Chapter 23 (UPDATED)

Caleb stood, unmoving, for several seconds. Just staring down at Lucas’s ruined corpse. .

He could feel his Frenzy skill fading, and with it, his stats lowering. The exhaustion that his Endurance had been staving off hit him like a truck. He’d overdrawn his body to the absolute maximum during the fight and was now starting to face the consequences.

But he’d done it. Damn it, he’d done it. Less than a one percent chance of survival and completion upon first entering, and yet here he stood, victorious. Three hands and one final boss slain. It felt good.

He let out a sigh and sat down on the ground – could’ve collapsed and taken a nap, but there were still things that he wanted to do. During the fight, he’d gotten several notifications from the System, but had been too preoccupied to read them. Not anymore. He brought up his status and started going through everything.

Title: Dungeon Pioneer
You are one of the first to complete a Dungeon in the entire world.
Reward Granted: All stats +1

One of? Caleb’s lip curled in annoyance. Someone did it before me. I was too slow. Ah, well. He couldn’t expect to be the first at literally everything. It was probably an easier Dungeon, or maybe a big group that actually worked well together. If he could, he’d try and find out once he left the Dungeon. It was both exciting and terrifying to think of what the outside world might look like right now.

Title: Class Upgrade Pioneer
You are one of the first to gain a Class Upgrade in the entire world.
Reward Granted: Skill Upgrade

“The hell?” Someone had reached aether level twenty five before him? Who? How? The muscles on his jaw worked as he reread the title, eyes narrowed.

It felt like he’d been slapped in the face. Him not being the very first person to complete a Dungeon was a pill he could swallow, but the knowledge that there was someone out there a higher level than him… It burned. He hungered for it. His inheritance demanded it. That title should be his. There was only room for one person at the top. Him.

Despite all of the blessings he’s been given, was he still falling behind? Part of him knew that the odds were stacked against him. Eight billion people in the world, it was basically statistically impossible for him to be first at everything all the time. But that didn’t matter. He just needed to push himself even harder.

Caleb shook his head. There would be more time to think about all of that later. The sting he felt was only made mildly better by the title’s reward.

A new screen shimmered into existence.

Please choose from the 3 available Skill Upgrades:

Upgrade: Bonebreaker II (Active)
Upgrade: Ferocity II (Passive)
Upgrade: Brawling II (Passive)

He didn’t have to think long about this one. It might not be flashy, but Brawling was the foundation of his fighting style. An improvement there was an improvement everywhere. He’d made his choice.

Skill Level Up!
Brawling II → Brawling III

The change was as immediate and potent as the first time the skill had leveled. It was like the skill rewrote the pathways in his brain, bestowing new knowledge and instincts that could only be gained from thousands of hours of intense practice and repetition. Until now, at least. He got those thousands of hours in an instant. Kung Fu masters of old were rolling over in their graves.

Caleb lifted a hand, turning it over slowly and marveling out how familiar it looked, but how different it felt. He shot two quick jabs into the open air with audible cracks. It was amazing to feel how his entire body worked in unison to create as much power as possible from a simple punch. The slight twist of his hips, pull of his core, the snap of his arm and the tensing of his wrist.

New notifications done with, Caleb went back to his status screen and distributed all of his remaining free stat points.

Caleb Wade
Class: Slayer (Skyward Will) – Summit of Self
Aether Level 28
Truths: Covenant of Stone – Lesser
Bound Inheritance: Skyward Will
Inheritance Aspect: Spirit Self

Titles:

• Original Kill

• Titan’s Bane

• Original Ascension

• Dungeon Pioneer

• Class Upgrade Pioneer

Stats:

• Strength: 31.4

• Dexterity: 19.7

• Resilience: 24.0

• Presence: 26.1

Available Stat Points: 0

Skills:

• Bonebreaker II (Active)

• Ferocity II (Passive)

• Brawling III (Passive)

• Skyward Will (Passive)

He smiled at how far he’d come. With how much he’d changed physically, it was unlikely anyone from his past life would even recognize him now. Sure, he had the same general features, but aside from that he looked like a “before and after” for a workout program that is totally not a scam.

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All of his stats were five or more times what they were when he’d first seen them. And that was after having been boosted straight to level nine from killing Bolvun. His pre-System stats would’ve been even worse. He was, without exaggeration, ten times stronger, faster, and tougher than just a few days ago. If he had to fight Fenryr again, it wouldn’t even be a competition – it’d be animal cruelty.

Caleb spent the next several minutes stretching, taking it all in, and experimenting with different things.