[Ding. You have inflicted massive damage on the Archfiend. Your extraordinary power has earned the Creator's approval. Your Luck has permanently increased by 1, and your Talent Evolution Count +1]
The system prompt rang out once more.
Rylan did not hesitate; he evolved his talent right away.
…
[Eternal Wound]
Tier: SS
Effect: When you land a melee attack, you inflict a bleeding effect on the target, dealing 200 damage per second for 60 seconds. This effect can stack up to four times. Once the buff reaches two stacks, the target gains [Serious Injury] and cannot restore health. At three stacks, the target gains [Crippled], halving its movement and attack speed. At four stacks, if you kill the target, there is a 20% chance to increase your talent damage by 1 (maximum 99,999).
Note: Killing enemies of a lower level than yourself does not raise your talent damage.
…
An SS-rank talent. In his previous life, fewer than ten players across the entire galaxy had ever acquired a talent of this level. Rylan thought that, had he gained such a talent back then, he would have led humanity on Earth to achieve incredible feats.
Recalling all this and then looking at the Ancient Archfiend in front of him, Rylan found his anger burning hotter than ever.
Just then, Baal finally sensed that this human truly possessed the means to kill him.
He began to panic.
"Damn it, stop now!"
"Human, whatever you want, I can give it to you!"
"Do you like succubi? Seductive, beautiful, wanton succubi. I can grant you an entire legion of them. They can serve you both as a powerful army and indulge your every whim. Any position you can think of in bed, they can make it happen!"
He spoke in frantic bursts, as though afraid Rylan wouldn't believe him.
All at once, Baal mustered every speck of power he had left. The next moment, Rylan's mind was suddenly filled with a vivid scene:
It showed a vast palace, and within its courtyard, countless succubi roamed naked, each one strikingly alluring. They adopted every lewd pose imaginable, attempting to tempt Rylan.
However, Rylan remained utterly unmoved. Succubi might be enticing, but Baal had committed atrocities against humanity far too grave to be forgiven by such meager compensation.
Only Baal's death could appease Rylan's rage.
Clang!
Swinging his Sanctuary Blade again, Rylan unleashed another fierce blow.
Thanks to his newly evolved talent, his damage increased once more. Red digits flickered repeatedly, sending the Ancient Archfiend's HP even lower.
9%, 8%…
6%, 5%…
"Impossible, this can't be!"
"I am the Ancient Archfiend, the greatest fiend of all!"
"How could I possibly die at the hands of—of a mere human, a level 1 human?!"
3%, 2%…
"I curse you! I'll curse you forever!"
"Human, you will die! I will drag you down into the Abyss of Hell to endure countless years—no, eons—of torment, generation after generation, with no escape!"
1%…
Clang!
Rylan kept attacking. The Archfiend was seconds away from death.
Suddenly, Baal went unnaturally silent.
Then a mocking laugh broke through the hush.
"Human, I am the greatest fiend of the ancient era. Do you truly think I would perish by your hand?"
"Remember this: the one that took my life is not you, puny human, but those despicable gods!"
"You worthless gods, mark my words. Though I die now, my successors will surely return you to the grip of terror!"
"And human… when that time comes, you won't escape either!"
His roar shook Rylan's ears. A green aura flickered on Baal's mountainous frame as he finished speaking. In the next instant, that towering body began to collapse, piece by piece.
Evidently, Baal refused to let himself die at the hands of someone so small. The moment he realized death was inevitable, he chose to ending his own life.
Seeing this, Rylan grew anxious.
Dealing damage to Baal had already yielded immense rewards. If he managed to land the killing blow, he'd surely reap even more treasures.
The experience points alone might instantly rocket him to level 60, or maybe even level 100.
Reaching level 100 on launch day would be mind-boggling.
He sprinted forward, hoping to continue attacking, but it was too late.
The green aura radiating from Baal's gargantuan body formed a barrier that blocked Rylan's approach. He slashed at it with his Sanctuary Blade, but the barrier wouldn't budge.
He could only watch as Baal's body disintegrated in a self-sacrificial burst.
[Warning!]
[Ancient Archfiend Baal has died!]
[This Abyss is beginning to collapse!]
Rylan heard the system's notification.
