Chapter 141: Qualitative Increase 

You have selected [Charisma] as the beneficiary attribute for the +30% bonus! Confirm? Y/N

Leif confirmed the prompt, the space around him seeming to ripple as his aura flexed from the sudden rush of power. His [Charisma], after the ten percent increase from the advancement trial and now the additional thirty percent bonus was effectively above three hundred and thirty. None of his other attributes had broken over one hundred, even after the percentage boost. 

Was there a chance he was overinvesting into a single attribute? Potentially. Did it feel amazing with the amount of ways he now scaled alongside the attribute? Absolutely. 

You have gained 1 core skill point! You may select any skill to become a core skill! 

Core skills do not belong to any class, and do not contribute to any penalties involving the number of owned skills! 

You may now defer skills during skill selection! Differed skills may show up in later skill selections! 

Error! You do not qualify for one or more rewards due to not meeting prerequisites!

Error! One or more rewards have been deferred until prerequisites are met!

Your level has bestowed upon you an increased longevity! You now age 33% slower!

As you level up your body, mind and soul will be gradually reinforced as it is remade through mana! The benefits from this process vary depending on the aspects of your classes and skills!

Mana reinforcement progress: 0%!

Core skills, skill deferral, mana reinforcement, slowed ageing. I know people have been telling me level fifty is where things start to get interesting, but this is a lot more than expected. Leif thought, re-reading the onslaught of system messages for a second time. Suddenly the strength of some of the iron ranked adventurers he had sparred with made more sense. Sure, Leif had been the equal, if not superior to around half of those he had sparred with over the past three months, but the sheer amount of changes were still staggering. 

And I’m missing out on some of them until my monster class reaches level fifty. He realised, rocking back in his seated position. There was a sharp knock at the door to the room, then it opened and three temple aids came running inside. 

Leif looked at them from under his mask. They looked at him, nobody moved.

“Ah… the senses in the room detected a spike in aura activity, we assumed the worst.” One of the aids said, looking around as if searching for the cause. “We apologise for the interruption sir, this was not our intention.” 

“It’s okay.” Leif said, more than a little relieved that he hadn’t done something foolish like disrobe or remove his mask. “I have a stronger aura than my level would suggest, I simply slackened my control over it after the trial was completed.”

That was partially a lie, and judging by the faces of the aids they suspected as much. But they dipped into an apologetic bow before hurriedly closing the door after confirming he didn’t need their presence. 

Leif stood and rolled his shoulders, feeling the changes to his body as he stretched and twisted. He felt reborn, remade, as if up until this point he had been living with weights tied to his limbs. And that wasn’t to mention the newfound mental clarity and spiritual strength. As he targeted each of his attributes in turn with [Grand Action] power flooded through him. What had once been only a small increase in each attribute was now almost doubling each, though only one at a time. 

He retrieved both his spatial ring and the aura suppression bracelets from where he had placed them off to the side. Leif took the time to reattune to both, and only with more than a little self control did he stop himself from activating the suppression enchantment and running through the aura training. I do not own this room. He reminded himself. I’ll get kicked out if I stay in here for too long. 

He exited the room, noting how empty the temple now was. Hours had passed, and night reigned over Ahle-ho, the cool sea breeze washed over Leif as he walked down the steps of the temple. Small groups huddled outside, kneeling in prayer over oil lit lanterns and candles. A patrol of soldiers, local and not imperial, stepped out from a nearby corner, the group walking in lockstep as they strode past the temple. 

As Leif made his way back towards the Twin Heart guild’s compound, he let the system notifications he had been suppressing since the temple aids entered the room populate the corner of his vision. 

Congratulations! Banked experience will now be distributed! 

Level up! Class [Scion of Aeons] is now level 21!

For slaying a [Regal Scale Merfey] you have gained a level!

+1 to [Alacrity] +1 to [Spirit] +1 to [Charisma] +5 free points!

Level up! Class [Scion of Aeons] is now level 22!

For spreading the boons of the amber throughout the land you have gained a level!

+1 to [Might] +1 to [Alacrity] +1 to [Willpower] +5 free points!

Level up! Class [Inspiring Brawler] is now level 11!

For meeting powerful foes in battle and demonstrating your prowess you have gained a level!

+1 to [Might] +1 to [Spirit] +1 to [Charisma] +1 free point!

Level up! Class [Adept of Self-Restoration] is now level 11!

For healing those often ignored and defending the weak you have gained a level!

+1 to [Might] +1 to [Spirit] +1 free point!

Mana reinforcement progress: 20%!

Leif missed a step, stumbling as a cool feeling spread throughout his body, soothing his mind and flowing into his soul. While the attributes from levelling up were granted power, this new sensation felt not unlike the absorption of mana shards to fuel skill fusion, only that the sensation had washed over his existence before fading away. 

So that’s what mana reinforcement feels like? Is it five percent progress per level up? He mused, scanning the level up messages to see if anything was out of the ordinary. Other than the system putting a name to the sea serpent he had defeated in the quarry village, a rarity in his experience, nothing seemed wrong, no errors had appeared. It was a little strange reaching level twenty two in his monster class and not getting a skill selection, but that was because tier three classes had skill selections every five levels instead of every two. 

Leif had twelve free points, it was tempting to place them into an attribute like [Spirit] or [Intelligence], but knowing that the twelve points would effectively become almost thirty if they went into [Charisma] made the choice not difficult at all. His flat total jumped to one hundred and sixty one, and his aura rippled in the darkness of the city street. Leif took a deep breath, then exhaled slowly, flexing and retracting his aura in time with the action. 

A part of him lamented that he would need to give back the aura suppression bracelets in a few days, but he doubted Lars would be particularly pleased with him absconding with a valuable magical item. An owl hoots from somewhere overhead, voices come from a nearby home, light barely visible through drawn curtains. Under the pale illumination of season Ahle-ho’s colours seemed washed out, the city having finally calmed after months of tension. 

It was an illusion, an effort of self deception that made him hope that along with his sudden change and growth, that the city he had called home would have magically changed with him. There is to be a summit of the guilds, a grand meeting to discuss Ahle-ho’s future. If the lingering anticipation he can sense in the air is true then the future of this place will likely be determined in the coming months. 

But there’s nothing he can do. Even if he had the desire to intervene in the growing political struggles how would he even begin? It was humbling, to have come so far yet still be barely a dot on the map that was the interconnected webs of power that crisscrossed not just this city, but all the human territories. 

The owl swooped down from above. It silently alighted on Leif’s hooded head, the sensation causing him to realise he had been standing perfectly still in the middle of the wide street. “I’m thinking grand thoughts.” He told the bird. “When I don’t even have a firm grasp on my own problems.” 

It flew off, startled that its perch hadn’t been the kind of tree it had expected. He laughed, the sound was freeing. 

Leif returned to the Twin Heart headquarters, he was waved inside by the two tired looking guards at the main gate, and then returned to his room in the adventurer dormitory. Less than a week, then I’m out of here.

===

Chapter postscript:

This is the official midpoint of book 2. Maybe, hopefully.

There will be a full status recap later tonight, then the next chapter will be a Ram interlude.