Liam hit yes before he could talk himself out of it. He couldn't risk not taking power when it presented itself to him and being bound to his axe in what he assumed was a similar way to his Spirits didn't seem too harmful. He felt a connection snap into place between him and his weapon. He could almost sense the changes it was going through, and that it would be done soon.

  Whilst he was looking forwards to the reveal, he decided to go through the slew of notifications that had been blinking at him since he had defeated the Lich, though more had joined in since then. With a thought, he opened them and started to read.

  [Spirit of Protection I has Levelled Up!

  It has reached Level 5.

  40% shield and shield recovery increased to 50%]

  [Level Up!

  You have reached Level 13.

  You have gained: +2 Vitality, +2 Endurance, +2 Willpower

  You have 0 Free Attributes to assign.]

  That was as much as he knew had happened and had felt during the battle. The extra shield and Attributes had been crucial to him winning so he was thankful that they had come through when they did. Though he supposed things like that were more likely to happen for him than others because of his Progenitor Titles boosting his personal and Spirit Leveling Speed.

  [Spirit of Death I has Levelled Up!

  It has reached Level 8.

  70% bonus damage has increased to 80%. 52.5% merged bonus damage has increased to 60%. 52.5% merged physical resistance has increased to 60%. 1 extra free use per day]

  His merged Spirit took another step closer to making him immune to Physical Damage. He wasn't sure what would happen when he hit, and went beyond, 100% but he was looking forwards to it.

  [Level Up!

  You have reached Level 14.

  You have gained: +2 Vitality, +2 Endurance, +2 Willpower

  You have 7 Free Attributes to assign.]

  [Level Up!

  You have reached Level 15.

  You have gained: +2 Vitality, +2 Endurance, +2 Willpower

  You have 14 Free Attributes to assign.]

  Two Levels gave him a substantial boost in Attributes, but he felt a little let down that he didn't get more. Surely what he went through merited more than this? Though, living was a reward in its own, especially considering the state his body was in and how he was only held together by his [Spirit of Death].

  [You have cleared the Limited Dungeon - Phyris’ Sealed Catacombs. Exit the dungeon to receive your rewards.]

  Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.

  It was nice to get confirmation that it was over, and the promise of a reward surprised him but he wouldn't say no to anything extra the System decided to give him. All his complaints about the lacking Levels went away. He would have to see what he had earned before he made any further judgement.

  [For being the first person in your world to clear a Limited Dungeon you have earned the Title: First Defender of Earth]

  That was a new kind of Title. It was a first, but it wasn't a Progenitor Title. He [Analyzed ] it to figure out what it did.

  [First Defender of Earth

  Planetary Unique

  +25% damage to Limited Dungeon Creatures

  +1 effective Tier to the Hafted Skill]

  It looked like a Progenitor Title, and it worked like a Progenitor Title, but it wasn't one. He supposed it probably had something to do with the hidden talent boosting effect that he benefited from but his Spirit was too tired and busy holding him together to reply at the moment. Internally, he allowed himself a little celebration at its effect. +1 Tier to his main Combat Skill would let him take to using his weapon even quicker than before and the damage boost would be a massive help if he ever found himself stuck in a nightmare like this had been again.

  [For cleaning a Limited Dungeon without assistance you have earned the Title: Solo Delver]

  Another Title to [Analyze].

  [Solo Delver

  Uncommon

  +25 Health, +25 Stamina]

  More of the base resources were always welcome, especially when they came free. Finally, his Health and Stamina Totals would be back to even 10s instead of the odd 5s they had ended with for a while.

  [For being the first person in your world to create a Soulbound Item you have earned the Title: Soulsmith Progenitor]

  This message shocked him the most out of all of them. For starters, it was the first non Path or Combat focused Title he had seen, sounding more like a Crafting one. Secondly, it didn't feel deserved. He had earned all his others through accomplishing difficult feats, often risking life and limb to overcome near impossible odds and his Titles felt like badges of honour that he received for those accomplishments. This, on the other hand, felt like something he had stumbled into. Sure, he could see how he had caused it to happen but he had already been rewarded plenty for his defeat if Ander Phyris and cleaning up the battlefield had yielded another Progenitor Title to add to his growing collection. Still, he was happy he had got it and he wouldn't let any misgivings stop him from exploiting it for all it was worth. Heck, his dream of settling down and doing something creative once he had carved himself a little slice of peace out there somewhere now seemed a bit more realistic now that he was all but guaranteed to be talented in a craft. Not wanting to wait any longer, he [Analyzed] the Title to see what effects it gave.

  [Soulsmith Progenitor

  Planetary Unique

  +25% crafting quality

  +1 effective Tier to the Soulsmith Skill]

  A bonus to crafting quality was exactly what he wanted, even if it wasn't something that was immediately useful. It furthered his goal of pursuing a craft and he was sure that when the time came he would appreciate this benefit. The Skill that was boosted however, he did not recognise. He definitely hadn't earned it at any point before now otherwise it would've shown up in his notifications before the message informing him of the achievement. There was one last notification waiting for him, so he opened it and hoped that it would provide him with some answers.

  [You have learned the Skill: Soulsmith 0]

  He had gotten the Skill all right, but it seemed as though the System almost didn't want to recognise it. He didn't even know that he could get Skills at 0, but he supposed that it made sense considering he had never tried smithing before in his life. He [Analyzed] the Skill for good measure, curious to see what it did.

  [Soulsmith 0 (I)

  Crafting Skill

  Provides insight into the shaping and usage of materials for the craft.

  Tier I: Able to Soulbind an Item to a person upon its creation, as long as something from them is used during the crafting process]

  His first Crafting Skill! Thought it would likely sit unused for a good while until he got together the equipment and materials to try to use it. Liam was more than happy with it since it seemed both rare and useful. He would have to find out more about it before he could start gathering those as well, so it seemed that in a way it was still locked behind layers of information. But even out of his reach temporarily, it was there and he was overjoyed.

  Done with his notifications, he opened his Status to view the changes in full. Noting how much it had changed in such a short period of time.

  [

  Name: Liam Karr

  Race: Human (Earth)

  Path: Path of the Spirits

  Class: Spiritual Conduit

  Titles: Spirit Progenitor, Natural Shaman, Titan Slayer, One Against Many, Power Beyond Limits, Control Beyond Limits, Spiritual Conduit, Undead Slayer, Epic Progenitor, Inward Focus, First Defender of Earth, Solo Delver, Soulsmith Progenitor

  Level: 12 -> 15

  HP: 241/425 -> 99/510

  Stamina: 85/225 (211.5) -> 182/310 (279)

  Lifeforce: 13/18 -> 0/21

  Strength: 33

  Dexterity: 25

  Vitality: 40 -> 46

  Endurance: 20 -> 26

  Intelligence: 15

  Willpower: 21 -> 34

  Free Attributes: 0 -> 14

  Traits:

  Merged Spirits (Legendary)

  -Spirit of Death

  -Empty

  Skills:

  Analyse II

  Spirit Lore I (II)

  Undead Lore III

  -NEW- Elemental Lore I

  Ambidexterity I

  Hafted III (-NEW- IV)

  Spirit Shaping II

  -NEW- Soulsmith 0 (I)

  Powers:

  Spirit of Death I, Level 7/10-> 8/10

  Spirit of Protection I (Partially Corrupted), Level 4/10 -> 5/10

  Lesser Spirit of Calm I (Corrupted), Level 1/10

  ]

  When he was almost done reading, a grin spread across his lips, a cracking sound brought his attention away from the words in front of him. The crystalline cocoon around his axe had fractures running through it that spread by the second. His weapon was about to emerge.