Noa felt the deceased as always, perceiving corpses with a divine connection.
Then he willed the skill to activate.
The remains crumbled into light particles, moving in his direction as if trying to touch his being.
He had no means or reason to avoid them and even welcomed them with open arms.
Five corpses became part of him.
Doom's Sacrifice: 5/5
It was like an inventory for him to collect dead monsters, which would greatly help him transport and sell them.
But the skill had its own uses.
According to the description, Noa could ignite them however he wanted, encompassing a couple of separate things.
Starting with an explosion, he could detonate corpses as if he were carrying bombs.
But that was only the surface level of application.
Doom's Sacrifice had a cooler and more well-rounded value, and if his thinking was right, the skill would improve even further.
Besides the fact that he could blow up the corpses, Noa could devour their remaining life force.
He could get his stamina and mana back, but health was still impossible to restore.
Even then, if this addition wasn't enough, Noa touched the death realm and gained more familiarity with it, bringing one additional benefit.
It was a scent of death and decay, allowing him to cloak himself with a corrupted energy that could degrade things around him.
'So sinister… Just the way I like.'
Noa liked that his power was leaving human capabilities, resembling Doom God's authority he had in mind.
"I want to test it," he said eagerly.
Extinguishing the first corpse in his reserve, Noa threw the corpse from his fingertips and exploded it before it even touched the water.
"Woah!"
The explosion was stronger than he expected, enveloping a good enough distance to deal a considerable amount of damage.
It was flashier than when he had blasted Klaus and his henchmen.
The first test was completed.
Round two started right away as Noa decayed the corpses, feeding on their life energy for mana and stamina.
The results weren't out of this world.
He filled up his exhausted energy.
However, even though a single corpse gave only 5% of his total mana and stamina back, Noa recognized how broken this skill really was.
As for the ultimate trial, he didn't dwell and drained the third corpse as well, cloaking himself with a rotting smell.
It created a special force field.
'I feel like I am a necromancer with no undead to control. What kind of power is she governing, and why am I inheriting it?'
Not only was Noa covered with a thin field of decay, but he also felt like his attack would be affected as well.
To put it to another test, he neared the tree.
Finding a single leaf wasn't a challenge, and touching it didn't change much.
At least it wasn't instantaneous, but the plant life started withering as if it were losing its life and was greeted by doom.
It was like a necrotic property, yet still too weak for any proper use.
At least for now, and marking the tree to try its limit, Noa could barely weaken one leaf with a single corpse, let alone a huge tree.
He was satisfied with his newfound opportunities.
According to the system, two more major characters remained in Velrox, and if his theory was right, Noa might get their skills as well.
The first target was Arthur Ashe, but Noa wasn't set on outright killing him just yet.
Noa considered that using Arthur would be much more beneficial at this stage of the world, as he didn't want to deal with some annoying stuff that the protagonist would have to.
As for the second character, Noa could only speculate about some high-profile figures but not outright guess who it was.
After he checked everything he needed to, he went back to his business, collecting the last corpse he hadn't been able to before.
Walking through the mud with his human legs didn't entertain him.
Not that he had any other choice.
Noa had to reach the exit gate and maybe kill some other monsters as well.
Sometimes his luck trolled him, but sometimes he was a lucky bastard, and this time proved the latter.
He encountered lizards in groups, allowing him to feast on their blood.
Yet the Lizardman wasn't the only monster he clashed with.
Finding the boss monster would stretch his luck too much, but Noa saw a minor beast to deal with.
Smaller compared to the Lizardman, but the snakes he had to battle against were anything but small compared to the average snake.
All of them had black dots on their skins, and, assaulting Noa from the water, he had to notice them before it was too late.
[ Gloom Serpent Lv. 8 ]
[ Grade: Evolved Frail ]
They came in different shapes, lengths, and levels, aiming for his legs.
Noa knew they were poisonous, and a single bite would paralyze his entire body for minutes.
So he tried everything in his power not to get bitten.
Coloring the green swamp with blood, he killed tens of snakes, but using their bodies didn't allow him to gain more edge in the battle, resulting in venom in his veins.
Noa's muscles atrophied.
They didn't listen to his command, and soon he was bitten to death.
Not even explosions or decay stopped their relentless assault, but Noa knew he could have easily survived if he had played his cards right and fought more carefully.
But the opponents were in large numbers, and he didn't want to waste time fighting like a frightened cat.
[ You died ]
The text message hovered before his eyes.
Noa lost his level 7 status, which was the highest he had ever been.
Fortunately, he had no sentiments about it, especially knowing that he would spawn as level 2 with additional stat points.
[ Echo: 889/1,000 ]
His perfect form was freshly constructed.
But his dryness didn't last for long, and Noa was wet in a second, watching the remaining snakes.
He had no intention of dying again.
Now he became even more serious, anticipating the battle and not saving the corpses he had amassed.
"May the doom welcome you in her domain!"
Watching the snakes, Noa's cringe-worthy prayers were back as the sword in his hands danced, eager to cut the soft flesh.
But the moment he moved at high speed, he felt the air fluctuate behind him.
Dodging the arrow that almost pierced his neck, Noa darted his eyes, searching for the human who had attacked him from the shadows.