Primordial Awakening: I Can Evolve My Skills Infinitely

[Jevil, The Card Jester]

[Level: 60]

[Description: Lord of the "Jester Tower", able to use the cards around him to form any kind of weapons or attacks. His imagination is the only limit.]

[Hell-Mode Analysis: There has to be a limit. Keep pushing forward.]

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Jevil hovered in the air, his body drifting gently, the smiling half of his mask glowing brighter with each passing second.

The ten cards he had summoned earlier still floated around him, orbiting like moons around a planet.

Their presence alone added to the overwhelming pressure Jevil gave off, making him seem far more powerful than before.

Before this, even without using his full strength, Jevil's aura was enough to freeze someone in place.

That pressure alone could send a weak-willed person into shock.

In fact, just standing near him might've caused some to fall unconscious or gain the [Fear] status effect immediately.

But now? Now that he had revealed his [Card Powers]...

Even the strongest of [Ascendant]-rank awakeners would tremble in his presence.

Some might even pass out just by being too close.

Sam's eyes shifted to the ten cards circling around Jevil.

He remembered what he had seen back in the [Fourth Floor] of the [Rune Tower].

The disciples there were only able to control two cards each. Grint had three.

Even with only a couple of cards, they had been able to use them to summon weapons or powerful attacks.

That made them especially dangerous in a group, each one covering for the others.

Grint had gone a step further.

When his companions had fallen, he grabbed the cards they left behind and took control of all seven.

But it was something so strong that even he couldn't fully control it.

Sam still didn't know if he could've beaten Grint in that final form.

But this... this was worse.

Jevil didn't have seven cards. He had ten.

And Sam could feel it in the air, the calm, absolute control in Jevil's aura.

The power behind each of those cards was stable. Firm. Final.

[Void Watcher: He has perfect control over his powers, and over this entire situation.]

Jevil was aware of how outmatched Sam was.

He could tell just by looking.

But that didn't mean he was careless. Not even a little.

Because even though Jevil was within his domain, with every advantage in the world and full access to his power... Sam wasn't normal either.

From Jevil's perspective, what stood before him wasn't just a person, it was an anomaly.

A Primordial cloaked in darkness, his blood-red gaze watching his every move, his affinities swirling like a storm around him.

Next to Sam stood another figure. One that looked exactly like him, but darker.

From Sam's perspective, Jevil was just one more obstacle in his path.

Who was the true villain in this situation didn't matter.

[In our way =)]

Sam slowly took his stance.

"I see~" Jevil smiled from behind his mask. His voice was light, whimsical. "Then let's begin, shall we?"

"Hm."

Fwish! BOOM!

The ten cards around Jevil flared at once, energy bursting from each of them.

Jevil raised his hand into the air, his arm stretched high, and power poured from the eyeholes of his mask like leaking fire.

Sam remained calm, still in his stance.

His [Eternal Barrier] was active, and although he didn't know much about Jevil's abilities, he had a feeling that this fight would be less about strength... and more about how quickly he could adapt.

But before he could even react—

"I'LL ERASE YOU, PRIMORDIAL~!" Jevil screamed, the playfulness vanishing from his voice.

In the next instant, a massive silver hammer formed in his hands, forged entirely from the ten glowing cards.

It pulsed with raw energy.

Jester Hammer!

[Hell-Mode Analysis: He can use any number of cards to summon an attack. Some weapons require more cards than others. The more cards he uses, the stronger the effect. Be careful.]

Without hesitation—

Fwish! SMASH!

Jevil slammed the hammer into the ground.

The entire floor cracked under the force of the blow. Tremors rippled outward.

The very structure of the [First Floor] began to break apart, the cracks spreading wider with each second that passed.

Sam's eyes widened as he looked up at Jevil.

The weeping side of Jevil's mask was now flaring instead of the smiling one.

"I don't need this tower anymore," Jevil spoke quietly. His voice sounded tired. Almost... mournful. "It's either you or me. No one's leaving."

Ding!

[The "Jester Tower" is breaking apart.]

[Hell-Mode Analysis: He's trying to bury us. That bastard. But he's still in our way =).]

Sam turned to look at the [Forsaken Clone].

Its crimson eyes glowed brighter than ever before... but its mouth was now gone.

That constant smile it always wore had vanished completely.

And strangely, the silence made it even more terrifying.

Fwish!

The clone suddenly moved.

In a blur, it dashed straight toward Jevil, summoning the [Tendrils of Oblivion] while swinging the primordial sword in the other.

But...

"Not yet," Jevil muttered, shaking his head.

SMASH!

He swung the [Jester Hammer] once more, catching the clone mid-air and sending it flying.

The clone slammed into the wall hard.

It wasn't hurt. But it seemed mad.

"See you upstairs~" Jevil gave a casual wave as his body vanished in a soft burst of light.

At the same moment, a portal opened in the center of the floor.

Sam didn't hesitate.

He turned, ran, and leapt into it without wasting a second.

Fwish! Ding!

[Jester Tower, Floor Two.]

Sam landed on the second floor and immediately spotted Jevil, already there, sitting calmly on the cracked ground, staring at him.

Sam looked around.

The cracks from the earlier impact were spreading up the walls.

That one attack had shaken the foundation of the tower. It was collapsing.

Jevil had meant it when he said no one would leave.

"So, I guess your next big question would be, why me, right?" Jevil chuckled softly. The smiling half of his mask lit up again. "And the answer is... who knows~?"

"I already know," Sam replied, stepping forward, his stance ready. "And I only need one reason to kill you. You're in my way."

"Oh well," Jevil shrugged. "Didn't expect the last Primordial to understand anyway."

He raised his fingers—

Snap!

All ten cards floating around him transformed into ten glowing blades.

Jester Blades!

The weapons shimmered with dangerous energy.

Then Jevil pointed his finger forward. The blades shot toward Sam at once.

Slash! Slash! Slash!

But Sam moved with ease.

He stepped forward into the assault, his arms glowing faintly, deflecting every single blade with precision.

Jevil's eyes narrowed slightly.

He could see it. The aura in Sam's gaze. It was growing stronger.

"You're becoming more determined as the fight continues..." Jevil muttered, looking at his own trembling hands. "That's just how the Primordials are, I suppose."

But then, Jevil stopped.

He took a breath, his entire body flaring with white aura.

"You'll die."

Poof!

He vanished once more.

And another portal appeared in the center of the second floor.

Sam turned to look at the [Forsaken Clone].

It nodded once. No expression on its face.

"Either he's playing with me..." Sam muttered, walking toward the portal, "...or he's trying to stall until we reach the [Fifth Floor]."

Either way—

[Proceed.]

Sam stepped forward. He had to kill him.