Ruel needed to stop Muriel from fading.
'I need to stop the breakdown and to do that, my body needs to be strong.'
Ruel abandoned all else, locking his focus on the black fluid still pulsing inside him.
He decided that he would strengthen and fix his body, faster than he was destroyed.
He put his full concentration on it to the extent that he perceived something hidden.
Hidden amongst his blood and the being's blood that had absorbed the monster blood was a golden blood.
It was a faint glimmer in the tide of darkness—small, but brimming with divine power.
Ruel controlled that blood specifically, but it proved difficult.
"Fuck it!" he said.
He forcefully created a single hand out of his disintegrating translucent body, further shrinking his size.
He dipped the hand into his body, creating a hole in him as he sank it into the black fluid.
"Die? It's too early for that!"
He could feel his body breaking down faster, but he willed himself to stay alive.
"Live! I'll live! I'll fucking live!!"
At this moment, a crack in the void appeared, two eyes made of black holes stared at Ruel for a few seconds, before the black hole reduced in size and pressure.
Suddenly, the power filled blood was completely in Ruel's control, and he swiftly pulled it out and merged it with his body which was near perfect crumble.
The golden blood turned his blue body bright, it's light almost dwarfing the star.
His body grew in size, his mind growing wider while his soul grew stronger.
At the same time, he saw the link to his body as his body's presence grew more evident as his perception range expanded.
Before descending, he easily absorbed a large amount of the star into his big translucent body.
Back in the underground cavern, the environment shook.
A surge of remnant divine energy slammed into the cavern as Ruel's consciousness slammed back into his body, trailing light and power.
Ruel's body glowed as the young man descended, dragging along a compressed amount of energy.
He knew what to do next.
Part three of the Ritual: Upgrade his talent.
He concentrated deep within him where a solidified energy was–the representation of his D-rank Talent.
He invested all that compressed energy into the solidified energy that merged with the original.
It all took a moment.
[Your Talent has been upgraded to "Cryo Genesis - S+ Rank"]
[You have made an accomplishment!]
[You have obtained Titles!]
[You have bonded with a Spirit!]
Ruel opened his eyes with a heave of breath.
He noted his environment.
The ritual circle had disappeared and the items on the circles had broken down.
Most of all, the floor around Ruel was frozen.
He didn't need to check further to know. He had become stronger.
As his mind registered everything that happened, he recalled his companion.
"Muriel!"
He said as he was about to turn to look around.
But he felt something leave his body, taking the form of a girl with short blonde hair and green eyes with a young face.
Floating in her white gown that seemed even more real, Muriel replied with a slight smile, "Yes?"
"Ah, thank goodness…" Ruel said with a smile.
As he was about to go through the information given by the System, his improved senses caught something at the entrance of his man cave.
A man with purple hair and black eyes with a lean build looked panicked as he jumped in.
As the man's eyes landed on Ruel, he said, "Oh, please, save my people!"
Ruel wore a confused look, cold air still spiraling from his skin.
The stranger's eyes locked with his—desperate, pleading.
Ruel took a moment to scrutinize the unfamiliar man.
The man had a long, somber face framed by curly purple hair and a patchy black beard.
He wore light armor made of odd materials like straps made of vines, making Ruel question where he came from.
'There's no town near here aside from Grayland, so maybe a lost adventurer?'
As Ruel considered, the man spoke, eyes sunken with fear and sadness:
"Please… you're our only hope."
At this moment, a slight quake was felt, debris lightly falling from the ceiling of the cavern.
Ruel turned to Muriel, who looked more human and real, and they exchanged a nod.
They had both detected a presence not so far from here.
"Lead the way," Ruel said, putting on his shirt and armor as he moved closer to the entrance.
Without hesitation, the man crawled back out and led them.
They sprinted through the trees. In the distance, the clash of beasts echoed—a wild, brutal song of battle.
'Why… are there so many beasts?' Ruel wondered.
Despite this place being a dangerous territory, this region wasn't usually this active with beasts, even at night.
The town hunters told Ruel it was likely because even the beasts were affected by the region's misdirection.
"I think… your surge of mana caused a moment where the misdirection effects are null."
Running beside him, Muriel transmitted into his head.
"That makes sense." Ruel replied before gritting his teeth.
This… was going to have a lot of side effects–especially for his town.
Ruel's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of explosions and clangs of steel in the distance.
His senses also covered quite the range, making him identify the presences as humans.
In his hands, the dagger he held began freezing as he used the abilities of his previous D-rank talent.
Cold Touch.
But he knew the effects were now better.
His dagger was frozen solid as it extended slightly, its edge sharper than ever.
In the distance, moonlight bathed a clearing in a pale glow, revealing torn trees and scorched earth.
He saw a large Snake-like creature under that moonlight.
It had two heads, its scales looking like armor and its mouth dripping of poison.
It was so large, its head alone was Ruel's size.
Arrows, swords, and spears jutted from its body, the dark blood blending with its eerie scales.
Surrounding it were a couple of human corpses and people who were still fighting or out of battle due to injury.
"Ruel, its poison won't work on you easily," said telepathically by Muriel, who stayed a distance.
"Yeah. I can feel it!"
Mana surged through Ruel's limbs as he darted into the clearing and landed on the spine of the snake.
He crawled it as he yelled to the people nearby, "Go for one head, I'll handle the other!"
They didn't hesitate and immediately concentrated their attacks.
Reaching the right head, Ruel stabbed his two daggers into its head.
He couldn't fight directly–especially not a Beast of this caliber.
But with his new strength and other resources, he was certain he was going to make it.
Pushing all his mana into his ability, Ruel spread ice all over the snake head.
As cold air began to spread, the snake shook its head heavily, trying to shake Ruel off.
He swayed violently, the snake's thrashing body jerking him side to side.
"Stay in one place!" he said.
The world seemed to listen, the two-headed snake felt pressed, its weight crushing the ground beneath.
Gravity Control.