She was completely bathing in the praises of the others like a peacock, if she was honest with herself. How can she not? She finally reached Journeyman–or at least met the requirements for it.
Mikella looked at her status screen as plenty of people sung her praises, giving a glance at Zeke who is trying, and failing, to keep a straight face from all the praise.
> Level Up! You are now Level 60. You gain 6 free points (6 FP total).
>
> You have gained +9 STR from your class.
>
> You have gained +9 DEX from your class.
>
> You have gained +9 END from you class.
…..
> Due to achieving Level 60, you are now able to advance. However, you must meet the requirements to fully advance to Journeyman. You will no longer gain anymore experience points until you advance to Journeyman.
…..
> You have met the requirements to advance. Would you like to proceed?
>
> Y/N
>
> Warning: Advancement to Journeyman may be dangerous. Find a safe place to rest and protect yourself before advancing.
She was actually worried that compared to Zeke, her requirements would’ve been higher considering how easy it was for her to gain General Skills and their levels. Apparently there was a good reason why it never changed from Zeke’s own requirements.
Raising skills outside of mortal combat was a bitch to do. While Zeke’s combat skills were easier to raise, Mikella had to put in her all to raise her Class skills to the fullest, and that was a lot harder to pull off when her life really isn’t in any danger ever since the biodome takeover.
The General Skills were easy, however. Despite already having four Rare skills on hand, she wanted one more skill added in–Mana Perception and Lightning Mastery.
These two skills, she knew, are absolutely essential for her path forward. She also knew her advancement to Journeymen would be affected if she had these skills, much like how her Class Skill Clashing Energies was affected after not only maxing out her general skill list, but also gain Mana Perception as a skill as well as maxing out her Kinetic Manipulation.
She was certain her Dragon Berserker class would also evolve based on what she had done, though she had a feeling it wouldn’t change much. Either way, her instincts were telling her that everything would turn out fine on that part.
> Mana Perception Level Up! It is now Level 10 (Maxed).
>
> You have gained +1 INT (x2) from your skill.
>
> You have gained +1 SPI (x2) from your skill.
>
> Mana Perception has been maxed. Bonuses are now applied:
>
> -Increased mana control
…..
> Skill Evolution has commenced.
>
> Your skill Mana Perception (Uncommon) has evolved into Mana Manipulation (Rare).
>
> Your skill Mana Manipulation has been reset to level 1. You will still retain the stat bonuses you have acquired before the evolution.
…..
> Lightning Mastery Level Up! It is now Level 10 (Maxed).
>
> You have gained +1 INT (x6) from your skill.
>
> You have gained +1 SPI (x6) from your skill.
>
> Lightning Mastery has been maxed. Bonuses are now applied:
>
> -Increased lightning resistance
>
> -Increased lightning potency
>
> -Advancement available
…..
> Skill Advancement has commenced.
>
> Your skill Lightning Mastery (Uncommon) has advanced into Lightning Mastery (Rare).
>
> You gain points based on the advanced rarity:
>
> A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
>
> +9 INT
>
> Your skill Lightning Mastery has been reset to Level 1. You will still retain the stat bonuses you have acquired before the advancement.
These skills were, surprisingly, not that hard compared to her Class skills. Granted, less than a year ago, she would’ve balked at anyone who thought she could ever master these difficult mana controlling skills. But outside of life and death combat, they haven’t changed in difficulty to learn.
Her class skills, on the other hand, proved to be a more difficult beast. She actually spent more time on the field reusing her Class Skills over and over again, using all sorts of methods to focus all of her progress on advancing each level. The more they leveled, the more difficult they became to increase again.
But finally, that last stunt against the battle with Zeke finally pushed her skills to the max.
> Heavenly Strike Level Up! It is now Level 10 (Maxed).
>
> Decreased stamina and mana consumption.
>
> Increased damage.
>
> Heavenly Strike has been maxed. Each bonus you normally receive is now doubled in their benefits.
…..
> Dragon Descent Level up! It is now Level 10 (Maxed).
>
> Increased speed and maneuverability (x4).
>
> Decreased stamina and mana consumption (x4).
>
> Dragon Descent has been maxed. Each bonus you normally receive is now doubled in their benefits.
…..
> Draconic Fury Level Up! It is now Level 10 (Maxed).
>
> Increase attribute increase (x5).
>
> Decrease cooldown and energy consumption (x5).
>
> Draconic Fury has been maxed. Each bonus you normally receive is now doubled in their benefits.
