Awakening?The Infinite Evolution of My Talent as a Low-Level Awakener

Chapter 374: Chapter 374: The Potential Enhancement of [Consume]

For a moment, the battle came to a halt.

Five divine-level entities, along with Sterl, were forced to watch as the two "humans" from the upper realms slowly walked toward death. Besides this, any other action was just a fantasy. Consequently, the gods were compelled to observe closely as the massive corpses gradually decayed.

Countless maggots rapidly proliferated, creating a nauseating scene. Yet Sterl's heart nearly stopped. He sensed something different; those maggots felt strangely familiar!

It wasn't a feeling of familiarity directed at Sterl himself, but rather towards the skill [Consume] that he possessed. At that moment, as the swarms of maggots crawled and feasted on the bodies, a faint dark ripple began to spread outwards in all directions.

When the ripple touched the divine beings, it dispersed rapidly but then seemed to burrow underground, as if awakening something or perhaps nurturing something new. However, Sterl, immobilized, found himself tainted by the dark ripples.

"What the hell!"

He was stunned! This was bad! What was this thing? It couldn't be a curse or some kind of parasite, could it?

Yet, Sterl still didn't feel any pain; he simply felt a warm sensation throughout his body, as if some organ was about to sprout…

"Ah, an organ is about to sprout??"

Even with Sterl's mental fortitude, this terrifying possibility left him a bit flustered. He nearly changed color in shock. However, once he steadied himself, he noticed a prompt appearing before him—

[Your skill [Consume] has received an unknown power boost.]

[Your skill…]

The prompt shimmered with a golden light, appearing to be a good thing?

Sterl was taken aback and quickly began to check. Although it stated that an unknown power had been granted, a careful examination revealed that there were no changes to the data of [Consume].

No, wait—there was an additional plus sign!

Sterl discovered that [Consume] could be enhanced again, and the prompt indicated that upon cheat evolution, it could be further improved.

"So, that means the ripples emitted by the maggots helped [Consume] complete its essence?"

The rules for Sterl's cheat enhancement were quite clear—

The potential limit of an entity is determined by its inherent capabilities, such as talent or authority; even the most worthless ones can be enhanced multiple times.

As for items and skills, they rely on the strength and potential of their essence; the higher these two factors, the more enhancements can be applied.

As a skill, [Consume] must have had its essence strengthened in order to gain additional enhancement points…

"In other words… the maggots are connected to the Devourer of All Things."

As Sterl finished his deduction, he suddenly noticed that the maggots emitted a subtle, shimmering rainbow light while they feasted on the corpses.

The radiant glow was imperceptible to any ability and could only be seen with the naked eye. The black maggots surged like a tide; if not for intentional observation, it would be impossible to see clearly.

Even if one did see them, unless they, like Sterl, preemptively assumed that the phenomenon was akin to the Divine Protection of the Devourer of All Things, they would be unable to recognize what the shimmering light around the maggots was.

"If my reasoning is correct..."

Sterl was suddenly struck with a realization. The figures from the upper realms were falling, nearing death, and the maggots on their bodies were related to the Devourer of All Things. Moreover, the Devourer of All Things was connected to the Great Calamity.

This meant that the calamity was not unique to the lower realm; it was sweeping across both [Transcendence] and [Swallowing Heaven], engulfing both realms.

But... this didn't make sense!

Sterl had vaguely heard that many divine beings were selling everything they had to escape to the upper realms to avoid the disaster. How could it be that the Great Calamity had not yet arrived in the lower realm, yet chaos had already ensued in the upper realms? What was the point of those divine beings going to the upper realms?

Sterl felt a whirlwind of confusion in his mind. With his intelligence attribute enhancing his memory, he could remember everything he had seen. He recalled some documents that Sosia and Sonis had shown him, which mentioned ancient divine beings who had orally recounted—

There was a history where the upper and lower realms coexisted, but for some reason, the two realms had been separated. The divine beings only understood this objective reality; they were completely unaware of what the scene was like when the upper and lower realms merged, or how the separation occurred.

It was as if parts of their memories had been forcibly erased.

At that moment, Sterl couldn't help but wonder if there was a possibility that the upper realms had separated from the lower realm to isolate themselves from the Great Calamity, yet the disaster still engulfed everything now?

For some unknown reason, this thought flooded his mind.

However… when Sterl regained his focus, he discovered that his [Divination] talent had turned gray and was now cooling down. It didn't show how long it would take to cool down…

Sterl's heart stirred slightly. Did this talent activate automatically?

"Could it be that this information, if left unknown, would bring about tremendous disaster?"

"Talent protects the master??"

He felt that ever since the divine battle abruptly stopped, a series of bizarre events had rapidly unfolded, affecting both realms!

