The trading session had ended, leaving Daniel, Lia, and Ayra imnsely wealthy in both resources and gratitude from the dozens of Awakened whose passage to Level 4 they had secured.
As dusk turned to night, casting deep shadows across the Taiji Basin, Daniel led his team back to the devastated shoreline of Yang Lake.
The air here was still heavy with the scent of the Leviathan’s death, a mix of ozone, brine, and sothing ancient and primal.
Ayra, despite her S-Grade Crystal Gloves and new wealth, looked slightly apprehensive.
"So, this is it," she muttered. "The giant fish’s final monts. What now, Vance? A burial at sea? Or are we having a very, very large barbecue?"
Daniel just smiled, a hint of predatory excitent in his eyes.
"Neither, Ayra. It’s ti for our final teammate to truly co into her own."
He looked down at Nyx, his Shadow Wolf Pup familiar, who was panting softly at his feet, her luminous blue eyes fixed on the colossal corpse.
"Nyx," Daniel said, kneeling beside her. "This is it, girl. The biggest al of your life. All of it. Don’t leave a single scale."
Nyx, understanding the imnse opportunity, whimpered softly, a sound of pure eagerness.
Her small body began to tremble, and her shadowy fur bristled with anticipation.
Daniel, with a ntal command, released her from her normal, smaller pup form.
A wave of shimring shadow and cold blue Soulfire erupted from Nyx.
Her small pup form shimred, wavered, and then began to grow. Her muscles swelled, her bones elongated, and her fur deepened to a profound midnight black, streaked with faint veins of crackling blue Soulfire.
Her single head, now larger and more wolf-like, rose majestically.
"Boom!"
A low, guttural growl, filled with imnse, burgeoning power, resonated from her as she transford into her full, awe-inspiring fierce wolf form.
She was now easily the size of a very small car, a terrifying fusion of shadow and cold fire, a living embodint of primal ferocity.
The newly enlarged Nyx let out a triumphant howl that split the silence of the night, a single, piercing cry of shadow and developing power that made the very air crackle.
She launched herself towards the gargantuan corpse of the Abyssal Maw Leviathan, her powerful paws pounding against the earth.
Lia, her A-Grade Staff of the World Ash glowing, watched with a mixture of awe and slight trepidation.
"Her transformation... it is far more potent than before. The Leviathan’s essence... it is truly amplifying her potential."
Ayra, however, was roaring with delight. "Go get ’em, furball! Eat that ugly fish! Eat it all!"
Nyx, driven by a primal hunger for power, began to devour the Leviathan’s corpse.
It was a grotesque, yet srizing, spectacle.
Despite the Leviathan’s imnse size, Nyx, empowered by her transformation, tore into its obsidian scales and thick flesh with terrifying efficiency.
She ate and ate, her body glowing with internalized power, the elental energies of fire and ice swirling around her.
Hours passed. The twin moons arced across the sky.
By the ti the first faint light of dawn began to paint the sky, the colossal corpse of the Abyssal Maw Leviathan was gone. Utterly gone.
Nyx, now panting heavily, her massive form resting on the shore, looked significantly larger and more formidable.
Her fur, previously midnight black with faint blue Soulfire veins, now shimred with alternating patterns of ice and fire.
And rising from her shoulders, beside her main head, a second head, made of pure, crackling ice, was slowly forming, its eyes glowing with a chilling light.
She radiated an aura of ancient power, her presence alone making the ground tremble faintly.
She was no longer just a powerful wolf; she was sothing more.
Daniel, his heart swelling with pride, stood beside his familiar.
He placed a hand on her massive flank, feeling the profound changes within her. He accessed his Nexus Interface, pulling up her updated status.
[Familiar: Nyx]
Species: Ice and Fire Draconic Wolf (Pseudo-Dragon Species)
Grade: SS
Level: 20
Potential: SSS (Unsealed – Requires unique catalysts for full draconic awakening)
Attributes:
Strength: 10,000 (Equivalent to a Level 35 Awakened)
Vitality: 12,000 (Equivalent to a Level 38 Awakened)
Agility: 8,000 (Equivalent to a Level 32 Awakened)
Spirit: 7,000 (Equivalent to a Level 30 Awakened)
Talents:
Awakened Soulfire Affinity (S-Grade) – Mastery over chilling soul-fire.
