SSS Grade Saint Knight - Chapter 107

Chapter 107: A New Talent! A New Skill! Attribute Enhancement!

TL: Etude Translations

“Due to your status as the first to clear the dungeon, you will gain a new achievement talent?!!”

Upon seeing the final notification, the usually composed Zhou Yi couldn’t help but be slightly shocked.

It was well-known that the strength of a professional depended greatly on their innate talents.

Back then, it was thanks to his S+ talent, Protection of the Holy Angel, that he had managed to activate the Saint Knight profession option during the transfer ceremony.

And now, clearing a dungeon could unexpectedly grant him a new talent.

This was something he had never considered.

“However, this must be a privilege exclusive to Silver-grade or higher dungeons,” he thought aloud.

“After all, when I set a record in the Bronze-grade dungeon during the college entrance examination, no such notification appeared.”

Taking a deep breath, Zhou Yi quickly accepted the reality.

After all, dungeon gates originated from the Creator God.

Since the dungeon prompt mentioned the possibility of acquiring a new talent, then naturally, it was possible to gain one…

Moreover, this was something beneficial to him, so he had no reason to refuse.

“Three talents, choose one.”

“This is quite considerate. No need to worry about ending up with a useless talent.”

He reviewed them one by one…

All three talents were A-Rank, which could be considered quite rare.

“Steadfast Guardian is a talent suited for tank-type Saint Knights. It’s not particularly useful to me.”

He immediately ruled out Steadfast Guardian.

“Swift Advance… Increases movement speed in combat, gradually enhancing it up to 50%. This is a decent talent.”

It was widely acknowledged that movement speed was a crucial attribute.

With high speed, one could control the flow of battle, whether to attack or retreat.

“However, compared to Focused Aura, Swift Advance is slightly inferior.”

Zhou Yi quickly made his decision.

[You have chosen Focused Aura.]

In an instant.

Zhou Yi felt a lightness in his mind, a refreshing sensation coursing through his body, and he felt his reaction speed improve significantly.

“Excellent…”

In real combat situations, there was always a time lag between perceiving an enemy’s attack and responding with a counter.

Against powerful enemies, their strikes were so fast that, before one could react, one might already be slain.

At such moments, enhanced neural reflexes were invaluable.

Battles evolved rapidly, and quicker reactions often meant greater safety.

“Additionally, Focused Aura grants me a 30% chance to avoid skill interruptions, which is incredibly rare.”

What did it mean to avoid skill interruptions?

For example, back in the Tempest Mountain Range, when he used the Divine Descent, it was an uninterruptible skill.

Of course, Divine Descent was on a far higher tier.

Not only was it immune to interruption, but it also made the caster invincible during its execution.

But that was a one-time God-level Secret Art, and Zhou Yi never expected an A-Rank talent to achieve such feats.

Even a 30% chance to prevent interruptions was already remarkable.

Triggered in battle, it could deliver a game-changing effect!

After selecting his talent, Zhou Yi began to sort through the rest of his rewards.

The first reward was the 13,212 experience points, which caused his experience bar to rise significantly:

[Level: 18 (35,536/42,000)]

“Over ten thousand experience points… If this were given to freshmen at level 13 or 14, it would probably allow them to level up once or twice.”

“Unfortunately… for someone like me at level 18, it only moves the experience bar slightly.”

“But with only six thousand more experience points left for the next level-up, it’s not too bad.”

After the experience points were credited, Zhou Yi distributed the 25 free attribute points evenly among his four main attributes.

This caused a slight improvement in his four-dimensional attributes:

[Strength: 167, Constitution: 176, Agility: 166, Intelligence: 175]

Next came the new skill.

Whether it was because the dungeon rewards were tied to his profession or simply due to his luck, the skill book he received turned out to be exclusive to Saint Knights.

[Hammer of Repentance: Swing a massive hammer condensed from holy power at enemies in front of you, dealing significant damage to those struck.]

(Note: Requires Victory Spear LV5 and Gift of Courage LV7 to learn.)

It was an excellent offensive skill. Zhou Yi’s Victory Spear and Gift of Courage were already at the required levels.

Without hesitation, he learned and upgraded the skill.

With this, Zhou Yi’s offensive capability improved considerably, especially since it was a group attack skill.

If he were to challenge this Abyss-level dungeon again, the Hammer of Repentance would significantly boost his clearing speed.

“Finally, another skill that purely relies on holy power, apart from God’s Hand.”

Zhou Yi couldn’t help but smile.

Currently, most of his offensive spells were tied to elemental forces—light, fire, and lightning.

It made him seem more like an Elementalist than a Saint Knight.

In truth, Saint Knights primarily relied on holy power.

“And then, there’s this Totem Stone Pillar.”

Zhou Yi looked toward the nearby area.

Beside the corpse of the Bear Monster Leader, a massive weapon had appeared.

It was a stone pillar about 1.9 meters long, with a radius of approximately 10 centimeters, covered in intricate patterns and runes.

Under the Appraisal Technique, the weapon’s details were laid bare:

[Equipment: Totem Stone Pillar of the Bear Monster]

[Quality: Gold ☆☆]

[Attributes: Strength +38, Constitution +42]

[Level Requirement: Level 20+]

[Race Restriction: None]

[Profession Restriction: Warrior, Knight]

[Effect: Increases Earth Elemental Affinity by 30% and boosts Earth-based skill power by 20%.]

[Remark: The Totem of Faith for the Bear Monster Tribe. Whenever the eerie chanting echoed in the castle, the Bear Monster Shamans would lead their people in prayer.]

“These attributes are decent, and I can equip it too.”

“But since I don’t have Earth-based skills, the special effect is useless.”

“Without the special effect, this Gold-tier equipment loses half its value…”

“I’ll just sell it later in the school store or at the auction house. Some tank-oriented professions might like it.”

“The remark is rather interesting, though. Seems like it hints at some kind of Easter egg.”

Zhou Yi chuckled and shook his head as he read the last line of the remark.

Many pieces of equipment in Eternal Game were tied to the game’s story, and these details had persisted after its fusion with reality.

Some equipment even became key items for triggering NPC quests.

However, since there were no NPCs anymore, the remarks were nothing more than Easter eggs.

“Alright, time to head back.”

Just as Zhou Yi prepared to exit the dungeon, a sudden, eerie growl—like something from the depths of hell—echoed throughout the castle.

At the same time, a prompt appeared in his mind:

[Abyss-level dungeon cleared.]

[Do you wish to activate the additional stage?]

[Clearing the additional stage will improve your evaluation and grant additional rewards.]

“Hmm? An additional stage?”

Zhou Yi raised an eyebrow.

“I wonder if this additional stage is unique to me or available to all freshmen.”

“To be safe, I’d better clear it too.”

“Plus, the extra rewards are a nice bonus.”

The cautious Zhou Yi made his decision and chose to activate the additional stage.

Rumble~~

A passageway slowly emerged from the bloodstained walls ahead, forming a new route.

Zhou Yi’s figure moved, and he swiftly headed for the entrance.