Transcendent Awakening

Two days passed.

The killing in Cross Alley had already settled. Soren had originally thought it would at least draw the attention of Amber City's guards, and he had even prepared an escape route. But he had not expected them to have no intention whatsoever of caring whether the Slums lived or died. It was only after Soren had spent two days wandering the Dock District and raised his thief Professional Level to Level 3 that he learned a little more and understood why Amber City's guard force had completely ignored the escalating gang conflict in the Slums.

The reason was simple!

Something even more serious had happened in Amber City.

Although the guard force had done its utmost to suppress news of the incident, bits and pieces still gradually leaked out.

—"Someone had been skinned!"

This rumor had been quietly circulating through the gray areas of the Dock District. The victim was a pitiful night watchman. When the guards found him, all that remained was a bloody corpse. This was no ordinary skinning, because the human skin that had been removed was practically flawless, without the slightest damage, and had been placed in the most conspicuous corner, as though mocking the guards' incompetence!

There were only two kinds of people in this world capable of such superb skinning techniques.

One was a Fallen Believer of a Hell God; the other was a follower of an Abyss Demon.

Everyone who learned the news felt a trace of panic. The nobles in particular were desperately pressuring the guard force, because the night watchman had been skinned while announcing the hour in the Noble District.

A follower of an evil god or a demon had infiltrated Amber City and was active near the Noble District!

The guard force was now in complete chaos.

They were desperately searching for even the slightest clue. How could they have the energy to care about whether the Slums lived or died?

After this news spread.

Many forces both inside and outside the city became much more restrained. In particular, those who operated in the gray areas of the Dock District had clearly begun limiting how often they acted. Since a skinning incident had occurred, there was no way matters would end like this. Based on the gray area's understanding of the dark world, those lunatics could not possibly stop so easily.

The bloody incidents would likely escalate further!

When Soren heard the news, his heart gave a grim jolt, and he immediately realized something.

This was a sign that the Age of Chaos was about to arrive!

Before the Twilight War of the Gods erupted, the first to act had been the Hell Demons. Their followers set off wave after wave of bloody slaughter, with skinning incidents being among the most common. This was an evil and ancient ritual, representing that a new soul had fallen into the Chaotic Evil camp. It also meant that some Evil Sacrifice Ritual affecting the entire Southern Duchy had already begun.

"Has the Serial Skinning Incident already begun?"

Soren stood in a corner of the Dock District, his expression unusually grave as he muttered, "Amber City!"

"This should be within the Southern Duchy."

"Though it feels unfamiliar, I seem to have heard this name before. Something major must have happened in Amber City before the turmoil began!"

"Otherwise, out of so many cities, I wouldn't have retained such a clear impression of it."

"What exactly happened?"

Soren frowned and tried his best to recall, but unfortunately, he still had too few clues. Too many major events had happened in rapid succession back then.

Even an Ancient Red Dragon had appeared!

Many people had seemed to go mad, all planning to hunt a dragon. Who would pay attention to what had happened in some city in the Southern Duchy?

At the time, Soren had also been busy in the Northern Plains, wholly focused on finding a way to hunt that Hill Giant.

Dragon hunting?

He had not been that naïve.

Still, with only a Level 5 thief Professional Level and no grasp of multiclassing, class changes, or advancement, planning to hunt a Hill Giant alone had already been a somewhat mad and extremely risky move. A Hill Giant had a Challenge Level of 10, meaning that even a team of adventurers above Professional Level 10 had only a fifty percent chance of defeating one.

"The skinning incidents have begun."

Soren looked at the goods constantly passing through the Dock District, as though he could already foresee the coming unrest. He muttered, "It looks like I should make a trip to the Hidden Treasure Cave."

Power.

That was the most important thing in an age of turmoil.

Because only power could ensure his survival, and only power could protect everything he cherished!

The gods were about to descend.

The age of Saints had already begun!

Mortals had no right to interfere with the course of history, nor could anyone stop the arrival of this catastrophe. What tens of millions of players had failed to accomplish back then, Soren did not believe he could accomplish alone. The only thing he could do was accumulate more strength before the age of turmoil truly arrived, enough at least to protect himself when danger came!

Two days passed.

That had been enough for Soren to determine the Hidden Treasure Cave's general location!

Nearly every city had such a hidden Treasure Cave. It was said to be the work of some powerful lich from long ago, who had seemingly been plotting some conspiracy but died before completing it. Many people had explored these Treasure Caves in the past and found all sorts of miscellaneous items inside, including components for creating a Lich Body. But what truly attracted Soren was the Supernatural Equipment within. Supernatural Equipment was exceedingly rare in this world, and obtaining it was far more difficult than anyone imagined!

The Treasure Cave was the only place in the early stages where one could obtain Supernatural Equipment and have a certain chance of acquiring a Legendary Item.

Since it had been arranged by a lich, the clues would inevitably be related to the undead.

One only needed to ask around the city about Haunted places, then eliminate the obvious candidates, to find the Hidden Treasure Cave.

