The jungle surrounding their base was indeed crawling with ants, which honestly was perfect for Thalion. It finally gave him the opportunity to unleash his forms at full power, something he had been looking forward to for quite some time.
The Eclipsari, Scion of the Void, stood alone in a small clearing. Opposite him waited three ants, each the size of a car.
Despite the setting sun, not a single ray of light reached the clearing as Thalion fully unleashed his aura. Darkness swallowed the remaining daylight completely while shadows, blacker than the deepest night, emerged around him in the form of a swirling mist.
This wasn't merely for show or because it felt good to finally cut loose again. He wanted to properly test his newfound ability to infuse almost everything he did with soul power.
During training he had only managed to charge his skills to roughly fifty percent. True masters, however, could amplify their techniques to more than ten times their original strength. Such heights were still far beyond him, but even his current level of control represented a tremendous increase in power that couldn't be underestimated.
Anything he infused—his body, his skills, even his aura—not only became stronger but also carried the malice and hatred of the countless suffering souls trapped within him.
The Eclipsari already thrived on the suffering of others. That didn't merely make the mental aspect of his abilities terrifyingly powerful; it also directly increased his combat strength. Since soul energy currently served no purpose besides empowering his techniques, there was no reason not to use it.
The next thing that felt almost unfair was the fact that the souls still hadn't stopped producing energy. Thalion highly suspected it had something to do with the Amalgam of Souls imprisoned inside the pyramid, which continued absorbing every newly captured soul.
None of the ants had reached D grade yet, but all three stood at the very edge of High E grade.
One was nearly twice the size of the others, while the remaining two possessed much slimmer bodies clearly built for speed.
With an ear-piercing screech Thalion hadn't even known ants were capable of producing, all three released their own auras.
Thalion merely grinned wider.
Now he truly stopped holding back.
His aura erupted like a tidal wave while his Domain of Living Darkness expanded in every direction.
A hurricane of darkness exploded across the clearing. Endless shadows whipped through the air, effortlessly toppling massive tree trunks and shredding everything standing in their path.
Apparently the ants either didn't understand they were hopelessly outmatched or simply refused to believe that someone so many levels beneath them could possess this much power.
All three suddenly began to glow.
Their combined strength pushed back his domain, though only by a little.
Each ant's enhancement was different.
The one in the middle shone with brilliant silver light as its body doubled in size. Thick thorn-like spikes burst through its chitin armor until it resembled a walking fortress.
The ant on the right didn't grow at all. Instead, yellow lightning danced across its body as violent arcs of electricity continuously leaped between its legs.
The final ant became engulfed in roaring heat.
Compared to the others, its enhancement was by far the most impressive. Heat poured off its body in relentless waves while the surrounding air began to howl like an enormous pressure cooker on the verge of exploding.
It attacked first.
The flaming ant shot toward Thalion like a cannonball.
Only his experience combined with the instincts of a True Eclipsari allowed him to narrowly evade the snapping pincers that tore through the air where his head had been only a heartbeat earlier.
Initially, Thalion intended to retaliate with his soul-infused Shadow Claws.
Instead, he had to leap over the massive silver ant as it lunged forward, attempting to bite him clean in half.
He briefly wondered whether his current body could actually survive something like that.
Deciding that now wasn't the ideal moment to test the theory, he kept moving.
The giant ant wasn't nearly agile enough to avoid the redirected strike.
His Shadow Claws carved through its side.
Whenever he infused a skill with soul power, it carried the faint echo of countless souls screaming in agony.
The empowered strike proved devastating.
Despite the ant's incredible defenses, the claws tore through its chitin armor, severed two of its legs, and blasted the enormous creature straight through the next tree before it crashed into the forest beyond.
One opponent was temporarily out of the fight.
The remaining two immediately pressed their advantage.
Their teamwork wasn't bad at all.
Both possessed incredible speed and attacked from different angles at almost exactly the same time, making it extremely difficult to dodge.
Fortunately, Thalion's transformation into an Echovore granted him a level of bodily control no ordinary being could ever hope to achieve without relying on movement skills. His movements bent and shifted unnaturally, leaving the ants struggling to predict where he would appear next.
Meanwhile, his Domain of Living Darkness was slowly overwhelming their enhancements.
