Dragon's Wrath: The Cursed Returnee

Congratulations! You learned the skill Synthesize!

Effect: Grants an additional effect on items and equipment based on the medium used.

Cost: 100 mana

Lv 01 – 0/100

Congratulations! For learning a new ability without help, you received one thousand coins.

Before noon, Ethan finally received that notification, but instead of celebrating, he couldn't help but feel a bit conflicted. His talent for magic was absurdly low. Although he learned a difficult spell alone, he had to pay a great cost.

Ethan used all the thirty thousand coins he obtained in the last battlefields, just buying mana potions to practice that. That wasn't so bad, but considering that he was a hero, such a thing was way too pathetic for his standards.

"Well, I guess this is the price I have to pay for relying too much on exp stealer in the past," Ethan muttered. "Although I'm not a skilled magic user, things can improve with training and perseverance."

Claymore (Common) (+0)

Attack: 15 – 25

Durability: 45/45

Effects: None

Additional effect: Adds five points of magical damage to all your attacks while using this weapon. (295s)

Requirements: 20 STR

Synthesize was a useful skill, but it wasn't almighty. Since Ethan used the core of a weak monster, the additional effect was weak and even had a time limit. There was also the problem of the level of the skill. Still, instead of relying on skill points, Ethan decided to train the skill in combat since the first levels were quite easy to gain.

Another downside of the skill was that Ethan could only have one additional effect at a time, he could strengthen the effect by using the same medium several times, but even that had a limit, and the limit was the quality of his weapon.

"Whatever, given the cost of the skill, leveling up should be easy," Ethan muttered. "Even more so considering that I have Lili's support."

After concluding that, Ethan finally found the next battlefield. It was already noon, but truth be told, he had expected he wouldn't have to fight so soon. He passed by a few villages here and there and saw that they had endured a hard time, but when he passed by them, there was no fight happening.

As if her instincts were warning her, Lili suddenly woke up. Feeling a bit ashamed for falling asleep without realizing it, she silently returned to her job of giving support. However, even though she was concentrated on the task, for some reason, the efficiency of her support decreased. Ethan frowned when he noticed that, but he soon understood what was happening.

"Come to think of it, I skipped dinner before coming here," Ethan scratched the back of his head. "Since then, I didn't stop to eat anything."

Ethan himself didn't notice, but his pace had also slowed down a bit. Although it wasn't one of the best places to have a meal, Ethan and Lili would have to stop for a while in that city after giving a hand with the battle that was happening.

The closer they got to the capital, the sturdier the defenses of the cities and towns would get. The vast majority of the buildings of the next city were made of brick and some types of stones, so the enemies this time around were a bull-like monster who had three horns and some crazy sharp fangs. Ethan was pretty sure that bulls were herbivores, but he couldn't help but frown when he saw one of them biting the leg of a guard with armor and everything.

pαndα,noνɐ1,сoМ "I'd better aim at their heads… that way, I will keep their fangs away from me," Ethan said while unsheathing his claymore. "Things will proceed slower from now on, so you can relax."

Lili couldn't understand the logic behind Ethan's words. Still, he soon understood when he stopped the cart instead of letting it run wild in the momentum while he fought to save time. Unlike the previous times, Ethan didn't have the chance to attack the bull-like monsters while they were busy. Some of them quickly found him and charged in his direction. Ethan prepared himself to use their momentum against them, and he actually did it. With a single slash, his claymore cut the head of a bull in two… but the rest of their body pushed him back several meters before it finally fell on the ground.

You received 160 experience points.

You received 40 coins.

"I really need the Appraisal skill back," Ethan said while observing the broken fingers on his left hand. "This could have been dangerous."

Things got a bit more complicated than Ethan thought. The bull monsters' main weapon was their head, but it was also their weak point… to some extent. Trying to finish things with a single blow was impossible with Ethan's current strength.

"I can't even begin to remember the last time I had to worry about that," Ethan said and prepared himself when the next monster approached. "Let's see if this guy here can be of some help."

Claymore (Common) (+0)

Attack: 15 – 25

Durability: 45/45

Effects: None

Additional effect: Endurance + 20 (299s)

Requirements: 20 STR

Congratulations! The skill Synthesize has leveled up!

Congratulations! For leveling up the skill you learned by yourself, you obtained ten coins.

"Not good, huh," Ethan sighed. "It can't be helped."

Although the effects change according to the equipment, they wouldn't change all that much. If a weapon received a defensive boost, other kinds of equipment would also receive something similar. Regardless, Ethan tried to split the bull's head again. Surprisingly, this time he only got pushed backward a single meter, and he didn't break any finger.

"I guess this is progress," Ethan smiled. "Let's see how many times this can stack up without damaging my weapon."

Lili watched everything, trying to understand the logic behind it. It didn't make any sense from her point of view to see Ethan fighting the monsters on an equal foot so fast. They were clearly much stronger than him. The first fight proved that. However, after that, Ethan, at an astonishing pace, obtained power to rival the monsters. When he fought the fourth bull, the beast didn't make him move backward a single centimeter.