The plateau trembles as another skyscraper-sized tentacle slams into the cliff face.
Stone explodes outward.
James is forced to leap again to avoid being knocked into the necrotic basin below.
His HP bar flickers.
Not from impact
From proximity.
The longer he remains within 500 meters of the Sovereign…
The more his vitality drains.
PASSIVE AUTHORITY — SOVEREIGN OF THE DEAD (True Form)
Aura Radius: 500 meters
Effect: Continuous Vitality Drain (scales with proximity)
Regeneration: Converts absorbed vitality + ambient mana into mass restoration
Environmental Corruption: Liquefies terrain into necrotic substrate
Damage Redistribution: Non-core hits disperse through total body mass
This is not a duel boss.
This is a walking catastrophe.
SOVEREIGN LEVIATHAN — Updated True Stats
After absorbing the deaths of the entire 2nd floor:
STAT
STRENGTH :14,200
AGILITY :8,100
ENDURANCE :16,000
INTELLIGENCE : 4,200
MANA :23,500
PERCEPTION : 9,800
Key Observation:
Intelligence has dropped significantly.
This form is less calculating.
More instinctual.
More destructive.
It does not strategize.
It annihilates anything non-undead.
A roaming natural disaster.
Clinging to the cliffside, James forces himself to analyze.
Close combat = catastrophic risk.
Endurance gap too high.
HP drain too severe.
Regeneration negates standard damage.
He checks his stats.
1,036,000 unallocated points.
He doesn't need balance anymore.
He needs firepower.
He selects Mana.
And commits.
Stat Allocation
+6,000 to Mana.
New Mana Total:
10,140 → 16,140
The surge nearly knocks him off the cliff.
Mana pressure explodes outward in a visible shockwave.
His veins glow faintly blue.
Regeneration spikes.
Spell capacity skyrockets.
JAMES — Updated Stats
STAT
STRENGTH : 9,420
AGILITY : 9,360
ENDURANCE : 9,510
INTELLIGENCE : 9,050
MANA :16,140
PERCEPTION : 8,880
Stored Stat Points Remaining: 1,030,000
He is not done allocating
But this is phase one.
A tentacle whips horizontally.
The air detonates from sheer force.
James reacts
Perception flares.
He dodges
Too slow.
The shockwave hits him midair.
BOOM.
He is launched hundreds of meters across the cliffside.
Stone shatters.
He slams into rock, coughing blood.
HP drops sharply.
The Sovereign roars.
Multiple tentacles slam down in rapid succession.
Each impact causes seismic tremors.
The plateau collapses section by section.
This thing does not think.
It simply destroys.
James wipes blood from his mouth.
He extends both hands.
Mana density around him triples.
He condenses energy into a beam thicker than before.
Not surgical.
Overwhelming.
Hyper Mana Beam
Channel time reduced.
Output increased.
He fires.
A massive blue lance tears through three tentacles simultaneously—
Carving a molten trench through necrotic flesh.
The creature recoils.
But instead of screaming—
The severed tentacles liquefy…
And crawl back toward the main body.
Reabsorbed.
Regenerating.
James' eyes widen slightly.
He increases output.
Fires again.
This time targeting the central mass.
A glowing wound forms
But slowly begins closing.
Mana stat difference is enormous.
23,500 vs 16,140.
Shockwaves keep blasting him back.
Each dodge costs stamina.
Each proximity drains HP.
His body is bruised, bleeding.
Rags barely clinging to him.
The battlefield is unstable.
Cliffs collapsing.
Necrotic sludge rising.
The Sovereign thrashes wildly, flattening everything within kilometers.
And yet
James' Intelligence remains active.
He studies regeneration timing.
Core redistribution pattern.
Mana flow direction inside the mass.
There is a weakness.
Somewhere.
He just needs to survive long enough to find it.
Another tentacle rises—
Bigger than the last.
Casting a shadow over him.
James narrows his eyes.
Mana flares brighter.
James kept moving backwards..
The cliffside collapses under another impact.
James doesn't counter.
He retreats.
Backward bursts.
Controlled landings.
Minimal mana waste.
The black castle looms behind him, fractured but still standing from earlier battles.
A tentacle smashes into the basin behind him, sending a shockwave that nearly flips him midair.
He crashes through the castle doors.
Inside the Black Castle
The structure trembles violently.
Dust rains from the ceiling.
James rushes to the inner chamber where stored items remain untouched.
He retrieves multiple high-grade HP potions from storage.
Outside
A titanic tentacle slams down near the foundation.
The entire castle begins caving inward.
Stone pillars snap.
Walls fracture.
James thrusts one hand forward.
RIFT BARRIER
A spatial distortion dome forms around him.
Falling debris bends around the warped field.
He begins drinking rapidly.
One potion.
Two.
Three.
