As he read through the notifications, Valyr could not help but let out a light chuckle. "I guess I have no choice but to stick with this spear for real. As long as I get to the 3rd bond level, the fact that it's a basic wooden spear wouldn't even matter more."
Although part of the reason why Valyr had not changed to a better spear yet, even though he had the means to do so, was because he felt that it would take precious time to acclimate to a new spear, the main reason why he did not do so was due to the connection he had felt brewing between him and the spear.
Of course, with the system making the connection official, Valyr was even more adamant in continuing to use the spear, even though he was way above the required level to wield it. For most people, weapon bonds were nothing more than a special feature of the game that gave players a reason to keep using their weapon even after they had outgrown them.
"[Analysis]."
Ding!
[Wooden Spear] (Level 1)
Rarity: Common
Weapon Bond: Lv. 1 (Valyr)
Attack: 4 - 7 (+10%)
A spear given to those newly enlisted with the village guards of Astarto Village, being deemed by most people as a training weapon until one could afford a proper weapon. Nevertheless, the material it is made of and the level of attention to it allows it to keep up in battles somewhat.
As the user has continued to use the spear even though they have already outgrown it, traces of a soul have awakened inside the spear, allowing it to somewhat grow to meet the needs of the user.
Remarks: I don't know if you're hardworking, or just incredibly stupid.
However, as Valyr looked at the newly updated description of his wooden spear, he was gradually reminded of the true reason why weapon bonds were sought after in the later versions. Aside from increasing the weapon's main stat by a certain percentage, which was what most people knew, the higher levels of weapon bonds changed the nature of the weapons themselves, allowing players who owned weapons with high-leveled weapon bonds to do far more than what a player without one couldn't.
"The requirement to reach those higher levels are… time-consuming, to say the least." Recalling what he needed to do to reach the higher levels, a wry smile could not help but appear on Valyr's face as he stood up to face the monsters once more, dashing into their territory to fight them.
Though, with how brutal Valyr was in killing the other monsters, those that had arrived to fight him seemed to have less of an edge than before, making it seem like they were only moving to meet with Valyr just because they were forced to.
Of course, Valyr was oblivious to what was going on in the minds of the monsters he fought, brandishing his spear for the sole purpose of increasing the number on his quest.
"[Strong Pierce]!"
Bang!
'-199!!!'
Once more, with the power behind his strike, a monster's head was obliterated once more, prompting slightly angered roars to come out of the mouths of the monsters surrounding Valyr. In response, Valyr looked at the monsters with a light grin, charging towards one of them before executing the same move as earlier.
Bang!
'-119!!'
While killing the monsters, he could not help but notice that the connection between him and the spear he wielded gradually deepened with each kill. On top of that, he felt that the wooden spear gained a bit of heft to it as well, giving him the feeling that the spear was gradually growing more resilient the more he killed.
Aside from that, he also focused his attention on [Strong Pierce] and the high amount of damage it dealt even when he only aimed for a Vital Hit. "I don't even have to hit them on the head anymore to kill them. I can just strike at their necks with [Strong Pierce] and they'd still die."
Although unlocking the Technology Tree's advancements gave a person skills most of the time, such as the case with Valyr unlocking four skills at once after progressing through the Production section, the main reason why NPCs and players progressed through the Combat section was for a different reason.
Sure, unlocking certain advancements from the Combat section also yielded a couple of skills here and there, but the main reason why people progressed through the Combat section was the fact that the unlocked advancements tended to upgrade skills already owned by players and NPCs alike. At times, the knowledge from the advancements would even evolve skills.
A great example of this was Valyr's active skill, [Pierce], which had transformed into [Strong Pierce] after he had unlocked a couple advancements related to the spear in the Combat section.
Ding!
[Strong Pierce] (Level 5/10)
Rarity: Common
A skill capable of dealing great damage with a quick thrust. Best paired with a spear or a rapier. Deals 175% damage based on the user's Attack stat.
Cost: 9 MP
Cooldown: 4 seconds
Reading through the skill description as he continued to fight against the monsters, Valyr could not help but whistle in awe at the change. "So you're telling me I'm basically dealing 50% more damage with the skill than I used to."
"Well, that works for me!" Laughing, he closed the screen before continuing to fight against the monsters on his side of the battlefield.
…
"Guard captains! Deputy leaders! Fall back!" Seeing that the second wave of monsters had finally been taken care of, Damian made the announcement, putting a bit more strength into his voice to make sure it would be heard from afar. Fortunately, his voice was indeed heard from where they were, prompting those that were previously fighting against the third wave to retreat and return to the defensive line, Valyr being one of them.
Once Valyr had returned to the defensive line, he could not help but let out a light sigh of relief as he noticed Myst appear near him sometime later.
"Those who have been assigned to the frontlines for the third wave, get in formation!" Taking in a deep breath, Myst soon opened her mouth. "As the monsters for this wave are all a couple of levels above you, attack the monsters in pairs! Do you hear me?"
"Yes, ma'am!" In response, a thunderous shout resounded from the frontlines of the east section.
"Advance!" After saying those words, Myst nodded in satisfaction before turning around, letting out a long sigh of relief soon after.
"So, Valyr. Mind telling me what happened out there?" Though, rather than head to the rear lines and take a rest, she instead looked at Valyr, the scene from earlier still fresh in her mind. "You still haven't ascended to Rank 1, right?"
Valyr nodded in response. "Yeah?"
"How were you able to deal that much damage even though you haven't ascended yet?" Myst's expression was currently that of immense curiosity, wondering how someone like Valyr was able to achieve a level of combat power on par with Rank 1 class holders.
"Mind if I join in on the conversation?" Just as Valyr was about to respond to the question, a familiar face had appeared within their surroundings, prompting the two to look at the man that had arrived.
"Tristan? What are you doing here… again?" At this point, Valyr could not help but be a bit suspicious.
In response, a light chuckle escaped Tristan's mouth as he looked at Valyr. "Well, you're definitely the reason why I've come back here. After all, what you've done out there is definitely something a normal Rank 0 class holder can't do."
"Anyways, mind enlightening us both how you did what you did out there?" With that question asked, Tristan and Myst looked at Valyr, their expressions that of curiosity.
"It wouldn't hurt to tell us, right?" Tristan lightly smiled.
