Chapter 160: Chapter 160: A Night of Celebration
[Corruption System]
Host: Ulric Bloodvein
Age: 18
Level: 68 [30, 000 /980, 000] (Evolved D-rank Human)
Attributes:
Strength: 4,653
Agility: 4,431
Intelligence: 5,492
Spirit: 3,360
Toughness: 4,442
Endurance: 4,530
Constitution: 7,792
Willpower: 5,600
Charisma: 1,000
Unallocated attributes: 0
Skills:
[Skill: Lewd Touch – Allows the host to magnify suppressed desires of any woman when activated. Limited to thrice a day]
(0/500)
[Seed of Chaos: By draining your seed into any female subject, you gain the opportunity to extract any skills, talents, or bloodlines of your choice and brand them onto the host, with a rebate of 2 to 10,000x.]
[Dark Lord’s Conquest: Brand loyalty onto female subjects. By drinking your seed, you gain 5% experience from all their kills.]
(0/10,000)
Bloodlines: Null
Art: Transcendent Myriad Aether
Talents:
B-rank: Ice Frost (0/1,000)
F-rank: Stone Shield (0/100)
B- rank: Dark Cover(0/ 1,000)
Artifacts: Null
Physique: Asura’s Demonic physique
System Shop: Unlocked
[Unallocated corruption points: 740]
***
Staring at the system panel for a little while, Ulric nodded slightly as he tracked every change, a faint smile carving across his lips.
His growth had been explosive, and the system reflected every bit of it. His level and attribute points had skyrocketed, which couldn’t help but make him smile every time he looked at them.
With this pace, he estimated it wouldn’t be long before he ascended to the peak of D rank. At least in terms of experience points. His art still had a long way to go.
Shaking off the thought, he dismissed the system panel and walked up to the Procan Python’s corpse, crouching over it. A greedy glint flashed across his eyes.
Aside from reaping experience points from wild beasts, their meat also carried great nutritional value if prepared well.
And given the beast’s monstrous size, he couldn’t help but agree more. If he were to sell it, he would no doubt accrue a large fortune.
Meat from a great beast like this would be highly valued. But Ulric had no such intent.
Reaching out his hand, an icy blade coalesced in his palm as he sliced down on the beast with surgical precision.
He harvested all the meat and valuable items he could acquire, storing them in his Lord’s Signet Ring.
The whole process took a little over a few minutes. When he was done, the mighty Procan Python was reduced to bones and waste parts that he doubted were of any value.
Not that he was picky or anything. He could have taken the bones as well, given their sturdy structure. And in the hands of an experienced blacksmith and craftsman, a great weapon could have been made from them.
But Ulric had other plans. He wasn’t done harvesting. If anything, this was barely the beginning.
Getting a little excited at the thought, the smile on his face widened as he reached out one hand, hovering over the Procan Python’s remains, and mumbled beneath his breath.
"Arise."
Instantly, trails of darkness tore out from the surroundings, surging around the beast’s remains and encapsulating them for a moment. Then the darkness suddenly exploded outward.
When everything stilled once more, Ulric chuckled faintly as he stared at the sight before him.
A massive shadowy Procan Python stood there, almost identical in every regard. The only difference was its appearance, which now looked as if it had been forged from darkness.
Also very docile, Ulric thought, staring into the void-like orbs it now had for eyes as it lowered its head in subservience.
Feeling the connection form between them, Ulric reached out and ran a hand across the beast’s interlocked scales, now shimmering with a mesmerizing charm.
He hadn’t paid much attention to it before, but now that he looked closer, he couldn’t help but nod in thought. It was definitely a regal creature. One that was now under his command.
But that hardly mattered now. Letting out a slow breath, Ulric waved his arm, issuing a command to the shadow Procan Python.
It instantly disappeared into the depths of the wastelands. He could have called it back into his shadows, but he chose not to.
Why do so, when he could send all his shadow creatures to hunt? Every kill they made strengthened them, and most of the experience points flowed back to him.
Given their undying nature, it was as if they were perfectly suited for this. Both sides benefitted greatly.
It was also one of the major reasons his growth had only grown more monstrous with time instead of slowing down.
If everything played out according to plan, he would ascend to the peak of D rank in a few weeks, even without killing a single monster himself.
Far more effective than his Dark Lord’s Conquest, and by a huge margin at that.
Still, even with all these insane benefits, that wasn’t the end of it. Previously, every shadow creature he summoned could only wield 75% of its original power.
But after his breakthrough to D rank, Ulric had noticed a pleasant change. The limit had risen, now standing at an astounding 80%.
What excited him even more was the future. Was this a one-time upgrade, or would it be recurring?
Could he eventually summon shadow creatures with 100% of their original strength? Or... his breath hitched at the thought... more?
Summon shadow creatures stronger than they were when alive. The idea sounded absurd, but the more he thought about it, the more plausible it became.
He had done far more ridiculous things already.
Just as he was about to spiral deeper into his thoughts, Ulric snapped out of it.
His gaze fell into the distance, beyond the city gates, toward the Greyson residence.
Wonder how they have been, Ulric mused, before his figure blurred into the distance as he broke into a sprint.
The blood that had stained his frame was blown away by the wind with every step, while whatever remained was purged by his darkness.
All within a few seconds, before he stepped into the Greyson residence.
***
His presence instantly drew attention as murmurs broke out. A crowd quickly gathered, just to stare at his form for a moment.
"Look, it’s the lord!"
"So the rumours were indeed true... he went out to train."
"This... I wonder what kind of strength the lord aspires to wield. Will there ever be enough? It all just seems never-ending."
"Huh? What is that I hear? Enough and power in the same breath? There will never be enough power. But then again, I don’t expect someone like you to understand that."
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"Yeah, I agree. The more I look up to the lord, the more it seems as if there is no ceiling to his power. If only I could see what it would amount to in the end."
As the murmurs grew louder, even a few elders came over to see the source of the commotion.
But Ulric paid them no mind as he stepped deeper into the Greyson residence, arriving at the training grounds.
When his eyes caught sight of Amber and the rest, his brows arched slightly as a glint of surprise flashed across his eyes.
It seemed he hadn’t been the only one making major gains in this short period.
A quick glance was enough. Everyone had reached the absolute peak of E rank. If they wanted to, they could have broken through at any time. But they didn’t. Why?
He didn’t have time to wonder long, as they soon noticed his presence and rushed toward him excitedly, bursting into endless chatter.
They narrated everything that had happened over the past few days in close detail.
The more they spoke, the more surprised he became.
It seemed they had pushed their training too far. But given how happy they were, they didn’t seem to mind.
If anything, he found their results exceptional. Just from their presence and aura alone, he felt they could all face a low D rank being and come out on top.
But what was most surprising was this: through their extreme training, they had discovered that harsh environments that pushed their limits could even improve their talents.
He had found it strange that their talents had advanced slightly during his breakthrough, a feat that should have been impossible. But now, it made sense.
These were not naturally awakened talents bound by the world’s normal laws of Arcadia. They were granted through his system shop.
It also explained why they hadn’t broken through to D rank yet. They were trying to advance their talents to at least SS rank first, so the arts they formed upon entering D rank would be stronger.
A brilliant plan. One that left everyone relatively excited.
Well, except Aelira, who had a pout on her face since she was the only one without an S rank talent.
But Ulric saw through the façade. A single glance melted it away. She was just as happy as the rest.
What made everyone even happier was when he revealed the massive slab of meat from the Procan Python and the other great beasts he had hunted.
That night, a great banquet was held, yet beneath the laughter and clinking goblets, something far more ominous took shape.
