Chapter 13: The Price of Power

Sword Storm!?

Seeing a streak of dark gold on the skill panel, Yenir’s heart pounded uncontrollably, leaving him feeling parched.

Even though he had witnessed numerous grand scenes in his past life, he still couldn’t contain his excitement at the sight of any skill upgraded to SSS level.

He suppressed the jumble of emotions within him.

After a moment, Yenir’s eyes lit up as he read the skill’s usage requirements.

It takes 4500 spirit energy to use it once… what a terrifying cost.

Fortunately, his innate talent allowed him to use any skill once every 48 hours; otherwise, he suspected that even if he were completely drained, he wouldn’t manage a single use.

For example, at 0th rank with 15 willpower points, his inner spirit energy reserve was roughly 1500 points.

Upon advancing to 1st rank (basic), his maximum willpower would be 20 with 2000 spirit energy; at 2nd rank with 30 willpower, it would be 3000 points; and at 3rd rank with 40 willpower, 4000 points…

In other words, without equipment bonuses, he’d barely be able to use a skill until he reached 3rd rank.

With such a massive cost, he had no idea what the actual effect would be.

Reading the description on the skill panel, Yenir stifled his urge to experiment immediately and fell into deep thought.

The Sword God System forbade him from revealing any details about his innate talent, meaning he couldn’t explain his abilities to the outside world for now.

Logically, the stronger one’s power, the more the nation would value them and invest additional resources.

But what about explaining his combat ability using his inherent talent—Extraordinary Will?

After a moment’s contemplation, Yenir realized that he simply had no way to explain it.

Extraordinary Will grants an extra 3 willpower points with every rank increase and provides a 1000% boost to spirit energy recovery.

The further he progressed, the more monstrous his strength became.

Moreover, advancing to 4th rank was also deeply tied to his willpower attributes.

But for now, Extraordinary Will merely amplified his willpower, offering only a limited boost to his true combat strength.

He let out a sigh.

Oh well, he decided not to overthink it.

Once his identity as a seed was confirmed in the capital, he planned to level up to 2nd rank in one go, then find any excuse to justify his actual combat power.

Using Sword Storm at 0th rank might seem impossible, but for an SSS-tier talent, 2nd rank was barely acceptable.

Generally speaking, high-tier talents outperform lower ones because they not only come with superior innate traits but also provide more attribute points upon leveling up.

For instance, a B-tier talent gains 3 attribute points per rank, an A-tier 4, S-tier 5… while an SSS-tier talent absurdly gains 7 points!

Every single attribute point leads to a massive boost in power.

Furthermore, the four main categories—Strength, Agility, Constitution, and Will—determine the effect of each point. For an awakened warrior with a strength talent, if points are allocated to agility, the benefit is reduced to merely 50%.

This means that every awakened individual must invest points according to their inherent nature, or risk a significant drop in power.

A few minutes later, as Yenir was still pondering his next steps, a clamor of footsteps suddenly echoed from outside.

“Yenir!?”

An excited female voice rang out from beyond the door.

Startled, Yenir instinctively looked toward the iron door and instantly recognized that the voice belonged to the most important person in his life.

…..

The next morning.

“Lord Yenir, are you planning to head to the test instance?”

On the military transport, Captain Huang looked at Yenir inquisitively and asked.

“That’s right, Captain Huang.”

“I want to experience real combat.”

Yenir smiled and calmly explained, feigning curiosity about his awakened strength.

Observing Yenir’s demeanor, Captain Huang didn’t overthink it and kindly remarked:

“Lord Yenir, I understand your eagerness for real combat.”

“Although I’m not entirely familiar with the abilities of Mental Type awakened individuals, typically those with Strength and Agility talents exhibit stronger combat potential in the early stages. And if the test doesn’t go well, don’t be discouraged.”

“After all, you haven’t mastered any skills yet—your combat strength relies solely on your base attributes.”

Normally, an ordinary person’s attributes wouldn’t exceed 9 before awakening. But once awakened, regardless of their prior physical condition, the system boosts them uniformly to 10 and adds extra points based on their innate talent.

This results in awakened individuals with Strength and Agility talents having a noticeable edge in early combat.

He nodded in acknowledgment.

Half an hour later, as the military transport slowly came to a stop, Yenir’s gaze shifted to a towering spire.

Unlike typical human-made structures, the hundred-meter-high tower was surrounded by heavy military guard.

This so-called test instance was a facility developed by humans over years following the apocalypse to simulate real-world dungeon scenarios.

Once inside, it could mimic post-apocalyptic dungeons almost 1:1, enhancing combat experience.

However, unlike naturally occurring dungeons after the apocalypse, the human-built test instance allowed one to exit at any time upon facing lethal danger, greatly enhancing safety. This made it especially popular among lower-tier awakened individuals.

Of course, one reason was that Yenir wanted to truly test his abilities—venturing outside the Safe Zone wasn’t an option.

At this stage, he appeared too weak to outsiders; stepping out would inevitably require a protective entourage.

The military transport came to a halt.

Under the protection of four elite soldiers, Yenir disembarked and headed straight for the instance entrance.

Although it was still early morning, many lower-tier awakened individuals had gathered near the tower, ready to train.

Many of those about to enter the instance instinctively turned their gazes toward Yenir at the sound of approaching footsteps.

Seeing Yenir escorted by the military left many in awe.

Who is this guy… and what’s his story?

Ignoring the curious stares, Yenir made a beeline for the instance guide’s podium.

“Open a low-level instance for me—any type will do.”

After speaking swiftly, Yenir’s heart raced with anticipation, eager to see what his skill could do.

Taken aback, the guide glanced at the four awakened individuals trailing behind Yenir and muttered to himself.

He wondered, ‘Which big shot’s offspring is this?’

Not wanting to waste time, a minute later an activation token was handed directly to Yenir.

With the token in hand, Yenir nodded subtly to Captain Huang behind him and promptly activated the instance.

In the next instant, a flash of white light enveloped him, and his figure vanished without a trace.

…..

Beep. Entering test instance. Current scene: City. Threat level: Low.

After a brief moment of daze, Yenir regained his footing and quickly scanned his surroundings.