Chapter 250: Ruin and Fear

Skill Combination Token consumed…

Julius watched in awe as the token dissolved into dust and felt a powerful feeling surge through him.

It wasn’t like he was feeling it through his body either. It was like a burst of energy was funneled directly into his soul.

There weren’t any options for him to choose which skills he wanted to merge either. It was like the token already knew exactly what he was looking for because he felt the token connect his [Scorching Empowerment] and [Kinetic Augmentation] on its own volition.

He gasped as the connection continued to get stronger and stronger. It was slowly becoming a bit overwhelming. It made the energy he felt when he advanced, seem paltry in comparison.

Was this the power of a pinnacle-grade token?

If so, he could see why Richard and Rebecca seemed so shocked to learn that he had one.

With this much energy, he couldn’t see a way that he wouldn’t be able to merge them together.

The thing he was most anxious about was that he felt more than just those two skills start to connect. There was an additional thread other than just the two skills.

Concentrating as hard as he could, he did his best to follow the connection. It was only thanks to his practice with his soul space that he eventually found the other skill and he could not help but feel a little bit confused at what was being combined alongside the others.

That made him hold back the natural process that the token was trying very hard to kickstart.

He turned toward Richard with great effort. The energy that was coursing through him at the moment, made even moving his head a huge issue.

“A-another skill is a part of the combination,” he stammered out.

Richard teleported next to him in the blink of an eye and placed a steadying hand across his back. “What skill is it?” The man asked anxiously.

Julius didn’t hesitate to tell the man, it would be dumb to hold back the skills name during something like this.

“[Soul Tempering],” he grunted out, the energy coursing through his soul was now becoming less uncomfortable and more painful by the moment. He didn’t know how long he would be able to withstand it and believed he needed to make a choice soon.

It didn’t matter if it was a yes or a no, but if he didn’t, his soul might pop like an overinflated balloon.

“[Soul Tempering]?” He heard Rebecca mutter bewilderedly.

Richard on the other hand only smiled more widely and patted Julius a bit too excitedly on the back, almost knocking him into the dirt with his superior strength.

“It’s the more advanced version of [Soul Resistance],” the man commented eagerly before looking at the distant wall with a nostalgic expression. “Actually, my parents wanted me to get [Soul Resistance] when I was younger. I was supposed to evolve it into a powerful defensive aura skill eventually that would also be able to bolster my physical abilities. I assume that [Soul Tempering] is something very similar.”

Julius groaned as another wave of energy wreaked havoc through his soul. “Maybe not the time for a trip down memory lane,” he yelled out impatiently, the pain was very much increasing at a rapid pace.

Richard placed both hands on his chest and realized that this was not the time to remember his childhood. “Sorry, sorry. Bad habit,” he quickly apologized to Julius and continued to speak. “You should definitely take it. It is probably being used because of the aura aspects of your fire enhancement skill. It will help strengthen the more intangible characteristics of the new skill as well as your soul,” he advised Julius with a confident tone.

Julius could only nod at the man that he understood and quickly let the process continue without holding it back anymore.

Synergy detected.

Appraising requirements…

Congratulations. Skills requirement met.

Congratulations. Concept requirement met.

Congratulations. Soul requirement met.

Would you like to combine [Scorching Empowerment], [Kinetic Augmentation], and [Soul Tempering] into a single skill?

Notice: Pinnacle Grade Token presence detected… Improvements to the skill will be made.

While he was taken aback by the notice he received, it sounded like a nice addition and a benefit of the pinnacle grade, so he accepted it without another thought.

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

However, he almost immediately regretted accepting it. If he thought the pain was bad before. It was nothing before the absolute mountain of pain that crashed right on top of his soul.

It was much worse than his previous soul pain and he could feel himself screaming out.

It was as if someone had stabbed a lightning bolt into his soul and let it go wild. There was nothing he could do but endure.

Fortunately, his mind was unable to bear the pain and he felt his consciousness slip away once again. The last moment he recalled was the stone floor of the chamber approaching his face.

***