Leonâs gaze locked onto the panel floating before him.
---
[Blood Moon Saint (Zone Boss)]
[Level: 25]
[Exclusive Talent: Blood Moon Worshipper (A-Level)]
[Talent: Blood Affinity (C-Level)]
[Combat Power: 42,000]
[Details: The saint of the "Moon Sect" in "Moon City", able to condense the power of the blood moon perfectly.]
---
The pressure rolling off the figure was real.
Even standing several meters away, Leon could feel the faint pull of blood mana in the air, as if the entire cathedral was responding to the saintâs presence.
The man floated slightly above the ground, robes dyed crimson, symbols of the [Moon Sect] glowing faintly across his body.
His eyes shone like twin blood moons as he stared directly at Leon.
"The [God of the Moon] is not pleased with your interferences," the Blood Moon Saint said coldly. "You have disrupted what should never have been touched. We shall get rid of you once and for all."
Leon didnât answer. He simply raised his staff and pointed it forward, a grin spreading across his face.
That reaction made the saintâs expression darken.
"You have no idea what you have just done, child," the saint continued, his voice echoing through the cathedral. "Do you truly believe the [Moon Sect] exists only in the [Lower Domain]? We have many more partners inâ"
He never finished the sentence. Leon didnât let him.
Power surged through Leonâs body as mana poured into his staff.
Powerful Fireball!
The words were calm. Casual.
And yetâ
Fire began to condense at the tip of the [Void Staff], twisting violently as the surrounding air warped under the pressure.
The mana density climbed instantly, far beyond what should have been possible for a level 21 player.
The fireball expanded, growing larger and hotter by the second, its surface swirling like molten lava.
The Blood Moon Saintâs eyes widened.
"S-Such power..." he muttered. "HOW?!"
Even Leon knew it made no sense. At least, not normally.
No one at this level should be able to cast magic with this level of destructive force.
But Leon wasnât "normal" anymore. The answer was simple: the [Blood Heart].
More specifically, the blessing placed on the [Void Staff].
By tripling the staffâs Spirit bonus, it had pushed Leonâs magic potential into an absurd range.
His panel told the story clearly:
[Spirit: 2,430 (+7,424)]
Nearly ten thousand Spirit. At this stage of [Eternal Ascension], that number was outright monstrous.
Even some level 35 players would struggle against it.
With stats like that, Leonâs spells didnât just hit hard. They erased things.
"S-Shit...!" the Blood Moon Saint shouted.
"Blood Barrier!"
Crimson light exploded outward as the saint desperately summoned his defensive skill, layers of blood mana stacking together to form a thick barrier in front of him.
Normally, it would have been more than enough, but this wasnât a normal spell.
The fireball didnât slow down. It pierced straight through the barrier like it wasnât even there.
BOOM!
The explosion engulfed the saint completely.
Flames roared outward, scorching the cathedral floor, cracking the stone beneath them. The intense heat incinerated everything in its path.
When the flames faded, nothing remained.
The Blood Moon Saint was dead. Silence filled the cathedral.
"...Wow," Emilia muttered, staring at the scorched ground. "You grew several times stronger in just a few minutes?!"
Leon lowered his staff, exhaling slowly.
"Unique special item," he said with a grin. "Depending on how long it takes to recharge the [Blood Heart], Iâll probably use it on one of your strongest items too."
Emilia blinked, then smiled.
"That thing is terrifying."
Leon nodded. Of course, there was a limit.
If the [Blood Heart] required thousands upon thousands of monster kills to recharge, heâd have to prioritize his own equipment first.
Still, Leon wasnât worried.
There were many ways to make his allies stronger: methods far beyond simple equipment bonuses. This was only one of them.
Ding!
[You have killed "Blood Moon Saint (Zone Boss)" and gained 8,000 experience points.]
[100% Drop Rate has triggered...]
Unfortunately, Emilia didnât receive any experience from the kill.
Leonâs fireball had ended the fight too quickly. But it didnât matter.
At her current strength, grinding to level 25 alone wouldnât be difficult anymore.
Leon turned his attention to the loot.
[Blood Scepter (Legendary): +800 Magic Attack, +600 Spirit, +200 Agility. Requirement: Blood-related skill or sub-talent.]
[Skill Book: Blood Beam (Legendary)]
[Sub-Talent Scroll: Blood Affinity (C-Level)]
[Skill Stones x4]
"Pretty good."
The [Blood Scepter] was undeniably powerful, but Emiliaâs current weapon was already at its maximum level, making it slightly better overall.
The sub-talent scroll wasnât particularly useful to Leon either, since he already possessed a higher-level version.
That left one thing. The skill book.
Leonâs eyes narrowed as he opened its description.
[Blood Beam (Legendary): Focus the power of your blood affinity before firing a concentrated beam at your enemies, may cause "Bleeding". Requirement: Blood Affinity (C-Level) or above.]
"Oh?"
A new spell was always welcome. Especially now.
With his Spirit stat reaching absurd heights, any magic-based skill he learned would scale into something terrifying.
Leon didnât hesitate. He pulled the skill book from his [Storage Space] and poured mana into it.
The book dissolved into red light that flowed straight into his body.
Ding!
[You have learned the skill "Blood Beam"]
Leon clenched his fist slightly.
âThis will be useful,â he thought. âEspecially with the second assessment coming soon.â
Assessments were no joke. The second one, at level 25, was where many players failed to progress and get stronger.
The third, at level 50, separated normal players from the strongest before entering the [Higher Domain].
Leon intended to pass them all at their strongest difficulty. Then he glanced at his panel.
[Free Points to Allocate: 400]
"...Damn."
Anyone who saw this amount of free points not allocated would probably curse at Leon, but he didnât mind much.
He already knew exactly what he wanted.
"All into Spirit."
Fwoosh!
The points vanished instantly.
His Spirit stat jumped by another 400, pushing it fully past the 10,000 mark.
This was a growth beyond what anybody could achieve without either luck, information or... being from an eternal-level world.
The [Blood Heart] had proven its worth beyond doubt. And Leon knew this was only the beginning, as there were surely other unique special items to grab.
Also, there were stronger enemies out there in [Eternal Ascension].
If he wanted to face them all... this level of power was the minimum.
After everything was settled, the exit portal of the [Blood Moon Cathedral] finally appeared.
A swirling gateway of crimson light.
"Shouldnât we grind a bit more?" Emilia asked. "We wonât be able to come back here after leaving."
Leon scratched his chin.
"I think weâd run out of monsters eventually," he said. "And I want to complete the quest."
"Alright," Emilia nodded, satisfied.
Together, they stepped toward the portal.
Fwoosh!
The scenery shifted. A few seconds later, they emerged outside the cathedralâs entrance.
Thousands of players were still gathered nearby, busy fighting, trading, or simply watching the massive structure.
No one noticed Leon and Emilia slipping away.
"Letâs leave quietly before the [Moon Sect] arrives," Leon said. "I can beat them, but itâd cause chaos."
Emilia nodded, gripping her scepter.
And just like that, the two headed toward Tolkienâs shopâ
Eager to see how the blacksmith was doing now that his chains had finally been broken.