Re-Awakening: I Became a Pay To Win Boss Monster

[Rael's POV]

"AAAAAAAH!" Anubis screamed, holding her head in her hands. "H-How did this happen... my supreme blessing..."

"You're acting as if she stole something away from you," Rael commented.

Anubis halted, staring up at him with a glare. "I'll have you know, I can only bestow my supreme blessing onto one person, and one person only. It's like I'm declaring them as my successor."

Rael shrugged. "Hey, my wife is lovely. I'm sure you'll come to like her. She's talented, she's strong... You know I can keep going, right?"

"Tch... I don't care anymore," Anubis replied with a click of her tongue. "You can have it. Hell, do you want my palace too?"

He tilted his head. "Can I...?"

"Of course not!" Anubis lashed out. "Now get out of here or I'm going to pulverize you!"

"Yes ma'am," Rael replied with a sigh and focused on the text window from earlier.

<Do you wish to leave? Yes/No>

"See ya, Anubis. Your bean bag chair was pretty comfortable," Rael said his final words. And with that, he vanished.

His vision was dark for only a few seconds, but it soon returned. And with it came the sight of Diederich sitting cross-legged in the distance, holding his halberd menacingly. He seemed a bit different at first glance, but Rael couldn't quite put his finger on the reason why.

"Oh? You survived her trials?" Diederich mused with a surprised look. "I guess there's more to you than meets the eye."

But Rael's attention lingered on him for only a few moments. Instead, he looked up, staring at the sun that was covered by the moon.

Immediately, he recalled the warning Evelyn had given him.

—When the sun merges with the moon, a calamity will descend that will leave you no choice but to sacrifice yourself.

He wasn't sure if what was happening was just a coincidence, but for his own sake, Rael went on full alert.

His hands slightly trembled at the suddenness of the event, but even so, he had another person to deal with.

"Sup." Rael waved, and the moment he did, he activated his skill.

[Ultimate Skill - Premium Rebalance]

Effect: Redistributes the target's stats, nerfing their strongest attributes and boosting their weakest.

Limit: Can only be used once per enemy.

Per-Target Cooldown: 5 minutes.

It didn't have a cost, but once he activated it, he saw Diederich's brows furrow.

And then...

<Ding!>

<Target's stats have been decreased by 43%!>

<Target's Constitution stat has switched with Charisma!>

As soon as the pop-ups appeared, he noticed something peculiar.

Diederich's hair became more silky, and his features more defined. He looked like one of those corny prince charming characters he used to see on the TV.

Once Diederich realized what was happening, Rael smirked, dashed backward, and flicked the red string of his Violin Blade.

-87,438,447,718! Critical True Note! (1x Crystal Violin Blade)

-81,338,913,663! Critical True Note! (1x Crystal Violin Blade)

-90,925,038,998! Critical True Note! (1x Crystal Violin Blade)

The damage was insane, and for a moment, he thought Diederich would just fall back and die there. But for some strange reason, Diederich's body only began to glow.

"Pfftt... hahaha!" Diederich let out a hearty laugh. "It was an interesting fight, Rael Sutekh. I honestly nearly died just there. However..."

<Your attacks have been absorbed!>

Uhh... fuck.

Diederich raised his glowing halberd, but before he could bring it down, Rael decided to go with the simple solution.

<(x1) Human (Grade 1 Vice-General Class) [Level 1] has been Threaded!>

<Decreasing Willpower by 4%/sec>

<Synaptic Hijack: Available!>

<Cost: 5,000 MP>

<Notice: The being you targeted has transcended mortal limits. Choosing to go through with this skill, you have a high chance of being killed.>

The fucker ascended while I was gone? Huh... at least his class is shit.

But even so, Rael didn't bat an eye as he activated the skill.

[MTP -5,000 | 2,834B/3,984B (+137M Excess) (x1 Synaptic Hijack)]

His vision darkened, and he reappeared inside his mind realm. Yet something felt off about the entire ordeal.

There was no cocoon in sight. And he was definitely not in Diederich's mind realm either. This was his own, but...

"Are you hiding? Seriously?" Rael muttered. "Come out and face me like a man."

Yet as Rael took one step forward, he was suddenly kicked in the ribs, sending him flying across the mind realm.

<Mental Integrity: 878% → 732%>

Huh? How did he get such a big chunk off? Rael wondered as he caught himself in mid-air, then glanced back.

Diederich stood there, yet his figure seemed a bit off. Half of his face was missing, and what replaced it was a half-crocodile mask.

Rael double-checked the pop-ups to make sure he had the right person. It seemed like he did, but...

"Who are you?" Rael asked, puzzled. "You're definitely not Diederich."

The figure tilted their head. "Really? Are you so sure? Just because I might look different doesn't mean I'm not Diederich."

The way the figure worded it made it hard for Rael's lie detection to pick up, but even so, he had already come to the conclusion this wasn't Diederich.

So he decided to handle the matter the usual way.

Rael raised his arm into the air, and in the very next moment, 3 meteors descended, falling straight toward the figure.

<Mental Integrity: 732% → 672%>

And yet, when it made contact, the figure was left largely unscathed.

But his attack did its job. It revealed the one he was truly fighting.

<Alcetas Audagar's Mental Integrity: 1000% → 952%>

"Alcetas Audagar, huh? I'd say it's a pleasure to meet you, but you did punch me when I arrived, so you can go fuck yourself," Rael said plainly.

Alcetas tilted his head. "Hmm... You really are as unique as the rumors made you out to be."

Rael's brows furrowed. "Do I know you?"

A moment of silence ensued as Alcetas approached, a slight smile tugging on the side of his face that was not covered by the crocodile mask.

"The gateway has opened very recently, so I highly doubt you'd know who I am," Alcetas remarked as he extended his hand. "Be honored. It's not every day we grace this world with our presence. But sadly for you, there's something we need."

He slowly extended his fingers, pointing straight at Rael.

"I believe with your current skillset, you'd make a valuable asset. Turning money into power, having access to a dimensional shop. These are all rare skills that even we have only heard tales of."

A faint smirk appeared on Alcetas's face.

"So what do you say to using those skills for our benefit?"