"It's like I have two Awakeners with the profession of Knight fighting for me. I can store up to eleven of them in my Undead Graveyard. Too bad my Spiritual Energy is completely depleted, I'll have to wait for it to recover,"
Ethan clicked his tongue.
He then turned his gaze toward the Trait section.
He had two traits: [Black Halo] and [One Ascends]
"This is interesting. When I was going through the awakening process, I clearly saw the system notify me that I only awakened the [One Ascends] trait... where did the [Black Halo] trait come from, or could it be the system just didn't mention it?"
Ethan rubbed his chin.
He thought of another possibility.
He thought that maybe the [Black Halo] was a trait he always possessed, and that's why the system didn't notify him.
---
[Traits]
-Black Halo(Unique): Passively increases your Luck to its maximum value. This effect extends to the space around you, influencing everyone and everything within its range to bring about the greatest possible fortune in your favor.
-One Ascends(Unassigned): Assign one Attribute to this Trait. The chosen Attribute's growth rate is doubled when leveling up.
---
"To think I awakened two traits..."
Ethan couldn't believe himself.
Awakeners rarely awaken traits; only one in fifty awakeners has a chance to gain one during the profession awakening process.
But that doesn't necessarily make them powerful, since sometimes the traits they awaken don't align well with their profession, so it can go both ways.
But now that he thought about it, he had actually awakened only one trait during the profession awakening process, while the [Black Halo] trait had always been with him.
Either way, both of Ethan's traits were powerful and in no way weakened him.
"This [Black Halo] trait... what exactly does it mean? It increases my luck to the maximum value..." Ethan didn't even know that luck had a measurable value, let alone that a trait could raise it to its peak.
His eyes widened in shock as a possibility struck him.
"Could it really be like that? If so, it wouldn't have mattered what kind of profession I awakened. Just having this trait could make me incredibly powerful."
Then he shook his head abruptly.
He shouldn't get ahead of himself before confirming its effects.
For now, he needed to focus on the [One Ascends] trait.
"This is another powerful trait. Let's see, the assigned attribute will experience double the growth rate as I level up." Ethan rubbed his chin, eyes scanning his attributes.
"It's an obvious choice."
[You have assigned the attribute [Spiritual Energy] to the [One Ascends] trait.]
[Each time you level up, your [Spiritual Energy] will increase at twice the normal rate.]
Then he glanced at the last system prompt that appeared during the awakening process.
---
-Strength: 10
-Dexterity: 10
-Stamina: 10
-Vitality: 10
-Perception: 20
-Spiritual Energy: 20 +20 (One Ascends)
---
It's the attribute increase he will experience for every level-up from Level 1 to Level 10.
The attribute increase per level-up improves every ten levels.
Attribute increases per level differ from profession to profession.
For example, Awakeners with the Swordsman profession experience additional growth in Dexterity and Stamina attributes, while those with the Ice Mage profession gain additional growth in Spiritual Energy and Perception.
Similarly, an Awakener with the Tank profession experiences additional growth in Strength and Vitality attributes.
These attribute differences were considered superficial because, as an Awakener levels up and acquires more skills and experience, their fighting style significantly influences their attributes, which can change over time.
However, at the initial stage, being Tier-1 Awakeners, these attributes are still influential.
Ethan's strong attributes were perception and spiritual energy, similar to those of the magic class professions.
Thanks to the [One Ascends] trait, his spiritual energy increased at double the rate with each level up.
"Perception and spiritual energy are my strong attributes, similar to those of the magic class professions."
"It's very likely my profession is a hybrid class combining summoner-type skills with those of the magic class professions... Damn, it looks like I got something much better than the combat class professions."
Ethan smiled as he turned his attention back to the two undead standing before him like statues, silently awaiting his command.
Just then, he sensed a presence approaching.
Looking for the source, he spotted a dinosaur-like monster covered in green scales marked with dark patterns.
It walked on four legs, its fanged mouth hissing as it crept toward him like a predator eyeing its prey.
The creature stood about four and a half feet tall.
---
[Fanged Viperback]
[Level: 2]
---
Ethan gave a mental command, and in the next instant, the two undead knights spirited away the monster, unsheathing their swords, and within a few seconds following the precise instructions Ethan gave in his mind, the undead knights blocked the monster in the opposite direction before slashing their swords.
The monster pounced forward at the undead Knight, bearing its fangs, but before it could reach the undead knight, the second undead knight's sword landed on its back from behind, stabbing right through its long neck before pulling out sideways, cutting through half its neck.
