Chapter 44: Watch Closely, I'm About to Use Cheats!

After reaching Tier 2, all of Cohen's talents and skills were fully upgraded.

[Shadow Step] consumed less mana, and he could now remain hidden in the shadows for twenty minutes before his mana was depleted, which was enough to sustain a small-scale battle.

[Disarm] could now snatch the weapons of five opponents simultaneously, and [A Thousand Armaments] could similarly provide mana-infused weapons for five teammates at the same time.

In team combat, this directly established an overwhelming equipment advantage.

[Counterattack Storm], this divine skill, extended the duration of absolute defense, enhanced the effect of absolute defense, and prolonged the stun effect.

The notification chimes for advancing to Tier 2 kept ringing in his ears:

"Awakened talent: [Child of the Mist]."

[Child of the Mist]: Your past, present, and future are concealed within the eternal mists of the endless night, impossible for anyone to pierce or see through.

Child of the Mist!

A subtle flicker crossed Cohen's eyes—he finally obtained this talent!

In the game of his past life, this was a patch introduced by the developers for players.

Since players were not natives of the game world, their true identities could never be figured out by the aborigines of the Mana Tide Continent. To prevent bugs—given that certain transcendent classes possessed powerful clairvoyant and predictive abilities—the developers added the "Child of the Mist" attribute to every single player.

"Advanced to Tier 2, acquired two free attribute points."

Without hesitation, Cohen allocated both points directly to his willpower.

His current willpower was now completely comparable to that of an average Tier 4 transcendent.

If he were to battle Bogus again right now, his [Disarm] skill would be able to successfully trigger and take effect.

"Second baptism of dragon blood, tempering of the Bronze Body—80%."

Having just stepped into Tier 2, Cohen had already completed the vast majority of his Bronze Body's tempering, though this had completely exhausted all of his dragon blood.

Moving forward, unless he could find a fresh batch of dragon blood to continue tempering his physique, he would have to rely on step-by-step, conventional cultivation.

"Advanced to Tier 2. Unlocked the Rune Library and Equipment Library. Items can be exchanged using wealth points."

"Rune Library: [Might (Silver Quality)], [Shadow Sprint (Silver Quality)], [Dexterity (Silver Quality)], [Universal Scope (Gold Quality)]"

"Equipment Library: [Guardian's Dagger], [Potency Potion]."

The runes and equipment were the leftover items from his initial newbie pack and his advancement into the transcendent ranks.

Now that he had reached Tier 2, the Rune Library and Equipment Library had unlocked, allowing him to purchase items using gold coins.

The prices were identical to those in the game of his past life.

Each silver rune cost fifty thousand gold coins, while each gold rune cost one hundred thousand.

All pieces of equipment uniformly cost thirty thousand gold coins.

Cohen clicked his tongue slightly in amazement.

Fortunately, he had previously robbed that Silver Badge 207 who attempted to assassinate him.

Otherwise, he wouldn't even be able to afford the cheapest piece of equipment right now.

With a major battle fast approaching, wealth needed to be converted into immediate combat power!

That Silver Badge 207 had left behind more than twenty thousand gold coins; combined with what he had left in his own possession, it was roughly enough to afford a single piece of equipment.

As for runes, he could forget about them for now, since even the cheapest silver rune required fifty thousand gold.

Unless he was willing to shamelessly cozy up to Her Majesty the Queen to freeload resources again, his only way to strike it rich would be to make a killing off this upcoming raid on the Black Tomb!

Cohen looked at the descriptive details of the two equipment options:

[Guardian's Dagger: 30 attack power, 10 armor penetration, 10 attack speed. Passive: Effects are increased by 50% when attacking non-human targets. Hitting a non-human target grants a 50% movement speed bonus lasting for three seconds.]

Non-human creatures were typically only encountered when adventuring in dungeons or raiding demonic cave instances.

[Potency Potion: Grants a 20% bonus to spell power and attack power lasting for 5 minutes. Comes with three charges, with each charge regenerating every 24 hours.]

This option was much more straightforward and brutal, effectively granting a direct twenty-percent boost to his overall strength for five minutes, and it could even be used on teammates.

The native inhabitants of the Mana Tide Continent had similar items as well—the masterpieces of a sub-branch of sorcerers known as [Alchemists], referred to as magic potions.

Regrettably, many of these formulas and items had been lost throughout the generations due to the fragmentation of human civilization.

Moreover, most of those native magic potions came with severe and powerful side effects.

It was no exaggeration to say that, based solely on this bottle of [Potency Potion], Cohen could easily become an honored guest of any major alchemists' guild!

After much deliberation, Cohen ultimately chose the [Potency Potion].

