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Monster subjugation confirmed.
Skill Points obtained.
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I had just finished off the second Golden Living Armor.
“Watch out!”
I was already ducking before Puppeteer’s warning even reached me.
Whoosh! A Golden Living Armor’s blade swept through the air exactly where my head had been a second ago.
Without a moment's delay, I pivoted on my right foot and spun. My movement caught the Golden Living Armor off guard, causing it to lose its footing and crash to the ground.
“Die.”
I lunged forward, driving my blade deep into the fallen armor.
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Monster subjugation confirmed.
Skill Points obtained.
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Nice. That was three down.
I immediately backstepped to create distance. An attack was coming from my left in precisely four seconds, so I sidestepped to the right to evade it while quickly pulling up my Status Screen.
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Skill Points Held: 312
〈Provocation Lv1〉 Remaining Skill Points Required for Level Up: 10
〈Swordsmanship Lv2〉 Remaining Skill Points Required for Level Up: 300
〈Master of Parasitic Sword: Puppeteer Lv1〉 Remaining Skill Points Required for Level Up: 70
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Perfect. Defeating just three of them gave me enough to boost my Swordsmanship to Level 3.
Back when I was training with Vampire Eudite, reaching Level 3 had taken over a month of grueling effort. Compared to that, this farming method was incredibly efficient.
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Skill Points have been used.
Requirements for Level Up have been met.
Skill 〈Swordsmanship〉 has leveled up.
Swordsmanship Lv2 ▶ Swordsmanship Lv3
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I finalized the upgrade while keeping a sharp eye on the surrounding enemies.
“Hey, Master. Raising Swordsmanship is all well and good, but yours truly would appreciate it if you prioritized the Master of Parasitic Sword: Puppeteer skill instead.”
“I’ll raise it once I’ve saved up more points.”
Now that I thought about it, I’d never actually raised that skill to Level 2 before. Since a Derivative Skill was unlocked at that level, I was genuinely curious to see what I would get.
With 〈Swordsmanship〉 now at Level 3, my movements felt even more refined. If I remembered the pattern correctly, I could finish the next one by leaping and driving the tip of my blade straight down through its helm.
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Monster subjugation confirmed.
Skill Points obtained.
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The fourth subjugation. This was the first time I had ever managed to take down four in a single run.
I immediately opened the Status Screen again and spent the points to raise 〈Master of Parasitic Sword: Puppeteer〉 to Level 2.
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Skill Points have been used.
Requirements for Level Up have been met.
Skill 〈Master of Parasitic Sword: Puppeteer〉 has leveled up.
Master of Parasitic Sword: Puppeteer Lv1 ▶ Master of Parasitic Sword: Puppeteer Lv2
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“Uhyah! I can feel the power overflowing!” Puppeteer shouted.
At that moment, a strange light began to seep from the blade in my hand.
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Obtained Derivative Skill 〈Pulsating Greatsword〉.
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〈Pulsating Greatsword〉? What is that...?
There was no harm in testing it out, so I activated the skill immediately.
“〈Pulsating Greatsword〉.”
As soon as the words left my lips, the 〈Black Blade〉 began to morph. It transformed into a Greatsword with a grotesque, macabre appearance. Shadowy arms sprouted from various parts of the blade, reaching out to wrap themselves around my own arms.
“It’s heavy...”
It was staggeringly heavy—to the point where I could barely even hold it up, let alone wield it. There was no way I could swing this thing in a proper fight.
“Go back to being the 〈Black Blade〉,” I commanded Puppeteer.
“No, no, Master! Listen! Right now, I have a Unique Ability!”
“A Unique Ability...?”
I paused to listen to Puppeteer’s explanation of what this new power entailed.
“I see. That’s certainly not a bad ability.”
Well then, let’s head into round two with Puppeteer at Level 2.