Chapter 10: | The Difference Between You And Me
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[ALISTER VON FAI]
Titles: The Accursed One | The False One | Limit Breaker | A Mortal With Mana?!
Race: Whark [1★]
Stage: 0
Tier: 2
Level: 8/10
EXP: 5530/7000
Class: (Locked)
Subclass: (Locked)
Inventory: (Locked)
Equipment: (Locked)
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Stats
Health: 71/71 (+1 per level)
Stamina: 75/75 (+1 per level)
Mana: 10/10
Physique: 1.79 (+0.1 per level)
Mystique: 0.01
Charm: 1
Luck: -100
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Bloodlines:
Harbinger Of Myth
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Bloodline skills:
Myth Voracity | Sealed[9/10]
The core ability of the Harbinger of Myth, allowing them to devour the myth—skills and stats—of others. However, a powerful curse has severely weakened it. Now, rather than guaranteed absorption, it only grants a chance to consume these traits. Despite this, it still feeds on the myth of those the Harbinger consumes.
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Affinity:
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Monster Core:
Igneous Nexus [Passive | ▪︎]
A pulsating, molten core deep within the Whark's chest, the Igneous Nexus is its central furnace. It continuously draws geothermal energy to supercharge the Whark's defenses and cataclysmic attacks. If ruptured, it explodes, disintegrating the Whark and devastating the area.
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Skills:
Magmatic Veins [Passive | ▪︎]
A faint heat radiates from its body, indicating superheated internal processes that slightly enhance its resilience to fire and blunt force.
Predator's Gaze [Passive | ▪︎]
Heightened visual acuity, particularly for detecting vibrations and subtle movements in obscured or low-light environments.
Stone-Bound Muscles [Passive | ▪︎]
The Whark's musculature is incredibly dense and unyielding, granting it remarkable raw strength for its size, enabling it to deliver powerful blows and resist physical restraints.
Territorial Roar [Active | 10 - Stamina | ▪︎]
The Whark lets out a deep, guttural roar that vibrates through the earth, intimidating lesser creatures and warning off potential threats within its immediate vicinity.
Thorn Spittle [Active | 15 - Stamina | ▪︎]
A corrosive, acidic saliva can be forcibly expelled in a concentrated stream, causing irritation and minor burns to exposed flesh.
Unyielding Stance [Passive | ▪︎]
The Whark can brace itself to resist powerful pushes, pulls, and impacts, making it incredibly difficult to displace or knockdown.
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Unique skills:
Grotesque Physique [Unique]
A Grotesque Physique, warped by an unknown force from the Whark's biology, lets you absorb external abilities (skills not native to your race). These skills permanently lose their growth path, becoming fixed internal components. They're categorized by Ascension, reflecting their integration as adaptable physical components. Compatible skills fuse into layered bodily alterations. This living physique constantly redefines your body with each absorption and fusion.
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Ascension Skills:
Adamantine Carapace [Passive | Ascension I | ▪︎]
The Whark's hide ascends to an extraordinary level of resilience, forming an incredibly dense, interlocking shell of nigh-indestructible material. This Adamantine Carapace grants the Whark exceptional resistance to all forms of physical damage—bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing—and renders it completely immune to poison.
Shatter-Rip Maw [Passive | Ascension I | ▪︎]
The Whark's jaws are transformed, now possessing a devastating combination of crushing power and shearing sharpness. Its teeth are exceptionally numerous and rock-hard, allowing it to effortlessly splinter stone and shatter steel while simultaneously ripping flesh from bone. Any creature grappling with or constricted by the Whark suffers continuous bludgeoning and grievous tearing damage.
Sunder Maw [Active | 8 - Stamina | Ascension I | ▪︎]
This Ascension skill manifests as a devastating bite that simultaneously delivers immense crushing force and vicious tearing power. It effortlessly pulverizes tough defenses and inflicts severe, deep wounds, causing significant internal trauma and considerable blood loss, making it exceptionally effective at debilitating any target.
Terra-Core Skeleton [Passive | Ascension I | ▪︎]
The Whark's skeletal structure ascends into a truly formidable internal fortress, composed of an incredibly dense, virtually unbreakable framework imbued with solidified telluric energy. This grants it unparalleled structural integrity, making it completely invulnerable to internal trauma and any crushing forces. Its immense weight is effortlessly supported by this internal bedrock.
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A fog of debris and blood hung thick, as the 'Obsidian Hulks' clashed with a 'Volcanic Sentinel' leading them.
