Bro, I'm not an Undead!

Contrary to everyone's expectations, no sea of mass destruction ensued from the heavy blow that landed right on Skullius!

All that followed was a brilliant light that consumed Skullius' figure and began to spit out arcs of Levin, super condensed Levin that made Yuyui shudder each time it streaked out, striking an object hundreds of meters away!

Its intensity was unrivalled.

The throngs of beautiful blue below the vibrant white mass etched a breath-taking experience to whoever saw it, the silent lightning continuing to craft the Fulgurant Bone Penetrator into something more profound.

The massive cloud above continued to hurl out Levin in a continuous stream, its appearance giving a fitting foreshadow as to what was possible when the Eternal Storm Veil Penetrator was fully realised.

There were many reasons as to why Skullius didn't choose the Elder Sage of Penetration or the Archfiend Warlord.

Despite the allure of having a mastery in runes....

Despite the draw of having an above Legendary weapon and a Super skill, high stats as well as a new element, Skullius knew that with the Storm Veil Penetrator, he could attain the equivalent of all this in a matter of a month or two as long his avatar focused solely on raising his strength!

If he had two or more avatars, he would remain hidden in his storm cloud territory in the sky and have them do all the heavy lifting for him, which would be extremely convenient.

The best defence wasn't offense. It was avoiding the fight entirely!

Three and half months were good enough for Skullius to grow his strength significantly. Perhaps not quite enough to face Somanda, but he wouldn't be alone.

Ferex felt a little intimidated by the power his master was receiving.

This was only the second Tier.

All things constant, if he attained enough experience to jump into this Tier as well, he wouldn't be anywhere near as strong as his master currently.

This was why he was so desperate to grow.

He had urged Skullius to store the Great Flame Bringer's corpse and as he watched the show in front of him, he couldn't help but feel a sense of urgency.

Yuyui on the other hand was getting exposed to a feeling she hadn't really had before.

The desire for power.

With her will to fight awakened, she was also made to realise that she was extremely weak.

No skill.

Unutilised strength.

Weak resolve.

She was still in the baby stages of her transition and she knew.

The words of the Priest she had spoken to back then rang in her mind again.

'Your Direction will tremble and spill a dramatic change in your path when you sing a song from the heart. A song of great pain. A song of great happiness. A song of great triumph. It may be in this order, it may not, but the Deitess Listafelle will be with you.'

Her life was changing and she had to get accustomed to it.

Yuyui wagered that the first change, as said by the Priest, a song of great pain, was when she first met her master.

She had been singing a song about how immensely hungry she was then. A song of pain.

That had to be it!

By that logic, the next events that set off massive changes in her life would happen in such a way as well.

Great happiness?

Great triumph?

She could only earn these when she grew stronger than she currently was!

Watching the scene before her made her realise. It wasn't about the Inhumane Eye or the Eye of Dispersal which had closed soon after the battle with the Flame Bringer or any other Eye she would awaken.

It started with her making a bigger effort!

'I can do it, right? There's no turning back from this point after all. Maybe... I can learn to take care of myself just like mother and father wanted.' Yuyui thought.

The brilliant bolt of Levin that stormed down however made her eyes bulge out as she was forced to focus on her master's silhouette which started to show through the radiance!

A new Skullius sauntered out of the pillar of Levin which finally began to dissipate, his form causing a weird distortion to the air – wind rapidly beginning to rage around him as intense flashes showcased themselves proudly within this affected space.

A 1.8 meter tall skeleton emerged from the light, its stature looking as beefy as flesh... literally!

Dark bones nearly devoid of the blue hue they had before showed on this skeleton with a menacing pizzazz despite the reduction in height. Each of the new Penetrator's bones were thicker than those of a normal human being, four sharp spike-like ones protruding from its collar bone and around its neck to rise up to a height high enough to reach the new Penetrator's eyes.

A spark of ridiculously quick, radiant Levin shot from the tip of one of the spiked bones, then to the other and the other in a never ending cycle that illuminated the Eternal Storm Veil Penetrator's skull face!

Four sockets still showed on this face but instead of the familiar blue flames within it, super bright white flames that were nigh impossible to look at for the likes of Yuyui blazed, the lime haired girl noticing in her squinting that one of these flames dwindled to form a text!

A text of bright white flame that flickered within the Penetrator's top right socket!

A text that she couldn't understand but dreaded as it made her buckle down unconsciously.

Over Skullius' head, a pristine white cloud followed his movement, its appearance looking as mundane and meaningless as ever. Yet it was anything but.

Aside from Skullius' bulky bones that seemed to insinuate heavier physical hits, hundreds of pure and condensed Levin bolts that shone so bright with their brief appearance over Skullius' body that his immediate surroundings became unclear, showed.

With their brief appearance, their blazing in the area around Skullius, a mini storm cloud would be formed only to disappear seconds later after proudly showing a burst of light within it. This occurred every second, the full figure of Skullius being hidden by a cluster of clouds for brief moments at a time.

PFFFFSSSS!

A sharp breath of mana shot from Skullius' mouth as the rush of power bore down on him madly!

[Congratulations, you have evolved into Tier 2, becoming an 'Eternal Storm Veil Penetrator']

[You have gained 25,000 Mana]

[You have gained 6000 Strength]

[You have gained 9000 Agility]

[You have gained 7500 Intelligence]

[You have gained 5500 Endurance]

[You have gained 10,000 Health]

[You have acquired 'Eternal Storm Veil Penetrator' exclusive skills]

[The skills 'Fulgurant Space Virulence', 'Fulgurant Virulence' and 'Iridescent Levin Tempest' from the Fulgurant Bone Penetrator have been absorbed into 'Vivid Firmament Canvas']

[All standard Null Lifeform skills have levelled up!]

