《Overpowered Wizard [Book 2 Publishes Mar 11 on KU]》 1: Not Crazy Zarian was sitting on a bench at a major Miami mall. The place was all sparkling glitz, in-season glam, and neutral colors. Each store front shone with wares that attracted the flurry of passing people ignoring him. The delicious smells from the food vendors the next floor above had his empty stomach growling. When he looked down between his darkness-inked arms, the polished floor reflected a scruffy black face and kinky black hair that hadn¡¯t seen care in a while. The passing mall shoppers spoke of mundane topics, unable to sense what he could sense. The local sports team was losing like usual. Elections were around the corner, riling everyone up. Fake celebrity gossip. The economy was hard. A new pair of shoes from a popular brand cost as much as a paycheck, but people bought them anyway. There were more banal topics than Zarian cared for. His focus was on something vitally important. Magic. Actual magic. It hummed, rippled, and pulsated from the center of the koi pond near the elevators across from him. Everyone kept walking past it without recognizing they were in the presence of the supernatural. Between him and the koi pond was an open floor where promoters had set up a stand for a popular rum drink. He was tempted to steal a bottle and have a big swig or two. He could use a little liquid courage while attempting something that should be impossible. Zarian grimaced. I¡¯ve been doing the impossible for a year. It was a good thing the Marines had kicked him out when they did. He would¡¯ve preferred not having a bad discharge, but it was around then the magic powers showed up. Instead of being poked and prodded in a sterile laboratory, Zarian was out in the open, dressed in wet, ratty clothes, with duct tape keeping his shoes together. He smelled like the Miami streets on a heavy rain day. He wasn¡¯t a fan of the literal down-to-earth living. But he had a lot to do the past year instead of finding a job and living under a roof. He¡¯d focused on practicing his magic powers. And he¡¯d done so without the government knowing they had a superhuman on the streets. He¡¯d also worked on being a good older brother to the ghost who was claiming to be his sister. ¡°You got this, Big Bro. Just like in the dreams. Go touch that magic thingy and see what happens!¡± Ariana cheered, sitting on the bench beside him. ¡°Dreams are dreams for a reason. I¡¯ll get thrown into jail again if it¡¯s really just a dream.¡± Zarian didn¡¯t want to raise his hopes too high. Ariana was too bubbly to put up with that. ¡°Don¡¯t let it be a dream. You have magic. Make it a reality!¡± Zarian chuckled at her cheesy motivational words. Ariana was way more put-together than him while she acted like a perpetual four-year-old child. She had on pearly white shoes. A flowery skirt covered in sparkles. And she had her hair tied into braided pigtails. She was like a doll always dressed in her Sunday best, while Zarian looked like a public menace who crawled out of the sewers. At the very least, she was a good little sister who kept him from being lonely, even if she was the primary source of his problems. She¡¯d manifested into his life when Zarian was eight years old and learning to make friends at school. The friends faded fast, but Ariana had always stayed nearby, except for when he needed his obvious privacy. Zarian had long practiced speaking to her without looking at her. He would speak from the side of his mouth in a low tone, which he¡¯d thought was sneaky enough. The sharp looks from passing mall shoppers suggested otherwise. He¡¯d received the same looks when he started making too many mistakes in the Marines. He¡¯d always tried being considerate to people around him. His little sister understood that nobody other than him could see or hear her. She understood he should ignore her, especially in public. Yet Zarian had a hard time doing that. She was adorable and sweet, after all. He could, however, acknowledge she was probably an untreated issue with his psyche. Drugs and therapy could make her go away. Then Zarian might become a functional member of society. Zarian shook his head, putting aside what was logical and safe. He turned to his little sister fully. ¡°Alright, fine, let¡¯s go all out. I¡¯ll hate myself if we miss what could be the opportunity of a lifetime.¡± Zarian ignored the many concerned looks or dirty glares from mall shoppers. He squinted toward the humming magic in the center of the koi pond. ¡°The dreams from the past couple of nights kept pointing to this. It all has to mean something, or my psychotic breakdown is imminent.¡± The nearest mall shoppers hurried away after overhearing Zarian. From the corner of his vision, he noticed a squad of cops positioned from two angles on the floor with him. A few other authorities covered the nearest escalators and the elevator. Wow, the mall didn¡¯t even bother with in-house security. They went with the local police directly. Ariana balled her little fists and puffed her cheeks, angered by the show of force drawing a net around Zarian. Since she was perpetually four years old, the act didn¡¯t lose its cuteness factor over the years. He was tempted to send her away before the potential violence started, but the determinedly cute expression on her face suggested she wouldn¡¯t be easily swayed. ¡°You got this, Big Bro!¡± Ariana shouted, pumping her arms up and down, little fists held tight. ¡°You practiced for a whole year. You¡¯re the strongest, and nobody can beat the strongest! Not these mundane weaklings!¡± Zarian nodded to her cheers, ignoring the strange phrasing toward the end. He looked up and noticed the mall shoppers clearing out faster, sensing danger on the horizon. Retail workers looked out from the entrances of their stores. The rum promoters looked around in concern. One of their young show girls started to put away the rum bottles. Zarian sighed, disgruntled. ¡°This is going to be so embarrassing if all of this was made up in my head.¡± Heart hammering, Zarian reached out with one arm, calloused fingers aimed at the rum promoters. ¡°He¡¯s raising a weapon!¡± A police officer shouted. The screaming started. ¡°Freeze or we will shoot!¡± The screaming grew louder. Innocent bystanders threw themselves to the ground or ran for their lives. The winding, inky darkness around his arm shifted forward. More darkness flowed out from the short sleeve of his pitted shirt and piled up onto his outstretched hand. More and more darkness gathered until it built up as a bulging dark orb surrounding his hand. The police hesitated. The mall quieted. No more squeaky footwear scuffing across the shiny floors. No more pointless conversations circling around the same unimportant concerns. No more mundane humanity. For the first time since ever, people saw Zarian for what he truly was. They saw what he was doing with the inky darkness on his arm and the bulging dark ball growing from his hand. They saw something eerie, unbelievable, utterly impossible. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Magic. Then the melon sized dark orb shot out fast, like an arrow, while staying tethered to his hand, stretching. The dark magic caught the bottle a rum promoter girl was holding while staring like a deer caught in headlights. She shrieked, letting go of the bottle, which was nice of her. The long tendril of pure darkness snapped back to Zarian with his prize. He lost some of the dark material. He could feel it slipping away, getting vaporized by the mall lights. It took a lot of concentration to gather and store quality darkness. Mere shadows wouldn¡¯t work out well enough. Not when he needed to do magic quickly. The shiny, industrial mall was not a good place to pull off these stunts. Oh well. Zarian bounced off the bench, twisted off the cap from his newly stolen drink, and took a big swig. He let out a loud whoop as he swaggered toward the koi pond, drawn by the humming, dreamy, pulsating magic at the center. Random bystanders went back to screaming. The police maneuvered fast and aggressively, setting their sectors of fire while trying to avoid shooting their own or the civilians. Zarian hoped he had enough time to get to his goal before they had a clear shot. A roaring blast from a pistol going off dashed away his hopes. Even after his stint in the Marines, he nearly flinched from the sound. Without ear protection, a pistol shooting indoors sounded louder than what the media depicted. It was also easy to miss a target while panicking or shooting on the move. He felt the first bullet zip past his back. Then another shot zipped close to him. Then another and another. Zarian wanted to duck for cover and avoid the open space around the koi pond. He went against his instincts for self-preservation when he felt the swirling magic from the pond thump with sudden urgency. It felt unstable. It felt like it was going to disappear if he didn¡¯t reach it in time. Poignant questions came to mind. Should he risk getting shot for the chance of something impossible and dreamy? Or should he collapse to the ground and hope for mercy from a bunch of panicky police? If they didn¡¯t kill him on the spot, he was destined for Area 51 or worse. He had no doubts about that. Zarian picked up the pace while draining more from the rum bottle. He tossed the half-emptied bottle behind him as the liquor burned a trail to his gut. Somehow, he kept everything inside. Even with his hammering heart and queasy stomach. More gunfire blared, roared, and sent supersonic lead snapping through the air around Zarian. They kept missing, and he kept moving. ¡°Go, Big Bro! Go all out!¡± Ariana frolicked behind him, completely fine. Bullets snapped into her and phased out the other side with nothing to show for it. Nothing mundane could harm her. Zarian¡¯s annoyance boiled up anyway. Being the big brother came with a protective attitude, regardless of his little sister being an untouchable ghost. When he reached the koi pond, instead of hopping in with a forward lunge, he twisted around and dove backwards. He extended both arms and let the darkness gush out. Watching it go was extraordinary. But feeling it was something else. The darkness he¡¯d gathered had weight to it. Like the depths of their black, lightless substance went further than anything he could imagine. They also felt homey to him, as if they were family. And they shot out with a lot of force. The darkness flew as blunt javelins from his arms. A dozen of them. When they passed by mall lights, the illumination dimmed and curved. The dense, dark conjurations seemed to have an effect against the lights, which was another weird quirk among many that Zarian was still trying to understand. It didn¡¯t matter at this point. All his answers were on the other side of the strange magic humming from the center of the koi pond. Shooting out all of those dark javelins sent him skipping across the koi pond like a well-thrown stone. His javelins landed in a bursting barrage on contact with the police. Each hit struck like getting tackled by a three-hundred pound American lineman, who was sprinting at full speed. Zarian gawked, mouth hanging open, as his dark magic sent grown men with guns flying off their feet. Then he lost momentum and hit the water with a big splash, koi fish scurrying away from his dirty body and the ruckus surrounding him. The gunfire died down. Police and bystanders shouted and screamed. He twisted around, rose to his knees, and hacked up some water. Feeling woozy from the rush, the rum, and the lack of proper nutrition, Zarian needed a second to get his bearings. He muttered, ¡°I¡¯m really not crazy,¡± a few times before he recognized his position. He landed in front of the magic thing that had beckoned him through his dreams the past couple of nights. ¡°It¡¯s there, it¡¯s there,¡± Ariana said in awe, standing on the water¡¯s surface behind him. Now that he was here, Zarian felt the pond magic more acutely. It was definitely weird. Like he was getting drawn by a weak riptide to somewhere unknown. The full current of the pond magic was getting blocked off. He couldn¡¯t see what the magic was composed of nor what kept it plugged up. He had no idea how any of this worked. But his dreams had led him and Ariana here, making him act rashly, as if he was going to miss out if he didn¡¯t take this chance. Is it some sort of mythical ley line? Zarian thought of all the mystical mambo jumbo he¡¯d read whenever he could get access to the internet. He wished he wasn¡¯t in such a rush or he would¡¯ve enjoyed the moment. An actual ley line sat patiently in the most modernized mall around. Nothing human or human-made could sense it but him. I¡¯m not crazy. Zarian smiled. More gunfire roared, the shooting starting up again. Bullets snapped around him. He felt a sharp punch through his right back shoulder and got a concerning reality call. Most people would¡¯ve screamed or fallen down from the pain of getting shot. Not Zarian. As his back shoulder flared with pain and bled, he clenched his jaw and ducked down to make his body a smaller target. He focused past the pain. He focused on his magic, connecting with the remaining darkness he kept stored. He sent the inky darkness down his legs, through the koi pond¡¯s bottom, and up into a crisscrossing cage of spikes. He couldn¡¯t form a dome. His dark magic liked to form into straight shapes with reach: tendrils, spears, spikes, stuff like that. A cage of spikes was good enough. Bullets from most pistols could rip through car doors, dry walls, plenty of furniture, and still kill humans. But against Zarian¡¯s magic barrier of crisscrossing dark spikes, the bullets might as well be plastic pellets. The killer rounds ricocheted away and endangered the shooters themselves or fell in crumpled drops into the water. Zarian felt like a god. A tired, wheezing, thoroughly soaked god with his blood draining out. But a god nonetheless. He wasn¡¯t crazy. His magic could affect the physical world. Of course, he¡¯d seen it do so when he used it for tricks at the behest of his little sister. Or when he¡¯d committed to the old school superhero training at a ghetto junkyard with nobody around. He¡¯d grown proficient at wielding darkness from the year of practice. He¡¯d seen how it could plow through hard obstacles that would¡¯ve stopped the strongest humans. He had magic. He had fucking magic! And he was the only one to have it. Why? How? What was this all leading to? The koi pond ley line could hold the answers to his questions. Because there was more to Zarian¡¯s strangeness than his dark powers. There was Ariana. There was his weird upbringing in foster care. There was his name, Darkrun, which felt branded to him in a way that no paperwork or mortal person could change. He was Zarian Darkrun, brother to Ariana Darkrun, and he wanted answers to his weird-as-hell origins and impossible powers. Feeling mighty awesome and ignoring his perilous injury, Zarian split his attention between maintaining the dark spike barrier and reaching out to the ley line. He pushed with a thought, which felt magical on its own even if nobody could see it. Zarian was ready to fight tooth and nail to yank the ley line open and access what lurked behind it. That didn¡¯t end up being necessary. The moment he touched it with a press of his mystical will, Zarian felt no resistance. The koi pond ley line let his desires pass through, opening wide. Zarian watched, jaw dropping, as a portal bloomed into existence. It was dark and strong. And it was sucking up everything into its howling depths like a miniature black hole. Zarian was right in front of the portal. The only thing keeping him rooted was the darkness he tethered to his ankles and the spike barrier around him. Everything else fell into the hungry maw of the portal. Gallons of water. Thrashing koi fish. And more, which kept surprising Zarian. He watched as a police officer whirled head-over-heels through the air and toward the portal. ¡°You can see it!?¡± Zarian blurted out at the screaming, blabbering man. Zarian wanted to reconfirm again that this was all real. Before he received an answer, the cop made contact with the dark portal. The man wasn¡¯t simply flushed into its depths. He disappeared the moment his flailing body touched the hole to somewhere beyond. That looks dangerous, Zarian thought. I might¡¯ve unleashed something that¡¯ll destroy the mall. Maybe even all of Florida and beyond. Whoops. 2: Honored Outsider Zarian was about to gather his remaining darkness and try to escape away from the wild black portal. When he turned to check on Ariana, he found her stepping calmly through the chaos of twisting water, thrashing koi fish, and screaming people flying to what could be their doom. Zarian shook his head at his ghostly little sister. What was she thinking? She should get away. Yet, she ignored what should be common sense in favor of getting up close to the portal. Her braided pigtails wavered toward the swirling dark pit. So did the rest of her body, barely holding on to this side of the world. What happened to ghostly little sisters when a void-like phenomenon ate them? Zarian didn¡¯t want to find out. ¡°Ariana, what are you doing?!¡± Zarian shouted. ¡°Heading for the portal, Big Bro,¡± she said with a grave weight that was beyond her childish appearance. ¡°We don¡¯t belong in this weak, mundane world. We belong on the other side. At least for now.¡± ¡°What¡¯s over there? How do you know that?!¡± Zarian watched a screaming mall shopper fly into the portal. She disappeared with her shopping bags. There in one moment. Gone in the next. Zarian¡¯s heart was practically in his throat as he shouted himself hoarse. ¡°The dreams didn¡¯t tell us about what¡¯s on the other side!¡± Ariana turned back to him and smiled. ¡°Let¡¯s go on an adventure and see. It¡¯s going to be okay. Just like always. Trust me.¡± Zarian watched her, waiting to see if she would step into the portal and disappear. She didn¡¯t. She waited patiently for him. He was both relieved and horrified. He always wondered if Ariana was a weird break in his psyche that drugs and therapy could treat. If she was fake, then he was actually crazy, even with magic. That would be devastating. They had thirteen years of laughter and tears, hard times and visceral excitement. She was the only family he knew, and that familial bond was strong, like well-forged steel. She¡¯d been encouraging. She¡¯d been practically perfect. She had to exist. If so, then there was another slight worry. Tiny. Infinitesimal, even. He still had to ask while facing down an apocalyptic scenario. ¡°Ariana, you¡¯re not a demon are you?¡± Zarian asked. ¡°You didn¡¯t, like, play a long game of getting me to this point, so I¡¯ll doom Florida and the rest of world, right?¡± She smiled at him, holding her silence. She looked lovely and bubbly like always. Zarian felt like he wanted to protect her instead of accusing her of apocalyptic evil. More screaming people tumbled past him and Ariana. More blood leaked out of his body from the gunshot wound. He was getting more tired now. All the chaos, violence, and bad nutrition were draining. ¡°Fuck it.¡± Zarian dropped the dark spike wall from around him. He didn¡¯t bother regathering his fading darkness. That was going to be a pain to load up later. Oh well, he had bigger concerns. Like getting lifted off his feet and yanked into a portal to the unknown. The last thing he saw was Ariana¡¯s upturned face as she watched him flip into the portal. The look on her face was slightly different. Just slightly. Zarian¡¯s concerns deepened. Because inside of Ariana¡¯s eyes was a glint of crazy glee. Truly, they were family. They were crazy together. He hit the portal. Everything went dark for him. And ultra weird. Like he was getting stretched out into the longest piece of human taffy without physically feeling it. Time seemed to stop. Motion was a concept that didn¡¯t exist in simple observable terms here. Space was infinite and finite. He should be dead. Or at least unconscious. But he was still alive and aware. His mind interpreted it all while unable to feel, speak, taste, hear, smell, or do anything. Most people would¡¯ve found that hellish to endure, or they would¡¯ve completely zonked out. Zarian, however, found it normal. Once he put aside the panic and settled into the journey to the unknown, it even felt like a pleasant reprieve. It helped that the journey was happening inside high quality darkness. The deepest and densest kind. Since it was his favorite element, he liked its crushing hold on him. Better yet, he could sense the depths of this portal magic far better than before. There was more to it than just darkness. Like it had a few unique twists or ingredients to make it all possible. What could all that be? They felt ¡­ familiar. Natural. He kept trying to break it down, but the answers kept slipping out of reach. He was right on the cusp of grasping it all. He snapped back into reality before he could unravel the secrets of the portal. He slammed chest first into a stone floor. Hard. The air whooshed out of his lungs. His chin dribbled off the stone floor, whacking his jaw and the rest of his head with thumping pain. He was still bleeding from the gun wound inside his upper back. And he wasn¡¯t alone. Zarian heard other people shouting and screaming in front of him. He pushed up a little, blinking rapidly to clear his blurry vision. A strong, desperate hand grabbed him by his bushy, tangled hair. The assaulter, a police officer, shoved Zarian¡¯s face back into the stone floor, smashing his cheek. Then the officer pushed a hot pistol barrel into his face. ¡°What the fuck did you do? Where the hell are we?¡± shouted the cop, voice breaking. Before Zarian could speak, the cop¡¯s knee slammed down onto the small of Zarian¡¯s back. The air he¡¯d struggled to take in rushed back out. Zarian sputtered and gasped. He tried to think as the cop screamed down at him while yanking even harder on his hair, his scalp burning. Zarian wanted to say he had no idea where they were. He wanted to say he hadn¡¯t meant for any of these complications. He didn¡¯t get the chance. He was still gasping for air when a strange thing occurred, popping up in his vision. A blue box appeared in front of Zarian¡¯s face. Like a notification. It even came with a soft ¡®ding¡¯ in the corner of his head. It wasn¡¯t a sound that was heard by the ear. It was more internal, a part of his mind. The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. The blue notification read as if it came from a genderless and artificial speaker: ¡°Hello,¡± Zarian mumbled hoarsely. Another notification popped over the welcoming one. That was ominous. Shocking, even. Zarian¡¯s mind felt like it was crawling and racing at the same time. With a gun still to his face, he glanced past the cooling barrel and at the man holding him hostage. The panicked cop was staring at something in the air that only he could see. Are we all seeing our own blue notification boxes? Zarian wondered if all the blue notifications were doing the weird glitchy thing. Was there a problem with the integration commencing? There was another weird thing happening. Zarian¡¯s reactions. I¡¯m handling this pretty well, Zarian realized. Then again, I¡¯ve been playing with actual magic for almost two years when nobody else can. I think. Maybe. Another blue notification appeared over the last. A red notification popped up with one big bold word written in white. Zarian felt rising excitement instead of fear. He was growing more thrilled even while having a gun shoved into his face. Then the hype grew further with more red notification boxes appearing, overlaying the past ones. ¡°What the fuck is this? Is this some sick virtual reality game? Who paid you to pull this stunt off, asshole?¡± The cop yanked Zarian¡¯s head around and placed more weight on his back. He winced at the pain, but his enthusiasm remained undaunted. He wanted more notifications. He was practically starving for them. He had no idea that any of this would happen. But he felt like he was meant for this. The Infinita Star System seemed to be on his side. It gave him a new notification to feel even more excited about. The notification came out gold this time around. Zarian had too many questions. But he was delirious, starved, suffering blood loss, and having his hair yanked near the scalp with a pistol barrel and a twitchy trigger finger in his face. He couldn¡¯t focus on any one thing until he forced himself to take a painful breath, hold on to that pain, and clear his head. Two things came to mind. It would be nice if I get a little more info about my origins. And where is Arianna? Zarian needed to get his feet under him, then take another breather and look around. First, the panicked cop had to get the hell off of him. Zarian felt around for his familiar darkness. To his surprise, he felt a greater connection to the darkness in his surroundings. Stranger yet, when he called on the darkness, unfamiliar hieroglyphic symbols flashed through his mind. Something clicked inside of him like the press of a button. With a flex of his will, darkness pooled under his palm rapidly. Before it became too noticeable, Zarian flipped over his hand and shot up a dark bar of thick darkness. He struck the handgun directly with a force that was both surprising to Zarian and the cop. The pistol fired. Zarian¡¯s hearing went out, replaced by a painful ringing. He clenched his jaw when the flesh on the back of his skull flew off from a bullet scraping across his head. If the shot was a few more inches to the left, then the back of Zarian¡¯s head would¡¯ve been blown out. His luck was pushing past the point of breaking now. Lucky or not, I can¡¯t die now. That¡¯s a hell naw from me. Zarian pushed aside his pain, the weariness, and the shock of everything happening at once. He scrambled from under the surprised cop who was already falling over, his gun arm swinging wide after getting shoved hard by the dark beam. He was shouting about his gun hand hurting, barely able to keep hold of his weapon. The cop was still armed and dangerous. There was barely any light here. Only some scraps of illumination, with the shadows circling around the light sources and the darkness waiting hungrily further out. Zarian and the man who nearly blew out the back of his head were in one of those dark zones. The strange hieroglyphic symbols flashed through his mind again. The button-like click resonated inside of him once more. He felt something uniquely orderly and powerful, giving him a firm push to do as he pleased, as if he was getting a helpful assist from something bigger than him. He gathered a straight bar of darkness as long as a pipe and slammed it down on the gunman¡¯s shoulder. Zarian felt the crunch underneath the weighty blunt hit. The arm holding the gun flopped to the side uselessly after getting popped out of the shoulder socket. The gun fell fully with a dull clatter, barely audible to Zarian¡¯s ears while they were still ringing. The man cried out hoarsely, holding his injured arm. Zarian might¡¯ve done more damage than pop the arm out of the shoulder. But at least he neutralized one shooter. He turned in time to see the other cops who¡¯d entered the dark portal along with a bunch of randos. People were paying attention after the gunshot. Zarian counted three pistols leveled at him. There were no more weaponized authorities than that. The rest were a handful of civvies and some flopping koi fish entangling with some weird gunk pooling in the middle of the dark stone room. Hell, Zarian had seen nobody else drop in after him. There was no roaring portal or anything now. It was just him and the people who¡¯d got sucked in first. Looks like we have ourselves a Mexican Standoff, Zarian thought, even though everyone else was aiming at him. A real Mexican Standoff would have everyone against each other. Worse yet, they were close enough to hit him accurately this time. ¡°Do you wipe up or do you wipe down?¡± Zarian asked, his hearing returning quicker than normal. The police glared at him. One man asked, ¡°What the hell are you talking about, psycho?¡± ¡°An older Marine once told me, depending on which direction you wipe, you might have shitty balls. So, do you have shitty balls?¡± Zarian didn¡¯t wait for them to respond as he covertly pooled darkness under him. He deepened its depths and density. It was far easier than ever before. He shot three dark beams from in front of his feet, like lances of the deepest abyss. The guns fired, roaring, flashing. Bullets flew, snapping by with sonic speed. One bullet clipped him on the hip. Another dug away some meat from his left arm. Zarian was feeling awful even with the adrenaline. He stayed on his feet and watched his magic work. Three dark beams landed on three chests and struck the police officers harder than Zarian had expected. For dozens of feet. They hit the stone floor with a hard finality that suggested they wouldn¡¯t be getting up for a while. Just to be on the safe side, Zarian reached out with four tendrils of darkness that snapped out faster than ever before. He gathered all the guns and piled them on the floor behind him. Then Zarian collapsed to the ground with a phlegmy wheeze. He coughed into his fist, enduring the pain of having bullet wounds all over his body. Blood leaked from everywhere, which made it a wonder how he was still alive and functional. ¡°What the hell did you do? Where are we? You won¡¯t get away with this,¡± yammered the officer who had his shoulder broken. ¡°And get this blue crap out of my face!¡± Zarian ignored him and the others for now. He looked around for Ariana. She was still nowhere to be found. He paid attention to the new notifications he felt piled up in his head. The soft dinging sound they made wasn¡¯t too distracting and helped as a reminder to check. As soon as he willed for the notifications to show up, they appeared in front of his face. The boxes were still gold. Despite the pain of bleeding out alive, Zarian¡¯s face lit up with a crooked smile. Call him a simple man, but he liked how the System made him feel special with gold notifications. It was like getting the VIP treatment. He¡¯d never had that before. And things were only getting better. Zarian laughed giddily as a whole golden profile appeared before him. His heart rate picked up. Chills ran down his spine. He might bleed out soon. He didn¡¯t care. He did what the notification told him. Behold. <> Origins: Zarian Darkrun, 21-yr-old Human, Honored Outsider. Level: 10 Class: (Please Select) Traits: Dark Affinity (Rare), Overpower (Epic). Alpha Skills (1/3): Straight Darkness (Level 5). Willpower: 21 Strength: 15 Agility: 14 Wonder: 22 Mysticism: 75 Free: 50 Achievements: Honored Outsider (Unopened). <> 3: Why Him? While Zarian was ignoring his bloody problems and feeling hyped over his golden advancement, his former high school peer was doing all he could not to piss himself. The former peer¡¯s name was Jack Masters. He was the one who¡¯d called mall authorities on Zarian prior to the shooting, chaos, and portal madness. Jack had warned them of a ¡®dangerous, deranged, and likely armed¡¯ man sitting on a bench across from the koi pond. Jack had reported as many details as possible to urge the police to move in quicker. He had tried his best to be equally tolerant of everyone. But past issues didn¡¯t make Jack tolerant of the mentally ill. They were likely to be violent and do horrible things, in Jack¡¯s experience. He remembered how Zarian would mutter to himself during class back in high school. He remembered how Zarian attacked other people like a raving maniac ¨C though there were rumors saying that Zarian had only attacked his bullies in self-defense. He bit off a guy¡¯s ear like a Mike Tyson wannabe. That¡¯s the actions of a crazy man, not someone rational defending themselves. Jack had stayed as far away from Zarian as possible. He¡¯d started doing that ever since he first heard Zarian whisper to his dead little sister that nobody else could see. What was her name? ¡°Ariana, come out and see this!¡± Zarian yelled, sounding as deranged as usual. Hearing him like that made Jack flinch where he lay belly down, arms covering his head. A few droplets of piss leaked out and stained his expensive pants. This is my favorite brand, Jack realized before pushing that thought aside. He was still grasping at straws, trying to make sense of the unbelievable things he¡¯d seen. Zarian had shot out a dark tentacle from his hand back at the mall. Gunfire had ensued, which had Jack pinned in the corner close to the elevator behind the koi pond. Then a powerful suction had snatched Jack off the floor and dropped him into a dark, cave-like room. From there, he¡¯d watched Zarian shoot more dark beams like he was a villain straight out of a fantasy novel or movie. As a concept, it should¡¯ve been comical or silly. Jack had never seen something so horrifying in his life. That couldn¡¯t be actual magic. There was no way. Because why would Zarian of all people have those powers? Yet, the dark beams had sent grown men off their feet. Zarian had defeated them without weapons, only magic. Not without injury, though. It was dark here, with only a few light sources. Despite the lack of clear vision, Jack was sure that Zarian had been shot. Possibly in multiple places. If only someone could land a final hit on the mad man. If only I weren¡¯t hallucinating about blue notifications and a profile, Jack thought. What the heck was this madness? He was Level 1, apparently. And he had an ¡­ alpha skill? It even came with a description: Jack looked up shakily at Zarian. The mad man was sitting down, not moving, doing God knows what. Quickly, Jack resummoned his profile with a thought. He examined his ¡®stats¡¯ ¨C which he could hardly believe were real ¨C and noticed that his Wonder stat was higher than the others. Why was that? What was Wonder? He waited for answers from the so-called System. But he received no explanations. Was 9 points in Wonder enough to do anything to Zarian? ¡°Ariana, if you don¡¯t come out, I¡¯m going to choose my class without you!¡± Zarian shouted hoarsely before letting loose some wet coughs and a groan. ¡°Then you¡¯ll regret it!¡± He sounded weak even while shouting. Even with all of his magic power. If Zarian could use magic, couldn¡¯t Jack do the same now? Why should someone as crazy and dangerous as Zarian be the only one to use his powers? Jack trusted himself to have magic if it existed. Someone had to stop Zarian before he did even worse damage. Removing his hands from over his head, Jack initiated his plan. He calmed his shaking body with a few deep breaths, in and out, in and out. He pushed his hand forward toward Zarian¡¯s seated body. The distance wasn¡¯t too far. Only about forty feet. Jack had a good eye for hitting at range ever since he¡¯d played little league baseball. He was not good enough for D1, but he was good enough for chucking a decent fast ball accurately. Or in this case, shoot actual magic to kill a dangerous man. You need to go down! Jack gritted his teeth and willed for the magic, Star Bolt, to work. To his ever-growing surprise, the alpha skill answered his request. He felt a click inside of him, like the press of a mystical button. He saw weird alien symbols flash through his mind, overworking his brain, making it throb. He didn¡¯t get why he was hurting when it was a Level 1 skill. Was that because he lacked enough energy or whatever? The throbbing headache stopped mattering when a literal spark of starlight formed in Jack¡¯s palm. The light pushed back the darkness despite its small size. The growing Star Bolt shone with hope, faith, and Wonder. Jack was amazed. He was a true believer now. And he was about to die when a pony-size creature thrashed across the ground in his direction. He noticed its moving bulk from the corner of his vision and turned to see a gaping maw filled with teeth aiming for his flesh. Jack jerked his star-lit palm around. He fired his shot. And missed. His one skill streaked across the cavernous room and over a pool of dark ichor that was filled with more of the large monsters. The Star Bolt blasted the far wall with a solid burst, spraying sparks and rock chips like a grenade going off. It was amazing. It would¡¯ve beaten the monster back if it had landed on flesh instead of stone. It would¡¯ve been nice to charge another one if Jack had the time and energy. I¡¯m dead, Jack thought. The monster lunged into the air. It plummeted down on Jack. He froze. He screamed. Before he met his doom, dark beams struck the slimy monster¡¯s side, all direct hits. The streams of jetting darkness pushed with a force that was palpable, making Jack feel oppressed under a heavy, invisible weight. The monster¡¯s momentum reversed and slammed down somewhere behind Jack. ¡°Ah, wait, I should¡¯ve struck with the pointy ends, not the blunt ends,¡± Zarian said, slurring his words. ¡°Ugh, I¡¯m not doing so great.¡± ¡°Are you for real, Darkrun? You caused this mess, and now you¡¯re complaining? You¡¯re so out of pocket I want to shoot you myself,¡± said a familiar dark-skinned woman. Despite her threat, she sounded way too calm about the situation they were in. She grabbed hold of another woman¡¯s hand, one of the show girls who worked for the rum promoters. She was the same girl who had her bottle snatched away by Zarian. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. Jack watched the two women run from the slimy, coiling monsters. They stopped behind Zarian, who was still sitting down. The guns are over there. Jack scrambled to his feet, his headache giving him some trouble, but not enough to stop him. It faded away a little at a time, making it easier for him to concentrate and move. He lunged over one of the police officers. They were still struggling to get up after Zarian had taken them down. Jack wasn¡¯t going to help them. They¡¯d failed their duty to protect and serve. If the monsters ate them, that was their fault. Breathing in relief, he joined the others who got on the side of the man who caused all of this trouble. Other than the familiar black woman and the rum promoter girl, there was the addition of a middle-aged woman clutching half-a-dozen shopping bags and a skinny retailer worker guy. None of them went for the pile of pistols that was near the maniac. Jack thought of them as idiots as he tried to circle around the strange gathering and get at the guns. Something snake-like lunged from the darkness under him. It snatched him by the wrist and made him squeal. ¡°Jack Masters? Yeah, that¡¯s you.¡± Zarian flicked a single finger, beckoning Jack. The dark tendril pulled Jack over into a stumble, its power undeniable. He nearly burst into pathetic apologies about calling the police and trying to kill him, but Zarian kept talking. ¡°You should¡¯ve pitched more baseballs, dude. I swore you would¡¯ve made it to D1. But I guess it¡¯s a good thing you¡¯re here. I need you to aim my hand. Blood loss is getting to me, and I¡¯m still in the middle of selecting my class.¡± Jack couldn¡¯t believe what he was hearing. Zarian hadn¡¯t realized Jack had tried blasting him with Star Bolt earlier. Well, Jack wasn¡¯t going to tell him. ¡°I don¡¯t know what those big wormy things are, but they look scary. It¡¯s a good thing I¡¯m scarier.