Although their empowerment still resisted the domain, the living shadows had already begun dissolving the outer layer of their chitin armor.
The ants didn't care.
They remained completely focused on killing him.
As Thalion danced effortlessly between the two attackers, he silently charged the darkness beneath the wounded silver ant.
A moment later...
A colossal black spike erupted from the ground.
Empowered by soul energy, it pierced straight through the giant ant's head, killing it instantly before impaling itself deep into the forest floor.
Now the fight had become two against one.
It quickly became obvious that the ants possessed few active abilities besides their movement skill and another one that enhanced the power of their bites. They likely had several passive abilities hidden beneath their chitin, but as far as active combat techniques were concerned, that appeared to be all they had.
Using Shadow Step multiple times, Thalion took the initiative, becoming the one on the offensive.
The first ant to fall was the one engulfed in flames. Appearing directly before it, Thalion drove both Shadow Claws into its head before crushing its skull between them.
The final ant was seized by countless shadows erupting from the ground. They wrapped around its body before violently jerking it into the air. First one leg was torn away, then another, until every limb was ripped from its body. Only after the last twitch of resistance had vanished did the shadows finally let the mangled corpse fall to the forest floor.
Checking the forms afterward, Thalion was more than a little annoyed to discover that none of the ants' boosting skills had transferred.
He possessed a far superior Acquire Form now, yet something like this still happened?
Those enhancement skills would have worked perfectly with almost every single one of his forms.
Swallowing his frustration, he focused on the positive news instead.
The soul infusion had worked flawlessly.
Compared to the training sessions with the Echovore god, he now had no trouble using it in real combat. It already felt like second nature, which represented incredible progress considering how clumsy the process had been at first. Initially he had needed to signal the elemental, allow the presence to truly sink into the imprisoned souls, carefully guide the power through his body, and finally merge it with the mana used to cast his skills.
Now the entire process happened almost instinctively.
Thalion couldn't have been happier.
He still had a tremendous amount of room to improve, but this was already an enormous step forward. It would probably take weeks before he achieved another major breakthrough, yet the foundation had finally been laid.
Now he simply needed to find more ants.
Or, even better...
The hive.
He would stay away from the queens for now.
The last time he had challenged one, he had nearly died and ended up cursed, slowing his progress for an incredibly long time. There was no reason to take such a risk before reaching D grade. Especially not when he still needed to gain so many levels.
Whatever those ant queens had done back during the Tutorial had probably been something extremely rare, but Thalion had no intention of testing his luck again.
Thinning out the horde was a far better strategy.
It allowed the queens to continue reproducing while continuously providing him with the experience he desperately needed.
Though he had to admit one thing.
These ants were anything but weak.
It suddenly made perfect sense how they had managed to wipe out several of their gathering parties.
On the bright side, they rewarded an impressive amount of experience.
He had been only a fraction away from level 123, yet defeating just three ants had been enough to push him over the threshold.
That was pretty damn good.
If only one of them had finally provided him with a boosting skill.
Such an ability would perfectly complement nearly every one of his forms.
If this continued, he might have to ask Solan for help after all. A powerful enhancement skill would become incredibly important in the future.
Maybe then he would truly be capable of standing against the overwhelming might of the Chosen.
At this point, their domains had to be monstrously powerful.
Not wanting to waste another second, Thalion shot through the forest.
Ants communicated through chemical signals and mana signatures, allowing his title, Hunter of All, to effortlessly guide him toward fresh prey.
The next group looked remarkably similar to the one he had fought half an hour earlier.
Only one newcomer stood among them.
An earth-ant capable of burrowing beneath the ground.
If the hive possessed large numbers of these creatures, things could become genuinely dangerous.
There was no effective defense against enemies tunneling underground.
Although the protective dome extended deep beneath the surface, the many layers of earth would shield the ants while allowing them to constantly drain the barrier's energy.
Their faction possessed very few earth mages.
The strongest was probably Jakob.
Whether Jakob could successfully fight half an ant hive underground was something Thalion had absolutely no desire to find out.
Remaining in his Eclipsari form, Thalion continued his relentless hunt through the jungle, killing every ant he encountered.
Thanks to Hunter of All, finding them proved surprisingly easy. The ants constantly marked their territory, leaving behind clear trails for his title to follow.
