Samael's fight with Ishkar settled the emotions running amok in his heart along with the frustrations and anger he felt. After waking up, he was able to finally see the changes that had occurred in him after his merge with his soul.

Apparently, the Codex calls it unity of the soul and body. It was in fact another obstacle in his path of growth, as having a soul that is not aligned with your body naturally impedes growth speed.

To clarify further into the effects of this bonding, Samael has now gained mental clarity that he has never experienced before. It was as though he was walking in a field filled with dense fog, and that is gone now.

He can make decisions twice, if not three, as fast as before. This was a great blessing considering decision-making speed was a large factor in combat.

Another effect aside from growth speed and mental clarity is that Samael feels a stronger sense of control of his actions and bodily movements. It was also another weird change. If he were to compare it, it was as if a form of delay in his actions was present before, but now that delay is gone.

He can also feel his bond with the Void stronger than ever. Something he never thought would get any better, but it seems he was mistaken.

After his fight with Ishkar, his idea was proven that with his bond increasing, the purity and control of his Void element had also skyrocketed. In fact, it was also present within the Codex.

Void:

Tier 6 Mark 5

Control: Tier 6 Mark 5

Quantity: Tier 6 Mark 5

It seems his mastery of the Void element, or to be precise, his control of it, jumped a literal mark. It was a large jump too. Of course, this also means that he must have gained a plethora of new skills, right?

No, he did not, but rather, the codex introduced yet another new function.

Skill upgrades.

Some of his older abilities, which he doesn't use as much, have been upgraded, making them more versatile and useful in combat.

Namely, these abilities are hover blades, which had an increase in the amount of daggers he can conjure and how freely he can use them, followed by Void fire, which became Void pulse as well.

Apparently, he can now switch modes with it. Before, Void Fire was only a ranged ability that focused on area of attack damage, but now it has a second variant called Void Pulse, which is focused on low fire rate but high penetration attacks. This same concept applies for another skill he had, Void Claw.

Void Claw has a second mode called Void Armament. Although it is similar to his Void augmentation, it was different in its own way.

Void augmentation is mainly focused on enhancing the part he desires. But Void armament focused on the weapon specifically. Aside from enhancing durability and sharpness, it also enhanced the skills of Crimson Raven and even added a corrosion effect on the blade. Unfortunately, he cannot use both claw and armour at the same time.

The last upgrade is on his ability Void latch, which made it so that he can now solidify the latches, completely immobilising the enemy.

But that wasn't the end of the pleasant surprises. He also got this.

[STATS]

Name: Samael

Title: [Loved by the Void]...[+]

Species: Void Spawn [+]

Affinity: Void [+]

Rank: Enlightened II

Condition: Good, Healthy

STATS

STR: 126,998

SPD/AGI: 127,999

CONSTITUTION: 129,8887

SPIRIT: 301,266

CHARM: 501

∆SKILLS [+]

This freak of a jump in stats. Mainly, his spirit. It seems that the unification of his body and soul threw the charts off the roof. From 100,000 thousand to 300,000. A whopping 200k in stats jump.

Although the spirit stats may seem quite useless as they show the strength of a person's mentality and will, that is far from the truth.

This stat represents his ability to keep fighting no matter the odds. It shows his capability to resist mental attacks and keep going forward.

The rest of his stats finally broke through the barrier and all reached the six digits. Meaning, he did get stronger.

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Technically, by normal human standards, he should be classified as a saint now, seeing he is already in the triple digits. But, with the effects of the second shard of the shattered Void, he is still enlightened. He must still reach 300k+ in terms of stats to officially be labelled by the system as one.

But there was still one more. A new skill he made with the help of his enlightenment.

He made the skill by incorporating another skill. This in turn unlocked another function called derived skills.

Dome Cleave (Derived)

-Rapidly throw a flurry of slashes in close proximity. Each slash will be enhanced by a Void Cleave that will expand outwards in a dome-like area.

Derived skills are when you use an ability to form another ability. Basically, in order to use Dome Cleave, Samael needs the assistance of his skill Void Cleave.

"Well, that marks the end of my training for you two," Ishkar said. "I've taught you what you needed to know most. The rest is up to you."

"So does this mean we'll go to the next location?" Samael asked.

"That is the plan," Ishkar said.

Seeing this, Ajax and Samael exchanged glances as they nodded in unison. It seems their training here has finally met its conclusion.

It almost felt as though they've only been here a week, and yet two months have gone by. Or at least, nearly two months.

Samael supposes Ishkar did mean it when he said he only needed a week to finish. It was a wild ride but full of results.

Now, it was time to—

"Well, shit," Ishkar said.

