Looks good enough, Leo mused as he stopped in the middle of the old town square. The ex-Tainted Wasteland was almost empty, save for a few Cursed Reapers and Sprinters wandering around. Of course, none of them even dared to look in his direction.

I don't really need to care about the night, so I can stay here as long as I want. Let's see. He pulled up the list of his skills and techniques. Skills first, affinity after. I should also check just how hard I hit now. Oh, and test out my new tail and blades—can't forget about those.

With a clear plan in his head, Leo decided to go for his most important skills first. Essence flared in his veins and muscles, activating Reinforcement to its limit and then pushing past it. Unlike before, his body held the ability for over two minutes before his blood turned into lava.

"Not bad," he muttered, letting his burning muscles rest for a moment. "It is much stronger than before evolution and yet lasted longer. Those points in Might are really paying off. My Akirian trait might have something to do with this, too."

He shrugged and moved on to the next ability—Kiss of Death. It activated without any issue and consumed his claws in the blink of an eye. He did the same to the spikes on his tail and nodded at the instant success.

No changes here. The skill is as perfect as it can get in this form.

The same went for Phantom Erasure, as while initially difficult, this ability became as easy to perform as breathing after enough practice. Now, all that remained was to push it to the next stage—something Leo wanted to do in the next three days.

All right, Stealth Shroud next.

It was the skill he had the least experience with, and as soon as it activated, it showed. With his new body, imperfections again appeared all over the protective barrier because he just forgot to give the ability enough power.

Again.

The next attempt went a bit better. The skill still struggled to form in the beginning, but after some direct interference, the shroud finally settled over his skin. It was far from perfect, but nothing some practice couldn't fix. The night was long, after all.

"Now, Decoy and"—he grimaced—"Blink."

Just the thought of using the latter ability in his new body sent shivers down his spine. He didn't doubt for a second that relearning it would be a painful experience. Not that he could avoid it. Blink was vital in the fighting style he had been trying to develop.

Decoy first, though, he decided with a firm nod.

To his surprise, the ability worked without almost any issue. Within a few seconds, he managed to push a perfect illusionary clone out of his body, and it didn't look any different from the original. Now, he just had to work a bit on lowering the activation time. He rarely used it mid-combat, but if he could spew out tens of decoys in a matter of a second?

I have the reserves for it now. He mused, confirming that his soul was still almost full. Now Blink...

Leo took a deep breath and rolled his long neck. He planted his feet firmly in the scorched ground and let Essence flow into his body. Like any other time, he released it all in a single burst.

It all went wrong.

"Fuck!" he screamed as he was sent tumbling across the earth. He threw his claws out and stopped instantly, already cursing his existence. "Fucking hell. This went about as well as I expected. Damnit…"

Despite his complaints, the trip across the ground barely hurt. He was far more angry at the complete failure than any potential injuries. His balance was completely off during the beginning of the skill, and even the release of Essence wasn't perfect.

"This will definitely take most of the night." He sighed and stood up, preparing for another attempt.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

Spread it all over. Give it a bit more power. And... Now!

Instantly, he flashed a few feet away from his old position. Yet, despite arriving there on two feet, the power of Blink didn't end there and continued pushing him onward. He collapsed again, landing face-first in the ground.

"Ouch." He winced. "That hurt a bit. I might have given it too much Essence this time."

Another attempt proved that, indeed, he used way too much power for Blink. He still finished on the ground, but at least this time around, he didn't eat dirt. So, while not a large improvement, this was enough for him for now. The rest would come later; he still had two skills to check.

At once, Leo dived for the nearest Cursed Reaper. The Voidling tried to run, but a single flare of Essence stopped the beast mid-step. He grabbed it by the neck and extended the blade on his other hand.

"Let's see how Devour fares now." He grinned and plunged the blade into the Voidling's heart. Devour ignited along with the attack, already pulling on the beast's life force.

While before, the skill worked like an angry hound that was forever hungry, this time, it ate like the personification of the sin of gluttony itself. The moment the Reaper died from its wounds, Devour literally ripped its body apart, turning it into dust before Leo could even blink.

To make it better, the amount of Essence extracted was quite higher than before the evolution. That could have happened due to the Voidling's strength, but he doubted that. He had devoured plenty of stronger beasts, and even they didn't give him that much energy.

I wonder if the odds of getting attribute points went up. Now, that would be a pleasant surprise. Of course, he didn't believe it did, but it was a nice thought.

"All right, one last skill," he muttered, reaching for the bloodlust sleeping in the depths of his mind.

It rushed forward with just a nudge, bringing along the familiar rage and hunger. Yet, unlike even during the first stage of Ruthless Efficiency, he barely felt those emotions—they were there, just muted.

Following the bloodlust, a wave of power came next, one that almost matched the second stage of his old skill. At the same time, his vision darkened slightly, and the Voidlings in his sight turned a particular shade of red. It was like Relentless Hunger was highlighting the surrounding prey for him.

Could be useful if this works in low-visibility areas.

To keep the ability active, Leo pounced on the closest monster, cutting off its head with a single strike. He devoured it on the spot, blinking as the body disappeared even faster than before.

Right... it boosts the consumption rate, too. Forgot about that.

He continued jumping from Voidling to Voidling, fighting to keep Relentless Hunger online for as long as possible. He wanted to see just how the 'ramping up' affected the rage and hunger waiting in the back of his mind.

For minutes, he ran across the streets, slaughtering everything in his way. Just as his strength and speed grew, so did his bloodlust. At the five-minute mark, it started pushing against his mind, trying to force its rage onto him. Fighting it off didn't take much effort, but he could see how it would become a problem after a bit more time.

At least the power increase is noticeable, he noted, disabling the ability.

While not at the level of the last stage of Ruthless Efficiency, it definitely matched and maybe even outperformed Blaze after some charging. Once he got some practice with this new skill, he should be able to easily push it even further without falling victim to his bloodlust.

Much better than being a passenger in my own body. He chuckled and pulled up his techniques. There was one thing he wanted to check out there. There you are.

Ruination: Minor Takeover (Master)

This technique grants complete control of a Voidborn creature. Success is guaranteed unless the target's level or overall strength is higher than the user's. Additionally, special types of Voidlings will resist this technique. Physical contact is required to begin a takeover.

Limit of controlled Void-borns: 30

"Thirty?" His eyes opened wide. "Holy shit, it doubled. Nyx, you hear that?"

The feline, who was still running towards London with his sister, snorted internally. 'I did. Will you finally fill those slots? For a skill so powerful, you rarely use it.'

Leo winced at the truth of those words. "I'm planning to change that tomorrow. I just need to warn Holden. He still has no clue I can do that."

'Right. You hid it from them. Have fun explaining yourself now.'

"I think a demonstration will be perfect," he said, a plan already forming in his mind.

'Leo, please...' She sighed. 'You know what, never mind. Do what you want. Just don't scare those poor humans to death."

He chuckled. "I won't. How is it going on your side?"

'We're nearing London's outskirts. Nothing tried to stop us for now.'

"Good. Keep your eyes open, and let me know once you arrive. I won't bother you in the meantime."

'Will do.'