Ashley
Over time, Blake and I grow used to surviving in the inner region of the Unique Domain. With the new pattern of our hunting becoming fleeing the catacombs we hunt into the surface whenever the ground begins to shake before running around to avoid the meteors and pyroclasts. Then going back down to whatever catacombs is near us, resuming our hunt after the King of Destruction's rampage is over.
And after an entire week of doing this over and over again, I finally get the System Message I've been looking for.
{Congratulations, you have now reached level 100. Your PHY and MEN have increased by 1 point, and your MAG by 2 points. Please choose where you wish your 1 Free Point to be allocated.}
Primordial System Notification
Congratulations, you have now reached the minimum required level to ascend to Class D!
Analyzing other requirements...
Requirements analyzed.
User has won 10 Official System Events with a 100% win ratio.
All requirements have been met to ascend to Class D.
Please travel to a Spire and place your hand upon its core in order to ascend to Class D.
Until then, your level cap has been set at level 175.
And, of course, it's a disappointment. Because I can't exactly leave the Unique Domain right now to return to my Spire.
If I could do that then Blake and I wouldn't be in this mess after all.
I glance at Blake as we stand in the corridor of one of the catacombs before telling him, "Looks like we can't ascend until we make it back to a Spire."
He frowns and simply nods his head.
"I could've told you that much," Chaos says, making me blink at the realization. "The Spire cores are needed to push a user past their limit in order to ascend. So without them, users can't ascend."
Not that it helps much now.
"If it helps, you do get a small bonus if you reach the maximum level of your Class before ascending," Chaos points out, interesting me a little bit. "The bonus is mostly just a random item the System believes could help you and some Skill Points, but it's something."
That's nice. I guess.
"It's an automatic death sentence for you if you try fighting it below the maximum level for Class E, so don't even think about it," Chaos adds after a brief pause.
Right. Not doing that.
"Do you think we'll have to deal with any minions during our fight?" I ask while glancing up at the ceiling, thinking about those destruction-fallen Revalta that were eating up the magma.
"Unique Monsters treat the monsters in their domains as food," Chaos states without hesitation. "They would sooner eat the monsters to get some more Skill Points than order them around."
That's good at least.
Sorta.
Good that we will be fighting it on its own, not so good that it's getting more Skill Points.
"Let's gather a list of everything we know about the UM so far," Blake says, making me nod my head in agreement as my twin grabs a stick and starts writing in the ash over the sandstone beneath us. "We know it's most likely some sort of reptile judging by all of the monsters in the Unique Domain, and its True Damage skill is related to its vision. So most likely an eye mutation skill."
"It can launch the pyroclasts out of the volcano even after affecting them with its gaze, so it might have some sort of skill to do that," I add while leaning forwards with my legs coming to meet together at the bottoms of my feet in front of me and my knees bent outwards. "And since the analysis said that the rocks were ones affected under its gaze, I doubt it's shooting them out of its own body. So maybe a telekinesis skill of some sort, or something to throw them out of the volcano."
"Based on what I've seen of the UM so far in its rampages and its affinity, there is no way it is anything but a combat specialized Unique Monster," Chaos comments, of which I repeat for Blake's sake since he can't hear Chaos. "That means it'll most likely have a bunch of combat skills. But something you need to watch out for the most is it's True Damage skill."
I frown at that as I finish repeating his words to Blake.
"He's right," Blake says with a frown of his own. "If the King of Destruction's gaze really is linked with its True Damage skill, and its gaze repeatedly applies the True Damage, then you will need a lot of mana."
Before giving me any time to think about that, Chaos continues his explanation in my head, "Chaotic Source will continuously drain your mana and Chaos Energy so long as the King of Destruction is looking at you. This means you'll be running dry very quickly. Your brother should be fine since it sounds like a slow paced True Damage skill, meaning his barrier should hold up against it. But you need something to replenish your mana and energy."
Something to replenish my mana and energy? You mean potions?
How am I going to get those here though?
"That's simple," Chaos says, sounding rather smug for some reason. "I'll just teach you how to make them with your lovely new Successor Skill aiding the way."
I blink at that before realizing that I did get a message about a new Successor Skill that I didn't notice before.
So I open my list of Successor Skills to see the new one.
And immediately find the corner of my mouth quirking upwards ever so slightly when I see it.
{Chaos Infusion – Locked – Allows the user to infuse and compress Chaos Energy.} – [Spend 500 Skill Points to unlock this skill.]