Ding!

  The ringing sound of a status notification made Novus clench his eyes as his head bobbled back and forth against the small pillow. As for how the pillow got there, Novus didn't care.

  Leave me alone. Let me sleep!

  His face shifted off the pillow and against the wooden flooring that pulsated with mana. Finally, after putting up a futile resistance for a while, Novus hazily opened his eyes.

  Like a group of awaiting children finally seeing the ice cream truck come into view, Novus’ vision was flooded with system messages, all trying to compete for his attention.

  Groan.

  As Novus got up, he swiped away all the word boxes and opened his status window. When he finally saw what was there, he grew surprised.

  It's changed. But what's this about defending my system? The only beings capable of doing something like that would be... The Divine. Were they retaliating against me?

  Novus let the thought slip away as he turned his attention to his new status window.

  Novus hadn’t checked his status window since the Slime Caverns. But, as he expected, a lot had changed. Many new skills and abilities had appeared, and some of the unused ones had even lost levels.

  The surprising part was that the entire status window seemed simplified. Levels, and anything that appeared to be related to them, were no longer present. They were simply listed as Low, Peak, and High, respectively. Novus could only assume that there was also a 'Middle' tier, but he could only find that out in the future by refining his body more or weakening his soul. Of course, he would avoid doing the latter.

  Overall, his status window seemed very NPC-like now.

  It seems The Divine that made the system, changed me. Or perhaps, the system entirely changed when it defended against the other gods and goddesses.

  When Novus focused on his attributes, he was pleasantly surprised. During his battle with the Slime Colossus, Tham and Mercury, Novus had relied mainly on his superior mana and magic. He was half-expecting the Intelligence and Wisdom attributes directly related to mana to be higher than anything, but they weren’t. Instead, whatever Edna had forced down Novus’ throat, alongside the Soul Predator ritual and soul bonding with Mino, had increased the rank of his Strength, Dexterity, Endurance and strengthened his soul.

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  Directly skipping a rank seemed to break through some sort of limit. For humans, Novus knew that boundary was called the ‘Mortal Wall.’ Typically, when humans meet this limit, they would train endlessly or wait for a fortuitous encounter to get past this body limit. However, it seems that Novus skipped past this limit and enabled an intense bodily growth. Novus guessed that most players would face the same limit around Black Iron 99 [99%]. Not only for the body but also for each of the three aspects.

  It’s nice to have powerful backers.

  Sniff. Sniff.

  “Ugh.”

  The attribute, Dexterity, improved Novus’ senses alongside his speed and agility. But, unfortunately, that also meant a sensitive nose to the foul odour that clung to the black, itchy secretions from his bodily transformation.

  Novus nearly vomited.

  Ding!

  Novus couldn’t press the accept button fast enough before his nose inhaled another time. But, a cooling sensation immediately turned the vile bodily toxins into twinkling lights that escaped into the air.

  Sometimes, the system wasn't a half-bad tool.

  Novus took a few deep breaths before he resumed checking his updated skills, title, and class description.

  After some quick calculations based on his previously numbered status window, Novus was pleased by the new class effects.

  As expected, it’s strong even if it’s only the disciple stage. But, I can't help but think it would've been better to shift to a Soul Predator directly.

  As if reading his thoughts, a new quest window appeared over the others that Novus had yet to read.

  “Ah.”

  Novus’ mouth was opened and left there as his mind tried to deny the class questline. At least other classes had something to work toward to get a new class. Swordsmen got better by improving their sword techniques. Magicians could study the effects of mana and develop variations of spells or even create new ones. Mystics could...

  Groan.

  “Why do I get the feeling it’s going to take forever to become a Soul Predator?”

  Novus’ mouth squeezed into a horizontal line as he reminded himself of the basics of getting stronger.

  Slowly, Novus. Accumulate strength and lay a proper foundation. True power doesn’t come all at once. Besides, Edna, and maybe even Garbal, would have faced a similar wall. So they should be able to help me.

  Novus resumed browsing his new title to improve his mood again.

  Why does the word skills seem passive-aggressive? That's not just me, right? Is this what changing the system does to... you know what, it's okay. I can live with it.

  Novus continued browsing his skills. Of which he was sure he had.

  Looking at everything, Novus had a mix of emotions.

  He was pleasantly surprised that both of his new skills were already iron-ranked, and both seemed to hold the potential for higher growth. What that growth would lead to would be up to Novus and would likely contribute toward his quest to become a Soul Predator. The only thing he wished was different was his low Charisma stat.

  I suppose it is natural for Charisma to play a role in obtaining a pet, even for a mystical being like a Soul Partner. Regardless of attributes, Mino accepted me readily, though I’m still unsure why.

  Reminded of Mino, Novus attempted to activate one of his new skills: Soul Partner Channeling.