The Level 5, Bronze Rank was to be considered a peak milestone. The difference in comparison to the levels below level 5 was tremendous.
Maxwell opened the system menu to check how much XP he needed before he could level up but was met with a bad surprise. "What!"
Levelling up from Level 7, bronze rank to Level 6, bronze rank, he had only used just a hundred XP, but the XP required to level up from Level 6, bronze rank to Level 5, bronze rank was just outrageous. 10000 XP. The increase was over 10-fold.
Maxwell started burning with rage as he began to hurl hateful words at the system. This was a drawback to his original plan of levelling up quickly and getting his Divine Technique. "Overdrive!" He was now faced with the cruel reality.
After some time, Maxwell regained his composure as he continued to scan through the system's interface.
"Martial Technique: Dragon Beast Palm."
"Level: Type 1 Martial Technique."
"Dominance: 10/100."
"This martial technique is so good with its combination I can attack and defend, imagine what I would do if I had the divine technique Overdrive. More power for me." Maxwell said to himself sadly.
Just then, he noticed some extra information at the corner of the system, which he quickly opened.
"Badge: 4 Badges."
"What is that?" He asked no one in particular. "I started collecting them when I killed people. Maybe it's unique to only players." Maxwell considered it a theory. He was too tired to give it a thought for long.
The system suddenly popped up a description bar.
"The Badges are gained when the player successfully kills another player. Reward is 1 badge for every kill and can be exchanged for a Titan Technique."
"The Badges do not expire and cannot be reset or else the Titan system will activate the double pain receptor for the player."
"Titan Technique. This must be a prank. What Titan Technique do you have?" Maxwell continued as he opened the exchange menu. He was left in shock.
"Dragon Titan Technique."
"Phoenix Titan Technique."
"Behemoth Titan Technique."
"Basilisk Titan Technique."
"Leviathan Titan Technique."
"Jörmundgandr Titan Technique."
These Titans were extremely powerful beasts that had gone extinct and more still lingered in the long list of Titan Techniques. Some were not even beasts but Titans and Gods.
"Goliath Titan Technique."
"Atlas Titan Technique."
"Kronos Titan Technique."
"Supreme God Titan Technique."
All these Techniques were overpowering, and he could even gain the Supreme God Titan Technique. This was mad.
Maxwell was left in a daze by the information he had just seen, he had never imagined the system to pose this much advantage. If he were able to gain any of the Titan Technique, he would definitely become a god in this world. No one in Eden City could challenge him ever again.
"This is just too crazy!" He said, drooling at himself.
Having a Titan Technique in this world was unpredictable due to its unique power. And it could only be gained from two sources.
Firstly through inheritance. This was when someone inherited the Titan Technique from birth. The player does not need to cultivate the Technique since it's already powerful.
The second was by merging both genes of a player and a Spawned Beast. When the merger is successfully completed, the player gains the abilities of the spawned beast. The higher the level of the spawned beast, the stronger the players get after successfully merging. But this was an elaborate risk nobody was willing to make.
Even when he tried to compare the type of Titan Technique one could gain in this world his system offered the best since they were all extinct Techniques.
"If I were to make an exchange for the Titan Technique..." Maxwell's heart trembled at the thought, but he was pulled back to reality when he saw the outrageous required badges.
"2000 Badges exchanged for Dragon Titan Technique."
And so the requirements increased by significant squares as they progressed.
"2000000 Badges for Phoenix Titan Technique."
"2000000000 Badges for Behemoth Titan Technique..."
Maxwell was a little bit happy despite cursing at the system. The Joy he got from his new discovery was more compared to the pain of getting the Badges.
The Badges needed to exchange for the Dragon Titan Technique were 2000, and each player kill he made was 1 badge. He grumbled when he reminisced himself killing 2000 people to exchange it for The Dragon Titan Technique. Wouldn't that make him tagged as a mass murderer?
He scoffed at the margin between the 4 Badges he had already and the 2000 Badges he still needed.
He didn't want to disturb himself that much since the Badges didn't reduce even when he didn't use them. He would eventually increase it with time.
He immediately picked up the dead spawned boar as he began to exit the forest.
---
"Meat! I can finally get some meat!" Constantine's eyes flashed with hunger as he rushed over from his duty post to catch up with Maxwell.
"This is just the beginning, we'll do this every day," Maxwell said, wearing a smile.
Constantine didn't wait for him to finish when he grabbed the boar from Maxwell and threw it over his shoulder. "Sir Maxwell truly keeps his promises."
Maxwell was dazed at the way Constantine looked at him with his eyes bulging out childishly. "Don't do that with me again or you might just not get a bite from this!" Maxwell threatened.
Constantine panicked like a child who had been offended.
Maxwell just sent him away since he couldn't stand him anymore. "Go prepare the meat. I'm starting to salivate already."
"Your wish is my command," Constantine said as he moved to get water from the lake at the far end of Enod.
Some minutes later, a fire was set up with the piece of meat roasting above it. It didn't take long before oil started dripping from the meat into the flames.
Maxwell took a piece of meat and handed it over to Constantine with a smile. "Here! You have some first."
Constantine shook his head before grabbing the piece of meat that was still raw and bloody. He started to chew on the raw meat as he took a large chunk into his mouth. "Sir Maxwell, I like it raw." He said, a mix of satisfaction and joy showed on his facial expression.
Maxwell just watched him silently, the shock of the discovery was unexplainable. "Such beastly talent!"
Maxwell could remember from his memories of him and Constantine that Constantine had always enjoyed eating raw food since he was little especially his meat. He liked it even more when its blood still dripped from it. He didn't bother himself that much as he collected a piece of roasted meat and started to enjoy himself.
"Just say what is on your mind already!" Maxwell said to Constantine after he noticed him throwing him suspicious glances.
"Your strength, Sir..." Constantine said scratching his bald head.
Maxwell knew this was bound to happen; he didn't want anyone to know about his system already and even if he were to tell Constantine about it, he wasn't sure Constantine would understand, so he just gave him an easy reply.
"The day Vincent beat me unconscious, I met someone who healed me and restored my cultivation. For the past few days, I've been trying to recover."
Constantine was dumbfounded by the revelation Maxwell just made and he didn't doubt a single word. "We can get everything we lost back in the future," Constantine said excitedly.
"When you were injured and took in the wrong pill, I knew it was all Lord Sebastian Gillette's doing. Even your Father's death, he could be responsible. He brought the idea of a duel to your father, and with the assistance and persuasion from other senior members of the household, your father conceded, which led to his death."
"There's also Sir Gregory, who is now basking in your glory, and Sir Vincent, who has taken your ex-fiancee..." Tears had slowly begun to form in Constantine's eyes as he lowered his head and began to blame himself.
"It's all my fault! For not being able to cultivate. I'm still stuck at level 10, bronze rank. Even after making a promise to your parents that I'd take care of you..."
He was always blaming himself whenever things went south in Maxwell's life. When Maxwell could no longer cultivate, Constantine pushed himself against his limits but still made no progress. All his hard work amounted to nothing.
Maxwell now felt sad for Constantine. He placed his hand on Constantine's shoulder as he began his motivational Speech. "What the Gillette Household has done to me, I'll repay them a hundredfold or more. No one is escaping my wrath; every single one of them will regret they did not kill me when they had the chance. I promise!"