Sammuel closed his eyes, trying to calm himself down from his sheer excitement. Ever since he had used [Ego Delegation], his progress in every single aspect of his strength had increased tremendously.

Especially now that he finally broke through another barrier.

[Name: Sammuel Arthus

Ego: Goblin

Card Quality: Silver

Star Quality: 2 | 19/50 | EXP: 8.46/100%

Affinity Level: 52.98%

Combat Power: 38.88]

Sammuel hadn’t unlocked any rewards for getting an [Ego] with a Card Quality of Silver. He wasn’t all too bothered with it. It was simply because he understood more about how his special ability worked.

He had gone through countless [Ego] and only managed to reach this point. Granted that gaining EXP through this method was better.

“Not everyone is born equal but they can always strive to be better.” Sammuel sighed. “Besides, base Combat Power doesn’t even matter at this point. It all revolves around [Skills] now. It’s hilarious really, despite being a goblin, it’s quite tricky.”

[Switch Ego: Goblin]

[Flowing Swordsmanship | Gain Combat Power: +63.52 | Sammuel: 102.4]

“Weapons, natural aptitude, abilities, environment, far too many things factor in. Mindless creatures could only get so far.” Sammuel sheathed his recently acquired sword. “I need to use techniques that give my [Ego] the opportunity to unleash its full potential like [Ego: Six-Handed Monkey] and [Hardened Fist]. I need to expand my choices.”

Sammuel looked outside his window. It was now bright outside yet the dark looming clouds hanging above them suppressed any feeling of joy. “I thought I’ve finally got a handle in this world but… I’ve only just begun.”

[Skill:

Flowing Swordsmanship - Move the blade according to the flow of the battle.

Card Quality: Colorless

Mastery: Experienced | EXP: 0.0346/100%

Affinity Level: 25.42%

Combat Power: +30 ~ +80 | +50 ~ +200]

Another additional bit of information appeared on the [Flowing Swordsmanship] skill. It had now shown what the gained Combat Power would be if an [Ego] that was completely incompatible with the [Skill] used and the result of a synergistic [Ego].

The difference was night and day.

Sammuel wanted nothing more than to have every single skill be overwhelmingly terrifying yet it was clear that it was impossible for the current him. To make the most out of his [Skill] he needed to equip the corresponding [Ego].

The road ahead was still long. Sammuel learned more about the world bit by bit.

Heading out, Sammuel went to Lawrence’s home. Knocking on the door, an exasperated voice yelled out from within.

“I’m not interested, go away you good for nothing! Can’t you see I’m busy?”

“It’s me.”

Once Sammuel spoke, a rush of footsteps could be heard inside as Lawrence opened the door. There were dark circles under his eyes as his unkempt hair and dirty clothing showed off just how hard he was working. He tried to tidy himself up as nicely as possible but it wasn’t enough.

“Sammuel.”

“How are you holding up? Is your research doing well?” Sammuel raised up a small box he was carrying. The contents were unknown but based on the contents they should be relatively valuable.

“That’s… it’s not good.” Lawrence rubbed his eyes, he had been forced to speed up his research to an inhuman speed. With his supply suddenly cut off, it had caused him great distress.

Giving the box he had to Lawrence, he slowly opened it up to see something extremely shocking. There were ten Mirage Apples of extremely high quality awaiting him.

“Pay up.” Sammuel reached his hand out.

Lawrence was stunned for a brief moment. “This shouldn’t be possible. No one could leave the barrier. How did you do it?”

“Contribution Points.”

Lawrence gripped the box in his hands very tightly. “I’ll make it up to you. In fact… I’ll show you what I’ve been working on. If you’re willing to believe me this much then I might as well do the same to you.”

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

Sammuel accepted the offer and entered. Seeing a man so willing to pursue his dreams made Sammuel sympathize with him. But if Sammuel had to give one exact reason then it would simply be, pity.

Lawrence explained the clear and intricate details of what he had done with the Mirage Apples. Sammuel had initially thought that this was a neat gimmick that would help out the merchants avoid trouble. But listening in even deeper, he realized the implication.

“You’re a genius.” Sammuel couldn’t help but mutter. If it was pity, now it was firm belief. Lawrence was an actual prodigy, if he had been given ample resources from the beginning then he would’ve already soared to the very heavens.

Sammuel continued, “You have a prototype right? Can I ask you to help me with something?”

“I have a few ones, unfortunately, they require a lot of mana to operate.”

“I’ll take anything you don’t need.” Sammuel’s brain worked on overtime. If his plan worked out then there just might be a way out of this desperate situation.

Lawrence gave Sammuel a few sets and waved goodbye. With his dwindling supply of Mirage Apples finally refilled, Lawrence’s mind was once again set at ease. He would still work on this tirelessly for days on end but instead of fear and despair being the motivator, it was now his passion.

After his meeting with Lawrence, Sammuel readied himself back at Fian’s home. He then set off again to the Reuge Institution where Xeril greeted him. They were within their specified area where they awaited Jynnette.

“There’s the rising star we’ve been missing.” Xeril opened his arms and gave Sammuel a big hug. “I didn’t think you would make it.”

Sammuel was caught off guard by Xeril’s sudden action. But he still accepted it. “I told you I’m stronger than I look.”

