Breaking and emerging from the cave's entrance from behind the waterfall was a massive creature, larger and more imposing than the ordinary Reptides.
Its scales were sturdier and displayed intricate patterns, with wings on its back, indicating its superior status.
With a more aggressive demeanor and greater strength and resilience, the creature emanating a more intense and menacing black aura from its body, from the other Reptide Lizards Ewaan had just fought.
〘PROFILE〙〘Skills〙
〘REPTIDE DRAGONIS〙〘KING〙
〘Level 65〙
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〘Strength: 2100〙 〘+1000〙
〘Constitution: 1980〙 〘+1000〙
〘Dexterity: 2420〙 〘+1000〙
〘Intelligence: 250〙 〘+1000〙
〘Magic Points: 10500〙
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〘SPECIALTY: Resistance to Water Magic, Claw Attacks, Tail Swing, Aquatic Ambush Predator〙
〘WEAKNESS: Earth Magic, Mid-air Attacks〙
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✥ Possessed By The Demon Artifact ‹Infernal Eye›
°°°
"Damn! It evolved into a dragon-like species?" Ewaan exclaimed, surprised by its evolution.
As he checked its stats, his cautious expression soon turned into a relaxed one. "Even though it got a boost of a thousand points in each of its stats... It's still relatively weak compared to me!"
"Human, you dare set foot in my territory and kill my minions? RAWR!" the Reptide Dragonis roared angrily.
Shocked that it could talk, but still this didn't stopped Ewaan. With lightning speed, he leaped forward, aiming to slash the creature's head off with a single powerful strike.
Unbeknownst to him, as he made his move, the creature's scales shimmered with a sudden power surge, becoming even sturdier.
Rendered Ewaan's attack to fail to even scratch the Reptide Dragonis, and its dark red aura intensified menacingly.
With a powerful swing of its hand, the creature roared, sending Ewaan flying into the sky. With that, his Shadow Claw got removed.
As he soared upward, the creature swiftly followed, closing the distance with remarkable speed. With another ferocious strike, Ewaan was blasted toward the ground below.
The Reptide Dragonis looked around in surprise as the fog cleared from the recoil of Ewaan's fall, but he was nowhere to be seen.
Reacting swiftly, Ewaan activated "‹SHADOW MOVEMENT›" just before hitting the ground, preventing any injuries.
With his inquiry, Ewaan soon learned from Great Sage that some intelligent creatures possess the ability to convert mana into strength, especially if they lack any particular magic affinity but possess immense mana reserves.
Realizing this, Ewaan understood that the Reptide Dragonis' stats now far surpassed his own. Without caution, he would surely meet his demise in this encounter.
Emerging from the shadows, with a determined expression, Ewaan closed his eyes and raised one hand. As he uttered, "‹CHAOS VORTEX›", he opened his eyes, focusing intently on the Creature before him.
Intense dark energy gathered in the sky, swirling and coalescing into a sphere before finally exploding above the Reptide Dragonis.
Not able to react quickly, the Reptide Dragonis met its end in the explosion.
[Notice: The User has gained 50,000 Exp value and acquired a new intermediate skill, ‹Shadow Bind›, with an additional 100 gold coins as a reward for defeating a King-class demon monster.]
[Notice: The User, Ewaan Tempest has leveled up!]
[Notice: The User, Ewaan Tempest has leveled up!]
[Notice: The User, Ewaan Tempest has leveled up!]
[Notice: The User, Ewaan Tempest has leveled up!]
[Notice: The User, Ewaan Tempest has leveled up!]
[Notice: The User, Ewaan Tempest has leveled up!]
[Notice: The skill ‹Gluttony› has leveled up!]
[Notice: The skill ‹Gluttony› has leveled up!]
[Notice: The skill ‹Shadow Movement› has leveled up!]
[Notice: The skill ‹Shadow Movement› has leveled up!]
[Notice: The User has gained new skills!]
[Notice: The User's ‹Self Healing› has evolved into ‹Regeneration› after gaining the skill from the King-class Reptide Dragonis.]
[Notice: The skill ‹Shadow Claw› has reached its max level!]
[Notice: The User has met the criteria and received the intermediate skill, ‹Thousand Dark Claws›.]
With widened eyes, Ewaan just digested these notices.
He couldn't believe the magnitude of the changes of his stats that had occurred with just defeating some low-level monsters.
〘STATS〙〘Skills〙〘Titles〙〘Inventory〙
〘EWAAN TEMPEST〙〘HERO〙
〘Level 13〙
〘17 Years〙〘Male〙〘High Human〙
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〘Class: Sage/Paladin〙
〘Attribute: Aether, Spirit〙
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〘Strength: 13730〙
〘Constitution: 14800〙
〘Dexterity: 14300〙
〘Intelligence: 4650〙
〘Wisdom: 3700〙
〘Charisma: 291〙
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〘Magic Points: 61200〙〘System Points: 50〙
〘Divine Power: 50〙
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✥ Currently, ‹Akwan›, ‹Ishtar› And ‹Daemon› Are Watching Over You From The Sidelines
✥ Currently, 80+ Deities Bestow Their Divine Gazes Upon You
°°°
Shocked, he exclaimed, "How did defeating some monsters make my stats become like this?"
With a deep breath, he opened his Skills section, contemplating the implications of the Gluttony ability.
