Free Web NovelChapter 94: [Inferno Domain]
The moment Evan opened the system screen, he was flooded with notifications.
[Ding! Advancement mission completed!]
[Your clone has met all requirements to rank up.]
[Initializing advancement process...]
Just like the previous times, his clone retreated into the Soul Sea, and the awakening process began immediately.
[Evolution in progress...]
[10%] [15%] [24%]
...
[99%]
[Congratulations! Your clone has successfully evolved.]
The moment the completion notification appeared, the fiery cocoon that had formed began to crack. Fractures spread across its surface before it burst apart in an explosion of flames that scattered in every direction, only to halt mid-air, pulling back toward the center of the blast. From within that collapsing fire, a figure materialized.
It was Ash.
It was Ash, his physical appearance somewhat different from before. His features were sharper now, more defined, more human in structure, closer to Evan’s own.
He now had two pairs of horns: a smaller set at the front of his brow and a larger pair rising from the sides of his head, curving upward like lances toward the sky. The effect was imposing, to put it lightly.
He was tall and broad-shouldered, his chest bare as before, marked with the same tattoos from before, though now they looked sharper, more threatening, pulsing with a golden glow. His skin was a deep crimson red, and then there was the new addition.
A tail.
"What could a tail even be useful for?" Evan muttered, studying the peculiar appendage with mild disbelief.
It was slender and long, black along its length, ending in a narrow arrowhead point. The moment it appeared, the clone seemed to instinctively wrap it around his own waist.
To Evan’s eyes, it was nothing more than an annoying addition. Just imagining having to poke holes through his pants every time because of it, or walking around with that thing, sounded troublesome.
He decided not to dwell on it and shifted his focus to the updated status screen.
---
[Name: Ash]
[Rank: E → D]
[ESS: 1%]
[Title: Cinder Devourer]
[Bloodline: God of War]
[Synchronization: 20%]
[Skills: 4 ] New!
[Description: Once a spark destined to consume. Now a growing calamity that turns destruction into dominion. Its flames do not merely burn, they conquer, erase, and leave behind a world painted in cinders.] freёwebnovel.com
---
Reading the description, Evan couldn’t help but wince slightly.
’Bruce, you sure love to go all out with these descriptions,’ he thought, unable to ignore the relentlessly dramatic tone his system used every single time it described one of his clones.
[I only write what’s true. Depending on how you use your clone, he can do anything and more.]
Evan didn’t bother responding to his dear companion, especially after hearing the last part.
’Anything and more? Why don’t you add ’the limit is your imagination’ at the end while you’re at it?’
He set the thought aside and focused on the skills.
He had noticed that Shadow received an area-wide ability upon ranking up, a domain skill. He’d wondered whether Ash would get something similar. ƒrēewebnovel.com
He was right.
---
[Inferno Domain]
Rank: D
Description: Summons a domain engulfed in blazing flames under the user’s control. Allies within the domain are invigorated by the relentless spirit of destruction, their bodies surging with greater strength and endurance. Enemies, meanwhile, are subjected to an oppressive heat that weakens their resolve and steadily erodes their vitality.
[Effects]:
> Strength: +20%
> Endurance: +10%
> Enemies suffer continuous minor fire damage.
> Fire Resistance: +5%
> Range: 10 meters
> Duration: 60 seconds
---
Reading through the effects, Evan found himself comparing it instinctively to Shadow’s domain, and the differences were immediately apparent.
Shadow’s domain buffed all of his summons directly, while also providing sustained stamina through the constant absorption of life energy from enemies, energy that was then redistributed throughout the domain to every summon, and even to Evan himself.
Ash, on the other hand, had no summons of his own. His domain worked differently, it buffed all allies within range, which in practice meant him and Shadow, while also granting increased resistance to fire damage. Beyond that, where Shadow’s passive drained enemy vitality continuously, Ash’s inflicted minor but steady fire damage to anyone who remained inside the domain long enough.
Both were balanced in their own way, each with their own strengths.
’The next few hunts should be interesting,’ he thought, already picturing both domains released simultaneously against a high-ranked target.
Between the passive damage and the buffs provided by both sides, his overall strength would be far above what his rank should normally allow, more than it already was.
With his current strength and that of his clones, he was capable of facing a C-Rank beast at the Advanced Stage.
Was it possible that with this, he could finally try his luck against B-Rank beasts?
Evan was tempted, but for now he intended to take his time and further explore the uses of his clone’s newfound power. The better he understood the strength of his clones, the easier it became to find a proper battle rhythm with them, something that made fighting stronger opponents considerably easier.
After that, Evan finished drinking from the bottle of water he had taken out earlier and tossed it back into his storage before leaving.
His hunt was intense, and the harvest no less so.
In terms of ESS, it had been rather poor, only 7,500, granting him a mere 0.1% increase toward the next rank advancement.
But in terms of resources, it was far from insignificant. He now had around forty E-Rank mana cores of various stages inside his storage, mana cores of which he would have to sell thirty-five since they were no longer particularly useful to him.
He wondered what kind of expression the receptionist would make when he brought all of that over tomorrow.
Although the Association remained open twenty-four hours a day, most of its services closed around nine in the evening.
As such, he would have to wait until the next day to process his mission.
While heading back, he suddenly heard the system notification ring out once more, followed by a strange sensation of power entering his body.
He stopped in his tracks at the feeling.
It was familiar, very familiar, and the system notifications that followed soon confirmed it.
[Ding! Your bond with Luna has strengthened.]
[Congratulations! Luna has advanced to Elite Rank.]
