Chapter 23: Ruler of Perseverance
A moment later.
"Wow~ Such a cool look."
Shiro opened her eyes, her expression full of surprise. At this moment, their front legs had transformed into two sickle-like scythes flashing with a cold light. Clad in pitch-black armor, they looked truly majestic.
"So sharp." She swung a scythe excitedly, easily slicing through the tough scales of the Fire Drake.
*Swish! Swish! Swish!*
As the scythes moved, the Fire Wyrm's scales were stripped away one by one, revealing the tender, delicious meat inside.
"Ohoho, this looks like it'll taste pretty good."
Shiro licked her lips, looking hungry. Shirazawa saw this and reminded her, "You can roast it over the magma to make it even tastier. I'll take one order of slate-grilled eel, please, Chef Shiro."
"Slate-grilled eel?"
Shiro nodded excitedly. "Mm-hm, that's a great idea."
Watching her get busy, Shirazawa didn't stay idle either. He opened the skill list, preparing to learn some new abilities.
"This evolution came with several good abilities. First is
"There's also
"With these added attributes, the spider silk should be usable in the Middle Stratum, right? Even though our Fire Resistance level is low, it should have no problem resisting the ambient heat radiating from the lava lake."
After confirming a few practical new skills, Shirazawa opened the list of learnable skills. Immediately, he spotted the Ruler skill Perseverance and learned it instantly.
[Spend 500 Skill Points to learn the Ruler skill: Perseverance? Yes/No]
"Tsk, so expensive. I only have 500 Skill Points total, and I'm using them all at once."
Shirazawa muttered to himself but still selected "Yes." Aside from the effects of Perseverance itself, the most critical reason was that this skill was indispensable if he wanted to reach godhood.
[Perseverance (500): n% of the power to become a God. Expands the user's Divinity Area. As long as the user has MP, they will survive with 1 HP regardless of how much damage is taken. Furthermore, enables the user to surpass the W system and gain interference rights over the MA area.]
[Proficiency reached. Skill Taboo Lv5→Lv7.]
[Requirement met. Obtained Title: Ruler of Perseverance.]
[Based on Title effect, obtained skills:
[Skill
[Ruler of Perseverance: Increases defense and resistance values. Evil Eye skills are unlocked. Increases the proficiency gain for resistance-type skills. Grants Ruler-class privileges.]
Looking at the three newly acquired skills, Shirazawa nodded with satisfaction.
"Not to mention the 1-HP survival cheat from Perseverance,
"As for Conviction, it's not that useful. It's ineffective against big bosses and does low damage to small mobs. It's not as good as an Evil Eye."
[Conviction: Deals irresistible damage proportional to the amount of sins accumulated within the system in the target's soul.]
"Alright, now let me see the true face of Detection."
Shirazawa rubbed his claws together, crossed his arms in a strange pose, closed his eyes, and chanted, "Detection!"
In the next moment, the originally dim mental world instantly flashed with infinite information. A virtual image map of the Middle Stratum expanded in his mind. Magic, air, temperature, humidity, matter—everything was presented clearly, down to the finest detail of every grain of sand. He felt as if he were seeing the essence of the world and the truths of the universe.
"Incredible..." Shirazawa opened his eyes and sighed in admiration. "To be able to observe the world so intuitively is just too convenient."
[Proficiency reached. Skill increased: Detection Lv9, Parallel Thinking Lv8, Arithmetic Processing Lv9.]
[Proficiency reached. Obtained skill: Divinity Area Expansion Lv1.]
With Heresy Nullification, using Detection would no longer cause backlash. Since he was now immune to soul-based damage, there would be no side effects. Just by simply activating the skill, his various mental skills leveled up once again.
Shirazawa didn't care too much about that, but he was thrilled about the newly appeared skill.
[Divinity Area Expansion: The deep area of the soul, the source of all life, and the final area of the self.]
"The power of gods is reflected in the soul. Only when the soul's strength reaches a certain level can one step into the realm of gods. This Divinity Area Expansion is the stepping stone to godhood."
"Each time the skill levels up, the soul's strength increases. When the skill reaches Lv10, that's when one can become a god." Shirazawa stroked his chin and murmured. "But for now, it's still too early. Increasing soul strength is a very long process. I still need to work hard."
That said, he deactivated Detection and looked at the Evil Eye skill library.
"Tsk, not enough Skill Points. I can't learn them." Shirazawa pouted, feeling a bit helpless. "But then again, ordinary skills only cost 10 Skill Points. Perseverance consumed way too many. If I hadn't saved up 500 points in advance, I would have missed it. And each Evil Eye costs 100 points—that's another huge expense. I feel so poor."
While he was complaining, he scrolled through the data on Evil Eyes. Just then, Shiro walked over holding the fragrant roasted meat.
"Shirazawa, dinner's ready! Quickly, taste my cooking."
Shiro shouted and then sat down on the ground, tearing into the eel meat with gusto.
"Mmm..."
She chewed happily, enjoying the pleasure brought by the delicious food, her heart filled with happiness. Seeing this, Shirazawa stopped what he was doing and smiled at Shiro, who was eating with great relish. He used a scythe to cut off a large piece of eel meat.
"Whoa~ delicious! Really delicious!"
He exaggerated with loud shouts, his cheeks bulging and the corners of his mouth stained with oil.
"Of course it is. Look who roasted it." Shiro lifted her chin proudly, showing off her skills.
"Hehehe, then I'll leave the cooking duties to Comrade Shiro from now on." Shirazawa leaned in with a smile.
"Eh?" Shiro looked at him in surprise and asked hesitantly, "Then what are you responsible for?"
"I'm responsible for the eating, of course." Shirazawa said as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "Or... I'm responsible for the washing up?"
"..." Shiro was stunned, unable to react for a long time. After all that, didn't he just mean he wanted a free ride!
"Hmph, you wish." She glared with her large eyes and took a big bite of the eel meat, saying fiercely, "Don't think you're getting a free meal!"
"How about this: I'll be responsible for providing the ingredients, and you handle the preparation." Shirazawa put on the face of a shady merchant and chuckled.
"Hmm... I guess that's not impossible. After all, searching for food and fighting is much more tiring than just cooking." Shiro nodded after thinking for a moment, then stared at Shirazawa warily. "I always feel like you're up to no good. You're not plotting something bad, are you?"
"Don't worry." Shirazawa patted his chest. "Don't you know my character by now? Absolutely trustworthy."
Anyway, from now on, he only needed to use Clairvoyance combined with Cursed Evil Eye to take out enemies from miles away. Whoever he looked at would die—no need to lift a finger, easy and pleasant. The remaining cleanup work could just be left to the hardworking Comrade Shiro.
"Fine..." Shiro reluctantly agreed. "No slacking off."
Shirazawa quickly assured her that he would be diligent and responsible and would definitely not hold the team back.
...
A few days later.
Shirazawa's miserable screams echoed through the lava cave for a long time...