After a quick five-minute sprint from the camp, he plunged into the chaos of the battlefield where hundreds were locked in combat with the undead. As he reached the throng of shamblers, he charged forward, unleashing a relentless barrage of blows, hammering through the undead with unyielding fury. His gauntlets and armor shined as bright as the sun as he tore deeper into the enemy ranks, a whirlwind of destruction. Each strike shattered armored ghouls and undead beasts alike, leaving a trail of ruin as he carved a path through the horde, pressing ever deeper with an insatiable drive to obliterate everything in his way.
After continuously clearing undead by the dozen he finally reached the part of the army where the undead trolls and ogres were the most concentrated.
Lets try this Throes of Chaos.
With an activating Throes of Chaos he was able to one shot most of these brute undead as he continued to push deeper.
Throes of Chaos caused his gauntlets to rapidly change colors like a rainbow as he continued to strike. He saw undead explode from his fists, some became weightless, to some growing as large as a house to as small as a toy.
The longer he kept it on the quicker it changed colors as it was able to apply two different effects per hit. Even with his massive stamina stat he could not keep this up forever and decided to only use it for really tough mobs. As he moved further in this time past the section of ogres and trolls he saw creatures that boggled the mind.
These were flying bone gargoyles like monsters that threw massive javelins made of bone the size of small cars at him. Unlike the undead trolls and ogres these things seemed like they were as coordinated and efficient as soldiers. He had to dodge properly now.
They are pack hunters. No problem, I am not some chump anymore. I can handle whatever they bring.
Dodge Javelin Throw - Return Javelin Throw - Ground Pummel until dead.
Now on the ground he was facing fast moving undead giant lizards that used their spiked tails rake across his body. As he continued to still fight Undead Ogres and Trolls these lizards would zip around the brutes as they tried to bow him over as the Flying gargoyles harassed him from above. He would have to get jiggy with it.
“Not enough! I am coming for you. Your life is just a trial to me. Let me taste your strength!”
Dodge Javelin Throw - Sidestepping Returning Javelin Throw - Sidestep - Feint - Sidestep - Maximum Power Uppercut - Lucinida’s Blessing
As he was surrounded on all sides the Bone gargoyles would have to be careful and not hit others around themselves. One of them got aggressive enough and threw the javelin as he dodged, snatching the javelin out of the air and sidestepping the rampaging lizard before throwing the javelin at the bone wing and destroying the wing as it collapsed to the ground.
-Sidestep-
As he sidestepped and dodged a troll''s massive claw attack he went for a feint as the sidestepping lizard came back with a leaping attack as the creature moved to dodge he sidestepped again.
-Primordial Kiss-
As he went for a massive uppercut that launched a creature damn near 20 feet into the air with a hole in its head as it’s corpse turned into bubbles as he activated Lucinda’s Blessing. A gargoyle launched a bone javelin that hit him center mass as he felt himself actually be hurt for the first time in a while by a monster as the javelin then bounced off. That was with Lucinda’s Blessing as well he thought as he decided it was time to adjust the strategy.
Avoid Javelins - Kill Ogres - Use their Clubs to get a better reach - Stick to Ogres and Trolls to use as body shields against Javelins - Collect javelins and counterattack - Use Ashanti’s Invocation against Critical Attacks-
He moved quickly as he played peekaboo with the ogres and trolls as they got peppered with javelins he would strike them to make sure he got experience as the spear wielding creatures continued to throw spears. Looking at them they had roughly 2-4 javelins per creature and they would run out and be forced to engage him in melee or at least retrieve their weapons.
As they fight continued and dozens of spears continued to be thrown at him he continued to slide over to ogres as they continued to get ripped apart by javelins as he pulled them out of the corpses of the ogres as they died and kept moving. As he continued to strafe he had collected several dozen javelins.
Now it''s time
With an ogre club in one hand and almost a hundred javelins under his arms he moved in front of an undead troll and ogre as the javelins continued to rain down he used the cover to strike down these flying monsters. Wings and Headshots were his targets as they began to collapse by the second as he would stride forward and clobber their skulls in with a borrowed club. Through these victories the gargoyles were not free.
