Chapter 42: Awakened!
Roy’s consciousness stirred from stasis as the flow of divine essence began to ease its weight on his soul.
And as he regained clarity, he was overcome by an extreme sense of omnipotence. Whatever he wanted to do right now in his soul space, he could do — be it create a new skill star, evolve an attribute star, or even create an attribute star.
A tiny ember of divinity had ignited within him. Though temporary, with it as a foundation, whatever he wanted to do in his soul space could be accomplished with just a thought.
When in a position like this, most would be overcome with choice paralysis...
What should I do?Create a new attribute?Evolve one?Create a new skill?
But Roy’s mind remained clear. With power like this, he could solve a problem he had pointed out since his arrival at Arcana: why did he need to disperse his stats across all different points?
Why not just put all six allocatable stats into a single point that would function for all?
His heart palpitated as the tiny ember of divinity blazed according to his will, exerting control over his soul space. Three attribute stars brewed restlessly as they began moving — they were Strength, Agility, and Constitution.
With the aid of this supernatural force, Roy exerted his will, forcing all three stars into collision and then a forceful merge.
A soul-rending pain ran through Roy as his teeth clenched, forcing back a mouthful of blood down his throat.
Right now, he was breaking boundaries never thought to exist. He was breaking laws of this new reality, crossing lines that no one — not only in Arcana but in the whole of the Etherverse — had ever crossed.
By combining Strength, Agility, and Constitution — not even evolving them, but merging them into one single attribute — he was creating a legacy.
In theory, he wasn’t doing something that mind-boggling if one thought about it thoroughly. The muscles and tendons in charge of speed, defense, strength, and all other functions are deeply intertwined.
The problem now lay in the uneven amount of stats in each attribute, and this caused a great roadblock for Roy in this merge. Constitution outranked the rest, followed by Strength, and Agility was the least.
If they were all balanced, this would have gone more smoothly. But now... he had no choice but to brute force it.
Which thus led to the violent clash of energy in his system. The three were forcefully combined despite their stat differences. It didn’t matter to Roy — the divinity ember was already on the verge of exhaustion, but he didn’t let this faze him.
And suddenly, there was a refreshing stillness. No more pain, no more torrents — nothing, just stillness. Between the forceful merge, a black-hole-like divine body had formed from the collision, and with an irresistible force, the black hole pulled all fragments of the three attributes into its depths, leaving not a fragment behind.
Roy didn’t panic at this sight. He knew that wasn’t an ordinary black hole — that new celestial body was the attribute star for his new attribute...
[Name: Roy Vanders
Race: Human
Status: Lord (Bearer of Order of Justice)
Territory: Tier 1 Level: 25
Martial Point (New!): 82
Intelligence: 70
Genesis (New!): 140]
A reassuring form of strength coursed through his newly reforged veins. His eyes opened as he finally exited his soul space, recovering from his epiphany.
Sadly, there was no time to appreciate his gains or inspect the new changes he had overcome. An intense whooshing noise came from the side. His head swerved, eyes meeting the incoming cold, sharp edge of a massive tail piercing through air resistance toward him at unfathomable speeds.
Blocking was already reactivated, so there was no way he would be getting extra defense from items. And there was no time to dodge, leaving him no choice but to brave the strike.
Fluid like a carp in the sea, Roy accelerated toward the tail, his palms retracting backward to gather momentum, and in a blink—
Booooooom!
The collision was intense. What was supposed to be Roy being sent flying became a clash resulting in a broken arm and a bloodied tail.
Gruarghhhhh!
The beast roared with pain and disbelief. How could this brat be that strong?
Roy seemed to realize something — the merging of attributes brought more benefits than imagined. The stats displayed actually carried three times their weight!
He got his arm broken, but he was excited. Not only were all attributes fused, making allocating stats more efficient, the stats carried three times their weight — meaning his Agility, Strength, and Constitution had values of 246!
If he added Bash... he frowned. Something was wrong. It seemed Bash wasn’t usable anymore. But he could’ve sworn he used it with just fists back in his enlightenment state... but now?
Unfortunately, he couldn’t wonder for long, with the boss creature already letting loose a crimson beam — a fusion of flames, lightning, and poison.
He dared not be hit! Veins ran through his hardened calves as his speed soared, and again, instead of retreating, he advanced. Clenching his arm, which reformed mid-movement, milky gold flowed into it, undulating wildly. The boss had a bad premonition — but it was too late.
Martial Technique: Rippling Waves!
A punch landed silently — no violent impact, nothing — almost like a mundane punch. But the insides of the boss monster felt otherwise.
The beam torrent halted from the monster’s maw as blood flowed in its place. It glanced down, eyes constricting, as it took to the skies, hoping to run from its attacker.
What the hell! That punch pulverized its innards — and some vital organs with it. Its body lit a verdant green as it once more cast its regenerative ability, an engulfing mist creeping into its mouth.
Roy was helpless. The ceiling was too high, and he couldn’t fly. He could jump, but that would leave him vulnerable to the monster. He stared at the air coldly, his mind brewing with all sorts of possible solutions when—
"YOU BASTARD! YOU DARE FUCK WITH MY MIND!" A furious shrill scream rang out, followed by an erupting cadence of pink aura.
The boss beast froze, its pupils trembling. Someone had escaped the illusionary space? One was this terrifying — how much more two?