Corvin noted everything down and turned toward Mina, who sat there with her mouth wide open.
“Well then, Miss I-Can-Do-It-Myself. Let’s go back; your guildmates are worried about you. And you really should stop with all your nonsense. If I were truly evil, I could do whatever I wanted with all of you, right?” He winked.
“Father is right, you know. And if you really find him so handsome, you should behave better. You are also way too skinny; we should feed you some meat. Though not my portion, we will find you something else.” Nera hissed as she started muttering about meat.
“Damn snake and her meat, but she is right about one thing. Handsome Corvin doesn’t like horrible people. You are cute; you could seduce him; just work on your damn personality.” Lucian suggested.
Mina sat there with her mouth still hanging open as she stuttered, “Y… you… heard everything I said?”
“Unfortunately...” Corvin shook his head, amused. “You know, nobody ever told me that I was handsome, so I should appreciate that, but oh boy, the other shit you said. You are as crazy as I am, huh?” Corvin teased as he grabbed her and tossed her over his shoulder. “You know, you really are light as a feather. We really should feed you some of Nera’s meat.” Corvin laughed.
“Heeey!” Nera complained.
“Blech, who could eat what she eats? Disgusting!” Lucian gagged as he jumped onto Mina’s back while Corvin carried them both.
“What does she eat?” Mina asked worriedly.
“Mostly corpses and body parts, real nasty stuff.” Lucian purred.
Mina twitched.
“How about you let me go? Thanks for helping out, but I can handle myself.” She tried to get off, but she could not break free from Corvin’s grasp.
“No can do; you are going back to your friends. Once we are back in a city, you can do as you wish. You will just die here. Not that I care, to be honest, but the others would be sad. Well, except Ortho, he is a real piece of work.” Corvin chuckled.
Mina remained quiet for a while before saying, “I still don’t trust you or your kind. Damn demons, the only thing you are all made for is devouring our world.” She cursed.
“Well, I’m not a demon, or anything really. And you’ve met my demons already. They are all under control and being rehabilitated into proper folk. Who knows, maybe one day you could become a proper person yourself.” Corvin chuckled and sped up as he activated Sprint.
“Aaaaah, this is too fast!” She screamed as Corvin zoomed through the forests and meadows, arriving at the camp’s location.
There, everyone waited anxiously.
Corvin tossed Mina toward Iris. “She almost got eaten by mountain lions. If she runs again, I’m not going after her. Talk to her or do as you wish; I need to rest, and then we leave before anyone else comes here.” Corvin ordered and entered the largest tent.
First, he spent his Stat Points. Four into Vitality, ten into Agility, and ten into Magicka. His body glowed slightly, and he nodded, satisfied.
Then he opened the Skills window and checked Demon’s Descent, which was no longer listed among his locked skills.
[Demon’s Descent (I) Lv. Max]
Rarity: Unique
First stage of the Crow’s battle form.
Allows the user to awaken their demonic lineage and increase their power exponentially.
The first stage increases the user’s level temporarily by 100 for 3 minutes and allows each physical stat to increase by 100 while the effect is active. The battle form will activate the dormant demonic energy within the body, and if there is enough energy, the ability Point Zero will be unlocked.
Point Zero – Converge demonic energy within your hands, allowing you to send beams of devastating demonic energy with each hit. The closer the target, the more damage it will deal.
Demonic Energy Required: 500
Cooldown: 1 Week (The higher the stage, the lower the cooldown.)
Now we are talking! I finally got it under control. Hey, Omega, what about demonic energy? Don’t I have it already?
[Hey Corvin, good morning to you too!]
Sorry, sorry. Hey Omega, morning! There, better?
[Much. Now then, regarding your demonic energy, you currently only have a very small amount slumbering within your demonic lineage, but to actually use the abilities of your race, you need a proper storage of such energy without harming yourself by forcefully activating these skills.]
[Usually, you would need to go to the Demon Realms and absorb the pure energy there to reforge your body. Well, if you were a demonic human.]
Omega chuckled.
Very funny!
[But with the Abyssal Eye, I have devised a system that will allow you to drain it and transform that energy into your own. Unlike mana, there are no stats to raise it; you simply need to strengthen your body to make it capable of containing more and more demonic power.]
But what about my divine energy and the current balance? Won’t I ruin that if I strengthen my demonic side further?
[Not exactly. Your divine power has been separated from the rest of your body and sealed into your left arm. Your demonic power is currently within your solar plexus next to your Magicka Root, where we will have to crystallize it into a second heart since we cannot use your real heart due to mana and your Leviathan’s Legacy.]
