Aaron had been encountering increasingly astonishing things in the past few days, but what he witnessed now pushed him to the brink of madness. It was an extraordinary ability bestowed upon him by the Goddess Nyx, truly one of the best things she had in her possession.
Certain abilities had their own rankings, such as high-level healing or blacksmithing. After a certain period of use, these abilities could level up or evolve into higher-tier powers. And the ability granted to Aaron by Goddess Nyx was a scalable one, with the following description:
"Goddess's Aura (S Rank) (Active/Passive)
Active: The user opens up an area of 30 meters infused with the power of the night goddess Nyx, enhancing all abilities of the user and party members by 2x. This ability remains active until the user's mana is depleted or unless the user chooses to deactivate it.
Passive: Additionally, a high-level dark aura forms around the user, providing +20 resistance against mental magic. This aura can be deactivated at the user's discretion.
Ability Rank: S (0.00)
Mana Consumption: 2500 per minute
Cooldown: None"
This was what excited Aaron. The reason being that no other ability on Earth could consume such a low amount of mana while providing such a significant increase in power. Moreover, the ability had the potential to level up, meaning that it would become even more powerful than its current SS and X levels. This ability was the second strongest power he had encountered so far, surpassing even the God's Eyes ability. With proper utilization, it could ravage the battlefield and almost guarantee victory in any battle.
However, it had one weakness: its limited range of 30 meters and the fact that it did not move with the user. Furthermore, it would take an excessively long time to upgrade this ability, as it was an S-rank skill.
"What kind of ability is this?!" he thought repeatedly. "I can definitely understand why even Zeus would treat you with caution," he added to his own thoughts.
After all, how many divine beings could there be that could defeat her with such an ability? Moreover, this ability wasn't even the most powerful one in the hands of the goddess Nyx.
He was currently very happy. Not only had he gained a significant number of levels, but he had also obtained a perfect ability. The five levels he had gained from the wolves had raised him to level 28, which meant that he needed to hunt even more. Hunting was the only option.
If Aaron was lucky, he would come across a horde of bucket goblins and enjoy the thrill of gaining experience. A typical goblin horde consisted of at least 250 goblins, with the majority being warriors. This would be the perfect opportunity for him to level up. If he was even luckier, he might encounter a few more Lork Wolves and perhaps even a Thorny Rat.
Aaron, knowing this, had already begun leaping from roof to roof and started observing his surroundings with the God's Eye. After about half an hour, close to midnight, he spotted a goblin den directly in front of him, and it seemed to be fixed for its hunter.
Just half an hour ago, Aaron had hoped to find a horde, but now he not only found a horde but also stumbled upon a den. He had only one thing left to do, and that was to infiltrate the den and annihilate them all.
Aaron had spent 9.5 days since his last major hunt. Today was the final day of the mission, and it was already past midday. He caught a glimpse of the World Tower in the distance after a long run.
His extended hunt had yielded results. Unfortunately, after the wolf den, he had only found 1 goblin den and 2 thorned rat dens, which he had cleared. The rest of his time was spent killing random monsters that appeared on the streets. He had gained numerous levels and his stats had significantly increased. His current stats were as follows:
"Aaron Light Corbyn - Level 45
Race: Human
Gender: Male
Age: 19
Occupation: Mage, Warrior
Affinity: All Elements
Abilities: God's Eyes (passive), God-tier Sword Mastery (passive), God System (Active/Passive), Dash (active), Goddess's Aura (S Rank) (Active/Passive) *****, *****, *****
Rank: Returner (unique ring), Chosen of the Gods (increased favor with gods +1000), Supreme Dragon Slayer (power stat +50), Goblin Slayer (all stats +2), Kind-hearted (all stats +5)
Strength: 92 (80+12)
Agility: 100 (48+52)
Intelligence: 185 (180+5)
Magic Power: 100 (54+46)
Luck: 13
Charisma: 50
*****: ***
Remaining Points: 0"
With the gained 23 levels, Aaron had earned a total of 115 stat points, which he immediately distributed. He had reached the pinnacle of a B-ranked intelligence-based hunter, but his goal was to become an agile warrior. Unless any complications arose, he would continue on the path of a warrior.
Having an intelligence stat of 185, he might consider changing his profession, but there were warrior classes that favored high intelligence as well. Whatever the future held for him, he would embrace it, though this matter did occupy his thoughts.
Furthermore, he had managed to increase the Goddess's Aura ability to 0.17% through his high mana reserves. However, he was still disappointed by the lengthy duration required for the upgrade. In his past life, he had struggled with similar abilities many times, and this was something that never failed to anger him.
Aaron felt slightly insulted by the sudden notification that stated, "You have entered the boundaries of the Tower." How could he not notice the massive circular boundary drawn and transformed into a perfect cylindrical shape above?