He raised his head. A giant rift had appeared in the crimson sky, exerting a terrifying suction that engulfed everything in the Abyss, hurtling it upward.
"Is it time to go back?" Rylan murmured with a slight tinge of reluctance, though he braced himself for what was to come.
Right at that moment, a green glow streaked across his vision and shot straight toward him.
Before Rylan could figure out what it was—bam!
The green orb collided with his body. Instead of knocking him backward, it merged into him.
Simultaneously, the system's robotic tone resounded in his mind.
[You have fused with the Source of Poison.]
[You have acquired the Withering Death Curse!]
[Withering Death]
Description: Baal's final curse. You lose 2% HP per second, and this debuff cannot be dispelled. During its duration, any health regeneration is cut in half.
Duration: 30,000,000 years.
…
Seeing Withering Death's effect and its staggering duration, Rylan was briefly stunned.
Indeed, the Ancient Archfiend's curse was fearsome. Thankfully, he still had the Phoenix Flame buff, which upon his first death, could resurrect him and cleanse the Withering Death debuff.
As that thought settled, the system prompted him yet again.
[Your talent has reached another evolution—and this time, you can choose your path freely.]
[You have fused with the "Source of Poison," causing your talent to undergo changes.]
[Please choose one of the following talents as your own.]
…
[Curseful Miasma]
Tier: SSS
Description: You devote yourself to the raw power of the Source of Poison, willingly becoming its vessel, and you gain immense benefits in return.
Effect 1: All your stats permanently increase by 10,000%.
Effect 2: The Source of Poison becomes a cloud of toxic mist drifting around your body, initially within a 3 ft (1 m) radius. Any living creature in range continually suffers plague, slow, and misfortune debuffs (the coverage and debuff potency are tied to your attributes; the higher your stats, the stronger the effect). Elementals, machines, puppets, and undead are unaffected.
Effect 3: Once your level surpasses 100, new effects unlock. Any poisoned enemy becomes highly contagious, and every second, there is a 20% chance anyone within 3 ft of the infected creature will also be poisoned.
Effect 4: Creatures that die from the plague have a 10% chance to revive as zombies and join your ranks.
…
[Master of Poison]
Tier: SSS
Description: You fully assimilate the Source of Poison, gaining mastery over all toxins.
Effect 1: Melee attacks inflict a Poisoned status, dealing 1 damage per second to the target for 60 seconds.
Effect 2: The target's health recovery is completely negated while poisoned.
Effect 3: For every enemy ten levels above you that you kill, your Poison damage per second increases by 1. There is no upper limit.
Effect 4: Every time you kill a boss, the poison stack limit increases by 1 (each target can only trigger this once).
…
Rylan paused in surprise, reading the two descriptions carefully.
He quickly realized that "Curseful Miasma" must be Baal's own talent, awesomely powerful and capable of raising an army. But it was also uncontrollable—Rylan had no desire to end up as the next Baal, nor to serve as a mere vessel for the Source of Poison.
He turned his attention to "Master of Poison." While it appeared weaker on the surface, its real strength lay in its unlimited potential.
If harnessed properly, Master of Poison could become hundreds—thousands—of times stronger than any talent he had ever encountered in his previous life.
Without hesitation, Rylan chose Master of Poison for himself.
A green glow enveloped him, and his talent underwent another evolution.
But at the same time, the Withering Death debuff quickly drained the last of his HP.
Before long, his HP reached zero, and the "You Have Died" message flashed across his screen. Everything turned gray, and his "corpse" floated up toward the rift in the Abyss overhead.
That rift gaped like a hungry maw, swallowing Rylan without mercy.
Yet the moment his "corpse" vanished inside, a gentle white light flickered before his eyes, akin to the blessing of an archangel.
A soft voice spoke to him:
[Brave human, despite your frailty, you ventured into the Abyss of Death and witnessed the demise of the Ancient Archfiend, Baal!]
[So that you may continue to grow, part of your memories shall be sealed away.]
[Go now—return to where you belong!]
The gentle voice faded, replaced by another system prompt.
[Ding. You have successfully altered history. You have been granted an additional talent slot +1 (to be unlocked upon acquiring a profession).]
In the next instant, blinding white light flooded Rylan's vision. Instinctively, he closed his eyes, bathed in a holy radiance.