Chapter 38: Chapter 38

[Translator - Night][Proofreader - Gun]

Chapter 38: The First C-Rank (2)

Finally, C-Rank.

And to think I’m the first human to achieve it.

There were people who awakened a year earlier than me...

Choosing the Apostle Commander really was the right decision.

I proceeded with the rank-up without hesitation.

[You have ascended to Awakener Rank C.]

[Class skills are enhanced.]

[Soul Mediatior skill has leveled up to LV2.]

[Soul Reaper skill has leveled up to LV2.]

[Attribute Absorption skill has leveled up to LV2.]

[Spirit Enhancement skill has leveled up to LV2.]

[With the enhancement of the Spirit Enhancement skill, the stat limits have increased.]

Oh, nice.

I had been wondering how to upgrade these skills, and it turns out ranking up does the trick.

I wanted to carefully review the skill descriptions, but those damn Uruks wouldn’t stop attacking me.

“Ugh, these annoying bastards.”

Leaping high into the air, I crushed the heads of the Uruks one by one.

When I got a moment of respite, I opened the Neutral Faction status window and saw my SP was at 3,710.

Now that all stats could be raised to B, I immediately increased Mana, Technique, and Luck to B.

Then, I invested all 8 stat points earned from reaching level 50 (starting from level 34) into Mana.

About a quarter of the white "B" letter’s lower portion turned blue.

[Name: Kim Jiho

Class: Soul Reaper

Guardian Deity: Aurelia, Goddess of Volcanoes

Title: Conqueror of the Orcs

Level: 50

Body: B

Mana: B

Technique: B

Luck: B

SP: 3,110]

Wow!

All stats at a clean B.

I swapped my title from the “Bat Awakener” from Order Faction back to Neutral, and replaced it with a new one I had earned, “Pioneer of Earth (Hero).”

[Pioneer of Earth (Hero)]

[Rank: B.]

[Title given to the first human to achieve C-Rank and Hero Rank. Increases all stats by 10%. Effect applies only while at C-Rank.]

Oh!

A 10% stat boost?

That’s quite a handy effect.

The downside is that it only works at C-Rank, but if I ascend to B, won’t they give me a “Pioneer of Earth B”?

The “Conqueror of the Orcs” title I was using before was supposed to terrify orcs, but maybe the dragons lured them away or something—it ended up being utterly useless...

“The Apostle has grown weaker!”

“Now is our chance!”

Was it not entirely useless after all?

The moment I changed the title, the Uruks seemed to think I had weakened and launched an even fiercer assault.

Was their earlier behavior them holding back?

Persistent bastards...

“Summon Flame Chariot.”

Thanks to my enhanced Mana, the Flame Chariot I summoned was upgraded, now pulled by four horses and significantly larger.

While still slightly smaller than the one Liana had initially demonstrated, the number of horses matched hers.

“Charge!”

As the empowered Flame Chariot rolled forward, flames erupted from the ground in its wake.

Previously, flames would rise along the chariot’s path, but now they were more than twice as large.

Moreover, the fire didn’t dissipate quickly but continued to burn fiercely for a long time.

“Arghhhh!”

“The flames... they’ve gotten stronger!”

“Shaman! Do something!”

The Flame Chariot rampaged, turning the battlefield into a sea of fire.

The Uruks, writhing in agony amidst the flames, evoked a strange new feeling in me.

It felt... good.

Watching the Uruks burn in flames felt good, hearing their screams felt good, and seeing them try to save their comrades only to be engulfed in flames felt good too.

Stop bothering me and just die already.

Dodging the flames, an Uruk tried to approach me, so I smashed its head with my fist.

Crunch.

Its helmet caved in, and its skull shattered.

My gauntlet was drenched in blood, and I could feel something soft and squishy under my fist.

Ah...

Is this its brain?

Grasping the squishy substance, I squeezed it, feeling it squelch under the pressure.

I climbed onto the Uruk’s shoulder and rummaged inside its head.

This is fun.

Smashing heads is fun, watching bodies collapse lifelessly is fun.

A chilling thrill coursed through my spine, awakening my senses, and it felt exhilarating.

Thud.

When the Uruk’s body finally collapsed, I moved on to the next one and smashed its head just the same.

Once again, that tingling sensation of pleasure coursed through me.

