Eric froze, fiery fist just inches from pounding into the side of his opponent’s neck, finally in position to finish the crippled groaning creature once and for all.

Eric took a deep, shuddering breath as he gazed down at the groaning minotaur, curled up over the burst remains of its own balls now wheezing for breath as Eric’s spiritual fires cooked its organs and lungs to the point that only Bronze-tier life-support skills were keeping Minose from spiraling right into death.

For just a moment, Eric wanted nothing more than to tear out this creature’s throat, and howling his triumph to the heavens, before realizing just how stupid and unworthy of him that would be.

Unworthy, because Minose could so easily have killed him with mithril axe and full plate armor, when Eric had been kitted in little more than rags and bones.

Instead, Minose had agreed to a duel. Effectively agreed to give Eric a fighting chance. A chance to live.

Eric would be less than dirt if he didn’t honor that gesture. Both for his own sake, and if he ever expected any future cultivator to choose an honorable duel instead of ruthless no-holds-barred salt the earth and slaughter everyone near and dear styles of conflict. For the sake of his friends and loved ones as much as anything else, he damn well better show that he was at least honorable enough to let his opponents surrender with their lives when the contest was done.

And it would be stupid as hell for Eric to finish this battle and alienate a faction filled not with simple White-tier wanna-be tyrants, but Bronze-tier clans who actually had the power to capture Orange-tier delves for purposes he could only guess at.

For all of those reasons, not to mention the sense that an extremely powerful, extremely angry Deep Bronze was glaring down at them both from angles Eric couldn’t even imagine, he solemnly stepped back and bowed his head over his closed fist.

“Thank you for the pointers, kung-fu brother. I have learned much, honing my blade against the crucible of your arts.”

Eric’s pleased smile was instantly wiped off his face, however, when a bloody red slit immediately formed in the air right above the crumpled minotaur.

His eyes widened with horrified surprise when he was struck by a wave of spiritual pressure that had his friends crying out before collapsing in unconscious stupors as massive hairy arms reached through the rift to grab the insensate Minose and pull him back through. Then the terrible presence faded as the bloody rip in reality sealed itself, as if it had never been. But not before leaving an unexpected prize behind. An exquisitely crafted box that made Eric think of a go set, radiating magics that seemed to shimmer and twist in the air.

He swallowed a suddenly parched throat and crashed to his knees when his skull was bombarded by words that he sensed could have crushed his mind to paste.

“Forbearance is life. Savor it, mortal. For you have now earned the right to live, and claim the prize that should have been another’s.

If you are truly wise, you will show no one what you now hold. For once the box is open, the first living soul to touch its contents will be forever bound to the secrets within.”

“And that’s why I didn’t use Essence Strike,” Eric whispered to himself, shaking his head. But only minutes after the horrific pressure eased and he sensed that he was truly alone once more, the only sounds were his own ragged breath and frantic heart pounding against his chest. “The last thing I need is to make an enemy out of whatever the hell that was, dropping Bronze-tier prizes meant for Minose for who knows what end, but I bet this thing is just asking for trouble.”

Not that he wouldn't have used his ultimate strike if he had needed it, but considering how effortlessly that figure could have crushed his mind had Eric damaged Minose beyond repair… and he had no doubt that any Bronze tier consortium could heal any injury short of absolute annihilation... he sure was glad it hadn’t come to that.

Even if it had been a far closer duel than he wanted to admit.

If he hadn’t used his one Psionic attack… he’d probably be in a heap of trouble, one way or another. Fortunately, hybrid technique that Psionic Rupture was, it made use of Spiritual, Arcane, and Psions all at once. By Minose’s own words, hybrid attacks were perfectly legitimate for their duel, and it seemed, much to Eric’s relief, that both the System and Evelyn felt the same way.

CONGRATULATIONS! YOU ARE THE FIRST CONTENDER TO DEFEAT A BRONZE TIER CONTENDER ON THIS PLANET! - THIS IS A BRONZE TIER FEAT! - TERRA ITSELF RECOGNIZES YOUR ACCOMPLISHMENT!

