The Grudge's attacks harmlessly crashed against us as I beat up my clone down to the 25% threshold, activating his boost increase. With a painful wince, he gripped the Soultaker tightly, blinking out of existence.

Literal seconds later, I heard the Grudge roar in pain as my clone successfully cut it down, triggering its second phase. It was a gruesome sight as the creature's tentacles whipped around, tearing the ground apart. I casted a worried glance towards the base of the mountain, but it seemed like Levius was doing a good job of protecting Celine with relative ease.

"Good luck," my clone saluted before he blew himself up with Final Gambit, disabling the Grudge's Linked trait.

I faced the grotesque boss, feeling the warmth of its attacks but not the pain. What was interesting was that most of its stats, Health specifically, capped at 999 billion, shown by '999+'. I guess even if it used me as a booster, the Grudge boss was unaware of Ascension. Or couldn't go through with it. Whatever the case was, it didn't complicate things any further.

A little bored, I fired off multiple spears of darkness at the Grudge, quickly whittling its Health away. I wasn't expecting anything to come out of it, given that the last two times I had run this dungeon, I only obtained its core.

[Congratulations! Luquier Vaunt's Party has cleared Mountain of the Unforgiving.]

[Reap has successfully obtained new Title exclusive skill: Regretful Legion.]

[You have earned the hidden achievement: 'Lend Me Your Strength.']

[No other rewards found.]

[You have gained 0.1 (x1,061,000) experience points.]

[Level up!]

"Holy-"

[...shit...] Sephera finished for me. Yeah, it was nice to have actually gained a new skill, but leveling up from killing the boss exponentially increased my Stat Points to a near 84 billion. Also, what was up with the 'Title exclusive' skill? And a hidden achievement?

Still half-stunned, I flew back down to the base of the mountain, dispersing Levius and joining up with Celine.

"Immortal... what just happened?" Celine called out, her eyes wide with visible shock as she took in the scene around her. The mountain was trembling, cracks spider webbing across the ground from the impact of my Reaps. The Grudge of the Fallen had all but been shredded by my attacks, along with a large chunk of the mountain's peak. Oops. Maybe I had gone a little overboard.

"Well, we've killed the boss," I replied with a shrug, trying to play it cool despite the adrenaline pumping through my veins. "And I got a new skill."

"Yes... I can see that. I'm very interested in the fact that none of the boss's attacks harmed you. Last time, I remembered you with a hole in your body when you took just one of its beams." Celine returned to her usual emotionless self. "Just what kind of being are you to have grown to that point? It can't all be from your Risk strategy."

I gave a lopsided smile. "I've got a couple of really useful skills and passives."

Celine stared at me for a moment, then shook her head as she turned to the exit portal. "Whatever you say, Immortal."

As we found ourselves back inside the simulation room of the GPA, I stopped Celine from exiting the room.

"Wait. Can I try something on you real quick?"

The Saint immediately tensed up, her hand hovering over the door handle. "What do you mean by 'try something'?" she asked warily.

[Yeah, word choice???]

"Er, I mean, I have a piece of equipment that allows me to transfer extra Stat Points to others," I hurriedly explained, trying to ease the tension as I waved away Sephera's message. "If it works, you could essentially keep growing without having to actually level up."

Celine raised an eyebrow. "That would essentially render a Player's purpose moot. With an ability like that, it basically means you would shoulder the sole responsibility of leveling up. You'd be a living farm for stats."

[She has a point e.e... and why not just keep them for yourself?]

I scratched the back of my head. "No yeah, I know that, but it's not like I'm gonna go around giving everyone free stats. Plus, I need them too." I shrugged. "But, if you're okay with it, I'd like to test it out. Just to see."

The real reason was that based on the beings I had just met; Seth, Izu, and Bathalt, there was no way Celine would ever come close to reaching their levels unless she adopted my Risk strategy. That went the same for a lot of others in my life.

"Here, I'll use a majority of my points on myself right now and see if I can give some to you," I said, opening my Status Window. I couldn't help but crack a smile when I was finished. Damn, I had finally reached the '+' symbol. In fact, I had reached double digits, far larger than what I saw from Seth or Izu. One step closer to Ascension.

