Talent Tree Unlocked

Black and white light intersected in the air, erupting into bright sparks.

"Ugh!"

Rhode retreated rapidly, his pure white blade trembling incessantly. A massive impact surged from the sword, sending a dull ache through his upper body.

Just as in Rhode's memories, level 15 Gargoyle were indeed difficult to deal with, especially two of them. The only advantage was that these creatures possessed a modicum of combat intelligence. While that would normally be a bad thing, the excess artificial intelligence now made their movements less threatening. In particular, the Gargoyle that had taken a direct hit from Shatter Blade earlier would scream and retreat the moment it saw white light radiating from Rhode's sword. The other one, despite having taken no damage, hesitated after seeing its companion's reaction, giving Rhode a chance to catch his breath.

But this was only temporary.

Clutching Star Trace and gazing at the two Gargoyle hovering in the sky, Rhode gritted his teeth. Although these two Gargoyle dared not press the attack due to their caution regarding his Shatter Blade, Rhode was certain they wouldn't let him off so easily. While the two sides could remain in a stalemate for now, this situation would not last long. By the time he reached level 8, Rhode had already raised his Moon Shadow Swordsmanship proficiency to 4/4. Although the soul power consumption of Shatter Blade had decreased slightly after leveling up, frequent use would still lead to problems. Furthermore, this was not the final battle; Rhode had to reserve some strength to deal with any emergencies that might arise. After all, he was the only one among the three with combat capability. If he exhausted all his power here, it would be very troublesome.

These two Gargoyle did not just stare at Rhode; instead, they swooped back and forth, extending their sharp claws to launch attacks, only to pull away the moment they sensed he intended to counter. This type of carousel combat was extremely demanding on stamina, but for two artificial alchemical constructs driven entirely by magic, it was no obstacle at all.

But for Rhode, it was a completely different story.

Beads of sweat slowly emerged on Rhode's forehead; his body had gradually grown weary from the repeated defenses. Yet, Rhode could not back down. He knew that with his current abilities, taking on two Gargoyle alone was basically impossible. Therefore, he had to pin his hopes on Lize. After all, there were no particularly dangerous threats in the church, but...

Did I forget to warn them to watch out for the protective magic circles?

After a moment's thought, Rhode shrugged and refocused his attention on the Gargoyle before him.

People won't die anyway.

"Ahhh!!"

Accompanied by a "miserable" shriek, Mace collapsed to the ground, his entire body twitching uncontrollably.

"I'm dying! Help! Help me!"

"It was just an electric shock! You are not dead, Mr. Mace."

Lize, who was rummaging through the miscellaneous items on a dilapidated table covered in dust and cobwebs—items so eroded by time they were unrecognizable—cast a healing spell on Mace without looking back to soothe his pain, then immediately returned to her search.

Although most mages would cast numerous protective spells in their rooms to guard their secrets, this church had long since fallen into disrepair. With so much time having passed, the power of the protective magic circles had weakened by seventy or eighty percent, posing no significant threat.

As a half-angel, Lize's magic resistance was not weak, so these weakened protective circles had little effect on her. The traps that would have erupted with fire and lightning upon triggering merely flickered with a faint magical glow under her touch before vanishing. It was the tragic Mr. Mace who helped these traps regain some of their confidence; as an ordinary person with no resistance, his reactions made these protective circles seem somewhat threatening after all.

"Th-this godforsaken place is truly detestable..."

Mace patted the dust off his body and slowly climbed up, muttering to himself while secretly observing his surroundings.

Inside the gloomy church, only the Holy Radiance cast by Lize hovered quietly beside her, illuminating this originally pitch-black world. Yet, these sights made Mace tremble with fear. Under the bright light, he could clearly see the dark, bizarre magic circles and ghastly white bones on the floor. These were enough to make Mace's legs go weak, not to mention the bloodstains on the walls, which had nearly sent the fat merchant running the moment he stepped inside. If not for Lize's calm demeanor making him feel embarrassed, and the consideration of the more realistic dangers outside the door, he would have fled long ago.

But now, he had to bite the bullet and stay, searching alongside Lize for the "control hub" that they didn't even know what looked like.

This place is so cluttered, how could anyone find that strange thing?

Patting the dust off his clothes, Mace muttered under his breath, but seeing Lize's serious expression, he didn't say anything more and continued to search with his head down.

At this moment, Rhode was not having an easy time either.

"---!"

The Gargoyle shrieked and dove down. Rhode turned his body slightly, dodging the attack by a hair's breadth. However, this time, the Gargoyle did not immediately leave after missing as it had before. Instead, it twisted its body, and its thick tail lashed out instantly!

Damn it!

Hearing the sound of wind coming from behind, Rhode's heart sank. He turned around in a hurry, simultaneously blocking with the longsword in his hand.

