Chapter 68: Leveling up III
"The boss is only Rare Rank."
"If I want another powerful companion while also unlocking another Pet Slot, I should get an Epic-Rank pet instead."
"Otherwise, I’ll remain limited to three slots."
"Though Epic-Rank bosses are usually Rank 1..."
Kaiser suddenly stopped.
"Wait a minute."
"Aren’t I forgetting something Important!!"
He sat there for a moment, thinking carefully.
"I used Reconstruction on a Common-Rank slime and evolved it into an Uncommon-Rank slime. That’s when I gained an extra Pet Slot."
"Then I used it on the Uncommon-Rank Blood Scorceror, evolving it into the Rare-Rank Blood Warlock, and I gained another Pet Slot."
"But now I evolved both of them to Epic Rank, and I didn’t receive any notification about another Pet Slot."
Kaiser slowly put his hand over his forehead.
"Fuck."
"Don’t tell me I screwed up and missed my chance to obtain another Pet Slot by reconstructing a Rare-Rank monster into an Epic-Rank monster."
He shook his head.
"I need to test this properly."
"But wait."
"What happens if I fill my last Pet Slot first and don’t get any new slot?"
"Won’t I just become limited to three pets only?"
Kaiser began thinking again.
"Damn, I guess I should forget about the Epic rank now."
He paused.
"I will just use Reconstruction on Epic rank monster turning it into Unique rank, this way I will get the new pet slot while getting a new companion."
At first, Kaiser had wondered why monsters became completely loyal to him after being evolved through Reconstruction.
However, after spending more than a hundred years in the Trial World, he had learned many things about monsters and their instincts.
Most monsters possessed an innate desire to evolve.
When a monster was directly evolved by someone, its instincts could cause it to become loyal to the person responsible for its evolution.
The same thing had happened with the Earth Slime and Blood Scorpion.
After Kaiser evolved them using Reconstruction, both had naturally become loyal to him.
Kaiser sighed.
"Damn."
"Spending more than a hundred years in the Trial World made me forget about the conditions for obtaining new Pet Slots."
"I evolved them too hastily."
He shook his head.
"Well, I can’t change it now."
Kaiser looked down at the Laceration Katana in his hand.
"I guess I’ll just continue with what I was doing."
Kaiser then took out a small white crystal.
This was a Soul Crystal.
It’s an important material for his Soul Smith Talent.
Soul Smith allowed him to bind a soul to an item, increasing its power while also granting it a new elemental affinity and additional abilities.
The Soul Crystal in his hand had come from a demonic creature.
It had originally been a human before being transformed into a demon by a curse.
It was only a low-rank demon, so the quality of the Soul Crystal wasn’t particularly high.
Unfortunately, it was the only Soul Crystal Kaiser had obtained so far.
Kaiser looked at it with slight disappointment.
"The drop rate is really terrible."
"How did I only get one Soul Crystal after killing more than a hundred demons?"
He shook his head.
"Whatever. Let’s see what this one can do."
Kaiser placed the Soul Crystal against the Laceration Blade while activating the Soul Smith Talent.
The crystal slowly sank into the katana.
Dark energy spread across the blade.
The originally reddish-black sword began changing.
The blade became darker, while faint crimson lines appeared along its edge.
A black aura surrounded the weapon.
Several notifications appeared.
[You have bestowed a soul upon the Rare-Rank weapon: Laceration Blade.]
[Laceration Blade has become a Growth-Type Weapon.]
[Growth-Type Weapons can increase their rank and power alongside their user.]
[Laceration Blade has acquired Darkness Affinity.]
[Laceration Blade has acquired Demonic Affinity.]
[Laceration Blade has evolved into the Rare-Rank Growth-Type weapon: Demonic Laceration Katana.]
[New skills have been acquired.]
Kaiser’s eyes lit up.
"Interesting."
"Just one Soul Crystal was enough to do all this."
"I can’t imagine what a higher-quality Soul Crystal could accomplish."
He looked at the newly transformed katana.
The weapon was now a sleek black katana with a dark crimson edge.
Small demonic runes covered the blade near the guard, while a faint black mist constantly flowed from its surface.
Kaiser immediately activated Reconstruction.
"Reconstruction."
Golden light surrounded the katana.
The weapon trembled as its structure began changing.
The darkness and demonic energy within the blade became denser.
The black crystal-like surface became even sharper, while the crimson edge developed a deeper glow.
After several seconds, the golden light disappeared.
[Reconstruction has been activated.]
[Target: Demonic Laceration Katana]
[Current Rank: Rare]
[Analyzing weapon structure...]
[Reconstructing...]
[Reconstruction complete.]
[Demonic Laceration Katana has evolved from Rare Rank to Epic Rank.]
[The weapon has evolved into: Abyssal Laceration Katana.]
Kaiser immediately opened its information.
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[Abyssal Laceration Katana]
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Rank: Epic
Type: One-Handed Katana
Level Requirement: 30
Growth-Type Weapon
Durability: 500/500
Attack Power: +520
Strength: +80
Agility: +65
Darkness Affinity
The katana naturally absorbs surrounding darkness and converts it into power.
Demonic Affinity
Demonic energy can be infused into every attack, increasing damage against demons and corrupted creatures.
Laceration
Attacks have a 50% chance to inflict Deep Wound.
Deep Wound deals continuous damage equal to 30% of the target’s Vitality over time and reduces the effectiveness of regeneration and healing abilities.
Abyssal Bleeding
Successful attacks have a high chance to inflict Bleeding.
Bleeding targets suffer additional damage whenever they move, attack, or use physical skills.
Blood Scent
The katana becomes stronger against wounded enemies.
Damage dealt to targets below 50% HP is increased by 30%.
Abyssal Edge
The blade’s cutting power is greatly enhanced.
Physical defenses and resistance provide significantly reduced protection against its attacks.
Dark Slash
Releases a crescent-shaped slash of condensed Darkness and Demonic Energy.
The slash can travel up to 50 meters and deals 500% of the user’s Attack Power.
Demonic Execution
When attacking a target below 20% HP, the katana’s damage is increased by 100%.
There is also a chance to inflict a powerful execution effect against weakened targets.
Growth
The Abyssal Laceration Katana can increase its rank and abilities as Kaiser grows stronger.
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