Awakened Frostfire Affinity (S-Grade) – Mastery over searing frost-fire.
Skills:
Abyssal Maw (A-Grade) – Can generate a localized vacuum effect to draw in and consu enemies.
Leviathan Scales (A-Grade) – Passive physical defense boost, minor damage reflection.
Draconic Roar (B-Grade) – Area debuff (fear/disorientation).
Elental Breath (S-Grade) – Can unleash powerful, focused beams of ice or fire.
Daniel stared. SS-Grade. Level 20. Potential SSS. Her attributes were higher than his own.
She had directly absorbed the Leviathan’s draconic bloodline, integrating its power and evolving into a pseudo-dragon species.
The most striking change was the ergence of her second head, now complete and crackling with elental ice, complenting the original head’s shadowy fire.
She had gained multiple S and A-Grade skills from the Leviathan’s essence.
This was a monuntal leap in power for his familiar.
Nyx was no longer just a powerful wolf; she was a true, devastating beast in her own right, capable of facing down even high-level threats Daniel himself might struggle with alone.
Nyx whimpered softly, nudging Daniel’s hand with her massive heads, her cold blue Soulfire eyes filled with gratitude and boundless loyalty.
She was exhausted, but utterly transford.
"You did good, girl," Daniel whispered, ruffling the fur between her heads. "Very good."
He noticed sothing else. As Nyx had completely devoured the Leviathan’s corpse, the ground beneath where the creature had rested seed disturbed.
He walked over, his [Aura Sense ] tingling faintly. He knelt, scraping away so of the pulverized earth and shattered rock.
And there they were. A huge pile of Yin and Yang cards, hundreds of them, gleaming faintly in the first rays of dawn.
They hadn’t been on the Leviathan’s corpse; they had been hidden beneath it, a secret hoard.
"No way," Ayra breathed, pushing past Lia, her eyes widening at the sight. "More cards? After all that?
This beast was running a casino down here!"
Daniel quickly counted. Over a hundred more Yin and Yang cards. This was absurd!
They had given away a lot, thinking they had a massive surplus, and now they had an even bigger one. It seed the Leviathan, much like Ragnar, had been a collector, hoarding cards from countless victims over ages.
"Incredible," Lia murmured, her eyes shining with surprise. "It seems our victory continues to yield unexpected boons."
"Well," Daniel said, a tired but satisfied grin spreading across his face. "Guess we’re still in the card-selling business.
Though most Awakened have probably left by now. We’ll keep these for later. Who knows what we might need them for."
He quickly stored the new cards in his expansive storage ring.
The Level 3 trial was effectively over for them. They had conquered the Yang region, cleared the central mountain, gathered more cards than any other team could dream of, and achieved unimaginable levels of power.
Daniel was Level 12. Nyx was Level 20, an SS-Grade pseudo-dragon with two heads embodying ice and fire.
Ayra and Lia were formidable Class-Transitioned powerhouses.
"Alright, team," Daniel announced, looking towards the teleportation array in the distant mountain pass, now gleaming invitingly in the morning light.
"We’ve done everything we set out to do. We’ve rested, we’ve trained, we’ve gained power, and we’ve cleaned up the neighborhood.
We even have a new, very powerful pet." He patted Nyx’s colossal head.
Ayra, still marveling at Nyx’s transformation, nodded vigorously.
"Finally!
I’m ready for so real food that isn’t roasted shadow-panther or nutrient paste. And maybe a real bed. One that doesn’t involve tactical cuddling with Daniel."
Daniel winked at her, then looked at Lia. "Ready for Level 4?"
Lia smiled, a serene and confident expression.
"Ready, Daniel. With our combined strength, and with Nyx, I believe we are prepared for anything the Verge can throw at us next."
They began to walk towards the teleportation array, leaving behind the devastated shoreline of Yang Lake.
The sun was now fully risen, bathing the Taiji Basin in warm light.
The journey through Level 3 had been brutal, terrifying, and endlessly challenging.
But for Daniel, it had been a forge, shaping him into a force capable of bending reality to his will.
The true ascent of the Verge, and his journey to uncover its secrets, was just beginning.
They still had two days before the seven-day limit for Level 3 expired, but there was no need to wait. They were ready.
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