The golden crystal flashed as golden rays beamed to it. The griffin who was quite near Kal quickly retreated as it flapped it's wings away.
Kiheeeeeh!
The griffin was squeaking that sounded like it was afraid. Kal said to himself "Was this supposed to be your weakness? Then don't try to run since I'll catch up to you!" Kal blasted on his feet to chase on the fleeing griffin. He saw the golden rays hit the griffin and suddenly, it's gold like body fade like a light bulb slowly losing electricity.
[GRIFFIN IS USING ROAR]
Kiyaaaaaaaahh!
It's shrieked and sonic waves went towards Kal to try and slow him down. Kal didn't even faze from the deafening roar even though every hole in Kal's face was profusely bleeding.
[STUN HAS BEEN NULLIFIED]
The bleeding instantly stop right after it had affected Kal and with [SPRING] most of the damage was absorb into his body. His health had dropped below 30% from that single scream but Kal remained persistent as he control the sudden rise of energy in his body.
'I haven't tried using the absorbed attack from my body since I had instantly died. With this much power boiling inside of me, let's see if you can get away with this.' Kal focused the power inside of him as he move the flow of all the power into his right hand. His whole arm burst into green flames as he held the crystal tightly in his fingertips. He stopped his flight mid air, as he floated and even without any foothold to try and put some force on, he spun counterclockwise and began increasing his momentum.
'[Sprint] [Override]...[Strike]!' His speed of rotation had caused him to make a cyclone and with all the pent up force from his nonstop spinning, he placed all his strength into the crystal and threw it towards the flying griffin.
Puuuv!
The blasting noise almost sounded like a triggered sniper rifle. The soul shard ripped the air that flew at the speed of light that if one blinked, they would miss it.
Pang!
The crystal hit the griffin's anus and drilled right inside it. The pent up power inside the crystal spread like pressurized air causing the griffin's lower body to expand like a balloon and explode.
Kiya!
The griffin was only able to make a short scream after seeing that half of its body had burst into chunks of organs and flesh. It was a gruesome sight and anyone who'd be in the same situation would be in fatal state yet the griffin was still alive and well.
"It's still an S-rank monster and even in berserk state it still manage to survive that, we'll that's to be expected for such monster, I already know that strong monsters can quickly regenerated any missing part of their body and I even saw hunters regain their lost limbs and organs. Let's just see what that soul shard is capable of doing that it can even frighten a devil." Kal observed from a far. He couldn't tell how much health had the griffin remained since he was quite far away from it but he could tell it was not faring well.
Waaaang!
The crystal that looked like an eagle flashed it eyes open, suddenly the golden rays bend and all went into the heavily injured griffin who still forced itself to fly away even with the half of its body gone. It was then encased in a golden orb and all of its movements paused. It almost looked like it had stopped in time. The encased griffin then moved towards the floating crystal and all of its entirety was sucked into the crystal like a vacuum.
Ting~
[4TH TEST COMPLETED]
"Eh? That was it? Where the hell is my boss reward!?" Kal was shocked. Right after the soul shard absorbed the griffin a window panel had appeared in his view saying that the test was completed. This was the first time that he didn't relied on his innate talent so he felt a sense of joy. He was the transported right back at the first floating island and the soul shard appeared in his hands.
Ting~
[Griffin Soul Shard
Grade: S
Type: Mount/Armor Set
Mount-(To activate, simply say "Soul Mount") Summon the griffin and be able to use it as a transportation that let's you travel from the plains and the sky. Although it cannot be used in combat, it is very strong and fast that is able to lift 100 tons with ease and fly in a speed of sound.
Armor Set- (To activate, simply say "Soul Armor Set" Be one with the griffin and obtain a full set of protective equipment that adds 200 stamina, 100 strength, 150 agility, 20% cooldown reduction, and 60 wind attribute. You will also earn exclusive skills from the Griffin. (Note: Any armor type equipments will be automatically unequipped and cannot equip any other equipment if the armor set is in use.)]
"Oh my god, this is an absolute scam!" Kal was astonished by the item's description. It was nothing he had ever seen, his face had an onions look of shock, disbelief and greed that he couldn't help but be ecstatic that he had forgotten that he didn't earn the rewards for killing the griffin.