"Woow... master..." Yuyui voiced as she watched the walking storm that was her master reach near her.

He looked... invincible.

For Skullius who stood wordlessly, merely appreciating his new look, the notifications had yet to stop coming.

[Congratulations! You have acquired a Veneration Art against all odds!]

[The unique authority rests in your... eye]

A Veneration Art!

Skullius had attained one!

Despite not knowing what exactly a Veneration art was, just by using [Evil Veneration] as a benchmark, it was easy to get excited about it.

The Eternal Storm Veil Penetrator revelled in this new sensation while also gazing up at the thick clouds above that began to dissipate.

"That and the battle minutes ago ought to have drawn attention. We should probably get going," Skullius said.

"Oh... that's... that's right..." Yuyui said with a quiver while lifting her self up.

Ferex's luminous sockets shone with agreement.

It was true.

The land around here had been damaged in quite the variety of flashy ways.

There would be probably someone arriving soon.

As Skullius considered this, another notification popped up, one that rocked his calm demeanour.

[The guidance field has recognised your growth]

[The Voice of Worlds has elevated the functions of the guidance field to Patronage Rank 1]

[The Guidance Code information packet has been received]

"Huh?" Skullius' sockets flickered for a brief moment, expressing how shocked Skullius was. "The guidance field has been elevated?"

The Eternal Storm Veil Penetrator immediately opened his status to see these new changes.

~~~

[ Name : Skullius ]

[ Tier : 2 ]

[ Level : 1 ]

[ Exp : ... ]

[ Core : White ]

[ Class : Vehement Bone Nullmancer ]

[ Race : Eternal Storm Veil Penetrator ]

[ Inv. Status : Doomed ×2, Cursed ]

-----

[<Stats>]

[ Strength : 6305 ]

[ Agility : 9310 ]

[ Intelligence : 7620 ]

[ Endurance : Infinite ]

[ Luck : Atrocious? ]

-------

[ Health : 10,700/10,700 ]

------

[ Mana : 29,400/29,400 ]

-------

[ Null Life Essence : 12,000/12,000 ]

------

[<Skills>]

[ Greater Mana Crafter | Lv.9 ]

[ Great Saint's Invigoration | Lv.4 ]

[ High Cosmetic Body | Lv.4 ]

[ Ungodly Passion of Debauchery | Lv.5 ]

[ Null Extraction ]

[ Unbound ]

[ Static Limbo ]

[ Koten Machi | Lv.4 ]

[ Guard Light | Lv.7 ]

[ Compact Mana | Lv.24 ]

[ Wrath of the False god | Lv.1 ]

[ Serration Zone: Baneful Edge | Lv.1 ]

[ Flash Flicker | Lv.9 ]

[ Raw Impact | Lv.10 ]

[ Great Rush (I) | Lv.14 ]

[ Revered | Lv.1 ]

[ Basic Combat Arts | Lv.5 ]

[ Basic Sword Mastery | Lv.2 ]

[<Class>]

[ Apostle Summon | Lv.3 ]

[ Apostle Armament | Lv.3 ]

[ Depths of Core | Lv.5 ]

[ Bringer of All | Lv.4 ]

[ Epiphany | Lv.2 ]

[ Defiant Raiment of Perversion | Lv.2 ]

[<Racial>]

[ Storm Rider | Lv.1 ]

[ Brisk Storm Avatar (Special) | Lv.1]

[ Levin Dominance: Veil Storm Lance | Lv.1]

[ Vivid Firmament Canvas (Special) | Lv.1 ]

[ Silent Revelation of the Bright King | Lv.1 ]

[ Ful Discharge | Lv.1 ]

-----

[<Attachments>]

...

[<Marked Spots>]

...

[<Counsel>]

...

...

~~~

The Penetrator had grown and his status which showed a variety of new options that he immediately dug through was a perfect indication.

There were multiple new functions displayed.

The Penetrator didn't know it yet, but these functions would introduce a gargantuan change to how he was going to be handling himself from here on out.

Skullius nodded with a chuckle as he looked through these functions, realising that there was a lot he had gained.

It was unclear whether the luck effect which had ended, replaced by the atrocious tag, had also spawned this, but Skullius could care less.

Seeing his intrigue through the blinding sockets that shot out white Levin, Yuyui apprehensively voiced...

"Master...?"

"Don't worry. Everything will be fine," Skullius said as he snapped his finger, activating two of his new Penetrator skills.

[Levin Dominance: Veil Storm Lance]!

[Storm Rider]!

Something akin to a blindingly bright javelin made out of pure, heavily condensed Levin that oozed a beautiful blue mist from it appeared with a suffocating pressure within the Penetrator's hand!

It was at least three meters long, its thin girth as sleek as bamboo shoot!

At the same time, a dark storm cloud manifested high above, moving in the direction that the Penetrator directed!

Skullius gestured for the nervous Yuyui and the excited Ferex to come closer, both doing as they were told.

Skullius held Yuyui from the waist while Ferex hung around his neck.

"Let's have some fun with this, first. There's too much to do," Skullius said as he flung the Veil Storm Lance towards the cloud in the sky, its lengthy mass stretching up to reach the height!

Something akin to a bright chain of Levin remained within Skullius' hand and as he yanked it, he and his subordinates were pulled towards the storm cloud at breakneck speed in the form of a streak of Levin!