Bang!
With an explosive sound, the pressure within the World Energy Barrier once again increased exponentially!
Damien's flesh rapidly tore. Even after being tempered by the blood of countless beasts and even the Purple Primordial Undying Fruit, his mortal body wasn't able to bear the burden that was being placed on it.
More than anything, this went to show just how great said pressure was. If even Damien couldn't resist it, then that meant any common early 4th-class being would die instantly under its strength!
Damien gritted his teeth. In his current situation, he didn't even have the extra processing capability to analyze the situation. The only thing he could do was put his utmost into enduring and finishing the current task as fast as possible!
Damien's mind worked without pause. Luckily, the Ananta Matrix was highly self-sufficient, so while he still had to guide the process and enact most of the changes himself, he didn't have to do any of the complicated calculations that became necessary for such a substantial change.
After all, no matter how much his intelligence had increased from the past, he wasn't some super genius who could do everything.
His advantage lay in the fact that he was self-aware of his own lack of intelligence, or at least, he became self-aware of it not long after leaving the dungeon. As such, his every step was made with accommodating this weakness in mind.
The fact that the Ananta Matrix could actively assist him in the process of its evolution even without any semblance of spiritual intelligence was proof of this.
Nevertheless, the intensive process continued. The AI chip in his brain was slowly enveloped in a wrapping of Mana Threads that connected to the Ananta Matrix. Through this connection, the AI chip was being altered to fit the Mana Circuit while also building an unbreakable connection with it.
Essentially, the chip was becoming an ethereal existence that surpassed its original self. While it would lose most of its abilities in the process, it would become more specialized and would fit Damien's needs far better.
'Phew…' Damien sighed internally. Reaching this step meant that most of his work was done. He still needed to watch for any outliers in the process, but his main job now was to endure the pressure surrounding him and protect his body so that the process wouldn't be interrupted.
Damien's eyes flashed open. It almost felt like he didn't open them at all, though. For the past half a year, he'd been submerged in his consciousness and almost forgotten the state of the world outside.
'What do I do here?' He asked himself after acclimating to the environment. His body was still wracked with pain and the pressure wasn't decreasing in the slightest. Transcendent Regeneration was being pushed to its limits every second to keep him in one piece.
But this wasn't a viable solution to the problem. In the end, Transcendent Regeneration was also a skill. It would cease functioning when his mana was depleted.
In the current situation where there was no way to replenish mana, using this ability was hurting him more than it was helping him.
'I can use Demon Transformation to increase my defense and Heal to mimic the effects of Transcendent Regeneration, but even this won't hold up for long.'
These two abilities weren't skills, but traits. While they functioned similarly, the key difference between them was the fact that traits used stamina instead of mana.
Damien's stamina was no joke. Especially with Heal retaining the ability to replenish even his blood vitality, it was far more viable in the long term than Transcendent Regeneration at the moment.
Without hesitation, Damien enacted his plan. His body went through a massive change as he embodied his Demon Form, and a greenish-white light subtly emanated from his skin. Under these effects, the burden he felt lessened considerably.
'Haa, I finally have room to think. Luckily, I've reached the final steps in integrating the algorithmic system into my Ananta Matrix. That process shouldn't even take a few more hours to finish…but who knows how long a few hours will take in this strange space.'
Damien quite literally had nothing to do. Endure, endure, endure. This was the only thought in his mind.
It could be said that Damien's Baptism was already a unique case. From the Dimensional Cage to the Temporal Prison and finally this dark space, none of these trials would've impacted the average 4th class.
If the Universe Baptism was really such an intensive trial for everyone, there wouldn't be so many 4th class existences around. There was no way any normal influence could stomach the burden of raising them.
But in the end, the format was still the same. Elemental mastery and mental fortitude; these were the two elements being tested in the Universe Baptism. While Damien didn't know how the latter was usually tested, he was sure that the average elemental tribulations weren't as complicated as his.
After all, pseudo 4th class beings like the Xue Clan's 11th and 12th Elders only passed their Baptisms with outside help. Naturally, their Baptisms were also easier to stomach.
In Damien's opinion, there were two main reasons for this difference.
The first was the most obvious: the change that took place during his class selection.
It was clear that the Void Physique somehow altered his Baptism to suit its needs. Turning him into a Voidbringer against his will was enough proof of that. If the situation had to be compared to terms he was familiar with, Damien would classify Voidbringer as a "hidden class."
Hidden classes having more difficult trials was a commonplace trope among video games he played in the past, so it didn't surprise him that such a thing happened.
As for the second reason, it was far more practical. Compared to the average existence, Damien spent far more time consolidating his power before impacting the 4th class threshold.
Speaking realistically, Damien could've begun his Baptism at any time after his Partial Baptism had been completed. If he just played an active part in any single one of the purges that took place in the 6 month period before the Moon Squadron left for Niflheim, he could've easily accumulated the levels and achievements necessary.
But he didn't. Under Yun's influence, he suppressed his desire to rapidly increase his strength and familiarized himself with what he already had. In the process, he discovered a portion of Dimensional Magic's true power and even brought his Time comprehension to a level far higher than he expected it to grow in the time he had.
As for his flames and lighting, although they didn't receive any direct strengthening, they were consistently growing stronger along with him. Even Damien didn't quite understand why this was possible, but if he had to take a guess, it was the influence of the final set of question marks in his status window.
Regardless of which facet he looked at, he reached the peak or at least near the peak of what he could achieve as a mere 3rd class. With these kinds of achievements, how could he receive the same level of trial as someone like the Xue Clan 12th Elder?
If that were truly the case, he'd be an embarrassment to everyone and everything!
Damien's trial reflected his skill level, and more than that, his potential. When all the complicated matters were boiled down to such a point, the difficulty of his Baptism became easier to imagine.
