Chapter 2: Reborn as a Whark?
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Name: ALISTER VON FAI
Titles: None
Race: [★] Whark
Stage: 0
Tier: 1 / 10
Level: 1 / 5
EXP: 1 / 100
Class: (Locked)
Subclass: (Locked)
Inventory: (Locked)
Equipment: (Locked)
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Stats
Health: 10 / 10 (+1 per level)
Stamina: 10 / 10 (+1 per level)
Mana: (Locked)
Physique: 0.05 (+0.1 per level)
Mystique: (Locked)
Charm: 1
Luck: 1
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Bloodlines
mundane Bloodline
1. Harbinger of Myth - Sealed [9/10]
Lesser Bloodline
Normal Bloodline
Greater Bloodline
Noble Bloodline
Emperor Bloodline
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Bloodline skills
1. Myth Voracity (Weakened)
The core ability of the Harbinger of Myth, allowing them to devour the myth—skills and stats—of others. However, a powerful curse has severely weakened it. Now, rather than guaranteed absorption, it only grants a chance to consume these traits. Despite this, it still feeds on the myth of those the Harbinger consumes.
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Affinity
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Skills
1. Scaled Hide (Passive)- Level 1
The Whark's skin is layered with tough, armor-like scales, reducing the impact of blunt and slashing attacks. The scales are not rigid like plate armor but instead flex under pressure, absorbing force before it can reach vital areas. While not impervious to damage, this natural defense makes cutting through a Whark's flesh significantly more difficult.
2. Enhanced Teeth (Passive)- Level 1
The Whark's teeth are not vestigial—each row is lined with razor-sharp, serrated fangs designed for tearing through flesh and bone. As new teeth grow in constantly, they never dull, ensuring consistent cutting power. A Whark's bite is not just powerful but designed to rip and shear, making escape nearly impossible once it has latched onto prey.
3. Bronze Stomach (Passive)- Level 1
The Whark's stomach lining is extremely resilient, allowing it to consume and digest tough materials like bone, shell, and even some metals. This not only provides a source of sustenance from nearly anything it devours but also grants resistance to ingested toxins and corrosive substances. The digestive system is slow but thorough, ensuring that even the hardest materials are broken down over time.
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Unique skills:
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I was shocked at the ghostly hologram before me.
How shocking... So this thing dictates how strong I am? If that's the case, then maybe there's a way for me to grow, stronger, even in here.
Then pain racked my mind.
Crash!
My body slammed into the cold stone, shattering several eggs around me as I tried to suppress the throbbing agony assaulting my head.
I endured.
And endured.
The pain was unbearable as foreign information began to slip into my brain.
Damn it!
What is this inhuman torture?
And what is this gibberish being forced into my mind?
I couldn't believe it.
My thoughts couldn't process it.
How?
I can become stronger just by killing?
By training my skills?
I was stunned. Everything I had known, everything I had trained for, was based on meditation.
On focusing my mind, training my body atop frozen peaks to gather mana particles into my dantian.
But this... this knowledge being etched into my brain? It was madness!
You just need to kill to get stronger.
Use a skill repeatedly, understand how it works, and eventually it gains proficiency?
Damn it.
If these things had existed in my previous life... being killed by a mere arrow would've been impossible.
But alas.
Fate works in strange ways.
Then my gaze fell on the floating word:
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[Hp: 10/10]
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So this is HP.
It determines how much blood I've lost in battle and how serious my injuries are.
The information about HP was simple, understandable, but I could feel there was more to it.
Something deeper.
Something hidden.
But with time, I'll discover it.
Then there's MP:
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[Mp: 0/0]
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This stat is highly dependent on Mystique, a stat only available to four-star monsters and above.
And what are stars?
The higher your race's star, the higher your stat cap, the stronger your skills, and the more blessed you are by the world.
My goal is to evolve at Tier 10.
Here's why.
Each tier you evolve at adds a tier to your new race.
The higher your tier before evolving, the rarer the variant you evolve into.
So reaching Tier 10 gives me a unique 9-star variant race.
It even gives me a chance to become the Emperor of my race, if that position is unclaimed.
What are the perks of becoming an Emperor?
You're favored by the world itself.
Your growth becomes absurd.
Your power, overwhelming.
Let's rank the Emperors.
A lower Emperor can destroy or conquer a vast land, like an entire continent, if uncontested.
Then there's the higher Emperor, a beast among beasts.
A higher Emperor can rule the world... unless a Zenith Emperor is present.
Why?
Because Zeniths are anomalies.
They shouldn't exist.
Their firepower can destroy entire worlds, or help a world ascend, if used correctly.
Zeniths are the ultimate powerhouses.
Now, about the classifications of lifeforms, whether humanoid, beast, aquatic, or otherwise, there are six classes:
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• Lord
• King
• Overlord
• Sovereign
• Champion
• Emperor
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You can acquire Lord to Overlord by evolving at Tiers 5 to 7.
But the true powerhouses, Sovereign to Emperor, are something else entirely.
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Evolving at:
Tier 8 makes you a Sovereign.
Tier 9 makes you a Champion.
Tier 10 makes you an Emperor.
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But the catch?
You need 275 levels to reach Tier 10, and you must do it all at Stage 0.
What is a stage?
Stages are layers of existence.
The weaker your foundation, the harder it becomes to ascend through these layers.
But those with monstrous foundations?
