Chương 196: Attribute Evolution Token

I used the stylo to access my manor. Inside, I closed the door and went into the dungeon. The two eggs were still busy absorbing the energies I provided. Most of the items resting around the black egg were nearly out of curses. The little glutton was really going at it.

"Let's see…" I opened the sack and took out a cherry. Actually, there were only cherries in it. Tyrant's Cherries, the ones that boosted willpower, between forty to eighty points each, and there were six of them. They were all cursed like the one I ate previously, so I started transferring the curses to items that the egg had already drained, replenishing its food so it would have plenty more to eat.

It took a considerable amount of effort to deal with these curses, but I managed by tethering the cherry to a weapon and using my aura as a conduit to transfer the curse, then cutting off the link, leaving the curse stranded in the weapon. It really didn't want to stay there, but it didn't really have another choice. I was drenched in sweat after transferring all six.

"I hope you'd enjoy the meal, little one." With a couple of exceptions, this was one of the hardest things I had done. I really needed that boost. I went back up and into my chambers. I took a quick shower. I didn't really need it with my ring, but the feeling was nice and it helped soothe my mind. I returned to the bed somewhat refreshed. I still felt like I could sleep for a week, but the excitement of the prospect ahead was better than any stimulant.

I took out the cherries and, one by one, popped them into my mouth. They weren't special in taste, actually. They felt normal. I swallowed the pits too. I wasn't sure if it was needed, but better safe than sorry. With every one I ate, I felt my willpower increase, and at the same time the sense of being "full." With the last cherry, I reached the limit. I was saturated. I couldn't get anything more from eating external sources of points.

Actually, the last cherry gave me only a few points, maybe a tenth of what it should have. This was... expected, but still, if I could have just continued eating them, it would have made me unstoppable. Probably. I checked my status.

──────────── Name: Elias Mercer Race: Human Class: Hexer Level: 25 Titles: Apex Slayer, Paragon of Potential, Baron Slayer, Untouchable, Defiance of Tiers (I, II), Elite Slayer (I, II, III, IV), Paragon of Growth, Profane Substitution, Overpowering Magic, Genesis of Damnation, Butcher (I, II), Forced Evolution, A Drop of Blood, Origin of Unity, Deviation of Sequence, Paragon of Ascension, Dreadful Gaze, Enhanced Being, Paragon of Supremacy, Viscount Slayer, Giant Slayer, Colossus Slayer, Profane Execution, Paragon of Transcendence, Perfected Being, First Kraghslayer, Soul Delver, Curse Denier, Exalted Will Stats: Vitality: 610 (97) Constitution: 696 (108) Endurance: 614 (95) Strength: 504 (78) Agility: 486 (78) Dexterity: 421 (68) Perception: 439 (68) Charisma: 474 (74) Wisdom: 516 (82) Intelligence: 563 (89) Willpower: 1083 (203) Free Stat Points: 0 Traits: Curse-Born Resilience, Cursed Aura, Arcane Shaping, Hexer's Touch, Unbound Arcana Skills: Arcane Sense Lv50, Arcane Manipulation Lv45, Entropic Lance Lv34, Curse Detonation Lv41, Curse Absorption Lv25, Reinforced Infusion Lv25, Passive Casting Lv25, Virulent Hex Lv25, Malignant Threshold Lv23, Feast on the Ruined Lv25, Veiled Marionette Lv14, Aural Manifestation Lv27, Accelerated Processing Lv10, Aura Tether Lv10, Piercing Eyes Lv10 Conditions: Curse of the False Saint, Zijian's Shackle Tutorial Points: 176349 Tokens: Skill Evolution Token, Trait Evolution Token, Class Evolution Token, Skill Insight Token, Bloodline Evolution Token This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road.

If you see it on Amazon, please report it. ──────────── Zijian's Shackle was the name of the damnable bracelet, and my status reflected its work. A 95% decrease in all stats, working despite how many bonuses one had. Without it, my willpower surpassed the four-thousand-point mark. I gained more than three hundred points in the stat thanks to the fruits, and after all the bonuses to my willpower, I was really looking at a great increase. It made me rethink my previous choices.

