Aren found his way around the city and got a room. It turned out that inside the ring that Gordon gave them, there was a huge mountain of silver coins. This was the main currency inside the domain, and it also had its real-world exchange value, coins to credits.

That was not the only thing inside the ring, as there were several materials, books, and ores. The ores could be used for blacksmithing better weapons, and the books contained some information about the domain that could help, information that could not be bought.

But there was also one final thing that caught Aren's attention, and he rushed into his room to check it out. The room was a small one, with a single bed, a bathroom and toilet, a small table, and a wardrobe, the basics.

He walked to the window and pushed the curtains aside to allow more light, then sat on the bed. The springs beneath squeaked in response. He pulled out the final thing from the ring. It was a scroll that was sealed shut with wax.

But on the outside, he saw a write-up: "B-Ranked Martial Arts." That was what pulled his attention completely.

In the world of the awakened, many people are bound to what their abilities are, using their soul energy to do what needs to be done. That causes many cases where casters are weak physically and are incapable of defending themselves at close range.

But then, after many years of development, training, and practice by different people around the world, martial arts were created. And it was not the same martial arts used by normal people. It was a different thing altogether.

It allowed someone to train in some sort of fighting and gain inhuman strength or skill. They would never be able to compare to someone awakened as a warrior, but when caster versus caster met, that martial arts could save you.

They were powered by something beyond soul energy, and it was known as Qi, a mix of natural energy and willpower. Qi allowed martial arts to exist and for people to practice it.

But there was a major drawback: availability. Martial arts took time to be made, and when they were made, they were extremely expensive. The normal awakened could not get their hands on a high-quality one.

They were ranked from F all the way to S rank, and even the least F-rank went for several thousands of credits, a very high price.

Aren broke the wax seal of the scroll and unraveled it. Inside was the full content of the martial art.

[Swift Wind.]

It was a martial art technique that allowed faster movements when fighting, allowing you to dodge attacks faster and also attack faster in impressive bursts.

"This seems very good," Aren muttered. He rolled it up and placed it on the side. He would study it later, but for now, he needed to check on everything that he had received from the trials.

The first thing was the most important thing, the unique soul.

"System, give me the unique soul," he said, and immediately the golden light formed before him, floating right there.

Aren looked at the light. "Hey, butler, I never got to know your name. That's sad," Aren said, letting out a smile. "I know at one point you tried to kill me, but you were really a great help to me." Aren said as he stretched out his hands to touch the soul.

The moment his fingers grazed the soul, it felt like a shock ran through his body. His finger jerked back.

[Do you wish to absorb the unique soul?]

"Uhm, yes," Aren replied.

Immediately, the soul flew into him, merging into his soul.

[Level up, +4 stats]

[Level up, +4 stats]

[Level up, +4 stats]

[Level up, +4 stats]

[Level up, +4 stats]

[Congratulations, Shadow is the first Awakened to reach level 20]

[New evolution paths opened]

[You have gained a unique skill]

[New skills unlocked]

[Memories of the unique soul are opened to see]

The messages came flooding in rapidly. Aren watched in confusion. What the hell just happened right now? It was so much he could not even wrap his head around it. All he did was absorb the soul, and several levels came flying in. He was officially at level twenty, the first of the new awakened to be able to do that.

He sat inside the room, staring at the screen, still in shock. A minute went by before he finally cracked a smile. "Thank you, butler," he said.

"Alright now, down to serious business, assigning all my stats," he said cheerfully, pulling out the system screen.

[Name: Aren Raze]

[Class: Shadow Mage]

[Type: Shadow]

[Tier: SSS]

[Level: 20]

[Soul Fragments: 100/10,000]

[Soul Energy: 20,000]

[Strength: 26]

[Speed: 28]

[Defense: 22]

[Constitution: 24]

[Intelligence: 27]

[43 free stat points]

Aren was about to start assigning the stats when he noticed just how many soul fragments he now needed to level up. It finally made sense why it was extremely difficult to reach level 100.

"If it keeps going up by a thousand after every level, then it's going to be a long and hard journey," he muttered to himself.

Pushing those thoughts to the side, he started assigning.

"Let's do this equally," he muttered. "Assign eight stats to each."

[Strength: 34]

[Speed: 36]

[Defense: 30]

[Constitution: 32]

[Intelligence: 35]

[3 free stat points]

He looked at the last three and decided to leave it there for now. He felt a surge inside his body after he was done. It was like the entire world became better, clearer. He felt the strength in every part of his being.

He clutched at the air, smiling as he did.

"Sadly, level-up stat points are not enough for me to keep growing stronger. I need to find other means to increase my stats, to make sure I don't fall behind in any way."

While he was busy doing what he was doing, there was a slight uproar among the new awakened and even the older ones. Shadow had done it again, reaching level twenty a few days after reaching level ten and evolving.

At this point, it was getting absurd, and no one could ignore it anymore. They wanted to know who this Shadow was and how he was capable of such rapid growth.

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