Chương 532: Chapter 501: Leaderboard

Like in the vision, Thalion's body transformed into a black tide that engulfed all the fighters on the ground within moments. Powerful waves of living darkness hurled them through the air while their bodies were constantly torn apart and assimilated into his expanding form. He had no real understanding of what this new skill truly was, yet it felt incredible. What he had expected to be difficult—becoming pure darkness—came to him naturally, as if he had always been meant to exist like this.

Every movement obeyed his will, every current flowed exactly as he desired, and as he began to rotate, his victims were dragged along helplessly, thrown around without even the slightest chance of escape. Even after everything they had endured inside the lizard's belly, they were still capable of fear—and Thalion enjoyed it far more than he probably should have. He had assumed it would take time to dissolve them completely, but the moment they were fully engulfed by his darkness, their end came within seconds.

While maintaining the rotation, Thalion formed five massive spikes of condensed darkness and launched them toward the lizard. The creature hadn't even realized what was happening. Just as it leapt forward, jaws wide open to swallow Ricarda whole, the spikes struck its back, driving deep into its flesh. They didn't penetrate all the way through, but the force alone was enough to slam the massive body into the ground. Even so, the damage was far less than he had hoped for. He needed more power.

"Go help Pikar!" Thalion shouted the moment he released the Voidtide Manifestation and returned to a physical form. Ricarda reacted immediately, diving toward the witch who had begun to corner a struggling Pikar, leaving Thalion alone with the now enraged lizard. The problem was obvious: while his Eclipsari form made him nearly untouchable against darkness, it simply lacked the raw power to truly harm the creature. His attacks felt dulled against its body, as if his affinity itself was being resisted.

The three spikes had, however, earned him the creature's full attention. With a furious screech, the lizard lunged at him, its maw opening wide enough to swallow him whole. Yet what it found was no longer the relatively small Eclipsari. In its place stood a massive wyvern. Rising onto his hind legs, Thalion gained a crucial advantage in height as he clashed with the beast, though the difference in size did little to lessen the danger.

The lizard's claws tore into his scales while its jaws snapped shut around his neck, forcing a low growl from him. Without the Eclipsari's immunity, the darkness-infused attacks now began to take their toll, but the trade-off for raw power was necessary. He had briefly considered allowing himself to be swallowed to tear the creature apart from within, yet the sheer amount of matter it had already consumed made that approach far too risky.

Now the lizard could hurt him—but for the first time, he could truly hurt it back. Abandoning all restraint, Thalion fought with brutal efficiency. His domain expanded as he unleashed every skill that could grant him even the slightest advantage. Slamming one claw into the ground, he lunged forward and sank his fangs deep into the creature's head from above. Under his strength, bones cracked and splintered like brittle twigs, yet the lizard refused to yield.

Its muscles bulged unnaturally as it forced itself upright, rising onto its hind legs as well, its sheer mass pushing against Thalion with overwhelming force. With a violent motion, it slammed him into a wall, shifting its grip as it searched for a better angle to tear into him. Thalion, however, held firm, locking his limbs around the creature while gathering power for his breath attack.

Blinded by rage, the lizard thrashed wildly, but Thalion used its own momentum against it, shifting his weight at the right moment and throwing the massive body into the wall instead. That was all the opening he needed. The energy he had been gathering reached its peak, and without hesitation, he unleashed Apocalyptic Breath of the Heavenrend Wyvern directly into the creature's head. The resulting explosion tore through the chamber, a wave of destructive force so immense that it hurled even Thalion backward.

When the dust settled, the lizard was gone, its body completely annihilated, and with its death, the old hag vanished as well. A surge of experience flooded into him, pushing him all the way to level 110 from that single battle, and as the power settled within him, a grin slowly spread across his face. The fight had not only made him stronger—it had rewarded him with something far more valuable. Another divine skill, this time tied to his wyvern form.