¡± Zarian laughed wetly before letting loose a fit of coughs. Now that Jack had an up close look. The man ¡­ looked rough. Very rough. He¡¯d gone into the Marines and gotten kicked out, which was the last thing Jack heard about his former school peer before today. Jack wondered why the Marines would let go of a magical super villain? How were they here? How was any of this possible? Then Jack noticed one monster thrashing toward a vulnerable police officer. The man was struggling to crawl away. Jack still didn¡¯t want to help. What if touching Zarian was a trap? What if the maniac bit off his ear? Jack didn¡¯t want to sacrifice anything, not for a failed police officer. ¡°I¡¯ll do it.¡± The black woman brushed past Jack and dropped to a knee beside Zarian. ¡°Gods damn you, boy, why are you so much freaking trouble? I can¡¯t go anywhere without wondering what stupidity you¡¯re gonna get into next.¡± ¡°Oh hey, Sergeant Washington,¡± Zarian slurred. ¡°Fancy meeting you here.¡± Jack jolted with sudden realization. The black woman was the military recruiter who¡¯d shown up at their high school senior year. She¡¯d recruited Zarian into the Marines. What was this twisted fate? How did this happen? Jack gawked as Sergeant Washington sat in a stable shooting position and treated Zarian¡¯s arm like a rifle. She rested her cheek on his triceps and aimed down the limb and past his outstretched fingers. Then she squeezed his biceps firmly. Instead of the boisterous bang of gunfire, a silent and weighty bar of darkness shot forth. It was scarier when it made no noise while packing so much power. The dark beam speared through the monster that nearly bit into one of the downed policemen. The creature thrashed aside, missing the man by a few inches. Monster blood sprayed about, spilling on the officer. Jack heard a stifled gasp from someone behind him. He was gasping for air himself. ¡°My aim was off,¡± Sergeant Washington said. ¡°Let¡¯s try that again with a double-tap.¡± She squeezed Zarian¡¯s biceps twice and fired two short, dark beams, one after the other. She obliterated the monster¡¯s skull, tossing up gore, brains, and eyeballs. ¡°It¡¯s a fish,¡± said the retailer worker guy. ¡°It¡¯s a koi fish, but a big and mean one.¡± ¡°How did it get like that?¡± said the rum promoter girl with a strong Hispanic accent. ¡°Someone fucking help me!¡± shouted one of the downed policemen. That was the most he could do. ¡°Someone should go help them before they get eaten by the, eh, koi fish,¡± urged the rum promoter girl. Nobody moved, especially not Jack. Instead, he glanced at the guns. The rum promoter and retail worker followed his gaze, probably thinking the same thing. Jack hesitated. He had his energy back. The headache was gone. He could fire another Star Bolt. It was powerful. Maybe it could be as powerful as Zarian¡¯s dark beams. Wouldn¡¯t his skill improve if he used it more? Just like how it worked in a video game? This was actual magic. Wonderful magic. It would be more powerful than a gun if he leveled it up, right? Zarian was the perfect example, which Jack realized with horror and disgust. Sergeant Washington was picking off the monster-turned koi fish with ease. Zarian was a reliable weapon, shooting pointy dark beams whenever his recruiter squeezed his biceps. She pushed the shooting pace to a five-shot volley with a pause in between. She and Zarian blasted the koi monsters into gory bits before the giant fish could reach the downed policemen. It was a terrifying display of power. Zarian wasn¡¯t even paying that much attention. He was letting someone else aim and signal when to fire. Sergeant Washington handled that like a pro. ¡°How are you doing that? How are you so brave?¡± asked the rum promoter girl, which was the same question Jack was wondering. ¡°I¡¯m cheating. I got this alpha skill called Tranquil Thoughts, Level 2. It calms me down and makes me think clearly. Or I¡¯ll lose my shit like the rest of you,¡± Sergeant Washington explained. ¡°Is that what¡¯s happening now? We¡¯re in a video game? All because of this impulsive boy? God, you annoy me so much, Darkrun.¡± ¡°My bad, Sergeant.¡± Zarian let out a bloody chuckle that made the others shiver. ¡°I might¡¯ve screwed up a lot. But I got good news. I know what I¡¯m picking for my class.¡± ¡°Does this look like high school to you?¡± Sergeant Washington snapped at him, while still shooting at the monsters. Jack couldn¡¯t believe the gall of this woman during an absolute massacre. Yet, Zarian kept chuckling, not bothered at all. ¡°Video game term, Sergeant. It means I¡¯m picking a magical battle role to beat the monsters better.¡± ¡°Sorcerer?¡± asked the retailer worker guy. ¡°Oh, I get it. This is a role play. This is all make-believe. It¡¯s like the VR stuff and brain chips, right?¡± asked the rum promoter girl. Jack was having a hard time with the tonal whiplash. There was death, macabre, and screaming monsters ahead. Yet the surrounding discussion was more suitable at a convention for nerds. ¡°Not sorcerer. And this is not make believe,¡± Zarian said. ¡°Here, I¡¯ll show you. You can stop shooting now, Sergeant.¡± The recruiter hesitated for a second before backing off of Zarian¡¯s arm. She strode to the pile of pistols, picked one, then emptied the rest of their magazines and cleared the bullets. She shoved the mags into the thin waistline of her jeans. She probably needed the gun and bullets more than Jack. He¡¯d never shot a gun before. He was still sad she took control of one and hogged all the ammunition. Meanwhile, Zarian staggered to his feet like a drunk. Wait, he is drunk, isn¡¯t he? He¡¯d taken a bottle from the rum promoter girl when all of this madness started. Jack couldn¡¯t believe he was standing behind this guy now. Zarian lurch toward the remaining monsters. There were far fewer now. Sergeant Washington had done a good job wiping out half of them with Zarian¡¯s power. Jack glared. Why wasn¡¯t Zarian affected by overuse? ¡°Yeah, no, I¡¯m not going to,¡± Sergeant Washington muttered to no one in particular. ¡°Not going to what?¡± Jack asked. The military recruiter looked grimly at the back of Zarian¡¯s bleeding head. Her hand gripped the pistol firmly while it pointed at the floor, finger off the trigger. Jack understood what she meant now. He disliked the woman even further. She had a golden opportunity, and she was squandering it. Yes, she could wait for Zarian to finish the koi monsters then take advantage. But how could she call herself a Marine and not aim to take down a dangerous disgrace? It has to be me, Jack thought. Zarian has to have a limit. He can¡¯t shoot all of that magic forever. He¡¯s barely able to stay standing. ¡°Ariana, I¡¯m worried about you. You¡¯re not responding or showing up anywhere. If you really were a figment of my imagination, that¡¯s going to hurt,¡± Zarian said aloud. ¡°You know how many people wrote me off as crazy. I¡¯m not crazy. Don¡¯t make me look crazy.¡± Jack looked dead in the recruiter¡¯s eye. Aren¡¯t you seeing how insane that is? Sergeant Washington ignored Jack¡¯s glare with a stony expression. She was not a good woman, that was for sure, or she wouldn¡¯t have gotten Zarian into the Marines somehow. ¡°When do we go home?¡± asked the rum promoter girl. ¡°We¡¯re in an isekai,¡± said the retail worker guy. ¡°I don¡¯t think we get to go home. I¡¯m Wally, by the way.¡± ¡°Hannah,¡± said the meek-looking, middle-aged woman still clinging to her shopping bags. She was all the way in the back. ¡°Bianca,¡± said the rum promoter girl. She was a natural blond beauty and should be far away from these horrors. Jack muttered his name while Sergeant Washington grunted out ¡°Naomi.¡± They fell into an uncomfortable silence as Zarian faced off against the remaining koi monsters. One of the koi monsters stood bigger than the rest with a greater amount of bulk. It looked like a serpentine dragon rising out of the eerie muck that was covering all the monsters. Maybe the creature might be strong enough to kill Zarian. Wait, no, if that happens, who would kill it? Jack wanted to shout in frustration. He also wanted a new pair of pants. It felt uncomfortably wet, distracting him even with death and horror happening in front of him. Then things became weird when a large, chain-wrapped book phased out of Zarian¡¯s torso and floated in the air beside him. The chains rattled so hauntingly they drove the fear of evil into Jack¡¯s soul. The chain bindings on the big black book pulled away from its thick face. The covers swung open. Ghastly black lights shone from the rapidly flipping pages. What the fuck was that? What class did he choose? Jack checked his profile and saw he didn¡¯t have the option to choose a class. Was it because he was Level 1? What level was Zarian? And seriously, why him? 4: Title Drop Why do I have so many class options? Zarian was barely conscious of what was happening. He was on his feet because of his Willpower. He felt like he was about to fall over and kick the bucket soon. He stayed up because the people he¡¯d yanked into this cavernous room would die if he didn¡¯t take responsibility. It didn¡¯t take him long to believe it was his duty to protect them. Even the police who had shot him. He had no hard feelings toward them, really. He¡¯d done some freaky stuff at the mall that would¡¯ve scared anybody. He was self-aware enough to acknowledge that. He had to be self-aware to be somewhat functional. Or maybe that was another weird quality of his. Self-awareness hadn¡¯t done him much good before, but he could change things around now. Especially with his class selection. He¡¯d shorten the list of over a hundred class options to a few. So many varied between different brands of warrior, rogue, cleric, and more. There was a Death Squire class. There was a Blood Reaper class. There were class-types for Wiccan, Alchemist, Murderer, Assassin, Executioner, Torturer, Soldier, Jailer, Wanderer, Vagrant, Studier, Portal Jumper, Void Dancer, and more. There were mundane sounding classes. There were super special classes that seemed cool. It was a lot to take in, and he didn¡¯t have time to examine them all. Thankfully, he found one that fit his fancy early on the list. He kept thinking of it as he zoomed down to the bottom and back up multiple times. There were a few other epic classes. But none of them suited him like the Black Wizard Apprentice. Anything below epic gave fewer stats, even if they sounded cool like Portal Jumper and Void Dancer, which were rare classes. They probably had strong skills. But Zarian liked the idea of being an epic wizard with a fancy spellbook. No, not a spellbook. It¡¯s called a grimoire. That sounded even better. There was one legendary class, which seemed major. It gave more stat points than Black Wizard Apprentice. Zarian didn¡¯t like the sound of the class or the skill. The legendary class didn¡¯t even come with a rare trait, whatever that could be. He had little time to scrutinize things because he was dying from blood loss. He needed something to help stop that. Picking Black Wizard Apprentice was probably a Hail Mary judgment call. He figured the epic wizard class might have a fix-me-up type of spell if he was lucky enough. He locked in his choice with a push of his will, which he found really cool. There was no need to plant chips in his brain. The magic system, or System, did it automatically. A new notification confirmed the addition of the new class. He also felt the update, like someone uploading new codes or runes into his soul. He shivered from the sensation, nearly tripping over. Did having a profile and being connected to the Star System make him part magic machine now? Even with the fleshy bits? Or was the magic so advanced here it was almost Sci-Fi? Maybe it was sufficiently advanced science that became magic-like. Either way, this was all rad. I¡¯m getting too distracted by all these scattered thoughts. Where was Ariana? Ugh, he was going to give her a good scolding the next time she showed up. For now, he needed to save the people who probably wanted him dead. It¡¯s my screw up. I¡¯ll fix it. Zarian didn¡¯t even bother looking at the skill description for the Grimoire of Black Arts 101. He felt it in his soul-attached profile and pressed the inner button to activate the skill. A flash of runic text scrawled across his mind¡¯s eye. The runes were deep, vast, complex, and almost incomprehensible. He felt energy drain out of him. He was flagging a lot now. The book came out with a big rattle of chains like a wraith exiting its container, which was him. The covers spread open, and the pages flipped in a blur. The book glowed an eerie black light before shifting to the bloody red spectrum. Zarian could barely focus, but somehow he could make heads and tails of the magic geometric shapes and hieroglyphic scribbles of an unfamiliar language. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s straight up gruesome,¡± Zarian muttered before shrugging lazily with his better shoulder. ¡°But a man¡¯s gotta do what man¡¯s gotta do.¡± The koi fish monsters slithered toward him. There were ten of them left, with a bigger koi fish in the back acting like a mini-boss. Zarian stopped at the edge of the murky, oily liquid that the koi fish splashed around in. He sighed tiredly as he forced himself to think through a few actions. First, he dumped 30 Free points into Mysticism, 10 Free points into Wonder, and 10 Free points into Willpower. While raising Mysticism felt like the smartest move, his gut instincts told him to raise up Wonder and Willpower as well. Just like that, he felt more focused and ready. He didn¡¯t feel so close to death anymore. And he was swelling with a new inner power as the koi fish launched their attack. He commanded the darkness to spring into a wall of pikes in front of him. It happened so fast the speed of the formation nearly shocked Zarian. The koi fish monsters thrust themselves onto the pointy ends with their monstrous bulk. They were even more surprised than him. He was going to smile when a few more monsters slammed into the backs of their brethren. The jarring impacts did the unexpected. The long, dark spears snapped. Zarian had made them too long and thin without enough density. Now the monsters were lunging down at him. Zarian cursed as he dropped to the floor and quickly manipulated more lines of darkness. Thick bars criss-crossed inches above his body from both sides. The koi monsters slammed down with a heavy force, bending the dark bars inward, threatening to crush Zarian. He wished he put points into Strength. He was too weak to push back physically. Things looked bad until the blood of the perforated monsters dripped through the gaps. Loads of it. It was pouring all over him. The chained grimoire was lying next to him. Zarian hadn¡¯t done his research on the consequences of its use, but he evoked his first ever spell: Bloody Lifesteal. The spell pages glowed a malignant and vampiric red. The blood touching Zarian glowed the same foreboding color. Then Zarian felt renewed energy uplift his entire sense of life. He felt further away from death than ever. He felt like he could live forever. He felt like he could drain life from the blood of his enemies, or anyone he deemed his enemies, nonstop. It was a rush. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! It was insanely intoxicating. It was a new drug. Zarian crushed that pleasurable high with Willpower. He had enough to refocus on his situation. The dark bars continued to buckle under the hill of crushing koi monsters. It was time to get squirrelly and escape. Feeling more lively, Zarian twisted around and belly crawled through a gap above his head. A koi monster lunged down and scraped some flesh off the shoulder. Zarian hissed out a curse and raised his hand, shooting out a dense jet of sharp darkness. He punched out the brains from the monster that bit him before he crawled the rest of the way out. He made it just in time. The dark bars holding up the monsters collapsed. He avoided getting crushed beneath the bulky monster hill by a few feet. The danger at his back remained. The ones on top thrashed free and resumed the chase. They were too late to stop him, however. Zarian was up on his feet now, and he was more aware. He had his second wind and enough magic. ¡°Sorry for what happened to you,¡± Zarian said, sliding to a stop before spinning around with arms raised. The koi fish lunged at him again. He struck them back with rapid fire javelins of the densest and sharpest kind. It was an incredible display of power. Like he was a heavy caliber machine gun. Each puncture wound tore out so much flesh from the monsters, it almost seemed comical if there wasn¡¯t so much blood and gore. By the time Zarian felt like he was gassing his reserves, he¡¯d slaughtered all the koi monsters, including the big one. He tore that one apart the most until it stopped moving. Then all was still. Silence filled the cave. Nobody spoke. Zarian only heard the pulsating beat of his hammering heart and the blood racing through his ears. His floating, soul bound grimoire rattled as it shut closed and phased back into his body. Zarian lowered his twitchy hands and smiled, soaking in the momentous victory. Then the closest police officer pulled out a taser while still on the ground and shot Zarian with it. The taser stung somewhat. But it wasn¡¯t enough to drop him. Not anymore. He weathered the shock for long enough to pull the prongs out of him. ¡°Do that again and I¡¯m not saving you from the next monster attack.¡± Zarian stuck a thumb back at the monsters. ¡°This is your fault!¡± shouted the cop. ¡°Yeah, and?¡± Zarian still stuck his thumb at the dead monster corpses. The cop shook his head before laying back, groaning in pain, his eyes looking about in bewilderment. The other police officers were doing the same. Zarian had struck them so hard they still couldn¡¯t move. He¡¯d definitely broken some ribs. One man was coughing up blood. He sounded like he was struggling to breathe. ¡°Can someone help that guy?¡± Zarian pointed. ¡°I need a break.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll help him, sir,¡± Sergeant Naomi Washington offered. Zarian looked hard at her, puzzled. Naomi wore a serious, no-nonsense face, which suggested he was better off accepting the ¡®sir¡¯ designation than fighting her about it. It made him itch to be called a ¡®sir¡¯ when he was an enlisted man, but she was clearly doing it for a reason. ¡°Yeah, cool, much appreciated. I got to examine some things. You all work together for now. I¡¯ll be over there. Oh, and stay away from this evil-looking gunk here. It¡¯s like dark radioactive waste, but magical. That¡¯s what transformed the koi fish into monsters, I bet.¡± While he had a short stint in the Marines, he learned enough to lead people. He wasn¡¯t always the best at it, but he had a decent time leading subordinates before having his ranks taken, kicking him down to private. Wow, thinking of that brought back some heavy emotions. He almost wished things had gone differently. Oh well. He had magic powers and was in another world now. He was closer to tracking down his origins more than ever before. I took a bunch of losses to get here, but I¡¯m here. There were plenty of bright sides. He wasn¡¯t dying of blood loss. He was still bleeding a little and covered everywhere in crusted blood, yeah, but the wounds that would¡¯ve killed him earlier had sealed up mostly. He¡¯d gotten lucky with Bloody Lifesteal as his first spell from the grimoire. Too bad the bullet lodged in his back right shoulder was still in there. That sucked. A lot. He could feel it when he shifted his right shoulder around. Note to self: Lifesteal helps with securing life, not fixing my pains. Miniscule difference, but still a difference. Zarian walked over to the nearest wall and sat against it. He closed his eyes and chilled out. He was back to feeling weary, but he wasn¡¯t as far gone as before. He probably looked even more crazy to the others, but he couldn¡¯t care about that right now. Ariana was gone. He was in a new environment, the Infinita Star System, which called him an Honored Outsider. It sounded like he wasn¡¯t in the old Solar System anymore, let alone Earth. Zarian had literally ripped open a hole in spacetime and flung him, some koi fish, and ten other people across the universe. Or into another universe. Yeah, he caused the isekai. Suck it, Truck-kun. Since nobody had followed in after Zarian, he assumed the portal had closed up once he went through. Earth was safe on the other side. Unless Ariana waited for me to go through so she could take over Earth, Zarian thought, feeling crummy. He was better off pushing forward and examining the new magic stuff made available to him. Then he could go on an actual adventure. Ariana would either show up or not. Hopefully, she was just playing hide-and-seek. Or maybe she wasn¡¯t. Maybe this was goodbye. Zarian shoved his feelings deep down. He was no stranger to people abandoning him. Clapping his hands quietly, Zarian forced himself to smile, eyes opened. ¡°Back to the magic powers.¡± Yes, he had those. He also had new notifications to examine. Those might be important, so he pulled them up with a whim. They were still golden. He enjoyed seeing the gold boxes a lot. That VIP feeling made him feel warm inside. Zarian reached the end of the notifications, surprised by all he¡¯d accomplished. He also felt disappointed that he didn¡¯t choose his third skill in time for it to get some levels. He was still shaky about what the evil alignment meant. He was also unsure how his current level compared to when he unleashed his powers in public view at the mall. The chaos of the past ten to twenty minutes had blurred the differences. I definitely feel different. I feel way healthier and stronger than before. If I had a reference point, I can tell the difference easier. Before he dove deeper into his profile, he noticed one civilian talking excitedly. Zarian caught traces of the conversation surrounding blue boxes and levels. Ah, I¡¯m going to have to check with them about all of that, Zarian figured. He was pretty sure Sergeant Washington mentioned having a skill. Zarian could¡¯ve sworn someone conjured a shooting star that hit the wall. He didn¡¯t know who ¨C he had been dazed at the time ¨C but that was another useful skill. He wondered what their classes were. When he looked at the nearest civilian ¨C or survivor ¨C he stared a little harder this time. Something inside of him flipped like a switch. Then a golden box hovered over the person¡¯s head ¨C the woman holding onto her shopping bags. That looked like the major parts of her profile. If all of that was true, why was her level so low? After some thought, Zarian figured it was because she was a normal Outsider instead of an Honored Outsider like him. Could the others see each other¡¯s levels and skills, or was that special to him? Zarian checked his traits. He had a few compared to the last time he saw his profile. And he could read all of their powers. Yeah, Dark Affinity made sense. It was thematic with him. And he¡¯d guessed right when he distributed stats earlier on which to focus on. Mysticism was probably his most important stat, while Willpower and Wonder served as good supportive pillars. He had no idea what those stats truly meant. They wouldn¡¯t explain themselves. But if his Dark Affinity liked them, he would like them, too. He wished the Dark Affinity would explain a little more about what ¡®aura¡¯ meant. Was that the magic energy fueling his powers? Aura, huh? Not mana? Zarian let it sit for now and moved on. Now that was a badass trait. Probably the only reason he could overcome a bunch of giant koi monsters. His magical abilities came with an overkill switch he could turn on whenever he wanted. He needed to test the Overpower trait to see how fast it could switch from boosting stats to boosting a single skill. Pairing this with the grimoire skill would be devastating, honestly. Bingo bango, this one was the reason he saw Hannah¡¯s info. He had gotten the Identify trait from accepting the Dark Wizard Apprentice class. It was likely that the others didn¡¯t have this trait, only him. And it was a rare trait, which sounded highly valuable. In fact, the epic trait Overpower was probably higher in value than a rare trait. He was an overpowered wizard. Yeah, it sounded cheesy to call himself that. He couldn¡¯t help it, though. This was everything he wanted, plus more. Excited, he turned toward where Ariana would usually stand. He wanted to tell her about all the great news so far. She wasn¡¯t at his side, however. She was still nowhere to be seen. Zarian forced himself to move on. He had his current skills to look over along with a new skill choice. He also had that unopened achievement. What would that get him? Overpowered Wizard Book 1 is now on Amazon and Audible! Well, the day has finally arrived. You must''ve seen these headlines and posts before. Either way, I do want to say I appreciate your support, especially if you''ve continued following me after Book 1. I haven''t talked much about this, but the reaction to the ending of Book 1 was quite harsh from some of the commenters and reviewers. But after some thought, I realized doing what I do isn''t familiar with them, and most stories won''t swing with a bang like that. On a site like Royal Road, steady, simple, grind-y progression is the norm. But I have a style that goes a bit against the grain that I find exciting, that helps me write the next chapter, and the next chapter after that. It is a little sad that I''ve gotten a lot of negativity these past six months, but at the same time, I deeply appreciate the readers and commenters who''ve followed along with the story and enjoyed themselves for what it is. That helped me keep going. Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. The premise is about an OP Wizard and his friends, and I''m going to stick with that premise, for good and bad. So I appreciate you all who understand that. Anywho, Book 1 is out. I''m going to take the weekend off and come back with the next chapter on Tuesday. The last third of Book 2 has some of my favorite training montages, power fantasy action, world building, and crawls! Again, thank you, and enjoy! Grab OP Wizard on Amazon or Audible! 211: B3: C1: Recap with Para Para¡¯s Journal Entry Notes ¨C Early Summer, 1533 D.E: Thoughts: Hello, it¡¯s me, Para the Parasite Cloak +3! I really like journaling by hand. It¡¯s very fun, and it helps detail some of my thoughts, which are becoming more important now that my personhood is growing with various feelings, doubts, and uncertainties, and philosophical wonderings. Oops! I¡¯m rambling. The point of this journal entry is to write what has happened so far. We¡¯re on the eve of finally reaching the bottommost layer of the Grimrock Hell Gate. All we need to do is cross through this final corridor. We¡¯re following the new imp skeletons my host has raised from the dead bodies we¡¯ve found or the demon patrols we¡¯ve killed. My host, Zarian, is the best, by the way! He¡¯s like my father, almost. Also, imps are yummy, but that¡¯s neither here nor there. Hm, how shall I go about this? Oh! Let¡¯s start from the moment Zarian Darkrun opened a portal and entered the Infinita Star System, which happened last year, Mid Summer of the Dark Era! He pulled some people with him into the subterranean floors of Castle Grimrock, which are considered the territory of an evil goddess. He had to fight his first monsters, which were corrupted. He went through his profile after getting the Honored Outsider¡¯s advanced integration, and in the end he picked me instead of some other skill as his first skill choice! That¡¯s how I came into the world! I wasn¡¯t very conscious back then, but I felt the inner good nature of my host, and I think I started changing from there, even if only a little at a time. The others helped me change, too! Princess Bianca Garcia started teaching me Spanish. Hannah Townhouse likes to study my cloak body and talk about philosophy. Naomi Washington respects me and likes to train a lot. A lot, a lot. And Gilbert McDonald fears me a little, but I don¡¯t mind that, since he¡¯s nice to me, too. Along with Zarian, they all came from Florida, the World of Swamps and Princesses. It isn¡¯t an actual world of the Infinita Star System, it¡¯s a world from their old universe, and there used to be more of them, but they either died or became a major hater, like Jack Masters! WE HATE JACK! He¡¯s not nice. He¡¯s been causing trouble while Zarian, me, and our friends go on adventures to level up, grow stronger, and accomplish interesting quests, like saving a nice goblin who fed us instead of eating us when we first met. From the very beginning, I knew I would grow to like Foodie more and more, because she liked to cook and feast on those who acted dumb like a meal would, but she chose wisely not to do that to my host and our friends. Instead, she taught us many things. She taught us about how the five stats ¨C Willpower, Strength, Agility, Wonder, and Mysticism ¨C can do different things. She taught us about ascending up the realms and ranks of the alignment system, and how the good alignment, neutral alignment, and evil alignment weren¡¯t what they seemed at first glance. Foodie taught us a lot, and my host was grateful for that, especially when her cooking helped us grow our stats. After promising to save Foodie from her cruel warlock mother once we grow strong enough, Zarian, me, Bianca, Naomi, Hannah, and Gilbert went into the caverns under the Grimrock Castle Mountains. We found the White Spider Dungeon, met Dungeon Boss Reiki of the White Silk Dancers, and trained a bunch there. That was when Naomi met Baron Ekri the Tailor (also known as the Flesh Ripper). He gave us our first invite to Carrowmore, which is a high-level evil city under the Coldbooth Castle Mountains. Later on, my host became unhappy with Ekri because of their odd interests in Naomi. After we trained at the White Spider Dungeon a bunch, we took Reiki¡¯s dungeon core with us. We went out from the caverns and onto the surface, getting to see more of Corma, the World of Castles and Caverns. It¡¯s not like anything my host and his friends had ever seen before. I¡¯ve seen nothing like it either, but back then I didn¡¯t really have eyes to see with. I can see things better now because of Zarian¡¯s senses and our shared aura perception. As for Corma, it lives up to its names. It has castle walls, moats, forts, stone columns, and many more designs belonging to times the Floridians would deem as medieval from their old home. All of those structures are fused with the natural landscape of the world, at least on the surface, below that is filled with caverns where inhuman creatures live. There are even two suns, the Corma Star and the Star Core, and many moons. Once on the surface, we went to find an area to bury our dead. We also fought a Lost Golem Knight, defeated it, and gained some great achievements for Hannah and a side quest, which could lead us to finding the mysterious Forgotten Kingdom Dungeon. It was at that point where Hannah¡¯s growth sped up. She started using smart rune items with complex enchantments, such as a powerful gauntlet and the first Roller Golem. Later on, we met Roland of Wood and his young and unprepared soldiers, who accused my host of being the bad type of evil. That was when we learned humans with dark skin color didn¡¯t exist in Corma. They tried to keep Zarian contained, but when a gnoll attack happened, the Floridians showed their true power and the advanced techniques they¡¯d received from Reiki¡¯s training back in the White Spider Dungeon. We defeated the gnolls, and Zarian even defeated a rising gnoll. Then Zarian took Bianca for special training, helped her grow, and later dealt with the gnoll elders in a situation Zarian called a ¡°Crash Out.¡± Thankfully, Gnoll Elder Ezda, the Voracious Blood Beast, survived the crash out, because she and the other gnolls from the Blood Prairie Savages would become more important later. We then learned about the fourteen major gods, seven good, seven evil. Kingsblood, Lawkeep, Hopeland, Purgehunt, Purehome, Lovewar, and Serveserf are the Good Gods. Most of them would soon become our enemies. Sinfeast, Killall, Sickspread, Goldhound, ¡®The Dragon,¡¯ Hisscreep, and Shadowfell are the Evil Gods. Most of them also become our enemies, especially Sinfeast. WE HATE SINFEAST THE MOST! WE ARE HIS BIGGEST HATERS! SINFEAST SHOULD ALWAYS SUFFER! Moving on¡­ there are more divine entities. Some of them would regress to Lesser Worlds and cause problems as Tier 4 World Bosses, the type of creatures with such powers they could cause great havoc for large populations. We would soon deal with more of those types. As for our first months on the surface, we went with Roland and his sacrificial soldiers to Bramblevale, which is near the frontier of the Eternal Garden Kingdom where humans live in walled forts, walled farms, or walled cities. At Central Bramblevale, we had to get help from Lovewar, who became one of two of our divine patrons, the first being Evil Goddess Shadowfell, who¡¯s the source of the corruption and the Shadowfell Tears we found at Castle Grimrock. We must trade favors when getting such assistance, which allows us two divine boons from the gods in every ¡®campaign.¡¯ Inside of Central Bramblevale, the Floridians took down rampaging bandits, taught a lesson to the corrupted High Rose Lord of Bramblevale, fed the core of the Devouring Librarian Dungeon to Reiki, cleared out the underground of evil, and even met some of the evil gods. We made friends there, too, such as the Old Cabbage Seller, Silver Guardian Arnold of Ambrose, Evelyn the Witch, the Little Boot Girl, Rhea Hemlock, Amabel, and the many other girls who lived at the Lovewar Mansion as acolytes and informants and servants to those who help Lovewar, such as my host and our friends. The young human girls were also groomed to wait to be picked because of the rules of their kingdom. Their kingdom wasn¡¯t a nice kingdom even if they called themselves good. They sacrificed the young male soldiers and brainwashed the young defenseless females. So we did one of our patron gods, Good Goddess Lovewar, a favor to spark a civil war for change. Eventually, we had to leave and take the young soldiers and acolytes with us and go somewhere else, which is how we met Stony, the Wall Crusher Master. Together, we journeyed and trained the young soldiers and acolytes before reaching North Crown Peak, the most northern edge of the kingdom. It was there that Reiki¡¯s dungeon evolved from White Spider Dungeon to Dancing Librarian Dungeon and became a part of our base. We built fortifications because of Hannah¡¯s incredible crafting and enchanting magic and because of our temporary friend Stony. This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. Then we led our 289 young girls and boys in a siege fight against the wolf dragons and their wolf kobolds for the first time, which led to Bianca getting taken over by her good alignment, before Zarian ¡­ took our lives to free something inside. That was when we discovered how dangerous Zarian truly could be! He¡¯s the son of ultra gods! So that means my host is the most important person in the entire universe and beyond! The same goes for his little sister. The Funnest Granpapa was the one who helped us reset things. But he didn¡¯t erase our memories. So many powerful beings know who caused the Darkrun Apocalypse, which became a known event that spread fast across all the world of Corma and perhaps the rest of the Infinita Universe. This was when we learned that Ariana Darkrun, the little sister of my host, is truly evil. We learned that Luciana Shadowfell Darkrun is Zarian¡¯s arranged wife and wanted to become even more evil after the Darkrun Apocalypse. We also learned that the System must deal with great cosmic problems, such as harassment from other Systems. It was a hard time. But we didn¡¯t let that stop us from trying to grow, or in the case of my host, learn to control his Overwhelming Darkness. Months later, Zarian and the other Floridans have grown themselves and their new home, Ride-or-Die Village! The young soldiers and acolytes have become fierce adventurers of the Ride-or-Die Guild, which is quite exclusive. Many types of people pass through our village, such as adventurers from the Windy Strider Kingdom and Stalwart Paladin Kingdom. Both are from across the Stone River Sea, which is on the east side of the Grimrock Castle Mountains. The gnolls from the Blood Prairie Savages liked to pay us visits, too. They saw my host as their new Alpha Gnoll Elder Deity, better than their former god. The only people we haven¡¯t seen are the nomads from the United Nomad Empire, but they¡¯re probably dealing with the dangers of the Man Hunter Sands. Maybe we might see them later. After a cultivation session by the lake Zarian found with Ezda, we learned about the Lesser Aberrations and the growing threat of Enhanced Shadowfell Tears being made by my host¡¯s tricky wife. We also met elves! One elf tried to do bad things to my host, but then another elf showed up and ¡®slapped¡¯ the first elf. The second elf was much nicer, and is currently our teacher. She¡¯s Ruvaria the Sorceress Queen (Forever Green Empress, Ruler of the Promised Continent, Granddaughter of Good Goddess Purehome, Corma¡¯s Chosen One, Strongest Master Ranker in all the Infinita Star System). It¡¯s through Ruvaria we learned that there are five major eras: the Dark Era, which we currently are in. Then, going backward, there was the Adventure Era, the Reset Era, the Absolute Era, and the Forgotten Era. Before the Reset Era, the Star System used to be known as the Alignment System, when things were much worse. At the first meeting, Ruvaria seemed very tired of us. But she didn¡¯t want to seal us away because of Sealing Entropy. My host eventually convinced her to be our teacher. He proved himself as a wizard through gravity magic studies and taking on the trials of fighting an arch cherub. We also had to get through a time dungeon that sped up time on the inside, or what my host referred to as a hyperbolic time chamber. It was there we became Aura Masters and truly grew our magic! I don¡¯t want to admit this aloud, but I think Aura Mastery is more fun than Aura Ignition. Don¡¯t tell Naomi! After that, we adventured again, set on saving Foodie! We defeated Evil God Sinfeast at the Chimera Tyrant Lair and earned many rewards along with a vial of his tears. We celebrated at a lake and saw Goblin Skeleton Loner become an expert skeleton! We also learned the truth behind the current form of Ariana. She¡¯s actually The Dragoness (the Ultimate Queen, the Greatest Destroyer)! She¡¯s the most powerful living creature in the Infinita Star System, only second to the full power of Zarian¡¯s Overwhelming Darkness. She also has her own cosmic-eating darkness, too. So it¡¯s either she eats the Infinita Universe as The Dragoness or Zarian releases her from her dragon body and becomes a pair of cosmic-eating darknesses together. Of course, Zarian disagrees with both options! Because of this, we have to take our training even more seriously than before. We did very difficult things such as beating each other up and training our aura against each other. Then Empress Ruvaria appeared with gifts that were mythical and cursed. She gave Gilbert the Bloodroot Chalice. She gave Bianca the Tarnished Tome of Maledictions. She gave Hannah the Labyrinthine Box. She gave Naomi the Echoing Mirror of Self Destruction. And last but not least, she gave Zarian the Barbed Crown of Ravthar the Absolute King. With these five mythical cursed items, our training became even grander! We eventually reached the stronghold of the Blood Prairie Savages, gave all the gnolls head pats to make them happier, and got to experience the wonders of dungeon birth. Reiki