Roy's suspicion was confirmed.
The soul-intoxicating wine could really help ex-rank soul herders awaken once again, but one can benefit from it only one time.
It was exactly what Arnard had used to awaken a third time as a soul herder and get his third soul-herding ability.
He gave a bottle to Damien to reward him for dominating the adulthood ceremony and bringing glory to their clan.
It wasn't much use to Damien as his soul was ridiculously unique and strong, so he shared it with others.
'Since I have awakened a second time as a soul herder, where's my second ability?'
Right then, Roy felt a gate to a new world opening up for him.
'Huh? This feeling is amazing.'
His black aura and pure blue mana left the place where they were stored and entered his bloodstream, warming up his body. They fused with the third and the most otherworldly energy in his body that he had gained from drinking the most valuable wine in the world, creating a mystical symbol that settled on his soul without hesitation.
It slowly sunk into his soul, becoming one with it.
While that was happening, Roy saw a giant the size of ten thousand suns. It was so big that its height could hardly be imagined, and it was standing alone in the universe, existing as the only source of hope in the darkness. It seemed to encompass countless galaxies, supporting hundreds of solar systems. Its two hands were raised as if to carry the sea of stars that was flowing above it.
There was something above this magical and bright sea, but it was extremely vague.
Roy's eyes squinted as he tried to focus on it. At this moment, that something looked down and met his gaze. His world trembled, and he was kicked out of that mysterious space.
He found himself back at the dining table.
He blinked his eyes in confusion.
'Did I just hallucinate?'
'How else can I explain what I saw?'
Roy kicked the disturbing event to the back of his mind.
A tattoo has formed on his soul.
He was familiar with it. He had seen it in his previous life.
It was shaped like Ouroboros.
'Doesn't it represent infinity?'
The system's notification sounded in his mind just at this moment.
『Ding! Congratulation! You have successfully advanced to a level 2 ex-rank soul herder and awakened the soul-herding ability, Night's Miracle』
"… The hell is this?"
Roy's first reaction to the system's notification was to immediately check the new skill.
『Soul herding ability: Miracle
Type: Active
Cost: None
Description: It allows you to fuse the fruit of your hard work and the fruit of your wisdom with your secondary form, Mistman.
System's remarks: This ability can be ranked as epic and is only limited by your capabilities and imagination. You can realize endless possibilities with its help.』
Knowledge about it poured into his mind in waves. He instantly gained a better understanding of it and comprehended it to another level.
'It's a growth-type ability that can be fused with any type of Force, spell, or technique to give birth to a unique power.
'As I become stronger, it will also become stronger, and I will be able to perform impossible feats.'
'I will find out exactly how great it is after using it.'
His surprise didn't end there.
『A mysterious force helped your soul surpass the limit. It has become unique.』
『The size of your soul has become bigger than what your body can handle.』
『It's both good and bad for you.』
『As your soul has gotten stronger, you are less susceptible to illusions and curses. You have become immune to low-level illusions and curses. Intermediate and higher-level illusions and curses can still affect you.』
After this, the system listed the bad effect.
『One's soul should be in harmony with one's body, but yours is not. If this persists, your body will break down in 4 months, and you will perish. Upgrading it any further will cause an instant breakdown of your body.』
Roy's expression became grave, and he muttered, "It's like a double-edged sword."
"Is there any way to delay or stop it?" he asked wordlessly after a moment.
『By upgrading your body to the same level as your soul, you can put an end to it. You can offset this imbalance by reaching the peak of the aura master stage and unlocking all your aura meridians.』
The system gave him a reply instantly.
Aura meridians could only be gained after awakening, and one could start unlocking after reaching the peak of the weapon master stage.
"Does breaking the chains of limitation count as one?" Roy asked without uttering a word. "If not, what do I need to do?"
『Lifting the limits releases the suppression acting on your innate potential, allowing you to grow stronger than you are destined to be. It doesn't upgrade your state of existence or change your physique.』
『Only by awakening can your mortal body be upgraded.』
The system explained.
Roy nodded, "I see."
Before, if he valued his life over awakening and the lives of others, he would have evaded engaging in the upcoming battle. But now he had no choice left. He had to participate in it no matter what and use the portal of the Constantine Family to get to the capital in time.
『The remaining mysterious energy has been settled in different parts of your body.』
『Overtime, your body will be nourished, and your basic stats will increase, or you can use it to create stat points and selectively invest in your stats.』
『What would you like to do?』
The system notified him.
Roy thought about it for a few moments.
The energy he got from the wine was really great. It upgraded his soul, helped him awaken, and would also strengthen his body if he let it be.
But he didn't value the last part.
It's because it was easy to increase basic stats but hard to increase the special ones!
"Create stat points," he ordered.
『The mysterious force has been converted into SP!』
『You have gained two and a half stat points!』
"Use them to upgrade my perception stats."
It was the hardest stat to increase, and it had given the greatest ability. His perception not only saved his life plenty of times but also helped him solve many problems.
『2.5 stat points have been consumed.』
『Your Perception has increased to 18 points.』
Roy sighed. He was a bit disappointed. Unlike last time, he didn't get any skills for upgrading it, nor were there any improvements in the passive skills he had gained from having a high perception.
'Maybe there will be a change if my perception reaches 20 points?'
With this thought in his mind, Roy opened the item screen. It's where all the items he had gained from the system were stored.
The 1000 Crimson Souls that he had gained as a reward for completing the Semi-grand quest reward not too long were shining brilliantly on the semi-transparent screen.
Roy's eyes focused on them.
They were somewhat similar to red souls, but they could be converted into Stat points.
Five hundred crimson souls were worth one stat point.
He had a thousand crimson souls.
So he gained 2 SP after using up all CS.
And he put them all in his perception stat.
『Ding! Congratulations! Your Perception has increased to 20 points』
『Your sixth sense has improved significantly』
『You can sense all energy fluctuations that take place within a 100-mile radius』
『Your ability to sense danger and gauge the strength of a target has become better』
『You can now also inspect beings two stagers higher than you』
"Finally! I can inspect aura masters."
『You have gained the sixth eye skill』
Roy read its description.
It was an impressive skill, as impressive as his sixth sense.
But there was one problem.
He couldn't use it!
『It's detected that you lack the mind meridian. You are unable to use Sixth Eye as it's a skill that can't be used unless the mind meridian is unlocked』
He wasn't far away from awakening. It would become useable pretty soon.
He looked at his stats.
Roy
Power level: Comparable to grandmasters
Mythical level body tempering trainee.
Legendary level True Mage
Age: Sixteen years and ten months old
Defied status: Semi-Devil (3/8 limiters removed)
EXP POINTS: 1.73 million
Soul spell: Mana shield, Subspace (lv:4/5), Miracle, Night's Mist
Health: 250/250
Mana: 10000 wisps of magic, Aura: 100000 units
World Energy Sensitivity: 100%, Mana Sensitivity: 100%
Strength: 350
Stamina: 320
Agility: 300
Energy: 10000
Perception: 20
'I am a walking and talking nuke.'
Don't think that these stats were only numbers.
All that power was condensed into his 1.88 ft tall body.
If he unleashed it from his fist, a mountain would be smashed to smithereens!
Delilah rubbed her eyes as she stared at him. She couldn't believe what she just saw.
'He was already tall so tall. Why did his height increase even more? Was it always so easy to grow taller?'
She wondered how Roy had undergone a tremendous transformation in the blink of an eye.
