Novel Boss
Chapter 45: Surge in Strength, Beyond Mortal Bounds
In the hospital room, under Jeremy's comforting embrace, Emma quickly calmed down.
From her, Jeremy learned about the events that had transpired afterward.
It was then he realized that it was Benjamin and Howard who had saved him.
Benjamin hardly needed an introduction. As the mayor of Moonlight City, Jeremy naturally knew him. As for Howard, Jeremy had some recollection as well.
The guy's level had soared swiftly at the beginning, trailing just behind Jeremy.
However, Howard had later fallen off the leaderboard.
Jeremy hadn't expected him to be a federal major general, commanding tens of thousands of soldiers.
In the post-apocalyptic world, Howard's military strength was more than enough to declare himself king.
Jeremy could guess the motives behind their rescue.
In a world where power reigned supreme, the potential he had shown was enough to attract attention.
If Jeremy were in their shoes, he likely would have done the same.
What surprised Jeremy was that four days had passed since he went to rescue Claire.
Now, only two days remain until the end of the Sun Chase event.
Jeremy checked the level leaderboard.
Discovered that the top spot was now occupied by someone he didn't remember.
This person, named Kean, had reached level 28.
Following him, other players had also reached level 27, pushing Jeremy's ranking out of the top hundred once again.
What surprised Jeremy was that his own level had reached 25.
He remembered being only level 19 before.
It was only after Emma explained that Jeremy realized his frenzied spree had killed a multitude of monsters, catapulting his level far ahead of many players. Thus, even after four days, he hadn't fallen too far behind the others.
Jeremy reviewed his character panel.
[Name]: Jeremy
[Level]: lv25
[Class]: Blasphemer
[Titles]: Pathfinder, World's First Slayer
[Ability]: The Eye of Omniscience (SSS)
[Attributes]: Strength 1440, Spirit 2420, Stamina 770, Agility 825
[Skills]: Lawbreaker lv2, Seven Sins - Wrath lv1, Seven Sins - Gluttony lv1, Sword of Judgment lv1, Plague Curse lv1, Catastrophe Blade lv5, Sinflame lv1, Shadowstep lv10, Gale Slash lv10, Stealth (equipment), Pathfinder (title), Windrider (equipment)…
[Equipment]: Blaze Blade (Gold), Stealth Mask (Gold), Frostwind Blade (Gold), Windrider Boots (Black Iron)…
[Items]: Resurrection Coin *1, Awakening Gem *1…
Even during his time in the spirit realm, he had begun to suspect as much.
However, seeing his Spirit attribute surpass his Strength by a whopping 1000 points still left Jeremy in astonishment.
His gains from the time spent in the spirit realm were indeed monumental!
Jeremy then reviewed his other attributes.
After reaching level 25, all his attributes had seen a significant increase.
His Strength had gone up by about 300 points, while his Agility and Stamina had each increased by approximately 160 points.
In addition to this, he had 210 free attribute points to allocate.
Since reaching level 20, for every level up, Jeremy now gained 40 points in fixed Strength and Spirit attributes, 20 points in Stamina and Agility, and 30 free attribute points.
As levels increased, the fixed and free attribute points awarded to players continued to rise.
Besides the boost in attributes, Jeremy had also acquired three new skills.
[Skill]:Sword of Judgment
[Level]:lv1
[Tier]:High
[Type]:Attack (Active)
[Description]:Upon activation, the player summons a Sword of Judgment, dealing 300% physical damage to the target, with a cooldown of 15 minutes.
...
[Skill]:Plague Curse
[Level]:lv1
[Tier]:High
[Type]:Attack (Active)
[Description]:Upon activation, the player afflicts the target with a Plague Curse, reducing their damage, attributes, and defense by 20%, and randomly inflicting negative statuses such as Bubonic Plague, Smallpox, Cholera, or Black Death, lasting 15 minutes, with a cooldown of 3 hours.
...
[Skill]:Seven Sins - Gluttony
[Level]:lv1
[Tier]:Super
[Type]:Amplification (Passive)
[Description]:Upon slaying a monster, the player can devour its soul essence, randomly acquiring certain attributes based on the level and tier of the slain target, with no cooldown.
...
The first two skills are high-level abilities. "Sword of Judgment" is a single-target damage skill that can inflict significant damage on the target.
"Plague Curse," on the other hand, is a curse skill that can not only weaken the opponent's attribute defense but also afflict the target with negative statuses.
As monsters become higher level, such skills will undoubtedly play a significant role in future battles.
"Sword of Judgment" and "Plague Curse" are skills Jeremy acquired after reaching level 20. It's common for players to gain new skills every 10 levels, so there's nothing surprising there.
What did catch Jeremy slightly off guard was the skill "Seven Sins - Gluttony."
It grants random attributes with each enemy killed!
