Rise of the Devourer

Book 2: Chapter 22 — Ability Upgrades

Noah had decided to move to the training arena, for unlocking his abilities. Standing in the open grounds of the arena, Noah took out [Tome of Perception] first, using Identify on the item.

[Tome of Perception (Rare)]: Unlocks a Perception ability.

Would you like to use this item?

Yes/No?

Noah selected yes, as options appeared in front of him to select a Path. Picking [Void Hunter], Noah felt a pulse of mana pass through his body as the tome dissolved into little particles of light. With his higher aura perception, he could sense the mana spreading evenly across his body and aura.

[Tome of Perception] has reacted with ability [Void Hunter’s Eyes].

Ability merge initiated.

[Void Hunter’s Eyes (Common)] has evolved to [Void Hunter’s Senses (Rare)]

Rank decreased to Intermediate.

Noah felt something change immediately. The way he could see the world shifted- no, not just the way he saw things. It was his entire perception. Every sense he had felt changed. He could feel the flow of air distinctly on his skin, being able to tell which direction the air was moving and what was blocking its path. His own heartbeat loudly pounded in his ears, taking a few moments for the sound to fade to the background as he adjusted.

Given the increased sensitivity his body already had, this almost felt overkill to him. His brain struggled to keep up with the influx of information and he felt the world spinning as a headache pulsed in his mind.

Noah fell to the ground on one knee, clutching his head as he felt Tony startle awake and go into a panic. The Symbiote hurriedly rushed up towards Noah’s brain, adjusting the influx of sensations, and taking off the workload.

Noah triggered Meditation on instinct as he parsed through the sensations. Notifications played in Noah’s head, but he ignored them for the moment, till the sensations began to feel more manageable.

A moment later, he remembered he could turn off abilities, and turned off [Void Hunter’s Senses] as the sensation faded.

“Good god, that was a lot,” Noah said, rising back on his feet. Nausea slightly filled him, but he controlled the feeling.

“Sorry for just thrusting that on you buddy,” Noah said.

Tony sent a pulsating shiver.

“You’re the best, Tony. Thank you,” Noah said, closing his eyes. “Alright, you can go back to sleep now, Tony. I’ll be good on my own.”

The Symbiote sent a feeling of concern, but obliged, returning back to his sleep.

Noah opened his new ability’s description.

[Void Hunter’s Senses (Rare)]

Your senses are sharper than ever. Your eyes can peer through the darkest depths, your ears can pick up on the faintest of sounds, and your instincts are honed to their limits. Find your senses enhanced in a spherical range all around you.

Noah read the description, whistling to himself. With Tony added on top to push his senses, and his own modification, the Rare grade of the ability felt like an underestimation for what he could actually do with it.

Taking a deep breath, he turned on the ability again. Immediately the senses poured in with an overload of information, but Noah had kept Meditation activated. He let his awareness expand as he took everything in one by one.

His eyes saw far, in much greater detail than he thought possible. He could change his focus, to see even the minute details of the grains of wood on one of the trees in the distance. Glancing around, he looked up to the skies, seeing birds flying high above and he could see their bodies in extreme clarity. The sensation sent a shiver down Noah’s back.

He took a step ahead, and his feet picked up on the vibration traveling from his body as he stepped. He took another step, feeling the same vibration flowing through the ground. The air moved around him, displaced by his walking, and he could sense the flow that it left in his wake.

Step by step, Noah walked, adjusting to his new senses. The smell was perhaps the most jarring. He could smell the air. It smelled… like nothing he had ever smelled before. The normal air’s scent felt magnified, and he could smell Aurelia and Erwest having been around here, their trails of scent somehow identifiable to him now.

Speeding up in his steps, Noah began to jog in circles around the arena. Each step was a new wave of information, each blink felt slower than ever before, as Noah quickly switched into a full blown run. Jumping up, Noah kicked off the wall, landing on one of the log pillars setup in the arena for training.

So far, only Aurelia had been using it, as Noah had been getting one on one training time with Erwest. Standing at the start of the course, Noah looked at the way ahead. The goal was simple; he had to walk across the logs without being smacked in the face by one of the many projectiles that would be thrown his way, or the swinging logs.

The catch? He had to do it blindfolded.

