Chapter 25: The first in the universe's history

Before seeing the contents of the orb, Bai Zemin felt mischievous and anxious as if he were a small child about to open his Christmas present. However, he fought the desire and turned his attention first to the orange orb.

"Let's save the best for last hehehe..."

"You're acting like a child, you know that don't you?"

"Don't distract me."

In the midst of light conversation as if the outside world was still peaceful and as if the danger of death did not lurk around every corner, Bai Zemin squeezed the orange orb with a bit of strength and after a flash of light, a new object appeared before him.

Honestly, what Bai Zemin was looking forward to was another pair of boots that could replace his previous boots that were destroyed by the flames of the First Order Blazing Beetle... Unfortunately, things didn't always turn out as one expected.

[Blazing Ring (Rare Treasure): A ring that contains the power of burning fire within it. When equipped, Magic +10 points. Once per day it can release a flare of fire that can be used to attack or defend].

Seeing the deep red ring, Bai Zemin's face turned a little strange. He looked at the beautiful woman a short distance away and slowly asked, "Miss Demon Race, what is this all about?"

"Mm? What do you mean?" Lilith blinked at him and looked at him blankly.

"What do you mean by what do you mean?" Bai Zemin didn't know if she was playing innocent or really didn't understand, therefore he asked patiently; "Why would a Rare Orb possess a Treasure with magic like this ring?"

"Uh? Who said that objects with magic could only come out of magic-grade orbs?" Lilith looked at him with amusement and softly explained; "While it's true that the chances are low, from Rare grade Treasure onwards, objects like the ring in your hands can appear... It's similar to the case of my space storage ring. Even an Epic Treasure can contain one, but its grade will be much lower."

The corner of Bai Zemin's mouth twitched severely upon hearing her explanation and this time it wasn't because of pain.

In fact, he had assumed that the Magic Grade Treasures meant objects capable of releasing magic spells. However, he had apparently misunderstood the name of the ranks, attributing those names to the contents of the orbs.

With a much more open mind and much more expectant than before, Bai Zemin turned to the deep yellow orb and crushed it.

A bronze-colored light flashed, forcing him to close his eyes for a second. When he felt that the brightness had disappeared, Bai Zemin opened his eyes expectantly and looked at the object in his lap. However, when he saw the appearance of the object, his expression turned a little ugly.

A bronze-colored pocket bell lay in his lap. This bell was dented in several places and there was even a part that had been forcibly torn off or had fallen off due to how old it was. Basically, it looked exactly like a useless bell.

However, even though the appearance was extremely ugly, Bai Zemin was never one to judge a book by its cover; although his expression was not very good, his hopes had not been dashed in the slightest and he picked up the object to inspect it.

[Broken Bronze Bell (Magic Treasure): An ancient bell that was broken and whose current defensive power is practically non-existent. When worn it automatically increases magic power and mana by 20 points. Effect: When the user is attacked, the Bronze Bell automatically releases a shield that protects the user from imminent danger. The amount of damage received affects the duration of the effect and after exhausting all its energy it takes 24 hours to recharge its power].

Bai Zemin's expression was a bit erratic and difficult to describe. On the one hand, he felt happy, but on the other hand, he felt confused.

Practically non-existent defensive power... Well, just by looking at the appearance of the Bronze Bell he didn't expect much but that description...

"Forget it... 20 Magic points and 20 Mana points is great..." He spoke aloud to himself as if to lift his own mood.

Curious, Lilith picked up the broken bell, and green letters flashed in her retina with the object's information. She handed it back to Bai Zemin and assured him, "Although this bell is broken and its description says that its defensive power is almost non-existent, in reality, it is probably the best treasure you could ever possibly obtain!"

"Oh?" His ears twitched gently and his interest piqued. He looked at her with sparkling eyes waiting for her next words.

"While the defensive power of this item might not be as strong against evolved beings, against other humans it will be your best ally." Lilith smiled, her eyes glittering strangely. "Currently, this world is not especially advanced in technology like other worlds. Therefore, it is likely that,,, Forget it, you will see for yourself when the time comes."

Although she had not finished her words, Bai Zemin felt that he understood what she meant. His mood lifted once again and he carefully put away the Broken Bronze Bell in the pocket of his Full Coat.

His life had now acquired another layer of protection, which in this world was more than appreciated.

"Finally, let's see what this is." Bai Zemin picked up the skill scroll and the information immediately appeared.

[Elephant Skin (Unclassified Passive Skill) Level 5: Increases Stamina by +50 points].

To say he wasn't a bit disappointed would be a lie considering he was expecting a much stronger skill. However, 50 Stamina points was a huge amount of boost to his strength; even after so many battles and so many upgrades, Bai Zemin's Stamina was only 75 points not counting the extra 5 from his Full Coat.

Moreover, since it was a passive skill and did not take up space among the few available ones he possessed to learn active skills, this skill was welcome.

With a thought, the skill scroll disappeared and several particles of gray light entered his body. Deep within his soul, a dull gray rune formed and Bai Zemin felt his entire body suddenly become much harder and tougher than in the past.

However, before he could think of anything else, several green letters flashed across his retina.

[Evolution requirements fulfilled. Do you wish to evolve Elephant Skin skill to the next level?]

"This,,, Woah!" Bai Zemin was dumbfounded.

What happened?! He hadn't even done anything and it hadn't even been two seconds since he learned the skill but it could already be evolved to the next level?

"Lilith... Looks like I can evolve a skill." He said in a weird tone.

"You probably fulfilled some relatively easy requirement?" Lilith wasn't sure either. "Focus on that skill and look at the evolution requirement to confirm it."

Bai Zemin nodded and quickly looked at his newly acquired skill.

[Elephant Skin (Unclassified Passive Skill) Level 5: This skill is at its maximum level and can evolve to the next level if the following requirements are met -

[Stamina stat above 100 points naturally without external support: 125/100]

[Requirements met. Do you wish to evolve the skill Elephant Skin to the next level?]

Ah... Apparently, each skill had different difficulties to evolve. At least for Bai Zemin, it didn't seem difficult at all to reach 100 points in a stat.

However, when he told Lilith the evolution requirement, she didn't know whether to laugh or cry when she said, "You little brat, do you think it's easy for a person of your level to reach and surpass 100 points in stats? While there have been more people who have achieved that, there aren't many... Besides, you are the first living creature I know in the universe's history who is able to evolve a skill so fast!"

Bai Zemin felt happy at her words, but he did not let that happiness go to his head.

While he might be the first to evolve a skill so fast according to Lilith's knowledge, it was just an unclassified passive skill so Bai Zemin did not believe that his act was something incredible.

Of course, Bai Zemin had no idea that Lilith was comparing him to monsters like the God of the bible that Christians worshipped, or else his thoughts would not be so simple.