Congratulations! The host's unique subskill [Bone Armour] has levelled up! It is now Expert Level 7. Congratulations! The host's unique subskill [Bone Armour] has levelled up! It is now Expert Level 8. The host has developed the passive skill: Warhammer Mastery. Passive Skill: Warhammer Mastery

A child skill of the parent skill [Hammer Mastery] commonly used by those of great strength who have no need for finesse nor grandiose techniques.

All attacks made with a Warhammer have a 5% chance to leave the target with a concussion regardless of where they are struck.

Cost: N/A Mastery: Beginner Level 1 The host has developed the passive skill: Hammer Mastery. Passive skill: Hammer Mastery

The parent skill of all hammer-based masteries.

The host is 5% more accurate with all hammers, be they tools or weapons.

Cost: N/A Mastery: Beginner Level 1 Congratulations! The host's passive skill [Physical Pain Resistance] has levelled up! It is now Expert Level 5. Congratulations! The host's passive skill [Nausea Resistance] has levelled up! It is now Intermediate Level 9. Congratulations! The host's unique skill [Basic Regeneration] has levelled up! It is now Expert Level 9.

And that was everything for only the first of Hilda's two attacks. Lone sucked in a sharp breath of air while he practically vibrated with joy.

'It's been so long since Basic Regen has levelled up... don't tell me that second hit of hers pushed it to master rank?' His impatience won him over so he immediately continued reading his notification log, not even caring enough about his new skills to comment on them.

Congratulations! The host's passive skill [Shield Mastery] has levelled up! It is now Beginner Level 2. Congratulations! The host's passive skill [Shield Mastery] has levelled up! It is now Beginner Level 3. Congratulations! The host's passive skill [Shield Mastery] has levelled up! It is now Beginner Level 4. Congratulations! The host's passive skill [Shield Mastery] has levelled up! It is now Beginner Level 5.

The notifications for Shield Mastery kept going and going until finally, they stopped 13 levels later.

Congratulations! The host's passive skill [Shield Mastery] has levelled up! It is now Intermediate Level 8. The host has developed the passive skill: Colossal Shield Mastery. Passive skill: Colossal Shield Mastery

A child skill of the [Shield Mastery] skill often favoured by giant sentient species and some monster races.

When using a shield larger than the host themselves, it is 5% easier to block attacks. Blocked attacks shall have 5% of their force negated. Additionally, any attack blocked shall reflect 5% of the negated force.

Cost: N/A Mastery: Beginner Level 1

'Three effects at beginner rank? Maybe because it's normally stupid as fuck to use a shield bigger than yourself without a ridiculous amount of Strength. I might have to level this past just intermediate like I plan to do with any weapon skill I don't intend to actively use. Could be interesting,' Lone thought as more notifications entered his vision.

At this point, he was only a couple of ruptured organs and some shredded muscles away from being in perfect health again.

Congratulations! The host's passive skill [Colossal Shield Mastery] has levelled up! It is now Beginner Level 2. Congratulations! The host's passive skill [Colossal Shield Mastery] has levelled up! It is now Beginner Level 3. Congratulations! The host's passive skill [Colossal Shield Mastery] has levelled up! It is now Beginner Level 4.

Just like with Shield Mastery but even worse this time, dozens of skill notifications blocked Lone's sight. After what felt like minutes, the final notification from this particular skill made itself known.

Congratulations! The host's passive skill [Colossal Shield Mastery] has levelled up! It is now Expert Level 1.

'Fuck me. Just like that, blocking one attack from a physical-focused SS-ranker and boom, a brand new skill that matches my most used passive weapon skill, Swordspear Mastery. No need to actively level the fucker now, huh? Gotta experiment with different shield types and get Hilda to smash 'em all to bits if I can just instantly get some expert rank skills,' Lone thought in excitement.

Congratulations! The host's unique subskill [Bone Armour] has levelled up! It is now Expert Level 9. Congratulations! The host's unique subskill [Bone Armour] has levelled up! It is now Expert Level 10. Congratulations! The host's unique skill [Basic Regeneration] has levelled up! It is now Expert Level 10. Congratulations! The host's unique skill [Basic Regeneration] has levelled up! It is now Master Level 1.

Lone surprised the nearby dwarves when he suddenly clenched his fist and pumped it with wild abandon.

'Finally! My second master rank skill after Darkness Corruption Resistance, and it's a universally useful one!' With haste, Lone pulled up the changed information of his newly ranked up skills.

Passive skill: Shield Mastery

The parent skill of all shield-based masteries.

When blocking or deflecting [new!] an attack with a shield, the attack's force shall be reduced by 15% [+10%].

