Chapter 13: Devour [1] |
Damien felt a rush of memories superimpose on his endless fight against the beast tide. These were naturally the records of his deeds in his berserk state.
Although the pain of evolution was still present, it was nothing compared to the pain of integrating two sets of memories that took place at the same time.
Damien was now aware of his rampage, but he wasn't too surprised at what had happened, since he had fought the manifestation of the bestial instinct that was controlling him.
What he was more surprised about was the fact that he had seemingly just defeated a floor boss. This meant that he was on a floor that was a multiple of ten, though, with the length of his fall unknown, he didn't know which floor it was.
'Although I'm back in control of my body, I still feel a stronger desire to kill than I did before. Also, even from a glance, it's clear that my body has changed.'
Damien looked at his nails, which were more apt to be called claws now. He then retracted them with a thought. 'Retractable claws are pretty cool though. I feel like wolverine or something. Anyway, I should check the changes in my status after my rampage.'
'Status'
[Status]
[Damien Void]
Male - Age 17
Level 26 - [Spatial Mage]
Experience value: 365/9000
Title(s): [•••••••, Bearer of the Void Physique, Evolver]
Affinities: Space, Lightning
Physique: Void Physique
Magic Power: 1350
STR: 180
AGI: 150
DEF: 200
INT: 130
DEX: 180
Skills: [Teleportation Level 4], [Telekinesis Level 1], [Regeneration Level 6], [Sword Mastery Level 3], [Danger Sense Level 6], [Devour Level 1]
Damien was satisfied with his improvements. Although it was true that he wasn't in his right state of mind, it seemed like he had improved quite a bit.
Most of his improvements came from evolution, as he consumed every beast that would make his body stronger, but for those beasts that wouldn't help him evolve or the ones he had killed in a blind rage, they were turned into Exp.
Like this, he had an extremely strong body compared to his level, and it seemed he could now fight evenly against most beasts within the bounds of 1st class.
He also noticed the new properties of his body. His abs were completely formed now and his body looked like it was chiseled rather than built through exercise. His height had also grown 1.9 meters. If it weren't for his missing arm, it'd be a perfect body.ᴘ.ᴀ.ɴᴅ.ᴀ n.ᴏ.ᴠ.ᴇʟ
Structurally it was different as well. With the Goblin King's unique trait of absorption and reflection, his whole body had become more dexterous. He felt that with enough training, he could twist and dodge at impossible angles, catching his enemies off guard.
The second thing Damien paid attention to was his skills. His teleportation's range had grown quite a bit, reaching seven kilometers, while his telekinesis could now be used with more versatility, such as when he distorted space to kill the goblins.
Since he never used a sword, his mastery obviously hadn't improved, but his danger sense had made immense progress and he felt he could use it to sense any prescience within a one-kilometer radius.
His main focus was on his new skill. He had an inkling of what it did, but he still checked to make sure.
[Devour]
[Due to the synergy between the title, [Evolver] and the [Void physique], a new skill has been created. This skill substitutes the consumption process when evolving and helps optimize evolution to prioritize the user's needs. Due to the creation of a unique skill, your legend has advanced.]
Damien was glad he got this skill. Now that he had his rationality back, he was reluctant to continue behaving in such a primal manner. After all, no normal human would enjoy tearing open and eating beasts raw.
Furthermore, since the skill optimized the devoured energy to suit his needs, he could quench his hunger and thirst without needing to physically eat and drink beast blood.
The indiscernible amount of time he'd spent in his berserk state had left a slight trauma in his mind. He now held a slight disgust towards the sight of blood that wasn't useful to his evolution.
Looking at his surroundings, Damien noticed many goblin bodies littering the floor. 'Even if they won't help me get stronger, they're a good chance to test this skill.'
Damien took some time to pile up all the bodies in the middle of the room. Once he was done, he put his hand on the pile and cast his skill.
'Devour'
An abyssal black fog seeped out of his arm and formed a huge construct that looked like the maw of a terrifying beast. Then, the fog went forward and enveloped the entire pile.
Damien could feel the foreign mana enter his body and become annexed as his, while a good portion of it strengthened the trait he gained from the Goblin King, but the most intriguing part was that most of the essence went towards providing him sustenance.
Damien immediately felt much lighter, as if a mountain had been taken off his back. 'It seems there was a lot of hidden fatigue built up in my body after what I can only consider as months of endless slaughter.'
Damien was pleasantly surprised. He had no idea he was carrying so much fatigue, but if the skill could pinpoint that and counter it, it was even more perfect than he thought.
Standing up, Damien stretched his body. 'Ahh, it didn't set in earlier since I was preoccupied with the changes in my body, but it's good to be back.'
Damien loved battle. He had accepted the fact that he was a bit weird in this regard, but spending so much time in an endless battle to the point where he couldn't even measure it anymore was too much even for him.
Due to this, Damien decided to take a small break in his descent and train. Looking around at the small huts and shacks, Damien smiled. 'Although it's just the work of goblins, it's nice to see a change of scenery. Perhaps at the lower floors, I might see some even more interesting things.'
When he entered the Goblin King's hut, his smile grew even wider. He immediately disregarded everything else and punched forward, landing on a soft surface. 'Haha! A bed! Who would've thought I'd be lucky enough to find a bed anywhere near here!'
Damien rolled around in the small bed made of unknown materials like a child as he slightly relaxed. Even though it was accidental, I still spent a long time power leveling. I guess I should take a break and bring my sword skills up to par and refine my fighting style.
Thinking idle thoughts, Damien closed his eyes and drifted to sleep. With his body and mind finally relaxing after many grueling months, he ended up having a nice dream.
pᴀɴda nᴏvel It was a dream of the future with his mother, his father, and a couple of blurry figures that he didn't know quite yet relaxing and laughing.
It was a dream of what he sought to achieve. A dream of his peaceful life after he reached the apex.
Damien woke up with a gentle smile on his face, a huge contrast to the intense fire burning in his eyes. With the flames of motivation pumping heavily through his body, he began his training.
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