*Swish!*
There was no usual booming sound of a gun discharging that I expected.
'Right, it's fully rail operated. The explosion only comes from...'
That's how much my intelligence improved by bonding with Fay and allowing me to figure out, where the round reached its target.
Human flesh was no barrier to the power of this kind of round. But at this speed, it was solid enough to trigger the condensation charge, releasing a cone of fiery hell filled with mangled shrapnels.
BOOM!
A bit more than just an instant after the flash of the explosion, its roaring sound reached my ears as the distant echo of the shockwave washed over the forest.
"Haaa..." I breathed out, closing my mind as I forcibly relaxed, fighting off the pleasant stimuli of my system bloating up as it spewed out system notification after system notification.
[Battle Log:
- Average attribute level of the kill: 26 Participation: 70%
- Average attribute level of the kill: 3 Participation: 70%
- Average attribute level of the kill: 5.2 Participation: 70%
- Average attribute level of the kill: 7.3 Participation: 70%
- Average attribute level of the kill: 4.1 Participation: 70%
- Average attribute level of the kill: 1.9 Participation: 70%
- Average attribute level of the kill: 12.7 Participation: 70%
- Average attribute level of the kill: 6.9 Participation: 70%
- Total level growth: 46.97
- 1st tier level growth: 5 (5)
- 2nd tier level growth: 10(20)
- 3rd tier level growth: 5.49(21.97)]
***
[Level: 5] > [Level: 10]
[Aura: 6] > [Aura: 11]
[Usable points: 0] > [Usable points: 10]
[Unlocks tier 2 features]
- Firearms proficiency +12]
[Firearms Proficiency: 1] > [Firearms Proficiency: 21]
[Perfect Evolution Possible: Do you wish to undergo a rebirth?]
"Haaaaa...."
A long sigh escaped from my mouth.
I only had the link with Fay to thank for not losing my consciousness on the spot. The influx of power that suddenly filled my veins and coursed through my blood was something far too great for me to handle, were it not for Fay instantly and willingly coming in clutch and taking some of this burden to lessen the pressure on me.
But her help only meant that instead of losing my mind and suffering for a while in silence, we were now both struggling to catch a breath, tortured by the onslaught of energy that reached beyond anything I'd ever faced before.
It was power much greater than whatever I saw on the starlight plain... save maybe for those pillars of pure starlight. And now, all of this power surged into my flesh, burning it down only to then revive it and repeat the process at least a thousand times in a single second.
The world turned black before my eyes as my brain started to cut the non-essentials as it switched to a full-on survival mode. Then went my hearing, smell, and taste, with only the sense of touch holding the fort of my mind.
And with nothing but Fay's closeness filling my world, I continued to cope with the unbearable torture.
Bit by bit, the energy finally started to settle down, once my flesh burned and revived enough times to slowly adapt and house it. And as I opened up my eyes and took a breath...
I saw absolutely nothing.
Even with my body growing now more used, and accustomed to this newfound power, it was still far too weak to properly house it.
'This has to be what this evolution is all about... But rebirth...? Won't this bring down my stats back to zero?' I thought, worryingly making the connection of what the word rebirth often means in the games I used to play.
And judging by how things went so far, there definitely was some sort of logic behind this system of mine, the logic that was deviously alike the games I used to play while remaining somewhat erratic, and unpredictable.
'What is it going to be?' I thought, gritting my teeth as I struggled to make the decision.
The gift of wisdom I've received sadly didn't extend to include what the rebirth meant. But, somehow, I could tell that unless I allowed the evolution to go through... then this overwhelming power coursing through my veins, rather than a boon, would be just a set of shackles.
"Fay..." I groaned, not even able to tell whether I produced any voice at all. But with the link still connecting us, I could tell Fay heard me.
Luckily enough, as much as she wanted to partake in this torture to lift even a bit of my burden, Fay went through the ordeal relatively easily, avoiding most of the negative side effects that currently plagued me.
'I've hurt her...' This was an undeniable fact.
In her attempts to lift even the part of my burden, Fay, through our link, had to go through a part of the pain that nearly rendered me unconscious. And while it allowed me to keep at least one sense to myself...
'I'VE HURT HER!'
A sense of massive self-loathing exploded in my soul, overshadowing the fear of the unknown situation I was in. Prompted by this fear, I held little to nothing back.
'You want me to evolve? With how easy I can regain my levels, why not?!' Refusing to let Fay worry even a single second further, I gritted my teeth. 'Bring it on! Worst case scenario, I will slaughter a whole bunch more of those fuckers to get my strength back!'
A strange sense of determination filled me from inside.
'For I refuse to ever allow Fay to get hurt again!'