Cost: N/A Mastery: Intermediate Level 8

'Ah, deflecting too now? Nice. Guess that covers wrist shields like bucklers and small kite shields,' Lone thought.

Passive skill: Colossal Shield Mastery

A child skill of the [Shield Mastery] skill often favoured by giant sentient species and some monster races.

When using a shield larger than the host themselves, it is 60% [+55%] easier to block attacks. Blocked attacks shall have 60% [+55%] of their force negated. Additionally, any attack blocked shall reflect 60% [+55%] of the negated force.

[New!] When using a colossal shield, the host shall emit an aura of intimidation, making any not resistant to such effects hesitate to attack the host.

Cost: N/A Mastery: Expert Level 1

Those were nice improvements, though they weren't anything particularly special.

Lone was confident he could easily take a blow from Hilda now without his skeleton exploding into dangerous bone shrapnel should she hit his shield.

However, he didn't really see himself using his Bone Armour to make a colossal shield very often in actual combat given how clunky it was. It would be good for grinding resistances more safely, but only in a controlled environment like a duel.

Now it was time for the skill he was most excited for.

'Please have a new super powerful effect,' Lone prayed as he crossed his fingers in hope.

Unique Skill: Basic Regeneration

A skill unique to the host, Lone Immortus.

Grants the host the ability to passively heal injuries at an incredibly fast [up from fast] rate. The healing rate can be increased in exchange for mana or stamina [New!].

[New!] Passively healing injuries now extends to mental damage such as damage to the host's memories, state of mind, their mental palace (should they own one), and other such parts of the host that are not physical in nature. (Does not include the host's soul).

Cost: 10 MP [-10 MP] or 10 SP (per second per 5% [+4%] increase in healing rate) Mastery: Master Level 1

'A few things of note. Mental palaces are a thing. Is that the spot in my soul where Darkness's pyramid, Sky's cloud castle, and Void's abyss are? The active part of Basic Regen got five times stronger while still getting an MP cost reduction. Could I endure serious attacks from an X-ranker if my MP wasn't sealed?' Lone wondered.

Then it hit him. 'Wait. It... it can be boosted with SP now?! Fuck me in the ass and call me Sally! That's so powerful! Sophie and Soph are gonna be over the moon. This makes me so much more unkillable now...'

He considered contacting her telepathically right now to inform her of the good news but decided to tell her in person instead to get her reaction in the flesh.

'The speed also went up. I'm fully healed already and I can feel my mind... lightening? That extra effect... is it healing my trauma? Do I not need Darkness's help now to avoid nightmares?' he speculated.

That was a scary thought. Trauma wasn't exactly desired, but it helped temper him and it fuelled his hatred for Sir Ardus. With that healed, would he unconsciously forgive the psychopathic knight due to the matter not having any significance in his mind anymore?

'Hopefully not...' Only time would tell, and thus, Lone moved on. "Where'd the guildmaster go?"

The dwarf he'd asked shrugged. "Second floor. 'Er usual table. Ye done wae yer impromptu trainin' session?"

Lone smiled. "After those two hits, yes, I think I'm done for now. I'll do this again though when I next return from a militaristic enlistment task."

A dark look crossed the present dwarves' expression, but they nodded silently and then filtered out of the training area, shortly followed by Lone himself.

He made his way up to the second floor and took a seat at the guildmaster's table. She looked up from her paperwork to raise an eyebrow at him.

"Well aren't ye just lookin' hale an' hearty," she snorted.

Lone chuckled. "The passive skill that heals me, you helped it reach master rank. I owe you one."

He could already feel his mind getting clearer by the minute but his hatred for Sir Ardus wasn't diminishing in the slightest which pleased Lone.

Guildmaster Hilda looked thoughtful for a moment before she asked, "When dae ya reckon yer Teachin' Mastery'll hit expert rank?"

Lone raised an eyebrow. "Dunno. Could take an afternoon under the right circumstances, could take months. It depends entirely on how much effort I put into it. Need to be taught something specific?"

She shook her head. "Ah need enlightenment. Teachin' fae a fresh perspective 'as 'elped many afore tae breach the barrier tae the followin' rank. Each new rank needs even more complex insights tae cross. It's such ah fuckin' pain."

"Scared you'll die of old age before hitting triple-S rank?" Lone inquired.

"Aye, ah wee bit. Ah've still got ah good few thousand years left mind ye, but it's stressful nonetheless when eternal life is very possible," Guildmaster Hilda confessed with a sigh.

"I'd be happy to help if you don't mind turning me into your personal punching bag when I'm free to train. My main priority right now is levelling up myself and my skills while I serve my sentence, but I'm happy to focus exclusively on training with you and other adventurers for one or two days of my four allotted free days I get per mission," Lone suggested.

