CHAPTER 100:

The amount of undistributed looted stats I obtained from these monsters was around 15,000 and combined with the ones I already had, it totaled around 40,000.

If not for the 1st Universe Limit that was hindering my overall stats in from exceeding 1000, my overall stat count would have reached thrice my current amount of 830; i.e, 2490, which meant I would have been as strong as a Low-Phase Tier-5 lifeform.

(Author note: You might ask, 'Why couldn't Jay use all 40,000 Looted stats in and grow stronger?' The answer to why he could only increase it to thrice the amount of overall stats in was because that was the limitation of mode.) (E/N: Author forgot to mention that this was explained a while ago)

At that point, whenever I entered mode, I would literally have been invincible in the Alpha Program.

But since that's not going to happen anytime soon, I stopped daydreaming about it and focussed on the skill that caught my attention.

________________

Lv.22 (Rare Grade): Enables the user to alter the size of one's own body, ranging within the height of 12 centimeters (~5 inches) to 12 meters (~40 feet).

Cost: 30 Spirit Energy.

Duration: 30 minutes.

Cooldown: 1 hour.

________________

It was from an ant-type Tier-3 monster that I had killed at the end. Without hesitation, I merged with it and more detailed knowledge about it flowed into my mind.

If not for the state of harmony, I would have laughed with glee, because with this skill, I could remain in my original size even after entering mode.

According to MJ, the reason why my body became so huge whenever I enter mode, was because of the side effect that was caused by the sudden increase of stats that didn't match my 'Grade-2 Physique'.

'Physique' was something that one would attain by undergoing tier evolution, and it increased the survivability of a lifeform down to a cellular level.

I have a 'Grade-2 physique' because I finished the Tier-2 Evolution, and due to that, one would have an easier time surviving harsher environmental conditions.

That was why, even when Dante and I entered a trial zone that had an environment that was hard for humans to survive, we only found it uncomfortable, and could make do with increasing the oxygen content in air.

If it had been Olivia, Brandon, or Sergei, in our position, they wouldn't even have broken a sweat, even in the high temperature environment and could also survive at freezing cold temperatures, because all three of them had undergone Tier-3 Evolution and attained a 'Grade-3 Physique', which gave them a higher survivability.

Even though the 'Grade-2 Physique' couldn't be compared to the 'Grade-3 Physique,' it still was nothing to scoff at, because as long as one has it, they wouldn't be susceptible to regular diseases anymore.

If a global virus pandemic had taken place after earth's assimilation with the system, it would have been a walk in the park for humanity to overcome it with just this 'Physique' alone.

If it were anyone else, their body would have exploded, but in my case, the sudden increase was caused by the looted stats, making me invulnerable to the damage caused by their sudden usage, because my Innate Talent protected me, though it didn't reduce the pain.

After merging with , I activated it right away, causing my body to shrink visibly, and in just a matter of seconds, I had retained my original body size.

Although the process was painful, that was nowhere near the pain I usually experienced from entering mode.

Before activating it, I had pulled out a few Grade-3 Spirit fruits and Stamina fruits from the storage space.

In front of my massive size, those standard fist-sized fruits had looked like small pills. So, I had just thrown them into my mouth and gobbled them down at once, recovering my Spirit Energy and Stamina to their peak in a matter of seconds.

Returning to my original size didn't affect the mode, so I still had silver hair with bolts of Origin Energy flashing through it, and my Irises were still silver.

After confirming that there weren't any debuffs to my attributes after shrinking, I returned to where Storm Eagle MJ and Dante were at.

Ignoring Dante, who had his mouth wide open from the one-sided massacre, I glanced at the dead bodies of seven Low-Phase Tier-3 monsters that had approached from Earth's trial zone.

With his overall stats at 830, Storm Eagle MJ is as strong as a peak High-Phase Tier-3 monster, so it took less than a minute to deal with those monsters.

As for the hole in the barrier, it was reduced to the size of a two story apartment and it would only take a minute or two to fully recover.

Looking at the scene in front of me, I was immersed in my thoughts. Since the only way I had to enter other trial zones was by using Origin Energy, it meant that I could only enter a few other trial zones.

This was because I was only able to use Origin Energy when I enter mode and since my overall stats in was 830, it meant I would only be able to enter mode 16 more times before my overall stats in catch up to overall stats in .

Furthermore, the duration of mode was only 25 minutes and each trial zone was 100 kms (62 miles) wide.

Even if I were to activate & , which boosts my Strength and Agility attributes respectively by 25%, for 10 minutes, it would take 10 minutes of running at full speed to cross such distance.

That means, everytime I enter mode, I would only be able to cross two trial zones. I hoped to find the Arch spirit fruit within the nearby trial zones.

While I was contemplating about this, MJ suggested something interesting. To see if it really works, I placed my palm on the barrier, just beside the broken part and used Stage-3 to create my own Rule barrier within the hole of the system barrier.

To my surprise, it worked and the system barrier didn't crush the one I placed.

Just like that, I made something similar to a door between two trial zones that only I could open using .

As for the appearance of the barrier, no one could tell the difference between the one I made and the system barrier as they were blended together since they were created from the 'Law of Rules'.

Following that, I didn't just stand there idly and told Dante that I will be making my way into the next trial zone.

I signalled Storm Eagle MJ to pick up Dante and follow me before using on the huge trees to move at a breakneck speed of 200 meters per second in the direction Dante's fate arrow was pointing at.

In the 9th minute after I started, I had reached the border of the system barrier and with a punch, I broke open a hole in the barrier but this time, I only used a little of my Origin Energy so that it wouldn't make an explosive sound and attract monsters from both sides.

Dealing with them would only waste the time I had left in mode.

Just like I anticipated, the hole I made on the barrier was just 10 meters in diameter and it didn't make much noise.

I quickly filled that hole with a Rule barrier of my own and once again darted towards the other end of the second trial zone I entered.

With the continuous usage of to cross nearly 100 kms in the first trial zone and nearly half of the second one, my Spirit Energy reached a low point.

I could use it a few more times before my Spirit Energy completely dried out. I could use Spirit fruits to replenish it after it runs out but it's not as simple as it seams.

Using numerous Spiritual fruits in a short period of time will result in a temporary debuff to one's attributes.

I already consumed a lot of Spiritual fruits a few minutes back, so I couldn't use them again without getting the debuff. The only option I was left with was to sprint.

I have just over 5 more minutes left before the duration of mode ends and with my present sprint speed I have close to zero chance of reaching the other end of the second trial zone before that.

On top of that, the Gravity in the second trial zone was higher than the first trial zone, reaching 2.7 times the gravity of earth.

Although that didn't affect the speed at which I travelled using , my running speed was affected by it slowing me down considerably.

However, I didn't give up. The trial zones I could enter were few due to the limited times I could use mode and I had to utilise every minute of it to enter as many trial zones as possible and increase the chances of finding the Arch Spirit Fruit.

I activated & at once, improving my Strength and Agility attributes by 50 stats each.

Once my muscles stopped squirming from the increase in stats, I began sprinting towards the other end of the second trial zone again.