In the end, Varian ended up clashing against the peak rank 5 dinosaur. He was no match, as expected.
As a rank 3, he could jump a whole rank and take down rank 4s. Even without the artifacts, he had a good chance of killing high rank 4s. With the boost of the artifacts, he could bring down low rank 5 beasts.
But that's about it.
Fighting a peak rank 5 was only asking for abuse.
The earth split open and a humanoid figure slammed deep into the ground, forming a tunnel extending hundreds of miles.
Varian's arms which blocked the dinosaur's frontal attack were crushed and were barely hanging onto his shoulders. And as he drilled into the ground due to the fierce moment, hell was awaiting him.
The insane speed at which he was thrown into the ground was met by the equally fierce underground filled with tough rocks, stones, and gems. Tough in relative to a rank 5. For others, they'd be unbreakable.
A horrifying pain seared his body as sharp rocks pierced his skin, dug into his muscles, and scraped his bones.
He didn't even have the luxury to scream because the stones would go inside and wreak havoc.
Varian curled up instinctively to protect himself. His heart was pierced, and so were his lungs. He was protecting his brain but it still got a few cuts. His limbs? They were ripped out by a few sharp rocks a moment earlier.
It was a terrifying experience but thankfully, it ended there.
[That didn't seem to be a pleasant experience.]
'What do you thin—ouch!' Varian flinched as a prickling sensation shot up his brain.
[Maybe you should use the slivers. It'll be easier to get rid of the thing with some planning.]
'No.' The space around Varian loosened first and then solidified, creating an empty space in the underground for him.
With a thought, all the rocks embedded inside his body, blood, organs, and even the brain were plucked out.
Varian flinched once again as the sharp sensations overwhelmed his senses for a moment.
'Slivers are my last resort. If I meet a really strong enemy, chances are, they'll know about the slivers somehow.'
So, unless he was confident of killing them and keeping the details of the battle secret, it's very dangerous to use the slivers.
If even something as small as rumors about the slivers began, then Varian wouldn't need to doubt whether powerhouses of the kingdoms and even the empire would come after him.
They would. And in front of overwhelming strength, neither he nor his empire could survive.
[But you can't fight in your current state. Even with the famine's great healing, it'll take time.]
The space around Varian distorted and he appeared over a large forest.
'You're right!' With just a torso and a head, he really can't fight much.
A tremendous roar shook the sky and a crimson dot began to fly towards Varian. The dinosaur wasn't letting go.
It'd be here in two-three minutes at most. But he'd need at least ten minutes to heal back to his peak.
'But I am Famine!' Varian's eyes turned silver and all his powers were concentrated onto the Spirit path, pushing it to peak of rank 4.
Then, a spirit attack swept the forest, disturbing the stronger creatures and stunning the creatures of rank 1 and rank 2. The rank 3s suffered from dizziness.
'I will devour and grow.' Varian's power concentration shifted to space which also reached peak of rank 4.
The space around the rank 1, rank 2 and the rank 3 beasts exploded, killing them instantly, and collapsed into a space crack that opened in front of Varian.
Varian's body glowed dark green and his rank 3 famine path soared to peak of rank 4.
Famine (Rank 3) —> Assimilator (Peak Rank 4)
The corpses of the beasts all disappeared into the bottomless pit of the Assimilator and an overwhelming vitality filled Varian to the brink.
It was like taking a nice hot bath while getting a good massage. It was so relaxing that you'd wish it could go on forever.
When he came to his senses shortly, Varian realized his body had healed completely. And due to his massive intake, there was a surprise he didn't expect.
[Famine Rank 3: 500/500 [+100, +300]
Assimilating is something only rank 4s and above Assimilators can do. But you've done it as a rank 3 famine. You reaped tremendous gains.
Do you want to advance now?
You will walk down the path of an Assimilator if you do.
If you wish for another path, you can regress and try again.]
'Advance.'
A beam of aura shot into the sky and all life forms nearby felt a tremendous life form climbing a step in the pyramid.
Varian swung his arms and checked his physical capabilities. There was definitely improvement but the focus wasn't on raw strength.
He pointed a finger towards a rank 3 carnivorous tree. The life force inside it shook violently and the green tree began to wilt.
After a meaningless struggle, it flew into Varian's hand and broke into tiny pieces before getting absorbed into his body.
[+1 XP]
Even though he devoured the entire tree's life force, Varian realized he was able to absorb only a tiny portion of it. The efficiency was pathetic. But the ability itself was awesome.
Out of curiosity, Varian opened his status panel.
