The sensation was not like eating. It was like dissolving.
As Jojo's black, gelatinous body flowed into the jagged wounds of the [Abyssal Crawler], his vision turned into a chaotic mess of scrolling code and red warnings.
[Initiating 'Void Consumption'...]
[Target Level: 705 | Your Level: 0]
[Calculating Compatibility... 1.2%]
[Warning: Soul Indigestion Imminent. Your form cannot contain this much Mana!]
I don't care! Jojo screamed into the void of his own mind. If I burst, I burst. Anything is better than being a puddle on the King's floor!
He felt the Crawler's glass-like shell begin to crack. The glowing violet blood didn't spill onto the sand it was sucked into Jojo's core. The cold, mechanical voice of the System began to stutter, then roared with a sound like grinding metal.
[Absorption Successful.]
[Experience Gained: 850,000 EXP]
[Level Up! Level Up! Level Up! Level Up!...]
The notifications scrolled so fast they became a blur of blue light. Jojo's body pulsed. He grew from the size of a dinner plate to the size of a large dog. His obsidian surface began to harden, turning from a liquid slime into something crystalline and sharp.
[Current Level: 52]
[Stats Adjusted: Strength +150 | Agility +280 | Intelligence +400]
[Skill Acquired: 'Prism-Glass Carapace' (Rank B)]
[Description: Your shadow body is reinforced with the essence of the Abyssal Crawler. You can harden your surface into a diamond hard glass shell at will. Physical Defense +500%.]
[Passive Skill Acquired: 'Vibration Sense' (Rank C)]
[Description: You can 'see' movements through the ground up to 50 meters away.]
Jojo let out a sound. It wasn't a bubble this time. It was a low, metallic hiss.
He looked at his new reflection in a pool of blood. He was still a "Slime," but he looked like a Black Diamond. His edges were razor sharp, and a faint violet light pulsed from the center of his chest his Mana Core.
Level 52, Jojo thought, a cold shiver of excitement running through his core. I'm still 600 levels below the Behemoth... but I'm no longer 'nothing'.
Suddenly, his new [Vibration Sense] flared.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Something was coming. Fast. And it wasn't a giant. It was small, agile, and there were dozens of them.
[Threat Detected: Shadow Lurker Scouts (Level 120)]
[Quantity: 12]
[Distance: 15 Meters.]
In the past, Jojo would have died instantly. Now? Now he had a Carapace.
Let them come, Jojo hissed. I'm still hungry.