Overpowered Awakening: I Became Invincible With A Broken Talent-Chapter 187: The End Of Aurax (1)
Marlon tried three true cores after the first one and still had not found any skill upgrade cores. Two of them gave skill fusion cards, while the remaining two granted memory fragments, additional experience points, and stat points.
The memories contained within those fragments were rather underwhelming compared to the one he had obtained in the past. One of them depicted a fight the former owner of the core could never forget because it marked his very first true loss. The other centered on the Planet Eater, something Marlon had already witnessed before, making it far less valuable to him.
Orion brought out another true core and handed it to him without hesitation.
"This is the last one in my possession. Let us hope you obtain the skill upgrade core. If not, you will have to manage with the skill fusion card. While not as potent as the skill upgrade core, it might grant new effects that we may be able to use to finish them off," he explained in a steady tone.
Marlon nodded briefly.
Orion seemed to understand the Aurax and the system more than he did.
At one point, Marlon had assumed it was because of Orion’s ability.
But he did not think about it any further.
Instead, he consumed the true core.
[ You’ve obtained the following: 1,000,000 EXP
1 Skill Upgrade Core has been transferred to inventory
300 Strength Points
30 Free Stat Points ]
Before Marlon could even properly react, Orion released a relieved sigh, clearly indicating that he had already seen what Marlon obtained.
"Use it quickly. We have only a few minutes left."
Nox, who was standing beside Orion, spoke with the same blank look on his face.
Marlon opened his inventory, and before doing anything else, he decided to use the skill fusion card first.
The familiar panel appeared before him, revealing all of his available skills in neat order.
He had to pick two skills to merge and create a new, evolved effect.
His eyes landed on two skills he had been meaning to merge for quite some time now.
Absolute Death Strike (S)
Mirror Clone Unit (S)
A prompt appeared, asking if he wished to proceed with the fusion, and he accepted immediately without any hesitation.
| Fusing Absolute Death Strike (S) + Mirror Clone Unit (S)..... 1%... 6%... 100% |
The entire fusion process was noticeably faster than the last time he had done this.
[ Skill: Death Clone Army (SS) has been added ]
[ Death Clone Army (SS-rank Active) Summons an army of up to 100 clones possessing 75% of your power.
ADDITIONAL EFFECTS:
DEATH BOMB: One of every ten clones carries the Mark of Sacrifice. When they are killed or when they willingly self-destruct, they release a powerful wave of death energy that instantly kills every enemy on the same power rank. Enemies two ranks stronger suffer a 2% reduction in combat prowess for five minutes, while enemies one rank stronger suffer a 5% reduction for two minutes. The effect is stackable. Maximum reduction 25%. Maximum duration 20 minutes.
MINOR DEATH REAPER: For every enemy killed by the Death Bomb triggered by your clones, 50% of their Aether Points and Health Points are absorbed by you.
SACRIFICIAL CONVERSION: When your health drops to a critical level, each self-destruct committed by one of your clones grants 3% instant recovery.
AETHER CONVERSION: The Death of your clones are not useless, when sacrificial conversion is not in use, every death grants a certain amount of aether points to you.
COOLDOWN TIME: 3 minutes
Requirement: 1000 Aether per Clone ]
Marlon studied the prompts calmly and carefully. The effects of this new skill were vastly superior, easily on an entirely different tier compared to Mirror Clone Unit.
But there was still one skill fusion card left.
There was usually only one skill fusion card in his possession at a time, which was why he had originally planned to use it only once. With one additional card now available, he had to go through his skills again to determine another appropriate pair worth fusing.
At this point, his attack power was already extremely high. He possessed several skills that enhanced his movement speed and reflexes, along with others that provided recovery under specific conditions.
Compared even to veteran guardians such as Norian Sterling, Douglas Payne, and the Black Ice Queen, his skill collection was the most versatile among them.
As a result, deciding which area he needed to further improve became unexpectedly difficult.
’Having an even more basic attack than Titan Punch is not bad...’ he concluded after a moment of thought.
And so he selected:
Titan Punch (A)
Absolute Death Strike (S)
| ERROR! Skill ranks are different. Fusion can only function on skills with the same rank |
And just like that, the idea of increasing his default attack power through that combination was shut down.
"I can only hold them for three minutes longer at most. Be fast."
Nox’s annoyed voice interrupted him, drawing him away from his branching thoughts. Marlon gave a slight nod without turning in Nox’s direction and quickly made a new selection.
