CHAPTER 51: | THE MINIATURE WORLD OF THE FIRST SEGMENT | 7
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The sun's rays passed through the window, brilliantly illuminating the incredible scenery beyond Celeste's hobbit house.
My eyes lingered on the scene as I was seated in a rocking chair, swaying gently, the wood creaking softly with each motion.
Creak! Creaaak!
The swamp, a scene seemingly plucked from legend, lay before me, its dark expanse lit with the brilliant dance of fireflies.
Splash!
Lotus blossoms unfurled on the water's surface as fish leaped from the murky depths, pursued by unseen predators.
The curtains swayed gently in the wind.
A sleeping figure, Astria, tugged at my sleeves and whispered.
Tug!
"Mother..."
Celeste's fever had yet to recede, nor had her body recovered from the 'Gaze of the Fallen.'
Her regenerative capabilities were extremely slow for a being of her stature.
Though she was a king-class demonic beast, her regeneration speed was below that of a lord-class.
Haaaaa.
I let out a sigh, knowing I couldn't help her beyond guarding her faithfully, at least for now.
Bzzzzzz!
The incessant buzzing of mosquitoes filled the room as they flew in search of blood.
Gazing at the holograms before me, I scrolled down, barely glancing at the skill information.
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[You have slain.]
• S: 1 | T: 5 | Level 16 | Swamp King Troll [4★]
• S: 1 | Swamp Troll [4★] x14
• S: 0 | Bog Troll [4★] x40
[You have gained.]
[37,547,400 - EXP.]
[You have gained a level.] x2
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[You have devoured.]
• S: 1 | T: 5 | Level 16 | Swamp King Troll [4★]
• S: 1 | Swamp Troll [4★] x11
• S: 0 | Bog Troll [4★] x35
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[Skills Devoured.]
• King Enduring Regeneration [Tier 1]
• Troll Monstrous Senses [Tier 5]
• Bog Dense Bones [Tier 8]
• Troll Corrosive Gut [Tier 4]
• King's Monstrous Senses [Tier 2]
• Bog Strength [Tier 10]
• Troll Ironhide Durability [Tier 3]
• Bog Corrosive Gut [Tier 7]
• Troll King Strength [Tier 1]
• Troll Savage Frenzy [Tier 6]
• Bog Basic Regeneration [Tier 9]
• Troll Vicious Tenacity [Tier 5]
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[Grotesque Physique would like to devour these skills.]
• King Enduring Regeneration [Tier 1]
• Troll Monstrous Senses [Tier 5]
• Bog Dense Bones [Tier 8]
• Troll Corrosive Gut [Tier 4]
• King's Monstrous Senses [Tier 2]
• Bog Strength [Tier 10]
• Troll Ironhide Durability [Tier 3]
• Bog Corrosive Gut [Tier 7]
• Troll King Strength [Tier 1]
• Troll Savage Frenzy [Tier 6]
• Bog Basic Regeneration [Tier 9]
• Troll Vicious Tenacity [Tier 5]
[Yes] / [No]
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Creasing my chin, I nodded at my gains, two levels and twelve skills from a population of 55 trolls.
"Not bad."
I muttered low as I swiped my hand, and a new hologram appeared before me.
Without sparing it any thoughts, I began to drag my skills one by one to the hologram.
Before I could click 'Yes,' I stopped for a bit, pondering if this combination would suffice.
Minutes passed as I gazed at the scenery beyond the window, pondering if this was the right choice.
Closing my eyes, I clicked 'Yes' as the skills began their fusion.
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[Would you fuse these skills?]
• Silver Skeleton + Bone-Dense Physique
• Hellfire Incineration + Storm Lacerations
• Divine Self-Restoration + King Enduring Regeneration
• Troll Corrosive Gut + Bog Corrosive Gut
• King's Physique + Troll King Strength
• Colossal Might + Swamp Troll Demonic Strength
• King's Monstrous Senses + Troll Monstrous Senses
• Swamp Troll Unrelenting Regeneration + Bog Basic Regeneration
• Silver Fur Resilience + Troll Ironhide Durability
• Swamp Troll Bone Structure + Bog Dense Bones
• Swift Hunter + Silent Stride
[Yes] / [No]
---
[You have gained.]
• Argentic Framework [Ascension I]
• Abyssal Gale of Immolation [Ascension I]
• Sovereign's Rebirth [Ascension I]
• Caustic Assimilation [Ascension I]
• World-Shaper's Might [Ascension I]
• Titanic Demonic Force [Ascension I]
• Primal Domain Sense [Ascension I]
• Relentless Mending [Ascension I]
• Argent Hide [Ascension I]
• Ossified Resilience [Ascension I]
• Spectral Hunter [Ascension I]
---
I clenched my teeth, a silent battle against the pain as I remained seated on the rocking chair, utterly still.
As my body mutated, evolving to the next level, it felt like pure hell.
Crack! Crack! Squelch... Fsshhhh...
The disintegration of my very bones could be felt, each shattering as new, denser structures took their place, grinding and reforming within me.
