The System Awakens: Rise of the Champion

Damian was specifically looking at his physical attributes and the boosts to his base physical stats provided by the numerous energies and constitutions he possessed.

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{{Physical Attributes}}

[Strength: 452 | Agility: 462 | Vitality: 622 |

Stamina: 462 | Perception: 452]

{Stat Points: 0}

{{The Ayudic Body: +150% All Attributes}}

{{The Emperor Of Nature: +350% Strength/Stamina/Agility, +600% Vitality/Perception}}

{{Instrument Of Nephilim: +150% All Attributes}}

{{Unregistered Racial Physiology: +75% All Attributes}}

{{Serpentine Golden Bones: +40% Stamina}}

{{Tejas: +30% Perception}}

Damian finally understood what the gods meant when they said his strength had reached the realm of gods.

At first, he thought they were referring to his magic or cultivation.

However, neither his cultivation nor his techniques had reached the level where he should possess power rivaling that of the gods.

Even the effectiveness of his elemental attacks wasn't at a divine level yet.

But that wasn't what the gods were referring to.

What they were talking about was his physical strength, the strength of his flesh and bones.

It was the toughness and power of his physical body that had reached the realm of gods.

The reason his body had grown so overwhelmingly powerful was due to all the energies within him.

Even before those energies merged into the balance-breaking forms and eventually into the single energy known as [Infinity Essence], they had already begun enhancing his base physical attributes to a high degree.

When Damian merged them, new energies such as [Ayuda Essence], [Nature Essence], and [Nephilim Essence] came into existence.

These energies altered his physical body thousands of times over, strengthening and tempering it again and again with their unique properties.

Even now, they continue to enhance his body without pause.

During this transformation, each of the three energies created a unique, never-before-seen constitution.

These were: [The Ayudic Body], [The Emperor of Nature], and [Instrument of Nephilim].

Each of these constitutions enhanced his base physical attributes by an insane degree.

Even the weakest of the three, [The Ayudic Body], increased his physical attributes by 150%.

[The instrument of Nephilim] further boosted his physical attributes by another 150%, and finally,

[The Emperor of Nature], a constitution formed when all nine of his elemental essences and their respective constitutions merged into one, amplified his physical power by a staggering 350%.

There was also his racial physiology, which had evolved into something entirely new, something that had never existed before.

Due to Damian becoming a High Human, High Demon, High Fallen Angel, and Noble Vampire all at once, his racial physiology transformed into a unique fusion.

Since it didn't matter to him which race he embodied, he could use all the racial abilities freely.

Each of these races came with inherent enhancements to physical attributes, and due to his unprecedented condition, all of these enhancements merged into one, creating a new unregistered racial physiology.

This unique physiology granted him an additional 75% increase to his physical attributes.

Damian's weakest attribute was his strength, which the System quantified numerically as 452.

However, his true strength could only be measured by stacking all the enhancements from his various constitutions.

By combining the boosts from [The Ayudic Body], [The Emperor of Nature], [Instrument of Nephilim], and [Unregistered Racial Physiology], the total enhancement to his physical attributes reached 725%.

If we apply that 725% enhancement to his weakest attribute, strength 452, his strength could easily surpass the 3000 mark.

And that was just his weakest stat.

His other attributes were even higher, thanks to the same enhancements.

The power boost didn't end there.

He also possessed the racial constitution [Serpentine Golden Bones], which gave a specialized 40% enhancement to his stamina.

In addition, the energy he wielded, known as [Tejas], increased his perception by another 30%.

The constitution [The Emperor of Nature] also provided a further 250 percent boost to both his perception and vitality.

And this wasn't even his final form.

He could grow even stronger by tapping into his other transformations.

At this point, his power could genuinely rival that of the gods.

Damian finally understood why the gods were so interested in him.

"Hmm, is that all you want to talk about? I've heard enough. I still don't want to become a disciple of a god. No matter how much I think about it, I definitely don't want to be under the influence of another being, especially a god. Beings who, as far as I've heard, exploit others for their own amusement and benefit," Damian said, not changing his stern expression.

"Just so you guys understand this, I have no intention of being under the influence of anyone. That includes all the gods and any being you're concerned about. So you can rest easy, I won't join the bad guys."

"It's not just that we're concerned about you joining the troublesome gods. We also want to protect you," said Brahma, the Hindu God of Creation.

"You are the first human to ever evolve into a High Human on your own, no less. And not just that, you somehow became a being who can also turn into a High Demon... and I'm guessing that's not the only race you can transform into."

Damian wasn't surprised that the gods didn't know he wasn't just a High Human and a High Demon, but also a High Fallen Angel, a High Incubus, and even a Noble Vampire.

Unlike the separate worlds where gods can see and hear everything from their own realms, inside the Tower Realms the gods don't have such authority.

When Damian showed his faction members the races he now embodies, the gods weren't watching, and they can't use their godly powers to retrieve that information from others' minds either.

The System places harsh restrictions on their abilities and power, and they're only allowed one opportunity to test someone they deem worthy of becoming their disciple.

As for how Brahma, the Hindu God of Creation, knew about him being a High Demon, that was because Damian had transformed into one during the war, which was streamed to everyone in the First Tower Realm.

Those with connections to the First Tower Realm, including gods and other special beings, can spend gold to gain access to the war stream, which is officiated by the System and available anytime.

"What's that gotta do with me being protected?" Damian asked, though he already had a pretty good idea what this might be about.

It had to do with the fact that all the races in the universe were in a state of recession, on a path toward eventual extinction.

If things continued as they had been, every race would vanish in time.

In a desperate attempt to survive, each race had been trying to increase its chances by any means necessary, boosting procreation rates, which had been rapidly declining, or trying to evolve lower-ranked members of their species into higher-ranked ones.

But nothing ever worked.

When all remaining hope was beginning to fade, a being known as Damian Ignatius began doing things thought to be impossible.

Not only did he manage to evolve into a High Human on his own, but he somehow also became a High Demon while retaining the ability to shift back into a High Human at will.

Just evolving by oneself was already thought to be impossible.

Yet Damian evolved into a Greater Human, and then into a High Human without assistance.

A being able to embody more than one race was a concept that had never even existed before.

Not even the God Kings could have imagined such a thing could be possible.

But the gods who were watching Damian realized that somehow, this being was turning the impossible into reality.

"Because you are someone who managed to evolve on your own, the answer to the threat of extinction faced by all races could be hidden within you. You might be the key to keeping the universe running," Freya, the Vanir goddess, explained.

"What's in it for you? Aren't you gods?" Damian asked with a smirk.

"Gods need mortals. We need their faith. Mortals are essential to keep life going. Without life, this entire universe will enter the path of destruction," Freya continued.

"The cycle of life can only continue if every part of the circle remains intact. If races begin vanishing through extinction, they take with them a piece of that cycle, of life and death. As gods, it is our duty to ensure that all life goes on."

"Even with the authority I hold as the goddess of fertility, I have no way to help mortals increase their rate of procreation or assist them in preventing their race from going completely extinct," Freya said.

"Not just the goddess," Brahma, the god of creation, added with a sigh. "As the god of creation, I too am helpless in this situation. And it's not just us, the entire pantheon of gods associated with the concepts of life and death has no solution to this."

"You are the first human to evolve, which means there is a way, a solution, a cure to finally stop the extinctions that now seem inevitable."