My Skills Can Evolve Infinitely in a Game-Like World

Chapter 44: Advancement Completed

[You’ve absorbed the Divinity of:]

[The Lost Sun]

[The Dark Side of the Universe]

[The Black Hand behind the Curtain]

"Congratulations to the Player for upgrading to Rank 2—Taboo Arcanist."

"Gained: 10 Skill Points, Skills: ..."

[You’ve reached Level 21.]

[You’ve gained: INT +5, STR +2, AGI +2, VIT +2]

[Due to absorbing the Divinity of the Lost Sun, you’ve awakened: ...]

Countless notifications flooded Aurelius’ vision.

He was instantly caught by surprise. Not because of the notifications themselves, but by how quickly they arrived.

The ritual process... had been instantaneous.

One moment, the power of the Lost Sun was descending, threatening to bring the entire estate into ruins.

The next, the power vanished completely, leaving only the notifications as evidence it had ever existed.

Throughout the entire process, only a distant scream of agony echoed, seemingly coming from an unimaginably faraway land.

Yet no matter how hard Aurelius tried, he couldn’t identify its source.

No matter how much he tried to recall its characteristics, he was unable to remember anything regarding the scream or its owner.

Ultimately, he shook his head.

He didn’t focus on the notifications, nor did he stop to sense the bigger, more fundamental changes within his body.

Instead, he surveyed the underground chamber.

Although the Divine Descent had only lasted for a split second before being interrupted by the System, the underground chamber had suffered greatly.

The once countless runes on the floor had disappeared, as all the tiles had shattered into fragments, revealing the bare earth beneath.

The state of the rest of the room was similar.

The four walls were covered in deep fractures, while the ceiling still trembled violently, as though threatening to crash upon him.

Aurelius did not dare to stay here any longer.

After confirming that there was nothing valuable in the room—or if there was, it had been destroyed—he moved toward a certain corner, grabbed the unconscious Selene, and hurriedly left the room.

Only a moment after he exited the chamber...

Bang!

The room behind him collapsed.

Pieces of gravel and stones fell from the ceiling and piled on top of each other, soon filling the entire room.

Whatever little remained of the ceremony was now under the weight of thousands of tons of stone.

Waving his hand to clear some of the dust in the air, Aurelius reached for one of his vials and drank it in a quick motion.

Feeling his depleted Spirit slowly recover, he slightly relaxed.

However, he didn’t stop his movements.

He reached for another Potion and unscrewed its lid.

He didn’t consume it like the previous one.

Turning his attention toward his chest, where the unconscious Selene was resting, he gently parted her lips.

Then, he let the Potion flow down her mouth.

The injuries in her body began to heal.

Her cold body gradually regained its heat, and her eyelids fluttered, as though she were about to awaken.

However, Aurelius did not have the time to let her do so.

The very thing he had feared finally happened.

The remaining cultists had sensed that something was wrong.

And instead of fleeing, as ordinary people would, they instantly rushed toward the underground chamber.

"Priest! Where is the Priest?"

"Save the Priest!"

A chorus of panicked screams echoed as they all rushed forward in unison.

But soon, every cultist stopped dead in their tracks.

They all stared at the scene in front of them with shock, their gaze locked onto Aurelius’ figure.

Some of them glanced at the room behind him. Upon seeing the total destruction within, they seemed to have understood what happened.

At times like these, ordinary people would have chosen to flee.

After all, the Rank 2 Priest had most likely perished at the hands of the enemy.

They, a group of newly advanced Blighted Ones, stood almost no chance against him.

However, could cultists ever be judged by common sense?

Not only did these people not show any fear, but their eyes became bloodshot, filled with anger and thirst for revenge.

"You... You... You killed the Priest!"

"How dare you?! How dare you?!"

"Die! Die! Die!"

They all cursed at him, their figures charging forward as if ready to entangle with him.

But just as they were about to engulf him in the sea of people, an explosion rang out.

Then a second one.

And a third.

Before long, a similar amount of force as when the room collapsed appeared.

All the cultists exploded.

Not because they were suddenly attacked, but of their own accord.

Like Erwin, they chose to self-destruct, hoping to kill Aurelius and take revenge for the Priest’s demise.

The destructive power of a single explosion was already astonishing.

With so many occurring simultaneously in such a confined corridor, even a Rank 2 Awakener would have struggled to survive.

It took several seconds for the dust to settle.

When it did, Aurelius’ figure reappeared.

The crimson armor he had been wearing all this while had unknowingly materialized.

The next moment, a tiny crack appeared on its surface before it began to expand.

In the blink of an eye, it had spread across its surface.

Then, with a bang, the Red Hare Armor shattered into fragments.

Its secondary effect, that of being able to block a fatal attack in exchange for destroying itself, had been triggered at last.

The very first Relic Aurelius had ever crafted, and the one that had accompanied him for the longest, had been lost.

Aurelius only cast a single glance at the fragments.

Then, looking at the counter at the edge of his vision, which had turned to 21/21, he held Selene and rushed out of the building.

During his escape, he took the initiative to erase some of their traces in the estate.

As for the captives, he didn’t choose to free them.

He knew that the previous battle had caused a large amount of commotion. It wouldn’t take long for other forces to arrive. Once here, they would surely free these people without him needing to do anything.

Rather than waste time, he had to use that brief window to escape.

With that thought, Aurelius bolted out of the building.

His decision proved correct very soon.

Only moments after he disappeared, two figures arrived at the estate.

A man and a woman.

The former wore a golden robe and had blond hair, while the latter wore an elegant black dress that blended with the night’s shadows.

Despite their differences in appearance and demeanor, the two focused on the mansion in front of them.

As they sensed the familiar aura lingering behind, their expressions turned solemn.