Chapter 201: 1st Year end
--
- Several Months Later -
**
[Profile]
Name: Cedric Stormrider
Age: 22
Race: Human IV
Classes: Luminous Sage (Main), Demon Slayer (2nd), Educator (Sub)
Level: Tier 5 Lv.9
Titles: Son of Heaven, Master Tamer (+6)...
System Authority: Lv.9
Companion Beast: Aurelion (Radiant Sunlion) T5 Lv.6
Aptitude Rank: EX+
[Skills]
Actives: Dispel (M), FTL Movement Lv.10, Meteor Slash (Elementary), Sunset Cut (Elementary), Heaven Extinction Sword (Elementary), Flashing Steel Sovereign (Intermediate), Solar Flare (Intermediate), Solaris Galatine (Intermediate),
Passives: CQC Mastery (M), Intermediate Sage Physique (U), Sage's Perception (U), Education Lv.150, Demon Lore (M), Slayer's Mark Lv.70, Sage Arts (M), Marksmanship (M), Sword Heart Lv.10
Sub-Class Skills: (Omitted...)
[Concept Laws]
Laws: Sword Law (Elementary), Fire Law (Elementary), Astral Law (Elementary)
Concepts: Slaughter Intent
[Law Traits]
Sword: Controlled Sharpness, Favored Enemy
Fire: Burning Heat, True Fire
Astral: Astral Genesis, Planetary Formation
Unique Trait: 『Aspect of the Sun (Mastered)』
[Domain]: None
[Equipment]
Weapon: Solaris Edge (T9 - Legendary/Growth)
Armor: Star Sage Set (T9 - Legendary/Growth)
[Mandatory Task:]
: Hell Dive - Survive the Endless Undead Horde for 8 hours twice.
: Rewards - 100% Demon Soul gain, Clearance Streak +1
: Punishment for Failure - Failure Streak +1.
: Record: Clear Streak - 36, Failure Streak - 0
**
It has been a year since Cedeic enrolled at the Starlight Royal Academy...
Within this short year, he had experienced heaven-defying changes. If he were to face the version of himself before coming to the academy, he'd win so easily and with a hand behind his back, that's just how absurdly strong he has gotten.
Hell, if he went all out, who's to say that he wouldn't be able to put up a decent fight against a Planar Traveller?
Still, even with this many changes in him, Cedric still flew under the radar...as best as he could at least. He displays enough talent worthy to be the #1 of his batch, but he purposedly started holding back more and more.
He gave out the impression that his explosive progress was slowing down, and that's allowing others to catch up to him. Still, his position remains unshakeable, especially with his previous feats.
The only people who knew just how absurdly powerful he had gotten were Uruk and most likely the Headmistress of the Academy - whom he had never seen yet.
Ironically, a blind man could tell the truth about Cedric but Uruk isn't exactly a normal person. Even though Cedric had been learning from the man for nearly a year now, he still couldn't tell how strong he was. Uruk looked so plain that it was almost deceiving. Even when Cedric became the real owner of Godking's eyes, he still couldn't see through all of him.
Whatever...just be thankful that he's an ally and don't pry anymore.
His Profile Page has experienced changes along with his growth as well. Because he had mastered a handful of sub-classes now, his sub-class-related skill list became longer and it's cluttering up the page so the system omitted it completely.
They're not gone, they just won't be on display unless Cedric specifically wants them to show up.
His race has been upgraded again once again but only when he reached Tier 5, the bonuses increased considerably after the upgrade. His System Authority increased from Lv.8 to Lv.9 - which is the peak available for a regular citizen like him.
Aurelion's growth still remains impressive. He's on the same Tier as Cedric in terms of the power chart, but because he's a unique existence, Aurelion could tussle with a Tier 9 expert easily.
Cedric also learned many active skills...well, created, more like.
He had completely attuned to his talents, especially after making contact with concept laws. With access to numerous Sword Techniques - due to being a student of Uruk, he had numerous references to make his own techniques.
Cedric even managed to unlike Faster Than Light speed, evolve the Lightspeed movement skill to FTL Movement.
His Sword Heart was now Lv.10, which allowed him to comprehend Sword Laws 10% faster. It's quite difficult to level up but that's to be expected.
