Ding!
[Congratulations, you have leveled up to Level 17!]
[Due to "Heaven’s Blessing", you have gained 100 points in all attributes and 100 free points to distribute.]
The notification appeared in front of Leon’s eyes the mont the mutated [Dark Moon Knight] collapsed for good.
The experience gained from the battle surged through him like a warm wave, strengthening every part of his body.
This wasn’t surprising. After all, the enemy they had defeated was a mutated boss, sothing incredibly rare, and on top of that, it was four full levels above Leon.
The experience reward was naturally massive.
Even Emilia, who had stayed slightly behind and focused on support and precise attacks, had gained an absurd amount of experience.
She had leveled up once, and was close to reaching level 17 as well!
Leon didn’t waste ti staring at the level-up panel. He was already used to it.
As always, he calmly allocated his free attribute points.
Fifty points went into [Strength]. The other fifty went into [Spirit].
It was the sa distribution he had followed since the beginning.
Strength increased his physical power and overall damage, while Spirit directly affected his spell strength, and long-term combat endurance.
Together, they ford a balance that fit his fighting style perfectly.
Once that was done, Leon dismissed the attribute window and focused on sothing much more interesting: the drops.
Since the system had already sent everything directly into his storage space thanks to [100% Drop Rate], he simply opened it and checked the list.
[Dark Moon Knight Essence: Consuming will increase Spirit and Agility by 20, Strength by 25, and Constitution by 15.]
[Sub-Talent Scrolls: Strength Enhancent (D-Level), Vessel of Darkness (B-Level)]
[Dark Moon Armor (Legendary): 900 Defense, 500 Constitution. Requirent: Level 20.]
[Darkness Spear (Epic): 700 Attack, 500 Strength, 200 Agility. Requirent: At least one darkness-related skill or sub-talent and Level 20.]
[Skill Stones x5]
[Enhancent Stones x5]
Leon’s lips curved upward into a satisfied grin.
"Pretty good," he muttered.
Calling it "pretty good" was actually an understatent. These rewards were insane, especially for where he currently was.
Without any hesitation, Leon consud the [Dark Moon Knight Essence].
A gentle surge of energy spread through his body as his attributes increased all at once.
His muscles felt denser, his movents lighter, and his mana flow smoother than before.
He then stored the armor, spear, and stones for later use.
The [Dark Moon Armor] and [Darkness Spear] both required level 20, and he didn’t plan to use them as his current equipnt was better.
Still, knowing he had an additional legendary and epic-rank equipnt to sell later was good.
After organizing his storage, Leon’s gaze shifted toward the remaining items. The sub-talent scrolls.
That was when his grin widened even more.
First, he picked up the [Strength Enhancent (D-Level)] scroll and poured mana into it.
This ti, there was no risk involved.
His current [Strength Enhancent] sub-talent was only E-Level, while the scroll itself was D-Level. That ant this wasn’t a fusion gamble, it was a guaranteed evolution.
Leon could have given the scroll to Emilia instead, but there was no real reason to.
Strength was easily her least important stat. As a saintess and magic user, her value ca from Spirit, intelligence-based scaling, and support abilities, not raw physical power.
So the decision was simple.
Fwoosh! Ding!
[You have evolved "Strength Enhancent (E-Level)" to "Strength Enhancent (D-Level)."]
[Strength Enhancent (D-Level): Permanently increases strength by 30%.]
Leon felt a noticeable shift in his body almost imdiately. His muscles tightened slightly, and his grip felt firr.
It wasn’t a dramatic transformation, but it was consistent, reliable power, exactly what a passive sub-talent was ant to provide.
Then, Leon turned his attention to the second scroll: [Vessel of Darkness (B-Level)].
This one was different. Much more dangerous and tempting.
Leon already possessed [Vessel of Darkness] at B-Level. That ant he had the option to attempt a fusion, one that could potentially evolve the sub-talent into an A-Level version.
An A-Level sub-talent. Just thinking about it made his heart beat faster.
But Leon didn’t act imdiately. Instead, he stared at the scroll in his hand.
He knew the odds. Evolving from E-Level to D-Level was relatively easy. D-Level to C-Level took effort. C-Level to B-Level often required multiple attempts.
