30 Risky decision
Once the raid was complete after the boss monster was taken care of, the three scouts in the team rushed to Hans, wanting to talk to him, hoping to engage him in another meeting or anything through which they might be able to persuade him to join their respective guilds. But Hans strode past them as if they were invisible, heading straight for the gate.
Once outside, he disappeared without a trace, eluding everyone's notice.
He slipped away under the cover of his {Stealth} and headed home, anticipating the moment he had been waiting for.
[You have played a pivotal role in the clearing of the C-Rank gate: Veiled Colony]
[You have been awarded with the Tier-3 spell: {Earthquake}]
{Earthquake (Tier-3)
Effect: Upon activation, all the power in your strikes will disperse into the ground as seismic waves, creating ruptures and earthquakes in the vicinity.
The width of the breach depends on the user's strength and skill proficiency.}
[Class Quest Completed.
You have defeated the B-Rank monster: Gigantic Earthworm.
You have been awarded the accumulated wisdom of 125 points.
The hidden reward has been granted and the skill {Piercing Gaze} has evolved to the skill {Mystic Insight}.
[Your wisdom has passed the threshold of a thousand, you are now allowed to shape and create your fourth circle.]
{Skill Name: Mystic Insight
Skill type: Class Skill (ACTIVE) and (PASSIVE)
Active: Allows the user to scan and determine the precise statistics of opponents.
Passive: Enhances the user's ability to perceive mana's flow much more clearly and also allows them to discern truths from lies, as long as the speaker's level is lower than the user's.
In battle, it enables the user to predict the trajectory of the enemy's attacks and identify weak points in the opponent's body.}
Truly a skill that almost seemed unfair due to its adaptability and powers.
Well, everything around Hans was quite crazy.
From the amount of skills, he had at his level to the incredible wisdom he possessed, not to talk about the slaying of a B-Rank beast by a Tier-3 mage, all of that simply didn't go by common sense and stretched even outside the limits of imagination.
Yet, for him, all of this was par for the course. He never paid heed to his peers; only the strongest held his interest. After all, that was the level he needed to eventually reach if he wanted to fulfill his objective– or rather, he had to aim even higher, he ought to reach the peak, attainable only by those who transcended common sense.
Leisurely relaxing on his bed, Hans prepared to advance once again.
Mages between Tier-1 and Tier-3 were considered low-ranked, with the majority falling into this category. Beyond those, between Tier-4 and Tier-6, were middle-rank mages, but there weren't many of them, and even in a relatively big city like Chicago, they would be eligible for roles of guild leaders or vice-leader.
Surpassing even them, starting from the very least, was the strength of S-Ranks, who were the high-ranking mages. They were scarce and even in a big country like America, they might only be numbered enough to be counted on one's fingers.
The advancement through the circles remained the same as ever, it did, however, bestow higher rewards upon success.
Hans, as always, spread his lucky towel on the floor to avoid dirtying his room with sweat. As he lay down, he initiated the process and started composing his unique circle, adding one more to his collection.
Though seemingly simple, the process took hours to complete. Yet, within a day and a half, he had advanced.
[Congratulations on advancing and becoming a Tier-4 Mage]
[You have gained 50 wisdom points; your affinity and control over mana have increased.
As a true mage, you have received an additional 50 stats for wisdom, further enhancing your affinity and control over mana exponentially.]
[Congratulations on becoming a medium-rank mage; you are rewarded with an additional fifty wisdom points.]
[As a middle-rank mage, you can now combine and modify spells through research and dedication. The skill you possess {Combine}, will cease to exist.]
