Chapter 209: sses


    Zac eagerly walked rushed toward his Nexus Node, unable to contain his excitement. He was truly curious about what kinds of sses he could expect from his new race. It was, in a way, both a test run for his level 75 evolution, and a testament to his struggles so far.


    If he had avable Epic sses now it would mean he was on course for epic E-Grade sses down the road. Of course, he knew that the criterion for getting an E-Grade Epic ss was much higher than an F-Grade one, but it was a start.


    He soon found himself in the building containing his private Nexus Node, and opened up his menu onest time to see everything was in order.


    <strong>Name</strong>


    <strong>Zachary Atwood</strong>


    <strong>Level</strong>


    <strong>25</strong>


    <strong>ss</strong>


    <strong>-</strong>


    <strong>Race</strong>


    <strong>Draugr (E)</strong>


    <strong>Alignment</strong>


    <strong>Port Atwood - Lord (Earth)</strong>


    <strong>Titles</strong>


    <strong>Born for Carnage, Ultimate Reaper, Luck of the Draw, Giantsbane, Disciple of David, Overpowered, yer of Leviathans, Adventurer, Demon yer I, Full of ss, Rarified Being, Trailzer, Child of Dao, The Big 500,ary Aegis, One Against Many, Butcher, Progenitor Hegemon, Core, Apex Hunter</strong>


    <strong>Dao</strong>


    <strong>Seed of Heaviness - Middle, Seed of Trees - High, Seed of Sharpness - Early</strong>


    <strong>Core </strong>


    <strong>Duplicity (F)</strong>


    <strong>Strength</strong>


    <strong>352</strong>


    <strong>Dexterity</strong>


    <strong>200</strong>


    <strong>Endurance</strong>


    <strong>245</strong>


    <strong>Vitality</strong>


    <strong>188</strong>


    <strong>Intelligence</strong>


    <strong>90</strong>


    <strong>Wisdom</strong>


    <strong>85</strong>


    <strong>Luck</strong>


    <strong>93</strong>


    <strong>Free Points</strong>


    <strong>0</strong>


    <strong>Nexus Coins</strong>


    <strong>22 508 653 </strong>


    The boost of 48 free points was a huge gain for three days of grinding. Hed already spent them all, putting 5 points in strength, 27 into Dexterity, and 16 into endurance.The strength was to pass 350, which might help unlock some special ss, and the others were simply to keep his build bnced.It was just as well since he was running a bit behind on his Dexterity, something he was able to clearly feel in his battle with Average.


    But before he could touch the crystal he sensed a familiar presence, and he turned around.


    Just watching the excitement, Ogras said with a small smile.


    If you got the opportunity to get a second ss, what would you want it to be? Zac asked, curious if the demon hade to the same conclusion as he himself had during the past days.


    Hmm I would likely want a hybrid mage ss also focusing on Shadows, Ogras said after some hesitation.


    Oh? Zac said, a bit surprised.


    It actually was somewhat different from what Zac had expected.


    My shadow attacks benefit from Intelligence and Wisdom, even though I am mainly a warrior ss. Two sses focusing on the same concept would also allow me to walk further the path of shadows, instead of splitting my attention, Ogras exined.


    Zac felt it was a distinct possibility the demon had thought it over since hearing of Zacs opportunity. It was a well thought out answer that would have a high chance of having long term benefits, and somewhat of a low-risk choice.


    But all theorizing was useless if he couldnt get the type of ss he hoped for. It was time to see what the system thought of him. Without waiting any further he simply touched the Crystal, and it immediately started the ss choice. Zac let out a sigh of relief before checking the new window that appeared, since he hadn''t been sure it would work until now.


