[Name: Ares]
[Race: Human]
[Age: 10018]
[Level: 10 (EXP: 38%)]
[Strength: 10+3]
[Agility: 10+4]
[Defense: 10+18]
[Intelligence: 10+2]
[HP: 230/230]
[MP: 12/12]
[Talent: Basic Attribute Boost, Basic Attribute Absorption]
[Basic Attribute Absorption: 0.01% chance to gain +1 to a random base attribute upon killing a target (does not activate if the target's level is more than 10 below your own)]
[Current Talent Rank: E (EXP: 0%)]
[Unallocated Attribute Points: 0]
[Hidden Attributes:]
• Luck: 10 (Maxed)
• Charisma: 0
• Perception: 0
[Inventory: 53/100]
[Gold Pouch: 1 Gold Coin, 7 Copper Coins]
Ares looked at the two talents in his list, feeling a bit surprised. His former F-rank talent hadn't been overwritten; he'd inherited it intact. But he hadn't gained any new unallocated attribute points either.
Thinking it through, he realized those points probably come from leveling up, whereas he'd just upgraded his talent. Obviously, that doesn't net you free points.
"Guess it's fine—no need to be greedy," he muttered to himself, briefly calming his excitement.
This small power-up gave Ares more confidence in his future. He also now had a solid plan to keep building his strength.
"All right, let's venture a little deeper."
Drawing his sword, Ares headed further into the Howling Plains. By then, night had fully fallen, and visibility was so bad he could barely see five yards in any direction. Still, this darkness didn't really slow him down—he kept farming beasts without missing a beat.
He did notice that every kill netted him only 20 EXP and bumped his Talent EXP by a mere 0.1%. Maybe the beasts here were just too low-level or the rate was fixed.
Even so, after two solid hours of nonstop hunting, he'd actually scored +5 points of base attributes. His foundation had changed again:
[Name: Ares]
[Race: Human]
[Age: 10018]
[Level: 10 (EXP: 38%)]
[Strength: 11+3]
[Agility: 11+4]
[Defense: 11+18]
[Intelligence: 12+2]
[HP: 240/240]
[MP: 14/14]
[Talent: Basic Attribute Boost, Basic Attribute Absorption]
[Basic Attribute Absorption: 0.01% chance to gain +1 random base attribute]
[Current Talent Rank: E (EXP: 4.9%)]
[Unallocated Attribute Points: 0]
[Hidden Attributes:]
• Luck: 10 (Maxed)
• Charisma: 0
• Perception: 0
[Inventory: 77/100]
[Gold Pouch: 2 Gold Coins, 17 Copper Coins]
Studying these newly increased stats, Ares quickly realized his actual trigger rate for Basic Attribute Absorption wasn't 0.01%—with his Luck stat, the effective probability was 10.01%!
In other words, on average, one out of every ten kills was granting him +1 to a random base attribute.
That was practically on par with a B-rank "Strength Absorption" ability, maybe even comparable to an S-rank talent—yet this was only an E-rank skill right now.
Ares could only imagine how powerful it might get at D-rank. But looking at that Talent EXP bar, he just shook his head and grinned.
By his estimates, he'd need a straight-up 40 hours of no-sleep, no-break grinding to reach the next rank. Sure, that was just a bit over a day, but the time cost had shot up significantly.
He got the message loud and clear. "This kind of talent isn't gonna rank up just because I feel like it. As the gaps widen, it'll only take more time and effort," he mused. "Still … it's more than worth it!"
Having pinned down a clear path to progress, he felt more fired up than ever. Far better to have a concrete goal than wander around cluelessly. He wasn't the least bit tired yet, so he decided to keep farming through the night.
He'd barely taken two steps when he heard a heavy thud-thud of footsteps behind him.
Thud … Thud …
Ares spun around. Through the pitch-black gloom, a hulking shape emerged.
"What the—?"
He didn't rush forward; instead, he tried stepping aside, but the bulky shape changed course and headed straight for him. When he shifted again, it got impatient and swung a massive hand—big as a barn door—down at him. Just the pressure from the blow was enough to paralyze him for a split second.
"What is this thing?"
Shocked, Ares instinctively raised his sword to block.
Splurt—
The tip of his blade slipped straight into the creature's flesh, followed by a pained roar. Surprised, Ares peered closer and found the colossus covered in grayish-white rock, basically a walking stone giant. He quickly focused on it, pulling up its panel:
[Elite Boss: Rock Golem]
[Level: 20]
[HP: 3000/8000]
[Base Attack: 99–199, Cooldown: 5s, No special downtime]
[Skill: Rage of the Earth Spirit – Slams target with double-fist strike, dealing AoE damage of +500, and +1000 damage if you're at ground zero of the impact. 100s cooldown]
[Skill: Taunt of the Earth Spirit – Forces nearby players to attack it. 30s cooldown]
Ares froze. "How the hell did I run into a Boss?"
Before he could wrap his head around it, the Rock Golem attacked again. Two giant, boulder-like fists came pounding down. If they hit, he'd be toast; his current HP would at best tank two of those hits.
Ares frantically dove aside. As he rolled, his sword accidentally clipped the Rock Golem's ankle. The very next second, it let out a deafening roar.
"RAARGH!"
The sound alone rattled Ares's eardrums. Clutching his ears, he looked up to see the monster take on a flicker of greenish hue.
Turns out that little accidental swipe had triggered the Tetanus effect. Astonishingly, a creature that seemed to be all stone was still vulnerable to poison.
The Golem's health bar started ticking down 3 points at a time.
Enraged, the Rock Golem howled again, lifted its fists, and slammed the ground with "Rage of the Earth Spirit."
BOOM!
A sizable crater formed where it landed, and a shockwave rippled outward. Fortunately, it wasn't too fast, so Ares dodged it easily.
During that skill animation, he noticed the Golem wasn't pure stone at all. Beneath that rocky outer layer lay actual flesh. More than that, it looked hurt—its back was riddled with injuries, some of them even festering.
"No wonder it's responding to Tetanus—it's not a pure elemental."
Arching an eyebrow, Ares dashed in and jabbed his sword directly into one of the open wounds.
[-88!] (Weak Point Hit)
That was way higher damage than usual, but it really pissed the rock giant off. It whipped around, flailing its arms at Ares repeatedly.
He shrugged it off. The Golem was too bulky and slow; all he had to do was sidestep the worst of its blows. He darted in a different direction, hooking a hand inside a rock crevice along its surface and vaulting upward. When his sword found another gap, he pulled himself higher.
Ares zig-zagged his way up the Golem's back, soon spotting a massive wound there. The stone had broken away in several places, revealing pale, rotting flesh. The wound was old, with decaying chunks of meat and yellow pus—clearly infected. Some spots had a nasty greenish-purple tinge, obviously poisoned.
"Where the hell did it get all these complicated injuries?"
Ares had no clue, but his sword hand didn't slow. While the Rock Golem flailed around, desperately trying to locate him, Ares plunged his blade into the wound again and again, yanking it free each time to stab elsewhere.
Within ten seconds, he'd landed dozens of strikes. So many Weak Point Hit markers flooded his vision that he could barely see.
Howling in agony, the Golem thrashed around. Ares leapt clear at just the right moment, pulling away from its body. Tucking into a roll as he landed, he absorbed the impact and stood upright without a scratch.
With a final groan, the rock golem crashed to the ground.