=========

Name: Mikhail Brightburn

Class: Outer God

Level: 10 / 100

Rank: Ascendant

Core Statistics

Vitality: [20]

Strength: [20]

Agility: [25]

Intelligence: [26]

Authority: [3] (Specific to Outergod Class)

Blank Points [24]

> Growth Progress: EXP: [ 0 / 1100 ]

> Current Rank Progress: [ 0% ] — Next Rank Skill unlocks at Level 20.

> Skills:

Enhancement [0/2]

Summon [1/2]

Steal [1/2]

------ New Skills -------

Akashic Space

Convoke [2/2]

Identity [0/2]

---

> Additional Skills:

Scholar’s Aura (passive)

Black Spike (active)

==========

After what had happened with the Artifact of Destruction and how it reacted once he entered the Rift,

Mikhail couldn’t help but feel a sense of dread and the fear of the unknown.

He wasn’t sure how he was going to deal with things that were out of his control.

’And the best way to deal with that is to enhance myself.’

Mikhail looked at the blank points he had and began to ponder how to use them.

His team kept on moving towards the sun, their gazes darting around for any type of abnormality.

After thinking for a few seconds, Mikhail decided to distribute the points equally.

Once he was done, his core stats had changed significantly.

============

Core Statistics

Vitality: [25]

Strength: [25]

Agility: [30]

Intelligence: [31]

Authority: [3] (Specific to Outergod Class)

Blank Points [04]

===========

As the points took their effect, Mikhail felt an incredible sensation rushing through his blood vessels.

He felt his body getting stronger, lighter, and even his mind felt more relaxed.

After taking a few seconds to adjust to his new body, Mikhail let out a soft sigh.

’This is really a wonderful thing...’

He glanced at the pitiful number of blank points and couldn’t help but feel a pang of regret.

’No, there is no need to regret. It’s for my own betterment.’

Mikhail consoled himself and immediately shifted his focus to the surroundings.

It was as lifeless as before, with the black sand moving slightly with the wind.

Even though they had been walking for a few minutes, they had yet to discover any type of lifeform.

"Is this a barren world with no life?" Stella asked as she fixed her glasses. "I have heard there are some Rifts with nothing inside."

Her words made others frown as they glanced at her.

"How are we supposed to get out if there is nothing here?" Nelly asked. "We can only go out if there are monsters to kill."

"I am not sure..." Stella responded softly. "We can only wait for some monsters."

Mikhail, who was listening to their talk, suddenly inhaled a weird scent.

He immediately took out his handkerchief and placed it over his nose.

"Ew, what is this smell."

"Urgh, I am gonna puke once again."

"Don’t say that while looking at me."

The others also noticed the foul scent and began to cover their noses.

Mikhail, who was at the end of the team formation, said loudly, "We should follow the smell, there might be some monsters there."

"I was about to say that!"

Jasper, who was acting like a leader, growled in response.

"And don’t tell us what to do, commoner!"

Mikhail shrugged off his words and ignored the hot-headed boy.

Though annoyed, Jasper still followed his advice and changed direction towards the smell.

Mikhail glanced behind him, where wine-haired Aleena was walking in an unhurried manner.

’Looks like she doesn’t plan to intervene.’

Mikhail nodded to himself before he focused back on his group.

They followed the smell and arrived at a crater that was as deep as a swimming pool and as wide as a large lake.

Inside the crater was something that made their scalps tingle.

Dead bodies that were half-rotting, with most of their bones visible.

They lay there motionless without making any movements.

But what was the most eerie thing about them was that none of the bodies had any heads.

They were all headless corpses.

Mikhail frowned at the sight, he felt there was more to those dead bodies.

"What do we do?" Stella asked in a subdued tone. "Should we go down?"

"No." Assassin Bert was quick to interject. "We don’t know what type of danger we will face."

"Come on, they are just some dead bodies." Jasper said haughtily. "What is there to worry about?"

"Jasper is right." Nelly nodded in agreement. "If we look clearly at the markings on the bodies, we might be able to find some clue about the monster."

The others looked more or less convinced by her idea.

Only Mikhail felt that something was definitely wrong. He glanced back, but the second-year student was still as stoic as before.

"Alright! We are going in!"

Jasper announced loudly as he jumped into the crater.

The others followed after him, while Aleena stood at the edge without going in.

Inside the crater, the smell of the rotten corpses made them even more nauseous.

Using one hand to firmly cover their noses, they looked around the place.

’...They do resemble the body frame of humans, but I don’t think they are humans.’

Mikhail kept observing the dead bodies with a deep look.

He noticed small differences in the shape and size of the bodies.

Jasper slowly crouched down in front of one of the headless corpses.

He narrowed his eyes as he looked at the cut on the neck.

"It doesn’t look like a clean cut." He said in a soft voice. "It’s more like the head was ripped out of the body."

With that, Jasper raised his hand and touched the neck softly.

"Hey! Don’t touch it without any protection."

James said, quickly putting his hand on his shoulder and trying to pull him back.

"Ah!"

Jasper let out a soft scream as he looked at his hand, which was cut from the sharp edge of the bone.

The cut was so deep that Mikhail even saw a glimpse of Jasper’s bone.

He stood up and glared at James. "Who gave you the permission to touch me, commoner!"

"I was just—."

"Shut up!"

Jasper snapped at him as his eyes began to turn bloodshot.

James quieted down, but it wasn’t because of his words, it was because a stream of blood was trickling down Jasper’s nose.

The noble boy noticed it as well as he raised his hand to touch it.

He looked at the others in confusion. "What is happening—."

Before he could even finish his words, his head burst open.

Blood and brain matter spread around, and James, who stood closest to him, felt some of it enter his mouth.

And on cue, as if they had been waiting for it... the dead bodies began to wake up one by one.