A month later!
Andrew was still striving to enhance his powers before thinking about anything else. He was sitting cross-legged on the small bed in the small hotel room while inspecting his condition.
His body had changed beyond measure during his time in seclusion. It exuded a fierce aura and would occasionally ooze intimidating mana fluctuations. Of course, all this resulted from using his book-type totem to strengthen himself.
Andrew had long used Aeon's Blessing of Death to devour all the beast corpses gifted to him by Cody. He had converted the dead magical beasts into origin energy for his book-totem's use and edited his three other attributes. He had raised his maximum mana, agility, and physique to the value of 11.5 each, the standard of a peak-stage apprentice sorcerer.
In only a month, he had relied on his book-type totem and past life memories for such a feat that would have taken geniuses years to accomplish. He had evolved from a newbie apprentice sorcerer and became a being only a step away from metamorphosing into a rank-one sorcerer.
Although he was weaker than the peak version of his previous life, he could still protect himself from minor troubles. He finally had the confidence to face the nefarious schemes his cousins might send his way and come out unscathed.
'I still have 1 unit of accumulated fate energy and 372 units of origin energy. Maybe I should push one of my attributes past the limit of a peak-stage apprentice sorcerer before I exit my seclusion.'
Andrew's eyes glowed with unconcealable radiance. He still had a unit of accumulated fate energy, the 'exact amount' required for the majestic golden quill to erase one of his attribute values. He also had ample units of origin energy stored in his book-type totem reserve, meaning he could push another attribute to an entirely new level.
'It's a pity my totem is only a low-tier human grade. Otherwise, I would have straight away raised my mentality beyond the threshold to become an official rank-one sorcerer.'
Andrew sighed and shook his head.
Awakened totems were everything to sorcerers in Edhen. They determined the potential of powerhouses and how far they could go on the path of sorcery.
For instance, anyone with a totem below the earth grade would find it impossible to become an official rank-one sorcerer. And anyone with a totem below the high-tier earth grade would find it almost impossible to become a rank four or, in other words, a saint sorcerer.
Such were the limitations determined by one's awakened totem. They were even stricter for those enigmatic ranks of power standing above saints, as powerful sorcerers needed strong totems for two principal reasons. One was to fortify their soul space, and two was to store and channel the enormous quantities of mana required to cast powerful spells.
There was no way to bypass the limitation imposed by one's awakened totem grade. That was unless one found the means to change its inherent nature and improve its grade.
Fortunately, Andrew had discovered ways to raise the grade of his book-type totem during his previous life. He wasn't the least bit worried as he only needed some treasures to evolve his book-type totem to the earth grade. After that, he would effortlessly push his mentality past the threshold and become a true-blue sorcerer.
But all that was for later. For now, Andrew only wished to increase his power as much as possible. As such, raising his other attributes, aside from mentality and maximum mana, was the way to go.
The totem's grade would only limit the growth of attributes directly related to magic prospects, which were maximum mana and mentality. As for physique and agility, sorcerers could raise them beyond the standards of a peak-stage apprentice without first evolving into official rank one sorcerer. Of course, that was if they had the means.
'I should start by pushing my agility past the threshold. That will allow me to escape if I ever chance upon a powerful foe.'
Andrew went into action immediately. He closed his eyes and slowly entered an ethereal state. He then meditated with the Robinson soul abacus technique before opening his eyes within his foggy soul space.
The soul space had already enlarged with the increase of his mentality. The sea of consciousness below him had also changed. It was no longer silver but tinged by a red hue, a tell-tale sign that he was just a step away from the mentality required to become a rank-one sorcerer.
Andrew ignored everything else and approached his enormous golden book-type totem, which had become larger and more lustrous over the past month. He turned to the first page that recorded his attributes and went to work.
He utilized the majestic golden quill to siphon away the remaining one unit of fate energy before using it to erase the quantification of his agility from his attribute page. Then, he followed the same procedure and used origin energy to inscribe the value 15.5 in the space for his agility stat.
He employed a whooping 80 units of origin energy to finish the inscription, which happened to be twice the amount he used to push each of his other attributes to the peak stage of an apprentice. Such was the fuel his totem had to burn to raise any attribute past the limit.
HONG!
