"Learning Sun Emperor's Court Swordsmanship only checks off one box for using that ridiculously powerful legendary gear."
The legendary equipment Carlos was after was called the Sun Emperor's Sword—the emperor's personal blade from the Solar Empire.
Top-shelf quality, definitely above gold grade—a genuine legendary piece of kit!
Carlos didn't know the exact specs, but he knew how to get his hands on it and what it took to wield the thing.
In his previous life, the Sun Emperor's Sword had been snagged by some Jungle pathway player, instantly rocketing him into the big leagues.
People love to brag, and that player had spilled all the details about how to get the Sun Emperor's Sword and what you needed to use it online.
But he held back one crucial detail—he never revealed the sword's exact stats. However, Carlos had seen firsthand the absolute carnage when that guy drew the Sun Emperor's Sword on the battlefield.
"It doesn't just need maxed-out Sun Emperor's Court Swordsmanship—you also need 20 points each in Strength and Constitution!"
Sun Emperor's Court Swordsmanship had 10 levels total. At max level, it would pump out 5 points each of Strength and Constitution.
Carlos did the math—when his spirituality hit 12, he'd be golden.
He'd been dumping points into Strength specifically for this moment.
"Getting to level 10 should be a breeze.
But maxing out Sun Emperor's Swordsmanship is going to be a real pain in the ass."
Carlos was worried his attributes would meet the requirements while his swordsmanship was still playing catch-up.
Besides burning skill points for instant upgrades, skills could also be slowly improved through tons of practice.
This was how Psionics in this world got good at stuff before the dark mist invasion hit.
Sure, this saved skill points, but it took forever—often years, sometimes over a decade.
That time would be way better spent grinding monsters, boosting spirituality, and stacking attribute points.
Carlos's skill points were earmarked for the massive drain of Skeleton Summoning—he didn't want to blow them on other skills, especially this early in the game.
"Based on what other players figured out, to fast-track close-combat skills like this:
First, your technique has to be on point.
Second, you gotta use it in tons of actual combat, racking up kills."
When it came to technique, Carlos was confident his childhood training definitely made the cut.
"What's left is using it to go on a killing spree!"
Carlos pulled a blue alchemical potion from his storage space and chugged it, rapidly topping off his internal Psionic Energy.
"With enough alchemical potions, Psionic Energy refills like magic. As long as I don't collapse from exhaustion, I can keep training non-stop!"
Carlos really appreciated being reborn into a duke's family.
Otherwise, this many alchemical potions would be way out of reach for regular folks or even small-time nobles.
He jumped down again, charging into the Black Beetle mob. The greatsword blazed like the sun, continuously exploding and turning the beetles into clouds of bloody mist.
Carlos could feel the solar sword energy packed into his blade getting a bit more solid.
"The method's working!"
His strikes hit even harder!
Under the terrifying boost from Sun Emperor's Court Swordsmanship, the Black Beetles couldn't even blink before getting wasted. Not a single attack could touch Carlos as they all got turned into charred meat, vaporized by the intense heat!
Soon his Psionic Energy was tapped out. Carlos jumped back up onto the big rock.
He knocked back another Psionic Energy restoration potion, caught his breath for a minute, then dove back into the swarm...
After more than ten rounds like this, feeling like he was about to drop, he finally called it quits and rested on top of the big rock.
The next day he kept at it...
And so Carlos sharpened his skills while Purple Thornblade Skeleton Guards went on killing sprees in the distance and Skeleton Warriors diligently farmed...
Day three, more of the same...
...
On the seventh day, on top of the big rock, a pillar of light shot up to the sky as Carlos's sixth Purple Thornblade Skeleton Guard came to life!
Carlos immediately shipped it off to 'farm monsters' in the distance.
Meanwhile, the second Skeleton Warrior started harvesting badly wounded Black Beetles...
...
On the tenth day, the sword energy in Carlos's hands finally got one degree more solid.
At the same time, info about Sun Emperor's Court Swordsmanship leveling up popped into his head.
[Sun Emperor's Court Swordsmanship level increased!]
[Sun Emperor's Court Swordsmanship Level 2: Increases Strength, Constitution, Mental, and Speed by 0.5×2 each. Increases sword damage by 1.5%×2. Additional 1.5%×2 damage against dark creatures]
The level boost gave Carlos a serious rush. His exhaustion vanished as he threw himself back into combat with even more gusto...
Day thirteen...
[Spiritual Essence accumulated 4000, Spirituality +1, current Spirituality 5]
[Gained Attribute Points +1, Skill Points +1]
Same as always, Strength +1, Skeleton Revival slot +1.
"Looks like hitting up the new node is getting pushed back again."
...
Day fourteen, on top of the big rock, the seventh Purple Thornblade Skeleton Guard was born!
"Go farm monsters!"
Without missing a beat, Carlos immediately sent it out to help boost his spirituality.
The third Skeleton Warrior started building up death energy...
...
Day twenty-one, another familiar thick pillar of light as a new Purple Thornblade Skeleton Guard appeared.
Carlos somewhat mechanically ordered:
"Go! Kill as many monsters as you can!"
The fourth Skeleton Warrior started accumulating death energy.
...
Day twenty-six, the sound of spirituality increase rang in Carlos's head again.
[Spiritual Essence accumulated 5000, Spirituality +1, current Spirituality 6]
[Gained Attribute Points +1, Skill Points +1]
Goes without saying, Strength +1, Skeleton Revival slot +1.
"Spirituality upgrades need more Spiritual Essence, but the speed is still about the same as before, maybe even a bit faster."
The massive perks of the extreme Skeleton evolution route were starting to show!
As his Purple Thornblade Skeleton Guard army grew, Carlos's Spiritual Essence farming would just keep getting faster and faster.
However many Purple Thornblade Skeleton Guards he had, his Spiritual Essence accumulation multiplied by that much.
"Won't this just keep going forever?"
Having just birthed one Purple Thornblade Skeleton Guard only to summon another, Carlos found himself in a state of blissful overwhelm.
...
Day twenty-eight, another pillar of light showed up on top of the big rock as the ninth Purple Thornblade Skeleton Guard made its grand entrance!
...
Day thirty, after massive slaughter, Carlos's sword energy finally reached two degrees of solidity, and Sun Emperor's Court Swordsmanship leveled up again.
[Sun Emperor's Court Swordsmanship level increased!]
[Sun Emperor's Court Swordsmanship Level 3: Increases Strength, Constitution, Speed by 0.5×3 each. Increases sword damage by 1.5%×3. Additional 1.5%×3 damage against dark creatures]
...
Day thirty-two, only 10 alchemical potions left in the tank.
Carlos had to dial back the constant Sun Emperor's Court Swordsmanship spam, waiting for natural Psionic Energy recovery instead.
Sword energy condensation speed dropped off big time.
...
Day thirty-five, under Carlos's glazed-over stare, a tall, buff Purple Thornblade Skeleton Guard emerged from the pillar of light.
The tenth and currently final Purple Thornblade Skeleton Guard was born.
More importantly, he still needed two-thirds more progress for another spirituality bump.
And the monsters outside with spirituality generally ranging from 1-5 were giving less and less Spiritual Essence.
"The cycle's finally broken!"
Carlos felt kind of lost.
"Everyone get back here!"
Through the soul connection, he started calling back all his Purple Thornblade Skeleton Guards.