The room glittered like a dragon's hoard.
Artifacts lay scattered across the floor, glowing faintly in every hue imaginable.
Skill books were stacked in uneven piles—some bound in leather, others in crystal or metal—each radiating a different pressure.
The air itself felt heavy, saturated with possibility.
Arthur stood in the center of it all, hands on his hips.
"…Alright," he said slowly. "Tell me how many skill books of each rank I've got."
Blue windows slid into existence.
[ Compiling inventory data… ]
A brief pause.
Then—
[ F-Rank Skill Books: 4 ]
Arthur nodded.
"Basic foundations. Combat, movement, utility."
[ E-Rank Skill Books: 3 ]
"Good. That's already a framework."
[ D-Rank Skill Books: 5 ]
[ C-Rank Skill Books: 3 ]
Arthur's eyes gleamed faintly.
[ B-Rank Skill Books: 2 ]
[ A-Rank Skill Books: 1 ]
His breathing slowed.
[ S-Rank Skill Books: 2 ]
Silence filled the room.
"…Two S-rank skills," Arthur whispered.
The system continued.
[ I lost many others during the forced severance, but don't worry—these are also not bad. ]
[ It's just that I prioritized skills I could preserve at the time. ]
[ And the ones I lost—the majority of them—were designed for an S-ranker's body, energy capacity, and bloodline compatibility. For someone like Lucas, not you. ]
[ If you attempted to learn them in your current state, the best outcome would be permanent damage. The worst outcome would be death. ]
Arthur clicked his tongue.
"So you filtered them."
[ Precisely. ]
[ Many of the lost skills relied on S-rank vessels—high-output energy dominion, bloodline-locked evolutions, and large-scale resonance. ]
[ You possess none of those. ]
"Harsh," Arthur muttered.
[ Honest is more accurate. ]
Arthur looked at the scattered books again.
"Looks like we'll have to make do with what we have…"
He exhaled slowly.
A grin crept onto his face.
"I guess… this will do."
After that, Arthur stood silently, eyes sweeping over the piles of skill books spread across the floor.
He crouched and began sorting them one by one.
F-rank.
E-rank.
D-rank.
C-rank.
He analyzed each one, trying to understand how they worked.
Seconds passed.
Then minutes.
"…Most of them are useless," he muttered.
Most were warrior-class—sword mastery, spear techniques, shield formations.
Others were mage-based—mana circulation, elemental control, spell casting.
Some required weapons, armor, or specific combat paths.
Arthur straightened.
"I'm none of those. I don't even have a class right now," he said quietly.
His fingers curled into a fist.
"The only thing I actually know is hand-to-hand combat."
"There's nothing here suited to that."
He looked at the rest of the books scattered across the room.
For a moment, he closed his eyes.
'First things first…'
'If I stay G-rank, I'll die the moment I face anything serious.'
'I need EXP.'
'Fast.'
Arthur opened his eyes.
"System," he said, "sacrificing skill books also gives a lot of EXP and attribute points, right?"
[ Correct. ]
[ Skill books are among the most valuable items in the Nexus Market. ]
[ Their sacrificial yield is significantly higher than potions or essence cores. ]
Arthur nodded slowly.
"So if I sell them, I get money."
"And if I sacrifice them, I get power."
A faint smirk appeared.
"…Easy choice."
He gestured toward the piles.
"Sacrifice all skill books up to C-rank."
The system paused.
[ …Are you serious, Host? ]
Arthur didn't hesitate.
"I've seen all of them," he said calmly. "They won't be useful to me in the future."
"And I've got money now. I can always buy skills up to C-rank that are useful and better suited to my fighting style."
His eyes sharpened.
"And I don't need most of them."
"And believe me, I've played this game a lot, so I know what I'm doing."
"I need strength right now, so I have to raise my stats and break through to F-rank first."
He added firmly:
"Convert the F- and E-rank skill books into EXP."
"And the D- and C-rank skill books into attribute points."
Silence followed.
Then—
[ Understood. Beginning sacrifice process. ]
Arthur put all the skill books up to C-rank back into the inventory.
One by one, the books dissolved into streams of light.
Potential vanished.
Power flowed.
The energy rushed into Arthur's body, heat surging through his veins, his heartbeat accelerating.
[ Sacrificing F-Rank Skill Books… ]
[ Sacrificing E-Rank Skill Books… ]
[ Sacrificing D-Rank Skill Books… ]
[ Sacrificing C-Rank Skill Books… ]
A few seconds later—
[ Sacrifice Complete. ]
New windows appeared.
[ EXP Gained: 48,600 ]
[ Attribute Points Gained: 180 ]
Arthur sucked in a sharp breath.
"…That much?"
His body felt lighter.
Stronger.
Sharper.
A slow grin spread across his face.
"This is exactly what I needed," he murmured.
His gaze shifted to the remaining skill books from B-rank to S-rank.
"Now these… are the useful ones that are hard to find…"
"I'll take all of these."
Arthur straightened, eyes burning with curiosity.
Arthur let out a slow breath and turned his gaze toward the remaining piles of artifacts.
Rings, weapons, charms, cloaks, strange mechanical cubes, cracked relics humming with mana.
He stared at them for a long second.
Then he spoke calmly.
"Do the same for the artifacts."
He gestured lazily.
"Leave only B-rank to S-rank ones."
The system responded immediately.
[ Understood, Host. Filtering inventory… ]
A faint hum filled the room.
Artifacts began to glow.
Low-rank items trembled as invisible pressure wrapped around them.
[ Identifying artifacts by rank… ]
[ F-Rank Artifacts: 31 ]
[ E-Rank Artifacts: 24 ]
[ D-Rank Artifacts: 18 ]
[ C-Rank Artifacts: 11 ]
The rest remained still.
[ B-Rank Artifacts: 2 ]
[ A-Rank Artifacts: 1 ]
[ S-Rank Artifacts: 1 ]
Arthur nodded.
"Good."
He folded his arms.
"Sacrifice everything from F- to C-rank."
The system paused for half a second.
[ …Confirmed. Beginning artifact sacrifice process. ]
The energy surged toward Arthur.
His vision blurred.
His muscles tightened.
Heat flooded his body, crawling through his veins and bones as if he were breaking through to a new rank.
[ Sacrificing F-Rank Artifacts… ]
[ Sacrificing E-Rank Artifacts… ]
[ Sacrificing D-Rank Artifacts… ]
[ Sacrificing C-Rank Artifacts… ]
The process lasted several seconds.
Then—
Silence.
New windows appeared.
[ Artifact Sacrifice Complete. ]
[ EXP Gained: 92,400 ]
[ Attribute Points Gained: 210 ]
Arthur exhaled sharply.
"…That's even more than the skill books.
But the numbers are also bigger…"
His body felt heavier and lighter at the same time.
Like a blade being reforged.
He clenched his fist.
As fe felt the difference.
A slow grin spread across his face.
"I broke through to F-rank."