Quantum Jump (3)

Dual wielding—using a dagger or longsword in each hand. It was a tech tree that boasted tremendous flair, not to mention the huge merit of having the options on both weapons apply duplicated.

But despite all that, there were a few reasons players rarely chose it.

First off, even if you dumped skill points into it like blood, a 1-star mastery meant a whopping 50% drop in attack power and accuracy. Push it to 5 stars, and it was still down 30%, diluting that duplication advantage big time.

Second—and arguably trickier—was the realistic constraint. Dual wielding meant alternating swings between the two blades, so you had to gear both swords to similar power levels. Weapons were ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the priciest gear in Titan Chronicles, making it tough to snag even one good one. Matching two at the same tier and enhancement? That was brutal for most melee DPS players.

So the rare dual wielders fell into two camps: clueless newbies or, as they were called, rich kids who could burn cash.

But as penalties eased and gear improved, nothing beat dual wielding.

Legendary dual swords were already rare in this world. And here I was, already swinging divine ones. My future potential? Even I couldn't gauge it.

Hmm... The quest giver was the Senate Chairman, right?

I'd wandered deep ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠into Ostarg Palace's inner sanctum, but the place was so vast I couldn't spot the Senate easily. At dawn, I asked the few players around, and after ages of fumbling, I finally found Rufus, the 43rd Chairman of the Empire.

Turned out it was a restricted zone off-limits to regular players, guarded by imperial soldiers—quest holders only.

"Oh! Valiant hero, savior of the Empire from the looming crisis! I always knew your bravery, but succeeding unscathed like this... truly remarkable. When the Magic Tower Lord reported the evil dragon's aura gone from the Empire's worries, my relief was beyond words."

"Yeah, yeah, just hand over the reward already."

It was awkward as hell having a total stranger NPC butter me up like we were old pals. Classic side effect of mid-quest sharing.

"A secret art of the ancient heroes of our Millennium Empire, fitting for a newly born legend. I bestow it upon you."

No linked quest follow-up, but I got every reward from this one clean.

Attack and move speed buffs? Already OP, and it cuts level penalties too? Means easier high-level mob farming! S-grade lives up to the hype!

At ranker level, player PvP wasn't an issue anymore, but sustaining fast ups meant high-level mob hunts. This achievement was perfect for that—practically a bonus.

Next, a window popped up for special skill selection. And it was insane.

All 36 existing special skills, listed in full.

Special skills demanded 2 points per star and weren't great early on. Rare one-offs, randomly granted—snagging a specific one was tough.

Choosing one? Massive reward and privilege.

Normally, I'd grab Kaiser's Mana Drain no hesitation. But sparring Darius lately changed my mind.

Over survival via Mana Drain, I needed focus on PvP—killing him when the chance hit.

When he popped from wrecked Dainess, no knockback or stun, but I desperately needed a way to pin him down.

Balance-wise, no true CC like immobilize, knockback, or stun—unique to certain skills. But some specials had the common stiffness effect.

Like all skills, 1-star was meh. But at 8-star? Eight hits, up to 4 seconds stiffness.

Stiffness let you potion up or block for damage cut—purely skill cancel and movement hinder.

For a thief lacking hard CC, stiffness was gold. If I could just hold them back from fleeing...

Danterio's bracelet and its Skill Acceleration would max it out.

But 5 stars? 10 points—50 levels dumped in.

Is it worth it? Enemies are powering up with new skills. Will this wreck my char? And to exploit at key moments, I gotta hide it—invest points in something I can't even use right away?

Hesitation nagged the whole walk here. Still, I picked it.

Hidden ace... my trump card!

For killing Darius? No investment wasted.

And it wasn't just PvP tunnel vision. Survival was my char's alpha and omega—specs already geared for it.

"Now, time to taste what a dragon heart's really like!"

With everything sorted, last up: Tu Mertus's heart effect.

I pulled the ornate-bordered heart from inventory.

Divine crafting material... or Knight-grade titan. Using it as an elixir? Probably first and last time.

Green, fruit- or gem-like. I eyed it, then swallowed.

"Jackpot!!"

I'd hoped for magic defense or mana stat bumps, but +15k MP? Beyond expectations, even for divine elixir.

Illusion devs... never dreamed anyone'd eat the dragon heart—let alone a mana-stacking freak like me.

Illusion and Serajad's vast world allowed wild growth paths and tech combos.

But a pure mana nuke thief? Unforeseen—even by me back at level down.

I designed tech trees well, sure. But clutch calls, support plays, and lucky deoktems sealed it.

Result: top monster felled.

Dragon first kill wasn't just loot—it gave confidence I'd caught, even passed Darius in spots.

Quantum leap mid-climb. No way he keeps up.

Me, Burning Star—we rocketed from top-tier to ranker via dragon raid.

Slept, woke, checked net. Titan communities exploded with dragon raid news.

Half a day, and dozens of speculation pieces. Allta free board reignited too.

Our secrecy kept us prime suspect but unconfirmed. Still, dragon down sparked regen frenzy—too many posts to read.

Even players who'd checked the lair confirmed it gone.

My deeds always blew up, but dragon's symbolism amped it hotter. Like an impregnable fortress suddenly fallen—no, an untouchable one.