It had been a couple hours since Shane had Tank attack him. All he needed was ten perfect blocks, a feat that turned out a bit harder than he had anticipated. For every perfect block achieved, Shane spent nearly ten minutes resting for his fatigue to lower. Somehow, even more time was spent failing to block those attacks perfectly.

There were even a couple of times when Shane caught himself underestimating Tank's predictable attacks too late and failed to block the slash altogether. Thankfully, those moments were rare. I should be able to do this! Shane thought after blocking at the last second. His defensive maneuvers with the shield seemed to miss that imperceptible tenth of a second that counted as perfect.

"How many attacks of yours have I managed to block now, Tank?" Shane asked his skeletal summon in between a few particularly deep breaths while he let his sore shield arm relax at his side.

Tank didn't answer; of course, he wasn't going to. Shane knew it too, yet it was better than the empty, lonely silence. Sometimes, he would get a shrug out of the skeleton, or it would tilt its skull in confusion like Rune would when asked where he came from. No answer from his new dog either.

"Ugh, fine, I know you guys can't tell me, but I'll find out. I'm going to get some answers. Just as soon….as I get….one last perfect block! Shane's break in speech came from concentrating and attempting perfect blocks as he made his declarations.

For the next hour, Shane achieved a level of focus that he hadn't yet experienced. A powerful flow state born out of his desire to improve that was just outside of the range of his current abilities. After only a few more failures and almost receiving another bloody cut that would require an immediate healing spell, Shane finally achieved it!

Perfect Block!

Perfect Block 10/10

"Yes! I did it, Rune! And great job to you, Tank!" Shane said with a never-ending smile.

At the sight of his master's accomplishment, Rune leaped into the air—his barks almost matching Shane's subconscious fist pumps. It made Shane feel warm inside to see the loot pupper celebrate with him. Finally, the notification he was waiting for appeared.

-Notice-

10/10 Perfect Blocks Achieved for the Enchantment [Shielded Iron Kite Shield of Riposting]

Evolve the [Shielded Iron Kite Shield of Riposting]?

Accept/Cancel

Shane eagerly accepted the offer to evolve his shield from [Uncommon] to [Rare]. In a moment of curiosity, it made a certain sense to observe the changing glow of the shield attached to his left arm. When the green light shifted to vibrant indigo, a look of confusion and surprise cemented within his facial features.

"Why isn't it glowing blue? [Rare] quality gear has a blue glow…." Shane trailed off as the indigo from his left arm exploded in a soundless blinding flash. If Shane had viewed himself from the third person, he would have seen how the flash of light soaked everything nearby in that vibrant purple hue. They began to fade, and Shane observed the unexpected color change in his shield's quality.

He willed his loot sense away and was just noticing the visual changes in his shield when a window once again appeared.

-Notice!-

Enhanced Evolution!

Evolution Has Been Affected By [Luck] Stat

[Shielded Iron Kite Shield of Riposting] (Uncommon) has evolved to [Shielded Mithril Kite Shield of Riposting] (Ascendant)

"Oooooo!"

Shane ignored the window and confirmed with his eyes the delicate, faintly glowing, streaked patterns of the mithril material. His shield retained the creamy pearl-like center, except now that portion of the shield was a great deal more reflective. More noticeable was the steel surrounding that section and that it was gone. It had been replaced entirely by the dark, deep blues of the material that gave the shield its new namesake.

"The material change will make this shield ridiculously more robust!"

Using his knuckle to lightly tap on it actually slightly stung—that's how compact the material was. If mithril can be this dense, my loot pupper's chest is likely indestructible. Shane mused while imagining an adamantine sword.

After that exciting thought passed, he found the shield within his inventory and opened it. The alterations to the shield's stats left his mouth agape.