-“Level-up conditions met, ‘Junior Assassin – Lv4’ automatically upgraded to ‘Junior Assassin – Lv5’.”
-“Level-up conditions met, ‘Junior Assassin – Lv5’ automatically upgraded to ‘Junior Assassin – Lv6’.”
-“Level-up conditions met, ‘Junior Assassin – Lv6’ automatically upgraded to …”
-“Level-up conditions met…”
…
Tons of upgrade notifications filled Tyler’s vision, but he had no energy to spare for them now, yearning only for a moment to catch his breath and ensure his own survival.
The terrifying strength of the Granite Golem had nearly crushed his body to pieces, but, fortunately, upon Swarerock’s demise, all summoned creatures ceased their actions, turning into lifeless stone heads, allowing Tyler to narrowly escape death.
Gritting his teeth, Tyler endured the pain and extricated himself from the Granite Golem’s grasp, returning to the ground. He glanced at his Status Information, which displayed a deplorable state:
━━━━━━━━━
Life Energy: 5/100
Endurance: 3/88
Magic Energy: 2/210
━━━━━━━━━
Hanging by a thread, it could not be more fitting.
However, all his sacrifices proved worthwhile when Tyler saw the last line of the upgrade notifications:
— “Level-up conditions met, ‘Junior Assassin – Lv19’ automatically upgraded to ‘Junior Assassin – Lv20.'”
·
Exhausted, Tyler slumped against a stone wall.
In the nearby shadows, he found Viviana, still recovering from the dizziness caused by her depleted magic energy. Aside from her magic energy being zero, her Life Energy and Endurance were in good condition, and she even gained one level.
“My Lord, we… have… won…”
Tyler reported the outcome to Viviana, who was likely unaware of the situation in her dazed state. Afterward, he began inspecting the gains from his 16-level increase.
(Life Energy limit increased by 60 points…)
(Endurance limit increased by 46 points…)
(Magic Energy limit increased by 20 points…)
Considering his 16-level growth, the improvements in his attributes aligned with Tyler’s expectations. No longer did he feel fragile and on the verge of death.
However, in his current weakened state, Tyler could not yet sense the physical enhancements from leveling up.
Besides the numerical increases, another change caught Tyler’s attention:
Upon reaching level 20 as a Junior Assassin, the experience points display read:
“4200/4200”
Logically, the level should automatically increase when experience points are maxed out. Could this be a bug?
Upon reflection, Tyler reasoned that even if he were to reach level 60, the strength of his attributes would still be far behind Viviana and Granny Kasi.
The fact that the Combat Occupation did not automatically level up at level 20 might indicate that certain conditions must be met after maxing out the experience points to continue leveling up. This could be the reason behind the vast difference in attributes between higher and lower levels.
(I’ll find a chance to ask Granny Kasi later.)
.
After a considerable respite, Tyler managed to stand and move again, while Viviana finally freed herself from her dizziness.
“Thank you, hunter. Without you, I would be dead.”
“Please, My Lord , it is you who saved my life… Ah, right, my name is Banning. You may simply call me by my name,” replied Tyler.
He initially intended to choose a new name, but since Viviana and Avril had already met, he decided to use his previous name.
Tyler could imagine the scene when the three of them met, with Viviana and Avril addressing him by different names – a situation he presumed could cost him his life several times over.
“Well, then, you should stop calling me ‘My Lord’. Just call me Viviana,” she said.
It was only at that moment that Tyler and Viviana exchanged names. Despite sharing an intimate kiss, their conversation remained awkward, a peculiar relationship indeed.
After exchanging names, Viviana could hardly look Tyler in the eye and quickly changed the subject to hide her flustered state. “By the way, you can have the magic core of this demon. It’s not convenient for me to carry materials during this trip.”
“Thank you, Viviana,” Tyler said.
Hearing the young man call her by her name so quickly, Viviana grew even more flustered. She couldn’t understand why she was so sensitive to his every move, as it had never been an issue before.
“Could I be… ill?” she wondered.
.
Intimate terms of endearment were essential for forging a close relationship, as long as the other party didn’t object; otherwise, it was considered boorish behavior.
Tyler purposely told Viviana his name to encourage her to call him by it.
He noticed her emotional turmoil but refrained from making any advances. For now, he was content with their current relationship.
Having defeated Swarerock together, they shared both a suspension bridge experience and a sense of camaraderie. Tyler believed he had a chance to win Viviana’s heart if they met again, despite their vastly different backgrounds and abilities.
With the proper application of romantic psychology, these disparities could be overcome.
However, now was not the time to pursue her.
—— Tyler’s Theory of Love 101: Whether it’s a meal or a romantic relationship, one should always leave a hint of longing and regret.
He felt that the emotional upheaval resulting from their encounter with the demon was more than enough, and it was time to “subtract” from it.
As the saying goes, less is more.
By doing so, he could transform the “negative state” of their eventual parting into a longing that would benefit their relationship.
.
“Apologies, this is my first time extracting a magic core from a demon. Is it located in the heart?” Tyler asked.
“Yes, yes, that’s right. The magic core is within the heart,” Viviana replied.
Under Viviana’s guidance, Tyler dissected Swarerock’s body and obtained a magic core.
━━━━━━━━━
Name: The Rogue Shadow Demon, Swarerock’s magic core:
Description: A wisdom-specialized magic core, suitable for use in concocting potions or as the core of weapons, armor, and accessories.
━━━━━━━━━
Viviana assisted Tyler in examining the magic core, and her assessment was similar to the information Tyler obtained through his appraisal ability. 𝞸𝓋𝒍xt.𝐜𝒐𝔪
Seeing Viviana’s praise for the magic core, Tyler was reminded of the hidden “Pigeon Blood Ruby,” and his conscience panged. ( ??? )
Afterward, they explored the cavern together, “cleaning up” the long-eared hopping mice that had mutated into demons, and eventually found a passage leading to the outside world. However, the passage was blocked by a large stone.
Viviana’s initial conjecture had been correct.
“If I don’t recover some magic energy, I’m afraid I won’t be able to cut through this stone…”
Viviana spoke without thinking much, but after uttering those words, she was reminded of the “unspeakable act” she had shared with Banning in the cave not long ago and her face turned crimson.
Tyler knew why Viviana suddenly became shy, but at this moment, he had more desire than “strength.”
It wasn’t that Tyler had entered a Kenja Time or anything; it was merely that the last 2 points of magic energy in his reserve were too precious to use. No man wanted to experience a situation where “it’s over just as it begins.”
Men can rise early,mature early, have early love, retire early… but they must not ejaculate early.
“Yes, let’s sleep together for a while to regain some magic energy,” Tyler said, searching for a flat area nearby to lie down.
However, the speaker’s intent was not the listener’s interpretation.
Hearing Banning’s words, Viviana’s heart raced. “Sleep TOGETHER…?!”