Awakening: Mage of Oblivion with SSS-Level Infinite Evolution Talent

[Mist Summon: 25%]

Stark paused for a second, staring at the faint gray bar slowly crawling upward on his interface.

The percentage ticked higher each minute, feeding off the fog that surrounded him.

It was like the mist itself was alive, breathing, watching, waiting.

He exhaled softly through his nose, then dashed forward again.

Each step left a faint imprint before fading, swallowed by the fog.

He killed some monsters on his way, but only when he had to.

He made sure not to waste time or energy on anything that wasn't worth it.

By "worthy," he meant bosses.

Normal monsters didn't give Evolution Points unless he got lucky.

And even the experience they dropped wasn't enough to justify.

For Stark, they were just noise.

The only things that caught his attention were the bosses.

And so, he'd only fought two.

Both had been strong enough to make other players panic, but they were nothing to him now.

Their deaths lowered the [Mist Summon] meter by a few percent each time.

Ding!

---

[You have gained 29 Evolution Points!]

[You have gained 1,392 Lives!]

[Congratulations, you have leveled up to Level 41!]

[You have gained 5 points in all of your attributes, and 5 free points to distribute.]

---

The glowing notifications lingered for a moment before fading away.

Stark opened his status panel as he walked, his eyes scanning through the numbers.

[Free Points to Allocate: 45]

[Current Evolution Points: 108]

'Hm…'

He tilted his head slightly.

It had been almost ten levels since the last time he distributed his free points.

Normally, most players allocated them right away, but Stark had been too focused on fighting.

'Should I still put them all on Spirit?' he thought, scratching his chin, 'My damage is already insane. Maybe it's time to balance things a bit.'

He considered his other attributes carefully.

Strength was pointless for him, it only boosted physical attacks, and his weapon of choice was a staff.

He wasn't swinging anything.

Plus, his [Strength] was already absurd anyway, thanks to the [Demon Horns].

He had more than most front-line warriors without ever lifting a sword.

His [Constitution] wasn't lacking either.

He glanced at the numbers.

[Health Points: 20,100] (Constitution ×10)1

Even without his barrier, he could survive a few hits from these monsters.

And with the [Unbreakable Magic Barrier] active, dying was almost impossible.

That left one clear option.

'I guess my [Agility] is the only thing slightly lacking,' he decided.

Agility controlled more than just movement speed, it improved his reaction time, casting speed, and even how fast he could dodge.

If he wanted to fight something like the [Guardian of Mist], he'd need every fraction of a second he could get.

He placed 30 points into [Agility] and the remaining 15 into [Spirit].

The moment he confirmed the allocation, he felt the change immediately.

His body felt lighter, faster.

The air resistance around him seemed to fade.

His staff felt easier to move.

Every motion, every step, sharper, smoother.

'Perfect.'

He closed the panel and shifted to the [Evolution Points] section.

He had 108 of them now, enough to evolve another skill.

That made him hesitate for a moment.

'Should I save them for [Hand of Avarice] or another skill?' he thought.

His ancient-rank skills were extremely powerful already.

Evolving them would make them even more terrifying.

The problem was, it required 250 EP to evolve, and at this rate, that meant killing ten to fifteen bosses.

That would take time.

'The stronger I am now, the better my odds against the [Guardian of Mist] and that bloodline monster,' he decided finally.

And so he decided to use them anyway.

[Do you wish to consume 100 Evolution Points to evolve "Vines of Fate"?]

"Yes."

Ding!

[You have evolved "Vines of Fate" (Mythical) to "Thorny Vines of Fate" (Ancient)]

[Current Evolution Points: 8]

---

[Thorny Vines of Fate (Ancient): Summons several thorny vines from the ground that will hit with immense force at several targets, it will deal 2500 → 10,000 damage + 800% → 1,000% of spirit. 18 → 16 (8)-seconds cooldown.]

---

Stark nodded, a faint smile forming.

'Nice.'

It wasn't as strong as [Torrent of Lightning], but it didn't need to be.

He acquired the [Vine Swing] skill book at level 4 after all, so it wasn't unexpected that it would be "weaker".

Still, its raw damage increase was massive.

He was itching to test it out.