"I'm not mad all for not getting the rewards from the griffin, in fact, I'm not even gonna complain if this is just the reward for the test!" Kal said in joy.
Ting~
[GRIFFIN SLAIN (0/1)- F
REMAINING FLOATING ISLANDS (14/15)- S
TIME SPAN (00:00:56)- SS
OBTAINED SOUL SHARD (Optional 1/1)- S
Total: S+]
Ting~
[FOR COMPLETING THE TEST WITH AN S+ GRADE, YOU HAVE BEEM GIVEN ADDITIONAL REWARDS]
[+5000 points
+2 levels
+wind trinket (ADDITIONAL REWARDS)
+skillscroll- meditate (ADDITIONAL REWARDS)
+Giant's belt (ADDITIONAL REWARDS)
+7000 points (ADDITIONAL REWARDS)]
"I'm not the least interested with the rewards, let's try this soul shard first!" Kal closed the panel and held the crystal in his hand.
"Soul Mount!" The crystal flew out of his palm and flashed brightly in a golden light. The light then formed into a shape of a griffin and as the light had fade, it showed the same griffin that Kal had just fought. Unlike the arrogant nature of the griffin, this summoned griffin looked pale in comparison, it didn't showed any signs of breathing and just stood still in the ground. It still maintain its monstrous pressure had now vanished and almost seemed like it was a robot that only moved in Kal's command.
"Is it just like the system window that could controlled using my thoughts?" Kal tried to control it with telepathy and fortunately, it had succeed. As Kal ordered it to walk, it began walking, asked it to fly and flew up in the sky. He ordered to do a bunch of stuff and it did everything just as what Kal had in mind. The only downside was that it didn't do anything connected in combat just as what the items description said.
"What a wasted potential, let's just see how fast it really is." Kal sighed in disappointment and began riding the griffin in its back. It automatically obliged to its orders as it bend down its big body to let Kal mount it's back. Kal ordered it to fly in the sky and as ordered, it flew away.
"Sh*t! This is faster than I thought!" Kal felt like his skin was gonna tear away from his muscles due to the speed of flight though that the griffin was making. He immediately ordered it to go back to the land since Kal had felt nauseated from the speed.
"Now, that I've tried out the mount, let's check the armor set, Soul armor set." The griffin turned back into a golden light and molded right into Kal's body. The night cloak and iron gloves had been forcefully unequipped and was put back into the inventory as the entire light completely encase Kal from head to toe.
Paah!
The light flashed and disappeared leaving a winged armor that looked very beautiful and bright. The gold plating from the armor made it quite shiny and white patterns and designs had the feel of full power and holiness. Kal felt like an angel of war as he admired not just the armor set's looks but the enormous power that was given to him that he felt like he was strongest man in the world.
"So this is the power of an S-rank, now that I have felt it, it's kinda scary and exciting at the same time." Although the white eagle-like helm had covered Kal's face, his voice alone clearly showed the immense joy he was feeling.
Ting~
[Queen Eagle
Grade- S
Type- Armor set
Durability- 20000/20000
Effects:
+200 stamina
+100 strength
+150 agility
+20% cooldown reduction (Note: Cooldown reduction is an effect that decreases the skills cooldown.)
+60 agility
Active-(Chase)-Sharp Pursuit: Quickly arrive in a target's location and if it changes its location, instantly arrive to its side (Can pursuit the same target 3 times).
Mana cost: 300
Cooldown: 10 minutes
Active-(AOE/DEBUFF)-Roar: Generate loud sonic waves in a wide area that stuns all the targets for 30 seconds and weakens them by 30-70%. The sonic waves deals 1000 magic damage (+100% strength) to the targets inside the area.
Mana cost: 500
Cooldown: 5 minutes
Active-(DEBUFF/DMG)-Trembling pounce: Lock on a target and lunge yourself at them. As soon as you lunge to the target, Fear effect will be inflicted to them losing their will to fight for 3 minutes and your next attack will deal True damage. If you miss the target, you will be stunned for 30 seconds.
