A burning sting spread across Fenric’s arm.
The next instant, the E-level emblem within his full-moon mark vanished, replaced by a C-level mark that gleamed faintly under the skin.
"I... skipped D-rank and went straight to C?"
Fenric stared in disbelief.
By his current base stats, his comprehensive evaluation should have only reached D-rank at best. The only reason for this leap was obvious: Mind Power. The ability’s potential was so overwhelming that it dragged his rating upward in one stroke.
"No wonder they say the Samsara Tower is the only true path to power... They weren’t lying!"
He took a deep breath and extended his hand. A faint ripple of psychic force stirred in the air.
Buzz!
The Black Blade, Shusui jerked upward, then hovered steadily mid-air.
Fenric’s lips curved in satisfaction. With his spiritual attribute now maxed at 100 points—ten times stronger than an average person—his mental power felt utterly transformed. Compared to before, the control was four or five times smoother.
Originally, he had planned to pour all his potential into Spirit.
But the system quickly reminded him of a hard rule:
"Once a single attribute exceeds 100, it cannot rise further unless the lowest attribute reaches half of that value."
In short, to boost Spirit again, Fenric would first need to raise Physique, Strength, and Agility to 50+.
The restriction made sense. Without it, Samsaras would create grotesque, unbalanced monsters by dumping all stats into one trait.
Fenric smirked and crooked a finger.
Shusui swept through the air in a lethal dance, slashing and spinning with frightening precision.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
The blade carved gusts into the still air, every arc whistling like a predator’s cry.
"No wonder I jumped to C-rank... Mind Power really is a nightmare to guard against."
Even if a D-rank master faced him now, how could they stop this? A thought, and the blade would slit a throat from ten meters away.
And that was just the beginning. What if he conjured a storm of throwing knives, striking from every direction at once? No ordinary D-rank could hope to withstand that.
Fenric grinned at the mental image.
Finally, with a flick of will, Shusui glided neatly back into his grip. He tested the blade with a few swift cuts, admiring the way its black steel shimmered.
"Good sword," he murmured.
With his Strength stat boosted to 45 points (thanks to the +20 reward), even wielding Shusui felt effortless now.
After sheathing the sword and returning it to the shelf, Fenric picked up the Personal Instance Card.
As the name implied, this card granted him access to a private dungeon world—no competitors, no interference.
According to the system, these solo dungeons had no mandatory objectives and carried zero death penalties for mission failure. Pure profit, zero risk.
"A very nice card..." Fenric mused. For now, though, he set it aside. There were other priorities.
He exited the warehouse.
—---
Back in his apartment, a sturdy metal case appeared in Fenric’s hands—a case stuffed with gleaming gold bars.
Not heavy by his current standards, only a little under 100 catties. Perfectly reasonable, considering gold’s market price hovered around §380 per gram. For 20 million jade coins, this was about the right weight.
He crouched, slid the case under his bed, and exhaled.
"I’ll deal with this later..." For now, sleep was all he needed.
Fenric collapsed onto his mattress. Within minutes, he drifted into slumber, utterly unaware that his name had detonated like a bomb outside.
Meanwhile...
Across the real world, the name "Shura" blazed across high-level reports, landing on the desks of national agencies and shadow organizations alike.
Emergency meetings
The reason?
A single man had achieved Super God Evaluation in the first level of the Samsara Tower—a feat so rare it bordered on myth.
And not just any dungeon.
The World War Z Instance—a notoriously brutal deathtrap—was now fully mapped by Shura.
His strategy alone was worth a king’s ransom.
For the major powers, this wasn’t just information—it was leverage to mass-produce D-rank masters. One guide could shorten years of attrition into weeks.
Countless titans of power sat sleepless under the glow of digital screens, eyes burning with a singular desire:
Find Shura. Secure him at all costs!
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[Note: The next arc will span 16 Chapters. Here’s the deal—if we reach 250 Power Stones, I’ll release the entire arc at once.
P.S. This deal only applies before the arc begins. If the goal isn’t met, the deal will be canceled, and you’ll have to wait until the next arc for a new deal.]