33 Atticus, E Rank System!
Another 750 points? These first-time rewards are insane! System, why are the upgrades so unbalanced? he spent a point on the Ask Function.
-The System is not unbalanced. The Host is currently developing quickly only because of first time rewards and through Title upgrades. For reference, the Host has spent many points on Talent upgrades, yet can only barely fight a peak Foundation Establishment Realm Cultivator.
It made sense to William on second thought. Without the first time bonuses, he would need to kill over a thousand Qi Refinement or five hundred Foundation Establishment Beasts to earn as many Potential Points as he has so far.
He inspected the new rat snake on his finger. It was surprising to think such a small guy was actually a beast with amazing potential. William decided to name the rat snake Atticus.
It was a newborn, so William didn't ask it to do anything. For now, it was good enough knowing he had a future helper that he could trust. He purchased two more Magic Talents with 170PP to upgrade his Manamatus title.
--Talent Purchased: Light Affinity
-Light Element Acquired: +1 Potential Point
--Talent Purchased: Poison Affinity
-Poison Element Acquired: +1 Potential Point
'Poison Element? That's a nice upgrade.' William didn't plan to use it much, but upgrading it would increase his poison resistance. Who knew if someone would try to poison his food in the future?
--Upgraded Title: +500 Potential Points
-Manamatus (Legendary --> Mythic): You are the first and only individual with a talent for ten kinds of Magic that appeared before you started Cultivating. All Magic you use will be 50% more powerful. Maximum Mana increased by 250. Fame is increased by 10.
-Unlocked your first Mythic Title: +1000 Potential Points
Seems pretty unbalanced to me! William looked at his 2273 Potential Points. The difficult choice was which skills he should invest in. William felt he had more than enough Magic Affinities now that his title had been upgraded. The next upgrade was at 25 Magic Affinities, which would take too long.
He decided it would be best to earn more skills and then decide afterwards.
System, purchase 10 Random Talents.
--Talent Purchased: Cooking
--Talent Purchased: Fists
--Talent Purchased: Alchemy
--Talent Purchased: Nothing
--Talent Purchased: Nothing
--Talent Purchased: Stamina
--Talent Purchased: Nothing
--Talent Purchased: Arrays
--Talent Purchased: Reflexes
--Talent Purchased: Mining
William's head began to hurt again as he learned many different skills one at a time. The knowledge of different cooking methods, temperature control, and ingredients flooded his brain.
William didn't learn anything from the fists skill, but he felt he could use muscle memory to perform many different techniques he didn't know of before.
Alchemy wasn't much different from cooking. He learned the different medicinal ingredients and the effect they had during the pill refining process.
The Arrays talent was the most complicated. William learned of different characters called Runes. These were the foundation of every Array in existence. Each Rune had a different purpose. For example, William could create a Strength Array out of many strength Runes, allowing a boost to the physical abilities of the user as long as they were standing inside.
The knowledge finished flowing and Will looked at the System notifications.
3 duds out of 10 spins? What a scam. William couldn't complain much as the cost of Random Talents was much lower than the others, and he got many useful skills this time. It seemed that there wasn't a 100 percent chance of obtaining a skill though. He scrolled further.
--DETECTED SYSTEM UPGRADE--
--UPGRADING. PLEASE WAIT--
...
...
--UPGRADE SUCCESSFUL--
SYSTEM RANK: (F+ --> E-)
-313 Extra Potential Points added to progression towards the next System Rankup
Next rank up: 1687PP
*No New features available
-The Companion Beast function was designed for E Rank, but the System detected the Host met the requirements early.
*New Changes:
-System has reached version 1.4, and has improved the Talent Shop and the Ask Function. The Host can now purchase a random trade talent for 25 Potential Points.
-Talents purchased in the Talent Shop will now start at Rank E.
-Detected the Host already has two trade talents: Arrays and Alchemy. The Status Menu has been readjusted.
I just got a lot of new skills and NOW you want to tell me I could have saved some points? William berated the System.
Anyways, I think I have enough skills now. Time for some upgrades! William looked through his options and decided Arrays and his physical ability were the most important for now. He also had just enough points to upgrade the System a second time.
———
TALENT UPGRADED
Arrays: (F --> E)
Next rank up: 5PP
———
More knowledge filled William's brain. He instantly memorized over 150 different Runes. He also learned that you could combine Runes of different categories as long as they were compatible with each other. With this, William would be able to combine Strength and Speed Runes in an Array to create an Array of Power.
———
TALENT UPGRADED
Arrays: (E --> D)
Next rank up: 25PP
———
D Rank Arrays taught William to combine multiple Runes of the same type to create stronger versions. He learned of different levels of Runes, which are Basic, Intermediate, Advanced, and Perfect Runes. The Runes he knew from before were only at the Basic level, but he could combine four of them to create an Intermediate Rune, which forms an Intermediate Array.
William was addicted to the feeling of learning new things with ease and becoming powerful.
———
TALENT UPGRADED
Arrays: (D --> C)
Next rank up: 100PP
———
C Rank Arrays were all about learning more Runes and how to create more complicated Arrays. This upgrade took nearly 15 minutes, but William was able to learn over five thousand Runes. He discovered methods to create many Arrays for stealth, barrier, and even offense.
———
TALENT UPGRADED
Arrays: (C --> B)
Next rank up: 250PP
———
Creating an Advanced Rune was not just about combining many weaker Runes. This time, one would have to start from the beginning by creating an Intermediate Rune directly, which seemed impossible based on the previous upgrades. William sat cross-legged while taking in the instructions from the System.
To create an Intermediate Rune directly, William would need to simultaneously create four of the same Basic Rune, but instead of combining them, he would dismantle the Runes into a mysterious existence called Rune Particles.
Only by using these could an Advanced Rune be formed, which was the combination of four Intermediate Runes created this way.
Again!
-System cannot upgrade Arrays Talent further. The Host's mind is too weak and would collapse.
Huh? System, how do I improve my mind?' he used the Ask Function.
-The Host can improve his mind by Cultivating and improving his Rank, or unlocking the Mind Talent.
Mind Talent? William had a new goal. It probably wouldn't be a great idea for him to waste all his points on these spins though. He upgraded his Speed, Stamina, and Reflexes to B Rank all at once using 393 Potential Points. He used another 131 Points to upgrade his Fists to B.
POTENTIAL POINTS: 1142
He looked at the little snake on his finger.
System, can my Beasts be upgraded?
———
BEASTS:
-Mythic:
--Atticus (Mythical Rat Snake): F (50PP to next rank)
———
50 Points for the first upgrade? This snake must be quite strong.
Upgrade Atticus.
--Upgrading Atticus--
William watched as the rat snake on his finger twirled around. It slithered onto the back of his hand and stretched out. Its body emitted a purple glow, expanding to a length of four inches, almost double the size from before.
———
BEAST UPGRADED
Atticus: (F --> E)
Learned 2 new abilities.
Strength, Speed, Perception improved.
Next rank up: 250PP
———
