Chương 97: Ascension - 1

WARHOL incanted [Heal] at his lowest mana imbuement. All it took was an instance for Valkathor to be restored to his former 'might.' The dragon reared itself high and let loose a roar which would have been terrifying to anyone other than him.

"Are you done?" Already, he was bored.

"Show me the inside of the volcano already." He felt a tug at his mind; it was the 'system' 'informing' him of the dragon becoming his familiar. Valkathor bent low and allowed him to jump onto his back and ride. The dragon 'god' obviously knew Warhol could fly on his own, but this way, the dragon's show of subservience was clear. They flew directly into the no longer erupting volcano. Magma, flames, and lava remained everywhere, as if the volcano was about to erupt.

Warhol cast over his barrier and was protected from the extreme temperature as Valkathor took him deep into the volcano's underground passages, once used as rich magma veins, now long since petrified. It was here, in these vast web-like chasms of still air and sudden heat death, that Valkathor dived and took him into a massive cavern. The cavern's size made Warhol awe-impressed and considering he had seen space, that meant something!

Why the cavern impressed him was simple: it was huge and though space held much bigger things, but a long shot, there was also not much to compare things to in space. Was something the size of a tree, a moon, a galaxy? Who knew! Here, though, the cavern was quantifiable: if he had to estimate, Warhol would wager the cavern was big enough to hold an entire province! Hundreds of miles, at the least!

"Will this do, master?" Valkathor asked via their newly established mental connection.

"Yes, Valk, this will do nicely..." and it would do. Here was spacious enough for him to do just about anything he wanted. Normally, the first order of business in arriving to any new location would be to build shelter... but he had enough magics to make any place comfortable. The idea of 'shelter' was a primitive concept, to him. Instead, he wanted to indulge in his artifact lust.

"You may do as you will, Valkathor. When I have need of you, I will summon you." Valkathor bowed and flew away.

Quickly, he checked his stats: [Name: Warhol Chaucer] [Level: 1, 000, 000 — MAX LEVEL REACHED] [Martial Prowess: 513, 000] [Magical Prowess: 166, 500, 000] [Stamina: 7, 425, 000] [Mastery Dynamics: 100, 000] [Unallocated Boon Points: 9, 999, 999 — MAX NUMBER OF BOON POINTS ACQUIRED] He knew fighting and slaying literal trillions of Swarm Goblins and an army and a half of the tentacles would grant him [XP] beyond measure, but he still did not think it would grant him that much [XP]!

He had actually maxed out his level? Same for Boon Points! What was he to do with all those Points?! Warhol opened the artifact sub-menu. He brimmed with pride upon seeing the mutation notification changed with his three fully charged artifact splinters: [All Triple-SSS Mutations are Open and will serve as a Keystone Matrix Mutation Moving Forward: Please Select the First Mutation].

He looked at the list of Triple-SSS mutations which remained: [Void Armor: Creates a magic and mana-nullifying shield around your body while also creating ideal conditions for Reality Warping] The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. [Demon Core: Overflows your body and spirit with unholy energy from the Unseen Realms. Dramatically increases stats but removes Deity System] [Angel Core: Overflows your body with holy energy from the Celestial Realms. Decreases stats but adds an advanced layer to the Deity System] Which one did he want to do first? He figured he should save the [Demon Core] for last since it removed the System. Though, since he was going to be getting all three anyway, did it matter?

"Oh, who cares..." He selected and confirmed [Void Armor]: the artifact whirred into overdrive and assaulted him, practically burying itself inside his chest as it pulsed in conjunction with his heart and filled him with exotic energy which was neither magic nor eldritch in nature. Time went out-of-focus as the artifact changed him from the inside out. He saw stars and not just metaphoric stars — literal stars. Warhol saw his soul glide across quasars and red dwarfs, nebulas and galaxies.

He felt he floated for years, though his wiser self knew only a limited passage of time occurred. Still, when the artifact ceased its pulsations, he returned to his cavern a man with a changed appreciation of the universe.... and a man who was now impervious to all magics and mana and who could 'warp' reality, whatever that meant. He paused and gathered himself before re-opening the artifact sub-menu: [Demon Core] and [Angel Core] remained. It was time for [Angel Core].

Because he wanted to be smart about this, he checked his stats again before initiating the mutation. However much the mutation would decrease his stat lines by, he wanted to know once he had the time to compare: [Martial Prowess: 1, 539, 000] [Magical Prowess: 499, 500, 000] [Stamina: 22, 275, 000] He chuckled in disbelief at his power then confirmed the [Angel Core]. This time, the artifact shot into his head and pulsed an energy that was the opposite of how the [Void Armor] made him feel.

He was at peace, one with himself, heavenly... He saw creatures with dozens of wings, numerous eyes, and a radiance which could shatter Horrors beyond the measure of even the type which bore down on his home. Warhol knew these creatures were angels, but far above those which his people typically depicted, as being humanoid with birdwings and halos. And then, it was over. The light faded and he was back in the cavern, a residual harmony with him but fading fast.

He smiled like a choir boy receiving a blessing and opened his stat page: [Martial Prowess: 1, 000, 000] [Magical Prowess: 450, 000, 000] [Stamina: 15, 00, 000] He did some advanced math in his head and settled on an estimate which saw up to thirty percent of his stats removed... that was a lot, but not as much as he thought it would be, which was good!

First things first, before he went and confirmed the final mutation, [Demon Core], he had to check out what this 'advanced layer' to the Deity Champion System was all about: he knelt down and prayed, perhaps for the last time. Unsurprisingly, prayer did not come easy to him. He became easily distracted and not able to 'commune' as he once did; he wasn't, technically, human anymore, so that was not the shock of the century.

What was the shock of the century, was a sudden notification which totalized his mind beyond comprehension. It simply read, [Purchase Heavenly Link?]. Despite his best effort, he did not see a Boon Point cost associated with the purchase. He tried to open his eyes and end the shopping experience, but found he was not able to wake up.

"Screw it. Confirm purchase of Heavenly Link..." [Purchase Confirmed: Thank You for Your Continued Patronage, Warhol...] It was rare for the system to grant people personalized messages mentioning them by name. Frankly, it creeped him out. Though not as much as the next notification: [-9, 999, 999 Boon Points Subtracted]. He 'woke' with a start and a groan — "My Points!" he yelled but calmed himself. For what reason was he even upset? What on earth had he planned on buying with the Boon Points?

If that Heavenly Link cost that many Points, then it was surely for a good reason. No use in complaining, then. Safely back in the darkness of his cave, Warhol wondered if that was all there was to the 'advanced layer.' Part of him wanted to wander around creation for a while and tinker with things... another stronger part of him decided against wasting time. He still had a final Triple-SSS mutation to select and he wanted to get to it while he was still young. Well, young-ish.

He opened the artifact sub-menu once again and saw the final mutation: [Demon Core]. It would remove the System. What use did he have for the system at this point? His mind was telling him all that the System told him before the System even got around to it. Hence, was it doing him any good? He was about to confirm the final mutation purchase when he thought to give the Celestial Gods one final grace: he thanked his patron deity.

His patron thanked, Warhol looked at the [Demon Core], incanted a [Pain Relief] and an [Extend] sub-routine with hardly a thought and confirmed. Then, everything went black.