Ex rank talent Awakening: 100% Dodge rate

"Heaven Defier," Greg called softly, his sword manifesting in his hands.

"Let's go for a spin," Greg shouted, moving extremely fast toward the demonic drake. The demonic drake charged at Greg as well until they collided—but Greg wasn't the one sent flying. The drake was.

Greg swung his sword, cutting a large wound across the chest of the demonic drake.

The drake let out a loud roar, furious, and released a large fire blast from its mouth.

Greg simply stood still, allowing the attack to pass through him. He wasn't going to be stupid; the talent was his. Fighting without it? Yeah, never happening again.

Climbing the back of the drake, Greg stabbed its neck. The drake roared in pain, trying to throw Greg off, but Greg was adamant, refusing to be dislodged. He pierced his claws deeply into the drake's flesh to support himself and prevent falling off.

The drake tried to shake Greg off using every means it could think of, but none worked.

Tired and unsatisfied with the demonic drake, Greg jumped off its back, landing on the ground.

"Abyssal dragon flames," Greg said, spewing black-reddish flames that engulfed the drake, killing it.

The drake had no burns on its skin, not a singed hair, but its soul was completely incinerated by the flames.

"Welp, that wasn't even enough for an appetizer," Greg muttered—but as if his prayer was being answered, a multitude of demonic beasts came rushing toward him, crazed expressions in their eyes.

The demonic beasts were in a frenzy, Greg's bloodline attracting them like a beacon.

Still new to his bloodline, Greg was unknowingly releasing a bit of his bloodline purity, drawing in the demonic beasts, whose wild instincts compelled them to devour him and grow stronger and more sentient in the process.

"Abyssal flames," Greg invoked using the dragon's tongue. Black-reddish flames engulfed Heaven Defier, and with purpose, he began his slaughter—killing the attacking demonic beasts one by one, their numbers dwindling.

"Melina, is everything ready?" Sabbah asked one of his daughters.

"Yes, Father. Gaming capsules for every family member have been bought," Melina replied.

"Good. It's time to claim even Apocalypse for ourselves. It's what we always do as hidden families," Sabbah said, his facial expression plain as usual.

"And Kate?"

"She's still not coming around. She is resilient to the brainwashing scheme, and I believe her hatred for you will never fade, Father. Why don't we just dispose of her? Any child that refuses to respect Father should be put to death," Melina tried to persuade Sabbah.

She had always been jealous of Kate—Sabbah always secretly doting on her from time to time without her awareness or that of his other daughters. But Melina had always known, being highly perceptive of all things.

"Indeed, death penalty for anyone that refuses to pay their respect to the family head is the perfect punishment for their audacity. But despite the rules openly stating what should be done, the rules have to be ignored in certain situations—or for some certain people. It is never absolute. It applies to the majority, but is powerless against a minority few, this minority few possessing great power. Kate is one of them. With her uniqueness and the support of Nemesis behind her, killing her now would be outright foolish," Sabbah said slowly, ensuring Melina understood him to the fullest. He had always known of her jealousy toward Kate.

"Yes, Father," Melina bowed her head. She wasn't foolish—she understood the hidden warning in his words, cautioning her against harming Kate in any way.

"Good. Now prepare everyone. We will be setting foot in a virtual world. Its conquest is paramount and necessary," Sabbah instructed.

"Yes, Father. I will do that at once," Melina replied and bowed, leaving Sabbah alone to accomplish her task.

"Greg Austin, is it? I should at least pay him a visit to fulfill the part of my promise to his parents," Sabbah said to himself, disappearing into the shadows.

Sabbah was not the only hidden family to make a move—every single one of them was doing the same, diving into Apocalypse.

Greg sat on a mountain of corpses, feeling a bit tired after killing several demonic beasts. He had plundered the majority of their talents and bloodlines.

He felt satisfied. The battle had been an enjoyable one for him.

Sliding down from the corpses, he moved toward his settlement. He planned to distribute his stats to his worshippers. Unlike last time, when he concentrated on specific worshippers and made them elite, this time he decided to go for a general increase in strength across all his worshippers, believing it was the best option.

Little EXP from a large group was better than slightly bigger EXP from a small elite group. It was time to milk his worshippers for EXP.

Reaching the town, he commanded all his worshippers to gather.

