Level Up Again, Dragon Scale Enhancement
A short while later, after bandaging his wounds, Jack said goodbye to Xalen, leaped up into the branches, and headed off.
Although he was injured, it wasn't severe and didn't significantly affect his ability to swing between the trees.
That, of course, was also because Xalen hadn't really hit him with full force.
Despite their clash, Xalen had never intended to go for the kill.
And that bit of restraint on Xalen's part seemed to have paid off.
With Jack helping with the tracking, his confidence in dealing with the Alpha Wolf had gone up a notch.
At the very least, he no longer had to worry about someone else beating him to it.
Now, once Jack located the Alpha Wolf and Xalen leveled up successfully on his end, he could head over to clean up.
Perfect.
A grin settled on Xalen's face as he immediately downed another Gene Crystal.
But just then, Athena's questioning voice rang out from nearby. "Xalen, are you planning to take on the Alpha Wolf?"
"What, you don't want to?"
Hearing Xalen's counter-question, Athena could only give a wry smile.
Of course she wanted to.
Or more accurately, every Rare Gene Soldier wanted to take on the Alpha Wolf.
Athena, with her Rare White Fox Gene, was no exception.
But after the earlier chase, Athena had come to a sobering realization.
For a Rare Gene Soldier, clearing the instance was indeed easy.
Provided they didn't provoke the wolf pack, or worse, the Alpha Wolf.
Otherwise, the risk of death was very real.
So in her view, even a Rare Gene Soldier who wanted to deal with the Alpha Wolf would need to rely on the strength of others.
The best approach was to unite the students.
After all, there were several hundred students in this instance.
If they could truly band together, dealing with the Alpha Wolf would become much simpler.
But now, Athena was a bit shocked to discover that Xalen seemed to be considering facing the Alpha Wolf and its entire pack all by himself.
Wasn't that just completely insane?
Athena clicked her tongue in disbelief, then couldn't help but say, "Xalen, if you're going after the Alpha Wolf, could you count me in?"
Alright, Athena was getting tempted, too.
If it came down to forming a party against the Alpha Wolf, teaming up with Xalen—whose strength had become unfathomable—seemed like the smarter advantage.
"Sure, but the Alpha Wolf belongs to me."
Xalen hadn't expected Athena to suddenly propose teaming up.
Still, as a Rare Gene Soldier, she did have real strength.
It was clear from the fact that she'd managed to escape five Shadowwind Wolves hunting her down.
With her help, dealing with the Alpha Wolf should be even more secure.
Of course, the condition was she couldn't compete for the Alpha Wolf.
Athena's eyes flickered at that, but after a moment, she nodded. "Fine."
If possible, she'd have loved to compete for first place herself.
But now, having glimpsed Xalen's terrifying power, she wisely gave up on that idea.
Initially, Athena had assumed that if anyone could actually kill the Alpha Wolf, it'd be among them Rare Gene Soldiers.
But now, Xalen's display had completely changed her mind.
If there really was one person who could kill the Alpha Wolf, that person… could only be Xalen.
Though it stung a little, if Xalen was truly that strong, then sticking with him should still secure her a spot in the top three.
That ranking, combined with her Rare Gene, should be enough to get her into the Gene University she had her eyes on.
With that settled in her mind, Athena no longer had any objections.
After that, the two fell quiet.
Occasionally, Xalen would drop down from the tree to kill a Shadowwind Wolf, then return to the branches.
Mostly, though, he kept absorbing Gene Crystals over and over.
Watching Xalen fuse Gene Crystals like they cost nothing, Athena couldn't help but flash a look of envy.
And under this relentless consumption, Xalen's level finally hit a new milestone.
[Ding! Your level has increased from LV2 to LV3! Four-Dimensional Attributes +8!]
[Ding! Tyrant Engine has activated. Your Four-Dimensional Attribute gain has been amplified tenfold!]
Xalen felt a surge of energy.
Surging power flooded through his body once more.
He mentally pulled up his personal stats again.
[Name: Xalen]
[Strength]: 290
[Agility]: 265
[Constitution]: 300
[Spirit]: 280
[(Average Four-Dimensional Attributes for an ordinary person: 10)]
[Gene Lock]: Tyrant Dragon
[Talent]: Tyrant Engine
[Skills]: Indestructible Tyrant Body, Draconic Sovereignty
[Level]: Gene Soldier LV3
…
After a glance over his current stats, Xalen was all smiles again.
Leveled up again!
This level-up, under the Tyrant Engine's boost, still gave him an average increase of 80 points across his Four-Dimensional Attributes!
This pushed his stats close to the horrifying average of 300.
The terrifying stats once again brought comprehensive enhancements to all aspects of his power.
His eyesight improved again; he could now see trees, plants, and even the veins on their leaves from three hundred meters away.
His sense of smell sharpened; he could clearly pick up the scent of blood saturating the area, even discerning how fresh it was.
Of course, the most obvious boost was in raw strength.
If before he could one-shot a Shadowwind Wolf with a punch, now he could probably do it with just a single finger.
And besides these standard abilities, there was also his Gene Ability!
Focusing inwardly, Xalen directed his will.
The next second, a strange sight occurred.
On his exposed arm, black dragon scales emerged once again.
But this time, not just one—four of them!
Four rhombus-shaped dragon scales now covered his entire forearm.
Feeling the four scales that gleamed with a steely black metallic sheen, and the solid, tough texture beneath his fingers, Xalen's eyes brightened slightly.
This level-up still hadn't allowed him to manifest Dragon Claws.
However, the number of dragon scales had increased considerably.
Four scales were enough to form a small arm shield.
Beyond that, he could cover his fists, or even form them into an inner chestplate and backplate across his torso.
This increase in defensive coverage would obviously boost his defensive capability immensely.
Plus, upon careful examination, Xalen found that these scales seemed even thicker and sturdier than before.
Their protective strength had clearly increased again!
After some brief testing, Xalen's face was wreathed in smiles.
With this, his confidence against the Alpha Wolf had grown even more.
He suddenly wondered how Jack was doing on his end.
And as if on cue, right at that moment, within Xalen's vision, a tree about three hundred meters away began to sway.
Then, as if triggering a chain reaction, the trees in that direction swayed one after another.
Shortly after, a lean figure appeared in Xalen's sight.
It was Jack, back from his scouting mission.
The first words out of his mouth made Xalen's face light up with joy.
…