Spring Passed

Garen walked over with excitement in his heart.

"Primary Enhancement Stone, come on, give me one."

He shouted frantically in his mind.

Ding! Congratulations! You have obtained one "Mysteries Entry Card."

"What the hell, an entry card for the Mysteries? Could it really be what I think it is? That'd be incredible."

Garen instantly forgot all about the Primary Enhancement Stone.

He put the card away, and its description appeared in his mind.

Mysteries Entry Card: Allows you to choose any one Law and Mysteries to begin learning (provided you have the talent for it).

"Oh my god! It really is what I thought. This can drop from a Saint Realm magical beast? That's ridiculously overpowered. Isn't this basically like extracting a fragment of a soul? That's something only a Paragon can do, and I can get it just by killing a Saint Realm magical beast? This has to be a joke."

Garen knew that once he began learning a Law and Mystery, he could fully comprehend it just by grinding monsters. There would be no bottleneck, and advancing to High-level God would be a breeze.

"Could it be that following the protagonist has boosted my luck too? Feels like my cheat has gotten an upgrade."

Just then, Linley walked over from a distance.

Garen quickly composed himself, hiding his shock and putting on a nonchalant expression.

He had dug out the Trident Dragon's Magic Crystal Core, cleaned it with a gust of wind magic, and was now casually turning it over in his hand.

If Linley saw how shocked he was, he would lose all his cool in an instant.

"So, what do you think? Not bad for a casual strike, right?"

Linley had been about to compliment Garen when he came up beside him. Now, he was speechless.

Damn, do you have no shame? You spent nearly half an hour chanting the spell beforehand, and you still call that a casual strike?

Even Linley, who was usually level-headed, couldn't help cursing aloud.

"Uh, what are you talking about? That's an exaggeration."

Garen didn't use the Mysteries Entry Card right away. There was no need yet. He would have plenty of chances to begin learning Law and Mysteries in the future. He could wait until he hit a wall with one and still couldn't grasp the basics before using the card.

Even geniuses could spend thousands, or even tens of thousands, of years stuck before they began learning a Law and Mystery.

After reaching the core of the Magical Beast Mountain Range, the two didn't continue east. Instead, they headed north.

At that moment, in a luxurious courtyard in Fenlai City, formerly part of the Fenlai Kingdom, an eerie-looking young man gazed toward the Magical Beast Mountain Range and furrowed his brow.

"Oh? There are still humans in the Magical Beast Mountain Range who dare to kill Saint Realm magical beasts. Looks like my, Dylan's, reputation isn't enough to keep them in line."

The young man's voice was soft, but his words brimmed with murderous intent.

Dylan, who was about to fly toward the Magical Beast Mountain Range, swept the area with his divine sense and suddenly noticed a young man nearby holding a sharp soft sword.

"Hm? Isn't that the sword Lord Beirut mentioned before, the one that sealed Mist Valley? Was he the one who released me from the Gabad Plane Prison?"

Dylan carefully examined the area with his divine sense again, and his expression changed.

"That black mouse? Could that be...? Never mind. As long as those two boys don't go too far, I'll let it slide as a favor to Lord Beirut."

Garen, a thousand miles away, had no idea that, with just one thought, he had nearly been hunted down by a God Realm powerhouse.

As they continued on their way, Garen didn't deliberately seek out magical beasts above Level Nine. Instead, he let things take their course, feeling the wind and comprehending its Laws. Sometimes, he even enjoyed watching Linley's "live stream" of stone carving. Relaxed cultivation like this had unexpectedly sped up his comprehension of the Laws and Mysteries.

There were fewer magical beasts than usual in the Magical Beast Mountain Range at the moment. Large numbers of them were still away at the front lines.

The Holy Union and the Dark Alliance had a combined population of more than a billion. Dylan needed an enormous number of magical beasts to conquer half their territory.

More than a year passed in a flash.

During that time, Garen didn't encounter another Saint Realm magical beast, though he casually killed more than a dozen Level Nine ones. At last, the Primary Enhancement Stone he'd been longing for dropped.

