Young Master in the Apocalypse

Having all these points and skills that could make him stronger by a considerable amount, Viktor felt a rush of excitement.

[Viktor Romanov]

[Strength - 30]

[Agility - 60]

[Endurance - 39]

[Battle Power - 42]

[Spirit Force - 70]

[Core of Anvil - Stage 3: 100%]

[Earth Realm - High stage]

The bonus magic points and the stats were quite straightforward, so they did not really attract his attention. They were great, yes, but instead of those things, what Viktor was most excited about was his core upgrade.

As Viktor thought about it, he could not help but wonder what a stage 4 core would give him.

Previously, every time he upgraded his core, each new stage gave him a new skill. Stage 1 gave him [Metal Extraction], stage 2 gave him [Metal-bending], and stage 3 gave him [Metal-tempering]. Because of that, he greatly looked forward to what this upgrade would bring him.

And now, it was time to check it.

"Add one stat point to endurance," Viktor said with an unrestrained smile.

[You received 1 point in endurance.]

With the previous 3 points and this 1 point added to his initial 36 points of endurance, he now had 40 points in total, just enough for the upgrade.

As expected, just like what the Djinn said, another notification entered his mind.

[You have completed the requirement to upgrade your Core of Anvil to stage 4. Upgrade?]

"Yes, upgrade," he said without hesitation.

Right after he finished saying those words, Viktor could feel his blood pumping. At the same time, a certain rush of energy circulated all over his body before converging toward his solar plexus. A moment after all the circulated energy gathered, he could feel his power significantly upgraded.

With the newly-upgraded power, Viktor was also filled with anticipation. The moment he had been waiting for was finally here.

[You have successfully forged Core of Anvil - Stage 3.]

[Your spirit core has been upgraded to stage 4.]

[Your spirit force has increased by 5 points.]

[You have learned a new spell - Metal Fusion]

[Metal Fusion - The ability to fuse the power of metal into your flesh.]

Viktor silently looked at the notification.

"...What the heck? What ability is this now, Djinn?"

He was baffled. He was happy since he indeed received a new skill, but what was this supposed to be?

<Kekeke, I think you're going to like this one.>

Seeing Viktor waiting for an explanation, the Djinn told him to gather a piece of metal using [Metal-bending]. After a moment of thinking, Viktor decided to use his supply of excellent-quality metal and gathered it on his palm like a basketball.

<Now focus on the ball when you use the ability.>

[Metal Fusion]

Under the Djinn's guidance, Viktor focused his newly-gained ability on the metal ball in front of him. The moment he used the spell, he immediately felt his spirit energy flow from his spirit core into his arms before it then flowed to his palms and the metal ball on it.

Slowly but steadily, the metal ball turned softer until it finally turned into a liquid-like state and the liquid metal started to flow onto his palms.

<Now let it flow to cover all of your body.>

Following the flow of his energy, the liquid metal kept moving. It flowed from his palms to his arms, then to his chest and legs. When it finally reached his neck, Viktor stopped the flow of energy per the Djinn's guidance.

Subsequently, Viktor felt the liquid metal slowly enter his skin pores, and the moment it all seeped in, it immediately hardened, turning the surface of almost his whole body into metal. It was like wearing a suit of armor that pressed into his skin.

Viktor first thought that the ability would only provide him with some kind of armor but it appeared that he was only half-right as the metal's form was still interesting with his body.

What surprised him most, though, was how exhilarating it felt as the metal's form slowly formed. The feeling was quite akin to when he used [All Might].

A moment later, notifications came into his mind.

[You have completed a metal fusion.]

[Your body has been strengthened.]

[Strength - 30 (35)]

[Agility - 60 (65)]

[Endurance - 40 (44)]

[Battle Power - 42 (47)]

Viktor was taken aback. He thought that it would only boost his endurance stat at most since it covered his body like some sort of armor, but it was actually a body transformation skill that boosted all of his stats!

Finally, a skill he could really use in a fight!

This skill provided him a boost similar to [All Might], but it did not have a drawback that would render him powerless.

Not only that, but Viktor could see that his body had now become like one of those metallic robots, which was pretty cool.

<Kekeke, I knew you would like it. That's not all though.>

Hearing the Djinn's last sentence, Viktor's ears immediately perked up.

<The higher-quality the metal used is, the more stats you will receive. This ability is ideal for someone on the path of a blacksmith.>

The moment he heard the first sentence, Viktor instantly made another attempt, and because his focus was already somewhere else, he only understood half of what the Djinn said.

When he detected the skill, the armor covering his body slowly returned to liquid and gathered onto his palms before then reforming back into a ball of metal.

Afterward, Viktor walked toward the remaining gold in the middle of the vault.

"What about this one, Djinn?" he asked enthusiastically.

When the Djinn saw the bright expression on Viktor's face, he felt as if he was looking at a kid who was just given a brand new toy.

<Why not give it a try and find out?>

Upon hearing the Djinn's words, Viktor touched the gold and used the skill.

[Metal Fusion]

The process was similar to, almost completely the same as the previous one. However, instead of a metallic silver liquid, it was a golden liquid that covered almost his whole body, turning him into a golden figure.

[You have completed a metal fusion.]

[Your body has been strengthened.]

[Strength - 30 (37)]

[Agility - 60 (67)]

[Endurance - 40 (47)]

[Battle power - 42 (49)]

Viktor was elated.

An increase of 7 points!

<This kind of metal may have a better-quality metal essence, but it has very poor hardness.>

Viktor instantly understood what it meant. Gold was only half as hard as steel, hence fighting with it would not be as safe as if he fought with high-quality steel.

"I understand, but gold really suits me, you know… It looks really cool."

<...>

"Haha, I'm just kidding, of course."

If better-quality metal essence meant higher buff, wouldn't that mean that using his ax, which was made of tier 2 metal, would be a better choice?

Unfortunately, when he tried to focus on the ax, the skill did not work.

<No. The skill only works on metals you can bend.>

"Ah… too bad."

With this in mind, Viktor went out of the vault and took Barry's tier 1 sword. He was about to immediately return to the vault, but after a second thought, he also decided to take Boris's tier 1 dagger before returning to the vault.

Taking his companions' main weapons would certainly decrease the team's overall performance, but for him, his own performance was always a top priority.

Viktor started with using [Metal-bending] on the two weapons to turn them into a chunk of steel, and as soon as he was done, he began using [Metal Fusion].

Unfortunately, after waiting for a while, a different notification came into his mind.

[You do not have enough metal to form a fusion.]

"..."

His expectations were crushed.

Missing things like this was really, really annoying. Out of desperation of not having enough metal, Viktor decided to try mixing both the tier 1 material and the gold in front of him.

[Metal Fusion]

As the two different metals slowly mixed, Viktor's eyes widened.

It actually works!

With his good control, he could even form the metal and separate the tier 1 material to cover more critical areas like his neck and chest while the gold would cover his joints and such.

Unconsciously, Viktor was drawn into designing his armor.

"Now this is what I call an amazing metal suit!"

[You have completed a metal fusion.]

[Your body has been strengthened.]

[Strength - 30 (38)]

[Agility - 60 (68)]

[Endurance - 39 (47)]

[Battle power - 42 (50)]

Not only did it give an upgrade of 8 points, but it still had his critical areas protected.

"Hahaha, I'm ready for battle now!" he happily exclaimed while looking at the final product. He really could not wait to try it out.

At this moment, the Djinn interrupted his marveling.

<You know, you can enhance it further by tempering the metal first. Now that you're already at stage 4, you should be able to temper a tier 1 metal.>

Hearing this, Viktor's smile widened.

"Excellent!"