These three skills were honestly the hallmark of her fighting style. Both Heavenly Strike and Dragon Descent were there from the beginning, bringing her to new heights (with one of them, quite literally). Draconic Fury, however, proved useful over and over when she truly wanted to go all out, not holding back a single ounce of her power.
Truthfully, however, she wanted to increase Forced Regeneration and especially Clashing Energies. But she realized throughout the year that both those skills were impossible to raise, especially Clashing Energies, when her life wasn’t on the line. She wasn’t sure whether the system knew that these Class skills were difficult to raise, hence rather than trying to max all the Class Skills, people only had to put up with three.
If she had chosen more passive class skills, she was afraid she would’ve never maxed out her skills before the time limit was up.
With all of these skills together, she knew she made a solid foundation as a damage dealer that can take care of herself even without a healer or even a tank. Her Endurance, normally reserved for her stamina control, made her dense and tough thanks to all the beatings she put up with over the years she spent in this new world. She also even considered picking up a defensive skill just in case, to further improve her battling capabilities.
But that all has to wait for now. Once the crowd finally dispersed, Mikella watched Zeke let out a breath of relief from finally being released, giving her a chuckle.
“Hey! Congrats you two!”
Her ears perked up when she heard a familiar voice she had grown used to in this new world. She turned to find none other than her best friend after Zeke; Myra.
And she was nowhere near the same as when she last saw her a year ago. That was because Myra has advanced into Journeyman.
Of course, Mikella was brimming with jealousy, but truthfully she couldn't be happier. She may have a competitive edge, but she knew Myra trained hard over the years since she lived in this world far longer than Mikella ever did. Was it really a surprise that she would reach Journeyman before her despite being neck to neck with each other?
Throughout the year, it was as though everything clicked for her. Myra improved her skills faster and faster the more times she fought against Mikella rather than at anyone else. Of course, she also fought against Zeke and Pyker, those closest to her in levels and power, before finally reaching the very limits of her Expert status.
Mikella thought that she would actually have some difficulty gaining the titles one needed to meet the requirements. But Myra’s impressive record at the biodome proved her wrong as she eventually met the requirements just about two months ago.
So rather than being a tanned beauty with auburn wild hair decked in her usual simple leather armor, Myra was now a full-blown Journeyman just like Valorie, and boy did it show.
Her body has transformed to the point where she reached the same height as Val, and her figure was strong, composed, and filled with grace. Even her assets improved to reach the same level as Val’s, which quite frankly made Mikella excited to reach Journeyman sooner and brimming with envy. That woman sure knew how to show off her curves. Even Zeke coudln’t stop taking glances at her a few times ever since her advancement, and Mikella can’t even blame the poor man even if he acted meekish whenever he got caught by her.
But more than that, Myra displayed an aura that was difficult to match. It was like standing next to a furnace bursting at full power, and it actually took Myra a while to cool it down with her aura, or else she would start making fires left and right. The first few days were pretty hellish for her as fires really did start bursting everywhere around her vicinity.
Her features were the same, if a lot more refined–like a rough diamond finally getting officially cut and sculpted to look like a true gem in the making. Her eyes were brimming bright with orange red, her face was well-sculpted like a warrior, yet there was that feminine suppleness proving her beauty, and of course, how could she forget the blazing wings behind her back, fluttering in excitement after meeting the two?
That’s right–Myra became a fairy after her advancement. While that sounded rather ridiculous, it truly wasn’t as the feature to becoming a Journeyman came to light the moment she advanced.
One can change their race after evolving into a Journeyman. Though not completely. Their race tag in the status screen would read Human as usual, but the advancement allows a person to attain a sub-race alongside the Class evolution. Depending on their accomplishments and current class and skill kit, they can attain a sub-race that would be perfect for their path forward.
Mikella was surprised that Myra chose to be a fairy, more specifically, a Fire Fairy. Supposedly, those are sentient beings that existed somewhere in Tarial, living in extremely hot areas like volcanoes and the like. After hearing that a Fire Fairy normally lived in a village literally inside a volcano–Mikella knew that the sub-race was perfect for Myra.
And Myra made absolutely sure to show it off whenever she can. She loves this toxic bitch to the death as the two clapped hands together into an intense grapple.
“Finally a Journeyman, huh?” Myra said, her stupid perfect smile flashing across her stupid perfect face. “I was starting to grow bored.”
“Well now I can finally shut your pie hole with this sword. Sure you can handle the girth, little fairy?” Mikella said, her grinning widening at the suggestive tone to which Myra replied eagerly with a fierce smile of her own.
“...You guys are weird,” Zeke said off to the side. He shook his head ruefully, as if he was actually tired of this. The nerve of this man.