True Heart of the Heavenrend Wyvern (Divine) The heart of the Heavenrend Wyvern grows stronger with every battle, constantly preparing the path toward a far greater transformation. By consuming power aligned with its natural affinities, the heart evolves through distinct stages, each one granting a significant increase in raw physical strength, resilience, and destructive potential.

The further it develops, the closer the user comes to awakening the true nature of the Heavenrend Wyvern, opening a path toward a level of power that far surpasses its current limits. Another passive skill—and frankly, a completely broken one. Not something that would help him immediately, but it looked very much like his ticket to becoming a dragon. He had read a lot about evolutions, and since the wyvern form likely didn't have a massive upgrade path on its own, becoming a dragon was the logical next step.

The real question, however, was what kind of dragon he would end up becoming. At first, the idea of evolving into a normal dragon and only reaching a true dragon form at C- or B-grade had seemed reasonable. Now, with this skill, things looked very different. Could it be possible for him to become a true dragon already at D-grade? If that were the case, it wouldn't matter in the slightest that the other Chosen were already halfway through D-grade. Of course, it was still a long road ahead.

Reaching D-grade itself wasn't even the biggest hurdle—the real problem was getting rid of the system's mark. Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. Thinking about it further, Thalion came to the conclusion that he needed to gain momentum—and fast. Otherwise, protecting this new faction might become very difficult. Yes, he had already defeated three D-grade enemies, but those had been favorable matchups, and none of them possessed a proper bloodline.

He also had the growing suspicion that their evolution had been artificially accelerated by the gifts of that mysterious girl. He had heard so much about D-grade beings, and while these enemies had been undeniably powerful, he couldn't shake the feeling that he had expected more. There was no real way to confirm his theory during this System Event, as none of them had encountered D-grade opponents before this point. Without any reliable comparison, he would need to remain cautious. This was a critical moment.

Charging recklessly into battle against D-grade enemies on New Earth just because he had managed to defeat them here would be a grave mistake. Hopefully, the gods could provide guidance once they returned.

"Everyone okay?" Thalion asked, looking at the others, who didn't seem nearly as satisfied with their victory. Pikar was kneeling beside the remains of his insects, while Ricarda was tending to her plants, quietly reassuring them that everything would be alright.

"I'm fine… but I lost five of my fastest insects," Pikar said in a flat tone. Ricarda, on the other hand, reacted far more emotionally.

"Fine? I'm not fine! Do you see this plant? DO YOU SEE IT?" she shouted, holding one of the flowers with orange leaves right in front of Thalion's face, who had shifted back into his human form.

"She had to watch all four of her brothers get swallowed by that greedy lizard!"

"Okay…" Thalion didn't really know what to do with that information. His focus was elsewhere. The stupid lizard hadn't dropped any treasure. Neither had the old hag. At least her body was still intact. Shifting back into his Eclipsari form, Thalion began devouring what remained of the darkness in the area, along with the lizard's body. Before completely consuming it, however, he wanted to check its skills one last time. Most of them were useless to him.

A few others seemed incomplete or simply missing—but one stood out immediately. Mass Amplification (Legendary) With a slow, deliberate breath, the user draws upon an unseen force that bends the very pull of the world toward them. Their body grows impossibly heavy, each step becoming a crushing weight that cracks stone and sinks into the ground, while incoming blows lose their impact against a mass that feels utterly immovable.

The effect can also be reversed, lightening the pull of gravity and allowing the user to counter domains with high gravitational pressure that would otherwise pin others to the ground. That had to be the reason the lizard had been able to move while carrying what felt like half a city inside its body. And more importantly, it seemed like an excellent addition for the Eclipsari form. The wyvern was already massive, and for his underwater serpent form, it would be mostly useless.

In human form, it might have some application, but he rarely relied on physical combat there, preferring swordplay, vines, or fire. The Eclipsari, however, would benefit the most from it. What Thalion really needed was a way to improve his Acquire Form skill—or at least make it show more of the useful abilities. Sometimes, it granted him multiple skills from a single creature, while in other cases, he only received one or two.

