Chapter 1033 (2/2)

Congratulations! You have completed the “Physique of the Grim Chimera” Path. Some Paths leave in their wake a light effect on the body, but others leave you irrevocably changed. Such is the grim Path that you have walked that your body has been warped by the harrowing journey. Although your shape is still human, the roiling images inside of you have slowly begun to reinforce your very flesh. They sap your humanity and replace it with steel and ash. Your eyes glow with the inner fire of the furnace that now fuels you.

It is unclear how much similarities you now share with those you once called fellow humans.

Your Physical Statistics have reached the cusp of something great. Although your humanity was sacrificed, you have grown strong. All Physical Stats +10. You have learned the Skill Catalyst of Agony (A) Lvl 1!

Catalyst of Agony (A): By experiencing pain, desire is crystalized. Increases sensitivity to pain and Stamina costs for Skills in order to increase the effectiveness of those same Skills. For every Skill Level, sensitivity and Stamina costs increase by 2%. Effectiveness increases by .5%.

In addition, please select one Physical Stat that will experience a mysterious evolution! Warning, choose wisely, as this cannot be undone!

Randidly released a long breath and offered the ground with a fragile smile. I mean, I cannot deny that I’ve moved pretty far away from the normal experience of people… but to see that transformation addressed so directly… it’s sad. I feel… sad. Lonely, too. I wanted power, sure, but I never wanted to be…

But, as the System notification had indicated, Randidly wasn’t sure what he was any longer. He was trending a Path so that others could follow, but the trick of this Path was he had to tread it first without any assistance.

Shaking his head, Randidly forced the air in his lungs out through his nose. Despite the strange trepidation Randidly felt to see his own worries mirrored by the System notification, now wasn’t the time to dwell on his own existential problems. Rather than that, he needed to focus on the opportunity presented by finishing this Path.

The Stat boosts were unimpressive, but both the Skill and the notification about choosing one Stat held his attention. Despite the rather annoying side-effect of increasing his own sensitivity to pain, Randidly didn’t need to worry about Stamina costs at all these days. His regeneration was so monstrous that even his very expensive to utilize Skills barely made a dent in it.

If he could start forcibly increasing his power by spending more Stamina, that was a trade he would gladly make.

As for the “mysterious evolution”... it seemed to imply that one of his Stats would be pushed to a higher Rarity form. Yet the fact that it hadn’t stated that directly gave Randidly pause. In terms of his Physical Stats, currently Agility was Randidly’s highest, sitting just below one thousand. It seemed logical that he should improve Agility then, and experience the greatest benefit as each point in the Stat became more valuable.

Yet Randidly frowned down at the ground.

Rather than Agility… he felt much more drawn toward upgrading his Preception. In terms of the reason that he had been able to get this far, it seemed to Randidly that Perception and his ability to understand a situation had served him much more valuable than his speed. In addition, his Skills already leaned toward speed. Improving that further would transform Randidly into a force to be reckoned with, but Randidly didn’t think that was the Path that felt most natural to him.

No, to keep up with his monstrous Control, he needed Perception.

Of course, none of it would have mattered if he didn't have the capability to keep up with the information; if the amount of information his brain received was enough to reduce him to a vegetable, the upgrade would be a moot point. And if he upgraded his Preception, there was a very real possibility that he would exacerbate the growing difference between Perception and Reaction to the point that it was dangerous.

But Randidly trusted his instincts. And if he was going to face his Judgment, Randidly truly believed that what he would need was the increased Perception to identify the threats of Nether rather than simply upgrading his Agility.

Congratulations! Your Perception is undergoing a mysterious transformation!

Synchronicity detected… Images resonating with the transformation… the effect improves! Isolating the highest resonance…

The Grim Chimera raises its head and roars to the overcast sky! The Maelstrom of Ash shudders beneath the force of its longing. The weight of timeless persecution has greatly increased the effectiveness of the transformation!

Congratulations! Your Stat Perception has evolved into Grim Intuition (L)! Your ability to sense threats surrounding you has stretched beyond the limits of the physical realm! With practice, it is possible to discern the intent of others nearby just from their aura! The sphere of detection around you greatly increases! The power of the Grim Chimera settles into your body!