Nick had finally gotten rid of one of his biggest weaknesses.
He could finally take down Force Specters.
'This issue has been troubling me for too long. Since a Force Specter's Zephyx is dispersed, it is difficult to attack. There is essentially no target I can attack. There's just pure Zephyx.'
'But with this new light blade, I can absorb or destroy the scattered Zephyx. It only has limited effect on Physical Specters, but it is devastating to Force Specters.'
The next moment, Nick looked at his normal blades.
'I can conjure blades with my Zephyx, but there are things I can improve. If I add a couple of things to it, I can probably infuse my blades with my light ability. This would mean that I wouldn't need to switch weapons.'
The blueprint of how to infuse his blades with his Zephyx was already taking form in his mind.
'I can do that later. For now, I should analyze my other abilities.'
Nick shot out of the ground and entered the light of the Sun.
Everything around Nick darkened in an instant, creating an area of pure darkness around him.
Originally, he had only been immune to the darkness.
When he had transformed into a Specter, he also grew ethereal when not perceived, assuming he wanted to be ethereal.
When he became a Demon, he gained the ability to disperse a cloud of smoke that absorbed the light.
Now, he didn't even need the smoke anymore.
He could just absorb the light in his surroundings, creating a zone of pure darkness.
'The more light there is, the more Zephyx it costs to keep this ability running. It's still quite expensive, but the ability is more versatile than before since it doesn't give my enemy a chance to react.'
'Sadly, it only has a limited effect on Specters.'
The next moment, Nick focused on his ability to create illusions.
The ability had improved in a significant way.
Now,his ability didn't need him to be completely hidden.
It was enough as long as he was surrounded by his dark cloud.
During battle, this could give him some valuable time.
Next, Nick focused on the two abilities he had received from the Maw.
One of them was his improved perception, which now allowed him to perceive almost everything in a radius of 500 kilometers.
The other one was his portal ability.
Originally, it could only make tunnels on hard surfaces as long as he wasn't perceived.
Then, it had upgraded into a form that allowed Nick to vanish from the middle of the sky as long as the exit portal was on a hard surface.
Now, Nick could also create the exit portal in the middle of the air.
'Sadly, it's still extremely expensive,' Nick thought. 'Creating a portal on two hard surfaces barely costs me 10% of my Zephyx. If I use it on one hard surface, it's 30%. If I create both portals in the air, it costs me 50%.'
'It can definitely be useful if I need to escape or enter a place. However, I still need my primary ability to be active for that.'
'But there is a way to make it work.'
'I have to activate my dark cloud first. Then, I need to create an illusion with my Nightmare ability, which will reactivate my primary ability. Lastly, I can escape through the portal.'
'Yet, if the enemy is too powerful, this combination might cost me 80% of my Zephyx since I also need to use Zephyx to create an illusion.'
'Nevertheless, the more options I have, the better. Versatility is my greatest asset.'
Finally, Nick focused on his last ability, his ability to transform.
The next moment, Nick turned into a ghost.
Then, he turned into a cow.
A fly.
A glowing ball of light.
After trying out his ability, Nick turned back.
'I am no longer limited by human form. I can assume the appearance of any Specter, animal, or human. Even more, I can disperse my Specter Core into my body and create something that looks like a Zephyx Synchronizer in my neck.'
'Sadly, all of this is still only a disguise. The Zephyx Synchronizer doesn't work, and I can't fight in any other form. My attacks are significantly weakened in that state.'
'If I want to unleash my true power, I need to assume a human form. It doesn't need to be my real appearance, but it has to be human in shape.'
All in all, Nick's abilities once again upgraded significantly.
He could see where someone was who knew him and could also see approximately how much they knew of him.
His dark cloud could now allow him to retain 70% of his primary ability and hid him from Zephyx Senses somewhat.
He could attack Force Specters with his light blade.
He could create a zone of darkness.
He could create illusions while being surrounded by his dark cloud.
He could sense the surrounding 500 kilometers.
He could create a tunnel in the air as long as he wasn't perceived.
He could change his form into basically anything, and not even the most advanced methods of finding hidden Specters would work on him.
And lastly, he had gained a new ability.
Vastly improved intelligence.
'With 70% of my power active at any given moment, I am not completely helpless anymore if I am spotted.'
'Now, even without staying hidden, I can confidently take down Mid Fallen.'
'If I get the jump on them, I could most likely kill a Late Fallen.'
'Theoretically, I have enough attack power to kill a Peak Fallen, but Peak Fallen are too ancient and experienced. Most likely, they would react extremely quickly and stop me in my tracks.'
Nick was reminded of the first time he had seen Envy.
Back then, he had just been a John, and Envy had seemed like an apocalyptic force.
'While I still can't fight Envy, I'm also not helpless against it anymore.'
'Maybe I could even escape from it.'
'I'm no longer the weak Extractor you've seen in Crimson City, Envy.'
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