Chapter 102: Cain Becomes 1st Echelon!
The notifications immediately filled Cain’s vision.
[Ding! You have killed the Level 75 2nd Echelon Zombie King.]
[Ding! You have obtained Strength +16, Agility +14, Physique +15, Sense +12, Mana +20, Magic +20.]
[Ding! You have obtained 500,000 System Points.]
Cain stared at the first section of notifications before a wide smile slowly appeared on his exhausted face.
"Finally..."
The sword slipped from his hand and struck the road beside him.
Cain no longer bothered keeping himself upright. He simply dropped onto his back in the middle of the damaged street and spread both arms across the pavement.
His breathing remained heavy, but he did not care about the blood sticking to his skin or the rough pavement pressing against his back.
That bastard was finally dead.
Cain remained there for several seconds before his attention returned to the rewards.
The Stats immediately put him in an even better mood.
+16 Strength, +14 Agility, +15 Physique, and even Sense had increased by 12, while both Mana and Magic rose by 20 points.
Cain could already feel the changes spreading throughout his exhausted body. His muscles tightened as fresh power entered them, while the lingering weakness from the battle eased slightly.
It had been a long time since a single kill rewarded him with so many bonus Stats.
During the beginning of the apocalypse, Cain had constantly fought enemies far above his own Level. The difference between them had been large enough that bonus Stats appeared frequently.
That gradually changed as he became stronger.
Most Unranked zombies were already beneath him, while ordinary 1st Echelon creatures no longer possessed enough of an advantage to reward him as generously as before.
The Level 75 Zombie King was completely different.
Cain had killed something at the peak of the 2nd Echelon while still remaining Unranked.
Receiving such a large reward was only reasonable.
Then there were the System Points, which was a whole 500,000.
Cain’s smile became even wider.
It was far more than he had expected from the kill.
Unfortunately, Cain was no longer foolish enough to think that amount would last forever.
Higher-ranked upgrades were becoming increasingly expensive. Sonya’s recent evolution alone had already shown how easily hundreds of thousands of System Points could disappear at once.
’Still... I’ll gladly take it.’
Cain was about to close the notifications when another familiar sound rang inside his mind.
[Ding! You have obtained a Title: Echelon Breaker.]
[Obtained by defeating a being two Echelon Stages above yourself before completing your own advancement.]
[Increases damage dealt against beings of a higher Echelon.]
Cain’s eyes immediately lit up.
"A Title?"
He had already seen how unusual Titles could be, but this one was especially suited to him.
The System did not specify exactly how much additional damage Echelon Breaker provided.
Cain found that slightly annoying.
However, the effect alone was enough to make him satisfied.
His Advancement Missions had already proven that the System apparently enjoyed forcing him to fight beings that should have been far beyond him.
If that continued, a permanent advantage against higher-Echelon enemies would become increasingly valuable.
Cain almost wanted to laugh.
’At this rate, the System might as well reward me for constantly trying to get myself killed.’
Then another series of notifications appeared.
[Ding! You have successfully solo killed the designated 2nd Echelon Zombie while remaining as an Unranked Awakener.]
[1st Echelon Advancement Mission completed.]
Cain’s expression immediately became serious.
He had nearly forgotten about the Advancement Mission after seeing all the rewards from the kill itself.
However, the System was still not finished.
[Ding! You have successfully completed the Emergency Mission!]
[Ding! Calculating the rewards...]
[Ding! You have obtained a Yellow Scroll and Yellow Orb.]
Cain’s eyebrows rose slightly.
A Yellow Scroll and Orb were already excellent rewards.
Before he could become too satisfied, the next notification appeared.
[Ding! Error in calculation.]
Cain blinked.
"What the hell?"
[Ding! You have completed the Emergency Mission as an Unranked Awakener.]
[Ding! Recalculating the rewards...]
His expression changed when he read the notification in front of him.
A moment later, new notifications replaced them.
[Ding! Reward quality has been increased.]
[Ding! You have obtained an Orange Scroll and Orange Orb.]
Cain’s eyes lit up as he had never expected that he would obtain such rewards from completing the Emergency Mission.
Because in the end, completing it had basically required the same thing as finishing his Advancement Mission, which was to kill the Zombie King.
Naturally, he would not complain.
An Orange Scroll and Orange Orb were already the highest-ranked rewards Cain had ever touched.
Combined with the physical loot that might still drop from the Zombie King itself, the entire battle had become far more profitable than he initially expected.
Cain closed his eyes and released another quiet breath.
All the broken bones and internal injuries finally felt slightly less irritating.
At that moment, something changed inside his body.
Cain’s eyes opened when he felt a powerful pulse come from somewhere deep inside his chest.
The Mana remaining throughout his body suddenly moved without his control.
He immediately sat upright and crossed his legs into a lotus position.
"Shit."
Cain had expected his advancement to begin after the mission was completed, but the transformation happened faster than he thought.
He had deliberately saved several valuable Cores inside his Inventory for this exact moment.
The Flamecrest Lion’s Core was still there.
So were the Cores he had received back from previous Investment Returns.
Cain had planned to form his Mana Core first before immediately using those resources to improve its stage.
Unfortunately, he could no longer spare any attention toward the Inventory as every trace of Mana inside him was being pulled toward his chest.
Cain closed his eyes and focused inward.
His Mana had always circulated freely throughout his body.
He could direct it into his muscles, channel it toward his sword or gather it whenever a Skill required energy.
There had never been a true center holding everything together.
Now, one was beginning to form.