He raised his staff slightly, then stopped himself.

'No,' he thought, 'If I kill too many normal monsters, the percentage will just go down.

He lowered his staff again.

The mist around him thickened, swirling like smoke in a sealed chamber.

And the [Mist Summon] percentage was still going up.

'I guess I'll just wait.'

He sighed softly and continued forward.

…

Meanwhile…

Slash! Slash!

-781,000! -781,000! -781,000!

Each hit landed with surgical precision.

Ghost's daggers sliced through the necks of several demons before they could even react.

Their bodies hit the floor one after another, black ichor spreading across the cracked ground.

They were currently in the [Third Floor] of the [Demonic Ruins].

"I guess it was expected that there would be more than just monsters here," Ghost said flatly as she wiped her blade.

Her tone was calm, almost bored.

Grace, who stood a few meters behind her, smiled nervously.

"It's fine," Grace said, "We've been handling them well so far."

They had been fighting side by side for a while now, and their coordination was getting sharper.

They were starting to get the hang of their tactic in battle:

Whenever a group of demons ambushed them, usually two or three at a time, Grace's support spells would activate instantly.

"Strength Buff!" Grace called out, her staff glowing faintly.

A red aura wrapped around Ghost, increasing her attack power.

Then without hesitation, Ghost activated [Ghost Invisibility].

Her figure faded completely from vision.

There were ways to detect an invisible being, as it mostly depended on the "level" of invisibility.

But since Ghost's was advanced, to these demons, she was a phantom.

Grace would then fire a few weak spells to draw their attention.

They hit, but barely scratched them.

"Hah! Your friend ditched you," one demon sneered.

"Let's just kill her first."

They laughed and charged at Grace.

But right before they reached her—

Ghost appeared behind them, her blades flashing.

Ghost Slash! Vengeful Sweep!

Slash! Slash!

The demons collapsed instantly.

Their HP had only been around 500,000 after all, it was an insta-kill!

Ghost's boosted attacks erased them in seconds.

Ding!

[Congratulations, you have leveled up to Level 34!]

'Good.'

Grace exhaled in relief and adjusted her robe.

Ghost sheathed her daggers and looked at her.

"That was fast," Grace said, smiling.

"You did well," Ghost replied simply.

Her voice was calm as always, but there was a trace of approval in it.

Grace's spells weren't strong on their own, but the buffs made a massive difference.

With every fight, their teamwork improved.

Ghost was already strong enough to fight solo, but with Grace beside her, she was faster, sharper, and more efficient.

Even Stark, who knew Ghost from his past life, would've admitted that the two made an incredible duo.

"When my [Strength Buff] evolves, or I get higher-level support skills," Grace said with enthusiasm, "we'll get even stronger!"

Ghost gave a faint nod.

"Let's not rush too much. This place isn't kind to overconfidence."

Grace grinned sheepishly.

"Alright!"

And with that, they continued deeper into the [Third Floor] of the [Demonic Ruins].

…

Elsewhere on the same floor—

"HAHAHAHA!"

A man's laughter echoed through the burning halls.

"H-He's too strong!

And he's using holy magic, we can't do anything!"

"Is that even holy magic?"

"Should we run?"

"Damn it, we can't!

The leader's already furious about his loss earlier!"

The one causing the panic was none other than [EvilDemon].

His crimson robe fluttered as he raised his staff, his grin wild.

"DEMONIC BEAM!"

BOOM!

A blazing crimson beam erupted from his staff, tearing through the entire corridor.

The shockwave blew apart everything in its path, walls, debris, and demons alike.

-130,000! -130,000! -130,000!

The beam continued until the corridor fell silent.

The demons were gone, reduced to ash.

EvilDemon lowered his staff slowly, sweat dripping down his brow.

His breathing was uneven, but his grin stayed.

"Phew… I need… MORE power."

His eyes burned with manic light.

There were plenty of strong players in [Eternal Soul], but few were as obsessed with raw destruction as him.

Still, compared to Stark? Even EvilDemon's madness didn't come close.

210 consitution from normal attributes + 1000 from [Demon Horns] + 700 from [Demonic Wyvern Scales Robe] + 100 from [Dark Necklace].