Chapter 134: [134] Robbing A Deity

The chances of obtaining a skill when using Dark Harvest on a person with 100 percent health were so low that, unless you were depending solely on luck, it would be almost impossible to get anything useful.

And although Ark prided himself on having excellent luck, he was not the type to risk offending a deity, just because of something as insignificant as luck...

But since the deity first appeared, Ark could not get this question out of his mind... Why was a deity inside the system in the first place?

Deities were powerful entities, and although there were definitely people much stronger than them... to have a deity playing butler made no sense...

Well... unless the deity was already dead.

It was foolish to try to equate human knowledge to anything in Eden, much less to a deity.

Ark’s suspicion was that the deity had died sometime in the past, and so he made a deal to live within the system...

It was a stretch... Ark knew that much. But now, he was not just banking on luck, he had good reason to test out his hypothesis.

As the screen appeared in front of his face, Ark prayed in his heart of hearts that he was right... Stealing a skill from a monster was one thing, but coveting the powers of a deity was beyond his wildest imagination.

Euros immediately had a bad premonition. He shoved Ark away and hissed through his teeth, "I knew you were up to something you punk!"

He had no idea what Ark had been planning, but he made sure to write his offense in the deepest parts of his heart, next time they met, he would not be so courteous.

"Hmmph!" He frowned, just before he vanished into thin air.

"You promised to behave, and you were doing so well..." Thalia cried. "Why did you have to offend him just before he left?"

Olivia frowned and stared at him. "You know, you’re going to have many enemies if you keep acting this way."

But Ark did not say a single word, his eyes were locked on the space in front of him, his body frozen in place as he read through the screen, the results of his arrogance...

"Deities are mortals who once transcended their limits, taking upon themselves elements of divinity..."

"There are those who believe Deities were once used as the most elite soldiers of the gods, surpassing even the very angels. Am I right?"

Thalia gave him a puzzled look. "That is what is generally believed..." She muttered. "But why are you suddenly asking abou—"

"I guess it makes sense that he would have such powerful skills..."

Both Thalia and Olivia’s eyes went wide, but it was Olivia who spoke first. "Are you saying you used your ability on a deity?!"

Ark rumbled with dark laughter. "OF COURSE I DID!"

"Isn’t that..." Thalia croaked. "Blasphemy? Deities are basically gods..."

Well, if it was blasphemy, then Ark needed to blaspheme more, because his little act had paid off rather well!

—

[Harvest successful! You have successfully received EX-Rank skill, Astral Strike!]

— Astral Strike

Summons the primordial form of earth and fire to deliver catastrophic damage upon the battlefield. Areas affected by astral strike will be inflicted with [Drain], reducing the stamina, mana, and mental fortitude of anyone within the space.

Monsters below level twenty will be obliterated on contact with this field, and monsters below level 50 will constantly lose HP till they have been fully eroded.

Astral strike is an outer universal factor, meaning plant and organic matter cannot survive in this place, until every single part of the meteor has been removed.

[Requirements for use: At least 1000 MP]

—

Ark’s jaw practically dropped when he read through the skill description. This was not a skill anyone would typically take into battle. Why would you use something so large and catastrophic just to fight a couple of people?

If his assumptions were correct, then it was likely a skill used for wiping out towns, cities and kingdoms... after all, the skill was very much like an atomic bomb.

Now Ark was curious about what the deity’s true purpose must have been, and what sort of life Euros had lived to have developed such a spell.

’1000MP huh...’ Ark mused. It wasn’t too bad, he was already close to hitting it after all.

Ark was already shocked to have gotten such a powerful skill, so when the second tab appeared in front of him, he nearly tore off his clothes to dance naked...

Well, maybe that was an exaggeration. But to get two skills from a deity, just how amazing was his luck?

[Harvest successful! You have successfully received S-Rank skill, Transcend!]

Just from the name alone, Ark could already tell that the skill would be amazing.

— Transcend

Allows the Player to temporarily confound the mind, causing an illusion over it to temporarily force out 100% of either his potential, or the potential of a target ally. The duration of Transcend is 5 minutes.

—

’A buff ability this time...’

Ark was itching to see how it compared to Armament, the skill he had gotten from Thalia, but since it lasted for only five minutes, he decided to save it, after all...

They were expecting company.

"Hey, why are you being so quiet? What skill did you manage to steal?" Olivia pestered him as he closed the screen and began searching for an appropriate position to make camp.