While he did take damage, it was nothing compared to the clean javelin shot he took at the beginning of the engagement. He would still get hit in his legs and arms by javelins even with body cover and the giant lizards they still bowed him over at times.
Despite this his health and resistance at this point truly felt superhuman to him. Outside of critical hits in vital organs he was able to heal injuries that would sideline lesser men and women forever in minutes. As he continued to wade in the corpses of the bone gargoyles they began to change their tactics and come to him in mass after he took out a few dozen with their own weapons.
As they rushed him he used his superior speed to retreat and fall back and use his current javelins and just continued to kill them as he peppered them two at a time with javelins as this continued for hours before he felt Gwen break his Battle trace by whispering to him.
“You have reached level 150. You have 275 stat points to give to your chosen. I have talked to Celeste and she agrees. I recommend giving her 100 stats with 75 points in strength and 25 points in Dexterity. Are you ok with this? “
With a grunt he nodded as he felt this body actually surge with power, it felt like he drank 100 energy drinks as he sidestepped he moved substantially faster. He was able to quickly shift his weight and rush forward and pummel the bone monsters and continue to move around like a bolt of lightning as he hit his target. With his increased strength he went from 2-3 hits killing them to shattering them in one hit.
With that he dropped the club and javelins as he zipped around the battlefield. While he was much faster than the giant lizard at this point he was able to dance around them now. But he was feeling he was at his limit of raising his strength without also raising his intellect and wisdom. He was moving so fast that he was actually getting tunnel vision again.
“Guin focus on Intellect, Wisdom and Constitution stat increases in that order until my tunnel vision reduces.”
Even with his tunnel vision he was able to take down dozens in dashes but he took tremendous punishment as the creatures began to adjust and began to rain down javelins in mass not even caring about other gargoyles. With this massive energy pool he was able to continuously use Ashanti’s Invocation and Lucinda’s Blessing to lessen the damage and just keep pushing.
As the day turned into night his vision was able to get his vision back to normal as he continued to level, more and more. At his core he was just a fist that was able to rush down these creatures, over and over and over.
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
As the day came up again he continued to rush and cut these monsters down as more took their place. It had gotten to the point where he was dual wielding clubs and spinning like a top and just blending through flesh and bone. He was moving so fast that he had to make a serious effort to stay on the ground as he could feel himself begin to actually lift off the ground.
As the monsters continued to fall around him he looked around and it was still millions of monsters around him.
“DOES THIS NEVER END?! I CAN’T KILL THEM FAST ENOUGH!” He yelled out to the sky as he continued to move and strike. He felt Guin’s presence in my ear as she spoke and he continued to fight.
“No, these are some of the lower level mobs, these are easily able to be recreated and summoned by the ten of thousands. The only reason why the Undead doesn’t overrun humanity is because they are also fighting against other monster groups. These are just sent here with enough elites to keep the heavy hitters busy and thousands of grunts to keep the small fry happy with the risk/benefit paying off. Use these weak monsters as fuel.
You are leveling at a speed that even I took for granted. You are almost level 175 and will get another massive boost in points to give to your Chosen. I think you should hold off on using your stat points until then. While Celeste appreciates the stats. You have given her stats that have potentially pushed her in a way that now she has to get used to herself. You need to find someone who uses physical attributes and add them to the team. “
As this continued for several more days, stealing bits of food and water as he continued to level more and more he was beginning to feel unreal, he was able to sidestep and crush the monsters with an efficiency that he did not think was possible. He continued to fight and as he pulled back to mainly fighting undead trolls, ogres and ghouls he just decimated them with one shit as he shifted. With Ghouls and Shamblers he could literally shatter them as he continued to rush them down. After more than a week out there in the undead horde before he pulled back and made his way out to the base camp after Gwen told him that he was coming up on the two weeks they were to be assigned here.
As he made his way out of the horde. He checked his stats again.
