章節 25: Devouring the Lvl 51 Grimlit Lurker, An Experiment

"It looks like I obtained a few extra stat points from a couple of Skill upgrades," Romulus mused. He unclenched and unclenched his fists, feeling a level of strength that didn't previously seem possible. With the amount of power coursing through his veins, killing something like the Grimlit Lurker would be far easier, even if he didn't use every single one of his skills.

After a few seconds of adjusting to his newfound strength, Romulus's eyes fell on the massive monster corpse. Using his B-Rank Telekinesis Skill, he clutched at the air, causing a body-sized glowing black sphere to shoot out of the corpse. It stopped moving a few feet away from him, with its eerie glow leaving quite the impression on the atmosphere. After pulling it close to himself, Romulus shattered it into countless pieces and absorbed all its essence.

[Ding! Your Affinity with the Darkness Element has tremendously improved!]

Immediately after:

|S-Rank Devour|

The Grimlit Lurker's corpse was covered by a large, voracious mouth, then it was sucked back into Romulus's body, transmitting all of the monster's power to himself.

[Ding! You devoured a Lvl 51 Grimlit Lurker and absorbed its essence!]

[You obtained 21 Stat Points in Strength, 20 in Agility, 19 in Defense, and 23 in Intelligence!]

Romulus's brows raised. "With these improvements, I am not far away from reaching the four-digit range for every single stat," he said, his heart filling up with a bit of anticipation. "Another hour or so of killing, and I should be able to gather all of the Stat Points I need."

Following through with this statement, he sauntered away from where a hill-sized corpse used to be. His new destination was the true center circle of Ghost Town, which would also be where A-Rank Monsters could be encountered around every corner. For most, this was the worst possible thing that could happen to them. However, for Romulus, this was just another one of many trials that he was required to overcome.

After a full day and night had passed since Toriyama and his classmates were transported to this world, the S-Rank Heroes and their companions finished conquering their first F-Rank Dungeon. With their inexperience, even E-Rank and F-Rank monsters were proven to be serious threats. Still, with the unique skills of the S-Rank Heroes, conquering the dungeon was just a matter of time. A few of them, such as Nanami and Akira, had already leveled up once or twice, while the ones who dealt less damage were close to leveling up for the first time. To tell this, one just had to look at the area above their health bar, and they would see a white bar that was partially green. When the green fully filled up the bar and reset, it would signify that the person had leveled up.

Now, on the matter of BP acquisition for the heroes — those, like Ryota and Tatsuya, who were S-Rank Heroes, received between 20-25 BP per level up. As Tatsuya was at the limit of the rank, he received 25 BP every level up. Ryota, on the other hand, was toward the mid part of the rank, so he received 22 BP every level up. Nanami gained 24 BP per level, and Aikira got 21, making him the lowest of the lot in that regard. Still, with his primary element being the Light Element, the Three Holy Priests and the Holy Goddess favored him the most. As for everyone else — A-Rank ranged between 15-19, B-Rank 10-14, C-Rank 7-9, D-Rank 5-6, E-Rank 3-4, and F-Rank was just a set 2.

As the vivacious heroes left the F-Rank Dungeon in bubbly moods, a divinely beautiful woman draped in gorgeous attire sat on a large velvet chair in her room. In her hands was a mirror that displayed all the Heroes walking in a group outside a mossy, displaced tower that was halfway stuck in the ground. Slowly turning her emotionless eyes up from this mirror, she looked toward two people who had seemingly appeared out of nowhere. One was Priest Rheon, while the other was Priestess Thandria, leaving just Priest Malvus to watch over the heroes.

"What is it that you require of us, Holy Goddess Valeria!?" Rheon said with reverence, his hands cupped and his head bowing respectfully. Gracefully, Goddess Valeria responded in a melodic tone, her pretty pink lips unintentionally moving in a seductive way. "Split up the Heroes into 3 groups. Send all the S-Rank Heroes into the E-Rank Dungeon Thorn Maze, and then put half the A-Rank Heroes with half the B-Rank Heroes; have them go into the F-Rank Ice Cavern Dungeon. Finally, take the rest of the A-Rank and B-Rank Heroes, and have them go with the C-Rank, D-Rank, and E-Rank Heroes." She turned her flawless face away from the stunned Priest and Priestess as soon as she spoke these harrowing commands.

Shaking, Priestess Thandria said, "Holy Goddess… A-Are we planning to turn this into an experiment…?" Her breath became unsteady as her irises erratically flickered.

Holy Goddess Valeria nodded without looking up. "Yes, we have no need for useless Heroes, and if they can't survive without the constant presence of S-Rank Heroes, then they are useless," she said, her tone bereft of emotion. "Now, carry out my orders; stop wasting my time."

"Y-Yes, of course, Holy Goddess!" Priestess Thandria and Priest Rheon shouted in unison, their expressions emulating genuine zealousness. If that was what their Goddess commanded, then it would happen without fail! They thought as they vanished from their spots.

…