Chapter 47: Sharpening Thyself
He was in the woods near a school, sitting calmly atop a tree, and Dona was comfortably lying against his wings. He thought curiously about everything, and finally, he took a deep breath and opened his golden eyes.
As the sun dipped on the horizon, the world was awash in an orange hue. The evening had passed, and soon, the night would arrive. The weather was peaceful, and the air was somewhat chilly.
He had many plans for coming here.
But for now, he first decided to use the Soul Spheres in his hand to increase his current strength before anything. A violet screen forced itself into the space before him.
*
[Marcus Haeligarth Aramanteuil Véxillarius Nócturnâ Aërglothur]
[Tier 1—Lower Demon]
[Physique: 11 (Below Low)]
[Mind: 11 (Below Low)]
|[Soul Spheres: 100.]
_
[Resistances]
[Heart Resistance (Low) (Tier 1)]
[Mental Resistance (Pinnacle) (Tier 0)]
[Physical Resistance (Pinnacle) (Tier 0)]
*
Mentally, he used (19) soul spheres on his Mind stat without any hesitation.
A wild influx of cold energy burst out of his Soul Space and vibrated within his head. It meshed into his cells themselves, and he could feel his Soul Sense expanding and growing clearer.
He couldn't help but have his toes curl up as the unique sensation vibrated his very world. It was an addictive feeling that one would never wish to stop.
"Argh…" he groaned softly and came back to his senses.
[Mind: 30 (Low) (Tier 1)]
That confirmed many things for Mark.
Now, he knew that (100) must be the Pinnacle of what a Lower Demon could achieve.
30% was the Low, 60% the Medium, 90% the High, and 100% the Pinnacle.
That was how it was when he was a Demonling.
When he reached (3) points out of (10), he became a Low. When he gained (10), he became a Pinnacle. Three was thirty percent of the Pinnacle as a Demonling.
Since (30) was the Low, the Pinnacle should be (100), and the rest was obvious.
Without rechecking his whole stats, Mark gulped in satisfaction, felt about his change, and used (19) soul spheres on his Physique this time.
Usually, he would have maxed out his Mind first so as to increase his maximum deadliness in a battle, but he wanted the (Tier 1 Low) level Physical Resistance just in case. It might save his life.
He used (19) soul spheres on his Physique.
A wild wave of cold energy appeared out of his Soul Space, and goosebumps appeared all over his body. From head to toe, he felt a sense of immense growth, and his body began to grow bigger. Mark clenched his teeth as Dona looked at him with wide eyes.
His muscles shifted beneath him, and subconsciously, Mark jumped down the tree for more space. Dona was attached to him, luckily, and she jumped along with him and looked at him curiously as his wings expanded.
The black muscles underneath his feathers all clenched, and Mark bent over as a cracking sound echoed out from within him.
After a second, he blew out a misty breath and took another deep breath back in.
"Urr…?" Dona tilted her head and gently ruffled his hair.
Mark smiled. "Don't worry, I am alright."
She smiled, and he sat up.
His size had increased, and since the wings made him incapable of wearing any clothes above his torso, his ripped body was there for anyone to see. He was still wearing simple white pants, though.
Not that he cared much, but it felt more comfortable.
Dona was clearly more than a head shorter than him now, too. He was 2.5 meters tall at least, and being a Pinnacle Demonling, Dona was just about 2 meters tall.
[Physique: 30 (Low) (Tier 1)]
A breeze lifted his short hair, and he clenched his hand. He could feel real, immense strength trembling within himself. Eager to break out and cause violence.
He had a feeling that if his Mind stat wasn't so strong, he would probably not even be able to control this much strength.
The black wings spread wide behind him and hid Dona from the sun's orange rays.
His previous nearly-4-meter wingspan had at least become 6 meters.
Mark wondered if the bigger wings would increase his speed—probably, he guessed. His wings felt much, much stronger after all, just like his overall body did. But he couldn't try its full speed out while carrying Dona, he would do it when he was inside some actual Dungeon.
