Ranking Up & Information

"D... Did I just Rank Up?" Arden stuttered as he felt a sudden burst of strength.

There was no doubt. The feeling he had just now was certainly as he had read.

When he was still a prince, he remembered a book that described something like this.

"Anytime a person Ranks Up, there's always a short burst of strength that is felt and later diminishes," Arden muttered.

That was exactly what he felt. It could be something else, but it was too accurate not to be it.

'I can't seem to access the system in this place, so I can't ask it. Maybe it'll be able to tell me what's going on.'

He continued looking at the bluish gaseous substance moving towards what apparently seemed to be his Ability Core. Seconds later, he suddenly felt himself being pulled out from this space.

Instantly, he opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was the room window.

He was still sitting in a lotus position, in the same spot as before.

A gasp escaped his lips as he slowly stood up and sat down on the bed.

He had been sitting on the floor, but since he was done for now, there was no need to keep sitting there. Moreover, it was already getting pretty uncomfortable.

[Congratulations, Host! You were able to successfully absorb Ability Energy.]

The system screen instantly appeared in front of Arden with these words displayed on it.

Yes, Arden knew he was able to successfully absorb Ability Energy, but he was sure that the system played a part in this.

[You actually did it yourself; I just supported a little.]

"I see... That's good to know."

If he was able to concentrate and absorb Ability Energy by himself without the system's help, it would be good.

Though the system assisted him a little, he was still proud that he was able to achieve this.

"So, I Ranked Up, huh?" Arden muttered, though it was more like a question.

[Yes, Host. You Ranked Up after absorbing the required amount of Ability Energy.]

"I knew it..." Arden whispered.

So he was finally able to absorb Energy and Rank Up just like other mages, huh?

This was something he had always wanted, and he finally got it. But that wasn't all. He even had access to an Energy that was stronger than Mana.

[After Ranking Up, your Combat Power increased, as well as your Ability Energy.]

"As expected."

[I will now display your current information.]

"This also means that it'll show me my current Combat Power and Ability Energy," Arden muttered.

The words on the system screen instantly changed, and his current information was displayed immediately.

[Name: Arden Nightshade]

[Age: 17]

[Race: Human]

[Revenge Points: 0]

[Rank: Second Step Rank 1 Ability User]

[Combat Power: 15]

[Ability Energy: 15]

[Skills: Lightning Spear]

[Current Quests: None]

[Equipments: Enchanted Cloak, Enchanted Mask]

[End of Information]

Now, Arden basically understood everything, except...

"Ability User?"

[Yes, the masses absorb and utilize Mana, so they're Mages. You absorb and utilize Ability Energy, so you're an Ability User.]

"Oh... I get it," Arden said.

There was also one more thing he needed to know.

"My current Combat Power is 15, but that is after becoming a Step 2 Rank 1 Ability User, so what was my Combat Power before?"

[Your Combat Power was formerly 5, but after getting the system and the Lightning Spear Skill, it became 10. Then, Ranking Up added 5 points, making it 15.]

"Hmm, this body wasn't that strong, but Mana is more important than Combat Power, so it wouldn't have mattered. But..."

"It certainly matters to me."

Combat Power simply referred to the amount of a person's physical capabilities. Speed, strength, defense, and even stamina. All these were classified under Combat Power.

Though people deemed Mana more important than Combat Power because it was like fuel to use Magic...

[The same thing applies to your Ability Energy. After getting the Lightning Spear Skill, you had 5 Ability Energy, but after Ranking Up, you got an additional 10 points, making it 15.]

"I see..." Arden said as he nodded his head in understanding.

That meant that if he equipped his cloak and mask, his Combat Power and Ability Energy would be boosted up to 25.

"With my Combat Power at 25 points, I'm even more confident about hunting Beasts."

That aside, he knew that the Lightning Spear Skill took 2 Ability Energy to activate, but that was all he knew.

Focusing on the Skill, the words on the system screen instantly changed.

[Level 1 Skill: Lightning Spear]

[Lightning Spear: Once this Skill is activated, a spear made of Lightning can be summoned and used to strike enemies.]

"Pretty self-explanatory," Arden muttered as his eyes went to the next set of words.

[Effect: Can cause slight paralysis]

[Note: There will be more effects as this Skill Levels Up]

"Slight paralysis... It affected Ryker, and that was why he wasn't able to scream."

Though, the "note" section instantly caught Arden's eyes.

"It's a Level 1 Skill, so if it's Level 2, there'll be more effects, huh?"

[By continuous usage of the Skill, it'll be able to Level Up and get more effects.]

Understanding that, he moved on to the last section that displayed what he was actually looking for.

[Cost: 2 Ability Energy per Lightning Spear]

[1 Ability Energy for every 3 seconds a spear is active]

[End of Information]

He knew about the first part, but the second part...

[The amount of time will increase as the Skill Levels Up, so you don't need to worry.]

Apparently, making the Skill Level Up would bring more advantages.

"Okay, now that's cleared."

With this, he was certainly ready to hunt beasts... to grow stronger.

Yes, it would be his first time, but everything starts from somewhere, and this was just his first step to achieving his goal.

Arden's eyes were fixated on the moon that hung beautifully in the sky.

'I'm not stopping until I achieve it... Mother.'

Though he certainly knew that this decision he just made would be the start of a crazy journey... one that wouldn't be ordinary at all.