YOU HAVE EARNED A PERMANENT 5% BOON TO ALL STAT GAINS YOU HAVE EARNED SINCE INITIATING YOUR CONQUEST OF TERRA!

YOU WILL ADDITIONALLY RECEIVE A PERMANENT 5% MULTIPLIER TO ALL FUTURE STAT GAINS ON OR OFF OF TERRA!

* ANOMALY DETECTED *

BRONZE TIER FEAT EARNED AS WHITE-TIER CONTENDER.

ALL BOONS HAVE BEEN DOUBLED!

TERRA WILL NOW GRANT YOU AN ETERNAL +10% TO ALL FUTURE STAT GAINS AS HER ASCENSION BECOMES YOUR OWN!

* ANOMALY DETECTED *

YOU ARE A NATIVE-BORN CONTENDER SWORN TO NO INVADING FACTION THAT TERRA’S ENEMIES HAVE SOMEHOW FAILED TO DESTROY.

ALL BOONS HAVE BEEN DOUBLED!

YOU WILL NOW EARN A 10% BONUS TO ALL BASELINE CHARACTERISTICS!

* NEW QUEST AUTOMATICALLY INITIATED! DEFEND YOUR HOME PLANET AT ALL COSTS! *

Eric fell to his knees, wide-eyed with awe at the messages now racing across his interface.

A Bronze-tier feat. He had actually earned a Bronze-tier feat!

And that wasn’t all.

You have successfully defeated a Rank 10 Bronze tier cultivator in mortal combat.

You have chosen to show: Mercy! - In martial victory and political prudence, you have shown that you have what it takes to survive.

Find Weakness is now Rank 26!

Identify is now Rank 2!

For successfully enticing a Bronze Tier opponent into risking his life in a duel when he could have just as easily killed you with one swipe of his axe, you have earned 2 Ranks in Negotiation!

Negotiation is now Rank 14!

Eric felt an icy chill with his social notification, suddenly certain that had fortuitous encounters not imbued him with both Social Perception, Master Negotiator, and What The Other Party Wants perks, he’d probably be a headless corpse spurting blood from his neck stump right now.

Burst of Strength is now Rank 16!

Unified Perception is now Rank 24!

For daring to duel a Bronze-tier Cultivator and actually winning, you have earned two ranks in Fire Fist!

For daring to duel a Bronze-tier Cultivator and actually winning, you have earned two ranks in Psionic Rupture!

For daring to duel a Bronze-tier Cultivator and actually winning, you have earned two ranks in Unarmed Combat!

Fire Fist is now Rank 14!

Psionic Rupture is now Rank 7! - You have earned the free perk: Hit Them Where It Hurts! You have a chance to score a Critical Success with Find Weakness skill checks when using Psionic Rupture… if you’re willing to hit them where it hurts! (Note. This perk effects biological males only!)

Unarmed Combat is now Rank 20! - Congratulations! You have achieved Journeyman status in: Unarmed Combat! You now enjoy +3 to Finesse +3 to Quickness and +3 to Strength as increasing mastery over your martial techniques becomes mastery over yourself!

You may now choose 1 martial perk as the essence of the martial artist becomes your own!

Power Blows – (Standard) – Years of grueling training has made you a natural at striking with your fists. All strikes incorporating your arms will be 20% faster and 20% harder than they would otherwise be, assuring that your fists will be feared in boxing rings throughout the sector. NOTE! This perk does NOT incorporate knee bombs or kicks, as you have failed to incorporate them fully into your art!

Twitch Reflexes – (Advanced) – Supernatural speed and daring to take on opponents far deadlier than you has given you a natural instinct for slipping past and outright dodging otherwise lethal blows! You enjoy a 20% bonus multiplicative of all other bonuses and modifiers to dodge out of the way of any attack that you can see. (Synergism detected! This 20% Bonus includes avoiding whatever perils your danger sense might alert you to!)

