The Invincible Full-Moon System Chapter 1831: Almost a God (3)

Previously on The Invincible Full-Moon System...

Meloriana detects a disturbance in her serene honey realm and enters Kaiser's blood-drenched domain, where his werewolf followers weep in anguish as divine energy drains from a colossal mountain's miniature blood moon. Despite her efforts to halt the theft, she fails to pinpoint the source and confronts the berserk Kaiser, slaughtering his own summons in rage. He reveals the culprit is the mortal Royal Black Prince, Rex, who is ascending toward godhood by siphoning his divinity, prompting Kaiser to awaken his profound, icy fury and declare they will hold nothing back.

Rex hasn't forgotten the instant when he pondered if shedding his mortal coil was truly worthwhile.

His existence was meant to terminate the very second Ruston fell to his strike, yet the folks he crossed paths with during his odyssey drew a fragment of his essence from his parents up in the heavens. These days, he endures solely to safeguard them against the threats that lurk in every shadowy nook of this foreboding realm.

Yet his foes showed no signs of vanishing.

On the contrary, their ranks swelled, pushing the demise he once yearned for further beyond his grasp.

Rex figured that in time, he'd embrace that finality while ensuring the safety of his allies, granting him the ideal peace to depart quietly. No farewells spoken. No exchanges uttered. Prior to ascending to Godhood, he deserved such a serene exit.

At present, he sees how foolish that notion was.

All that followed Ruston's end isn't some extra gift. It's penance for his past shortcomings.

And plenty more tasks await him still.

Splash—!

As if a veil of liquid fire doused out, the crimson sheen coating his flesh erupted outward in a spray.

Rex lowered himself gradually until his boots met the crimson pool beneath.

He balanced atop the liquid surface without plunging in, and right ahead, alerts from the System cascaded upon him.

<Congratulations—the user’s divinity has risen through the first mortal limit and become an Awakened Demigod!>

<Notice: Both biological bodies have successfully ascended beyond all mortal parameters>

<Notice: the Silverstar Genesis will now passively generate lesser divine strands>

Even absent the alerts, Rex sensed the shifts right away. His form brimmed with vigor and sturdiness surpassing even his Blood Moon frenzy. It pulsed with such overwhelming might that a casual lash from him could cleave a massive peak clean apart.

If Stelios clashed with this version of him, victory would slip from his grasp entirely.

Rex sensed he could dispatch Stelios via one effortless smack.

Might coursed through his core to an alarming degree. No single being ought to wield such dominance, lest it unbalance the scales for all mortals. But memories of the Gods, the Scions, and the denizens of superior planes flooded back.

Far preferable for him to hold this potency than for them.

He trusted himself to wield it without excess more capably than they ever could.

Or so he hopes, at minimum.

"How strong am I now?"

…

Status: Intoxicated

Race: Grand Royal Black Werewolf / Ghost Spirit

Divinity: Awakened Demigod (First-star)

Invincibility Rank: Blank (Rankless)

Power: Eternal Spirit 1 (3) (Third Circle) – Harbinger of the Nightfall

Soul Artifact: Red Dawn of Kaiser – SSS-grade (Attack), Mask of the Banished Eclipse – SSS-grade (Hybrid), Aegis of Moon Sentinel – SSS-grade (Defense).

Echo(s): Dark Auctoritas, Spellcaster, Blood Moon.

Level: 74 (46%/100%)

Full Moon: 29 Days – Dark Moon

Berserk: 19%

Sanity: 79%

Spiritual Points: 25,000,000 (+2,500,000)

Strength: 21,650,000 (+17,155,000)

Agility: 18,800,000 (+15,160,000)

Endurance: 28,300,000 (+21,310,000)

Form Expiry Time: 13 years.

…

Rex stared in disbelief at the display before him.

Though his rank remained unchanged, the metamorphosis in his attributes was astonishing. As anticipated, this level of prowess would let him overwhelm Stelios without effort. Maybe even hold his own versus Princess Davina through sheer force.

He'd never examined her profile before, leaving him uncertain.

Still, he resolved to inspect it upon his return.

"I’ve got thirteen years of vitality in this form without drawing extra Nightfall Stars. Plus, Stelios sorted my soul issues," Rex stroked his jaw, pondering if this secondary vessel might endure indefinitely. "I could station it here, but I’d require a way to run it autonomously."

Rex knew he'd have to revert to his primary form shortly.

At first, he assumed this shell would crumble sans a soul.

Now, though, he might avert that fate.

"Enough of that," Rex skimmed past the alerts, zeroing in on the prior ones. "Time to examine these prizes. With my divinity breakthrough, I anticipate the System will lavish more generous boons than usual."

…

<Nigh-Divine Adaptation>

Rank: Divine

Description: Following devouring, the user’s biological framework will begin to adapt, extracting and integrating viable traits from the most recently consumed prey. Acquired attributes may include, but are not limited to, energy resistance, immunity, active skills, or passive skills. Duration of retain traits is heavily determined by the amount of flesh consumed and the prey’s inherent bodily resistance.

…

"Hmm... It’s, in a way, similar to Kyran’s devouring effect," Rex nodded, pleased with the skill.

His devouring effect allowed him to gain more exp, while Kyran’s allowed him to gain a temporary boost in power. Now, with this new skill, he could also retain traits from his prey, incentivizing him even more to devour flesh.

Not that he was complaining.

"And since it’s nigh-divine, I might even be able to devour other Demigods or anything near divinity."

It was unfortunate that the boost was not permanent.