With 34 million points to spare, I turned to Celine. "Can I?"

Her eyes widened at the sheer amount of points displayed on my screen. After a moment's contemplation, she nodded. "Fine, but only if you're absolutely sure it won't mess anything up."

"I'm... sure."

Before Celine could register my hesitation, I activated my Pendant of Balance, triggering its Grace trait as she brought up her Status Window.

[Name: Celine Saffron | Level: 3356]

[Title: Saint of the Phoenix (S)]

[Health: 105,685 | Strength: 70,245]

[Speed: 70,245 | Magic: 103,790]

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

[Risk: 1000 | Stat Points: 1,130,625]

"Oh, okay..." I murmured to myself, feeling a hint of envy at the difference in our levels. Even though I was 3015, at least my numbers made up for the disparity. The pendant around my neck glowed a soft blue as I attempted to use its ability.

[Would you like to transfer Stat Points to Player Celine Saffron?]

[Maximum points available to transfer today: 16,780]

I grunted, running the numbers in my head. It seemed like there was a daily limit along with the fact that I could only distribute points equal to how much a person should normally have at their level.

"Hmm... so it looks like there's a maximum I can give you... it's your level times five and there's a daily limit," I explained to Celine, my finger hovering over the Yes option. Even though the limit would essentially be nullified by my Title's abilities, that was still a loss of points that could be put to better things.

Celine nodded, looking at her own Status Window. "That's actually better for me. I'd hate to grow too strong to the point where I'd have to resort to your methods just to level up once. No offense, of course. I don't have any of your pain resistance or whatever it was you said earlier."

"None taken," I said with a chuckle, clicking the 'Yes' button. A warm sensation flooded my chest as the Stat Points began to transfer.

After the transfer was done, Celine bowed her head in gratitude. "Thank you, Immortal."

"Yeah... no problem," I awkwardly replied, still not used to her formalities. "Well, there's that."

Celine gave me a small smile before she checked her phone. "Ah, it's nearly dinnertime. Would you like to grab a bite with me?"

"Well, didn't we have a late lunch earlier-" my stomach growled, interrupting my sentence. Apparently, my metabolism and appetite also grew with my strength. "...Sure."

----------------------------------------

Not really wanting to run into weird or absurdly strong beings again, I chose the place this time, a simple fast-food joint that I knew would be quiet and relatively safe. After eating, Celine denied my offer to fly her back to her place, opting for a boring taxi cab back.

I relaxed back at my apartment, deciding to take it slow for now and reassessing my plans. While it was a bummer that I didn't get another core from the dungeon, it didn't mean I was out of options for leveling up.

I eagerly brought up my window, excited to check out my achievement and this special Title exclusive skill.

[Achievement: Lend Me Your Strength.]

[Acquired by defeating the Grudge of the Fallen at least three times, obtaining any of its skills, & dealing the final blow.]

[Description: Enables you to Link your Strength with the stats of your gear, if applicable. Can only use on one object at a time.]

"Oh shit," I breathed in awe. That sort of solved my issue with the Soultaker. Linking nearly 21 billion with its damage would mean I could basically one-shot Seth now. Not that I planned to.

[:o I wonder why it's a hidden achievement... the requirements don't seem very hard to get.]

"Considering the clear condition is for the strongest Player to die for it to be harmed, I can see why," I replied, stroking my chin. "But it's definitely going to be useful for the future."

I took out the Soultaker and tried the achievement out, immediately regretting it when the sword gave a lewd moan.

"Oh my gods... such power..." the sword murmured, trembling violently. The moment I Linked the sword with my Strength, it felt like the weapon had become a part of me. The blue runes on the blade shone the brightest I had ever seen it glow.

"And that's enough of that," I cut off the Link, breaking the connection between us. The sword quivered once more before returning to its usual stoic state. I couldn't help but feel a bit embarrassed, despite knowing that the Soultaker was inanimate.

"Sir... you've become quite powerful now. Not as powerful as my master, but enough for me to think of a new way to address you," the blade proclaimed, shivering in my hands.