Mana cost: 320
Cooldown: 3 minutes
Active-(AOE/DMG)-Lion Claw: Perform two consecutive strikes that generates two sets of claw waves in the air that increases in size the farther it goes. Deal 2000-10000 physical damage (+200% strength), the damage will increase the nearer the target is hit.
Mana cost: 400
Cooldown: 7 minutes
Passive-(Buff)-Airborne: The hunter is able to fly in the sky without draining any energy and sharpens the abilities while in mid-air.]
"This is crazy!" Kal exclaimed in shock. The description of the item was unlike he had ever seen. This was his first S-grade item but it felt like it was too much for an S-grade. Those publicly shown S-grade items had one similarity, each one had one unique attribute that stood them out from the rest of the items but this item was an exception, a single effect of it would be enough to evaluate it as an S-grade yet almost every effect was unique.
"This is no doubt one or if not, the best S-rank item ever! The skills may have the downside of having high mana cost and long cooldown, but that can be solved by increasing my intelligence so it's not a huge problem." Kal said with a grin.
[5TH TEST HAS COMMENCED]
Kal was in hurry to try out this soul shard and immediately started the 5th test. The test was held in a sand dune in which Kal had to safely bring a carriage mule in an oasis which was 100 kilometers away. He had to defend it against giant centipedes each the size of a train.
The centipedes rose up from the sands that assaulted the carriage mule but the carriage mule didn't even seem aware of the danger so Kal immediately threw a punch empowered with [Strike]. His fist burned in a bright golden glow as green flames cover it.
Bang!
The punch generated a very loud explosion and before Kal knew it, the giant centipede had been reduced into smithereens. He watch as the centipede turned to dust as a window panel appeared in his view.
[CENTIPEDE SLAIN (1/500)]
+600 points
"This is too strong!" Kal was in a state of disbelief as he looked at his trembling hands as if fearing of what monster he had become. Right after the giant centipede disintegrate into ashes, another one rose up from the sands. Kal tried to use his weapon, a long club and battered the incoming centipede. The club crashed the centipede's hard exoskeleton into broken shell and it's entire body flew away into a mush of gore. He was exhilarated by his strength and with the added effect of [Analysis], he became proficient with the club in a short amount of time and reached its mastery to Expert.
Although the speed in which the mule moved was only 10 kilometers an hour. Kal didn't felt any struggle, as hours passed, more and more centipedes appear and some were even bigger than the rest. Yet only a single bash from his club had turned them into piles of shells and mussels. The test was the easiest he had done and he immediately proceeded to the next test. All the status points he claimed were distributed to his intelligence to increase on his lack of mana.
The next 4 tests included a wall defense where Kal had to use a sword and defend an outer wall from tens of thousands of soldiers each having the power of B-ranks and some even having the power of an S-rank. Then came a dungeon exploration where Kal used a staff and had to avoid hundreds of deadly traps but with [Analysis] the traps laid where all in naught since Kal had already predicted it, he had to also defeat a necromancer after reaching the deepest parts of the dungeon that went quite smoothly since the necromancer had a fatal weakness of the light element in which the armor set was exuding in a such bright presence. The next one was relatively easy, he had to defeat a mountain god which was a humanoid earth titan the size of the famous twin towers. The reason why it was relatively easy, was that the titan was super slow and dull and weapon given to Kal was a shield and as short sword which he already had gist of since he had seen Dontrelle use it first-hand so defeating the titan was a piece of cake. The 9th test was the hardest test Kal had taken, he had to defeat an exact resemblance of himself, it was literally a test of himself, no weapons, no armor, no skills, both had the same prowess and even if Kal increased his power by adding points into his attributes, the clone would also be powerful, the techniques had to be difference. Kal fought the clone of himself for almost 3 days and just at that time, the [Analysis] had able to analyze the clone which resulted in his victory.
The rewards he accumulated had piled up in his inventory, though it was quite useful for him, as of now, the soul shard was truly exceptional that no rewards could compare it so he continued to use it. He manage to earn 10 more levels and he put all the status points into intelligence putting it up to 160 which rewarded him from reaching 100 points an exclusive skill reward (Exclusive skill rewards are skills that is independent in the skill tab, so it cannot be changed and will not fill up the skill slots. [Sprint] and [Override] is an example of it).
