He let out a full-bellied laugh when he saw them with his own eyes.

[Armaments of the Arcane lvl 28 -> lvl 29]

[Pyrokinetic Embodiment of Ruin lvl 27 -> lvl 29]

[Absolute Spatial Perception lvl 18 -> lvl 21]

[Phoenix Renewal lvl 28 -> lvl 30]

[Inexorable Aura of Ruin lvl 27 -> lvl 28]

[Void Step lvl 15 -> lvl 20]

[Void Strike lvl 12 -> lvl 18]

[Spirit Fortification lvl 23 -> lvl 27]

[Field of the Shattered Will lvl 9 -> lvl 16]

He had leveled every skill he had with the exception of [Sage of Savagery] and [Phoenix’s Mark]. The former because it had already reached the threshold, and the latter because he hadn’t found a use for it in combat yet.

Not only did every skill level up, but he also gained multiple levels in most of them. Then, if that wasn’t nice enough, he reached level 30 in [Phoenix Renewal]. Arguably, his strongest and most overpowered skill.

[Phoenix Renewal] has reached threshold. Would you like to evolve the skill?

He giggled and accepted the prompt.

Appraising requirements…

Error… Modified Trial for another Skill Evolution is in progress. Unable to overlap an already modified Trial.

He stopped laughing and stared flatly at the notification.

What kind of bullshit is this? You were the one who forced me into this modified trial in the first place? Why can’t you add another skill to it? You're the reason why I even got my healing skill to level 30, he shouted internally at the Words of the World.

He took a deep breath and settled down. On the bright side, he reached level 30 more quickly than expected. He only needed to have a slugfest with a Tier 5 that lasted so long that he and Drasil almost ran out of mana. He was worried that he would have to die in order to reach the threshold.

Speaking of his mana, he had slowly regenerated a good enough amount that he felt comfortable using his void skills. During the latter portion of the fight, he’d been forced to forgo his [Void Strike] and [Void Step] unless it was absolutely necessary. He also noticed that against a Tier 5, the penetrative effects of [Void Strike] were weakened. Something about a Tier 5's body, or rather one as strong as the ant’s, must have been different than that weak Tier 5 crafter he faced all that time ago.

He got up and started to explore the tower, which, from what he could tell, was pretty empty. He could still sense the large number of eggs, but that was it. All other ants were missing, which was baffling.

He was tempted to destroy all of the eggs to avoid any issues that might arise from them, but unfortunately, he didn’t have the mana to do something like that. He needed every bit that he could recover.

Before he left the area, he made sure to grab the core of the Tier 5. Upon inspecting the core, he was quite surprised by its sheer weight. It felt like a tungsten sphere, still full of power. However, there was a lot of corruption seeping out of it. He didn’t know how useful a core like this would be, but perhaps he would get it analyzed after he escaped this pit. For the time being, he tucked it inside his dimensional space for safekeeping.

He eventually came to a different part of the tower, and his brows raised when he saw the giant abyss in front of him. The entire center of the tower wasn’t a structure, but a large hole that extended so far down that he couldn’t see the bottom.

The amount of corruption energy coming from the depths told him that something was down there. He took a deep breath and took a step off the cliff, dropping into the hole. It wasn’t as deep as he thought, and before he knew it, he almost reached the bottom. He halted himself just before he hit the ground, and his eyes bulged at what he saw.

Sitting at the bottom of this abyss was an ant. It was smaller and daintier-looking than the other ants. Its shell was interwoven with corruption, outlined in black and violet light. What confused him, though, were the chains wrapped around its form. It was shackled to the ground as corruption roared out of its body.

He took one step forward but immediately froze in place. The ant, which had been unmoving and undetected by his perception skill, lifted its head and stared straight into his soul. He clenched his chest and watched as a wave of pure corruption flooded toward him.

Nope.

He took one step and blasted himself back up into the air. The corruption was already eating into his flesh and weakened body. He sent a few spikes down, but the corruption was so powerful that they vanished as soon as they left his hand.

Everything in his gut told him that he would die if he stayed, even with his healing skill, and so he launched himself upward, straight toward the top of the hole. Once he was safe, he looked back down at the abyss, panting slightly.

He didn’t have enough mana to feel comfortable investigating any further. He felt like he’d done enough investigating as is, and if the trial didn’t deem it enough, then it could go to hell.

Instead, he looked up and noticed that there were tunnels extending up to the surface. Or what he hoped was the surface. That would be his exit. And so with one last look at the scary pit, he used some kinetic energy to fly himself upwards into the shaft.

The suffocating feeling of corruption faded the farther he got away. It was funny how much better he felt the further he got away from the corruption. As if a giant smelly weight was lifted from his shoulders.

He might have gotten lucky, but the tunnel he chose kept on going up. Taking this as a good sign, he continued to fly up. He flew for a good hour. The kinetic energy expenditure was pretty high since he was going straight up, but it was lower than the amount he was recovering passively. Plus, his control and recycling of kinetic energy helped a lot. His mana pool had filled up, and he had over half capacity at this point. Drasil and Seraphyne had also recovered quite fast with his help. He didn’t hold back anything and continuously infused his mana into them.

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He grinned and let out a cheer when he finally saw light at the end of the tunnel. Days of darkness and solitude weren’t his favorite pastimes, and he couldn’t wait to let the sun hit his face.

When he exited the hole, he closed his eyes and spread his arms, soaking in the sun. It was still hot as hell, but he siphoned the heat away and enjoyed the fresh air.

After that, he removed his compass from his storage space and triangulated his location. He didn’t know where he was, but quickly found the relative position of the camp and decided that heading in that direction wouldn’t be a bad decision.

However, just before he set off, he got a notification.

Congratulations, you have successfully cleared your Modified Trial.