Level 203
774 more kills till level 204
STR: 305 (+95) = 400
DEX: 178(+60) = 238
CON: 297 (+15)= 312
INT: 159 (+65)= 224
WIS: 149 (+45) = 194
STA: 154 (+70) = 224
Attunement: 285/1090
You have 550 points to assign
Loot Coins: 171
This time when he made his way to the mess no one really gave him any trouble as he ate his food Malcolm informed him that they were to be relieved in about a day’s time and told him that he should rest up and recover. He washed up and his gear as he immediately crashed in an open bed. As he slept he actually dreamed a peaceful dream for the first time he could remember or at least on Ervasta.
He saw a strange looking woman that was sitting on a throne in the middle of a castle-like room. She looked like nothing he ever saw before. She was easily 10 feet tall and skin was an ever shifting palate of colors ranging from green and ghostly white. She was dressed in flowing tendrils of strange gray flesh that looked over wordily and beautifully in a way he did think was possible. Her hair was long and flowing behind her made up of the same grey like tendrils. She stood up and walked over to him as she easily dwarfed him. She smiled as he began to find himself floating up towards her eye level.
As she spoke, he knew immediately that it could only be one person.
“You have done well. With your ascension to level 150 you will now have access to your complete body. This will take roughly 48 hours to complete. Camila will most likely pick you up and carry you back to the Antonia Family base. Once she checks out your stats she will most likely be shocked. Your stat growth is somewhere around Level 800-1000+ to most Ume. This will only get stronger, with your current strength you are able to accurately manifest a physical incarnation of me in your mind so we can communicate…face to face.”
As she continued to Orbit around him she wrapped him up in her arms and pressed his body close to him as close as a mother would hug her child or a lover. No this was a deeper connection, this was a level of intimacy that he had never encountered before it was almost divine.
“You need to find another Chosen, you can not put all of your eggs in one basket. Celeste could easily be taken out and to be honest she is not an exceptional talent. She is just above average, you need to find someone who is talented as soon as possible. You are doing great, while Camila and company have made you into a weapon don’t let them tether you down forever. I agree that Castle Duskbone is a good test. In a year you should be somewhere between Level 350-500. “ Marcus nodded before speaking.
“So why me? I was just a construction worker from Virginia? I mean wouldn’t you want one of those Rambo types?” Guin shook her head and wrapped him close to her.
“You are a Herald, not a Weapon of Destruction. Destruction is the tool you use to clear a path for humanity but it is not your mission. Your mission is to protect and make a way for humanity to thrive and survive. I don’t need a psychopath. They have their own purposes but not for something like this. I chose you because you are a kindhearted soul.
You are compassionate. I had to give you a body that would take you months to adapt to and fill your body with raging hormones, fight alone in the dark and give you a grand mission. A psychopath would have used this power to their advantage to become a despot. We have enough despots. We need a Herald and that''s what you are.“
Marcus nodded and rested his head on her chest as she held him close. For a while she just held him with no words spoken before she moved away and smiled at him.
“Your body is now complete. Your body has natural limiters now so you interact normally with people and objects without blowing them up. You now have an extra layer of cells under your Stratum Corneum that can best be described as nanites. These cells are independent of you and will continue to repair your body at a level that is much more efficient. Your healing factor is roughly two times faster than what it was before and roughly 4-6 times faster than someone with the same stats as you.
They will also continue to enhance your body as you level. Your eardrums are much deeper along with giving you basically echolocation so you can train this and fight completely blind if needed. Your eyes are also reinforced with the ‘nanites’ that will continue to evolve your vision and sight. Currently you are able to focus and zoom on targets much further away than any normal human. Your sense of smell is also more precise while being able to offload intense smells without being overloaded.”
As Marcus listened to all of this he was surprised, at this point he didn’t even sound human anymore. Guin continued and told him that he now had one main heart and two other minor hearts along with four smaller lungs instead of two bigger lungs, his entire muscular system remodeled, an extra liver, and an extra kidney. What Guin told him about his brain shocked him more than anything he could imagine.
“Your brain and nervous system has fused. Your brain basically has a fail safe along your nervous system that allows you to continue to live using your base level actions until your brain is repaired. Your nervous system has four times the number of connections through your entire body because of it. This makes your sense of touch and response time well beyond what is normal for a human of similar stats. It also allows me to communicate and speak to your Chosen now and relay information.“ As she was saying this she pulled away and kissed him on the forehead.
“It’s time to wake up”