With the Magicule Solidification skill, as long as Damien and Ogerpon kept increasing their magicules, their physical strength would grow proportionally.

"Finally, there's Explosion Magic and Oni Transformation."

In the Cardinal World, Explosion Magic was classified as a "Nuclear Strike Magic."

This referred to magic with the destructive power of a nuclear weapon, a benchmark for assessing magic's destructive potential in the Cardinal World.

The Explosion spell Damien had cast, expending vast magic and time, fell within the scope of a small-scale Nuclear Strike Magic.

Of course, due to the Cardinal World's higher physical constants... stronger soil, rocks, and gravity... its effects were amplified.

A nuclear-level blast in the Cardinal World could sink continents or even destroy planets in other worlds.

"Ogerpon's mastered this wide-range destructive move too?"

Damien felt quite pleased.

His own attributes couldn't match Ogerpon's.

While she lacked the passive boosts of his Mage class, her A-rank magic reserves far surpassed his current level.

It was easy to imagine how terrifying an Explosion cast by the current Ogerpon would be.

"Ogerpon."

"Bo-ne?"

"What's Oni Transformation like?"

Curious, Damien asked Ogerpon to Majinstrate.

Her body erupted with fierce magicules.

In an instant, Ogerpon's form expanded, growing from under 1.4 meters to 1.8 meters tall.

Sharp oni horns, fierce eyes, and a seemingly delicate yet explosively powerful frame... all screamed the terror of Ogerpon in this state.

If the old Ogerpon was a cute little girl, the fully transformed Ogerpon was now a stunning, statuesque beauty.

Even Damien, who saw her as a little sister, couldn't help but steal a few extra glances.

[Oni Transformation]

[Description: Temporarily boosts combat power by one rank, but consumes significant magic.]

"Appraisal."

Without hesitation, Damien used Appraisal on Ogerpon in this state.

[Ogerpon]

[Danger Assessment: Special A (Disaster-Class)]

"Disaster-Class!!"

Damien hadn't expected Oni Transformation to provide such a massive boost.

Having evolved into an upper-tier A-rank Oni, Ogerpon's magicule count remained A-rank, but her combat power could rival seasoned A+-rank fighters.

With Oni Transformation, she'd earned a Special A-rank assessment.

"Ogerpon, how long can you maintain this state?"

"Um…"

Ogerpon thought for a moment, replying obediently, "About five minutes."

So, at full power, Ogerpon could sustain Special A-rank combat strength for five minutes.

"Alright, change back."

"Okay."

Ogerpon's body shrank rapidly, returning to her petite little girl form in a blink.

"Ogerpon got stronger. Did Damien gain any power from Ogerpon?"

"Haha, of course."

Damien patted her head, chuckling. "Ogerpon's given me a whopping 6,000 existence points."

"I'm B-rank now, you know."

His Leader Unique Skill allowed Damien to gain roughly half of his familiar's existence points.

With Ogerpon at 12,000, Damien received 6,000.

Plus, Damien had made his own breakthrough.

His base existence value was only 500 before.

But this battle earned him "merit." recognized by the Voice of the World.

It wasn't much, but it pushed him out of weakling territory.

In numbers, his existence value rose from 500 to 1,500... equivalent to a D-rank monster.

"So, Damien's magicules are at 7,500 now, right?"

Ogerpon perked up. "Ogerpon will keep working hard to help Damien evolve too!"

Yes, Damien could evolve as well.

As a Majin-human hybrid, his human side aside, his Majinic bloodline granted him the ability to evolve like a monster.

He still didn't know what his Majinic bloodline was, though.

Another piece of good news: as Damien advanced from C-rank to B-rank, his familiar slots increased from 1/3 to 1/6.

"Three new familiar slots per rank-up?"

Damien had thought the familiar limit was fixed, but it grew with his strength.

This meant he didn't need to be so stingy with familiar slots.

"Bo-ne?"

Suddenly, Ogerpon, snuggling close to Damien, sensed something.

She turned her head toward a direction but saw nothing suspicious, leaving her puzzled.

"What's wrong?"

Damien noticed her reaction and asked curiously.

"A gaze…"

Ogerpon said, "It felt like someone was watching us, but Ogerpon couldn't find them."

"This is the second time. The first was when Master cast Explosion."

"Watching us?"

Damien didn't dismiss it as Ogerpon being paranoid.

Though a monster now, she retained her Pokémon instincts for sensing danger.

Who could be spying on us?

Damien considered several possibilities, like Clayman, one of the Ten Great Demon Lords.

The bugs' sudden appearance felt out of place, unlike the original story.

Without his intervention, even if Benimaru escaped, the Ogre Tribe would've suffered heavy losses.

Besides Clayman, there are the Jura Forest's guardians... the Dryads.

Damien couldn't pinpoint who it was. The Dryads aren't a problem; I have no real conflict with them.

His Explosion aimed to eradicate the bugs harming the forest's ecosystem.

The Dryads wouldn't hold that against him.

But if it's Clayman…

In the original story, Clayman seemed like a clown.

But he was still a Demon Lord. Damien wouldn't underestimate him.

Per the novel, a half-awakened Clayman had around 700,000 existence points.

Right now, he's likely weaker... maybe 300,000 to 400,000.

That strength was an insurmountable foe for Damien and Ogerpon.

"We'll have to hope the next few worlds help Ogerpon grow stronger quickly."

Clayman wasn't an True Demon Lord, just a Demon Lord Seed.

With Ogerpon's Grower skill, even as a Demon Lord Seed, she could keep growing.

With the Jura Forest as nourishment and abilities from other worlds…

Given time, surpassing Clayman would be a breeze for Damien and Ogerpon.

"For now…"

Damien turned his gaze to Benimaru and the others approaching, a slight smile tugging at his lips. "It's time for you to lend us your strength."

***

Bonus Chapter:

100 Power Stones = 1 BC

300 Power Stones = 2 BC

500 Power Stones = 3 BC

700 Power Stones = 4 BC

1000 Power Stones = 5 BC

***

If you want to read up to 50 chapters ahead, don't hesitate to visit our patron: pat reon . com / XElenea (remove space)