“Respected magus sir, we have a total of 101 E-level skill books of Flame Elemental Summoning here!” The attendant respectfully presented the Storage Bag, adding, “And 127 level 30 Iron-grade wristguards — Burning Wristguards!”
“Oh? That’s quite a number!”
Hearing the attendant’s report, Howard’s eyebrows raised slightly, his heart filled with excitement. For him, the grade of equipment and skills was irrelevant. What mattered was the quantity — the more, the better. More items meant higher chances of advancing to a superior grade.
Currently, Howard wasn’t lacking in high-level skills. After a moment of thought, he said, “I’ll take the Flame Elemental Summoning and Burning Wristguards. Additionally, fetch me one of each E-level and D-level magus series skill book you have.”
“All of them?” The attendant blinked in surprise. Though she didn’t understand the rationale behind Howard’s purchasing strategy, the prospect of making a sale brought a smile to her face. Handing over the Storage Bag to Howard, she hurried back to the storeroom.
In no time, she returned with three skill books, speaking softly, “Respected magus sir, I remember that you have previously purchased some low-level skills here, including basic ones like Fireball and Frost Arrow Spell, so I didn’t include those. These three books are relatively rare, and you likely haven’t learned them yet.”
Hearing this, Howard was taken aback. He hadn’t expected the attendant to remember his purchases in such detail and even consider saving him money.
Though Howard wasn’t short on funds, he was secretly impressed. He made a mental note to seek out this particular attendant for his future purchases.
“This skill book is a D-level Light Element skill, Lightning Flash. It’s an instant cast that can deal damage to targets within 20 yards and has a control effect. There’s also a D-level Dendro skill, Barrier of Trees, which rapidly grows a tree stump in front of you, endowing the stump with the ability to create a no-fly zone and block attacks.”
“And then there’s the D-level Metal skill, Gold Spike Thrust, which damages a single target within 20 yards and causes them to bleed.”
The attendant respectfully asked, “Honored sir, would you like these three skill books?”
“Yes, I’ll take all of them,” Howard replied with a grin. “How much for the lot?”
“The total for three D-level skill books, 101 E-level skill books, and 127 Iron-grade equipment comes to 71 gold coins!” The attendant’s voice trembled with excitement.
A single transaction of 71 gold coins meant a significant commission for her. What made Howard a particularly valuable customer was not just the frequency of his visits but also the volume of his purchases. In just one month, she had made a substantial amount through Howard’s shopping, which was why she treated him with such deference.
After all, if she didn’t serve Howard well, he might go to other shops in the city to buy equipment and skill books. And there were many other shops in town!
For Howard at that time, 71 gold coins was not a significant amount. Seeing the attendant being so attentive, Howard had no inclination to shop elsewhere.
After paying and collecting his purchases, he headed back to the Holy Abyss Academy.
Originally, Howard had planned to spend some time with Margaret, as they hadn’t had the chance to deeply discuss their recent experiences during their last encounter. With both Abby and Ying Chan in class, it seemed like a perfect opportunity for him to relax and catch up.
However, after learning about the hidden class from Rick Suleiman, he lost that inclination. Understanding each other better was something that could happen anytime, but a hidden class opportunity was rare and invaluable.
Ultimately, Howard was still an orphan. To become a top-tier warrior, a hidden class was an indispensable asset. Not to mention, a hidden class awakened from a special artifact would undoubtedly be more powerful than one obtained through normal channels. Logically and emotionally, Howard couldn’t afford to miss such an important event.
Upon returning to Holy Abyss Academy, Howard didn’t even bother going to the classroom. He headed straight to his dormitory and, after ensuring no one else was around, closed the door and sat cross-legged on his bed. With a thought, he activated his supreme talent skill and watched the interface appear before him.
Without any hesitation, he threw the Flame Elemental Summoning into it. Previously, Howard had acquired some Summoning Spell-type skills, but due to their limited quantity, the Summoned Beasts were relatively weak, and he didn’t bother using them.
Now, Howard couldn’t help but feel excited. What astounding effects might summoning skills have when advanced to S-level or even SS-level?
[Ding! Congratulations, awakened Howard, synthesis successful. You have obtained a D-level skill book — Flame Fairy Summoning!]
