Chapter 140: Rage and Despair

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Just like professor Dane, prince Craig had also had a yellow mission in his name, and that was the one Evelyn claimed next.

—[ Yellow Mission, Target: Craig Maenhardt ] [Completed!] [Claim!]

-Source: Calamity 

-Clear Condition: Fulfill any one of the following: 

—Kill (or) Completely defeat Craig [Fulfilled!]

—Raise Craig's affection to the maximum level [-100% affection]

-Rewards: 

—Experience: 1,000 points

—Acquire the ability [Lethal Leap]: Channeling the spirit power through the legs, leap forward with an immense momentum. For the duration of the leap, the physical strength and toughness of the body are greatly increased.

—Strength permanently raised by +5 points 

—Vitality permanently raised by +5 points

-Current Level: Level 68  [16,280 / 24,500]

"I'm not quite sure what the criteria is for which ability is harvested using the Calamity skill, but it should be either their most prominent or most unique ability, right? For Craig, it was the 'Lethal Leap', and for professor Dane, it was the 'Draconic Scales'…"

The more she thought about it, the more Evelyn thought her hypothesis was true.

If this was so… she didn't necessarily need to be able to probe someone to know what kind of skill she will get by conquering or killing them. It was most likely to be their most unique ability.

Going one step further, if there was a particular skill she required, she could simply look up who had something similar, and…

Shaking her head to clear the strange thoughts, Evelyn decided to take care of her immediate concerns first. She still had a lot of experience to absorb, and the sooner she did it, the better she could handle unexpected circumstances in the future.

Focusing her attention back to the mission panel, Evelyn shifted back towards the red missions, and directly claimed the one that had been issued on the carriage ride to the academy when she had first met Craig.

[ Red Mission: Craig's Will ] [Claim!]

- Source: Worldly Threat 

- Clear Condition: Fulfill any one of the following conditions… 

— Prevent injury or death from source Craig Maenhardt for the next two years. 

— Kill Craig Maenhardt. [Fulfilled!]

- Rewards: 

— Experience: 240,000 points.

— Strength +10 points permanently. 

— Spirit Power +10 points permanently. 

Recalling how she had dreaded it at that time, Evelyn couldn't help but shake her head with a smile. She imagined that Craig must have felt far more desperate than herself when she was about to end his life, and even more unwilling when his soul was finally shredded under her arrow.

—Current experience exceeds the requirement, level up!

Level 68  [  256,280    /  24,500 ] →  Level 69  [  231,780    /    25,000  ]

—All Attributes +7!

Level 69  [  231,780    /  25,000 ] →  Level 70  [  206,780    /    25,500  ]

— [ Milestone level 70 reached!] All Attributes +70!

-Max attribute bonus per level increased from 7 to 8.

—All Attributes +8!

Level 70  [  206,780    /  25,500 ] →  Level 71  [  181,280    /    26,000  ]

—All Attributes +8!

Level 71  [  181,280    /  26,000 ] →  Level 72  [  155,280    /    26,500  ]

—All Attributes +8!

Level 72  [  155,280    /  26,500 ] →  Level 73  [  128,780    /    27,000  ]

—All Attributes +8!

Level 73  [  128,780    /  27,000 ] →  Level 74  [  101,780    /    27,500  ]

—All Attributes +8!

Level 74  [  101,780    /  27,500 ] →  Level 75  [  74,280    /    28,000  ]

—All Attributes +8!

Level 75  [  74,280    /  28,000 ] →  Level 76  [  46,280    /    28,500  ]

—All Attributes +8!

Level 76  [  46,280    /  28,500 ] →  Level 77  [  17,780    /    29,000  ]

—All Attributes +8!

Level 77  [  17,780    /  29,000 ]

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Only after she was done claiming all the rewards did Evelyn breathe a sigh of relief. "Level 77 huh… that's… only five levels off from aunt Bree's level!"

The golden puppy on her left shoulder yipped happily upon hearing her name, and Evelyn affectionately rubbed her golden, furry little head.

Thinking of how she had been in such awe not so long ago, and it had seemed like a goal that would take her forever to reach, Evelyn couldn't help but feel a little emotional.

The pink-haired girl couldn't help but smile. "Of course, Bree isn't an average level eighty-two, and she's a genius with a unique physique."

Checking her own status though, she couldn't help but be proud.

