Carl looked at the map, still not able to make any sense of it. When William mentioned the Thieves' Guild while pointing at a particular symbol, however, the pieces started to click.
"Are you tracking down the Thieves' Guild with this map?" Carl asked warily, although he already knew the answer.
William nodded, "They've been trying to kill me for a while now, and I thought I'd return the favor. The information is a little old, but I can't imagine they have moved much in the last few decades."
"Where did you even find out about this in the first place?"
"In the library at the Sect. Why?"
Carl looked at William seriously, "I dunno, you gave me the impression that you didn't like reading."
"...Forget about this, let's rest up here and leave at night." William replied in a flat tone.
He erected a few Concealment and Barrier Arrays around them, then sat cross-legged on the ground to convert a small amount of his Cultivation Base and recover what he lost while using the Stealth Talent's invisibility function.
Carl looked at William in surprise as the man absorbed the Spirit Qi directly, barely filtering the Mana at all. The amount of Mana increased dramatically, then was refined into fifty strands of Spirit Qi at the same time. It was incredible!
Carl didn't interrupt William's Cultivation despite his amazement. To do so was considered a grave taboo in the Cultivation World, since it could hinder one's future growth depending on the situation.
Instead, Carl waited silently for William to finish, electing to do some Cultivation of his own from the other end of their temporary base.
It only took two hours for William to refill his Cultivation Base. The sun had set an hour ago, but he still had one last thing to do before they left. He looked at Carl, who had also finished his session of Cultivation a little bit ago.
"Carl, step outside for a bit." William said. He didn't want Carl to get hurt by accident during his next move.
Carl was confused, but he exited the Barrier Arrays anyway and sat on the ground outside.
System, upgrade my Space Affinity.
-10000 PP
———
TALENT UPGRADED
Space Affinity: (A --> S)
Effects: Space-related Mana Control, Magic Power, and Mana Efficiency +150% >> +250%
S-Rank Bonus Effect: Instant comprehension of the Domain of Space
Next rank up: 50000PP
———
The moment the upgrade process began, William's fingers were sliced off one by one from the effects of the Space Mana. Hundreds of papercuts formed on his hands and feet, ignoring the Forcefield and cutting into his clothing that automatically repaired itself.
That being said, the Illusionist's Cloak almost couldn't keep up. The damage and repair process were nearly the exact same, but the Space Mana slowly gained the upper hand as the upgrade continued.
———
Strength: (S --> SS)
Effects: Full-body muscular ability +550% >> +1200%
S-Rank Bonus Effect replaced with SS-Rank Bonus Effect.
SS-Rank Bonus Effect: Chance of physical strain reduced by 80%
Next rank up: 10000PP
———
Stamina: (S --> SS)
Effects: Resistance to fatigue +550% >> +1200%
S-Rank Bonus Effect replaced with SS-Rank Bonus Effect.
SS-Rank Bonus Effect: Quickly recover your stamina when out of combat. When at full stamina, your first physical move is 20% more powerful and efficient.
Next rank up: 10000PP
———
Regeneration: (S --> SS)
Effects: Natural healing ability improved by 550% >> 1200%, then healing speed improved by another 550% >> 1200%
S-Rank Bonus Effect replaced with SS-Rank Bonus Effect.
SS-Rank Bonus Effect: Host can recover from almost any physical injury, no matter the severity.
Side Effect: Healing injuries hastens the rate of cell division and will cause the Host to age by one year after healing 15 >> 30 years' worth of injuries.
Next rank up: 10000PP
———
William felt his skin tighten up and compress to a point that he didn't think possible. The cells on his arm became slightly lustrous and shiny, before reverting to his normal skin-tone as the upgrade was completed in mere moments.
The other upgrades quickly followed suit, improving his Strength, Stamina, and Natural Regeneration respectively. As he looked at the System Messages regarding each upgrade, his eyes widened.
Each Talent improved by 650 percent, meaning his abilities had more than doubled across the board. Not only that, but the SS-Rank Bonus Effect for the Regeneration Talent was absolutely ridiculous.
He hadn't seen the S-Rank Effect before, but it probably had something to do with why he was still alive after beheading himself with the Space Element. If the SS-Rank Effect was even better, William could probably be diced into a thousand pieces and still survive!
Natural Regeneration my *ss! This is anything but natural!