became a mother, forming a second core, which became the Spider Bear Dungeon. We gifted that to the gnolls to help them with population control and to make their rising young stronger. We also did the blood rites, which made Ezda happy, although the Floridians don¡¯t want to talk about it because of Vegas rules for some reason. After that we met Wallen Huntsmen at Crossdeath and took over the evil human city after evicting Baron Han the Realtor. We also killed some lords and threw away some evil temples. The gods might be mad about that, but my host doesn¡¯t care. After that, we reached Castle Grimrock, turned away the crusading paladins led by Orin Ignatius and entered the Hell Gate. We fought hard battles against hell orcs for two weeks straight, which made the Floridians, who were already quite grand, even grander! We discovered some new tricks and techniques, especially the advanced combination spells my host and I can do with our Aura Mastery. Zarian can also use Quarter Percent Power on his Overwhelming Darkness, allowing him to manipulate a tiny bit of it for more flexibility. Anyway, I think that¡¯s it for my journal entry. I¡¯ll leave down below the profiles from when we had our last review, which happened before starting Operation Save The Cook. Although the Grimrock Hell Gate promises to reduce our experience gains, I still think Zarian and the others will get very close to Level 100 if they don¡¯t hit it exactly. If we can finish what we set out to do here at the Grimrock Hell Gate¡­ Zarian¡­ Might become a Master Ranker! Then we¡¯ll have the option to ascend! We might not choose it just yet, because there¡¯s still the Thousand Year Tournament and the gnomes hiding somewhere and many things to do or bad people to eat. <> Gilbert McDonald: Age 30, Born Early Spring, Outsider, Freedom Leader, Gnoll Elder, Troll Dominator, Free For Real +2, Legendary Knighted Healer, Level 80. Traits (12 Total): Shield Mastery (Uncommon), Health Affinity (Rare), Berserk Vitality (Rare), Knighted Rider (Rare), Stalwart Defender (Rare), Battle Supporter (Rare), Intoxicated Brawler (Uncommon), The Sacrificer (Epic), Unyielding Mentality (Rare), Life Wellspring (Epic), True Grit (Rare), Unbelievable Constitution (Epic). Alpha Skills (5/5): Unified Monk Force +2 (Level 29), Healing Force +2 (Level 49), Adrenaline Jolt +2 (Level 43), Tranquilizer Touch +2 (Level 40), Summon Spirit Steed +2 (Level 39). Beta Skills (2/15): Sacrificial Blow +2 (Level 47), Summon Wizard Hat (Level 0). Stats Per Level: +3 Strength, +1 Agility, +3 Wonder, +6 Free. Stats (1,539 Total): 176 Willpower, 470 Strength, 200 Agility, 400 Wonder, 293 Mysticism, 0 Free. Total Achievements: 18 so far. <> <> Hannah Townhouse: Age 31, Born Mid Spring, Outsider, Freedom Leader, Gnoll Elder, Knight Destroyer, Free For Real +2, Legendary Runic Engineer, Level 86. Traits (12 Total): Weakness Sensor (Uncommon), Rune Affinity (Rare), Lore Eater (Epic), Runic Mystic Intensity (Epic), Runic Inventive Genius (Epic), True Architect (Epic), Side Quest Rich (Rare), Unstoppable Research (Epic), Warcraft Master (Legendary), Armor Wrecker (Rare), Aura Generator (Epic), Aura Mechanic (Epic). Alpha Skills (5/5): Cube Maker Magic +3 (Level 52), Enchantment +3 (Level 50), Rune Alteration +2 (Level 49), Rune Scan +2 (Level 46), Summon Magical Intelligence +2 (Level 33). Beta Skills (3/15): Mystic Rush Tank +2 (Level 33), Tranquil Mind (Level 0), Summon Wizard Hat (Level 0). Stats Per Level: +2 Willpower, +1 Agility, +1 Wonder, +3 Mysticism, +6 Free. Stats (1,753 Total): 396 Willpower, 90 Strength, 197 Agility, 365 Wonder, 705 Mysticism, 0 Free. Total Achievements: 21 so far. <> <> Bianca Garcia: Age 20, Born Mid Spring, Royal Outsider, Freedom Leader, Gnoll Elder, Sunshine Heraldess, Free Good +6, Legendary Light Princess, Level 80. Traits (11 Total): Light Affinity (Rare), Aura Charge (Rare), Wondrous Princess Regality (Epic), Feathery Grace (Uncommon), Overcomer (Epic), Hellish Endurance (Rare), Shining Hope (Rare), Great Meditation (Epic), Evil Hunter (Rare), Six Step Dancing Princess Sword Style (Epic), Sainted Smite (Legendary). Alpha Skills (5/5): Super Serene Rampage +2 (Level 25), Searing Flash Array +3 (Level 50), Refraction +2 (Level 46), Light Step +2 (Level 45), Shining Mark +2 (Level 39). Beta Skills (3/15): Light Construction +2 (Level 47), Wondrous Speed (Level 0), Summon Wizard Hat (Level 0). Stats Per Level: +1 Agility, +5 Wonder, +1 Mysticism, +6 Free. Stats (1,461 Total): 188 Willpower, 61 Strength, 198 Agility, 738 Wonder, 276 Mysticism, 0 Free. Total Achievements: 20 so far. <> <> Naomi Washington: Age 27, Born Early Summer, Super Outsider, Freedom Leader, Sigma Gnoll Elder, Lady Instructor, Sky Bringer, Free For Real +3, Epic Rumble Psion, Level 90. Traits (15 Total): Psionic Affinity (Rare), High Intimidation (Uncommon), Juggernaut Hitter (Rare), Little Giant (Rare), Battle Maniac (Rare), Power Seeker (Epic), Aura Ignition/First Stage (Epic), Physical Freak (Rare), Truly A Savage (Rare), Fatal Finisher (Rare), Thematic Concept/Even Further Beyond (Divine), Vitality Monster (Epic), Adventurous Breaker (Epic), Mental Sharpness (Rare), Barehanded Sage (Epic). Alpha Skills (5/5): Primal Huntress Form +2 (Level 26), Psychokinesis +3 (Level 54), Overclock +3 (Level 53), Earth-Sky Meditation +3 (Level 50), Tranquil Mind +3 (Level 53). Beta Skills (3/15): Mind Spike +2 (Level 49), Willful Might (Level 0), Summon Wizard Hat (Level 0). Stats Per Level: +3 Willpower, +1 Strength, +1 Agility, +7 Free. Stats (1,789 Total): 710 Willpower, 508 Strength, 450 Agility, 60 Wonder, 61 Mysticism, 0 Free. Total Achievements: 25 so far. <> <> Zarian Darkrun: Age 22, Born Late Winter, Dreaded Outsider, Dungeon Master, Freedom Leader, Dark Lord, Aura Master, Alpha Gnoll Elder, Wizard Hunter, Free Evil +4, Legendary Madness Wizard, Level 92. Traits (14 Total): Dark Affinity (Rare), Overpower (Epic), Identify (Rare), Frenzy Zone (Uncommon), Uncanny Valley Effect (Rare), Void Mysticism (Rare), Lore Eater (Epic), Thematic Law/Floridian Mindset (Divine), The Dreaded One (Epic), Bearer of the Twenty Dark Locks Sealing Style (Legendary), Unraveled Mind (Rare), Aura Mastery (Legendary), Warp Adaptation (Epic), Aura Magnificence (Epic). Alpha Skills (5/5): Overwhelming Darkness (Level 15), Parasite Cloak +3 (Level 54), Spectral Spider Network +3 (Level 50), Summon Wizard Hat +3 (Level 54), High Rune Mindframe +2 (Level 28). Beta Skills (7/15): Advanced Grimoire of the Voidling Exile +1 (Level 22), Advanced Grimoire of Black Magic +1 (Level 19), Advanced Grimoire of the Hell Gator +1 (Level 12), Grimoire of Weird Freaky Morphs (Level 20), Willful Might (Level 0), Wondrous Speed (Level 0), Mystic Toughness (Level 0), Shredded Grimoire of Battlefield Destruction (Level 0). Stats Per Level: +2 Willpower, +2 Wonder, +3 Mysticism, +7 free. Stats (1,772 Total): 508 Willpower, 62 Strength, 54 Agility, 515 Wonder, 633 Mysticism, 0 Free. Total Achievements: 30 so far. Spells (24 Total): Void Authority (Epic), Void Layer (Legendary), Void Waltz (Legendary), Void Shout (Legendary), Void Madness (Rare), Void Acid (Epic), Minor Void Portal (Legendary), Bloody Lifesteal (Uncommon), Deploy Expert Skeletons (Epic), Black Fire (Rare), Torturous Lightning (Epic), Graven Glacial Tomb (Epic), Arcane Artillery Platform (Legendary), Quagmire Pit (Uncommon), Dread Mire Bite (Rare), Dread Mire Bellow (Epic), Dreadnought Hell Gator (Legendary), Hell Gator Quake (Epic), Hell Gator Crush (Epic), Hellish Breath (Legendary), No Hard Walls (Uncommon), Water to Slime (Rare), Animate The Thing (Epic), Bad Polymorph (Legendary). <> 212: B3: C2: Save The Cook 1 At the bottommost layer of the Grimrock Hell Gate, massive red and orange streaks covered every surface of an immense cavern. Thick sulfuric clouds blanketed the craggy floor. And at the far end, near a dark temple, a portal a mile tall and two miles wide glowed with a fiery light while emitting sounds like a roaring lava fall. The portal kept pouring out infernal forces bent on having a Hell Break, a cataclysmic world event. Only then could devils and demons go out to slaughter and pillage their way across the Walled Continent ¨C a major landmass of Corma, the World of Castles and Caverns. Hundreds of thousands to millions of imps led the way, with hell magic coursing around their claws and weapons. With enough nefarious deeds and levels, they could one day go from being lesser devils to higher devils, growing their evil alignment and hellish abilities. The promise of future power spurned them onward with sinful zeal. At their sides, hellish demonic beasts of all sorts, from three-headed wolves to tainted boars the size of buildings, trudged along. Each bestial demon slavered for a chance at consuming the flesh of the innocent and evolving into greater demonic forms of the most nightmarish caliber. No matter if they were intelligent and organized or primal and bestial, every devil and demon lusted for bloodshed, especially of the human variety, which the Walled Continent had plenty of. They only needed to make the Hell Break official under the parameters of the Star System, the highest ruling power of the Infinita Universe. However, there were a few complications in the way for the devils and demons. The Floridians were here to meet them. Worse yet, the Floridians had a Dreadnought Hell Gator, one of the greatest demons from the deepest layers of Hidden Hell. And none of the imps, hell wolves, hell boars, and whatnot could compare. The mile-long predator of the deepest depths stomped its six feet, snapped its massive armored-plated jaws, and swung its thick muscular tail through tens of thousands and plenty more. Even when the imps and demonic beasts cried for mercy, all they found was merciless eradication and wrathful hunger at the jaws of a great predator. The Dreadnought Hell Gator served one master, and none of these lesser devils and demons matched up to him. Instead, the hellish invaders became mere fodder for churning through. The hell gator abused its size and weight in front of the portal and farmed kills en masse. Most of the infernal creatures were weak. And being in a Hell Gate reduced experience gains heavily. But the amount of defeated creatures falling to the massive gator creature was going to net Zarian something major for his rewards. He didn¡¯t care about that right now. All the hell gator action was happening behind him as he stood at the top of a ziggurat temple. The Grimrock Warlock and five other strong, devilish foes faced him. More importantly, Foodie was finally within reach. And on another vital note, Zarian was angry. His heart hammered in his chest. His body felt amped under the ash fall and steaming haze. The anger encouraged his monstrous hunger, both parasitic and cosmic. However, he didn¡¯t show his anger and hunger on the outside. Not while in front of Foodie. His anger and hunger weren¡¯t hers to bear witness to. The little goblin cook had suffered much while waiting for him to fulfill his promise. But what he felt from his anger was real. It scorched him from the inside out. It wanted to come out and consume Foodie¡¯s mother. Consume Jack. Consume the forces of Hidden Hell. And consume himself for taking so long to get here. You¡¯re here now. Whether or not you felt the journey took too long, you are not too late, and that matters most, Para spoke via their shared mind. I can tell by the way she looks at you that you are achieving your promise. Now let us deliver all the way through. Listening to his closest companion, Zarian took a deep breath, his powerful lungs and high vitality filtering through all the noxious fumes in the air. He used his high supernatural senses and examined six major enemies in his way of freeing Foodie. They spread about the spacious temple, the dark stone sturdy under their boots, claws, and heels. Despite his anger, Zarian kept a cocky, sharp-tooth smile on his dark face, which looked even darker while shaded under the wide brim of his crooked wizard hat. Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. He spoke as if he was addressing friends. ¡°Hello! You all probably already know who I am. So there¡¯s no point in wasting time. I¡¯m going to free that precious young girl there.¡± He pointed at the little goblin chained up to the thick wooden post before he continued. ¡°And I¡¯m going to deal with the rest of you like the pest you are.¡± ¡°Pests?¡± The one Zarian assumed to be the Grimrock Warlock laughed mockingly at him. She was decently tall for a goblin, pushing up to six feet, with wrinkles on her face and skin darkened by corruption. She wore a purple and silver dress that didn¡¯t fit her bony frame quite right. And she was balding. She¡¯s insecure about her age, remember? Para reminded him, the strands of her battle kilt form flapping from around his waist and legs. From the same material, she grew extra arms that held onto four grimoires, each differing vastly from the others. Poke at her fragile insecurity and watch the facade she built for herself crumble. Zarian¡¯s smile grew sharper. ¡°Did I stutter? I know some of you are hard of hearing with your old age, but you should learn to listen harder when young people are speaking.¡± The Grimrock Warlock stopped laughing. She squinted her yellow eyes, her gaze cutting from one royal devil to the other. ¡°His darkness is sealed. I can tell based on the cuffs on his wrists. Whatever you do, don¡¯t give him a chance to unseal himself. Am I clear, my lords and ladies?¡± ¡°I will carve him open and take his darkness for myself,¡± said a tall and armored devil with a massive black sword and an open faced helmet. ¡°Imagine what I can shape it into once I bring it to my ancestral forge. I, Lord Darth, will make a weapon out of the darkness and split in half the Star System!¡± ¡°No, no, I must eat him. I must chew the marrow free from his bones. I must suckle on every strip of flesh and drown myself in his blood, drinking it like the sweetest of wine. His darkness will be the most delightful of desserts!¡± roared a fat, sloppy devil that looked like a walking belly with a tiny head and short, stumpy limbs. ¡°It is I, Lord Glutnar, who will consume the Dark Lord!¡± A female devil adorned in a gown made of countless black gems ate up Zarian¡¯s form with a lecherous gaze. Her full lips spread open to reveal sharpened teeth as she batted her long eyelashes at him. ¡°Let¡¯s hasten things, shall we?¡± she said. ¡°It will be improper not to have a full round of introductions before everyone pounces upon you, oh Dark Lord.¡± ¡°Sure, give yourselves names. Some people might prefer that, when the exterminations are more personal. I don¡¯t really care,¡± Zarian said. ¡°But since you¡¯re so excited to talk about yourselves, I will do my best to pretend I am paying attention.¡± The female devil snorted. ¡°I¡¯m Lady Valkariss, and the remaining two are Lord Bastal, the furry one, and Lord Tarx, the draconic one.¡± ¡°The Ascended Heavens will fall to me once I take your darkness,¡± said the bestial Bastal, who prowled around like a chimera-fusion of many predators. ¡°I will replace The Dragon. No. I will be greater than The Dragon!¡± said the draconic Tarx, who reminded Zarian of an upright gecko, but one armed with a heavy glaive while dressed in thick high-quality robes, enchanted jewels, and golden chainmail. ¡°Done yet?¡± Zarian stood firmly, with both hands down at his sides. He kept smiling as the bestial Bastal and the draconic Tarx moved behind him. The armored Darth and the fat Glutnar edged closer to his front. The wicked warlock waited in the far back, and the yappy Valkariss held her position in the mid range. Foodie was in the middle of the tightening circle, but she kept looking at Zarian as if he was the messiah. He would loathe to prove her wrong. Valkariss yapped on. ¡°If you¡¯re well-studied enough, you would know that the five of us are Royal Devil Lords of Hidden Hell. Even with us regressed to mere Level 100 Master Rankers, we are true gods. We have existed far too long to cower at the likes of you.¡± Zarian nodded. ¡°Ah. Ah. I see. I see. I¡¯m totally listening to you with all my focus and not setting up a trap for you while shuffling to a badass song in my head, that may or may not be heavy rock or rap.¡± The hell gator kept rampaging in the background. The devils kept tightening their formation around Zarian. And the yappy Valkariss kept talking. ¡°We know your power is not yours to control. We know the Darkrun Apocalypse was a fluke, and we know you are merely a child who has no real appreciation for power, especially that which is earned through time and wisdom. It is better if I have it. Give yourself to me, and I will keep you alive and make you a comfortable pet.¡± One problem among many when encountering Hell Gates and the forces of Hidden Hell was how information would or wouldn¡¯t get passed along. Zarian couldn¡¯t use his Identify trait here. Even his wondrous and mystical senses had gotten dulled by the unfair magic of hell. The same couldn¡¯t be said for the denizens of Hidden Hell, especially the godly royal devils. Evil was cunning and intelligent, and no place exemplified that more than Hidden Hell. So yes, they would already have a decent read on him by whatever means. They would have excellent game plans to take him on, too. Worse yet, fighting them was the equivalent of fighting five arch cherubs of the good alignment. Imagine fighting five Metatrons. At once. If any of them succeeded in bringing him down, there was a real threat that eating him would let them take Overwhelming Darkness for themselves. That was something evil aligned creatures of the higher ranks could do in the Infinita Star System, which Evil God Sinfeast had attempted against Zarian back in the Chimera Tyrant Lair. However, the Madness Wizard showed the royal devils and wicked warlock why he owned a vial of tears from Sinfeast. He flipped gravity for all of them before the royal devils could pounce. The whole time that the devils had talked, prepared their devilish plans in secret, and formed up around Zarian, the spectral spiders worked diligently out of sight. They¡¯d been laying their arcane webbing into runic arrays around the base of the ziggurat temple the whole time. Once they¡¯d finished, the spiders waved their little wizard hats in dance. They¡¯d used the piecemeal power of the unfinished gravity spell and thrown the entire temple up at the cavern ceiling. Zarian and Para got to work from there with scant time to spare before the inevitable crash. Pushing around the noxious air and temple floor using Aura Mastery, Zarian sent himself flying straight at the armored Darth, his first target. 213: B3: C3: Save The Cook 2 With Zarian incoming, the godly warrior devil known as Darth swung his giant black sword. He moved with unrivaled deftness even while forced into a tumble from the huge gravity shift. It was evident that the many years of practice and experience guided the sword hand of the armored Darth. He acted with far better expertise than what most Master Rankers could achieve even if they had stable footing and full preparation. The divine power Darth wielded, even while regressed, was also very evident. Wherever the sword went, the space squealed, the air split violently in a rush, sparks and embers followed in the wake. The promise of outright destruction at the edge of the sword became less a suggestion. It became more of a veritable truth that would assert itself into reality with the backing of Hidden Hell and Darth¡¯s divinity as a Royal Devil Lord. Zarian took the divine destructive sword cut to his bare chest. He died a hundred times, his body torn apart, his head diced to pieces, his existence questioned for a split second. Under the masterful swing of the warrior devil, the life energy from thousands of souls whisked away. Yet, that was still not enough to stop the Madness Wizard, who still had the life energy stolen from tens of thousands of orc souls. Para rapidly pulled Zarian¡¯s many pieces back together. They burned through an unimaginable amount of life energy until their vitality kicked in, sealing the spiritual bleeding. The Madness Wizard was still a flying pair of legs with a massacred torso and head. But he had the flesh and bones of one arm complete. He had enough muscle to push two fingers up Darth¡¯s nose. ¡°What the fuck?!¡± cussed the godly warrior devil as Zarian and Para twin-cast Torturous Lightning fused with their Aura Mastery. The black magic spell normally overloaded a target with extremely painful electrocution without delivering actual damage. When fused with Aura Mastery, it struck with concussive force as an additional effect that could deliver damage. Darth¡¯s head exploded in a bloody blast of bright red lightning and thunder. His regressed life energy emptied. The Royal Devil Lord died before his vital health energy could kick in and heal him. One down. Four more and a warlock to go. Darth¡¯s armored body tumbled as a useless husk for a moment. Then Para snatched it by the leg with a tentacle. She swung it into the path of the fat Glutnar, the godly gluttony devil roaring with ravenous hunger while flying at them. From behind him, the fat Glutnar was releasing a concentrated gout of flatulence from the rear end, moving him far faster than expected. His bulging belly split open like a fleshly flower with thick flabby petals. Thorny teeth, each as long as Zarian¡¯s forearm, extended with needle points. Each tooth promised to puncture straight through and deliver heinous pain like porcupine quills. Deeper beyond, square-shaped teeth gnashed and crunched in a ring that led to a bottomless gullet. The headless body of the late Darth flew into Glutnar¡¯s belly-mouth. The corpse became a munched up and crumpled meal that disappeared in the blink of an eye. The godly gluttony devil barely spent a split second eating his former ally before opening up wide again for his intended meal, showing a cunning speed that his weighty appearance wouldn¡¯t suggest. Glutnar still wasn¡¯t fast enough to stop Zarian from grabbing the handle of the giant black sword Darth had left behind. Zarian swung the sword while still lacking nearly half of his torso. It was a big and crude thing. It was more of a hunk of metal someone had halfway forged into a sword. But it obviously had a high-quality nature, legendary no doubt, that came with a portion of its former master¡¯s destructive sword style. Zarian and Para enhanced that power with Aura Mastery merged with twin casts of Bloody Lifesteal, Void Layer, and Void Authority. While the realm energy of Hidden Hell would deny them the right to tamper with the realm itself or teleport around, the wizard parasite duo still had access to the void. They could still attack the life energy of others directly and spill it into the void. Zarian did so by carving the sword deep into Glutnar¡¯s fatty side, tearing up the royal devil¡¯s life energy with void magic, destruction magic, and blood magic. That still wasn¡¯t enough to stop the fat Glutnar. The devil had plenty of life energy to spare as well. The flabby petals of the devil¡¯s monstrous belly mouth reached around the giant hunk of metal and latched the tips of the quills onto Zarian¡¯s armored legs. From there, the fat devil reeled him in closer for outright consumption, and if that wasn¡¯t trouble already, the bestial Bastal had found his footing on the temple¡¯s floor. He sprung into a pounce at Zarian¡¯s back with a dozen limbs, all his sharpened claws extended. This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. Zarian dismissed his grimoire manifestations to save them from being compromised. He still cast spells without them, even if it required more focus, which he showed by extending Void Authority. The void spell latch onto the traces of void energy in the Hell Gate. Meanwhile, Para pushed numerous spikes and sharp threads into Bastal¡¯s paws and into Glutnar¡¯s body. That was about all Zarian and Para could achieve as the devil ate them alive, ripping flesh, crunching bone, pulping organs, draining blood, and spilling the life energy of ten thousand orc souls. Glutnar probably thought he was the clear victor. He sealed his belly mouth shut and kept out the pouncing claws of the bestial Bastal. The sword of the late Darth fell away uselessly from the fat devil¡¯s side. Hell, Glutnar even welcomed the parasitic threads of Para weaving into his body and Bastal¡¯s. It didn¡¯t matter to Glutnar at this point. The fat devil was rapidly consuming the Dark Lord, with only a few traces of Zarian¡¯s physical existence remaining as paltry crumbs. Then the undeniable realm energy of Hidden Hell struck down like a giant hydraulic press, splattering the bodies of Glutnar and Bastal. The two Royal Devil Lords suffered from the crime of being in the way of Hidden Hell while the Dark Lord used Void Authority to screw with the realm in egregious ways. Para¡¯s parasitic threads had strung them along as accomplices, even though they were innocent. All of that blood and gore, the meat ripe with divine life energy from both the gluttony devil and the bestial devil, became sustenance for Para. Zarian was a little too out of it to take advantage, but that was why he had a Parasite Cloak +3. Para switched to Aura Mastery + Bloody Lifesteal. This specific combo sent life energy straight to Zarian. When he became conscious enough, he joined in by casting the same combo as a twin to Para¡¯s efforts. Again, Para put Zarian back together, remaking him from the squashed slurry of three divine devils, as if he was an undying creature that feasted on the souls and bodies of whatever Hidden Hell could throw at him. Once his lungs repaired, he howled with mad laughter, his mind skipping past all the pain while in the throes of pure and utter madness. The sight and sound of that made the last two royal devils and the warlock rethink their approach while the temple kept falling toward the ceiling. Their hesitation, if only for a split second, gave Para enough time to pull out a scroll from her pocket dimension. She cut the rawhide string with a flick of a claw and activated the scroll as it unrolled. By then, the yappy Valkariss, the draconic Tarx, and the Grimrock Warlock regathered their wits. They attacked with better synergy, even if their attack was a seemingly foolish one. Valkariss shot a volley of screeching shadow crows. Their beaks and talons could shred high quality metal apart like tissue paper. Tarx swept his glaive while it glowed an iridescent orange-purple. He sent flying a crescent wave of superheated dragon magic that could immolate multiple castles and fort towns. And the mother of Foodie, the Grimrock Warlock, cast upon the air floating infernal runes that solidified into a demonic force cage for capturing, torturing, and damage enhancement. The warlock went as far as making the wicked rune cage a one-way inlet. The remaining devil god and devil goddess could strike from the outside while keeping everything inside. They struck Zarian with attacks that should¡¯ve demolished his body, vitality, and life energy completely. All that death-slinging carnage could lead to another coming of the Darkrun Apocalypse. But their evil intelligence could only help them so much while they feared for their current statuses. Those beholden to Hidden Hell while having a high status, such as royal devils, would lose everything if they died. Regardless of their divine status in Hidden Hell, once they died, they would become like the poor souls they toyed with and spent like coins. Their deaths would force them to start at the bottom of the hierarchy, or worse, become a toy to something they¡¯d bargained with in the past. Or they could become prey to something they¡¯d once preyed on. To die there against the Dark Lord would bring them back to a wretched restart. That was relatively worse than unleashing the Darkrun Apocalypse on the entire universe and making it stick. Was that selfish? Very much so. But that was the way of things with warlocks and creatures of hell. So for that moment, where they unleashed the utmost of destruction on the wizard and his parasite, the yappy Valkariss, the draconic Tarx, and the Grimrock Warlock silently agreed to doom everyone instead of suffering for their hellish misdeeds. Zarian had no fucks to give for the devils and the warlock. He didn¡¯t feel like dying, and Para felt the same. Zarian thrust straight out of the demonic cage of shadow crows and dragon combustion. He led the counter attack with the giant sword wreathed in void fire and void destruction, cutting through magic obstacles until he ran the big black thing into Valkariss. His burnt, shredded, and disfigured body had no more vital energy to spare, totally reliant on Para keeping him together. That stayed a possibility because of the remaining life energy they¡¯d stolen from their slain enemies. And because of the additional life energy lumped in from the Scroll of Increased Life that Para used moments before. Thus, Zarian survived and stayed alive. He was too mad to die right now anyway. And everything was sweeter to experience with a mortal body compared to being an ever-expanding darkness. Zarian especially liked the look of shock and horror on the devilish goddess¡¯s face. It was a priceless expression, very fitting, especially when Zarian and Para switched to Aura Mastery + Bloody Lifesteal specifically. They drank up the remaining life energy from the Royal Devil Lady like a kid in the summer heat with a fresh and cold juice pouch. Then Zarian swung around his big black thing of a sword. He tossed the dead husk of a devil goddess in the way of Tarx and the orange-purple flames fanning out from his mighty glaive. The draconic devil roared as he hacked through Valkariss¡¯s corpse. He turned her remains into ash with his iridescent flames. Then he roared some more with the fury of a divine dragon. ¡°I would rather see Infinita destroyed than lose to the likes of you!¡± Tarx snarled. ¡°See you next fall.¡± Zarian laughed. ¡°Wait, where is my child?!¡± screamed the Grimrock Warlock. Foodie was gone from her chains and post. Tarx didn¡¯t care. And the Grimrock Warlock had no more time to go looking for Foodie and reconsider her ways as a failed mother. The entire ziggurat temple, which was made of epic quality stone, struck the cavern ceiling at a high velocity. The ceiling proved tougher, and the immense temple erupted into tons and tons of epic debris. 214: B3: C4: Save The Cook 3 The gravity web magic stopped working on the shattered temple. The smashed remains fell back to the cavern floor as hurtling pieces, some as large as trucks, others as large as multistory buildings. It was a destructive mess, and Zarian was in the middle of it while missing an arm, both legs, and half of his face. But he had more than enough of him left. He could physically see with one eye. He could smile. And he had a fist wrapped around the handle of the big black thing that was his new sword. He was also latched onto a large boulder that was tumbling fast toward the cavern floor. However, he wasn¡¯t the one doing the latching. That would be Para, who¡¯d grown eight spider legs from his back to do the real latching. Para was awesome like that, the best article of parasitic clothing and personhood a man could have. Zarian got to sit happily for a little while, take in the hellish views, and enjoy the ride until something ¨C or someone ¨C tried to rain on his parade. ¡°YOU BASTARD!¡± roared the draconic Tarx. He slithered between plummeting boulders in a form that looked like a large dragon mixed with a wormy gecko. He was busted up, too, with blood pouring profusely through broken patches of his scaly flesh, his wings twitching as crumpled things. His heavy injuries wouldn¡¯t last for long. Zarian could already see the godly dragon devil was healing because of his vitality. Staying on their rock, Zarian and Para combined their Aura Mastery with twinned fusions of Tortuous Lightning, Black Fire, Void Shout, Void Madness, and Void Authority. They did not use the Void Layer spell. This specific combination of Aura Mastery merged with black magic and void magic needed to hit with some physical oomph that Void Layer fusions lacked. Tarx opened his mouth and breathed a gout of destructive orange-purple flames. Zarian opened his mouth and roared a torrent of bright red lightning, deep black flames, and a quietly eruptive void force that wreaked mad havoc on magic, skills, and boons. Red lightning and black flames spiraled around the void torrent. They punch through Tarx¡¯s dragon breath like a big man¡¯s fist through a soft breeze. Then the mega spell combo slammed into the devil¡¯s chest, striking with lightning and thunder that forced Tarx to suffer tenfold the pain. The deep black flames did little to burn his scaly dragon flesh, but it ravaged his vitality fast, much faster than anything before. Tarx barely had time to recognize the danger of that as his wounds healed slower and slower. The concentrated power of the void ran through him, wreaking havoc on his mind, his skills, his divine magic, and whatever enchanted items he relied on. What were dragons without their magic trinkets, even while in dragon form? All of that sent Tarx tumbling down in shock. His paralyzed, black-wreathed body fell along with the epic debris of the shattered temple for a little while. Eventually, he broke out of it after some time, pushing past the torturous pain of the red lightning and ignoring the big dent in his chest. He regained control of his skills, even with some struggle, and released a blast of devilish orange-purple dragon force. The blast removed the black flames at the expense of heavy amounts of aura, no doubt. He could do nothing about his trinkets, such as the rings and bangles he wore. Their intricate enchantments had fallen to disrepair, dismantled. That was the least of his concerns, really. Before he could pursue another attack on the Madness Wizard, Tarx fell into invisible webbing strung between numerous debris of different sizes. The arcane webbing had powerful magic weaved into their threads that reinforced them. None snapped easily before the dragon devil found himself wrapped up by a bunch of sticky strands and heavy boulders. Tarx roared and roared, thrashing with confusion and rage. His blind rage and tantrums made the spider trap even stronger, catching himself in more webbing, pulling himself down with more falling debris. Despite his worsening situation, the pride of a divine dragon wouldn¡¯t let Tarx stay put without raging at the indignation of it all. He even hurled flames as he roared in anger, burning off much of the webbing, but not at the speed he needed to break free before the inevitable happened. The spectral spiders had thought ahead, of course, by also making the arcane webbing very burn resistant. So Tarx roared out some trash talk as a last measure. ¡°You think you can get away with mocking the gods of this universe! You can¡¯t hide all of your secrets! We know you are a weak man! You cannot control the full darkness! No matter what alignment, evil or good, we will beat you! We will make you suffer, ZARIAN DARKRUN!¡± That was all Tarx got out before falling into the awaiting maw of the Dreadnought Hell Gator. The dragon devil cried in horror as he and the boulders webbed onto him got snapped up, crunched down, and swallowed into the churning gut of the monstrous demon predator. Meanwhile, Zarian remained latched onto his original boulder, watching the remains of the temple crash down on the forces of Hidden Hell. The epic debris rained on the Dreadnought Hell Gator as well, but the big guy didn¡¯t seem to mind it much. Zarian and Para¡¯s personal boulder fell much slower. They had the benefit of gravity web arrays laid all over their boulder, reducing its weight. Multiple webbed parachutes held onto the sides, catching on the hazy and hot air. They slowly fell toward the battlefield near the big hellish portal. Although, there wasn¡¯t really much of a battle left. The mile-long gator did whatever he liked with creatures that couldn¡¯t fight back very well. Off to the side, Zarian spotted bright and eruptive flashes of a fight that grew more competitive between Naomi and Jack. Zarian used the spider network and noted how Naomi still hadn¡¯t used Aura Ignition yet. However, she was reaching a certain limit that would trigger the bulk power of her divine trait prematurely or force her to use her Aura Ignition. Jack was powering up gradually and making things more difficult for Naomi. That was great. Naomi could use the workout. Zarian didn¡¯t muse about the fight between the mythical hater and epic psion for long. He looked up and saw a bunch of spectral spiders riding their little spider boards through the air. The spiders waved about their little wizard hats in celebration and dance. They swooped and swerved around Foodie¡¯s four-foot body held in a hardened basket of webbing with webbed parachutes tied to it. Gently, Para reached out with two spider legs as Foodie drew close. She caught the basket and used a third spider leg from Zarian¡¯s back to help Foodie step softly onto their slowly falling boulder. Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. Zarian held his breath, which wasn¡¯t hard. Half his lungs had collapsed. He watched as Foodie looked around with cat-like mannerisms. Her yellow, almond-shaped eyes and slitted irises took in his fucked-up body with a curious nature. Her big, leafy ears waved up and down. Then she showed an expression he¡¯d never seen from her. She frowned deeply. Her ears drooped. The corner of her eyes misted. ¡°You did all of this for me?¡± she asked in a scratchy, hoarse voice. Zarian slowly nodded. ¡°Yeah, yeah I did.¡± ¡°Why?¡± There were multiple answers to that question. Zarian could say he was completing his party¡¯s main quest. He could say that Foodie¡¯s mythical nature as a stat-growing cook was the most prized thing in this Lesser World, other than having the strongest Master Ranker as a teacher. He could also say that freeing her was in his nature as a Freedom Leader, the first of the relatively new freedom alignment. To bring about freedom in the Infinita Star System was almost a necessity. But Zarian said something that felt true to him, which differed from his usual sayings. Maybe it was a little more profound. ¡°Because I wanted to,¡± Zarian said. ¡°So that¡¯s what I¡¯m doing. I¡¯m doing what I want.¡± The boulder landed with a quiet thump. Para picked Zarian up and walked with him beside Foodie, who knew where she was going. In all directions, they could see aberrations attacking the remaining imps and demons that fled away from the Dreadnought Hell Gator. The forces of hell lost all cohesion and a sense of purpose. They became easy pickings for Shadowfell¡¯s creations, making her forces grow even more rapidly. None of that seemed to matter to Foodie, and the same could certainly be said about Zarian right now. They walked over to where Foodie wanted to go. Then they found the corpse of the Grimrock Warlock. The lower half of her body was sticking out from under an immense boulder. It seemed ridiculous for a Master Ranker above Level 100 to die from something like a rock fall, but Zarian remembered one of Foodie¡¯s first lessons. Vitality grew the most by earning levels the hard way, especially through physical grit and effort. Upfront fighters would naturally have more vitality than distant spellcasters. Zarian had done a lot of upfront fighting at such high levels that his vitality was greater than it should be. Hell, his vitality was far above the average warrior. And I still get fucked up when I fight World Bosses and Regressors, Zarian mused. The Grimrock Warlock had turned out to be too fragile to survive the utter chaos the Dark Lord could produce. He hadn¡¯t needed his Overwhelming Darkness for this, either. ¡°Huh,¡± Foodie said, looking down at the legs of her mother. ¡°Anticlimactic?