Throne Of Supreme

Chapter 277: Devil Fruit Awakening

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Blood poured into Esdeath's body as if flowing into a bottomless pit, showing no sign of reaching its limit.

Aoki frowned.

The record Akame had set earlier was broken in less than ten minutes.

But this situation was different.

Esdeath wasn't absorbing all the blood. In fact, she absorbed only a small fraction, while the majority was destroyed.

It felt as though a furnace burned within her, incinerating over 90% of the blood and leaving less than 10% to merge with her body.

Even with this fraction, the transformation of her body progressed at an agonizingly slow pace, akin to trudging through knee-deep mud.

"Is it because of her Teigu?" Aoki mused, continuing the transfusion.

Esdeath's imperial weapon, Demon's Extract, existed in the form of blood, which had already fused with her own.

Similarly, the source of demon power was also blood.

The first step in transforming a human into a demon was to alter their blood.

But between these two forces, a conflict was inevitable.

While demon blood was aggressive and had Aoki's direct support, the Demon's Essence was of a higher level.

The Demon's Essence was a three-star power, whereas demon blood was only two-and-a-half stars.

"If Esdeath resists strongly, I might not be able to transform her into a demon at all," Aoki thought, his expression remaining calm.

He had anticipated this possibility.

As the opponents he faced grew stronger, the effectiveness of demon abilities gradually diminished. Creating demons was no exception.

Each world operated under its own set of rules.

While demons were not immensely powerful, their immortality made them unique. However, the weight of a two-star being versus a four-star being was vastly different.

The rules of the world clearly did not allow powerful individuals to attain immortality so easily.

Esdeath was only at the three-star level. If she were a four-star or five-star powerhouse, even with full cooperation, transforming her into a demon might have been impossible.

After transfusing nearly a hundred liters of blood, Aoki finally sensed Esdeath reaching her limit.

"Good thing I can regenerate, or I'd have collapsed from exhaustion before finishing the transformation," Aoki thought wryly.

Just as this thought crossed his mind, a system notification echoed in his head.

["The Supreme of a Realm" mission completed. Rewards distributed.]

[Congratulations, you have leveled up!]

[Congratulations, you have leveled up!]

[Congratulations, you have leveled up!]

[Congratulations, you have leveled up!]

[Congratulations, you have leveled up!]

Aoki glanced at Esdeath.

"As expected, the final progress hinged on her."

To become the strongest in a world, one needed to gain recognition from that world.

Defeating the previous strongest and earning their acknowledgment seemed to be a crucial part of that process.

It turned out his hypothesis was correct.

Aoki paused briefly, opened the system interface, and skillfully allocated his attribute points. Then, he turned his attention to the Spirit of Nature panel.

He had accumulated 17 free skill points.

During the ring challenges, he had also gained experience—small amounts per fight, but they added up over time.

In total, he had earned nearly 3,000 experience points from the challenges, leveling up twice to reach level 27.

The 15,000 experience points rewarded by the Supreme of a Realm mission allowed him to level up five times in one go, pushing him to level 32.

The level of Spirit of Nature now surpassed Infinite Dragon Beast and reached level 32.

Without hesitation, Aoki chose to unlock and learn the level 4 skill of Spirit of Nature.

When a profession exceeded level 30, level 4 skills became available.

As soon as he made his choice, Aoki's aura surged, and he involuntarily entered the Nature Spirit Form again.

This time, however, a ring of white, flame-like clouds appeared behind him, enhancing his already ethereal and majestic presence.

Kurome, seeing that the battle had concluded, was about to approach. However, upon witnessing the scene before her, she froze, her eyes widening in shock.

Aoki's aura had transformed, becoming far more potent than before. The sacred and majestic energy radiating from him had doubled, making him appear like a supreme deity descending upon the world.

Aoki stood silently, taking a moment to feel the surge of power coursing through him.

"Is this the awakening of the Devil Fruit?" he murmured to himself.

Previously, the power he had absorbed from others through Devouring could not be awakened. But the Nature Spirit Form of the Human-Human Fruit was a Devil Fruit he had consumed directly, making it fundamentally different.

This upgrade had brought improvements far beyond his expectations.

First: Attributes

All four of his attributes had increased by 15 points.

Comparing the two four-star classes, Nature Spirit now had 60 more attribute points than Infinite Dragon Beast.

Second: Body Structure

It was well-known that after awakening, users of animal-type abilities gained immense vitality and regenerative capabilities.

The Nature Spirit Form of the Human-Human Fruit was no exception.

More significantly, Aoki was no longer restricted by vital points. Even if his heart were destroyed, it could regenerate.

This ability, already formidable on its own, became overwhelmingly powerful when combined with the demon's regenerative capabilities, elevating him to an almost indestructible state.

Third: Control of Natural Forces

Previously, controlling a natural force required direct physical contact.

Now, he could extend his influence remotely, using one natural force as a medium to control another.

For instance, he could manipulate water through the earth's force or summon lightning through the wind's force.

Even more astonishing, he could now control multiple natural forces simultaneously.

While increasing his defense with the earth's power, he could enhance his offense with the power of lightning.

Theoretically, there was no upper limit to the number of natural forces he could command.

However, each force had unique characteristics. Controlling one was straightforward, but when two or more were involved, conflicts between the forces became evident.

This increased the operational difficulty exponentially and drastically heightened energy consumption.

How to balance these forces would depend on the specific circumstances of each battle.

"This upgrade is nothing short of a complete transformation," Aoki thought, his eyes gleaming with newfound confidence.

With a simple thought, a peculiar seed appeared in his hand. The seed, no larger than a thumb, glowed softly with a green light.

Merely holding it, he could feel the surrounding air grow fresher and more vibrant.

This was the final reward from the Supreme of a Realm mission: the Seed of Nature.

Aoki gazed at the seed, lost in thought.

The Seed of Nature was intrinsically tied to the Nature Spirit.

In essence, the seed's primary function was to create a special area—a natural domain where nature spirits could receive buffs, significantly enhancing their overall abilities.

It was an exceptional tool for establishing a sanctuary or base.

However, Aoki's circumstances made it less appealing. With his constant travels between worlds, it was impractical for him to remain in one place for long.

Still, there was one aspect of the seed that intrigued him.

The description of the Seed of Nature mentioned its ability to transform any environment into a natural area, regardless of its original state.

This raised a tantalizing question: could it transform his alien space?

Currently, his alien space was too barren and monotonous.

He had considered farming there, but whenever he traveled to a new world, everything within it would die.

However, the Miraculous Tree—a product of the system—had shown that items created by the system were unaffected by dimensional travel.

"If the seed can indeed reshape the alien space, it might solve that problem," Aoki thought, a faint smile forming on his lips as possibilities began to unfold in his mind.