Chapter 356: Protagonist Halo
As the Demon Hunter class reached its maximum level, another prompt appeared on the panel:
[Your Demon Hunter class has reached the maximum level. You gain an additional bonus of +12 Agility, +4 Stamina, and +6 Spirit.]
After his Demon Hunter leveled up to max, Zhou Ning once again received a round of attribute boosts. But the most important part, just like when the Wanderer Gunslinger hit max level, was that he could draw for a new specialty.
What Zhou Ning anticipated most was that as a second-tier class reward for reaching max level, he had a chance to obtain one of the long-awaited Legendary specialties—at the very least, an Elite one.
[Your Demon Hunter has reached Level 45. You have earned one Class Specialty reward. Please select one of the following three specialties. Note: This specialty will directly affect all Demon Hunter class users. Choose carefully.]
As the prompt appeared, three options flashed onto the screen:
[Combat Intuition (Legendary): Reaction speed +15%, additional +12 Agility. After an enemy initiates an attack, there is a 35% chance to strike first.]
[Bullying the Weak (Elite): Damage against slowed or frozen enemies is increased by 60%.]
[Combat Expert (Legendary): Critical hit chance with melee weapons +25%; range and accuracy with bows +25%; critical damage with firearms +25%. Also grants the ability to deploy advanced traps.]
"Oh? Lucky! Two Legendaries out of three?"
Zhou Ning's eyes lit up. Honestly, all three specialties were top-tier choices. The first could prevent ambushes—with a 15% boost in reaction speed paired with his "Spider-Sense" title, he could practically preempt attacks in the truest sense.
"Bullying the Weak," though only an Elite specialty, would be extremely powerful under snowy conditions he could control himself—a stable 60% damage increase. Its strength was nearly on par with a Legendary.
As for "Combat Expert," it made him a literal all-rounder. The added trap skill was considered god-tier in PvP back in his previous life—exceptionally strong.
After some thought, Zhou Ning chose the first specialty: "Combat Intuition."
Sure, other players might think "Combat Expert" was more practical… but so what? He was the class mentor.
[You have obtained the specialty Combat Intuition.]
Zhou Ning checked his panel. With the bonus from his Expert-level "Extraordinary Physique," gaining seven levels had given him +31 Agility, +14 Stamina, +16 Spirit, and +7 Willpower. Except for Strength, which never increased, his Agility once again saw a qualitative leap. Counting the results of recent training, template synergies, and the +20 Agility from two new specialties, his Agility finally broke the 300 mark for the first time.
That was about the entry threshold for higher-tier professionals. Once he completed his next class advancement, he would officially step into that rank.
Now Zhou Ning's movements were more agile than ever. He could easily perform high-difficulty maneuvers, and his firearm control had improved dramatically.
As for the 21 free attribute points from leveling up, Zhou Ning didn't continue investing in Agility. Instead, he evenly distributed them between Spirit and Willpower.
With several million experience points remaining, he didn't bother saving them. He upgraded all three types of Haki by two levels each, pushing them past Master-level to Grandmaster-level. His most practical one—Observation Haki—even reached Great Grandmaster-level. He then raised Ripple Breathing Technique to Master-level, anticipating possible synergy with later skills.
After that, Zhou Ning spent a good amount of experience upgrading all his frequently used composite skills to Master-level as well.
Once all those expenditures were done, his panel looked completely renewed:
Name: Zhou Ning / Wayne Sturwell
Race: Human
Template: Elite NPC (Upgradeable)
Level: 72
Experience: 12,750
Class: Demon Hunter [45/45] (Eligible for Advancement)
Sub-Classes: Linguist Lv10 [10/10] / Master Alchemist Lv17 [17/30]
Natural Force Affinity: 0
Arcane Affinity: 0
Talents: Omitted
Attributes:
Strength 56 | Agility 301 | Stamina 121 | Willpower 120 | Spirit 146 | Charisma 100
HP: 3120 / 3120
Stamina: 690 / 690
Willpower: 120 / 120
Focus: 3580 / 3580
[Combat Power: 24,220]
Legend Rank: 5 (Renowned)
Evaluation: You are now among the top figures of the Supernatural World. Even across the entire Apocalypse Continent, you are a well-known legend.
Free Points: 0
Judging from the stats alone, he already met the standard for a high-tier professional. As for actual combat strength—Zhou Ning was confident he could take on one without a problem.
And that wasn't all. After gaining a new Legendary specialty and maxing out his Demon Hunter level, he noticed the conditions to upgrade to a BOSS-level template were now fully met. The "Advance" button beside his class had also lit up—signaling the path to his third-tier advancement: Gun God.
He clicked the "Upgradeable" option beside the template, and a prompt appeared:
[Your template advancement conditions have been met. Proceed with upgrade?]
After selecting "Yes," another notification popped up:
[You have advanced to the BOSS Template. Your rank has increased. Attributes slightly enhanced. Resistance to abnormal statuses improved. You gain a suppression effect when battling beings of lower rank. Your HP and Focus pool have increased. You have acquired an aura-type skill: Protagonist Halo.]
The earlier parts were expected—but that last line stunned Zhou Ning.
After all this time, he had finally done it. The ability he'd envied in Leandro for so long—Protagonist Halo—was now his. He could finally proclaim with pride: "I'm the protagonist!"
As for the rest, he'd seen similar prompts before when unlocking level caps. Rank elevation meant longer HP and MP bars, reduced suppression from higher-ranked beings, and greater resistance to mental or emotional effects such as confusion, frenzy, and fear.
Though the system didn't specify exact details, Zhou Ning could feel that his strength had improved far beyond just "slightly." His HP and Focus had each increased by over 1,200, reaching 4,320 and 4,700 respectively. His attributes had also risen by 5–10%. Facing mythic beings like the Spider Mother, he would now suffer far less suppression.
When he checked the advancement requirements for the third-tier class, he even felt that the Demon Hunter's conditions were relatively lenient.
Advancement Requirements:
[16 Class Specialties – Requirement Met. Current: 12 (Click to View)]
[7 Core Buff Skills – Requirement Met. Current: 5 (Click to View)]
[21 Active Skills – Requirement Met. Current: 18 (Click to View)]
After reading all the requirements, Zhou Ning received a new mission.
[You have triggered an A-Rank Mission: Demon Hunter (Advancement)]
[Mission Description: The class you created, "Demon Hunter," has reached a bottleneck. To advance further, you must refine your gunmanship and techniques for hunting transcendent creatures through practical combat.]
[Mission Objective: Defeat or slay six high-tier beings using firearms, melee, or close-combat weapons—three must be land-based and three aquatic.]
[Reward: Qualification for Demon Hunter Class Advancement]
Zhou Ning: "…"
The advancement requirements themselves were manageable—he'd done this plenty of times before. At worst, he could use the simulator to search for new skills.
But this mission? Was the system joking? Hunting transcendent beings was one thing—but having to divide them evenly between land and sea? That was ridiculous!
Looks like his road to becoming a Gun God would still be a long one.
Next came the two random mission rewards. Given the task's extreme difficulty, the rewards had to be exceptional. Zhou Ning, both nervous and excited, chose to claim them.
[You have obtained: Gold Skill Upgrade Card ×1.]
[You have obtained: Outfit – Phantom Thief ×1; Summon Ticket – Character of Choice ×1.]
The first reward alone shocked Zhou Ning. Unlike the previous Gold Skill Point he had used, this one could even upgrade special skills—meaning it could be applied to family techniques or even Stand Abilities. Such an item was rare even in the late game.