¡± Zarian asked, leaning on the big black thing that he¡¯d dragged along. Foodie¡¯s ears lowered even more, falling behind her shoulders. ¡°I¡¯m sad. I still remember when I was her favorite. I was still her favorite even when she was being cruel to me.¡± Well, shit. Zarian sighed. He did the cruelest thing he could to Foodie. He said the truth. ¡°After the spectral spiders got you free, and before the temple struck the ceiling, your mother called out for you. She sounded concerned for your wellbeing in the end.¡± ¡°Oh. Oh.¡± Foodie¡¯s voice grew shakier. ¡°Well. I guess it doesn¡¯t matter now. Evil shouldn¡¯t care.¡± Zarian laid the sword against the boulder. Para then lowered him down next to Foodie. He offered his hand. A soft and free cry from a familiar bird resonated in the background. Foodie joined the freedom alignment, but not as a Freedom Leader. It wasn¡¯t ideal to make her a leader of anything right now. She was also leaving behind her original alignment for something far different. Foodie joined the free for real sub-alignment. Switching from traditional evil to free for real meant she had a reset to her alignment growth, starting her as basic free for real. At the very least, Foodie was a free goblin now, much, much freer than before. Her slave mark was gone, too. Her new sub alignment would boost her agency as a person, ensuring she wouldn¡¯t be easily enslaved again. She was now free to feel all the emotions her previous evil alignment had dulled. The little goblin girl fell to her knees. She bent over and lay her head on her mother¡¯s bloody lap. She cried and cried. Zarian used Para¡¯s help to sit down next to Foodie and rub his only hand on her back. He did his best to comfort her while they took a break at the bottommost layer of the Grimrock Hell Gate. The Dreadnought Hell Gator slowed his rampaging. He waited, standing guard over his summoner and the little goblin. The initial cost of summoning the gator had turned out so massive Zarian was glad to have his Aura Magnificence and Hannah¡¯s Aura Generator. Beyond that, the gator wasn¡¯t too difficult to maintain, which made him a great and terrifying protector. None of the imps and demons dared interrupt Zarian and Foodie. Meanwhile, the other Floridians continued with their own objectives. Bianca, Hannah, and Gilbert were on the other side of the portal to shut it down. Naomi occupied herself with fighting Jack and teasing out more of his mythical power and good +5. There was more action to be found, but Zarian wanted to be there for Foodie and take some time to relax. After a while, the little goblin girl stifled her own crying. She looked up at him with big watery tears and streams of snot. Zarian felt himself dying and resurrecting again, but as something slightly new, as he looked into Foodie¡¯s face. In his chest, he felt an inferno of relentless feelings that cared deeply about Foodie. He had never felt such strong and protective feelings before, not to this degree. He¡¯d felt something similar in brief moments when overlooking the kiddos back at Ride-or-Die Village. He¡¯d also felt it when Bianca acted especially bratty, which was slightly different in context. But this feeling right here awakened a side of him that was quickly becoming a part of his core identity. It felt like he was becoming ¡­ a father. ¡°I don¡¯t want to slow you d-down.¡± Foodie sniffled. ¡°And you¡¯re hurt. You need a healer to get back your vitality and fix your injuries.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me. Take all the time you need ¡­ child.¡± ¡°But I am worried.¡± Zarian hesitated. He looked deep into the wet and worried expression on Foodie¡¯s face. He felt his chest ache. He took care of himself as per her wishes. Para passed him the Lesser Star Shard Flask from the pocket dimension. He popped off the top and poured the sweet and magical elixir into his mouth. The moment he started, he finished, as if the bright and sunny contents of the flask needed to be drunk whole, compelling the drinker. That felt like more of a game mechanic than anything, a hard-coded rule. Maybe Zarian could break it when the time called for it. As of now, he needed all the elixir to recover his vitality, which led to some healing. It still wasn¡¯t enough. His body struggled to bring back his limbs, at least in a short time. That was no problem when the battlefield had tons of corpses all over the place. Para could help promote recovery with her parasitic nature. Spectral spiders, the best ninja ghost wizard spiders a man could ever have, piled up quite the feast for Zarian and Para. Most of the pile came from the collection of dead imps. After all the damage and danger the wizard and his parasite had suffered, they really needed to eat. Zarian¡¯s stomach roared like a great and giant beast. It sounded like he needed more meat than this. Almost like a pile the size of a small hill. His hunger was almost too painful to endure otherwise. I¡¯m sorry, Para apologized via their mind. My hunger is your hunger, and it¡¯s not something you are meant to handle. But we¡¯ve become so fused at times this consequence was an inevitability. It¡¯s okay, he responded thoughtfully. I¡¯ve gone starving before. Plenty of times before. I¡¯ll learn to adapt. ¡°Oh, you really need to eat.¡± Foodie wiped furiously at her eyes and nose. She still had a stained mess on her face, but she turned her attention quickly to the pile of bodies. ¡°Okay, I can help.¡± ¡°But you don¡¯t have a kitchen,¡± Zarian said. ¡°I am the kitchen.¡± Foodie snapped her fingers and summoned a big industrial series of cooking stations around them. She had a long kitchen island. She had a dozen ovens and stoves. She had cabinets, shelves, cold boxes, and racks filled with ingredients and appliances galore. ¡°Puta madre,¡± Zarian and Para said together. Foodie nodded with a serious expression, regardless of the tear and snot stains on her face. ¡°I¡¯ve read many stories. Mostly about cooking. But there were stories about adventurers who fought hell¡¯s forces and divine devils for good causes. Like saving a princess. They liked to save the princess a lot in those stories. None talked about adventurers who do all of this to save the cook.¡± She clapped her little hands together with determination. ¡°So let me give you a taste of what your hard work has gotten you.¡± 215: B3: C5: Hell Gate Portal 1 The little goblin went about cooking a tasty snack for Zarian. As Zarian waited and endured monstrous starvation, he felt a familiar shift in the air. Hidden Hell felt it, too. The realm sent small pulses of energy, as if to probe the shift. It couldn¡¯t interact with it, however. Nothing could mess with it or stop it. Hidden Hell was powerless against the POV Shift. Zarian had no idea why it was happening and couldn¡¯t control it. The best he could do was get a glimpse of where it went when the POV chose someone else. But even then, all he could hope for was a glimpse. The POV Shift chose¡­ *** Cussing up a storm, Gilbert flipped through the air after taking another big hit. He slammed back first through the blood-coated columns of a hellish underground fortress. He stopped short of having his head run into a spiked gate that would¡¯ve cost him vitality and maybe some life energy. Maybe not physically, but definitely magically. Almost everything was cursed in this godforsaken and literal hell hole on the other side of the portal from Zarian, Foodie, and Naomi. His high-quality armor and its enchantments held up. Some of the damage from the hit had transferred through to avoid overloading the runic magic. It was never at one hundred percent, which helped avoid overstress. That was mostly fine with Gilbert. As long as he could hit back the things that fought him. But the royal devil, Lady Hentayury, was as slippery as an angry catfish. She was also monstrously strong, much stronger than anything the usual healer should fight on their own. Stop your belly aching, Gilbert thought moodily to himself. Bianca¡¯s fighting three on her own. I got this one. And Hannah¡¯s trying to shut down the damn thing-a-ma-bob keeping that portal powered. Do your part and man the fuck up. He needed to get back across the fortress grounds. He needed to stay close to Bianca¡¯s fifty-foot angel impression. Three royal devils were picking at her from various angles while trying to avoid her full wrath. His Healing Force +2 couldn¡¯t reach her effectively while she was far across a vast fortress. Gilbert also had a bunch of bloody and evil hedges, possessed statues, demonic beasts, and tenacious imps that were in the way. The Royal Devil Lady was just one big problem on top of a whole molehill of challenges, especially on this side of the Hell Gate Portal. Setting his feet down solidly, Gilbert stood back to his full height. Wet and sticky rubble from the smashed blood columns spilled over his armored form. He shook his head, spat a wad of blood to the side, and let out a grunt. He readjusted his cowboy wizard hat with his weapon hand and strode forward resolutely. The air above his head was a maelstrom of infernal chaos, all fire, lightning, and brimstone. Flash rains appeared, dumping oily blood in a downpour that covered everything in thick coatings of fresh red. If he looked hard enough, he could see monstrous faces howling and laughing in the red-orange hell storms above. The massive hell fort that surrounded him looked black from deep layers of soot and old blood covering its thick, stony facade and cruel designs of torments. There were posts everywhere with skeletons strung up, crucified. Each of those skeletons had wings to them. It was quite the effort to make a mockery of what was pure and righteous. Eyes narrowed, Gilbert looked across at the menagerie of beasts that had crowded around him while he was at the corner of a large courtyard. All he had were thick walls and spiked gates to his back and cursed hedges to his sides. The demonic beasts to his front had horrific designs. Some had patches of howling faces all over their furry bodies. Others had tentacles sprouting from along their spines. Then there were the humanoid statues intermixed in the horde. Those suckers could take a wallop and deliver one back. These creatures were truly hellish things. If Gilbert and the others couldn¡¯t bring down the portal, the Hell Break promised to send all these bastards out to deliver harrowing pain and destruction on the innocent. Despite all the frustration of his position, especially with him being separated and on his own, Gilbert found a measure of joy again. They aren¡¯t faster than Bianca. They don¡¯t hit as hard as Naomi. They aren¡¯t as smart as Hannah. And they sure as shit ain¡¯t powerful like Zarian! I can go hog wild here. ¡°YOU UGLY FUCKERS CAN¡¯T SCARE ME!¡± Gilbert roared, running into the fray. ¡°COME GET SOME!¡± Gilbert used every once of training from the past year. He moved crisply even while adorned in heavy armor, with a large shield on his arm and a destruction-fused frost axe in the other. He maximized his advantages while reducing his weaknesses. He put the creatures of hell to the test. A three-headed dog that stood taller than a man, its patchy black fur wreathed in flames, lunged at Gilbert from the front. He did a small shuffle step to his right and performed a spin move. All three heads missed, glancing off his shield side. Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. His axe whirled around and chopped straight through its spine, damn near splitting it in half. All three heads barked in surprise as destruction magic turned their hard body soft and fragile while frost magic spread fast through its veins to seal its fate. Gilbert didn¡¯t get the satisfaction of seeing the evil pooch breathe its last. The moment he finished vanquishing it, he shuffle-stepped again, raising his left arm. He charged shield-first into a squirmy, veiny, and toxic giant rat monster the size of an elephant. The horrible creature had dozens of dog-sized rats merged with its sickly body. A bunch of buck-tooth mouths gnawed at Gilbert¡¯s shield to find purchase. The foul scent wafting off the elephantine demon tried to seep into his body and break him down from the inside. Too bad for the rat abomination that Gilbert¡¯s time spent getting familiar with trolls and their foul beer gave him an epic trait just for these occasions, Unbelievable Constitution. Unaffected by the toxicity, Gilbert roared as he shoved the rat abomination¡¯s hulk of a body backward. He raised and chopped his axe. Then he raised and chopped it again. Every legendary strike hurled up frozen blood and chunks of dissolving flesh with the fall of the magic axe. He carved his way through the mass of dirty fur, muscle, gristle, and fat. Every chunking hit of his axe destroyed and froze in equal measure, turning the tumorous fusion of hellish rodents into a shattered husk of iced-destruction. He came out on the other side ready for more. The demons responded in kind, forcing Gilbert to raise his shield to block a massive spiked mace. Buckling a little, Gilbert grunted. He braced against the heavy weight from behind his shield and juiced himself up with Adrenaline Jolt +2 and Unified Monk Force +2. Red arcane magic glowed from under his flesh. An array of colors glimmered over his outline. With a mighty shove, Gilbert tossed back the evil six-armed statue that tried to crush him. The healer cleaved his axe into its side, cracking it open. Then he rammed his shield into its chest while pulling back his axe. He smashed its face and torso clean off its lower body. Then Gilbert turned to see more demonic beasts and statues throw themselves at him. But many of them weren¡¯t too nimble on their feet. With his face washed in blood, Gilbert smiled toothily as the beasts moved slower and slower. He¡¯d been pushing out the slowing and debuffing energy from his Tranquilizer Touch +2 the whole time for this reason. The statues were unaffected, but they weren¡¯t that fast anyway. Gilbert easily dodged around the statues and went axe-chopping crazy. He slaughtered demonic beast after demonic beast as they became slower and more inactive. He shield-bashed multiple statues whenever they tried to group up on him, smashing their ugly stone faces and limbs into smithereens. This would¡¯ve been easier with Slip¡¯s help, but the Sleipnir was watching Hannah¡¯s back. And the party¡¯s runic egghead was doing the hard work. Naturally, Gilbert found smashing with his shield and swinging his axe a natural fit for him because of his history as a cop in the old world. But nothing he did prior to the Infinita Star System compared to running along the back of a hell drake, flipping over hellfire torrents sent out by imps, and lunging over viny monster plants. Nothing compared to coming down with his axe on the next big nasty thing that wanted to impede his god-given mission. Yeah, if it wasn¡¯t for his mission to help a pair of fallen angel siblings like the Darkruns find redemption, Gilbert would¡¯ve thought he¡¯d done something wrong to end up here. But in truth, he really felt like this was all meant to be. The screaming, gibbering, hell spawn gnashing at his face. The squads of imps maneuvering around like little Nazis. All trying to catch him off guard. And his mission to get across the giant fort and reach his friend who was up against three royal devils. Yeah, this was all meant to be. There she is! Gilbert looked up as Bianca¡¯s fifty-foot form flickered into view beyond blood-caked walls, monster hedges, and hordes of hell. Then she quickly disappeared, like any guardian angel would. He still hadn¡¯t decided on what to make of Bianca¡¯s ludicrous form. He was leaning on the idea that she was a medium of the supernatural that existed far above the Infinita Star System. Basically, the Big G made it so that Bianca could channel a fraction of His true power. Why her instead of Gilbert? He figured it was because she was a better vessel, more pure-hearted or something. Gilbert knew he was a sinner himself. But he was trying his best, which was why he swung his axe and smashed with his shield as hard as he could. He did his best to make up for all the mistakes he¡¯d made. He¡¯d slept around before marriage. He¡¯d divorced twice. He¡¯d slept around some more. He¡¯d shot Zarian, a fallen angel. Gilbert had fallen from grace again and again. He¡¯d kept failing to live up to what a Christian should be. ¡°I¡¯m almost there, Bianca,¡± Gilbert muttered, feeling a little winded. He lost count of how many hellish things he¡¯d slaughtered. Behind him, over a thousand fiendish creatures lay in ruins after running into a supportive adventurer who could fight for himself. He wasn¡¯t just a healer. He was the legendary Knighted Healer, and the forces of hell weren¡¯t really prepared for that. He was now on a staircase going up the nearest fortified wall. Layers of black blood, some old, some fresh, slurped at the soles of his boots as he rose. A few more imps picked at him from a distance with hell magic and arrows. They were shying away from direct confrontation, and their aim was crap. Once he reached the rampart, he saw Bianca¡¯s radiant form more clearly. Pure and majestic light covered her face and portions of her body that should remain private. A pair of golden wings spanning wide flapped with powerful beats. From her torso extended six elegant arms. Each hand held sabers of light while she also had orbs of buzzing light spiraling around her. He looked her over quickly and saw ¡­ she was alright. She had a few burns and cuts on some of her arms and along her legs. But she had nothing serious while up against three devils that deemed themselves gods. Everyone thinks they are the messiah while peddling their shit, Gilbert thought darkly. Still, he was glad that Bianca was mostly healthy. That would make it easier for him to recharge her vitality and deal with whatever light wounds she had. The more important part was giving her the vitality overcharge, which would bleed into her stamina. Vitality was one half health and one half stamina. At this point, the latter was more important. None of the Floridians had slept for two weeks. They had kept running this grind of a hell crawl nearly nonstop. They were running on fumes. And nobody felt that more than Bianca, who had to work twice as hard to keep that big target of a body she had from getting taken down. If she wasn¡¯t soaking heavy damage, she was definitely dancing her way out of trouble. She also had her Light Step +2, but her size made it extremely costly to use that skill. Regardless of the technicalities, Gilbert needed to recharge Bianca¡¯s vitality and then go over to check on Hannah and Slip. But, as per the nature of this life, nothing Gilbert did could go simply. ¡°It was fun watching you struggle,¡± said Lady Hentayury, dropping wetly behind him. ¡°You¡¯re a tough enough toy. Maybe I might keep you. But first, we must pick up where we last left off. I¡¯m yet to be fully satisfied.¡± 216: B3: C6: Hell Gate Portal 2 Gilbert wondered if the Infinita Star System had parameters set to test the exact weaknesses of a person. When he turned to face Lady Hentayury again, he had to brace himself. The devilish false idol exuded a thick, energetic, and heady charm that challenged his rare trait, Unyielding Mentality, and his free for real +2. She was a tall, voluptuous, and attractive woman with pale skin, golden hair, and bright blue eyes. She had full ruby red lips. A full bosom. Full everything, really. She was Gilbert¡¯s type, and that was without the invasive charm magic. Without Unyielding Mentality and his freedom alignment, Gilbert would¡¯ve fallen the moment he heard her voice or turned to look into her arresting eyes. He still felt the urge, but he turned his attention to the dozen slimy tentacles waving behind her. He snapped back to focus. He reminded himself of the truth. He was facing a false idol. A Tier 4 regressor limited to the Master Rank. She had plenty of abilities, stats, and experience over him. Yet, Gilbert had to put her down. Bianca¡¯s got three. Hannah¡¯s doing the important work. I have to take this on my own. He always felt out of place compared to the others. He sometimes felt like he held them back. He sometimes imagined if it wasn¡¯t for his healing prowess, he wouldn¡¯t really fit in. Maybe it was because he was more grounded. Or maybe he had it hard because that was the way of being a failed Christian who kept sinning. But I¡¯ll be damned if I let this whore of revelations make a bitch out of me without a fight. Determined, Gilbert clenched his jaw. He hunkered down, shield raised, axe propped over his shoulder. Squads of imps and a few demonic beasts gathered on the stairs below or on both sides of the rampart. They served as a rowdy audience, heckling Gilbert with threats and the occasional hellfire ball. None of them mattered. Gilbert locked in, anticipating the false idol¡¯s next move Lady Hentayury laughed at him, making herself sound beautiful and irresistible. Her luscious ruby red lips parted to show sparkling white teeth and a dancing pink tongue that swiped from side-to-side. Her bright blue eyes sparkled with interest in him, as if he was all that mattered to her. Maybe they could talk things out. Gilbert charged with a roar. He rammed the face of his big and boxy shield at her. He held back his axe to see her reaction. It didn¡¯t surprise him when she dodged around using high Agility and an ability or two. She left the air and floor slimy in her wake. The last time they¡¯d traded attacks, Gilbert had gotten caught in that slime. He didn¡¯t let it happen again. He dug his heels into the crusted blood. He twisted around fast for an axe back swing. He missed. Lady Hentayury flowed right over like water. Her tentacles slapped down and wrapped up his axe arm as it passed. The oozing slime congealed into harder stuff, holding fast to him. Gilbert tried to pry her off with a shield bash, a futile maneuver. The hell-born Master Ranker grabbed the edge of his shield with her dainty hand and stopped him with her overt Strength. She laughed once more, her voice like honey and wine, as she yanked him closer by leveraging her Strength on his shield and trapped axe arm. She pulled his unguarded face into her rising fist. Gilbert saw black spots and flashing lights. That would¡¯ve been a concussion if it wasn¡¯t for his high vitality, constitution, and grit. That also made him a great punching bag as Lady Hentayury pried apart his axe arm and shield arm some more. She opened him up further for more abuse. She laughed and punched. She punched and laughed. She beat him to hurt him, to break him, to press her dominance over him. She beat him backward, forcing him into a stumble, as she turned his face black, blue, and red, like a modern art piece. She even struck him with resounding slaps that sounded like thunderclaps. A few with the palm. And a few with her backhand. The devilish false idol laughed some more with sadistic glee that revealed her charming facade to be just that, a temptation of sin and hellish torment. Then she used her tentacles to lift Gilbert off the floor. She swung him about even harder than the last time, crashing him into the nearest columns on the stone rampart. She scraped off the pounds of layered blood with his armored body like he was a wash rag before throwing him against the blocky edge. He landed back first, his spine-creaking, his head snapping back. ¡°GILBERT!¡± bellowed Bianca, her voice as big as her form, reaching him easily despite the distance. She¡¯d definitely seen his ass getting handed to him. He didn¡¯t let that bother him too much. Before Bianca could do anything, the trio of royal devils went back to hound her and keep her occupied. She couldn¡¯t intervene for him right now, and that was okay. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. He was still in the fight. Gilbert chanced a look behind him. The fortress holding the thing-a-ma-bob that kept the portal open stood on a tall mound of black rock. Everywhere he looked, he saw millions of infernal creatures in slow march toward the portal across a dusty, hazy plain surrounding the portal fort. He¡¯d never thought he would be in a position like this, put against the literal forces of hell, and left with the fate of an entire continent, and maybe an entire world, on the shoulders of his friends and himself. Protect and serve, right? Gilbert groaned as he pulled himself free of the indent he¡¯d made against the rampart edge. He looked up with swollen eyes at Lady Hentayury. She was hovering above him while sitting back on a throne formed by her tentacles. Thrusting her foot at him, she gave him an order. ¡°Kiss it.¡± ¡°No.¡± Gilbert set the axe behind his back. He folded the legendary shield into the brace on his arm. He put up the dukes, his gauntlet-clad fists balled tight. And he made a quick change in alpha and beta skills while he had a momentary break. Lady Hentayury laughed at him again. Flashes of light and infernal magic raged in the background. A sharp gasp from Bianca rang out. The false idols had gotten another hit on her. Gilbert had no idea how things were with Hannah and Slip. The spider network was on the fritz while on this side of the portal and away from Zarian. One thing at a time. Brick by brick. Gilbert launched into the air with a superman punch. Lady Hentayury wrapped his attacking arm with a smaller tentacle and stopped the punch mid air. She brought him closer inch by inch as her deceptive visage shifted into her true form. She stopped being a blue-eyed, pale-skinned, blonde bombshell. Her eyes turned bloody red. Her skin turned sickly green and yellow, like congealed pus and snot. Her hair turned into wiry worms. And the rest of her transformed into multiple sucker-like mouths with hooked teeth. Her voice remained smooth, silky, and charming as she talked. ¡°Come, dear. You¡¯ve entertained me plenty enough. How about I give you a reward that¡¯ll last you for the rest of your life?¡± ¡°The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are as bold as a lion,¡± Gilbert said, cocking back his free hand. ¡°Hahaha! Such funny words. Tell me more while I devour you, my love.¡± She drew him closer and closer to her sick body and the suckers with gnashing teeth. ¡°Those words aren¡¯t a laughing matter. And the same goes for this.¡± Gilbert threw his free hand into another punch. Again, she laughed. Again, she raised a hand to prove her Strength over him. Again, she didn¡¯t take him seriously. But unlike before, Gilbert actually used his Sacrificial Blow +2. The skill was in the alpha skill section, too. Gilbert punched straight through her hand. He plowed into one of her sucker mouths and blew that up. The monstrous devil lady screamed, her tentacles thrashing about. Gilbert grabbed onto the ones she had around him and held on for dear life. It was a risk to do so. His Healing Force +2 was in the beta skill section, making it much weaker. But Gilbert¡¯s heart had no room for doubt. He held on to the bucking false idol and reached behind him for his axe. Grabbing the handle, he swung down with perfect timing to cleave into her body. He sacrificed more of his health for more hitting power. She tried to toughen herself up with hardened slime. She tried to blast him away with a sonic screech. She tried to fight, but Gilbert had her this time, and the legendary gear he wore stood up to the test. By the time Gilbert finished, he was a wrecked and bloody man. He could barely see out of his bruised and battered face. But Lady Hentayury was dead at his boots, her body all broken down in destroyed and frozen pieces. He pumped himself up with the beta version of Healing Force +2 and ran forward along the rampart. Imps tried to get in his way. He unfolded his shield from his left and rammed straight through them like a run-away truck. They¡¯d struck him with hellfire, poison rays, and acid bombs. But Gilbert kept going and going until he finally felt Bianca¡¯s radiant presence whooshing above him like a jet fighter. He healed up his face enough to look up and see three devils spiraled around her speedily, avoiding her counter swings and laser shots while wearing her down with their own evil attacks. The Knighted Healer placed his axe on his back where it tethered itself via rune magic. Hannah really had thought of everything, or would eventually. Folding his shield again, Gilbert ignored the heckling imps and new horde of demonic beasts running at him as he climbed up to the edge of the wall. Below him, more and more hordes of infernal beasts slavering for a chance to chew him apart surged about. Infernal storms thundered. The skies rained blood, flames, and brimstone. Bianca came around again like a jet fighter, and Gilbert made a leap of faith. He had no doubt in his heart. There wasn¡¯t enough room for it. Besides, Bianca was quick to support his faith. She freed up two of her six hands and grabbed him mid-flight while dodging devil attacks. Then, with a quick flick up toward her head, she tossed Gilbert into her wavering hair. He grabbed onto a thick robe of golden strands and held on. He barely had much time to adjust as Bianca banked, rolled, and dove. She dodged beneath torrents of hell magic that wanted to rip her apart and bring her down. She returned fire with beams of lasers and slashes of light. Now and then, she emitted a bright flash that blinded her pursuers. Despite all of that, she couldn¡¯t open them up enough for a solid hit. And she was much slower and weaker than usual. The Floridians were tired, and they were on the enemy¡¯s turf. The devils had most of the advantages. But not all. Gilbert kept hold of Bianca¡¯s hair. He waved back and forth through the whipping air, ignoring the noxious fumes, bloody rain, and acrid clouds. He did his job by just being there, as the devils kept maneuvering and picking at Bianca. It took a while because the devils were Master Rankers, but eventually the effects of Tranquilizer Touch +2 got to them. Even if only a smidge. The devils noticeably slowed down. Gilbert pumped Adrenaline Jolt +2 into Bianca and sacrificed some of his health to increase the power of her next melee blow. Bianca released another eruption of light, but far brighter than the earlier ones. Gilbert¡¯s eyes and skin burned from the intensity of that light, and he wasn¡¯t even the intended target. Bianca¡¯s flash burned the devils the worst. She had the power of free good +6 and traits like the rare Evil hunter or legendary Sainted Smite to help her. Gilbert realized Bianca had waited for this moment and took some damage on purpose. Having Gilbert sealed the deal. All Gilbert could do next was hold tight to her hair as Bianca moved like a gale-force wind, spiraling through the air with an improbable flight maneuver only a giant and feathered princess could do, her six sabers of light swerving and slashing in circling arcs. Gilbert could barely track anything while he got tossed about wildly, clinging to Bianca¡¯s hair with all his Strength to keep from getting thrown off. Then finally, Bianca came to a standstill, landing on the rooftop of the central keep where Hannah and Slip should be. Gilbert thumped down onto her scalp with a groan. He shook his head and glanced up in time to catch three different devils falling as separated pieces. Just like that, Bianca had cut them down. It didn¡¯t seem like she¡¯d needed his help, but then again, she hadn¡¯t done it until he got to her. ¡°GRACIAS!¡± Bianca bellowed. ¡°De nada,¡± Gilbert replied. 217: B3: C7: Hell Gate Portal 3 Looking over to the side, Gilbert noticed the crumbled and scorched corpses of imps and demonic beasts around the staircase. The threshold and the stairs themselves were also heavily damaged. Gilbert gave himself a few seconds to recover before pushing up to his hands and knees on top of Bianca¡¯s head. He was about to jump down only to stop when he saw a horse-like form appear inside the staircase. ¡°Hey, Slip!¡± Gilbert greeted. The eight-legged Sleipnir neighed in response as he clomped up to the top of the keep. Behind him, a large squad of flying ball-shaped golems buzzed and flitted about. They twisted and turned toward anything that caught their attention. Most of them set up a perimeter on the keep, as if they were preparing the stage for the VIP. Then Hannah walked up the staircase with a smirk on her face, her hard wizard hat tilted back. She even had a lock of her brown hair twirled on a gloved finger. ¡°You look happy,¡± Gilbert commented. ¡°SI!¡± Bianca bellowed. Gilbert prepared himself before Hannah let out the nerd talk. ¡°I learned a lot studying the infernal runes from the portal obelisk. Of course, it tried to invade my mind and turn me into a demented shell of myself. But it lacked the ingenious power that my cursed item has.¡± Hannah chuckled as she walked over to Bianca¡¯s taloned foot and patted the angelic medium on the ankle. Then Hannah walked over to the edge of the keep and looked across the vast interdimensional plane. ¡°Things are going to be different after this,¡± Hannah said. ¡°I can feel it.¡± ¡°I think that¡¯s the sleep deprivation talking,¡± Gilbert drawled. ¡°Perhaps it is. But an event like this is going to propel us to new heights. I just ¡­ learned so much. Infernal runes are still runes, even if hellish. And Hidden Hell is a treasure trove of magical information, especially regarding dimensional magic or planar magic.¡± Gilbert nodded along. Some of it interested him, and some of it didn¡¯t. But letting Hannah have her full out nerd moments was the least he could do, especially when she could do stuff that barely anyone could. Hannah carried on brightly. ¡°With enough time, and maybe when I¡¯m deep into being a Master Ranker, I can seriously consider making functional portals. It won¡¯t lead us back home just yet. But it can connect us from location to location in the same world. It¡¯ll be a start.¡± ¡°YAY!¡± Bianca cheered. Gilbert felt a little dumbfounded by that. He actually understood the full implications. To him, this horrid place was the incarnation of evil. There was nothing great he could get out of this other than growing his power and testing his faith. To Hannah, it was a treasure trove of information she could use for her technological magic. Such magic might lead them to seeing their old home again and ¡­ well ¡­ maybe settling old debts or whatever. For Bianca, it was another sign that the airheaded Latina was beyond talented and blessed. Even powerful devils could get wiped out by her in a second or two once she held a smidge of an advantage. They were all walking away from this altered in one way or another. Though, for Gilbert, he felt the least amount of change. He was still himself. ¡°Well, that¡¯s all fine and dandy, but what about the portal?¡± Gilbert asked, bringing everyone back to the here and now. ¡°Oh, yeah, that. I stole a few crystals empowering the obelisk, and I set it to implode when it reached low energy levels. We have ¡­ hm ¡­ six minutes. Shall we get going?¡± Hannah asked. ¡°She¡¯s been a pain, hasn¡¯t she?¡± Gilbert asked down at the Sleipnir. ¡°Neigh,¡± Slip said with a horse-like drawl. Nodding, Gilbert thanked the Sleipnir before dismissing him. He hopped down from Bianca¡¯s head and landed in her many hands. Hannah floated into the air because of her many array of abilities. Her two dozen golems circled around her and Bianca, escorting them as they flew directly back to the portal. A few aerial hell creatures tried to attack. Hannah¡¯s golems shot their green-tinted lasers and destroyed them. Once the shimmering and roaring portal appeared before them, they passed straight through like the last time, but going back toward the more mortal realm. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. Gilbert still felt the heebeegeebees. He hated the strange dimensional shifts and the feel of Hidden Hell trying to get its evil grip on him. At least he was in a slightly less evil place, such as the Grimrock Hell Gate instead of the inter-middle plane between the mortal realm and the hell realm. The place empowering the portal was one step away from fully entering hell, and Gilbert didn¡¯t mind getting away from that. They found the mile-long Dreadnought Hell Gator holding guard. They saw the ruins of the former temple ¨C no doubt, that was Zarian¡¯s work. Gilbert could already feel the coming of a headache from just imagining the story Zarian had to tell. They saw flashes of lights and heard intense eruptions between Naomi and Jack¡¯s ongoing clash. They also saw the circling dark tide of lesser aberrations snapping up the remaining imps and demons that the hell gator didn¡¯t bother to go after. Then Bianca set her taloned feet next to where Zarian and Foodie sat. The two looked like peas in a pod as they chomped away at something that smelled freshly cooked. They also had a big black metal thing that looked vaguely like a sword leaning against a boulder next to them. For some reason, that thing reminded Gilbert of something nerdy even he had a vague idea about. But what was it exactly? Before he could recall, Gilbert tumbled out of Bianca¡¯s many slender and long fingers as she dropped him without warning. He rolled through the air and landed in a crouch before rising smoothly and inhaling deep with his nostrils. The smell ¡­ was heavenly. It was extraordinary. It was something worthy of eating after two weeks straight of nonstop hell crawl. ¡°What is that?¡± Gilbert asked, mouth watering. Zarian beamed with a big smile. ¡°Imp limbs!¡± Just like that, Gilbert lost his appetite. He watched his hedonistic heathens for friends as they delighted themselves on hellish flesh, as if that was okay. Bianca munched away on small bites, making it hard to think of her as a medium of holiness. Hannah didn¡¯t seem to care as she moaned with every bite. The little goblin girl waddled over to Gilbert and looked up at him. She studied him with her big cat-like eyes, her big leafy ears waving up and down. Then she asked in a scratchy but cute voice: ¡°You sure you don¡¯t want a piece?¡± Gilbert reached into his satchel and pulled out a boxed meal. It was still warm. It didn¡¯t taste as great as the smell that wafted off the cooked imps. But Gilbert stayed strong. He refrained, shaking his head. Suddenly, Foodie burst into tears. Zarian ran over and hugged her with his own pair of arms, and some extra arms sprouted from Para. She was in her cloak form, which wrapped the two up closer. Gilbert had to do a double-take as Zarian said sweet nothings and treated Foodie like she was his ¡­ kid. Then Zarian glared at Gilbert from over his ¡­ child¡¯s ¡­ shoulder. The Knighted Healer stayed strong. He ate his lame box meal while everyone enjoyed the cooked imp and rained praises on the little goblin girl. Even the damn hell gator let out a soft rumble in Foodie¡¯s direction, as if to praise her and cheer her up. Everybody was making Gilbert feel like a jerk. It¡¯s hard being me sometimes, Gilbert thought. ¡°Hey Gilbert!¡± Zarian called. ¡°What?¡± Gilbert replied. ¡°Return my POV back to me, you jerk.¡± ¡°Wait, what?¡± Gilbert looked wide eyed at Zarian. When did he get the POV thing? ¡°No! I need to measure that!