Omega sighed.
[But we will have to be careful to keep the balance… You really are a complicated person.]
You’re telling me. Hah, well, at least I have you to help me figure all this out. Corvin smiled.
[Indeed. I don’t know what you would do without me. Aren’t I great?]
I’d be dead. But isn’t the System separate from you? Why are you taking all the credit? Corvin questioned.
[Not like it can speak. I’m also part of it, so it doesn’t matter.]
[Anyway, let’s get back to the topic. I’ve been thinking about your bloodlines, and to do this properly, we will need more divine relics. We will then awaken your demonic energy while increasing your divine power to balance it out.]
[But for now, we can take the preliminary steps, create the heart, and gather those 500 points of energy that you will need for the skill. Just be prepared, it will hurt, and you might disturb your friends outside.]
No need, I’m strong enough for now. Let’s save that for when we are out of here. I cannot risk anything going wrong while the Empire is breathing down our necks. But I do feel calmer now that we have a proper plan.
By the way, we also have everything needed to open the portal to the Seventy-Second Realm, to my old ancestor’s domain.
[Indeed. You will wait with that as well, correct?]
Yes. Once I’m back in Trison, I’ll start all the preparations. Once we are done, I’ll come knocking on the Empire’s doors! Corvin smiled evilly as his face darkened.
[Well, it looks like you have everything planned out. And don’t forget about those divine relics. We need a few!]
Yeah, yeah. I’ll have Carl rob a church, don’t worry! He chuckled and opened the Class Skills window.
System, show me the available Tier 3 skills alongside the remaining Tier 1 Epic skills.
Epic Tier 1:
Lesser Invisibility – Allows you to turn invisible for 5 minutes. Your next attack will deal 20% more damage and have a higher chance of dealing critical damage.
Summon Nullfiend – Summon a lesser demonic being to fight for you. Nullfiends possess the ability to drive their enemies into an enraged state, causing them to lose all sense of control and attack only them. The more enemies they enrage, the stronger they become. They are loyal creatures known to live and die for their masters.
Charm – Charm an intelligent being to do your bidding. The success of the spell depends on the level advantage you possess.
Tier 3:
Dispel – Remove any negative spell or curse effect from yourself or your allies. The success of the skill depends on the level difference between you and the caster.
Summon Fey – Summon a Fey being to assist you in combat by buffing you and your allies with various enchantments while attacking your enemies with fae magic.
Inner Demons – Curse your enemies to be driven to madness by the secrets they keep and their worst sins. Lowers defenses and maximum HP depending on the number of sins they carry. 10% per sin.
Tentacruel – Summon tentacles made of pure darkness to lash and bind your enemies.
Shadowform – Turn into a living shadow, allowing you to pass through solid objects and avoid physical attacks.
I could take most of them, but I really want to see what Epic skills I can unlock. Fine, let’s take Dispel for now. It won’t hurt to have that in case I need it.
** Skill Unlocked: Dispel Lv. 1 **
Remove any negative effect on yourself or your allies. Anything from simple sleep spells to curses and afflictions can be dispelled, provided they are not caused by illness or physical injury.
The success of the skill depends on the level difference between you and the caster.
Cooldown: 1 minute
Mana Cost: 700 Mana
Alright then. System, sacrifice the remaining 5 points to open the Tier 2 Epic list.
Drink Life – Curse your weapon to absorb the Vitality of your enemies, healing you in return.
Soul Cleave – Curse your weapon to deal additional soul damage with each attack.
Nether Stride – Open small passages between realms, allowing you to instantly travel short distances of up to 10 meters.
Illusion – Create illusions that distract your enemies.
Each spell is better than the last... Corvin sighed and picked Soul Cleave.
He already had strong regeneration and decent movement skills. He could pick Illusion, but he did not really care for it all that much. Maybe some other time...
** Skill Unlocked: Soul Cleave Lv. 1 **
Rarity: Epic
Curse your weapon to deal additional soul damage with each attack.
Each successful weapon attack will deal 35% more damage and inflict an amount of soul damage equal to the extra damage dealt.
Even if your enemies possess strong physical defenses, souls are notoriously difficult to protect, allowing you to force them into submission through sheer soul-shattering agony.
Damage dealt is doubled against ethereal creatures and ghostly lifeforms. The damage can be negated if the target possesses a stronger soul than the user.
Cooldown: 1 Day
Duration: Until Canceled
Mana Cost: 2000 Mana
Amazing, well, I’m so much stronger now! Time to leave this damn place for good!
He stood up and left the tent just as Graves had sorted all kinds of items across the table outside.