SSS Awakening: I Can Class Change at will

[Tenacity] [Order: Second]

[Rank: Epic] [Level: MAX] [Details: Your will cannot be broken, no matter the circumstances. Your will presses down on weaker enemies, spreading doubt and fear in their hearts. Stronger Illusions do not affect you, and your courage makes those with you feel stronger. +20 to Strength, Agility, Constitution] Moon’s face beamed in delight.

The skill had gained a new effect on evolution, and it couldn’t have arrived at a better time.

His will now pressed down on weaker enemies. By simply by existing on the same battlefield as Moon, every Evolver in this room who was weaker than Moon would feel it. Doubt creeping into their decisions. Fear settling into their muscles. Against a handful of strong opponents, the effect would be negligible. But against dozens of weaker Evolvers swarming him with numbers, it was devastating. Death by a thousand cuts worked both ways.

And the sixty additional attribute points were nothing to dismiss. Twenty to Strength, twenty to Agility, twenty to Constitution. A strong increase across his three physical stats that stacked on top of everything else. Sixty thousand lives well spent.

Moon could already feel the effect rippling outward. The Evolvers closest to him hesitated. One of them took a step backward without seeming to realize it.

They didn’t understand what had changed. They just knew something felt wrong. Something in the air around Moon had changed, and every instinct in their bodies was telling them to get away from it.

Moon stepped forward.

They stepped back.

“Good. I can now focus on more important individuals.” Moon muttered, excitement creeping into his voice as purple lightning began to gather in his hands once more.

His gaze landed on the chained man he had killed earlier. The man had re-spawned seconds ago, but contrary to what Moon expected, he was still acting weird. His eyes were open but unfocused, staring at something only he could see. His hands trembled at his sides, and his chains lay untouched on the floor around him.

He looked broken. Curious, Moon pulled up his evolved skill details. It was the only possible reason behind this phenomenon after all.

[True Elemental Physique] [Order: Second] [Rank: Epic] [Level: MAX] [Details: Body and soul tempered by the five elements: Fire, Wind, Earth, Water, and Lightning. True affinity with the four basic elements. Mid affinity with Lightning. Purple Lightning: Lightning strikes damage both body and soul, eroding willpower and leaving lasting soul scars. +300% Elemental Control, Damage, and Resistance.]

Moon’s eyes widened.

His elemental affinity had jumped to “True” for the four basic elements. That alone was a massive upgrade in firepower, control, and his ability to cast more complex, layered spells. The 300% bonus to control, damage, and resist turned every element in his arsenal into something far deadlier than it had been at First Order.

But the purple lightning was the real prize.

Soul damage.

His lightning no longer just attacked the body. It eroded the soul and willpower simultaneously, leaving behind scars that couldn’t be healed through normal means. Not by potions, or normal healing spells. Not even by death and revival!

Soul scars persisted through re-spawns.

It was well known in the Evolver world that soul damage was the most feared type of injury. A broken bone healed. A severed limb could be restored through revival. But a scarred soul remained scarred. The only remedies were Ascender-level healers with specialized soul restoration skills, or rare natural treasures that cost fortunes and were nearly impossible to find.

Moon looked at the chained man.

Now he understood. The man’s body had been restored by his respawn. His wounds were healed, his flesh whole, his bones intact. But his soul had been damaged by the purple Raiju, and revival hadn’t fixed it. His willpower had been eroded, his spirit fractured.

The peak First Star Evolver who had nearly trapped Moon in chains minutes ago was no longer the same person.

Moon glanced at Layla whose eyes were wide, fixed on her chained servant. The composed, queenly expression she had worn throughout the entire battle had been cracked open by Moon.

‘My attack seems to have severed the connection between them too.’

Moon’s gaze swept across the remaining Evolvers in the room. Dozens of them still fought, still followed Layla’s commands, still threw themselves at him with devotion.

Knowing what his purple lightning could do, Moon was going to use every second of it.

He needed a conductor. Something that would carry the lightning across the room simultaneously, touching every body, reaching every corner. And what better conductor existed than water.

With his True affinity, the combination would be annihilating.

Moon stored his sword and drew his staff. He activated [Air Step] and launched himself upward, rising until his head nearly touched the ceiling. From this height, he could see the entire throne room laid out below him. Every Evolver, every barricade, every corner.

The long to mid range combatants tried to attack him, but most failed, their attacks hitting his shield. He had a few shield runes left — sufficient to what came next.

Water began to gather at the tip of his staff. A massive, swelling volume that continue to rise by the second. His True affinity with water made the element respond with an eagerness it had never shown before. The sphere at his staff’s tip grew rapidly, dense and heavy, trembling with power.

Layla watched from her throne. She knew exactly what he was doing, she wasn’t stupid.

“Attack him!” Her voice cracked as she screamed the order.

At the same time, she acted personally. Mana surged from her body as she focused the full strength of her curse directly at Moon. She poured a massive portion of her reserves into it, more than she had spent on any single target before, keeping just enough to maintain control of her remaining subordinates.

The curse struck Moon.

To her horror…his face didn’t change. She couldn’t feel the connection forming, let alone completing it.

Layla’s hands trembled. “How?” She whispered. “How is he perfectly immune to my curses?”

~WHOOSH~

Moon brought his staff down.

“No…” Layla’s mouth opened like a fish.