The System Awakens: Rise of the Champion

Five days later.

Damian sat cross-legged, his focus unwavering.

In front of him floated four elemental rings, each representing the elements for which he had an affinity.

The elemental rings were in the second stage, but they were already showing signs of nearing perfection.

Above Damian's head, a small flame burned without any fuel.

Suddenly, it began to grow until it reached the size of a football.

One of the elemental rings, the reddish-orange one representing the element of Flame, began to flicker.

The shaded ring started to condense, transforming until it became a solid elemental ring.

[Your understanding of the Flame Element has increased.]

[Your perception has increased: +2]

[You have formed the perfected Flame Elemental Ring.]

[You have become a 1st Circle Mage.]

Damian didn't open his eyes.

He was already in a heightened state, and with his [Elementalist] talent, which increased his comprehension ability by 30%, his cognizance was stronger than ever.

The flame above his head suddenly turned into a gust of wind that swirled with increasing intensity.

After a few minutes, the swirling wind became faster and stronger.

At the same time, the sky-white elemental ring floating next to the perfected Flame elemental ring, which represented the Wind element, began to condense.

Within moments, it reached perfection.

[Your understanding of the Wind Element has increased.]

[Your perception has increased: +2]

[You have formed the perfected Wind Elemental Ring.]

The gust of wind disappeared, and in its place, a ball of water began to float.

Within a few minutes, the ball of water grew larger until it reached the size of a football.

The deep blue Water elemental ring, floating next to the Wind elemental ring, began to condense.

In mere moments, it transformed into a perfected Water elemental ring.

[Your understanding of the Water Element has increased.]

[Your perception has increased: +2]

[You have formed the perfected Water Elemental Ring.]

After a few more minutes, the same process occurred with the Earth elemental ring.

[Your understanding of the Earth Element has increased.]

[Your perception has increased: +2]

[You have formed the perfected Earth Elemental Ring.]

"I'm a 1st Circle Mage now," Damian said with a smile of satisfaction.

He was genuinely surprised that he had managed to achieve this in just two months.

It was all thanks to his talent, [Elementalist].

Although it wasn't as powerful compared to the talents of other high-level mages in the Second Tower Realm, it was still an exceptional talent.

It granted him a 30% increase in magic comprehension compared to normal mages.

He knew he could have become a 1st Circle Mage even faster if he had focused on perfecting just a single element instead of cultivating all four elements simultaneously.

While this approach might not allow him to compete with the most powerful mages above the Second Tower Realm, it would likely make him better than the average mage, even among the elite.

However, things might change if he factored in the benefits of his other talent, [Martial Lord].

Just like [Elementalist], the [Martial Lord] talent granted him a 30% increase in comprehension, but this time in Qi cultivation and the mastery of all martial weapons.

This talent was already on par with those possessed by high-level martial artists in the Second Tower Realm.

If he dedicated himself to developing both his magical and martial skills, he might surpass even the strongest high-level mages and martial artists.

"In about a couple of weeks, the system will open the class assignment process. After that, all that's left is to climb the tower and dominate the Tower Realms," Damian thought with a grin, clenching his fists tightly.

"Last time, I wasn't able to obtain a class because I didn't meet the basic requirements. There are several factors that contribute to the class one can acquire," he murmured, deep in thought.

"The major ones are stats, the skills we've learned, the path of evolution we've taken, the talents we've awakened, and finally, the personality we possess," Damian pondered.

"Additionally, things like an awakener's willpower, mental strength, determination, courage, discipline, dedication, ambition, tenacity, and even faith can influence the class we obtain," he reflected.

Damian glanced at his status panel, carefully reading through his talents, skills, the path of evolution he had chosen, and his current stats.

He reviewed everything he had done up to this point.

"I don't care what class I obtain, as long as it's something useful that can make me stronger. For now, I need to find a way to increase my Qi reserves and start my martial cultivation. But unlike magic, this will require a proper cultivation technique, which will be the hardest part," Damian mused as he planned his next steps.

After pondering for a few minutes, Damian couldn't recall anything immediately accessible that could help him with martial cultivation.

Although he couldn't remember any specific techniques or places where he could begin his martial cultivation, he did recall something that could be helpful.

"Most of the Awakeners who follow the martial cultivation path of evolution on Earth originated from Asian countries," Damian thought.

He remembered this easily because it was a widely discussed and controversial topic before his regression.

"There were a lot of theories, but the most convincing one was that Asian countries, throughout their history, had practiced martial arts extensively. This practice was recorded in their genes, which is why they were able to awaken talents and abilities related to martial cultivation. There were even Awakeners who could obtain Qi as soon as the metamorphosis was completed."

There were also families in Asia that inherited techniques and martial skills through generations.

Before the Day of Awakening, these things were nothing more than museum attractions.

But after the awakening, many discovered that these techniques and skills actually worked when fused with Qi or supernatural energies.

That's how many powerful martial arts families, similar to guilds, rose to prominence.

Damian thought about the claims of these families. "Some of the leaders of these families even claimed they had always known about supernatural energies, but humanity had lost the ability to pursue them."

"As a result, these inherited techniques and skills were treated as mere artifacts. However, once the ability to use Qi returned, they became invaluable."

He sighed, thinking further. "Although similar occurrences happened all over the world, Asia wasn't the only continent with great supernatural stories and legends."

"It turned out that many of these myths were true; humanity had simply lost the ability to comprehend such things. Over time, these truths faded into mere legends and stories."

Speaking of stories, there were even Awakeners claiming that mythologies about gods were real.

They said they met these gods after reaching the third Tower Realm.

Although there was no concrete proof because only a small number of Awakeners reached the third realm, given everything that has happened, it's highly plausible.

He sighed again. "I guess I'll have to visit the Asian countries."

Damian resolved to observe martial artists there, hoping he might find something useful for his cultivation journey.