"We've been here too long. I think it's time to go back." The voice, low and determined, broke the eerie silence that enveloped the place.
"I agree." The girl nodded, running a hand through her blonde hair tied up in a high ponytail. Her angelic face was made even more pure by two beautiful blue eyes that shone like gems.
"Yes, we've gained enough exp, we just need to go back and empty the inventory," a strong voice echoed from another boy. He was tall and strong, his muscular frame resembling that of a bear.
"Why don't we stay a little longer? Things were starting to get interesting," replied another young man. His high-pitched voice and his hand on the hilt of his sword made his position clear.
"We can't stay here much longer," declared another girl's voice. "We have a tournament to win." Unlike the first girl, this one had copper-colored hair and a fiercer gaze.
"Alright then, it's decided." Kael, the young man with the low voice and the leader of the group, nodded.
"Yes, Rank Up."
As soon as Jeremy stepped away from the battlefield, the transition to Rank E began immediately.
Usually, each Rank-up took several minutes. This was because the world granted its blessing to the awakened, allowing them to gain new abilities based on their potential and class.
The moment Jeremy confirmed the rank-up, a powerful pressure enveloped the area where he was.
Then—
"What's happening now?!"
Nothing.
No world blessing, no ripples in the space, nothing at all.
"Come on, what the hell is going on now? Is something interfering with my blessing?" His face was filled with frustration and dissatisfaction. He was tired of all this bad luck.
The Quest was still there, the tasks were completed. Jeremy mentally confirmed his promotion once again, but just like before, a strong pressure permeated the air, and then… nothing. Everything seemed to stop.
"I can't believe this is happening. I refuse to give up."
So Jeremy pressed the YES button countless times.
After minutes and minutes of pressing yes, with the pressure appearing and disappearing from the area, Jeremy was about to give up. Maybe he wasn't meant to get stronger, to seek revenge, to live a good life.
Should he just accept his fate?
Just as he thought this, a phrase echoed in his mind.
"Do you really think death is the end?"
With this simple phrase in his head, something seemed to click within the young man.
An oppressive and malevolent aura erupted from his body. Every fiber of his being vibrated. Every second spent in this state felt like days of endless torture. It was more painful than anything.
Then, from the sky, a strange luminous aura descended and poured into the body of the young man in agony. It was the blessing of the world.
But this world was not the one Jeremy lived in. It was different. Much bigger, with beings of incredible power. The blessing from such a world was many times more powerful than the one granted by his world.
That light seemed to infuse new energy into Jeremy's body, turning his pained face into one of pure bliss.
But that joy didn't last long. As if challenging the world itself, the dark energy erupting from the young man's body began to flow with even greater intensity.
Then, as if in a challenge, the world seemed to send more of its power into the young man.
His face was a mix of suffering and peace, which alternated continuously.
Through all this, the skeleton remained unperturbed. It stood there, still, observing the surrounding environment.
One minute. That's all it took for the two opposing energies to cease their clash.
Jeremy was suspended between suffering and pleasure, a vortex of sensations that shattered his very consciousness. For him, time had lost its meaning. Those sixty seconds seemed like years, years of incessant agony, in which his body was destroyed and rebuilt endlessly by an unknown power.
When he finally opened his eyes, a strange sensation enveloped him. He no longer felt… himself.
"I feel strange..." he muttered, staring at his hands.
He was no longer just stronger. That was the effect of the rank-up. No, there was something more.
"It's like I've always had a veil over my eyes..."
Now he perceived everything. The world around him was clearer, his hearing sharper. Everything had a presence, an essence, and even Drae'mon's emotions were as clear to him as day. His companion stared at him, but with different eyes. He, too, had changed.
Jeremy took a deep breath.
"It's time to see what we've gained."
Then—
"Status."
---
Name: Jeremy
Class: Necromancer
Potential: APEX
Race: Human
Rank E
Level 6/15
Exp: 19,062 / 1,000
HP: 2,000
MP: 5,600
Physical: 6 (+1)
Agility: 10 (+1)
Intelligence: 24 (+1)
Resistance: 10 (+1)
Free Attribute Points: 22
Abilities: Summon Undead, Bone Spear, Bone Shield, Skeleton'Domination, Perception.
---
Summon Undead: Using mana and the corpses of any creatures, the summoner can grant undeath. The limits of the ability depend on the rank and level of the summoner.
1/5
---
Bone Spear: Summons two Bone Spears that can be controlled at will, each capable of dealing 200% magical damage.
---
Bone Shield: Summons a Bone Shield capable of absorbing damage. The amount of shield corresponds to 200% of the summoner's magical power.
---
Skeleton'Domination: Infuse your undead with Dark Energy, enhancing their damage by 200%.
---
Perception: Perceive everything around you in an area depending on your intelligence. Vaguely perceive things in an area depending on your magical power.
---
"…"
He expected to be stronger, but seeing it with his own eyes was another matter.
"Apex Potential?" Jeremy murmured in disbelief. "12 attribute points per level!?"
This potential had appeared only a few times in human history. APEX beings were off-scale creatures, their strength immeasurable by words.
That's what the texts said. And Jeremy, looking at his status, had no doubt about it.
Not to mention the abilities that had been enhanced. He didn't get two abilities, but three. This alone made his rank-up a huge success.
But what intrigued him most was his "Summon Undead" ability. Now the limit was five creatures. He couldn't wait to create an army of incredibly powerful monsters.
"Now…" he murmured, looking at his exp. "It's time to level up."
Exp: 1200/4320
HP: 3,600
MP: 9,700
Lv 14/15
Physical: 10 (+1)
Agility: 40 (+1)
Intelligence: 85 (+1)
Resistance: 33 (+1)
"Just one step from Max Level in Tier E," he stated in disbelief. "Killing monsters much higher level than yours has quite an advantage..."
Jeremy felt incredibly strong.
Additionally, his "Perception" skill allowed him to sense everything within 80 meters around him. Of course, once he reached the 80-meter mark, the awareness became more vague compared to the first 10 meters where it felt like he could see everything, but it was still there.
He could distinctly sense his little undead skeleton. Now, it was much stronger than him. Of course, he knew this wouldn't last long, especially when he saw its status.
Name: Drae'mon
Race: Mutated Undead Razorfang
Lv 14
Potential: APEX
HP: 11,400
MP: 3,400
Physical: 25 (×2)
Agility: 20 (×2)
Intelligence: 5 (×2)
Resistance: Infinite
Free Attribute Points: 118
Abilities: Blessing of ??, Ferocious Bite, Poisonous Claw, Dash, Airshoot
The abilities remained the same; he hadn't gained any new ones. However, this wasn't a problem for the skeleton. After all, it could devour Cores to gain abilities.
Its true strength lay in the "Blessing of ??," which doubled the value of its stats.
After assigning the attribute points, its strength had become monstrous.
Lv 14
HP: 39,400
MP: 5,400
Physical: 95 (×2)
Agility: 63 (×2)
Intelligence: 10 (×2)
Resistance: Infinite
"Never mind…" he smiled, scratching the back of his head. "It was nice being the strongest in the group for... ten seconds?"
Jeremy was happy with how things were progressing. He was getting stronger.
He didn't realize it, but each time he grew stronger, it seemed like he was losing a part of himself.
The Rank D Core from the Putorius they had killed earlier was absorbed by Jeremy for the rank-up; therefore, he had nothing to give to the little skeleton.
Its form remained unchanged. It was still about one meter tall and always stood on its four legs.
Just as the duo was ready to explore the depths of the forest, something entered Jeremy's perception. He could vaguely sense things that were less than a kilometer away from him.
What he sensed immediately put him on alert.