Chapter 24
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Having been more than two minutes since he evolved into his Adult Sponge Form, Astaroth had once again proved himself to be a menace to all things on the chain of evolution.
He knew not of mercy, and he showed no kindness to those of the same race.
Fight, kill, absorb, grow stronger, fight stronger enemies, kill stronger enemies, absorb even more, and become even stronger. This process was repeated over and over again, to a point where it became rather monotonous…
Although Astaroth liked the feeling of becoming stronger, he was tired of looking at the same scenery and fighting the same idiotic enemies. Even with their overwhelming size and power advantages, they had not the slightest clue how to make use of what they possessed.
It was like giving max-level equipment to a toddler and expecting the toddler to perform at maximum capacity…
Realistically, with all his strong, versatile abilities in the mix, it shouldn't even be possible for Astaroth to scratch something with a red, extreme danger tag. Usually, that would mean instant death.
However, for the mindless demonic sponges, Astaroth had to expend barely any effort to kill them and assimilate them. It was only with the black-tagged enemies that he knew death was imminent.
The black tag might as well have meant certain death, and that stood true no matter what sort of countermeasures one utilized…
So far, Astaroth was confident in taking on Lvl 7 Adult Sponges. But when it came to the Lvl 9 Elder Sponges, he stood no shot at coming out victorious. As they were over one thousand times his size and quick as hell, they were far stronger than he was, and the difference was palpable.
But with time…
With time, Astaroth killed and devoured his first Lvl 8 Elder Sponge, subsequently resulting in another Minor Energy Overflow!
From the Adult Phase to the Elder Phase, his breakthrough was a splendiferous one!
After the Energy Overflow was finished, Astaroth wasted no time and immediately went after his second Lvl 8 Elder Sponge. Then came the third and fourth…
Before long, he already had thousands of Lvl 8 Elder Sponges to his belt!
Of course, right after them came the Lvl 9 Elder Sponges, otherwise seen as the most powerful creatures in the Spongescape…
It took Astaroth more than three minutes of retreating, killing lower-level enemies, sneak attacking the Max Lvl Elder, and then some more dodging before he finally came out on top.
The first Lvl 9 Elder Sponge fell under the fangs of the Sponge Killer!
[Ding! You have absorbed 160 (G12) Energy from a Lvl 9 Elder Sponge!]
"Hmm…? Don't you think these Grade numbers are getting a little out of hand, system?" Astaroth asked as he mowed through a large gathering of thousands of sleeping Lvl 9 Elder Sponges.
[Ding! The Evolution Phases before the 'Humanoid' phases are excessively turgid and embellished. This means that the numbers are blown out of proportion to match the scientific representations as close as possible.]
[In fact, the system had to tone down the actual numerical values of scientific energy evolution through multiple different 'quality' alterations.]
[In reality, there's only one 'universal energy' that covers everything in existence. From the smallest of microorganisms to the largest of reality destroyers, this is the energy that's present in all of them.]
[But out of consideration for the host, the system has taken it upon itself to split up and designate tiers of energy based on the Evolution Area of the host. Such as Jelly Energy for the Jelly Sea, Mini Sponge Energy for the Mini Sponge Area, and Regular Sponge Energy for the Spongescape. It then further designates them with 'Grade' denoters.]
[All of the energy is the exact same universal energy, but it is termed differently due to the exact numerical value shattering all previous notions of the typical numerical number system.]
[If the Infinite Energy System were to disclose the actual amount of Energy that the host is obtaining, it's very likely that the host's head would explode from information overload!]
"...Thanks for watching out for me…"
[Ding! It's my pleasure, host! The system uses you to further improve its features, and the host uses the system to become stronger! In a sense, the Host and the System are symbiotes in a symbiotic relationship!]
"Yes, that does put my mind at ease," Astaroth muttered solemnly.
After ending this in-depth discussion with the Infinite Energy System, he pulled his attention back to the happenings around him. The result of this retreat from immersion was the witnessing of a sight beyond gruesome…
From the extreme west to the extreme east, everything in between had bits and pieces of sponges scattered throughout. No place was left untouched by the gooey insides of a sponge.
Unknowingly, while lost in his own thoughts, Astaroth had killed more than 10,000 Lvl 9 Elder Sponges, as well as millions of Lvl 8 and below Sponges…
With his size now half that of the entire Spongescape and his Energy Mass exceeding the Energy Overflow limit, he had quite literally reached the pinnacle of the world with his eyes closed!
He had seriously become too freaking OP!
Snapping himself out of the dumbfounded reverie he found himself in, Astaroth realized that it was time he finally went through with the Energy Overflow and figured out what lay beyond.
At this size, although still enormous, he felt like he was very close to seeing past the giant black leg of the massive insect in the world above!
"I think it's about time I see exactly what sort of race I will evolve into. If it's some form of insect, then so be it. But if it's a spider… well… I just hope it's not a spider…"
A brief peel of awkward chuckling resounded throughout the Spongescape.
It eventually came to a stop, and in its place was a bright flash of prismatic energy!
With Astaroth being more than half the size of the world, the prismatic energy would've blinded everything in the vicinity!
Of course, that would only have been the case if any of them actually had eyes to which could be blinded…
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