I Died and Became a Noble's Heir

Chapter 363: Stat limitations suspended

[PENDANT OF DRAVEN - TEMPORARY LEVEL 3]

[STAT LIMITATIONS TEMPORARILY SUSPENDED]

[WARNING: MORTAL VESSEL STRAIN INCREASING]

[TIME LIMIT: UNKNOWN - RECOMMEND MINIMIZING DURATION]

The warnings scrolled past as Jack’s stats transformed before his eyes:

[Strength: 350 (+100)]

[Stamina: 350 (+45)]

[Agility: 350 (+45)]

[Vitality: 350 (+25)]

[Endurance: 350 (+30)]

[Magic: 400 (+90)]

[HP:18,750]

[MP: 4,000]

The numbers should have felt empowering. It should have filled him with confidence that bordered on invincibility. But Jack’s enhanced perception recognized something the raw statistics didn’t convey. These were still mortal measurements, merely elevated.

Impressive by human standards, catastrophic compared to his baseline, but ultimately finite.

His white eyes tracked to Sylph, still hovering six inches tall above Rhys’s broken body. The tiny wind spirit blazed in his divine sight like a miniature sun, power radiating from her diminutive form with intensity that made Jack’s enhanced stats look almost quaint by comparison.

[ANALYZING TARGET...]

[Sylph - Mythical-Rank Wind Spirit]

[WARNING: ANALYSIS INCOMPLETE - ENTITY EXCEEDS STANDARD PARAMETERS]

[APPROXIMATE STATS:]

[Strength: 547]

[Stamina: 623]

[Agility: 650]

[Vitality: 589]

[Endurance: 612]

[Magic: 682]

[HP: 1,325,250]

[MP: 43,642]

[THREAT ASSESSMENT: EXTREME]

Jack’s divine perception processed the numbers with crystalline clarity. Even channeling godly power, even with stats nearly doubled from his baseline, he was outmatched across every category.

Sylph’s magic alone exceeded his enhanced total by nearly two hundred points.

The realization should have been discouraging. Should have introduced doubt, hesitation, tactical recalculation.

Instead, Jack grinned.

White lightning crackled more intensely around his frame as divine essence responded to his emotional state.

But Jack ignored them all.

This was what he’d wanted. What he’d craved since the moment he’d gained enough power to recognize how much stronger others could be.

Not an easy victory handed to him through overwhelming advantage, but a genuine challenge that required pushing beyond safe limits.

Sylph’s black eyes with green irises narrowed as she recognized the shift in Jack’s demeanor. Her tiny form generated wind currents that caused the garrison’s stone floor to crack as atmospheric pressure spiked.

”You can see it, can’t you?” Sylph’s voice carried none of its usual playfulness. ”Even with borrowed divinity, you’re outmatched. Your god’s power makes you strong by mortal standards, but I am mythical. I existed before your kingdoms rose, and I’ll exist after they fall to dust.”

Jack’s grin widened, white light blazing brighter in his eyes.

”I know,” he said with a smile. ”That’s what makes this fun.”

Thunder rumbled overhead as if the storm itself approved.

Chiron’s white lightning flared in response, the ancient warrior’s excitement reaching fever pitch as he recognized what was about to unfold.

This wasn’t a duel anymore. This wasn’t even a fight in conventional terms.

This was a mortal channeling divine power, choosing to challenge a mythical spirit despite knowing the statistics favored his opponent.

This was hubris or brilliance, and the outcome would determine which.

Around the garrison, nobles held their breath. Medical personnel are prepared for catastrophic casualties. The guards positioned themselves to protect civilians from potential collateral damage.

Jack’s consciousness split as he activated Soul Link, his awareness extending across impossible distances to touch the mind of his bound companion.

’Pho,’ Jack’s mental voice conveyed authority. ’I need you to hunt. Kill everything you can find in the tower. Don’t stop until I tell you.’