Cultivator’s Might – (Legendary) – You have dared to claim an avatar of Death as your mentor, and have fought Bronze-tier cultivators to submission! Your martial abilities are now inextricably intertwined with your cultivation foundation and thus transcend your physical body! All Peripheral Meridian Channels will continuously evolve ever closer to perfection with every advancement you make as both warrior and cultivator. All Elemental Qi attacks channeled through your meridians (Including Fire Fist, Windfire Strike, & all variants) will now be 1% more potent than they would otherwise be for every rank you earn in unarmed combat, and for every level you earn as a Disciple along Peril’s Path!

Cultivator’s Resilience – (Legendary) – You have dared to claim an avatar of Death as your mentor, and have fought Bronze-tier cultivators to submission! Your martial abilities are now inextricably intertwined with your cultivation foundation and thus transcend your physical body! After enduring the most grueling of duels against a Bronze-tier striker, you both understand the devastating impact that Spiritual Energy-laden blows can have on the physical body, and now intuitively understand how to counter those strikes in turn!

You have achieved true Dominion within your own mind and body!

Your body is now infused with Spiritual Energy that gives you added resilience against ALL attacks! - You may permanently invest Spiritual Energy points in each and every one of your resistances. Every point so invested will increase your resistance by 1 point! The maximum points that may be invested is equal to your baseline resistances.

Eric froze, dumbstruck and awed as his mind raced through the options before him.

Power Blows was the most basic choice, and a 20% multiplier to both the speed and power of his blows would make him an absolutely devastating striker. If his hunch was right, it would even extend beyond his fists, since this evolution seemed to incorporate his entire body, and would enhance swings with sword or polearm as well. As common as it might seem, it was a perk option worthy of definite consideration.

Still, he hated the fact that it was limited in a complete lack of any ability to enhance his feet, emphasizing his own lack of martial knowledge or mastery, his flaws made all the more glaring with how effortlessly the minotaur had worked him over with its own kicks. He had countered okay, but had been worthless in responding with any sort of kick of his own. Simply for the fact that it emphasized his own glaring weakness, he was exceedingly reluctant to take this perk, turning his focus to the other options suddenly available to him.

Twitch Reflexes, on the other hand, wasn’t limited to his arms by any means, and was definitely worthy of consideration. To earn an additional 20% to his ability to dodge and slip past any enemy attack, on top of the boons that insane Quickness and Battle-time already gave him, a boon that would even enhance his Danger Sense, was definitely worthy of consideration.

But still, he couldn’t help but be drawn to the two Legendary tier perks that his status as a cultivator who had dared to embrace the Path of Peril under the most unusual of masters before taking down an actual Bronze-tier opponent had earned him. They were astoundingly powerful perks that promised perfect synergism between his unarmed combat and his cultivation path… just like in pretty much every xianxia novel he had ever read, back when such stories were simply escapist fantasy, and not harbingers for what was to come.

Cultivator’s Might was an evolution that would make his ability to channel Spiritual Energy based attacks so efficient and deadly that he’d be earning a full percentage point bonus with every level or skill rank achieved.

As of this very second, Cultivator’s Might would grant him close to a 50% bonus with every Fire Fist or Windfire Strike he unleashed.

It was an unquestionably powerful boon, showcasing just how potent a Legendary tier perk could be, such that any lesser perk was utterly beneath consideration.

Yet there was still one other skill evolution to consider.

Cultivator’s Resilience, which would allow him to invest some of his Qi Pool into enhancing his baseline resistances, in effect infusing his flesh with Spiritual Energy enhanced with the essence of Dominion, which would, in turn, make it far harder for external forces to assault or damage his form.

Practically speaking, for the cost of just 57 of his over 3000 Qi pool, he could double his Physical Resistance of 56. And considering that he wouldn’t get much more than a small bruise from a point blank shot from an orcish musket, the equivalent of a ten gauge shotgun steel slug when his Physical Resistance had been just two thirds of what it presently was… and he was pretty certain that a 112 physique would come damned close to letting him survive cannon fire. Or at least the smaller artillery shells. Not that he had any plans of ever testing that, or that with Danger Sense, Battle-time and close to 400 Quickness, he’d ever let any asshole with a long gun line him up for a shot… but the point remained. Cultivator’s Resilience was an incredible enhancement utterly worthy of a Legendary Title. He could double each his resistances against physical, elemental, mental, even cultivation attacks, all for a mere 6% of his current Qi Pool.

