SSS-Rank Talent: Super Upgrade System-Chapter 76: Aftermath and Assimilation!

Daniel lowered his B-Grade Reinforced Shard-Tip Bow, the string still humming faintly from the sheer force of the [Trueflight Barrage] he had unleashed.

The five soulfire-wreathed, poison-tipped missiles had turned the S-Grade Umbral Lynx from a terrifying predator into a smoking, twitching heap against the distant cliff face.

Ayra , still leaning heavily on her great-axe, her crimson berserker aura diminished to a faint flicker, stared at the distant impact site.

"Vance," she finally managed, her voice a hoarse whisper that barely carried over the suddenly profound silence.

"That wasn’t just an arrow, you launched it with the fury of five vengeful gods. What was that?"

Lia, ever composed but with a new layer of profound respect in her calm grey eyes, slowly lowered her A-Grade Staff.

The emerald healing light she’d been channeling to keep Ayra from completely falling apart gradually faded.

"The energy signature was... astronomical, Daniel. Far beyond any archery skill I’ve encountered in the Academy archives."

Daniel offered a tired but satisfied grin.

"A-Grade Hunter class skill, [Trueflight Barrage]. Just something I picked up for situations requiring... extreme prejudice against vengeful, S-Grade shadow-cats.

" He decided not to elaborate on the fact that he’d just learned it seconds before using it, or that it was further amplified by his B-Grade [Savage Might] and the chilling touch of his B-Grade [Soulfire Shroud].

Sometimes, less explanation was more impressive.

Ayra looked from Daniel, to his bow, then back to the distant, very deceased Umbral Lynx.

The sheer power disparity was becoming harder and harder for her S-Grade pride to swallow.

"Right. Note to self: don’t get on Vance’s bad side when he’s holding a bow. Or probably even a particularly pointy stick."

Daniel chuckled. "Glad we’re on the same page. Now, before its equally angry spouse’s second cousin twice removed shows up, let’s see what lovely parting gifts our furry friends left us."

The first priority was the S-Grade Umbral Lynx. It was quite a trek to where it had impacted the cliff, leaving a surprisingly deep crater.

The beast, despite being Level 18 and S-Grade, was thoroughly deceased. Daniel knelt, his hand hovering over its cooling, smoky fur.

His Tier 2 [Soul Assimilation] talent hummed, eager. He still had plenty of charges, around twenty-six out of his current limit of thirty.

<Assimilate?> Yes.

A torrent of wild, agile, and intensely spiritual energy surged into him, mixed with echoes of shadow and vengeance.

[Soul Assimilation successful on Creature: Umbral Lynx – Vengeful Mate (S-Grade, Level 18)!]

[Gain: Vitality +270, Agility +405, Spirit +235, Adaptability +90!]

[New Skill Acquired: SMOKE CLOUD (A-Grade)!]

[Combat EXP Gained: 850!]

[Level 6: 2596/2800 EXP]

[Assimilation Charge Consumed (25/30 Remaining).]

The attribute gains were incredible, especially Agility, pushing his base well over 200 now. The EXP was a massive boost, leaving him just shy of Level 7. And an A-Grade [Smoke Cloud] skill? He quickly checked its details. freewebnσvel.cøm

[Skill: Smoke Cloud (A-Grade): Active Skill. Conjure a dense, swirling cloud of disorienting smoke within a 30-meter radius for 1 minute.

The smoke heavily obscures vision, muffles sound, and carries minor corrosive properties that can irritate eyes and lungs of those without protection.

User can see perfectly within their own smoke. Moderate mana cost. Cooldown: 2 minutes.]

"Ooh, tactical battlefield control," Daniel mused. This would be perfect for breaking enemy formations, covering retreats, or just generally making life miserable for anyone trying to aim at him.

Next, he returned to the clearing where the S-Grade Dark Cloud Leopard, Level 17, had met its explosive, unseen demise at his S-Grade Solar Flare Fist.

Nyx, his Shadow Wolf Pup, was already there, sniffing cautiously at the faint lingering scent of ozone and vaporized S-Grade predator.

She looked up at Daniel and yipped, as if to say, "You missed a spot, boss."

"Right you are, girl," Daniel said, patting her head. He focused on the faint residual energy of the Leopard.

<Assimilate?> Yes.

Another powerful wave of essence washed over him, this one feeling heavier, more physically dominant than the Lynx.

