Chapter 141: Black Light Awakening Progress: 10%!

Novak's eyes opened calmly.

However, in those eyes, there were no whites or any trace of pupils, as if the entire eye socket had been hollowed out. All that remained was a deep, unsettling darkness. 

But soon, a thin wisp of black and red mist slowly emerged from that void. Moments later, bewitching red eyes began to form within the darkness.

Novak exhaled softly and glanced at the time. This time, his breakthrough into awakening had occurred much faster than the last. But that made sense—he had just progressed by 10% in his awakening, compared to only 1% the previous time.

The first adaptation to the overwhelming power of the Blacklight Virus took significantly longer. This time, his body seemed to adjust more readily, though a faint soreness still lingered in his cells and blood. The sensation of his body rapidly evolving, of power surging within him, was almost intoxicating, and for a brief moment, Novak found it difficult to remain in control.

He continued to lie on the bed, allowing himself to absorb the new changes coursing through his body. As he adjusted to the power, he began reviewing the evolution of the Blacklight Virus.

[Blacklight Virus: Initial Awakening. Current awakening level: 10%. Next evolution +1% awakening progress. Required evolution points for upgrade: 20 points! Evolution points can be consumed to unlock other evolutionary branches of the Blacklight Virus.]

[Attributes: Strength +150, Agility +150, Constitution +150, Spirit +120, Life Recovery Rate +500%!]

(Note: The current level does not guarantee perfect control of the Blacklight Virus. Further progress can be achieved after completing a class change.)

The increase in his attributes was astonishing, though Novak knew that the true power of the Blacklight Virus extended far beyond just raw numbers. At this level, the virus' potential couldn't be summed up by mere stat boosts.

Now that he had reached 10% evolution, Novak could see new, shadowy options appearing within the talent branches of the virus. The talent tree had expanded further, unlocking additional abilities that could now be awakened.

Novak focused his consciousness on these new abilities, and immediately, several talent branches came into view:

[Air Sprint: Allows the user to jump and sprint mid-air using their power. The speed is influenced by Agility and Constitution. Activation requires 50 evolution points.]

[Phagocytic Camouflage: Muscle cells can be manipulated to shapeshift into any humanoid form that has been consumed. Activation requires 50 evolution points and the 'Combat Intuition' ability.]

[Hot Pursuit: Enables the user to perceive and track any living being via the Blacklight Virus. Activation requires 50 evolution points.]

[Claw Form: The Blacklight Virus condenses, transforming the hands into deadly claws. While in this form, Agility receives a +50% boost. The claws are incredibly sharp but prevent the use of any hand-held equipment or weapons. Activation requires 75 evolution points and the prior activation of 'Wall-Walking', 'Spirit Speed', 'Battle Intuition', 'Air Sprint', and 'Hot Pursuit'.]

[???: ?????] (Unlocked after completing a class change.)

"Hiss..." 

Even though Novak had been mentally prepared, he couldn't help but draw in a sharp breath.

The enhancement brought by the Blacklight Virus was truly astounding, designed to amplify combat power to the maximum. Each of these abilities would significantly improve his fighting capabilities, especially the Claw Form.

The claw transformation was an incredibly powerful ability. A 50% boost to the virus' already formidable Agility stats was game-changing. Based on his current attributes, unlocking the Claw Form would increase his Agility by 75 points instantly.

However, there was a drawback. In Claw Form, he wouldn't be able to equip hand-held gear or weapons. That wasn't too concerning, though, as his zombie glove had recently been upgraded.

Still, compared to the Biochemical Disaster, it was clear that the Claw Form had a greater potential for growth over time.

In the future, its potential will only grow stronger.

Fortunately, the Biochemical Disaster skill can evolve into a Horcrux through killing!

Once it becomes a Horcrux, there will be no need to worry about it any further.

Of course, Novak understood that he was probably overthinking things at the moment. The unlocking conditions for the Claw Form were very stringent, and since it wasn't something he urgently needed, there was no rush to unlock it right away.

With that thought, Novak focused his attention on his evolution points again.

Just a moment ago, he had increased his evolution rate from 8% to 9%, which required 19 evolution points. And, as expected, moving from 9% to 10% cost even more—consuming a total of 25 points!

Now that his evolution was complete, Novak was left with 160 evolution points. This might have seemed like a large amount compared to what he had before, but after seeing how much it would cost to unlock his new abilities, he no longer felt quite so rich or powerful.

Without hesitation, he used the evolution points. In a flash, his total dropped to just 10 points!

He unlocked AirSprint, Phagocytic Camouflage, and Hot Pursuit—all three new talents!

As the Blacklight Virus feedback information about these new abilities, Novak exhaled deeply. 

With his awakening progress now at 10%, the enhancements in his attributes and skills put him at a level far beyond most. While he couldn't claim to be invincible, he was confident that, at this stage, no one could surpass his abilities—not even those who had undergone SSS-tier career changes!

From this moment on, he would dedicate himself entirely to advancing this power. It was urgent.

But something still puzzled him—why did the Blacklight Virus retain a gene-locked talent that required a career change to fully unlock and control?

As an SSS-tier ability, and one clearly designed for combat, could there still be mysteries he had yet to uncover?

Novak didn't know, but he was certain that everything would be revealed after his career change. He just hoped that when the time came, he wouldn't be disappointed.

Having adapted to the changes and the surge of power within his body, Novak got up from the bed. For now, he wasn't in a rush to test out his three new abilities. 

In comparison, the construction of White Emperor City seemed like a more urgent priority at this moment.