    <strong>[Top 5 ss choices]</strong>


    <strong>[Reaver F Grade, Rare. <em>A roving army of one, filled with unrelenting violence.</em> Upgradeable.]</strong>


    <strong>[Greenfingers F Grade, Rare. <em>Keeper of the grove. Defender of nature.</em> Upgradeable]</strong>


    <strong>[Undertaker F Grade, Rare. <em>With only the trees and the dead forpany.</em> Upgradeable]</strong>


    <strong>[Undying Bulwark F Grade, Epic. <em>Unbreakable. Unflinching. Unrelenting.</em><em>The Undying marches forward. </em>Upgradeable.]</strong>


    <strong>[Big Game Hunter F Grade, Epic. <em>Dragons, Primordials, or the Abyssal Behemoths They all look good above the mantel.</em> Upgradeable. ]</strong>


    <strong>[Random F-Grade ss. 0% Common. 25.0% Umon. 44.2 % Rare. 30.8% Epic. Roll the dice.]</strong>


    Zac couldnt help but let a grin spread on his face as he saw the choices, making Ogras snort in annoyance from the side. The demon couldnt see the avable options, but he could likely make an educated guess. There wasn''t even the option to follow Alyn''s advice and pick a lower rarity ss.


    His options were clearly far superior to his first round, and he even had two choices for Epic sses. It was what hed hoped for, and a sort of validation for his ceaseless struggles of the past months.


    Still, Zac seriously looked through each and every ss, since even the worst one was of Rare rarity, and none would be a garbage ss. It was quite annoying that the System provided no proper clues for the sses, and he had to perform some guesswork.


    Reaver sounded like a stronger warrior ss, much like his Hatchetman ss. It was likely awarded due to his consistent fighting style. While it clearly was suited to Zacs attributes, it felt like it brought nothing new to the table, and he unhesitantly looked at the next one.


    He was unsure of what the main attribute Greenfingers would be. But getting the option was likely based on his high Dao of Trees, which might mean it was a Vitality ss. It should use nature to fight, and perhaps be useful in growing spiritual herbs. While it was an interesting option he had no clue how that kind of ss would work with an Undead Race, so he passed on it as well.


    Undertaker was the next choice. Zac felt it touched upon multiple parts of his skill set, and had some connection to death. The problem was that while it felt fitting, he had a hard time imagining what it would provide to him. The System really was too stingy with its exnation of its sses.


    That left the final two choices, the Epic sses. Big Game Hunter shoulde from him gaining the Apex Hunter title. Hunter sses were generally Dexterity-based, and would likely make a great addition to his Hatchetman ss.


    Currently Dexterity was the attribute he put most of his free points in, just so that he would be able to keep up with his ever-growing Strength. Getting a Dex-focused ss was one of the main ideas he had, and getting an Epic one would be a huge help.


    It would also likely broaden his arsenal for attacks, perhaps adding ranged capabilities through a bow. All in all, it would make him more well rounded, and the attributes wouldplement his Hatchetman ss well.


    It even had a somewhat matching theme with Hatchetman, as a hunter could be considered nature-rted. That would be convenient in the future, as improving one Dao might benefit both sses.


    The final choice was the Undying Bulwark ss. From the description it seemed to be an undead-specific ss that should focus on Endurance or Vitality. This was actually the second route he had formted over the past days while hunting.


    At first he had thought of gaining a mage ss to bnce out his low attributes in that area. That would also help with ranged attacks, just like a hunter ss. But he reluctantly put that idea to the side.


    He didnt believe that there would be any synergy between his two builds if he did that, leaving him with two strong archetypes. But he would rather focus on one archetype and push it to its very limits. He therefore wanted to go with another warrior ss that wouldplement Hatchetman.


    Another strength-based ss didnt seem like a good idea, as it would add nothing and make his attributes too lopsided. That left either an Assassin ss or a Tank ss, to borrow from gaming terms.


    Either of them would boost another of his important attributes, and leave him with free points to shore up his shorings, making him a monstrous melee fighter. If he picked Big Game Hunter he likely wouldnt need to put any more points in Dexterity. That would leave him the freedom to either focus on bing even more lethal or shoring up his defenses with his free points.


    It was a very flexible path where he could adjust his build as he went. Conversely, the undying ss would likely help with his survivability, but it would also mean that he would have to keep putting most of his free points into Dexterity to not be too slow.


    Both seemed like good options, and he felt like there was no clear winner. As for the lottery option, he didnt even consider it. There was no chance to get an Arcane ss, which was the tier above Epic. And while the chance for an epic ss was great, there was no point since he had two great options to choose from.