The Deathfrost Demon’s response came with calculated precision, his mental voice carrying that familiar undertone of resistance. ’Hunt? How... crude. You reduce me to a common predator when my talents could be applied with far more subtlety.’

’I need kills, not philosophy,’ Jack replied, white lightning crackling more intensely around his frame. ’Just do it.’

’Ah.’ Understanding colored Pho’s mental tone, along with sardonic amusement. ’You’re testing your trinkets. Very well, master. I shall indulge your request. Though I note you said ”everything I can find,” which grants me considerable discretion in methodology.’

’I don’t care how you do it,’ Jack shot back. ’Just make it efficient.’

’Efficiency is my specialty.’ Pho’s presence in Jack’s mind shifted. ’Do try to appreciate the artistry.’

The connection didn’t sever, but Pho’s consciousness pulled away to orchestrate whatever elaborate death he’d already planned in the seconds since receiving the command.

Then a notification came in:

[Crimson Recovery: +188 HP/sec for 4 seconds]

[Crimson Recovery: +376 MP/sec for 4 seconds]

[Sanguine Accelerator: Stack 1/10]

’Perfect,’ he thought, refocusing on the six-inch wind spirit hovering before him.

Sylph floated in the air with her arms crossed, her diminutive form radiating confidence that bordered on hubris.

Yellow hair drifted in the non-existent wind, and her black eyes, with green irises, studied Jack. A sly smirk on her face conveyed the message. She found the entire situation entertaining.

”So,” her voice carried that mischievous tone that had returned now that the immediate danger to Rhys had passed, ”the human channels divine power and thinks himself capable of challenging a mythical spirit. How... adorable.”

She gestured magnanimously, her small hand sweeping through the air. ”Tell you what, little godling. I’ll give you a free shot. Use whatever technique you want. Your strongest, your fastest, whatever makes you feel dangerous. I won’t even dodge.”

Jack’s white eyes studied her through divine perception, cataloging the power radiating from her diminutive frame. The System’s analysis still showed her stats crushing his enhanced totals, but with a few buffs he could even things out.

”You sure about that?” Jack voice echoed from the divine energy radiating within him. ”Once I mark you, there’s no taking it back.”

”Mark me?” Sylph’s laugh was like wind chimes. ”Please. I’ve survived wars between kingdoms, weathered storms that sank continents, and existed since before your ancestors learned to forge baskets. Your little blessing doesn’t frighten me, human.”

”Your funeral,” Jack replied.

He lifted his right hand, white lightning gathering around his fingers in spiraling designs. The energy compressed, condensed, and refined itself into a construct beyond simple electrical discharge.

The lightning bolt that left Jack’s finger wasn’t the largest technique he’d ever unleashed. It wasn’t the flashiest or the most destructive in raw power.

Sylph didn’t dodge. True to her word, she held her ground as the lightning struck her chest.

The impact blazed white against her small form, and for a fraction of a second, her entire body seemed to illuminate from within. The lightning didn’t fade or dissipate. It merged, sinking into her essence and leaving behind a mark that burned with persistent radiance.

A lightning bolt symbol appeared on her chest, perhaps an inch tall on her six-inch frame, glowing with white luminescence.

Sylph looked down at the mark, then back up at Jack. Her expression shifted fractionally. Not fear, but recognition that an enchantment had actually adhered when most attacks should have been shrugged off like raindrops.

”Interesting,” she said slowly. ”A binding technique wrapped in lightning. Clever. But if you think a little mark is going to....”

His fingers snapped with crisp precision, the sound cutting through Sylph’s commentary like a blade.

[Static Snare]

The air five feet to Sylph’s left detonated.

Static lightning exploded outward in a spherical blast, the compression and release happening too fast for some nonles to notice.

The explosion caught Sylph within its radius, despite her having started to generate wind currents for protection.

The Branded mark flared, and her attempted dodge failed. The technique’s guarantee overrode her mythical-rank agility, pulling her into the blast radius through forces she couldn’t quite comprehend.

[-96,320 HP]