As the Spider Queen died, her body collapsing into a burning heap, Luke blinked—then in an instant, he reappeared in his bathroom, standing barefoot on the tiled floor.
[Quest completed]
[Combat Mage updated to Arcane Warrior (Unique)]
[Random Box Obtained]
[You have gained 3,000,000 EXP.]
[Game Shop Unlocked]
[Arcane Mantle trait Unlocked]
[Ring of Arcane Warrior Obtained (Unique)]
[Effect: Increases Magic Amplification by 30%]
[Stats: Intelligence +5, Wisdom +5, Strength +5, Endurance +5]
Luke lifted his gaze to the glowing ring floating in front of him. He smiled, a slow grin tugging at his lips. As expected of a Unique item, he thought.
This wasn't just some cosmetic upgrade—it had everything. Stats, buffs, and a huge boost to his magical amplification, all bundled together. Not bad at all.
He removed his gloves—they were no longer needed. The Ring of Arcane Warrior alone was already enough to enhance his attacks beyond what the gloves could offer.
Holding it between his fingers, he turned it slightly, admiring how the band shimmered faintly with faint purple and gold arcs of energy, like starlight trapped inside.
Slowly, deliberately, he slid the ring onto his right hand. The moment it clicked into place, he felt it. His magic stirred—sharper, smoother, more obedient to his will.
A new prompt appeared.
[Do you wish to open the Random Box?]
"Yeah, let's see what's inside," Luke said, his curiosity sparking. He always had a soft spot for loot boxes—though in this case, there was no credit card bill coming to bite him later.
The box opened with a swirl of soft purple light. It wasn't flashy or ridiculous—nothing like the time he had lucked into that broken passive skill.
No raining golden sparks, no heavenly chorus, just a steady pulse of violet glow as the contents revealed themselves. Luke snorted softly. "Figures. I'm not always that lucky."
[You have obtained 10 Skill Points]
Luke's lips curled into a small grin. "Ten skill points. That's not bad at all." He leaned back against the sink, crossing his arms, already plotting where to spend them. "Enough to make some real upgrades and finally push toward Lightning."
Then he looked at the new trait.
[Arcane Mantle: Allows the user to coat their body with mana, enhancing both offense and defense. Mana can be shaped into armor, weapons, or layered onto spells for greater amplification.]
Luke blinked once, then twice. "...Okay, that's actually broken."
He raised his right hand, focusing slightly. Instantly, a faint glow shimmered over his skin, like a thin veil of light wrapping around his arm.
It wasn't heavy or restricting like metal armor—it felt natural, like second skin. He flexed his fingers, watching the glow pulse with his movements.
But this trait was as broken as it was versatile. Arcane Mantle wasn't just a shield—it was an all-in-one enhancement.
With enough mana, it could harden his body to the point where even bullets would bounce off. It could reinforce his muscles, letting him strike harder, faster, and more precise than a normal mage ever could.
Of course, there was a catch. This mantle drank mana like crazy. Keeping it active for long periods would burn through its reserves faster than any firestorm or meteor strike. It was, without a doubt, the defining trait of an Arcane Warrior—dangerous, powerful, but costly
Next, he accessed the game shop.
The interface flickered open in front of him, displaying rows of items neatly categorized. Weapons, armor, accessories, consumables—all shimmering in their own little display windows.
The shop contained only equipment and EXP-boosting items—no new skills, since those had to come from the skill tree itself.
The currency of the shop wasn't gold or credits like in normal games. Here it was SP—Sacrifice Points.
After level 20, each sacrifice would let him choose whether to convert EXP into normal growth or into SP.
Then he looked at his updated status:
[Class: Arcane Warrior]
[Level: 21]
[EXP: 13,346,000 / 48,982,400]
[HP: 918 / 918]
[MP: 4500 / 4500]
[Stamina: 464 / 464]
[Strength: 53]
[Agility: 40]
[Endurance: 57]
[Intelligence: 32]
[Wisdom: 31]
[Luck: 7]
[Unallocated Stat Points: 4]
[Unallocated Skill Points: 13]
[Traits: Pseudo-immortality, Minor Regeneration, Arcane Mantle]
[Skills: Basic Martial Arts, Fire Fist, Fireball, Fire Kick, Flame Sweep, Heat Burst, Blazing Dash, Stone Spike, Stone Skin, Quake, Meteor Flame Strike, Flame Pillar, Combustion Field]
[Passive Skills: Heart of the Infinite Well]
[Equipment: Ring of Arcane Warrior (Unique), Arcane Catalyst Gloves (Basic), Combat Mage Coat (Basic), Mage's Boots (Basic)]
Luke stared at the numbers, a grin tugging at his lips. Now his stats were very good. His Strength and Endurance were creeping past the territory of super-soldiers, his MP pool was monstrous, and on top of that he had thirteen skill points to play with.
"Not bad at all," he muttered, scrolling down the skill tree.
With thirteen skill points sitting unused, he is just seventeen points away from maxing out the entire Fire element branch. That meant soon he'd unlock the advanced fire skills—the heavy-hitters.
And those weren't just "big fireballs." They were the kind of attacks capable of decimating a city block with one cast. Buildings would crumble, the ground would melt, and anything caught in the blast would be reduced to ash. The only catch? Their mana consumption was brutal.
Each advanced fire spell required around 300 MP to cast. For most mages, that was suicide. They'd collapse after one attempt, maybe two if they were reckless. But Luke had something they didn't: his passive, Heart of the Infinite Well.
That skill had multiplied his MP pool tenfold, turning what would have been a meager 450 into the ridiculous 4,500 he had now. Without it, he'd have been knocked out cold the moment he tried using an advanced spell.