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Berserker Path

A path driven by rage and instinct. Berserkers grow stronger as they lose control, trading pain for power. The closer they are to death, the more terrifying they become. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Stat Growth:

-Strength ×2

-Stamina ×2

-Agility x2

Benefits:

-Lifesteal effects

-Increased attack speed

-High damage output

Special Trait:

Blood Frenzy – Damage increases as health decreases

Pain Conversion – A portion of damage taken is converted into bonus attack power and attack speed for a short time.

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Floki was all smiles as he read the description of the Berserker Path, his eyes lingering slightly on each line. In his opinion, it was far greater than the Duelist Path and every other path he had awakened so far.

It doubled the three most important stats in battle. It was beyond special.

And yet, one of his people now owned this path.

It was a thing of great joy.

It seemed everyone was able to learn about their path through some unknown means. Unlike Floki, who relied on his system, Jabba and Anton could tell the path they had awakened immediately after awakening, as if the knowledge appeared naturally.

Floki wondered how that was possible, but he was not curious enough to ask.

He continued training the others present, handing out quest after quest as their levels increased steadily under his guidance.

Those who had never leveled up before grew faster at the beginning. Just a single difficult quest could raise them by two or three levels depending on how difficult the quest was, and even simple quests still increased their levels, giving them steady progress.

Time passed gradually, and by the time evening arrived, he had already managed to take fifteen more people into Silver-rank and awaken their paths.

The paths awakened in this case were not special. Warrior doubled stamina and strength, Archer doubled agility and dexterity, and Assassin doubled agility and strength.

Still, Floki was overjoyed with the results.

By the time the moon took its place in the sky, Floki was mentally exhausted from giving out quests and constant calculations, so he ordered the people to go home, eat, rest for a while, and return later.

While they left, he entered the town hall.

He had already fed Nightfang during training by taking a short break after Little Noah and Ryik brought what he had requested.

Now, he had entered the town hall for something else.

A skill he had obtained from conquering Wayan Town.

He brought out the SS-rank skill scroll, holding it for a brief moment before focusing on it.

[Would you like to learn this skill instantly? Cost: 2,000 skill points. Time required: twenty minutes. During this process, you will experience near-death pain due to the disparity between the skill quality and your current power level.]

It was almost the same description as when he obtained Lord Growth and Lord Fertility, just slightly worse.

"Hmm..."

He fell into contemplation, his expression turning thoughtful.

The system would not allow him to rank up anymore, at least not now, as it had only been a few days since his last rank up.

If it were only levels required to reduce the pain, he would have poured enough experience points into himself to reach the level just below his next rank up and remain there.

Sadly, he needed to reach a new rank to reduce the intensity of the pain.

Floki heaved a sigh and kept the skill scroll back in his inventory.

Then he brought out the Calamity Core he had obtained from killing the Night Laugher.

He stared at it for a brief moment.

Then he took a meditative sitting position.

[ Refined Meditation is active. Absorption rate has increased. ]

[ You’ve begun absorbing strength. Rate: 1 strength per 3 minutes ]

[ You’ve begun absorbing agility. Rate: 1 agility per 3 minutes ]

[ You’ve begun absorbing intelligence. Rate: 1 intelligence per 5 minutes ]

[ You’ve begun absorbing vitality. Rate: 1 vitality per 5 minutes ]

[ You’ve begun absorbing luck. Rate: 1 luck per 30 minutes ]

Floki’s eyes widened the moment they landed on the last notification.

"Luck! I can finally increase luck!"

He shouted at the top of his lungs. Thankfully, no one was around the town hall at the moment to hear his voice.

Floki stared at the notification for a few seconds without speaking further, then, with a delighted expression, he sat back down in a butterfly sitting position and entered a meditative state.

He continued meditating as time passed.

Since he had duties to attend to, he set a mental timer for sixty minutes.

By the time sixty minutes had passed, the stats he had absorbed revealed themselves.

