Ding!
Hearing the notification sound go off in his mind once more just as the voice announced his successful clearing of the trial, a faint smile appeared on the young man's face.
[You have completed the quest: Gates of Awakening' Trial (2).]
[Your authority within the Gates of Awakening has increased by one level. This authority is only accessible once the user becomes a part of the Gates of Awakening.]
[Your other rewards shall be announced by the Gates of Awakening themselves, including the ones attributed to your performance throughout the three previous trials.]
[You have obtained a new quest: Gates of Awakening' Trial (3).]
Taking a look at his notification screen, the smile on Valyr's face turned into a grin as he moved away from where the sixth trial was held.
Rumble…
Watching the venue gradually recede into the ground once more, a faint sense of calm enveloped Valyr's body as he sat down.
Closing his eyes for a bit, he soon let out a low sigh as he took out a vial of rousing from his spatial bracelet.
"Whew…"
Feeling his mind being jolted awake by the vial, the young man stared at the place that housed the sixth trial for a bit.
Though, not long after, his focus was interrupted by the trial grounds' monotonous voice.
'By passing the second bottleneck, you have shown the Gates of Awakening that you, the trial taker, have more than enough rights to be part of the Gates of Awakening.'
'In fact, with what you've shown during the second set of trials, it would not be far-fetched to say that your abilities allow you to stand firmly at its upper echelon.'
'Of course, like before, your rewards in attempting these trials does not only extend to your membership into the Gates of Awakening.'
'Having passed the second bottleneck of the Gates of Awakening's trials, a few rewards shall be given to you that will aid you in your future endeavors.'
Hearing these words come from the voice, Valyr felt a faint sense of deja vu.
After all, if his memory served him correctly, the voice would force him to make a choice.
Fortunately, the voice did not do so this time around.
'Though the Gates of Awakening is limited in what it could give, that only applies to those that have yet to show the extent of their abilities.'
'For you, who has passed the second bottleneck of these trials, you have earned the right to enjoy the entirety of what makes the Gates of Awakening a haven for those who aim to reach the pinnacle of strength.'
'With that, the Gates of Awakening shall now give you your first reward.'
Whoosh!
Seeing a mass of silver strands of energy form around where he stood, Valyr briefly smiled as he steeled himself for what was to come.
'Your first reward corresponds to the field of combat,' the voice told him.
'With that said, two of your core skills shall be upgraded in advance.'
Swoosh!
In response to the voice's words, a considerable portion of the silver strands headed straight for Valyr's mind.
Like before, these strands dissolved and transformed into bits of information, inundating his mind with concepts he had not understood before.
Ding!
[You have comprehended a few additional yet important concepts surrounding mana and Shadow Energy, specifically the arcane concept that exists between mana and Shadow Energy.]
[Because of this, the active skill 'Shadow Serpent Magic Style' has evolved to 'Arcane Shadow Serpent Magic Style'. The skill's level has been reverted back to Level 1.]
[You have comprehended a great amount of concepts surrounding the body and how far one could empower it. You have also comprehended the limitations around the concept, and how there are many ways to go around it.]
[Because of this, the active skill 'Limit Break' has evolved to 'Limit Break: Second Verse'. The skill's level has been reverted back to Level 1.]
Seeing that the Gates of Awakening had evolved the remaining skill in his subclass that had yet to evolve, Valyr only felt a hint of surprise from the notification.
After all, with how the two gates had focused on improving things that were related to Shadow Energy, it was more or less a given that the skill would evolve at some point.
Then again, the same could not be said for the second skill the Gates of Awakening upgraded.
"[Limit Break: Second Verse]…" muttered Valyr in slight disbelief as he brought up the upgraded skill's description.
In many more ways than one, [Limit Break: Second Verse] was the stat boosting skill he had already come to know as [Limit Break] in the past.
Then again, even though that may be the case, there were still a few things that differed it from the skill he previously knew.
Such as the fact that it now had another skill embedded into it.
Ding!
[First Encore] - Needs [Limit Break: Second Verse] to be activated. Forms a layer of armor made out of mana around the user, heightening the effects of [Limit Break: Second Verse] to boost the user's stats (except VIT) by an additional 10% for 15 minutes.
Note that the armor can only withstand a maximum of five hits from an opponent, dispelling the effects of the skill once exceeded. Cooldown: 10 minutes. Cost: 5,000 MP.
"I guess I got my hands on a budget version of [Descent of the True Wyvern]," said the young man after reading through the effects of the embedded skill.
"Though the downsides are more along the lines of [Dark Arcane Mirror]."
From what he understood after reading its description, the effects of [First Encore] would stack upon the effects of [Limit Break: Second Verse], thereby making it a stronger boosting skill.
With how [Limit Break: Second Verse] boosted most of his stats by 15% for 15 minutes thanks to the upgrade, then having [First Encore] activated would increase the boost to 25%.
"If it applies additively, of course," said Valyr to himself.
"Though, I'm pretty sure I'll find that out sooner or later."
With him shrugging his shoulders as he closed the screens he brought up, Valyr returned his attention to what the voice had to say.
'Your second reward corresponds to the field of forging.'
'With that said, you shall obtain the knowledge regarding the technologies and innovations that have been birthed in two ages that have long passed.'
Whoosh!
With the remaining silver strands making his way to his mind, Valyr maintained a calm expression as his mind was inundated with information yet again.
Ding!
[You have received an inordinate amount of information from a mysterious source.]
[All Basic-level and Intermediate-level advancements making up the High Middle Ages on the Technology Tree's Innovation branch has been unlocked and upgraded to their max levels.]
[All Basic-level and Intermediate-level advancements making up the Late Middle Ages on the Technology Tree's Innovation branch has been unlocked and upgraded to their max levels.]
"Guess that only leaves the Renaissance Age, then." The young man chuckled, closing his eyes for a bit to take a look at the information he now had access to thanks to the reward.
But of course, with the rewards stipulated by the quest not being given yet, the young man did not look at it for too long.
After all, from what he had gotten so far…
Valyr had a feeling that the rewards from here on out were about to get better.
'With that out of the way...'
'Let us continue onto your other rewards.'
