Viktor took out some of the weapons he grabbed from the orcs and placed them in a neat pile.
The hideout was small, just enough for 8 people to fit in and move a bit, so there was no space to pull out all of the weapons he obtained. However, a quick count is enough to know that he has at least 100 tier 1 weapons and 20 tier 2 weapons.
Tier 2 weapons are more valuable, and it can be used to support his companions. So he decided to extract all the tier 1 weapons instead.
Viktor took out around half a dozen strange looking sabers from his storage before extracting them one by one.
[Metal extraction]
[12 mid-level metal essence extracted]
[Metal forged successfully.]
One by one, the orcs' weapons broke down into liquid-like metal, before turning into energy and absorbed into his spirit core. As the numbers in front of his eyes went up bit by bit, Viktor's smile turned wider.
"I really can't believe this, Djinn! This feels just like an all-you-can-eat buffet!" Viktor said in his mind.
<Yes.. Yes.. just get stronger already>
[Metal extraction]
[13 mid-level metal essence exctracted]
[Metal forged successfully.]
Right now, each of the lower-tier weapons would only give him less than a 0,5% increase to stage 4. Fortunately, he has a lot of weapons to absorb,
[Metal extraction]
[13 mid-level metal essence extracted]
[Metal forged successfully.]
Like there was nothing going on outside, Viktor continued extracting all the tier 1 weapons. Right as the last of the weapons disappeared, a notification appeared in his mind.
[Core of Anvil - Stage 4: 89.74%]
That was the stat he ended up with, which meant he got a 36% increase for 118 pieces of tier 1 weapons, both saber and dagger.
He only needed a little over 10%, so Viktor decided to bite the bullet and extract the tier 2 weapons next, hoping that by the end, he could spare some weapons for his companions.
[Metal extraction]
[37 mid level metal essence found]
[Metal forged successfully.]
It took him 7 pieces of the tier 2 weapons before he finally could pass the 100% mark. The corner of his lips curled up into a grin right as the message he was waiting for appeared.
[You have successfully forged Core of Anvil - Stage 4.]
[Your spirit core has been upgraded to stage 5.]
[Your spirit force has increased by 5 points.]
[You have reached a breakthrough into a new realm.]
[Earth Realm - Peak stage]
[You have received 1 magic point that can be freely distributed!]
[You have received 30 status points that can be freely distributed!]
Not only did his spirit core get an upgrade, but also he had managed to reach a new realm. Relief washed over him, as this proves that all the hard work he had been doing in the last 4 weeks, from the abyss pit to the pillars, have all finally paid off.
His hard work of raising his spirit force bit by bit had brought him to this point.
[Spirit Energy - Metal - Stage 5]
He waited for a few seconds but saw no other notifications, which meant he isn't getting any new abilities despite reaching stage 5. Viktor sighed and said.
"What the hell? Nothing? Nada?!"
He had to hold himself back from yelling to thin air. As much as he wanted to unleash his anger, it would only be a useless waste of energy. Most likely, those 4 skills are all he would get from his metal core.
[Metal Extraction], [Metal Bending], [Metal Tempering], and [Metal Fusion]
On the other hand, he has reasons to believe that the 4 skills would be all he needed. At least he could be sure that each upgrade would work wonders on what he already has.
To distract himself, he tried to focus on his gains.
For the rank up, he got 30 extra status points, and that was something worth celebrating. After all, despite how strong he looked, he only managed to get points in spirit force throughout the last month, while all his companions slowly increased their battle power when their spirit force gradually increase. This would allow him to keep up with them.
However, he couldn't help but question the strange situation.
"Anyway, Djinn, what is up with my stats anyway? Why can't I get stronger bit by bit like the others instead of having to receive my stats in a lump sum at the end?"
<Hmm…> The Djinn seemed to hesitate for a split second. <Let's just say that your strength are connected by to fate through the lamp artifacts. Hence, everything you do is following the rules of fate.>
Hearing the answer, Viktor gritted his teeth in annoyance. He couldn't help but feel angry, as it was not an answer at all. The explanation could be compared to a parent telling their child to just eat the vegetables they were given.
Unfortunately, Viktor's train of thought was heard by the Djinn, who responded with a tinge of threat.
<Heh, you do know that instead of this, your alternative was to be left to die in that vault?>
The remarks made Viktor quickly change his behavior. While putting his best smile, he whispered. "I was certainly only joking, my friend."
Unknown to him, the two youngest boys in the group weren't asleep yet. They were watching their young master's mood shift from angry to happy, and they couldn't help but worry.
"Hey, Barry," Kosta whispered, doing his best to lower his voice. "What is wrong with master Viktor? Why did he get angry then suddenly smile like that?"
Unexpectedly, Barry elbowed and shushed him, "Hush! What do a village boy like you know? This is normal, all prestigious masters of any prominent families are all like this. Just don't get into his bad side!"
Without knowing what was going on, Viktor looked at his stats, and started to think of the best way to distribute the points.
[Viktor Romanov]
[Strength - 32]
[Agility - 72]
[Endurance - 48]
[Battle Power - 51]
[Spirit force - 100]
Right now, he could say he has more experience in fighting and knows how to control the battlefield. Hence, he already knew which stats to increase based on his fighting style.
As he stared at the numbers, he realized that 32 points in strength were just too lacking, and as his divine skill has a limited duration and heavy drawback, he couldn't really count on it every time. He does need a higher strength, the way it was, even Barry has a stronger punch than him, which was highly embarrassing.
As for endurance, the truth was he never had any trouble with it, as he was mostly staying safe in his metal armor and he never ended in a prolonged fight that require a large amount of stamina.
As for his agility was always his best asset that allowed him to avoid getting hit. In other words, as long as the enemy was unable to hit him, he would always have the advantage in a straight fight. Hence, after giving it some thought, Viktor decided to distribute it as such,
2 points to endurance, and the rest 28 were divided evenly into strength and agility.
[Viktor Romanov]
[Strength - 32(46)]
[Agility - 72(86)]
[Endurance - 48 (50)]
[Battle Power - 51(62)]
Now, it was time to decide where to use the one magic point, and to decide, Viktor thought back to the fight against the orc hordes.
He has been using a lot of spells to support himself and his team lately, and he realized that several times he had seen his lack of spell power make his [Metal Chain] skill feel much weaker than it should. Normally, he wouldn't worry, but his chains breaking almost landed his team in hot water more than once.
Besides, he really doesn't like having a C in any of his stats. It felt just like having a bad grade he wanted to erase as soon as possible just to put it out of his mind. With this line of thought, Viktor decided to choose the magic power in comparison to the other two, and within moments, he can feel power start to flow into his body.
He felt like his body was being pulled apart and stretched for a moment, before the sensation disappeared as if it was never there in the first place.
[Spirit Power - C (B)]
[Spirit Control - A]
[Spirit Pool - B ]
Viktor can feel the core that was placed just under his chest was brimming with more power.
Now that the points were placed, Viktor checked quest condition to decide what to do next. There were still more than 40 hours left on the clock, and outside there were a little less than 2000 orcs running around looking for them,
The question was, should they stay hidden and aim for the survival objective, or should they take a risk to fight some more?
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Written by Avans, Published exclusively by W.e.b.n.o.v.e.l,
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