He successfully upgraded the Tiger God Armor to Low-level Divine Artifact rank. He used the Socketing Stone he'd obtained earlier to add another socket to the Tiger God Armor, then embedded a Level 2 Moon Stone, greatly boosting its defense. He also got a Primary Experience Card and a Level 1 Critical Hit Gem.

This made him even more certain that luck was a real thing. Under normal circumstances, he got one item for every twenty-odd monsters he killed. But his luck really had improved while he was with Linley: he'd gotten three items from just over a dozen monsters. The drop rate had clearly gone up.

Over the past year, Garen's comprehension of the Wind Element Laws had advanced by leaps and bounds, while his Profundity of Explosion had barely progressed.

Linley had also made considerable progress over the past year. His Warrior Level had reached the late seventh level, and his Magic Level had reached the middle of the eighth. He had comprehended Weightless Strength and was now trying to comprehend Momentum.

Earlier, he had also accidentally stirred the baleful aura within the Violetblood Soft Sword and killed dozens of magical beasts in one go, discovering a new use for the sword.

Garen

Warrior Level: Level 9 (696,582/1,000,000 experience)

Wind-style

Laws and Mysteries: "Wind Element" (3,390,000/20,000,000 experience)

Fire-style

Laws and Mysteries: "Profundity of Explosion" (1,280,000/5,000,000)

Transformation Level: Saint Realm

Magic Level: Level 9 (620,000/1,000,000 experience)

God-Slaying Blade: Low-level Divine Artifact (all other attributes unchanged)

Tiger God Armor: Low-level Divine Artifact (upgradeable), Gemstone Forging unlocked (four sockets)

Level 2 Black Gem: Increases the character's speed by 10%.

Level 2 Blessing Stone: Reduces the magic power, battle qi, and spiritual power consumed when using magic, battle qi, and Laws and Mysteries by 20%.

Level 2 Nature Stone: Increases the speed of meditation, magic power refinement, and comprehension of the Mysteries by 20%.

Level 2 Moon Stone: Increases the character's physical and soul defense by 20%.

Garen had made the most progress in comprehending the Wind Element Laws, gaining two million experience over the past year. A single Level Nine magical beast only gave him around 1,200 experience. He would have needed to kill more than 1,600 to gain that much. Where could he find so many Level Nine magical beasts?

Garen had already suspected that after reaching the Saint Realm, his main way of leveling up would be through comprehending the Laws. At least for now, that was the case. Once he hit a bottleneck in comprehending the Laws and Mysteries, he could go back to killing magical beasts to level up. Otherwise, he would run out of magical beasts to kill on the Yulan Continent.

For now, he could only strengthen himself as quickly as possible. The Graveyard of the Gods would be where he truly took off.

His comprehension of the Laws and Mysteries was still limited.

But the Tiger-Striped Warrior had powerful base attributes, and he had divine weapons, Divine Artifact armor, and the boost of Soul Mutation.

His speed definitely ranked among the best in the Saint Realm. At most, only a few at the Saint Realm peak could outrun him.

His attack power was a little lacking, and he had to rely on his Divine Artifacts to make up for it. The Fire-style Profundity of Explosion packed a powerful punch, but he had only just begun learning it. His comprehension of the Wind Element Mysteries was deeper, but they weren't among the more powerful offensive Mysteries.

As for defense, the Tiger God Armor protected him from ordinary attacks, while his Soul Mutation gave him powerful soul defense—practically unbeatable at the Saint Realm level.

At this point, few below the Saint Realm peak could stand against his overall strength.

One day, as the two were walking, they suddenly spotted two humans in leather armor, weapons in hand. They looked panicked.

Garen sensed that they were only seventh-level warriors and paid them no mind. They had encountered adventurers in the Magical Beast Mountain Range before, but had never had much to do with any of them.

So the two continued on their way.

Thanks to Being Carried by the Wind for the monthly ticket, and thanks to everyone who voted for the novel!