30 Risky decision
The three scouts in the team hurriedly tried to talk to him, hoping to tie him down in another meeting or anything they could use to bring him in their respective guilds, but Hans walked past them as if they didn't exist and proceeded to march towards the gate.
Once outside, he just disappeared and no one managed to spot him.
He had walked away under his stealth, and was heading home, ready for the awaited moment.
[you have played an important role in the clearing of the C-rank gate: veiled colony]
[you have been awarded with the (tier-3) spell: {earthquake}]
{earthquake:(tier-3)
Effect: activating this spell, all the power in your hits will disperse in the ground, under the shape of seismic waves, creating ruptures and earthquakes in the vicinity.
The width of the breach will depend on the user strength and the skill proficiency.}
[class quest completed.
You have defeated the (B-rank) monster: gigantic earth worm.
You have been awarded with the accumulated wisdom (125),
The hidden reward has been granted, the skill {piercing gaze} has evolved into the skill {mystic insight}.
[your wisdom has passed the thousands threshold, you are now allowed to shape and create your fourth circle]
{skill name: mystic insight
Skill type: (class skill) (active) and (passive)
(Active): allows the user to scan and determine the precise statistics of his opponents.
(Passive): the user will be able to see the mana's path much more clearly, and will also be able to tell apart truths and lies, as long as the speaker's level is lower than his.
In battle, the user will be able to slightly foresee the trajectory of the enemies attacks, and the weak points will be marked on the opponents's bodies.}
Truly a skill that almost seemed unfair because of its adaptability and powers.
Well, everything around Hans was quite crazy.
From the amount of skills he had at his level, to the incredible wisdom he possessed, not to talk about a tier 3 mage killing a B-rank beast, it was out of common sense, and even outside the boundaries of imagination.
For Hans however, this was just normal, he never once looked at his peers, only the strongest interested him, after all, that was the level he would've had to eventually reach if he wanted to reach his objective, actually no, he had to aim even higher, he needed to reach the peak, attainable only by the people that stood outside common sense.
Hans was leisurely sitting on his bed ready to advance once again.
The mages between tier-1 and tier-3 are considered low rank, and most of the people belong to this category, after those, between tier-4 and tier-6, mages are middle rank, there aren't many of them, and even in a relatively big city like Chicago, they would be eligible as guilds leaders or vice-leader.
Surpassing even that, needing at the very least the strenght of an S-rank, were the high ranking mages, few of them existed, and even in a big country like America, they could almost be counted on one's fingers.
The advancing between circles is the same as ever, it will however, bestow higher rewards when succeeding.
Hans as always, spread his lucky towel on the floor, to avoid dirtying his room with the sweat, and lied on it, he started the process, and composed his uniques circle, adding one to the collection.
Even if a simple action, it took hours to complete, and he advanced in a day and a half.
[congratulation on advancing and becoming a tier-4 magician]
[you have gained 50 wisdom points, and your affinity and control over mana increases.
Due to being a true mage, you have received an additional 50 stats for wisdom, and your affinity and control over mana exponentially increases]
[congratulations on becoming a medium rank magician, you have been rewarded with an additional fifty wisdom]
[as a middle rank magician, you are now able to combine and modify spells through research and dedication, the skill in your posses {combine} will cease to exist]
[current status]
[name: Hans age: 18
Class: knowledge seeker(unknown)
Title: none level: 93
Strength: 127(+1) Dexterity: 127(+1)
Endurance: 127(+1) Wisdom: 1274(+10)
Class skills:
{knowledge hunger}
{almighty knowledge}
{mystic insight}(lv up^)
Normal skills:
{flame burst}(tier-1)(lv up^)
{greater fireball}(tier-2)
{fire javelin}(tier-3)
{fire arena}(tier-2)(lv up^)
{strong mind}
{stealth}(tier-3)
{mana barrier}(tier-4)
{mana route}(tier-2)(lv up^)
{medium body restoration} (D-rank)
{sword mastery}(G-rank)
{earth projectile}(tier-0)
{earthquake}(tier-3)
{wind gust}(tier-1)
{ice armor}(tier-4)(new!)
{blizzard}(tier-3)
{ice spear}(tier-1)
{lume}(tier-0)
{shock}(tier-0)
{ghostification}(rank-E)
Paths:
{gravity control}(tier-2)(new!)
Description: a newly promoted tier-4 mage, has already surpassed most of the (tier-5) mages and (B-rank) warriors in terms of power.
His control over mana is immaculate and unprecedented for his level.
Evaluation: middle (rank-B)]
He was either a genius, or a monster, those were the only two words that could come close to describing him.
However, time was running out, as the promised clear date was rapidly approaching.
He had now about two weeks left, and he was nowhere near the level of beating that titan.
(The titanium golem)
If his strength didn't increase, he wouldn't have stood a chance of surviving in fourteen days.
Even if he cleared gates nonstop, his level wouldn't increase by much, and high ranking gates were difficult to pass by.
Nervous because of the incoming challenge, Hans found only one way out of this.
….
After the clearing of the C-rank gate, Hans' wisdom stat surpassed a thousand, meaning, that under the effect of {almighty knowledge} all his other stats surpassed the hundred.
In that moment, other than the quest completion message, another window popped up in front of him:
[your strength stat has surpassed the three digits, you are now able to manifest {aura}]
Aura, an energy that corresponds mana, but can only be used by those who follow the path of a knight.
It is a skill without a rank, and its strength solely depends on the user's proficiency with it and the user's strenght.
That means that the skill's strenght can increase at any given time without defined prerequisites, but it also mean that it can only be attained through rigorous training and practice.
He didn't know if half a month was enough to obtain it, but he had no choice other than going for it.
After what he had done to increase his strength, he definitely wouldn't have backed down because of a single doubt.
Taking in consideration his abilities, it wouldn't have been impossible for him to escape, but many people would've died, and Emily would've ended up in cell.
He didn't want to be the cause of a disaster like the one that took his family from his.
If the choice was between that and dying, then he would've taken the second option.
He needed to seclude himself for a bit, and think about nothing but training, so as he asked, Emily provided a training room for him to stay in, with food and all necessities inside, so that he wouldn't have any distractions going outside.
For the next thirteen days, apart from the eight hours of sleep to maintain his body in optimal shape, and the little time he needed to eat and go to the bathroom, not a single minute was spared by Hans's rigorous and heavy training, the sword swings movements he had repeated tens of thousands of times were now imprinted in his body, and the countless hours spent trying to gather energy to create aura finally paid off.
The day of the raid.
Hans was outside the B-rank gate, all around him not a single fly buzzed and not a single whisper could be heard.
The desolate streets that had been blocked by Emily's actions gave off a feeling of melancholy, more than others, for Hans, who was unsure of his return in this place.
He had already said his last goodbyes to Emily in case something went wrong, and also told her to continue with the told plan if he didn't come out in 24 h.
Hans's chest was covered by the sturdy dragon scales plate, flawlessly crafted by Hephaestus, ready to defend him from various unforeseen attacks.
And hanging on his waist, in a shiny scabbard, was the handle of a sword he borrowed from that kind old man in the smithy.
Bringing his body forward, he stepped inside the gate, before completely disappearing in the unknown.
[you have entered the (B-rank) gate: machine's paradise]