By the end of the first day, he had gained another two levels, bringing him to level 125.
That was excellent progress.
Still, every new level demanded more experience than the last.
Having a Divine Class only made matters worse, as its experience requirements far exceeded those of Mythic classes.
Not everything was a disadvantage, however.
His stats increased far more rapidly, and Divine Skills remained in a league of their own.
If he could travel back to the First System Event with his current strength, he was confident those Chosen would have an incredibly difficult time defeating him.
Once he reached D grade...
The war should effectively be over.
Well...
That also depended on how many D-grade experts the sects sent to New Earth after the Third System Event.
Even so, Thalion doubted anyone would be able to defeat him in single combat.
Perhaps that was a little arrogant.
Yet considering everything he had achieved so far, it hardly felt unjustified.
Those three level-ups alone had already increased his strength noticeably.
Should he approach the threshold of D grade, he might even be able to hold his own against a Chosen, depending on the matchup.
Both the Eclipsari and his human form were progressing exceptionally well.
The Eclipsari, Scion of the Void, had now gained the power of soul infusion on top of a form that had already been absurdly powerful.
His human form possessed the Primordial Bloodseed, Saranya, an incredible curse, mastery over fire, and a respectable bloodline that tied everything together.
Out of all those advantages, the Primordial Bloodseed was probably the most underestimated.
The plant had trained itself relentlessly without ever taking a single break.
Its control over blood had reached such an extraordinary level that anyone fighting near Thalion would have to keep constant watch over the Primordial Bloodseed.
Otherwise...
They would die very quickly.
Against weaker opponents, it could simply rip the blood straight out of their bodies.
Those strong enough to resist found their movements slowed as the Bloodseed fought for control of every drop flowing through their veins.
Throwing enemies around by manipulating their blood was also possible, although Thalion hadn't seen the plant attempt that very often against truly powerful opponents.
At some point he would definitely have to give the Primordial Bloodseed some real combat experience.
Everything had to be perfect before the Third System Event.
Because in the end...
There could only be one winner.
<--
Kael sat on the floor of his chamber, sobbing uncontrollably. Tears streamed down his cheeks as his chest rose and fell with every shaky breath.
He had just received the message, that his entire family was killed.
Everything he had endured, every hardship he had overcome, had been for them. Now there was nothing left besides his service to Aeta and the pursuit of greater strength.
There were gods capable of bringing the dead back.
But not when there wasn't even the slightest trace of them left.
He couldn't understand how it had come to this.
"Kael... how are you holding up?" Sylas asked as he entered the room.
The moment he saw Kael's condition, he sighed heavily.
"Forget I asked. Kai is sorry as well. He was one of the people who discovered what remained of the village." Sylas paused for a moment before continuing. "You're not giving up now, are you? Because then all those bastards who slaughtered the people there would simply get away with it."
Those words finally reached Kael.
He suddenly sat upright.
"Do we even know who killed them?" he asked.
Sylas knew that at this very moment, no matter what name he mentioned, Kael would spend the rest of his life hunting that person.
"Honestly? It could have been anyone in the area. Elves, orcs, vampires, other humans..." Sylas answered quietly. "What the reports do confirm is that it wasn't beasts. The best thing you can do right now is become as strong as possible. I believe we'll eventually find those monsters. The scouts are already spreading throughout the surrounding territories. Sooner or later, the perpetrators will be found."
The words offered little comfort.
Kael lowered his head once more as fresh tears rolled down his face.
Sylas stepped closer.
"Come on, Kael. As terrible as this is, there is something important you need to hear."
Kael looked up silently.
"While the scouts are searching, we've been selected for a mission. Many clans throughout Integrated Space are looking for help in their current conflicts. If we aid them now, they'll owe us favors later. The teleportation formation connecting us to Integrated Space is almost complete."
Sylas placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Keep your head up. Ethan needs us."
Those words finally managed to calm Kael, if only a little.
Slowly, he wiped the tears from his face and forced himself to stand.
It would take a long time before he could come to terms with the loss of his family.
But Sylas was right.
People were relying on him now.
And unlike his own family...
Those people might still have loved ones waiting for them.
If humanity wanted any chance of surviving the war after the Third System Event, Kael would have to become strong enough to protect them.