In Howard’s mind, an image of a Flame Fairy appeared. It resembled a ball of fire, but with a pair of flaming fists orbiting nearby, playfully swinging around, which looked quite adorable.
Just from the image, Howard felt a bit disappointed. It didn’t seem like an offensive skill, more like something designed to be cute.
However, Howard wasn’t worried and continued with the synthesis. After all, it was still only a D-level skill. To truly understand the skill’s effects, he would have to wait until it advanced further.
[Ding! Congratulations, awakened Howard, synthesis successful. You have obtained a C-level skill book — Flame Spirit Summoning!]
This time, the mental image showed a Flame Spirit, still a ball of fire, but in addition to the flaming fists, it now had a pair of eyes filled with ferocity.
[Ding! Congratulations, awakened Howard, synthesis successful. You have obtained a B-level skill book — Flame Soul Spirit Summoning!]
[…]
[Ding! Congratulations, awakened Howard, synthesis successful. You have obtained an S-level skill book — Flame Giant Summoning!]
Having successfully advanced to an S-level skill book, Howard decided not to continue with the synthesis due to the limited number of skill books he had. Another twenty or so books would have allowed him to upgrade it to an SS-level.
However, examining the attributes of Flame Giant Summoning, Howard couldn’t help but smile.
An S-level skill, regardless of its type, indeed had attributes that far surpassed those of A-level and B-level skills!
[Flame Giant Summoning (S-level active skill)]
[Level: 1]
[Effect: Condenses the power of flame to summon a Flame Giant to fight for the host. The Flame Giant’s HP is 3000% of the host’s HP, attack power is 110% of the host’s attack power, and defense value is 100% of the host’s defense value. Additionally, it possesses skills – Fire Meteor, Earthfire Surge, Frenzied Flame Strike, Wrathful Inferno Eruption. The Flame Giant lasts for 300 seconds, or until its HP is depleted. Each kill extends its duration by 10 seconds and restores 5000 points of its HP.]
[Cooldown: 60 minutes]
[Mana cost: 5000]
[Proficiency: 0/100]
“Not bad, although it has fewer skills compared to a fire dragon, the Flame Giant’s attributes are higher. Plus, killing targets increases its duration and restores HP. In a chaotic battle, as long as it keeps killing, this skill could perform even better than a fire dragon.” .
“Now, I’m looking forward to seeing how effective its individual skills are.”
Nodding slightly, Howard was very satisfied with this S-level skill.
To be honest, at this stage, Howard actually preferred to have more S-level skills. SS-level skills had too long a cooldown and required a terrifying amount of mana, making them impractical for frequent use. 𝘪𝑎.𝘤𝑜𝘮
A-level skills, and those below, were too weak in effect – fine against minor foes but somewhat insufficient against stronger opponents or bosses.
Only S-level skills were most suitable for Howard. Their cooldown wasn’t too long, and both their damage and effects were substantial — perfectly balanced for his needs.
Regaining his focus, Howard took a deep breath and began the synthesis of the Wristguards.
[Ding! Congratulations, awakened Howard, synthesis successful. You have obtained Bronze-grade equipment — Fiery Wristguards!]
[Ding! Congratulations, awakened Howard, synthesis successful. You have obtained Silver-grade equipment — Flame Wristguards!]
[Ding! Congratulations, awakened Howard …]
[…]
[Ding! Congratulations, awakened Howard, synthesis successful. You have obtained Legendary-grade equipment — Flame Wrath Wristguards!]
Advancing in one go to Legendary-grade, Howard found that even though the grade wasn’t higher than his previous equipment, the 20-level increase meant a stronger base attribute.
Howard lightly ran his hand over the wristguards, burning with flames, and its attributes appeared as a panel before his eyes.
[Flame Wrath Wristguards]
[Level: 30]
[Rank: Legendary]
[Equipment Attribute Bonuses:]
1. HP +1000
2. Vitality +300
3. Magic Defense Value +200
4. Spirit +510
5. When casting Pyro skills, increases the user’s magic attack power by 10% and magic critic value by 10%, lasting for 15 seconds
6. Enhances the user’s Pyro affiliation by 20 points
7. When hit by a Pyro skill attack, enters a state of fury, reducing the user’s defense value by 30%, while increasing magic attack power by 40% and magic critic value by 30%, lasting for 10 seconds
“!!!”
𝘦𝑎.𝒸ℴ