The battle between Stark and Bel’zar the Ravager began with an earth-shattering roar from the massive demon.
Towering over Stark, Bel’zar swung his colossal blade, the sheer force of the strike causing the ground to tremble.
His demonic energy crackled in the air, and the heat from his presence was almost suffocating.
“Perception…” Stark checked calmly while avoided the attack.
[Name: Bel’zar the Ravager (Elite)]
[Level: 300]
[HP: 1,000,000]
[Strength: 15,573]
[Stamina: 8,371]
[Speed: 19,384]
[Defense: 14,385]
[Skills: Demon Cleave; Hellfire Barrage; Infernal Charge; Ravager’s Fury; Bloodlust Surge; Shadowstep; Chaos Shield]
The battle seemed intimidating at first glance, but Stark stood calm, even as the hulking figure lunged toward him.
Stark had fought tougher monsters, and he knew Bel’zar wouldn’t stand a chance against his power.
Fighting [Olikar] had made him so much stronger that even a level 450 monster wouldn’t stand a chance, so why do these demons even think they could win?
Unfortunately, his most powerful ability, [Crimson Purification], was still on cooldown from his earlier encounter with the demons.
Bel’zar roared once more, his blade slashing down toward Stark, but the crimson-eyed fighter was quick.
“Let’s end this quickly,” Stark muttered under his breath as he activated [Wielding Cross], summoning a massive, radiant crimson cross that hovered above him, blazing with holy light.
With a single motion, Stark swung the cross downward.
The impact was cataclysmic, a shockwave of light erupted from the strike, slamming into Bel’zar with such force that the elite demon’s health bar dropped nearly to zero.
[700,000 damage dealt!]
Bel’zar staggered back, his once overwhelming presence now faltering.
Stark gave him no time to recover.
With another swing of the [Wielding Cross], the holy energy crashed into Bel’zar, shattering his defenses completely.
[You have slain “Bel’zar the Ravager” and gained 750,000 experience!]
Bel’zar’s monstrous form crumbled to the ground, disappearing into ash as his essence was absorbed by the abyss itself.
The battle, while seemingly intense, had lasted only seconds in reality.
Stark smirked, satisfied but slightly disappointed, “I expected more,” he said, looking at the fading ashes of Bel’zar.
None of these things were even a challenge, and the normal demons had only given him about 175,000 experience each, a surprisingly low number considering the rift’s difficulty.
But in the end, experience was experience. He was growing stronger, and that’s what mattered most.
[You have fully cleared the first zone!]
The system notification confirmed what Stark already knew: the first zone was done, and he was temporarily safe.
No more monsters could attack him here, allowing him to finally focus on the real prize: his skills and growth.
[Skill Points: 53]
“Nice,” Stark murmured to himself, a grin spreading across his face.
After clearing the zone and with his recent level gains, especially from killing Olikar, he had earned a significant amount of skill points.
Not to mention the 11 levels Olikar had granted him, those alone had been a massive boost.
But there was something even more exciting.
[Class Wheel unlocked!]
It had felt like only a few days since he had unlocked the [Soul Wielder] class, but in reality, it had already been seven months.
Time was flying by, and his power was growing exponentially.
Before diving into his skill points, he noticed another message pop up.
[Level 100 Reached: Pick a Card!]
This was something he had been waiting for.
The opportunity to pick a new skill after being locked in by the twenty-level restriction was a huge milestone.
It felt like an eternity since he had gained a new ability that actually worked as ‘Revenant’s Fury’ was… well… you know, it could only be used after he died three times.
[Revenant’s Fury: 1/3]
“Five?” Stark raised an eyebrow as five glowing cards appeared in front of him.
Normally, there were only three cards.
Each card glowed with a golden aura, and a holy cross was engraved on their backs.
Stark could feel the divine power radiating from them, like they were calling out to him.
“Well, let’s see what fate has in store,” Stark muttered as he reached out and selected one of the cards at random.
The moment he touched the card, a sound echoed in his mind.
Ding!
[New Skill: Holy Infusion]
[Tier: Godly]
[Level: Cannot be leveled up, what more could there even be?]
