酷视

A miracle of flesh adapting to its new limits by constant destruction and revival.

This process, fittingly named rebirth and evolution, brought the first innate changes to my body, even when accounting for all the benefits of the raised attributes I\'ve enjoyed so far.

And with those changes, more and more of this weird energy continued to pour into my flesh.

[Consuming free points to compensate for missing attributes]

A system message flashed before my eyes, before a massive chunk of the energy coursing in my flesh… exploded.

For a brief second, I felt as if every fiber of my being was on fire, once again set upon the process of the constant death and rebirth.

[Insufficient free power. Consuming double the aura of the remaining cost]

[Aura: 26] > [Aura: 21]

[Level: 25] > [Level: 25][2]

[Strenght: 5.98] > [Strenght: 5]

[Agility: 5.25] > [Agility: 4]

[Wisdom: 6] > [Wisdom: 5]

[Inteligence: 6.25] > [Inteligence: 5]

[Endurance: 1o+1] > [Endurance: 3]

[Usable points: 17] > [Usable points: 0]

"Haaaa…."

The torture ended.

For the first time in what felt like ages, no weird power assaulted every nerve within my flesh. A whole, damn eternity later, I emerged victorious from my rebirth.

Along with this advancement, I could feel other parts of my being reinforcing. The most useful of them is the gift of knowledge. With it, I could finally understand what the hell was actually going on, at least, to a degree.

By leveling up a whole fucking lot with a single devastating strike at the enemy camp, I\'ve reached the point where I could pretty much max my attributes.

The thing about consuming aura was a pity, but it was born out of my lack of prior knowledge.

As it turns out, the system had a weird way of counting my attributes. While checking whether evolution would be possible,  it counted all my virtual attribute points. Hence, when my free points proved insufficient to raise all my attributes to their former maximum, I had to source the remaining need for power from somewhere.

And my aura, which just like my level could resist the trial of a literal rebirth, proved to be just the right source.

Most of the energy that overwhelmed me ended up being used to expand my limits, far beyond anything that would be humanly possible. And with the small change to my level, it brought along a certain promise.

This step wasn\'t one of its kind, but the first one I would make on my path to growing stronger.

\'Judging from the battle log, that mage I\'ve killed had average attributes at twenty-six points,\' I thought, recalling and then piecing together different details that the system provided me with. \'Going by Ockham\'s razor, my new limit should be twenty or something,\' I guessed before taking a deep breath.

\'That means, she was quite likely a human that evolved even further.\'

I pressed my eyelids tighter together, taking a moment to ponder over everything.

The question of my new attributes was pretty straightforward, again, thanks to the evolved gift of knowledge.

After my rebirth, all my attributes fell down to the level of my rebirth, bringing all of my stats, save for aura and level, to a mere two points each. Then, all my bonus statuses and virtual points applied, with the exception of my endurance which I somehow grew beyond its natural limit.

All of those changes left me considerably weaker than before… and also with a more intelligence-focused build.

Lastly, there was this encompassing sense of void within my soul. It had nothing to do with romance or loneliness and everything with… power.

Just like my body couldn\'t handle the raw power that came with my growth, right now, with its limits greatly increased… It felt empty without some sort of medium to feel it.

I felt the hunger replace every bit of torture from before, luring me to go and devour until I found something that would befit my soul.

\'It appears I will have to go and find some skills, rather than having them appear out of thin air,\' I thought, my consciousness already yielding to the powerful thirst for something to channel my newfound limits through.

I opened my eyes, only to find out that whatever my brain did to cut my senses off had now reverted. And as I raised my eyes towards the enemy camp ahead…

"Hon! Peter!" Fay\'s desperate voice forced me out of my shaken state. And now that I\'ve finally paid attention, I felt her hands violently shake me by my clothes.

"I\'m back…" I managed to mutter weakly, finally breathing out a proper sigh. And as I took in some fresh air, I could feel the life return to my limbs.

With the burden of the rebirth now gone, I relished the sense of comfort that came along. Only for a short while, though. I still had a girl to calm down and apologize to.

"Fay, I\'m sorry, I had no idea something like this would happen," I turned around and said, lamenting that with my decreased wisdom and intelligence, sensing our bond grew considerably harder.

"You are okay, right?" Her eyes all in tears, Fay asked in a faint, uncertain voice while she raised her hands to my cheeks. Her fingers gently fell down on my skin, tracing it up and down and to the sides, as if for the girl to prove to herself that I was still in one piece.

"It seems that I\'m better than ever, honestly," I admitted, only to shake my head and take a look to the side, where my peripheral vision caught some disturbance.

And after overcoming this insane trial, my face grew white.

"Guys, does this look like a trouble?" I asked, guiding everyone\'s eyes to where I was looking… Or rather, at a huge man in the strength of his years with a strikingly golden light beaming from every inch of his skin as he hurriedly made his way across the forest\'s edge. "He looks like he is heading straight here, doesn\'t he?"