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

In just an instant, the three players who had seemed on the verge of defeating the demon were now on the brink of losing one of their own.

Fortunately, the melee player triggered some sort of emergency life-saving item. Instead of lying dead on the ground, his body disassembled and reassembled a short distance away.

However, he still ended up tumbling to the side in a rather sorry state.

What was even more terrifying was that after the demon's axe struck the ground, it unleashed a shockwave along with dozens of skeletal ghost heads, which began to tear and bite in all directions!

The shockwave, accompanied by lingering blood-red light, briefly stunned the three players once again.

As the skeletal heads flew through the air, they emitted dark purple smoke, rapidly decaying anything they touched.

The flying skulls moved incredibly fast, making it impossible for the stunned trio to dodge!

It looked like the three legendary players were about to be gravely injured, if not killed.

Especially the player who had already used his life-saving item; he gazed in despair at the skulls rushing towards him.

"It's over..."

"We should never have been greedy enough to tackle a monster of this caliber! We need at least an eight or nine-person team to take it down."

He felt he was about to meet a tragic end.

The other two players also realized that this expedition was a huge loss.

They had gained nothing and were paying a heavy price...

One of them turned into a semi-transparent shadow, quickly retreating and easily avoiding the attack.

The other formed a radiant golden shield around himself. The skulls that hit the shield turned into smoke and dissipated.

Despite escaping the immediate danger, both players knew that their situation was still dire. They had avoided one attack, but escaping the next was uncertain.

Moreover, they had already used several precious life-saving items!

"We can only hope for reinforcements..." they thought, praying that other legendary players would notice the battle and come to their aid. But even in the best-case scenario, if reinforcements arrived and they managed to kill the Goat-Headed Demon together, the loot split among many would hardly compensate for the cost of their life-saving items.

They were at a huge loss!

But without help, they were likely to die here.

They could only pray for reinforcements!

As if their prayers were answered, a figure appeared.

The three players focused their eyes and saw that it was none other than their terrifying team leader. At this moment, the sight of him, however terrifying, felt incredibly comforting.

In a situation where only one person came to their aid, having this leader show up was a stroke of luck amidst misfortune.

"David" was considered the strongest among them.

With him around, they all had a better chance of making it out alive!

The demon posed no threat to their leader; however, given its boss-like template, even "David" might struggle if he attempted to solo it.

At this moment, the three players on the field saw "David" arrive. Even before he reached them, the ground began to glow with a brilliant blue light.

Then, a Celestial Star descended from the sky.

Members of the Hall of Valor were considered allies by default, so as long as friendly fire was disabled, Sterl could freely unleash his abilities.

Under the effect of Celestial Stars...

The three players immediately received massive shields, and their health began to regenerate at lightning speed!

"Leader, watch out for the red—"

The three players quickly tried to warn him, repaying his arrival with their advice.

Unfortunately, they couldn't even finish their sentence. They barely noticed the shadows enveloping their leader before the terrifying heat from the descending Celestial Star turned everything around it into ruins! The intense heat liquefied the surroundings, then vaporized them!

The Goat-Headed Demon barely lasted a fraction of a second before disintegrating into ashes!

At that moment, Sterl's Bionic Tear activated a combination of three legendary abilities: Shadow Stealth, Inspire, and Ancient Memory, enhancing the power of Celestial Stars!

Despite the Goat-Headed Demon's boss-like attributes, its life force was reduced by about 80% in a single strike and was killed instantly!

"Watch out for the red mist..."

By the time the three legendary players snapped out of their daze, they could only mutter the last few words.

They were dumbfounded by what they had just witnessed.

It was important to note that the Goat-Headed Demon was even more terrifying in its enhanced state with that blood-red mist, which had been giving them a hard time.

Moreover, even when it first appeared, the demon withstood three different legendary abilities without falling!

But now...

After the red mist, the players' scouting skills revealed the Goat-Headed Demon's life force had been fully restored and had even exceeded its original limit.

Yet, their leader had barely arrived, tossed out a single skill, and ended the battle!

What about the demon's special abilities and unique attacks?

Who cares!

It was a one-shot kill!

The three legendary players, looking at their fully restored health and thick shields, fell into an awkward silence.

Sterl quickly collected the demon's loot and then left them with a parting remark: "Why are you just standing there? Keep investigating."

Then he floated away.

The players could only watch his retreating figure.

Though still filled with fear, they gradually felt admiration and respect.

During the chaotic battle before boarding the Rainbow Ship, their leader probably hadn't even used a tenth of his strength.

