The Invincible Full-Moon System

Chapter 1831: Almost a God (3)

Rex still remembers the time when he questioned whether leaving mortality is even a good idea.

His life should’ve ended the moment Ruston died by his hands, but the people he encountered along the way took a portion of his soul from his parents in heaven. And now, he lived to protect them from dangers that decorated every corner of this dark world.

But his enemies never ceased to exist.

Instead, they grew in number, making the end he once craved so distant from his reach.

Rex believed eventually, he would meet the end where the others are safe and protected, which would provide him the best situation to pass away in silence. No words exchanged. No goodbyes. Before the need to rise into Godhood, there should be a moment when he can pass away.

Now, he realized that was naïve of him.

Everything after Ruston is not a bonus. It was to atone for his failures.

And there is still so much more to do.

Splash—!

Like a mantle of water being extinguished, the layer of red above his skin splashed outward.

Rex descended slowly until his feet touched the blood under him.

He stood on water without sinking, and before him, notifications from the System rain down on him.

Even without the notifications, Rex felt the changes almost instantly. His body felt more energetic and robust than even when he was under the Blood Moon. It’s charged with so much power that one swipe from him might’ve accidentally split a colossal mountain into two.

Had Stelios fought with the current him, there would’ve been no chance of winning.

Rex feels like he could kill Stelios with a single slap.

Power surged from within him to the point of being terrifying. One entity should not possess this much power, or else it’d be too unfair for everyone who is mortal. But then he remembered the existence of the Gods, the Scions, and everything inside the higher realms.

It’s better for him to have this much power than them.

He believed he could restrain himself from abusing this much power better than they.

Or, at least, he thinks he can restrain himself better.

”How strong am I now?”

...

Status: Intoxicated

Race: Grand Royal Black Werewolf / Ghost Spirit

Divinity: Awakened Demigod (First-star)

Invincibility Rank: Blank (Rankless)

Power: Eternal Spirit 1 (3) (Third Circle) – Harbinger of the Nightfall

Soul Artifact: Red Dawn of Kaiser – SSS-grade (Attack), Mask of the Banished Eclipse – SSS-grade (Hybrid), Aegis of Moon Sentinel – SSS-grade (Defense).

Echo(s): Dark Auctoritas, Spellcaster, Blood Moon.

Level: 74 (46%/100%)

Full Moon: 29 Days – Dark Moon

Berserk: 19%

Sanity: 79%

Spiritual Points: 25,000,000 (+2,500,000)

Strength: 21,650,000 (+17,155,000)

Agility: 18,800,000 (+15,160,000)

Endurance: 28,300,000 (+21,310,000)

Form Expiry Time: 13 years.

...

Rex couldn’t believe what he was seeing still.

He hadn’t even made a breakthrough in his rank—but the transformation that happened to his stats are wonderous. Just as he expected, he’d destroy Stelios easily with this kind of strength. And perhaps Rex could fare well against Princess Davina with his raw strength alone.

For once, he never really scanned her stats, so he didn’t know for sure.

But he made a mental note to do that when he returned.

”I have thirteen years with my current life energy without needing to absorb more Nightfall Stars. I’ve also had no problem with my soul thanks to Stelios,” Rex rubbed his chin, realizing that perhaps this second body of his could be permanent. ”I could leave this body here, but I need something to put it on autopilot.”

Rex would soon need to return to his original body.

And initially, he thought this body would collapse when it had no soul.

Now, perhaps he could prevent that from happening.

”Enough of that,” Rex scrolled through the notifications, focusing on the earlier ones. ”Let’s check what these rewards are. I’ve broken through in my divinity rank, so—I expect the System to reward me more handsomely than normal.”

...

Rank: Divine

Description: Following devouring, the user’s biological framework will begin to adapt, extracting and integrating viable traits from the most recently consumed prey. Acquired attributes may include, but are not limited to, energy resistance, immunity, active skills, or passive skills. Duration of retain traits is heavily determined by the amount of flesh consumed and the prey’s inherent bodily resistance.

...

”Hmm... It’s, in a way, similar to Kyran’s devouring effect,” Rex nodded, pleased with the skill.

His devouring effect allowed him to gain more exp, while Kyran’s allowed him to gain a temporary boost in power. Now, with this new skill, he could also retain traits from his prey, incentivizing him even more to devour flesh.

Not that he was complaining.

”And since it’s nigh-divine, I might even be able to devour other Demigods or anything near divinity.”

It was unfortunate that the boost was not permanent.

But then again, once he returned to the Mortal Realm, he might be able to upgrade the skill.

Rex had never obtained a skill or item above the Divine-grade or rank, but that doesn’t mean there are no ranks above it. Perhaps, when this skill evolved, it would offer more than temporary boosts. And it might even allow him to put divine beings into his menu.

Just thinking about devouring the Lunirich Gods made him shiver.

