Chapter 57: Increasing

A cold chill of energy passed through his head, and Mark shivered as he rubbed his forehead. He was back with Dona inside a building, and the girl was not letting go of him after she clung to his hand at all.

He smiled and looked at his Mind Stat.

[Mind: 82.9/100 (Pinnacle) (Tier 1)]

He felt some weird anticipation for his Mind stat to be replenished back to its fully rejuvenated form. Now, his Mindpower was a bit exhausted.

When he was in the Pinnacle of Tier 0, he had gotten a teaser of this absolutely bonkers ability: the Soul Sense.

Maybe, when he was fully rejuvenated, he would also get the teaser of the next power that he would awaken when he became a Tier 2. That seemed somewhat distant but still a ssolid possibility.

He took a deep breath. This was the moment of truth.

He had to try and add a Soul Sphere on top of the Pinnacle.

Maybe there was no bottleneck between Tier 1 and 2, and it was just a Tier 0 and 1 thing?

Suddenly, his mind buzzed, and Mark frowned, his face twitching.

It was once again that weird sensation of being in two places at once. The Puppet, and the real him.

Yuri was asking something important, so both of his attentions ended up focusing on one part. Her.

"What happened?" he asked.

In a somewhat worrief voice, Yuri apologized, "Sorry, I wanted to make sure of some things. So, should I be careful with the puppet's body, as in trying not to hurt it? Or are some side effects or wounds okay?"

"You could have asked it earlier," he said.

Yuri seemed a bit embarrassed. "Well, I was not sure whether I should speak about this with the… puppet, you know? What if its feelings are hurt or something?" Sёarch* The NôᴠeFire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

"Do what is the most optimal," Mark said with a chuckle. "But the body still has my mind, in one way or the other, so I can feel all the pain and feel every irritation. So, don't go too far."

"Okay, so, what about a chance of long-time diseases like cancer?"

"Oh, that's fine. As long as it won't die in a—for safety—couple of decades, I am fine."

"Okay, I'll try my best, but genetic modification is bound to leave some long-lasting risks; I just wanted to ask you before I start my studies."

"You seem excited," he said.

"I am excited. Bye, I have research to do."

She cut the phone. The puppet was being told to move into a liquid container.

Mark took a deep breath. He still didn't really know how he was controlling two bodies at once. In fact, he didn't have that much control with the puppet but it was enough to do menial tasks.

That alone was amazing, though.

He shook his head and looked at his number of Soul Spheres curiously. It was not a lot, but it was enough for his goals.

[Soul Spheres: 41]

He asked himself the question once more.

Maybe there was no bottleneck between Tier 1 and 2, and it was just a Tier 0 and 1 thing?

He ordered for the violet screen to put one Soul Sphere on his Mind. But immediately, he felt the lack of that familiar cold energy—indeed, he was stuck in that bottleneck all over again. Now, he needed to find a way to evolve once more.

The thought sent a headache on his way, and he couldn't help but be irritated.

"Well, that sucks…" he sighed and then shook his head.

To want a road without obstacles was a weakness of the mind. To want something but not want to strive for it was the beginning of a loser's path.

Mark had lived one life that way, and he didn't wish to do so again.

This life was his chance to win.

Without any hesitation, he used all of the (41) points on his Physique. A cold sensation burst out of his Soul Sphere and into every part of his body.

It was an immensely exhilarating sensation that made the grown man groan.

The cold energy simply seemed to be crackling like thunder within his cells.

He clenched Dona's butt and pulled her towards him gently as his body began to grow in size. She had seen way too much of the similar event to be anxious anymore, so she just slung her hands across his neck and jumped slightly before slinking her legs around his waist.

She just waited with a curious glint in her red eyes.

When all the trouble calmed down, he took a deep breath and caressed the head of the demoness with a smile. She looked at him with a wide, open mouth.

[Physique: 30 (Low) (Tier 1)] —> [Physique: 71 (Medium) (Tier 1)]

He closed her mouth with a gentle push, then kissed her tenderly before looking down from the building's roof again. Once again, he was reminded of how great an advantage his wings were.

Even now, he had rarely seen a Demon with wings. And as he ruminated so, he spread his own widely.

His Soul Sense was good at calculating sizes and looking at himself. He was around 3.0 meters in size now, and Dona looked short in comparison—she was about 2 meters. His wings now had a wingspan of around 8 meters.

Thankfully, he could shrink his wings to compensate for their humongous size. He'd have to remember not to move too far away from Dona when he was outside the mega-dungeon, but other than that, he could feel that everything regarding him had increased.

Speed, Endurance, Stamina—Everything.

—

[Marcus Haeligarth Aramanteuil Véxillarius Nócturnâ Aërglothur]

—Stats—

[Tier 1—Lower Demon]

[Physique: 71 (Medium)]

[Mind: 100 (Pinnacle)]

[Soul Spheres: 0.]

—Resistances—

[Heart Resistance (Low) (Tier 2)]

[Physical Resistance (Medium) (Tier 1)]

[Mental Resistance (Pinnacle) (Tier 1)]

[Bloodline: Ephemeral Dungeon Heart Demonic Bloodline]

[Demonic Tricks: Soul Devourer. Dungeon Heart Seed, Dream Gambler's Mortal Puppet. Heart Input (Pinnacle), Dream Shock (Pinnacle)]

[Cultivated Powers: Soul Sense (100 Meters), Magical Defensive Skin (Tier 1)]

—

His stats were a beast of his own now, and even without any fancy abilities, he could now crush the heads of demons with Low Resistance. He had the power to do it physically.

Mark clenched his hand, and as Dona looked at his bulging veins, he punched out at the wall nearby with all his power. The entire building quaked lightly, and for a second, everything grew silent.

Then—Crack.

Crack.

The wall was wide open, and they were now facing the skies. Debris fell down like dust.

Mark looked at his hand, eyes a bit wide.

Thump.

His heart thumped.