Sterl felt extremely uneasy! He even sensed a strange urgency. Until now, he had not paid much attention to the "Great Calamity," after all, his strength was increasing rapidly, far surpassing those divine beings.

But now, Sterl suddenly realized that the Great Calamity might have already descended, coming from the upper realms to engulf the entire Crystal Barrier Galaxy!

He felt that if he didn't rapidly enhance his strength, he would soon be… consumed!

Before Sterl could finish his thoughts, he suddenly felt a chill run through his entire body.

He experienced a prickling sensation on his scalp, as if the pressure of a backlash from Fortune had descended upon him! It felt as if he had fallen into a cage.

Then, Sterl sensed the soft sensations surrounding him suddenly tighten; it was Licitris. As a divine-level entity, she shivered as well. The other four gods nearby displayed similar expressions of unease, clearly disturbed.

Sterl felt a surge of horror. Even the divine beings were affected??

Then he understood what was happening.

Accompanied by the gnawing of the black maggots, the two giant figures were finally nearing their end.

They let out a wail and then began to cough violently!

Cough! Cough! Cough!

With the sound of their coughing, the five divine beings (and Sterl) couldn't help but clutch their own lungs, including the theoretically unaffected Lord of Evil Spirits, who also wore a pained expression.

Sterl merely felt the pain, but after a brief hesitation, the five divine-level entities couldn't wait to rush forward.

In their view, the two figures from the upper realms were about to fall. The blood, bones, and flesh of the beings from the upper realms were invaluable treasures for the lower realm!

Even though the black maggots induced a sense of inexplicable dread, these gods still had the courage to take the plunge.

Mainly, the Lord of Evil Spirits and the Succubus Queen were already at a disadvantage, and they aimed to turn the tide of battle through the corpses of the beings from the upper realms.

The three gods from the main world, who might have initially planned to wait a moment and cautiously investigate, now lacked the courage to allow Rog and Licitris to seize the opportunity.

What if the two divine-level demons truly gained the power to turn the tables? That would be disastrous! They were remnants from the upper realms, and even in death, they retained immense power!

In an instant, five beams of light darted toward the giant bodies like swallows diving toward the forest.

However, before the five points of light could reach their destination, the two figures, on the brink of death, forced their mouths open, seemingly struggling to say something in pain.

"Ugh!"

"Ahhh!!"

"Uulala!!"

Even though they were merely uttering strange onomatopoeic sounds, everyone present inexplicably understood the meaning behind them.

"Don't! Don't go to the upper realms, we're going insane!"

"No, it's those people who are insane!"

"No, it's us who are insane!"

"Hahaha!! I'm insane!"

"Embrace insanity!"

"Become nourishment, become bait!"

"Good! Good! Good…"

These were all nonsensical ramblings, and after repeating "good" three times, the words of the two giant figures abruptly ceased, as if their vocal cords had been forcibly severed.

The assembled gods and Sterl had no time to contemplate the meaning behind those frenzied words.

In the next moment, the giant figures suddenly swelled like inflating balloons, their bodies expanding at least tenfold. The sky was filled with their grotesque and ugly, stretched skin.

Finally…

Bang!

With a crisp explosion, the giant bodies burst apart! It was as if a balloon filled with vibrant paint had shattered, splattering murky liquids in every direction.

The five divine-level beings reacted swiftly; the moment the corpses began to inflate, they quickly retreated. However, their speed was not enough to match the rapid inflation of the giant bodies.

In the explosion, countless streams of polluted blood, shimmering with iridescent hues, gushed forth like raindrops, spraying in all directions. The ground quickly became stained, transforming into a bizarre, oil-paint-like substance. Sand and river water became distorted and reflected mottled light.

The five gods, Sterl, the surrounding world of the divine battle, and even the nearby Blood Red Fortress, were all engulfed by the boundless tide of Polluted Blood!

…

"What's going on?"

"What happened over there?"

"Wait! Run! Get out of the way!"

At that moment, near the edge of the fixed teleportation portal of the Principality of Florence, a group of recently arrived demigods and a mixed team of legends were exploring hell. Beside them, a legendary-level demon had fallen, letting out a wail and exploding a few glowing orbs.

Everyone wore excited expressions.

It had begun!

Hunting a legendary demon in hell, with the activity bonus, was far more rewarding than defeating a legendary boss in the main world.

But the players hadn't yet reacted when they noticed a distant rumble, followed by the surge of colorful Polluted Blood, emanating a nauseating and bizarre aura.

From afar, it looked as though a slowly moving worm had appeared on the horizon.

Yet, the demigods and legends, facing what seemed like a slow tide, found themselves unable to escape, helplessly watching as they were engulfed.