Eldritch Assassin: Reincarnated With An SSS-Rank Devouring System-Chapter 129: System Rewards
Kael woke up the next day to sunlight streaming through his window. The morning air was crisp and cool. He stretched, feeling more rested than he had in weeks.
Surprisingly, something was different today.
A familiar sensation bloomed in his mind. Like a door that had been locked suddenly swinging open. His consciousness touched something that had been absent for a while, dormant.
The system was finally back.
[DING!]
The sound echoed in his head, clear and sharp. The familiar panels materialized before his eyes, glowing softly in the morning light.
Kael sat up immediately, his heart rate spiking. The system had been silent since he'd cleared the Eternal Ascension Pagoda. Almost a month of silence now. He'd even begun to wonder if it was gone forever.
But here it was. And it had brought good news.
---
[System Quest Cleared: Trial of the Eternal Ascension Pagoda]
[Quest Type: Primary
Floors: 18]
[Progression Rewards:]
> Floors 1–5: +500 EXP, +50 BP, Ancient Tier Technique (Ninefold Fist of Destruction – Has nine levels. In every level, each consecutive punch doubles in power, ending in a bone-crushing blow. In the ninth level, each consecutive punch is stacked times 9)
> Floors 6–10: Advanced Tier Technique (Silent Fangs), +1 Inventory Expansion Core
> Floors 11–13: Trait Mutation Option: Predator's Instinct or Shadow Weave, +1,000 EXP
> Floors 14–17: Elite Tier Technique (Shadow Sever Arts), +200 BP
> Floor 18: Title: "Breaker of Chains", +1 Soul Core, +2,000 EXP, +5 Bloodstones, +500 BP
[Final Rewards:]
> Title: Ascendant of the Eternal Pagoda
> Elite Tier Defensive Skill: Cloudveil Reversal Technique
> Ancient Tier Offensive Skill: Heavenpiercer Sword Art
> Hidden Reward: Forbidden Tier Skill (Void Rend – Tears the space in front of the user, erasing everything caught within. Has seven levels. You can only start learning the first level in the Primal Master Realm)
---
Kael stared at the panels, his silver eyes wide with shock. His breath caught in his throat.
The quality of these rewards was staggering. Overwhelming even.
His mind raced through the information. Martial techniques and skills in the Azure World were divided into seven known distinct ranks, each representing a massive leap in power and rarity.
Basic Tier was what most cultivators in the beginning stage of cultivation, Primal Warrior Realm, learned. It was simple, accessible techniques that formed the foundation of combat. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖
Advanced Tier required talent or resources to obtain. These were the techniques that separated skilled cultivators from average ones.
Elite Tier was what powerful sects guarded jealously. Techniques at this level could determine the outcome of battles between equals.
Core Tier belonged to first-rate sects and ancient families. These techniques were inheritance-level secrets, passed down through generations.
Master Tier was extremely rare. Only the most powerful factions in the entire Endless Plains possessed such techniques. Wars had been fought over single Master Tier manuals.
Ancient Tier was legendary. Techniques from this tier were remnants of past eras, found in ruins and secret realms. Even major sects might only possess one or two such techniques in their entire treasury.
And Forbidden Tier... those were myths. Phoenix feathers, as the saying went. Techniques so powerful and so rare that most cultivators lived their entire lives without ever seeing one.
Even in his past life as a supreme existence in the Primal Realmlord, Kael had never possessed a Forbidden Tier technique. Only the absolute peak factions, the ones that controlled entire regions, that stood at the pinnacle of the cultivation world, could claim to have such treasures.
And the system had just given him one.
[Void Rend: A spatial technique that could tear through space itself. Seven levels of mastery, with the first level only accessible at Primal Master Realm.]
Kael's hands trembled slightly. Not from fear but from anticipation.
The other rewards were incredible too. An Ancient Tier offensive technique. Multiple Elite Tier techniques. The Ninefold Fist of Destruction at Ancient Tier was a technique that could stack nine consecutive strikes, each one multiplying in power exponentially.
In the ninth level of mastery, each punch would be nine times stronger than the last. The final blow would carry apocalyptic force.
Another notification chimed.
---
[You have advanced system to level 7]
[Experience Points: 3977/6400 EXP]
[Blood Points: 1594]
---
Kael's eyes widened further. The system had jumped from level 6 all the way to level 7. His blood points had surged to nearly sixteen hundred. His experience was more than halfway to the next level.
The pagoda's completion had rewarded him massively. This was equivalent to months, maybe years of normal cultivation and hunting.
A new prompt appeared.
---
[Trait Mutation Available]
[Select One:]
> Predator's Instinct (Current: Basic Tier)
Mutation: Elite Tier – Enhanced combat awareness, predictive threat detection, automatic danger response. Greatly increased effectiveness against enemies within one full realm above user's cultivation.
> Shadow Weave (Locked)
Mutation: Elite Tier – Grants advanced manipulation of shadows and darkness. Allows user to step through shadows, extend shadow tendrils as weapons, and become nearly invisible in low light. Requires Dark Nebula Fruit to unlock.
---
Kael read both options carefully. Shadow Weave was tempting. The ability to manipulate shadows, to step through them like doorways, to weaponize darkness itself, those were powerful tools.
But he didn't have any idea what the Dark Nebula Fruit was. Were would he even begin to search for it? The option was locked for him. And even if he could unlock it somehow, it wasn't what he needed right now.
Predator's Instinct had saved his life countless times already. It warned him of danger before his conscious mind could process threats. It guided his movements in combat, helping him read opponents and predict their actions.
Taking it from Basic Tier to Elite Tier would transform it from a useful advantage into something truly formidable. Automatic danger response meant his body would react to threats even if his mind was occupied.
Effectiveness against enemies one full realm above him meant he could fight Level 1 Primal Master Realm cultivators with a real chance of victory.
In the Silver Rankings, where he'd face opponents at Level 7, 8, and 9 Primal Adept, this would be invaluable.
The choice was obvious.
"Predator's Instinct," Kael said in his mind.