This was different from before.

I’d never felt this kind of exhilaration, even when killing enemies.

Ah...

What is this?

Was slaughter always this thrilling?

Conquering, trampling, and massacring enemies—was it always this enjoyable?

As the upgraded Flame Chariot turned the battlefield into a fiery hell, a smile crept across my face.

Why didn’t I realize how fun this was until now?

This feels amazing.

[Pollux looks at you with contempt, wondering if your mind is already succumbing.]

[Aurelia urges you to quickly upgrade the Form Preservation skill before you lose yourself completely.]

Suddenly, messages popped up.

It felt like a bucket of cold water had been dumped on me.

Ah... Is the Form Preservation skill not fully active because I ranked up?

Is this what it’s like without it?

Was the thrill of slaughter and the pleasure I felt part of the Uruks’ nature?

Did I absorb those traits while plundering their souls?

Goosebumps rose on my skin.

I quickly opened the Premium Shop window.

Dodging the Uruks’ attacks roughly, I searched for the Form Preservation skill.

Three options appeared in the purchase list.

[Basic Form Preservation LV1]

[Advanced Form Preservation LV1]

[Perfect Form Preservation LV2]

I clicked on Perfect Form Preservation LV2, and it required 3,000 SP.

Ah...

Thank goodness.

I immediately poured my SP into it.

Now, only 110 SP remained in my Neutral Faction balance, but I didn’t feel the least bit regretful.

If this had cost 4,000 or 5,000 SP, I might have completely succumbed to the Uruks’ mentality while killing them.

That’s how powerful the thrill of slaughter was.

“The human is dodging!”

“Now... Now’s the time to capture him!”

“The shaman is here. Put everything into it!”

Hands of earth rose from the ground, and the air around me suddenly constricted and bound me.

Until now, the shamans had focused their efforts on blocking the Flame Chariot or Phoenix, but I guess they saw this as their chance to kill me since I kept evading their attacks.

So, they decided to directly cast magic on me.

But at this level?

How laughable.

There’s no need to bother setting up a magic barrier.

“Mana Release.”

Boom!

A blast far louder than the first time I awakened reverberated, sending shockwaves in every direction.

Even Uruks staggered back a step or two under the intense pressure.

With it, the magic binding me through the air and earth shattered completely.

I charged at Uruks again.

Crunch.

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

“Arghhhh!”

I smashed its head again, just like before.

But unlike earlier, it didn’t give me that strange, drug-like euphoria.

It just felt normal, like it used to.

Ah, I’ve killed an enemy.

What should I do next?

That sort of feeling.

Whew.

Thank goodness.

If I were going to lose myself completely, I might as well have been a dragon or an angel from the start.

It would’ve been way too unfair to choose a soul-affinity path only to turn into some rampaging Uruk instead.

[Master. Have you ascended to Hero rank? My power has grown stronger.]

The phoenix descended from the sky.

Once smaller than a pigeon, the little thing had grown to the size of an eagle.

With a mere flap of its massive wings, it incinerated the surrounding Uruks as it flew toward me.

It used to be so cute as a chick, but now it radiated sheer majesty.

“So, I guess they call anyone above C-rank a hero?”

[Calling it C-rank is merely in line with Earth’s most common language. For me, it’s more familiar to refer to them as Hero, Legendary, and Demigod in order.]

“You sure know a lot for someone who just hatched.”

[It’s simply the innate knowledge of a phoenix.]

Lifting its head proudly, as if showing off, the phoenix exuded pure dignity.

This brat.

Such a stark difference from its chick days.

The phoenix spoke again.

[I’ve come to ask for your permission, Master.]

“For what?”

[May I unleash the Phoenix’s Wings? It will take too long to deal with the wyverns one by one.]

“You’re already flapping your wings, aren’t you?”

[Not that. I mean unleashing my true power for a moment. With your mana at Hero rank, it’s temporarily possible. However, if I do this, your mana will be completely drained in an instant. But it will significantly reduce the aerial threat.]

I looked up at the sky.

Wyverns were swarming relentlessly.

Arrows were flying from the fortress walls, but far fewer than before.

The wyverns had landed on the walls, attacking the archers directly.

The defenders were still putting up a fierce resistance... but with the sheer number of wyverns blackening the sky, it wouldn’t be long before the fortress fell.