While contemplating the skill description of "Seven Sins - Gluttony," a thoughtful expression appeared in Jeremy's eyes.
His mind flashed back to the moment in the spirit world when the purple orb from the Devouring Tyrant merged into his body, granting him the "Devour" ability.
If someone were to say that the Devouring Tyrant and the Blasphemers were unrelated, he would definitely not believe it.
From the words of [the world], it's not hard to see that there is some connection between the Blasphemers and the Apocalypse Game.
However, Jeremy was still unclear about what these complex threads concealed.
His power wasn't sufficient to touch upon that level yet.
But since he encountered the Devouring Tyrant in Moonlight City, he might meet similar creatures in the future.
Perhaps then, he could obtain more useful information.
Suppressing the restlessness in his heart, Jeremy checked the titles and rewards he had received.
[Title]World's First Slayer
[Type]Special
[Effect]All attributes +120, Damage +10%
[Skill]Deadly Strike (Passive)
[Description]The player's attacks have a 5% chance to trigger a lethal attack. If attacking the target's vital weak point, the skill's trigger chance increases to 50%. The greater the level difference between the player and the target, the lower the probability of triggering, with no cooldown.
...
[Item]Resurrection Coin
[Type]Consumable
[Tier]Orange (Rare)
[Description]Upon death, the player receives a chance to resurrect on the spot, with a cooldown of 3 days.
...
The attributes and skills of "World's First Slayer" were quite decent.
The skill "Deadly Strike" is actually more suited for professions with high attack frequency.
For instance, archers or gunners.
However, Jeremy possesses the Eye of Omniscience, which allows him to discern the weaknesses of monsters. Lethal attacks are easier for him to execute, making this skill potentially devastating against high-level monsters.
After equipping the "World's First Kill" title, Jeremy saw an increase of 120 points across his attributes.
Titles are a type of special gear that players can equip multiple of, so he didn't need to replace his "Pioneer" title.
However, more than the "World's First Kill" and "Lethal Strike," Jeremy's attention was primarily captured by the "Resurrection Coin" item.
Astonishingly, it was a precious resurrection item that, aside from a cooldown period, had almost no conditions for use!
The rarity of such an item goes without saying, and even Jeremy was somewhat thrilled by it.
In the face of an irresistible crisis, this Resurrection Coin could spare him from death once. Essentially, it was as if he had one more life than others!
Jeremy calmed the excitement in his heart and proceeded to inspect the equipment he had acquired from the Skyrakers.
[Equipment]Ring of the Sky
[Type]Accessory
[Level]Silver
[Quality]Orange (Rare)
[Attributes]All attributes +40, Flight speed +20%
[Skill]Wings of the Sky
[Description]Upon using this skill, the player obtains a pair of wings and gains temporary flight abilitylasting for 15 minutes, with a cooldown of 3 hours.
...
Upon seeing the quality of the equipment, Jeremy felt a stir in his heart.
This was the first time he had obtained equipment of orange quality.
Although the Ring of the Sky is only of Silver level, the skill it provides, "Wings of the Sky," is incredibly powerful.
Compared to the skill "Windriding" from the Windrider Boots, the "Wings of the Sky" skill of the Ring of the Sky offers genuine flight ability, which could significantly compensate for his weaknesses in aerial combat.
By now, Jeremy had pretty much gone through all the new items he had acquired.
He decided to save the 210 free attribute points for when he might need them later.
Unfortunately, he hadn't had time to pick up the items dropped by the Devouring Tyrant, leaving them in the commercial square.
However, according to Emma, Claire was holding onto them for him temporarily.
This news was a relief to Jeremy.
He was genuinely worried that the fruits of his hard-won battle might end up in someone else's hands. Let alone anything else, just the high-level skill book alone was worth a lot.
Next, Jeremy planned to upgrade his skill levels, only to awkwardly find that he only had 1st and 2nd tier energy crystals at hand, he had used up all his 3rd and 4th tier energy crystals previously.
Jeremy didn't have much time to collect energy crystals in the commercial square, and now the thought pained him.
But there was nothing he could do about it. Energy crystals were no comparison to his life.
Since these lower-tier energy crystals were of little use left, Jeremy decided to use them all to enhance his attributes.
In the end, he gained about 130 points in random attributes.
After putting on the Ring of the Firmament, his attributes increased by 40 points across the board, then he glanced at his stat panel.
His strength attribute had reached 1632 points, and his agility had broken through 1000 points, reaching 1029 points.
Jeremy clenched his fist, feeling a surge in his strength.
He estimated that bullets probably posed no threat to him now.
But Jeremy knew this was just the beginning of being superhuman.
As players leveled up, they could one day possess the power to destroy heavens and earth, just like the gods of legend!
That would truly be superhuman, truly transcending the ordinary!