No, that’s not right. Not all Lunirich Gods are bad, remember. I’ll devour only the bad ones.

Other than that, his inner pack members also gained Minor Divinity.

...

Rank: Origin

Description: Provide a fraction of divine strands into their energies.

...

It was straightforward enough.

Rex reckoned the others would have a noticeable increase in their abilities with this passive skill.

He didn’t know what they were doing in the Mortal Realm, but this should help.

Not that it would make a difference now, since he would be returning home soon. For him, days or weeks might pass in this place. But for the others, barely a day or two at most. More than enough time for bad things to take root, but not enough to kill them.

Right now, they were probably regulating the empire.

Even if they got attacked, they, along with the empire’s forces, should be able to stall for a day or two.

”Silverstar Genesis...?” Rex’s brows furrowed into a frown. And then they eased—as he recalled what that was. ”Right, I have to start exploring that realm soon. I haven’t even set foot on it, and now it’s already getting lesser divine strands.”

It was his own special realm.

One that the System gave long ago, and it might be to match him with the other Scions.

Rex shook his head and finally put the notifications away.

He checked his body first. It was completely fine, which was quite surprising to realize.

From the System warnings earlier, absorbing this many divine strands risked implosion. He had braced for severe wounds, severe internal damage, or even permanent damage. But that wasn’t the case. Seems like ascending divinity also rebuilt him, fixing everything wrong with his body.

Even the wounds he retained before this were now healed.

Then, he looked around. Blood-red mist was covering the entire area, and it seethed from below. It was only when he tilted his head down that he realized he was now standing on a body of water. A lake of actual blood from the pungent scent stabbed his nose.

”Did I do this?” Rex thought aloud. ”No, that can’t be right.”

Even though he denies it, the place was a thin forest earlier that was a home for a few voidal monsters.

No sign of a blood lake, so it must really be him.

”I really need to watch out where I ascend or rank up starting from now,” Rex scratched the back of his head awkwardly. ”Fortunately, the place is basically deserted. It’ll be bad if voidal monsters stumbled upon this lake, though.”

Just thinking about voidal monsters with the ability to grow stronger with rage sounded scary.

Not for Rex, of course.

If there was really one voidal monster like that, he would probably make it a pet to bring back home.

Souvenir. Or maybe a playmate for Delta.

But it would be terrifying for the Spirits who would be unlucky enough to stumble across it.

”Hey, wait...” Rex read the notification again and blinked. ”The fuck? It uses the Greater Blood Moon Crystals as fuel?!”

Even though he almost depleted his Blood Moon Crystals, there should be one more Greater Blood Moon Crystal leftover. One of those crystals has a great number of divine strands, and he lost it because of this triggered phenomenon.

”System, I can drain this shit and turn it back into the crystal right now, right?”

”Any method to do exactly that right now?”

”Fuck you mean negative?” Rex clicked his tongue in displeasure. ”You practically have every method to do anything, and you are telling me you can’t do this? That’s a damn lie. Tell me how to do it. I know you know.”

Rex scratched his head in frustration, annoyed that this was even a thing.

He practically lost thousands of divine strands. It was so angering—that he stomped on the blood lake, and it hummed in answer, a deep resonance that acknowledged his presence. This acknowledgement only stoked his rage further.

Rex forced calmness into his voice, ”It’s fine. Everything is fine. It’s not like I need to painstakingly decimate an entire sky city to get that Greater Blood Moon Crystal.”

A shadow loomed on his periphery.

He turned and saw a silhouette floating over the lake aimlessly, not too far from his position.

A familiar scent hits him, and with a wave of his hand, the crimson mist parted.

Linthia’s eyes flickered with happiness to finally find him.

She eagerly approached, ”Your Majesty.”

”Back to honorifics again?” Rex floated away, heading to land. Still not used to floating like this. He felt relieved when he stood on land again and turned to Linthia, who was following closely behind. ”Did the others arrive at the hideout safely?”

”Yes,” Linthia clasped her hands. ”I made sure nothing bad happened along the way.”

”I know I can trust you.”

Rex raised a brow. Linthia was staring at him with twinkling eyes; the kind of look exclusively reserved for idols and heroes. Something really different than how she looked at him normally. And he couldn’t help but purchase a mirror from the Shop to see what she was seeing.

He checked out his reflection and found no significant changes to his appearance.

Just that he’s a little bit taller and scarier in a way.

But with a heavy exhale, a mark bloomed on his bare chest. A crescent moon, red as a fresh wound, its open curve followed his collarbone toward his throat. Right underneath it, anchored to the crescent at his solar plexus, a shapeless star burned crimson.

”You’ve gotten stronger again, Your Majesty,” She said breathlessly. ”Your aura is now more profound and mystical. And this... lake. It has the same aura as you—and feels sacred. I can’t help but ask. Are you a God, now?”

”I’m no God,” Rex shook his head. ”Not yet.”