This wasn't an upgrade to survive.
This was an upgrade to destroy.
But again there was no change in the stats itself, despite me feeling much stronger than I should be at 50 points.
I stretched my neck, feeling the new power flowing through every inch of me.
My body had evolved to handle the sheer force my muscles could now produce. My bones, joints, and tendons had reinforced themselves, preventing my body from tearing itself apart under my own strength.
I clenched my fist again and punched the ground lightly. The solid black rock shattered like fragile glass.
A chuckle escaped me.
I felt....unstoppable.
But I knew this was only the beginning.
I turned toward the next lava pool, my body practically begging for another fight.
And I moved forward.
This time, three orcs emerged from the magma pool, all level 24.
I cracked my neck and smiled.
This time, I wasn't here to test my body. I wanted to check my damage.
I let the orcs step out of the pool. The moment their molten-red feet touched solid ground, I stomped my foot and burst forward, the rock beneath me cracking from the force.
In an instant, I was in front of the first orc.
I pulled my fist back and punched straight at its chest.
The air screamed as my fist tore through it and smashed into the orc's body.
Boom!
The orc's entire upper body exploded into chunks of molten flesh and rock. Its lower half stood for a moment before collapsing into the ground with a dull thud.
I blinked, staring at the result.
"Well... that was easy."
I wasn't expecting that. My strength had increased too fast. I couldn't control it properly.
I slowly turned toward the other two orcs.
"Alright, kids. Let's try that again."
The orc on the left roared and swung its massive club at me. I tilted my head slightly, letting the molten weapon pass over me.
"Don't you guys have any other moves?"
I stepped into its guard and casually slapped the orc across the face.
Crack!
Its head snapped to the side, but the damn thing survived.
"Nice. Now that feels good."
Suddenly, I sensed movement behind me.
Without looking, I sidestepped.
A massive club smashed into the ground where I had been standing. The impact sent cracks spider webbing through the black stone.
I turned to see the third orc, its glowing eyes burning with rage.
I raised my leg and kicked its chest.
The orc flew back like a ragdoll and crashed against the jagged rocks.
I turned back to the orc I slapped.
With a quick step forward, I drove my elbow straight into its chest. The force sent it stumbling backward, wheezing.
Before it could recover, I lunged forward, grabbed its face, and slammed its head into the magma pool it crawled out from.
The orc thrashed and roared, but I didn't let go.
I yanked it back up by the leg and smashed it back into the pool.
Then again.
And again.
On the fourth slam, the orc's body disintegrated, and only its leg remained in my grip.
I stared at the leg for a moment before tossing it aside.
I turned toward the last orc.
It sprinted toward me, rage burning in its eyes.
I grinned and sprinted toward it as well.
My body felt light. My muscles coiled with power.
I was finally getting used to this strength.
I sprinted toward the final orc, the ground cracking beneath my feet as I closed the distance.
The orc roared, lifting its molten club high, preparing to bring it down on me with all its strength.
I didn't slow down.
At the last moment, I burst forward and reached the orc before it could bring the club down.
I clenched my fist and drove an uppercut straight into its gut.
Boom!
The force of my punch lifted the orc off the ground. It bent at the waist and flew straight up with a whoosh.
I shot up like a bullet, following it into the air.
Before the orc could react, I brought my hand together, raised them high up and like a hammer smashed them into the orc.
The orc flew down like a meteorite and crashed into the ground.
Boom!
The impact created a massive crater, and the orc's molten body split apart from the force.
Smoke and dust rose around me as I landed in the crater.
My body felt light. My muscles felt explosive.
I looked at my hand.
"Yeah... this feels good."
Then I heard the notification.
[Level Up!]
[Level 19 -> Level 20]
I smiled and opened up my status panel.
[Status]
------------------------------------------
Name : Billion Ironhart
Race : Human
Class : N/A
Laws : N/A
Level : 20
Talent :
- Generator 3
- Essence : 0/20
Attributes :
- Strength: 51
- Constitution: 50
- Dexterity: 32
- Psynapse : 51
Unused Stats: 5
Skills:
- Essence Manipulation (Innate) Level 3
- Psynapse Boost (Innate) Level 3
- Seismic Burst Level 1
------------------------------------------
I added all the unused stats to Dexterity raising it to 37.
I decided not to waste any more time.
My body felt stronger than ever, and my strength was overflowing.
I could feel the changes after crossing the 50-point threshold in Strength. My muscles felt dense, heavy, yet explosive. Every movement felt sharper, faster, more precise.
I stepped forward and kept moving deeper into the volcano, eager to push myself further and level up as much as possible.
At the next lava pool, three more orcs emerged.
All level 24.
I didn't even hesitate this time. I stepped forward, dodged the first swing, shattered the first orc's head with a single punch, then grabbed the second orc and slammed it into the third, breaking both their bodies in one go.
I moved forward again, reaching the next pool.
This time, four orcs climbed out.
Level 24, same as before.
The fight was a little trickier since they surrounded me, but with my new strength, they couldn't keep up.
I let them attack first, tanked their hits to test my defense, then broke through their formation with raw force.
My fists crushed bones, my kicks shattered limbs, and in less than two minutes, all four were dead.
I sat down near the pool and activated my talent. The Generator Core inside my heart roared to life, pulling in the heat particles around me and converting them into Essence.
I focused, guiding the flow of energy into the core, filling up my Essence store in an hour.
My Essence bar was full again.
20/20.
I stood up, stretched my body, and kept moving forward.
The next pool was larger, and this time six orcs emerged.
All level 24.
I knew brute force wouldn't be enough to end this quickly, so I activated [Essence Manipulation] and channeled Essence into my muscles.
My body responded instantly, becoming faster and heavier.
The first orc swung its molten club at me, but I sidestepped and smashed my fist into its chest, sending it flying into the others.
I dashed forward, grabbed the second orc's head, and crushed it between my palms.
The others roared and attacked together, but I jumped into the air and above their heads to get behind them.
Then I didn't give them a chance to recover.
I blurred through them, smashing heads and breaking bodies one by one.
After a few minutes, the fight was over.
I stood in the middle of the broken bodies, breathing heavily. My muscles felt warm, my body pulsing with energy.
[Level Up!]
[Level 20 -> Level 21]
I grinned.
"Not bad."
And pushed all the gained stats into Dexterity.
I kept moving forward.
After walking for a while, I reached an even larger pool.
Ten orcs this time. All level 24.
I let out a breath and activated [Psynapse Boost].
The world slowed down as my perception expanded. Every movement, every particle in the air, I could feel them. My brain processed everything with amazing speed.
I channeled Essence into my legs and burst forward.
Before the orcs could even react, I had already arrived in front of the first one. I punched straight through its chest, grabbed its corpse, and swung it like a weapon, smashing two more orcs into the lava pool.
The others roared and charged at me from all directions.
I activated [Seismic Burst].
I channeled Essence into my fists and dashed through the dust cloud, breaking necks, shattering skulls, ripping apart limbs.
Even when they tried to surround me, I outpaced them, moving faster and hitting harder than they could react to.
In just a few minutes, all ten orcs were dead.
I stood there, surrounded by the remains of molten bodies and flowing lava, feeling the heat and energy lingering in the air.