Chapter 33: Received Skill Abyssal Step Rank B
The heavy, metallic hum radiating from the Vanguard Outpost Supply Cache grew louder as Leon Graves stepped through the pulverized remains of the security door. Around his boots, the three mountains of gray sand left behind by the destroyed automata were already drifting into the floor channels, their residual data completely absorbed by the passive aura of his Calamity Domain.
Leon dropped to one knee before the obsidian-steel crate, his leather boots anchoring his form against the cold stone floor of the central vault. His updated physical parameters pulsed smoothly within his veins, the numbers perfectly calculated after his swift engagement in the maintenance tunnel.
[STATUS MENU]
Name: Leon Graves
Class: Sovereign of Finality: Calamity Incarnate (Rank: SSS)
Level: 18
Health: 1,850 / 1,850 (+40 from Con Increase)
Mana: 1,580 / 1,580 (+15 from Grave Reclamation)
[ATTRIBUTES]
Strength: 108
Agility: 91
Constitution: 114
Mana: 84
Perception: 41
He did not wait for a system authorization timer to count down. Leon extended his right hand, his bare fingers wrapping around the cold iron latch of the chest. He channeled a minor burst of dark mana straight from his knuckles, forcing the raw necrotic energy to seep into the internal locking pins.
CRACK.
The ancient mechanical tumbler inside the vault frame snapped open under the pressure of his SSS-rank finality attribute. The heavy obsidian-steel lid slid back with a slow, grinding hiss, releasing a dense plume of cold, silver-white condensation that carried the crisp scent of premium unrefined system alloy.
[Opening Tier-2 Sentinel Outpost Supply Cache...]
[You have received: 40,000 High-Density Mana Crystals]
[You have received: ]
[You have received: 1x Skill Book: Abyssal Step (Rank: B)]
Leon’s twin rings of deep violet pupils flared in the shadows beneath his hood as he reached into the silver vapor, his hand closing around the cold leather and heavy iron plates of the armor piece.
A high-tier B-rank skill book and a tailored rare-grade defense set.In the future timeline before his regression, a frontline hunter had to raid multiple high-level dungeons over months just to afford a single utility skill like Abyssal Step. The corporate syndicates under Director Keating were still throwing lives at common level 10 mobs down in the lower borough just to farm low-tier copper coins, completely blind to the fact that the first outpost of the Shattered Ridge hoarded enough premium assets to fund a regional legion.
He pressed his palm against the glowing silver cover of the skill book, forcing the conceptual data to integrate directly into his active mind.
[Skill Book Integrated Successfully.][You have unlocked the active skill:
Effect: The user can slip into the shadow dimension for 4 seconds, completely erasing their physical presence and tracking tags from the local environment. Movement speed is multiplied by 50% during the phase shift. Costs 50 Mana. Cooldown: 2 minutes.
A cold, razor-sharp smile cut across Leon’s pale face. Abyssal Step was the ultimate kinetic positioning tool for a solo candidate. Combined with his existing Void Intercept phase shift, he now possessed a double-layered mobility matrix that allowed him to completely dictate the flow of any high-level engagement. If an elite boss threw up a wide-scale map-wiping barrier, he could use Void Intercept to ignore the initial explosion, then immediately trigger Abyssal Step to reappear behind their throat before their internal systems could even reset their casting cooldowns.
He picked up the heavy iron plates, slipping them over his forearms. The metal bound smoothly with his leather cuffs, the iron straps tightening with a fluid click as they recognized his ownership data.
— Passive Effect 1: Grants a permanent +10 to Strength and +8 to Constitution. Passive Effect 2: — Weapon deflection checks from physical attacks are reduced by 30%. The user cannot be disarmed by lower-tier entities.
A heavy surge of raw kinetic power flooded his arm muscles, his fingers tightening around the hilt of the Abyssal Stinger with an absolute, immovable force. His updated attributes flickered across the screen, his baseline Strength violently pushing past one hundred and eighteen points.
He stood up slowly, his charcoal-black duster coat settling around his leather boots as his Perception stat suddenly picked up a massive, erratic energy displacement coming from the command terrace directly above the vault ceiling.
The outpost’s central processing core was updating its defensive matrix.
The slaughter of the maintenance guards had tripped the physical security counters inside the central command room. Through his shared connection with the Level 2 Ashen Fog, Leon could feel the heavy, iron-plated floor plates of the upper deck vibrating with a furious, rhythmic thumping that sounded like a massive piston engine running at maximum velocity.
The sector commander was descending the elevator lines to purge the intruder.
Leon Graves slid his black blade back into his sleeve, his rings of deep violet light glowing with a cold, predatory malice in the darkness of the storage vault. The reward box was open, the rare skills were hoarded, and it was time to clear the final anchor of the Vanguard Outpost before the first floor-wide nightfall could seal the paths. He turned his body toward the central lift gate, his figure seamlessly dissolving into the thick gray curtains of the fog as he moved toward the noise.