¡± Hannah looked at Gilbert like he was a lab experiment. Her golems turned toward him sharply, making many weird flashy lights. Gilbert felt more afraid than when he was up against literal devils from hell. *** ¡°Too late, it¡¯s mine again,¡± Zarian said, taking back the POV. There was a strange moment where it felt like the center of focus was still in a transitory phase from Gilbert to him. Zarian caught onto Gilbert¡¯s last thought about being strapped down in a sterile lab while Hannah loomed over him with magitek equipment to dissect him. It didn¡¯t feel like an impression on the spider network. For that moment, it almost felt like he was Gilbert. But that quickly faded. His attention snapped back to the delicious meat his daughter had cooked for him and his friends, despite Gilbert being a jerk. Granted, Zarian should probably reconsider if he should call Foodie his daughter or not. But the moment he¡¯d taken a bite of the imp snack, his mouth was bursting with flavors and juices that nearly overwhelmed him. He¡¯d also felt his hunger change from being a wild behemoth to being a docile pet. Foodie¡¯s cooking magic made it easy for Zarian to feel satisfied with only a few bites while having room for more. So, it was plain to see that he¡¯d fallen in love. He couldn¡¯t stop himself from doing that. Foodie¡¯s cooking was just that amazing. All the growth and fighting and horrors leading up to this felt worth it. So, yes, he¡¯d adopted Foodie, at least in his head. He wasn¡¯t sure how Foodie would react to being called his daughter after all she¡¯d lost. Zarian took another delicious bite of Foodie¡¯s cooking. He glared over at Gilbert who ate by his lonesome self with his lonesome and unloved box meal made by those who weren¡¯t as amazing as Zarian¡¯s new unofficial daughter. The stubborn Christian shook off his nervousness toward Hannah and matched Zarian¡¯s glare with one of his own. Eventually, Zarian moved on. Gilbert not taking part meant there was more for Zarian and Para. The cloak still had to eat a lot of meat, but Foodie¡¯s magical cooking helped soften her hunger. ¡°DELICIOSO!¡± Bianca complimented. She reached down with her long and slender fingers. She picked another slab of meat off the prepared platter between her claws. The meal disappeared in the lower part of the bright light covering her face. ¡°I¡¯m a bit overwhelmed right now. Maybe a bit overstimulated and exhausted, but we need to figure out this POV Shift and ¡­ ohhhh, so delectable. So juicy. Oh, yes, I want more. Ohhh.¡± Hannah lost her train of thoughts again after taking more bites of the delicious snack. ¡°So, can we get back to business?¡± Gilbert grumbled, being the sourpuss. ¡°Naomi¡¯s still fighting Jack. We still have some bastards from hell running about and the aberrations, too. What happens with the Hell Gate and all of them when the portal shuts down?¡± Before anyone could answer, the portal made a boisterous, bellowing sound. Everyone, including the hell gator, turned around to look as the portal warbled, shook, and became flimsier and flimsier by the second. Then it collapsed in on itself violently. 218: B3: C8: Atomic Hatred With both eyes healed, Zarian blinked them rapidly to clear his vision. Dust, grit, and smoke billowed around him. His ears needed more time to heal back to being functional again, so he couldn¡¯t hear much of anything other than some painful ringing. He rose back to his feet, his arms hugging his newly adopted daughter to his chest, with Para waving and glimmering around them as his cloak. He looked around at the devastation left behind by the portal collapse. Everyone was okay, if not reeling from the high-energy shockwave. The one who¡¯d suffered the brunt of the blast shifted and caused the uneven ground to quake. The mile-long gator let out a deep, air-shaking bellow while unwinding his body from around the Floridians. Zarian swept his aura perception over the gigantic creature and saw half of his body had its scales blasted off with the meat cooked underneath. But the hell gator remained alive after tanking a massive dimensional explosion. Para extended a long and multi-jointed arm to pat the nearest scale of the titanic creature. The hell gator let out a rumbly purr in appreciation of being acknowledged. He¡¯d eaten a lot. His vitality will heal everything up, Zarian thought. It was frankly incredible that he could summon such an enormous and powerful creature. The Dreadnought Hell Gator could take on Godzilla and eat the kaiju for lunch. Hell, they hadn¡¯t even used the hell gator¡¯s full powers. There was no need when size and toughness alone could get the job done. Soon enough, Zarian¡¯s ears healed with a pop. He felt a few trickles of blood pouring out, but nothing more than that. He looked down and saw Foodie stirring while cradled against his chest, her eyes blinking up at him. ¡°The Hell Gate¡¯s closed,¡± she said, matter of fact. ¡°This is your victory, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Yes, but no. I enjoy having a total victory. And we¡¯re not just there yet.¡± Zarian walked around as Para extended some makeshift parasite arms and patted everyone else awake. ¡°Can I just lay here and sleep?¡± Gilbert grumbled. ¡°Sorry, big guy, but no walking into the shiny light for you,¡± Zarian said. ¡°Oh, gee, that just makes me feel better.¡± Gilbert sighed before climbing back to his feet. Zarian found Hannah sitting in a force-field bubble her golems had set up. She gestured with two thumbs up. He nodded before looking up to see Bianca rising like a mini kaiju angel. She gestured with six thumbs up as she slowly stood to her taloned feet. She seemed big to Zarian while next to her. But then one look at how much the hell gator dwarfed her made the size comparisons quite stark. With enough meat, I can probably grow myself and become one of these kaijus of yours, Para shared via their mind. That ¡­ is a wonderful idea. Keep that in mind for another day when we want to go in for shock and awe, Zarian replied mentally. Isn¡¯t that how we always do things? Are you telling me we should change things up? Zarian didn¡¯t like the idea of becoming predictable. Para gave a noncommittal answer, an impression of a shoulder shrug. That troubled Zarian a little. Maybe I need to try more low key efforts in the future, Zarian thought. Tabling the Kaiju Para idea for later, Zarian hopped onto a boulder and took a wider look around. He also unfolded more and more of his aura. There was nothing suppressing it now. Not only was the portal gone, but the pervasive and dimensional changes produced by the Grimrock Hell Gate were gone, too. So, with the Hell Break situation no more, the caverns and subterranean floors under Castle Grimrock were back to normal. A bright light beamed through an opening in the far ceiling above, revealing a sunny, blue-sky day. A few pieces of loosened rock tumbled down. Zarian noted how the cavern space was smaller and in ruins. There was barely enough space for the Dreadnought Hell Gator. With the disappearance of the Hell Gate, the reduced space confined a bunch of creatures next to those they were at odds with. There were still imps and demonic beasts scurrying about. There were millions of lesser aberrations turning tail and fleeing into the dark recesses and cracks that could fit their horrifying and mutilated forms. Zarian watched as they drained away like someone spilling a large lake of oil into multiple drainage grates. ¡°I see,¡± Foodie said. ¡°My Goddess Shadowfell is going to spread her gift of corruption even further. Some can become strong from that. Or they will become weak like ¡­ my former mother. Or even weaker.¡± Zarian was too tired to stop that. He knew it would become a problem later. But he and the others were running on fumes after two weeks straight of high-octane hell action, and none of them wanted to admit it. He had another idea he could put into play with Shadowfell. But that was for later. His attention turned toward the Dreadnought Hell Gator. The massive creature¡¯s wariness grew as the gator shifted and collided hard against the walls. Large boulders and rocks fell loose from the ceiling and crashed down. The gator groaned in frustration at the tiny space. It looked like it was time for him to go. ¡°Thanks for the help, buddy. Until next time,¡± Zarian said. The hell gator nodded up and down before his summoner dismissed him. This was the first time Zarian and Para had summoned the creature and didn¡¯t see him die. Stolen novel; please report. Unlike his usually violent entrances and exits, the hell gator faded off like ash and smoke on the wind, his demonic spirit returning to the deepest and most violent layers of Hidden Hell. The leftover ash and smoke came down after circling and spreading, raining everywhere. Zarian freely used his Aura Mastery to push it back and make a clean bubble of air around him and the others, including Bianca¡¯s giant form. He didn¡¯t concern himself much with anything else, especially with how tired he felt. That left him vulnerable for this once. Someone hateful flew like a burning arrow straight at the wizard. ¡°ZARIAN!¡± Jack roared, with searing white sparks trailing behind him. The hater looked as fucked up as Zarian expected. The man had lost some teeth. His face was puffy. He was bruised up everywhere. His legendary armor was gone. Naomi had stolen it piece by piece. Despite all of that, Jack still had a lot of fuel in the tank keeping him going. He was much stronger than when the battle had started, having powered up like a Shonen character under pressure. Somehow, he¡¯d gotten away from Naomi. He finally had Zarian close at hand. The hater¡¯s sword of starlight grew bright white and big, like a towering monument of hateful good and tyrannical order. He cocked back to prepare for a big slash. Thankfully, Zarian had someone like Para who remained on the ball. She already had multiple spells and countermeasures going. Zarian was also fortunate to have Hannah and Bianca. Both of them moved to defend and counterattack without him having to ask. Hannah¡¯s golems shone with an array of elemental colors as they flew to get a proper firing angle. Bianca moved her large body gracefully into Jack¡¯s path with six towers of light held in her hands. Gilbert was a little slow, but he had his Healing Force +2 going at full force for the Floridians. Even the little goblin cook braced herself while held in Zarian¡¯s arms, ready to spring into action to defend her savior. For a split second, Zarian felt touched by all he had, all he¡¯d cultivated by putting the emphasis on others he wanted to grow and raise. He didn¡¯t have to do a thing to have the fruits of his labor show in proud and powerful ways. In fact, there was one person who stood as the epitome of taking what Zarian offered and paying it back tenfold, hundredfold, thousandfold, and even further beyond. And that person was Naomi Washington. She flew in faster than Jack. She counteracted him before Para, Hannah, Bianca, Gilbert, or Foodie had to. Naomi struck the hater with a tackle from his blind side while using Aura Ignition, making herself look like a blazing blue comet. No, wait. That¡¯s not full Aura Ignition, Zarian realized with shock. ¡°She¡¯s using Half Ignition,¡± he said aloud, surprising everyone, especially Foodie. ¡°There¡¯s a Half Ignition?¡± she asked, sitting up in Zarian¡¯s arms. She balanced herself against his chest with her hands on his shoulders. ¡°How can that be? Her Half Ignition is greater than my First Ignition!¡± Zarian and the others didn¡¯t have time to explain before the inevitable eruption happened from Naomi tackling Jack into the side of the cavern wall. Their crash landing caught the tail end of some lesser aberrations still trying to flee and blew them up. They knocked down tons and tons of rock down on everyone¡¯s heads. More pieces of the ceiling fell free, some of it pure rock, others coming from the castles and fortifications bundled into the mountains above. Zarian and Para worked together to create a hard aura barrier, protecting everyone who wasn¡¯t involved in the fight. Hannah assisted by blasting a few large pieces of rubble with concentrated destruction beams. Keeping the barrier up just in case, Zarian tapped into the spider network to feel what Naomi felt. He invited everyone else as well, especially Foodie. He quickly fed a spectral spider to the little goblin, and she accepted it without question. Once her mind spider settled into her brain, she linked up on the spider network. From there, they could feel what Naomi felt as she beat the shit out of Jack like he owed her reparations. They could feel how she walked barefoot on the razor¡¯s edge between maintaining her profile skills and having outright power from Aura Ignition. Once she transitioned from Half Ignition to First Stage of Aura Ignition, or First Ignition, her skills would stop working. She would have to rely on traits and pure brute force. First Ignition came with more physical boosts, but that was at the sacrifice of flexibility. In a game of beating down a hater and keeping him from getting what he wanted ¨C a crack at Zarian ¨C she needed the flexibility just in case. But that wasn¡¯t the only thing at play. Naomi was sharpening herself against Jack¡¯s hatred. She was teasing out more and more power from the mythical hater, to almost a ridiculously dangerous degree. As much as Zarian and the others ¨C especially Gilbert ¨C wanted Jack to get more of his well-deserved comeuppance, the well of power Jack could pull up to make himself grow stronger ran deeper than Zarian had expected from Jack. It was almost to the point of arrogance from Naomi to play this dangerous game, even if she was following Zarian¡¯s orders to the T. ¡°Should we tell her to end this?¡± Para asked from a few mouths formed in the cloak. ¡°All that¡¯s left is to knock Jack unconscious. Or kill him.¡± ¡°Please don¡¯t kill him just yet,¡± Gilbert said with desperate fanaticism. ¡°I¡¯m scanning Naomi and Jack both,¡± Hannah admitted. ¡°I¡¯m curious about how far they can push, especially with Naomi. Her power tier has been rising steadily, going beyond past tiers, even while she keeps a slow build up in Aura Ignition.¡± ¡°GO, NAOMI, GO!¡± Bianca roared boisterously, making a few of them wince. ¡°After the Darkrun Apocalypse, Jack would hurt me while I was too enslaved to do anything,¡± Foodie said. ¡°We had spars, too, but I wasn¡¯t allowed to fight hard. He always fought hard against me.¡± That was all it took for the dogs to come out of every Floridian. Zarian and the others yelled, cheered, and screamed for Naomi to put an even bigger whooping on Jack and not let him off easily. Naomi responded by putting an even harder whooping on Jack. She struck him in the crotch with a rising knee. She dashed around and slapped him on the back of his head like she was beating an unruly child. She kicked the legs out from under him, kicked his face like a soccer ball, grabbed his ankle before he flew away, and treated him like he weighed nothing by swinging him back and forth, bashing him into the floor or the nearest piles of boulders. Her beat down of Jack was the most thorough and satisfying thing Zarian had ever seen, so he and the others couldn¡¯t help but cheer for Naomi at the top of their lungs. Maybe they were playing with fire. Maybe they should kill Jack and be done with it. But they could kill two stones with one bird here. They could see Naomi build her Aura Ignition and maybe even reach Second Stage. And they could see someone like Jack get what he deserved while being made the tool he was. How many people like Jack got to live their lives, ruining others because of something petty, and get away with it? Of course, such sweet desserts didn¡¯t come easy in the Infinita Star System. Jack hit another power up somehow that forced Naomi off him. His entire body went supernova similar to Bianca, but with such a hateful and burning white light, it stung Zarian and Para. They were standing at a distance and had an aura barrier up, but Jack¡¯s hatred still got to them. As Jack screamed and powered up, Zarian let instincts take over. The Madness Wizard passed Foodie into the crook of one arm. He signed with one hand and chanted to unseal a portion of his darkness. Everyone watched as the hater¡¯s body burned with pure white hatred that turned the nearest rocks and rubble into melted slag. The mythical force he emitted even pushed Naomi back into a stagger, nearly blowing out her Half Ignition. When she regained her footing, Jack appeared in front of her like a bullet out of a gun. He had a bead of condensed star energy in one fist. He had a perfected star sword in the other. A powerful white immolation covered his body like living armor. A heavy and judgmental atmosphere expanded from his star-bright body and slammed down on everyone, especially Zarian and Naomi. Naomi couldn¡¯t get out of the way in time. Jack struck a one-two combo that went off like two bombs of atomic hatred. And if that wasn¡¯t bad already¡­ Jack stole the POV Shift. 219: B3: C9: I Understand 1 Jack¡¯s notifications flooded with new updates as a large part of the cavern ceiling came crashing down. He checked his notifications frantically while he slashed upward his Star Sword +3 with one hand. A crescent wave of condensed star magic and white hot hatred flew from the tip of his perfected blade. It split the falling cavern debris in half. A burning pulse from his White Immolation Shield +3 combined with a force push from his Absolute Judgment +2 shoved tons of sliced and melted rock out of his way, the powerful skills sending the slag splashing wide and hard in all directions. He would¡¯ve made note of that immense show of power if he wasn¡¯t so focused on finding that damn woman¡¯s name in a defeated message. He kept looking and looking. It wasn¡¯t there. He¡¯d killed plenty of lesser aberrations and some imps still lurking about. The creatures had gotten caught in the wake of his best one-two strike. But he hadn¡¯t brought down the mutt of Zarian Darkrun. Jack¡¯s already racing heart raced even faster. The boiling blood in his veins boiled even hotter. Everything burned for Jack. His body. His existence. His pride. Most importantly, his mythical class, the Level 88 Absolute Hater, burned the most. Jack kept sensing Zarian¡¯s existence, which remained unbound, unhurt, and unpunished. That couldn¡¯t stand. Zarian must be bound. Zarian must be hurt. Zarian must be punished. Nothing more mattered to Jack, and that was fine with him. His hatred gave his life purpose, and his life was for the sake of his hatred. That cyclic loop might¡¯ve seemed insane to people outside of his perspective. But it was focused, it was deliberate, and it gave him unbelievable amounts of power and luck. Why else would he have a mythical class? Why else would his profile work wonderfully for him? It kept him alive to see his mission to the end. He had five perfect alpha skills that played off each other. Star Bolt +3, Star Sword +3, White Immolation Shield +3, Absolute Judgment +2, and Absolute Purity +2. The first two, bolt and sword, gave him options to fight from both afar and up close. Jack could attack from anywhere to bring down his absolute enemy and those who stood in his way. His shield worked well against both physical, magical, spiritual, and mental attacks. It also increased Jack¡¯s physicality as he accrued more damage and pain. Then the last two were the skills that truly elevated him to another power tier. The judgment skill not only allowed him to read others better, but it also suppressed them over time and made it so he could affect the world with magical force. The purity skill raised Jack¡¯s power, increased his recovery, and made Jack stronger, as long as he remained pure. Nothing was more pure than Jack¡¯s hatred. Jack also had nine helpful traits. Chief among them was his mythical trait, Chosen of the Ascended Heavens. Not only did he have the heavens on his side, making him even more powerful, the mythical trait boosted his Wonder stat by an extreme amount. He pushed Wonder above all else, making his magic attacks hit hard while he remained more faithful, more lucky. His traits also allowed him to turn his skills more lethal or turn them nonlethal. By making them nonlethal, he could lock down, bound, and seal away his targets with his magic. That worked well with his bolt, sword, immolation shield, or even judgment skill. Because of all this, he was the perfect weapon to go up against Zarian Darkrun. Many of the Good Gods backed him. Even a few Evil Gods had given their support along with the Grimrock Warlock. Hell, twenty out of his eighty-eight levels came from two divine achievements out of the fourteen achievements he¡¯d earned. That was further proof of his righteous stance as a mythical adventurer, the Absolute Hater. His crazy mother had always been wrong about him. There had never been demons inside of him. There had never been a reason for her to ¡®snap¡¯ and press a clothing iron to his back with the heat dialed all the way up. He still had the mark on his back. He hated how it was exposed to the world because of that mutt of a woman. She¡¯d ripped off his legendary gear while telling Jack she needed it to ¡®feed Zarian¡¯s growing dungeon.¡¯ She had done it while laughing at him. Nobody was going to laugh now. Jack had broken past a new ceiling in power. His hatred had grown to new heights, going beyond prior limits. Focus, Jack thought. First, put down Zarian. Second, kill the rest. Third, find the dungeon and kill it. Then kill everyone else who Zarian tainted with his evil. Jack¡¯s hatred grew hotter. His purity raised his power. Everything about him became more refined. Even the flames of his immolation shield flickered with a sharp grace that clothed his muscled form, making him look like a proper demigod. His face healed back to its usual sharp and austere edges. His teeth returned to being a full and straight set. He was as immaculate and healthy as he was absolute and hateful. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. Someone approached him through the haze, smoke, and creeping darkness. It wasn¡¯t Zarian, at least not in solid form. Jack realized who it was with a sweep of his Absolute Judgment +2 and super high Wonder stat. ¡°You should¡¯ve died with the other failures,¡± Jack said. ¡°What good are you when you can¡¯t do your job?¡± ¡°Was it you who called us in at the mall?¡± asked the big man standing across from Jack. The healer had somehow survived his own neck being snapped a year ago. Now he was bigger and more armored. ¡°Did you do it? Did you call us in for bullshit reasons?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll do your job for you, since you obviously can¡¯t do much of anything right,¡± Jack said. ¡°You piece of shit.¡± The healer flicked his left arm to the side. Unfolding from his brace, a high-quality shield with heavy enchantments appeared. The healer used nothing else but his shield, his big armored body, and his misguided anger as he charged at the Absolute Hater. Pathetic. Jack swung his sword and sent forth a vertical crescent wave. It was five times taller than the healer and carved a deep, melted line across the craggy floor. The healer raised his shield at an angle and shuffle-stepped to the right. The vertical crescent glanced off his shield, but even that nearly knocked the healer off his feet. He took a split second to regain his footing, which gave Jack plenty of time to stride around on the other side of the healer¡¯s shield arm. A bolt powered up quickly in Jack¡¯s left fist before he shoved it into the healer¡¯s open side. ¡°Die,¡± Jack said. There was a sudden premonition of danger and darkness, a threat of great magnitudes, that nearly affected Jack¡¯s judgment. However, the Absolute Hater refused to hesitate or fear anything. He blew up the healer¡¯s torso. The attack broke the enchantments, melted the armor off the healer, and destroyed much of the cavern floor behind the man. Just one bolt from the Absolute Hater was so potent that even legendary items and enchantments couldn¡¯t withstand him. Jack was certain the healer was dead for sure. Then Jack was proven wrong. A smoking fist covered in an array of colors and an undeniable force swung through the smoke, which even Jack¡¯s judgment found worrying. The Absolute Hater tried to back away and counter with a sharp sword swing. He had his immolation shield dialed up, too, with it focused on covering his front. He shouldn¡¯t need the shield. He was faster than the healer. But something got in the way. A single bar of darkness thrust up from a crack in the ground. It was a small and simple thing, barely much of a threat, until it struck behind Jack¡¯s knee and tripped him. Again, Zarian had gotten in Jack¡¯s way. But this time, it was for the healer to land a punch to Jack¡¯s gut. The hit blew up, applying immense and surprising pain that got past the immolation shield. Jack retched even though he had nothing left in his belly but bile and spit. His feet left the ground as the force of the healer¡¯s death-defying punch sent the Absolute Hater flying backward like a ball out of a cannon. Jack couldn¡¯t grasp how this was possible, especially when he was in too much pain to think. Before he could regather his thoughts, he crashed through piles of rubble, some of it still melting, before he struck the wall. The impact knocked down more cavernous rubble from the walls and more pieces from the mountain above. Dust and smoke billowed up, clouding vision, until Jack erupted out of the pile that had fallen on him. His judgment found the healer, and Jack was back on him like white on rice. The smug look on the healer¡¯s rapidly healing face only infuriated Jack further. With an angry roar, Jack slashed down with his sword powered up, raising its power and heat. But another magical intervention swept over the healer and made him disappear. Only the wrinkled and darkened air remained, a signature of evil magic being involved, before Jack could slash down. Yet again, the stupid healer avoided a proper death. Yet again, Zarian had somehow made a fool of Jack. The Absolute Hater could barely take it anymore. He used the momentum of his missed sword swing to roll through the air and thrust his legs downward. He pushed his immolation shield and judgment beneath his feet like heated jets. He flew into the air. He blew past the darkened clouds of dust, smoke, and darkness. He found his target. Zarian sat on a throne of darkness and cosmic flesh, and from that throne, Jack could almost recognize the freakish parasite skill Zarian had picked from last year. Underneath that was a tower of solidified darkness that held up the throne and acted as a floor for the others. Jack couldn¡¯t see any of them as people. They were all extensions of Zarian. But worst of all was Foodie, who sat on Zarian¡¯s lap. She held onto him in a way that prized the Dark Lord above all else. If Jack thought he¡¯d reached a limit in his hatred before, what he felt now was nearly as blinding as it was all powerful. The light, force, and heat he emitted as he delved deeper into his hatred came out as a battle scream for all to hear and feel. His hatred reached such heights that Jack felt drunk off it. Even the apocalyptic darkness that Zarian wielded seemed to shy back, losing its fearsome coherence while forced to face the eruptive glow of Jack¡¯s growing and all-consuming hatred. If there was one thing that held Jack back, it would be Foodie. Despite everything, Jack didn¡¯t want to kill her or lock her up. She was like him. He just needed to teach her to be better by whatever means necessary. That was the only reason he didn¡¯t rain a barrage of Star Bolts +3 down upon them while using the nonlethal option. Once locked down, they could stay that way for countless years. Instead, he shot forward with his sword. Predictably, another person got in his way. It was the mutt again. But she didn¡¯t look as cocky as before. Somehow, she¡¯d survived a one-two strike Jack had intended to kill. Despite that, Jack had a feeling that she, the mutt, wouldn¡¯t escape death again once he got the better of her a second time. Better yet, Jack noticed through his judgment that the others around Zarian felt concerned. Jack couldn¡¯t judge Zarian as easily as the others. His judgement skill was less effective against the man Jack existed to defeat, but Jack could still infer that the mutt ¨C Naomi ¨C was a weak spot. Jack accepted Naomi¡¯s retry against him. He prepared to slash her down with his sword. She showed off her Aura Ignition again, but a far larger version than before. Far more wild. Far more powerful. Far more shocking. The resulting shockwave had slowed Jack down and blew back the other servants of Zarian. The burning aura became a giant blue-green inferno with Naomi at the center, screaming and raging as the power buffed up her body. But now she had no access to her skills. Jack¡¯s wondrous judgment was certain of that. He could take advantage of that. Jack jettisoned to the side and let her fly past him like an out-of-control missile. He saw an opportunity to go after Zarian again, but it disappeared before Jack could act. A bunch of dancing spiders with wizard hats used evil magic to whisk Zarian and the others away from Jack¡¯s direct reach. They didn¡¯t go far, however. Jack¡¯s senses knew where to find Zarian no matter where he went. Hell, seeing Zarian run only emboldened the Absolute Hater. There was one problem, though. Naomi made a return flight at Jack¡¯s back far faster than Jack had judged possible. She quickly grew as an inconvenience. The Absolute Hater didn¡¯t have a reliable flying ability. He could only launch himself in straight lines using his combined skills. He barely got off enough thrust from immolation and judgment to dodge Naomi again as she went roaring past. Jack turned toward Zarian¡¯s new location in a hole in the far wall and gathered energy for a focused thrust, but once again, his wondrous senses and judgment warned him of Naomi. She was flying back at him for a third pass, and she arrived even faster than before. 220: B3: C10: I Understand 2 Jack was trying to readjust midair again when he realized how Naomi kept coming at him repeatedly. No, this wasn¡¯t because of Zarian¡¯s interference. Naomi was kicking off the cavern walls with so much power she shot herself around fast enough to keep the pressure on Jack. Every kick off destroyed much of the cavern and brought down more from the mountain above, threatening a full cave in. But the mad woman didn¡¯t care. She kept bouncing back and forth with explosive leg kicks alone. Jack kept juking around, faster and faster, learning to use his immolation and judgment for tighter maneuvers. Then Jack centered his hatred on removing the mutt. Striking her down was like striking Zarian, even if emotionally. That reasoning was more than enough for his purity skill to power him up some more. Jack dodged Naomi once again. Then he shot a potent stream of rapid-fire bolts after her. Each one struck like high explosive missiles, but at a much faster rate and higher temperature. The barrage of killer bolts followed Naomi to her next jump off spot and slammed down on her. The bolts demolished the wall, turning fallen rubble into slag. Jack was certain that would knock down Naomi or outright destroy her. Proving him wrong once again, Naomi crashed out of the hatred barrage by staying with her original plan, even with the wall getting melted and demolished. She didn¡¯t care. She jumped off with even more power and force. She smashed through bolt after bolt while going at Jack again with barely any reduction in her speed. Dodging her by a hairbreadth, Jack swerved around her and slashed his sword at her back. He screamed as he attacked, pumping as much star magic and hatred into the cut. He wanted to see her, the mutt of Zarian, cut down for good. But the damned woman couldn¡¯t stop from being a constant and impossible pain. Somehow, she twisted herself around to face Jack, and while she went backward, she attempted to fend against his powerful and pure sword with a FREAKING KICK. That was beyond deranged and foolhardy. Who thought they could win by meeting the edge of their bare foot with the edge of a mythical energy blade, which came from a skill that scaled immensely with Jack¡¯s Wonder stat, his traits, and his other skills? By all means, even with her having First Ignition, Jack¡¯s sword should cut her god damn foot off and some. They clashed midair with a strident and thunderous boom like two bombs meeting head to head, and Jack¡¯s sword, in fact, didn¡¯t cut off her foot. It was evident that Naomi¡¯s First Ignition was far more powerful than Foodie¡¯s First Ignition, which Jack had trained against. Naomi¡¯s First Ignition empowered her body so much that her kick smashed away Jack¡¯s Star Sword +3 and sent the Absolute Hater tumbling backward through the air. This was while Naomi had no leverage, no footing, and was flying in the opposite direction. It was an impossible maneuver that even anime bullshit would find troubling. Yet she pulled it off and made Jack look like a fool once again. Righting himself with a thrust of immolated judgment, Jack came to a scary realization. They ¨C Zarian ¨C were using Jack. Why else would they keep holding back instead of attacking with all of their people? Jack wasn¡¯t weak. He was mythical! He was above everyone here other than Foodie. Yet, they kept throwing one person at him instead of respecting his power. They were trying to achieve something. They were using Jack to get Naomi from First Ignition to Second Ignition. Jack didn¡¯t want to believe it, since it made him feel used. But that had to be the truth. Once again, Zarian was acting in despicable ways to strengthen himself by making his mutts and slaves stronger, hoarding all the power for himself by any means. Jack couldn¡¯t allow this to happen. Naomi truly needed to die to stop her from achieving the Second Stage of Aura Ignition. Jack hated to admit it, but Naomi¡¯s First Ignition was so strong, it was far more dangerous than Foodie¡¯s Second Ignition. His Absolute Judgment +2 and his Absolute Purity +2 felt the urgency along with him. Anything that benefited Zarian had to be stopped. It didn¡¯t matter if it was a mere child offering to get the Dark Lord some coffee. Jack would stop the child and coffee at all costs, one way or another. Thus, the Absolute Hater waited for Naomi to come to him again like he was a batter on the plate. He¡¯d always preferred pitching, but when he went to bat, he went for the home run. After two seconds of nothing, Jack¡¯s judgment warned him that waiting was a mistake. The damn woman had changed up things once again. Jack blasted forward to bring the fight to Naomi. He jetted through all the billowing clouds of smoke and dust. He found the human inferno of aura standing on the ground, not even looking up at him. Instead, she was strangely concerned with her own hands, turning them this way and that. She was acting like a child who was rediscovering parts of her body. All of that seemed wrong to Jack. All of that needed to end. The Absolute Hater shot himself down like a hate-seeking missile. He charged up a Star Bolt +3 in his left hand. He boosted the power of his Star Sword +3 to a new tier. His White Immolation Shield +3 drained into his body and focused on making him even more physically stronger and faster. He pushed down all of his suppression magic on Naomi with Absolute Judgment +2, and he powered up even further with Absolute Purity +2, keeping his hatred true. He made the most out of all his traits, especially the mythical Chosen of the Ascended Heavens. He reached a new tier of destructive power and delivered another one-two strike with his sword first followed by a bolt punch. Landing both, regardless of Naomi¡¯s First Ignition, should ensure her death and start the ultimate downfall of Zarian Darkrun at long last. ¡°Die, bitch!¡± Jack roared. Naomi looked up and did something that made Jack second-guess himself. She smiled. Then she used one hand in a washing motion to deflect his sword swing, which fouled his following bolt punch all at once. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Jack crashed down next to her, slicing deep into the floor with his sword. He blasted a section of the cavern with his missed punch. He tried to get up. Naomi¡¯s foot landed on his back. She felt immovable, keeping him down on his knees. But that wasn¡¯t the worst part. The inferno of wild aura became more refined, contracting inward, thickening itself to the point of making it hard for Jack to breathe. Aura lightning flashed and struck out like high-energy snakes. The air shook with a rapid vibration that rattled the ground and Jack. Then the burning aura changed colors. The Aura Ignition went from blue-green to green-yellow, becoming something different, something more advanced. Jack tried to shove it away. He tried to erupt with his mythical hatred. He¡¯d done so plenty of times to beat Foodie when the Grimrock Warlock forced the enslaved cook to spar with Jack and make him stronger. He¡¯d gotten over Foodie¡¯s Second Ignition before. But this was different. Naomi was different. Nothing was working. Her foot remained on his back, making him feel lesser. He felt like a bug underneath a giant. Then a shiver went down Jack¡¯s spine as he listened to the confidence in her words. ¡°I understand it now.¡± Her foot lifted off his back. The pressure eased off of him some. Jack dug deep into his hatred. He released an even bigger explosion from his White Immolation Shield +3 and Absolute Judgment +2. He destroyed the cavern floor beneath him. He sent a rapidly expanding white hot wall of heat and hatred outward, especially in Naomi¡¯s direction. Such a thing would¡¯ve annihilated most adventurers under Level 100 and some Master Rankers in the low Level 100s. Such a thing should hurt Naomi and give Jack the confidence to rally back. Even if she had Second Ignition, Jack wanted to believe he could win. Naomi clapped her hands. The force of her clap had the power of Second Ignition, which concentrated so much burning aura into her body it would¡¯ve blown apart a small kingdom. Instead of self-erupting, she funneled all of that aura into her bones, her veins, her muscles, her skin, and even her hair, which seemed to have grown longer, curlier, and bouncier on her head. So when she clapped, the concentrated aura inside and around her hands shot outward as an undeniable force wall, which she used to snuff out Jack¡¯s eruption and knock him off his feet. The Absolute Hater tumbled backward with a cry of anguish, his eardrums blown out and his brain rattled to the point of having a concussion. He hit the scorched and melted ground like a skipping stone. His out-of-control body smashed through rubble after rubble before finally bouncing to a stop. Naomi was already there, waiting for him. ¡°I¡¯m a fighter,¡± she said. Somehow, despite his blasted eardrums, he could tell what she was saying. Even her words had so much concentrated aura in them that the magic behind her speech wouldn¡¯t let his deafness stop her from telling him what she wanted. Jack couldn¡¯t even hear himself scream as he went on a frenzied attack with nonlethal intent. If he could slow her down, bind her, and maybe seal her, that was another way to stop her. Then Jack quickly realized that was a mistake. Sealing magic was even more ineffective on her. He knew about the new alignment called the freedom alignment. But he hadn¡¯t tested his power against someone that was high in the alignment before. He quickly judged Naomi as being high in freedom. Any attempt to seal her would glance right off and become useless energy spent on nothing. Jack had to turn all of his attention back to killing, but that mistake in tactics cost him time and focus. Naomi took advantage with a tap of her knuckles into his chest. Jack¡¯s ribs cracked. His lungs became riddled with punctures. His heart stopped for a moment and had to restart with a burst of hatred. His White Immolation Shield +3 fed on the pain and damage to make him physically stronger and faster. He stumbled back one step. Then he lunged with renewed vigor. He attacked with a flurry of slashes from his Star Sword +3. Then he performed a quick step back on purpose and sent a volley flying with his Star Bolt +3. These attacks were immense and impressive. But they were useless against Second Ignition Naomi. The unstoppable black woman used one finger to parry and deflect all of Jack¡¯s strikes from his sword. Then she stepped side-to-side through his volley of bolts. She reminded Jack of a ridiculous cartoon where fighters powered up and made their hair bigger and shinier to fight stronger enemies. He hated how he was on the receiving end of that. Hadn¡¯t he powered up enough? Wasn¡¯t his hatred enough? Yet, he couldn¡¯t hear himself or achieve anything against Naomi¡¯s Second Ignition. He could only hear her as she kept speaking with an aura-backed voice. ¡°I had to grow up a fighter because of how I was raised. I couldn¡¯t trust anybody. All that mattered was me and my success. I went into the Marines thinking that way. And ¡­ I changed. I was already changing before I met Zarian. He made me change a little more. To where I took risks to help others even when that backfires.