Evolution Begins with Elemental Domination

Outside the Sanctuary of Inheritance, nothing happened when most people touched the runes carved into the building.

Amidst everyone’s utter confusion, some people simply vanished from the assault crafts.

”What’s going on? Is this building discriminating or something? Does it look down on outsiders?”

This annoying outburst failed to garner any sympathy.

Many people noticed that the figures who vanished were either carrying firearms—clearly personnel from the Defense Operations Department—or were members of well-known local groups, or even powerful lone wolves.

The common denominator was obvious: they were all incredibly powerful.

”It feels like the strong are the only ones benefiting. I wonder what’s actually going on in there.”

At this moment.

Inside a vast, white, mysterious space of inheritance.

A scar-faced man in a worn tactical trench coat looked around, bewildered. Four Lv4 runes of different elements floated around him. Four threads extended from them and converged, causing a mysterious ball of light to rise up.

Overjoyed, he accepted the Basic Class Authority, Rune Walker, without a second thought.

In that instant.

His Sea of Consciousness trembled and expanded, allowing it to contain even more runes. He even felt he had gained the effects of Spiritual Perception.

This was the first tangible benefit.

A small tree sprouted and grew strong within his Sea of Consciousness. Three fruits, each wrapped in intricate and arcane patterns, hung from its branches. These were three class traits, corresponding to ’Harmony’, ’Amplification’, and ’Mana Source’.

Harmony: Allows Elements to blend and merge, harmonizing conflicts and unlocking more rune combo skills.

Amplification: Increases personal rune power by 35%.

Mana Source: Increases the maximum Energy Value of runes by 50% and boosts their Recovery speed by 20%.

Moreover.

The scar-faced man discovered that by feeding the small tree more Spiritual Dust Sand and Spirit Marrow Crystals, he could make it continue to grow and sprout new branches, thereby unlocking brand-new class traits.

’What in the world are Spirit Marrow Crystals? Do they drop from more dangerous monsters?’ he wondered, confused.

But one thing was certain: the passive talents from this small tree in his Sea of Consciousness had given his power a massive boost.

This was the second major benefit.

When he returned to the real world from the Sanctuary of Inheritance, the scar-faced man also discovered his mild nearsightedness had been corrected. The old injury in his left knee, which should have been aching in the damp air, was now completely free of pain.

’My body has gotten stronger.’

The scar-faced man performed half a set of Baji Fist on the spot, vaguely sensing that his own vital energy had increased.

Excellent!

He hadn’t expected a third benefit from the Rune Walker class inheritance. As a martial arts successor trained by a renowned master, he was more excited about physical transformations than he was about rune magic.

However.

Being the first to take the plunge didn’t mean he came out ahead. On the contrary, he had suffered a huge, unforeseen loss.

Right now, the scar-faced Master Zhang had no idea there was a problem with his Rune Construction. Despite having one more Lv4 rune than others, he had ended up with only a One-Star Class Authority to choose from.

He wasn’t the only one.

Many of those eligible to enter the Sanctuary, not understanding the underlying mechanics, had all chosen to become One-Star Rune Walkers.

And there was no going back.

Of course, there were exceptions—some of them quite special.

Brother Nuo, who had a bit of a name for himself in this community, also entered the Sanctuary. The multi-enchanted steel crossbow in his hands pulsed with a brilliant luster, in Resonance with two Lv4 runes floating nearby.

One Class Authority in particular, ’Demon Path Ranger (Two-Star)’, caught his attention. He didn’t hesitate to seize its power.

...

A burly security guard carrying a riot shield and wielding a Magic-modified Fire Axe grinned broadly. Though uncultured, he was powerfully built and possessed seemingly endless brute strength. When the monster outbreak began, he had single-handedly carved a path down an entire street, preventing even one monster from entering his residential complex.

The man’s stats were, at a minimum, on par with Fan Kui’s.

’Oh, crap. Is One-Star better, or is Two-Star?’

He scratched his head, utterly confused, but figured he couldn’t go wrong by picking the one that shone the brightest.

And so, he went ahead and picked the Class Authority, ’Flamecursed Axe Guard (Two-Star)’.

...

An elite operative, armed to the teeth, chose ’Shadow Warlock (Two-Star)’.

As the Power flowed into him, a surging, pitch-black Shadow energy erupted from his body. Though he stood in a vast, white space, the area immediately around him was plunged into darkness.

As the captain of the Guard Brigade, under the Defense Operations Department, he had participated in yesterday’s operation to reclaim lost territory. He had successfully cleared out the giant shadow spiders occupying a commercial building.

Because the number of people with a Dark Element affinity was relatively small.

After a few trades, he had accumulated an absurd amount of Dark Element essence.

Right now.

The Authority of the Shadow Warlock had allowed him to immediately master four Dark Element class traits. One of them, ’Dark Element Mastery,’ enabled him to release Shadow Power without relying on runes.

Another trait, ’Shadow Devour,’ even gave him an energy-draining ability, allowing him to restore his own health and mana by absorbing it from others.

Excellent.

It was a major leap forward compared to his previous strength.

’So it only takes three Lv4 Dark Element runes to meet the requirements. Based on that, other single elements must also have corresponding Two-Star Class Authorities.’

’I need to record this information for my report.’

Considering the urgency of the matter, he immediately left the Sanctuary of Inheritance. Seeing more and more people approaching, and wanting to prevent them from falling into the same trap, he grabbed a megaphone from one of the assault crafts and shouted a warning.

”Everyone, don’t rush into the Sanctuary! If you only see the One-Star Rune Walker option, you should definitely wait! See if you can rebuild your rune setup first, then come back to get your class!”