Ding!
The ringing sound of a status notification made Novus clench his eyes as his head bobbled back and forth against the small pillow. As for how the pillow got there, Novus didn't care.
Leave me alone. Let me sleep!
His face shifted off the pillow and against the wooden flooring that pulsated with mana. Finally, after putting up a futile resistance for a while, Novus hazily opened his eyes.
Like a group of awaiting children finally seeing the ice cream truck come into view, Novus’ vision was flooded with system messages, all trying to compete for his attention.
Congratulations! You have successfully changed your class to Soul Trainer.
The new class Soul Trainer has enhanced your attributes and produced new skills.
You have successfully soul-bonded with the creature Black Prism Beetle, Mino, and they have been registered as a pet.
Due to the class Soul Trainer, the pet system has been modified.
Due to gaining a silver-rank pet, you have earned the title Accomplished Beast Tamer.
Due to current attribute limitations, the power of your pet has been exchanged for a corresponding increase in matching growth potential.
Due to bonding with the creature Black Prism Beetle, Mino, additional attributes have been gained. All Basic Attributes slightly increased.
Congratulations! You have finished the quest Search for the Goblin Chief and obtained its reward.
??? claps in delight at your growth.
??? says to pull up your status window hurriedly.
??? says it has defended your system at a cost.
??? says you should thank...
Groan.
As Novus got up, he swiped away all the word boxes and opened his status window. When he finally saw what was there, he grew surprised.
It's changed. But what's this about defending my system? The only beings capable of doing something like that would be... The Divine. Were they retaliating against me?
Novus let the thought slip away as he turned his attention to his new status window.
Novus
Class: Soul Trainer
Race: Human
Titles: Apostle of ???, Named Monster Slayer, Accomplished Beast Tamer
Body Aspect: Low Iron Rank
Mind Aspect: Peak Black Iron Rank [ERROR Mana Core Not Found]
Soul Aspect: High Iron Rank
Skills: Crimson Aura, Soul Partner Summoning, Soul Partner Channelling, Mana Manipulation, Carving, Gathering, Haggling Abilities: Player’s Body, Identify, Weapon Mastery, Martial Art Proficiency, Sword Mastery
Novus hadn’t checked his status window since the Slime Caverns. But, as he expected, a lot had changed. Many new skills and abilities had appeared, and some of the unused ones had even lost levels.
The surprising part was that the entire status window seemed simplified. Levels, and anything that appeared to be related to them, were no longer present. They were simply listed as Low, Peak, and High, respectively. Novus could only assume that there was also a 'Middle' tier, but he could only find that out in the future by refining his body more or weakening his soul. Of course, he would avoid doing the latter.
Overall, his status window seemed very NPC-like now.
It seems The Divine that made the system, changed me. Or perhaps, the system entirely changed when it defended against the other gods and goddesses.
When Novus focused on his attributes, he was pleasantly surprised. During his battle with the Slime Colossus, Tham and Mercury, Novus had relied mainly on his superior mana and magic. He was half-expecting the Intelligence and Wisdom attributes directly related to mana to be higher than anything, but they weren’t. Instead, whatever Edna had forced down Novus’ throat, alongside the Soul Predator ritual and soul bonding with Mino, had increased the rank of his Strength, Dexterity, Endurance and strengthened his soul.
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Directly skipping a rank seemed to break through some sort of limit. For humans, Novus knew that boundary was called the ‘Mortal Wall.’ Typically, when humans meet this limit, they would train endlessly or wait for a fortuitous encounter to get past this body limit. However, it seems that Novus skipped past this limit and enabled an intense bodily growth. Novus guessed that most players would face the same limit around Black Iron 99 [99%]. Not only for the body but also for each of the three aspects.
It’s nice to have powerful backers.
Sniff. Sniff.
“Ugh.”
The attribute, Dexterity, improved Novus’ senses alongside his speed and agility. But, unfortunately, that also meant a sensitive nose to the foul odour that clung to the black, itchy secretions from his bodily transformation.
Novus nearly vomited.
Ding!
