[Storage Space: 14/100]
"Nice."
Leon felt genuinely satisfied as he looked at the contents of his storage space.
It was neatly filled with the items he had obtained so far, each one a clear result of the risks he had taken and the absurd advantage granted by his talent.
Without wasting time, he began sorting through everything, starting with the most straightforward gains.
Out of the sixteen items stacked together, five were [Shadow Dog Essences].
Leon consumed them one after another, feeling the familiar surge of energy spread through his body each time.
His legs felt lighter, his reflexes sharper, and the change was immediate and noticeable.
In total, his agility increased by ten points, pushing his physical abilities even further beyond what a level 2 player should reasonably possess.
Once that was done, he turned his attention to the drops from the boss.
[Forest Ape Essence: Consuming will increase Strength by 5.]
[Roasted Ape Meat (Common)]
[Forest Ape Scales (Common): +5 Constitution when worn.]
"Oh shit."
Leon couldn't help reacting aloud. Boss essences were in a completely different category compared to normal monster essences.
Not only were they much rarer, but the attributes they granted were also significantly higher.
In his past life, killing a boss was difficult, and obtaining its essence even harder.
Yet now, thanks to [100% Drop Rate], it felt almost inevitable.
As expected, Leon didn't hesitate. He consumed the [Forest Ape Essence], feeling a heavy, grounded strength flow through his body.
His muscles felt denser, more solid, as if his body had been reinforced from the inside.
Fwish! Ding!
[You have consumed "Forest Ape Essence" and gained 5 Strength.]
After that, he equipped the [Forest Ape Scales], which wrapped around his neck and adjusted themselves perfectly to its size.
The item wasn't flashy, but Leon could clearly feel the increase in durability it provided.
Next came the items from the [Rare Treasure Chest], the ones he had been most curious about.
[Eternal Coins x300]
[Skill Stone x2: Can be used to upgrade a skill.]
[Enhancement Stone x2: Can be used to enhance an equipment.]
[Purple Jade Necklace (Rare): +15 Spirit, +20 Constitution. Comes with the "Purple Jade" defensive skill. Requirement: Level 3.]
Leon's eyes lingered on each panel. Three hundred Eternal Coins was a decent chunk for the start.
On top of that, he had obtained skill stones, enhancement stones, and even a rare-tier necklace with a built-in defensive skill.
Any single one of these items would have caused chaos if revealed to the public.
And then, finally, Leon turned his attention to the last item. It was... a spell scroll!
Leon's grin widened as he read the panel.
[Fireball (Common): Focus your Spirit and condense it into a fireball that hits a target. Requirement: 20 Spirit.]
'My first magical attack in this life,' Leon thought, clearly pleased. 'Looks like I really am heading toward becoming a [Magical Swordsman] again.'
Unfortunately, he couldn't use it immediately. The spirit requirement was still just out of reach. Still, that wasn't a problem. With his current pace, it wouldn't take long at all.
After equipping what he could and consuming what made sense, Leon turned his attention to the remaining stones.
"Perfect."
Skill stones were always valuable, but their use became more demanding as skills increased in level. A level 2 skill usually required two stones to upgrade, and higher levels demanded even more.
Leon didn't hesitate for even a second.
He selected [Appraisal] and used both skill stones on it.
Ding!
[Congratulations, you have upgraded "Appraisal (Level 2)" to "Appraisal (Level 3)"]
[Appraisal (Level 3): Can be used to appraise monsters, item information, terrains and special materials.]
'Perfect.'
In [Eternal Ascension], special materials played an important role. They were used in alchemy, crafting, rituals, and sometimes even hidden quests.
Without [Appraisal], identifying them was extremely difficult, and most players would either ignore them entirely or accidentally destroy something valuable.
Now, Leon wouldn't miss any of that. Next came the enhancement stones.
Unlike fusing identical equipment, enhancement stones carried no risk of the item breaking.
That alone made them priceless. Unfortunately, their drop rate was abysmal, and even wealthy players struggled to obtain them in large quantities.
