Tier 2 Skill

<Underworld>

Persephone rushed forward and supported Hades just as he returned. The God of Death was losing his vitality rapidly. His mighty figure seemed weak, as if he was a flickering candle flame amidst a fiery thunderstorm.

[ Unauthorized intervention by Pantheon God of Death, Hades, with a low-tier sequence detected ]

[ You have interfered with the progression of Asura rank Dungeon, Pantheon ]

[ You have interfered with the boundaries of dimension ]

[ You have inte… ]

[ Yo… ]

[ … ]

[ Penalties will be applied ]

[ Applying restriction on… ]

[ Applying res… ]

[ … ]

Persephone stared at Hades with a softened gaze as he suffered the consequences of meddling with a low-tier sequence, Noah's Asura rank Dungeon.

"Don't look at me with those eyes. I'll be fine after sleeping for a bit." Hades smiled slightly.

The two gods entered the deepest chamber of the castle where Persephone helped Hades to rest.

She lingered inside the room for a bit before leaving when, suddenly, Hades called out to her.

"Per, if we stay stuck in the past, it will also cost us our present and future. Be it the mortals or gods, all of us must keep moving forward."

"..."

Persephone left without answering.

She strolled through the castle. Her feet carried her to the highest room from where she could see all of the Underworld.

The Underworld was the destination of the souls of the deceased. Here, they were judged on the basis of the karma they built through their lives.

However, Persephone didn't see anything grand like that. The Underworld had been nearly destroyed eons ago. It was now just a dying place where two gods were waiting for their ends.

…Until today.

[ Stage-1 of Asura Dungeon, Pantheon, has been cleared ]

[ Hidden objectives have been cleared ]

[ Measuring Karma… ]

[ Stage-1 has been cleared within one attempt ]

[ Noticeable achievement: Heracles was unable to attain his 12th labor ]

[ Measuring Karma… ]

[ Measuring Karma… ]

[ Measuring Karma… ]

Persephone stared at the notifications with a gaze hiding gazillions of emotions.

[ Ding! Necessary Karma reached! ]

[ Accessing Codex ]

[ Event Changed: Heracles wasn't able to defeat Cerberus and failed to infiltrate the Underworld. As a result, the 'Rebellion of Departed Souls' never occurred. ]

[ Ding! Altering Codex! ]

The Underworld shook. Destroyed wreckages floated in the air and the bottom of dried rivers was filled with the water of Styx.

The fabric of space and time twisted.

[ Underworld restored ]

Murmur Murmur

Voices filled the once-empty Underworld. The Styx ran across the castle before falling into Tartarus, Malevolent Spirits maintained law and order, and thousands of souls filled the plains of the Underworld.

Persephone overlooked the thriving Underworld with a complicated look and whispered, "To think, 'his' successor is the one saving our world. Fate truly loves irony."

***

<Forest next to Nelio>

Noah stared at the trail left behind Achilles. He shook his head slightly and thought, 'I was right to leave those soldiers alive.'

Noah suppressed the unnecessary thoughts and focused on the current situation.

'Today the biggest harvest was Achilles himself. I want to check his status and how much he improved but I'll do it after he returns.'

Noah's abilities had improved by leaps and bounds tonight. Before moving towards the hidden objective of Stage-2, he needed to sort them out and grasp his growth.

"Status."

[ Sage Eyes (Tier 0 → Tier 1): Allows you to see the flow of mana (New effect). ]

[ Instant Acceleration (Tier 1, Lv.6): +300% MOV SPE for 1 second at 50 Divinity. After the initial second, the MOV SPE will increase at 10% rate per second while the cost will increase by 100% per second. ]

[ I Am Tired (Tier 1, Lv.0 → Tier 1, Lv.8): Sacrifice 100 SP and gain 8 Divinity ]

[ Inverse Gift Of Benevolent (Tier 1, Lv.0 → Tier 1, Lv.5): For every 1000 HP damage you regain 50 SP (Passive Skill) ]

[ Detect (Tier 1, Lv.0 → Tier 1, Lv.10): Detect hostile lifeforms in a 500-meter radius (Passive Skill) ]

[ Sixth Sense (Tier 0, Lv.9 → Tier 1, Lv.10): Alert of fatal attacks targeting you in a 500-meter radius (Passive Skill) ]

[ Battle Concentration (Tier 1, Lv.0 → Tier 1, Lv.10): Increases cognitive ability by 25% for 30 minutes. Allows you to keenly track every movement in a 5-meter radius. ]

[ Gravity Manipulation (Tier 1, Lvl. 0 → Tier 1, Lv.4): You can exert 5 metric ton gravitational force in a 5-meter spherical domain. The shape of the domain can be changed freely but the volume will remain the same. The gravitational force can be increased by consuming more Divinity.

Additional Effects: Gains Psychokinesis (Tier 0 effect), Gains Magnetic Pole Generation (Tier 1 effect). The additional effects will grow along with Gravity Manipulation skill. ]

"So the best way to increase skill level is real-life combat against stronger enemies."

While Noah was gauging his abilities a notification appeared.

[ Sixth Sense, Battle Concentration, and Detect has reached peak Tier 1. The skills are compatible. Would you like to combine the three skills into skill 'Hyper Sensitivity'? ]

[ Hyper Sensitivity(Tier 2, Lv.0): Greatly strengthens the five senses. Allows you to detect bloodlust and fatal attacks targeted at you within a 1-kilometer diameter. Increases your cognitive ability by 100%. Predict your opponent's moves by observing their movements down to the smallest muscles. ]

[ Accept Upgrade? Yes/No ]

Noah read the details and couldn't help but be amazed. Although it was a difference of a single level, a Tier 1 Lvl.10 skill and a Tier 2 Lv.0 skill were worlds apart!

Noah accepted the upgrade.

[ Skill 'Hyper Sensitivity' learned ]

"Hyper Sensitivity"

Noah's sense sharpened to a different realm altogether. He could feel the wind grazing against his skin, smell the damp soil, hear even the faintest sounds in his surroundings and see the thin blades of grass flickering under the moonlight.

He deactivated the skill.

"It's great."

Noah's skills had grown considerably. He decided to test his other skills.

"Gravity Manipulation"

Noah raised his hand and created a wall with Gravity Manipulation. He could tell that the wall was sturdy enough to block sword attacks from Lv.50 swordsmen easily. Unfortunately, he couldn't have a practical test at this moment.

"I should try the effect it gained at Tier 1."

A pale blue hue covered Noah's palm.

Noah picked two branches and held one in each hand. He channeled the blue hue into the branches.

Suddenly, the branches flew out of Noah's hands and hit each other.

Noah activated Sage Eyes and used its new ability. He saw black lines being generated from each branch going into the other branch.

"These lines are magnetic lines. It seems I can also control the strength of magnetic poles by using more Divinity."

The ability to see mana opened a new perspective of the world for Noah. He could see a white world with black lines representing the flow of mana.

Noah was done testing his skills when his eyes wandered to rather 'unwell' parts of his status. Not everything was rainbows and sunshine.