Rogue Villain-Chapter 325: Improving Ichor

"Well, then..."

Since they had dealt with most of the pressing questions, Ackster didn’t see a reason to dally any longer.

The others were still in a fluctuating state of mind due to the revelation that Ackster used the power of gods. Just looking at it on the surface, it meant that there was one less difference between Ackster and gods compared to other humans. But then again, what was the difference between humans and gods?

For all they knew, Ackster might be closer to a god than a human by now. He would live for a long time. He most likely wouldn’t die of old age, especially if he continued getting stronger like this. And if he did that, he would also fulfill the other condition of being a god: Absolute strength.

Endless lifespan, Ichor, and absolute strength...Wasn’t Ackster already on his way to becoming a god?

If there was one thing that Ackster lacked, that all gods, even the human ones with God in their monikers, it was something that defined him. The Sword God had swords, the Sea God had the oceans and water, and the God of Light had light. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

Ackster had a bunch of different abilities and skills, none of which could be said to encompass his entire being, or at least the majority of his skillset.

The others collected their thoughts regarding Ackster as they tried to understand their leader while he tossed demonic dog after demonic dog into his mouth. It was no secret to anyone but Makkel and Mastrax that Ackster had a ravenous appetite.

But seeing Ackster eat a mound of dead dogs before finally wiping his mouth with a slight smile was enough to disturb everyone except Mara, who had accompanied Ackster through his most gruesome training.

Everyone had slightly different reactions, but the two latest additions to the club of not knowing what to think about Ackster, Makkel and Mastrax, were on either end of the spectrum. Mastrax looked at Ackster with eyes wide from fascination. And Makkel looked like he was about to throw up.

Ackster ignored the strange gazes and turned to the closest door.

"Let’s go."

The demonic beasts had poured out of all the somewhat intact doors. Logically speaking, it shouldn’t matter which one they entered. But Ackster found one that was familiar. It was one of the kind of upright ones. It was the one he had found during his last visit to the ant nest.

The door led to a tomb with a grave that turned out to have been robbed and desecrated now.

Ackster used his sword to cut off a piece of the wall as they walked to the now-open trapdoor. His sword was reluctant.

But the previously ochre-colored walls that had lost a lot of their light had done so because of the other demon’s miasma, as Ackster found out was the name of the source of energy for demons. So, his sword wasn’t entirely opposed to it.

Ackster munched on the stone, adding it to Smelting Furnace while both Smelting Furnace and Monster Muncher devoured the poison-tailed dogs’ bodies. But only their bodies. The lingering miasma in the dogs was incredibly stubborn and refused to succumb to the blue sun and Sun God Token’s efforts.

However, the stone had a suppressive effect on the miasma, probably the reason why it had been used to construct a seal for the demon.

After learning more about Ichor from Karandiel, Ackster got an idea about how to improve his Ichor more efficiently than by just adding more mana, Will, and vitality. His Ichor should improve and grow stronger and more versatile if he refined other kinds of sources into it.

Ackster wasn’t sure what other sources there were. But miasma was one, and it seemed to be a pretty innately strong one since it could corrupt beasts and demonify them. It was also the innate source of demons, existences that had threatened the peace on Millmeria without being Calamities.

As he thought about different kinds of sources while they walked through the gradually darkening corridor, Ackster realized that his skills, especially the ones like Limit Breaker, Stubborn Well-Being, and Berserk, seemed to have their own sources of energy to draw on. He couldn’t help but wonder if he could transform the skills into pure sources and refine them into his Ichor.

And if he could do that, would he lose their abilities? Or maybe that was the next step in breaking free of the limitations of the Nomi and the system of skills etched into his soul.

From this point onwards, Ackster didn’t know how to take the next step, reach the next rank, or break through to a new level. He only knew how to progress step by step by gradually improving his martial arts, consuming more treasures and minerals to strengthen his body, training his mana, and looking for hotter fires.

Hopefully, after enough incremental growth of his existing abilities, Ackster would find the gateway to the next level of strength.

Ackster was strong. He had come far enough to be able to admit that to himself. But his conversation with The One Outside Time pointed at the possibility of the final battle with The Hero not necessarily being the final battle. The discovery that he used the same power as the gods also opened up the ceiling for Ackster.

Why limit himself when he had yet to even reach the limits of his current strength?

Ackster also looked forward to the next evolution of Diamond Body. It gave him increased recovery and supernatural defense against physical, magical, and metaphysical means. It also blessed him with extraordinary physical talent. He had no idea what he needed to do for it to evolve again. But he was sure it could and that Diamond Body’s next evolution would be very nice.

Since the hallway was only littered with dusty corpses of dogs that failed to adapt to the miasma, Ackster had a lot of time to think. But his thoughts were also fast. They hadn’t traveled very far, and not much time had passed when they finally reached the next part of the construction built to seal a demon.