Chapter 74: Party Upgrade

Emeric woke before dawn.

The room was dark and Isolde was still asleep beside him, her head on his chest, her hand over his heart. He lay still for a moment, listening to her breathe.

Then he slipped out of bed.

He spent the morning training.

The backyard was small. A patch of grass. A few training dummies he’d cobbled together from old sacks and wooden posts. He moved through his forms.

Testing out his daggers, footwork.

He pulled up the system and went through his skills. The only skills he had unlocked were wind and fire. He rarely used fire. Lightning being a subsidiary of it was more suited to him.

Maybe he needed to try to unlock his other element affinities.

No. That would bring too much attention.

During his evaluation, the system had hidden his other affinities. He let it remain so.

He brushed sweat from his brow as he continued to train.

He was pushing himself harder than usual.

The Molten Citadel had taught him something. He was strong—stronger than he’d been a month ago. But he wasn’t strong enough. Not yet.

He needed to be much stronger.

He trained until his arms ached and his legs trembled. Until his mana was nearly depleted.

Then he stopped.

He thought about the party and an idea hit him.

Their weapons were basic even for a D-rank party. He had noticed that most of their armor was worn and still, they had walked into a C-rank rift with D-rank equipment and nearly died for it.

He needed to fix that.

He knew someone who could help.

He went back to training.

By the time it was midday, he was drenched in sweat.

He collapsed onto the grass, breathing hard and staring at the sky. The sun had snuck behind several stretches of clouds.

His body was sore and not the good kind of sore either.

Ouuh! He winced as he tried to move where he lay. He reached for the system.

---

[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]

[STATUS — EMERIC HALDEN]

TIER: 7th (12% → 6th)

STRENGTH: 53 → 56

AGILITY: 49 → 52

MANA: 43 → 46

MANA CORE: Active

DEVOTION POINTS (DP):756

BOND METER: 97/100

---

He stared at the numbers.

7th Tier.

He had broken through and he had barely felt it in the heat of the moment.

He sat up and frowned, staring at the glowing screen in front of him. When had that happened?

He thought back. The last few days had been a blur. The only thing he could really think back to was the failed attempt at the raid of the Molten Citadel.

The systrem would not reward for that could it? No.

Wait, he gained combat experience and experience in general with each battle, so maybe that added up nicely.

He hadn’t checked his status in days.

He pulled up the combat log.

---

[COMBAT LOG — RECENT GAINS]

[MOLTEN CITADEL — RIFT FAILED]

[BEASTS DEFEATED:]

- Ember Rats: 47

- Magma Hounds: 9

- Fire Sprites: 23

[NOTE: EXPERIENCE GAINED BUT NOT INITIALLY REWARDED DUE TO RIFT FAILURE.]

[ADDITIONAL EXPERIENCE GAINED FROM MOLTEN CITADEL — RETROACTIVE]

[TIER PROGRESS: 68% → 100%]

[TIER BREAKTHROUGH ACHIEVED]

[8th TIER → 7th TIER]

---

He carelly read the breakdown of how he had broken through to the next tier. The systen actually rewarded him for the XP gained during that battle. He had no complaints about that if it helped him grow stronger. He had a much longer journey ahead of him so he was not about to look a gift horse in the mouth.

He had grown stronger from the failed raid and he didn’t know whether to laugh or feel guilty.

---

[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]

[NEW SKILLS UNLOCKED]

[SKILL UNLOCKED: SHADOWSTRIKE (ACTIVE)]

[RANK: D]

[DESCRIPTION: A devastating attack that channels darkness into your blade. When activated, your next strike deals 200% damage and ignores 50% of the target’s physical resistance. If the target is unaware of your presence, the damage is doubled.]

[COOLDOWN: 60 SECONDS]

[SKILL UNLOCKED: PHANTOM DASH (ACTIVE)]

[RANK: D]

[DESCRIPTION: Upgraded from Phantom Step. A rapid burst of movement that allows you to dash through enemies, passing through them as if you were a ghost. During the dash, you are immune to physical attacks. At the end of the dash, you may strike one target with a bonus 100% damage.]

[COOLDOWN: 45 SECONDS]

---

He read the notification and went through the description for each skill.

These were good skills. Really good.

He closed the notification.

His mind went to Isolde’s cure.

Three more components he didn’t know and he needed to unlock them.

He focused on the system. Reached for the query.

---

[SYSTEM QUERY RECEIVED]

[CURE REQUIREMENTS — UNLOCK CONDITIONS]

[ADDITIONAL COMPONENTS WILL BE UNLOCKED AS YOUR TIER INCREASES AND YOUR BOND DEEPENS.]

[CURRENT PROGRESS: 1/4 COMPONENTS ACQUIRED]

[SYSTEM NOTE: YOU ARE CLOSE. CONTINUE TO GROW. CONTINUE TO INVEST. THE PATH FORWARD IS CLEAR.]

---

This was the first time it actually told him what he needed to get the other components unlocked.

He just needed to push a little harder.

The door opened behind him to reveal Isolde.

She was in the doorway and her hair was a mess. Her eyes were still heavy with sleep.

"You’re pretty active today," she said.

"Training."

She wheeled closer and stopped beside him.

"You look tired."

"I am."

"Come inside. I’ll make you breakfast."

He stood. Helped her back inside.

---

[DEVOTION LOGGED: SHARING MORNINGS — QUIET MOMENTS TOGETHER]

[DP AWARDED: +3]

[BOND METER: 97 → 98]

---

They ate in silence for a few minutes when she spoke up.

She had been studying him as they ate. She could read the tension in his shoulders..

"What are you planning?"

The question caught him off guard. He supposed there was not much he could hide from her. She knew him all too well.

"I need to upgrade the party’s gear."

She raised an eyebrow. "All of them?"

"All of them. Their weapons are dull. Their armor is cracked. We barely survived the last rift because we weren’t prepared." He paused. "I know someone who can help."

"Who?"

"A blacksmith. Unique class. The best I’ve ever seen."

Isolde’s expression shifted into curiosity. "Unique class? Those are rare."

"He owes me a favor."

"What kind of favor?"

Emeric’s mind went into a deep state of thought for a few seconds before pulling himself out of it.

"It’s a long story."

She tilted her head. "I have time."

He was quiet for a moment.

"His name is Bjorn. We met at the Royal Magic Academy."