Fate's Reversal: The Divines Return

[System: Over-level Kill. Level difference: 17. 505% Experience bonus applied. Lv.53 Hrolkug, Lunar Orc Sentinel slain. 465,636 Experience obtained.]

Immediately, Kaiden's experience gauge increased by over 20%—infinitesimally close to leveling up, as his experience counter read "97%".

[System: Congratulations! You have been the first to kill a monster while they are in a Berserk mode. Rewarding: 2,000,000 Experience, Title: [Bane of the Berserkers], and 1,000 Reputation.]

[Bane of the Berserkers] (Unique Title) - You have proven to be the bane of monsters who have berserked. Their increase in stats was proven to have a negligible effect over the outcome. Your potential has overcome the berserk nature of the monsters, therefore, labeling yourself the bane of the berserk creatures. Effect: In the presence of a berserk monster up to a Lord Rank Boss, negate the health recovery of that boss and receive a 15% increase in damage.

Capable of leveling up. Next Rank: Special Unique Rank (Kill 30 Named Special Elite Monsters and above while berserk. [0/30])

Radiating a golden glow, Kaiden's level increased to 37 as he leisurely walked through the humongous dust cloud with steady steps. There was a look of victory plastered across Kaiden's face as a light smirk formed.

[System: The presence of a higher entity has locked onto you, they've become curious about your potential.]

With each step, Kaiden felt that tinge of pride inside him grow, from a spark it became an ember and with that ember—a raging inferno of reveling emotions formed. That pride was well earned, who in their right mind would be able to dish out over 2 million damage in the 2nd week of a game?

This freak of lucky encounters, that's who. However, as Kaiden reveled in the glory of his prodigious feat—Kaiden abruptly halted his steps as his body was beginning to be overwhelmed with a powerless feeling.

Kaiden was aware that the backlash of his Berserk skill was to come—it was just that, because this was the first time he used Spiritual Outburst, Kaiden was unaware of the actual sensation caused by the backlash.

[System: As a consequence of the skill [Spiritual Outburst], you have entered the [Extreme Fatigue] state—all stats reduced to 25% of their actual value.]

Following the message, Kaiden's countenance paled—he was the second coming of Vlad the Impaler or rather, Dracula. His face was the color of xerox paper, whiter than the winter's snow. Additionally, his physique visibility lost strength as his cheekbones protruded slightly and his body thinned a great degree.

With his previous steady steps becoming staggering, faulty advances—Kriishna's appeared to provide stability to Kaiden. "My Lord, it seems you have gone slightly overboard with that last skill and as a result, damaged your internals to a great degree."

Forming a wry smile, Kaiden used much energy to speak as his voice became grating to the ear, "No...it's the aftereffect of that Berserk skill."

"Oh, one of those temporary potential amplifying techniques my liege? Those are horrifyingly incomplete, a perfect amplification wouldn't result in such a pronounced bout of enervation."

Landing, Latahhya approached Kaiden as she gently c.a.r.e.s.sed Kaiden's cheek with a slight frown, "Hun...look at your condition. You are so reckless! Why would you activate such a detrimental skill? We would have beaten that grotesque creature regardless."

Kaiden's bitter smile deepened further as he nodded powerlessly, Latahhya was not an existence he would bicker with, he remembered how indignant she could become.

"Hmph! Don't give me that look, you know you aren't heeding my word at all.", lost in her own interpretation of Kaiden's expression, Latahhya crossed her arms with a slight pout as he left foot stamped softly.

Sensing the irrational behavior of Latahhya, Kriishna grumbled as he was reminded of his past experiences with the Titan females, "Oi..do not bicker with my Lord, do you not see that he is in no condition."

"You...youu! Hmph, are you his lady? I don't think so."

'Haiz...I think I have my hands full in the future.'

Raising his hand which proved to be a laborious task, Kaiden gently patted Latahhya's head—his consolation instantly quelled the lady's frustrations as a tinge of warm blush appeared on her cheeks.

Surveying the surroundings, there were no signs of immediate danger—leading Kaiden to conclude their actions, "We are left with no other choice, therefore,...we shall take a small break."

Sitting in the lotus position, Kaiden closed his eyes and circulated the [Art of 16 Quintessential Harmonic Cycles]. Now that he was in Stage 2 of his Profession, the cycles experienced less resistance. Additionally, the circulation speed flowed at a much more brisk pace. In essence, the time required to initiate circulation was drastically reduced—in comparison to his previous ventures.

