Tom grew excited, ready to share the results of his investigations over the past few days. Pech listened intently as Tom explained everything he had discovered. Once Tom finished, Pech started to ponder aloud.
"I was wondering how they planned to bypass the frontline in the next year or two," Pech said. "But it seems like this worm is their answer, a tool to break the stalemate at the frontlines. Still, I doubt it's their only move. There are likely other plans already in motion, but this worm could certainly help achieve their goals."
Tom nodded, understanding that Pech might be right. However, something still bothered him.
"Is there anything we can do about it?" Tom asked.
"The best option for now is to gather more information," Pech replied. "And you need to get stronger fast. If you can reach level 150 quickly, you might stand a chance to kill that worm before it finishes the tunnel."
"I see. I'll work on it," Tom said with determination.
"Good," Pech said, reaching into his robe and pulling out a scroll. "Also, you've earned your quest reward."
In the blink of an eye, Tom leveled up five times, reaching level 60. Tom's excitement grew when Pech handed him the scroll.
"I'm not your class teacher, so I can't give you my strongest skills," Pech explained. "But I can teach you this, an advanced identification skill. It'll help you work more efficiently moving forward."
Tom inspected the scroll. A notification appeared before him.
Skill Scroll Detected: [All-Knowing Eye]
A skill created by the alchemist Pech after studying thousands of books. This skill allows the user to identify anything known to Pech at the time of its creation.
Tom's eyes lit up. It sounded incredible.
"Careful, Tom," Pech warned. "It's not as overpowered as it sounds. You can't see enemy levels, skills, or stats. This skill is strictly for identifying materials and items I'm familiar with. It can also detect spells being cast but is limited to items and creatures below level 120. Lastly, it consumes mana, which you don't have much of."
Pech handed Tom a small staff. "Here, use this. It's a mana battery. If you run out of mana while identifying, this will help."
Tom inspected the staff.
[Uncommon Mana Battery]
Can be used to cast spells without consuming the user's mana. Needs recharging.
Current Capacity: 10,000/10,000 Mana.
"Not bad," Tom thought, pocketing the staff.
"Next, you should visit your class teacher and upgrade your skills to rank 2," Pech advised. "As for a secondary class, it'll have to wait until level 120. I'm already working on finding a suitable option for you."
"Thank you," Tom said sincerely. Since working with Pech, the alchemist had consistently supported him in their shared goals.
"Oh, one more thing," Tom asked. "What about the two spatial pouches I brought you? Were you able to unlock them?"
"Not yet," Pech admitted. "But I found someone who can. The problem is, they're asking for 100,000 gold coins. Do you think it's worth investing that much of our hard-earned money?"
Tom hesitated but nodded. "Let's give it a shot. Let me know when they're unlocked, I want to open them together."
Pech agreed, and Tom left the shop, deciding to visit Pablo since he still had some free time.
When Tom arrived at the tavern, it was already packed despite the early evening. He greeted several familiar faces before heading to the back, where he found Pablo washing dishes alone.
Tom grabbed a towel to help dry the dishes. "How's it going, Pablo?"
"Pretty good. You?"
Tom grinned. "I hit level 60. Didn't you say I should come back when I reached it?"
Pablo paused and looked at him closely. "Well done, boy. Let's finish this up quickly, and I'll teach you a few new tricks."
Excited, Tom helped Pablo finish the dishes in record time. They then headed to the ring in the back. As Pablo stepped in, Tom followed, reaching for the gloves.
"You won't need those," Pablo said. "I want to see how far you've come."
Tom obeyed, setting the gloves aside. At Pablo's instruction, he also took out his weapons, which hummed faintly with power.
As Tom clenched his fists, he could feel the tension in the air. Pablo stood opposite him, unmoving. After what felt like an eternity, Pablo made the first move, launching a barrage of punches.
Tom blocked as best as he could, each strike chipping away at his health. Thankfully, his toughened skin reduced the damage significantly. Tom quickly retaliated, landing blows that barely scratched Pablo.
As the exchange continued, Tom's passive skill began to stack, his punches growing faster with each strike. He noticed that Pablo wasn't dodging, likely on purpose, but it allowed Tom to reach his full speed.
