Jack needed data.
Instinctively, his thoughts reached out. And the familiar system interface shimmered into existence before his vision.
[CHARACTER STATUS]
[Name: Jack Night]
[Incarnation Type: Archfiend]
[Persona: Jack Deathspark]
[Race: Black Buto]
[Class: -]
[Archetype: Supernatural Entity]
[Power Source: Spirit of Judgement]
[Attributes: Physique (91) Mysticism (37) Passion (88) Essence (99)]
[Karma: Positive]
[System Sight Modes: Information Panel; Fear Detection; Aura Detection; Karma Detection]
[Supernatural Traits: Mysterious Dream; Mysterious Lullaby; Mysterious Control; Mysterious Mirror World; Mysterious Fragrance; Incarnation Shift; Grootslang's Gemstone Detection]
[Permanent Traits: Mysterious Survival Sense; Mysterious Nature; Devourer Physique]
[Status Effect: -]
[Personal Artifact: Judgement Warhammer, Naraka Armor, Nine-Anchor Portal Ring, Artifact Seeds (2)]
Jack processed the information. He focused on the Incarnation Type first. Archfiend. He recalled the previous description for 'Fiend'.
[Incarnation Type: Fiend. A supernatural being driven by a single overwhelming addictive desire. Only by fulfilling this desire continuously can it enhance its passion attribute. It is usually considered malevolent in nature, as it preys on souls to strengthen its physical attribute.]
Now, Archfiend. The panel expanded.
[Incarnation Type: Archfiend. An advanced form of Fiend. Driven by a dominant, consuming obsession that fuels its power. Fulfillment of this obsession provides significant boosts to Physique and Passion, and minor increases to Mysticism and Essence. Failure to satisfy this obsession leads to rapid deterioration. Archfiends exert a powerful influence on their surroundings. Though often perceived as malevolent due to their nature, their alignment is dictated by their obsession and actions.]
Okay. 'Advanced form'. 'Consuming obsession'. 'Significant boosts'. 'Rapid deterioration' if he failed. That sounded... high maintenance.
And the previous bit about preying on souls only mentioned Physique. While Archfiend mentioned boosts to all attributes. Albeit minor ones for Mysticism and Essence.
The 'influence on surroundings' part was vague but potentially useful. The alignment note was interesting. His actions, not just his inherent nature, determined his Karma. Makes sense.
Jack observed the [Persona: Jack Deathspark]. That was the one tied to the draugr. The Grim Reaper façade. It didn't seem to fit his current form.
"Change persona." He thought. He looked at the Judgement Warhammer in his hand and said... "Make it: Judge Jack."
The entry [Persona: Jack Deathspark] blurred and was replaced with [Persona: Judge Jack].
Next, the [Race: Black Buto]. The description appeared when he focused on it.
[Race: Black Buto. A formidable Raksasha subspecies. Endowed with incredible physical resilience and strength. Black Butos are dominated by an insatiable hunger, a manifestation of the sin of Gluttony. This hunger is not merely for sustenance but for a specific 'Target of Gluttony' which provides unique benefits upon consumption. Their forms are typically large, powerful, and imposing, often featuring dark, hardened skin and mouth full of sharp teeth.]
Gluttony. Right. The sheer, oppressive hunger he now felt wasn't metaphorical. It was a demanding itch in his very being. This explained the 'consuming obsession' of the Archfiend type. His Archfiend nature was being expressed through his Black Buto race's inherent Gluttony.
As if on cue, a bright notification box flashed. Overlaying the status panel.
[System Notification: Black Buto requires a 'Target of Gluttony'.]
[Pick a target of Gluttony obsession for the Black Buto!]
[Consuming the target will rapidly recover your damaged physique.]
[Consuming the target will slightly increased your permanent attributes.]
[Consuming the target will give you temporary 'Invincible' status effect.]
[Not consuming the target for a month will give you temporary 'Starving' status effect.]
[Target Choices:]
[Normal Human]
[Transcendent Human]
[Hostile Beast]
[Supernatural Creature]
[Otherworld Creature]
Jack read the list. A grim calculation running through his mind. Consume humans? Absolutely not.
Although he was not entirely human, he used to be one. And one of his incarnation was human. He would not be a cannibal. Eating human violated his sense of decency on a fundamental level.
Supernatural Creature? Otherworld Creature? How often was he going to encounter those? Picking that sounded like a recipe for constant 'Starving' status. And rapidly deteriorating power.
Hostile Beast. Not just any beast, but the hostile one. That was the only practical, morally acceptable option to him. The world was full of vicious beasts. Things that actively wanted to kill everything else.
Consuming them fit perfectly with his brand of destructive justice. He selected [Hostile Beast] without hesitation.
[Target of Gluttony selected: Hostile Beast.]
The notification vanished. He returned to the attributes.
[Attributes: Physique (91) Mysticism (37) Passion (88) Essence (99)]
He mentally pulled up the last known stats for his Draugr form. The one he'd inhabited right before this transformation.
[Attributes: Physique (72) Mysticism (35) Passion (66) Essence (99)]
The difference was stark. Physique jumped nineteen points. Passion ballooned by twenty-two points. Mysticism went up two points. And Essence remained capped at 99.
