As my eyes opened, I felt the same pain. Constant, relentless, hellish, and persistent pain. I saw several blue windows open and then meld together to form an especially long one.
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***UNDERSTAND → You have created a mythic skill and have become a god!***
**ANNOUNCEMENT**
^Main quest updated: Kill all other survivors or work together to escape the island by killing the Tyrannosaurus Rex boss located at the top center of the volcano. FINAL COUNTDOWN → 1:23:59:59.
A god has emerged from among you. The main quest has become time limited. If it is not completed in time, everyone on this island will die and be sent to hell.
Reward → ???^
*You have received Soul Mana. Will you undergo the test of true mana to fully cement yourself as a god? [YES][NO]*
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The only obvious choice was "YES" since the timer was counting down for the main quest. Things had just become a lot more interesting.
My vision fragmented like shattered glass. The only part of myself that I had control over was my soul. In my soul I felt pain. Immense pain. It was worse than any of the times I had died. It was far more painful and traumatizing.
I imagined that my soul was screaming at me, perhaps it had been.
I ignored it. I embraced the pain. I embraced the suck. I understood that life sucked. Life has always sucked. I would change that. With the power of a god. With the power that defied the knowledge of earth. I was confident.
I felt a power well up within me as haunting words flashed through my head. "LIFE IN DEATH. DEATH BY DESIRE. SEEK FULFILLMENT. EXISTENCE IS LIMITED. INFINITY IS FALSE. CREATION TO DESTRUCTION."
Instinctually, I knew the words had echoed in my head from the God of Creation.
I would aspire to be as great. All of the mana, I would take it for myself. I would become someone who would create again. Someone who would take everything for myself.
Mechanical words echoed in my head. *"You are now the god who seeks pain and destruction. Your mana is changing to conform to your personality. Your body is changing to conform to encompass the strength of a god. Your veins are being transformed to mana veins and blood is no longer in you. Your Soulstone is your new heart. Your soul stone's size is increasing. Your soul has enlarged. You have unlocked new stats."*
After the words echoed through my head, I regained consciousness. I felt a physical pain beside the constant pain in my soul. It was the pain of my body changing. I looked down to my legs. Orange mana was wrapping around them.
I quickly jumped out of my bed. I sat down on the stone roof as I looked at my chest and arms. Orange mana was starting to cover them as well. It was extra mana seeping from my soul. A window opened above me, and I quickly glanced at it.
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Hail, god who seeks pain and destruction!
*your mana is overflowing! You must contain it, or you will die!*
*Your stats have all been increased 500 times!*
You have 1,595,300/10,000,000 experience needed for level 27.
Health → 670/1,670. Stamina → 510/1,510. Speed → 725. Weight → 348.8/3,140. Strength → 2,500. Combat Sense → 725. Mana capacity → 5,194/194. Mana sense → 183. Soul Willpower → 137. Soul Mana → 0/5,000. Divinity → 1/1.
Inventory: Soulstone, mana map, 4 bolas, 1 makeshift set, 1 laced arrow, compound bow, 18 metal arrows, 1 steel broadsword, 1 combat knife, 1 Ascendant sigil, and 1 Barrett M82 (Rare).
Skills: Mythic → Pain and Destruction. Transcendent → Murder Maniac's Soul Almanac. Ascendant → Soul Flayer and Extension of Will. Magic → Aura Implementation.
Soulbound items: Ascendant → Water Maniac's Trident. Magic → Ring of the Training Maniac. (Once you become a god you can replicate soulbound items or skills, but it will cost you mana.)
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My eyes bulged when I saw my stats. They had increased monstrously. That was not my problem at the moment though. I had to push the mana that had escaped from my soul back in. It was rampaging all about.
I closed my eyes and focused on a small strand of mana that had come from my soul. I thickened that small strand of orange mana until it became a thick rope. I then drew it slowly back into my body towards my soul. There was just one problem, it would not fit.
That was when I realized, the pain in my soul had vanished. I had to compress the mana. I had to feel that pain in my soul again. I forced all of the mana straight into my soul without a shred of hesitation. An amount of mana that could destroy a mountain. An amount of mana that could kill thousands of humans. The power of a god. I thrust it into my soul relentlessly.
I opened my eyes. The status warning had vanished. I quickly opened up my system again. I opened the search bar and searched for information about my two new stats.
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{Input: Explain my two latest stats to me.}
{Response: Soul mana → The power of one who has ascended. You have more mana than should be possible. You can use this mana to supplement your normal mana capacity. Be careful not to overload your body with mana. This mana recharges when you go to sleep.
Divinity → With the power of a god, you have the power to destroy or create something from nothing. The value of the destruction or creation is limited to the amount of divinity expended. This is not a normal stat.
Once you use up all of your divinity, your soul will need rest and the functions of your consciousness will shut down for 14 days entirely.}
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Divinity sounded crazy, but I had only one. If I used it, I would be at the mercy of those around me for two weeks. That was something that I could not risk anytime soon, even if I wanted to test my limits.
As I was thinking, I heard a burst of gunfire. It came from the roof. It came from our two auto turrets. Whoever they were, they would regret attacking me.