[ Total strength absorbed in current session: 20 ]

[ Total agility absorbed in current session: 20 ]

[ Total intelligence absorbed in current session: 12 ]

[ Total vitality absorbed in current session: 12 ]

[ Total luck absorbed in current session: 2% ]

In a single one-hour meditation session, he had doubled his luck from two percent to four percent.

"This is great!"

Floki celebrated once more, his voice carrying restrained excitement.

He checked his stats to confirm, and indeed, his luck had increased to 4%.

With a small smile on his face, he kept the Calamity Core back in his inventory and left the room.

He went back outside.

The people had already returned and made campfires, as the light from the moon was not enough.

All the women among the training group handed Floki the food they had brought with them.

Floki kept the food aside and began their training immediately.

Time passed slowly.

Levels increased one after another.

Breakthroughs followed steadily.

Morning finally arrived.

And the last person broke through.

[ Your follower ’Angelina’ has broken through successfully to Silver-rank. ]

[ Your follower ’Angelina’ path has been unlocked: Mage ]

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Mage Path

A path of pure knowledge and control. Mages bend the elements to their will, turning the battlefield into a storm of destruction. Their power is overwhelming but their bodies remain fragile.

Stat Growth:

-Intelligence ×2

-Dexterity ×1.5

Benefits:

-Increased mana pool

-Spell amplification

-Area-of-effect damage

Special Trait:

Arcane Overflow – Spells scale higher based on Intelligence

Spell Weaving – Casting different spells in succession increases their effectiveness, stacking damage, speed, or secondary effects.

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The Mage Path is the only path that does not increase combat stats like strength, agility, or stamina.

Even though the system made it clear that their bodies are fragile, Mages are not weak.

Spells are versatile and nearly limitless.

There are spells that can make a Mage stronger than a Berserker in direct combat.

And even without directly increasing their combat stats, their magical attack power is overwhelming.

Nonetheless, Floki noticed something.

Angelina still had not gotten up after breaking through.

She remained on the ground shivering, her eyes and mouth twitching.

"What is happening?"

Floki muttered to himself as he stepped closer to examine her condition more carefully.

The others gathered around her. After all, she was the only one who had not stood up after breaking through.

"She is awakening her mana core."

A voice spoke beside Floki.

It was Breeze, wearing his usual tired expression and slouching lazily.

Floki turned to him with a frown.

The others looked at him in surprise, as none of them had seen him approach at all.

"Is she going to be okay?"

"She will," Breeze answered, his tone slow and tired. "But it will take time."

Floki let out a quiet sigh of relief.

Anton volunteered to take her home.

Floki gave a short speech to dismiss the others.

[ You have fulfilled one of the three criterias. Congratulations. ]

The system notified him, but he did not bother with it.

There were two things remaining, and he already knew what to do.

Nevertheless, it was saved for later as the builders sent by Thalia and Tania finally arrived.

They were led by an elderly but muscular man nicknamed Honey Badger by his coworkers.

Honey Badger observed the nearby huts with a small frown on his face.

"This is a newly upgraded town, right?" Honey Badger asked with a frown.

"Yes, why do you ask?"

Honey Badger’s frown deepened.

Then he started grumbling to himself in a language Floki could not understand before speaking again.

"A newly upgraded town... how do you plan to provide the resources needed for it?"

Floki frowned and stepped closer, releasing a small mental pressure with his mana.

"Would I request workers if I did not have the required resources?"

His voice turned firm.

"You were sent here as a worker to work for me. Do not try to question my authority within my territory. I do not mind killing you. I can always fix my relationship with Yellow Orchid later."

Honey Badger listened attentively.

Feeling the mental pressure, he relaxed quickly.

He had first thought of Floki as soft given his appearance.

Now, after feeling his presence and hearing those words, that thought disappeared.

"I am sorry..."

He bowed deeply and apologized.

"It is just that newly upgraded towns do not always have the resources for what you are planning to do..."

"I will proceed to take measurements of your town perimeter and submit the amount of resources we would need to start building."

Floki observed him for a few seconds without uttering anything before nodding his head in approval.

Honey Badger and his men thanked him before rushing to carry out their jobs while Floki prepared to take on another task.