As soon as he stepped inside the boundaries of the Tower, all the people around him turned to look at him. With a single glance, Aaron realized that they had become stronger. Their numbers had significantly dwindled, but there were still more than he had anticipated.
The corners of his lips twitched slightly when he saw that the people around him had grown stronger. After all, for the first time in a long time, he witnessed people who wanted to stand on their own feet. The tense atmosphere of the first day had dissipated, and most hunters had started to smile. They had become accustomed to this world.
While Aaron was contemplating these thoughts, he heard a voice from behind:
"Brother?" Aaron knew exactly whose voice it was. It was his little sister Dahlia, whom he had mistaken for his own family.
"I'm here," Aaron said. When she saw her brother in front of her, tears of joy streamed down her face, and she ran into his arms. This was one of the emotions he hadn't experienced in a long time. In his previous life, aside from his mother, no one had embraced him like this. It made Aaron's heart skip a beat.
After Dahlia calmed down, Aaron returned to his family, greeting them and embracing each one of them. Then, he asked everyone to show him their cards, and they listened to Aaron, showing him their cards one by one.
Aaron was surprised when he saw the cards. He had never thought that his family would perform so well without him. Sean had reached level 26, Valerie had reached level 25, and Dahlia had reached level 30. But what surprised him the most were Dahlia's gained experience and the ranks she had acquired as a result.
Looking at Dahlia's stats and other information, Aaron was both shocked and proud. He knew Dahlia was an intelligent girl, but he never expected her to grasp the system so easily and gain ranks so quickly.
"Dahlia Joanne - Level 30
Race: Human
Gender: Female
Age: 14
Occupation: War Saint, Master of Enchanted Sword
Attributes: High Defense, Fire Element
Abilities: Swift Cuts (Active - F'96.87'), Sword Dance (Passive), Saint's Instinct (Passive), Increased Critical Hit Chance (Passive - C'24.00')
Sponsors: Hadur
Rank: Goblin Slayer (+2 to all stats), Goblin's Nightmare (+10 power against goblins), Envy-Worthy (Charisma +20)
Power: 56
Agility: 40
Intelligence: 60
Magic Power: 32
Luck: 33
Charisma: 96"
Aaron was impressed by Dahlia's stats and achievements. He couldn't help but feel a mixture of surprise and pride for his little sister's remarkable progress.
Aaron thought to himself, "Well, well, look at you..."
He was truly amazed because Dahlia seemed to have grown significantly since he had left. When she first received her hunter card, five out of six stat divisions were already above 30, which made her quite powerful. But now she had reached a whole new level of strength. With these stats, Aaron couldn't worry about her anymore because he had no right to do so. Dahlia had truly become formidable.
But that wasn't all. Aaron also noticed that Dahlia had found a sponsor. Until now, he had believed that only he could collaborate with the gods, and seeing this showed him that everyone had access to such opportunities. Of course, he was special because he directly possessed the God System, and the system had told him that he was the only one with this ability. This meant that as Aaron grew stronger, he could acquire more sponsors and continue to enhance his power.
Moreover, the god who sponsored Dahlia was a powerful god himself. It was not something that anyone could overlook, considering that Hadur was the ancient Hungarian god of war and fire. From this, one could understand why Hadur chose Dahlia. One reason could be Aaron's presence by her side, and the other reason could be Dahlia's status as a War Saint and her affinity for the fire element. However, the real question was what Hadur had given Dahlia as sponsorship. If it was a weapon, it would be incredibly valuable, as acquiring the weapon of a war god like Hadur would further strengthen Aaron's group.
''Well done Dahlia.'' Aaron said happily.
"Do you know what it is, big brother?" Dahlia asked, her face full of surprise.
"Yes, I have one too," Aaron replied.
"What? You do?" Dahlia exclaimed, her astonishment growing.
"Yes, Goddess Nyx. The Goddess of the Night."
"Thus, that's why you have that aura around you," said Sean, and as Aaron heard this:
"What aura?" Aaron asked with curious eyes.
"Didn't you notice? Your surroundings have darkened. You used to seem moody, but now it's more like you possess a dark energy," Valerie added from behind.
"I hadn't noticed," Aaron said as he tried to sense his own aura. Yes, he had read about his ability, but he had assumed that the aura would only manifest when he used that specific power. This explained why monsters were somewhat intimidated by him and took a moment to think before attacking. Aaron was no longer the same; he had become darker, it was a good think of course.
After contemplating for a moment, Aaron continued talking to Dahlia:
"Well, I can figure that out later. What did your sponsor give you? It seems like they didn't grant you a new ability."
