Chapter 207: New Demonic Stigmas And Celestial Marks

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Because I wanted to prepare some more, I decided to delay my Rank Up Trial for the next day, as I slept until the next morning. Of course, I wasn’t going to go in the morning, but at night, where everyone expects us to sleep for at most twelve hours, because I might be gone for that long. Even with the time dilation inside of these Trials, I do expect to be gone for a long while.

For now, however, it was already five in the morning, and after taking a warm and relaxing bath, I walked right inside of my [Samariel’s Ancient Forge of Sins and Virtues]! I had already shown it to Hilda before, and she was shocked about it in many ways. I had told her it was part of my very powerful and rich sponsor, a false one I created whom I associated with my angelic and demonic powers.

This has been the excuse I have had for a while, though I’ve told my brother I haven’t become that sponsor’s incarnation yet and that I am just playing around with many Constellations while juicing them out of their rewards. The only response he had was a big thumbs up, saying I should totally scam them all. Fenrir was also glad I wasn’t anybody’s incarnation yet.

Anyway, we couldn’t do much with Hilda here. The powers of this forge only obeyed me; even when I tried to give her some of the authority, it didn’t work at all. This means only I can use it, and only I can further develop its abilities and effects.

“Aha, you’re back, master! I am sorry that your friend was unable to use my powers, but it comes with the restrictions of the skill I am connected to.” Samariel appeared within the forge, made of white holy flames and dark purple demonic flames, crossing his blazing arms.

“Yeah, I know. That means I’ll have to be the only one who can wield your power, so I need to get better at Blacksmithing. I did get some levels out of helping Hilda if that helps.” I nodded, checking that skill in particular. It was now Level 6! Though still D Rank. So I suppose I need it to reach max level and then evolve it.

“So what do you want me to help you with this time?” He asked.

“I want to imbue a Demonic Stigma and a Celestial Mark on these items.” I showed them to him. “The shield and this Murim’s Necklace.”

“Hmm, I see, so this is your main equipment!” He nodded. “Also, your sword has become quite stronger. It is also possible to enchant already existing Stigmas and Marks, did you know?”

[“Oh, so it is possible to upgrade them, huh? You did use them quite a lot back then…”]

“I guess we can, but do we have enough materials, I wonder?” I checked my inventory and showed everything I had. “I did collect tons of demon materials from the demonic castle. There were lots of demon monsters to hunt. But on the angelic side, I still got mostly what I acquired from my other dungeon explorations. Well, I guess we can use the stones that made the statues too?”

“Hmm, yes, yes. With this, we can make it to an extent.” He nodded. “Though, I sense you have more items! Master, can you show them to me?”

“Ah, these? These are the sets of equipment I got from that dungeon too, but their durability is low, and they’re about to break. I didn’t ask Hilda to repair them because there’s little point with the other equipment I have.”

“Hmm! These are all Celestial Relics! Good! With this, we can conjure as many Celestial Marks as you want! Each one is worth at least three!” He analyzed them.

“Wait, really?! Okay then…” I laughed. “Do we smelt them?”

“Yes, let’s begin. First of all, I will imbue Demonic Stigmas and Celestial Marks on your shield and then your necklace. Then, we’ll move on to upgrade Gram’s ones. Those will require a bit more time, and also, do you have monster cores?”

“A few hundred, yeah.” I nodded.

“Good, we’ll need a lot of those too.” He said. “Very well! Let us begin!”

We used the [Cherubin’s Necklace] as the sacrifice, pouring it into the celestial and demonic flames. I also poured lots of demon materials, which I had a grossly high amount of. Lastly, some of my Mana and the required energies.

After some time, large ingots were formed, dark purple and golden in color. Using these, I used my Blacksmithing Skill to smelt them and enchant the equipment with them, covering them. Once covered and enchanted, they disappeared and infused their powers into the equipment, leaving the items looking the same as before but imbued with small runic engravings.

“And it is done... Phew, that took more than an hour.” Samariel sighed in relief. “Oh, I feel somewhat stronger now.”

“Makes sense; you leveled up!”

[The [Samariel’s Ancient Forge of Sins and Virtues (SS): Lv2] Skill has Leveled Up!]