"I'm fine with 'sir', but I'll leave that up to you. At least you're not calling me names anymore," I absentmindedly replied as I set the sword down. I ignored Sephera's messages spamming my vision with her shipping of me and the Soultaker.

I tapped on my new skill, eager to see what it did.

[Regretful Legion]

[Cooldown: 1x (24 hours)]

[Description: Allows user to summon a specter army. Number of specters equals amount of times died. Specter stats equal to times user’s specter has been defeated. (Locked)]

[Amount: 1054 | Stat Percentage: 0%]

[!!!]

A cold chill ran down my spine as I stared at the skill description. A specter army? Made of my own deaths? That was intense, even for Last Stand standards. But the fact that it had a locked description had me intrigued. What did I have to do to unlock it? Not to mention the fact that my specter army's strength depended on the times I had defeated my own specter.

It seemed as though both Sephera and the Soultaker shared the same uneasiness regarding the skill. The silence was palpable as I contemplated the implications of such a powerful ability.

I had never, even in the virtual predecessor of Last Stand, beaten my own specter. Honestly, I strongly believed it was never meant to be beaten, but this new skill was implying something entirely different.

I cleared the screens, pulling out my phone from my Inventory to see if I could do any research on the topic. As far as I knew, there was no one who had beaten their specter, since any Player who died hadn't returned from the dead without some bullshit revival ability.

My eyes widened as I was bombarded with text messages and missed calls. Many of them were from guilds looking to recruit me. Some were from sponsorship deals, others from high-level players wanting to form parties. I scowled, a little annoyed that my number had spread like wildfire. I decided to get a secondary phone for personal use later.

Then, my eyes locked on to a message that made me feel nervous.

"Hey, Luke. Going thru some things rn. Can we talk?"

Tommy's message had been sent nearly three hours ago.

----------------------------------------

I zoomed over to the tower, where Tommy's last location had been. I cursed myself for neglecting him when I was aware that he had been dealing with some stuff behind the scenes. How long had it been since I talked to him?

Under the night sky, I walked through the entrance, going into the Safe Zone portal. The world had reached floor 37, where I assumed Tommy would be.

At first, I was surprised to see that Tommy's last location was near the tower, then fearful when I realized that the portal's time limit had long been passed. A quick search told me that when I cleared the 30th level, the time limit had been lifted, allowing for both Players to spend even more time in the tower floors as well as letting shops open beyond midnight.

Stepping into the 31st floor, I was momentarily distracted by the theme of the level. The previous five levels had been 'water kingdom' themed, with Levius acting as the last boss of the group. Now, the theme had taken a sharp and extremely dark undertone of what I assumed was hell. The corridors were lined with torches that burned with a flickering red flame, casting eerie shadows on the ancient stone walls. The air was thick with the scent of brimstone and ash, a stark contrast to the barren seabed of the levels before.

"Damn, I would've loved to explore this section," I lamented, soaring past the demonic mobs and towards the portal to the upper floor. For the next four floors, I reluctantly ignored the rich lore that seemed to be painted into every corner of the dungeon. It was tempting to stop and examine the grotesque murals that depicted scenes of torment and despair, but my priority was to find Tommy.

Breaking into the 36th floor, the switch in theme once again threatened to distract me. The floor was bathed in an ethereal white light, and the sacred atmosphere was a stark contrast to the hellish scene below. It was a heavenly realm, complete with floating islands and serene waterways that stretched out into the horizon. The air was cool and refreshing, carrying a faint scent of incense that filled my lungs with a sense of peace.

Honestly, it was a nice change of pace compared to the grim and bleak environments I had become accustomed to, so it was a shame that I couldn't really explore it at the moment. Maybe after I found Tommy and figured out what was up with him, I'd have that chance. Assuming I could find him, of course.

****

[Updating…]

[Name: Luquier Vaunt | Level: 3015]

[Title: Infinite Immortal (S)]

[Health: 21.1+ | Strength: 21.1+]

[Speed: 21.1+ | Magic: 21.1+]

[Risk: 72,000,000 | Stat Points: 34,592,880]

[Experience: 32%]