Chapter 552 Duorda“s Immediate Ascension
"The Leisure Gods? I like that…" Jack smiled and shrugged, for once feeling appreciative towards Halmut.
"Oh, and since we're talking about the other gods, I almost forgot to mention something about your father," Daruun mentioned. "To reach lv. 97, Sterfen had Moranti fight Halmut while he forcibly teleported Naparn away during Halmut's returning speech to the world. This led to Sterfen secretly overwhelming, torturing, and killing Naparn. Sterfen even used my gift to steal Naparn's latent cosmic energy. That's how Sterfen now, thanks to your ascension, is lv. 98."
"Seriously? If he's that strong, how come he--"
"Remember, you're the main role now," stated Daruun. "If he acted out before you got involved in all this, how would there be anything left for you? How would you level up or end up making pacts with cosmicians so early on?"
"True…" sighed Jack.
"Also," continued Daruun, "now that Sterfen has killed Naparn, Halmut has been forced into a corner. He's finally letting those under him assist their followers in ascendance. Which means…"
"They'll be gaining levels too? I see…"
"But that's just how the world works. Once you're strong enough to overcome the challenges that always plagued you, the void throws more powerful stumbling blocks your way yet again. It's how the strongest rule the history books and those they defeated are forgotten," reasoned Daruun.
Taking a moment to think, Jack asked, "And… What was this gift you mentioned earlier?"
"Oh, that? It's an item that allows Sterfen to increase his natural absorption of cosmic energy. With it, he can sense all cosmic energy near him and even absorb it so long as it's not controlled by someone else. But once a cosmician dies, their leftover energy takes time to naturally disperse, something Sterfen took advantage of to level up quicker," explained Daruun.
"That's handy. Got any more of them?"
"Sorry, Jack, but you won't need one. Not with three demigods ready to ascend."
"What do you mean?"
Daruun added, "Form a pact with Duorda, right now. Then, I'll remove his limiter."
"You mean--"
"He'll barely become a one-star, as that's Duorda's base form and strength. I had to give him a handicap to make the test work."
Jack blinked and turned to the skeleton. "You were created and instantly became a one-star?"
"How else can my body function from cosmic energy?" reasoned Duorda, getting Jack to nod in agreement. "Don't assume that Master Daruun is so incapable that he can't even make a one-star construct. I can assure you that he's created some two-stars and three-stars as well."
Before Jack could ask, Daruun explained, "I've found that one-star constructs have the greatest potential for growth. Making them weaker resulted in the high possibility that they'll never become cosmicians and any stronger means they have less time to grow through experience."
Without waiting for another second, Jack slit his finger and wrote the pact on Duorda's bony forehead. "Now… without blood, how can he--"
Duorda then grabbed his own forearm, cracking the bone in his tight grip. He continued to twist the broken bones until a drop of a thick grey substance oozed out. Gathering the drop atop his fingertip, Duorda pressed it into the center of the pact, making it official.
"Oh… you bleed?"
"Not exactly," answered Duorda. "But that substance is my equivalent to blood, though my body doesn't need very much of it."
"Now, check your skill list, Jack. I'm sure you'll be excited to see some skills that surpass anything a one-star can achieve."
Doing as Daruun said, Jack opened his menu and paused the moment he found Duorda's skill list. It was long, but not as long as Jack had expected. What caught Jack off guard was the high cost.
"Seventy-five thousand skill points, for one skill?!"
"It is Undeath, after all," chuckled Daruun.
"But… That much for just one skill…" Jack sighed, unable to argue.
"There's also Dying Miasma and Living Miasma, the skill which allows Duorda to drain vitality from his opponents as well as share his vitality with others. Those two skills are incredibly rare within the void, so I made sure to create the perfect construct by combining them and giving Duorda Undeath as well.
"And now that you've formed the pact, Jack, I want you to make Duorda a demigod. All you have to do is plant a seed of your energy within Duorda's body. Normally, Duorda would fight and repel any foreign cosmic energy, but he'll allow you to place that seed of energy where you feel his energy stores to be the strongest."
Following along with Daruun's explanation, Jack closed his eyes and placed his hand on Duorda's chest. Jack's high affinity for mana proved more potent than ever as Jack now felt an abundance of unfamiliar energy gushing out of Duorda's chest. He took a deep breath and carefully forced a morsel of energy into Duorda's body, trying to recreate the same feeling that Sterfen had given him long ago.
As that small bead of energy entered Duorda, he didn't fight it. Allowing it to sink further into him, Duorda willingly allowed Jack's foreign energy to dwell deep within his mana stores.
"Good, that's enough. Now, Duorda, step forward.
Following orders, the skeleton gratefully stood before Daruun. Duorda was unwavering as Daruun's hands became ethereal and reached through Duorda's ribcage. In a few seconds, Daruun retracted his hand with a small clear gemstone in his hand.
Jack wasn't exactly sure what happened, not until he felt another rush of energy wash over him. "I'm… lv. 91?"
"Duorda just ascended, so of course you would level up as his aid," answered Daruun. "Now with his limiter gone, Duorda will undergo training from scratch as your assistant, Jack. Make sure to take care of him and use his skills wisely."
"That… Thank you, Daruun!" Jack bowed his head in gratitude.
"After all this, that's how you--"
"Thanks, Gramps!"
Chuckling, Daruun smiled and sighed, "You're welcome, Grandson."
All three of the men laughed as Duorda was glad to finally feel like himself after thousands and thousands of years.