Chapter 219: Steep Cost
[Level Up +1]
After consuming the last hunter, Reign only managed to reach level 52, which was rather low considering the huge amount of corpses he had devoured.
The four hunters were powerful in their own right, but devouring them only gave him a modest increase in his level.
What was even funnier was that this speed was already considered quite fast.
This wouldn't have been possible if he just killed humans normally, so he had to put a lot of hard work and effort into orchestrating everything to fall into place.
He had to create a deadly pandemic, slay an angel, and then take out four powerful hunters just to get this far.
But the level requirement wasn't the only thing stressing him out.
'And then here is this thing ?' he sighed looking at his window.
He gained one Evolution point; however, the requirements for his next evolution now demanded two. He would need to reach level 60 for his next evolution.
'I feel like the system is telling me go fuck myself and go kill more humans, ' He sighed.
He was a genius, and it did not took one to figure out how the system operates.
It rewards him for killing humans, so if the requirements were too easy, then the damage and death count would also be low.
By increasing the requirements and costs for each evolution, he would be compelled to kill more as he leveled up, directly reducing the human population.
The entire design of the system point him in one direction: to keep killing and consuming.
There wasn't even a limit to how much he could grow, as long as he had enough organisms to kill and consume.
Now, he knew he was in serious business, and had to join the big leagues to continue growing stronger.
It was obvious that the inhabitants of this world wouldn't stand idly by while he continued to destroy cities, slowly bringing forth human extinction.
There would be consequences for all of this, and it wouldn't be limited to just humans.
'The system is basically turning me into a common enemy of humans, demons, corrupted and angels," Reign chuckled as he realized he had positioned himself against all factions in his pursuit of power.
'Talk about a major promotion,' he added with a wry smile, reflecting on how he had once been nothing more than a mere lab rat.
Now, he stood as a true demon lord, and not just any demon lord, but an exceptionally strong one thanks to the system assistance.
It granted him power, albeit at the cost of becoming a killing machine.
'Well, no use in crying over spilled milk,' he thought, shaking off the unnecessary thoughts
After accepting his fate and coming to terms with becoming the most being in this world, he decided to casually check his status.
Reign had acquired a lot of benefits and mutation organs, but due to his busy schedule, he hadn't had a chance to inspect them all at once.
First, he looked at what he had gained from the stupid angel who had been so naive as to think she could treat him like a slave.
Just imagining her final moments, when she realized she had been played, brought a smile to his face. It was a bit creepy, but a smile nonetheless.
'I wonder if she's having a tantrum right now in heaven,' he chuckled.
The existence of heaven was concerning, but seeing two angels using vessels, he knew that it wasn't a problem he had to be worried about right away.
In fact, he felt that the existence of heaven was actually good news.
If he ended up having no more humans to eat, he could just visit heaven and start killing angels as a substitute.
They gave more experience, and with humans extinct, they wouldn't be as powerful anymore.
'Let see,' he refocused his attention to the window.
As he scrolled down, he started calculating how much he gained from absorbing Angela.
She was more powerful than the cult leader, so she had given him quite a lot.
Just like before, he did not choose the option to become an Angel, nor the one where he needed a devotee for power up, because it heavily contradicted him.
He just converted all that divine energy into points, earning 500 Skill Points and 500 Attribute Points in total.
Now, he was finally able to balance out all his negatives thanks to Angela.
And that wasn't the only thing he got from absorbing her.
He also received another surprise: a particular skill that almost made him jump and do a dance after reading the description.
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Soul Converter: This skill allows the host to absorb souls and convert them into divine energy. Due to the host's nature, the energy is directly converted into Soul Points.
These Soul Points can then be converted into Skill Points or Attribute Points. The conversion ratio is 500:1, meaning for every 500 souls absorbed, you gain 1 Soul Point.
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The conversion rate might be steep, but it wouldn't matter for him in the long run.
He planned to kill millions, so it would just be an added benefit.
Plus, now that he could directly absorb souls, he no longer needed the chalice and could sacrifice it for additional benefits.
He had always wanted to dispose of the chalice. Its divine energy made it easy to track, a beacon for anyone looking for him.
Fortunately, he had found a way to temporarily hide its aura using death energy, but maintaining that cover was a hassle, and energy consuming.
'I can finally get rid of this,' he muttered as he held the chalice and started absorbing it after seeing the notification for sacrifice.
[Ding]
[System: Gain 1500 Attribute Points and 1500 Skill Points ]
'Sweet,'
He had to admit, all the hard work and risks were finally paying off in a big way.
A sense of satisfaction and excitement filled him for the first time in a long while, but he didn't allow it to linger for too long.
After all, there were still many things to focus on.
His thoughts shifted back to his status window.
============
[Points]
Attribute Points: 1900
Skill Points : 1510
Dark Dust: - 2,500,000
Evolution Points : 1
============
The number of attribute points he had was now enough to upgrade his Energy, his most useful attribute.
Energy was the foundation of his powers, fueling his abilities and giving him the edge he needed in every battle, so it was only normal that he prioritized it first.
Energy (SS)> (SS+) =750 Attribute Points.
The amount of points was big, but considering that upgrading higher rank attributes required more points but provided better effects, he thought it was a fair price.
"Power always comes with a price," he muttered to himself. "But this... this is worth it.".
He poured 500 of his Attribute Points into Energy, feeling a surge of power coursing through him as his body adapted to the influx.
Though no additional core was added, he sensed that all the existing cores were being strengthened, allowing them to contain more pure and concentrated types of energies.
'I still have more to spare,' he thought, clicking the plus sign again.
Energy (SS+)> (SSS-) =2000 Attribute Points.
'Damn it,' Reign couldn't help but force a chuckle after seeing the requirements for SSS Rank.
It was quite the leap, as expected of his system, it wouldn't just hand him power without robbing him of his points first.