“I’ve heard about the situation. You actually killed a Gut Drinker that had [Blessing of Moonlight]? Tell me, how did you do it?” Xeril’s wide grin was showing off. “But don’t look down on me, I also managed to kill a creature that had a [Blessing of Moonlight].”

“I expected nothing less.”

The door behind them opened up. Xeril immediately bowed down before the person arrived. He was taking this teacher-student relationship very seriously. To learn from someone was a sacred act that should not be tainted.

“Am I really that important?” Ian awkwardly smiled. He had changed his clothing to match the current situation, very celebratory. His clothes flowed along the wind, splattered in numerous colors. “I don’t think the Great Xeril should be bowing down before me.”

“Ian?” Sammuel narrowed his eyes. He didn’t expect to meet him here.

“It’s good to know you haven’t forgotten about me. Nice to meet you again in a more… calm manner.” Ian brought his fan out and hid his face.

“You know each other?” Seeing that it wasn’t Jynnette, Xeril acted like nothing happened.

Sammuel explained how they met and managed to slay the Gut Drinker through their combined efforts. Ian noticed that Sammuel actively chose to not speak about sacrificing Penny and only focused on the good parts. He wasn’t as naive enough to ruin it.

Hearing how skilled Ian was, Xeril actively chose to reach his hand out.

Rumors said that there were only two survivors. It was a fight that shouldn’t have been won but these two managed to do it. The method doesn’t matter, what matters is that they achieved the impossible. Xeril’s mindset had been forged through his own experiences. Talent means nothing if they had no ability to change anything.

Ian blatantly closed his eye and kept another one open as an undiscernable symbol appeared on it. He was trying to pry at Xeril. Sammuel had tried to understand what it was but he couldn’t. It was as if it was something he was unable to understand at all.

[???]

“Interested in what you saw?” Xeril joked.

Ian tilted his head and smiled. “You have a very bright future ahead of you. But you don’t have the touch of… fun, that Sammuel has.”

“And what do you mean by fun?”

Xeril had a sneaking suspicion about Sammuel’s true power from before but now that he learned that Sammuel was able to defeat a creature he also struggled against with, he was certain.

Sammuel’s a hidden prodigy. Possibly even a balance breaker. His achievements far surpass what he should be able to do.

“I’m very interested as well.” A voice softly spoke out as Jynnette appeared among them without their realization. Such terrifying skill was well beyond what any of the three of them could hope to face against.

“Ahem! Miss Hease, Sir Weston has recommended me to be here.” Ian brightly smiled as he reached his hand out for a handshake.

“You mean you used all your Contribution Points to be in my class.” Jynnette was more vigilant than Ian thought she would be. “I don’t care, just keep up.”

Jynnette shifted her eyes to Sammuel, staring at him with mixed emotions. “You’re alive.”

“I guess I am but there were a few close calls back then.”

Ian nodded along and added, “You weren’t even injured when it ended. You either have some amazing healing abilities or your skin’s thick enough to stop your guts from getting drunk.”

Jynnette turned to face Ian. “What exactly do you want? Just speak up already.”

“If we’re being honest, I’m very interested in a [Skill] Sammuel showed, [Art of Killing]. I’d love to learn it.” Ian continued fanning himself. Jynnette threw Ian a scroll and pointed to a corner.

“Learn by yourself for today. I still need to teach both of them how to refine mana.” Jynnette casually spoke of a very serious topic.

“That’s fine by me… wait… what? Could you please repeat that?” Ian cleared his ears out, trying to make sure he didn’t mishear her. “For a second there, I thought you said they haven’t learned how to refine mana yet.”

“You didn’t mishear me. After all, they’ve just awakened a week ago. They needed to focus on controlling mana first before refining it.”

Ian narrowed his eyes back on the two monsters that slayed the greatest threats back during the wave. For these two to be able to do such a thing while being unable to refine mana was, genuinely a terrifying thought.

“And I thought I had a chance. I’ll keep my mouth shut from now on.” Ian turned quiet as he read the scroll at his own pace. Even as he had questions, he kept it in due to the pressure of this sudden revelation.

Sammuel had been thinking about dealing with that condition last time but now that he was going to learn about it easily then it was simple. He attentively listened in on Jynnette's explaination.

“You must have felt it during the battle that your body felt sluggish and weak when you used mana. This is because you have not refined it to be one with your body. You need to use mana to strengthen your body, increasing your capacity. Watch me.”

Jynnette proceeded to use a sliver of mana to move around within herself. It went through her skin, muscle, blood, bone, and organs. One cycle had gone by and there was an extremely minuscule increase in her power.

“If you get strong enough and skilled enough, you can passively do this. Just like Sir Weston.”

Xeril, as expected, managed to figure this out faster than Sammuel did. It took a few attempts to finally find a way that let Sammuel understand the concept. The sheer difference in talent was apparent.

Sammuel followed along with Xeril’s help. He was currently using [Ego: Base] for the sake of being at the same pace. It was at this point that Sammuel felt something move within himself. He maneuvered a sliver of mana through his skin but failed to enter his muscle.

As it turned it, this was an extremely taxing method. It required Sammuel’s entire focus to barely make it past going through his skin.

[Refined Mana | Permanently Gain Combat Power: +0.5 | Sammuel: 19.62]

“So this is how people become overtly powerful. I was wondering why the numbers were so skewed.”