...….
BAM! BAM! BAM!
The sound of trees hitting the ground with tremendous force reverberated in the surroundings as a creature made its way through the forest, knocking down everything in its path!
And it didn't take very long before the appearance of the massive creature was in full view, as all eight of its legs and hundreds of eyes had the bright sun's rays shine down on them.
"Scaceetch…!!!"
The beast made the most soul-wrenching sound it possibly could as it towered over the tiny figures with a primal glint in its numerous pitch-black eyes.
"Is that a friend of yours…?" Azmodeus asked the wolf who was cowering in fear behind him.
"!!!" The wolf vehemently shook her head before backing away from the enormous arachnid, finding her way behind the fallen immortal-like man, attempting to hide its giant body from sight.
Azmodeus blankly stared at the scaredy-cat wolf as an exasperated sigh escaped his mouth before he turned his piercing gaze in the direction of the mindless, primitive spider drooling over them.
"It's too bad you're so weak, for if you were stronger, I might've been able to gain more strength from killing you…"
Following the uttering of his apathetic voice, Azmodeus put one hand on Pan Nu to keep her still before pushing his body back and sliding his right foot across the dirt.
SHING!
He put his other hand on his sword handle, taking it slightly out of its sheath.
SHING!
The sword went back into its sheath just as fast. "Iaijutsu Unleashment Form: Raging Dragon."
After he muttered these words, a countless number of thin sword strings shot out from his stalwart figure, reaching the colossal black spider in an instant!
"Eskkeeech…-!!!"
It wasn't even given the time to finish its screech before every single one of its eyes split apart at the center, resulting in putrid-smelling green blood gushing out of its terrifying face!
*Spurt!*
The green blood fountains continued spreading from the spider's face to its abdomen and lower back before making it to its eight tree-size legs, turning its entire body into a diced-up onion!
BANG!
Its enormous body crashed into the grassy fields with a loud bang as life faded from its beady eyes.
After which, a few interesting system notifications popped up in front of Azmodeus's vision.
BLING!
*Ding!* *You have killed a Low-Bronze Rank Monster from the two-layered infinity plane called the Astral Plane.*
*Ding!* *A new tab has been opened in the system in order to accommodate the new power leveling system that you have discovered!*
*Ding!* *'Cultivation V.2' Tab has been opened up and is available for you to use whenever you so wish to.*
*Ding!* *You have obtained 500 points in the Physical Existence Refinement aspect after killing a Low-Bronze Rank Monster of the Astral Plane!*
*Ding!* *Your Physical Existence Rank has been ranked up from 'No Rank' to 'Peak-Copper Rank', effectively passing most of the Copper Rank in one go!*
*Ding!* *A multiplier has been applied to your total combat power and will show its effects from this point onwards!*
*Ding!* *Your Physical Existence baseline multiplier has increased from '0x' to '2.5x'.*
*Ding!* *Your overall combat power has slightly improved!*
*Ding!* *Due to the special laws, time dilations, and limited lifeform constructs, you are unable to obtain what you usually do from killing orgasmisms in this place. For as long as you are here, your aspect improvements will be strictly limited to the 'Physical Existence Refinement' Aspect.*
*Ding!* *Reminder! All Life Treasures inside your body and outside will have varying time dilations. → Current Rate → 1000:1 → 1000 seconds in the Astral Plane will equal 1 second inside Life Treasures like the 'Fallen Immortal's Mountain'.*
*Ding!* *This ratio can be altered, but to do that, you must progress in your Physical Existence Refinement Aspect.*
*Ding!* *Don't take out any living organisms inside your Life Treasures unless you're absolutely positive that they can avoid the sight of the beings called the 'Ten Astral Principality Princes'. Furthermore, you must be aware of the fact that you are being watched at all times…*
*Ding!* *Due to the Ten Peak-Moonlit Path Realm Experts focused on your existence due to the killing of that arachnid, it is recommended that the host lay low for a few days before continuing to hunt monsters. (Only do so after you have changed your Stealth-type Traits and Physique's to accommodate your needs.).*
Following the ringing out of all the system notifications, Azmodeus perused everything while feeling his power take a small jump.
So this world has been trying to alter an aspect of my existence called 'Physical Existence Refinement'...
Everything makes a lot more sense now…
But I still wonder how it is that everyone else is expected to improve their Physical Existences without the help of a system like the Infinite Evolution System?
There must be something I'm overlooking, but I don't quite know what that something is…
As Azmodeus pondered the peculiarities of the Astral Trial, an unusual phenomenon occurred within the corpse of the spider monster.
WZSHHH!
The corpse withered at a visible pace as all of its ashes shot in the direction of the crimson-haired man, transforming into a form of essence at a rate that couldn't be discerned by their target!
"!!!" Azmodeus realized it far too late, and before he was given the time to react, the essence had already hit him in the chest, resulting in a blast of golden light exploding from where it hit!
WAAA!
His energy spiked upwards for a moment before ultimately calming down as he regained control of his power.
But that was when he noticed something extremely unusual…
"My combat strength… It's slightly improved due to the… improvement of my Physical Existence Refinement??"
It was after these words echoed out in bewilderment that he suddenly realized something!
The Astral Trial… It's one where the participants are meant to kill other organisms, just like I do with the Infinite Evolution System…
However, instead of giving out Evolution Essence or Racial Traits, this trial takes away the essence of the beings killed before giving that same essence to the one who did the killing…
...…