Rogue Advancement

The marilith's corpse was actually quite valuable. Its snakeskin could be skinned and made into Tier 1 enchanted leather armor, its heart was beloved by many spellcasters, and even its blood could be used as alchemy material. But there was one troublesome issue: demon-related goods were very difficult to sell, at least in the southern cities.

By comparison, weapons were easier to move. Besides, Soren could not carry that much stuff away.

Once news of the marilith got out, it would very likely draw an investigation from the Church.

Summoning a demon to the Material Plane was something that could get one judged!

"Raise Rogue class level."

Soren simply treated his wounds, then raised his Rogue class level again. He had no Healing Potion on him and could only rely on leveling up to recover from his injuries.

At the very least, the increase in Hit Points could reduce his injuries to the 'Light Wound Condition.'

A row of information appeared:

"Rogue class raised to Level 5."

"Gained 24 * 0.5 Skill Points, Hit Points increased by 11 * 0.5."

"Comprehended a Combat Skill!"

"Rogue class level advanced to Tier 2!... Gained the potential for one Bloodline Purification Ritual!..."

"Additionally gained one Class Feat!"

Soren gave it a glance, then ignored everything else.

The difference between Tier 1 and Tier 2 professionals was quite apparent. The former were merely gang members making small trouble within the city, while the latter had the qualifications to leave the city and adventure. Tier 2 professionals could gain one additional Feat Point, but it could only be used to select from Class Feats. Since Soren's class was Rogue, he could gain an additional Rogue Class Feat, but not Class Feats from other professions or Personal Feats.

All the Skill Points were assigned to traps. This treasure cave had not yet been fully explored, and Soren needed to strengthen his trap-detection ability.

Tier 2 Rogues had three Class Feats to choose from:

They were:

"Blind Fight: After lurking in shadows for a long time, the Rogue has gradually become accustomed to fighting in darkness. His combat style is no longer limited by sight; hearing, intuition, scent, and so on have also become factors in his judgment. Even in complete darkness, the Rogue can still retain considerable combat ability."

"Military Weapon: After prolonged training, the professional can use all Military Weapons, including but not limited to longswords, greatswords, scimitars, heavy crossbows, two-handed greatswords, spears, flails, and so forth. When fighting with any Military Weapon, the professional can wield it proficiently, knowing how to use it to inflict greater damage and strike enemies more easily."

"Dodge: Through prolonged battle, the Rogue has learned how to make use of his nimble body. He can perform many movements that ordinary people find difficult, allowing him to evade attacks."

Without question, he chose the Military Weapon Feat, the first Feat he had ever acquired.

It was a very important Class Feat. Most melee professionals had to master it, because it meant they could proficiently use the vast majority of weapons and deal with unexpected situations encountered during adventures.

It was also a prerequisite for learning many basic Combat Skills. For example, the Combat Skills gained after mastering Basic Swordsmanship required Military Weapon as a prerequisite.

This was a Warrior's core Feat. Normally, one could acquire it after advancing, but Soren did not have time for prolonged training and could only obtain it through a Feat Point.

Under normal training conditions, acquiring this Feat required one or two years to become fully familiar with all Military Weapons. With that much time, he could accomplish far too many other things.

As for the final potential for Bloodline Purification, that was something only the wealthy could afford.

Put simply, it purified one's bloodline potential, recalculated Hit Points based on one's current Constitution, and cleansed the impurities within one's body.

For example, Soren currently had 52 Hit Points. If he performed a Bloodline Purification Ritual, his Hit Points would become—

5 * 5 + 19 Constitution + 10 base Hit Points = 84 Hit Points.

That was equivalent to gaining the Hit Points of three additional class levels!

It was an incredibly powerful bloodline enhancement.

But it was also extremely expensive. An advancement ritual required more than 1,000 Gold Dalers.

Such a ritual could be performed once with every advancement.

The greatest benefit probably came after entering a Legendary Class, because one could obtain special Racial Feats after performing the Bloodline Purification Ritual.

This was the key that allowed many melee professionals to face adult Dragons head-on in single combat!

Bloodline Purification Rituals.

