Lux nodded his head in appreciation.

He felt that he made the right choice after choosing the third option and giving his first Skeleton a name.

After the naming was completed, the red-headed boy checked the other Basic Summoning Skills that were available to him.

< Summon Skeleton Archer >

Rating: D

Energy: 10

Progress: (0/100)

You can increase the Progression Rating when you use Beast Cores to upgrade this skill.

Requirement: Summon Skeleton Rating C

Summons one Skeleton Archer to fight for you

Summon duration 1 hour

Skill Cooldown: 5 minutes.

( Skeleton Archer )

Health: 20

Attack: 3 - 10

Attack Type: Physical Damage

< Summon Skeletal Mage >

Rating: C

Energy: 20

Progress: (0/100)

You can increase the Progression Rating when you use Beast Cores to upgrade this skill.

Requirement: Skeleton Archer Rating A

Summons one Skeleton Mage to fight for you

Summon duration 1 hour

Skill Cooldown: 5 minutes.

( Skeleton Mage )

Health: 50

Attack: 5 - 15

Attack Type: Elemental Damage

"Summon Skeleton Archer, and Summon Skeleton Mage," Lux muttered. "Not bad. But, this makes upgrading them more troublesome."

Lux scratched his head as he looked at the requirements of his two other Summoning Skills. He could already imagine the amount of resources that he would need to upgrade Diablo, as well as the Summon Skeleton Skill.

Since both of them were separate Skills, upgrading them at the same time was not ideal. In the beginning, Lux was aware of how hard it was to gain Beast Cores.

Those who passed the Stronghold's entry test to Elysium would gain the right to enter the "Beginner's Area".

Inside this Beginner's Area were low-level creatures, and common monsters that those who were twelve years old and above could practice on in order to refine their fighting abilities.

When these creatures were killed, there was a ten percent chance that they would drop a Beast Core.

When using a Beast Core, people would be given two options by their Soul Books.

The first one was to upgrade their Personal Stats.

Depending on the rarity of the Beast Core, they could gain up to a hundred points once it was consumed.

The Beast Cores of low-tier Beasts usually give a ten percent chance to gain a Skill exclusive to the Creature that was slain. Aside from that, one could also gain one to two stat points that could be allocated freely.

The second option was to upgrade Skills.

When one upgraded Skills, the progress bar of the Skill would rise until it reached 100% progression. The Skill would then become more powerful, and might even lead to a mutation that could unlock a more powerful version of the original Skill.

This was similar to Lux's Skill Evolution [EX], but this instance only happened at a very, very, low probability.

Usually, when people upgraded their Skills, they would only have their Skill's performance improved. This was why the Skill that Lux acquired from the God of Gamblers was a Skill that would make everyone in the world of Solais feel extremely envious.

An ability that could evolve any kind of Skill was unheard of. If this was made public, many powerful factions would fight to have Lux under their wing, or eliminated, to prevent a future powerhouse from threatening their rule.

Lux didn't think about these things because he had a more troublesome problem at hand. He felt conflicted if he should upgrade his Stats first, or his Skills first. This question had plagued countless people soon after they had entered Elysium for the first time.

The line drawn between internal and external strength, had long been a subject of debate for Rankers.

Only those that were born without any Affinities would focus on enhancing their stats, instead of relying on Skills to become stronger.

"Eriol, what should I do?" Lux asked. "Should I upgrade my Stats first, or Diablo's?"

"That's the choice you need to make, Lux," Eriol replied. "For now, you should think of what to do in the morning. Since you just failed the recent entrance test to Elysium, the Leader of this Stronghold, Gerald, will not allow you to take the test anytime soon. He doesn't want others to think that he is playing favorites, so you will have to wait a year to take Elysium's entrance exam again."

"I-I can't wait that long!" Lux stuttered. Now that he had unlocked his body's potential, as well as learned a Skill, not being able to go to Elysium would drive him crazy.

Eriol nodded in understanding. "How about this? I will lend you an artifact that will allow you to travel to a Beginner's Area that is located far away from territory that belongs to Wildgarde Fortress in Elysium.

