Realization

Over 15 hours have passed since Aurus evolved four of his skills in preparation for his journey into the Tempest Cliff. Three of these skills were now at the A-grade Mortal level, while the remaining skill, which was his movement skill, is now at the S-grade Mortal level. This level is only one grade away from being X-grade, and two grades away from being a Transcendent level skill.

"Haah...I finally made it," Aurus couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief after seeing the view in front of him. At the place where he was currently standing, there was only a slight breeze, faintly noticeable by a normal person. For Aurus who had [Wind Affinity] although a basic version of it, he was sensitive to wind so he could feel it without a doubt.

A few meters away from him was the entrance to the Tempest Cliff. This part of the Tempest Cliff alone...had winds exceeding possibly 100 kilometer per hour speeds. And to think that the name of the cliff was Tempest Cliff, anyone with common sense would of course think that the speed of the winds would only get more and more intense.

Ding!

Breaking the somewhat tense atmosphere, a notification sound popped up, scaring Aurus who was intensely staring at the place in front of him. Nonetheless, he was able to calm himself down and look at the notification with a slight smile.

'[Tempest Roll] has leveled up.'

"Sweet. I only have 18 more levels to go before I can evolve it to an X-grade skill," Aurus sarcastically laughed at his progress.

In his memories, the maximum level of skills and species double every grade. For a skill at C-grade, the maximum level is 3. This is then doubled to 5 once the skill reaches B-grade. Afterwards, it becomes 10 for A-grade, 20 for S-grade and so on.

Thinking about it further, the maximum level for Transcendent and Divine level skills would be at the hundreds...no, even thousands! Combine that with high experience requirements and you're basically living a grinding hell.

"Good thing I have that passive skill," Aurus let out a sigh of relief. Kurohana was really thoughtful to give Aurus that kind of skill.

"Anyways, I should prepare before entering."

The amount of regeneration fruits Aurus can currently produce is 5. Without hesitation, Aurus produced 5 regeneration fruits focused on regenerating his SP and positioned them at one end of his body. Afterwards, he formed 15 fruits, 14 of which were transformed into SP storage while the remaining one was left as a normal nut. Aurus had a feeling that his evolved offensive skill still needed a spare nut to use.

Nonetheless, the amount of SP Aurus currently had in proportion was definitely...outstanding to say the least.

"Now let's see how much SP I...EH?!" Aurus looked at the two bars on top of his body, only to shout out in surprise at his current stats.

HP: 8/8

SP: 150/150

That's correct. With the help of Aurus' overpowered passive skill named [Blessing of the Reincarnation Goddess], he was able to amass 150 SP while still being a B-Grade Inanimate.

Looking at this large number gave Aurus the confidence to rush towards the center of the Tempest Cliff.

"Alright, here we go! [Tempest Roll]!"

Whoosh!

But he ended up getting carried away by the strong wind.

"Oh noooooooo!"

...

Kurohana's dimension. The God of the Underworld, Hadouken, was talking to her.

"Teach me how to craft a Primordial Weapon," Hadouken looked at Kurohana with a fawning gaze, which only made it look creepy.

Kurohana looked at Hadouken for a bit, staring at his unsettling puppy eyes. Making a decision, she pressed her fingers on his forehead as she pondered before replying, "Well...A Primordial Weapon is already a second tier Divine level weapon. Crafting one is multiple times harder than crafting an Archaic weapon."

She then explained with a serious tone, "Nonetheless, it's way easier than crafting a Lesser Divine Weapon, needing materials from the God Realm. Primordial Weapons need a Demigod grade material as a base, that's for sure. May it be Frigid Eon Metal or Zenith World Bamboo, as long as it's of the Demigod grade, it can work."

"But the most important thing needed for a Primordial Weapon is..." Kurohana squinted her eyes, implying that this part is important.

"A soul."

"A soul?" Hadouken was slightly confused. 'Why would someone need a soul to create a Primordial weapon, or any weapon to be exact? Doesn't a weapon only need materials to be crafted?' Hadouken thought. "What's the soul for?"

"The soul is there so your Primordial Weapon becomes a Primordial Evolving Weapon, which means it could grow to Lesser Divine, Greater Divine, or even Deity grade," Kurohana replied as a craftswoman who had millions of years of experience. "If you don't care about that though, you can just shove an Artifux [1] inside the weapon."

Hadouken pondered over her words for a bit before nodding his head. "I see. Thanks for the suggestion."

Kurohana then smiled sweetly as if she was looking at her special other. "No problem." Afterwards, the call ended, allowing Kurohana to focus her attention back to Aurus once more.

"Oh?" Kurohana's interest was piqued after seeing where Aurus currently was. "He obtained [Wind Affinity] huh? If he pursues that path, that might allow me to craft a weapon that's more agile than before."

Kurohana then smiled.

"Let's see how far he gets."

...

The Tempest Cliff, a place only meant for those who have innate affinity with the Wind element or are inclined to the Wind element. Every stick and variant of stick within this place has adapted to this place for many years, allowing to move through the wind like it was nothing and utilize the wind to their advantage.

At this moment, Aurus was still flying through the Tempest Cliff thanks to the strong winds that carried him.

"Aaaaaah!" Aurus couldn't help but panic at his current situation. He entered the Tempest Cliff so he could increase the level of his [Wind Affinity], not getting blown away by the wind.

"Didn't he say that I can just stand inside the elemental area and I would passively gain experience?" Aurus frowned at the thought. "It looks like he was lying."

As he was complaining about what his friend said, Aurus realized something that he discarded a while ago. He was a stick within the world of Erudinia, not a player playing in the world of Erudinia. It wasn't a game anymore, but rather, a way of life.

At this time, Aurus closed his eyes and started to breathe slowly and consistently, letting the wind flow all over his body. If skills were levelled through repeated usage, affinity of course would be levelled through being one with the element. But it doesn't stop there.

Affinity also needs the person to comprehend the element. This was what he realized.

Ding!

After a few minutes, a notification sound appeared, forcing Aurus to open his eyes. Nonetheless, he looked at the notification with glee.

'[Wind Affinity] has leveled up.'

"Alright! I just need to comprehend a bit more and I'll be able to evolve it!" Aurus shouted with glee as he was still being carried away. Although that was the case, he had a faint feeling that he was able to become one with the wind, allowing him to control the wind.

Yet all of a sudden, a menacing intent was felt by Aurus from far away. Not only that, the menacing intent was getting closer and closer to him, as if it was out to get him.

He then looked around his surroundings to see a large branch aiming something towards him.

Aurus looked at this and couldn't help but say...

"Oh shit!"

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[1] Artifux (plural Artifixes) are the God equivalent of the Heavenly Bodies created by the Creator. They can do multiple things, even becoming a catalyst for weapons.