Each reward made Faust's eyes widen more and more. Frozen to his seated position, all he could do was stare at the panel.
This was… insane. That was the only word he could think of to describe what he was seeing right now.
Faust blinked tiredly and just waved his hands. "Let me just start."
He took out all the Kobold essence and swallowed them as quickly as he could.
[Strength: 80 > 100 (+45)]
[Agility: 160 > 170 (+35)]
[Spirit: 66 > 72]
He waited a moment after his Strength crossed one hundred but the system didn't chime again. No random Strength skill it seemed.
Faust sighed. "You can't win all the time."
Next he took out the Iron cutlass and studied the decent weapon. It was a simple one sided blade, but at least it wasn't rusty or crooked like the Kobold Cutlasses.
[You have equipped "Iron Machete"]
[Strength: 100 (+75)]
[Combat Power: 452 (+105)]
He didn't meet either of the requirements for Shaman's Necklace yet so he would just wait till he could use it.
Instead his mouth watered at the ten Skill stones and the 7 Enhancement Stones.
What… What should I even prioritise upgrading?
After thinking for a minute, Faust decided to use the Skill books first then come back to them.
He pulled out four of the skills books and didn't even bother studying them much. These ones were thicker than all the other skills books he had used before. But who gave a damn?
He poured his mana into them and two disappeared into motes of light before flowing into him. But two of the books rejected his mana with a splash of silver sparks.
[You have learned the skill, "Fireball Lv1 (Iron)"]
[You have learned the skill, "Rage Strike Lv1 (Iron)"]
[You have not reached the requirements to learn the skill, "Shadow Step Lv1 (Silver)"]
[You have not reached the requirements to learn the skill, "Shadow of the Mind Lv1 (Silver)"]
That's disappointing…. Let's see what they can do.
[Fireball Lv1 (Iron): Generate a powerful ball of flame that scales in size and range depending on mana invested. Requirements: 70 Spirit, Level 3. Cooldown: five seconds]
He just barely hit the Spirit requirement to learn this spell.
Fireball!
He pointed a hand out and a swirl of flames manifested over his palm before flying towards the burning, broken hill.
BOOM!
It exploded with considerable force, covering about ten meters. It had decent range too. Acid Shot was a medium range attack but this was truly long range magic.
But a deep sense of tiredness rushed into his bones after using the spell. He had been using skills like Observe, Stealth and even passive ones like Severe Hit constantly all day. Honestly it was surprising that his mana was just hitting the limit now!
He decided to just read the descriptions of the others instead of testing them.
[Rage Strike Lv1 (Iron): Your fifth attack can be enhanced to be 50% stronger. Requirements: 70 Strength, Level 3.]
[Shadow Step Lv1 (Silver): Step into one shadow and reappear in any other within thirty meters. Requirements: 150 Spirit, 200 Agility, Level 6. Cooldown: five seconds]
[Shadow of the Mind Lv1 (Silver): Conceal your mind from mental attacks. Requirements: 200 Spirit, Level 6. Cooldown: ten seconds]
He was still some ways from getting the silver grade skills, but not for long. But he was sure they would be incredibly costly to upgrade. So with his skill stones he focused on his current arsenal.
[To upgrade: Stealth Lv2(4 Skills Stones), Appraise Lv2(2 Skill Stones), Acid Shot Lv2(2 Skill Stone), Severe Hit Lv1(1 Skill Stone), Dark Maw Lv2(4 Skill Stones), Dash Lv1(1 Skill Stones), Observe Lv2(4 Skill Stones), Fireball Lv1 (2 Skill Stones), Rage Strike Lv1 (2 Skill Stones)]
Oof… these prices are becoming a bit crazy.
He made his decisions quickly.
Stealth was getting an upgrade. It had served him incredibly well and was just a fun skill to use. He would like to Upgrade Observe or Dash too, but there were other things to consider.
Appraise, Acid Shot and Dark Maw looked attractive but they were lower priority and already got one upgrade. Appraise was tempting though…
Severe Hit was at the bottom of the barrel.
Fireball and Rage Strike would go up. He wanted to see what other application he would get for their first upgrade.
So that was 8 Skills stones accounted for. He only had two left. With a sigh he decided to use it on Appraise.
[Congratulations! You have upgraded "Stealth Lv2" to "Mirage Lv 3".]
[Mirage Lv3 (Iron): Provides you with innate intuition of how to hide your presence. Warns you of approaching eyes. Your presence blends into your environment causing people to overlook you.]
Oh! A name change!
The skill had become more potent and gained a passive effect that drew on small amounts of his mana. With a smile Faust moved onto Fireball.
[Congratulations! You have upgraded "Fireball Lv1" to "Fireball Lv 2".]
[Fireball Lv2 (Iron): Generate a powerful ball of flame that scales in size and range depending on mana invested. Requirements: 70 Spirit, Level 3. Cooldown: five seconds. (Increased Fire power)]
Good, good. As expected, let's see if Rage Strike gets a second effect.
[Congratulations! You have upgraded "Rage Strike Lv1" to "Rage Strike Lv 2".]
[Rage Strike Lv2 (Iron): Your fifth attack can be enhanced to be 50% stronger. Your tenth attack can be enhanced to be 100% Stronger. Requirements: 70 Strength, Level 3.]
Faust hummed in satisfaction; this meant the third upgrade would yield something similar or far stronger.
Well, that's for the future when I have those Skill Stones.
[Congratulations! You have upgraded "Appraise Lv2" to "Appraise Lv3".]
[Appraise Lv3 (Bronze): Gain basic information about monsters, Items and terrains.(Appraise Stronger enemies)]
Now name change or extra ability. It was a bit underwhelming, but Appraise was a Bronze grade skill after all. Faust shrugged; not disappointed at all.
He now had an arsenal of useful skills upgraded well. Next was his equipment.
[To upgrade: Slime Tether +3 (Cannot be Enhanced), Jackal Dagger +2 (2 Enhancement Stones), White Travelling Cloak(1 Enhancement Stone), Midnight Fur Hat(2 Enhancement Stones), Iron Cutlass(2 Enhancement Stones)]
This time his 8 Enhancement Stones were enough to upgrade every item once. His mind was so tired he just did that.
[Congratulations! Your "Jackal Dagger," "White Travelling Cloak," "Midnight Fur Hat," and "Iron Cutlass" have been enhanced]
[Jackal Dagger +3 (Bronze): A handy dagger that can pierce stone easily. +15 Strength +20 Agility.]
[White Traveling Cloak +2 (Bronze): +20 Strength, +20 Constitution, comes with the "Journey Wind" movement skill. Requirement: Level 2.]
[Midnight Fur Hat +2 (Iron): Improves stealth, +20 Agility, +20 Strength.]
[Iron Cutlass +2 (Iron): The Chief's weapon, made of decent steel. +40 Strength. Requirements: Level 40, 50 Strength.]
Faust smiled tiredly at his status then retreated into the forest. He moved slowly, without his Slime Tether, too strained to move quickly.