After meeting with Magnus, Aster went straight to the ss Exchange Hall. Just as he was told, it was already open to the public, despite the chaos having barely subsided.


    "Mr. Aster, it''s been a while."


    Upon arrival, someone was already waiting to wee him with open arms. It was none other than the Director of the ss Exchange Hall—Faeloria Shadowleaf.


    "I apologize, Director," Aster said as soon as he stood before her. "Even though you must be busy, you''vee out personally to handle my matters."


    Faeloria smiled sweetly, tucking a few strands of her short hair behind her ears. "No need to apologize, I volunteered for this. It''s no trouble at all."


    "I see... That makes me feel a little less guilty."


    After a brief exchange of pleasantries, she guided him toward the Private Job Upgrade terminal used by employees. Although there were no other adventurers in the building, they still opted for the secluded terminal. After all, it was more secure than the public one, ensuring any sensitive information remained hidden.


    Aster approached and ced his right hand on the center of the panel. Arge disy appeared, showing a loading bar that advanced at a snail''s pace—1% every five seconds.


    "So slow..." he grumbled under his breath.


    Thest time he used it, the bar moved at 1% per second. This one would take at least five times longer!


    Even Faeloria noticed the irregrity. From her experience, it was rare for the machine to take this long just to scan ss Upgrade details. "Did you change your ss from something rare to something even rarer? Epic or Legendary?" she asked casually.


    "Ah..."


    Aster opened his mouth to respond, but the disy suddenly changed. The loading bar vanished, reced by a nk screen with just two lines of text:


    [Name: Aster Mistral Your journey continues at empire


    Job ss: **n''s Avatar (II)


    Skills Earned: Ground Shrink, Sword Chains, Elemental Magic (basic)]


    "Huh...?"


    Both Aster and Faeloria stared at the disy, equally puzzled. Faeloria was surprised by the obscured name of Aster''s Job ss, while Aster was equally shocked by unlocking a single letter from his weird Job ss along with three new skills.


    "D-Do you want to check your new skills?" Faeloria snapped out of her daze, urging Aster to the next machine. Curious, Asterplied. After cing his hand on another panel, his updated information appeared neatly on the disy:


    [Name: Aster Mistral


    Job ss: **n''s Avatar (II) (Unique Mythic) (new!)n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    Battle Skills


    Sword Skills: Vertical sh


    Martial Arts: Straight Punch, Side Kick, Ground Shrink (new!)


    Arcane Arts: Active Temperature Control


    Passive Skills


    Mana Control (high), Mana Detection (high), Mana Regeneration (mid), Temperature Standardizer (EX), Boost (+50% EX) (new!)


    Daily Life Skills


    Cooking Skill: Lv 99


    Breathing Control Skill: Lv 99


    Alchemy Skill: Lv 53


    Gathering Skill: Lv 32


    Stealth Skill: Lv 25


    Animal Taming Skill: Lv 11 (new!)


    Job Skills


    Elemental Sword sh (new!), Sword Chains (new!), Elemental Magic (basic) (new!)]


    "Mythic?!"


    Faeloria nearly fainted. Aster''s ss rarity was simply unheard of! Throughout history, no one had ever earned a Mythic ss.


    The highest known was a single case of a Legendary ss, and that had been hundreds of years ago. Currently, the rarest sses were Epic—one level below Legendary—and that just so happened to be Faeloria''s ss rank.


    ''And to top it off, it has the Unique prefix modifier!''


    sses with the "Unique" prefix gained a +5/+5 bonus on both the level required for upgrades and the maximum number of upgrades avable. Aster''s assumption had been correct: a standard Mythic ss would upgrade every 40 levels, up to a maximum of 25 times. With the Unique modifier, that became 45 levels/30 times!


    ''But these skills...''


    Faeloria grew more baffled the longer she examined them. The skills Aster had gained were all over the ce! He had unlocked Elemental Sword sh for swordsmen, Ground Shrink for martial artists, and Elemental Magic (basic) for mages!


    Rather than a magic swordsman, he was turning into a fighter, mage, and swordsman all in one.


    "..."


    But Aster''s expression wasn''t one of joy at gaining more skills and power. Instead, his brow furrowed, as if deep in thought, processing somethingplicated. Faeloria, having lived a long life, could guess what was on his mind.


    "Mr. Aster, would you like to test out your new strength?" she asked, attempting to spark his interest.


    Last time, Aster had immediately tested the skill he''d received—not out of excitement, but out of a methodical desire to fully understand his abilities. It was simply who he was. After a brief pause, Aster nodded.


    "Alright. Can I use the practice room again?"


    "No need. I have a better ce in mind."


    Faeloria knew the facilities in the ss Exchange Hall would be too fragile to handle Aster''s current strength, so she quickly suggested an alternative.


    She waved her wand, and in an instant, the two of them were encased in a dome of vines shaped like a giant flower bud. Momentster, the vines dissipated into pink petals, releasing a sweet, floral scent.


    When the petals disappeared, so did Faeloria and Aster.


    "This ce is...?"


    Aster''s eyes opened wide as he took in the scene before him. They were supposed to be inside the building, but everywhere he looked, there was a vast expanse of green fields and dense forests, teeming with life. It resembled the dungeon''s early floors, yet it felt different.


    "This is the World Tree''s Domain," Faeloria exined, standing a few steps ahead.


    "My Epic ss, Watcher of the World Tree, grants me dominion over nature and allows me to move between the real world and this dimension at will."


    "Epic...!" Aster gasped, momentarily impressed.


    But he quickly regained hisposure. After all, he now had a Unique Mythic ss. Shifting focus, he scanned his surroundings and asked, "So, this is where I''m supposed to test my skills?"


    The area was vast enough that even if he unleashed his full power, he doubted it would cause any significant damage. It was the perfect location to put his newfound abilities to the test.


    "That''s right... but there''s more to it than that." Faeloria''s sly smile made Aster frown.


    Before she even finished speaking, Aster already had an inkling of what wasing. "Let''s spar. You want strength, don''t you? Let me see if I can help you with that."


    She tossed a in iron sword to Aster and waved her wand, summoning three massive roots that twisted behind her like living creatures.


    "Don''t worry—no matter how much power you use, you won''t be able to injure me. Soe at me for real~!"