Yet as eager as he was to immediately snatch it up, he was compelled to look over Cultivator’s Might one more time, whereupon it finally clicked, now clearly understanding what made that gift equally worthy of consideration, even if the raw damage output was limited to Qi-focused attacks, whereas Cultivator’s Resilience would help protect him against everything.

It was right there in the description.

Cultivator’s Might, unlike any other option, would actually enhance his peripheral meridians as he continued to improve himself and ascend, as both warrior and cultivator, enhancing not just his damage output, but his very ability to channel Spiritual Energy through his entire frame.

It truly was the skill evolution that would enhance his abilities as a cultivator overall.

Eric felt blissful smile lighten his features as his most recent battle flashed through his mind. He was startled to sense his peripheral meridian channels minutely shifting and strengthening even as he meditated on his own breakthrough, growing ever more efficient in their transfer of both biochemical and spiritual energy, such that any rematch with Minose would end with him absolutely wiping the floor with his most recently bested foe.

Just what his mentor would have wanted, Eric thought with a grin. Not for him to fall into the trap of accepting a single pristine peripheral meridian configuration that she had granted him at the end of their first meeting. No. She would want him to always continue striving for improvement, forever pushing himself to grow. To constantly evolve, or perish in the attempt. The ultimate manifestation of both his path, and his mentor.

And as he wasn’t a complete fool, he quietly promised himself that he most definitely would be grabbing that sweet, sweet resilience perk when he ranked up to Elite-tier Unarmed Combat, assuming it was still available. Because being smart and savvy enough to enhance his natural defenses as much as possible was ALSO a tried and true evolutionary path, and one he planned on taking full advantage of, as soon as he could. Which meant that he might be focusing on unarmed combat for far longer than he realized, when first finding himself stripped of most of his prizes while trapped in this dungeon.

Congratulations! Rank 20 Unarmed Combat now synergizes perfectly with your Cultivation Path!

All Peripheral Meridian Channels will continuously evolve ever closer to perfection with every advancement you make as both warrior and cultivator. All Elemental Qi attacks channeled through your meridians (Including Fire Fist, Windfire Strike, & all variants) will now be 1% more potent than they would otherwise be for every rank you earn in unarmed combat, and for every level you earn as a Disciple along Peril’s Path!

You have achieved Rank 29 as Death’s Disciple, enhancing your damage bonus for Qi attacks to 49%!)

Strength / Vitality / Quickness / Spiritual Energy have increased by 3 points (multiplicative of all pertinent modifiers!)

You have achieved level 58 as a Primal Adventurer!

You have achieved level 59 as a Primal Adventurer!

Finesse, Quickness, and Perception each increase by 6 points (multiplicative of all pertinent modifiers!) as you come to appreciate just how crucial quick reaction time is to surviving duels against opponents far stronger than you!

And that wasn’t all he had earned, Eric pleased to find that his earlier hunch was proven absolutely right.

Silver Griffins party has successfully cleared: Orange-tier Maze Rift!

Each surviving party member has earned 12 points automatically distributed to the combat stats that assured their survival!

And that was when Eric felt it, the incredible surge of potency roaring through his shuddering frame as every level-up, skill advancement, and most especially his Bronze-tier title boon hit him all once.

He howled with an ecstasy that would have been agony had it not filled him with such awful rapture. His cries resonated with the shudders of the Orange-tier delve he had just conquered, and somehow he could sense it all turning to glorious golden light, evaporating into the ether even as he ascended in ways utterly beyond the pale.

His final thoughts besides the shockingly sweet joy of shattering 300 in multiple stats was for the safe return of his companions to Terra’s gentle bosom as Eric felt himself become one with the howling storm of power all around him.

Congratulations, Eric Silver! You have successfully cleared: Orange-tier Maze Rift! Your rift has been DRAINED to White-tier status. As Terra herself has catalyzed your growth, no penalty will be enacted!