"They are proceeds of blasphemy. Do you want to be complicit in my crime?"

Olivia pouted, her cheeks swelling up like a balloon. "Why are you so difficult? Fine... keep it to yourself, I don’t care!"

Five seconds later...

"So what is it?"

<•••>

Normally, Ark would have moved deeper into the mountain, but if he did, he would likely lose track of whatever was leading the basilisks. So instead, he decided to make camp right within the nest of bodies.

There were no caves nearby, and the ’trees’ in the region would be terrible for making a camp, which meant they would have been out in the open.

But thanks to Jenna, they had a roof over their heads. She had constructed a house made entirely out of black ice, and it was so solid that it didn’t melt even in the heat.

Olivia in particular seemed to be having the time of her life. After suffering in the merciless heat, and constantly sweating for hours, it was as though she had been transferred into an air conditioned apartment.

Jenna had built the small house five hours ago, and she had been sleeping ever since, occasionally searching her belly and muttering something in her sleep.

Ark and Thalia, on the other hand, were perpetually glued to the windows, constantly watching the area.

Thalia folded her hands on the window sill, and placed her head on them as she watched. "Are you sure they will come today? It has been five hours already."

Ark nodded. "If we killed only a few, then it could have simply been ignored. But this is likely its entire hunting party. A loss this big will definitely bring them out of hiding."

They continued watching for three more hours, but apart from the world growing a little darker, nothing had changed.

Thalia had been keeping him company for a long time, but she had grown tired.

Ark sighed and took a step away from the window, causing her to raise a brow in question.

"I think that is enough for today... Maybe it will come tomorrow. If it does come by then, we might have to hunt it instead."

Thalia nodded with a yawn, then walked up to Olivia, curled her tail around herself like a rattlesnake, then closed her eyes, using her body as a pillow.

Ark on the other hand leaned on the wall and summoned his stat screen to reduce the boredom...

[Name: Ark Karras]

[Race: Skeleton (common)]

>Race effect: A skeleton has no needs.

Not affected by normal, physiological nutritional needs, nor status effects like (heat), (cold), (humidity), (thirst).

Ps. But if a skeleton wishes to grow taller... the only nutrient needed is calcium.

[Race Specialisation: Reaper (unholy)]

>Perks: Dark Harvest. Skills? Stats? Traits? Loot? Treasures? Thrust your scythe and reap what you desire, for the time of harvest is at hand!

[Class: Mage]

>Class effect: Skillforge. Can combine two independent skills to form a greater skill.

[Skills: Fireball (F-rank), Chain Lightning (C-Rank), Dirt Drifter (D-Rank) Destructive flames (C-Rank), Serpent Spear Form (D-Rank), Steel webs (D-Rank), Stealth (C-Rank), Hero’s Blade (A-Rank), Phase (C-Rank), Pay-Back (B-Rank), Spell Amplification (B-Rank), King’s Dominion (A-Rank), Endless Soul Reaper (EX-Rank]), Disrupt (B-Rank), Malformed Devourer (A-Rank), Wave Of Pulverising Light (B-Rank), Armament (B-Rank), White Disaster (A-Rank), Emperors Domination (S-Rank), Chain Of Obliterating Light (B-Rank), Sky Splitting Slash (S-Rank), Astral Strike (EX-Rank), Transcend (S-Rank).]

[Traits: Minor Toxin Resistance (F-Rank), Endless Evolution (SS-Rank), Iron Body (D-Rank), Mana Defense (D-Rank), Heat Resistance (D-Rank), Beast Tongue (D-Rank)]

__

Strength: 28

Mana: 427/640

Agility: 15.5

Defense: 19.5

__

Stat points:

[Rank: Copper]

[Level: 12 (30/1000)]

[Inventory: Fate Charm (F-Rank), Enchanted steel crowbar (F), Key of the abyss (EX), Eye of eternity (S), Golem Heart (A), Basilisk Hide x100]

[Next Race Evolution: Skeleton Shaman]

Requirements:

Reach level 20 (12/20)

Mana: 1000MP (640/1000)

Advance two Dark Spells (0/2)

[Summons]

Sumo (Warrior) lv 10 | Jenna (Mage) lvl 11 Inquisitor (Knight) lvl 12 | Mountain (Tank) lvl 10

—

"That is a whole lot of skills..." Ark muttered as he stared at the tab. Very soon, it would be a chore just to go through them...

He closed it and relaxed for what should have been half an hour when he suddenly heard movement outside...

The boss monster had arrived.