Chapter 29

Running under enhancement was difficult—I lacked the agility for such movements. But the seven-meter strides were exhilarating; I moved almost twice as fast. Five floating lanterns circled around me, attracting only flying demons. So, my diet expanded significantly, thanks to cuts from manticores and other fiends. The strongest enemy I faced was level 173—that very manticore. It took me a long time to kill it, using only magic while constantly running away. But it couldn’t escape me. I caught up and had my fun with the corpse.

All the seals of demonologists, necromancers, and blood mages were written with the same symbols—twenty-three in total. I assumed this was the true alphabet of magic. All three disciplines fell under ritual magic. I wondered if I could perform a manticore resurrection ritual. And I succeeded.

Necromancy +1

Ritual Magic +1

Blood Magic +1

I drew a necromantic pentagram using its own blood. Good thing the gods couldn’t see—probably would’ve ruined my karma. I raised it, sure, but killing the manticore became much harder. It was slower, but its strength and endurance skyrocketed. I had to pelt it with stones, leveling earth magic in the process. Post-mortem injuries were severe, so when I raised it again, it had a ton of debuffs. And again, no experience. So, I could only level up once per target.

I spent the whole day running across the Ash Fields under enhancement. Whenever an enemy appeared, I switched to magic training, then ritual magic, then necromancy, then back to regular magic. Zero waste! Turns out, magically burning corpses levels fire magic. Cool! Normally, corpses vanish after an hour.

My speed stat grew rapidly—enhancement pushed my body far beyond its limits. Athletics also improved quickly. I zigzagged as I ran—agility leveled much faster that way. Sometimes, two flying enemies appeared, and this running style made combat easier. Knock one down, then the other, finish both with magic. Then necromancy. Dark magic can be fun! Especially in Hell. Especially when there’s nothing else to do.

For two weeks, I ran at my limit, killing anything drawn to the lantern’s light, then tormenting the corpses before killing them again. Only then did the victims find peace. Ritual magic required ceremonies to amplify effects. Necromancy didn’t need seals—necromancers had spells or special daggers. I decided to make one.

If an item breaks, it leaves behind fragments of its material. I discovered this while leveling fire resistance. I couldn’t forge anything properly, but I could melt metal and shape it. Telekinesis could form a flat plane, which I used to melt metal scraps and shape them into a blade.

Linprin Dagger

Created by a man in makeshift conditions, without tools. It’d be a miracle if this could kill anyone.

- Physical Damage: 20-25

- Durability: 770/1000

I wasn’t aiming for greatness—just needed a blade. Carve the right runes and activate them with mana.

Ritual Linprin Dagger

Engraved with runes of the dead’s rise.

- Physical Damage: 20-25

- Durability: 770/1000

This blasphemy against blacksmithing earned me +1 in Smithing and Blood Magic. But now I had a corpse-raising dagger. Once I maxed necromancy, I could raise the dead with a single stab. I was close to the end of my run—three more days to the starting point.

Three days later...

The Ash Fields were getting tedious. Turns out, similar spells can be combined for stronger attacks. The power radiating from them was palpable even without mage sight. The exact damage was unclear, but it was less than eight individual spells—just delivered all at once. A great way to pierce high-resistance enemies. Today, I’d unlock the ninth stream of consciousness and reach 80% demonification. Under enhancement, my skin darkened.

Demonification: 80%

Your soul is bound to this world. Your flesh adapts to the world’s order.

Unlocked Passive Ability: Ninth Stream of Consciousness

You can now think and perform nine tasks simultaneously.

Warning: Accepting this ability will deduct 100 Intelligence and Wisdom to create a separate mental stream.

Accept? Yes / No.

Unlocked Passive Ability: Demon Obsession (Stage 5)

You can enhance five body parts by 80%. Health and stamina are consumed equally.

Of course, I took the new stream. The combat advantage was undeniable. Obsession was something else—I ran at ~50 m/s, jumped 15 meters high, and 40 meters with a running start. Breathtaking! No one could catch me.

- Status Window!

Name: Saji

Level: 0

EXP: 0/100

Race: Human

Class: None

Core Stats:

- Strength: 200

- Agility: 200

- Endurance: 200

- Intelligence: 100

- Wisdom: 100

- Free Points: 0

Secondary Stats:

- Speed: 200

- Athletics: 200

- Spirit: 200

- Vitality: 200

Combat Stats:

- Physical Damage: 100 (Strength/2, min. 1)

- Carry Capacity: 500 kg (Strength × 10/4)

- Mana: 1000 (Wisdom × 10)

- Health: 2000 (Endurance × 10)

- Stamina: 2000 (Endurance × 10)

Regeneration:

- Health: 2000/min (Vitality × 10)

- Mana: 2000/min (Spirit × 10)

- Stamina: 2000/min (Athletics × 10)

- Run Speed: 76 km/h (1 + Speed/10)

Defense: 1

Resistances:

- Physical: 2.51% (Ignore up to 874 dmg/sec)

- Poison: 1.27% (Ignore up to 211 dmg/sec)

- Mental: 2.69% (Ignore up to 1003 dmg/sec)

- Fire: 17.17% (Ignore up to 63,852 dmg/sec)

Skills:

- Cooking: 25

- Trap Crafting: 19

- Archery: 2

- Swimming: 4

- Breath Control: 5

- Stealth: 25

- Life Magic: 250

- Spirit Magic: 88

- Space Magic: 250

- Earth Magic: 250

- Water Magic: 75

- Fire Magic: 250

- Air Magic: 250

- Light Magic: 250

- Dark Magic: 166

- Meditation: 250

- Hand-to-Hand: 52

- Perception: 45

- Necromancy: 103

- Blood Magic: 77

- Ritual Magic: 110

Professions:

- Herbalism: 2

- Fishing: 16

- Tailoring: 23

- Blacksmithing: 2

- Carpentry: 16

Abilities:

- Imp’s Eye

- Nine Streams of Consciousness

- Demon Obsession (Stage 5)

Gifts:

- Deferred Meeting