"Perfect!"
Daniel threw a fist into the air, visibly excited.
He had just realized that he had gathered all the required materials for his God Rank Skill: [Divine Step].
That meant… his third God Rank Skill was about to be born!
Without hesitation, Daniel initiated the crafting process on the spot. The synthesis interface flashed brilliantly—and seconds later, a new notification chimed:
[God Rank Skill Acquired: Divine Step]
Effect 1: +3000 Agility
Effect 2: Divine Passage — After activation, you may move unimpeded through non-living matter, including walls, trees, and other environmental objects.
"Wait, what? Did I just unlock... wall phasing?!"
Daniel blinked. His heart skipped a beat.
His mind flashed back to his days at the academy—particularly a certain memory involving the girls' dormitory being separated from his own room by just one wall...
Cough cough!
In any case, the effect looked simple, but it was downright broken.
The 3000 bonus Agility alone boosted Daniel's base movement over a hundredfold!
To put that in perspective: the [Shadow Leopard] he had previously rented—at great cost—had a speed approximately 30 times faster than Daniel's original pace.
With [Divine Step], Daniel could now outrun it three times over.
And the Divine Passage effect? Even more ridiculous.
For instance, the [Shadow Leopard] had a theoretical speed of 1500 miles per hour, but that was under perfect conditions—flat terrain, no obstacles.
In reality, even in the relatively open Whitewild Expanse, terrain quirks like rocks, trees, and elevation constantly forced the leopard to slow down and accelerate again, cutting actual travel speed in half.
Daniel, however, with [Divine Step], could ignore every wall, every tree, every boulder—and just run straight.
No detours. No breaks. No deceleration.
His actual running speed could now reach 5000 miles per hour, easily six times that of the leopard.
Insane. This is completely insane.
And that was just the beginning.
As Daniel rummaged through his newly sorted backpack, he found something else: a skill book.
[B-Rank Skill: Nimble Posture]
After maxing it out, it transformed into an S-Rank Skill:
[S-Rank Skill: Graceful as the Wind]
Effect: Your movements become exceptionally light and agile, granting +30% dodge chance. When not in an attack stance, you enter a Shadow State—your next strike is guaranteed to critically hit. If the target is killed, Shadow State persists.
Daniel stroked his chin, his eyes gleaming with satisfaction.
"This… pairs perfectly with [Divine Step]."
The combo was ideal for clearing mobs. With high-speed movement and guaranteed critical strikes, even elite monsters could be one-shot in succession.
Not to mention, this setup would synergize flawlessly with his [Ode to Life], increasing kill streak efficiency dramatically.
And it wouldn't stop at mobs.
Even against hostile adventurers or organizations in the wild, this could serve as a deadly assassination toolkit.
Then another prompt appeared:
[Skill Fusion Detected: Divine Step + Graceful as the Wind. Proceed with Fusion?]
Daniel blinked, then laughed.
"Of course! I nearly forgot about skill fusion—that's one of the perks of my Talent Specialization!"
No need to hesitate.
[Fusion Confirmed.]
A brilliant light exploded from the screen.
[God Rank Skill Acquired: Godspeed Step]
Effect 1: +6000 Agility
Effect 2: +50% Dodge Rate
Effect 3: Godspeed State — Upon exiting combat, your movement speed increases tenfold. You will not tire and can phase through all physical objects. MP is consumed instead of stamina. Your next strike is guaranteed to critically hit.
If the target is killed: Godspeed State persists.
If not: Enter Frenzy State (+100% Crit Chance for 5 minutes).
Even though Daniel had already mentally prepared himself...
He couldn't help but gasp.
Just moments ago, a 3000-point Agility boost had already tripled his speed over a Shadow Leopard.
Now it was 6000 Agility—seven times faster than the leopard, even before the Godspeed multiplier.
And with Godspeed's 10× multiplier active?
Theoretically, that's 70 times the speed of a Shadow Leopard…
In practical terms, possibly even 150×!
"Even a freaking dragon couldn't outrun me now," Daniel muttered with a wide grin.
He closed the window and returned to inspecting his loot.
The amount of treasures and rare materials in his backpack had far exceeded his expectations.
Among them were components required for several other God Rank Skills.
One notable piece was:
[Mist Heart] — the core material for the God Rank Skill [Mist].
The remaining components, he figured, could be purchased from the Multiracial Commerce League.
"Shouldn't cost more than… two hundred million gold coins."
Wait.
What do you mean 'only' two hundred million?
Daniel chuckled to himself.
"Daniel, my friend, you're really starting to get cocky."
Sure, this windfall had been monumental—but two hundred million wasn't exactly pocket change.
Still, Daniel knew the truth: for him now, that much money wasn't out of reach.
But it also highlighted a painful reality:
God Rank Skills are absurdly expensive.
And this was only Rank #97 on the God Skill List.
Just imagine the cost of a Top 10 God Rank Skill. What rare materials would it require? What kind of fortunes would one have to spend?
Daniel let out a long sigh.
The road ahead is long... and costly.
He came to a new conclusion—anything rare, keep it.
Even if he had no current use for a material, he might need it in the future.
Gold coins were important—but not as important as irreplaceable resources.
Because while gold could be earned and traded freely, some materials were so rare that no amount of money could buy them.
Daniel wasn't about to make the stupid mistake of selling rare materials for a pile of coin, only to realize later—when he actually needed them—that they were unavailable.
That kind of regret? No thanks.
With that mindset reinforced, he scanned through his inventory again—this time looking over his massive stock of purple-grade gear.
Unfortunately, most of the items only had gear-specific bonuses—they didn't boost base stats like HP.
For example, wearing heavy armor increased defense, but didn't directly raise Daniel's health pool.
Still, he picked out a decent set of equipment and swapped into it, optimizing for durability and agility.
Time to suit up.