SSS Awakening: I Can Class Change at will - Chapter 347 Moon's Evaluation [2]

Chapter 347  Moon’s Evaluation [2]

Immediately, the woman began noting the observations on her tablet, her stylus moving quickly. But halfway through, her hand slowed. A glint crossed her eyes as she watched the wolf take form.

‘This is a powerful lightning skill.’

She had seen countless mages come through these testing rooms. Most of them wielded one of the four basic elements. Fire, water, earth, wind. Lightning was different. It was an advancement element, a step above the basics in both power and complexity. Skills that utilized advancement elements were significantly stronger than their basic counterparts, and far rarer to come across. Especially at this level of refinement.

‘Really impressive for a fresh Evolver. As expected of a previous S-Rank Awakener.’

The wolf crackled in Moon’s palm, ready to be released.

A few seconds passed. The lightning continued to crackle around Moon’s arm, the wolf growing denser with every heartbeat.

Then he released it.

~ZAP~

The wolf shot from his palm like a bolt from the sky. A blinding streak of blue light tore across the room so fast that the assistant’s eyes had to move, to follow it. One moment it was in Moon’s hand. The next it was buried in the combat doll’s chest.

~Crackle~

Lightning exploded across the doll’s entire body. Arcs of lightning jumped from its torso to its limbs, from its limbs to the base plate, from the base plate to the floor. The composite material beneath the doll remained unharmed. The number on the screen above the doll began to climb.

100.

The assistant watched.

500.

Her stylus stopped moving.

1000.

Her lips parted but no words came out.

1200.

The number didn’t slow down. It kept climbing, the digits blurring as they cycled upward. The lightning was still crackling across the doll, still discharging, still outputting energy that the sensors were counting. 1800.

1900.

The assistant’s grip on her tablet tightened as the number continued to rise.

2400

Eventually, the sky rocketing number finally stopped moved, the number stopped. The room fell silent except for the faint sound of breathing.

The assistant stared at the screen.

Her mind did a quick mental calculation before she could stop it. A standard acupoint filled to maximum capacity produced a baseline power reading of roughly 1000 on the scale. Moon had a single acupoint. One, and he had just produced a reading equivalent to a mage with two and a half acupoints fully opened and filled.

That wasn’t normal. That wasn’t even exceptional. That was the kind of number that appeared once every generation.

‘He has the potential to become a top-tier Surpasser in the near future.’ The thought raced through her mind unbidden. ‘If he is given the right resources and guidance, he could even become an Ascender.’

An Ascender. In all her years, she had never written that word in an evaluation report. She was looking at the very first person to occupy that position.

“Is that good?”

Moon’s voice snapped her back to reality. He had turned toward her, his expression casual, like he had just asked about the weather.

“…Aah, yes.” She blinked rapidly and nodded her head like a chicken pecking at seeds. “That’s a really good number.”

She caught herself and straightened up, smoothing her expression back into a professional one. But her eyes kept drifting back to the 2400 on the screen.

“You have two more attempts remaining. Whenever you are ready.”

The assistant watched Moon prepare his second attack, her tablet held close to her chest.

‘Maybe that was his strongest attack. This should be his limit.’ She reasoned with herself. ‘His next two attempts will most likely land a little below 2000. That would put his average around 2200, maybe 2100.’

She believed it was still incredible for a fresh Evolver, but at least it was within a range she could rationalize.

As she stood there waiting, the assistant had no idea how wrong her judgment was.

After all, Moon’s first attempt was always going to be his weakest.

He pulled up the skill details in his mind.

[Lightning Raiju] [Order: First] [Rank: Epic] [Level: 10] [Evolve] [Details: You conjure a devastating lightning attack that manifests in the form of a Raiju, a mythical beast-spirit composed entirely of electrical energy. The lightning spell takes physical shape as a wolf-like creature that charges toward targets with terrifying speed. The Raiju can be directed mentally after casting and will relentlessly pursue designated targets until collision occurs. +150% Lightning Damage. +150% Armor and Barrier Penetration.]

Moon began feeding lives into the skill.

[Level 10 → 11: 64 Lives Consumed]

[Level 11 → 12: 128 Lives Consumed]

[Level 12 → 13: 256 Lives Consumed]

[Level 13 → 14: 512 Lives Consumed]

[Level 14 → 15: 1,024 Lives Consumed]

He stopped there. A total of 1,984 lives to reach the halfway point of his evolution. It sounded cheap now, but Moon wasn’t naive. The cost doubled with every level. The next five upgrades would eat through his reserves far faster than the first five ever would.

He checked the updated details.

[Lightning Raiju]

 [Order: First] [Rank: Epic] [Level: 15] [Evolve] [Details: …+200% Lightning Damage. +200% Armor and Barrier Penetration.]

‘The skill is still the same, but the bonus increased. Only a 10% increase per level in both damage and penetration.’ Moon considered it. ‘Not as impressive as I hoped. But it makes sense. The skill is still technically First Order. It hasn’t crossed into Second Order yet. The real jump in power will come at level 20.’

Good enough for now. He wanted to see the effect each level had on his raw output, and this test was the perfect measuring tool.

Lightning crackled around his hand once more. Nothing worth mentioning changed in its appearance, or conjuring time.

Moon released the seemingly unchanged attack.

~ZAP~

The wolf slammed into the combat doll. Lightning erupted across its body again, but this time the arcs were brighter, and the crackling was louder.

The number on the screen began to climb.

The assistant’s fingers tightened around her tablet. It was going to pass the first attempt. She could already tell from the speed of the climb alone.

It matched the first result. Then it kept going.

The assistant’s eyes went wide. ‘It’s stronger than before?!’