Physique made sense – the Buto was a physical powerhouse. Passion... well, he was no longer undead. And there was that definition... 'overwhelming addictive desire'.
It was a massive power increase. Undeniably. The downside was the new, monthly devouring requirement.
He scrolled down to Karma.
[Karma: Positive]
Positive? What the hell? He wasn't running around being a paragon of virtue. He'd done some good deeds once in a while. But 'Positive'? Whatever. As long as it didn't hinder his abilities. He didn't care much about the label.
The next new entry was the new [Permanent Trait: Devourer Physique]. He focused on it.
[Permanent Trait: Devourer Physique. The physical form is inherently capable of consuming and processing almost any organic or inorganic material. Consumption provides sustenance and can fuel regeneration. Highly resistant to internal harmful effects; poisons, diseases, and curses within consumed objects are neutralized and cannot affect the user's body.]
Any material? Organic or inorganic? So he could eat rocks? Metal? Not just the Target of Gluttony? This trait seemed to tie into the Black Buto's Gluttony. Giving him a wider diet.
There were also practical benefits like regeneration and immunity to harmful substances from what he consumed. This was incredibly useful. Especially in unknown or dangerous environments. It made the 'Hostile Beast' consumption feel less like a necessary evil. And more like a feature.
Finally, his artifacts. His equipment. These had changed too. The Grim Reaper gear was gone. Replaced by items fitting his new, infernal appearance.
[Personal Artifact: Judgement Warhammer, Naraka Armor, Nine-Anchor Portal Ring, Artifact Seeds (2)]
He examined the Judgement Warhammer.
[Judgement Warhammer. An legendary weapon dealing catastrophic concussive and spiritual damage with each strike. It possesses inherent truth-seeking properties, making it exceptionally effective against illusions, enchantments, and creatures attempting deceit. While devastating against physical defenses, its true power manifests against magical barriers and constructs, shattering them with righteous force. Inflicts a 'Sentenced' status effect, hindering magical ability and amplifying damage from subsequent attacks based on the target's accumulated negative Karma.]
This was much better than the scythe. Particularly against magic. Legendary weapon sounded powerful. And the features... 'Truth-seeking'. 'Shattering Magical Barriers'. 'Inflicting Sentenced Effect' based on negative Karma... This weapon was built for his purpose.
It sounded less like a tool of indiscriminate death. And more like a divine, or perhaps infernal, instrument of retribution. It fit. He could feel its weight in his grasp.
Now the armor. Naraka Armor. Naraka, the term meaning 'Hell' in several cultures. This should be powerful.
[Naraka Armor. An legendary primordial armor providing incredible defense against both physical and magical attacks. It possesses potent regenerative capabilities, allowing the wearer's physical form to rapidly heal from grievous wounds, including restoring blood, vitality, and life force. It radiates an aura of dread that can weaken foes.]
Okay. This was a significant upgrade from the Grim Reaper Attire. And unlike the Attire, it regenerated blood, vitality, or life force. Definitely useful. Especially since he no longer had the undead physique in this form.
Naraka Armor had incredible defense, regenerated everything, and even had a dread aura. This was serious protection. And it sounded appropriately terrifying. Like something dragged up from hell itself.
The Nine-Anchor Portal Ring and the two Artifact Seeds remained unchanged. The seeds were potential future gear. And the ring.. It reminded him that he could use this as his reliable escape method from this realm.
He pulled back from the status panel. And looked down at the remnants of the Blazing Pterosaur. Its whole corpse lying in a heap nearby.
An instinctive urge, a primal hunger, surged through him. It used to be a Hostile Beast. His Target of Gluttony. He wanted to devour it. To consume its essence. To absorb its power.
Jack didn't rein the urge. He wanted to check his ability to devour targets after all.
Instinctively Jack opened his mouth wide. The carcass of the Blazing Pterosaur seemed to turn into black shadow. And then broke into tiny drops of liquid shadow.
A powerful suction energy created a strong absorbing whirlwind that drew the drops to his mouth. In just a few seconds, every single drops of black shadow disappeared into Jack's mouth. Absorbed. Digested.
He could feel his three attributes significantly improved. Physique and Passion improved a lot. Mysticism also improved. Not as much though.
Jack opened his status panel. Checked his attributes again.
[Attributes: Physique (91) Mysticism (39) Passion (88) Essence (99)]
There was no change in Physique and Passion. Although he was sure that his Pysique and Passion improved a lot.
But Mysticism increased two points despite receiving much less improvement. It seemed that the higher the attributes, the harder it could be increased.
Anyway, he was a Black Buto Archfiend now.
His task hadn't finished. Or had it?
He looked at the floating mini-sun. The Divine Primordial Fire. It was much weaker now. Warm. No longer blazing hot.
He tried to touch it. But his hand passed through it as if it was just illusion.
Jack knitted his brow in deep thought. It would probably be better to check the situation outside first. He could adjust his subsequent actions better after confirming the situation.
But he couldn't go out in this form. It would just cause problems.
It was time for Jack Mystery to be back in action.