Joshua woke up the next morning, when he checked his status. It seems that nothing has changed, he was still stuck at his current level.

Joshua Gates Venerator Class : Seedling Level 1 STRength 150 VITality 200 ENDurance 5000 DEXterity 450 DEFense 200 SPeeD 2000 INTelligence 5 MAGic 3 Unassigned Stat Points 0

But his stats did rise just... Not how he thought it would work. Magic and Intelligence... Was this a reflection to how Joshua was not a smart guy back in school? Or was it something else entirely. But he does not understand anything at all in the system. He was not leveling up at all. Though that pillar of light was in the distance. Joshua just kept on walking with Priest Alex's Blessings in hand. Making his way straight to the pillar of light. This time, Joshua could see Demon Knights, Demon Warriors, Demon Mages and even Angels. Angel Warriors, Angel Knights and Angel Mages. They did not fight each other but they were quite hostile. As Joshua could see the Sword icon next to their names.

INT TOO LOW TO SEE THEIR SKILLS AND LEVELS. BLOCKED BY INNATE SKILL : Observation Block.

So that is why Joshua cannot see anything, perhaps when he gets a level up he will put more points into INT. It seems the system will explain more as his INT goes up. The trek to the pillar of light was quite the sight, Angel Forts and Demon Forts to his left and right. It merely meant that Joshua had to be careful where he walked. He might end up in a bigger state of trouble if he was not careful. He cannot freely explore since their FOV was locked onto him like drones. Only when Joshua passed the limits of their vision did they return to neutral. Constantly seeing their eyes showing a yellow glowing cone of vision.

Following video game logic... Yellow means observe and red is hostile. Joshua headed to the beacon.

Tread carefully, you are now in the domain of a Sovereign Enemy

Sovereign Enemy Asim, Ancient of Autumn Number of Servants 0

Autumn is the season that many people dread.

For its cruelty to harvest.

For it forces people to prepare with what limited resources they have.

Survival of the Fittest at its finest.

Autumn winds that leave shivers down your spine.

Flowers tend to die in autumn, those that are weak especially..

Led by Asim the Ancient, a practitioner of swords and duels.

The Thorns that venture to his domain usually leave, with either victory

Or Suicide on their minds.

Joshua was reading that ominous add on his screen. It was weird and unnecessarily edgy but as Bayran said. No path is set in stone. Joshua proceeded ahead, seeing a handsome man smoking a pipe. Asim could be a model or even a reverred deity in modern age mythology. Something like Hercules or was it Heracles? He had a pair of axes by the back of his hips.

"So you're the Seedling eh? This pillar of light only comes around when one of the other three says so. I'm usually the hardest. Bayran is the 2nd hardest since he was rampaging. Then there's the other two... Now let's not waste time talking. Draw your weapon." Asim spoke fast and put the pipe aside, readying his axes. In an instant Joshua was flying to a tree, breaking another 10 in front of it. It didn't hurt but he did feel a bit dizzy. Joshua readied Cherry Blossoms and went on the offensive. His speed was helpful, he could chain multiple attacks together but that was it. They were just basic fast and heavy attacks.

Alternating them as he swung the blade but Joshua could see words from Asim's attacks. Skills were being activated.

"Axe skill : Blaze Chop' The system alerted Joshua as the axes glowed with flames, swinging three times at Joshua. He took the hit but he just patted the flames away from his body.

"What's wrong? Don't tell me you don't have a skill?"

"Yes... I don't have a skill. I can't go beyond Level 1." The dissappointment was written all over Asim's face. Joshua even showed the stats and everything. Asim face palmed himself.

"Give me a minute." Asim moved to the side, then speaking in some other language that Joshua could not understand.

"Try again."

Joshua Gates Venerator Class : Thorn in Training. HP 10,000 MP 150 Stamina 250,000 Level 50 STRength 150 VITality 200 ENDurance 5000 DEXterity 450 DEFense 200 SPeeD 2000 INTelligence 5 MAGic 3 Unassigned Stat Points 300

"You should unlock combat skill trees. For a bit." Asim said as Asim showed Joshua where to look. Asim was cycling through all of Joshua's tabs. Showing him the skill tree.

"Magic, Physical and Garden. The Garden one is unlocked as you progress. You've gotten Winter because you have Bayran's blessing. A Garden of Thorn is born after getting all four blessings.Thorn in Training just means you're halfway there. So the system has acknowledged you. If you save some of your points for later when you become a Garden, you'll reap a lot more benefits." Asim explained.

"Thanks.. I'm sorry if you were expecting some super powerful warrior." Asim scoffed.

"I do enjoy fighting but the problem is the handicap is way too big. And your Endurance... Even if I hit you, you wouldn't feel pain. I take it most of the time you died from blood lost?" Joshua nodded to Asim.

"Alright. Let me explain stats bit by bit. Strength is no brainer, it deals how you work with melee weapons. VITality is focusing on your health, the higher it is the more health you have. ENDurance is your pain tolerance and stamina. Your Endurance is the highest I've seen from a Thorn. DEXterity deals with firearms. Higher dexterity means easier chance to get a crit chance, weapon jams can be cleared easier and general use of tools or equipment is better. It also influences Stamina usage. Defense doesn't need much explanation but Speed. Speed influneces DEX and STR in the sense of its weapons. High Speed means faster melee attacks and negates movement penalty with weapons. INTelligence gives you clearer understanding of things around you and helps influence the cost of MP usage. Higher INT means Magic costs lesser. Say my Blaze Chop. It costs stamina to use and MP. Originally about 1.5 thousand Stamina and 750 MP. My current setup has it down to 1.5 stamina and 7.5MP. My INT is 100 but my DEX is 1000. Get it?" Asim explained which Joshua took a moment to pause and think.

"Now, if I hit you." Asim struck his axe at Joshua, watching Asim's hand shake and not a cut on Joshua's arm.

"Wait... Wasn't I thrown away just now!?" Joshua asked, clearly he was confused.

"Your STATs were supposed to kick in. What you went through? It was basically you being human. So.. Basically. To put it bluntly. You're endurance is so broken. The only thing that can make you feel pain? Is if the Gods decided to smite you for fun. Even then, you might lose maybe a bit of HP." Joshua felt his heart sank, so this entire time. His stats were not working properly? He was just a normal human being in all capacities? Was everything he went through a placebo?

"And your speed. Is higher than mine. Try walking to the right." Asim said as Joshua took a step, it ended up launching him to a tree.

"Yeah. So now your stats have kicked in and it seems that you're a lot more broken than the other Thorns. I think Bayran did not notice this because of the pain he felt for 500 years. I mean when you get a stick stuck in your finger that is sharp as Cherry Blossoms it will suck." Asim added on.

"Now we're going to spend time here... Along with the other three Ancients of Seasons to train your body properly. The human world would be terrified if a Venerator like you were to appear. Your built like a tank and we're going to train you a bit so you can hide your skills better in the future. Well. Time for us to get to work." Asim spoke with a smile on his face.

It must have been too long since he's met a Thorn worth training for and now, it'll be interesting.