Soren was not going to think about them for now, because it made no difference when the ritual was performed. It merely raised Hit Points once again according to Constitution and class level. Such rituals required many rare materials, as well as the necessary basic skills, making their requirements difficult to fulfill early on.

He remembered that a Sorcerer teammate had once wanted to advance into a Dragonblooded Sorcerer, and it had drained every member of Soren's party of their private savings.

The conservative estimate was 1,000 Gold Dalers.

That money was enough for Soren to fully equip himself and increase his combat power by more than double!

At this moment.

After becoming a Tier 2 Rogue, Soren's attributes became:

"Name: Soren.

Race: Half-Elf.

Attributes: Strength 12, Dexterity 20, Constitution 19, Intelligence 18, Wisdom 15, Charisma 16.

Alignment: Lawful Evil.

Class: Level 10 Commoner / Level 5 Rogue.

Hit Points: 52/52.

Experience: 950.0.

Skill Points: None.

Attribute Points: None.

Status: Normal.

Class Skills—Stealth 102, Theft 35, Lockpicking 45, Traps 54.

Legendary Skill—Master Sleight of Hand.

Personal Feats—Dexterous Left Hand, Eidetic Memory, Force of Will.

Class Feats—Shadow Mastery, Military Weapon.

Combat Skill—Shadow Assassination.

..."

Starting from Tier 2, the experience required to increase one's strength rose sharply.

However, he had also mastered a powerful Combat Skill, the ability Soren had been looking forward to all along.

"Shadow Assassination: An advanced Rogue has gradually come into contact with the power of the Shadow Domain. When attacking an enemy, he can use his mastery of shadow power to unleash a spell-like attack. Shadow Assassination can be activated together with a Backstab assassination, dealing an additional 5 points of Shadow Damage to the target that ignores physical defense.

This ability gains 1 point of damage and one additional use for every Rogue class level."

.)

This was an extremely powerful ability.

With Soren's current Rogue class level, he could use Shadow Assassination five times per day. As long as the opponent had no shadow resistance, it would directly inflict 5 points of Shadow Damage that ignored defense.

Against the relatively low Hit Points of early-stage low-tier professionals, this was a potentially fatal threat!

Tier 2 was a dividing line.

Wizards began mastering third-circle Arcane Magic, finally escaping their period of weak combat power. Warriors began mastering Qi Slash, preparing for future advancement into Knights, Swordmasters, Weapon Masters, and the like. Monks likewise began to grasp Qi, laying the foundation for advancing into either Ascetics or Grand Masters of Fist.

Basically, every professional experienced a major increase in power after reaching Tier 2!

Rogues likewise began moving toward specialization from this point onward. Whether it was a Master Thief with godlike Theft abilities, a Stalker with astonishing Stealth bonuses, or an Assassin skilled in assassination techniques.

All of them had to decide their future now.

However, Soren had no plans to advance for the time being. Setting aside the harsh conditions required for special class advancement, the 5,000 Slaughter Experience needed to advance into a special class alone was enough to make him hesitate. Native inhabitants of this world needed long periods of training to advance into special classes. Although Soren had skipped that step, he had to make up for it with Slaughter Experience.

Advancement was not necessarily a good thing.

Master Thieves had weak combat power, Stalkers lacked burst damage, and while Assassins had powerful killing potential, their overall capabilities were lacking.

When it came to survival, ordinary Rogues were still the strongest!

At the very least, before one possessed more than ten Personal Feats, no advanced class was as useful as a basic class.

Of course.

If one mastered dozens of Feats, including but not limited to Personal Feats, Class Feats, Racial Feats, and so on, then any advanced class would be powerful. For example, unarmed combat, One-Inch Punch, Blind Fight, Super Sixth Sense, Intuitive Evasion, conditioned reflexes, and so forth. If one wished, one could even run naked with closed eyes and still take down an army alone.

Class level was, after all, only one part of strength.

A fight to the death depended on overall strength. What mattered was not merely class level, but also the power granted by attributes, the abilities brought by Feats, and the shortest plank in the barrel.

That was the key to determining whether one could stand tall all the way into the Legendary Domain!