¡± Jack wanted her to shut up badly. He did everything he could to stop her. He slashed with large attacks and rapid attacks with his sword. He jetted into the air for some more space before throwing down a bigger and more powerful barrage of bolts. He immolated the surrounding air with his white shield. He kept trying to assault her sense of power with his judgment. He used his purity to fund his high-energy costs as he got closer and closer to empty. He did all he could. Yet Naomi remained undefeated. I should¡¯ve learned Aura Ignition, Jack realized. But it hadn¡¯t seemed necessary before. His mythical class seemed better to focus on, especially with how excellent it was at combat. He¡¯d focused on that and his skills while hunting down whoever he could across the Grimrock Castle Mountains. In between moments of killing adventurers, he fought and beat down Foodie. With the amount of times he¡¯d defeated Foodie in spars, Aura Ignition seemed like a worthless trick for the desperate and untalented, especially those with less quality classes. Oh, no. Oh fucking no. What¡¯s the quality of her class? Jack felt mortified. His judgment answered him. She was merely epic, two qualities below him. Jack screamed with rage, horror, and embarrassment. He couldn¡¯t hear his own scream, but he knew it was loud and pitiful. That was okay as long as he could use these negative emotions as fuel for the fires of his hatred. But ¡­ for some reason ¡­ his hatred didn¡¯t burn as hot as it should. It took him a split second to realize he made another mistake. Jack had lost his focus from striking at Zarian by any means to hating Naomi specifically. His hatred became impure. His power dropped significantly. He couldn¡¯t move well enough. He became a sitting duck as Naomi jumped through the barrage of weakened attacks. She reached him before he could react properly and grabbed him violently by the hair on her upward rise, her fingers gripping right down to the scalp. The force of her launch was so powerful they flew straight toward the cavern ceiling, with Jack screaming as he was yanked along, his scalp burning, his every effort to break free turning futile. With a single upward thrust of her palm, Naomi struck the cavern ceiling and blew out of the way an immense amount of rock, stone, and castle parts. She reached the surface where the suns fell toward the western horizon on the last part of their daily arc. Gradually, Naomi slowed, but not by much. They kept rising as she talked down to him. ¡°I could¡¯ve been you,¡± she said, clucking her tongue. ¡°I am like you. I still have hatred. I¡¯m still insecure and desperate. But ¡­ I would rather devote this body of mine to something bigger than all that. To help my friends and those who need it. And ¡­ to give a certain someone an actual challenge. That¡¯s what this body of mine is for, and I like that for myself.¡± Finally, they reached the apex of their rise. Jack felt weaker and weaker. Naomi¡¯s Second Ignition felt more condensed, more in control, more potent. She let him go as they faced off amid the blocky clouds. There was a serene expression on her face. That expression scared Jack. His mother had the same look on her face when she raised the hot clothing iron. ¡°Don¡¯t hurt me,¡± Jack pleaded, his ears healing at last. He could hear how pathetic he sounded, which practically broke him. ¡°Shush now. I¡¯m done with you, and I need to take a dump.¡± She reached over and flicked him on the forehead. 221: B3: C11: Bargain 1 The POV was back on Zarian as he sat on a throne made from Quarter Percent Darkness and the Parasite Cloak +3. His new daughter waited on his knee. His friends surrounded him, including Bianca, who parked her big fifty-foot self in a crouch behind his throne. Everyone waited with bated breath on the dark tower he formed underneath them, keeping them above the haze, smoke, and smashed rubble covering the ruined cavern floor. The whole place looked like it was about to fall apart, with more openings appearing above in the crumbling ceiling, letting in the late afternoon light. With a long breath, he let the last thoughts and feelings of the Absolute Hater disperse from his mind. Nothing but faint and quiet echoes of Jack¡¯s horrible nature remained with Zarian. Hannah had a point. The POV Shift thing needed to be studied. It could be something vital with Zarian¡¯s heritage as the descendant of ultra gods. But how could anyone study something that seemed so above it all and incredibly meta? Zarian figured that was something they could examine later. He had plenty of other things that needed his immediate attention before he and the others could finally sleep. Chief among them was Naomi¡¯s arrival as a demigoddess of determination. She dropped back down into the cavern like a supernatural sun. A thickly condensed sphere of high-intensity green-yellow aura surrounded her. Aura lightning bolts, aura flames, and aura winds crackled and circulated around her naked body. Her curly and bouncy hair flicked and danced with a larger and more luscious volume, like a black bonfire. All of that was amazing to see, but nothing beat the look of thrill on her face. Seeing that made Zarian feel glad about the risks he¡¯d taken despite Jack¡¯s dangerous nature. The militant woman landed softly from the long fall. She held her unconscious prize by a fistful of hair, letting Jack drop like a weak noodle beside her. Zarian looked dead in her eyes, keeping his focus on her face instead of her exposed body. Gilbert, of course, turned fully around. He looked off at a corner in the cavern and grumbled to himself about decency. Hannah had no fucks. She was studying the power Naomi generated from her Second Ignition. Zarian was doing the same with Aura Mastery, and it was frankly amazing. He had no doubt in his mind that Naomi¡¯s Second Ignition was much greater than Foodie¡¯s Second Ignition. Hell, it might have reached a range of power that was beyond how anyone¡¯s Second Ignition should be. ¡°My bad for making y¡¯all wait. I had to take a dump,¡± Naomi said plainly, her voice a wave of aura that billowed against them with a strong gust. ¡°Are we missing one less mountain back there, hot shot?¡± Gilbert asked, still looking the other way. ¡°EW!¡± Bianca bellowed. ¡°NOT IN FRONT OF THE CHAMA!¡± ¡°What¡¯s chama?¡± Foodie asked. ¡°Cuban Spanish for the word ¡®child,¡¯¡± Zarian answered, patting his hand over Foodie¡¯s hair. She had lost the long braid that used to hang from behind her mohawk, which was also chopped down to a bush. She was all scuffed up and dirty still, but the many scars she¡¯d carried were gone already because of Gilbert¡¯s healing skill. Looking deep into Foodie¡¯s eyes, Zarian firmed up his heart. ¡°By the way, would you like for me to adopt you as my kid? You¡¯ll be my first daughter. You don¡¯t have to answer now. It¡¯s just that I have these strong feelings toward you and¨C¡± ¡°Okay.¡± ¡°Uh, maybe think about it longer,¡± Zarian said, stuttering. He nearly forgot how blunt and straightforward Foodie could be. It was a struggle to keep himself from smiling as he turned his attention back to Naomi. He asked, ¡°You okay staying like that, hard charger?¡± ¡°I have to stay like this or I will fall unconscious and not wake up for who knows how long,¡± she explained. ¡°I had to use my Thematic Concept to make this happen and you know how it is¡­¡± Oof. Naomi was going to hurt for a while after this. Her divine trait, Thematic Concept/Even Further Beyond, allowed her to push far past her mortal limits at the cost of a heavy physical debuff for a decent enough duration. She also risked killing herself if she pushed too hard. Based on how her words struck like small, compact explosions because of her incredible Second Ignition power, Zarian could tell Naomi was going to be debuffed hard for maybe two weeks or longer. ¡°Huh, so you have one, too,¡± Foodie said toward Naomi. ¡°My Thematic Concept is Let Her Cook. I become stronger in situations that deal with cooking, even if it means I have to look at my enemies as my future meals. I must eat them or cook something great or I¡¯ll feel hungry for days.¡± Foodie turned to look into Zarian¡¯s eyes. ¡°Do you have one, Father?¡± Zarian flinched in his seat. His body went tense. He froze there for two seconds as his heart felt like it was bleeding out. I WASN¡¯T READY! Discombobulated, Zarian¡¯s mind unraveled on its own. Para helped by tapping into his High Rune Mindframe +2 and organizing his thoughts for him like a mental secretary. She quickly reminded him of the order of business he needed to get done before the Floridians could finally rest. This was important because the longer Naomi held Second Ignition, the longer she would need to recover. ¡°Okay, there¡¯s a lot of stuff to go over,¡± Zarian said. ¡°But we¡¯re obviously tired as hell and some of us need our beauty sleep more than others.¡± ¡°SIIIIIIIIIII!¡± Bianca screeched, flapping her golden wings and waving her six arms. ¡°First, let¡¯s go to the surface so I can seal Overwhelming Darkness away,¡± Zarian said, saying his instructions aloud for everyone. They were too tired to rely on impressions through the spider network. Zarian also knew his voice was a decent guide for everyone. The spectral spiders performed one of their best dance routines. They probably had a lot of routines stocked up for moments like these, especially with how they liked to wave their little wizard hats around with a foreleg. This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. Through them, Zarian cast Void Waltz to whisk everyone off the dark tower, leaving it to collapse. They made a quick jaunt through the void and ended up on the courtyard of a nearby castle mountain top. Zarian chose here instead of Castle Grimrock because the place was crumbling. He still had to go back to Grimrock, specifically the floors below, to finish some business there, too. He also forgot about his new sword. He couldn¡¯t forget that. Wait, I can just bring it to me. Zarian used his spectral spiders to cast Void Waltz again. The big black thing of a sword appeared from wrinkled air above him. He used Aura Mastery to circle the air into a cushion underneath the sword and keep it floating for a little while. Zarian then sealed away Overwhelming Darkness in its entirety, although he had some struggle toward the end, which was strange. He kept note of that for later as he placed whorls, spirals, geometric shapes, and more dark tribal-looking symbols on his arms as full-sleeves using Aura Mastery + Dark Affinity. The dark-ink sealing marks on his arms acted as an extra precaution, which settled down Overwhelming Darkness some more. Para shapeshifted away from being a throne of claws, spines, and monstrous leather skin covered in an array of dazzling lights. She returned to her original form as the Parasite Cloak +3. Her ragged strips billowed and waved while shining with many inner aura lights inside of her dark red leathery material. With Foodie in Zarian¡¯s arms as he stood, the little goblin girl looked with wide-eyed fascination at the living cloak and all its magical glory. Zarian wished he could let Foodie relax and enjoyed the splendors of her new freedom, but he had to acknowledge the major benefit of having her. It felt greedy, but that was why he was in the free evil sub-alignment. He knelt down and placed Foodie on the floor. His heart jerked with pain at how she clung onto him for a second longer before letting go. Her eyes shook with emotion, which hurt his heart even more. I REALLY WASN¡¯T READY! Zarian used his free evil +4 to keep a straight face. He smiled a little as he worked up to making a request. ¡°Hey, Foodie, can you do us a favor? Can you cook us a feast that¡¯ll, well, help us rest and grow for the next time we wake up? We haven¡¯t checked our notifications for the past two weeks, and after a nonstop crawl to get you and close the Grimrock Hell Gate, we¡¯re expecting some big returns and¨C¡± ¡°I see,¡± Foodie said, perking up. ¡°You don¡¯t have to explain any further. I know what to do to help everyone, Father.¡± Zarian¡¯s mask broke. He grasped at his chest as he bent over, as if the little goblin had just stabbed him. Why was she so cute when she called him ¡®Father?¡¯ It should feel wrong. She once had parents. The late Grabber and late Wicky. Now here Zarian was, sweeping in to take their place. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Foodie. You¡¯ve been through a lot, and I¡¯m taking advantage,¡± he muttered. ¡°We can pay you. And you don¡¯t have to feel pressured to act like my daughter. I don¡¯t even know how to be a parent. I have no role models for that other than fucked up foster parents.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to interrupt this heartfelt spiel, but I¡¯m risking a heart attack,¡± Naomi admitted, her voice still sounding like mini-explosions. ¡°And this little hateful boy here already cost me one revive from the Divine Revival Charm.¡± Ah, shit. There was one troubling part about Zarian having let Gilbert and Naomi get their moments against Jack. The Absolute Hater had shown multiple times how he could pull out bullshit power ups and strengthen himself for the occasion. Zarian had felt nervous throughout from holding back, but in the end, they had gotten the best results. Gilbert had gotten his hit back, avenging himself and his comrades. Naomi had achieved Second Ignition, even at the risk of death. And Jack was lying there unconscious and buck naked as the day he was born. ¡°Naomi is right,¡± Foodie said resolutely. ¡°We have to act quickly so you all can grow as much as you can when you wake up later. I need more time to make a proper meal, but you can have the rest of the imp snacks, Naomi. Unfortunately, it isn¡¯t the best meal, but it should help.¡± ¡°Fuck it. I got Second Ignition. If I lose out on some points, I¡¯ll be okay.¡± Nodding, Foodie summoned from her personal kitchen dimension the imp snacks. The little goblin dumped a hefty pile in front of Naomi. The ignited beast of a woman dropped onto her knees without shame and stuffed her face. She chomped and slurped ravenously. She even cheered, which came out as a powerful roar that resounded far and wide. ¡°Damn, this is freaking tasty! Best meal ever!¡± Foodie smiled a little at Naomi¡¯s gluttonous act before turning to look at everyone else. She paused on Zarian. The tension was crushing for the wizard. Foodie sighed. ¡°I will always have a birth father and mother. But they are gone now. You¡¯ve proven great enough that I think it¡¯ll be nice to be adopted by you. And if I¡¯m your daughter, then that means Shadowfell is my mother. It¡¯s a win for me.¡± Foodie turned away. ¡°I¡¯ll go hunt some things down and come back to cook up a meal before you all fall asleep. I hope this next meal I make for you and your friends will suffice, my new father.¡± Foodie¡¯s words had struck like bombs on Zarian¡¯s mind and a storm of knives to his heart. Zarian¡¯s mind was unraveling even more, but Para¡¯s assistance kept him as focused as possible. None of the personal pain was a bad thing, but it made Zarian feel a growing sense of dread that he was taking on more than he could handle and that he wasn¡¯t ready. Paradoxically, he still felt thrilled that Foodie was accepting of him as her new father. Keep it pushing. Zarian held up his hand. ¡°Wait, Foodie. I don¡¯t want you going out on your own. First, let me call in someone for this comepinga.¡± Bianca snorted loudly. Zarian cupped his hands over his mouth and breathed deeply. Before he could shout, Ruvaria appeared, as if she knew he was going to beckon her. Zarian felt a little disappointed that he couldn¡¯t shout for her. He noticed the humor shining through her eyes and the tiny smirk forming on her face. His dear teacher, Empress Ruvaria the Sorceress Queen, was quite the character. She was a petite woman of elven descent, pale skin, shining emerald eyes, and silver-gold hair that reached down like a waterfall to her ankles. Today, she wore a simple green dress and brown leather-thong sandals with a few golden accessories that shone beautifully under the late afternoon light. Zarian opened and closed his mouth as he beheld the meeting between the strongest Master Ranker and the mythical cook. The two examined each other like two cats meeting for the first time. ¡°You¡¯re a teeny thing,¡± Ruvaria said. ¡°Did Zarian come to your lands to conquer, taking you as his, too?¡± Foodie asked, big ears tilting. Gilbert fell over with an uproar of laughter. He was still turned away from Naomi¡¯s naked body as she did nothing but feast on the cooked imp meat. Bianca reached down for Ruvaria with one giant hand, and the elf teleported out of the way. Then Bianca reached down with all six hands, and Ruvaria kept teleporting in between the grab attempts of the monster princess. ¡°We¡¯re really falling apart at the seams,¡± Hannah said wearily. She walked around and raised her hand. Using her Aura Mechanic trait and golem magic, she grabbed Zarian¡¯s new sword from the air. She studied it with a half-lidded gaze as she moved over to Jack. She looked down at the troublesome hater, then pushed the toe of her boot against his shoulder. ¡°I¡¯m curious about what you want to do with this one,¡± Hannah asked. ¡°You mentioned something about a dungeon project, in fact.¡± ¡°Yeah, a dungeon project. As in, turn him into a dungeon,¡± Zarian said. ¡°He fucked around. Now he gets to find out in a whole new way.¡± A foreboding silence swept in. They were all thinking about the implications of that, Jack becoming a dungeon. Zarian used the silence to test his Aura Mastery + Unraveled Mind on Jack¡¯s profile. Thankfully, Gilbert had his Tranquilizer Touch +2 pumped fully into the hater, so Zarian could experiment and try to find ways through the hater¡¯s runes. Unfortunately, the profile itself shifted and changed in minute and painful ways that made it clear it was set against Zarian. There was no stealing a copy of Jack¡¯s skills when he was the mortal enemy of the Dark Lord. I¡¯ll get something out of you, Jack, that¡¯s for sure, Zarian thought grimly. Bianca interrupted the lull by snatching at Ruvaria again like a pouncing bird. She succeeded. The elf empress looked down grumpily while Bianca¡¯s hands clasped around her body and hugged her like a doll. Somehow, Ruvaria kept her impeccable bearing. ¡°It is honestly better to have him turned into a dungeon than to kill him,¡± Ruvaria said, picking up the conversation. ¡°Really?¡± Hannah asked, looking away from Jack to Zarian. The Madness Wizard was still down on his knees in front of his new daughter. His attention had veered away again before snapping toward Hannah. ¡°Uh, yeah, I guess. I just wanted to make use of Jack after all that he¡¯d done, especially with how powerful he became,¡± Zarian said. ¡°I can¡¯t steal a skill from him, either. But can you imagine the crazy shit a dungeon based on him would create? Maybe it would be mythical, or a high legendary grade that¡¯s close to Level 100 starting off.¡± ¡°There¡¯s more to it than just that,¡± Ruvaria said, shifting slightly to get comfortable in Bianca¡¯s hold. ¡°The Ascended Heavens could¡¯ve used Jack like a special weapon if you killed him.¡± 222: B3: C12: Bargain 2 ¡°Oh, this sounds interesting,¡± Foodie said, ears perking up. ¡°She¡¯s quite the astute daughter. I like her already.¡± Ruvaria nodded before continuing. ¡°There is one thing that is impossible to destroy in its entirety in the Infinita Star System, and that is a soul. And while there is no knowing fully what happens to most souls after they die, I can tell you for sure that there are cases of revivals, rebirths, transmigration, and even direct transcendence. That last part can be even more dangerous. If you had killed Jack, his soul could¡¯ve made for a new arch angel.¡± ¡°FUCK NO!¡± Gilbert roared, whirling about. He ignored Naomi¡¯s naked form and stomped over to where Jack laid belly down and unconscious. Gilbert seemed to wrestle with himself, his leg twitching, before becoming still. He looked up at Ruvaria¡¯s upheld position in Bianca¡¯s hands and made his declaration. ¡°Whatever you do, little lady, don¡¯t let this bastard die and become some mockery of an angel. I just can¡¯t accept that. I¡¯ll lock him up myself, somehow.¡± Empress Ruvaria nodded seriously as she took in the anger of Gilbert¡¯s words with grace. She glanced down at all of them, from the curious Hannah to the aura-ignited Naomi, from the mythical cook to her dear student. ¡°Bianca, let me go, please,¡± Ruvaria requested. ¡°OKAY.¡± Bianca did as she was told. Her large and slender fingers lingered a little to straighten out Ruvaria¡¯s hair before retreating fully. Ruvaria stood for a while, gathering her thoughts, seeming to think of something major. Then, with a sigh, she looked directly at her dear student, or specifically, at his cloak. ¡°Once I do this, everything I¡¯ve built, along with everything my family has built, will be put to question,¡± Ruvaria said. ¡°And that question may tear asunder everything.¡± Everybody else seemed confused by that except for one. Para formed a head from the materials of the Parasite Cloak +3. Her face looked like a girlier version of Zarian¡¯s with no eyes and needle-like teeth. She even had curly hair that was fuller, more voluminous compared to Zarian¡¯s. She¡¯d rarely shown her humanoid face, but for this occasion, Para wanted to speak with a more frank approach to Ruvaria. ¡°When I first denounced you as evil and me as good, I was still running on a program that said what sounded good. It was a believable program, and it was self-righteous and mostly correct,¡± Para said. She hesitated, showing more weakness than usual. Then Para pressed onward. ¡°But now I¡¯ve grown further after my latest advancement. I¡¯ve come to know the curse of self-doubt. I wish to say sorry, for I cannot truly appreciate your experiences. I can only imagine what you¡¯ve been through and what you¡¯ve done.¡± Para sighed. ¡°All I can say is that your next decision will be hard one way or the other. Maybe the only decision is the one you want to see played out to the end.¡± Again, Ruvaria fell silent. Everyone waited. Foodie looked with wide-eyes and ears up, caught in a discussion she didn¡¯t have the full context for, but she was definitely engaged. Zarian¡¯s attention was scattered, because there was something bugging him he hadn¡¯t caught on to just yet. But he paid as much attention as he could with Para¡¯s help. Finally, Ruvaria broke the tension with a chuckle. ¡°Then so be it. I¡¯ve been forgiven by the most important entity in this universe already. I might as well continue boldly and see where things go.¡± Ruvaria offered her hand. Just like that, the Floridians realized what was happening. Para reached out with a hand she created from the cloak. She paused and waited for her host, Zarian. ¡°Want to be a Freedom Leader?¡± asked the Dark Lord. ¡°No,¡± Ruvaria said. ¡°I don¡¯t have it in me to be a leader anymore. Let me play my role as the mentor, please. And occasional caretaker, if I must.¡± Para shook Ruvaria¡¯s hand. A magical bird screeched proudly in the background, and Ruvaria joined the freedom alignment as free good +4. ¡°You had to join us before you could touch Jack,¡± Hannah deduced. ¡°You can¡¯t do anything to him because of the hierarchy of traditional good.¡± ¡°Yes, and he has a certain trait that has the Ascended Heavens bore deep into his soul,¡± Ruvaria explained stiffly. ¡°I will ¡­ need time to get familiar with this sense of ¡­ freedom. Hm. How peculiar. Is this what it feels like to be free? I feel so light. I feel so unburdened. I feel ¡­ free.¡± ¡°CRY WITH ME,¡± Bianca offered. ¡°Maybe another time, dear child.¡± Ruvaria smiled softly up at Bianca. Then she turned a contemptuous look down at Jack. ¡°It is best I start the process with this one before he wakes. He is quite powerful. He¡¯ll be the strongest dungeon I¡¯ve ever created, if the process proves successful enough.¡± ¡°Wait, what¡¯s going to happen to you now that you¡¯re a part of our alignment?¡± Hannah asked. ¡°Hm, well, I¡¯ll be excommunicated by my former peers and loved ones.¡± Ruvaria shrugged. ¡°They might even attempt to kill me to ensure the mythical trait, Corma¡¯s Chosen One, could go to someone else.¡± ¡°Fuck,¡± Zarian said. ¡°You were the only one keeping the Forever Empire off us.¡± ¡°And I will continue to keep the Forever Empire and all the kingdoms of the Promised Continent off you, dear student. Do not fret. They will use old contingencies for such cases like this. I know how to deal with those contingencies. I¡¯m the one who created them.¡± All the Floridians fell in silent awe of the Sorceress Queen, which included Para. ¡°Wow, I have a lot to learn,¡± Foodie piped up. ¡°And I need to sleep.¡± Naomi stood after wolfing down all the leftover imp meat. ¡°Zarian, you know what I want when I wake up and feel better. Hannah, Gilbert, Bianca, don¡¯t y¡¯all do the review until I¡¯m able, please. Peace out.¡± Naomi launched into the air with a powerful, aura-enhanced jump. Hannah stumbled back. Zarian reached over and hugged Foodie, the two bracing against the shock-wind. Para returned to being only a cloak, wrapping herself around them. Then Zarian, Foodie, Ruvaria, and the others looked up as Naomi erupted in the sky, releasing her Second Ignition to go down to First Ignition. The eruption resounded far across the Grimrock Castle Mountains, with Naomi shining like a blue-green sun, before she sputtered out. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. Zarian staggered to his feet. He did a quick and fancy spiral with Foodie hugged to his side by the crook of his arm. He and his new daughter entered the void and came out into the sky with Naomi falling above them. Para wrapped up the Rumble Psion¡¯s naked body and pulled her into Zarian¡¯s other side. Then the Madness Wizard used Void Waltz again to return to everyone else. Bianca offered her many hands, and Zarian passed off Naomi¡¯s bruised, beaten, and unconscious body. The monster princess covered Naomi up with her many arms and her golden wings, letting the psion sleep comfortably and with modesty. ¡°Her Second Ignition is powerful,¡± Ruvaria commented. ¡°Far more powerful than it should be.¡± ¡°It¡¯s stronger than my wizardry,¡± Zarian admitted. ¡°For real?¡± Gilbert asked, gobsmacked. ¡°I think that¡¯s a safe assessment,¡± Hannah admitted. ¡°I¡¯ve made recordings of her power range. Her Second Ignition can certainly outdo all of us if Zarian¡¯s not using Overwhelming Darkness. It lacks a certain bit of flexibility, though.¡± ¡°It¡¯s focused entirely on her body,¡± Ruvaria explained. ¡°It seems like one technique that can make her nigh invincible in the right situation. But there are still plenty of ways to beat that if you¡¯re crafty enough.¡± ¡°It¡¯s incredible,¡± Foodie said from her father¡¯s side. ¡°I didn¡¯t know Half Ignition was possible until now, and her Half Ignition is stronger than my First Ignition. When she¡¯s at First Ignition, that¡¯s even greater than my Second Ignition, and that¡¯s important. The bigger and greater the First Ignition, the more intense and concentrated the Second Ignition.¡± ¡°This is true,¡± Ruvaria said. ¡°It¡¯s to where Naomi¡¯s Second Ignition should kill her, turning her body into a pulp of squished flesh and shards of bones. But she has the right traits and correct stat distribution to make it work, which should¡¯ve outright failed in the beginning.¡± Zarian chuckled as he remembered the dream watch party with his little sister. Ariana had also thought that Naomi should¡¯ve failed. But the stubborn and militant woman had proven Ariana wrong while proving Zarian right. ¡°Does she have her stats focused on Willpower, Strength, and Agility?¡± Foodie asked. ¡°Yes,¡± Hannah admitted. Foodie nodded. ¡°No Wonder stat? Risky. But the payoff is big.¡± ¡°There¡¯s also the fact that Zarian helped Naomi grow her First Ignition in the Chimera Tyrant Lair,¡± Hannah added. ¡°So, in a sense, it¡¯s still because of you, Zarian.¡± Everybody looked at him, even though his mind had drifted to a bunch of places. It took him a while to center it back to the here and now. He even smiled a little. ¡°Good news and bad news,¡± Zarian said. ¡°What¡¯s the bad?¡± Gilbert asked. ¡°I share a kid with Luciana Shadowfell Darkrun,¡± Zarian said. ¡°It just struck me what this adoption means, which really makes it important for me to go have a talk with my wife.¡± ¡°Do you not want me?¡± Foodie asked shakily. ¡°I do. I definitely do. It¡¯s just that me and your new adopted mom ¡­ have some issues to work out. But that¡¯s not your problem. So, congrats, Foodie. You¡¯re the daughter of the Dark Lord and Shadowfell Goddess.¡± ¡°Yay,¡± Foodie said. ¡°Good news?¡± Hannah asked. ¡°Oh, well, I now have someone I can go all out with when I want to test my wizardry,¡± Zarian said with a toothy smile. ¡°It feels nice, honestly. I can be the one chasing instead of being chased all the time.¡± Hannah frowned. She turned to look at the big black thing of a sword. ¡°You¡¯re jealous, aren¡¯t you?¡± Gilbert asked the engineer. ¡°A little.¡± ¡°Okay, now with that all said, dale, we have to hustle. And by we, I mean Foodie, Ruvaria, and I have to hustle,¡± Zarian said. ¡°Thanks as always, dear teacher. I need to get you a nice gift for all that you¡¯re doing.¡± ¡°I have a few things in mind for how you can return the favor. Now let me be off as a free elf conducting horrific experiments, which I will do away from the village, if that concerns you.¡± Ruvaria disappeared, taking Jack with her to make into a dungeon. ¡°I do feel a little better about that last point,¡± Hannah admitted. Gilbert glared at the ground where Jack had been. ¡°Fucker.¡± He spat on the spot before walking over to a pile of stone blocks and finding a suitable seat. ¡°So, when¡¯s dinner and bedtime?¡± Zarian set Foodie down again. He gave her a few tips about the spider network. He also pointed out where an army of skeletons and spiders would come from to act as her escort as she went looking for fresh ingredients for a big feast. Hannah also offered twelve of her special orbital golems to follow Foodie and to do as she commanded. The little goblin cook went from being a slave to having a mini army that could wreck the Eternal Garden Kingdom. Foodie listened intently to all the instructions with a serious expression on her cute little face. Then Zarian let her go off on her own to hunt and cook for everyone. ¡°You¡¯re going to make for a great father, by the way,¡± Hannah told him. ¡°I WANT TO CRY!¡± Bianca roared. Zarian nodded slowly. ¡°I hope you¡¯re right. This is all happening quite fast. I should¡¯ve kept my mouth shut.¡± ¡°That¡¯s how trauma bonding gets us,¡± Gilbert drawled. ¡°Ain¡¯t no way around it.¡± Zarian had nothing more to say about that. He gave everyone a quick scan with his eyes and his magical senses. Gilbert was okay. Hannah was okay. Bianca was okay. Naomi was alive, but not really okay. The healer, engineer, and princess were exhausted, though, and ready for sleep. But they needed to stay up for Foodie to cook a proper meal. That was paramount for having the best gain they could get. Unfortunately, Naomi would miss out on the special celebratory meal, but then again, she had an extremely powerful Second Ignition. She would be alright. Zarian felt a mix of emotions about that, and chief among them was excitement. He still owed Naomi something for birthday when she was up and able. Then he lost his enthusiasm as he stepped in and out of the void. He reappeared through wrinkled air down in the same hallways that led to the old sanctuary. With a sweep of his aura perception, he saw how Foodie¡¯s old kitchen had fallen into disrepair. Something ¨C or someone ¨C had destroyed it in a fit of rage. Jack must¡¯ve done that. Zarian sighed. Jack really is a problem that keeps giving and giving. ¡°Are we going back there?¡± Para asked from the cloak. ¡°To the place of my birth?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Zarian said. They took the slow route by walking instead of stepping through the void. Zarian and his cloak passed through the halls where they¡¯d fought against crazed goblins that fell to corruption. He found the same junk room where he stood on business and ejected Jack, Gilbert, and the cops, before having to go rescue some of them along with Naomi. Things could¡¯ve gone differently. Zarian stopped when he found some unexplored sections and a staircase that led up. He swept the area above with aura and his devourer trait, finding left-over traps that could¡¯ve killed most adventurers in the Level 70s. He supposed that was the reason Foodie had warned them away from attacking Castle Grimrock from below. She based her warnings on all the adventurers who¡¯d failed before. Then Zarian and Para descended the staircase where Wally had died. Zarian stopped to wonder if Wally had reincarnated into Wallen, but that was unlikely. Maybe they were universal duplicates or something similar to how the multiverse theory worked. If that was the case, was there a chance that the Wally from before was reincarnated somewhere? Or transmigrated? The same could be said for Gilbert¡¯s cop friends. Though, Zarian imagined if anyone could somehow come back for another chance, it would be Wally. Leaving that thought experiment aside, Zarian stepped through the dark hallway where old goblin traps waited. His spectral spiders dismantled them easily. He entered the last basement floor that held pools of Shadowfell Tears. Zarian chuckled darkly, thinking back to when a goblin had called them transgressors for trespassing in a holy place. Zarian hadn¡¯t trespassed at all. He was where he belonged. ¡°Luciana Shadowfell Darkrun,¡± Zarian called, his glimmering cloak flapping behind him. ¡°I¡¯ve come to bargain.¡± The voice of one of the most powerful beings of the Infinita Star System ¨C a major deity of shadows, corruption, and tragedy ¨C answered back proudly. She sounded like dark chocolate, sweet poison, and a step off the cliff where one¡¯s doom awaited. ¡°Zarian Darkrun, oh master husband of mine. You call, so I come to answer as your slave wife. Why bargain when you can take what¡¯s yours by right?¡± ¡°I¡¯m bargaining, you loon, and that¡¯s what I intend to do.¡± Zarian grinned fiercely. He reached into his cloak and took out a specific vial. ¡°Denounce yourself as my slave, and Sinfeast¡¯s tears are yours.¡± 223: B3: C13: Lights Out 1 For the first time in a while, Zarian caught Luciana off guard. Ever since the Darkrun Apocalypse, she had this weird and corruptive smugness to her that tested the limits of Zarian¡¯s boundaries. She¡¯d strained his patience plenty of times. But now he had something that she simply couldn¡¯t resist. The traumatized tears of another Evil God. Sinfeast was a divine ruler taking up one of fourteen major seats at the top of the alignments. Granted, there were five Freedom Leaders holding another five major seats, but the freedom alignment ran on different rules compared to the traditional alignments. Besides, out of all the gods and mortals holding major seats, Sinfeast was someone Zarian hated the most. His hatred for Sinfeast was so great he would rather endure Purgehunt and Purehome¡¯s persistent attacks than let Sinfeast have an ounce of breathing room. The Madness Wizard imagined giving Sinfeast¡¯s tears to Evil Goddess Shadowfell was the most heinous action he could exact right now. It could also help break the slavery bond his wife kept pushing into their arranged marriage. Of course, doing all of this high-level political maneuvering took a lot of mental energy, and Zarian was at his wit¡¯s end. Yet, the Madness Wizard dug deep, for the sake of freedom, and for the sake of screwing over Sinfeast again. Zarian strode through the old basement floor where the portal had deposited him and the others a year ago. He felt for the ley line and noted how it wasn¡¯t there. There was no portal going back, and that was fine. He had no genuine connections with the old world, only the faint connections that mattered to his friends, specifically Bianca. He set aside ideas about the way back home and filled the silence from Luciana with his own voice. He did his best not to sound too smarmy, but they both knew he had the winning hand in this game of theirs. ¡°Let¡¯s drop the pretenses. We both know what this slave thing is about. If I take advantage of that, I cross a line that can¡¯t be undone. I¡¯ve already crossed plenty of lines, which I¡¯m willing to live with, but this slave angle you¡¯re pushing really strikes a nerve with me.¡± He was the first Freedom Leader. Even with him leading the free evil sub alignment, he couldn¡¯t let this part of his relationship with Luciana stand. But it took two to tango, and he needed Luciana to agree. ¡°I could refuse. It is interesting to serve as your slave. I haven¡¯t yet had the satisfaction of seeing you properly use that. How much of you would break and change if you order me as your godly slave wife?¡± Luciana argued. She was on a roll now. She pushed further, her voice surrounding him with some heavy force. ¡°Don¡¯t you wish to unleash yourself from such heavy morals? Don¡¯t you wish to go further into your darkness? Isn¡¯t it intoxicating? Delicious? Wonderful? You¡¯ve already crossed plenty of lines, haven¡¯t you? What¡¯s wrong with crossing a few more? Why limit yourself to these weak mortal considerations? You can be anything you want and make everyone submit to you.