"Yes, God Hadur gifted me with two swords. The system notification instructed me to use them as a set," Dahlia replied. Hearing this, Aaron was surprised from both sides. First, Hadur sending two swords as a gift, and second, the fact that gods could send system notifications. It made sense though, considering Aaron had personally appeared before the Goddess. So, it wasn't entirely illogical for the system to allow communication between other people and gods.
"Understood. Is there any problem if I take a look at the swords?"
"Oh, of course not," Dahlia said, and then she took out the swords from the system inventory. Aaron's eyes sparkled when he saw the swords. They were two replicas of the "Sword of the God," the weapon of Hudur, the Hungarian deity. Although these weapons were powerful, they were not the strongest in the realm of the gods. However, Aaron knew that a weapon of this kind should at least have an A-level rank.
"Can I check the properties of the swords?"
"Of course, and if you want, they can be yours," Dahlia said to her beloved brother. Giving Aaron any item she possessed wouldn't even upset Dahlia. After all, if she was alive at this moment, it was perhaps because of Aaron.
''There's no need for that; I already have my own weapon, and my swords are not weaker than yours, don't worry," Aaron said, unable to contain his smile as he burst into laughter.
"I understand," Dahlia said, feeling a bit embarrassed.
At that moment, Aaron touched the swords, and suddenly the swords reacted, creating a system notification:
"Sword of the God
Rank: A
Attribute Effects: +25 Attack Power to Fire Spells, +10 Magic Power when wielded, +15 Attack Power when wielded.
Weapon Enchantment: Face of Flames (the sword envelops itself in flames, and enemies struck by these flames are subjected to a burning effect for 5 seconds)."
Aaron realized at that moment that the swords were indeed more powerful than his own. Aaron's sword was an old one, a legendary katana crafted by the renowned Japanese blacksmith Amakuni Yasatsuna, who had earned a place in Japanese mythology as the creator of the katana. Of course, a sword made by a human could never be compared to a sword possibly crafted by a god. The reason his sword was so exceptional was that it was made of a solid material and could increase in rank as long as it didn't break. After all, in his previous life, the sword had shattered at half the S rank.
However, behind all these thoughts, Aaron couldn't deny that Dahlia's current swords were at least ten times better than his own.
"You've acquired beautiful swords. May you wield them with joy and pride," Aaron said with a voice filled with happiness and pride.
"Thank you, big brother," Dahlia said, feeling happy and shy.
"Well then, let's gather. We have a lot to do today. We're going to the north to defeat one of the boss monsters. We need to complete the mission," Aaron commanded.
In a short time, Aaron and his family assembled and were ready to go. With a single order from Aaron, they all left the tower and began their journey north. Meanwhile, another event kept flowing through Aaron's mind, making him ponder. In Dahlia's job classification, there were two rank-related aspects related to combat: War Saint and Enchanted Sword Master. Aaron was thinking:
"This girl is a hidden gem, truly. I assume she died in my previous life, otherwise she would definitely be one of the X-ranked hunters. 100%."
This was truly a surprising situation because the requirements for obtaining classes were very rigorous. For example, if you were able to complete a dungeon with cliffs and flying monsters within a short period of time, and the dungeon boss was defeated, there was a 10% chance that the nature of your aura would undergo an evolution, possibly leading to obtaining the Wind Saint class. Or if you were able to complete a dungeon related to stillborns without any injuries, you could have a chance to obtain the Berserker class. That's how difficult it was to acquire classes, and the two classes Dahlia possessed were among the most challenging to obtain. The effects they offered were of such high caliber that defeating those who had those classes was incredibly challenging.
In his previous life, Aaron remembered having a practice match against a Sword Saint, who completely defeated him. At that time, Aaron held the class of Destruction Lord, which was among the top ten most difficult classes to obtain. That's how powerful the Sword Saint class was. Of course, just because a class was difficult to obtain didn't necessarily make it the strongest. Losing to a Sword Saint didn't bother Aaron much.
As for the Enchanted Sword Master, it didn't need much mention. That class was entirely obtained by chance. The only requirement to obtain it was to have a high elemental attribute, just like Dahlia. Ironically, Aaron no longer possessed that class, and even more strangely, it had attributes against all elements. It seemed like God and the others had placed a barrier in front of him, perhaps wanting him to surpass it.
However, Aaron let go of these thoughts. If he dwelled on them, his guard would drop, and he would become unable to react in any danger.
The group continued on at full speed, and after about an hour, they reached the area indicated on the map where the boss monster was located. Aaron was shocked when he saw the boss monster standing before him. They couldn't possibly be expected to kill it because the creature in front of them was a "Black Annis."
This was a boss monster that they could potentially defeat, but a single mistake could lead to their demise. It was true that if they made even one mistake, their deaths would be sealed without a doubt.