Should I have invested more in Willpower and less in other stats? But the Perfected Being achievement was worth it, in my opinion. The cross-scaling stats and the token were already a great enough prize, and that would allow me to specialize my class into a purely mage-oriented one, given that the other stats were already high enough. No sense regretting it now. Actually, it was the future that interested me. I removed my towel and dressed again, then proceeded to the meditation chamber nearby.

I sat cross-legged in the middle, with the door closed and everything still. The silence of this place was nearly oppressive, but I welcomed it. My mind was sharp and I felt ready. Use Attribute Evolution Token on Willpower? Yes/No I took a final breath. This would push me to another level, I could feel it, and from what Miflin said, it was a great boon to achieve this so early. Let's do it. I selected yes. The System pervaded me again. This was the third time I used a token.

The first was for the class, the second for a trait, and that time I felt the System encompass me entirely. Now it felt similar, but different. The System's attention was clearly more focused. While a trait encompassed the totality of oneself, a single attribute was, in a way, more limited. But I could feel that what happened after I gained Perfected Being, that crossover in attributes, was working even here.

Part of the System had to account for all the other attributes too, because now they were linked together, at least in part. The feeling intensified and I felt the energy merge into me, into my soul-space. Contrary to the other time, no messages appeared to give me a hint of what was happening, but I could feel the System working on me, refining me. Not my body, but my will. It took it, stretched it and squeezed it. It wrung it dry and filtered it.

I felt like I was losing myself for a moment, then with a scream I reasserted my consciousness and pushed against the System's energy, or attention. Whatever it was, it would not be allowed to work me like clay. My will was my own. It would improve it, not blindly restructure it as it pleased. A battle started inside my soul-space. My very consciousness was getting besieged by the System. I manifested myself there, the skill doing the heavy work of dragging me in. I didn't bother to form a body.

No, I roused all the aura I could muster and slammed it into the invisible interloper. The System, if it felt it, didn't bother me with a message, or with any change at all. It simply continued to encroach on me. I felt I was losing the battle, but I wouldn't let it do as it pleased without giving my all. I took the aura and, like the current in the sea, slammed it against the shore that was the System's energy, again and again and again. I was getting tired very quickly. The System seemed not to feel it at all.

Instead, I was losing aura, my consciousness was dimming, and the energy of the System started to pervade me little by little. I screamed and roared in defiance, but there was nothing I could do. I fought to the bitter end, until the formless energy entered my soul proper, entered me, and did... something. I could feel my sense of self getting purified despite my misgivings. I still fought. I still used every scrap of essence I was able to command to push back, until slowly, darkness claimed me.

I woke up still sitting cross-legged. I felt drained like never before, but my mind was instantly aware and sharp. No, not my mind. Me. Just me. What the hell happened? I opened my notifications to read the last one. ──────────────────────── Attribute Evolution Successful Willpower has undergone complete structural refinement and transcended its baseline configuration. New Attribute Registered: Indomitable Spirit System Note: This evolution deviates from standard attribute progression models.

The resulting attribute exhibits non-linear resistance scaling and persistent stabilization under extreme psychological and metaphysical pressure. Classification: Deviation from Standard Framework ──────────────────────── Was that good or bad? I would have to ask Miflin, but there was something more to me now. My will was clearly refined. I could feel that it was easier to resist the damnable bracelet.

It didn't suddenly become easy, but there was a way for me to push back that wasn't there before, and a passive heightened resistance too. The System didn't exactly give me a description of the new attribute, but the note was enough to intuit something. I would have to test it more, something I wanted to do shortly after I evolved my trait too. I was quite spent, but the thought of resting didn't even enter my mind. I had already wasted too much of the precious time I had. Use Trait Evolution Token on Cursed Aura?

Yes/No Yes. Bring it on.