[You have used the [Max Out Core] on ‘Crimson Healing’!]
[Crimson Healing has reached level 70 (Ultimate Form)!]
Stark stared at the notification, his eyebrows shooting up. “Level 70?! What the…?”
He hadn’t expected it to jump all the way to 70, but apparently, the [Max Out Core] was more powerful than he’d realized.
What’s more, it hadn’t just upgraded the skill to its current rank’s maximum—it had taken it all the way to the skill’s true, ultimate limit.
“DAMN IT!” Stark shouted in frustration. He hadn’t realized the core could push a skill to such a high level, “I could’ve used it on Domination or Focus!”
But before his frustration grew, the system came to the rescue again.
[No, you wouldn’t have been able to use the core on most of your powerful skills. The core would have broken.]
“Oh,” Stark grumbled.
He didn’t fully understand how the system worked, but if it said so, then maybe there was more going on than he realized.
Still, he was curious about the new perk for his maxed-out [Crimson Healing].
As a reminder, the levels for classifiers went like this: Iron, Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Diamond, Ascendant, Prodigy, Immortal and Classified.
Level 70 would mean having to upgrade your level to [Prodigy] or [Immortal] at least, you can already imagine how long this would take, don’t you?
And so, you can also imagine just how powerful the ultimate perk of such a skill would be, right?
…
[Skill: Crimson Healing]
[New Perk: Second Chance (Immortal-Level)]
[Description: When the host’s health reaches zero, Crimson Healing activates automatically, restoring the user to full health instantly.
This effect can only be triggered once per day.]
…
“WHAT THE FUCK?” Stark blurted out, eyes wide with disbelief.
Second Chance was essentially a free revival, meaning that with his current talent, he could basically revive himself twice in battle!
He couldn’t believe his luck.
This perk was insanely powerful, even being at the max level a perk/skill can ever be, even above [Godly]: Immortal.
This perk meant that even if Olikar or any monster managed to bring him down after being revive his talent, Stark would get a full reset.
In a fight against such powerful opponents, that could be the difference between life and death.
With his new skills upgraded and his perks unleashed, Stark took a deep breath, feeling his power surge within him.
His aura had never felt stronger, his abilities sharper.
He was ready—truly ready—to face Olikar.
“This is going to be fun,” he said with a mischievous grin.
Taking one last glance at the portal ahead of him, Stark stepped through, the swirling energy engulfing him as he teleported to the top of the Colosseum Tower.
…
A rush of cold air hit Stark’s face as he materialized at the top of the Colosseum Tower.
He stumbled slightly, the sudden change in environment disorienting him for a moment.
The top of the tower wasn’t enclosed like the other floors. Instead, it was open to the sky, the dark clouds above swirling ominously.
Stark looked around, taking in the vast, open arena-like structure.
The stone platform stretched out before him, surrounded by towering pillars that reached up very high in the sky.
“What the?!”
But his attention quickly shifted when he heard a familiar voice.
Olikar stood at the far end of the platform, his eyes wide with shock.
He hadn’t expected Stark to find the secret area, let alone teleport to the top of the tower so quickly.
Only minutes ago, he had mocked Stark for being too slow, too dumb to figure it out.
And yet here he was.
“COME ON, APOSTLE,” Stark called out instantly, his voice echoing across the platform.
His aura flared around him, crimson light flickering as it surged from his body. He clenched his fists, his confidence renewed, “LET’S SEE WHO CAN WIN, YOU’VE BEEN ACTING REAL CONFIDENT ALL THIS TIME!”
And this time… Olikar actually felt nervous, just a little bit.
“Flow…” Stark INSTANTLY activated the new perk of [Focus], focusing on his enemy as the air around him became colder, his eyes zooming on Olikar.
But while this was happening, he needed to waste the boss’s time, since he could see he was already ready to attack, sensing something was wrong.
“Looks like you aren’t as smart as you thought you were, heh~” Stark mocked, though inside he was nervous.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, I just followed you, don’t you see the target on your shoulder?” Stark smiled.
“…!” Olikar looked at his shoulder, thinking the human was lying, but he wasn’t, there was actually a target on his shoulder, displaying his position.
And he, the great ‘Colosseum Warrior’ hadn’t even noticed it!
“YOU LITTLE-” Olikar instantly dashed toward Stark, summoning his [Colosseum Sword], which was gifted to him by Godless himself after his victories in the [Demon Colosseum], transforming him into one of the apostles.
But it was already a done deal for Stark.
[‘Flow’ has been activated, now able to see monster’s attacks better, keep up with his speed!]
“INSTANT STRIKE!” Olikar used the attack that had won him several battles in the [Demon Colosseum], as his instant strike allowed him to close the distance and attack instantly.
But it wouldn’t work on Stark, as he saw it coming with [Flow].
If he hadn’t used it, he would have surely lost instantly, because of Olikar’s overwhemingly high speed, which was his strongest feature, but now… they were at equal level.
“=)” Stark moved to the side, avoiding the attack.
“Huh?” and Olikar was so shocked by that, that he actually stopped moving for a split second, allowing Stark to punch him in the head, sending him flying in the other direction.
BOOM!
-74628!
“…” Olikar instantly got up, abandoning his confident attitude, instead focusing on getting rid of the human.
He was so confident in his speed that he hadn’t actually believed for a single second that the human could actually keep up with him.
But… he wasn’t even at the start of his surprises.
[Ultimate Clone] was there, and he was ready to use it whenever he felt like it, protecting the clone with his life if needed now that he had two of them.
Plus… he had [EGO].
[EGO Meter: 100/100]
He hadn’t used it all this time because he was waiting for this very moment, and the meter was already full, so if the boss went into a second phase-like transformation, he would use it to destroy it.
“How does it feel, apostle?” Stark asked, the crimson around that came out of him overwhelming even the level 400 apostle.
Normally, a level 88 fighting a level 400 was IMPOSSIBLE, like actually, even for someone with the [Domination] class.
But Stark had four classes, not just one, and his determination and anger level pushed past anything the others could do.
“You’re getting cocky, human,” Olikar mumbled, his eyes set on him, “My shadows will reign supreme.”
Olikar was red-skinned demon clad in tattered, battle-worn armor, with horns on his head, one of them broken, his eyes were black voids, swirling with chaotic energy, and his sword was made of that very same aura.
“I have fought too many opponents stronger than you to be scared, Godless and the others won’t have to think of you anymore once I get rid of you,” he positioned his sword sideways, meaning that he was now taking this battle seriously.
“I’ll collect your head and EXP just like all the others, you won’t be different,” but Stark responded by giving an almost impossibly wide smile, making him look terrifying even to the apostle.
The battle could now begin.
