238. Shadow Warrior

"The Dougwell Family... should have a way, right?"

"Or... was that the ' Speaker's' scheme?"

Sulu finished breakfast with a jumble of thoughts and returned to her bedroom.

This time, he's preparing to advance to [Shadow Warrior]!

Because of the [Thaumaturge] class, the job level has already reached 3, and the experience has been significantly reduced, so there's no need to worry about other issues.

However, to make contact with those lunatics from the Ancient Serpent Society, I still need to increase my strength.

He glanced at one of the attributes in the Attribute Panel:

Strength: [2.4], Agility: [3.7], Constitution: [3.3], Spirit: [10.0]

"The Flesh Ritual I just underwent greatly increased my attributes... I can easily boost them with potions..."

Without further hesitation, Sulu uncorked the bottle and drank a bottle of the Cat's Grace Potion, which had a cool taste similar to mint water.

A burning sensation came over me and spread throughout my body.

His expression remained unchanged as he monitored his Attribute Panel, noticing that his constitution was gradually decreasing while his agility was slowly increasing.

A dozen minutes later, Sulu pursed her lips.

"Not enough! Not enough!"

He picked up the second bottle of potion and swallowed it.

Glug glug!

As the potion entered his throat, the burning sensation returned.

Sulu's forehead was dripping with sweat, and his physical condition was deteriorating rapidly.

Finally, all the data stopped changing and remained at 'Agility: [4.0], Constitution: [3.0]'.

"Call..."

He let out a long breath, Inspiration struck, and he began to address the mental residue caused by ingesting the potion.

"I remember last time, using the ' Cat's Grace ' potion increased Agility by 0.2 while only decreasing Constitution by 0.1! But this time, it's like trading 0.3 Constitution for 0.3 Agility, barely breaking even... If there's a next time, it'll probably be a matter of deducting more Constitution and increasing even less Agility?"

"In other words... I've developed a resistance to the Cat's Grace Potion? Taking it any longer would be counterproductive..."

Sulu stood up, adjusted to the changes in his body, instructed Mary to boil water, and then took a refreshing bath.

As he lay leisurely in the bathtub, enveloped in warmth, he inexplicably had a gut feeling that now was the perfect time for a promotion!

"Hmm... Judging from the information on [Shadow Warrior] obtained from the White Tower Inner Circle Green Tree Castle, a normal [Rogue] needs to undergo arduous training to advance. Improving their physical attributes is only the least important thing. They also need to learn a large number of secret techniques, and even... complete various dangerous assassinations, seeking opportunities for breakthroughs amidst tension and the brink of life and death!"

"But I'm different. I can break through while taking a shower. If my survival skills improve, I might even be able to go to the banquet tonight... of course, from the outside!"

Sulu's expression turned serene. "Promotion... [Shadow Warrior]!"

[Consuming 1000 experience points, becoming Shadow Warrior... Required Tier 2 prerequisite class detected: Rogue, Agility 4.0, Constitution 3.0!... Conditions met! Initiating advancement!]

On the Attribute Panel, the light screen shifted rapidly.

Having learned from his previous experience, Sulu was completely relaxed, awaiting the arrival of a wealth of information and advancements.

"Woo!"

He groaned, his limbs beginning to twitch uncontrollably. "No... the advancement on the physical side is different from that of a [Thaumaturge]!"

Sulu felt a multitude of movement techniques and figures flashing through his mind.

They seemed to be one person, yet also hundreds, vanishing into countless afterimages.

Eventually, these afterimages slowly merged and became one person.

He saw the face of the Shadow Man —it was himself!

[Ding! Job offer successful!]

[Joined as Shadow Warrior! Agility +2, Constitution +1! Gained skill: Shadow Clone!]

"The Shadow Warrior... is better able to hide in the shadows, and all abilities are amplified and enhanced in the darkness. They are Assassin of the shadows, adept at deceiving enemies, and possess considerable survivability."

Sulu closed his eyes and summarized the information he had gathered.

Immediately, he looked at the bathwater and found that the water in the bathtub had turned black and smelled foul. He was embarrassed and got up to wash himself clean and put on a loose bathrobe.

Back in his bedroom, Sulu put on gloves, and a black dagger suddenly appeared in his palm.

His fingers deftly twirled, allowing the dagger to flow between them, transforming into a streak of black Flowing Light.

"Agility has reached 6.0, which is a revolutionary change... not just in speed, but also in finger flexibility and even the speed of release..."

Puff! Puff! Puff!

Sulu suddenly made a move; the dagger sliced through the air with a soft sound.

"I can attack multiple times in a second... Now, with my [Shadow Warrior] abilities alone, I can take care of most low-level professionals. If I launch a sneak attack, spellcasters of the same or even higher rank will be in serious trouble once I get close... No wonder I'm an expert-level Assassin -like professional!"

He focused his attention on [Shadow Clone LV1] and pondered for a moment.

Suddenly, a figure named ' Sulu ' appeared in the room, dressed in a bathrobe and standing upright, with expressions and mannerisms exactly like his.

"They can even simulate aura? What a pity!"

Sulu shook his head and extended his right hand.

His palm passed through the stomach of the "himself" opposite him without any hindrance.

"[Shadow Warrior]'s Shadow Clone? So the focus is still on 'shadows'? Does that mean creating illusory, fake clones?"

In actual combat, having an extra version of yourself, even without any offensive power, would definitely be very useful.

"However... if this skill is improved, could it create a true clone?"

Sulu's eyes lit up.

He acted on his thought! Glancing at his experience points, he instantly caused them to plummet.

[Consumed 200 experience points... Shadow Clone level increased to LV2!]

[400 experience points consumed... Shadow Clone level increased to LV3!]

[800 experience points consumed... Shadow Clone level increased to LV4!]

[Shadow Clone level upgraded to LV4, gaining exclusive bonus -- Clone Enhancement!]

[Clone Enhancement - Shadow Clone' ability to withstand attacks is increased, their strength is enhanced, and their control range is extended!]

"Behold my... Shadow Clone Technique!"

Feeling playful, Sulu tried it again, summoning an exact replica of himself indoors.

"Hello... Mr. Sean!"

The person opposite him, ' Sulu, ' smiled and bowed with his hand on his chest, showing no sign of anything amiss.

He stepped forward and pressed on the shoulder of the person opposite him, finding it to be very firm with elastic muscles.

"Hmm? It's become a physical entity? And it seems to possess some combat power, having copied about 20%-40% of my physical strength. Currently, it's essentially a very strong [Soldier]? A [Soldier] with various stealth abilities? Its range control... is roughly 1 to 2 kilometers; exceeding this limit will cause the clone to immediately disappear. And, currently, only one can be maintained."

"This is the upgraded Shadow Clone?"

Sulu's eyes lit up. "If we continue to improve, will we be able to have a true 'clone' in the future, like having an extra life?"

If he had such a clone, he could continue his carefree lifestyle.