Hate me, Miss Witch!

"Armorizing."

Or rather, "Fantasy Armament Materialization."

This was the skill every close-combat Beastmaster dreamt of mastering. It could significantly enhance their various attribute panels, allowing humans to possess combat strength on par with or even surpassing their same-tier Pet Beasts.

But acquiring this skill was extremely difficult.

Apart from a rare few ancient Pet Beast breeds, which could be considered Sacred Relics and might naturally possess this racial skill, such as Enola's Sacred Spear "Rhongomyniad," the vast majority of Pet Beasts could only master this ability through learning later in life.

Moreover, "Armorizing" had incredibly high requirements for the compatibility of the Soul Pact between the Pet Beast and the Beastmaster. Only when a soul reached complete resonance could a Pet Beast merge with its Beastmaster, becoming a sword and shield they could command as though it were part of their own body.

Shiayar had long admired Enola's majestic Armorizing, which resembled a Silver Knight. A significant reason he chose the Silver Spirit as the contracted party for his 3rd Soul Pact was its "metal" racial attribute, which indicated good compatibility for learning "Armorizing."

And now, with the help of a High-Grade Armorizing Secret Potion, Shiayar's long-cherished dream had finally become reality.

Of course, defeating an ancient god was no simple feat. This was true even if this ancient god had weakened significantly with the passage of time, and even if They were still in a sealed state. It held true even if They resided in a severely injured human shell and were restricted by the Black King's magic word decree, able to exert less than one percent of Their power compared to Their prime during Godly Descent. Relying solely on "Armorizing" was still far from sufficient.

Across the system interface in Shiayar's mind, rows of information scrolled like mad.

["Crimson's" racial skill "Blood of Filth" proficiency achieved a breakthrough, upgrading from "Perfection" to "Transcendent"]

[...has been upgraded from "Transcendent" to "Superb Achievement"]

["Crimson's" racial skill "Dark Descendant" proficiency achieved a breakthrough, upgrading from "Perfection" to "Transcendent"]

[...has been upgraded from "Transcendent" to "Superb Achievement"]

He didn't check the gains from the final act of the previous beginner's task. At this moment, Shiayar directly allocated the massive Experience Points gained from completing that task to Crimson's skill panel. And he invested those points into what most people would consider the most useless, or even detrimental skills: "Blood of Filth" and "Dark Descendant."

As the allocation finished, across the Blood-hued Armor that enveloped his entire body, traces that resembled scorch marks made by blazing flames etched onto its surface, forming one archaic symbol after another.

Shiayar didn't recognize these symbols, but with the Soul Fluctuation Crimson transmitted to him, the origin of those symbols became clear in his mind. These were the now-lost ancient Abyss Language, similar to the Ancient Dragon Language and ancient Elvish Language. Each character in these ancient languages represented power in itself and could manipulate the laws of a certain plane. The ancient Abyss Language, in particular, symbolized the origin of the Abyss.

Almost at the moment the burning symbols appeared on the armor, an incredibly distant and profound murmuring echoed in Shiayar's heart. That murmuring was more insane than the Evil God murmurs Shiayar had heard when previously coming into contact with contaminants, as if coming directly from The Abyssal Depths.

Shiayar had vast exposure to pollutants and specialized in Illusion Techniques, which had greatly tempered his spiritual power. Yet, upon hearing those murmurs, he still felt an urge to lose control of his flesh and blood. It was as if blood blossoms could sprout on his body and flesh buds could burgeon at any moment.

But at the same time, Shiayar noticed that the oppressive yellowish glow he had originally felt was suddenly becoming more congenial. It was as if it were an extension of his consciousness and limbs, which he could command with just a thought.

Shiayar took a deep breath and forcibly suppressed the burgeoning urge within his flesh and blood. He was well aware that he couldn't withstand the murmuring from The Abyssal Depths for long. Ten seconds at most, and his soul would completely lose control, falling into slavery under the Abyss. But just these ten seconds were already enough.

The glow of the blood moon and that twilight halo all converged toward Shiayar, coalescing upon his Blood-hued Armor, transforming into pure Magic Power and being stored within his body.

This was the significance of Shiayar putting points into the two skills, "Blood of Filth" and "Dark Descendant." In everyday situations, these truly acted as negative effects. They required Crimson to constantly suppress them and robbed it of an Element Race's innate abilities like "Elementalization."

But since these two abilities could be manifested on the system's skill panel, it meant they were more than just mere side effects. Just like at this moment, in the face of the vast abyssal power, Shiayar, relying on his high-level racial skills, had forcibly turned the enemy's home ground into his own advantage.

In the distance, the Twilight Incarnation residing in Norton was bewildered once again. This was the second time the ancient being showed surprise. Although They now operated through a pure-blooded human body, Their affinity with the Abyss was undoubtedly greatly reduced compared to Their sealed true form.