[Strength: 20 → 25]
[Agility: 23 → 31]
[Endurance: 26 → 29]
Cohen immediately distributed his new stats, before turning towards Zone One where he had come from.
Bobby caught up to him, bouncing onto his head. Part of its body dissolved slightly against his head.
Cohen chuckled and patted its body. "I wouldn't have been able to do well without your support, thanks."
Leaving the ash plains and the corpses that the dungeon management company would collect, he returned to Zone One.
He jumped up and reached the waterfall that served as the edge of the first zone.
The rams here had returned to their scattered positions, making Cohen smile.
"Well then, it's time for you to get underlings, Bobby."
He surveyed the area, inspecting the closest ram.
- - - - -
Race: Cinderhorn Ram
Rank: Common
Level: 7
- - - - -
The rams were broad, chest-high beasts with dark wool hardened into dense, stone-like clumps from years of ash exposure.
Their thick black horns curled forward through layers of fused ash, while dark hooves scorched the ground and dull amber eyes locked onto targets without looking away.
With his Perception of Grays, he could detect almost a little over 40 rams here.
He and Bobby had a mental link since the Baptism occurred, as they both knew what he wanted to do.
Cohen sheathed one dagger, darting into the field of ash and stone formations.
Bobby landed beside him, preparing either a stone or an arrow depending on what it felt like using.
Their aim was to leave twenty for Baptism and kill the rest.
The nearest ram lifted its head.
Then Cohen moved, shedding his hesitation from the previous fight.
The Null Aura around him was mainly a tight, aggressive skin, channeling all his intent into raw offense.
He was a low, fast blur cutting through the ash.
A Level 7 Cinderhorn Ram—its horns fused with ash—charged, only to meet the dagger, now unnaturally dense with Null Aura.
Cohen pivoted, his blade an upward flash, and the Ram's head separated instantly, tumbling into the gray dust.
Before the headless body could collapse, Cohen's boosted Agility propelled him toward the next target.
A second Ram lunged, and Cohen met its hardened skull not with steel, but with a reinforced fist.
The blow landed with the sound of a cracking stone, the force of his Strength slamming the Ram sideways; it was thrown ten feet and crashed, unconscious, into a nearby rock formation.
From atop a small stone outcrop, Bobby was the silent artillery.
Its violet body shimmered, and the area around it began to distort with miniature spatial tears.
The air cracked with the passage of its projectiles.
Stored stones—now moving like invisible high-velocity laser lines—flashed across the twenty-meter killing field.
One stone erupted from a tear three feet in front of a ram's face, striking its temple and sending the beast into a stunned, staggering spin, its hide only bruised but its control gone.
It fell to the ground, its eyes pointing in different directions, its tongue hanging out.
Another stone emerged behind a different Ram, piercing its heart cleanly before the spatial tear closed, leaving the monster dead on its feet.
The carnage was swift and absolute.
The sheer speed of the assault turned the dungeon's ash plains into a maelstrom of gray and black.
Dagger cuts, bone-jarring concussions from Cohen's fists, and the silent, lethal efficiency of Bobby's Rift Spit turned the Ram horde into a scattered collection of motionless corpses in under a minute.
Within seconds, the ash plains fell silent.
What remained was Cohen sitting on a stone formation, Bobby perched proudly on his head.
He spread his hand with enthusiasm, a laugh hidden by his smile.
"Praise The Primordial. Due to his love and grace, he has offered to not only spare you, but also chose to give you a new, stronger life."
Bobby stretched and "nodded" at Cohen's words.
The surviving rams groaned weakly around him.
"It's time for you all to be Baptised so you can follow the Path of Primordials. Join the Path, and strive to survive so you can grow stronger."
The black rams all had a heavy injury or two and could not even run if they wanted to, so they could only lie weakly around Cohen's 'chair'.
'Let's see more about you guys before you change.'
- - - - -
Race: Cinderhorn Ram
Tier: Common
Level: 8
Description:
A ram built wide and heavy with thick legs and a broad neck. Its wool has hardened into dense grey-black clumps and its horns are two thick forward-curving arcs of fused ash and bone, black at the base and grey at the tips.
It grazes slowly and without urgency until something disturbs the ash wrong–after that it doesn't stop.
Traits:
[Ash Charge] – Its full speed charge kicks up a dense ash cloud behind it that lingers and reduces visibility in a wide area.
[Hardened Horns] – Its horn strikes carry extra penetrating force against armor and physical defenses.
- - - - -
Cohen stretched his arm, using his talent.
'Baptism.'
The twenty injured Cinderhorn Rams dissolved into a wave of silvery-gray mana that quickly solidified into violet and indigo haze, making their forms blur at the edges.
Their wool was instantly replaced by dense swirling cosmic matter–deep purples, midnight blues, and scattered silver lights–while their horns shed their ash to become pure, hollow structures of jet black bone, lined with glowing violet cracks.
Their eyes became two soft glowing white lights within the haze.
The transformation completed in an instant, and Cohen felt the cost of converting all twenty rams into their new Primordial forms.
[-980 Null Points]
[Baptism Successful.]
[Cinderhorn Ram has turned into Ashen Nebula Rams.]
- - - - -
Race: Ashen Nebula Ram
Tier: Rare
Level: 7-9
Trait:
[Nebular Hide] – Its body partly exists as cosmic matter, so some physical attacks pass through it, reducing direct damage.
Skill:
[Nebula Charge] – When it charges, it leaves a trail of glowing purple and blue nebula energy that expands and explodes seconds later, dealing some damage and then disorienting the six senses.
- - - - -
[Baptised: 1 → 21]
The rams now stood, looking at Cohen with their bright white eyes.
[You have obtained 10 stat points!]
A smirk crept on his face, his eyes falling on each of the monsters.
"Welcome. Prove yourselves… and you will earn names."
The Rams nodded, their body seemingly glowing stronger for a bit.
Cohen looked at his status, seeing the 10 points standing out.
"I really don't need to level up to directly grow stronger!"
Bobby bounced in excitement too, reciprocating Cohen's energy.
"I also think this is fun." He chuckled.
He drank two each of mana recovery and body recovery potions.
Then he tapped his Status and allocated his free points.
[Intelligence: 60 → 65]
[Agility: 31→ 33]
[Endurance: 29 → 30]
[Strength: 25 → 27]
"Next up is the Third Zone."
This act of leveling solo… Cohen was liking it.
It fit him better than anything.