Chapter 18: Advancing to One Star, Official Functions Unlocked (Second Bonus Update for Monthly Votes)

[Defeating the Great Demon, gained 6,357 Spirit]
[You obtained "1-Star Rune — Physique, Agility, Mind"]
[You obtained "Small Life Essence (50)"]
[You obtained "Rune Circuit Essence · 1-Star" x2]

Zhou Yan silently watched the stream of information before him and could not help feeling that the Great Demon’s reward seemed inferior even to that of Shuten Doji.

Could this Great Demon actually have been nothing more than a lowly minion in that so-called Unending Hell, only fortunate enough to have crawled up from the deeper abyss to this place?

And so, by virtue of a body nurtured in that higher realm, it ended up possessing even greater power than Shuten Doji, the strongest boss-class existence in this cursed world?

Zhou Yan made a casual guess, then stopped indulging in wild speculation. He leaped onto the Great Demon’s chest and, gathering his strength, drove a fist through its breast and into its heart.

While feeling the Lamp Seal devour that immense blood essence and demonic power, he simultaneously checked the Great Demon’s information.

[Great Demon]
[Type: Unending Hell Demon]
[Description: A terrifying great demon summoned from the depths of Unending Hell to a shallow convergence point exceedingly close to the Kingdom of Genroku, due to a certain chaotic ritual several centuries ago. Stationed at the gate of hell as a kind of "world marker," it shattered the boundary between the living world and hell, allowing endless chaotic miasma to be funneled into reality from this location.]
[Rating: 1-Star, Tier 3]
[Attributes: Physique 140, Agility 54, Mind 52]
[Note: I... was actually slain by a mortal?]

"This thing is really lopsided."

Zhou Yan frowned as he read the Great Demon’s data.

No wonder it had seemed ferocious in strength yet somewhat sluggish in movement, and its brain seemed a little lacking as well.

Then the question was—

Zhou Yan took out Shuten Doji’s demonic horn and looked down at the Great Demon beneath him.

Between these two materials, which should he choose as the main catalyst for his next fusion?

Each had its own strengths and weaknesses in terms of attributes.

Shuten Doji’s overall attributes were slightly poorer, but more evenly distributed.

The Great Demon’s overall attributes were a little higher, with a particularly outstanding physique, but the other two were lacking.

These attribute gaps could be balanced out by Zhou Yan’s own growth and compensation.

Then the difference lay in the skills they could provide after fusion.

After his fierce battle with Shuten, he could roughly infer what techniques he might gain if he fused with him.

But this giant Great Demon was so stupidly inept that Zhou Yan had killed it with hardly any effort, leaving him uncertain.

After careful consideration, Zhou Yan finally made up his mind—he would rather take the boss with slightly lower base attributes than some nameless trash with a high panel.

Record Shuten!

With a flicker of thought, the long, curved horn in his hand shattered into stardust and dispersed.

Three ethereal, exquisitely beautiful cards appeared before his eyes.

On the left were two cards: one showing a strange sword, the other a black locust.

On the right, the hazy, void-like background at the center swiftly transformed into a pair of black demonic horns.

[Chaos Object "Shuten Doji’s Divine Horns" has been recorded as material for the talent "Super Fusion"]

"All dust has settled."

Zhou Yan exhaled in relief. Since he had already made his choice, there was no point in regretting it.

He did not hurry to experience the new form right away.

Instead, he turned his gaze to the Great Demon’s corpse beneath him and silently asked in his heart:

"Does this Great Demon’s corpse count as one-star material?"

The panel answered his question with a question of its own.

[Would you like to spend "10,000 Spirit" and "Great Demon Corpse" to elevate the life armor to "1-Star"?]

Here it came!

Zhou Yan’s spirits lifted.

He took a deep breath and, with a slight movement of thought—

[Begin advancement]

Space shattered suddenly.

It felt as though Zhou Yan had been transferred to some void like the universe itself.

In the next instant, his fusion state automatically dissolved, returning him to his base life armor form.

A torrent of strange light burst forth from the black light armor, far beyond anything from any of his previous ascensions.

Bathed in that endless radiance, he abruptly floated up from the void beneath his feet, his entire body assuming a naturally outstretched posture with his arms hanging down. Then the strange light all over him suddenly shot skyward.

Like a beam, that radiance reached directly toward a giant, star-like shining body in the endless void, linking Zhou Yan to that luminous object.

In the next instant, the shining body seemed to be activated by the connection, beginning to flicker at high speed.

As it flashed, wondrous waves of power were transmitted through the beam connecting Zhou Yan to his life armor.

No one knew how long passed.

Zhou Yan’s eyes suddenly cleared, and he found himself still within the boundary of this hell.

He was still trying to recall that marvelous experience when a flood of information swiftly streamed before his eyes.

[Advancement complete]
[Current life armor rating: 1-Star, Tier 0]
[Attribute bonuses increased to: Physique +83, Agility +78, Mind +72]
[Maximum durability increased to: 750]
[Spirit conversion rate into life armor durability increased to: 100/second]
[Damage sharing increased to: 70%]
[Number of rune slots increased to: 20]
[Attribute bonus while unequipped increased to: 40%]
[Life armor has gained new "Mimicry" function]
[Mimicry — Within certain limits, the life armor’s appearance may be altered at will by the World-Bane Walker, but the material performance will not exceed the life armor’s own strength]

As Zhou Yan read the flood of updates to his life armor, he quickly extracted the key points.

A look of ecstatic joy flashed across his face. Clearly, the one-star life armor had received the expected all-around massive enhancement!

And the improvement was not limited to the “equipped” state; even the attribute bonus granted while “unequipped” had increased by a full twenty percent.

Take physique as an example: even without wearing his life armor now, he could still gain over thirty points of physique bonus from it.

What was more, the life armor had gained a new function called “Mimicry,” which did not increase combat power but was highly practical.

Yet before Zhou Yan could even begin to rejoice over this newfound strength, several more messages swept past his eyes.

[Life armor successfully advanced to "1-Star"]
[Requirements met. Your identity has officially been updated to "Order Walker"]
[Your "Sequence" has been locked]
[Sequence: XIII]
[Authority level increased]
[The "Life Armorer" function is now officially open]
[The "Communication" function is now officially open]
[Tip: In future travels through the World-Bane, you will randomly encounter invasions by "Chaos Heretics"; defeating them yields excellent rewards]
[Tip: In multiple locations of the main world, "Chaos Rifts" exist. Defeat the rift monsters and close the rifts to obtain excellent rewards]

"This..."

Zhou Yan’s pupils widened slightly.

The enormous flood of information caught him utterly off guard.

Originally, his goal in elevating the life armor to 1-Star, beyond simply making himself stronger, was mainly because the panel had previously hinted that the “Life Armorer” function unlocked upon advancement would allow him to realize his hope of taking Lamp away.

He had not expected that the “Life Armorer” function would merely be an added bonus.

This advancement had actually given his own identity a clear designation as well—Order Walker!

Then the great power behind him was, in fact—

Order!?

***

Bonus chapter, bonus chapter! The protagonist’s identity has been revealed, and the world-building has only just begun to show its tip!