Almond didn’t kill the monsters and just sucked them with the syringe. If they were any weaker, they would’ve died with the spirit syringes, but fortunately, they didn’t.
He wanted to remain 10 levels lower than the Heroic Challenge boss to get better rewards.
After returning to the Quartet Plaza, Almond sat down and looked at the third skill of his specialized class.
His first skill — Divine Divider’s Harvest was not an offense-type skill. It was a utility type. He could divide attributes and use them on himself.
His second skill — Espada Ad Grimveil also wasn’t an offense-type but a super support-type with his explored techniques within this domain.
1—Rift Displacement: Severe a space and displace it.
2—Spatial Severing: Sever the space while maintaining a connection between severed space or displace the connections.
3—Absolute Severing: Sunder everything you are able to perceive. Stay connected with empire
But they didn’t deal direct damage, not even the Absolute Severing, because even though he could sunder everything with it, it was only that. It didn’t reduce vitality or deal damage; it just sundered the target aimed by him from the target’s body space while severing the connection between severed parts.
As such, he thought about this third skill after creating the 4th technique to use in the Espada Ad Grimveil.
He could perceive space within this domain of Grimveil, and he wanted to sever it completely to create a slash-shaped rift in space, but also make it such that it wouldn’t screw everything due to its powerful suction force.
They also disappeared quickly as space mended itself, and he couldn’t prevent it without wasting mana.
So, he learned the connection aspect of his class and attained a better understanding of it, allowing him to create the 4th technique—Voidbound Rift.
He could create rifts of space, and he connected their exits with each other, so it was like there were no rifts in his domain at all. They were there physically and visually, but their effects weren’t affecting the material plane because it was directly going out in the spatial plane.
He could make them appear behind a target and make their exits face the target, which even though wouldn’t suck the target inside because the maximum size of rift he could create was less than half a meter, and people could also resist it using their skill and mana to escape. It was just that, a suction force.
As such, Almond wanted to deal actual powerful damage, so he created his third specialized class skill to make up for that, which offensively uses Voidbound Rifts….in a highly freaking offensive way!
The idea was to explore the concept of his Rift and Veil in a raw way. To encompass the voidbound rifts, to superimpose them, and then turn them into a spatial blade of absolute destruction. He could also enchant it with his Golden Haze Lightning, making it more powerful.
And most importantly, he could prepare for this attack beforehand while in his domain, and recover his Mana before using it.
In short, this attack could unleash the culmination of the Riftveil Grimblade’s severing and connecting power into a single, devastating attack as the skill condenses severed space and voidbound rifts into a destructive void entity—a cataclysmic rift blade.
And named this skill—Unveiled Catastrophe.
[Unveiled Catastroph]
-Rank: Legendary
-Cost: Temporarily reducing Perception and Focus by 20% due to strain and deactivating Espada Ad Grimveil for one hour + 50% of maximum Mana.
-Phase 1: Void Veil.
—> Condenses all severed space connections and spatial rifts within the domain into a single point within a Void Veil.
-Phase 2: Catastrophic Strike.
—> The Void Veil transforms into a blade shaped by the user. The blade’s power is increased proportionally to the amount of space severed and the number of Voidbound Rifts condensed within Void Veil during Phase 1. The power of the blade can cut through both physical and ethereal entities, dealing pure destructive void damage.
This Unveiled Catastrophe skill was the embodiment of devastation, turning the delicate art of spatial severing and connecting within his Espada Ad Grimveil into a weapon of pure destruction. It combined his ability to perceive and manipulate space with pure offensive force, creating a spectacle of unparalleled annihilation.
But Almond needed to be careful because he had tried to use this one time, and it was hard to control, especially in Phase 2.
He could increase the blade’s size up to no limit, as it was based on the amount of space he severed and the number of Voidbound Rifts, though he could only use this skill within the domain of his Espada Ad Grimveil so that ultimately decided the maximum limit.
Naturally, condensing the blade to make it smaller increased its power even more, though it also made it harder to control than it already was.
Carelessness during this skill could actually lead to his own death. That was how powerful this skill was.
So Almond needed to practice it, but only in his mind, in a mini version by using the principles of this skill.
Since he created the skill, he knew the principles behind it. He expanded his Espada Ad Grimveil 20 meters around him and created six Voidbound Rifts, each one 2 centimeters long, and connected their exits to each other.
The pitch black rends in the shape of eyes looked ominous, even though they were small. Almond had wondered where they led to and had tried to send a string of his Force Field inside, but it was instantly severed, and he got a stinging headache briefly.
Shaking his head, he didn’t think about the mystery of the void in the spatial layer and continued with his control practice.
An hour passed by swiftly as everyone was fully absorbed in the training.
Maya and Natalia showed their improved skills and they worked pretty well this time, completely locking Galvaren for over two seconds at the cost of their entire Mana pool.
Marcus also got better at using his item set’s effects more efficiently and properly for maximum defense.
Lily improved everything of hers combat-related as Galvaren was a tough fighter.
And so, the preparations were done.
After checking out everyone’s improved state, Almond told them to take five minutes of meditation to recover fully before the group finally placed the items on the four pedestals.
[Your party is qualified for Heroic Challenge mode. Do you wish to proceed with the Heroic Challenge Floor Boss fight?]
As everyone got the notification, something else also appeared—a magical stair leading towards a door that appeared at the end of the stairs mid-air.
Everyone was ready and answered the notification, filled with thrill, tension, and excitement.
[All party members have agreed. Please proceed to the stairs and enter the floor boss zone. From hereon, you are not allowed to leave the labyrinth until you defeat the Heroic Challenge boss.]
As everyone climbed the stairs and entered through the dreamy door, they arrived on open ground, a vast concrete terrace with a hazy crimson moon in the sky.
[The heroic challenge boss will spawn in 1 minute.]
Almond summoned his spirit wraiths.
It was time to absolutely crush the floor boss according to the plan….or so everyone hoped.