Cid gasped for air, his body aching all over.
He squatted on the ground, took deep breaths, and grabbed his head until the headaches subsided.
Cid took a moment to process everything. It was always a gamble talking to those things. It could really go either way, even when Cid knew he was justified. Even back then, it hadn't been any easier....
He felt that his body was nearly weightless, and he felt unimaginable power coursing through his body. His mind was sharper now. His attributes after the cleanse had surely skyrocketed. But his attributes were the least important thing to come out of that interaction.
"Status Check."
(You have been blessed with the power of the Elder Deity Rot's Cleanse.)
(Your class has been unlocked to its limit. Common Class Thief -> Legendary Class Bandit)
(Induced additional attribute changes:
STR - 4 -> 14
AGI - 7 -> 16
CON - 3 -> 11
INT - 3 -> 11
LUK - 2 -> 6)
(Unique talent upgraded to limit. Talent Rob has been changed to talent Steal.)
[Name: Cid Sidle
Age: 18 Years, 9 Months, 5 Days Old
Gender: Male
Step: The First Step.
Attributes:
1. STR - 14
2. AGI - 16
3. INT - 11
4. CON - 11
5. LUK - 6
Talents: Unique Talent - Steal.
Class: Legendary Class: Bandit.]
Cid was overjoyed. His efforts in the past had paid off. With this solid of a start, he could do way more than he had expected. His talent was even more overpowering than before.
[Unique Talent: Steal - Active Ability 1: Certain percentage to be able to steal attributes from people, creatures, and beings permanently outside of combat. Usable once every 12 hours. Not applicable to parties one or more steps stronger than the User. Random items not bound to the target may also be targeted.]
Active Ability 2: During Combat, steal attributes from the enemy. 2% of the enemy's attributes will be stolen permanently, while 98% of the stolen attributes will be returned after combat. Applicable once per enemy.
Passive Ability: Sneak - Able to evade detection and certain reconnaissance abilities. Becomes more passive to observation and steps become silent. Completely invisible to an enemy one or more steps below the user unless the user wants to be visible.]
Cid's jaw dropped upon reading this description. Indeed, he had heard tales of a cleansed individual being overpowered, but to this degree? And that too, being cleansed from the first step? This would put him on pace to be among the greatest prodigies.
And that was not all.
Cid clutched his pendant. This supreme artifact was quite limited in a general sense, but had one very redeeming function. It could break through the limits of any talent, spell, or class. It could only do one of those things at a time, however, and could only be used while equipped on them.
However, it was still among the most supreme artifacts among all the realms simply because it had the power to break through limits.
Cid knew it would be his ticket to getting an even more absurd start in this life. However, he had to awaken the artifact with a few materials first. It could not be used as it was right now.
Cid rushed to the markets, buying a kilogram of Kranos Flesh for 100 denars. 100 denars was the equivalent of 6 month's pay for the average citizen. It was very nutritious, and also very expensive. Any meat from the wilderness and the beasts were exceptional for their nutrition and benefits, but were quite costly.
Reaching his small house at the edge of the market, Cid put the flesh down on the kitchen table and started preparing some ingredients to cook with it.
Beryl was probably still at the local community school, and would not return till later. He was the only one in her life since their parents had died of various complications when Cid was still young, and only had this broken down house to his name. He sold off a portion of it to a local broker, and raised his sister in this tiny portion with two rooms, a kitchen and a bathroom.
Somebody had to step up. Pity does not run a household.
Cid measured out the ingredients and first washed the meat thoroughly. When dealing with beast meat, you had to be careful. And you had to roast it to heaven come. For Cid, it was fine if it was undercooked since he had a strong constitution now, but if Beryl ate it, it would probably cause even more complications.
With Kranos Flesh in particular, the internal temperature had to reach at least 210°C before it was safe to eat. Cid ensured that it was ready before he cooked it with the other ingredients.
Thank you, you old bastard. It will be a good meal.
Cid's next plans were quite simple. Initially, it was supposed to be more complicated and difficult since he assumed he would be way weaker than he was right now. However, his new strength gave him more options.
For reference, the standard peak for a step 1 common professional was about 9-10 points of attribute for each of the four stats, being STR, AGI, CON, and INT. Most epic classes would start you off around 7 points depending on your class, and epic classes had a ceiling of about 15 points compared to the common class' 10.
In comparison, Cid was already stronger than most of the stage 1 epic professionals even at their peak, and was definitely above all the stage 1 common classes. This was only the start, and the gap between classes would only widen from here.
There were hard caps on each attributes depending on their class, as well. An epic shieldbearer could have up to 15 points of CON, but their AGI would be capped to 10. Therefore, there were tradeoffs as well.
However, it wasn't all that there was.
The progression to the next stage would involve invoking the class advancement trial, and they would have to face it in order to get to the next step. Common classes had it easier, even if they were weaker. They had more possibilties of advancing to the next class, whereas the higher professions had more troublesome class advancement trials.
And a step 2 common profession could definitely defeat a step 1 epic.
These tradeoffs did somewhat balance the difference between the classes. However, at the top of the hierarchy, the epic classes still ruled supreme.
By the time Cid finished his plans and thoughts, he had already finished cooking. Just in time, his sister came in.
"You're back already?", Beryl exclaimed.
"Mm. I've awoken. Have a seat, eat up. It's a special meal, today."
Beryl smelt the food and salivated instantly. She always knew her brother was a good cook, but it smelt especially good today.
As she ate, the food filled her up and she could not stop. It was simply divine, whatever this was.
Cid spoke, "Slow down. I've left 200 Denars for you in your bed. You can use that for whatever you need."
Beryl looked confused, and her head titled sideways, and asked, "Wait, where did you get that from? 200 Denars? And where are you going?"
Cid chuckled and replied, "Your brother's a damn prodigy. Don't worry, it'll only get better. I have some work to do, and I won't be back for a while."
Beryl simply rolled her eyes. She had enough of being shocked for a day and went back to eating her food.
200 Denars? Hmph. What a joke. Will this brother ever grow up?
Cid also followed, engorging on the flesh. It was not a big surprise that Cid had yet another technique to eat food without much wastage. It was rather rudimentary by this point, since he did not have the means to unlock it. The bare essense of it was still enough for him, however.
Cid, in his previous incarnation, had extracted a number of promises from various beings, deities, gods, emperors, and powerful people. Besides a very few minority who gave him what he asked for, the rest found it more convenient to treat him like a bug and ignore his demands. Some even tried their best to kill him in secret, and others put public bounties on him.
Obviously, this was an enraging thing for Cid, given what he had to do to gather all these promises. But as they were in a higher plane, revenge would have to wait until the Beros Qual.
Or would it?