Chapter 108: 108:Skills Upgrade
After making up his mind, Reigns reached out toward the Bronze Hand skill on the status panel.
He expected the familiar upgrade window to appear, asking him to spend his lifespan to raise the skill one level at a time, just as it had before.
Instead, a completely different notification appeared before his eyes.
[Use 25000 days of tradable lifespan to upgrade Bronze Hand to Tier 2.]
"..."
Reigns froze.
His hand stopped midair as though time itself had paused.
For several long seconds, he simply stared at the floating words without blinking.
Previously, every skill had to be upgraded level by level until it reached Level 10 before it could advance to the next tier.
But now, the system was readily allowing him to skip all of that and directly upgrade Bronze Hand to Tier 2.
"Why did this happen?"
He frowned deeply and leaned back, rubbing his chin while his mind raced through every possible explanation.
Was it because he had become stronger?
Because his class had changed?
Or was there another hidden condition that he had unknowingly fulfilled?
After sitting there and thinking for several minutes, he still couldn’t arrive at any certain conclusion.
In the end, he could only make a rough guess.
"It might be because of Infinite Evolution."
The moment that thought crossed his mind, Reigns’ face stiffened before slowly twisting into an expression of despair.
"Damn!"
He grabbed his hair in frustration.
"If only that had taken effect from the very beginning..."
His shoulders drooped and his eyes became watery.
The moment he remembered all the lifespan he had previously spent upgrading skills one level at a time, his heart began to ache.
Those were precious days.
Valuable days that he had painstakingly collected.
And now the system was casually telling him that he could have upgraded directly all along.
Reigns looked like he was about to cry.
"My lifespan..."
He sat there mourning over his wasted days for quite a while before finally taking a deep breath and calming himself down.
No matter how much he complained now, those days would never come back.
After steadying his emotions, he reached toward the confirmation button once more.
"Forget it."
"I need strength."
Without hesitating any further, he selected Yes.
The notification instantly changed.
[25000 days of tradable lifespan deducted.]
[Bronze Hand has successfully evolved.]
[Bronze Hand has become Iron Hand.]
The moment the upgrade was completed, a warm current suddenly spread through both of Reigns’ arms.
The sensation was unlike anything he had experienced before. It felt as though molten metal was flowing through his veins while countless tiny hammers continuously forged every bone, muscle, tendon, and nerve inside his hands.
The strange feeling lasted only a few seconds before gradually fading away.
Without wasting any time, Reigns immediately opened the updated skill description.
Iron Hand Tier 2
–Increases physical defense by 80%. Your hands take on a dark metallic sheen. You can now grab and shatter Tier 2 weapons with your bare hands.
–For 10 seconds, your hands become as hard as iron.
Reigns slowly clenched and unclenched his fists while staring at his palms. Under the pale moonlight, a faint dark metallic glow briefly spread across the surface of his skin before fading away. Even without fully activating the skill, he could clearly feel the difference.
The strength.
The durability.
The firmness of his hands.
They already felt far tougher than before.
A faint smile finally appeared on his face.
"No wonder Tier 2 skills are so expensive."
"This increase isn’t small at all."
After finishing the upgrade to Iron Hand, Reigns didn’t rush to spend the rest of his lifespan.
Instead, he quietly sat beside the crackling campfire with the status panel floating before his eyes. The warm cup of hot chocolate rested beside him while the flames reflected across his thoughtful face. His fingers lightly tapped against his knee as he carefully examined every single skill in his arsenal one by one.
His remaining tradable lifespan was still plentiful, but that didn’t mean he could waste it recklessly.
Every upgrade had to count.
He first looked at Arcane Blast.
Then Insight.
His gaze shifted toward Iron Sanctuary before moving to Berserker and Phantom Steps.
Each skill had its own strengths.
Each one could save his life in a dangerous situation.
For several minutes, Reigns simply sat there pondering.
The cold wind blew across the snowy camp while tiny snowflakes drifted through the air and quietly landed around him. The fire crackled softly, yet his attention never left the panel.
Finally, he reached a conclusion.
The battles he had fought so far had proven one thing.
Power and speed often decide life and death.
Without any further hesitation, he selected Berserker.
A notification immediately appeared.
[Use 15000 days of tradable lifespan to upgrade Berserker to Tier 2.]
Reigns blinked.
"Huh?"
He read the number again to make sure his eyes weren’t playing tricks on him.
"Only fifteen thousand?"
Compared to Bronze Hand’s twenty-five thousand lifespan requirement, this was surprisingly cheap.
After thinking for a moment, he simply shrugged.
"Good for me."
He immediately confirmed the upgrade.
The panel flickered.
[15000 days of tradable lifespan deducted.]
[Berserker has successfully evolved.]
A surge of heat instantly rushed through Reigns’ entire body.
His heartbeat accelerated.
His muscles tightened on their own while an explosive feeling of strength spread through every limb before slowly calming down.
A new description appeared before him.
Berserker Tier 2
–A skill that allows the user to burst with overwhelming strength in exchange for stamina. Increases strength by 60 percent by consuming 20 percent of stamina during activation. The body also gains increased resistance to pain while the skill remains active.
Reigns slowly flexed his fingers.
A smile appeared on his face.
"This is much stronger than before."
Satisfied, his eyes moved toward another familiar skill.
Phantom Steps.
Without speed, even overwhelming power meant little.
After thinking for a while longer, he decided to upgrade it as well.
The confirmation window appeared.
He selected Yes without hesitation.
[15000 days of tradable lifespan deducted.]
[Phantom Steps have successfully evolved.]
A strange sensation spread through his legs.
His body suddenly felt much lighter, as if an invisible weight had been lifted from his shoulders. Even while sitting still, he felt as though he could instantly dash across the campsite.
A new description unfolded before him.
Phantom Steps Tier 2
–Allows the user to move at extremely high speed while leaving behind multiple realistic afterimages that confuse enemies. When activated, agility increases by 40 percent, making movements significantly faster, harder to predict, and more difficult to track.
Reigns slowly stood up and took a single step.
His figure blurred for an instant before returning to normal. The movement was so smooth that even he felt surprised.
Looking at the two freshly upgraded skills, he quietly nodded to himself.
"The lifespan exchanged hurts..."
"But the improvement was worth every single day."
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