All done!
Blaine temporarily ignored [Dual-Wield Revolvers] and [Gun Combat Technique].
He was deciding between [Mind Reading] and [Shadow Stealth (Lv.1)].
Blaine frowned slightly—he really wanted both skills.
But just as he was about to purchase them, the system gave him a reminder.
Skill purchases were not unlimited.
A D-rank Hunter's skill slot limit was five! Only after leveling up to C-rank would it increase to ten!
In other words, as a D-rank Hunter, Blaine could only buy five skills. Any more and he wouldn't be allowed to purchase them.
What the hell?!
This was such BS!
Why didn't the damn system say that earlier?! He already bought so many skills—there's only one slot left now!
Blaine's mouth twitched.
Damn it... After thinking it over, he put [Mind Reading] aside and chose to buy [Shadow Stealth] instead.
Between the two, [Shadow Stealth] appealed to him more.
It had to be said—[Shadow Stealth] was expensive even at Level 1, but that made sense. The skill maxed out at Level 3, so its potential was limited—hence the high price.
At Level 1, [Shadow Stealth] wasn't all that useful for him.
So he decided to upgrade it!
[Shadow Stealth (Lv.1)]: 10,000,0000.
Tch, no wonder this skill had such a high entry cost. Upgrading to Lv.2 required a full ten million.
Blaine sighed, then upgraded it immediately.
[Shadow Stealth (Lv.2)]: 100,000,000.
To upgrade from Lv.2 to Lv.3 would cost one hundred million.
Yeah, not happening!
Blaine shook his head. But for now, Lv.2 was already more than enough.
Lv.2 and Lv.3 were pretty similar—the only major difference was that Lv.3 allowed entry into human shadows, while Lv.2 was limited to inanimate objects and structures.
Still, Lv.2 was already extremely solid—totally sufficient.
And with that, his shopping spree was over.
Blaine had spent a total of 41 million this time. From his original pool of over 129 million, he was down to just over 88 million.
Host: Blaine
Physical Attributes: 50
Hunter Rank: D (Upgradeable)
Abilities:
[Absolute AimLv.3]
[Indestructible Body Lv.3]
[Eagle Eye Lv.2]
[Mind Sense Lv.2]
[Shadow Stealth Lv.2]
(Max slots reached)
Equipment:
[Hunter Outfit (+5)]
[Elemental Bow (+5)]
[White Snake Bow (+5)]
Wait, what?! Hold on a second—
Upgradeable? What's that supposed to mean?
"System, what does 'Upgradeable' mean?"
[It means, Host, you've now spent over 50 million in the system store. You're eligible to upgrade your Hunter Rank from D to C.]
So... spending in the system store is how you level up?
Fifty million just to go from D to C? Then how much would it take to go from C to B? Ten times more? A hundred times?
Blaine was speechless for a moment, but didn't argue. He clicked upgrade immediately.
From a rookie D-rank Hunter, he became a C-rank novice Hunter.
His skill slot limit naturally increased from 5 to 10.
But that wasn't all.
The upgrade from D to C came with another benefit—store discounts.
As a C-rank Hunter, all purchases in the system store now had a 10% discount.
Meaning the 10 million [Mind Reading] skill now cost only 9 million.
Without hesitation, the moment the upgrade succeeded, he spent 9 million to buy [Mind Reading].
And with that, his shopping was truly complete. He had spent a total of 50 million this round. From the original 128.8 million he had, 78.8 million remained.
Before, Blaine might've kept shopping.
But now that he learned skills had a purchase limit, he held back. Better to save the rest.
Although Blaine had always believed in "quality over quantity" when it came to skills, the sudden limitation from the system still left him a bit annoyed.
Why didn't it mention that earlier? Stupid, scammy system!
If it weren't for the comfort of that 10% discount for C-rank Hunters, who knows what kind of rage he might've unleashed.
…
…
While Blaine was on his big spending spree—
Night had already fallen.
At the S.H.I.E.L.D. New York base—
Natasha placed a stack of documents in front of Nick Fury with a strange expression. "Nick, take a look. This is the profile we found on that mysterious... Hunter."
Nick Fury, not suspecting anything, took the file and began to read.
But soon, his expression turned just as strange as Natasha's.
"What's the meaning of this?" Nick Fury frowned.
The file in his hand was about a disabled African man. His entire life story was detailed there—and it confirmed that he was still in Africa.
No one here was an idiot. Clearly, that man couldn't be the mysterious Hunter.
"He's probably a cyber expert," Natasha answered honestly.
"Keep digging!"
Nick Fury slammed the file down on the table. "Have our top people use the best equipment we have. What, S.H.I.E.L.D. can't track down one man?"
Just a minor hiccup.
Like he said—
Nick Fury didn't believe there was anyone S.H.I.E.L.D. couldn't find!
As long as they were on Earth, even if they were hiding in the furthest corner of the world, given the slightest clue, they could follow the trail and dig him out.
*************************************
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