Noah closed his eyes, letting his newly enhanced senses take hold. Meditation sharpened his attention like a razor, as Noah felt the air flow ahead of him. Slowly, he took a step ahead, standing on the next log as he shifted his weight. Feeling elated at his success, he continued to focus, taking the next step as his confidence increased. The vibration traveling across the logs served to dampen his senses, and the noise of the swinging logs distracted him from finding his way, yet Noah continued without much problems, letting the flow of air on his body guide him.

A crack echoed, as one of the triggers got activated, throwing a rock at him. Noah quickly turned sideways, dodging the rock within a split second before he’d even realized where it was coming from. Another shot activated and Noah jumped ahead. A log swung towards him, and Noah felt it coming immediately. Turning around, Noah kicked up in the air, dodging the log, another pebble shot towards him, and Noah caught the rock, landing on the logs. Two pairs of swinging logs moved towards him and he bent down, letting them pass over his head. Quickly rising before they returned, he moved ahead, turning and twisting sideways.

The course continued to grow in intensity as more and more objects barred his Path, and Noah found himself growing slower and slower. The logs beneath his feet now were barely enough to hold him, and a part of his focus had to be dedicated entirely to balancing himself.

After a few minutes, Noah finally lost his focus, as a particularly tricky arc of a pebble hit him on his shoulder, knocking him off balance. Quickly turning mid air, Noah landed on his feet, as he finally opened his eyes as he saw he’d almost completed the entire course in one go.

“Holy shit,” Noah said. “That felt amazing. I was literally doing kung-fu.”

Tony shivered happily, pleased to see Noah happy.

“I should teach you about Kung-Fu tony. It’s an amazing form of martial arts from my world, and it makes for some of the best movies.”

Letting a breath out, Noah decided to open the notifications he had gotten.

[Void Hunter’s Senses] level 10 → 12.

Cognitive Speed D2 → D6.

Noah smiled, pleased to himself. “Alright, time for the next one.” Reaching out to his Dimensional pocket, Noah took out the second tome.

[Tome of Harvest (Rare)]: Unlocks a Harvest based ability.

Would you like to use this item?

Yes/No?

Noah selected the Yes prompt. But instead of getting an option for selecting a Path, he got another new prompt in front of him.

[Quest System] and [Devourer] resonate with [Tome of Harvest].

Rarity increased to Epic.

The tome flared brightly, as Noah felt his aura shudder as the ability was absorbed. Noah felt a pulse of energy flow through his body, as more notifications arrived.

[Devourer] and [Quest System] have unlocked access to [Astral Vault].

New sub menu [Astral Vault] created.

ERROR! Access not granted.

Patching error…

Diamond Premium Package has unlocked [Astral Vault] with limited access!

[Astralwalker] has unlocked [Celestial Harvest (Epic)]!

Noah felt a flood of mana flow into him, leaving him restless as his body shivered. “What the fuck?” Noah exclaimed, as he read through his notifications. What had happened just now?

Noah opened his ability description.

[Celestial Harvest (Epic)]

You are capable of harvesting the foes you defeat. Obtain loot and credit points upon harvesting an enemy. All credit points can be spent in the [Astral Vault] for items. The activation of this ability will depend upon the Luck sub-attribute.

“Huh. So it’s a looting mechanism? And a luck based one at that…” Noah said, surprised by the description. After a moment, he opened his sub-attributes menu.

Luck: A4.

“Better give me some good rewards with a luck stat that high,” he said, before moving on to his menus.

[Abilities]

[Skills]

[Perks]

[Quests]

[Items]

[Party]

[Astral Vault]

Noah opened the new sub menu, watching the menu expand.

[Astral Vault]

Credit Points: 1

Do you wish to spend 1 Credit Point to roll for an item?

Yes/No?

Shrugging to himself, Noah selected yes.

You’ve spent 1 credit.

1 x Pebble was added to your [Dimensional Pocket].

Noah checked his Dimensional Pocket and indeed, there was one extra pebble in there. He took the rock out, feeling its smooth surface in his hands. “So… I unlocked a gacha system?” Noah muttered to himself. “I guess game systems don’t change even in a fantasy world.”

Tony shivered, sending a pulse to Noah.

“Oh? Yeah, I was thinking the same thing bud,” Noah said, smiling to himself as he put the stone back in his Dimensional Pocket. There was only one thing to do after getting an ability like this.

It was time to go hunt some monsters.

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