"It's usually not that simple. Humans are far less likely to awaken a monster form than monsters are to awaken a human form. After all, ranked-up abilities manifest what the user desires or needs most. Whether that's skill upgrades for those who cannot do it naturally, a new human form to fit in with society, a massive increase in mana control, or maybe a buff that fits their fighting style. Every rank-up procedure is different. You won't know how it works until you try it."

I continue to stare down at the [Rising Emperor's Greater Form] tag on my buffs portion of my status, then let out a sigh and reply.

"You're right, I might as well try it and see what this new ability does."

I step back and stand in a steady stance, then activate the buff. A surge of energy instantly pulses through me. It's definitely mana-powered, but there's a unique air to the energy that makes it feel like there's more to it than I can comprehend.

I feel my feet being lifted off the ground, and my aura begins to expand and materialize into an outer layer of energy in the exact shape of my body.

It starts off as a pure white glow but fluctuates and shifts in color from grey to dark shadowy black the larger it grows around me.

Thick plumes of dense mana, more powerful than any shielding I've ever summoned in my life, wrap around my arms, legs, torso, and even my head.

I can see through it without a problem.

Even though the energy surrounds me, if anything, my perception of the dungeon only becomes greater.

A swirling shadowy form grows larger and larger, pulling me off of the dungeon floor higher into the air.

I stare down at myself, as I'm floating in the center of this form over 2 meters off the ground and still growing. I move my hands in front of me, and the energy moves in perfect sync without missing a beat.

I take a step forward, and the growing mana imbued creation does the same.

As my feet now hover over 4 meters off the ground, I begin to activate skills; The first is my fire magic.

My main inner body does not ignite into flames as I expected, but the outer layer of darkness mimics the flickering illusion of fire. To push my tests further, I turn to a desolate portion of the dungeon and summon a ball of fire, letting it blast off into the distance toward a far-off rolling hill.

Unexpectedly, the shadowy mana-imbued mass around me manifests black flames of mana at the same time, and a black ball of fire over 4 times larger than what I was expecting to throw rockets toward the grassy hills.

An explosion of mana, and destruction of a large portion of the dungeon ensues, letting the potential scale and possibilities of this power sink in.

I stare down at the ground again, as the form doesn't stop expanding, and take out my sword.

A perfect copy is manifested in the energy form's hand as well.

I swing it across my body, producing slashes of fire that carve up the dungeon for hundreds of meters and leave trails of black flames.

At the same moment, I feel an absurd amount of mana leave my body.Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

Every slash I throw uses up over 4 times as much mana as it normally would, and the larger my form grows, the more it's starting to use.

I activate plunderer, and energy from all around seeps into my new form to fuel its growth even further. Even more mana is needed the larger I grow. Once my form grows to roughly 7 times my normal human size, the expansion stops.

A flickering shadowy images of myself is stood in the middle of the great plains dungeon. My intricate facial features are exactly the same, my armor and gear are all replicated without any errors, and advanced fire magic flames flicker producing overwhelming heat.

It feels like I'm unstoppable in this new form.

I continue to practice for a few minutes, trying out other elements and basic skills to get used to this new power. I'm about to try imbuing Qi into my blade, but before I do, a major concern hits me.

Most buffs and instant power-ups like this don't come without a cost... It would be best not to push it too far without testing if there are any side effects. So, I make the decision to revert to my normal form before I get too deep into the unknown.

Like a flip of a switch, the moment I think about turning off my [Rising Emperor's Greater Form], the energy around my body churns and seeps back into me, lowering me to the floor far faster than it expanded.

I brace myself for a wave of fatigue like the Red Hydra's Buff, or the tingling feeling I get from overusing my mana, but as my feet touch the dungeon floor, nothing of the sort comes.

"I feel... normal..."

I try to activate self-regeneration and even scan my own body with my All-Seeing Eye, but nothing is wrong.

Ember walks over with a satisfied smile.

"Looks like you received a greater energy form. Those are even more rare than monster forms for humans, but honestly, I don't know what else I'd expect from you. With your overuse of that Hydra's power, and the constant buffs and aura training, an energy form is the only upgrade worth giving. The system knows best."

He shrugs.

I turn around, placing my sword back into my item storage, and raise a question back.

"A greater energy form? So... what do I need to know about it? What can it do? It felt like my full body grew for a moment there... It's like it's a part of me."

Ember walks closer, examining the damage done to the dungeon landscape and nodding with approval.

"Well, it seems to me you received an enhancement-style greater form. Usually, these forms are only useful for short spurts of battle because of their overexertion of mana. However, with the plunderer skill, this will be less of a problem. It can increase the user's size, speed, strength, and overall total capabilities many times over for a limited period of time. Think of it like an enormous overcharged body double that you control from the inside."

I'd already come to a similar conclusion, but Ember continues with information that I wasn't expecting to hear.

"However, there are some downsides too. Physical attacks on your energy form will transfer to your main body as well. Just because it's a souped-up version of yourself that surrounds your real body doesn't mean it's invincible. You saw how when you activated skills they didn't manifest on your inner body, they only were visible in your energy form?"

I nod.

"Yeah."

"Well, that's because this energy form is a part of you. It's your being. It is you."

There's a silence between us as I let that sink in, and Ember continues.

"This is the best-case scenario we could be in for your second rank-up. Now, we just need to trigger your Soul Energy awakening and maybe we'll actually have a chance against the The Lich King if you're still fixated on killing that thing. For that, you're still going to need a lot more Qi."

"Right...More Qi... and more time in isolated cultivation too..."

My train of thought over my new rank-up and abilities switches back to where I left off before all of this.

"How long were we ranking up for? I still have a lot of work to do. My teammates will be coming to meet with us shortly, and I need to prepare a welcoming present for them."

I check my memories, and see there's still no sign of either of my two remaining body doubles' deaths yet. I'm unsure if this is a good or bad sign, so soon I'll have to check things out for myself.

Ember replies, finally making his way next to me stepping around all of the burned portions of the dungeon around us.

"I was unconscious for the same amount of time as you, form transformation rank-ups usually take far longer than simple buffs. But, I don't believe it was more than a few hours at most."

I place a hand on his shoulder, and bring us both back into the canyon of dungeons in Sector 2.

Ember speaks up from behind me as I begin to walk toward the exit portal.

"Oh, so I'll finally be meeting your human friends? This will be quite interesting."