Chapter 187: [187] Splitting The Clouds

’Evolution?!’

Ark had been expecting it to happen soon, that was the entire reason he used poison ash so much. He was hoping to advance the spell so that he could meet the requirements.

But this had to be the worst possible time!

The moment he read the notification, he felt a maddening pain overcome his entire body. His limbs trembled from the pain of both the evolution and mana reflux.

The combination of the two nearly drove him mad. He fell from the sky like a shooting star, crashing right through the trees, his body bouncing on the cold floor.

He could not move, everything felt like it had been run through an industrial meat grinder, and his bones felt like they would shatter at any moment.

Ark could feel the mana in his core grow exponentially as the core expanded within him, growing larger and more potent.

His bones seemed to reform themselves, turning darker in colour, while hardening. And then his blue eyes flared brighter as the residual mana causing the reflux was expelled out of his body.

"Haaaa—!"

Ark sat up straight and stared at his hands. He felt different, almost as though he was in an entirely new body.

[Congratulations Player. You have successfully evolved!]

[Skeleton (Common) >>> Skeleton Shaman (Uncommon)]

Race Effect:

Herald of Darkness.

Effectiveness of all dark spells is increased by 25%

Dark Acolyte

Immune to all forms of curses.

[Host will now receive 10 stat points with each level up]

Ding!

[Player has awakened a Dark spell, Black Fire (B-Rank)!]

[Player has awakened a Dark Spell, Veil Of Darkness (B-Rank)]

[Player has awakened a Dark Spell, Bloodmancy (A-Rank)]

— Black Fire

A corrosive fire from the abyss. Black fire causes drain, which reduces the stats of anyone affected by the skill.

— Veil of Darkness

Crafts a shield fashioned out of shadows, protecting the host against incoming attacks. 50% effective against dark spells.

50% less effective against light or divine spells.

— Bloodmancy

By sacrificing living beings, the player has a chance to call upon a random forbidden magic. The greater the sacrifice, the greater the spell effect. With each sacrifice, the host may gain a new dark spell that can be fueled only with blood.

[Your stats have improved!]

[Strength: +7!]

[Agility: +5!]

[Mana: + 1000!]

[Defence: + 10!]

__

Ark stared at the screen in awe. "Finally!"

All this while, he had been working towards an evolution. At some point, he wondered if it was even worth it. He was doing fine without evolving after all...

But now that Ark read through just how many perks were available, he couldn’t help but feel it was more than worth it!

The craziest part of it was his mana. One thousand mana points (100 points x10) just from a single evolution?! How crazy was that?

RAWR!!!!!

Ark heard a rippling howl from somewhere in the forest, accompanied by an explosive boom that sent a gust of wind whistling past him.

He soared back high up into the air, his eyes immediately locking on the wyvern.

"That thing is still alive?!" He thought out loud. Its right wing—the spot they had repeatedly attacked—was severely damaged, so it could no longer fly, but it was still very much dangerous.

The curse of blindness had also worn off.

The Wyvern locked eyes with Ark and roared, just before sending several balls of explosive wind flying in his direction.

Ark pointed his staff forward and a mass of darkness appeared in front of him, it took all the blasts, just before the last one shattered it.

’Should I use Malformed Devourer?’ Ark thought. He shook his head. ’That might not work.’

The wyvern’s wing may have been damaged, but that didn’t mean its legs no longer worked. There was no need to waste mana on an attack that could possibly miss.

’I need to take it out in one fell swoop...’

Ark felt joy rise up in his chest, because this was the perfect excuse to use that spell.

Previously, he had been unable to use it because his mana was too low, but now, after getting such a great boost...

"I can finally do it!"

Based on what he noticed earlier, damage to one section of the tower would not affect the other regions, if not, there would have been traces of Jenna’s spell in the hall...

This meant the princess would be safe no matter what he did out in the forest.

"That means I can go all out, right?!"

He raised his staff up and a pitch, black ball appeared right above it. The dark mass gave off a red gleam as it flew up into the sky, hovering high above Ark’s head.

SWOOOSH—!

More wind blasts were sent flying, but Ark countered each one, and then he flew higher into the sky, up until he mingled with the clouds.

This high up, the wyvern could not see him, which meant he could focus...

Ark took in a long breath. And then down below, massive chunks of rock were ripped out of the floor, along with broken trees and soil, everything rising up to the sky.

They accumulated around the black ball, rock piling atop rock, earth piling atop earth, until the ball became so large that it bloomed out the sun.

[WARNING! Player’s defence is not high enough to handle target spell!!]

[WARNING! Player’s defence is not high enough to handle target spell!!]

[WARNING! Player’s defence is not high enough to handle target spell!!]

Ark brushed off the warning as maddening laughter slipped out from his teeth.

Whooosh—!

Sparks of red, black, and purple fire appeared, before completely coating the ball, turning it into an incandescent mass of rock, one coated with primal fire.

A meteor.

The bones of Ark’s arms, down to his ribs, began to crack as he waved his hand forward, the meteor moving according to his will.

Just as he completed the motion, and his meteor was sent flying down, his arms shattered.

"Ahahahahaha!"

Ark laughed, watching as calamity descended.

The clouds were parted, and even the winds fled, afraid to be caught up in the cataclysm that would ensue.

A loud, shrill, the sound of the meteor slicing through the air, blotted every single sound in the area, as Ark screamed at the top of his voice.

"ASTRAL—-"

Even the very words seemed to carry an unshakable pressure.

"STRIKE!"

A shockwave cut through the surface of the earth. The trees were uprooted from their roots. Earthquakes were formed, ripping apart the ground, and the fire exploded outwards, searing every single thing in sight!

Bright light filled Ark’s vision, blinding him, followed by a sound that caused his cracked ribs to shatter.

BOOOOOOOM!

<•••>

[You have slain a level 50 Elder Wyvern! +200 exp]

[New achievement unlocked! Game Breaker]

—Game Breaker

Complete the tower floor without following the original objectives.

[You have received an S-Rank Mystery box]

’Wait, does that mean the game is over??’ Ark under the impression that he had to personally escort the princess back, but from what he was seeing—

Ding!

The next screen answered his question.

[CONGRATULATIONS PLAYER!]

[You have successfully cleared Floor Two, King’s Court!]

[+3000 EXP!]

[You confronted an army alone, a single man against an entire battalion, and yet you did not just prevail, you conquered.]

[You danced with Cleopatra, the Stormy legion, battled beyond the limits of the tower, and returned victorious. Not only did you put an end to her siege, you also helped her find peace in the end!]

[You fought an anomalous entity, the elder wyvern and its rider, enemies that were not meant to be encountered. Death flags. And yet, you survived, you defeated them both in an exciting display of Madness!]

[You Broke the game]

[The Gods Applaud Your Bravery]

[Notable enemies defeated: Cleopatra, the stormy legion. Isazan (Wyvern Rider), Enulem, The Plague Of The Skies]

[Evaluation: GLORIOUS]

[Participants: 1]

[Allies lost: 0]

[Survivors: 1]

MVP: Ark Karras

Silver: nil

Bronze: nil