"This way, not only will you be able to access Elysium, no one will be able to recognize you as well. What do you think about this proposal of mine?"

"I accept!" Lux answered in a heartbeat. He was afraid that Eriol would take back his offer if he didn't answer right away.

Eriol chuckled and looked at the over-excited youngster who was holding himself back from hugging him to oblivion.

"Okay. take this," Eriol presented a black ring to Lux. "This ring is called the Ring of Arondight. It will take you to the Arondight Territory which is located at the Far South of Elysium. Ah, before I forget, do you know how big Elysium is?"

"According to Grandma, Elysium is as big as this world?"

"Correct. But, do you know how big this world is?"

Lux blinked as he gave Eriol a random answer. "As big as Earth?"

Eriol chuckled after hearing Lux's answer. He then gave the young boy a mischievous smile as he asked another question.

"Is Earth big?" Eriol asked.

"Yes," Lux replied.

"Then, is Jupiter bigger than Earth?"

"It is bigger."

Lux was aware that Jupiter was the biggest planet in the Solar System. However, he didn't know just how big it was.

"Solais is the same size as Jupiter," Eriol stated. "Do you know how many Earths you can fit inside Jupiter?"

"... I don't know."

"The answer is almost 1,300 Earths. Solais and Elysium are that big. So, when I told you that this ring would allow you to enter the Southern Area of Elysium, it meant that you would be several Earth's away from the Wildgarde Stronghold."

Lux's jaw hung open because he didn't expect that the world he was living on was that big. A planet that could fit almost 1,300 Earth's was beyond his understanding.

When Eriol asked him if the Earth was big, he had answered yes.

Now that he knew that Solais was as big as Jupiter, he realized that he would be hundreds of thousands of miles away from home.

"Um, is it possible to travel from Arondight to the territory of Wildgarde in Elysium?" Lux inquired.

"Definitely," Eriol answered with confidence. "However, the path will be extremely dangerous. Elysium has just recently opened, and the races of this world have only explored the tip of the iceberg. Even if they were given a thousand years, there would still be many unexplored regions waiting for the brave to discover. Also, the places you can enter are only the Beginner Areas.

"If you really want to go to this Stronghold's territory in Elysium, it will be far safer to wait a year and take the test once again. Wouldn't it be better to give everyone a big surprise when they find out that you've become so strong after staying at home for a year?"

Eriol's playful words struck Lux's heartstrings.

He could already see the shock in everyone's expressions after he took the next test, alongside the other twelve-year olds.

As Lux was thinking of showing off an amazing performance in the future, he remembered his Grandma's worried expression during dinner.

His sudden silence confused Eriol, and the God of Games thought that Lux was getting cold feet. Because of this, he decided to encourage the red-headed boy that everything was going to be fine.

"It's just a year of waiting," Eriol said. "After you pass the test with flying colors, your friends, and the adults here in the Stronghold will definitely see you in a better light."

Lux shook his head because that was not what he was thinking.

"Eriol, can I tell my grandma about this?" Lux asked. "Since I will be going to Elysium, I will not be home. She might get worried and look for me everywhere. Knowing Grandma, she would turn this land upside down just to find me."

Eriol frowned as he crossed his arms over his chest. There were several issues with Lux's suggestion, and it might lead to complications later. However, he also couldn't rule out the consequences of what would happen if Lux disappeared for a very long time.

Although he hadn't passed the test to enter Elysium, everyone in the Stronghold cared about Lux. if the red-headed boy suddenly disappeared, it would certainly cause a commotion and it might lead to head-ache inducing scenarios.

If Lux and Eriol wanted to avoid this problem, they needed to bring Lux's grandma, Vera, in their inner circle.

"Very well, let's talk to your grandma," Eriol replied after weighing the pros and cons of things. "I will do the talking. You can just support me from the side."

Lux nodded. "Good!"

If possible, Lux didn't want to hide anything from his grandma. She was the only family he had ever known, and Vera had taken care of him since he was a baby. There was a certain trust between them that couldn't be spoken through words.

This was also why Vera gave Lux her silent approval for wanting to train in secret in order to follow his dream to enter Elysium.