Chapter 84
Then a tsunami of pleasure hit him.
Then again.
And again.
The sheer pleasure sent his mind over to the white space.
His meditation technique automatically activated.
Ooooohmm… He was Stone. He was awesome. He was Mantra. He was Stone! He was!
"I AM!"
The white space surrounding him shattered as a window hit by a stone the moment he shouted he was.
Even on the outside, the space itself cracked also.
Lucifer saw a tendril of dark light to sew the cracks back, stimulating his memory. The dark light was extremely familiar to him. He felt the memory there, in his head. Just reach for it… If he would be in an ideal situation he would do it… however, he was in the middle of what seemed like a battlefield between Goblins and Dwarfs, with 5th-tiers and 5th-ranks as leaders… He sighed, praying again to any god nearby, which in hindsight was quite strange. Why was he always praying when he was in distress?
The Universum still did not respond to him, and he wondered what the fuck was happening… Only thing he knew was that a person can't get a moment of peace. He wishfully remembered the days of hunting ants; what nice days they were...
Stone regained his reason again.
His talc shell shattered like an egg and unravelled his golden matrix. He rose from Lucifer's hand into the air.
Every single being, bar the enraged Ogre and Harkon, were gaping at him, observing the insane evolution of unique beings.
The shell slowly turned to dust and formed a small white tornado with golden rays glowing through, around him and attracting even more dust.
He lacked a certain material; Calcite! However, there was no such mineral in the vicinity to attract. Except...
He instinctively reached with his mind to the dwarven corpses near the hill, relieving them of their bones, using the <Weak Manakinesis> and <Mana Carved> dagger.
The golden glow and the tornado turned them to dust, using calcium and carbon from the air to form calcium carbonate.
The golden matrix grew more complex as his core expanded, becoming more profound.
Azure tendrils of unknown language sprouted from his core of existence, his very being. They merged with the celestian language writings, adding and changing something deep within Stone, making him even more of a conundrum for gaping Lucifer.
The azure-gold matrix shifted again.
Stone could now choose; remain as a mere boulder or mould his body as he wished.
He made a split-second decision.
Lucifer observed the changes, satisfied. It felt like he just finished some quest of his own. His <SuperFlux> had begun to rapidly deplete as his connection with Stone broke. He lacked the strength to even move.
Meanwhile, behind the portal was hovering a sun-like ball of fire with tendrils of fire helping Gorash to reform.
The moment he could, Gorash began to complain, "moooom! He... he... wanted… sob sob… to kill meeeeee!" Gorash wept next to his mother behind the portal.
"Who?!" The adult elemental boomed.
"Him!" He pointed at Stone, who was still evolving in the midst of battlefield.
Right before the portal closed, a tendril of fiery curse shot from the Gorash' mom and merged with Stone's matrix.
<You have been cursed by Adult Fire Elemental with Curse of the Elemental! Unable to use Natural Elements!>
Stone had two templates to choose from; a goblin, which he knew Luci hated so much, or a dwarf.
He began to mould his new body. He started first with bones. Spine, skull... Two legs, two arms. Don't forget fingers. AH! He almost forgot the ribs… Joints! Joints everywhere... "Stupid meatbags… Why are they so complicated?" He inwardly groaned.
After they formed, he refused to have fluids as some dirty meatbag, so he just added joints at proper places.
Also, he did not forget a mouth, with a tongue, and teeth and an extremely complex maze of small tunnels inside, so he could speak. He didn't wish to repeat the painful carving and drilling.
The azure-golden matrix adapted and permeated his body, forming something like a central nervous system. However, instead of electrical impulses, mana began to circulate from one part to another. The red lifeforce permeated every single molecule of his new body.
The golden glow disappeared with the small tornado. He dropped on the ground with a heavy thump.
<Evolution completed!>
<You became Greater Mana Crystal!>
<Sub-race: Talc changed to Augmented Calcite 'Golem'!>
There he stood like a one-metre tall, bulky statue. His appearance was of a very well developed, hairless dwarf, with a chiselled body. Michelangelo could go weep in a corner!
First, he moved all of his 16 fingers and toes, four on each limb. He realized it didn't match the dwarfs, but what the hell… Who needs a pinky anyway… He was hurrying and some stupid mistakes were a given.
Next, he moved his limbs. He made a few turns with them.
So far so good.
He gathered a bit of mana in his mouth, an equivalent of deep inhale.
"I. Am. STONE!" He roared with a surprisingly normal, deep though a bit rocky voice, over the battlefield crowded with stumped dwarfs and goblins.
He nodded; his mouth worked as intended. He was proud of himself. Making a mouth from stone was no easy task.
Next came the most important task. He took the first unsteady step forward. And planted his head right in the ground as he stumped over the rock.
He slowly rose back up and tried again. This time, it went well as he took great precaution. Why did nobody tell him that walking on his own was so stupid? So many things to take care of…
He sat next to Lucifer, completely ignoring the soldiers, spellcasters and runemasters ogling him with great interest.
And opened his tablets.
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Encyclopaedia Stonia
Physical-based classes
Most warriors do not use mana. Instead, they use their own stamina and lifeforce.
The first three ranks are easy to master as it's mostly about honing basic skills, techniques and hardening of the body.
However, to attain the 4th rank, the non-mana-based class has to cultivate the Essence.
The Essence enhances each and every expertise in their own unique way.
To attain the 6th rank, the practitioner has to transform the Essence to the Aspect.