¡± Zarian stopped in a dark, bubbling puddle of his wife¡¯s evil tears. Her words resonated from the surrounding space and from the divine tears, vibrating the air, passing through him with an ominous and shadowy divinity. He could imagine the most obvious thought experiment: to make Luciana docile through slavery, saving the Infinita Star System from the corruptive horrors she could create. It would be easy to convince himself with logic and rationality, especially with his free evil +4. By using the slavery bond in his arranged marriage, he could conduct the greatest amount of ¡®good¡¯ in the rational sense. He could bound Evil Goddess Shadowfell through the superiority of his bloodline being the master of her bloodline. Perhaps he could one day use her to break some of the System parameters when necessary. He already had plenty of cheats, but what was one more added to the mix? She was in an influential position after all. Everything sounded rational and logical when put like that. And that was why Zarian refused. He knew that was how evil men could convince themselves to do irrevocable or horrible things. By worshiping rationality and logic at the expense of what felt right in their hearts. And in his heart, Zarian felt for an unseen bird crying out for what mattered most. Freedom. ¡°I enjoy having power,¡± Zarian said smoothly. ¡°Most people like having power. With power, you can make changes that others without power can¡¯t do. And because you have that power most don¡¯t have, it¡¯s almost as if the power should stay with you, because that¡¯s what it seems to mean to have power.¡± Luciana filled the room with her breath, as if she was growing more excited or worried. Maybe a mix of both. If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. Zarian waited to build up the suspense before delivering his caveat. ¡°Yet, today we all witnessed what¡¯s possible when we take a risk on others. When we believe in others. When we share our power with others.¡± Zarian grew bolder and more determined with his speech. ¡°Naomi is the definition of making the impossible a possibility, and for that to happen, I had to let go of things most people wouldn¡¯t.¡± Zarian paced slowly from left to right and back. ¡°Maybe that¡¯s because I grew up seeing the worst people you can meet. Or maybe it¡¯s because I still owe Naomi for helping me when she could¡¯ve tossed me away like trash. Either way, I want to do better. I want to repay kindness. So I invested in her. I invested a lot that some people would¡¯ve looked at as idiotic.¡± Zarian took a deep breath and smiled. ¡°And look at her now. She¡¯s so strong, she doesn¡¯t care if her class is a quality or two below the others. She¡¯s taking what I got and running with it. I invested in Hannah, Bianca, and Gilbert! And look at them. They¡¯re growing so fast and becoming so great, they have no idea how proud I am of their efforts.¡± Zarian laughed. ¡°I¡¯m investing in Ride-or-Die Village and its people, especially the two hundred and ninety kids of the Ride-or-Die Guild. I¡¯m going to invest in our daughter, Foodie, who¡¯s going to have a new lease on life! And I¡¯m going to invest in you.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Luciana asked shakily. ¡°Why do this when you are the alpha, the omega, the scion of the greatest masters? Why not dominate and take? Why give so much? Why not fall into darkness forever?¡± ¡°Because I¡¯m a mess, and I¡¯m a bit contrarian, and I want to have fun and enjoy the simple things in life. Going on adventures and doing the best I can to make things better, even if it means I have to use evil as a tool to make life better. Even if it means I have to do the illogical stuff to win in ways people can¡¯t understand or may hate,¡± Zarian explained. It all felt quite simple to him. Maybe others didn¡¯t understand, but he understood what he stood for in his heart. His reasoning burned like a fire, and it refused to go out. Some people might still find that weak. To be fair, some of his beliefs were cheesy and corny. He did raise himself on anime and fantasy. He could see why he would have critics, haters, and attackers. But Zarian believed he was powerful enough to stand up to those antagonists. He didn¡¯t think of himself as much of a hero. But his heart wanted to do what felt right. Zarian continued. ¡°I¡¯m working on controlling my power. And that is a lot to handle. But I want to try while making others as powerful as they can be and spreading some cool vibes.¡± ¡°You will be attacked. They will want to destroy you. You are an antithesis to the way of things,¡± Luciana said. Zarian shrugged. ¡°Yeah, you are right. I know people like Jack, my little sister, the major gods, and whoever else will want to beat me, control me, or hate me. But I¡¯ll fight them. With my friends. Whenever, wherever. And I will win. I¡¯m kinda overpowered like that.¡± ¡°You would fight your sister, The Dragoness, with these morals?¡± ¡°Yes. I¡¯ll put her in time out if I have to.¡± ¡°You are truly mad.¡± ¡°It is what it is.¡± Zarian waved it off. ¡°I¡¯ve explained myself enough. Now let¡¯s get back to the topic of you.¡± Luciana sighed. Zarian carried on like a steamroller. ¡°I feel you¡¯re being a submissive weirdo because you don¡¯t know any better. And that¡¯s fine. I¡¯m figuring shit out, too. But I need you to grow along with me. Regardless of how we got here, we¡¯re going to be working together for a while. So, you gotta pick yourself up and learn to explore more beyond just me, you dig? So, here, take the tears and stop being my slave wife. Be my friendly wife or whatever, at least until I divorce you.¡± Zarian looked down at the vial in his hand before placing it down in the pool of Shadowfell Tears. It stayed on the surface, unaccepted. ¡°Make one more offer,¡± Luciana requested stiffly. ¡°Then I will also give something in return to make this change and exchange in our relationship more official.¡± ¡°Do less evil as much as you can and achieve as much balance as you can,¡± Zarian said. ¡°You will not ask me to stop being evil?¡± ¡°That¡¯s pointless. I¡¯m optimistic, maybe idealistic, but I¡¯m not absurdist.¡± Zarian stopped to rethink that statement. ¡°No, wait, I can be absurd. So, uh, you get my point, right?¡± ¡°Yes, I do, dear,¡± Luciana grumbled, showing some rare annoyance. ¡°I¡¯ve thrown myself at you. I¡¯ve given you access to unbelievable means of power and control. No man would turn away from such temptation, by the way. Yet, there you are, being absurd.¡± ¡°Maybe. Maybe not. Who knows? Maybe there are other absurd weirdoes like me who like to fuck shit up and do radically righteous stuff. You never know.¡± Luciana sighed, sounding defeated. ¡°There is a certain item in your cloak. A bullet with your blood. Place it next to the vial.¡± Zarian did just that. He looked down curiously as the flattened bullet from a year ago sank into the bubbling pool of Shadowfell Tears. The same happened to the vial of Sinfeast¡¯s tears. The black ichor vibrated and sent droplets dripping upward before they fell back down quietly. Then something floated to the surface. Zarian picked up the ring. It was dark, like onyx, with a weeping skull fixed onto the band along with some runic text encircling it. Luciana spoke demurely. ¡°I am no longer your slave. I will consider doing less evil and achieving balance. But in return, you must wear that ring to truly wed us in the traditional sense. And you can only take it off when the time comes for you to divorce me.¡± She sounded quite upset. Was letting go of her slave status that big of a deal? Or was it her inability to corrupt Zarian that upset her? Either way, Zarian felt like he was winning, but at a cost. For the first time in over two weeks, he used Aura Mastery + Identify on something new, and the combination of traits worked: 224: B3: C14: Lights Out 2 ¡°Oh, good, I would¡¯ve been a little upset if you used Sinfeast¡¯s tears. While it is funny to have the tears of a bastard god in a vial, I wouldn¡¯t want that to be my whole schtick,¡± Zarian said. ¡°No, no. I have another purpose for those tears.¡± ¡°Cool, cool. So, uh, you okay?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m not. You have left me imbalanced and forced into a position of deep contemplation. I suppose Lovewar will be happy about this. Your sister, however¡­¡± ¡°How is Ariana?¡± Zarian rolled the ring around in his hand. ¡°I will say this. Be prepared for the wrath of The Dragoness. She is quite upset.¡± ¡°Anything else?¡± ¡°I will not say.¡± Zarian nodded. He¡¯d figured he wouldn¡¯t get too much out of Luciana regarding his little sister. He appreciated the warning, at least. After Bianca had flashed Ariana¡¯s projection two weeks ago, Zarian guessed his evil little sister would concoct some sort of revenge. That might come at the cost of others getting hurt. He looked down at the ring. Then he slipped it on the ring finger of his left. The symbolic thing tightened snugly with a tiny bite into his skin. Just like that, he felt Luciana¡¯s presence hanging closely around him, and she probably felt closer to him. He listened to the goddess make a windy and troubled sigh, as if the little status symbol weighed on her as well. ¡°I was not meant to be free from you like this,¡± Luciana said. ¡°I feel strangely at a loss. Adrift. How do I even do less evil and achieve this balance of yours when the Dark Era is in full swing?¡± Zarian chuckled. ¡°Small and actionable steps. I read that in Reiki¡¯s library.¡± Luciana seemed to fall into thoughtful silence. Then an image flickered into Zarian¡¯s mind ¨C a pair of dark, luscious, and full lips that shifted from a frown to a smirk. ¡°Despite everything, we are truly husband and wife. And we have a daughter. I hope you¡¯ll take good care of us, dear.¡± Zarian gulped. I did say that, didn¡¯t I? Para flapped the cloak from behind him. Yes, you did. A few hours later, Zarian made his way out of the broken husk of Castle Grimrock. He found Naomi¡¯s spatial satchel where she¡¯d dropped it. He found the warlock¡¯s treasury and ransacked it, pouring riches into Para¡¯s pocket dimension that he would dump into the coffers at Ride-or-Die Village later. Then he exited Castle Grimrock through the front. He walked out the toothy gate when he heard a gravelly noise similar to a mountain falling apart. Zarian kept going as Castle Grimrock and most of its floors collapsed along with the damaged cavern spaces below. A nearby mountain peak collapsed as well. When the ground fell out from under him, he flew using Aura Mastery, his cloak fluttering behind him. He crossed over the field where dead aberrations remained, pointed his ring hand, and sucked up Shadowfell Tears. The oily and corruptive substance lunged from the ground like a waterfall in reverse. It seemed to blot out most of the basin like a major oil tanker had spilled everywhere. The clean up didn¡¯t take long. It was quite soothing to do as Castle Grimrock kept collapsing behind him. Once Zarian had the corruptive substance cleansed away, he looked down at the marriage ring and nodded in satisfaction. Luciana¡¯s presence was acting distant and less noticeable right now, as if she was watching him from afar. She was definitely the stalker type. He figured she would come around later when she wanted his attention for something. Until then, he and Para left an old chapter of their lives behind forever. ¡°What will become of us after this?¡± Para asked plainly from the cloak. ¡°I¡¯m not sure,¡± Zarian said. ¡°Maybe we¡¯ll become Master Rankers.¡± ¡°I was thinking about that. What will happen if we become Master Rankers?¡± ¡°Nothing much until the tournament. I don¡¯t intend to ascend until that is done with.¡± ¡°What of our enemies? What about Ruvaria¡¯s family and the backlash of her joining the freedom alignment? What about the Carrowmore Barons? What would the Evil Gods think after we conquered the Grimrock Hell Gate? And what about the Star System overall?¡± You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. ¡°Sorry, Para, but I can only answer all of that with the truth. And the truth is I don¡¯t really care right now. You¡¯re going to be active while I¡¯m resting, and I hope you¡¯ll be fine with that. You¡¯ll have Foodie around, at least. But other than that ¡­ I just can¡¯t think about any more heavy stuff. I¡¯m tired.¡± ¡°Ah, yes, I see. Thank you for listening still and being honest.¡± ¡°No, thank you for thinking about stuff like this when I can¡¯t. Even I have my limits.¡± ¡°I will continue thinking then.¡± They returned to the others, arriving just in time for their celebratory feast in the ruined courtyard on a mountain top. The stars were out in their full splendor. The fire from the ovens crackled warmly. Foodie stood off to the side while Zarian, Hannah, and Gilbert sat at a table and ate a feast worthy of the gods. Naomi slept on a nearby bed roll, and Bianca sat in the background, towering over everyone. The monster princess had piles of well seasoned and seared meat stacked on a large platter in front of her. She had a whole cauldron of delicious soup to go along with it. Zarian, Hannah, and Gilbert had smaller portions of the same. Foodie had also put out racks of lightly cooked beast bodies for feeding Para. The bestial meals had Foodie¡¯s seasoning and magic touch that made them filling and tasty for the Parasite Cloak +3. This still wasn¡¯t the full extent of Foodie¡¯s cooking prowess, since she had to cook under a time crunch, but it was all incredible anyway. Every bite of meat was scrumptious, juicy, hearty, and filling. The soup felt like it warmed Zarian¡¯s belly and his soul, nourishing him in ways that he hadn¡¯t felt before. By the time he started eating, he felt lost in another world that nearly blinded him to everything else going on. Foodie¡¯s cooking was just that amazing. Foodie, his daughter, was godsend. Saving her was a gift that would keep on giving in many wonderful ways. I will protect her and see her grow into the goddess she deserves to be, Zarian vowed deep in his heart. By the time they finished eating, Bianca fell asleep next. She settled against a thick column, her knees hugged to her chest with all her arms and her golden wings. All the lights covering her face and body dimmed as she snoozed. Gilbert crashed face first at the dining table. He snored like a rumbling truck engine, which was nothing new. Hannah stumbled slightly out of her seat. She placed a hand on Zarian¡¯s shoulder, squeezed it, then slunk off. She dropped into a bed roll that Foodie had placed down for her. Then the Dark Lord, his cloak, and his new daughter remained the last to stay up. ¡°I see my cooking has satisfied you all,¡± said the little goblin. ¡°I¡¯m glad.¡± ¡°More than satisfied. It was beyond the heavens and hells. Transformative. Soulful. I can tell you really put as much as you can into it. Thank you, Daughter.¡± Zarian stood from the table. He swaggered over drunkenly even though he¡¯d only sipped on one alcoholic drink. He rubbed his hand over Foodie¡¯s hair. He watched her lean into his hand and smile up at him, breaking his heart with her adorableness. ¡°You didn¡¯t have to do this, either,¡± Zarian said, his voice cracking a little. ¡°You¡¯ve been through a lot.¡± ¡°Mother helped me. Shadowfell, I mean. The pain and tragedy were terrible. Jack ¡­ was terrible. But I¡¯ve survived. I will grow stronger. And I¡¯m gaining great rewards for enduring all of that. I have a powerful father who won¡¯t abandon me, and a goddess mother who¡¯ll turn my tragedy into power for me.¡± Zarian tried not to cry. It was a hard fought battle. Somehow, he held it in and remained strong as a father should. ¡°Well, I can¡¯t wait for you to see Ride-or-Die Village. The other kiddos are going to be amazed by you. You¡¯re like another princess. The Princess Cook.¡± ¡°Ohhh. Princess Cook Foodie? I never thought I¡¯d be a princess.¡± Foodie¡¯s smile grew. She shook about a little, as if she was going to act more like a goblin. But she held it in. Zarian chuckled. He would try to trigger her silly goblin side later. For now, he looked her over for the umpteenth time. Amazingly, she looked strong and healthy. Emotionally and mentally, she was bouncing back fast. Zarian wasn¡¯t sure if Foodie¡¯s impeccable attitude was because of stats, Foodie being a goblin, or because she really believed having a new father and mother should make everything better. Maybe it was a combination of all of that, since stats didn¡¯t always protect people from their traumas or personal debuffs. Either way, they were all walking away from this as far different from before. And thankfully, it seemed like all positives. Zarian did a quick check with his summons. Spiders and skeletons covered all angles around their current mountain camp. They even had flying spiders in the sky. Hannah¡¯s golems did round-a-clock patrols, too, especially the twenty-four destruction-ready golems. Those little flying balls were the fiercest of Hannah¡¯s smart constructs. They had powerful runes integrated into their enchantments that Hannah gained from the Hell Gate, making each one overpowered out here. Then there was Para, who could stay awake forever. Enough said. Everything was covered. Satisfied, Zarian released Loner¡¯s bones from the pocket dimension. The black skeleton expert reassembled himself quickly. There were obvious cracks running across his ribs from having taken a nasty hit from a hell orc. With enough aura and time, he should return to being alright. ¡°Welcome back to the living, Loner,¡± Zarian said. Loner nodded stoically. He turned and looked down at Foodie. ¡°Hello, I¡¯m Princess Cook Foodie, Daughter of the Dark Lord and Shadowfell Goddess,¡± the little goblin said seriously. Loner slowly turned toward Zarian. The goblin skeleton¡¯s eye sockets seemed to judge him. Zarian beamed a big and cheesy smile. He clapped Loner on his bony shoulder. ¡°Thanks for being our babysitter.¡± Luciana¡¯s presence flickered closer with a soft chuckle. Then she faded away as Foodie¡¯s ears perked up in Wonder. ¡°Mother?¡± Foodie asked. Shadowfell didn¡¯t respond. Loner¡¯s empty eye sockets judged even harder in the Dark Lord¡¯s direction. Then the goblin skeleton turned slightly and noticed the ring on Zarian¡¯s left hand. The Dark Lord smiled harder. He clapped Loner¡¯s shoulder again. He patted Foodie on the head once more. Then he went over to his bed roll and fell like a corpse. Finally, it was lights out for the Dark Lord. 225: B3: C15: Idiot Humans 1 ¡°Well, would you look at that? A whole battlefield with loot ripe for the taking.¡± Dawson stood on the edge of a castle-cliff with a ragged hole in the dilapidated wall. Behind him, over a thousand men shuffled to a stop, breathing hard or light depending on their physical abilities and stats. They all had large packs half-filled with travel provisions and half-empty for storing away new loot. In front of Dawson, he saw a drop that was three hundred feet deep before merging with an oblong basin littered with corpses. He saw signs of destructive fighting that must¡¯ve happened three or four weeks ago. It had to be the type of fighting best done by Level 100s and Master Rankers. To Dawson¡¯s left, a gaping sinkhole remained where the infamous Castle Grimrock should¡¯ve stood. To Dawson¡¯s right, there stood a massive and perfectly aligned wall that was as smooth and new as a baby¡¯s bottom. The wall looked like heaven¡¯s testament of what fortification craftsmanship should look like. That wall was certainly not supposed to be there. It made all the other ancient walls of the Grimrock Castle Mountains look like shit. Dawson squinted and saw at the middle of the grand wall a narrow slit, tighter than a virgin¡¯s bum. It was the only proper opening where one could cross through to reach the other side. It didn¡¯t seem like many of the abhorrent monsters of Shadowfell made it. Instead, their corpses filled the deep ditches in front of the grand wall and lay about as a carpet of grotesque rot on one side of the battlefield. That was the side that had the gaping sinkhole where Castle Grimrock should¡¯ve stood. That was fine and dandy with Dawson, because on the other side of the wall were other corpses. Mostly of the human persuasion. A bunch of dead paladins remained with their forgotten armor and weapons shining under the afternoon sun of Mid Summer. Based on the shine alone, most of that gear was above rare quality. They could be epic. Maybe even legendary! Dawson imagined the gold coins of the future, all clicking and clunking, as they rained into his coin pouch. It would have to be a large coin pouch. Maybe he should get one with gold stitching, since he was going to earn quite the amount. ¡°No Shadowfell Tears,¡± grunted Gisella, his right-hand woman. The exiled paladin was a bearish sort, and she had the temper of one, if anyone could rouse that out of her usual stoic nature. While Dawson stood short, spry, and twitchy, Gisella stood like a towered tree, refusing to move unless she wanted to. She was the strongest person, let alone woman, in the Vulture Adventurer Guild. And while Dawson had himself a useful evil +1 to his alignment, which kept him sharp and cunning, Gisella had her dangerous good +2, which kept her extraordinarily powerful. Most of the men and women of the guild were neutral types. There were a few other evil-doers and do-gooders who had some worthy classes on them. None were as high in the alignments as Dawson and Gisella, but that was okay as long as they all got along in the guild. Everyone¡¯s greed was mutually aligned, which kept the vultures functional as an adventurer guild who sometimes dibble-dabbled in banditry. But only sometimes. And with proper restraint. Thankfully, Dawson didn¡¯t have to twist his words in creative ways to make a convincing argument for the do-gooders. This latest not-so-moral activity wasn¡¯t a hard one to commit. Nobody was coming back for the loot over yonder. Yet Gisella sounded concerned about the Shadowfell Tears not being there. Sounds swell to me! Dawson smiled smarmily up at his right-hand woman. ¡°Well, isn¡¯t that just nice! No risk of corruption. And all that loot waiting there for us. Let¡¯s get a go on, shall we?¡± ¡°That¡¯s strange,¡± Grisella grunted. ¡°There should be Shadowfell Tears.¡± Dawson skipped and hopped close to the edge. The scouts hadn¡¯t found another way down. They would have to climb, fly, or make a long drop if they were tough enough. But Gisella stood her ground. Dawson sighed. It was still a wonder how he got Gisella to fall in line with him on most occasions. At the very least, he figured the smartest thing to do was to make sure if anyone was going to get an equally large cut from the loot that matched his cut it would be Gisella. It wasn¡¯t wise to mistreat the woman who could smite you, regardless of how cunning and smart you could be. Dawson just made sure he had contingency plans in place for the off chance that Gisella lost herself to her alignment and went crusader crazy. She¡¯s not acting crazy just yet. Instead, she¡¯s being wary. Dawson also thought it was smart to pay attention when Gisella acted wary. So what¡¯s the problem with there being no Shadowfell Tears? Dawson thought about it further. So far, they¡¯d come across a few contaminated streams with Shadowfell Tears. Gisella had cleansed most of that stuff, but not all. There was a new version of the evil tears out there, an enhanced version. They had to use roundabout paths to avoid that stuff, and even then, they¡¯d still lost men to the corruption. They¡¯d defeated a few aberrations by pitting at least fifty of their best fighters against one. But those fights had come at the cost of losing some more men. Gisella had put those sorry bastards down personally. Nothing came easy while making their way across the castle mountains of Grimrock. Nothing came without risks on the off-chance of looting what remained of the Prime Archbishop¡¯s failed crusade. So why should things come easy and less risky at the heart of evil? ¡°Fuck me.¡± Dawson spat to the side. ¡°It¡¯s right there, Gisella! Look at all of that loot beyond the wall! We just need to get down and get through that gap there.¡± Dawson¡¯s heart picked up speed. A few vultures came over to look. They made the squawking sounds in their excitement, which Dawson expected from them. Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Yet Gisella still had a stern, no-nonsense look on her face, her feet planted like a towered tree. ¡°Let me pray to Serveserf,¡± Gisella said. Dawson and the other nearby vultures groaned. Whenever Gisella prayed to Serveserf, they had to give up something. Yeah, Serveserf had kept them mainly intact, but the vultures missed out on becoming richer plenty of times because of the Good God being a worry sort. Dawson was a Hisscreep follower himself, but that Evil God helped with getting past actual trouble of the creepier type. In comparison, Serveserf always came across as more of a wussy god to Dawson. But he wasn¡¯t going to say that to Gisella¡¯s face. Or anywhere within earshot of her. ¡°Boss Lord! Boss Lady! We got the rats on our tail feathers!¡± shouted a scout, dashing past the guild men and women. He slid to a stop in front of Dawson and Gisella to give his report. ¡°The bastards must¡¯ve been following us for weeks! But they slipped up, and we caught them breaking camp this morning.¡± ¡°How many?¡± Dawson asked. ¡°It looks like three thousand men, Boss Lord!¡± ¡°Fuck!¡± Dawson turned toward his partner. ¡°Ain¡¯t no time for Serveserf. We need to get our loot and get out of here!¡± The Rat Adventurer Guild was the second strongest guild of the Windy Strider Kingdom. Dawson¡¯s vultures were a pipsqueak guild in comparison. They could still risk battle, but battle wasn¡¯t the greatest danger. One thousand vultures versus three thousand rats was still possible with favorable conditions and a strong first attack. However, there were more rats out there than the three thousand trailing them. If any of the rats got away and told their senior leadership, the vultures would get destroyed on their way back home someway, somehow. They¡¯ll kill us when we cross the Stone Sea River, Dawson thought, his evil +1 hissing in warning his mind as he yelled at his vultures. Take as much of the loot and abandon the rest. Dawson only listened to the helpful part of his evil +1, the paranoid part. That had served him well as a Level 70 Storm Blaster. Other than that, he focused on getting his thousand men to hustle through the gap in the wall and get down the three hundred foot drop. The strongest and toughest went first, dropping all the way down, in free fall or by catching the cliff¡¯s face with their hands. One way or another, they hit the sloped base of the basin hard enough to hurt most men and women or outright kill them. But the vultures¡¯ strongest and toughest came out alive, if only a little scuffed up. Then the ones with abilities for movement went next. Air Dash. Fire Dash. Rock Dash. Whatever. They relied on their abilities more than their raw stats to survive the fall. Dawson used his Storm Cloud +2 skill to ride on a tiny dark cloud covered in mini lightning bolts. He stayed up top with Gisella to usher their guild members through the gap. The last ones to go down lacked raw stats or nifty abilities. They¡¯d used rope and climbing gear to scale to the basin bottom. Dawson and Gisella saw them all the way through. Then the two guild leaders disconnected the hooks so the ropes would fall and get gathered ¨C no adventurer worth their salt should leave beyond decent rope. Dawson reached out with one hand. Gisella grabbed it and hopped onto the Storm Cloud +2. She took up a lot of space behind him with her bulk and heavy armor, but the Level 75 Blessed Cleric was a worthy boon to have on his cloud. They rode swiftly down the castle-cliff. The wind swept over their dirty faces and greasy hair. They pulled up with a thunderous clap from the Storm Cloud +2 as the vultures scrambled quickly over the rotten corpses. Countless avians flapped and cawed in warning. Other scavengers stalked about. Insects buzzed in thick clouds, some of which were even Level 10, or higher, and had classes! Dawson¡¯s weakest men and women were in the Level 20s. Most of his vultures were in the late Level 30s or early Level 40s, thankfully. The Level 10 insects bounced off them without causing too much trouble. Dawson and Gisella flew over the middle of their thousand-man guild while keeping an ear out to complaints in case they caught something interesting. ¡°How could Prime Archbishop Orin and his paladins put down these horrid creatures to only come away with defeat?!¡± asked a roguish man. ¡°They said nothing about what truly defeated them. They were silent about that part, from what the birds told me,¡± said a sorcerous woman ¡°By the gods, good and evil, what happened to the infamous Castle Grimrock? It¡¯s gone! Did Orin do that before he fled away?¡± asked a warrior man. ¡°Screw the castle. These dead aberrations are some nasty stuff. It¡¯s like we¡¯re running across a floor at the lowest layer of Hidden Hell! Ugh!¡± shouted a swashbuckling man. ¡°No Shadowfell Tears still?¡± Dawson asked behind him. Gisella¡¯s bear-sized paws for hands gripped his shoulders tensely. ¡°None whatsoever. I don¡¯t like it.¡± They scrambled or flew across the carpet of corpses. The journey became a little more difficult for the weakest of the guild when they neared the opening. The aberration corpses became hills of death, with two massive mounds on the left and right of the narrow entrance. Dawson and many other guild members gawked up at the immense and perfect wall that stood undefeated before the dead aberration wave. There wasn¡¯t a mark on its pristine surface. ¡°How is that possible? Who created such a thing?!¡± shouted a crafty vulture. ¡°Paladins can¡¯t do something like this!¡± Dawson glanced nervously behind him. If Gisella found any offense from that, she didn¡¯t show it. Instead, she remained on the lookout for trouble. ¡°Hurry it up, you weak willed scum!¡± Dawson shouted down from his Storm Cloud +2. He hovered before the narrow entrance. ¡°On the other side are our riches! Loot! Loot! Loot! Get everything before the rats scurry in!¡± ¡°LOOT!¡± shouted the men and women of the Vulture Adventurer Guild. They rushed through the entrance and came out on the other side with no deaths or injuries. No traps had set off. Dawson felt flabbergasted that they could easily go through. It wasn¡¯t all rainbows or sunshine or anything, though. The ground floor had no proper fields of green or wildflowers, just uneven stone blocks. But it was a lot better than wading over a thick carpet of dead aberrations that were rotting in the heat of Mid Summer. The smell of it all would haunt him for years. Dawson watched everyone get through the entrance. He looked up at the mighty walls, which weren¡¯t just one solid wall, but two. There was one to the right and left split by the narrow entrance, perfectly aligned and magically complex. Something godly must¡¯ve created such walls. They had to be boons! Yet, the crusade of Orin¡¯s paladins was a failed one. Dawson shook his head. He flew higher into the air, which cost him more aura to maintain altitude and control with the Storm Cloud +2. It was worth the cost, because he needed to keep watch of his guild. He also had to pay close attention to any sign of trailing rats. He was more concerned by the latter than the former. He could deal with any thieving vulture personally, but a swarm of rats was a fight too pricey. So far, things were going alright. Nobody got corrupted from the dead aberrations. There really were no Shadowfell Tears. Nothing stood in their way other than some scavenger beasts and packs of aggressive monsters. The scavenger beasts ran off. Dawson and some other mage-types threw their most trustworthy attacks at the monsters, blasting them to kingdom come. A few warrior-types slashed and hammered down the surviving monsters and secured their loot site. Everything was working out. Dawson could hardly believe it. ¡°If we can get away with all the loot, escape the basin, and circle around the rats, we¡¯ll come out of this rich, you hear me? Rich!¡± Dawson could barely hear himself over his pounding heart. He could feel the magic humming off the discarded stuff of a failed crusade. Most of it was epic! Some of it really might be legendary. We¡¯re going to be rich! ¡°Dawson, to our left!¡± Gisella warned. Fuck! Dawson turned the Storm Cloud +2 around. He squinted and saw a tiny form that stood out of place compared to his vultures. After some examination, he recognized the creature as a little green-skinned goblin, who was just casually walking toward them while all alone. Dawson felt a shiver up and down his spine. 226: B3: C16: Idiot Humans 2 Dawson felt a little confused by how the goblin was walking casually toward his guild members. He felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand, his paranoia flaring. Thankfully, he didn¡¯t have to shout to warn his men and women. The scouts on the edges saw what was coming and sent out a warning to get some semblance of a fighting force together. A solid unit of thirty warrior-types collected as a show of force against the one goblin. Another thirty mage-types moved in from behind to support. Other than Gisella, they had a few healers at the ready, too. Dawson kept a lookout for another factor. When there was one goblin, there was bound to be thousands more. Was the Grimrock Warlock still alive and kicking? Dawson figured that was the reason Orin and his paladins had failed their crusade. They¡¯d wasted too much of their manpower and magic against Shadowfell¡¯s corrupted creatures and had nothing to spare against the Grimrock Warlock. ¡°Damn it,¡± Dawson hissed. ¡°They don¡¯t send just one unless they are going to give us a warning or lead us to a trap.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t like how that goblin¡¯s still walking toward our people. Let¡¯s move closer,¡± Gisella advised. Dawson feared the Rats might surprise them from behind, but he followed Gisella¡¯s advice anyway. They flew over to the edge where their warriors prepared for a fight. From here, Dawson had a proper look at the incoming goblin. She wasn¡¯t corrupted. She was a small tyke, and on the cuter side of goblins, if one could claim those murderous and mischievous things as such. Big green ears. Cat-like eyes. She had a fluff of purple-white hair on her head. And she wore nothing but rags and an apron, while carrying an oversized cleaver that she rested on her shoulder. ¡°Strange, I can¡¯t sense any evil from her,¡± Gisella warned. Dawson didn¡¯t know what to make of that. His evil +1 mind was trying to connect the dots quickly. No Shadowfell Tears. A single goblin who could hide her evil alignment? Dawson did the most reasonable thing. He puffed up his chest and made a threat of force with a few well-chosen lies: ¡°We¡¯re a powerful adventurer guild! You better watch it, gobbo! All we want is to pick up some stuff for Orin and hand it back to him.¡± Paying attention to the goblin¡¯s big ears, Dawson noticed how they remained low and swept backward, behind the shoulders. That was a big giveaway that the goblin would throw herself into combat at any moment. For now, the little tyke replied with words. ¡°I¡¯m going to refrain from using my Identify trait on you as a gesture of kindness. But that¡¯s all the kindness I will grant you if you don¡¯t heed my words. You must stop your looting. All this loot belongs to my father and his friends. To steal from them is a grave offense. Listen to me now or I will make you listen.¡± ¡°That gobbo has to be lying,¡± said a warrior at the front of the combat unit. ¡°Let¡¯s just kill her and be done with it.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no way we¡¯re giving up all of this loot,¡± said a magician at the back. ¡°It¡¯s only one gobbo. We have a thousand adventurers on our side,¡± said another guild member. ¡°Even if some other gobbos try to ambush us, we¡¯re ready to fight them. We can massacre ten thousand weak gobbos just fine!¡± Dawson was sweating bullets under his leather armor and cloak. He was older and more grizzled compared to most of the guild members. The same went for Gisella. The two leaders were in their graying years, and that came with experience outside of levels. Some might call that wisdom, even if that wasn¡¯t part of a stat. From what Dawson could see, the goblin was acting unusual. She had a steady confidence that was less audacious and more grounded. Dawson also felt as if the goblin was ¡­ strong. Goblins didn¡¯t normally act like this. Goblins weren¡¯t normally strong. And the way she spoke was too refined for a mere goblin. Does she really have the Identify trait? Dawson wondered. That was a rare trait! Dawson didn¡¯t even have that trait. No goblin should have that unless they were high-level shamans or the Grimrock Warlock. And who the Hidden Hell was her father? ¡°Who are you supposed to be, anyway?¡± Dawson challenged. Before he could get an answer, he heard a shout of warning from two places. A scout hollered near the entrance between the immaculate walls. Another scout shouted from the end of the basin where there seemed to be another path out beyond the dead paladins. Dawson and Gisella rose sharply into the air on the Storm Cloud +2 and took a gander. ¡°Fuck!¡± Dawson cursed. The rats had split up to flank from two sides! The rats had found a new route the vultures had missed and came rushing with 2500 adventurers into the field of paladin bodies. They also came flying out of the same cliff-side route the vultures had taken. Dawson watched 500 men and women move about aerially, disregarding the three hundred foot drop. And those 500 were no doubt some of the rat¡¯s most powerful and magical guild members. The 500 rats crossed over the field of dead aberrations far faster than Dawson¡¯s vultures had and took up a position that blocked off escape through the narrow slit in the grand walls. As for the bigger rat detachment of 2500, they formed up in a line formation that forced Dawson¡¯s people to back off the dead paladins and spare loot. The vultures quickly gather into a smaller and tighter series of ranks poised to fight from all angles. But that placed them in a perfect position for blasting magic to land on their heads and blow them to kingdom come. We¡¯re fucked, Dawson thought. ¡°Gisella, we might have to abandon them,¡± Dawson said. ¡°I will not,¡± Gisella replied predictably. Fucking paladins and their bullshit crusader brains. Dawson could drop her off and flee on his own, but what would that earn him? His reputation back home would be forever tarnished. He would have to start a new life somewhere else. He hated that more than living. He¡¯d been through too much bullshit to get to where he was to just abandon it all at the first sign of some bad odds. We need to punch them in the mouth first before they could get settled, Dawson thought. Attack the bigger group. Wedge straight through them. Force them into a calamity. Maybe half of us could get through on the other side and engage in a fighting retreat. They won¡¯t chase us for long when they could earn more loot for themselves after losing some members. Dawson drove the Storm Cloud +2 down to the front of the vultures¡¯ formation and gave some coded commands. They swiftly formed into a wedge with the strongest warriors at the tip and the sides, the mages at the back, and everyone else in the middle. There was still plenty more loot left on the rocky field, but that would entice the rats to hang back instead of sending their entire force after them. Gisella placed herself at the front of the wedge. She shone with good +2 and blessed might, her shield on one arm, her mace in the other. Dawson stayed on his Storm Cloud +2 and hovered closer to the middle. