[Name: Alexandre Eswald
Age: 60
Level: 4
Strength: 200
Agility: 200
Stamina: 160
Defense: 80
Mana Points: 75
Harem: Lilia Eswald, Annaline Maxwell, Amelia Eswald;
Abilities: Soul Linkage, Smoke sovereign;
Soul Points: 92]
Alex quickly observed his status and made a decision.
'Enhance my strength, agility, defense, and stamina by 20 soul points each, and allocate two points to enhance my mana reserves,' he instructed the system.
[Are you certain?]
Alex sighed and nodded, 'Yes, do it.'
Quite frankly, he had no intention to enhance his stats this soon after the last enhancement. In fact, he had no intention to enhance them even without taking into account the last enhancement, and for a simple reason:
He wanted to copy a new ability.
The smoke ability was good, and with him being a sovereign, it became even greater. In fact, Alex could feel that even now, he had a long way to go before mastering the smoke element. And that was actually where the problem lay; he didn't have much time.
Alex needed another ability that was made for fighting. Although the smoke element could do so, the strength displayed wasn't satisfactory, or rather, the strength that Alex could display wasn't satisfactory. It was clear to him that should he further train with the smoke element, the strength he could display could be damning. Even the smoke spirit had said so before they parted.
But as was explained, he didn't have much time. The competition to determine the heir of the Eswald family was approaching. Though Alex felt that there aren't many who could fight him currently, something was telling him that he should try to become the strongest possible before presenting himself at the competition.
He had been conserving his soul points to copy a new ability, but given the current state of the fight, he had no choice. His smoke wasn't causing as much damage as he anticipated, mainly because his enemies had tough skin, so, he had to rely on his physical attributes.
'Well, augmenting my physical attributes is a good thing, too,' he thought.
[Starting the process...]
As the system's words registered in his mind, Alex suddenly staggered forward, feeling a rush of energy course through his entire body. Usually, when he enhanced one of his attributes, he experienced a cool energy, but this sensation was different. The usual cool feeling was...overwhelming.
Straightening his back, a frown appeared on Alex's face. 'Is it because the level of enhancement is superior to the usual one?' he wondered.
Alex usually enhanced one or two attributes simultaneously, which made the cool sensation pleasurable. However, in this instance, he was enhancing all five attributes simultaneously, with four of them receiving a 20 soul point boost, translating to an enhancement of 100 for each. It was understandable that the sensation of energy passing through him wasn't as enjoyable as the previous enhancements.
"I can't even move properly; it's annoying," Alex clicked his tongue.
Right then, Alex picked up the sounds of approaching footsteps. Raising his head, he spotted Todd maneuvering around the trees, swiftly closing the distance between them. A few meters behind the chubby man, he could see Tobias running towards him with his large hammer on his shoulder.
'Shit, I need to move' he thought in dread.
If he was caught right now by the two of them – no, even if just Todd caught up with him, then it was pretty much over for him.
'Hey! How long until the enhancement is terminated?' Alex asked the system.
However, the system ignored him. Meanwhile, Todd had practically covered the distance separating them and was standing just ten meters from Alex.
"Why are you not moving? Well, whatever, let's finish this whole masquerade," Todd said as he swiftly attacked Alex.
Ignoring the fist that was coming toward him, Alex addressed the system again, 'hey, cancel the enhancement process!' At least if it is canceled, he could move again, but the system ignored him once again.
Just as Todd's attack was mere inches from his head...
[Process finished]
Boom.
Alex's body was flung to the side with such force that it pierced through several trees and collided against the side of the mountain, just a few meters from the entrance.
Tobias, who arrived just as Todd's fist landed on Alex's head, whistled in amazement.
"That was a good one. I didn't think you had this much strength," he praised his colleague.
However, Todd didn't respond. He didn't even glance at Tobias; his gaze was focused on his fist.
After a moment, he lifted his head and observed the trail of destruction caused by Alex colliding with the trees, then murmured absentmindedly, "I didn't touch him?"
"Huh, what are you saying now, I saw your fist connecting with his head," Tobias exclaimed in confusion.
Todd shook his head, "No, he moved before I could even graze him."
"So that means..."
Tobias followed Todd's gaze and observed the hole Alex had made when he collided with the mountain. Just in time to witness Alex extricate himself from it while cursing.
"Damn, it's ruined," Alex cursed, glancing down at his torn shirt, "I liked that one."
He sighed and pushed the thought aside, realizing there were more pressing matters to address, like the fact that he can't control his body!
Removing his shredded clothes, he sighed once again. 'As I thought, if I enhance my attributes too much at once, I have difficulty adapting.'
Todd was right; he didn't touch him. The enhancement ended just as Todd's fist was about to connect. With his newfound physical might, Alex attempted to sidestep the chubby man's fist, but the speed at which he moved had taken him off guard, and he couldn't control himself anymore.
'Surprisingly, I'm not hurt. In fact, my previous wound has disappeared, and I'm even more in shape than before,' Alex remarked with a wide, satisfied smile.
As he marveled at how his already well-defined six-pack and muscles now appeared even firmer, Alex picked up on the approaching sounds of footsteps.
He lifted his head and quickly spotted his two foes getting close to him again.
"Time for round two," Alex cracked his knuckles.
Slightly crouching, Alex lunged at them.
"....!"
The two members of Night only saw him crouch, and a split second later, he appeared in front of Tobias.
Tobias' eyes widened in shock, and before he could react by swinging his hammer, he felt something crash against his body.
An instant later, Tobias' muscular body was sent back with even greater force than it had come with.
'What the-' Todd, who was next to him, suddenly froze in his place, his mind struggling to comprehend the sudden turn of events.
Seeing his dazed expression, Alex didn't hesitate and kicked at Todd, but surprisingly, the chubby man swiftly dodged the attack by jumping backward.
Todd landed on all fours and released a low growl.
"You are growli-" Alex was about to make fun of him when his words caught in his throat.
Under his astonished gaze, vibrant crimson tattoos began manifesting all over Todd's body.
"Those tattoos..." Alex muttered, recognizing the ominous symbols on Todd's body.
Although slightly different, Alex was certain that the shimmering tattoos on Todd's body were the same as those on the man who had attacked their carriage a few days ago.
As if to confirm Alex's words, Todd's body began to convulse wildly, and soon, a cheetah's tail and ears sprouted from him.
'Yeah, there's no way I'm letting you finish your little transformation,' he had already witnessed firsthand how dangerous these creatures were after transformation. It would be dumb of him to let one transform in front of him and do nothing.
Appearing in front of the convulsing Todd, Alex delivered a swift and powerful kick directly to his face.
Todd's body rolled on itself many times before colliding with a nearby tree.
Alex moved, and a split second later, he stood before Todd's unconscious body.
'I'm finally getting adapted to my body's strength,' Alex thought, seeing that he didn't slam into a tree or something.
Lowering his gaze, the unconscious body of Todd came into his sight, "as I thought, losing consciousness stops the process of transformation."
"I wonder if-"
Feeling slight tremors running through the ground, Alex turned his head just in time to see a creature half-human, half-bull charging at him.
"I guess I have my answer"