Especially with D-grade beasts and their unusual abilities, there was real potential to gain something valuable. The problem was… he had no idea how to upgrade it. In hindsight, he should have asked Ratgul. Then again, he now had an entire godly faction behind him—surely someone there would have an answer. For now, however, there was still the problem of finding a way further down. And at the moment, the others weren't helpful at all.

Ricarda was still trying to calm her plant, while Pikar attempted to revive one of his insects that was missing half of its body. With the main threat gone, they should be safe for the moment, and Thalion began walking through the streets that weren't buried under tons of stone and sand. At first, he started to think this was all a waste of time—but then he found something promising.

Following the tracks of the massive lizard, he reached a building with a huge hole in the wall where the creature had dug its way through. It looked almost like a hidden tunnel. Curious, Thalion followed it, which led him into a massive chamber filled with violet light. This time, the light was so intense that it actually hurt him in his Eclipsari form, forcing him to shift back into his human body. It seemed this was where the lizard's journey had ended.

It had likely been searching for a way forward but had been unable to pass through the dense, overwhelming light. That meant this had to be the correct path. There might have been something else hidden in the city, but if Pikar and Ricarda hadn't found anything, there was no reason to waste more time. Both were relieved that Thalion had discovered a way forward, even if neither of them was particularly eager to descend deeper.

The lizard and the remaining citizens had already pushed them to their limits—whatever came next would likely be even more dangerous.

"Hmm… those crystals again, but they seem even more powerful. If we stay here for a bit, I might be able to breed a few insects with this affinity," Pikar said, studying the numerous crystals embedded in the walls.

"I could try the same with one of my remaining plants, but it would take more than half a day—and I'm not sure how effective it would be against a D-grade enemy," Ricarda added. Considering how close both of them had been to their limits earlier, Thalion decided that this might be a good time for a short break. If the next fight truly involved the mysterious girl, he would need every advantage he could get. They just needed to reach the next chamber to have some space.

After following the corridor for a while, they eventually reached another chamber. This one contained several gates and stone panels. High above them, suspended in the center of the ceiling, hovered an eight-meter-tall prismatic crystal, glowing with the same intense violet light as the ones in the corridor. The radiance was so strong that Thalion didn't even consider shifting back into his Eclipsari form—it would have caused real damage.

"Very good. With this, it will go a lot faster. And if this is a treasure, it should give more points than the seeds, right?" Ricarda said with excitement, flying upward and storing the crystal in her spatial ring.

"See? It works. Yesss… it gives two hundred thousand points, which puts us—oh… that's not good." Thalion opened the leaderboard as well, trying to see what had unsettled her. At first glance, it didn't seem too alarming—just a few more Chosen had appeared. More than enough time had passed, and he was confident they were still in the lead.

Ricarda – Chosen of Ferniel – 200, 000 King Solmyrion – Chosen of Heliorax – 150, 000 Queen Elyssara – Chosen of Mycelara – 120, 000 Commander Uratis – 80, 000 Elena – 80, 000 High Priest Prignoius – 50, 000"Why are you so unsettled? I think we've done well so far, and even if they're hiding points, we're still ahead," Pikar said, clearly confused by Ricarda's reaction.

"Those two Chosen… they are my king and queen. I spent time with them before, since the other Chosen had all been part of the first System Event. They are incredibly powerful, and the bloodlines they possess make them almost impossible to defeat," Ricarda muttered, her face turning pale. That immediately caught Thalion's interest. Could those be the parents of the prince whose bloodline he had already taken?

"Do they both have the same bloodline?" he asked, as this was by far the most important question to him right now. He wanted more bloodlines—especially ones that could strengthen his abilities. Such a bloodline would be valuable for all his forms, but particularly for the Eclipsari, which still lacked raw power.

"No, they're different. But both have a presence I've never felt before, and they are the unofficial leaders of the elves due to their strength—and that of their patrons. Encountering them would mean our end… especially now that I've been forced to betray them…" Ricarda explained, panic clearly rising in her voice.