A small box appeared before Kai and he barely caught it. He figured forgiveness was better than permission so he opened the box without asking. He scrunched his face as he wasn’t certain what he was looking at. He pulled a sewing needle from the box and examined it.

Average Sewing Needle Lvl ??: Improve concentration and mana flow while sewing.

“This is cool and all but I was hoping for like Gloves of Fire or something.” He showed the needle to Daniel and Alric. Daniel jumped across the desk and grabbed it.

“Holy shit. Do you know what Sam paid for his Mana Engraving Needle? And it doesn’t even have these bonuses. You are one lucky SOB. What size and rarity was the chest?” Daniel handed the needle back and Kai was much more respectful of it before placing it in storage.

“It was a Tiny Uncommon chest. And I finished the path. What now?”

“Duh!” Alric smacked the back of Kai’s head. “What Paths are available?”

Kai glared at him then opened his interface to the Path screen.

???: 0/5, Mana Bolt I 0/25, Underdog 0/20, Sword Mastery I 0/50, Basic Physical Fitness 0/20

“Well we can assume that the question marks are the Pathless II Path.We know that Mana Bolt will provide Arcane Orb at the end and Sword Mastery will give Slash and Parry. The Basic Physical Fitness Path is some stat gains and no skill, I wonder what Underdog does and how you got it.” Alric thought out loud.

Daniel answered, “I’d guess that came from either the Paolo and Kayle duel or even his duel with Dahlia. Hard to say. I’m guessing it will give a few stats and a passive skill on completion. I’d say focus on Pathless; the Stat points will help take your training to another level. The other paths can be taken later on. We are still about 150 Path Points of the final goal. The higher stats will increase survivability and we can send him against some monsters to grind the rest of the Path Points. Plus once he gets the Soul Skill it will make future paths more lucrative. Those are my recommendations but it is your life.”

Alric nodded. “I’d agree with Daniel’s thoughts, though I do want to know what Underdog does.”

Kai thought about it. “How many stat points will these Pathless things give me?”

Daniel smiled. “Very good question. From the eleven Pathless Paths, which will require, 275 total PP, you’ve spent 5 so far and have 144 more to spend today that means your next 126 will be decided. It will provide you with 100 stat points to spend. This will take you well beyond the Trainee tier, which may present an opportunity to test something else, but is your decision. Don’t make it lightly.”

Daniel sat back at his desk and waited. Kai thought about getting another 100 stat points to spend on himself. He was stronger and faster than he had ever been. His thinking was a bit clearer and would probably become even more so in the future. The skills he had gained were great but he needed to get out in the wild and fight some monsters to really start to increase some of his skills at this point. To do that he had to be tougher. He nodded his head, decision made.

“I’m going to focus on the Pathless Path and get this thing done. Besides the stats I’ll get this Soul Skill thing you mentioned sounds powerful as well.” Kai went into his Path screen and began a spending spree.

Congratulations! You have completed the Pathless II Path! +2 stat(s). You have received 1 Random Chest.

Congratulations! You have received a Medium Chest ©.

Kai opened the chest before continuing down the Path.

Average Wooden Targe Lvl 7: Basic small shield. +5% resistance to Physical Damage. +2 End while Equipped.

Kai immediately equiped the shield in his left hand. It was small enough that he could maneuver his left arm without smacking himself in the face with the shield. He would still be able to throw Mana Bolts with that hand which was his main concern. He stored the shield and returned to his Path screen. He proceeded down the question mark path once again as he looked forward to another chest. He instead got a stat point at 5 PP and another at 10PP along with the completion message.

Congratulations! You have completed the Pathless III Path! +2 stat(s). You have realized that all paths are the same, and all paths lead to the same place. You have gained the skill Pathfinder Lvl 1.

Pathfinder Lvl 1: It is very difficult for you to lose your sense of direction. Landmarks and interesting locations that you pass will be automatically added to maps you possess.

Kai paused a moment after completing the third Path and looked at his Path screen.

???: 0/15, ???: 0/10, Mana Bolt I 0/25, Underdog 0/20, Sword Mastery I 0/50, Basic Physical Fitness 0/20

“Uhm, Daniel, Alric. I have two question mark paths. Which one do I want? I just completed the Pathless 3 Path. There is a-” Kai asked.

Daniel cut him off. “Choose the 0/10.”

Kai nodded and proceeded down the 0/10 question mark path. He gained a stat at 5 and 10 on the path.

Congratulations! You have completed the Pathless IV Path! +3 stat(s). You have realized that all paths are the same, and all paths lead to the same place.

Kai looked at his path screen.

???: 0/15, ???: 0/15, Mana Bolt I 0/25, Underdog 0/20, Sword Mastery I 0/50, Basic Physical Fitness 0/20

He chose the second path of 15 without asking for advice, he was correct.

You have selected the Pathless V Path.

He dumped his points into it earning a stat at 5, 10 and 15 along with a completion message.

Congratulations! You have completed the Pathless V Path! +4 stat(s). You have realized that all paths are the same, and all paths lead to the same place.

He selected the second path of 15 again and once more got the Pathless Path. Again he got a point at 5, 10 and 15.

Congratulations! You have completed the Pathless VI Path! +5 stat(s). You have realized that all paths are the same, and all paths lead to the same place.

Congratulations! You have completed the Pathless VII Path! +6 stat(s). You have realized that all paths are the same, and all paths lead to the same place.

Congratulations! You have completed the Pathless VIII Path! +7 stat(s). You have realized that all paths are the same, and all paths lead to the same place.

Congratulations! You have completed the Pathless IX Path! +8 stat(s). You have realized that all paths are the same, and all paths lead to the same place.

In total Kai had racked up 65 stat points and gotten Pathless X to 24/50. He was feeling pretty damn good about life.