Objective:

Investigate the source of corruptionSurvive and escape the gorge.Reward:

Legendary skill evolution of [Sage of Savagery]Skill Optimization TokenUnique ItemAdditional Skill SlotObjectives cleared. Rewards being distributed…

Hidden objective detected and cleared…

Notice: Improvements to rewards have been made following the completion of the hidden objective.

Congratulations, you have acquired Skill Optimization Token.

Julius rubbed his hands together eagerly. He liked the part about hidden objectives. It would appear his fight with the Tier 5 hadn’t gone unrewarded. He smiled when he felt an object appear in his palms. He looked down and opened his hands to reveal a plain disk of gray metal.

To be honest, it was quite ugly, but he knew better than to judge something solely based on appearances. Look at his lunchbox, the thing was a dented piece of junk, but also the best item he’d ever gotten from a rift.

Speaking of items, he got another notification.

Congratulations, you have acquired a Unique Item.

Notice: Unique Item being generated…

He watched with bated breath as a flux of energy appeared in front of his face. Swirling colors of mysterious energy all coalesced into a single mass. He closed his eyes as the sudden flash of light blinded him.

What was left was a… interesting sight. It was a dark red piece of fabric, so dark it was almost black. On closer inspection, he realized it wasn’t just a piece of fabric, but rather a blanket. It didn’t look all that pretty either. The blanket was worn, with loose threads hanging from its surface.

He frowned but reached out and grabbed it from the air, immediately surprised by its softness. He rubbed it against his face and sighed, before jerking it back. His face was covered in blood, and with a wince, he saw the bloodstain smeared over the worn blanket. However, to his relief, the bloodstain was already vanishing as if it had never been there.

Well, that’s nice at least. I always hated worrying about stains on my favorite blankets, he thought to himself with a nod.

He also took the time to read the item's description.

Blanket of Gluttonous Renewal (Unique Soul Bound Item)

Woven from the silk of a unique variant of a Silken Ashweaver, this blanket carries within it the powerful properties of renewal and recovery. It feeds off the connection between it and the user’s soul. Kindling it into a gentle warmth that restores depleted reserves. While resting beneath it, mana recovers at an increased rate, accompanied by a comforting heat that wards off fatigue and mental strain.

This item has been further enhanced, and the rate of regeneration has been improved while eating in its presence. All regenerative items and consumables will also be enhanced if used while in contact with the blanket.

Julius stared at the notification in awe and lovingly rubbed the fibers of the blanket between his fingers. He could already feel his reserves filling up at an increased rate. He would say that his natural mana regeneration had improved by at least fifty percent, maybe more, if he really focused on regeneration.

But that wasn’t the thing that had him the most excited. He was fixed on the last paragraph of the description. He suspected that the hidden objective he completed was the reason for this. The part about eating was very interesting. If the regeneration was already this high, then he could only wonder how eating would affect it.

Seeing that there was no better time than the present, he laid the blanket down on the ground. He didn’t even have to flatten it out; it did all of that on its own, spreading thin until it was perfectly flat with no wrinkles.

Then he sat down; its plushness was incredible, and he opened up his lunchbox. There was the usual simple affair. A sandwich with a couple of small fruits, and he even had a glass of some kind of liquid. He didn’t wait and quickly shoved a fruit into his mouth.

He immediately felt a flood of energy flowing from the blanket and directly into him. It was like being electrocuted, and he felt dizzy from the flow of energy. But the regeneration was ridiculous; it had almost doubled his usual regeneration. Not only that, but his food from his lunchbox was special too, often giving him more mana. But now, the restorative effects have increased even more.

It was crazy that one bite of fruit had done more for his mana pool than several minutes of concentrated meditation. If that wasn’t enough to convince him that it was an amazing item, then the final enchantments did.

It didn’t just enhance the mana regeneration; it actively healed his mana channels, which had been fatigued and damaged from his consumption of mana potions and harsh use of them in the battle against the Tier 5.

Furthermore, the food tasted better. God, the food from his lunchbox was already amazingly delicious, but now it had taken it to a new level. His taste buds sparkled with each trickle of juice that released from the fruit.

He swiftly took out a regular cookie from his storage space. This cookie wouldn’t give him any special enhancements, but he wanted to test something. He made sure he was making contact with the blanket when he took a bite of the cookie.

He almost dropped the cookie in shock. It was even more delicious than usual, which was an astonishing realization. He read the last part of the item's description again.

All regenerative items and consumables will also be enhanced if used while in contact with the blanket.

All consumable items…

If he was interpreting that correctly, then that included food of all varieties, not just potions or mana rings. He clenched his hand tightly. This was a huge—no, massive discovery.

This meant that everything he ate on this blanket would taste even better.

He immediately summoned Drasil and Seraphyne. While the little guy and tiny turtle were still tired and recovering, this was too important a discovery not to share. Plus, this would help them recuperate faster.

Drasil must have sensed his excitement because, despite his weariness, he was looking at him with a curious tilt of his head. Julius didn’t even say anything; he simply created a normal orb of life mana. There were no fancy additions or modifications; it was essentially a plain piece of bread for Drasil.

The adorable spirit frowned, but he was very hungry at the moment and started to suck on the orb of mana.

The second the mana touched his little tongue, Drasil let out a gasp and snapped his head up to look at him, unadulterated excitement and joy blooming in his emerald-like eyes.

Julius nodded knowingly, eyes just as bright and full of elation. “Yeah.”

Drasil let out a cheerful laugh, and Julius joined right alongside him.

The sound of the two of them cackling like madmen spread over the wastelands while Seraphyne stood by and watched with confusion. But he quickly yanked her over and shoved a piece of bread into her mouth.

She let out a gasp and then suddenly, there were three of them cackling in the sands.