But then again, once he returned to the Mortal Realm, he might be able to upgrade the skill.

Rex had never obtained a skill or item above the Divine-grade or rank, but that doesn’t mean there are no ranks above it. Perhaps, when this skill evolved, it would offer more than temporary boosts. And it might even allow him to put divine beings into his menu.

Just thinking about devouring the Lunirich Gods made him shiver.

Other than that, his inner pack members also gained Minor Divinity.

…

Rank: Origin

Description: Provide a fraction of divine strands into their energies.

…

It was straightforward enough.

Rex reckoned the others would have a noticeable increase in their abilities with this passive skill.

He didn’t know what they were doing in the Mortal Realm, but this should help.

Not that it would make a difference now, since he would be returning home soon. For him, days or weeks might pass in this place. But for the others, barely a day or two at most. More than enough time for bad things to take root, but not enough to kill them.

Right now, they were probably regulating the empire.

Even if they got attacked, they, along with the empire’s forces, should be able to stall for a day or two.

"Silverstar Genesis...?" Rex’s brows furrowed into a frown. And then they eased—as he recalled what that was. "Right, I have to start exploring that realm soon. I haven’t even set foot on it, and now it’s already getting lesser divine strands."

It was his own special realm.

One that the System gave long ago, and it might be to match him with the other Scions.

Rex shook his head and finally put the notifications away.

He checked his body first. It was completely fine, which was quite surprising to realize.

From the System warnings earlier, absorbing this many divine strands risked implosion. He had braced for severe wounds, severe internal damage, or even permanent damage. But that wasn’t the case. Seems like ascending divinity also rebuilt him, fixing everything wrong with his body.

Even the wounds he retained before this were now healed.

Then, he looked around. Blood-red mist was covering the entire area, and it seethed from below. It was only when he tilted his head down that he realized he was now standing on a body of water. A lake of actual blood from the pungent scent stabbed his nose.

"Did I do this?" Rex thought aloud. "No, that can’t be right."

Even though he denies it, the place was a thin forest earlier that was a home for a few voidal monsters.

No sign of a blood lake, so it must really be him.

<Scanning...>

<It’s the Raging Crimson Basin. A magical lake sprang from the user’s detachment from mortal shackles. Its creation was fueled by the divine strands from the Greater Blood Moon Crystals. Anyone who falls into the lake would be assaulted by the user’s anger, drowning them whole. Those who survived would gain the user’s trait of growing stronger with anger>

"I really need to watch out where I ascend or rank up starting from now," Rex scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "Fortunately, the place is basically deserted. It’ll be bad if voidal monsters stumbled upon this lake, though."

Just thinking about voidal monsters with the ability to grow stronger with rage sounded scary.

Not for Rex, of course.

If there was really one voidal monster like that, he would probably make it a pet to bring back home.

Souvenir. Or maybe a playmate for Delta.

But it would be terrifying for the Spirits who would be unlucky enough to stumble across it.

"Hey, wait..." Rex read the notification again and blinked. "The fuck? It uses the Greater Blood Moon Crystals as fuel?!"

Even though he almost depleted his Blood Moon Crystals, there should be one more Greater Blood Moon Crystal leftover. One of those crystals has a great number of divine strands, and he lost it because of this triggered phenomenon.

"System, I can drain this shit and turn it back into the crystal right now, right?"

"Any method to do exactly that right now?"

"Fuck you mean negative?" Rex clicked his tongue in displeasure. "You practically have every method to do anything, and you are telling me you can’t do this? That’s a damn lie. Tell me how to do it. I know you know."

<It’s possible only when the user achieves Godhood, as it involves reverting a Divine Phenomenon back to its original state.>

Rex scratched his head in frustration, annoyed that this was even a thing.

He practically lost thousands of divine strands. It was so angering—that he stomped on the blood lake, and it hummed in answer, a deep resonance that acknowledged his presence. This acknowledgement only stoked his rage further.

Rex forced calmness into his voice, "It’s fine. Everything is fine. It’s not like I need to painstakingly decimate an entire sky city to get that Greater Blood Moon Crystal."

A shadow loomed on his periphery.

He turned and saw a silhouette floating over the lake aimlessly, not too far from his position.

A familiar scent hits him, and with a wave of his hand, the crimson mist parted.

Linthia’s eyes flickered with happiness to finally find him.

She eagerly approached, "Your Majesty."

"Back to honorifics again?" Rex floated away, heading to land. Still not used to floating like this. He felt relieved when he stood on land again and turned to Linthia, who was following closely behind. "Did the others arrive at the hideout safely?"

"Yes," Linthia clasped her hands. "I made sure nothing bad happened along the way."

"I know I can trust you."

Rex raised a brow. Linthia was staring at him with twinkling eyes; the kind of look exclusively reserved for idols and heroes. Something really different than how she looked at him normally. And he couldn’t help but purchase a mirror from the Shop to see what she was seeing.

He checked out his reflection and found no significant changes to his appearance.

Just that he’s a little bit taller and scarier in a way.

But with a heavy exhale, a mark bloomed on his bare chest. A crescent moon, red as a fresh wound, its open curve followed his collarbone toward his throat. Right underneath it, anchored to the crescent at his solar plexus, a shapeless star burned crimson.

"You’ve gotten stronger again, Your Majesty," She said breathlessly. "Your aura is now more profound and mystical. And this... lake. It has the same aura as you—and feels sacred. I can’t help but ask. Are you a God, now?"

"I’m no God," Rex shook his head. "Not yet."