A tremor passed through his mind when he returned the golden quill to its place in the middle of the book-type totem. On cue, a warm current surged around his body, causing his heart to race and his entire body to tingle with a weird sensation.
Fortunately, the discomfort passed quickly, allowing Andrew to open his eyes in the real world. He swept his gaze around the room but felt detached from the world. It was as if the time had stopped moving forward.
Everything was static for a few moments. Andrew couldn't even pick up any sounds from the surrounding rooms. Then, just as suddenly, the weird feeling passed, and his perception of the world returned. He started picking up details from his surroundings as his body adjusted to his improved senses.
'My agility has finally improved beyond the threshold of a peak-stage apprentice sorcerer. Sweet!'
Andrew was beyond himself with happiness. He had only practiced for a month after his rebirth. But most of his attributes were already at the standard of a peak-stage apprentice sorcerer. As for his agility, it was already in another boundary, one beyond the limits of the greatest mortal assassins in existence.
'This feeling is marvelous. I must continue strengthening my agility even if I recover my peak powers as a sorcerer. My speed could be an advantage when I meet tricky opponents."
A multitude of thoughts flashed through Andrew's head as his body disappeared from the bed and appeared in the corner of the room within anything but an instant. He had covered a distance of about five meters instantaneously without making the slightest noise. That was the strength of an agility stat beyond the threshold of a peak-stage apprentice sorcerer.
If it weren't for fear of damaging the balance of his attributes and failing to control his body, he would have really loved to raise his agility all the way to the threshold of a legend.
But alas, he couldn't be that unbridled while editing his attributes. He couldn't push his powers beyond the limits of entire power grades, even with his book-type totem's reality-bending ability. He had to take everything step-by-step to avoid a situation where his mind wouldn't control his capabilities.
'I should check out my current attributes before anything else.'
Andrew immediately settled cross-legged on the small bed before entering his soul space. He turned to the first page of his book-type totem and read the recorded information.
-----
[Name: Andrew Robinson, Bone Age: 18 years]
[Attributes:> Physique: 11.5, Agility: 15.5, Mentality: 11.5, Mana: 11.5]
[Combat Power Evaluation: Peak-Stage Apprentice Sorcerer, Agility Limit-Breaker]
[Accumulated Origin Energy: 292 units, Accumulated Fate Energy: 0 units]
-----
'Finally, I'm a peak-stage apprentice sorcerer who has broken the agility limit. I can now meet the Robinson family contacts operating outside the hidden dimension since I have finished upgrading my powers to an acceptable level.'
Andrew glanced at his watch and noticed that it was just midday. He showered and ate some magical beat meat rations to satiate his hunger before summoning his runic bracelet from his ring.
He connected his consciousness to the communication function of the artifact and effortlessly found the Robinson family contacts Cody had forwarded to him. They were all represented by a few runic codes, probably to hide their identity in case an enemy picked up the bracelet.
Andrew zeroed in on the foremost coded name at the top and touched it with his mind. A few seconds passed, and then, just out of nowhere, a feminine voice sounded in his mind.
"Who?" The voice asked a single question.
"I'm Andrew. Cody Yates gave me your contact."
"Cody! Do you have a code for me?" The voice asked another question without any change in tone.
Andrew quickly sent a string of numbers through the telepathic link. They were one of the codes often used by the Robinson family outside the family dimension.
"Nice to meet you, Andrew," the woman's voice turned pleasant after hearing the code. "We have been expecting you. Sir Cody told us about you. But we have to be careful while receiving you. That's why we asked for the verification code."
"No problem! I understand," Andrew communicated through the telepathic link. "Where are you? Where can I find you?"
"I'm staying in Heathgate Border Town at the moment," the woman replied. "You can find me at the Red Cloud Merchant Guild. The guild is in the eastern part of the town, close to the Glamourous Delights Brothel. Ensure to use the rear gate when you're coming."
"Oh, okay, I'll arrive in about forty minutes. I'll contact you then."
Andrew ended the communication and swiftly donned his faded sorcerer's robe and boots. He then covered half his face with his hood before checking out of the inn and heading to the eastern part of Heathgate Border Town.
He was off to the Red Cloud Merchant Guild to meet someone he was acquainted with during his previous life.