP
* [Legendary-Grade Skill] Absolute Magical Defense
* [Golden-Grade Skill] Break Item
* [Golden-Grade Skill] Mind Manipulation
* [Golden-Grade Item] Shadow Ring
* [Silver-Grade Skill] Blindness
* [Silver-Grade Skill] Fog Manipulation
* [Silver-Grade Weapon] Crossbow
----------------------------------------
[Legendary-Grade Skill] Absolute Magical Defense:
Upon activation:
* Mythic-rank spells targeting the user are weakened by 50% (usable once per month).
* Legendary-rank spells are weakened by 100% (usable once per day).
* Golden-rank spells can be negated up to 100 times per day.
* Silver-rank and lower spells are completely nullified with no limit on usage.
[Golden-Grade Skill] Break Item:
* Destroys a targeted item within 1 mile (usable once per month).
* Guaranteed to break Silver-rank items.
* May damage Golden-rank items (effectiveness depends on durability).
* Ineffective against Legendary-rank and higher items.
[Golden-Grade Skill] Mind Manipulation:
* Allows the user to control the minds of targets below Golden rank.
* Can assist in manipulating Golden-rank targets, but is not strong enough to fully control them.
* Ineffective against Legendary and higher ranks.
[Golden-Grade Item] Shadow Ring:
* Allows the wearer to hide within shadows, making them invisible to most Golden-rank beings and completely undetectable to Silver-rank and lower.
* Usage limit: 1 hour per day.
* Recharge condition: Must be placed in absolute darkness for 7 days and nights before it can be used again.
[Silver-Grade Skill] Blindness:
* Targets below Silver rank suffer permanent blindness if within range.
* Silver-rank targets may experience temporary vision impairment.
* Ineffective against Golden-rank and higher.
* Range: 50 feet.
* Usable once per day.
[Silver-Grade Skill] Fog Manipulation:
* Allows the user to manipulate fog within 50 feet.
* Usage limit: 1 hour per day.
* Ineffective against Golden-rank fog.
* Barely effective against Silver-rank fog.
[Silver-Grade Weapon] Crossbow:
* A simple crossbow that fires mana-infused arrows.
* Requires mana to operate.
* Can kill Silver-rank targets if they are struck in a vital spot.
----------------------------------------
Edric scanned through the rewards, his excitement growing.
Without wasting a second, he turned to the system.
"Open the next chest!"
Ding!
Congratulations! You have received the following rewards:
* 400,000 XP
* [Legendary-Grade Skill] Passive Defense
* [Golden-Grade Skill] Swimming
* [Golden-Grade Skill] Beast Control
* [Golden-Grade Weapon] Poisonous Sword
* [Silver-Grade Skill] Illusion
* [Silver-Grade Item] Shield
* [Silver-Grade Item] Hammer
----------------------------------------
[Legendary-Grade Skill] Passive Defense:
* This skill remains active at all times without consuming energy.
* Grants constant protection against all attacks.
* Reduces incoming damage as follows:
* Completely blocks Silver-rank attacks.
* Weakens Golden-rank attacks by 10%.
* Weakens Legendary-rank attacks by 1%.
* Weakens Mythic-rank attacks by 0.1%.
[Golden-Grade Skill] Swimming:
* Grants the user swimming abilities comparable to a Golden-rank aquatic beast.
* Usage limit: 6 hours per day.
[Golden-Grade Skill] Beast Control:
* Allows the user to control beasts based on rank:
* Silver-rank and below: Full control.
* Golden-rank: Can only control if the beast is weakened.
* Ineffective against Legendary-rank and higher.
* Maximum number of controlled beasts:
* 3 Golden-rank beasts.
* 30 Silver-rank beasts.
* 300 Great-rank beasts.
* 3,000 Average-rank beasts.
* 30,000 Unranked animals.
[Golden-Grade Weapon] Poisonous Sword:
* A Golden-rank sword that inflicts poison damage.
* Poison Effectiveness:
* Lethal to Silver-rank and below.
* Moderately effective against Golden-rank.
* Ineffective against Legendary-rank and higher.
[Silver-Grade Skill] Illusion:
* Creates illusions that can affect:
* Great-rank and Average-rank beings completely.
* Some Silver-rank targets (effectiveness varies).
* Ineffective against Golden-rank and higher.
[Silver-Grade Item] Shield:
* A basic shield that provides defense against Silver-rank physical and magical attacks.
* Ineffective against Golden-rank and higher.
[Silver-Grade Item] Hammer:
* A blacksmith’s hammer used for crafting Silver-rank and lower weapons.
* Cannot be used for forging Golden-rank or higher weapons.
----------------------------------------
Looking at the long list of newly acquired skills and equipment, Edric fell into deep thought.