Samael and Ajax shot a look at the man, their brows raised.

Ishkar stood there, holding a single stone similar to what Icarius often carries. A communication device.

"Looks like we have a grand party at the base. Your departure will have to wait a while," Ishkar said.

"Grand party?" Ajax asked.

"Yes, the camp is under heavy attack from abominations," Ishkar said.

"Well, shit," Ajax and Samael muttered.

***

A few hours earlier.

"General! General!" A man screamed as he sprinted across the camp, his face pale and drenched in cold sweat.

Blasting through the tent doors, he plummeted down the ground, causing everyone inside to bolt up.

"Soldier, what the hell is going on here?" one of the men screamed, his face red in fury. "Get him up, you fools!"

The guards swiftly went in as they helped the man recover from his fall.

"General! It is true, sir! The dead zones they—" The man rambled.

"Calm down, soldier," Luminari said as he went closer, holding the man by the shoulder. "Speak calmly. What happened in the dead zone?"

Taking a couple deep breaths, the man resumed. "What Sir Gerald said is true! The dead zones! They're a gathering for portals!"

"I knew it!" Gerald roared.

"Not now, Gerald," Luminari said. "Gathering for portals? Are you saying there are new rifts there?"

"Yes, sir! The scout party led by Ramon had taken heavy casualties from the sudden appearance of the portals, sir! They can't hold on much longer! I ran here after they bought me some time," the soldier said.

Judging by the blood on his clothes and the shattered parts of his armour, it seems the situation was really dire.

"How many enemies are there?" Luminari asked as he shot a silent look at the people inside.

Noticing his gaze, they nodded as they began to move in unison, instructing their men with the next moves.

"I don't know, sir; they just kept on pouring out—there was no end to them no matter how many we killed." The soldier stuttered.

"I see," Luminari said before he beckoned the guards. "Get this man to the medical bay."

Turning to the people inside the tent, he resumed. "Prepare the warriors and prepare a rescue party this instant! I want all able-bodied fighters up on that wall and ready to kill! Strengthen our barriers! I want those ballistas up and running."

Turning to the squadron leaders, he spoke. "Get your squads ready for combat and get our men out of that hell hole. I trust you guys will be able to do this."

"Yes, sir!" The soldiers said in unison as they ran out of the tent to sound the alarms.

"Move!" Luminari roared as everyone scattered. However, he swiftly held Gerald by the arm. "We need to talk."

"I can see that," Gerald said.

"Tell me all you know about these portals. And I mean everything, every theory, guess, and information relevant to this catastrophe," Luminari said.

"This is about to sound insane," Gerald said.

"I'm ready for crazy," Luminari said.

***

Back to the present.

Multiple ballistas shot across the blue sky as dozens more armed weapons fired in unison, sending arrows, steel, and flames unto the sea of beasts swarming the wall.

The beasts were unlike anything they've seen before; it's as though they've lost their minds and are simply throwing their lives to dent their defences.

Screams and grunts thundered in the air as the soldiers ran all around the field, carrying ammo and wounded soldiers.

In its midst, Luminari stood wearing his silver and gold armour, a long spear with a golden tip hanging in his back.

Things were not going well. They were vastly unprepared for an attack of this scale. He has not seen such forces since his first deployment here. Just what was happening?

They have not received reports from the squads sent to retrieve Ramon and the rest; it was safe to assume they were all dead. It seems the soldier they sent wasn't exaggerating when he said there was no end to them.

As the ballistas continued to mow down the beasts, more would simply replace their place. Not only that, but they were stronger than the last. And this was a very familiar thing to him.

Just like in Tera. Was there a fell flower hidden somewhere?

Currently, the wall had sustained some heavy damage from the continuous flow of beasts mindlessly ramming themselves to it.

Seeing an approaching winged beast, Luminari's jaw clenched as nerves bulged out of his forehead.

Taking up his spear, light began to envelope its tip as he took stance.

"Bright piercer."

Throwing the spear forward, it breezed through the air like a burst of light from the heavens, easily tearing a hole through the creature as it fell straight down the ground.

Stopping midair, the spear returned back at Luminari's hands as he roared.

"JUST WHERE IS THAT BRUTE?!"

"HAHAHAH! MISS ME?!" A voice roared in reply.

"You beast! Do your job!" Luminari fired back.

From the distance, a figure came hauling from the sky, akin to a meteor crashing down the earth.

Soon, an explosion shook the earth as shockwaves swept everything near him.

"Come at me," Ishkar said, a maniacal present in his face.

A sigh escaped Luminari's lips.

"I'm too old for this."