Chapter 29: Advancement!
[Learning in progress. Please do not interrupt... 1%... 12%... 34%... 66%...]
A flood of information poured into Hodell's mind.
At first it felt like swallowing a library whole. Strange formulas, circulation models, energy structures, branching pathways of source energy usage, all of it surged through his consciousness in a dense torrent. But as the process continued, the chaos began to settle. The noise faded. The knowledge aligned itself.
Then, all at once, everything clicked into place.
[Learning successful. You have mastered [Parallel Energy Circuit].]
[Advanced Cycle Branch unlocked.]
[Level 20 Advancement Mission completed.]
[Requirements for class advancement, [Esper Novice], have been met.]
[Please select one of the following reinforcement paths: Effect, Cycle, Function.]
Hodell exhaled slowly.
Every main class in Star Sea had its own professional knowledge tree. The Magic System had its spell knowledge tree. The Mechanic path had the mechanical knowledge tree. The Pugilist path had qi control techniques. Psychics had their mental cultivation tree.
The Esper System had the gene tree.
It was broad, flexible, and annoyingly greedy. It enhanced output, efficiency, range, control, development direction, and application logic all at once. It was powerful, but it also demanded decisions.
In simple terms, the three branches meant three different priorities.
Effect: how strong the ability was.
Cycle: how long it could be sustained.
Function: what exactly it could do.
Hodell did not hesitate for long.
His current problem was simple. He lacked enough raw power.
Endurance and recovery could come later. New tricks could be developed later too. Right now, if he wanted to survive what was coming next, he needed force.
He chose Effect.
[Class advancement successful.]
[You have obtained new class: [Adept Ability User Lv.1]]
[Energy +30, Agility +1, Endurance +1, Mystery +3]
[You have gained 3 Free Attribute Points and 1 Potential Point.]
[Your first Esper System advancement is complete.]
[Endurance coefficient increased: 1 Endurance = 15 HP, 1 Endurance = 18 Stamina.]
A new power ignited inside him.
It did not explode outward. It spread inward, quietly and thoroughly, like a hidden machine beginning to turn at full speed for the first time. Every strand of energy sleeping in his body awoke. Cells that had once merely stored power now seemed to resonate with it.
Hodell stood motionless in the room, but inside him, everything was changing.
His breathing deepened.
His pulse grew heavier.
His senses sharpened.
At the same time, the panel continued to scroll.
[Your Energy attribute has changed. Current attribute: Source.]
[You have obtained feat: [Source Flow Perception]]
[You have obtained feat: [Effect Reinforcement I]]
[You have comprehended skill: [Energy Refining Method]]
[You have comprehended skill: [Overload]]
[You have comprehended skill: [Energy Replication]]
A strange calm settled over him.
It felt as if some invisible shackle had finally snapped.
He lifted one hand and stared at it. The skin looked the same, but it no longer felt the same. He could sense the faint current of energy beneath it, the rhythm of blood and breath, even the drifting dust in the room. Everything seemed clearer, closer, more obedient.
Then his gaze shifted to the small black bottle Lamia had left behind earlier.
He narrowed his eyes.
Now that his perception had undergone a leap, he could see something he had completely missed before. A nearly undetectable layer of energy clung to the bottle's surface.
Hodell walked over and moved his fingers closer without touching it, carefully examining the energy pattern.
A moment later, his expression turned strange.
"…A calming effect?"
He stared at the bottle.
It wasn't poison. It wasn't a tracking mark. It wasn't some hidden explosive trigger either.
The energy attached to the bottle was meant to soothe the mind and induce sleep.
No wonder he had always grown drowsy so quickly after Lamia left.
Hodell frowned.
Why?
The answer did not come immediately, but one possibility surfaced faster than the others.
Maybe the organization was monitoring his mental condition because the drug itself had side effects. Maybe prolonged exposure damaged the spirit, and they wanted to keep him stable.
It was the most reasonable explanation for now.
He let the matter rest and turned his attention back to the panel.
The changes were substantial.
His Energy had become Source Energy.
His affinity with his own power had risen sharply.
And for the first time, he truly understood why the Superpower System was called the path of individual origin.
Source Energy was not borrowed from nature like mana.
It was not manufactured like mechanical force.
It came from the foundation of life itself.
Every Esper had a different ability because every Esper had a different origin. Their gene chains were different, their source energy different, and so the abilities awakened from that source were different as well.
Hodell opened his palm.
A translucent sphere of energy bloomed above it, threads of dim gold weaving through it like a living circuit. To anyone else, it would have looked like an ordinary cluster of power. To him, it felt like an extra organ.
Alive. Familiar. Perfectly responsive.
After advancing, Source Energy answered him the way an arm or a finger would answer a thought.
He could already feel the difference. Same input, stronger effect. Same ability, less waste. His control had become cleaner, tighter, more natural.
Then came the newly unlocked skills.
[Source Flow Perception] was a standard advancement feat for the Esper path, but incredibly useful. It granted Mystery +5 and sharply improved his sensitivity to the flow of source energy.