[The Skill has reached Level 3, requirement to unlock a new Facility has been meet!]

RUMBLE!

Suddenly, the entire forge shook, the small palace trembled as one of the sealed doors opened, leading a completely different area. A place with a huge black cauldron, surrounded by five more smaller cauldrons, forming a magic circle of sorts in the floor, imbued with many runic engravements.

“T-That’s… a new facility?!” I asked.

“Indeed!” Samariel laughed.

[The [Samariel’s Ancient Forge of Sins and Virtues (SS): Lv3] Skill has unlocked the Facility: [Celestial Demon Alchemical Formation]!]

[Inside of this facility, you can choose to combine and transform both items and materials together into new items imbued with Celestial and Demonic Power!]

[This way, you can get materials to further create and upgrade Celestial Marks and Demonic Stigmas, and also to obtain unique, evolved items never achievable before.]

“Amazing! With this, I won’t have to worry too much about materials, huh?”

“Yes, but I would still recommend you use materials when you have them; this facility can be used better for the evolution of equipment by giving them Celestial and Demonic powers.”

“Hm, I guess you’re not wrong.” I nodded. “Well, let’s see the equipment's new Stigmas and Marks first.”

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[Harmonious Yin Yang Dragon Heavenly Shield]

{Item Type}: [Shield] [One Handed] [Magic Item] [Martial Relic]

{Item Quality}: [SS+ Rank]

{Item Requirement}: [Master Both Light and Darkness Attributes]

{Item Durability}: [200.000/200.000]

{Item Effects}

[DEF]: [+80.000] [HP]: [+8.000] [MP]: [+4.000] [KI]: [+2.000] [STR]: [+4.000] [VIT]: [+4.000]

{Item Enchantments}

[Demonic Stigma: Blood Protection]: A Demonic Stigma imbued with the Curse that saps away the blood of the wielder through the wounds they possess or self-inflict and transforms it into further protection. All the blood you lose and absorb creates armor around your body, which can increase your Total Defenses by up to 200%. Based on the amount of Health Points you lose, the amount of Damage Negated can increase by up to 50%. Protection duration: 5 Minutes, can increase with more blood and health loss. (New!)

[Celestial Mark: Life Sacrifice]: A Celestial Mark that uses your own blood and health points as sacrifice to heal and buff others. By using your own blood and health points, you can easily heal a target from any status ailment, and quickly restore almost any wound. However, the worse the wounds are, the more blood and life will be sapped from you. Additionally, a buff of up to 10% of the target’s stats will be applied to you, the more you heal, the more buffs you can accumulate. Buff duration per target: 5 Minutes. (New!)

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First, the shield’s Stigma and Mark; they were really good and worked in tandem really well too! With Life Sacrifice I can lose all the blood and health I want and also heal friends and even get some of their stats for myself?!

And as I do that, I further reinforce my defenses and negate the damage taken. I can probably do this seamlessly without even much effort, so it’ll be some nice buffs to stack over everything else. Maybe with this, I could more easily take on SS Rank and higher threats.

Moving on, to the necklace!

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[Golden Emperor’s Family Necklace]

{Item Type}: [Accessory] [Necklace] [Martial Relic]

{Item Quality}: [S+ Rank]

{Item Requirement}: [Possess a Physique and Unlock the Ki Stat]

{Item Durability}: [10.000/10.000]

{Item Effects}

[HP]: [+4.000] [KI]: [+3.000] [STR]: [+2.000] [VIT]: [+2.000] [LUC]: [+1.500] [CHM]: [+1.500]

{Item Enchantments}

[Demonic Stigma: Demonic Torture Cultivation Technique]: A Demonic Stigma imbued with a Curse that tortures their wielder and makes them go through extreme pain, inflicting wounds over their body but that cannot kill them, sapping away their blood and Ki to further strengthen their Physique and Inner Core Foundations. Over time, more Demonic Energy and Ki can be permanently increased. Additionally, once the effects activate, you can go on a {Torturous Demon Frenzy}. The more damage you inflict on yourself, the more Damage your Martial Arts deal, imbued now with Demonic Energy. Maximum Boost: +300%. Duration: 5 Minutes. Once the frenzy time is over and you haven’t healed, you will pass out. (New!)