In 30 minutes, Kaiden performed 15 cycles but he wouldn't waste the opportunity to complete a full circulation chain. Henceforth, Kaiden continued in his lotus position for a few moments longer. With that being said, 3 minutes later he was alerted by a message.

[System: You have completely revolved the technique 'Art of 16 Quintessential Harmonic Cycles', increasing proficiency with the technique slightly. Affinity with the technique has risen. 5,000 Profession Experience rewarded.]

Opening his eyes, Kaiden felt refreshed and full of energy—his mindset was vibrant and his Inner Energy had completely recovered. In light of this, his state of Extreme Fatigue also subsided. Checking his character panel, Kaiden contemplated what Skill Points actually did.

Name: Unsheathed (Human) *Adventurer

Lv.37 (1,684,290/2,555,000) [66%]

Class: Sword Fiend (Tier 1—Apprentice) | Profession: Ancient Spiritual Cultivator - Stage 2 (254,995/9,000,000) [2.6%]

Guild: Ethereal Conviction | Reputation: Viscount (6,750/15,000)

Title(s): <Primary Title>[The Path You Tread Is Sacred] (Epic Rank) | <Secondary>[Combat Savant] (Epic Rank) | <Tertiary Title>[Momentous Pioneer] (Epic Rank) | <Quaternary Title>[Bane of the Berserkers]

HP: 10,725 (52 HP regen/sec)

Inner Energy: 2,725 (1,000 <Base Energy> + 1,325 + 400) (2 per second)

Attack Power: 3,078 | Defense: 2,219 | Attack Speed: 5 | Movement Speed: 14 m/s

Critical Damage: 175% | Additional Damage: 25% | Abnormal Status Resistance: 30 (2%)

Elemental Resistance: 25 | Defense Ignore: 30%

<Attributes> -

•Strength: 768 (437 + 177 +154) | •Vitality: 268 (119 + 95 + 54)

•Intelligence: 256 (110 + 95 + 51) | •Dexterity: 540 (290 + 142 + 108)

•Agility: 578 (314 + 148 + 116) | •Spirit: 256 (110 + 95 + 51)

•Endurance: 305 (119 + 125 + 61) | •*Luck: 208 (71 + 95 + 42)

<Constitution> -

[8 Divine Gates Celestial Body] -

1st Gate: [Gate of Physical Exaltation] (Early Stage) <1%>- Strength +100, Attack Power +20%

<Mastery>- [True Path of the Sword] (Apprentice Rank) 0/50 Mastery Points.

<Skills> -

Passives:

[Versatility] (Racial), [Untapped Potential] (Racial), [Holy Trinity Cultivation Method] (Growth), [Internal Property - Piercing Tenacity] (Growth), [Eidetic Memory - Enlightened Comprehension] (Growth), [Firmament Piercing Eyes] (Growth), [Auspicious Presence] (Growth), [Way of the Sword - Omniblade Wielding] (Legendary)

Actives:

[Thrust] (Normal), [Sonic Thrust] (Normal), [Double Slash] (Normal), [Weapon Defend] (Normal), [Charging Slash] (Rare), [Sword Steps] (Rare), [Sword Wind] (Rare), [Sword Wave – Dispersion] (Special), [1st Tempest Style - Origin Piercing Light] (Special), [2nd Tempest Style - Revolving Phantom] (Special), [3rd Tempest Style - Triple Assault] (Special), [5th Tempest Style - Gale Lightning Dance] (Special Active), [6th Tempest Style - Twin Tornado Drill] (Special Active) ,[Gravitational Descent - Homing Pierce] (Epic), [Illusive Sword Torrent] (Epic)

Attribute Points: 56

Skill Points: 3

Inheritance Points: 5

Mastery Points: 282

Inventory | 13,067 Gold, 82 Silver, 51 Copper

Tapping on the Skill Point option, Kaiden was shocked by the message he received—he also felt a hint of excitement as his mind developed thoughts surrounding this concept.

[System: Skill Point is a system added when once truly leaves the realm of the basic classes. This point can be used in the stead of Skill Proficiency. Additionally, it is extremely onerous to come by—only awarded as a tier elevation reward or special task or achievement awards. The ratio of this is translated as 1 Skill Point adds 10,000 Skill Proficiency to a skill.]