Rhode's reaction was fast, but the Gargoyle's attack was faster. Just as he turned, he felt a massive impact surge through the blade. The immense force not only bent the white sword in his hand but sent him flying. He rolled several times on the ground before coming to a stop.

"Ugh!"

Rhode climbed to his feet, feeling dizzy and nauseated. His blood was churning, and half of his body felt numb; he had nearly dropped his sword. He instinctively wanted to shake his head to regain his senses, but a faint sound from behind made him tense up immediately.

"Hiss..."

Accompanied by this barely audible sound, a cold aura emerged from behind Rhode. Without a second thought, Rhode instinctively rolled on the ground, barely dodging the attack. When he looked up, he found three Wraith slowly approaching him.

Although the Gargoyle's strike hadn't caused Rhode any real damage, it had knocked him from the church entrance to the edge of the barrier. Those Wraith, hindered by the barrier, could not approach the church, but they had not dispersed; instead, they lingered around the invisible screen, waiting for an opportunity by instinct.

And now, the opportunity had finally arrived.

Rhode certainly didn't intend to grant these Wraith their chance. Facing the enemies closing in, he gritted his teeth and abandoned the idea of conserving his strength. A burst of white light erupted from his longsword, shooting forward.

A pure white blade of light shot out from Rhode's sword. It spun and dispersed, striking one of the Wraith heavily, tearing through its defenses. Rhode did not hesitate; he lunged forward, his longsword tracing a perfect arc in the air as it pierced the core of the Wraith's body. Just as the unlucky Wraith shrieked and turned into dust, Rhode had already passed through its body and returned to the area protected by the barrier.

What should I do now?

Just as Rhode was pondering this question, a line of system prompts appeared before him, leaving him stunned.

[Experience Points 4000/1800, Level Up Available, Talent Tree Available, Level 8]

I've already reached level ten? But before entering the Mist Ruins, I was only level eight, right?

Rhode paused, only then recalling that after that, he had indeed caught a glimpse of a system prompt stating he had enough experience to level up, but he hadn't paid attention to it because of the Gargoyle's ambush. Now it seemed that the experience from the Wraith he had killed along the way was enough for him to level up again. This wasn't strange; after all, this was a five-man dungeon, and Rhode was gaining almost all the monster experience by himself. Plus, his level was low, and there were bonus rewards for killing monsters above his level, so reaching level ten was quite normal---the only strange thing was perhaps the fact that experience points existed at all while living in a real world.

But now was not the time to worry about such trivial matters. Rhode quickly opened his attributes and made his choice; he knew this might be his only chance to gain an advantage.

[Experience Points 4000/1800, Level Up Available, Talent Tree Available, Level 8]

[Experience Points 2200/2000, Level Up Available, Talent Tree Available, Skill Points Gained 1, Level 9]

[Experience Points 200/2500, Talent Tree Available, Skill Points Gained 2, Level 10]

[Enable Talent System?]

"Enable!"

Without a moment's hesitation, Rhode responded instantly. In less than a second, three distinct talent trees appeared before his eyes.

On the Dragon Soul Continent, every class gains access to three talent paths upon reaching level ten. Players can choose one as their primary focus or select auxiliary attributes and skills from the other trees. These talent attributes are acquired using skill points, which often leaves players feeling lost at the start. Since characters only earn one skill point per level, and considering that improving proficiency in skills like swordsmanship or magic also requires a significant number of points, the initial pool of available skill points is extremely limited. Fortunately, once players enter the mid-level realms, they can obtain additional skill points to upgrade their abilities by using an Awakening Scroll or completing high-difficulty quests.

Rhode's Summon Swordsman class also possessed three distinct talent paths: Summon Master, Soul Envoy, and Hell Lord.

Summon Master increases the number of spirits the holder can summon as they level up. Soul Envoy focuses on strengthening the power of summoned spirits. As for the unique power held by Hell Lord, it grants the holder a certain chance to convert non-human creatures into their own summoned spirits after killing them, though these converted spirits are restricted to the undead attribute.

It could be said that each of the three talents has its own pros and cons. Summon Master wins through sheer numbers, while Soul Envoy emphasizes quality. However, considering the rarity of magical beasts and the exorbitant price of a Soul Core, Hell Lord is also an excellent choice.

If it were anyone else, they would likely be paralyzed by indecision, unable to bear giving up any of the options. But for Rhode, this was not a problem at all. After all, he had been operating the Summon Swordsman class for seven full years, and the insights and techniques he had developed were already regarded as textbook classics by a vast number of players. In the game, nearly two-thirds of players who chose the Summon Swordsman class built their characters based on Rhode's strategies. Therefore, the dilemma that many newcomers found impossible to resolve had already been answered the moment Rhode laid eyes on the talent trees.