[Correction: Great Sage is no more. Currently, I am Wisdom Lord Raphael.] The familiar voice rang in his mind, making Akira pause for a moment. Akira keenly noticed that Raphael, unlike Great Sage, didn't seem as emotionless as she claimed to be.
The feeling of ignition from not wanting to be called the wrong name clearly shows some emotion. It seems he will also be able to have his own Manas in the future.
Thinking of getting a super-capable assistant in the future, Akira was in a very good mood. But his good didn't last long when Raphael poured cold water on his fantasy.
[Report Master's evolution has been completed. Unfortunately, due to insufficient sacrifice, Master couldn't awaken as a Demon Lord. ]
Hearing this, Akira's good mood vanished. He felt he had been cheated. You know the reason why he used Rimuru's devouring ability is to start his evolution and awaken as a demon lord. But now you are saying that he only managed to evolve, but not awaken. This is simply unacceptable for Akira.
One must know that for this ceremony, he even sacrificed the soul of an ancient god slayer. If even such a great quality soul is not enough, then Akira didn't know what else was needed for him to awaken.
Could it be that he needs to massacre humans just like what Rimuru did?. But if he dared to do that, he knew he would be no better than those monsters like Deliora.
Just as Akira was sulking over this behavior, the ever-helpful Raphael came to the rescue.
[ Ding sacrifices for the ceremony have been detected. Do you wish to continue the ceremony? ]
"Hmm, hey Raphael, who are the sacrifices you are talking about?" Akira asked, puzzled. There doesn't seem to be anything that could be used as sacrifices for his awakening.
[Ding, the corpses of the one god and demon have been detected to be enough for the ceremony. Do you wish to sacrifice them to continue the awakening ceremony? ]
"Oh, sure, if it was just those two, then please be my guest," Akira said after some thought. He actually didn't care much about these corpses or for what purpose the god of darkness even kept them. After all, with the resentment accumulated over these years, it would really be a tough nut to even refine any artifacts from them. And since he had already devoured them, it didn't seem that wrong to use them for his awakening. Heck, he even thought Great Sage must have used them as sacrifices.
But just sacrificing them is very wasteful. After all, those corpses contain a lot of secrets and abilities one would convert.
And just as Akira was about to voice his thoughts, Raphael once again was one step ahead of him.
[Analyzing the two corpses… Analysis complete. Proceeding to continue the awakening ceremony. The number of sacrifices has been met. ]
At this moment, with Akira at the center, a vast, bottomless aura once again descended into the world. And unlike the previous aura, which had the feeling of wanting to devour everything, this aura gives a person the feeling of seeing a king.
But this aura was quickly suppressed by Akira with the help of Raphael. At this moment, Akira was in a very good mood. He even felt like beating the Council and taking over their treasures.
And Akira wasn't joking when he said this. With his new power as an awakened demon lord, he truly could do this. One must know that in the Tensura world, becoming an awakened demon lord is when they truly get to flex their powers.
Don't look at how he got both Lord of Gluttony and Lord of Wisdom before. Without actually stepping into the realm of an awakened demon lord, he actually couldn't utilize the full power of these ultimate skills.
For one, it is because the strain needed to use these two ultimate skills is too much for a low-level species. The only way to effectively use ultimate skills is after evolving into a high-level species. Otherwise, before one could even use 40% of the power of the ultimate skill, he would be crushed due to the power of the laws.
And secondly, without awakening the consumption needed to use two ultimate skills, it would be impossible for one to bear. You must know that even for Akira, with his ridiculous amount of magic power, he almost couldn't finish devouring, as his magic power was about to run out. Had it not been for the fact that he managed to devour and digest the God of Darkness and start his evolution, he would have been done for.
Thankfully, everything went smoothly; otherwise, Akira would really have to contemplate life. Just having the incomplete Anos form is already driving him mad. If an incomplete Rimuru form was added, Akira would really want to drop everything and lock himself in his lab.
'Speaking of which, Raphael, which race did I evolve into now?' Akira asked as he began to feel his body.
Although his outward appearance didn't seem to change much, other than his hair turning a bit darker blue, Akira could tell that his physical strength seemed to be 10 times more powerful. His mana pool has also stretched at least 7 times. This meant that his magic power is at the level of a heavenly king.
[Notice Master has now evolved into the high-level species Demonic Dragon Slime.] Raphael spoke and provided some information about this species to Akira.
After digesting these details, Akira had to say that he really struck gold this time. Although this species only has an extra dragon character in its name compared to Rimuru's evolved form, the difference between these two species is heaven's apart. For example, the racial skills alone are enough to show the gap.
"Raphael, can you optimize my existing skills and upgrade them, please?" Akira said as a rather bold idea began to form in his mind. If he really could do that, that would be too cool.
[ Command accepted, ] Raphael said as she went to work.
While Raphael was working, Akira finally began to observe his surroundings. It would be better if he didn't do as he saw Master Makarov and Sera lying on the ground unconscious.
"Sera, Master!" Akira shouted as he ran forward. He completely ignored everything else and began to frantically call out to Raphael, "Raphael, stop everything and check on what happened to these two and heal them."
[Command accepted.] Running Analysis ]
Raphael's words rang as black smoke came out of Akira's hand. This black smoke covered both Sera and Makarov for a second and receded back to Akira's body.
[Analysis complete. Target Sera has suffered some minor injuries and can be cured with minor healing potions. Target Makarov, however, seems to have suffered serious injuries along with the reemergence of his past hidden injuries. ]
'Damn it,' Akira cursed, hearing Raphael's report. It seems if he didn't do anything, Master Makarov may be forced to retire early.
Hell, if Akira didn't do anything, then this old man may even be forced to give up magic. And the worst thing is, Akira still doesn't know any powerful healing magic. The knowledge he learned from Porlyusica can barely suppress such injuries; otherwise, Grandmother Porlyusica would have cured Master Makarov already, and even Ultear's time magic is also useless, as Akira can't rewind someone's time in years.
"Wait, Raphael, can I use my slime body to heal Master Makarov's injuries?" Akira asked, remembering how Rimuru had used his own slime body to heal Zegion.
[Possible] Raphael said after some simulation.
"Good, Raphael, then use my slime body as a base and reconstruct Master Makarov's body and heal this old man," Akira said as he placed his hand on Makarov's chest.
Then Akira's hand began to melt, and in an instant, it covered Makarov immediately. This went on for some time until Akira took back his hand, which had returned back to normal.
As for Makarov, all his injuries, along with the hidden ones in his body, were completely cured. Had it not been for the battered clothes, no one would have known that this old man was seriously injured a few minutes ago.
Seeing that Makarov was fine, Akira breathed a sigh of relief and slumped on the floor. He felt really tired now. He should probably stop taking quests for a while.
****
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