Pesky world wills, he muttered inwardly.
Dona nudged her face closer and licked his cheeks. He licked her cheeks back and gently caressed her hair.
"Urr?" she asked.
"Wait a second, let me do what I am here for first."
Her pointy ears drooped. "Grr..."
Mark chuckled lightly and gently caressed her ears. Then, he looked at his remaining Soul Spheres.
[Soul Spheres: 62]
'Should I use it all on my Mind?'
He thought deeply about it, and only doing that made true sense to him. Without any indecisiveness, Mark used (30) soul spheres on his Mind.
Once again, that familiar cold energy entered his head, and he felt immensely calm.
His Soul Sense, which was already covering a huge distance, expanded even more, and he felt a thrill pass down his spine as he looked at his surroundings with his golden gaze.
The wood texture near the trees appeared to be of macro clarity to him. The ants in the distance carrying the cockroach seemed far too ferocious. Yes, his senses had entered a whole another level.
He could even feel Dona's warmth much more intimately.
[Mind: 60 (Medium) (Tier 1)]
"Who are you making faces at?" he asked the Demoness irritantly.
She was bored because he ignored her, and she was making funny faces at him due to that. His eyes twitched slightly, and he rubbed his horns against her horns. It was a very iritating but fun thing to do, like tickling.
Dona pressed her nose against him in return.
She had an incredibly seductive body and a truly well-proportioned face. He chewed on her lips with his own, and she brought out her tongue. They kissed each other until a long, long time later when they began to grow breathless.
Mark looked at the Demoness with a smirk.
She had grown close to him in physical stats earlier but that was no longer the case, no longer could her pulls and push truly budge him. In fact, he was incredibly gentle in handling her.
Mark was honestly worried if he would hurt her without knowing.
His body was incredibly strong now. Probably, he could destroy a small tree and turn it into pieces with a punch. Even he himself barely had full control over this much strength due to his high Mind Stat.
Of course, since she had her own Physical Resistance, unless he truly meant to hurt her, she probably won't be hurt much but it still made him wary. If he unknowingly punched her hard, she'd be deeply injured.
I have to be a bit more careful than usual.
He caressed her head and made the cocky Demoness fall deep into his embrace before he focused back on his evolution.
His Mind had become Medium level as a Lower Demon, and he could feel the difference. It especially did wonders on his Soul Sense and also on his control over his body. He could acutely sense how easy it had become to control his limbs.
Mark could also feel 60 meters around him now with his Soul Sense, as, even from this distance, he could hear faint whispers from the School.
Confirming that (60) points was indeed the Medium made him smirk, too. Then, without a pause, he used all his remaining Soul Spheres on his Mind again.
Immediately, even more cold energy than ever before pulsed within him and meshed into his head. His golden eyes shimmered... violently.
He took a deep breath and looked at his final stats.
_
[Marcus Haeligarth Aramanteuil Véxillarius Nócturnâ Aërglothur]
—Stats—
[Tier 1—Lower Demon]
[Physique: 30 (Low)]
[Mind: 92 (High)]
[Soul Spheres: 0.]
—Resistances—
[Heart Resistance (Pinnacle) (Tier 1)]
[Physical Resistance (Low) (Tier 1)]
[Mental Resistance (High) (Tier 1)]
[Bloodline: Ephemeral Dungeon Heart Demonic Bloodline]
[Demonic Tricks: Soul Devourer. Dungeon Heart Seed, Dream Gambler's Mortal Puppet. Heart Input (Pinnacle), Dream Shock (Pinnacle)]
[Cultivated Powers: Soul Sense (92 Meters), Magical Defensive Skin (Tier 1)]
—
Now, he could begin carrying out his plans for coming to this school. Mark hoped it would all work out. He looked at his new demonic trick with a devilish smirk and carrying Dona into a princess carry, he looked at the school building.