Born In Ashes: The Enigma

(You have killed level 38 Epic-rank Fallen Undead Knight. Strength +15, Agility +13, Stamina +18, Cosmic Energy +16)

(You have leveled up and reached Level 18)

(You have leveled up and reached Level 19)

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The moment the head of the undead knight fell, Azrael felt a wave of power surge through him like never before, making him significantly stronger.

His level had also increased by two, bringing him a step closer to reaching the peak of the Class Level and advancing to the Epic Level.

Azrael bathed in the intoxicating sensation of the newfound power coursing through his body and took a deep breath, using force utilization to keep his strength under control.

When he glanced at his Cosmic Energy, he saw that he only had nineteen points remained, sixteen of which had come from killing the undead knight just now.

Without wasting a second, he pulled out an energy recovery potion and gulped it down while turning his attention toward Luo Bingqing and Elyara's battle.

As he watched their fight, he noticed that although they were struggling, they were still capable of holding their ground against the undead knight by perfectly utilizing their abilities.

'They are really strong…' Azrael couldn't help but nod inwardly when he saw them cooperating so flawlessly.

Azrael knew that the only reason he was able to fight against the undead knight and kill it without sustaining any serious injury was because of the Wings of Wind that allowed him to fly.

Normally, unless a person possessed a corresponding skill or Essentia Art, flight was only possible after becoming a Planetary Being.

But thanks to the Wings of Wind, Azrael could fly even though he was still just a Class Level warrior.

Not only that, his mastery over the Wings of Wind was at the perfect level; it was only due to the weakness of his wind power that he could utilize it at merely a Entry-Level mastery.

However, even though he could only use the Entry-Level mastery of the Wings of Wind Essentia Art for now, it was still far stronger than a normal Essentia Art of the same level as Azrael's understanding of it had already reached perfection.

When Azrael saw Luo Bingqing's armor and the forest of ice spikes surrounding him, he determined that both were Class Skills.

At the same time, he noticed that unlike before, Luo Bingqing had finally embedded a substance, and it was undeniably powerful—something that enhanced the strength of his ice powers by at least 1.8 times.

Azrael was already aware of Elyara's Heat attribute after watching her fight against monsters earlier, and now he also witnessed her Class Skill in action.

When a single arrow from her completely vaporized the undead knight, even Azrael was stunned and he couldn't help but narrow his eyes and study her bow intently.

Thanks to his Infinite Comprehension Trait, he could clearly see how the power of her final arrow had almost doubled because of her Epic-level bow.

After the undead knight's death, Elyara reached Level 21 while Luo Bingqing reached Level 20. Compared to Azrael, their leveling speed was much faster.

But this was understandable, as Azrael's Source Core was far stronger than theirs and required significantly more energy to level up.

Azrael wasn't bothered by this fact as he knew that precisely because of this, he would always remain far stronger than others of the same level.

After the fight ended, Azrael walked toward both of them.

Hearing the sound of approaching footsteps, the two, who had collapsed onto the ground turned to look at him and seeing that he bore only shallow sword wounds despite having fought the undead knight alone, both of them couldn't help but sigh.

"After we get back, I am definitely going to learn an Essentia Art that allows me to fly," Elyara said, her voice full of complaints.

During the battle with the knight, they had caught glimpses of Azrael soaring in the air, seemingly toying with the enemy, and couldn't help but feel a stab of jealousy.

"You make it sound as if learning an Essentia Art is easy," Luo Bingqing replied with a roll of his eyes as he sat up with difficulty.

Among the three, he was the most seriously injured, having blocked the knight's attacks to give Elyara the opportunity to land the killing blow.

Taking out a healing potion, he drank it. But even with the potion's effects, it would take him a few hours to recover completely.

"At least we are now closer to reaching the peak of Class Level after killing them," Azrael said to them and both of them couldn't help but smile as they glanced at the increase in their levels and stat points after killing the undead knight.

However, when their eyes shifted back to Azrael, their smiles stiffened slightly.

Both of them had received many stat points after killing the undead knight, but that was after they had teamed up and shared the knight's energy.

Azrael, on the other hand, had killed the knight alone, meaning the boost he had received must have been far greater than theirs.

'Damn it, taking the first spot from him in the assessment three months from now won't be easy…' Both of them thought simultaneously.

Azrael, however, paid no attention to their thoughts and his gaze shifted toward the golden casket at the far end of the chamber.

"Now that both of them are dead, shall we take a look at our reward?" He said lightly, though his eyes shone with anticipation.

Elyara and Luo Bingqing quickly returned to their senses and looked toward the golden casket with eager expressions as well.

"I hope there's something worthy of the effort we put into killing those undeads," Elyara said as she stood up alongside Luo Bingqing.

The three of them walked together to the stone platform at the end of the chamber and stopped in front of the golden casket.

"Let's hope it isn't just rotten bones inside," Elyara commented in a slightly nervous tone and with a gentle push, they opened the casket.