Its green blood spilled out, and in the next second, the monster dropped dead.
[Experience Increased]
"Let's go level up," Ethan said as he moved deeper into the forest.
After only a few seconds of walking, he found another [Fanged Viperback].
This one was level 2, taller, faster, and stronger than the one he had defeated earlier.
"Go," Ethan commanded, using the same strategy as before, one undead knight attacking from the front and the other from behind, making it hard for the monster to avoid damage.
Fortunately, the creature lacked intelligence and soon fell dead.
[Experience Increased]
"Let's try using my passive skill, [Death Link]."
After walking for a few more minutes, he found three more level 2 monsters.
This time, he didn't use the Undead Knights right away.
Instead, he approached the monsters himself, like prey offering itself to its predators.
The three monsters hurriedly charged at him, and Ethan let them attack as much as they wanted.
But no matter how much they clawed or bit him, he didn't sustain any wounds or damage of any kind.
Ethan could feel their attacks land on his body, but that was all; no pain, no injury.
"It's a great skill... I won't take damage as long as I have my undead active on the battlefield," Ethan murmured with a satisfied smile.
Silently, he sent a mental command to his two Undead Knights, who instantly rushed forward and attacked the distracted monsters from behind.
The beasts, too focused on him, never noticed their death approaching.
[Experience Increased]
[You have leveled up]
[Your Active Skill [Summon Undead Knight] reached Level: 2]
[Your [Undead Graveyard] capacity Increased by 1]
As he leveled up, a faint glow surrounded his body, and in the next instant, his depleted energy reserves were fully replenished.
His active skill [Summon Undead Knight] had also leveled up.
He could now summon Level 2 Undead Knights, though the summoning cost had increased to 10 Spiritual Energy per summon.
Additionally, his Undead Graveyard increased by one.
It seemed that every time he leveled up, the storage expanded as well.
Using his newly restored Spiritual Energy, Ethan summoned five more Level 2 Undead Knights.
Before him stood seven Undead Knights, each wielding a black sword.
With the seven undead knights surrounding him, Ethan went deeper into the dungeon until he came across a level 4 monster.
---
[Verdant Python]
[Level: 4]
[Skill: Tail Wipe]
---
It was shaped like a huge green python with sharp fangs.
Its mouth was large enough to devour a grown man whole, and its long tail was lined with spikes.
"Got to watch out for that tail," Ethan muttered.
"Go," Ethan gave a mental command, and in the next instant, five undead knights rushed toward the [Verdant Python], while two others stood on either side of him as his guards.
The [Verdant Python] hissed menacingly as it used its superior agility, swinging its thick tail to strike the incoming undead knights.
Like puppets on strings, the undead knights surrounded the [Verdant Python] at Ethan's mental command.
Three of them managed to dodge the incoming tail swipe, but one was caught by the attack and sent flying back, its arms twisting in unnatural ways.
Ethan commanded the remaining undead knights to attack from behind.
Their swords flashed as they stabbed and slashed at the [Verdant Python], cutting deep wounds across its scales.
The monster writhed and thrashed violently, trying to shake them off, but it was pointless.
The undead knights felt neither pain nor fear.
As long as their master commanded, they would follow without hesitation.
Under the relentless assault of the undead knights, the [Verdant Python] finally collapsed to the ground after a few minutes.
[Experience gained]
"That's not enough to level up? I thought for sure, since it's a monster two levels higher than me…" Ethan frowned.
"Killing another level 4 monster should be enough to reach level 3... I guess it's true that levelling up becomes significantly harder after every level."
"At this rate, I should be able to reach level 5 after a couple more hours of hunting."
He was very much looking forward to that.
Every five levels, Awakeners had a chance to awaken a new skill.
The chance was small, almost negligible for most, but Ethan couldn't help feeling that with his [Black Halo] trait, things would be different.
"If the trait really does what it says, increases my luck to the maximum possible value, then it doesn't matter what my chances are. I'm guaranteed to awaken a skill every five levels," Ethan muttered as he commanded his knights.
He kept three of the undead knights near him, since they had sustained injuries during the last battle, and sent the remaining four to hunt the nearby level 3 monsters.
The undead knights, like ghouls, possessed innate regeneration.
Unless they were completely destroyed, they would eventually recover.
The time it took to heal depended on the severity of their injuries; the more severe the wound, the longer the regeneration.
...
[A/N: If you enjoyed the chapter, please consider adding it to your library and supporting it with some Power Stones. Arigato!]