[Current Status]
[Name: Hans
Age: 18
Class: Knowledge Seeker (UNKNOWN)
Title: None
Level: 93
Strength: 127(+1)
Dexterity: 127(+1)
Endurance: 127(+1)
Wisdom: 1274(+10)
Class Skills:
{Knowledge Hunger}
{Almighty Knowledge}
{Mystic Insight} (Level up^)
Normal skills:
{Flame Burst} (Tier-1)(Level up^)
{Greater Fireball} (Tier-1)
{Fire Javelin} (Tier-3)
{Fire Arena} (Tier-2)(Lvl up^)
{Strong Mind}
{Stealth} (Tier-3)
{Mana Barrier} (Tier-4)
{Mana Route} (Tier-2)(Lvl up^)
{Medium Body Restoration} (D-Rank)
{Sword Mastery} (G-Rank)
{Earth Projectile} (Tier-0)
{Earthquake} (Tier-3)
{Wind Gust} (Tier-1)
{Ice armor} (Tier-4)(NEW!)
{Blizzard} (Tier-3)
{Ice Spike} (Tier-1)
{Lume} (Tier-0)
{Shock} (Tier-0)
{Ghostification} (Rank-E)
Paths:
{Gravity Control} (Tier-2)(NEW!)
Description: A newly promoted Tier-4 mage, already surpasses most of the Tier-5 mages and B-Rank warriors in terms of power.
Your control over mana is immaculate and unprecedented for the level.
Evaluation: Middle of Rank-B]
He was either a genius or a monster; those were the only descriptors that came close to describing him.
However, time was running out relentlessly, with the promised deadline drawing closer at an alarming pace.
With just two weeks left, Hans was nowhere near the level he needed to conquer that titan– The Titanium Golem.
If he didn't bolster his strength, he wouldn't have the chance of surviving after the fourteen days.
Even if Hans continued to clear the gates nonstop, it wouldn't give him much of an increase in level while the high-ranking gates posed a formidable challenge.
Nervous gripped Hans as the looming challenge approached, leaving him with only one way out of this.
….
Upon clearing the C-Rank gate, Hans' wisdom stat soared past a thousand, triggering the effect of {Almighty Knowledge}, thereby elevating all of his other stats beyond a hundred.
At that moment, alongside the quest completion notification, another window popped up in front of him:
[Your strength stat has surpassed three digits; you can now manifest {Aura}.]
Aura is a kind of energy that corresponds to mana, but it can only be used by those who follow the path of a knight.
It is a rankless skill and its strength solely relies on the user's proficiency with it and their strength.
This means that the skill's strength could increase at any given time without any defined prerequisites, but it also means that it could only be attained through rigorous training and practice.
He didn't know if half a month was enough for him to obtain it, but Hans had no choice other than going for it.
After all that he had done to increase his strength, Hans definitely couldn't relent because of a single doubt.
After considering his abilities, Hans didn't doubt that it wouldn't be impossible for him to escape, but that would be at the cost of many lives and Emily's imprisonment.
He refused to be the cause of a disaster akin to the one that took his family away from him.
If the choice was between igniting a disaster and facing death, then without hesitation, he would close the latter.
Hans understood that he needed to seclude himself for a while and think about nothing but training, so he asked Emily, who provided a training room for him to stay in along with food and all the necessities inside, so that he wouldn't have any distractions.
For the next thirteen days, apart from the eight hours of sleep to maintain his body in optimal condition and the little time he spent eating and going to the bathroom, not a single moment was spared.
With rigorous and heavy training, he repeated the sword swing movements tens of thousands of times which were now imprinted in his muscle memory along with the countless hours he had spent trying to gather energy to create {Aura} finally paid off.
_____
The day of the raid.
Hans stood before the B-Rank gate, an eerie silence engulfed his being.
The once-bustling streets, now deserted by Emily's intervention, gave off a feeling of melancholy, particularly for Hans, who was uncertain of his return.
He had already said his last goodbyes to Emily in case something went wrong and also reminded her to continue with the already-told plan if he failed to return within 24 hours.
Hans's chest was clad in the sturdy dragon scale plate, flawlessly crafted by Hephaestus, ready to defend him from various unforeseen attacks.
And hanging on his waist and resting in a shiny scabbard was the handle of a sword he had borrowed from that kind old man in the smithy.
Raising his foot, Hans stepped inside the gate before completely disappearing into the unknown.
[You have entered the B-Rank gate: Machine's Paradise.]