They clashed against a cluster of 'Jungle Stalkers' that had been hiding in the fog, moving with precision.
Crash!
A shadow flickered in and out of the fog, tinting it crimson red as maws tore and bled the 'Obsidian Hulks'.
They didn't finish them, the 'Jungle Stalkers' themselves knew the 'Volcanic Sentinel' would finish them in a heartbeat.
An 'Obsidian Hulk' flickered in and out of existence, and the dark, desolate canyons, filled with cliffs and spikes, brightened for but a moment.
Sizzle!
Flames devoured the fog of debris and blood, and I smelled the charred meat of the 'Jungle Stalker', a acrid scent burning my nostrils.
Then a scene unfolded in front of me.
How?
Was all I could think, as the 'Jungle Stalkers' were nearly wiped out in a matter of mere seconds.
Its firepower was too strong, even with my 'Igneous Nexus' and 'Magmatic Veins', I would still be charred to death.
Its mana was too potent compared to the one I faced earlier.
But would it have any time to recollect or regain its composure from my fluid, connected strikes?
By unleashing a barrage of combos against it?
Without giving it a chance to retaliate or charge its throat with its fiery hell?
The answer was no.
It would be useless because I could easily rip and tear it apart with my new 'Ascension Skills', but the problem was its underlings.
How do I divert their attentions so that I could attack...?
How do I stall for more than ten seconds to finish this guy?
I pondered, then scanned the surroundings as a devilish smile curved onto my lips.
I could use those guys.
Minutes turned into what felt like hours as I waited for them to discover each other and fight to the death.
In that brief moment, I would assassinate it.
Then I'd finish the rest, since the only thing that poses any danger to me is the 'Volcanic Sentinel' itself.
No... it's just its destructive breath that I feared, and nothing more.
Truly, what an irony that I'd said I wouldn't hide anymore just moments ago.
But look at me now, back to square one, like an opportunistic hyena.
Crash!
The battle started as the two groups met.
A group of 'Jungle Stalkers' was their opponent then.
Sizzle.
Boom!
The howl of hellfire echoed throughout a few meters, and the water bubbled, nearly boiling, from the intense heat of its attack.
I closed my eyes for but a brief moment, then locked my vision onto it as my form distorted into a blur.
Crash!
'Sunder Maw' ripped apart its gills and dug deep, as 'Shatter-Rip Maw' intensified the damage done.
It bled profusely, a thick, dark ichor clouding the water, making it unable to howl for help from its subordinates.
Mana flooded in my nervous system, I needed to finish this right now.
Squelch!
The water shook with the force of my movement as my form reappeared a few inches from its throat, and its fear-ridden face was visible, its eyes wide with dawning terror.
It tried to howl or gather its mana in its throat to activate its devastation, but it was futile.
Rip!
'Sunder Maw' ripped its throat apart, sending it crashing into the ground in the next second.
Boom!
Its body was set aflame as the mana it had gathered in its bulging, ripped-apart throat exploded, searing the water with charred scent.
A hologram flickered, indicating my successful victory.
But this was not the time for me to celebrate, so I ignored it and vanished into a blur.
Like a reaper deep in the abyss, my form vanished, then turned into a flicker as my 'Sunder Maw' ripped their throats apart.
The 'Obsidian Hulk' exoskeleton was rendered useless as 'Shatter-Rip Maw' easily pierced their defense.
And with a swift motion of my head, like the movement of a sword, their throats were ripped apart.
Some 'Obsidian Hulks' noticed their leader dead.
Some fought me, while others fled but were intercepted by the 'Jungle Stalkers'. Blood gushed out from their bodies, turning into a cloud of fog, a metallic tang filling the air as the 'Jungle Stalkers' grouped up.
And charged at me.
But it was useless as my 'Predator's Gaze' followed their movements with ease.
There were three of them, one was behind me, lunging at my fin, while two were after my gills.
Their maws were wide open, and I could feel the searing pain of their acid contacting my skin through the gaps in my exoskeleton.
It was painful, and even if I activated 'Thorn Spittle', it would be useless since it was, after all, their skill that I'd stolen.
So it was no use, they were immune to it.
My irises turned into predatory slits as my form turned into a blur, and in a split second, blood flooded the water.
Rip!
Their throats were ripped apart in a matter of a split second as my maw moved like the edge of a sword, executing a triple slash with ease.
A smile could be seen on my face as my maw devoured their carcasses.
Truly, the difference between you and me.