'Interesting, so, in essence, I have 30,000 usable Skill Proficiency to implant in a skill. Wait...this doesn't describe the limitations? Then...what could they be? Should I experiment? Hmm... I'm unsure.'

Kaiden started to become skeptical about the drawbacks of experimenting with these Skill Points, what if he used it on a skill now and later some odd situation happened and another skill would have better to level.

'Ah, I'll just save them. I have no issues currently with my combat prowess.'

Closing his character panel once again, Kaiden's trio ended their break as they resumed to pierce through a sea of orcs located in the valley.

As the trio split, the density of the orc thinned noticeably. On average each of the trio would take 2-3 minutes to kill a new orc. The highest damage contributor was Kaiden, however, it wasn't because his damage was the strongest but rather he held two swords—his damage was the fastest. He dealt two blows for every strike Latahhya and Kriishna performed.

However, Kriishna's battles were the most thrilling because the way he battled was brutish and plain fascinating. There were various moments where his weighty strikes bisected the monsters before they could disintegrate into motes of light.

As Kaiden moved deeper up north, he caught a gleam in the corner of his eye. Turning his head and focusing his vision slightly, Kaiden realized the glow in the distance was silverish in color. Although, if he compared the silver glints he experienced from the past Silver rank items to the one that was radiating now—they were dull at best—without comparison

This gleam was l.u.s.trous, and silvery-white looking to be a holy and pure metal. Closing the distance, Kaiden reached the proximity to inspect the item—he became jubilant when he realized what it was—a treasure c.h.e.s.t!

[Platinum Treasure C.h.e.s.t]

Able to receive up to Platinum rank items.

Bending down on one knee, Kaiden placed his hand above the grove of the main rune on the treasure c.h.e.s.t.

[System: Opening Treasure C.h.e.s.t. Approximate time: 36 seconds...2%...8%...12%...23%...]

'One thing I must say is that as the ranks of the treasure c.h.e.s.t increase, the design becomes more exquisite and beautiful. If only we could use treasure c.h.e.s.ts as materials to craft…'

Kaiden counted the seconds as the time passed when he was soon consoled by the system alert.

'DING!' [System: Congratulations, Platinum Treasure C.h.e.s.t has been opened.]

Sifting through the contents of the Platinum Treasure C.h.e.s.t, Kaiden saw 3 items of different categories inside. The first was a leather tunic that seemed to radiate a type of dark energy. Secondly, there was a cauldron that seemed no bigger than a palm. Lastly, there was a random key located in between the other two items.

[Shirazi's Dark Embroidery] (Platinum Rank)

Lv.40 Leather Top Equipment

Defenses +195

Agility +52, Dexterity +48, Strength +39, Endurance +23

[Active Equipment Skill] (Walk Among the Shadows) - Shrouds yourself in darkness and provides a stealth state, in this state unable to attack as the first attack will cancel this state. Duration: 33 seconds Cooldown: 20 minutes.

[Active Equipment Skill] (Darkness Blitz) - Delivers 6 strikes of shadow damage, dealing 50% of Attack Power.

Durability: 95/95, Requirement: Assassin Class, 200 Agility

[Key of The Flowing World] (Special)

This key belongs to an enchanted realm. When you are near the entrance of that realm within a 500-meter radius, this key will vibrate.

Number of uses: 5/5. This key allows you to bring 10 additional people with you.

'Huh, a realm Key? Interesting when I find it. We shall discover the purpose of this realm.'

[Glory Star Cauldron] (Violet Gold)

Lifestyle Equipment

Engraved with runes of "Starfire" and "Glory Descent". This cauldron promotes excellent flame control while also adding subtle benefits.

Effects: Pills under Rank IV success rate +10%. 10% decrease in the chance of experiencing an uncontrollable flame. Increases the experience gained from creating pills by 5%. The effects of Earth attribute and Flame attribute herbs are increased by 25%.

'Lifestyle equipment! Haha, indeed continue to supply me with the basic needs to fuel my Kingdom.'

Storing the items in his spatial ring, Kaiden once again resumed the onslaught on the orcs. Shredding through them unimpeded, Kaiden spent upwards of 38 hours slaying these monsters. However, spending 30 hours only increased his level slightly beyond 39.

Slashing down abruptly Kaiden bisected another Lunar Orc when he was alerted by a pleasant system alert. One he couldn't be happier about, it had been days since he began his hellish grind. So with this, Kaiden began his trek back to town as there was another situation he had to take care of while the sun began setting.