Ignotus fluttered his eyes open and...
Ding!
A system screen greeted him.
—
╔════════╗
║OVERFLOW!║
╚════════╝
╔════════════╗
║☆ LEVEL UP X 3 ☆║
╚════════════╝
[You’ve Felled A Lesser Demon]
[You’ve Slain Eleven Assassins]
[SF = 1500]
[Ordination: 28 → 31]
[ 9 STAT POINTS!]
—
’Hm.’
Finally, the Soul Fragnts from the second villain, Zelus, his followers, and the three that ambushed him and Gaia had co... Perhaps it was waiting for him to kill the last one before the notification was to arrive.
—
╔══════════════╗
║Heretic Saint System║
╚══════════════╝
{Class: Acolyte (Class Ten)}
{Ordination: 31}
[• SF: 347/660 •]
{Health}
[• H: 896 / 896 → 1048 / 1048 •]
{Divinity}
[• D: 1018 / 1018 → 1155 / 1155 •]
{Statistics}
[Strength] 28 (D) (Academy Avg: C )
[Intelligence] 34 → 35 (D → D ) (Academy Avg: C )
[Willpower] 33 → 35 (D → D ) (Academy Avg: C )
[Speed] 27 → 30 (D- → D) (Academy Avg: B-)
[Endurance] 30 → 32 (D) (Academy Avg: B-)
[Appearance] 70 (B ) (Academy Avg: C)
[Personality] -1 (G) (Academy Avg: C)
[Luck] 60 (B) (Academy Avg: C)
—
Still catching his breath, Ignotus smiled at the progress before him.
His Derived Stats were breaking past the four digits now. All of his actual stats were [D] or above as well.
Everything was climbing fast—too fast, even. The gap between Health and Divinity had lessened a lot. Though that was mostly thanks to his Endurance, as that was certainly tested just now.
Anyhow, despite all that ridiculous growth, he was nearly dying in every fight.
Many might complain, but he saw that as the price of progress.
He needed to be even faster.
Even stronger.
Even—
’Crazier.’
Yeah, that.
Crazy worked; it won.
And so he needed to be even ’crazier.’
A thought that would’ve sent most who listened to it straight into the grave.
Wasn’t he crazy enough?!
Well, apparently not, and sohow...
’Whatever you have planned, let’s do it before Hell.’
Eris seed to agree.
"I was thinking the sa thing."
Only poor Alba looked up at him, tilting its big, fluffy head, seemingly completely lost.
Ignotus looked at his chest, or rather the fur ball lying there, and patted its head.
"Don’t give that look. You’ll find out soon enough."
The white-furred hound barked once.
"Hm. Well, my destination was Hell..."
Ignotus scratched under Alba’s chin.
"But I’m thinking of a little detour first. Sothing to push my strength up even more."
Alba stared at him suspiciously.
"Hm? What am I up to now?"
Ignotus shrugged.
"Don’t worry about it... unless you’re tagging along, of course?"
The dog barked twice, clearly declining.
"So you’re prioritizing your own business. Good."
He ruffled the fur between its ears and leaned closer.
"Be careful, alright? You’re mine now."
Eris giggled.
’Possessive much?’
"Don’t start."
Perhaps the Goddess truly wasn’t the only possessive one around, though Ignotus wasn’t about to confirm that.
Woof! Woof!
Barking in agreent, Alba sniffed Ignotus up, morizing his scent completely.
"Don’t mind the sweat."
Ignotus teased, and the hound ignored him, finishing the imprint before stepping back.
"Now you can track wherever I am, right?"
Woof!
"Hm."
And that was that.
"Good luck."
Alba hopped down and waddled away, while Ignotus finally pushed himself up from the bloody and mushy ground.
The two didn’t bid each other goodbye; each simply went their separate way. Because, well, they weren’t worried; they’d be sure to et in... cleaner circumstances.
...
If one lacked talent...
One must possess madness.
After reaching a small village hidden between the twisted woods, a now much cleaner Ignotus headed straight for their dical hub.
There, a grumpy old woman slapped him around with her spells and patched him up. By the ti she was done, he looked less like he’d crawled out of a grave.
Fully healed and back to feeling sowhat fresh, he reached his next stop:
A forge.
He needed to buff himself further and push his first Normal Rune even harder.