"This is third class? I don't believe it!"

"I vaguely sensed the leader using several abilities just now, all of them legendary. He was playing dumb from the start!"

"So, those three mid-tier legendary players were completely played by him?"

...

As the three players continued their conversation, their respect and awe for Sterl grew even stronger.

They silently vowed never to underestimate weaker individuals again. Who knows, they might encounter another person like their leader, who enjoys pretending to be weak.

After their discussion, a sense of relief began to settle in their hearts.

"It seems like we have a pretty good leader."

"As long as we drag out this mission, its difficulty will definitely increase. But with a leader this strong, we could earn a lot of Valor Contribution Points."

"Could it be that this time, we're actually going to come out on top?"

...

Sterl, meanwhile, was unaware of the players' discussions. He looked at the loot dropped by the legendary demon, and his face instantly fell.

The loot was surprisingly good—it included a piece of legendary diamond armor.

It was a rather bizarre-looking full-body armor.

The material of the armor was some kind of flesh, sticky and slimy to the touch, making it feel extremely slippery, cold, and quite unpleasant.

Sterl's interface displayed the attributes of the armor:

[Armor of the Great Demon (Special)]+

[Tier: Legendary]

[Category: Chest Armor]

[Description: This is a unique piece of equipment forged in hell, fundamentally different from various creations in the main world. The so-called Great Demon stands on the shoulders of other demons. The Armor of the Great Demon follows this principle.]

[Attributes: None]

[Effect: Parasitic Devour: This armor can devour another piece of chest armor and gain 1.5 times the attributes of the devoured armor, as well as all its skills, with skill effects enhanced by 10% to 50%.]

[Remaining Parasitic Uses: 2/2]

[Note: When this armor detaches from the devoured armor, the devoured armor is destroyed. When all parasitic uses are exhausted, if the armor detaches, both pieces of armor are destroyed.]

[Note: While wearing this armor or its parasitic version, your health will continuously be drained. If you die from this effect, none of your resurrection skills will trigger, and your corpse will transform into a [Great Demon], corresponding to your strength, with full attributes, skills, and talents.]

[Note: This armor can only inherit legendary or lower-tier equipment.]

In addition to the legendary armor, there was also a golden skill book:

[Cursed Vision]+

[Quality: Golden]

[Description: A special skill from hell. This land is a paradise of curses, poisons, and lava. Possessing eyes that adapt to curses is a necessity for all creatures.]

[Effect: Upon activation, for the next ten hours, all units you damage will be exposed to your vision. However, you will randomly suffer from one of the following curses: blindness, poisoning, vulnerability, sluggishness, or reduced skill casting speed. The unit exposed to your vision will also suffer from the same curse.]

[Note: Each additional use of Cursed Vision enhances the curse's effect by 10%.]

Besides these, there were two third-class pieces of equipment, one purple skill book, and that was it...

That was it!

Sterl felt extremely frustrated!

The Armor of the Great Demon and Cursed Vision, both an equipment and a skill, were quite a pleasant surprise.

The former essentially allowed an unconditional 1.5x enhancement of a legendary piece of equipment's quality! With no upper limit!

If Sterl obtained an epic or mythic piece of equipment, he could forcibly boost its strength even further. It could be said that the Armor of the Great Demon was probably one of the most valuable items among legendary equipment!

The Cursed Vision was incredibly useful as well. The value of reconnaissance vision needs no explanation. When Sterl is pursuing enemies, this ability would shine brightly. It could even be used to check the enemy's position when he is fleeing.

Extremely practical!

Not to mention, Cursed Vision could also curse enemies, making it useful in direct combat!

The only issue with these items is their origin from hell, which meant they came with significant side effects...

The Armor of the Great Demon might end up consuming its wearer, and the curses from Cursed Vision would also affect the user, with the curse effects intensifying with each use. Eventually, the skill's owner might not dare to use it at all.

But in a game like [Transcendence], the worst thing to fear isn't side effects; it's a lack of combat power leading to immediate death.

Sterl made a decision similar to other players.

He decided to save the armor for when he reached the legendary tier, but he learned the skill immediately!

Furthermore...

Both the equipment and the skill had a plus sign, indicating that Sterl's point-allocation system would definitely optimize the skills in a way that benefited him.

He had a feeling...

After maxing out the points, the side effects might not be as severe.

At worst, the equipment and skill effects would be enhanced without changing the side effects.

As to why he still felt a bit uneasy despite the two excellent finds, it was because—