-Evelyn Knox: Level 77 [17,780 / 29,000]

—[BUFF] Applied: Arcane Restoration [All Natural Recovery +1000%]

-Duration: 7 minutes 12 seconds left.

-Buff Source: Amara Gilmore

Hybrid Physique: Blessed Spirit, Lotus Throne

—Strength: 764 [+37] = 23031 KG

—Spirit Power: 820 / 1123 [+3] 

-Final dimensions of the inventory space: 105.97 meters long x 105.97 meters wide x 105.97 meters high

Inventory Status: 83% Empty

—Soul Value: 1,523 / 2,249

—Vitality: 737 Years Left

-[ Abilities / Enhancements ]

—[Hunter], [Artist], [Basic Spatial Manipulation], [Basic Probe], [Minor Shield], [Disease Immunity], [Poison Immunity], [Advanced Regeneration], [Calamity], [Advanced Spatial Manipulation], [Chaos Incarnate], [Soul Searing Shot], [Draconic Scales], [Lethal Leap]

-Cultivation Method: Searing Soul [Grade 9]

—[Soul Avatar: Basic]

—[Soul Dominion] 

-Equipment: 

—[Kittykat Blue Halter Dress: Grade 2]: Physique +25

—[Shiny Bracelet: Grade 1]: Spirit Power +3

—[The Untainted: Grade 5]

—[Compact Iron Bow: Grade 2]: Physique +12

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To say nothing of her strength, which had more than doubled now, her soul value and spirit power had skyrocketed to another level entirely. This was no surprise to Evelyn, considering that her starting status had already been ridiculous, and the fifty percent enhancement of soul value and spirit power thanks to her being a throne just worked further to her advantage.

She had felt it was quite a pity that the bonus stats given through mission completions weren't enhanced by fifty percent at first, but now that she had reached this level, she realized that it wasn't a big deal at all.

Compared to the boost of almost four hundred points in all her stats, the few dozen bonus stats weren't really worth fretting over.

"Whew… now let's see if his storage treasure, then I can finally—!"

Suddenly, a panicked signal came from her bond with Ruru, and Evelyn barely managed to catch the sound of something whistling through the air before an enormous impact caught her right in the gut, sending her flying right through the remains of the already broken tree behind her.

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Junior professor Donna hadn't been anywhere near the location in which Evelyn had her encounter with the Tree Demon. Of course, this was no surprise, given the vastness of the wonderland of doom. Even a throne wouldn't be able to detect if a fight was going on in the opposite corner of the forest, let alone a junior professor like Donna.

Without any ability to track her husband, she had been desperately relying on luck while sifting through the forest while avoiding confrontations. A few minutes ago, however, she had felt something very, very wrong.

As husband and wife, Donna and Dane of course had a spirit bond.

The function of this bond was simple. Implanting a tiny fraction of their partner's spirit power deep inside each other allowed the partners to be able to feel closer to each other, even if they were far apart. This was common knowledge.

A lesser-known fact, however, was that in case a partner died, the one that was still alive would be able to know right away, as the spirit power implanted inside them would become 'free' and try to escape back into the world.

The direction in which it initially left the body depended on where the dead partner had been, also giving the still-living lover to know the direction of their partner's death.

In most cases, it was useless.

After all, the spirit power dissipated within moments, and wouldn't continue leading the living partner on to find the other's corpse.

For Donna, however, it was a combined flame of despair and rage.

"DANE!"

Her husband… was dead!

Without a single thought, the junior professor dashed in the direction her lover's spirit power had briefly headed in before dissipating, not even caring what region of the forest she was entering, or if she would end up encountering some hegemon.

At this point, did it even matter?

It didn't take her long to spot the draconic flames that had set several dozen trees ablaze, though they seemed to already be dwindling down due to the resilience of the forest itself. She had no doubt where these flames had been released from, and her tears didn't stop flowing down her cheeks even as she continued moving in that direction.

'I-It's her?!'

Donna couldn't believe it when she spotted a pink-haired girl with her eyes closed from afar. Of course, she didn't believe that the little runt was the one responsible for killing her husband. She was just a puny rat.

Regardless, as far as Donna was concerned, this girl's existence itself was a sin! Had it not been for her, Dane would still be teaching beast mastery in the academy, and she would still be there with him. The junior professor didn't even blink before sentencing the pink haired girl to death, and continued to dash in the direction where Dane had perished.

Even if it was Aurora… today, she would either avenge her husband, or die trying.

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