Second World

At Brave Swordsmaster level 70, Jack received a new skill.

*

Dances of the Braves, level 1/20 (Active skill, melee, requires sword)

Conjures 5 golden swords that revolve around the user, attacking enemies and parrying attacks that come. Each sword deals 100% light damage.

Duration: 1 minute

Cooldown: 10 minutes

Stamina: 250

*

Jack tested the skill while grinding on the fifteenth floor. Five golden swords similar to when he used Swords of the Braves appeared. But unlike Swords of the Braves, these swords didn't fly out and search for hostiles. They instead hovered and revolved around him.

The golden swords automatically slashed at the minotaur who came near. They could even parry and deflect melee attacks or projectiles.

Jack could also use his will to control the swords manually. With Hundred Synchronous Thoughts, he had no problem controlling each sword separately. He then used the five swords to perform Formless Flowing Sword Style. With his original two arms, it was like three and a half people performing the sword art.

Peniel said that if he max-leveled the skill, it would give ten golden swords. That would make it as if six people were performing the sword art simultaneously. If he added Asura, that would be two more extra people.

He was eager to increase the levels of this new skill. But before that, he checked the souls in his Container of Souls. There were around 1,100,000 souls.

The monsters in this labyrinth didn't provide many souls. Even the mythical gold bull boss provided only a few souls. Most of the souls in his container came from the time when he was in the underworld, from killing Hraghshu's demons and farming the amphipterelets.

Jack had 12 brave swordsmaster's free skill points from all the level-ups. He added 800,000 souls to max-level the Dances of the Braves.

The skill now conjured ten golden swords and each sword dealt 200% light damage.

He then used 9 Time Sage's free skill points and the remaining 300,000 souls to increase Lightning Strike to level 13. Each level increased the spell's damage and range. The spell now dealt 580% lightning damage and had a range of 84 meters.

For the Beast Monarch's 12 free skill points. He spent them all on Gigantify Pet and brought it to max level. At level 20, the skill's duration lasted 5 minutes. Attributes, defenses, and resistances of the pet gained an additional 200% when the skill was used.

Out of all the level-ups, he had 21 free attribute points. He used them all on Endurance.

Several of his skills and spells also gained enough proficiency and upgraded. One that got its first star was Ultimate Beast. Each star increased an additional 3% to the pet's damage and a 3% reduction to the received damage.

Therras was now level 70, catching up to Jack's level. Howard's level increased to level 60.

Jet and The Man were level 68. Warpath and Bowler were level 67. Dasher, Bangstick, Suckit, and Flowerrain were all level 66.

They all had levels far above the average players now, which were mostly level 60 with the most expert ones around level 63.

They were very eager to continue this exp farming, but unfortunately, Jack told them that he had to stop. He had just received a message from John. Whatever emergency John was hinting at before, it was happening now. Jack was asked to return to Thereath tomorrow at the latest.

Without Jack, there was no way they could get past the mythical-grade boss on the fourteenth floor. Not to mention how long it would take them to find the way to that floor. So, they said they would be returning to headquarters as well.

Now that Warpath and the others were Everlasting Heavenly Legends' members, they also needed to do the weekly contributions as Jack didn't appoint them as core members.

*

During the days Jack spent in Balgadur, he was also dealing with the kingdom's affairs. Several new affairs had popped up and some were settled after receiving the reports from Jeanny's investigative teams.

Four of the affairs were settled. Two with perfect results while the other two got good results. He received 340,000 merit points and 10 ruling powers.

His sovereign level increased to level 8 and he received another 10 ruling powers. At level 8, he got another slot for a royal agent.

Jack immediately sent an invitation to Nerd Bungie, the other mythical-grade recruit. Jack didn't know Nerd's current level. He had to go back to his throne and check using the monarch system.

Almost ten minutes passed without receiving Nerd's reply. Jack started to think the guy was not interested and was currently unsure about how to reject the king. When Jack wanted to cancel the invitation so the other side didn't feel bad about rejecting his offer, he received a message that Nerd had agreed.

'Do you have to take so long to decide?' Jack complained within.

He opened his royal agent page. Now that Nerd was his royal agent, he could check his level remotely.

Nerd was level 44. This level was also achieved because Nerd was trained in the barracks, which received 200% growth from Mass Drill.

Peniel said that this was already considered fast. Normally, it took several months to get recruits into an acceptable fighting level for the army. Their increase couldn't be compared to the power leveling Howard received. Not to mention, Jack's power leveling was way out of the norm.

Jack spent the kingdom coffer to upgrade Nerd's equipment to super rare grade. He then installed two spells on him.

Since Nerd's talent, Raging Mana, gave him a boost on offensive spells, Jack prioritized selecting such spells. The first one was Sunlight Spear, which dealt light damage to a single target from a very long range. The second one was Dark Well. This spell dealt AOE damage over time and also generated a pulling force that kept all within its area from escaping.

After finishing with the setting, Jack sent Nerd an instruction to meet with Jeanny. He then called Jeanny to set up another team to power-level Nerd.

*

The next morning after receiving John's call, Jack let Thelgrun know of his intention to leave. Thelgrun was visibly sad after hearing the news. The original plan was that Jack spent another two days before leaving.

Thelgrun asked if there was any way for Jack to stay and continued going into the labyrinth. This enthusiasm made him wonder how many coins Palgrost got from his excursion into the labyrinth. Jack replied to Thelgrun that he was unable to because he had a national issue to take care of.

Jack said that if their country were allies, he would come to visit more often to enter the labyrinth.

Thelgrun promised that he would discuss it with his people. He then gave Jack a bottle.

"What's this?" Jack asked.

"You don't really think that the statue I gave you on the first day is truly my welcome gift, do you?" Thelgrun asked.

"Actually, I truly think that," Jack replied.

"Hah! I like you, Themisphere king. You are honest," Thelgrun clapped Jack's back. "This potion will be more fitting to exchange for those adamantine ores. I know you outworlders enjoy braving dangers. I hope this can be of help in your time of need."

Jack checked the bottle in his hand.

*

Divine Might Potion (Unique consumable)

All attributes +300%

Increase damage by 100%.

All damage received is reduced by 50%

Recover 100 HP every second

HP +10,000

All skills' cooldowns decreased by 30%

Duration: 2 hours

*

The effect of this potion reminded him of the Godly Might Goddess Serenity bestowed on him in the past. This should help when he encountered a foe much stronger than him.

Jack thanked the president and bid him farewell. Jack was then escorted to Balgadur's zone portal. From there, he teleported back to Thereath.