Increasing his comprehension and mastery over his concept laws was just as difficult, but the rewards were worth it. In fact, a huge bulk of the drastic increase in Cedric's overall strength comes from these. The skills he created utilize the power of concept laws that's why they're strong.
Unfortunately, he's still far from comprehending a Domain. After all, none of his concept laws reached the Intermediate Level yet.
Reaching the Elementary level of Astral Laws did allow Cedric to complete the 『Aspect of the Sun』, while it's still impossible for him to create an actual sun out of nothing due to the limitations of his strength, he had all the necessary skills and insights to replicate it at the very least.
Also, Cedric has fully converted his Ki to Astral Energy. This caused his 'Elementary Sage Physique' to evolve to 'Intermediate Sage Physique' - allowing his vessel to essentially 'expand' and contain more energy.
He's still practicing the [White Lotus Core Technique], the only difference is that he's using Astral Energy instead of Ki. He also fixed the dilemma of Astral Energy scarcity after he comprehended the first trait of Astral Laws; Astral Genesis, completely. He could now produce his own Astral Energy to replenish his reserve.
His profile also now displays his Equipment, this happened after he created his first magnum opus; the [Star Sage Set].
Remember the True Demon Bone he got from the Broodmother during their time in the army? Yeah, he used that to create his armor. Of course, it's not entirely made out of True Demon Bone, he used all sorts of materials like rare ores, alloys, etc.
He even nearly emptied his APs to buy them since they were very expensive. However, the result was worth it. He crafted an armor set that he could nourish and could grow stronger with him.
The [Star Sage Set] consists of a large chest piece, combat skirt, arm and leg bracers, as well as an inner chainmail, greaves, and a helmet. The armor set has a faint spirituality like Solaris Edge, but not intelligent just yet.
Cedric was nourishing it within his body, it was absorbing a bit of his Astral Energy just like his sword to make it stronger day by day. Due to the potency and quantity of Cedric's Astral Energy, the armor and the sword's growth exploded, allowing them to reach Tier 9, but it seemed that there was a bottleneck right there because something was missing.
Anyway, he'd figure it out eventually. Time's on his side after all. Besides, there's an important thing that he had to focus on for this day.
**
[Title: Promotion Exams]
From: Starlight Royal Academy
: Good day, Freshmen! It has come to our attention that a whole year passed since you joined the Academy. We hope that by now, you've already adjusted to the life here.
: The Teacher's faculty gathered all of your report cards and deliberated upon your progress. We are glad to say that your batch's results have greatly impressed us and we deemed the majority of you ready to take the Promotion Exams. If you pass this, then you will become a Sophomore Student of our Academy and gain more access to our facilities!
: Because of our unique way of teaching, we don't mind if you fail your first attempt. You have a total of five attempts to be promoted. Only after exhausting all of those chances will we talk about your future with us. That said, you can also elect to save your chances and make an attempt next year instead. The exams aren't mandatory, only highly suggested.
: If you're feeling confident about your chances, why not go ahead and take the promotion exam? To pass, the requirements are simple...
Must have a passing grade for all enrolled subjects
Must reach at least Tier 4 Lv.5
Must reach the 3rd Stage of any 2 Zodiac Trials
: No need to register! So long as you see your name amongst the eligible candidates for the Promotion Exams, all you need to do is to gain the requirements. We will know once you have everything and once we do, you are promoted to a Sophomore Student! See? Isn't it simple? We are looking forward to your performance.
Take care and good luck!
Ps. The list of Freshman Students eligible for the Promotion Exams is attached to this file.
**
"It's that time huh?" Cedric mused as he rested in his room.
He opened the attachment and to nobody's surprise, he saw his name at the very top.
Cedric already cleared the 1st and 2nd requirements.
All of his other classes except for the Sword Path have been passed, he already graduated from them several months ago, gaining the highest grades possible.
The Sword Path class is unique since normally, only Sophomore Students can enroll in it, but since Cedric was an anomaly, an exception was made for him. Thirdy told him that this class wouldn't count for the promotion exam requirements. And even if it did somehow, Cedric need not worry since he'll definitely pass.
Additionally, he's a Tier 5 Lv.9 Superhuman now so that settles the 1st and 2nd requirements.
"...the Zodiac Trials, eh?" Cedric mused, "Might as well check it out now, I'm free anyway."