.......
"...Tell me, Astral Leap participant. From the world you originated from, what was the least useful profession to be proficient in when death is looking you right in the face?"
Azmodeus thought the question over for a second before he put his right hand on his black dragon-adorned sword handle and replied, "That would be the Medical Profession..."
The slenderman's faceless expression warped into something truly horrifying as he swiveled his head behind him and said in a deep, resonant voice, "Precisely! Now tell me human. What happens when one of your kind breaches past their designated lifespan and decides that they want to live longer!?"
At this point, the nightmarish monster's neck had been split and broken into dozens of different directions, and yet he still looked at the tall, firegod-like man while having never stopped his stirring.
Azmodeus observed the gruesome sight before him, as this was one of the main reasons he never liked dealing with those who had long since discarded their humanity.
Nevertheless, he still replied, "They become like you... Monsters..."
"You're absolutely, unequivocally correct!!!" The slenderman slung his head back to his body before continuing to say, "And for your prize..."
URGHTT!
Eight large wings shot out of the back of the insane scientist as a maniacal laugh reverberated outward. "For your prize, I will allow you to become part of something greater! Something far above the purpose you had before!!"
WHSSHHH!
Intense winds started blowing in from all directions as the thin, decrepit figure of the Slenderman became even thinner. His body transformed into something flimsy and malleable, like something straight out of a horror-story cartoon.
And at the forefront of this unknown lifeform, there was a wide, toothy face that had more razor sharp teeth than one could count!
Furthermore, the teeth weren't limited to just its face, as every inch of its body had transformed into something straight out of H.P. Lovecraft!
There was nothing in the spots they should be, as eyes were growing out of hands and feet, of which there were more than a couple. Furthermore, teeth surrounded every misplaced appendage, making for a truly disgusting and terrifying sight.
WAAAA!
And the worst part of it all was the suffocating pressure emanating from the Slenderman, as it was utterly overwhelming!
Another series of slashes were unleashed, as the floating lab was splintered before being subsequently destroyed and scattered.
It was only after all this had happened that Azmodeus received a number of system notifications informing him of what he had done.
Upon which, he sat down on a nearby floating log with Pan Nu still atop his shoulders.
BLING!
*Ding!* *You have killed a previous participant of the Astral Leap Trial. Furthermore, he possessed strength in the Early-Silver Rank! But due to various alterations made to his existence, his power had transformed into the Peak-Silver Rank equivalent, thus allotting you the appropriate number of points!*
*Ding!* *You have obtained 5,000,000 Points in your Physical Existence Refinement Aspect!*
*Ding!* *Your Physical Existence has increased by quite a bit inside the Early-Gold Refinement Rank!*
*Ding!* *Your overall combat power and fortitude have moderately improved!*
Following all of the pop-up screens, Azmodeus felt all the gains wash over his body as his skin took on a slightly darker shade of gold.
Following this occurrence, he looked at the sinking remnants of what used to be a large floating lab. Thereafter, he turned his head in the direction of the way he came in, noticing a few hundred of those mutated villagers lurking in the deep, murky waters.
"It looks like I have some more strength to gain from this little adventure..."
FWIP!
His figure quickly blurred as he rushed straight into the piranha-infested waters, aiming to see how well these 'piranhas' would fare against the edge of his blade.
...
A few minutes later, at the edge of the halfway submerged steps of the Dimsinion Church's basement stairs, Azmodeus was seen holding onto the legs of Pan Nu. He ascended the steps of the church's basement, making his way back to where Pumpkin Wolfy was waiting.
There were large amounts of greenish-red blood dripping off his sleek black sword, but that didn't seem to affect his cold demeanor in the slightest bit as he listened to all the various system notifications bombard his vision...
.......