Chapter 237 - 236: Unconditional Level Up
A line of illusory blue text slowly appeared in his vision.
[Purged an ancient evil. Unconditional Level increase.]
Zelir stared at the line of text, momentarily stunned.
’Purged an ancient evil...?’
Without a doubt, this ritual ceremony was deeply connected to a Cult.
The evil Array carved into the ground, the brutal prayer that had resounded in his mind, and the religiously charged words like "Pseudo-God" and "Old Master"—all of it pointed to one conclusion.
For some reason, Zelir was reminded of the myth Bev had once told him.
The legend of the Great Creation Skill...
Level-up notifications began to pop up one after another in his mind.
Level 21 (511/600) -> Level 22 -> Level 23 -> Level 24...
All the way to Level 26!
Level 21 (511/600) -> Level 26 (511/600)!
He had jumped five whole levels!
And after leveling up, the experience cap didn’t even increase according to the previous pattern of 25 points per level.
Normally, upon reaching Level 26, the cap should have become (0/725).
This would save him a lot of Experience Points for future leveling.
In his unassigned attribute points, twenty points awaited Zelir’s allocation.
’This...’
Zelir was dumbfounded.
He suddenly felt that the bloody battle against the Bone Centaur in the Underground Tomb had been completely worth it.
Zelir took a deep breath.
He allocated twelve attribute points to Spirit and eight to Intelligence.
As for the six bonus points from his Magic Contract, Zelir allocated them to Agility.
Power: 95 -> 98
Agility: 105 -> 108 -> 114
Constitution: 98 -> 101
Spirit: 120 -> 132
Intelligence: 135 -> 143
Perception: 32
Charm: 59 -> 61
Lucky: 51
Talent Skills:
Technique Celestial Calculation
Magic Contract
Such a huge increase in Attributes in such a short time was like a transformative baptism, and it even restored much of Zelir’s condition.
The weakness from the Magic Potion’s side effects and from excessively drawing upon external Magic Power was completely washed away by this surge of new strength.
Within Zelir’s nearly depleted sea of consciousness, pure Magic Power began to well up like a spring, rapidly replenishing a portion of his reserves.
Spirit is the foundation of endurance, and Intelligence is the cornerstone of technique.
After this battle, Zelir once again became keenly aware of the importance of Mana.
’I’m really... always short on Mana.’
A Full Element Mage was certainly powerful, a versatile force on the battlefield who could tank, deal damage, and heal.
If he hadn’t had various types of Empowerment Magic at his disposal tonight, that first wave of prayer chanting would have likely resulted in a party wipe.
But the price for maintaining such versatility was a massive increase in Magic Power consumption.
In this one battle, Zelir had completely emptied three full Blue Bars!
And even that had barely been enough.
’Sigh...’
Zelir sighed internally.
’I have to raise Spirit, and I have to raise Intelligence too.’
’If my Magic Power control isn’t up to snuff, I won’t be able to cast powerful Magic even if I learn it...’
’I can’t just gamble with my life and resort to self-destructive tactics against every enemy.’
’It would be just my luck if the Flame Thunder Spear actually blew up in my hands one day.’
The entire Underground Tomb began to change.
With the demise of the Bone Centaur, the Array carved into the ground seemed to lose its core.
The once-bright crimson light began to flicker violently before dimming at a visible rate.
The lines, which had writhed like venomous snakes, solidified and crumbled into meaningless, dried, blood-colored powder.
Without the Array’s support, the dark red energy Force Field sealing the exit of the circular, arched hall let out a soft "POP," like a punctured balloon.
It gradually turned transparent before dissipating completely into the air.
’Oh, right...’
Zelir snapped out of his thoughts.
’There’s still Marcus and Maki!’
"Zelir!" Gray’s voice called out from behind as he ran over.
On the rear battlefield, most of the Skeleton People had been cleaned up.
As the Array failed, the black aura surrounding them dissipated, and their movements abruptly stiffened.
They even lost their former formidable bone hardness.
Valles was picking off the few remaining scattered ones with his Thunder Arrow.
The earth-shattering noise from before had been terrifying. After the explosion died down, the Bone Centaur had fallen silent.
But... Zelir and the others had fallen silent too!
’Don’t tell me they took each other out?’
The thought couldn’t help but pop into Gray’s head.
"I’m over here!"
Zelir called back loudly.
Hearing that Zelir was okay, Gray breathed a sigh of relief.
He crossed the smoke-filled battlefield and gave Zelir a firm hug.
"You scared me to death! What was that just now?"
"We can talk later... Go check on Maki first."
Zelir patted Gray on the back and pointed in the direction where Maki had been sent flying by the Bone Centaur’s Long Halberd.
Then he pushed himself to his feet and ran toward Marcus.
"Oh, oh... okay!"
Gray nodded and, not daring to delay a second, ran toward Maki’s position.
As he crossed the plaza, Gray’s expression grew heavier.
The once-sacred appearance of the circular hall was gone, replaced by a scene of utter ruin.
The ground was covered in massive cracks and scorched craters.
After being bombarded by that terrifying Magic, large chunks of debris were still falling from the stone dome above.
One of the stone walls, unable to withstand the violent tremors, had suffered a catastrophic collapse.
Countless boulders and earth had mixed together, cascading down from more than ten meters high like a landslide, forming a steep slope.
The sight was absolutely horrifying to Gray.
Compared to the intensity of the battle here, clearing out the Skeleton People had been a walk in the park.
Gray picked his way through the piles of rubble, finally spotting Maki’s figure.
"Cough, cough, cough..."
Maki was lying on his back, his breathing ragged and his chest heaving violently.
Many bone fragments were scattered around Maki.
When the Bone Centaur was destroyed, the Long Halberd that had pierced Maki’s right shoulder blade had crumbled along with it.
Fortunately, not much debris had fallen in his area, so he hadn’t been crushed.
Gray’s pupils contracted sharply.
He saw a large, bloody hole in Maki’s right shoulder.
Flesh was torn and peeled back, blood oozing out endlessly and staining the ground beneath him a dark crimson.
"Maki!"
Gray rushed to his side and knelt.
"Heh... Gray... You’re still alive."
Maki managed to force a weak smile, his voice incredibly faint. "Didn’t get killed by the Skeleton People? Not bad."
"This is no time for jokes. Just save your breath."
Gray’s eyes reddened.
He quickly fumbled for the bottle of Healing Potion Valles had left him.
After pulling out the cork, Gray supported the back of Maki’s head with one hand, lifting it slightly, and poured the entire potion down his throat.
Seeing Maki’s grievous injuries, Gray let out a low sigh.
He felt a complicated mix of emotions that he couldn’t quite put into words.