Current EP: 760 / 1,000,000
I was still riding the high of firing my first Cero.
I mean — imagine being a tiny, half-starved Hollow throwing pebbles at passing monsters, and then suddenly you're a six-story tall death machine with a laser cannon in your mouth. It's like going from a broken BB gun to a nuke overnight.
But then… reality hit.
One million EP.
And the fact that my system still only gave me between 10 and 700 EP per action.
Usually closer to 10, if I'm being honest.
Even my epic first Cero only gave 700.
Meaning I'd have to do something really stupid — or really impressive — about 1,500 times to get close.
And I couldn't even rely on luck for slapstick moments anymore. Those tiny Hollows were avoiding me like I was a debt collector.
I sighed. Or… grumbled. It's hard to tell the difference when your voice sounds like an earthquake.
"GRUOOOOH…"
A nearby Hollow, one of those long snake-like ones with a weird crocodile mask, dared to get too close.
Probably hoping to gnaw on a piece of my ankle.
Big mistake.
I slowly turned my giant head down to glare at him.
The thing froze mid-wriggle.
Then I did the stupidest thing I could think of at that moment:
I gave him a thumbs up.
I don't even know how I managed it, considering my hand was the size of a house, but somehow I flexed one of those bone-clawed fingers upward.
The snake Hollow stared.
Then it fainted.
[SYSTEM NOTICE: Caused Hollow to faint through unexplained, non-hostile gesture — +150 EP]
Current EP: 910 / 1,000,000
Aha. Success.
Maybe I could weaponize sheer weirdness.
That gave me ideas.
Dangerous ideas.
Stupid ideas.
I gathered up a few loose rocks, balanced them on my enormous palm, and tried juggling.
As expected, one immediately smashed into my own mask.
BANG.
"GRUUUUH!!"
I stumbled, my foot crushing a small Hollow nest.
[SYSTEM NOTICE: Self-inflicted injury through idiocy — +200 EP]
[SYSTEM NOTICE: Accidentally demolished minor Hollow nest — +90 EP]
Current EP: 1,200 / 1,000,000
My mask cracked a little.
I gave myself a mental thumbs up anyway.
Around me, a few distant Hollows cautiously peeked from behind crumbling rocks, staring at the absolute circus act of a Gillian I was putting on.
They probably thought I'd lost my mind.
And maybe I had.
But hey — if being the dumbest thing in Hueco Mundo meant survival and evolution,
I was gonna be the biggest idiot this world had ever seen.
Current EP: 1,200 / 1,000,000
Objective: Evolve to Adjuchas
Requirement: 1,000,000 EP
And I wasn't stopping.
Not now.
Not ever.