Ting~
[Active-(Heal)-Convert: The next damage you deal to a target will not deal any damage but converts the supposedly damage into mana (100 damage= 1 mana).]
Now he had reached level 30 and a window panel appeared in his view.
Ting~
[CONGRATULATIONS FOR REACHING LEVEL 30!]
[YOU HAVE RECEIVED 3 SKILL SLOTS!]
Kal was happy with his reward as his skill tab had already filled up. He only had 4 skill slots in his skill tabs which were [Strike], [Wind Barrier], [Jab], and [Spring], the skills he had received as a reward from the last tests couldn't be learned since his skill tab had already been filled and if he did want to learn, he had to sacrifice a skill for it and all the skill he currently had were enough for him plus he had the help of the armor set which meant he didn't really need to use a lot of skills since his strength alone could defeat them single handedly.
"Now that I have three more skill slots, let's learn new skills shall we." Kal rummaged through his spatial inventory and pulled out three skill scrolls.
Ting~
[Skill Scroll- Mountain Press
Grade- A++
Type- CC/DMG
In a wide area, release a powerful pressure that will restrict all the targets inside the area that crushes them from the weight of a mountain. The weaker the will and resolve of the target, the faster they are crushed inside the area which may result in instant death. Binding lasts for 30 seconds.
Mana Cost: 500
Cooldown: 1 hour
Requirements: Strong Will, level 25, 100 strength]
Ting~
[Skill Scroll- Pincer Guards
Grade- A
Type- BUFF/DEF
Skin will be turned into a sturdy and thorny exoskeleton. Triples the defense of all types but slows down the user's movements by 50%. Rebounds 60% of the damage back to the opponent (Only close range damage and physical damage). If target contacts with the exoskeleton, chances that it may result in paralysis, stun, bleeding, and hallucination (Poison element will increase the chances of debuff).
Mana cost: 100
Cooldown: 10 minutes
Requirements: Level 22, Stamina 100, 10 poison element]
Ting~
[Skill scroll- Phantom
Grade- S
Type- Summon
Summon a clone of any chosen target (eg: Yourself, item, equipment, objects, living organisms.) and it will have 20% of the power of the original target. The power of the summoned clone increase the higher your understanding of the target but if you have a higher understanding oft the chosen target, the summoning process will take longer (Can only copy a maximum of 80% of the target's power). You are able to discern the summoned clone's sense and control it with your thoughts.
Mana cost: 50% base mana
Cooldown: 10 hours.
Requirements: Kal]
These skill scrolls where all obtained from defeating various bosses, [Mountain Press] was from the mountain god, [Pincer Guards] was from the boss of the giant centipedes and [Phantom] from defeating his clone.
[DO YOU WISH TO LEARN THE SKILL? (Y/N)]
[DO YOU WISH TO LEARN THE SKILL? (Y/N)]
[DO YOU WISH TO LEARN THE SKILL? (Y/N)]
"Yes, yes and yes." The system bell simultaneously echoed on his head as learned the three skills. Kal still had a few more remaining skill scrolls on his inventory and he specifically chose this skill scrolls. He didn't based it on their grades but the quality of the skill itself if it may be of use to him or not. Although there were other skills Kal wished to have learned but their requirements were too over the top, some of the requirements were almost humanely impossible and would take years to get so he decided to use the more useful ones that he needed, plus he had to put on caution since his next and last test might prove the most difficulty.
"From the 9 tests, I have succeeded in earning S-grades, so now, I'll make sure to be at my full carefulness and not ruin my streak of achievements." Kal said to himself.
"But first, let's consume some trinkets." Kal pulled out two marbles in his hand, one was a burning brightly and the other was emitting a cool breeze of air. He didn't hesitate and swallowed the two trinkets at the same time.
Ting~
[FIRE TRINKET HAS BEEN CONSUMED]
Ting~
[WIND TRINKET HAS BEEN CONSUMED]