In his previous life, such Treasure Caves had been thoroughly explored by others long ago. Now, no one should be competing with Soren for one. However, since he could not find anyone trustworthy to accompany him, he could only venture inside alone. He could only hope that the challenge level within would not exceed Level 5. After all, some Treasure Caves had once had challenge levels as high as Level 8 or above.

Back then, six adventurer teams had been wiped out, and only the last team had barely succeeded, obtaining a Lich's Phylactery.

Unfortunately, it had already been damaged!

After keeping busy in the Dock District for two or three days, Soren's Professional Level had risen to Level 3, and his attributes had improved as well.

Name: Soren.

Race: Half-Elf.

Attributes: Strength 12, Agility 20 (+1), Constitution 15, Intelligence 18 (+1), Wisdom 15, Charisma 16.

Alignment: Lawful Evil.

Profession: Level 10 Commoner (max level) / Level 3 Thief (125/750), Tier 1.

Health: 30/30.

Experience: 360 (Slaughter Experience), 120 Professional Experience unassigned.

Skill Points: None.

Attribute Points: None.

Status: Normal.

Professional Skills—Stealth 78, Theft 35, Lockpicking 45, Traps 30.

Legendary Skill—Versatile Hands sealed (weakened state).

Personal Specializations—Dexterous Left Hand, Eidetic Memory.

Professional Specialization—Shadow Mastery.

After reaching Level 3, the Professional Experience gained by thieves from picking locks would decrease significantly.

Only sophisticated and complex locks could grant Professional Experience, while even the simplest alarm traps could no longer improve a thief's skills. Locks that had initially yielded dozens of points of Professional Experience now granted at most a few points. Thus, Soren had no need to waste time on them. After all, once thieves reached Level 5, it became nearly impossible for them to gain Professional Experience from picking locks.

Every adventurer profession received a noticeable improvement upon reaching Level 3!

For example, wizards could comprehend a Casting Feat upon reaching Level 3 and learn to master Tier 2 Arcane Magic. Paladins could master the Smite Evil specialization at Level 3, druids could gain the Animal Senses specialization, and so on. Among them, fighters received the greatest improvement. They could gain the Toughness Awakening Professional Specialization, permanently increasing their Health by 10 points and granting 5% Physical Damage Immunity.

This was a prerequisite for legendary fighters to comprehend Absolute Toughness and Unyielding Fortitude in the future!

Compared to other Professionals.

The first Professional Specialization thieves gained was rather ordinary: the most basic Shadow Mastery.

In this special world, a person's strength consisted of many aspects. Some abilities came with their profession, while others were cultivated and comprehended personally. Specializations were a good example. Personal Specializations were exclusive abilities one mastered through training and insight, while Professional Specializations were abilities and techniques possessed by the vast majority of Professionals in the same profession.

Take thieves, for example.

Nearly all thieves above Level 3 possessed the Shadow Mastery Professional Specialization, unless their natural attributes were too poor for them to comprehend even the most basic Shadow Mastery. Thus, other thieves generally possessed Shadow Mastery as a Professional Specialization, but they might not have the Personal Specializations Dexterous Left Hand and Eidetic Memory.

"Shadow Mastery Professional Specialization: Through long-term training and conflict, thieves gradually sense the power of shadows. This power has slowly seeped into their bloodlines, allowing them to hide themselves more effectively in shadows. A thief's Stealth skill increases by 5 points while moving through shadows. When attacking after leaving the shadows, they may deal an additional 1 point of shadow damage."

After advancing to Level 5, one could become a Tier 2 adventurer.

At that point, thieves could master a combat skill—Shadow Strike! The current Shadow Mastery was a prerequisite for learning Shadow Strike!

At this stage, many professions would undergo a noticeable improvement, though Soren preferred to call it a "Transcendent Awakening."

Because other Professional Specializations were much the same.

"Toughness Awakening Professional Specialization: Through long-term training and battle, the power in a fighter's bloodline gradually surpasses the limits of ordinary people. Ordinary injuries can no longer easily pose a fatal threat to him! The fighter permanently gains 10 Health and 5% Physical Damage Immunity, while gaining an additional +2 advantage on abnormal status checks!"

Then there was the paladin's Professional Specialization.

"Smite Evil Professional Specialization: A paladin's steadfast faith has withstood countless trials. Whenever he encounters an evil target, he can always identify it easily, preventing him from being deceived and used by evil targets. When a paladin fights an enemy of an evil alignment, he may pray for a trace of Order Divine Power to bless him. This power has seeped into their bloodlines, so every time they strike an evil enemy, they deal an additional 1 point of Holy Damage."

This was the prerequisite specialization for Cleave Evil, and also the reason there were still so many paladins alive in the world.

Their instincts toward evil were extremely sharp!

Otherwise, those stubborn fools would have long been played to death.

The differences between Professional Specializations were not great. Most involved awakening a certain Transcendent ability as one's Professional Level increased. Such specializations would gradually strengthen with higher levels, and many Professional Specializations were crucial to mastering top-tier abilities in the legendary realm. For example, if a thief wanted to comprehend the Shadow Step combat skill, they had to first master at least the Master of Shadows Professional Specialization.