BXBX NOVEL Chapter 145: Wraith Noble!
Tossed aside the moment they passed through the portal, Evian rolled and eventually came to a stop; looking up and glaring at a pompous-looking Karenssa who so far had no issues remaining naked.
"Welcome, Evian Stygian, to a world I control. In here, I am law. Continuously empowered by the Eldritch energy I have released for decades, mixed with the Eldritch \'pureness\' of this realm, I am Invincible.
So... Will you now Submit?
If you do, you can have a share of it... And you will have me."
Evian shook his head as he stood to his feet,
"And again, I say no."
Karenssa sighed,
"You\'re so stubborn. Oh well, we have time. No one can trespass into this dimension without my express permission and while we \'discuss\', my horde will lay waste to your allies as well as the whole of Kalkao.
As for you, until you submit... How about an endless battle?"
The Eldritch Witch raised the stump of an arm that she had been left with after Zayda\'s vicious cut and in a display of just how much power and authority she possessed in the dimension, Eldritch energy from the atmosphere coated the stump, and when it dispersed, a new hand had replaced the one she lost and was even tipped with her wicked talons all the same.
With a wave of her newly generated arm, two waves of Beasts formed from the Eldritch energy in the dimension. One wave charged out of the portal to cause more chaos while the other wave surrounded Evian, glowering at him with intensity.
Evian took a deep breath and a second later, the Beasts began to attack. Their massive numbers somehow allowed them to crowd over each other and create a barrier of sorts that blocked Evian from Karenssa\'s sights.
The Witch just chuckled.
While she wanted Evian alive, she decided that if he was so stubborn as not to yell out surrender and was so weak to die to the horde, she might as well settle for healing his body and having him become a useless husk to do her bidding.
There was a small window after he died for her to acquire the pure Eldritch Essence that powered him after which she could have that handsome husk for her slightly necrophiliac desires... With the very thought causing her body to shake with desire and her breasts to tremble accordingly, Karenssa licked her lips sultrily.
Meanwhile, under the pile of Beasts he was in, Evian had used Wraithic Phasing, discovering that he could not sink into the ground as he naturally would have because there was no \'ground\' to sink into. What he stood on as \'ground\' was like a solid Space that had nothing more than to it and although that was a surprise, it wasn\'t one Evian was too bothered about.
He still was intangible and the Beasts were still very much at a level he could evade with the spell. Their claws and jaws passed right through him to sink into their fellows either injuring and incapacitating them or killing them outright.
He waited a few seconds to let the confusion permeate their primitive minds and then became tangible again, forcing them apart before he started swinging his Spear and ripping through them with incredible speed.
[13 Quasi-Eldritch Essence Absorbed]
\'This is it!\' Evian thought with joy.
"Come at me!" he yelled out making sure to look crazed like he had some renowned battle spirit that powered him and of course, as she watched him kill Beast after Beast, Karenssa just smiled believing that \'crazed\' expression of his to be him pushing himself to the limit and was a state he would not be able to keep going for long.
And so, Evian continued...
Hundred Beasts...
Two hundred...
Three hundred...
Five hundred...
Like a well of bottomless strength and stamina and some sort of impenetrable or at least slicky body, he continued to cut down Beast after Beast but Karenssa was not worried. She considered it all to be good entertainment and even created a throne of Eldritch energy to sit and lounge in as she watched.
The creation of the Beasts was not at all strenuous to the Eldritch Witch. All she had to do was call out a command and the Abundant Eldritch energy in the dimension would carry out her command and shape into the endless Beast horde.
Meanwhile, Evian was not as unbothered as he looked. While the Beasts were hardly an issue for his current level of strength, he did not possess unlimited stamina and this was actually the first battle that would test his limits- At least without yet sustaining an injury but he persevered.
"Just a bit more..." he mumbled as he cut through another five and absorbed what they had to offer.
"Just a bit more..." he mumbled as he dodged a massive collection of beasts that charged at him with claws before going at them and killing them too.
He must have battled for over an hour, pushing his attributes to the limit but it finally happened.