[Mystic Rank 3: 400/500 [+200]
<The beatings helped>
Assimilator Rank 4: 301/1000
<Suffering has meaning—it means more XP. Congratulations on becoming an ant. You're no longer bacteria>
Spirit Rank 3: 250/500 [+50]
Matter Rank 3: 250/500 [+50]
Energy Rank 3: 250/500 [+50]
<Try harder>
Space Rank 3: 75/500 [+25]
Time Rank 3: 75/500 [+25]
<Not Enough>]
Varian was both satisfied and dissatisfied with his status panel. It saw a significant improvement, especially on the Assimilator Path. But his combat power, while now being able to crush peak rank 4s, would pale in front of low rank 5s without the artifacts.
What's more, the enemies he had to face were rank 6s and probably strong ones even in their own rank.
'I'll try harder.' Varian's eyes flashed with madness and he turned to the huge crimson body that was now just a few miles away from him.
The dinosaur looked at him with a predatory gaze and opened its mouth.
He's still far from being an opponent of a peak rank 5. But Varian didn't run away instead, he ran towards the enemy.
'Combat power is a very good indicator of your capability. But in the battle, there are always other factors.'
For some reason, words back in his childhood rang in his mind. His father wasn't a very strong awakener. But he held back a powerful abyssal squad to save his team.
If combat power alone was the answer to everything, then it made no sense.
'Courage can take you to heights.' Varian thought and his lips curled into a distorted smile. 'But fearlessness can take you everywhere.'
Like an asteroid, he crashed into the dinosaur.
Due to the severe difference in strength, he was blown back and ended up once again being buried a hundred miles underground.
But the dinosaur, while mostly fine, had a visible cavity on its jaw.
The predator roared in anger and flew to the tunnel. Then, its long, vast, and sharp wings swung down like a blade.
The air seemed to halt for a moment before dust and soil flew everywhere.
A deep pit was formed in heartbeat with Varian at its bottom. The rocks and stones around him were sliced sharply. His arms weren't spared, they too were cut by a very sharp gale of wind he couldn't avoid.
Varian used his spirit power to turn off the pain. He couldn't exert the strength of a peak rank 5 but he had his advantages.
This creature was an Adept—meaning it had a body on the path of perfection—good strength, defense, speed, regeneration—but only that—good.
On the other hand, while an Assimilator was lower than an Adept in every physical indicator, they were exceptional at healing.
'I can't overpower you, but I can outlast you.' Varian's spirit power grabbed his sliced-off arms and aimed them at the creature.
The power of space created a path to boost the speed of the organic missile while the power of time increased its speed.
The Qi of Mystic acted as the driving force while the powers of matter and energy burned down the arm to fuel the attack.
"Go!"
An explosion shook the underground and two impossibly fast arms shot reached the dinosaur's eyes in the blink of an eye.
The creature quickly used its wings for defense but something interesting happened then.
Varian's powers all concentrated onto space and pushed it to the peak of rank 4. Using that power, he teleported the arms to its neck.
A shockwave swept the surroundings as two ten-meter cavities tore open on the creature's neck, spilling out blood, flesh, and bones.
The dinosaur roared in fury. It was a significant injury, not a fatal one. But its pride was damaged.
As it bent down to blast another attack to kill this insolent creature, Varian's silhouette blurred and he appeared below the dinosaur's neck.
The creature's Qi sensed his presence and activated before it did to form a protective layer.
Varian wasn't here to sneak attack. It's very hard to pull out one.
He's here to—
'Assimilate!'
All the blood, flesh, and bones of the creature, carrying its rich vitality disappeared as the space around them distorted and appeared around Varian.
Varian's arms regenerated in an instant and his aura grew stronger.
The dinosaur paused for a moment at this ridiculous situation. Its experience was telling it to run away. This prey wasn't as easy as it thought.
But its ego won over and it decided to fight. Of course, whatever rationality it had pushed it to make an attack to kill him in one shot.
"Hahahahaha!" Varian laughed like a madman as he felt a Qi barrier around him, trying to lock him down.
It'd have worked if he was a real Assimilator. But he's a space awakener and blocking their teleportation was much harder—something this creature had very little experience with.
Aided by space distorted, Varian's body broke through the Qi barrier, but it wasn't without a price.
The tyrannical barrier tried to tear his body into pieces and when it failed, it inflicted serious injuries on him.
Since he completely turned off the pain, Varian didn't care about these little injuries and teleported to a small lake nearby to 'replenish' his condition to its peak.
The whole thing reminded him of the games he played with Kyle.
Pull down some HP of the boss, run away, drink some potions, then attack the boss again.
'I knew it! I should've played more games after taking up the throne!'
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