"!!!"
|B-Rank Lightning Burst (Lvl 3)|
After using this Skill to jump out of the way, Romulus looked behind him and saw the road completely cave in. Pieces of the cobblestone pavement had divied upward, creating something akin to a blossoming stone flower. And at the center of that flower was the giant Grimwatcher's foot. Above that foot, however, was the disturbing smile it had plastered on its face as it stared right at the small ant that got away. Its head was positioned just barely above its stomped foot, so the sight was even creepier. Moreover, when the dust from the stomp settled, its neck bones started creaking. Then, with a crisp snapping motion, its terrifying head twisted in a circle and turned upside down. Another, far larger mouth, then appeared in between its original mouth and its eyes. A massive, thinly slitted tongue flopped out of this new mouth as soon as it opened up. From that tongue dripped a dark green liquid substance that might as well have been screaming venom.
Romulus's facial expressions hardened, causing his exceptionally handsome face to morph into something more akin to a stone statue. The air crackled and flared up as his hair stood on end. A bit of the ice element also reared its head, making it look like time had somewhat slowed around him. "If this is how it must be, then it seems I must get em," he said iconically, his hands turning a deep shade of red, blue, and yellow. Behind his back appeared two Pearlescent Cleavers, both of which had improved tremendously as compared to when they were just Lvl 1 or Lvl 2. Also making use of Dual Wield, Romulus pulled out the blades and infused the three elements that he was familiar with. He also activated several sub-element skills.
|Torch (Lvl 3)|
The first skill was something that usually used to keep himself warm, now being put to use as a fire element enhancer. Then came the rest of all applicable skills in this scenario…
|Fire Augment (Lvl 2)| caused both Pearlescent Cleavers to be augmented by the fire element, subsequently resulting in occasional flame flares across the blades' edges.
And finally, to top it all off, Romulus used |Lightning Flare (Lvl 1)|, which was his only A-Rank offensive Skill. Yet, upon feeling that something was missing, he further synchronized with the three elements and called upon a greater power.
Just like that…
[Ding! You have received Frost-related sub Skills bouncing off of and evolving from the E-Rank Frost Skill!]
[You have received |D-Rank Icicle (Lvl 1)|, |C-Rank Frigid Blade (Lvl 1)|, |B-Rank Ice Scythe (Lvl 1)|, |B-Rank Snow Suit (Lvl 1)|, |D-Rank Ice Augment (Lvl 1)|, and |B-Rank Hail Storm (Lvl 1)|]
[Ding! Your Affinity over the Ice Element has greatly improved!]
[Ding! You have received Lightning-related sub Skills bouncing off of and evolving from the B-Rank Lightning Burst Skill!]
[You have received |D-Rank Lightning Spear (Lvl 1)|, |C-Rank Lightning Spike Barrage (Lvl 1)|, |D-Rank Thunder Spark (Lvl 1)|, |C-Rank Lightning Drill (Lvl 1)|, |B-Rank Static Vortex Cannon (Lvl 1)|, and |A-Rank Lightning Deity Transformation (Lvl 1)|]
As soon as he received this vast multitude of Skills, Romulus's eyes zapped with even greater intensity. The ground beneath him froze over for dozens of meters, and his entire demeanor underwent a drastic transformation. However, without a moment's hesitation, he did more than just rely on the passives gained from these skills. He fully activated them, causing his intangible aura to explode out even further!
OOOM!
As the Grimwatcher eerily approached its prey while no longer standing on two legs, Romulus went through power-up after power-up. The passives allotted from some of the skills caused his stats to temporarily spike upward, and with that last A-Rank skill adding onto the mix, long, spiraling electric horns grew out of his head. Moreover, a thick, zappity tail grew out of his backside, and above all else, a set of spiky lightning scales lined his upper torso and over several of his limbs. Furthermore, his face turned less human and into something more draconic.
CRACKLE!!!
Romulus's lightning element was definitely his most powerful and domineering element, but his Fire and Ice Elements weren't too far behind, as they only further heightened his appearance and presence. When his power reached an all-time high, slowly but surely, he started to bob up and down off the ground. This pleasantly surprised him, but with more pressing matters at hand, looking further into it would have to wait until later.
Silence.
For an instant, the air stopped crackling and venomous saliva stopped leaking out of the Grimwatcher's terryfying second mouth. A pendrop silence loomed in the air for what felt like an eternity, with even the other lurking monsters steering clear of what was about to go down. Then, as if the final straw had been drawn, Romulus's figure flickered; he vanished but quickly reappeared in front of the Grimwatcher's grueling mouth. In his hands were two large cleavers that erupted with three different elements, all competing with each other to determine which was the most powerful.
As a result of this friendly competition, Pearlescent Cleaver was forced to evolve to keep up…
[Ding! |Pearlescent Cleaver| has leveled up from 'Lvl 4' → 'Lvl 5']
[Due to the Host's current state of absolute focus, the system has automatically decided to use up 10,000 EXP to evolve Pearlescent Cleaver from the D-Rank to the C-Rank as it has already achieved the maximum Level of 5.]
WAAA!
The atmosphere was constricted as Magicules were pulled in and transmitted into the two Pearlescent Cleavers, making them grow larger and sturdier. After reaching a size of six feet each, nearly double what they once were, yet another evolution was brought about from this congregation of elements!
[Ding! You have achieved a state of minor fusion between three different elements: fire, ice, and lightning. This has brought about adaptation and evolution!]
[A-Rank Lightning Flare, A-Rank Lightning Deity Transformation, B-Rank Lightning Burst, B-Rank Snow Suit, B-Rank Hail Storm, and... 10+ others have all been copied over and fused into the S-Rank Fusion Skill 'Elemental Dominator,' which also functions as a Growth Skill.]
OOOM!
…
Lots of new skills this chapter!