[Effect Reinforcement I] was even simpler and even better: Ability Power +5%.
[Overload] was a burst skill.
[Energy Replication] enhanced his learning speed toward energy based effects.
But what Hodell valued most was [Energy Refining Method].
This was the real core.
A growth skill.
No level, no traditional upgrade path, just training. Every session consumed experience and stamina, permanently increasing Energy up to a cap. For Espers, this was one of the fundamental pillars of growth. Source Energy determined combat endurance, overall energy rating, and in many cases the boundary between ranks.
He didn't waste time.
First, he raised [Scholar] to Lv.10.
It cost 25,000 experience, granting Intelligence +10 and 1 Potential Point.
Then the prompt appeared.
[Advancement detected. Do you wish to remove subclass [Slave]?]
"Yes."
He did not even blink.
That trash class had no value left. Keeping it would only leave a stain on his character sheet forever.
With that dealt with, he started spending in earnest.
He poured 270,000 experience into [Adept Ability User], leveling it four times in a row.
[Adept Ability User leveled up.]
[Energy +30, Agility +1, Endurance +1, Mystery +3, Free Attribute Points +3, Potential Point +1]
That message appeared four times.
Then he moved on to close combat.
He spent 60,000 experience maxing [Basic Combat] and [Grappling].
[Basic Combat Lv.10, max: Unarmed Attack Power +10%, Strength +2, Endurance +1]
[Potential Point +1]
[Grappling Lv.10, max: Parry Counterattack Rate +14%, Unarmed Attack Power +20%, Strength +4, Endurance +2]
[Potential Point +1]
The advanced skill selection followed.
[Choose one of the following advanced combat skills: Special Combat, Jiu Jitsu, Hard Fist]
Hodell chose [Special Combat].
He needed burst, lethality, and flexibility.
He pushed it to Lv.5 for another 45,000 experience.
That immediately triggered new gains.
[You have comprehended [Lethal Critical Hit]]
[You have obtained feat: [Combat Mastery]]
[Lethal Critical Hit Lv.1: Critical damage on vital attacks increased from 200% to 220%. Landing four vital hits within two seconds has a small chance to trigger a lethal strike.]
[Combat Mastery: Strength +5, Endurance +3, Melee Attack Power +6%, Parry Rate +4%]
Finally, he dumped 60,000 experience into [Overload], maxing it outright.
[Overload Lv.10, max: Ability Power +10% while active, Energy Consumption Rate +15%]
[Potential Point +1]
After that, he reserved 64,000 experience for future use with [Energy Refining Method].
When all the expenditure was finished, his once swollen reserve had collapsed into something far leaner.
He scanned the updated panel.
[Total Level: 25]
[Experience: 85,000]
[Subclass: [Scholar Lv.10]]
[Main Class: [Esper Novice Lv.10] / [Adept] [Ability User Lv.5]]
[Path: [Chaos Path]]
[Ability: [Energy Simulation] (1/2)]
[Attributes:]
[Strength 28]
[Agility 39]
[Endurance 39]
[Intelligence 121]
[Mystery 34]
[Charm 9]
[Luck 6]
[Free Attribute Points: 15]
Energy: 280 [Lv.4]
Lv.1: Strength +1, Agility +1, Endurance +1, Stamina +20, Ability Power +2%, Ability Consumption -2%
Lv.2: Strength +3, Agility +2, Endurance +3, Stamina +50, Ability Power +3%, Ability Consumption -3%
Lv.3: Strength +3, Agility +3, Endurance +5, Stamina +100, Ability Power +4%, Ability Consumption -4%
Lv.4: Strength +3, Agility +4, Endurance +5, Stamina +150, Ability Power +5%, Ability Consumption -5%
HP: 775 / 775
Stamina: 1010 / 1010
Energy Level: 520 to 528
Rank: E Grade Super
The panel even had the nerve to add another mocking remark.
[A walking supercomputer. Unfortunately, the peripheral hardware is still somewhat outdated.]
Hodell stared at it for two seconds.
Then he silently cursed the developers of Star Sea.
Still, once the irritation passed, another detail caught his attention.
Under his main class, [Energy Simulation] now displayed (1/2).
He narrowed his eyes.
"One out of two?"
So he could gain a second ability slot?
Then there was the naming issue.
Why was his path marked as [Chaos Path] instead of [Copy] or something equally obvious?
Hodell thought about it briefly, but not for long. There were more important matters waiting for him tonight.
He rose, changed into the dark cloak he had already prepared in advance, and moved toward the window.
Before leaving, he checked the room one more time.
The bottle.
The crystal.
The hidden samples.
Everything was in place.
He opened the window and slipped out.
His body dropped soundlessly into the night. Just before he reached the ground, a stream of source energy flowed beneath his feet and cushioned the descent. He landed without a whisper.
Good.
His control had indeed changed.
Hodell pulled the cloak close, melted into the shadow of the outer wall, and moved quickly toward the old canal.
.....
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