[Celestial Mark: Heavenly Healing Cultivation Technique]: A Celestial Mark that blesses your physique as it is activated. Can automatically heal most wounds over time. Each time any wound or pain is healed, Celestial Energy and Ki are produced permanently, further increasing your reserves over time. Additionally, once the effects activate, your body will go through {Celestial Harmony}; the more your body is healed, the more your Martial Art’s attack range increases, which is now also imbued with Celestial Energy. Maximum Boost: +200%. Duration: 5 Minutes. Once the Harmony is over, your body will become paralyzed if you don’t do any damage. (New!)

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Another two that work well together. But they’re also quite strange and different. Are these effects due to the nature of the equipment? So things such as these can affect how the Marks and Stigmas are created! I can harmonize with both techniques at the same time and boost the growth of my Demonic and Celestial Energy, as well as its maximum reserves—not something I knew was possible to begin with.

“With that, the only thing left is to upgrade your Gram; give it to me.” Samariel asked as I gave him the sword.

We placed two hundred monster cores inside the white and black flames and then fused Gram with all the compatible materials while further strengthening him with the molten ingots. With Samariel’s assistance, the upgrade of Stigma and Mark was complete.

And not only were both boosted, but also his own stats! Indeed, it seems that as Stigmas and Marks increase their Ranks, the power of the equipment that carries them also increases. Who would have known?

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[Divine Dragon Slaying Heroic Sword: Reforged Gram+]

{Item Type}: [Two-Handed Weapon] [Great Sword] [Divine Relic] [Dragon Slayer] [Demonic Weapon] [Martial Relic]

{Item Quality}: [SSS++ Rank]

{Item Requirement}: [Be Chosen By The Sword]

{Item Durability}: [150.000/150.000]

{Item Effects}

[ATK]: [+45.000] [HP]: [+5.000] [MP]: [+5.000] [STR]: [+5.000] [VIT]: [+5.000] [DEX]: [+5.000] [AGI]: [+5.000] [INT]: [+5.000] [WIS]: [+5.000] [LUC]: [+5.000] [CHM]: [+5.000]

{Item Enchantments}

[Demonic Stigma: Agonizing Power (Rank 2)]: A Demonic Stigma imbued with the Curse that saps Power from the wielder by absorbing their pain and agony. The stronger the pain they are going through, the more temporary power this Demonic Stigma will give them. By enhancing all Stats by up to +200% ->300%, Damage Dealt by up to 500% -> +600%, and Defense Ignoration by up to -50% -> -60% at their maximum pain level, buffs cannot stack but will increase. Maximum duration per buff: 30 -> 40 Seconds.

[Celestial Mark: Endearing Love (Rank 2)]: A Celestial Mark that puts to the test the love you have for others. As long as there are people you genuinely love with all your heart, you can conjure a powerful barrier to protect them from most Damage for 5 -> 6 Minutes each. Inside the barriers, your allies will recover their HP and MP 10 -> 20 times as fast. 25% -> 35% of the damage the barriers cause will be sent back to you, however. Barrier cooldown per person: 10 Minutes.

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The upgrades are really nice, and he gained five thousand more Attack, while also increasing all other stats by another thousand—not bad at all!

“Alright, we’re done here.” I smiled. “Thank you for the help, Samariel! I wish you could come with us outside, though.”

“I can’t; my existence and my birth were here.” He smiled. “But don’t worry; my purpose is fulfilled by helping you, master. Do not overthink it.”

“W-Well, if you say so.” I said. “Take care; make sure to rest!”

“I will; I am quite tired.” He quickly went to sleep. “I hope the best for you, master.”

As I left the forge, I heard someone knocking at the door.

“Anna? Are you awake? T-There’s the chairman outside the door! He’s asking for you!” My brother asked with a slightly panicked tone of voice.

“Huh?” I muttered. “Wait, the chairman?!”

[The Cosmic Throne {Golden Scales of Sunlight’s Brilliance} says he has come to pay a visit with his incarnation!]

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