Chapter 607: The Lord's Combat Style!
In Matthew's research and memories, many evil gods, ancient abominations, and demon lords of the Abyss possessed god-tier abilities for flesh corruption and transformation.
It was through these powers that such beings gained their terrifying, undying might.
Matthew's current Lesser Undying Body was merely a prerequisite specialty among their abilities.
In the past, even with data-driven analysis of god-tier specialties, Matthew wouldn't have dared provoke these monstrous beings.
Like the fools of the Church of Eternal Life, who recklessly used and catalyzed advanced flesh tissue—
Their bodies and souls would be subtly corrupted and transformed over time.
Until, at the right moment, they became breakfast for these beings, nourishment for projecting their consciousness.
Only after gaining control over a Demigod's body did Matthew feel confident enough to target such entities.
Without worrying that, during analysis—
He'd suddenly grow a third eye or an extra tail.
But now, feeling the threat from the Giant Predator Spider and a bottleneck in his soul's development, Matthew knew it was time.
Time to level up his Arcanist class and unlock higher spellcasting tiers.
After all, he had already mastered every high-level spell and elevated them all to LV5!
Matthew found a secluded corner, set up warning wards, space locks, and concealment barriers, then took out a faintly glowing spatial crystal.
Inside the crystal, a spell model built from mana displayed extraordinary stability.
It was a high-tier spatial beacon he had learned from Arch-Arcanist Cronorman.
Simply put, it was a unidirectional teleportation point for a super teleport array, usable for transporting personnel and supplies.
And in the future—"weapons" too!
Sending a small crystal was much easier than a massive, flashy weapon.
Matthew closed his eyes and projected his consciousness back to Bay Territory.
Mage Tower, underground, Equipment Manufacturing Room.
He felt a subtle force rising from within, strengthening and washing over his body.
A familiar notification rang in his ears.
'Ding! 4,000,000 Fate Points spent. Arcanist upgraded to Level 15!'
'Ding! Would you like to choose your Extraordinary Path?'
Matthew felt the lingering pressure in his soul fade, as it merged and matured alongside his body.
For most Professionals, leveling up is their main path to growth.
Each level brings increased soul and body strength.
Letting them learn and master stronger skills,
Store more life energy,
Learn more profound feats,
And directly enhance core attributes.
Most Professionals trained hard to refine their bodies, improve skills, and strengthen life energy.
When conditions were met, with a bit of desire or a ritual, they could level up.
But due to talent, resources, knowledge, and lineage limitations—
Each had a predestined level cap.
Most Professionals hadn't even reached their natural ceiling—
Before injury, lack of resources, or aging halted their growth.
Which is why, even among same-level Professionals, strength varied wildly.
High-level Professionals made better use of their talents and resources.
So they no longer solely relied on leveling up for improvement.
Yet most Professionals were still bound by their physical and educational limits.
They had to weigh options and pick the path most suited to them.
Wealthier Professionals could:
Buy magical food and potions,
Speed up body training, skill growth, and learning,
Save time and level up faster.
Less gifted ones—
Had to invest more time and energy to gather resources and grow.
Their delays made leveling harder, reducing the chance to reach higher tiers.
These limits kept most Professionals stuck at low levels!
That's why so many valued Bay Territory's nurturing and relaxed learning environment—
And chose to stay.
Which also explained why Bay Territory was always short on money!
Development costs gold!
So do everyone's "training" and "upgrades!"
But that applied only to ordinary Professionals.
For Matthew—those foundational needs
Were met through his growing territory and its rapid accumulation.
Magical ingredients and food.
Arcane knowledge, rare spells, casting techniques.
Fate power from countless laborers.
That's how he could suppress his own leveling to reach the peak of high-tier mastery!
At the pinnacle of Arcanist class, Matthew had little left to "learn."
Even with rare spells left, he couldn't afford to delay further.
By maxing out his class, he could bypass Legendary suppression and gain major power boosts!
Two Free Attribute Points!
For players, those were standard character stat boosts.
A clear numerical way to grow stronger!
But in the real world, they existed too!
