CHAPTER 103: VICTORIA

When morning arrived, the news of what transpired at the hunter academy had already spread across the world.

The confirmation that the golden child had once again broken an impossible record barely a week after breaking the first one struck the people with awe.

While the hunter association ensured to omit the part where he had lost control, they could not hide the fact that he had been taken away by Norian Sterling.

The news that the vice president had woken up from his coma was met with excitement by the people.

Only the hunters who knew of his condition were filled with awe as they wondered how he managed to recover when even the best healers said it would take months.

At the moment, the academy was a quiet shell, and only students and a few instructors strolled around the premises.

Logan and Ashton woke up at the infirmary, as they were part of the few students present at the hostel who lost consciousness due to the powerful pressure released by their friend.

While they did not know this, the two were immediately concerned about Marlon’s well-being the moment they awoke.

Nonetheless, when they heard the news of his success at the breakthrough trial, they were both excited and dumbfounded.

However, they were saddened when they learned he had been taken away.

Regardless, they were glad he had been able to conquer the impossible.

====

Marlon’s eyes fluttered open.

A cold expression adorned his face as he slowly lifted his upper torso and scanned his surroundings.

It was a big and spacious yet unfamiliar room.

The morning light filtered through the curtains, bathing the room in a soft golden glow.

"Hmm."

He did not bother wondering where he was.

He already knew he was back in Arden.

Back from the traumatizing breakthrough trial.

His mind automatically replayed all the dark events he witnessed, dozens of his own deaths flashing sharply and sending an involuntary chill down his spine.

But he quickly shook his head, forcing the memories away.

If he could, he would choose never to recall any of them.

Especially the final death which was by his own hands.

Speaking of that final moment—

He suddenly remembered the robotic voices he heard as he blacked out.

And as if his thoughts acted as a trigger, a series of notifications appeared in front of him.

[ You’ve become the second human to complete the divine trial, and as a result, two unique blessings will be granted. ]

"Second human? Shouldn’t I be the third?" He wondered.

But he halted his thoughts as the next set of notification revealed themselves.

[ Blessing 1: Limitless ]

[ Blessing 2: Double ]

[ Blessing: Limitless ] (Divine-rank)

A divine blessing that lets you bypass every breakthrough trial up to SS-rank. Your path to power becomes smooth, unrestricted, and free of obstacles.

[ Blessing: Double ] (Divine-rank)

A divine blessing that doubles all forms of progress. Every experience point, reward, item drop, and growth gain is multiplied by two.

Seeing the first set of notifications, an excited glint flashed in his eyes.

Although his expression remained stoic, a small smile curved on his face.

More notifications followed.

[ You’ve been promoted to E-Rank ]

[ You’ve received the following rewards ]

[ All your skills have been promoted to A-rank ]

[ Each level up will grant 10 free stat points ]

[ You’ve obtained two new skills ]

[ Punch Of Death (A-rank, Active)

Grants you control over life and death, deals instant death to targets below S-rank

Cooldown Time: 30 Minutes

Requirement: 1000 Aether Points ]

[ Mirror Clone (A-rank, Active)

Create a clone with 60% of your power that can last for up to twenty-four hours.

Cooldown Time: None

Requirement: 1000 Aether Points ]

Marlon calmly scanned the notifications, especially the two new skills added.

Learning that all his skills had been raised to A-rank only fueled his curiosity as he opened his character status.

━━〔 BASIC INFORMATION 〕━━━

Name: Marlon Ashleigh

Talents: Absolute Attack (EX), Venom Vanguard (B)

Power Level: 30 (0%)

Power Rank: E

Health Points: 400/400

Health Regen: 20 HP/min

Aether Points: 20,000/20,000

Aether Regen: 100 AP/min

━━━〔 STATS 〕━━━

Strength: 250 | Agility: 200

Vitality: 40   | Intelligence: 195

Free Points: 10

━━━〔 ATTRIBUTES 〕━━━

Physical Attack: 625 | Magical Attack: 488

Physical Defense: 50% | Magical Defense: 50%

━━━〔 SKILLS 〕━━━

PASSIVE: Drain (A), Eclipse Vision (A), Adamant Body (A), Strength Enhancement (A), Toxic Resistance (A), Venom Adaptation (A), Silent Movement (A), Quick Reflex (A), Danger Sense (A)

ACTIVE: Titan Punch (A), Divine Punch (A), Inspect (A), Venom Rage (A), Mirror Clone (A), Punch Of Death (A)

━━━〔 BLESSINGS 〕━━━

Lifeflow (Sacred-rank)

Limitless (Divine-rank)

Double (Divine-rank)

[ INVENTORY (6/7) ]

x10 High-grade healing potion

x10 High-grade power boosting potion

x5 High-grade aether potion

x2 Skill books

x1 Chaos Gauntlet

x1 Feather Boots

His character status looked more organized than he expected.

Including the skills he obtained from Crimson Sterling—skills he had not even used—everything had been promoted to A-rank.

Each of them now possessed stronger effects.

His most used skill had been renamed to Steel Punch and now dealt 2000% damage.

Even his defenses had risen to fifty percent thanks to his C-rank defense skill, Ironstone Body, upgrading to A-rank, Adamant Body.

As he went through their new effects one by one, a sense of relief washed over him.

For a long moment, the smile on his face brightened.

The pain and trauma he endured during the breakthrough trial had yielded results.

In fact, the results were so great that the intensity of the trauma finally began to fade — the two unique blessings, the new powerful skills, and the other rewards gave him genuine satisfaction.

Nonetheless, while he was still interacting with his system, the door creaked open. A beautiful raven-haired woman stepped inside, followed by a cheerful little boy whose silver hair bounced lightly as he hopped toward him with a bright smile.

Marlon closed the system window and slowly turned toward them, his expression calm but confused. He did not recognize either of them.

"You’re awake," the woman said softly as she approached. Her voice carried a warm, gentle tone. The boy leaned forward, studying Marlon with bright, playful eyes.

"Yeah... I woke up a few minutes ago," Marlon replied quietly. His tone was polite but cautious.

He paused briefly, then asked the questions that pressed in his mind.

"My name is Victoria Silver. I am a soul healer," she replied with a small smile. "You were brought to me by Norian Sterling for treatment due to the trauma you endured during your breakthrough trial."

Marlon listened carefully, and then his ear picked up on a name that made him pause.