A flash of purple light swept past, and a delicate, intricate purple pattern appeared on Cohen's arm.

With a thought, a dark purple, cylindrical miniature vial materialized in his hand. The body of the container possessed a subtle curvature, feeling remarkably comfortable and ergonomic when gripped.

With another thought, the vial vanished.

A fine skill indeed.

Finally, no mechanical chimes sounded in his ears anymore; this round of leveling up had come to an end.

Golden light condensed slightly in Cohen's eyes as the familiar system panel manifested before him:

[Name: Cohen Corleone]
[Race: Human]
[Age: 16]
[Attributes: Strength (12), Agility (11), Willpower (15), Intelligence (14), Charm (19)]
[Talents: Shadow Step (Tier 2), Weapon Mastery, Child of the Mist]
[Transcendent Class: Secret Class, Dragon-Sealed Weapon Master. Bronze Body: 80%]
[Class Tier: Tier 2 (Mid Bronze), Experience Points: 0/1000]
[Class Skills: Disarm (Tier 2), A Thousand Armaments (Tier 2), Counterattack Storm (Tier 2)]
[Passive Skills: Weapon Mastery]
[Runes: Pouring Oil on Fire]
[Equipment: Ghost Crab, Potency Potion.]

Cohen slowly opened his eyes. Beneath his mask, his pupils flashed with a stern, awe-inspiring golden radiance, and an intangible aura of oppression radiated from his body. He looked like a deity descending from the realm of Oz, every glance carrying the authority to judge the mortal world.

With a casual kick, Cohen sent the unconscious Bogus flying toward Theodore's private box, his indifferent gaze sweeping across the room like the edge of a blade.

Though he hadn't uttered a single word, the warning conveyed was severe and unmistakable.

Theodore grabbed his heavily battered nephew—who no longer even looked human—with a completely expressionless face. He cast one deep, lingering look at the arena, then turned and left with his guards in tow.

Not a single superfluous murmur broke the silence within the gladiatorial arena. Everyone was calculating silently in their minds, bizarre and complicated glances intersecting in the air.

The scene that unfolded today had taught everyone a profound lesson.

In terms of strength, Bogus was at the Silver rank, surpassing his opponent by an entire major tier—wasn't that enough to crush him?

In terms of lineage and background, the Dupont family was a viscount lineage with a century-old heritage, backed by a cabinet minister—wasn't that powerful enough?

And what was the result?

Bogus had been beaten into the shape of a dead dog, and his family's dignity and pride had been completely dragged through the dirt!

The Dupont family hadn't even dared to leave behind a single harsh threat as they slunk away in defeat.

It was hard to imagine that the one responsible for all of this was merely a sixteen-year-old youth whose very identity had not yet even been publicly revealed!

It was only at this moment that many truly understood the phrase often written in power-fantasy novels:

Never bully a young man for being poor!

Raymond's voice broke the prolonged silence:

"Mr. 'Lord of Shadows' has claimed thirty consecutive victories with a hundred percent win rate. From this day forward, he is an official seeded prospect of our [Divine Guard Reserve Camp]!

Whoever dares to make a move against the 'Lord of Shadows' from now on will be considered as declaring war against the Transcendent Gladiatorial Arena!"

No one would ever take the warning of a veteran Legendary-tier powerhouse lightly.

From now on, whoever dared to openly target the "Lord of Shadows" would have to carefully weigh whether they could withstand the fury of a Legendary-tier expert and the retaliation of a continent-spanning organization!

Inside the Cabinet Box:

The Prime Minister slowly stood up and spoke to Grand Duke Hauge:

"It wouldn't be convenient for us to step forward directly. You shall represent the royal family in continuing contact with this gentleman. If he is willing, I will first bestow upon him the title of Honorary Baron, granting him state-level talent privileges."

Grand Duke Hauge nodded expressionlessly and replied:

"I know what needs to be done."

The Prime Minister then turned his gaze toward the rather grim-looking Chief Justice, Baron Gore, and said softly:

"Gore, you will represent the cabinet to pay condolences to the Dupont family. As for the broken arm of their heir, I will personally go and speak with the Elven Ambassador to see if we can acquire a sacred elven fruit."

Baron Gore quickly replied:

"Thank you, Prime Minister. I will make sure to inform the Dupont family how to conduct themselves."

Baron Gore completely understood the subtext behind the Prime Minister's words—this matter ended right here, and the Dupont family was strictly forbidden from having any further conflicts with the "Lord of Shadows."

The Prime Minister nodded with satisfaction, stood up, stretched slightly, and remarked:

"A magnificent young man!

My friends, pay more attention to the cultivation of the younger generation in your respective families from now on, and don't let people across the continent look down upon us Efine nobility!"

"Yes, Prime Minister!"