Leaving the village behind was like shedding an old skin. As Jaxen walked toward the Shadow Woods, he didn't look like a Level 1 novice anymore. His stride was purposeful, and his eyes held the weight of a man who had seen the end of the world and returned to prevent it.
But first, he had to address his foundation. In Aetheria Online, your base stats were just the skeleton; the "Buffs" were the flesh and muscle.
He found a secluded alcove behind the village's alchemy lab—a place where the scent of sulfur masked his presence. He sat on a moss-covered stone and opened the wooden crate Barnaby had given him. Inside lay a fortune in glass: vials of vibrant crimson, deep cerulean, and swirling, toxic purples.
To a normal player, these were "consumables"—precious emergency buttons to be saved for a life-or-death struggle. To Jaxen, they were permanent genetic modifications.
"Let's begin," he whispered.
He uncorked a Minor Focus Elixir. The liquid tasted like ozone and cold copper.
[System: You have consumed a 'Minor Focus Elixir'. Magic Power +5. Duration: 10s.]
[Talent INF-BUFF Activated: Processing status effect...]
[Modification Complete: Duration changed from 10s \rightarrow ∞.]
A jolt of static electricity surged through Jaxen's brain. His vision sharpened. The faint, blue mana lines of the world became visible to him. He didn't wait. He began to down the vials with the efficiency of a man starving for power.
[System: Minor Haste Draught consumed. Movement Speed +20%. Duration: ∞.]
[System: Minor Iron-Skin Oil consumed. Physical Defense +20. Duration: ∞.]
[System: Minor Fortitude Potion consumed. HP Cap +100. Duration: ∞.]
He drank until his stomach felt heavy with alchemical fire. He watched his status bar transform. The row of icons beneath his name didn't have timers; they were solid, glowing symbols of eternal power.
By the time he stood up, he wasn't just a Priest. He was a Level 1 monster.
HP: 1,160 / MP: 340
Magic Attack: 58
HP Regen: 105/sec (The combined force of Regrowth and Village Blessing)
Movement Speed: +20% (A permanent sprint)
"The 'Seed' is working," Jaxen noted. He noticed that high-grade buffs replaced low-grade ones, but different sources of the same effect stacked perfectly. His regeneration was already high enough that he could stand in a bonfire and feel nothing but a mild tan.
Jaxen bypassed the "safe" Level 1-3 training grounds. He didn't have time to kill rabbits. He headed straight for the Miasma Swamp, a Level 10-15 sub-zone within the Shadow Woods.
The trees here were blackened, their branches reaching out like skeletal fingers. A thick, purple fog hugged the ground—a toxic cloud that dealt constant damage to anyone without high-tier resistance gear.
[Warning: Environmental Hazard! Miasma Poisoning detected!]
[Status: You will lose 1 HP every second.]
Jaxen stepped into the fog. A tiny red number floated above his head: -1. Immediately, a green number followed: +105.
He didn't even slow down. The "deadly" swamp was effectively a spa for him.
In the center of a grove of rotted willow trees, he found his targets: Shadow Cat-Demons (Level 3). They were sleek, feline monstrosities with obsidian fur and claws that dripped with necrotic venom. In the old timeline, players avoided these because their high agility made them nearly impossible to hit.
"Meow..."
Three Cat-Demons circled him, their yellow eyes glowing with predatory hunger. They lunged simultaneously—a coordinated strike meant to shred a cloth-wearer in seconds.
Jaxen didn't dodge. He didn't even raise his staff.
"Smite."
A pillar of blinding white fire erupted from the heavens, slamming into the lead cat.
-174! (True Damage)
The creature didn't even have time to shriek. It vanished into a cloud of black pixels.
[System: You have slain a Shadow Cat-Demon. Level Gap Bonus: +500% XP!]
[Experience: 120/100]
[Level Up!]
A golden pillar of light erupted from Jaxen. Because of [Saint's Ascension], he didn't just get 5 points—he got 10. He dumped every single one into Magic Power.
"Again," he commanded.
For the next hour, Jaxen was a ghost in the machine. He moved through the swamp like a reaper. Every two seconds, a bolt of divine fire would strike, and another monster would die. He was gaining experience at a rate that would make a professional leveling service weep.
As he reached Level 5, a specific drop caught his eye: a rusted silver ring with a green gem.
[Blighted Band (Iron-Rank)]
Effect: 3% chance on hit to inflict 'Festering Poison'. Deals 20 damage per second.
Jaxen equipped it and found a high-level Minotaur Guard (Level 12) wandering the outskirts. He cast Smite. The bolt hit, and the 3% chance triggered.
[System: Target is Poisoned. -20 HP/sec. Duration: ∞.]
Jaxen's breath hitched. "It works on the enemies too."
In Aetheria, debuffs were supposed to be fleeting—a few seconds of crowd control or damage-over-time. But under Jaxen's SSS-talent, any poison he applied stayed until the target was dead. He could "poke" a boss once and then go grab coffee while the boss slowly rotted away. He wasn't just a Priest anymore; he was a walking, talking biological weapon.
The Arrival of the Thunder Lord
Just as Jaxen donned his [Mithril Scepter], the atmosphere of the swamp changed. The purple fog was suddenly pushed back by a violent, blue electrical discharge. The sky darkened as a massive thundercloud formed directly over the central altar.
[WORLD ANNOUNCEMENT: The Lord-Level Boss 'Thunder Lord Kano' has spawned!]
[Location: Miasma Swamp, Server 9.]
In the village of Hollowshade, the announcement caused a riot.
"The Boss! Move! Move! Move!" Big-G_Shark screamed to his Dynasty army. 300 players, all Level 3 and 4, began a desperate sprint toward the woods.
"If we get the first kill, our guild gets a regional buff!" Big-G shouted into his stream-mic. "Don't let the 'Wind-Cloud' pros beat us to it!"
When the massive army reached the edge of the swamp, they were forced to stop. The poison fog was eating their health bars.
"Priests! Group heals! Now!" Big-G commanded. "We push through the poison or we lose the kill!"
They struggled through the mists, losing dozens of low-level players to the environmental damage. But when they finally broke into the central clearing, the scene before them froze their blood.
The Boss—a twelve-foot-tall Minotaur wreathed in crackling blue lightning—was already roaring in pain.
Standing in front of it was a single, solitary figure. He wore simple leather trousers and a shimmering silver scepter that pulsed with blue mana.
"Is that... the naked guy?" Big-G whispered, his voice cracking.
Jaxen didn't look back. He raised his scepter. His Magic Power was now over 200. His Smite was now Level 5.
"Smite."
A pillar of fire, ten times larger than the previous ones, hammered into the Boss's skull.
-1,080!
The Boss's health bar, which had millions of points, took a visible hit. Kano swung its massive electrical hammer at Jaxen, a blow that should have vaporized him.
Jaxen didn't move. The hammer hit. His health dropped by 600 points.
+105. +105. +105.
In six seconds, without lifting a finger, Jaxen's health bar was full again.
"He's... he's face-tanking a Lord-Level boss?" a Dynasty scout stammered. "As a Priest? Alone?"
Jaxen turned his head slightly, his eyes glowing with a faint, terrifying light. "You're late, Big-G. This Boss is already spoken for."
He raised his scepter again.
"Smite."