Leon first tried to enhance his [Goblin Machete +3].
Beep!
[Your "Goblin Machete's" enhancement level has reached its limit and cannot be enhanced again.]
"Expected."
There were limits for a reason. If items could be enhanced endlessly, the entire balance of the game would collapse.
Anyone could just stack enhancements on a worthless weapon and turn it into something unstoppable.
Instead, Leon used one enhancement stone on the [Shadow Necklace] and the other on the [Forest Ape Scales].
Ding!
[You have successfully enhanced your "Shadow Necklace" and "Forest Ape Scales"
[Shadow Necklace +2 (Common): +15 Spirit, +10 Agility.]
[Forest Ape Scales +2 (Common): +10 Constitution when worn.]
"Perfect."
Leon nodded in satisfaction. After everything was said and done, only a few items remained unused in his storage space. Among them was the [Roasted Ape Meat].
Unlike sleep, which had almost become unnecessary in [Eternal Ascension], eating was still required.
Players wouldn't starve instantly, but prolonged neglect would lead to debuffs and eventually death.
'I can eat later,' Leon thought calmly. 'Good to know I won't have to worry about that.'
With everything settled, he decided it was time to check his status panel and see exactly how far he had come.
---
[Name: Leon Rykard]
[Level: 2 (185/300)]
[Constitution: 10 (+10)]
[Strength: 26 (+12)]
[Agility: 34 (+10)]
[Spirit: 10 (+15)]
[Skills: Appraisal (Lv.3), Vision Enhancement (Lv.1)]
[Combat Power: 160 (+124)]
[Eternal Coins: 336]
---
Leon studied the panel carefully.
His [Combat Power] was approaching 300, and he wasn't even level 3 yet. Without exaggeration, he knew he had surpassed every other human across the ten thousand districts.
At this moment, he was the strongest. Still, something else caught his attention.
His [Spirit]. It was effectively at 25 now.
Which meant he technically met the requirement for [Fireball], didn't he?
A wide grin spread across Leon's face as he pulled the [Fireball] spell scroll from his storage space.
Without hesitation, he poured mana into it and tore it apart. The scroll dissolved into light, and the knowledge within flowed directly into him.
Ding!
[You have learned the skill "Fireball"]
"Nice."
He didn't have his [Magical Swordsman] talent from his past life, but that didn't matter. He had walked this path before, and he knew it was possible to do it again.
Interestingly enough, [Fireball] had also been the very first spell he learned in his previous life. It was probably the most common starting spell for mages, simple yet effective.
After confirming everything, Leon moved deeper into the forest.
A short while later, he encountered a group of goblins.
---
[Small Goblin]
[Level: 2]
[Combat Power: 175]
[Details: Goblins that usually fight in groups, considered one of the weakest kinds of monsters.]
---
They noticed Leon immediately, but he didn't slow down.
Fireball!
Leon didn't need a staff to cast magic. In his past life, he had used a specialized sword, but for now, raw control was enough.
A fireball the size of a football formed in front of him before launching forward.
BOOM!
The explosion scorched two of the goblins instantly, killing them on the spot. The remaining one barely had time to react before Leon was already behind it.
Slash!
Its head fell cleanly to the ground.
Ding!
[You have killed x4 "Small Goblin (Level 2)" and gained 40 experience points.]
[100% Drop Rate has triggered, items have been automatically placed in your storage space.]
Leon obtained two [Goblin Machetes], which he quickly fused into a better one, and consumed the two essences, gaining four more strength.
'I'm close to level 3,' Leon thought. 'Going deeper should be fine.'
As he moved forward, he noticed a faint glint in the grass beneath his feet.
He immediately used [Appraisal].
---
[Name: Darkened Star Grass]
[Rank: Common-Tier Spirit Grass]
[Effect: Consuming it directly will paralyze your body temporarily, can be used in alchemy.]
---
"Hm."
Leon wasn't an alchemist, but special materials always had value. He stored it away without hesitation.
With that, he continued deeper into the [Wild Forest], eager to see just how far his current combat power could take him.
...
A/N
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