Hilda laughed. "Ye could barely endure two hits spaced apart tae let ya 'eal between. Would it really dae much good fae me tae stretch ma limbs tae paint the trainin' area wae yer blood an' guts?"

Lone wore a confident expression on his face. "Every time my bones break, they get stronger. Not figuratively, but literally. It's part of the skill. Besides, my healing is far, far more powerful now thanks to the rank up. I bet I could take two or even three hits from your hammer without needing a break. It's hard for me to find anything strong enough to level the skills related to both my healing and my bones without seriously putting myself at risk. You're the perfect solution while I'm in this krieg."

Hilda wore a look of considering. "Does 'at nae impact yer lifespan? Ye've awakened three times. Ye'd need tae rank up once every few years consistently until S-rank just tae earn yerself ah few decades o' time."

Lone laughed loudly, drawing some attention to the guildmaster's table. He eventually calmed himself and wiped the tears from his eyes before he leaned in and whispered, "My healing? I wasn't lying when I said it makes me effectively immortal. That statement included both ageing and the downsides of becoming the Avatar of three Primals."

"Wait. Did you just say Avatar? Nae awakened?" A hint of fear passed through Hilda's eyes as if some horrific memory had surfaced in her mind.

Lone stood up and cracked his neck. "I'm gonna spend the rest of tonight and tomorrow with my girlfriend. Then I'll return to my cell before I go out on another mission. I'll see you soon, Hilda, and when I do, I'll be a C-ranker."

He left the stumped guildmaster without answering her question since he'd already told her the truth in his prior words.

"That was foolish of you," Sophie chided Lone the moment he stepped into their room at the Rusty Sprocket.

She was lounging on the bed in little more than a nighty with a book in her hand. She yawned softly and stared at him.

He grinned back at her as he undressed and retrieved a bucket of water from his Dimensional Storage. He had some blood to clean off of himself but not enough to justify a late-night bath.

"I agree, but I don't think the guildmaster would have let me die. There are a couple of dozen healers in the krieg and I'm no human, so worse comes to worst, I bet she'd have paid out of pocket to keep my heart beating, so to speak," Lone replied.

Sophie disregarded him and returned to her reading. "Perhaps. It is a good thing you did heal since we are not in the mood for slaughter this evening. We are happy you used your Bone Armour if nothing else. It might be strong enough now to deflect attacks from your average A-ranker."

"That's the hope," Lone said as he finished up cleaning himself. "By the way, I can boost Basic Regen with Stamina Points now," he said casually.

Sophie slowly nodded before she froze. She sat up and stared at him. "You are being serious?"

Lone grinned. "Deadly."

A beautiful smile of relief met him in response. Sophie laid back down and returned to her book as she said, "Good. That is that burden on our mind lessened somewhat."

'That's disappointing. Where's the jumping for joy, tears of glee, arms wrapped around my neck and the big ol' sloppy kiss?' Lone mumbled mentally in defeat.

He put away the bucket of bloody water before he crawled into bed and cuddled up alongside his stoic murder princess of a lover.

"Bone Armour got me thinking, couldn't you do something similar with your Body Manipulation? I mean, that skill name is so ambiguous. There's no way all it does is give you three differently aged forms to shift between. I bet you could get a slew of sub-skills to make your skin harder, softer, intangible, and so on. I bet you could use it to become a giant or as small as a mouse too," Lone theorised.

Sophie leaned into his warm embrace as she resumed her reading. "We do not have your Growth Accelerator. One thing at a time, yes? We are working on Reading Mastery and Historical and Cultural Appreciation while Soph continues to experiment with her Barrier Magic. Teleportation gets trained often too. What does this word mean?"

Lone glanced at where her finger was pointing and replied, "It's a phrase, not a word. 'Of olden days'."

Sophie sighed. "Dwarves have such a complex language."

"Like Old Novgorod is any easier," Lone teased. "Any progress on the barrier front? I'm just waitin' for the day you girls get it to the point you can crush me or attack me from the inside or cut me to pieces with it. I want Barrier Magic Resistance."

Sophie smiled slightly and shook her head. "Worried we might turn against you one day, thus you wish for a resistance to make putting us down easier?"

Lone wrapped his arms around Sophie's slender waist before he kissed her neck. "No, I just want skills. I want all the skills. Besides, who's to say Barrier Magic Resistance - assuming that's a thing - won't make barriers formed through enchanting magic or other such magics less effective too?"

Sophie sighed but in a sultry manner this time. She snapped her book shut and rolled her eyes. "You clearly wish to train Sex Mastery. Fine. Perhaps we shall earn it ourself tonight, as well, hmm? Or better yet, our racial skill may finally reveal itself."

Lone chuckled. "Only one way to find out."