\'Update?\'
[You currently 16 000 Quasi-Eldritch Essence]
\'Convert!\'
[Converting...]
[Conversion complete...]
[You currently have 0 Quasi-Eldritch Essence...]
[You now have 320 Soul Points to be added to your previous balance of 1750 Soul Points...]
[You know have a balance of 2070 Soul Points!]
\'Increase my Decadence!\'
...
-A few days ago-
While Evian had sulked that the requirement needed to get into the next major level of Decadence was more difficult than usual, his Assistant had given information meant to cheer him up,
[It\'s Worth the wait.]
Of course, before that it had also told him to only advance when he was sure he had enough Soul Points for the expenses but in light of recent development, Evian could no longer wait so he asked his Assistant again a few hours ago,
\'Beyond attribute improvement, what else is there to gain as a Wraith Noble.\'
[...]
Evian had smiled,
\'Your silence tells me it\'s something big...\'
[...]
\'Wow, it\'s that big a deal?\' Evian let out mentally, \'Now I can\'t wait.\'
[... Becoming a Wraith Noble is the true start of your Decadence. It\'s when things get serious so obviously, it comes with benefits but you must not get carried away. It\'s only a start.]
\'Tell me what I get!\'
[... Very well. You will get...]
...
-Back in present time-
The Assistant did not request if Evian was sure about wanting to advance. It appeared to feel the seriousness in Evian\'s mental yell as well as the direness of the situation its Master was facing.
[Increasing Your Decadence...]
[Congratulations! You are now a Wraith Noble!]
[Level of Decadence: Cursed Wraith Noble."
"Nghhh!" Evan groaned and fell to one knee, frozen in place for just a second but it felt longer... It felt massively longer.
This was beyond just the average advancement of levels between Cursed to Corrupted to Denounced and so on. This was a massive upgrade that had every part of his body monumentally improved. He exuded Eldritch energy much more and in a much greater capacity than ever before.
His grey pupils gave off an aura like smoky grey electricity and his Sclera showed signs of darkening. Veins all over Evian\'s body popped out and bulged with intensity and when he let out a breath, even the Beasts around him, all made up entirely of Eldritch energy (Quasi-Eldritch energy but Eldritch energy nonetheless) shook with cold- with a terrible chill that their target exuded.
Evian, still on a knee, swung his Spear and was pleasantly surprised by the widespread force that his discharge of Eldritch energy had as it slammed into the beasts around and pushed them very well away from him.
And speaking of his Eldritch energy reserves, Evian found it to have increased and was filled to the brim just ready to be let out and that wasn\'t even the best part of it all.
"Let\'s test it out, shall we?"
Karenssa gripped the armrests of her self-created throne tightly with her smile completely wiped off and replaced with a deep frown,
"He got stronger... How? Was it through fighting?
It takes so much time and dedicated meditation to refine the raw Eldritch chill in the air and to turn to strength but he\'s able to do so instantaneously improve... What exactly is he?"
Not all creatures who make use of Eldritch energy are Wraiths and the Decadence increase method varies from species to species.
Anyway, with a massive slam on her armrest that sounded like a powerful *Bang!*, Karenssa yelled,
"BRING ME HIS HEAD!"
\'I\'ll just reanimate his body afterward!\' she added in her mind. Her potential backup plan was brought forward.
Evian chuckled as even more Beasts arose... Spreading about almost to the farthest reaches of the dimension and while the dimension was not insurmountable in size, the Created beasts were in the hundreds of thousands.
"No matter how strong and fast you are, you can\'t strike them all down!" Karenssa cackled.
"I don\'t have to strike them," Evian said and sank one end of his Spear into the ground before releasing a mighty suction force backed with an Authority.
From the closest beasts to Evian to those farthest away, they all felt their corporal form begin to disintegrate and become Quasi-Eldritch Essence that Evian absorbed readily while watching the count tick up on the holographic screen in front of his face.
"What- What is this?!" Karenssa said in shock.
"Of course, you don\'t recognize it," Evian said with a smile, "How could you possibly know it?"
The power a Wraith gains as a Wraith Noble which goes beyond purchasable spells;
[Eldritch Authority!]