Gob, Erisu, the dire wolf king, and the orc chieftain ensured order while the three demonized races stood before Greg.

User: Nemesis

Job: ?????

Level: 85 (10,182,756 / 10,200,000 EXP)

Health: 170,000

Strength: 1678 (+839)

Speed: 1582 (+793)

Stamina: 749

Intelligence: 825

Constitution: 1927

Divinity: 203

Free Attribute Points: 100

Talents:

S-rank Talent – Talent Share

CONCEPTS

DEATH

ABSOLUTE RESOLUTION

BLOODLINES

Primogenitor Bloodline: Abyssal Pyro Tidal Dragon Bloodline

Legendary Bloodline: Demonic Fire Drake Bloodline

Epic Bloodlines:

Demonized Two-Headed Dire Wolves Bloodline

Demonized Ogre

Demonized Sand Worm

Rare Bloodlines:

Demonized Viper

Demonized Hell Bat

Demonized Kobold

Demonized... x50

Uncommon Bloodlines:

Demonized... x100

Common Bloodlines:

Demonized... x200

Three of his stats were above the thousand mark, the rest not far off—aside from Divinity.

"I will be bestowing you with strength once more, but more strength means more responsibility. The more I give to you, the more I expect from you," Greg announced to the crowd, gaining cheers from the demonized beasts.

He gave stats according to their races, focusing one particular stat on each group: to the dire wolves, he gave speed; to the goblins, strength; to the kobolds, constitution; and to the orcs, stamina.

User: Nemesis

Job: ?????

Level: 85 (10,182,756 / 10,200,000 EXP)

Health: 170,000

Strength: 236 (+116)

Speed: 324 (+162)

Stamina: 124

Intelligence: 101

Constitution: 89

Divinity: 203

Free Attribute Points: 0

Talents:

S-rank Talent – Talent Share

CONCEPTS

DEATH

ABSOLUTE RESOLUTION

BLOODLINE

Primogenitor Bloodline: Abyssal Pyro Tidal Dragon Bloodline

He had given the majority of his stats to his worshippers, along with all of his bloodlines—except for the Primogenitor Bloodline.

While he wasn't biased in stat distribution this time around, deliberately excluding those who had already received blessings in the past, he still prioritized his elite worshippers when it came to distributing bloodlines.

Gob was given the Demonized Fire Drake Bloodline.

The Orc Chieftain received the Demonized Ogre Bloodline.

The Kobold Leader was granted the Demonized Sand Worm Bloodline.

And the Dire Wolf King received the only Dire Wolf Bloodline.

The rest of the bloodlines were distributed at random.

"That's about it. From now on, I will be granting you strength based on merit. The greater your contribution to this town, the greater the strength you will receive from me. Erisu, you will coordinate this—create merit points for different jobs and tasks to be completed around the village. Bringing in more worshippers under my name will also earn merit. Now go, and win my acknowledgment," Greg announced to the crowd before walking away.

"Wow... I must say, brother, you're really good at this. I've decided—brother, I don't want to stay in your shadow anymore. I want to make a name for myself with my own abilities. I'll be leaving this town to live on my own. Azrael and I have agreed this is the best option," Annabelle said as she approached Greg.

Greg frowned. Annabelle's words were a bit hurtful. He knew she was right, but his instincts as a brother kicked in, urging him to keep her by his side to protect her. Then again, she shared part of his concept through Talent Share.

Only some of it—because even with an S-rank rating, Talent Share could not transmit the full burden of a concept. In fact, it wouldn't have been able to share any of it at all had the concept not consented.

The only aspect she received was immunity, and that alone was enough for her.

---

Greg logged out, stepping out of the capsule. He wanted some fresh air—still saddened by his sister's departure.

"Finally came out. I was beginning to get tired of waiting for you," a mature voice said, causing Greg to stay on guard.

Despite his high sensitivity, he hadn't sensed the man at all. It was clear the man was no ordinary opponent.

"Who are you? How did you get here? Did you hurt anyone?" Greg asked coldly, his voice growing sharper with each question.

"By 'anyone,' do you mean the demon who lives here?" the man said, an intrigued look in his eyes. "She is extremely strong, but for some reason, she can't access that strength. Then your sister—protected by a concept, one so powerful it makes her invincible. But the concept isn't hers. It's yours. How you share the concept is what I find intriguing."