There was a thod he cooked up in that crazy mind of his that might just work.
Ignotus had always wanted to do this, and now that he had so money and ti, he certainly could.
One of the ways to rank up a Rune was through repeated use.
Ignotus was doing that with his [Wise Fool,] but using it on the sa weapon again and again didn’t really make it grow all that much.
So... what if he used it on every weapon in sight, back-to-back, nonstop?
Would that force it to evolve?
He was about to find out.
The forge was small and dimly lit, the firelight reflecting off dozens of blades hung across the walls.
An old blacksmith hamred away at a sword, not bothering to look up as Ignotus entered.
But just as Ignotus was about to touch one of the blades, he turned, about to tell him off... And yet, he couldn’t find himself to. Ignotus tossed him a few beautiful silver coins.
"I’ll be here long, but don’t mind ."
The blacksmith caught the coins, grunted, and went back to hamring.
"Perfect."
With that, Ignotus looked over the weapons: short swords, long swords, axes, spears, staves, and even a few daggers that looked more decorative than practical. It was quite a large variety that he didn’t expect from a blacksmith in the middle of nowhere.
In any case, it was ti to get to work.
"Let’s break the system~."
Eris, as always, reigned him in.
’Be careful not to get kicked out.’
Nodding at her, he picked up the first sword, a rough, chipped thing.
The mont he touched it, he channeled [Wise Fool], its faint glow against the tal.
After ensuring it kept true, he slashed, swung, stabbed, threw, and caught. He didn’t even need to hit anything, of course. Movent was what mattered, that and repetition.
Once he felt that it was enough, he switched weapons.
Sword to spear.
Spear to axe.
Axe to mace.
Mace to dagger.
Over and over, each swing pulsing with that sa golden light.
’You know...’
He twirled the next blade while cracking a grin.
’This one’s kind of nice. Its balance is good.’
’Focus.’
’I am focusing. I’m appreciating art.’
He weaved the blade through and around the air, leaving golden ripples trailing behind.
The Rune’s glow flickered stronger each ti; it was working, he could feel it.
Already, he was due for an upgrade, so him doing this couldn’t be at a better ti. The strain, the hum, and the flow of Divinity along his arms all said the sa thing.
Thump!
His connection to [Wise Fool] pulsed heavier.
Ignotus had switched again, to a greatsword this ti, about the sa size as Ulv’s sword. It was heavy enough that most n would struggle to lift it; he, however, needed only one hand.
There was no way he could replicate the sa moves Ulv did. This and that were different, but hey, he at least could do the basics.
And so, he kept on going, relentless as ever, a lot of sweat continuing to roll down his back.
The whoosh of tal filled the forge, mixed with the old man’s occasional grunt.
Every weapon lit up with the faint mark of his Rune before he discarded it for the next. Even those that he’d never use: a hamr, a club, a lance, and a scythe.
[Wise Fool] was a Rune for a bearer who knew that he knew nothing. A Rune that bypassed a major rule of this realm.
One where Divinity only worked through Runes. Because indeed, Ignotus’s Divinity worked through the weapons themselves. But that wasn’t all, as it worked on armor as well. Sothing that he focused on when all weapons tasted his Divinity.
His "critical hits" were essentially the montary increase of an item’s quality. That ant the more he understood these items, the more he could succeed at making them grow.
Later, no doubt he’d need to dive further into this. Perhaps even learn a bit of forging and Divine Forging himself, but for now, this had to do.
The jester’s hat flickered, distorted, expanded, and reshaped. His Divinity swirled with it, reacting to his forcing of growth.
Ignotus was literally dragging the Rune past its limits, making his entire body buzz and pulse with Divinity.
’You’re overdoing it.’
Eris was right.
He was overdoing it, but...
’Overdoing is what I do.’
In all those hours, he’d nearly used all of his Divinity.
What he equipped now barely felt a rise.
Yet that only helped him in his understanding.
His gray eyes were burning, and he...
"Hm."
He touched sothing that wasn’t a weapon or armor. Sothing that stood outside the Runes’ established paraters.
Ironically, a horseshoe.
The tal shimred under his touch.
Golden lines spiraled, pulsed, and expanded—
Ding!
Ignotus froze up.
"Ahh..."
A slow grin spread across his face.
"That’s my new favorite sound."
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