Second System Upgrade!

Two new skills and other improvements? As expected of a Mythic Beast. I wonder where it came from, and how it ended up in the forest. Oh wait!

System, how did this Mythic Beast appear?

-Request requires 10 Potential Points. Yes/No?

10?!? Fine, this is pretty important.

-The Mythical Rat Snake Egg was stored in an ancient tomb by a powerful Cultivator at the end of his life as a reward for those who passed one of his tests. The corpse found by the Host was the original owner of the Egg, however they were severely injured and forced to flee from their former companions who wanted the Egg.

William noticed the information was much more detailed than previously. The System's explanation seemed quite far fetched though. Ancient Cultivator? Test? It seemed almost too convenient.

Maybe I should search for ruins in my free time. Williams loot goblin tendencies resurfaced. If a Mythic egg was given out as a simple test reward, who knew what other presents lied in wait for a handsome genius like William?

System, upgrade Atticus again.

He once again watched as Atticus grew in size, reaching a foot in length. It was no longer comfortable on William's hand, so it slithered up his arm and rested on his right shoulder.

Its body glowed with a purple light, but it was somewhat hazy this time. Unless William focused hard on Atticus, it was impossible to tell if the snake was real or not.

———

BEAST UPGRADED

Atticus: (E --> D)

Learned 1 new ability.

Strength, Speed, Perception, and Stealth improved.

Magic Affinity Unlocked: Illusion Affinity

Next rank up: 1000PP

———

Illusion Affinity? That seems quite powerful. It must be the reason why I have difficulty detecting him now. William didn't even care about the 1000 Points cost for the next upgrade, as it signified a massive boost to Atticus' power.

He ordered Atticus to use Illusion Magic. The snake didn't really know what to do at first though, so William taught it how to focus the Mana in its body to use spells.

Atticus learned quickly, and focused the Illusion Magic to the surface of its scales. It didn't know what kind of spell to create, so it just decided to cover its entire body.

William watched as Atticus turned completely invisible, even his Life Sense was fooled. He quickly called for Atticus to cancel its spell, and it once again appeared, still sitting on William's shoulder.

I was wondering if I would have to hide him, but it looks like that isn't necessary anymore. William was impressed with the strength of the Mythical Rat Snake's Magic. He continued to test Atticus' strength.

Let's battle. Don't kill me. William issued that last order just in case the snake decided it was sick of its Master already.

Atticus slithered off William and took a position a few meters opposite. On the command to start, Atticus flashed forward at a speed close to the peak of the Foundation Establishment Realm. If William hadn't upgraded his reflexes and speed, he would have been instantly killed by a Magical Beast like this in close range.

William jumped to the side to dodge Atticus, who leaped at him a second time. He raised an Earth Wall, which formed cracks after one attack from Atticus, and crumbled on the second.

He prepared a Wind Blade and threw it at Atticus, creating a long cut. Purple blood flowed freely, while Atticus hissed in pain. William ended the battle immediately and used the Life Element to heal Atticus.

William didn't expect to cause so much damage with a D Rank Element, but he realized it was probably equivalent to B Rank with the effects of his titles. Atticus was very fast and strong, but his defenses were a bit weaker.

William felt that one more upgrade to Atticus and the snake might be able to compete with a Core Formation Realm Cultivator!

That being said, William felt he might be strong enough currently to compete with one. The improvements to William's strength were massive! Will was confident that no one else in this world could do the same.

I still have an hour left and over 800 Potential Points, what do I do with them?

William couldn't afford another upgrade for Atticus, but he only wanted to save some of his points. He decided to spend 300 Potential Points upgrading his Mana Regeneration to B Rank. The next upgrade would cost 750PP, so William decided to raise his Cooking, Herb Gathering, and Mining skills to C Rank using another 93.

439 Points left...screw it. William knew it would attract more attention from important people, but he had too many points to use.

System, upgrade my remaining Magic Talents to C Rank.

-Purchase will cost 444 Potential Points. Host does not have enough.

William cursed. He spent the next half hour using his new magic and developing more spells to gain 13 more Potential Points, which was more than he needed. He tried the upgrade again.

--Upgrading Host's Talents--

...

William felt many different effects on his body. He thought the System would perform the upgrades one at a time, but his hands and feet turned to stone while his legs froze over. Wind burst from his arms, causing thousands of small cuts to appear. The Water Element had nowhere to go, so William developed an uncontrollable urge to use the bathroom.

Fortunately, William had the Life Element to offset much of the damage, while the Light Element limited the corrosiveness of the Darkness Element. The Poison Element was quite tricky, and William had to suffer through the pain and use most of his Mana to survive.

By the end of the upgrades, William felt like a brand new person. Even without the Fire Element, William felt he could take on a hundred Plains Vultures.

-DETECTED SYSTEM UPGRADE--

--UPGRADING. PLEASE WAIT--

...

...

--UPGRADE SUCCESSFUL--

SYSTEM RANK: (E- --> E)

-115 Extra Potential Points added to progression towards the next System Rankup

Next rank up: 4885PP

*New features available

-Companion Menu: Shows the status of your companion beast.

*New Changes:

-System has reached version 1.5, and has improved the Talent Shop. The Host can now purchase Passive Talents for 25 Potential Points.

-Rare Talents are more likely to appear.

Passive Talents can be purchased now? William wondered about the limits of the System. It could even upgrade the Talent of his companion beasts.

He explored the effects of the different upgrades, finding that his attack power and versatility had greatly increased. I need to hunt more Magical Beasts...it's going to cost five thousand Potential Points to upgrade the System again, and I've only raised it to E Rank.

He worked on a plan while stroking Atticus' scales. His eyes shined brightly as William thought of a method that would increase his strength quickly. William remembered that Fowley suggested he join a sect, which was quite the tempting plan, but it had many flaws.

What if a clan member became jealous? All it takes is for one snotty noble to complain to his parents that William was a bully, and his life is over. Even if William killed the parents, so what? The grandparents would come, then the ancient ancestors. William didn't think he had insane luck where he would always be approached by someone weaker than him. The world doesn't really work like that.

No, there was only one option for Will.