Each Affinity and Class had five stages starting from Novice, Adept, Expert, Master, and finally Grandmaster.

And each of those stages had five tiers.

To advance one’s Affinity, the Players had to consume better Affinity Gems and absorb the elementals residing within them. In the case of Classes, they had to complete related quests or missions.

So finding out that these Shadow Puppets actually could increase Alex’s Shadow Affinity had left him momentarily surprised.

"What a pleasant surprise," Alex mumbled as his grip tightened onto Helina’s glassy sword.

"I have to end this quickly."

Without wasting any more time, He moved.

Mana coursed through his body, and the sword and Shadow Puppets, who were already scared of the life energy within Helina’s swords, stepped away from him.

However, he wasn’t going to attack them yet – instead, he appeared before another frozen puppet and pulled the sword stabbed at the center of its chest before throwing it aside.

The puppet fell apart, and screens followed its demise.

[Kill: Shadow Puppet (Bronze V) (E)]

[Experience: +25]

[Evo Points: +25]

[System: Host Alex, your shadow affinity has reached (Novice – Tier III)!]

Seeing the screen, his lips arched upwards in an eerie grin, and his head twisted toward the next frozen puppet.

He appeared before it and yanked the sword.

[Kill: Shadow Puppet (Bronze V) (E)]

[Experience: +25]

[Evo Points: +25]

"Hmm... that wasn’t enough to advance to the next tier?" he surmised in a disappointed tone and moved to the next frozen puppet.

[Kill: Shadow Puppet (Bronze V) (E)]

[Experience: +25]

[Evo Points: +25]

[System: Host Alex, your shadow affinity has reached (Novice – Tier IV)!]

Finally, Alex’s gaze shifted toward the five Shadow Puppets some distance away from him, and he channeled mana into his feet.

Most of his mana had been used to open the gate to Celica, but that wasn’t a problem because of [Mana Amplification]

With its help, his mana was actually tripled, so he still had nearly as much mana as E Players.

His shoes squealed as he closed the distance between them and swung the sword.

The puppets, which now had no other choice, attacked in retaliation, and even though life energy was no different than lethal poison to these undead golems, Alex was in no way efficient with the sword.

The sword streaked a shallow cut across two puppets, and the inflicted area began to freeze into black glass.

At the same moment, the other puppets lunged at him from three directions.

As their burning claws were about to rip him apart, he jumped into his shadow and appeared behind the wounded puppets.

He let go of the sword for a moment and flowed mana into his fists, then, using [Mana Kick Boxing], he struck the two right at their cores.

With his raw strength already contending with low D and the strength amplification from mana, the two fists slammed into the puppets like spears and tore through their chests.

As his fists struck the cores, the two Shadow Puppets came undone.

[Kill: Shadow Puppet (Bronze V) (E) x2]

[Experience: +50]

[Evo Points: +50]

[System: Host Alex, your shadow affinity has reached (Novice – Tier V)!]

Just as the two Shadow Puppets disappeared into smoke, the remaining three attacked.

Their claws drew burning arcs as they swung forward.

Alex evaded their attacks and, upon opportunity, landed punches or kicks onto them.

The three puppets leapt at him like hungry beasts, and he responded in kind.

The heel of his shoes dug into their sides and skulls while his knees landed under their chins.

His fists plummeted into their chests, abdomens, and backs, yet he couldn’t find any opportunity to end them.

Shadow Puppets were no longer a threat to him, but the same couldn’t be said for the ghostly blue flames dancing across their shadowy claws.

I have to end this before I run out of mana.

For the next few minutes, he kept his distance and retaliated when necessary.

But as time passed and he exchanged blows with them, his punches and kicks began to near perfection.

His chaotic mind reached calmness, and as two of them clawed at his sides at the same time, he ducked to dodge the two and threw a punch at the third one.

[System: Host Alex, skill (Mana Kick Boxing) has leveled up!]

A flicker of surprise appeared in his eyes, and suddenly, the strength coursing through him was multiplied even further.

The punch landed, and the target exploded into bits.

[Kill: Shadow Puppet (Bronze V) (E)]

[Experience: +25]

[Evo Points: +25]

That’s great, but now it’s going to consume more mana...

Warning bells rang in his head, and he jumped aside.

Two shadowy claws went past him, and the system whispered.

[System: Host Alex, skill (Dodge) has leveled up!]

Shit!

The remaining puppets attacked, and this time he was able to sense them before they even reached him.

Its Amazing.

He grinned widely and side-stepped an incoming claw, then he threw a knee to Shadow Puppets’ abdomen and then brought down his elbow at the back of its core, tearing through it.

[Kill: Shadow Puppet (Bronze V) (E)]

[Experience: +25]

[Evo Points: +25]

His gaze moved toward the last puppet, and he grinned in delight.

The last puppet pounced with its claws directed at Alex, and he lifted his knee in response.

His knee slammed right under the puppet’s chin and sent it stumbling backward. Although it couldn’t feel pain, it could still be immobilised with impact.

Mana moved through the Strength Amplification channel of his fist, and he drove it right at the center of its chest.

Shadow Puppet let out a shrill cry as its core exploded, and the system responded.

[Kill: Shadow Puppet (Bronze V) (E)]

[Experience: +25]

[Evo Points: +25]

[System: Host Alex, your shadow affinity has reached (Adept)!]

"Finally!" He took a deep breath, and the sounds of clicking and scraping reached his ear.

He instantly took his stance and turned his head toward the sounds coming from behind, and before his disbelieving gaze, the wall parted into two.

"Is that the way out?" He muttered and hesitantly stepped toward it.