My muscles contorted, tearing themselves apart only to knit back together, stronger and more resilient, a searing reconstruction.
Now, there was no need to pinpoint the pain, my entire being was a searing agony, a vibrating intensity without exception.
Thump... thump... thump...
I gritted my teeth, my eyelids twitching involuntarily with each surge of agony.
But I gazed coldly at the window, my expression devoid of emotion, as hours of unrelenting torture stretched on.
Steam now rose from my form.
Fsshhhh...
I gazed at the fusion hologram again, dragging another batch of skills before confirming it without a single care for the world.
---
[Would you fuse these skills?]
• Cataclysmic Inferno Breath + Abyssal Gale of Immolation! Neuro-Corrosive Barrage
• Terra-Core Skeleton + Argentic Framework + Adamantine Skeleton
• Golden Sanguine + Sovereign's Rebirth + Relentless Mending
• Titanic Demonic Force + Monolithic Might + Magma-Core Might
• Living Tendril Armor + Argent Hide + Abyssal Demonic Carapace
• Abyssal Maw Assimilation + Shatter-Rip + Shatter-Maw Mandibles
• Terra Anchored colossus + Thermal Singularity + Ossified Resilience
• Draconic Form + Seraphic Extensions + Primal Domain Sense
[Yes] / [No]
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[You have gained.]
Adamantine Carapace of the Abyss [Ascension II]
Aureate Sanguine Restoration [Ascension II]
Avatar of the Fallen [Ascension II]
Colossal Demonic Dominion [Ascension II]
Cosmic Ossature [Ascension II]
Immovable Core of the Earth [Ascension II]
Torrent of Extinction [Ascension II]
Voracious Maw of the Abyss [Ascension II]
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Torrent of Extinction [Active | 300 Mana | Ascension II | ▪︎]
Alister unleashes a Torrent of Extinction from his maw: a cataclysmic blast of Abyssal Pyre-Gale. This devastating torrent instantly melts metal, incinerates flesh, rips through defenses, and leaves a wake of searing slag and noxious fumes, inflicting extreme, ongoing damage.
Cosmic Ossature [Passive | Ascension II | ▪︎]
Alister's skeletal structure becomes Cosmic Ossature, an ultimate internal fortress forged from solidified telluric energy, crystallized mithril, and adamantine. This grants him unparalleled structural integrity, making him completely invulnerable to all internal trauma, crushing forces, and bone-shattering impacts. His immense weight is effortlessly supported, allowing him to withstand and channel earth-shaking forces with impunity.
Aureate Sanguine Restoration [Passive | Ascension II | ▪︎]
Alister's life force transforms into Aureate Sanguine Restoration, a golden blood pulsating with thermal energy. This grants him absolute immunity to heat, fire, and lava, which bolster his energy. This sanguine provides extraordinarily potent, near-instantaneous regeneration, rapidly mending severe damage, severed limbs, and vital organs, making him virtually impossible to defeat.
Colossal Demonic Dominion [Passive | Ascension II | ▪︎]
Alister's entire being transforms into Colossal Demonic Dominion, a nexus of unparalleled, monolithic raw strength. He effortlessly fells ancient trees, shatters mountains, and rends reinforced steel. His blows carry immense, earth-shattering kinetic energy, allowing him to overpower any foe and break any restraint.
Adamantine Carapace of the Abyss [Passive | Ascension II | ▪︎]
Alister's form transforms into the Adamantine Carapace of the Abyss, an ultimate living armor of incredibly tough, silver-sheened hide interwoven with demonic energies, chitin, and muscle. This phenomenal natural armor grants formidable resistance to all physical and elemental damage, deflecting lethal blows and dulling impacts. Sentient tendrils within also interfere with enemy movements, lash out, and grant him extended reach.
Voracious Maw of the Abyss [Passive | Ascension II | ▪︎]
Alister's maw transforms into the Voracious Maw of the Abyss, a devastating weapon of ultimate consumption. His reinforced jaws combine crushing power with shearing sharpness, effortlessly splintering stone, shattering steel, and pulverizing bone. His bite inflicts continuous bludgeoning, tearing, and severe corrosive damage, dissolving foes from the inside out, while his internal system absorbs any consumed material, even adamantine, to sustain him.
Immovable Core of the Earth [Passive | Ascension II | ▪︎]
Alister becomes the Immovable Core of the Earth, instantly deep-rooting to become an unyielding colossus. This grants him absolute immunity to displacement and all thermal energy, which is absorbed to fuel his resilience. His incredibly dense, stone-like skeletal structure provides unparalleled internal durability against all impacts, crushing forces, and internal trauma, rendering him physically invulnerable.
Avatar of the Fallen [Active | 300 Mana | Ascension II | ▪︎]
Alister shifts into the Avatar of the Fallen, a pure white draconian with unsettling crimson irises, horns, tails, wings, and a forehead eye. This form grants powerful combat adaptations, absolute flight mastery for untrackable movements, and unparalleled sensory perception, allowing him to discern any presence across vast domains, making him impossible to surprise.
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