Titan Punch (A)
Aether Eater (A)
| Fusing Titan Punch (A) + Aether Eater (A)..... 1%... 6%... 100% |
[ Skill: Aetheric Punch (S) has been added ]
[ Aetheric Punch (S-rank, Active) Your punches no longer simply amplify your attack power; they are now capable of absorbing, converting, and reflecting damage to a certain extent.
ADDITIONAL EFFECTS:
ABSORB: Your punch can absorb most of the damage from incoming attacks upon impact.
CONVERT: You can convert absorbed damage into Aether or into additional temporary amplification of strength that lasts for up to 30 minutes. Aether absorbed in this way becomes permanent.
REFLECT: You can instantly reflect magical attacks from S-rank and below back to their source. ]
This result was not bad either. Even though it had been a last-minute choice made under pressure, it strengthened both his offense and survivability in a meaningful way.
Now that everything regarding skill fusion had been resolved, it was finally time to upgrade his skill.
He brought out the skill upgrade core, and the moment the selection options appeared before him, he chose Absolute Death Strike without hesitation.
The upgrade occurred instantly.
His first SS-rank skill was born into existence.
[ Skill: Prince of Death (SS) has been obtained ]
[ Prince of Death (SS-rank, Active) You are no longer merely a user of the power of death; your control over death and even life itself has now surpassed the limits that mortals could ever imagine.
ADDITIONAL EFFECTS:
VOICE OF DEATH: For beings S-rank and below, regardless of location or race, you can pronounce immediate death. The number of targets is unlimited as long as you possess sufficient Aether.
ABSOLUTE DEATH STRIKE: Close-range attack that grants instant death to beings SS-rank and below and inflicts a Death Mark upon SSS-rank targets.
AURA OF DEATH: You embody the power of death wherever you go, invoking true fear in the hearts of foes. This fear can reduce combat power and movement speed while commanding absolute respect from non-targets.
DEATH TIMER: Once you have pronounced someone dead or struck them with death, you possess the authority to delay their demise. During this period, the target’s entire combat power disappears, and only their soul remains conscious to listen to whatever proclamation you choose to deliver.
ABSOLUTE REAPER: Possessions of targets slain by you, regardless of whether it was through normal attacks or the use of Prince of Death abilities, are instantly absorbed. This includes Aether Points, Health Points, and all items stored within their inventory.
DEATHLESS: You are immune to death from targets SS-rank and below.
COOLDOWN TIME: 5 minutes
ACTIVE TIME: 10 minutes
Requirement: Aether ] 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖
"This is it...."
The replacement was overwhelmingly superior, not merely an improvement but a complete transcendence of what the previous skill had been capable of. The new effects felt almost godlike in their authority.
"Prince of Death. It is still pretty shocking even though I have already foreseen it..." Orion said with a small, knowing smile on his face.
The other Vereenas turned to look in Marlon’s direction the moment Orion spoke those words. As Vereenas, a race that could be considered superior to humans and many other races due to their ability to wield cosmic-level talents, none among them had ever awakened the power of death.
Solan’s usually arrogant demeanor faded as he looked at Marlon. His eyes brightened with unmistakable respect and admiration, like someone who had just witnessed the rise of a figure destined for legend.
Liora wore a similar expression, though hers was far more graceful and composed compared to the fiery arrogance that usually defined the child of the Solar Pathos standing beside her.
Nox’s expression barely shifted, though something subtle flickered within his eyes. He found it too dull and troublesome to outwardly display a reaction.
Nonetheless, he lazily raised his hand to draw everyone’s attention.
"30 seconds. Everyone stand in place."
They all nodded at once and immediately grew serious.
Liora knelt on one knee and brought out a plain-looking orb from her inventory. Activating STELLAR INFUSION, the orb transformed into a sophisticated sniper rifle that seemed as though it had come straight out of a science fiction battlefield, its jet-black frame etched with glowing multicolored lines running across its body.
She assumed a steady sniper stance, locking her aim toward the direction where the Aurax would soon appear.
Beside her, Solan transformed into a humanoid wisp of inferno, flames swirling and compressing around his form as he prepared himself to engage in battle.
Orion flew back toward their golden spaceship. Norian and Draven were still unconscious, so he lifted them effortlessly with telekinesis and transported them aboard the vessel.
Marlon’s eyes hardened.
Memories of everything he had suffered at the hands of those bastards resurfaced vividly in his mind. The pain. The humiliation. The fury that had burned within him since that day.
He willed his mind toward a single, unwavering objective.
To slay them.
Nox simply stood there casually.
He observed each of them carefully, ensuring that they were fully prepared. Once he confirmed their readiness, he activated his ability and drew their foes out of the Void.
