—-

“Ughh…” an extended groan sounded as Apollo’s eyes fluttered. What his sights awakened to was the dark scene of an unlit cave. Of course, it wasn’t much different from what a person could regularly see as his eyes continued to adapt. ​​

Beyond that, his body still ached from the previous. However, above all; his mind felt irregular. There was a slight numbing pain still present as if he had an overdraft on his mental strength. Gripping his forehead, Apollo sat up.

[You have finally awakened young lad. It seems you had a good rest. While your body still hurts there hasn’t been any irreparable damage done to it. In fact, you should count your blessings. Certain things have taken place! Perhaps in the future, you’ll become privy to the time.]

“Hm? What do you mean finally? How long has it been?” questioned Apollo as he wiped his hand over his face trying to rid himself of the mental dreariness.

[It has been approximately 2 weeks. You have been asleep for that long. Of course, this was in my calculations. Naturally, incidences dealing with the inner self take quicker to heal. Not to mention, as you are now; I can’t exactly use certain means on you.]

“Oh..wait! 2 weeks? I’ve slept for two weeks? Huh…” shocked by the revelation, Apollo gawked. Afterward, he became surprised. In his previous state, he remained oblivious to the fact that he had increased in levels throughout the fight. Hence, only now did he realize that while he ached, he felt relatively stronger.

Raising his hand, he tapped his hand against his eye. He recalled this being the trigger of him blacking out. After this, everything just faded to a vague scene. He wasn’t privy to all the events that unfolded. Questions began flooding his mind. He was curious about the events.

“Did I… complete the task?” questioned Apollo as he moved his hand and tried opening the eye. His vision was damaged, however, in exchange, his eyes seemed to perceive ever-present floating threads.

[That answer is self-explanatory. All you need to do is take notice of your body. I’m sure you feel the differences. You have indeed completed the tasks. Would you like me to recount the events? It would seem you entering that state without mastery resulted in an absence in your recollection.]

“Please do, I’m curious about what took place,” stated Apollo in agreement as he rose to his feet. His stiffened body was stretched out slowly and his growing stature crackled and popped with increasing strength.

[Very well. It is like so…]

Slowly and in meticulous detail, Azridan began telling the story of the state Apollo entered as well as the feats he performed. Of course, he omitted exactly what that state was as it would serve no purpose to disclose it now. After all, he had yet to complete the tasks Azridan had in store for him.

[That is the complete story. Your berserk rage took over and allowed you to temporarily surpass your limits. As you see, it came at a price. However, I can tell you now. As you grow stronger, so will that state. In other words, there are chances of your falling into such a weakened state frequently if you fail to become a demon who knows how to harness himself.]

“Harness myself? You mean as in to control my emotions?” asked Apollo in a curious tone. Although he was small, he was astute. Drawing clues from small words even if they were incomplete thoughts.

[Partly, however, that isn’t the whole story. Never mind, you’ll come to learn about it in the future. Especially so now that you’ve completed the quest.]

“Completed the quest?” muttered Apollo as he remained in shock. ‘Wasn’t there slightly over 1,000 beasts needed to complete that? Then is Azridan trying to say within that breeding ground resided that many beasts? And I happened to slay them all? Just what type of rage was that…’

[If you don’t believe me, call up your interface and take note of all the alerts you received pertaining to it.]

Nodding and following up after the suggestion, Apollo did exactly. Naturally, he came in contact with the stream of notifications which were mostly repeats but that wasn’t what caught his attention. Unlike before, due to him passing out there was now an archived tab. Opening it, a few messages appeared.

〈System Alert! Upon the completion of your extraordinary feat, you have received a bonus 50,000 Experience, 5 Demonic Pellet, and 5 Spirit Shards.〉

〈System Alert! You have completed the quest. However, due to your current state, two rewards have been omitted. To receive them, contact the current warden of the system. Caution! The reward is rather large, brace yourself.〉

〈System Alert! Mission COMPLETE!〉

«Highest level bonus clearance achieved! Clear Time: 8 months, 18 days. Experience reward increased to 500%.»

«Material Quest rewards have been awarded.»

«You have been rewarded 10 Demonic Essence Pellets.»

«You have been rewarded 10 Spirit Shards.»

«500,000 (250,000 + 250,000 Experience has be rewarded.»

«The Foundational Chart has been upgraded. Your inner physique has increased to the highest degree of this level.»

«Congratulations, you have reached Level 79.»

«Congratulations, you have reached Level 80.»

«Congratulations, you have…»

Widening his eyes, confounded by all the levels he jumped, Apollo struggled to utter a word. Instead, he viewed his stat page to get a clear image of exactly what he should expect.

—-

(Demon Monarch System) Lvl.2

Name: Apollo Kaiser

Race: Demi-Demon (Half-Step) [46.82%]

Title: Azridan’s Successor

Age: 11

Level: 71 → 85

Experience: 32,110/72,900.

Health: 568/568 → 1,312/1,312

Stamina: 568/568 → 1,312/1,312

Body Cultivation Realm: Rank 5 Mortal [190/200]

Physique: Earth-Grade (Peak Tier)

Zuls: 147 → 190

Strength: 44.6 → 47.4

Agility: 37.5 → 40.3

Intelligence: 29.9 → 32.7

Vitality: 30.0 → 32.8

[«Traits»]-

«Increased Essence Affinity»

Stat Points: 48

‘Ah, so the ratios have once again increased. If not, my Zuls wouldn’t have increased so much. I’m guessing it’s somewhere around 2.5 now,’ thought Apollo. However, averting his gaze his sights remained upon that first message. ‘A caution message? Is it dangerous? I don’t think so, perhaps it’s just a complimentary warning.’

[No, the system is correct.]

“So it’s dangerous?”

[Not necessarily. Instead, you should be able to see it. Ask yourself, why do you think I asked you to reach Rank 5 before completing this quest?]

“Is it perhaps some type of turning point?” answered Apollo half uncertain.

[Correct. The answer is exactly so. Upon reaching 100 Zuls, your body is stable enough to begin sensing Natural Essence. Additionally, you should have awakened the Spiritual Vision enabling you to see threads already.]

[As a result, it’s the opportune time for you to receive the special method that I have trained in and also a technique which should suit you rather well. Although they’ll be rather tyrannical and hard to train in; the rewards will be worth it.]

‘I don’t mind suffering; I mean what can be worse than death? I’m ready to receive them.’

[As you wish, I admire your mindset but keep in mind you asked it for this. Oh, I guess I’ll reveal this now; there is a 100% chance of you passing out. Much luck to you my successor.]

Raising his eyebrows, Apollo immediately braced himself. If even Azridan was agreeing with the alert, the amount of information that would be bestowed had to be astronomical.

〈System Alert! Information transference beginning. Now being bestowed vital cultivation methods…〉