[Soul Assimilation successful on Creature: Dark Cloud Leopard – Apex Predator (S-Grade, Level 17)!]

[Gain: Strength +415, Vitality +380, Adaptability +280!]

[New Skill Acquired: COUNTERATTACK STORM (A-Grade)!]

[Combat EXP Gained: 700!]

[Level 6: 3296/2800 EXP]

[Congratulations! You have reached Level 7!]

[All Attributes +1!]

[Free Attribute Points Gained: 5!]

[Free Class Skill Point Gained: 1!]

[Soul Assimilation Charges Fully Restored and Limit Increased!]

Level 7! "Boom!"

The familiar surge of power, even more potent this time, washed through him. Fatigue vanished, his attributes climbed yet again, and his Assimilation charges were topped up to a new limit of 35!

This was fantastic. He quickly allocated the 5 attribute points to Strength, because punching things into other dimensions never got old.

The Class Skill Point he’d save for a rainy day, or when he found another ridiculously overpowered archery skill.

The new A-Grade skill, [Counterattack Storm], sounded particularly juicy.

[Skill: Counterattack Storm (A-Grade): Active Skill. For 5 seconds, user enters a state of absolute defense, massively increasing damage resistance (effectively multiplying defense by five).

All damage absorbed during this period is then unleashed in a single, devastating counterattack omnidirectional shockwave. High mana cost. Cooldown: 5 minutes.]

"Absolute defense and a full damage reflect? Yes, please!" Daniel felt like a kid in a candy store of apocalyptic abilities.

This skill filled a crucial defensive gap, allowing him to weather an overwhelming attack and turn it back on his foes.

He looked at Lia and Ayra, who were watching him with a mixture of awe and slight trepidation as faint motes of light danced around him from the assimilations.

"Just gathering some... lingering energy," he said with a casual wave. "Waste not, want not, especially when it comes to S-Grade beast bits."

His Nexus Interface chimed again. His SSS-Talent was having a field day with the new high-grade essences.

[Detected compatible skill resonance: Existing A-Grade [Smoke Cloud] and aspects of your A+-Grade [Shadow Glide+] (related to shadow manipulation and evasion).]

[Attempting Skill Fusion...]

[Fusion Successful! Skill Enhanced: [Shadow Glide+] (A+-Grade) has been further refined and empowered, evolving into TWILIGHT PHANTOM STEP (S-Grade)!]

S-Grade! His primary movement and stealth skill had just hit S-Grade! Daniel’s grin threatened to split his face.

[Skill: Twilight Phantom Step (S-Grade): Passive/Active Skill. Passively, user exists in a state of perpetual twilight displacement, making them exceptionally difficult to target or perceive by all senses.

All sounds of movement are utterly nullified, aura is cloaked in shifting shadows. Actively, for 30 seconds, user can move at speeds approaching thought, phase through most non-magical and minor magical barriers, and perform up to three short-range ’Twilight Blinks’ (instantaneous teleports up to 20 meters).

User appears as an almost undetectable, flickering phantom of shadow and distorted light. Significant initial mana cost, moderate upkeep for active state. Cooldown: 40 seconds.]

"Holy... moly," Daniel breathed. This was beyond [Voidwalk], beyond [Shadow Glide+].

This was true phantom-hood. The ground wouldn’t just tremble; it would probably forget he’d ever touched it.

Ayra stared at him, then at the empty space where the S-Grade beasts had been. "Vance," she said slowly.

"Are you... are you sure you’re not just a god pretending to be a recruit for kicks? Because this is getting ridiculous."

Daniel just winked. "Still got a ways to go, Ayra. But we’re making progress."

He looked around the now significantly less threatening clearing. "Right, I believe we have a few more Yin cards to collect from those previous... enthusiastic greeters. And then, we need to find some Yang cards. The clock is ticking."

The trio, now significantly more powerful and with Daniel possessing a truly terrifying S-Grade movement skill, continued their sweep of the Dark Forest’s edge.

Daniel, moving like a whisper of twilight, easily located and assimilated the corpses of other unfortunate Awakened they came across, mostly giving small stat boosts and more chances for laughably bad F-grade skills.

The Yin card count continued to climb.

But as they neared the central S-shaped mountain range that divided the Taiji Basin, Daniel’s [Aura Sense+] picked up something new: a large congregation of Awakened, their energy signatures tense and focused, gathered near a narrow pass that likely led into the Yang region.

"Looks like we might have found a toll booth," Daniel said, his eyes narrowing.