〘Status〙〘SKILLS〙〘Titles〙〘Inventory〙
〘EWAAN TEMPEST〙〘HERO〙
〘Level 13〙
〘17 Years〙〘Male〙〘High Human〙
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〘Class: Sage/Paladin〙
〘Attribute: Aether, Spirit〙
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〘INNATE SKILL: Great Sage+〙
〘SKILLS: Stature+, Linguistics+, Appraisal+, Mana Sense+, Aquatic Adaption+, Advanced Cooking (Level 4), Multiple (Level 1), Spellshield (Level 1), Magic Missile (Level 1), Sword Apprentice (Level 9), Martial Arts (Level 9), Weapon Mastery (Level 9), Special Awareness (Level 3), Aura Manipulation (Level 3), Regeneration (Level 1), Pain Resistance (Level 2), Elemental Resistance (Level 1), Revitalizing Surge (Level 1)〙
〘ELEMENTAL SKILLS: Spirit Master+, Elemental Lord+, Hydrokinesis+, Shadow Claw+, Shadow Movement (Level 3), Parallel (Level 5), Transform (Level 1), Nightfall Dominion (Level 1), Chaos Vortex (Level 1), Shadow Bind (Level 1), Thousand Dark Claws (Level 1)〙
〘SPECIAL SKILLS: Sixth Sense+, Aetherial Symphony+, Teleport (Level 1), Summon (Level 1), Gluttony (Level 4)〙
〘UNIQUE SKILLS: Sage+, Pro Gamer+〙
°°°
Contemplating over his own stats, he muttered, "Not only did they go bonkers, but I've also gained some new abilities!" Smiling confidently, he added, "At this rate, defeating the dem—"
Suddenly, he paused, his expression turning serious and stoic.
With a whisper of the chant, "‹SHADOW MOVEMENT›" he immediately melted into his shadows.
With that, he appeared behind the person who had been following him, lurking from atop the mountain, standing, concealed behind a tree.
Sensing the Mana flow behind her, she got startled, attempting to flee using her own Shadow Movement, but to no avail.
Ewaan swiftly caught her by the throat, pressing her against the tree.
With that, her already active ‹Concealment› was nullified, revealing her identity.
"It's you again," Ewaan remarked, recognizing the Katzlein tribe Beastnoid girl who had a previous altercation with him over accidentally sitting on her tail.
Struggling to catch her breath and move, she managed to utter, "How did you... see through my... Concealment spell?"
With an intense expression, Ewaan spoke, "I noticed you from the moment we got out of Riviera Town. Why were you following me, cat girl!?"
Keep taking deep breaths, Yuuna uttered, "You... with that monstrous strength and Mana... clearly can't be a mere human...! Who are you... really?"
"You should answer my question first..." With a stern expression, he activated his Appraisal skill.
〘PROFILE〙〘Skills〙
〘YUUNA KANON〙〘Shadowmancer〙
〘Level 51〙
〘17 Years〙〘Female〙〘Katzlein〙
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〘Class: Ninja〙
〘Attribute: Dark〙
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〘Strength: 1470〙
〘Constitution: 1470〙
〘Dexterity: 2100〙
〘Intelligence: 1550〙
〘Wisdom: 950〙
〘Magic Points: 23500〙
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〘Affiliation: Adventurer from the Adventurers Guild, Spy of the Lucania Republic〙
〘Criminal Record: None〙
〘SPECIALTY: Stealthy Infiltration, Assassination, Close-quarters Combat, Shadow Manipulation, Enhanced Senses and Reflexes〙
〘WEAKNESS: Light Magic, Reliance on Darkness, Katzlein Instinct〙
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✥ Favoured By The Goddess Of Darkness
✥ Currently The God Of Judgement Bestows His Divine Gaze Upon Her
✥ Currently In Possession Of Tier-1 Artifact Twin Daggers ‹Twilight Blades›
°°°
Ewaan was caught off guard, not by her stats, but by her name Appraisal revealed. "Kanon!?" He exclaimed, as shock evident in his tone.
It was his mother's name, stirring up unexpected emotions within him.
Ewaan's grip involuntarily loosened slightly, giving her a momentary sense of relief.
However, before she could react, he swiftly closed his fingers starting from his pinky, activating his skill, ‹Shadow Bind›.
Dark energy emanated from his fingertips, immediately immobilizing her by summoning large kneadles from his shadow, and binding her shadow to the ground.
"Silent Casting??" Yuuna uttered in shock, surprised by the sudden appearance of the spell binding her shadows.
With a steady gaze, Ewaan looked at his fingertips, where dark energy emanated, and uttered firmly, "Did you really think I would let a potential danger to my peaceful life escape that easily?" He then turned his gaze towards Yuuna.
In a calm and composed manner, Yuuna proposed, glancing at Ewaan, "Let me go, and I'll pretend as if this encounter never happened. No harm done, no secrets leaked..."
Ewaan's tone was skeptical as he countered, "You really want me to believe this, spy of the Lucania Republic?"
He fixed his gaze on her, trying to intimidate her with the mention of her affiliation.
Shocked by Ewaan's remark, Yuuna hesitated before responding, "How did you...?"
But Ewaan interjected, his voice firm, "Tell me one thing," He closed the distance, looking directly into her eyes as he said, "what's your intention in spying on me?"
••• ••• •••