Chapter 2048: Ignatius’ Sudden Growth!
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I summoned Ignatius so he could receive a truly incredible gift from me.
"Do you want this?" I asked, offering him the scroll of the Infernal Spirit Dragon Treant King.
"A-A Skill Scroll?!" he gasped. "Wait, can I learn Yggdra’s skill with this?!"
"Maybe," I said. "Though we might be able to make it even stronger. Alice, give me a System Seed!"
"Sylphy, what are you planning now?" Alice asked.
"Trust me, I’ve got this," I grinned.
"Okay, sure thing!"
Alice instantly created a System Seed.
[You have exchanged 25,000,000 System Points.]
[You have created a System Seed.]
I took the System Seed and fused it directly into the Skill Scroll. As the two items merged, I handed the glowing result to Ignatius.
"Now, Ignatius, take this!"
"W-Wha...! Wait—Uuaaaaahhh!"
He screamed as the scroll and seed fused together inside him while he absorbed them. Since he wasn’t evolving yet, the process didn’t trigger any dangerous side effects.
But then—
FLAAASH!
Ignatius absorbed the surging power. His aura exploded outward in a wave of raw strength, and his eyes blazed with fiery red energy. The Skill Scroll and System Seed had merged with him to create something completely insane, something even I couldn’t have predicted.
"Huh?! It feels like I’ve evolved!" he gasped.
His small body had grown dramatically larger. His Rank had risen as well, yet he remained at his maximum level with the evolution option still available. He was now twice the size of his previous juvenile dragon form, reaching roughly twenty meters in length. His scales had taken on a striking wooden-red hue, and he now bore wooden armor, horns, and other features reminiscent of Yggdra’s own transformation.
"I can feel the Element of Nature and the Treant King’s power flowing through me!" Ignatius roared. "I’m overflowing with power!!!"
RUMBLE!
He opened his jaws and unleashed a storm of flames across the area.
Ignatius’s base stats at max level had always been too low. Now they had skyrocketed, nearly rivaling those of some recently evolved familiars.
Ding!
[Congratulations! Your Familiar: [Ignatius] has absorbed the power of the Skill Scroll and the System Seed merged with it, creating a Unique Transformation.]
[Your Familiar: [Ignatius] has learned the New Skill: [Infernal Spirit Dragon Treant King Transformation: Level 1]!]
[Your Familiar: [Ignatius] has learned the New Skill: [Divine Skill Rune Engravement: Lv1]!]
[All his Stats have increased by a further +250,000!]
[Ignatius has developed the [Divine Spirit Skill Rune, Infernal Spirit Dragon Prince, Ignatius – Tier 1: Level 1/10]]
[Several Skills have Leveled Up!]
A Skill Rune manifested on my left arm, resembling a red tattoo of a dragon coiled around a dragon egg. I felt Ignatius’s power surging through our bond stronger than ever before. I still didn’t fully understand Skill Runes, but according to Alice, they grew alongside the connected Familiar. They unlocked new abilities over time, boosted stats, and even enhanced Cultivation.
"I’ve become so strong! It almost feels like I’ve evolved!" Ignatius exclaimed. "But not really?! How is this possible?!"
"It must have been the Skill Scroll fused with the System Seed," Alice explained. "It granted you a sudden, massive boost. It’s also likely due to the high compatibility between you and the new Skill, which awakened some of your latent dragon power meant for your eventual evolution..."
"Wait, does that mean I won’t become as strong once I actually evolve?" Ignatius asked.
"Not at all," Alice replied. "It means the upper limit for your next evolution has risen even higher. You will become far stronger once you evolve now."
"Hohoho! Now this is true dragon power!" Ignatius laughed. He roared triumphantly, shaking the ground as he dashed around and smashed through the surrounding forest in pure joy.
"He really has become stronger, and he looks so happy," I said with a warm smile. "Let’s check his status. I’m curious how he compares to the others now."
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<Status System>
[System Owner]: [Ignatius the Red]
[Race]: [True Fire Dragon Spirit: ★★★]
[Class]: [Juvenile Volcanic Flare Dragon: ★★★]
[Rank]: [B+]
[Level]: [50/50] (Awaiting Evolution)
[HP]: [303.000/303.000]
[MP]: [302.000/302.000]
[Strength]: [303.000]
[Defense]: [302.000]
[Magic]: [302.000]
[Resistance]: [302.000]
[Agility]: [302.000]
[Luck]: [280.000]
[Charm]: [280.000]
{Skills}:
[Eggshell: Lv10]
[Dragon King’s Son: Lv9]
[Juvenile Dragon Breath: Lv10]
[Roll: Lv9]
[Dragon Scales: Lv9]
[Dragon Claws: Lv9]
[Fire Absorption: Lv10]
[Physical Damage Resistance: Lv8]
[Magic Damage Resistance: Lv7]
[Intimidation: Lv6]
[Furious Dragon Bite: Lv6]
[Blazing Dragon Domain: Lv4]
[Grand Flare Explosion: Lv4]
[Volcanic Wrath: Lv4]
[Infernal Spirit Dragon Treant King Transformation: Lv1] (New!)
[Divine Skill Rune Engravement: Lv1] (New!)
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"Oh wow, his Rank jumped straight to B+?!" I asked in disbelief. "He was only C+ before! So it really raised his Rank... His species and class stayed the same, but his stats have skyrocketed. They used to be around fifty to sixty thousand. Now they’re all in the three hundreds. He’s still weaker than the evolved familiars, but this is still impressive."
"Yeah, that’s right," Alice said. "He has grown into a much stronger form... yet not quite evolved. It’s a strange occurrence. Still, I wouldn’t count on this working every time, Sylphy, so please don’t do anything this reckless again... if possible."
"I’ll try, but no promises," I replied. "Anyway, just as I imagined, a Skill Rune appeared! Skill Runes seem to be an entirely new creation, a result of fusing a Skill Scroll with a System Seed or imbuing it into an Entity already contracted to me. I assume this has something to do with the runes inside the Skill Scroll itself."
"Perhaps," Yggdra said. "I believe the scroll itself disappears, but the runes that compose the skill are given a ’soul.’ That soul concentrates everything into compressed spiritual power, which remains a rune. It then connects directly to the familiar’s soul. That is most likely how Skill Runes are created."
"That makes sense," I nodded. "Skill Runes can only appear once certain conditions are met. So far, there are two methods. Either use a Skill Scroll as evolution material, or... well, do the weird thing I just did. Though that second method isn’t guaranteed to work every time."
Alice nodded and added, "I also believe it has to do with the bonds you share with your familiars. Perhaps that deep connection triggers the awakening of a powerful Skill Rune!"
Bonds, huh? I had never considered that.
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