Chapter 53: New function

[You have leveled up!]

[Level 20 Reached!]

[A new function has been unlocked in your status screen!]

The crisp blue system windows flashed brightly in Summer’s vision, hovering gently over the thick corpse of a dead mutated python.

She stood still in the middle of the dark, humid forest, her Iron Brawler Gauntlets dripping with dark, viscous monster blood.

Over the last few hours of non-stop moving, she had hunted continuously through the upper canopy layer, slaughtering several Horned Armored Beasts and massive mutated pythons along her path.

Although they managed to struggle against her initially, as she became experienced in fighting, their struggles dried out.

None of those creatures had possessed special traits, high intellect, or dangerous hidden skills enough to challenge her.

They were simple, brutish beasts, making them nothing more than easy experience points to fuel her rapid growth.

Summer wiped her bloodied gauntlets cleanly against the damp bark of a nearby giant tree, focusing her dark ruby-red eyes on the floating status window in front of her face.

Beneath her basic physical attributes and skill lists, a brand new section had appeared with glowing golden letters.

[Element: None]

[Property: None]

Summer tilted her small head in faint curiosity, staring intently at the empty golden slots.

[Girl, reaching Level 20 is a major milestone for your evolution!]

The system chimed happily inside her mind, sounding genuinely excited for her progress.

[This new function allows you to directly incorporate a specific element and its unique property into your corrupted mana pool!]

[Originally, this special system feature was exclusively reserved for Mana-Blessed creatures.]

[Normal mutants only ever get two strict options for their property slot: Corruption or Destruction.]

[I strongly suggest you choose Corruption as your main property.]

[Choosing Destruction will put heavy limits on your future growth, meaning not all of your puppet skills or secondary abilities will work smoothly with it.]

[Corruption, on the other hand, will work perfectly on everything you use, enhancing all your puppet skills, physical attacks, and aura without any annoying drawbacks!]

Summer’s dark ruby eyes brightened instantly as she listened to the system’s smooth explanation.

Inwardly, she was secretly very happy about this unexpected development.

She had always been quietly jealous of those Mana-Blessed monsters and human awakeners who could freely manipulate elemental forces at will.

Unlike them, she always had to rely strictly on specific skill books just to launch elemental attacks like her new Earth Wall skill, and those skills always came with fixed, unchangeable properties.

Now, she had the rare opportunity to choose and control elements directly using her own internal energy pool.

’How do I choose the property of an element?’ Summer asked in her mind, her voice carrying a hint of eager curiosity.

[It depends entirely on the creativity and perception of the beholder!]

The system began explaining patiently, using simple examples to help her understand the core concept thoroughly.

[Take the element of Fire as a basic example.]

[To an ordinary, simple person, fire simply burns things down. That is its most basic and direct physical property.]

[However, an enlightened beholder can perceive many completely different properties within the exact same element.]

[One person might perceive Fire as gentle warmth that nurtures life during freezing cold winters.]

[Another person might see Fire as pure light that illuminates pitch-black dark places.]

[A holy knight might view Fire as a divine force that cleanses all filth and impurity from the world.]

[Meanwhile, a warlord might see Fire as pure, unbridled destruction that consumes everything in its path until only ashes remain.]

[All of those interpretations are completely valid and recognized by the universe.]

[The property of your element shapes how your mana behaves when you release it into the world during combat.]

[It all comes down to your personal understanding, imagination, and vision!]

Summer nodded her small head slowly, processing the deep knowledge inside her quiet mind.

"What element can I choose?" Summer asked aloud, her pale face turning toward the misty, shadowed woods stretching out ahead.

[You can choose whatever element you like,] the system replied instantly with a light laugh.

[There is no hard limit on how many different elements one person can eventually hold in higher evolution levels.]

[However, you must keep one extremely important rule in mind before making your final decision.]

[If you choose an element now, you will need that specific element’s mastery to reach one hundred percent in order to achieve your Level 30 breakthrough.]

[Level 30 is a major evolutionary bottleneck for all creatures across the universe.]

[No one can ever break through to Level 30 if their chosen element’s mastery has not reached full completion.]

[Raising elemental mastery to one hundred percent is not an easy task at all, so choose wisely!]

Summer went silent for a long moment, her eyes glowing thoughtfully under the dim light filtering through the giant tree canopy.

Mastering an element completely sounded like a very long, tedious process if she picked something she did not truly enjoy or understand deeply.

She had seen very few Mana-blessed monsters so far in her life, so her overall understanding of elemental properties was still quite limited.

Picking a random element right now just because it looked flashy or powerful on paper would be a foolish mistake.

’I will choose my element later,’ Summer decided firmly in her thoughts.

She wanted to encounter more cool, powerful monsters inside this giant forest dungeon first, study their unique elemental abilities in actual battle, and then pick the absolute coolest element for herself.

Three let out a soft, cheerful squeak from behind her ear, nuzzling its soft green body against her neck bowl as if completely agreeing with her smart choice.

Summer reached up her pale gloved hand and pinched Three lightly with her fingers as praise, making the green ball let out a contented, happy cry.

"Let us keep walking, Three," Summer said quietly, her Swift Strider Boots taking a firm step forward on the mossy wooden bark.

She closed her updated status panel and resumed her steady descent down toward the deep Abyss of the dungeon.

The air around her grew noticeably colder and thicker with dense, glowing green fog as she walked deeper along the gigantic tree roots.

The giant trees in this lower layer were far larger than those at the entrance, their massive roots twisting together like colossal wooden bridges over a pitch-black canyon below.

Strange bioluminescent fungi covered the wooden pathways, glowing with faint blue and purple light that cast eerie shadows across the mist.

As Summer walked, her sharp ears caught the faint sound of rushing water echoing from the dark depths beneath her feet.

She stopped near the edge of a massive root, looking down into the deep abyss.

Hundreds of meters below, a roaring underground river ran through the dark canyon floor, its waters corrupted with glowing red mana.

[Notice: Deep Canopy Zone Transitioning to The Abyss Boundary.]

[Monster density in this region is extremely high.]

[Warning: High concentration of mutated aquatic and ambush-type creatures detected.]

Summer did not feel any fear at the system warning.

Instead, she felt her cold zombie heart beat with a faint trace of excitement.

She patted her chest pocket where her new Earth-Pillar Armored Beast Echo was resting safely in its miniature stone doll form.

With her newly elevated stats, her high Agility, and her powerful puppet skills, she was more than ready to face whatever dangerous beasts hid down in the dark canyon.

She checked her pockets to make sure her stone dagger and spare supplies were secure.

Then, with a light jump, Summer leaped off the giant root, dropping gracefully down through the thick mist toward the roaring canyon below.

Three clung tightly to her neck, letting out an excited squeak as the wind rushed past them.