Realm Advancement
Ethan stood before the statues in awe, each representing a fallen War God. The gravity of their sacrifices weighed heavily on his heart. As he reached the swirling portal at the end of the hall, a system prompt appeared:
"Ding! Would you like to challenge the War God's Trials? Each player may attempt this once per day."
"What's the point of the War God's Trials?" Ethan asked aloud.
A description immediately appeared before him:
"The War God's Trials will summon a phantom reflecting a War God of your current realm. Defeating the phantom will advance your realm, enhancing your innate talent potential. Each advancement grants significant attribute bonuses and a War God's Medal corresponding to the realm achieved. Exceptional performance may also earn the recognition of a War God's Spirit, granting a random skill from their legacy!"
"So, this is where I advance my realm," Ethan mused. He recalled the description of his talent—stacking poison damage required defeating bosses of equal or higher realm. "So, realm advancement isn't about level; it's something else entirely."
"Enhancing talent potential, though? Does that mean talents can evolve?" Ethan pondered. "Guess there's only one way to find out."
With his Black Iron and Silver-level bosses already defeated, he figured it was time to advance realms. The first successful challenger was bound to receive a reward, after all. Without hesitation, he selected "Yes".
The swirling portal activated, and Ethan stepped inside. He found himself in a sealed arena, empty and echoing. A figure began to materialize in the distance—a middle-aged man, though his features remained indistinct. Ethan immediately cast Insight:
[War God's Phantom] (Black Iron)
Level: 11
Health: 80,000
Physical Attack: 400
Physical Defense: 150
Magic Defense: 80
Speed: 60
Skills:
Azure Slash: Launches a blade of energy, dealing 150% physical damage to targets in its path. Cooldown: 20 seconds.
Parry: Blocks the next incoming attack. Cooldown: 5 seconds.
"That's it?" Ethan snorted. "I was expecting something stronger. Its stats are barely better than the Wild Boar King's, and it has fewer skills."
Then again, the Trials were solo challenges. If it had abilities like the Wild Boar King, most players wouldn't stand a chance. For Ethan, however, the phantom was hardly a threat. He activated Quickstep, endured two hits to stack three layers of poison on the phantom, and leisurely retreated. With his absurd movement speed of 142 compared to the phantom's 60, it felt like watching a snail try to chase a cheetah.
Ethan's defense of 111 and 1,750 health meant the phantom's attacks barely left a mark. He recovered 17 health per second outside combat, easily healing to full. Even when the phantom's Azure Slash landed, a single medium potion was enough to cover the damage. Its Parry skill, which activated every 5 seconds, was more of an annoyance than a threat.
Poison damage stacked to 69 per second, and Ethan's victory was inevitable. Twenty minutes later, the phantom collapsed. Ethan looked around, hoping for a War God's Spirit to appear, but he was promptly teleported back to the Temple of War. Apparently, no spirit had deemed his performance worthy.
"Maybe my realm is too low, or maybe my hit-and-run strategy doesn't impress anyone," Ethan muttered.
Back in the temple, another prompt appeared:
"Ding! Congratulations on completing the challenge. Your realm has advanced to Black Iron. Rewards: +10 to all attributes, +10 free attribute points, and a [War God's Medal] (Black Iron). As the first player to reach Black Iron, you are awarded an additional +10 free attribute points."
"No global announcement?" Ethan sighed in relief. "Good. I'm tired of being the center of attention. People are already itching to gang up on me."
The realm advancement rewards were astonishing. "A 10-point increase to every attribute is like gaining 60 attribute points at once. Add the free points, and that's 70 total! This is just the lowest realm, so higher realms must be even crazier."
Ethan took out the [War God's Medal], examining its stats:
[War God's Medal] (Black Iron)
Effect: Increases all attributes by 10%.
"Simple and effective. I love it." He equipped the medal and opened his stats menu, seeing 50 unallocated points waiting.
With Immortal Physique gradually increasing his health, Ethan decided to prioritize other areas. "Strength is unnecessary for me, and Intelligence is useless. That leaves Agility, Constitution, and Spirit."
Agility was essential for his damage and speed, while Constitution boosted magic resistance—currently his weakest point. Spirit, meanwhile, increased his mana pool, which would be critical as his skills became more mana-intensive. After some thought, he allocated 20 points to Agility and 30 to Constitution.
With his realm advanced, attributes allocated, and medal equipped, Ethan's power surged:
Name: Sealed
Realm: Black Iron
Level: 11
Health: 1,910
Mana: 280
Physical Attack: 157
Magic Attack: 32
Physical Defense: 111
Magic Defense: 70
Movement Speed: 142
Attack Speed: 30%
Critical Rate: 5%
Strength: 37 (+10%) = 40
Intelligence: 15 (+10%) = 16
Constitution: 62 (+10%) = 68
Spirit: 15 (+10%) = 16
Agility: 108 (+10%) = 118
"These stats don't look like they belong to an 11th-level player," Ethan marveled.
Having explored Golden Ridge City thoroughly and finding no significant quests, Ethan decided it was time to hunt monsters again. He scanned the map and locked onto a plains area 5 kilometers south of the city. The Goblin Plains hosted monsters ranging from level 16 to 20, making it an ideal spot for his level.
With his destination in mind, Ethan dashed out of the city at an incredible speed of 142. Within minutes, he reached the Goblin Plains and surveyed the small, ugly goblins milling about. Casting [Insight], he examined one:
[Goblin]
Level: 16
Health: 18,000
Physical Attack: 320
Physical Defense: 130
Magic Defense: 60
Speed: 45
Skill: Heavy Strike: Swings a spiked club with force, dealing 155% physical damage.
"The stat scaling in this game is brutal," Ethan muttered. "These goblins have better stats than the Wild Boar King, just fewer skills."
Still, for Ethan, they were manageable. Activating Quickstep, he rushed in and stacked three layers of poison on one goblin before kiting it away. With his speed exceeding 200 and attack speed boosted to 80%, he swiftly poisoned three goblins, taking only minor damage in the process.
Each goblin's attacks hit hard, but Ethan's defenses and health regeneration kept him afloat. Against three enemies, he occasionally needed potions, but it was nothing he couldn't handle. His confidence soared as he began farming the goblins efficiently.