Matthew had watched thousands of soldiers level up.
Documented their physical reactions during stat panel changes.
Then experimented and confirmed the principle of Free Attribute Points.
The soul and body are deeply connected.
As the body strengthens, so does the soul.
Because the body draws nourishment from the soul.
That's why souls decay without a body to sustain them.
And the reverse is also true.
A stronger soul boosts the body in return.
Free Attribute Points were a blend of soul feedback and life force.
Directed by desire and intent,
They enhanced specific organs and tissues—
Resulting in boosts to Strength, Agility, Constitution, Intelligence, Perception, or Charisma.
A miracle of life!
Because they bypassed class limits (low/mid/high/extraordinary/legendary).
Thus, by raising Arcanist 4 levels, Matthew gained 2 points—
Letting him push his core stats even higher!
Intelligence +2 — now 39!
Just 1 point away from the Legendary cap!
Most Legendary casters didn't even have Int this high.
Beyond stats, his combat strength saw other major upgrades!
Extraordinary Feat - Control Lightning LV1 → LV2.
Fires a 30-damage lightning bolt at any enemy within 200 meters.
Holds 20 charges per day!
With this, Matthew's melee capability rose sharply.
Using it for ranged attacks would be wasteful for an Arcanist!
Legendary Inheritance: Flesh - Ability Analysis LV1.
Analyze talents, feats, skills, and inheritances.
Learn their "info," "requirements," "training insights," etc.
This was Matthew's first Legendary Inheritance.
And the first one he didn't enhance via Fate Power.
With it, learning new skills and feats became far easier.
Perhaps this boon was part of his soul's advancement feedback.
HP increased to 329!
Mana rose to 640!
These boosts greatly enhanced both him and his clones.
Alongside personal growth, he enhanced his weapons and gear too.
The Gen-1 "Five Fireball Staff" lacked punch.
So Matthew crafted a Gen-2 version just for the goblin ruins.
Advanced Five Fireball Staff
Epic gear, perfect quality.
+15 Fire Spell Damage.
+5 Fire Burn.
+50% Fire Explosion Radius.
Includes 7th-tier spell: Solar Flare x5!
Regenerates 1 use/day. Can be recharged with spells or scrolls!
Solar Flare: 7th-tier Extraordinary Spell, 35 damage, 30m radius, causes Destruction, Shatter, Burn, Stick effects. Cast range: 120m!
Beyond the staff's "surprises,"
Matthew prepped a full new combat loadout.
When he reopened his eyes, a fresh clone stood before him.
Bulkier at 2.1 meters tall.
Its powerful, explosive muscles were flexing and adjusting.
Matthew carefully logged everything—data to aid his body's own training.
After basic adaptation, he stepped onto the armored platform.
The new Thunder Armor wasn't just the old magic suit or heavy plate.
It was bigger!
Thicker!
Stronger!
First, he donned a tight under-suit with life-support functions—
Woven from enhanced magic silk.
Enchanted 23 times.
With excellent physical and magical defense.
Extreme shock absorption.
A sealed internal circulation system.
Built-in Mage Hand generators to cast scrolls, use potions, assist in battle.
Bay Territory's 15 top research teams spent 2 months building it to Matthew's design.
Its complexity surpassed many Legendary-tier items.
It was also very expensive—over 1 million gold per unit.
Many of its materials were Bay Territory inventions.
The core magic silk could only be made by Matthew himself.
The suit had 7 magic tools to aid emergencies.
After donning it, Matthew stood still.
Robotic arms held pieces of pinnacle armor, slowly assembling around him.
First came the inner armor.
The second layer of defense, for emergencies.
It also served as the Thunder Armor's assembly guide.
A humanoid exoskeleton wrapped his limbs and torso.
Connectors linked it to the undersuit and inner armor.
Small embedded structures locked together like dovetail joints.
Clack!
The crisp snap signaled the internal frame was in place.
Truthfully, Matthew could support the armor's weight himself.
But he was planning for future modular variants.
Not all users had his or a cyborg soldier's physique.
Bay Territory never hoarded top-tier weapons for individuals alone.