    But after a few minutes his eyes turned to Undying Bulwark and he picked that one with determination in his eyes.


    It came down to suitability in the end. Zac had his hands full just with improving his current fighting style. Learning to fight with a bow or sneak around wasnt really his style and would take focus from his axe techniques. The meathead juggernaut battle tactics were already ingrained into his brain, and the Undying Bulwark ss felt more appropriate for that.


    Besides, he was making a gamble for the long run. Right now his two sides werepletely separated, but who knew what would happen in the future. If he somehow managed tobine the two sses, or at least use their skills simultaneously, Undying Bulwark should be a better choice.


    A defensive ss wouldplement Hatchetman far better than another Offensive ss like a hunter as he saw it. It would also allow Zac to focus even further on evolving one side into pure offense, and the other into pure defense.


    He might have made a different choice if this was his only ss, as Undying Bulwark might not be the greatest offensively, which would affect his leveling ability. But with the help of his massive attribute pool he felt he would still be stronger offensively than most people. Furthermore, if needed he could get a great offensive skill from Bra.


    The familiar burst of cosmic energy inundated him, and his mind was filled with the schematic for the pathways that belonged to Undying Bulwark. He was about to check his gains, but Ogras interrupted him from behind.


    So, what did you get? Ogras asked from behind.


    None of your business, Zac said with a snort. I still dont know what ss you have.


    Ogras only tsked, muttering something about being stingy.


    I need to fix my pathways, then well try to hunt down the Shapeshifters, Zac said.


    Fine, Ogras said with a nod and disappeared.


    Zac remembered just how painful it was to draw his pathways, so he needed to seclude himself to make sure nothing went wrong. He immediately headed toward his courtyard so he could activate the arrays there.


    As he walked he finally opened his menu to see the results.


    <strong>[ss: Undying Bulwark, Grade-F, Epic]</strong>


    <strong>Endurance +10, +10%.</strong>


    <strong>Vitality +5, +5%.</strong>


    <strong>Level: +6 Endurance, +2 Vitality, -1 free point per level.</strong>


    <strong>Skills:</strong>


    <strong>Bulwark Mastery (LOCKED)</strong>


    <strong>Deathwish (LOCKED)</strong>


    <strong>Fields of Despair (LOCKED)</strong>


    Zacs brows rose in surprise. It actually stole one of his free points, rather than give out another one. But it still gave a total of 7 points per level,pared to the 5 from Hatchetman.


    At least one thing was clear. He probably wouldnt need to put any more points into Endurance in a long time, perhaps ever. Six points per level was an insane boost, twice what he got in Strength from Hatchetman. Add to that the point he got from his other ss, and soon his enemies would tire themselves out before they could even hurt him.


    It also gave three skills that were avable right from the start, and hed need toplete some quests to unlock them. He honestly had no idea what the twost ones would do. The first one was a mastery skill, just like his current Axe Mastery.


    However, he wasnt exactly sure what Bulwark meant in this connotation. But there was a real possibility that it might be a quest that would give him a new Dao Seed. Since he got an epic ss he was guaranteed to get at least one new seed from a skill vision.


    But before he could set out toplete his skill quests there was something else he needed to do. As soon as he arrived at his courtyard Zac closed it down with multipleyers of arrays before he sat down.


    Next he started to arduously imprint the intricate pathway system that would cover his whole body. Luckily he hadnt already imprinted a simplistic version of a pathway system that would be needed to be rewritten, so this time it wasnt nearly as painful.


    But even then the pathways took the better part of a day to imprint, as they were even more intricatepared to his other ss. Early next morning he stood up, and happily studied the results of his efforts.


    The fractals that passed through his whole body were reminiscent of that of Hatchetman, but they were also a bit different. The best way Zac could describe it was that they were like two abstract paintings, each conveying a different meaning to the subconscious.


    As he inspected the results of his efforts his eyes couldnt help but turn toward the Core. While he had engraved the fractals all night he didnt want to split his focus so he didnt check up on it. But throughout the night the core hadnt given off a single response, stayingpletely inert.


    But unbeknownst to him his Core had changed as well during the night, and the ck side now also contained grooves for the pathways to his new ss. Now his core was trulyplete.