HP climbs steadily.
The barrier strains as another impact shakes the castle.
He opens his stat window.
1,030,000 unallocated points remain.
He makes a decisive move.
MASSIVE STAT ALLOCATION
+50,000 to each stat.
STRENGTH +50,000
AGILITY +50,000
ENDURANCE +50,000
INTELLIGENCE +50,000
MANA +50,000
PERCEPTION +50,000
Total Spent: 300,000
Remaining Stored Points: 730,000
The effect is immediate.
The air inside the barrier implodes outward.
The Rift Barrier Fractures
Then reforms thicker.
Mana floods his body in a tidal surge.
The collapsing castle freezes mid-fall for a split second as space distorts violently.
JAMES — Post 50K Allocation
STAT
NEW VALUE
STRENGTH :59,420
AGILITY :59,360
ENDURANCE :59,510
INTELLIGENCE :59,050
MANA :66,140
PERCEPTION : 58,880
Level: 49
Stored Points Remaining: 730,000
What 50,000+ Stats Means
For an awakened, crossing 50,000 in a stat is a biological threshold event.
The body no longer scales linearly.
It transitions into a transcendent state.
STRENGTH – 59,420
Force Output:
Casual strike = multi-building level impact
Full force = small-mountain fracturing capability
Can generate shockwaves without direct contact
Grip pressure exceeds modern industrial hydraulic presses
AGILITY – 59,360
Movement Scaling:
Burst speed: Multiple Mach levels
1 km traversal: Under 2 seconds effortlessly
Air traction achieved via mana interaction
Near-instant directional changes without inertia penalty
ENDURANCE / VITALITY – 59,510
This is where the transformation becomes absurd.
Effects:
Continuous HP regeneration even without potions
Necrotic aura drain reduced to negligible levels
Bones harder than advanced military composite alloys
Organs reinforced with mana-laced tissue
Shockwave resistance extreme
At this threshold, an awakened becomes:
Immune to conventional firearms entirely
Resistant to heavy artillery
Capable of surviving sustained bombardment
His vitality now allows him to stay inside the Sovereign's aura without rapid HP decay.
INTELLIGENCE – 59,050
Cognitive State:
Real-time battle simulation over kilometers
Can track 100+ moving vectors simultaneously
Mana structure analysis near-instant
Identifies regeneration weak points in under seconds
He is now processing faster than advanced military AI.
MANA – 66,140
Mana density around him becomes visible.
Effects:
Beam output multiplied several times
Spatial collapse radius massively increased
Barrier durability exponentially enhanced
Regeneration fueled by internal reserves alone
He now rivals the Sovereign's mana pool.
PERCEPTION – 58,880
Time dilation sensation intensifies.
Tentacle swings appear almost slow.
Shockwave vectors predictable.
Can sense internal mana core fluctuations inside the Sovereign's body mass.
AWAKENING EVOLUTION TRIGGERED
Crossing 50,000 stats across multiple attributes forces ability evolution.
3RD STAGES AWAKENINGS — RIFTBORN ASCENSION
Awakened abilities evolve in stages:
Stage 1: Basic manifestation
Stage 2: Stabilized control
Stage 3: Conceptual Integration
Stage 3 means:
Abilities no longer "cast."
They become extensions of the user's existence.
Lower mana cost.
Greater precision.
Environmental interaction increases.
Effects persist without active concentration.
RIFTBORN ABILITIES — Stage 3 Evolution
Spatial Compression becomes Domain Collapse
Radius scalable up to 5km
Can selectively exclude self
Internal gravitational vectors customizable
Rift Pull becomes Absolute Vector Control
Can redirect kinetic force
Can displace self short-range instantly
Can manipulate spatial anchors
Mana Beam becomes Rift Lance
Pierces dimensional layers
Disrupts regeneration on hit
Leaves lingering distortion wounds
Mana Barrier becomes Spatial Field
Passive distortion aura surrounds him
Reduces incoming force by bending space
Castle Collapse
The final support pillar shatters.
The black castle caves inward completely.
Dust engulfs everything.
For a moment
Silence.
Then
The rubble explodes outward.
James steps through the debris.
No longer merely glowing
But surrounded by a shimmering spatial distortion field.
The air around him bends constantly.
Small rocks float slightly before falling.
He bends his knees
And vanishes.
He reappears 1 kilometer back across the basin
In 2 seconds flat.
No strain.
No stumble.
He lands softly.
The 120-meter Sovereign slowly turns toward him.
Its massive body drags forward.
Each movement liquefies the ground.
Thousands of eyes lock onto him again.
But now
The mana pressure feels… balanced.
James stands upright now.. No longer hunched over from the pressure..
Rags fluttering in the wind.
Spatial aura warping the air around him.
Calm.
Focused.
And finally
On equal footing with catastrophe.