But B-Level to A-Level? That was a completely different story.
Failure wouldn’t just an disappointnt. It would an wasting an extrely valuable resource.
That scroll alone could be given to Emilia, making her far stronger against darkness-type enemies.
Alternatively, he could sell it for at least 10,000 Eternal Coins, enough to expand his storage space by ten slots.
Leon hesitated. He turned the scroll over in his hand, his thoughts running in circles.
About a minute passed in silence.
"I think you should do it," Emilia suddenly said.
Leon turned his head toward her, surprised.
"You know what I’m thinking?" he asked, tilting his head slightly.
Emilia nodded casually. "You’re holding a sub-talent scroll. You already have the sa sub-talent. Obviously, you want to fuse it."
Leon let out a short laugh. "Damn."
He knew Emilia wasn’t stupid, but it still caught him off guard how easily she read his thoughts.
Her words also gave him the push he needed. Leon took a deep breath.
"Alright," he muttered.
Fwoosh!
He poured mana into the scroll and tore it apart without giving himself ti to second-guess the decision.
The air around him trembled slightly.
And then—
Ding!
[Fusion successful.]
Leon’s eyes widened.
’Holy shit.’
[You have evolved "Vessel of Darkness (B-Level)" to "Embodint of Darkness (A-Level)."]
But sothing unexpected happened.
For the first ti in both of Leon’s lives, the evolution of a sub-talent caused a visible reaction.
Bam!
Dark streaks suddenly appeared across his body.
They ford along his arms, spread across his chest, and even traced faint lines along his face.
The streaks weren’t static, they moved slowly, like waves flowing beneath his skin.
"What the hell?!" Emilia exclaid as she rushed closer.
Leon looked down at himself, examining the strange marks. "It doesn’t hurt," he said calmly. "It’s... weird, though."
He quickly opened the sub-talent description.
[Embodint of Darkness (A-Level): Darkness is directly linked to you now, slowly fusing you with it. Darkness-based attacks will deal almost no damage to you.]
Leon stared at the description. So that was it.
The dark streaks weren’t a side effect, they were proof. Proof that darkness itself had begun rging with him.
The markings continued to shift gently, never staying in one place for long.
"I wonder if they’ll disappear eventually," Emilia said thoughtfully as she lightly touched one of the dark streaks on his arm. "They actually make you look kind of cool, though~"
Leon shrugged. "Probably permanent. I don’t mind."
An A-Level sub-talent was more than worth a few strange visual effects.
Even if it didn’t seem overwhelmingly powerful right now, Leon could feel that this ability had massive potential.
And if it could be evolved further... He stopped himself there. That was a thought for the future.
Just as Leon was about to continue sorting his items and planning his next steps, another notification appeared.
Ding!
[You are tired.]
"Oh," Leon muttered.
Only then did he realize how long it had been.
Nearly a full day had passed since he arrived in [Universal Ascension], and he hadn’t rested even once. The system had finally decided enough was enough.
Leon knew what ca next. If he ignored the warning and kept going, he would receive debuffs: reduced stats, slower reactions, and lower efficiency.
In [Universal Ascension], sothing like this got others killed.
"Let’s head back," Leon said. "I need rest, and the timing’s perfect."
Emilia looked up at the sky. The moon was now nearly seventy-five percent crimson.
By the ti they finished resting, the [Blood Moon] event would almost certainly begin.
With that decided, the two of them made their way back toward [Moon City], reaching it in about fifteen minutes.
The [Moon Sect Guards] at the entrance were gone.
Inside the city square, people of all races stood silently, their heads tilted upward, eyes locked onto the moon. None of them spoke. None of them moved.
It was unsettling. Their obsession ran deep, so deep that it felt unnatural.
Leon and Emilia didn’t linger. They quickly found an inn and went inside.
There were only two ways to recover from the [Tired] status: resting naturally or staying at an inn. Either worked.
Leon paid the required 100 Eternal Coins and entered a room with Emilia.
The saintess stood by the window, watching as the moon continued to darken.
"I wonder what this [Blood Moon] is really going to do," she said quietly. "Everyone seems obsessed with it... even you."
Leon sat down on the bed and looked out the window as well.
"We’ll see," he replied.
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