[Description: The user can infuse their attacks with the power of holy energy, increasing the effectiveness of all offensive abilities on undead being. The holy aura will enhance both physical and magical attacks, causing additional damage to demonic and cursed entities.]
Stark’s eyes widened in surprise, then quickly turned into a grin of satisfaction.
“A godly tier skill?” he said in awe, his excitement growing, “This is my second godly tier skill!”
The first had been [Crimson Soul], which had already served him well in countless battles.
And now, with [Holy Infusion], his strength would only skyrocket further against undeads!
With his new skill acquired, Stark moved on to his skill points.
The panel appeared before him, filled with his existing skills.
[Skills: Spatial Inventory; Class Wheel; Perception; Domination lv30; Focus lv30; Aura Smash lv30; Clone Frenzy lv30 (MAX); Invincible Dodge lv10; Double Assault lv10; Crimson Spears lv30; Heaven’s Wrath lv5; Alchemist lv5; Potion Crafting lv5; Target Manipulation lv1; Dodge Control lv5; Crimson Ball Transmission lv5; EGO lv5; Crimson Purification lv25; Wielding Cross lv10; Crimson Healing lv70 (MAX); The Void; Banish; Domination Soul; Revenant’s Fury; Holy Infusion]
It was a long list of powerful skills, and with 53 skill points, Stark could upgrade a few of them significantly.
But the decision wasn’t easy.
He could either max out a few of his favorite abilities or spread the points across several skills to get more perks.
After a few moments of hesitation, Stark made his choice.
[You have upgraded ‘Wielding Cross’ to level 30 (Gold-Tier Max)!]
[You have upgraded ‘Crimson Purification’ to level 30 (Gold-Tier Max)!]
[You have upgraded ‘Invincible Dodge’ to level 30 (Gold-Tier Max)!]
He decided to focus on his most critical skills.
Both [Crimson Purification] and [Wielding Cross] had proven invaluable in battle, so maxing them out to their gold-tier limits was a no-brainer.
And as for [Invincible Dodge], then it could definitely use some enhancement!
Immediately, Stark felt the surge of power from the upgrades.
[Skill: Crimson Purification]
[New Perk: Divine Retribution (Legendary)]
[Description: When activating your crimson purification, there is a 20% chance that the purification now unleashes a secondary burst of holy energy!]
…
[Skill: Wielding Cross]
[New Perk: Holy Combo (Legendary)]
[Description: If you swing your strike twice in a row, the third strike will light up the cross with so much crimson aura that it will deal 200% damage and without fail stun enemies for five seconds!]
…
[Skill: Invincible Dodge]
[New Perk: The Ultimate Phantom]
[Description: When dodging, the user now creates three afterimages that confuse enemies, granting invulnerability for an additional 0.5 seconds, your dodges manoeuver are also enhanced, and you are granted a bigger timeframe to do.]
[You have truly become the greatest dodger]
…
The perks were nothing short of legendary, as expected.
Stark couldn’t help but grin wider as he admired the results. These were the kinds of upgrades that made a real difference in the heat of battle.
Plus, [Invincible Dodge] reached its ultimate form too, meaning it couldn’t be upgraded anymore, much like [Clone Frenzy].
It almost… felt sad, knowing that these skills that accompanied him since the beginning had reached their very limit.
With eight skill points left, Stark decided to save them for later.
He had made enough progress for now, and there would undoubtedly be more opportunities to invest in other skills.
But there was one more thing left to do.
[Level 100 reached: You can now spin the Class Wheel again!]
“Class Wheel!” Stark called out.
The wheel appeared before him, just as it always did. But this time, there were only three sections remaining.
[3 classes available: Magus, Beast Tamer, Incubus.]
The wheel had started with ten classes, but now, only three remained.
Stark had already acquired four classes and removed three, so the odds were more straightforward now.
Each section of the wheel was larger than before, and it seemed like fate was closing in on his next path.
“Alright… here goes nothing,” Stark said as he reached for the lever labeled “Pull Me” and yanked it down.
The class wheel began to spin, the colors of each section flashing before his eyes.
“…”
Would it be the magic-infused path of the Magus? The wild, primal power of the Beast Tamer? Or the seductive and dark power of the Incubus?
The wheel slowed down, ticking with every moment, as Stark watched with anticipation…
