5

"Priest Jaron said that you are gonna be sacrificed in a few days' time, so be ready," Liro said, his voice completely void of emotion.

Kaizen, who had just finished tending to the makeshift altar outside the temple grounds, turned toward Liro with a bright, almost fanatical smile. "For Jashin-sama," he answered with enthusiasm, as if genuinely excited to be sacrificed.

Liro simply nodded and walked away.

The moment the other boy disappeared from view, Kaizen's smile faded. The fire in his eyes returned, sharper and more alive than ever.

Ding!

You have received an E-rank mission: [Escape]

Accept / Decline

"So the day has finally come, huh..." Kaizen muttered to himself as he made his way quickly toward his tent.

Once inside, he dropped to the floor and immediately summoned his system interface. His fingers moved with urgency as he navigated to his class tab. If he was going to escape, he needed every advantage he could muster. Without hesitation, he poured all of his recent EXP into his main class: Ritualist.

Ding!

Ritualist (Novice): Level 3

Chakra: +10

Endurance: +2

Intelligence: +1

Skill Points:+ 1

Ding!

Ritualist (Novice): Level 10 (MAX)

Chakra: +10

Endurance: +2

Intelligence: +1

Skill Points: +1

It had cost over 100,000 EXP just to max out his novice main class. Unfortunately, he hadn't yet met the requirements to advance the class further.

"So, the maximum level for a class is ten unless I advance it, huh?" Kaizen thought. He frowned slightly but didn't waste time lingering on it.

Switching to his subclass, he leveled up Tokushu Sentoin to Level 8.

Tokushu Sentoin: Level 8

Strength: +16

Dexterity: +8

Intelligence: +2

Endurance: +2

Attribute Points: +6

The additional stats poured into his body like liquid fire, revitalizing him. His overall character level also rose to Level 20.

Character Level: 20

That made him strong—perhaps strong enough to rival the instructors—but he wasn't certain yet. "So I can still level up myself, but not my classes?" he wondered aloud. "What if I get another subclass? Would that let me level up further?"

Ding!

Level 20 Advancement Mission: Learn an Intermediate Ritualist Skill

"How the hell am I supposed to do that...?" Kaizen grumbled. But before he could think of a method, he shifted his focus to something else.

He opened his Taijutsu and Kenjutsu skill trees and dumped EXP until both were at Level 10.

Unlocked: Martial Arts

Slightly strong body that can slightly fight

Unlocked: Weapon Master

Can fight with a weapon of choice but not expertly

With more skill points in hand, he reached under his bedroll and pulled out two scrolls. One he had taken from the Priest's room back when he was still the "favored one." The other, he had hidden after they robbed a merchant caravan weeks ago.

Use 1 Skill Point to unlock [Basic Sensing Circle]?

Yes / No

Use 1 Skill Point to unlock [Binding Thread]?

Yes / No

"Yes!" Kaizen confirmed both prompts.

A massive flood of information surged into his mind. Diagrams, formulas, chants—everything about the two skills poured into his brain all at once. The sheer weight of knowledge sent waves of pain through his head.

He clenched his fists and endured it, sweating profusely as the ritual markings danced before his eyes. Half an hour passed before the headache faded.

Without hesitation, he used additional skill points to level both abilities to Level 3.

Then, another prompt appeared:

Do you want to combine [Basic Sensing Circle] and [Binding Thread]?

Requires 50,000 EXP

Yes / No

"Yes!" he shouted with determination.

Success!

Congratulations! You have received: [Chakra no Ami no Gi]!

Kaizen blinked at the name. "What the hell is this…?" he muttered as he read the description.

Chakra no Ami no Gi (Level 1):

Create a blood ritual that, when a person steps into or onto the ritual, they become entangled by chakra threads that disrupt their chakra flow and hinder their movements.

He grinned.

"Perfect for escape."

His eyes wandered down to his interface again.

Name: Kaizen

Type: NPC (Countdown: 1355 days, 0 hours, 30 minutes, 3 seconds )

Level: 20 (Advancement Required)

Main Class: Ritualist (Novice) Lvl 10 (MAX)

Sub Class:

War Orphan Lvl 10 (MAX)

Tokushu Sentoin Lvl 8 (0/15,000 EXP)

HP: 840 / 840

Chakra: 400/ 400

Attributes:

Strength: 22

Dexterity: 21

Endurance: 61

Intelligence: 23

Wisdom: 5

Luck: 1

Charisma: 1

Unassigned Attribute Points: 0

Abilities:

Low Resistance: (+2 Physical and Mental Resistance)

Martial Arts: (Slightly strong body that can slightly fight)

Weapon Master: (Can fight with a weapon of choice but not expertly)

Undying: (+200 HP)

Skills:

Basic Prayer (Lvl 10): Heal wounds of oneself

Blood Ritual (Lvl 10): Use your own blood to create a ritual that harms enemies who step on it

Basic Sensing Circle (Lvl 3): Creates a 3-meter radius that detects chakra movement

Binding Thread (Lvl 3): Slows down target chakra flow for a while

Chakra no Ami no Gi (Lvl 1): A blood ritual that entangles enemies with chakra threads, disrupting their chakra and movement

Class Talents:

Basic Strengthening: (+5 Strength when Injured)

Chakra Opening: (Can now use chakra)

Kaizen took a deep breath. His power had increased significantly. He was far from weak now, and though he still had no clue whether this would be enough to escape the cult alive, he would not die quietly.

He stood tall and faced the entrance of his tent, gripping the stolen scroll tighter in his hand.

Now he was ready.

Ready to escape.