Cosmic Peak

"Here are the two Rare-grade [Force Lv.1 Spirit Stone] and the other materials you asked for." The temple head gave the two spirit stones to Aren before taking out ten ores of two different types from his inventory and piling them in front of Aren.

"But why do you need them? Do you know how to forge and craft items?"

Aren smiled and nodded, "I know, but my method of crafting is a bit different." After saying this, Aren touched the pile of ores and stored them in his inventory.

"Now, I have one last request; I want a private room where no one can disturb me." Aren spoke with a serious expression, "No one can come inside before I am done."

"Haha, that's simple. Follow me." The temple head said with a laugh as he led Aren to another room inside the temple, which had a secret passage that led to an underground cave.

Inside the cave, six abodes were lined up on the shore of an underground river.

"You can enter this abode and lock it from the inside. No one besides you can enter once it's locked," the temple head said with a smile, "this is where other people in the temple and I meditate sometimes."

"Thank you very much." Aren bowed with a grateful expression before he entered the abode.

...

Aren locked the abode with a strange key after entering inside.

The key looked like a silver metal card with carvings on it, and once he put it on a stone tablet, it briefly shined before he saw a magic circle of a sort on the door.

Aren looked at the walls of this round abode and was surprised at their durability.

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-Defense: Physical [10,000] / Energy [10,000].

-Durability: [30,000].

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After looking at the tough structure of the abode, Aren sat down on a fluffy mattress and...disappeared.

Naturally, Aren entered inside his Emporio Zone.

There wasn't much of a change in this mystical dimension of Emporio Zone except for a 2-meter tall portal in the corner.

That portal was none other than his latest talent, Emporio Portal.

A countdown was displayed on top of the portal in a holographic manner.

[4 days, 12 hours, and 32 minutes until a random exotic material is produced from the portal.]

"Four days...," Aren muttered while falling into his thoughts.

'At first, everyone was stuck at level 20 for a while before they progressed. So, there should be a block at that point, and...it should be related to the [Spirit Core] and the spinergy method if my guess is right since that guide in the Guild-hall also said that we need to refine our core and increase its rating before we can breakthrough. Hmmm…'

After thinking for a moment, Aren left his Emporio Zone and came outside as he decided on his next course of action.

"Let's start."

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-Level: 18 [0/26,000] (Stored Exp: 267,410).

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Aren used his stored exp to fill his experience pool and leveled up twice in rapid succession.

[You have leveled up to 20]

[10 stat points gained]

[Leveling to 21 will require your mortal spirit core's rating to be 10]

[Your spirit core needs more refinement and enhancement through your spinergy method. Train more in your spinergy method to increase the spirit core's rating. Current rating: 4]

"My previous spirit core rating was 7.5, and I increased it to 10 by training in Demon Yakum's spinergy method, allowing me to become Mortal-3. It's also related to the quality of the spinergy method, which helped me readily reach a rating of 10 on my [Spirit Core] of the Mortal-2 stage," Aren thought.

Aren's spinergy method was Mythical-grade, which must also have its own influence on the speed of getting a 10-rating spirit core in each stage.

Before he started training in his spinergy method, Aren distributed 8 stat points to his Constitution and 2 stat points to his Soul.

"Let's start..." Aren muttered as he closed his eyes and started meditating.

He started using not 200, not 400, but 600 spirit energy in each cycle to train in the Demon Yakum's spinergy method.

Feeling that he could handle the usage of more spirit energy after finishing a cycle, he increased his spirit energy usage to 700 in each cycle.

He felt some difficulty with the load of 700 spirit energy in each cycle, but after completing one cycle, he felt he could manage it somehow and decided to go with this flow.

Time passed as Aren solely focused on training in his spinergy method. He lost track of time but he didn't pause his training. He had taken out all the spirit stones, so he didn't think he would be short of spirit energy in this training session.

Especially with the two Rare-grade spirit stones.

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[Spirit stone I]

-Grade: Rare

-Effect: Contains Force Lv.1 spirit energy [30,000/30,000].

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...

After training for who knows how long, Aren received a notification.

[Your spirit core can not handle any more refinement & enhancement from your spinergy method. Level up to 21 as soon as possible and upgrade your spirit core before it becomes unstable and breaks]

Aren shot open his eyes and leveled up quickly using some of his stored exp points.

"Urgh...," Aren suddenly felt pain coursing through his whole body while also getting clarity like never before. His body was feeling pain, while his soul was feeling warm and fuzzy.

[Congratulations! You have leveled up 21!]

[5 stat points gained]

[Your Mortal spirit core has upgraded. Your spirit energy pool's capacity increased by 1000. +5 points to all of your stats]

[Your Lifeform stage has elevated to Mortal-4. +10 points added to all stats]

[Your Mystic field's limit increased to 300 points]

"Huu....," Aren took a deep breath before he saw another notification.

[Armalist Force Enhancement upgraded to level 2]

"So this trait also leveled up this time...oh so it increased my stats as well. Uhh...so many stat points gained at once, no wonder I was feeling constant pain," Aren muttered as he looked at the details of [Armalist Force Enhancement].

When other people first formed their spirit core after level 10, their paths affected their core and gave them certain advantages. While most people awakened affinities related to their paths, Aren got [Armalist Force Enhancement]. Quinn was also like Aren as she received a similar advantage instead of awakening any affinity.

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<Armalist Force Enhancement>

-Level: 2

-Effect:

→1) All meridians in your body are unlocked, and your control of spirit energy has increased. Easier to unlock hidden meridians.

→2) Lv.3 spirit energy control, all your stats +10.

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"Previously, I was already receiving a +2 overall stat bonus from this, so...I received a total of 23 stat points in all of my stats after reaching level 21. Hahaha, what a nice upgrade before the trial," Aren spoke with a laugh.

'However, there is still one more thing left to do which will boost my battle power more,' Aren thought with a grin as he entered the Emporio Zone.

[12 days, 0 hours, and 46 minutes until a random exotic material is produced from the portal]

Seeing the countdown, Aren was surprised, "so my training session lasted for almost four days? dang..."

'Anyway, I should start creating the blueprint of the full-body articule gear I have in mind first,' Aren thought as he took out all of the materials and ores he had.

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5x Trojan Rigid ore pieces.

5x Orahe Flexi ore pieces.

3x Fizzart Iron ore pieces.

1x Common Gale gemstone.

1x Deep Blue gemstone.

1x Uncommon Thunder-Gemstone.

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