Is this a choice between the sky or the ground?

Thanks to the flaming chariot, the ground had temporarily calmed.

The fallen awakened ones were resurrecting and rushing back to join the fight.

We could probably manage here somehow.

The wyverns seemed to be the bigger problem... Alright.

Let’s handle the sky first.

“Alright. Do it.”

[Understood.]

The phoenix soared into the sky with a mighty flap of its wings, shrinking to a mere dot in the distance.

Grrrnnkkk.

Suddenly, my mana drained away like water rushing through a broken dam, and a crushing pain gripped my chest.

I’d never felt such agony before and nearly collapsed.

Ugh... this bird...

Aaargh!

“Ahhh, damn it!”

Wow.

What the hell?

It hurts so much.

Too much.

Tears welled up, and curses spilled out of my mouth.

When every last drop of mana was gone, the pain in my chest finally stopped.

Panting heavily, I forced myself to lift my head, only to see a surreal sight.

The distant sky, where the phoenix and the wyverns had seemed so small.

There, as if ignoring the laws of perspective, a colossal pair of flaming wings blazed with an overwhelming presence.

That scale is insane.

Wait... my mana made that possible...?

For a moment, the clamor of weapons clashing on the battlefield subsided.

Everyone was staring up at the sky, captivated by the unreal spectacle.

“What... what is that?” Searᴄh the ηovёlFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

“Is it enemy magic?”

“No, what is that? How do we deal with it?”

Even our allies were bewildered.

“Grrrrr...”

“Fall back! Retreat!”

“Is this the descent of a Flame Angel?”

The enemy troops hesitated, backing away.

With all eyes on the sky, the flaming wings flapped slowly.

With a single forward sweep of the wings, the wyverns in mid-flight disintegrated in an instant.

There wasn’t even a trace of fire left on them.

As soon as they touched the wings, they simply ceased to exist.

And then, in the direction of the wing’s sweep, a tidal wave of blazing flames surged forward.

A firestorm that completely dominated the sky.

The wyverns caught in its path were consumed.

Unlike the wings themselves, which annihilated instantly, the firestorm left their bodies burning, sending them plummeting to the ground.

The sight of wyverns engulfed in crimson flames falling like meteors was breathtaking.

The wyverns crashed into the enemy lines, turning their camp into utter chaos.

The flames spreading from their burning bodies were unstoppable.

The battlefield became a searing inferno.

The stench of charred corpses filled the air, and a vision of hell unfolded before us.

“Fall back... fall back! The Flame Angel has descended!”

“Run! We must wait for Lord Akardian to arrive!”

“We can’t face an angel! We need Lord Akardian!”

The once-fearless Uruks, who charged relentlessly no matter how many of them fell, were now terrified.

Their advance halted, and they fled with their tails between their legs.

The formation was in shambles, and some soldiers even abandoned their weapons.

Hah.

After all that, they’re running now?

One flap of the phoenix’s wings completely changed the tide of battle.

Our allies, though still confused, rallied with newfound courage and began clearing out the remaining enemies within the fortress.

[A Divine Phenomenon has been invoked by an A-rank Mythical Beast. This is a miraculous event impossible at your current rank.]

[Magic ability scores in the Order faction have permanently decreased by 3.]

[Magic ability scores in the Neutral faction have permanently decreased.]

[Magic recovery rate is reduced by 50% for one week.]

Ugh.

My magic stats permanently dropped!

By 3 points, no less!

And even the Neutral faction stats went down?

Ugh... I must’ve earned a lot of SP.

I’ll just raise them again.

I tried to console myself, though the loss of magic stats was painful.

Without that phoenix’s wing flap, we would’ve lost the battle.

Don’t regret it... Don’t regret it.

I repeated the mantra to myself, though I couldn’t help feeling a bit of regret.

Sigh.

Let’s check how much SP I earned.

I must’ve gained a lot.

Just as I was about to open the status window, another message appeared.

Its content was far more ominous than anything I’d seen before.

[The Chaos Lord who destroyed the planet Kevrian, the Lord of Death, senses the Divine Phenomenon.]

[The Lord of Death will investigate whether the gods have broken their covenant.]

[The Lord of Death is watching you.]

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]