Then something strange happened. Tom swore Pablo's attacks landed twice in quick succession. Confused, he focused on Pablo's movements. Sure enough, Pablo's hand moved so fast during some strikes that it delivered two hits in the blink of an eye.
Tom became determined to replicate the technique. He tried repeatedly, failing each time, until his health dropped to just 10%.
Suddenly, it clicked. Time seemed to slow as Tom delivered one punch, immediately following it with a second. Both strikes landed in less than a second.
Pablo's eyes widened in shock as he leaped back. "Not bad, boy," he said, clearly impressed. "You figured that out faster than I expected."
A notification appeared before Tom.
[Level 10 Skill: Punching Fury upgraded to Level 60 Skill: Punching Fury Rank 2]
Gain 1% attack speed with each consecutive punch (up to 40 stacks). At 20 stacks, gain a 10% chance to boost attack speed by 500% until the next punch.
Tom couldn't contain his excitement. This upgrade felt game-changing.
Pablo gave him a moment to celebrate before pulling him back to reality. "We're not done yet. There's still more to learn."
Over the next few hours, Pablo taught Tom about three stances: balanced, offensive, and defensive. Each had its own advantages, and Pablo emphasized the importance of switching between them fluidly during combat.
By the time they finished, it was nearly 3 a.m. Tom was utterly exhausted but thrilled when he saw another notification.
[Level 10 Skill: Beginner Brawler's Stance upgraded to Level 60 Skill: Brawler's Stances Rank 2]
Balanced Stance: Reduces stamina consumption for bare-handed combat by 50%.
Offensive Stance: Increases damage dealt by 30% but also increases damage received by 20%.
Defensive Stance: Reduces damage received by 20% but lowers damage dealt by 70%.
Switching between stances has a 1-second cooldown.
Tom smiled as he reviewed his updated character interface.
[Name: Tom Stein]
[Race: Golem (Human Form)]
[Class: Brawler]
[Level: 60]
[Health Points: 612/7800]
[Mana: 0/100]
[Vitality: 520]
[Strength: 520]
[Dexterity: 40]
[Intelligence: 0]
[Wisdom: 0]
[Level 10 Skills: - ]
[Level 60 Skills: Brawler's Stances, Punching Fury]
[Racials: Hard as Stone, Rock Solid]
[Status Effects: The Curse of Flesh – Your flesh makes you weak and hinders your growth. All stats reduced by 30%. (Inactive)]
What caught Tom's attention the most was the newly unlocked racial skill, Rock Solid. When he clicked on it, more details were revealed:
Rock Solid – Make a chosen body part as hard as stone.
Tom felt a mix of curiosity and apprehension. It seemed like a powerful defensive ability, capable of negating all damage to the selected area. But one question nagged him. What if an attack could break stone? Would the body part shatter entirely?
He decided to test it with Pablo. After some practice, he confirmed its effectiveness in negating damage, but he was cautious about the potential risks. For now, he resolved to save it for emergencies.
Feeling more capable and confident than ever, Tom went to bed, eager to tackle the challenges ahead. The next day, however, he showed up to school looking completely exhausted.
The first to notice was Felix. "Hey, bro! What's up? Did you stay up gaming again?"
Tom chuckled awkwardly. "Yeah, maybe a bit."
Felix grinned knowingly. "So, did you finish that quest you mentioned?"
"Yep," Tom said proudly. "And I even hit level 60!"
Felix's eyes widened in disbelief. "What? No way! I'm constantly being power-leveled, and I'm only level 56! There's no chance you hit 60 in just a month."
Tom smirked. "Oh, it's true. You'll see…"
Before he could finish, the bell rang, and their teacher's hologram materialized at the front of the room.
The two friends returned to their seats, agreeing to continue the conversation after class.
The lesson dragged on, and Tom struggled to keep his eyes open. His fatigue from the late-night training with Pablo was catching up to him. But just as he was about to nod off, something the teacher said snapped him to attention.
"Starting next week, we'll be holding a tournament between all eight classes. If you want to participate, form a team of three to five people and submit your application by the end of the week. That's all for today."
The hologram vanished, and the class ended.
Tom rushed over to Felix, excitement bubbling in his voice. "Hey, did you hear that? Want to join the tournament?"