They can just walk every stage like it's a damn cakewalk.
That's why I must evolve at Tier 10.
Now, let's put all that aside and talk about Titles.
Titles don't do anything directly... but the knowledge etched into my mind says.
The more titles I gather, the more they aid in evolution and Ascension beyond mortality.
Everything beyond that?
Sealed.
Restricted.
I can't access it yet.
Next is the Inventory, a spatial storage similar to a pouch, but unlike a pouch, it can't be stolen.
Unfortunately, I haven't gained the qualifications to access it yet.
So my only way to store items right now is...
I tried to move my hand.
Then sweat formed on my back.
Ehh?
Ehhhhhhh?!
What the hell happened to my body?!
My beautiful, handsome body… has become this?
This fish-like form with a massive mouth and ugly blotches on my skin?
How?!
How the hell am I supposed to show my face to the world like this?
I snorted.
Then sighed.
Forget it.
Forget those things.
Damn it, how ugly have I become?
But no, I must stay professional.
Next is Physique, the very definition of muscle mass, muscle density, and body control.
In short, my fitness.
Then there's Mystique, wait, am I repeating myself?
Forget it.
I'm too lazy to trace it back.
Mystique increases your compatibility with mana and possibly boosts brain capacity or something.
Then there's Charm.
Currently restricted.
But apparently, it increases charisma and social influence.
Then Luck, an indicator of how favored I am by the world and universe.
It increases as I accumulate Providence.
It's kind of useless… for now.
Then there's my bloodline: sealed and that of a mundane, the lowest of the low.
But there's something else.
My bloodline skill.
Oh!
Wow!
What kind of broken cheat is this?!
It allows me to devour the stats and skills of living organisms?!
My smile widened.
With this skill... perhaps becoming the strongest, becoming a Zenith Emperor, isn't a dream.
It's a goal.
But that's for the future.
Let's check my starting skills.
A set of passive abilities that enhance my Teeth, Scales, and Stomach.
Kind of boring. But expected.
I am, after all, a 1-star variant, the bare minimum.
Still, understandable.
I clenched my jaw, testing the bite skill.
I could feel it, impressive strength, enough to crush bones, scales, and flesh.
I slammed my body against the seabed.
The pain was minor.
My scale-related skill mitigated most of the impact.
Lastly, my stomach skill.
There was nothing to digest but grass and stones on the ground, and I'm not some maniac who would eat that.
So that's done.
Now, one last thing I overlooked earlier: Affinity.
Affinity lets you control elements like fire, water, wind, and earth.
It increases control efficiency and reduces mana costs.
That's all.
Then.
My ears perked up.
The cavern echoed with the sound of flesh clashing against flesh.
My kin, my siblings, were locked in a frenzied, primal war.
They bashed their bodies together, rammed one another, tore at each other with serrated teeth.
Blood churned through the water, turning it a deep, murky red.
With each passing second, their scales hardened, their fangs grew sharper.
Only the strongest would survive.
A sigh left my lips as I took in the gruesome scene.
Thousands of eggs surrounded me.
And every minute, another one hatched, bringing forth a new Whark into the carnage.
The battle wouldn't end until only one of us remained.
I hesitated.
Should I really kill and devour my own siblings?
Pain.
A searing, ripping pain tore through my back as jaws clamped down, slamming me against the cavern floor.
Damn it.
I shouldn't have hesitated.
These things weren't sapient.
They weren't brothers or sisters.
They were beasts.
A guttural snarl escaped my throat as I twisted my body, my serrated fangs sinking into my attacker's fin.
I bit down hard, ripping into it, flesh tearing beneath my jaws.
But this creature, no, this monster, only grew more violent.
It thrashed wildly, its teeth carving deeper into my back.
Blood gushed out, dissolving into the water, painting everything in red.
But how could I fall here?
This was only the beginning of my journey.
A killing intent unlike anything I had ever felt exploded within me.
I let go of my conscience.
I embraced the primal hunger clawing at my heart.
We fought.
I could feel my body breaking, pain tearing through every nerve.
Another one of my kin latched onto my side, sinking its teeth into me. I didn't care.
I ripped.
I tore.
I devoured.
Blood filled my mouth, hot and raw.
My vision blurred from the agony, but I only bit harder.
Then...
A hologram appeared.
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[You have slain.]
• Stage 0 Tier 1 Level 1 [Whark]
[You have gained 12 EXP.]
[You have gained the title:]
• Kinslayer
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I didn't hesitate.
I twisted.
The jaws clamped onto my back, finally loosened.
I shook my body again and again.
Then.
The moment I was free, I lunged forward, biting down on my attacker's left fin.
Using my weight, I slammed it into the ground.
My back screamed in pain.
I ignored it.
The Whark howled, thrashing violently, its mouth snapping toward my tail.
I met it head-on, my jaws sinking into its face.
I tore.
I ripped.
I devoured.
Like a starved beast, I buried my fangs into its skull, shredding flesh and cracking bone.
The taste of blood and victory surged through me, electric and wild.
And then...
Another hologram.
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[You have slain.]
• Stage 0 Tier 1 Level 1 [Whark]
[You have gained 10 EXP.]
[You have gained the title:]
• Kindevourer
[Your skills have gained a level:]
• Enhanced Teeth +1
• Scaled Hide +1
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I exhaled, blood dripping from my jaws.
This was the law of my new existence.
I had hesitated once.
I would never hesitate again.
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