"...alright, time to check the things I received from taking those two in." Ashton mused to himself as he gorged on a sandwich.

He opened his Inventory to check the description of the items he received. They were two techniques that came in form of a book.

***

[Fate Seizing Hand]

Type: Killing Technique

Effects:

Those who are affected by this technique will be judged according to the desire of the caster. There are three outcomes for them: Benevolent End, Harsh Punishment, and Certain Death.

Can only affect those who are weaker than the caster.

[Aether Soul Arts]

Type: Aether Conjuration and Controlling Spell

Effects:

Ignores all manner of defenses.

Attacks the soul of its targets to deal the maximum amount of damage.

***

Ashton stared at these two things for a good while. He wondered to himself: 'Why did I receive good things from those two when I didn't get any from Jerry nor Aria when I got them as my Beneficiaries?'

He hasn't done anything to benefit Acacia and the Dragon Vein just yet. Hell, he didn't even think that they'd be his beneficiaries before they became one!

But, thinking about it some more, maybe it's because they're a special case. After all, the Dragon Vein is extremely valuable for Humanity as a whole, and Acacia as its interpreter is just as important.

Maybe that's why? The System's new functions were derived after his dreams after all, so maybe that's the reason behind it.

Anyhow, since he received benefits from them, he wouldn't turn them down.

The Fate Seizing Hand was a ridiculously useful skill. Granted, he can only use it for those who were weaker than him, its uses were limited but it's still useful enough.

The three outcomes when he uses this skill were explained to him as he hovered his finger over them.

Benevolent End is 'mercy' to those affected by this skill. He could either spare them or free them from their suffering.

Harsh Punishment is for those who refuse to admit their wrongs or those who offended him/violated his orders. Through this, he could administer intense pain that penetrates their very soul, causing extreme agony.

And if they still didn't give in or if Ashton couldn't bring himself to forgive them, then he could use the Certain Death outcome, which will kill them in body, mind, and spirit. This is the cruelest outcome since there will be no reincarnation once he uses this.

It's why this skill is called Fate Seizing Hand, to begin with.

Again, this only works for those who are weaker than him, no amount of upgrading can change this according to what he discovered. Yet even though that's the case, this is still useful.

Aether Soul Arts, on the other hand, was something he liked. Aether Magic is one of the most mysterious schools of Magic ever established, the reason behind its profundity is because of its elusiveness.

Throughout history, only a handful amount of people were able to freely wield the power of Aether. Forget about using it, most people couldn't even catch a single glimpse of Aether in their entire lives.

Aether is the ultimate form of Mana. It is different from raw Spiritual Energy for Aether represents true neutrality. It doesn't compete nor does it go on its own flow. It behaves in a unique manner which stumped many people who were researching it so far.

The School of Aether is the least developed school of magic established due to this. This is why Ashton, as a self-proclaimed scholar of magic, was extremely happy to receive this technique.

It just so happens that Ashton was one of those few people who already received the blessings of Aether.

He has the Aether Purity Heart, which not only increases the volume of Mana on his body but also allowed him to produce Aether little by little. It has been quite some time since he received it and ever since then, his mana has been silently being converted in the Aether which rested inactively at his Mageroot, nurturing him and making him more powerful.

With the Aether Soul Arts in hand, he could advance the research towards Aether Magic on his own. Maybe he could even create Aether Spells himself! Who knows?

On top of this, Ashton also received 100 Spells Points and Skill Points.

With the Grinding Slots gone, this is the way for him to level up his spells and skills moving forward. So far, he still thinks that this is an unreliable way to level up his arsenal but this was his best bet.

He could always level up the spells according to how one should usually do it, by practicing of course, but that's slow.

Well, if the Spell Point and Skill Point rewards are always this much, then it shouldn't be a problem.

Anyway, with this many Spell Points, Ashton didn't immediately use them. He had way too many spells to upgrade, making it difficult for him to choose. He had to think about this for quite some time and he didn't feel like doing it right now.

As for the Skill Points though...

He used ten to upgrade the Fate Seizing Hand to Lv.10, then he used the rest to upgrade the Basic Scythe Arts to 1-star Ascended Rank.

Boom!

Ashton was caught off-guard by the sudden burst of insight flooding his mind, his pupils turned dull and lifeless as he hurriedly disgested the information he was receiving.

There's a phenomenon occurring in Ashton's body. His mana was becoming turbulent and invisible sharp gales erupted from all over his body, causing everything around him to be covered with long scars.

It was then that light blossomed from the depths of his soul. A green radiance that looked gentle and comforting appeared, calming down the commotion.

With this light, the speed at which Ashton absorbed knowledge increased by at least ten-fold. This is what ultimately calmed the sharpness he's releasing.

This light and the increased speed of comprehension were the product of Ashton's new perk: 'Concentration'.

Concentration was a Synergized Perk. It was brought forth by the synergy between Focused Mind a perk from his Providence, Memorize a perk from his Magical Artifact, and the second trait he received from the 5-year Quest, which is the 'Scholar' trait.

[Trait: Scholar]

: You are a studious person. Your passion when it comes to the pursuit of knowledge causes you to understand it even more. The more time you invest in your research, the more natural answers come to you.

Synergy: Focused Mind + Memorize + Scholar Trait = Concentration.

[Concentration]

: Forget about everything else and focus on the sole thing that you are deeply interested in. This perk increases your comprehension speed by at least 10-fold. The effect ends when the topic is fully comprehended.

: Can be activated once per week.

This was the first time 'Concentration' was triggered ever since his return. Since he had no experience with it, he didn't know what was going to happen.

In hindsight, he should've at least picked a different spot to increase the proficiency of his Scythe Arts. He admittedly underestimated its effect even though he knows that he put 90 Skill Points into it.

He should've known, really. Transitioning from a 5-star Phenomenon Rank to 1-star Ascended Rank on the Scythe Arts was bound to cause a commotion. Ashton was kind of out of it today it seems because even though he knew this, he didn't realize it until it was late.

As a result, much of the furniture around the room was destroyed by the sharp energy he was releasing. It was unintentional but the damage was still there.

That scene only lasted for five seconds at most, plus it is the weakest pulse of his Scythe Arts, yet this room was nearly destroyed. This shows the sheer power of the skill now that it has reached this stage.

It took at least 30 minutes for the whole process to finish. The sublimation of Simplicity and Complexity had fully melded together. Now, even a single point of Ashton's finger can display the might of an Ascended Rank Skill.

One has to know that not even Grandmaster Knights can achieve this level in their Martial Skill. High-Evolutionary Cultivators could of course, after all, it is one of the requirements to reach the level they're at.

But Ashton did it as a Warlock Mage, not a Sorcerer, but as a Warlock. He's not a Knight, he's a Mage. And that's saying a lot.

As he woke up from his stupor, Ashton released a long sigh. His mind was reeling a bit but he was okay. Concentration doesn't have any side effects but still, his mind went into overdrive so there's bound to be an effect on him. Maybe he'll get used to it in the future but for now, he's fine with this.

He looked down and immediately saw that except for the chair he was sitting on, everything else inside the room was ruined.

A wry smile appeared on his face.

"I'm gonna have to demolish this entire room and rebuild it."

Thankfully, he owned this house, or else he wouldn't have any idea how to explain this to the landlord.