Bodily toxins have been purged from the player’s body, resulting in a bodily improvement. Would you like the system to cleanse the toxins?
Novus couldn’t press the accept button fast enough before his nose inhaled another time. But, a cooling sensation immediately turned the vile bodily toxins into twinkling lights that escaped into the air.
Sometimes, the system wasn't a half-bad tool.
Novus took a few deep breaths before he resumed checking his updated skills, title, and class description.
Soul Trainer
The disciple class of the ancient Soul Predator lineage. Disciples with this class are bound by their vows and may accept a bond with potential Soul Partners, depending on their soul's strength. Unlocks Soul Predator Class Line.
Rank: Peak Iron
Effect: All Basic Attributes enhanced. Health and Mana slightly raised.
Bound Partners: Mino
Remaining Soul Partner Capacity: 2
After some quick calculations based on his previously numbered status window, Novus was pleased by the new class effects.
As expected, it’s strong even if it’s only the disciple stage. But, I can't help but think it would've been better to shift to a Soul Predator directly.
As if reading his thoughts, a new quest window appeared over the others that Novus had yet to read.
Road to Becoming a Soul Predator
Upon becoming a Soul Trainer, your newfound strength has left you wishing for a more profound power. However, those around you can not help you in the next step of becoming a Soul Predator, for you must discover your unique path yourself. Therefore, grow stronger, discover more, and learn about yourself to advance towards the following class.
Progress to next class (0%)
Reward: Class Change to ???
“Ah.”
Novus’ mouth was opened and left there as his mind tried to deny the class questline. At least other classes had something to work toward to get a new class. Swordsmen got better by improving their sword techniques. Magicians could study the effects of mana and develop variations of spells or even create new ones. Mystics could...
Groan.
“Why do I get the feeling it’s going to take forever to become a Soul Predator?”
Novus’ mouth squeezed into a horizontal line as he reminded himself of the basics of getting stronger.
Slowly, Novus. Accumulate strength and lay a proper foundation. True power doesn’t come all at once. Besides, Edna, and maybe even Garbal, would have faced a similar wall. So they should be able to help me.
Novus resumed browsing his new title to improve his mood again.
Accomplished Beast Tamer
You’ve trained your skills enough to successfully capture and tame a silver-rank beast through luck and honing your 'skills.' Though this isn’t the end of the road for your taming career, you’ve managed a feat that not all beast tamers can accomplish.
Rank: Low Silver
Effect: Charisma is mildly increased when fighting against a monster you’ve never faced. When taming a monster you’ve encountered before, Charisma is increased dramatically.
Why does the word skills seem passive-aggressive? That's not just me, right? Is this what changing the system does to... you know what, it's okay. I can live with it.
Novus continued browsing his skills. Of which he was sure he had.
Soul Partner Summoning
A foundational skill for Soul Trainers to manifest their Soul Partners into the physical world using the Soul Trainer’s soul power. Soul Partners may not be summoned while being channelled with the skill Soul Partner Channelling. Growth-Type Skill.
Soul Partners available: Mino.
Rank: Low Iron
Effect: The summoning of available Soul Partners. Requires an initial use of soul power dependant on the Soul Partner attempting to be summoned.
Soul Partner Channelling
A foundational skill for Soul Trainers to empower themselves with the soul power of their Soul Partners. Soul Partners may not be channelled if summoned with the skill Soul Partner Summoning. Growth-type Skill.
Soul Partners available: Mino.
Rank: Low Iron
Effect: Soul Partner abilities are manifested according to available channelled Soul Partners.
Looking at everything, Novus had a mix of emotions.
He was pleasantly surprised that both of his new skills were already iron-ranked, and both seemed to hold the potential for higher growth. What that growth would lead to would be up to Novus and would likely contribute toward his quest to become a Soul Predator. The only thing he wished was different was his low Charisma stat.
I suppose it is natural for Charisma to play a role in obtaining a pet, even for a mystical being like a Soul Partner. Regardless of attributes, Mino accepted me readily, though I’m still unsure why.
Reminded of Mino, Novus attempted to activate one of his new skills: Soul Partner Channeling.