232 The 10th Task
[Crude World Projection] had suffered some grand abuse.
Skullius had spammed it to an insane degree, using it to bolster his ability to manipulate [Evil Darkness] at a higher level. He also used it to refine his handling of darkness so that he could use other methods that didn’t relate to constantly creating a cloud of darkness.
He aimed to get more skills from the element, as after his affinity with it had increased, the profound results it had shown during the past days was nothing short of ridiculous.
With the things he had unlocked from it alone, he was stronger than himself prior to this stretch of time.
A few new applications were now present for him to control from [Evil Darkness].
The use of [Crude World Projection] was now much easier for Skullius as he move vast distances with the ghastly dark form he would acquire.
In fact, the Discount Human was busy preparing to complete the last Task before the Trial to enter the Advancement Stage which pertained this ability from the Fruit of World Myths.
The 10th Task.
~~~
Exp: 256,000/256,000
Tenth Task: Cross a distance of 10 miles in the Projected form
~~~
This would prove to be a bit difficult.
Ten miles wasn’t a joke. He had to cross the entire city from where he was, plus several bundles of change.
The Discount Human wasn’t sure if he could do that, unless he flew at high speeds, which was possible for him.
The 9th Task had also been challenging, but not too difficult to achieve as it also pertained to his Insurgent Magnus skills.
For this pending Task, Skullius decided to use the remaining red gems to further bolster his strength so that he could get an added advantage when using [Crude World Projection].
The ability seemed to heavily rely on his body’s constitution, weirdly enough.
Skullius assumed it was because the Fruit of World Myths was in his body.
He took out one of the gems, seeing its circular shape with a pulsing red that had numerous lights swirling within.
It was quite mesmerising.
He ultimately wasted no time, beginning to absorb the energy that nested within the Enriching gems which gushed into him like a raging tide!
Skullius was overwhelmed by the energy to the point of almost toppling over with an erotic moan atop as this was simply too satisfying even for him who barely felt physical sensations.
Forty of these red gems awaited him and if all of them had energy like this….
[Your flesh and bones are augmented. A factor of 3 applies]
“Oh! Three?!”
Three whole points of constitution!
Skullius was enthralled by the figure he saw so much that he quickly calmed himself and got to absorbing the energy from the gems faster.
This proved to be a slower task than normal as the energy in these gems felt like vast swaths of syrup drooping over him.
This time, there was no subtlety when it came to the changes on his body. His muscles wriggled as they readjusted and enhanced themselves, becoming more toned and well-shaped.
Skullius hair grew an inch longer while his face gained more detail, his eyes gaining an additional twinkle.
Skullius didn’t pay all this any mind as he went to absorb all forty gems after roughly an hour and a half.
Then..
[Your flesh and bones are augmented. A cumulative factor of 100 is applied to your body]
[Strength increases by 30]
[Agility increases by 30]
[Endurance increases by 30]
[Health increases by 30]
[Mana increases by 30]
“Phew…”
What a haul of stats.
On top of the stats he had gotten from the purple-red gems, Skullius was stacked when it came to his physical abilities now.
The influx of energy caused his body to tremble and beef up slightly as he took it all in with a grin.
This was it!
Undeniable growth.
He was on the right path!
After the energy settled, Skullius’ appearance gained another dramatic change.
His eyes turned complete silver with a dash of twinkling light while his auburn hair reached his chin with a healthy lustre.
His skin spotted sparkles as if made of polished brass, which made Skullius wonder how everyone didn’t look like this?
Was this because his body was fake to begin with?
[‘Flesh It Like You Mean It’ levelled up!]
[‘Flesh It Like You Mean It’ levelled up!]
“Jeez. If this keeps going on, I might end up evolving this skill. I never thought I’d see the day though. Why don’t I feel much of a change?”
This Supreme disguise skill was on Level 5 now but Skullius didn’t feel any changes.
“We’ll see when it reaches level 10. Maybe they’ll be something new then. Now.”
Skullius set his sights on the agenda he was aiming for.
He took a few glances at his body before closing his eyes and saying the relevant words needlessly.
“Crude World Projection.”
His Projection shot from his body like a missile as Skullius didn’t intend on wasting time or showing down.
Unlike the first time he had used this ability back in Eofel, he had remained hidden until he gained the visible Projection form.
Strangely, it could attack using [Evil Darkness] and the Discount Human wagered that the same would be true for [Just Light] as well which he hadn’t had much luck with.
Even as he spammed [Basic Light Production], the results were dismal.
It was as if the element just didn’t want to surrender to him even when it came to production.
The issue as Skullius had surmised, was that it had something to do with his non-existent affinity to the element.
He would have to find a way to connect with that one.
For now, his dark figure flew up into the sky through physical matter as he didn’t want to be seen.
He wasn’t sure if he could be sensed as he had never dared to wander too far from his cell in this form during his seven-days of training.
The black, white and grey view shrouded the world, people appearing with different shades of desaturated colours.
In Eofel, Skullius had inferred that the differences in colour were supposed to be related to how much righteousness and evil one had within them, but he didn’t understand these concepts better than the next person.
‘Hmm…’ Skullius thought as he looked far to his right. ‘If I just go straight at full speed, I might be able to reach the ten mile mark in no time.’
Skullius cocked back and shot in the direction he intended.
He whizzed through the air like a bullet, making sure that his altitude was high enough for him to be obscure.
In all truth, he had travelled quite the distance with his upward ascent already.
He flashed through the winds which he couldn’t feel as the dull colours raged around him.
Scenes flashed past as he flew while he himself still felt full of energy.
‘Heh, I can do this all day. Wait, what?!’ Skullius once again shook his head at another unintentional phrase that bolted out of his mouth.
As he flashed into the distance, something peculiar caught his eye.
A pitch black figure was travelling slowly down below.
This was the darkest thing he had ever seen since he had started using [Crude World Projection]!
Curiosity burned within him and Skullius thought to take a closer look from afar.