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. His hands lit up with lightning and thunder magic. Before they could enact the plan, the little gobbo jumped from across the basin. She landed between the two major guild formations. Dawson wanted to shout for his people to charge ahead anyway and run over the damn gobbo. They still had those 500 rats to their tails near the walls¡¯ entrance, so standing still like this was asking for the rats to chew through them from the front and the back. But Dawson¡¯s evil +1 warned him otherwise, the paranoid part, at least. He hesitated, and the goblin spoke aloud for everyone to hear. ¡°Stop! This land and its spoils belong to my father! And it belongs to my mother, too! You are trespassing! If you don¡¯t heed my warning, you will be killed!¡± the gobbo shouted. Twice now she¡¯s warned us, Dawson thought. Goblins don¡¯t give warnings twice. ¡°Stand down,¡± Dawson said, taking a chance that was the biggest he¡¯d ever taken. All of his men and women turned about and looked at him like he had grown a second head. Even Gisella looked back with frank shock while at the front of the vultures¡¯ wedge formation. Dawson repeated himself with more force in his voice. ¡°Stand down, dammit! That¡¯s an order! Fucking stand down!¡± His heart was hammering so loud he could barely hear himself even while shouting. He nearly scared himself as he watched his guild members listen to his insane words. They lowered their uncommon and rare armaments. The mage-types like him depowered their magical abilities and skills. The vultures became a thousand sitting ducks, boxed in from two sides, all because some little green gobbo gave out a deadly warning twice. His men weren¡¯t happy about that, and rightfully so. One of them yelled out. ¡°You¡¯re going to get us killed, Dawson! Or worse, make us weak and poor!¡± If the vultures survived this day, they wouldn¡¯t come out unscathed. The rats would take off most of their pertinent gear, especially the magic items that were family heirlooms passed down the generations. Most of these men and women wouldn¡¯t be able to afford another magic item, not with how costly it had gotten to live in the Windy Strider Kingdom. The price for anything above common goods had inflated sharply, and was still rising, because of tariffs, embargoes, and wars. Striders were reliant on imports as a nation of adventure and commerce. There was money to be had as a strider, but there were plenty of risks and misfortune to be had, as well. Dawson thought of running away. Might be his best option before his own guild stabbed him thrice in the back and pissed on his corpse for making them poor. But first, he had to suffer the gloating rats. ¡°Oh ho, ho, ho! Is that Dawson¡¯s miscreant of a guild?! You think you can run ahead on work that belongs to the rats?!¡± shouted a pompous young man leading from the front of the rat¡¯s main detachment. Dawson groaned. It hurt deep inside that a young jackass, Cyprus, was at the same level as him. The warrior son of the rat¡¯s head guild master had it all. Cyprus wore his epic armor proudly with gold inlay over silver plating. In his hand, he held a shining poleaxe that was most likely epic as well. The emblem of the rat, with a crown on its head, sat comfortably on Cyprus¡¯s breastplate. ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to proceed as per decorum, fellow strider, when you¡¯re at a loss? You know what to do, Dawson! Make your men ¨C and your women ¨C strip down and cough up!¡± Cyprus tossed his golden-topped head back and laughed. ¡°No,¡± said the goblin in the middle of the vultures and rats. ¡°You will not strip. You will kneel.¡± ¡°What windy sirens nonsense is that gobbo singing?¡± Cyprus asked. Dawson thought critically of the situation and took another gamble. ¡°Kneel everyone.¡± ¡°Seriously?¡± shouted a vulture. ¡°I said kneel, you cockeyed bastard! Or do you want a lightning bolt straight to your big forehead to fix that lazy fucking eye of yours?¡± Dawson shouted. Gisella knelt down first. The others saw her example and followed suit, even if in a disgruntled fashion. Nobody stripped, but they did as the gobbo asked, ignoring Cyprus and his rats¡¯ incredulous expressions. ¡°Is this a joke?¡± Cyprus asked. ¡°You would rather listen to this mere gobbo instead of me? For that act of lunacy, I will have you whipped, Dawson! Someone, shoot that gobbo and be done with this madness.¡± ¡°You made a grave mistake,¡± the goblin said ominously. Dawson felt a chill crawl up and down his spine. Thrice. Cyprus and his people didn¡¯t care. A powerful and beautiful sorceress with epic gear walked up ahead of Cyprus. It took a second for Dawson to recognize her. What?! Isn¡¯t that the daughter of the Lion Adventurer Guild Leader? Why was she with the rats? Were the lions and the rats teaming up to solidify their domination? Nonetheless, anyone coming from the lions, the strongest guild of the Windy Strider Kingdom, was powerful of their own right. The lion sorceress aimed her hand forward and charged up a fiery attack that looked like a miniature sun. She sent it flying at the lone goblin, and a lance of frost shot down from the air and struck the sunny fireball. To Dawson¡¯s surprise, the fireball didn¡¯t explode. The frost lance froze over the fireball and turned it into useless steam, smoke, and vapors. Then that soon became a cloud of mist and spreading frost. Incompatible magic attacks that met with some measure of force had a tendency to explode, but the powerful fireball had no chance of releasing its inner power. The frost lance had outright overpowered the lion sorceress¡¯s magic. Dawson was flabbergasted, and so were many others among the vultures and rats. ¡°What trickery is this, vultures!?¡± Cyprus shouted. ¡°We have you pinned from two fronts! See your backside blown to pieces!¡± Dawson turned about and prepared for the 500 rats to attack their rear. He waited for a few rapid heart beats before feeling some measure of confusion. No such attack came. In fact, he saw none of the 500 rats at the entrance of the walls. They were gone. What the fuck was going on? ¡°Idiot humans,¡± said the goblin, rising into the air by some invisible force. Dawson scanned with his traits and senses couldn¡¯t figure out how the goblin could fly up so effortlessly. But there she was, in the sky, looming above them all. She was about to make a big revelation of some sort, and Dawson was hanging with suspense to hear what it was. ¡°My name is¨C¡± Cutting off the goblin, Cyprus lashed out with a swing of his poleaxe, sending up a blazing crescent that left vapor waves and smoke trails behind it. The goblin disappeared from her lofty position and reappeared on the ground in front of Cyprus. The blazing crescent flew off uselessly. The giant cleaver the goblin held had streaks of blood on it. The rats nearest to their leader stumbled back, with Cyprus remaining in place until his head dropped from between his shoulders. Then his body slumped to the floor. Dead. ¡°Hisscreep, my Evil God, what is happening?¡± Dawson mumbled. The goblin picked up where she left off. ¡°I am Princess Cook Foodie, Daughter of the Dark Lord and Shadowfell Goddess. You have not heeded my warning. And you disrespected me. Most of you can die now. The few who get to live longer will make for good eating in my stew.¡± Dawson and his vultures watched with silent horror as an array of beams fell from the sky. Fire. Frost. Wind. Lightning. And green-tinted destruction. From the very ground, strange and nightmarish tentacles thrust up with pointed ends. They pierced up men and women, sometimes several to one tentacle, like a spit through slabs of roast. The men and women caught by the monstrous tentacles didn¡¯t always die instantly. Many got pulled in between the cracks in the rocky ground, where they screamed bloody murder. Something underground ate them and made loud snapping, slurping, and crunchy sounds. Dawson barely kept his own lunch in his gut. Some vultures hurled theirs onto the ground, their Willpower broken. More rats died from an onslaught of elemental beams from above, and voracious tentacle attacks from below. Then there was the so-called Princess Cook. She hopped and skipped through the chaos, swinging her cleaver and hacking humans in half. She reached out and ripped an arm away from a man with a simple tug. She chewed on the limb as she kept chopping at screaming rats with her cleaver. Many rats tried to flee out the way they came. But something magical ¨C which might¡¯ve been gravity magic from what Dawson could tell ¨C triggered and sent rats flying upward and out of control. Then the ground that led out of the basin became a blockade. Filling it was a horrifying army that no man would want to face ¨C an army of the undead. Dawson gaped as a black figure led at the front of the army of bone-white skeletons. The black skeleton pointed forward, and his army charged forth. The skeletons flashed with advanced runic enchantments carved into their bony frames. They attacked with powerful elemental magic that slammed into the rats and demolished them before the adventurers could fight a proper battle. It wasn¡¯t an instant destruction, but it was a one-sided affair of the most horrible degree. Dawson and his vultures watched in fear as the rats suffered a gruesome defeat with only a few members remaining alive, begging for mercy. There was none to be had by the monstrous victors. The Princess Cook stopped to watch her chosen sacrifices get plucked from the mass of dead humans. Skeletons carried away the screaming rats, in which they would meet their ultimate fate as part of some horrific stew to feed the princess. Then the Princess Cook walked stoically toward Dawson¡¯s people. The Level 70 Storm Blaster flew slowly to the front and dismissed his Storm Cloud +2. He fell to a knee beside Gisella, who remained on a knee as well, despite how she braced tensely for combat. The Princess Cook settled into a spot right in front of them. ¡°You¡¯ve listened,¡± the blood-soaked goblin said. ¡°Very well. You can pick your spoils from the idiot humans we just slaughtered. My father is kind, so I shall be kind, too, since you¡¯ve listened.¡± ¡°Yes, princess,¡± Dawson said, and the others repeated after him. Princess Cook Foodie nodded. ¡°You¡¯ll have to stay. My father and his friends might want to speak with you first. So camp up. And all the items you took from the paladins must be piled in the corner over there.¡± The Princess Cook pointed to the side. ¡°We will know if you steal from us. Then I will stop being kind. I will give you no mercy and watch you all die except for those I will add to my stew. They¡¯ll get cooked alive.¡± ¡°Yes, princess,¡± Dawson repeated. ¡°I will personally skin the bastard who tries something slick.¡± Dawson had a tendency to keep the full power of his evil +1 in check. But for the sake of his survival and the survival of the vultures, he would unleash his alignment in full. He had to if there was anyone stupid enough to upset Princess Cook Foodie, the fucking daughter of two of the most powerful evil deities of the Infinita Star System. 227: B3: C17: Nomad Prince ¡°So this is the infamous Ride-or-Die Village.¡± In the late evening of Mid Summer, Prince Omar Windstorm tapped his two fingers in code on the hard shell of his mount. As they travelled along a well-paved road, the giant scorpion beast he sat on made loud hisses, which sounded threatening to most foreigners. But to Prince Omar and his brethren of the United Nomad Empire, his mount was responding in affirmation. She braced herself subtly in case the villains of Ride-or-Die sprung an ambush. It was better to be safe than sorry as Prince Omar and his company drew closer to the most controversial evil civilization to rise in the last year. Why are their walls so tall? How are they able to keep so many patrolling skeletons functional? Why does each skeleton have advanced enchantments and powerful auras? Who built that massive tower that scrapes at the sky as if it¡¯s an affront to the Ascended Heavens? Are those arcane cannons on the walls and the tower? How powerful are they? Despite his whirlwind thoughts, Prince Omar held a strict and aloof expression on his face. Royal Concubine Windstorm and his tutors had drilled etiquette among many other princely lessons with him from the moment he was born eighteen years ago. Apparently, he¡¯d been a serious and solemn child straight from the womb, and his concubine mother and the tutors of their tribe ensured he grew even more serious. There was no room for letting one¡¯s true feelings show while part of an empire made of thirty-three tribes. Especially when said empire had one central tribe that held the most power since the start of the Dark Era. ¡°It¡¯s quite the sight, isn¡¯t it, Prince Omar?¡± asked a friendly but deceptive old man. The prince spoke carefully, eloquently, and with royal pedigree. ¡°Those who boast about themselves from afar lack much to be desired from within.¡± ¡°Ho ho ho! Now that¡¯s quite the statement. I wonder how that young but reckless lad will respond to that,¡± the old man said cheerily, his hands folded behind his back as he walked beside Prince Omar¡¯s giant scorpion. ¡°You keep mentioning this young, reckless lad of yours. Unless you have more orphans hiding somewhere under your coattails, you have me at a loss to whom you refer, unless you play me the fool,¡± Prince Omar said with a small amount of bite. He¡¯d wanted to know about this particular ¡®young, reckless lad¡¯ for quite some time. ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll realize the truth on your own. It¡¯s more interesting that way. I¡¯d be quite embarrassed having to explain it myself.¡± Grimacing inwardly, the prince thought of accusing the old man of disrespecting a royal figure. But Prince Omar quickly recalled how the old man acted with precise killing intent weeks ago when he and his gardener orphans saved the nomads. The prince and his brethren had lost their better judgment after a long journey across the Man Hunter Sands. Hoping to find trustworthy shelter, they¡¯d gone to the nearest frontier town on the western edges of the Eternal Garden Kingdom. It was there that Prince Omar had nearly met his demise, where a magic disease was being spread by a cult in fellowship with Evil Goddess Sickspread. The old man ¨C Arnold of Ambrose ¨C had interjected with a liquid sword in hand and silver flowers following his surefooted and killer steps. Where Prince Omar and his brethren have failed, Arnold of Ambrose succeeded, eliminating the evil cult. Ever since then, Prince Omar and Arnold of Ambrose, and their unique parties, have become traveling companions. It was an arrangement out of necessity, really, with some begrudging respect from Prince Omar¡¯s side aimed toward the gardeners. But that respect had its limits. The gardeners are having their civil war and there is nothing unique I can find from them, Prince Omar thought grumpily. There were certain opportunities to be had in a kingdom in civil war, but that was not the business of the Windstorm Tribe. Windstorms moved to seek greater advancements and uncover long hidden secrets that could change a society. He didn¡¯t come here to stir the pot of their squabbling and make some extra gold to throw at the Nomad Emperor¡¯s feet. Prince Omar had come for a great secret or magic power that could finally put to rest the limping and stagnant beast that his empire had become. Can the secret power I seek come from Ride-or-Die Village? Prince Omar tried not get his hopes up. ¡°Are we there yet? Are we there yet?!¡± shouted an unruly girl who everyone called Boots. She had the Level 20 class called Boot Dasher Child, which gave her magic boots and some abilities surrounding that. Prince Omar held a straight face as Boots dashed in circles around his giant scorpion mount. Then she dashed into the side of Arnold, the old man laughing the whole time. He plucked the child up and carried her on his shoulders. Boots cheered and thrust her arms up into the air. Prince Omar found the unruliness of gardener children to be unsatisfactory. But there were a hundred of them, and they were all above Level 10. They all had classes. Despite the harsh environment Prince Omar called home, even he and his men found it unusual to see this many pre-teens with classes. Looking back, he saw a menagerie of orphans playing with their basic skills, elemental magic, and uncommon traits. A few among them even had rare traits. Such a force could slaughter a town of adult peasants in the weakest regions, which didn¡¯t seem like much, but it was still troubling. Prince Omar was a Level 51 Wind Wizard himself. The thirty men of his entourage were in the Level 30s. They had a long caravan of scorpion beasts, two hundred in all, with only a few carrying some items. The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. The giant scorpions, Level 30 Caravan Pincher Starters, were the prize that Prince Omar offered as his best foot in the door. Despite their massive pincers, large venomous stingers, and hard shells, the creatures were docile beasts and slow eaters. Many nomads prized them for their reliability and ease of domesticating. But then Prince Omar looked about at various patrols of high-level skeletons hauling giant monsters on their own with no necromancer in sight. He watched unruly adventurers joke and jeer as they moved past them. Some made rude comments toward the giant scorpions. They acted without fear, which gave Prince Omar some sign that the rude simpletons were striders from the far eastern parts of the Walled Continent. It made sense that striders would come to such a place. Prince Omar had never met them before, but he¡¯d read about how they acted as undisciplined heathens who had no morals outside of what they would do to earn coins. Then, to Prince Omar¡¯s growing surprise, they passed a unit of paladins. Arnold spoke aloud a phrase of blessing toward the stalwart men and women dressed in bronze armor and brown robes. They replied with a blessing of their own and a humble nod, which was a disturbing sight that Prince Omar kept to himself. How could paladins be in a place that was an affront to their strict morals? He¡¯d seen the paladins come all the way to the United Nomad Empire on some minor crusade for the sake of goodness itself. Yet they were here at the heart of new evil as adventurers? Prince Omar grew curiouser and curiouser as they drew closer to the gate. Then another interesting occurrence appeared on the road. A darkly dressed woman with a crooked hat waited with arms crossed. Prince Omar was good +1, so he felt the evil alignment radiate sharply off the woman after some examination. He tapped his fingers in code on the hard shell of his loyal and intelligent mount, who tensed in preparation. Before Prince Omar could speak aloud in warning, Arnold of Ambrose and Boots raced ahead. ¡°Evelyn, dear, how are you?!¡± Arnold asked in greeting. ¡°Hey, you, witch!¡± Boots chirped. ¡°You bastards took too long. Left me waiting out here for days after getting your letter,¡± the witch, Evelyn, grumbled. Boots replied the fastest. ¡°Aw! You waited for us. It¡¯s okay. Big Sister Boots will help you get comfortable with our new home.¡± ¡°You little toad of a brat!¡± Evelyn hissed. Arnold laughed heartily. Shaking her head, the witch looked up with dark eyes that met the stoic gaze Prince Omar kept on his face. She sneered. ¡°Nomads, huh? Did you come to meet the reason for the apocalypse, the darkness that came and went like a nightmare? Or are you here to prostrate yourselves and lick his boots?¡± Prince Omar¡¯s fellow nomads showed some anger, and rightfully so, since nobody should suffer the tongue lashing of an evil witch. Especially not a prince of the United Nomad Empire. But Prince Omar waved his hand in a gesture for his brethren to calm down. The nomads watched as hundred orphans came rushing forward, hopping off the backs of the giant scorpions, to crowd around the witch. ¡°Ah, excuse me, Prince Omar,¡± Arnold said. ¡°Despite dear Evelyn¡¯s dark views¨C¡± ¡°I¡¯m not your granddaughter, you old fart, so don¡¯t treat me like one,¡± Evelyn hissed. Arnold carried on unbothered. ¡°She was a great help to us in the early days of the civil war when we had to escape from Bramblevale. We split apart later, she and the adults going out to lead away certain men of unreputable nature. I had to take care of these one hundred youngsters on my own.¡± ¡°We¡¯re the strongest kids in the Walled Continent now!¡± shouted Boots. The other children cheered. Prince Omar found such a story strange and unlikely. There were uses for those in the evil alignment, but only small and rare uses. Most humans lived as neutral, and those who sought great power joined the good alignment. The witch Evelyn exuded nothing worthy of trust. Of course, Prince Omar kept his skepticism to himself. ¡°You all are seeking refuge at Ride-or-Die together, I see,¡± the prince said. ¡°There aren¡¯t better options,¡± Arnold said. ¡°I want to see a dragon,¡± Evelyn said. ¡°And that big blond healer man, right?¡± Boots giggled. The other orphans laughed and jeered. The witch hissed at them and drove them away. After introductions finished, the group continued toward the gate. Prince Omar sensed a heightened activity that few cities had outside of grand capitals. He saw bright lights beaming into the darkening sky, unlike any lights he¡¯d ever seen before. Then more bright lights flashed into existence around the massive and sophisticated gate entrance as night settled in full with three moons sharing space with the stars. Prince Omar sensed complex and intricate magic at work, all competently woven into the gate and surrounding wall. The magical craftsmanship far succeeded anything the Windstorms had ever experienced. Prince Omar tried to hide his awe, shifting his attention to the others who replied in astonishment around him. Curious of Arnold¡¯s reaction, the prince looked and saw the old man¡¯s cheerful nature recede. The same slick and silver killer roused to the surface under the guise of a peaceful old man, and the prince felt goosebumps all over his flesh. What could stir the anger of the deadly old man? Before Prince Omar could prepare, something massive crashed down in front of their group. The scorpions stopped and jerked back in unison, pincers and tails raised in warning. The orphans scurried back. The witch lit her hands with bloody flames. And Arnold of Ambrose strode forward alone with his liver-spotted hand on the hilt of his sword. The dark and monstrous creature shifted forms before Prince Omar had a solid look. The creature laughed like a hyena beast, the bright lights of Ride-or-Die Village casting a silhouette on its body that looked vaguely like a ten-foot tall humanoid. ¡°What is that?¡± Prince Omar asked. ¡°Is this a threat from Ride-or-Die?¡± ¡°Ezda,¡± Arnold growled with hate in his voice. ¡°Arnold,¡± said the creature, which the prince finally recognized to be a gnoll. Prince Omar felt breathless. He¡¯d heard of Ezda, the strongest gnoll of the Walled Continent, maybe even in the entire world. Prince Omar couldn¡¯t stop himself from finally showing shock. If that was truly Ezda, the Devouring Blood Beast, then they had to sacrifice the scorpion beasts to give them time to flee! But Arnold seemed to have gone senile with his old age as he drew his liquid silver sword. ¡°Serveserf, oh Downtrodden Servant, grant me boon or witness as I redress what is owed to this foul creature for the tortured deaths of my brothers!¡± Arnold shouted gallantly. ¡°I will breathe my last, if it means I leave a wound that will follow her for the rest of her days! This I swear as the Silver Guardian!¡± ¡°Silver Guardian?¡± Prince Omar wheezed. Finally, something clicked, an obscure fact from an old reading material. The Eternal Garden Kingdom once had seven White Roses, who were grand protectors of the Gold Roses, the royal family. Prince Omar recalled reading about one mysterious White Rose who had used silver magic in combat. This whole time, his traveling companion, a babysitter to orphans, was the former grand protector of the garden! With that known, Prince Omar lost all sense of bearing as a great clash sparked off before him. Ezda, the Voracious Blood Beast, versus Arnold of Ambrose, the Silver Guardian and former White Rose. All while under the witness of the Dark Lord¡¯s growing capital of power, Ride-or-Die Village. 228: B3: C18: Old Friend As the Silver Guardian raged against the Voracious Blood Beast, the royal son of the Windstorm Tribe stood on top of his scorpion and used his Wind Howl spell. His mind recalled the runic text and mystic sayings from his Grimoire of the Windstorm Adept. He felt the rare traits from his royal heritage empower his spell, giving his voice a booming effect. Prince Omar shouted with magic that kicked up some billowing gusts. He ordered his personal entourage, two hundred scorpions, a witch, and a hundred gardener orphans to back away from the gate. He had to muster some bravery to make himself stand out and be heard. He also had to turn his back to the strident noise of silver magic clashing with bloody brute force. Thankfully, his traveling group weren¡¯t complete imbeciles and followed his instructions, the scorpions especially. That gave him some relief, but not much He had many reasons to fear being too close to the conflict other than getting caught directly in the middle. He also feared getting caught in attacks from the nearest siege weapons looming over them on the massive wall. He also feared the patrols of powerful skeletons closing in from all angles. Another factor of note was the ten young men and women standing within the gate. They had a presence of deadliness that differed from the striders and paladins. The young ones wore dark armor that matched the black and dark red aesthetic of the evil village. They were watching the battle unfold while keeping their distance, as if they had other ways to deal with threats like the strongest gnoll in the world. Perhaps they were waiting for the Dark Lord to make an appearance. Nonetheless, Prince Omar led his group to retreat to a safe distance before they stopped to watch. So far, they had suffered no direct attack, no casualties. Prince Omar hadn¡¯t even seen another gnoll. The brutish race would usually go about in packs, especially when attacking human settlements. But the Voracious Blood Beast was so strong, she could tear through a few thousand men by herself. The old fool still lives! Prince Omar thought, feeling glad, even if he didn¡¯t show it on his face. However, Prince Omar had to ask himself how long could Arnold last against Ezda. The skillful man was attacking with all he had. Yet, the mad and voracious gnoll woman kept laughing at his attempts. She made cruel and nightmarish sounds, yipping and howling, as if the former protector of the garden was tickling her. Prince Omar watched as Arnold flipped backwards and away from a powerful swipe from Ezda. The Silver Guardian slashed his sword underneath him and created an arcing frame of silver and metallic flowers. From his elevated platform, he slashed across the air multiple times and sent flying crescents with sharpened edges at Ezda¡¯s bulky form. Is she shifting again? Prince Omara wondered, noting how Ezda now stood fifteen feet tall. She hadn¡¯t shifted into a more bestial form. Instead, she stayed humanoid as Arnold¡¯s flying volley of silver crescents crashed against her furry hide. The silver attacks barely nicked her. Only a few trickles of blood came about from Arnold¡¯s efforts against the Voracious Blood Beast. Ezda laughed, grew some more, and glowed with a menacing red light from under her flesh and fur. The same light glowed from her minor cuts. Prince Omar Windstorm felt great and intricate magic blooming from the gnoll woman¡¯s body, magic that he could feel as a Level 51 Wind Wizard. But he couldn¡¯t sense anything more than that when Ezda was clearly something far above him. He couldn¡¯t even shout a warning in time before Ezda dashed forward. She moved so fast she became a glowing red streak from Prince Omar¡¯s perspective. Somehow, Arnold flipped out of the way, but only by a hairbreadth. Barely missing him, Ezda crashed through his silver arched bridge, shattering apart the flowers and crumpling the rest. She went off the road and into the fields like a bolt of blood. By the time Arnold landed solidly on his feet, he quickly worked up another silver conjuration with sweeps and flicks of his liquid sword. Prince Omar turned from the Silver Guardian and saw the return of the glowing blood streak, but now at an even faster speed. Again, Prince Omar felt the tyranny of levels and stats. The Nomad Prince of the Windstorm Tribe was only strong enough to see the difference in might, resilience, and tenacity. He could barely get a word out as the two titans of combat clashed again. Arnold did all he could to form a silver palisade of thorns and stakes. Yet the Voracious Blood Beast rammed straight through while she stood twenty feet tall. Arnold had to dive and roll along the pavement to avoid getting turned into a human splatter. The crumpled remains of his palisade crashed and tumbled off the road on course with a unit of skeletons. Prince Omar noticed a strange occurrence where something supernatural caught the smashed silver palisade, stopping it from hitting the skeletons. What could¡¯ve done that? He had no idea, his magical abilities failing him. Turning back to the epic fight, the Nomad Prince watched Arnold dodge and weave from under Ezda¡¯s stomps. The old man rolled away from her playful grabs and downward swipes. He juked from side to side, straining his body, while the vicious gnoll woman laughed down at him. Arnold got back to his feet, shouted in rage, and attacked back. He slashed and hacked, even going as far as aiming at Ezda¡¯s lower legs and feet. But the more he wounded her, the more she seemed to power up. The bloodier she looked, the more impossible the challenge became, until the inevitable happened. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Standing twenty-five feet tall, Ezda slammed Arnold into the ground with her foot. The strongest gnoll in the world stood victorious. At that point, Prince Omar, his entourage, the gardener orphans, and even the witch raised their weapons and magic for battle. They would certainly die, but Prince Omar couldn¡¯t head back home a shameful coward. He couldn¡¯t let a traveling companion meet his doom alone, especially one who¡¯d saved the prince¡¯s life. That was not the way for a royal son of the Windstorm Tribe to behave himself. ¡°If you kill him, you must kill me, for I will attack with a vengeance. But even with my death, I know the swords, arrows, and spells of my nomadic people will be as many as the grain of sands in the greatest desert!¡± Prince Omar shouted, rousing up his own gallantry, as foolish as it was. ¡°I¡¯m not going to kill him,¡± Ezda said, with a deep and humorous growl. ¡°I was only having fun! See! He lives!¡± She removed her foot from on top of Arnold, and other than the Silver Guardian having his pride completely crushed, his body remained functional enough to draw breath and let vitality handle the rest. Still, Prince Omara had two spells prepared, which was a great undertaking at Level 51. Only a few studious and talented wizards could pull off dual-casting. He even sensed the witch preparing more of her own evil magic, perhaps able to dual-cast like him, her magic raging and hissing with malicious promises of destruction in her bony fists. Prince Omar didn¡¯t have the cunning of evil, but his good +1 gave him a decent boost to his blasting ability. Against most foes, the prince and the witch would¡¯ve been enough. Yet, deep down, even Prince Omar knew their chances against the Voracious Blood Beast were slim to none. His only hope was to surprise her while she didn¡¯t take them seriously. To his ever-growing surprise, they continued to live as the strongest gnoll talked them down. ¡°You still don¡¯t believe me? Well, it matters not. We will all serve the alpha. We will all spread his freedom far and wide.¡± The monstrous gnoll woman shrank and shrank and shrank. She lost her fur. A dress appeared on her body. Then she assumed the form of a tall, shapely, and beautiful dark-skinned woman with great and thick dreadlocks. The appearance of her new form was so shocking, Prince Omar had to cancel his spells lest he made a mistake and hurt himself and his companions. ¡°This is the power of my alpha. This is the power of freedom!¡± Ezda shouted. ¡°The power of cuteness! Don¡¯t you see?¡± A bird like no other cried in the background, invisible to all. Then something more horrifying filled the void, making Prince Omar¡¯s heart sink into his gut. Howls and barks of laughter resonated across the night from all around Ride-or-Die village. Ezda howled and laughed with them, the hidden hordes of gnolls in the dark, before she turned away with a graceful step and sauntered toward the open gate. Nobody came out with swords or magic to stop her. Instead, adventurers scrambled out of her way. While some guards chatted with her lightly, as if she was a known and welcomed entity of the village. Prince Omar was stunned. He was also feeling some relief. Then the old fool dashed that all away. Arnold of Ambrose picked his disheveled body off the floor and yelled after his nemesis. ¡°I won¡¯t rest! I won¡¯t stop! Even if these old bones break from the pressure, I will grow stronger and make you pay for what you¡¯ve done, Ezda!¡± the old guardian shouted. ¡°That fool!¡± hissed the witch. ¡°Agreed,¡± muttered the prince. They watched as Ezda paused at the gate and turned back to Arnold, which made Prince Omar feel afraid again. Despite her beautified form as a human, Ezda exuded a bloody pressure that made the nearest adventurers cower. Through that pressure, Prince Omar imagined bloody teeth chomping down and breaking bone. Yet, one man stood against that, even while old, bloodied, and beaten. ¡°Excellent,¡± Ezda said. ¡°You were more stunning when you were angry and foolish in your younger years. I miss this version of you, old friend.¡± ¡°I am not your friend!¡± spat Arnold. ¡°The more you disagree, the more you make this fun for me.¡± Ezda chuckled darkly. ¡°Grow stronger, Arnold of Ambrose. Become faster. Challenge me whenever you want. I shall entertain you, break you, and remake you. This I give to you freely.¡± Ezda turned and sauntered the rest of the way through the gate, as if this was her home. Only then did the gate guards and the skeletons draw fully onto the scene. Half of the guards tried to attend to Arnold, but the angry man waved them away. One guard walked up to Prince Omar before slowing down and turning to the orphans. ¡°Hey, I know you. You¡¯re that little boot girl. The one the Dark Lord favors. From the charity. Yeah, you¡¯re that girl,¡± said the young guard. ¡°Welcome home, kid.¡± ¡°You better have the place cleaned up for me and my friends,¡± Boots said confidently. ¡°What?!¡± Prince Omar broke his composure as he turned toward Boots, who stood with her little fists on her hips. The little girl, who was apparently favored by the Dark Lord, smiled mischievously up at the prince. Then, in a tone that would¡¯ve had her lashed a hundred times back at the empire, she said, ¡°What? You thought I was going to say all that out in the open? We street rats aren¡¯t dumb, y¡¯know? Can¡¯t let you try to use me for ransom or something.¡± With a wave, Boots and the other hundred orphans dashed forward toward the gate. The witch snorted, turned to sneer at the nomads, then stepped ahead behind the orphans. She stopped to check on the battered Silver Guardian. Arnold accepted her aid before going the rest of the way into the village. Prince Omar and his entourage watched from the background. Then the prince turned toward the boyish guard, who had several runic skeletons standing behind him. ¡°What are those big bugs for?¡± the young guard asked, pointing at the caravan of two hundred scorpions. Prince Omar recomposed himself before speaking in an official tone. ¡°A gift from the Windstorm Nomad Tribe to the Dark Lord of Ride-or-Die Village. I would like to deliver them¨C¡± ¡°Can they dance?¡± ¡°W-what?¡± ¡°Can they dance? They won¡¯t be worth much unless they can dance.¡± The Nomad Prince, a royal son of the Windstorms, and a competitor for the ultimate seat of power at the head of the empire, was at a loss for words. What did this backwater and unruly peasant mean when he asked about the dancing abilities of the giant scorpions? Why was he asking this in such a mundane fashion after a battle between powerful figures? Why was he concerned about something so frivolous after the Voracious Blood Beast walked freely into his human village? ¡°Yes, they can dance,¡± Prince Omar said slowly. ¡°Oh, sweet, now we have some new competition for the spects and librarians.¡± Prince Omar opened and closed his mouth. One man from his entourage pushed in. ¡°You speak to Prince Omar Windstorm, a son of royal blood and ambassador of the United Nomad Empire! Do you know nothing of respect?! Are your masters incapable of training you?! We should have you whipped!¡± Prince Omar said nothing more. The young guard turned and looked back at the skeletons. The undead creatures shrugged, and the young guard turned to the nomads with a smile. ¡°The Lady Instructor isn¡¯t here, and I already had my limbs broken and my spine twisted from training earlier. So excuse me and my friends if we are a little more casual about procedures regarding royalty.¡± A strange hat appeared on his head. Prince Omar gasped as he felt the magic inside of the young guard. It was ¡­ powerful. Almost as mighty as the Silver Guardian. How could this be possible? Prince Omar kept his bearing, but the men of his entourage cowered as the young guard continued speaking. ¡°Also, regarding your special treatment, your highness, we¡¯re still waiting for orders from the Head Admin. Last I heard, Lady Rhea was having dinner with Magi. So you can wait for her to finish and watch some spiders dance off with your scorpions in the meantime. Or screw off into the darkness over yonder. The gnolls are camped up nearby, and they usually play nice these days. Usually.¡± 229: B3: C19: German Suplex Zarian jolted out of his bedroll. Something attached to his back yanked him to a sudden stop, leading to his hand plowing through the stone floor before he slipped and smacked his face, forming a crater three feet wide and half a foot deep. Laying still, he caught his breath while still halfway into the dream world. He vaguely recalled there being a laughing jokester who caught him by the waist and flipped him into¡­ Zarian shook his head. He focused on the present moment. He saw behind him that his parasite was rooted into the courtyard floor and further below. That was the reason he jerked to a stop suddenly. Using the perception of his Aura Mastery, a quick scan revealed Para had kept busy while he slept for who knew how long. The cloak had stretched, expanded, and became an exploratory structure of root-like tentacles. She¡¯d spread herself ridiculously far while conducting a monstrous crusade of legendary proportions. Caverns where there should¡¯ve been monsters deep under the surface were barren of them, allowing more casual flora and fauna to exist undisturbed. If he were to check his notifications for defeats, he would probably get a waterfall of enemy types that Para had consumed, let alone the ones they¡¯d beaten in the Grimrock Hell Gate. Zarian directed his aura perception to follow a specific stalk of Para¡¯s growth and saw why she hadn¡¯t turned her attention to him ¨C she was in the middle of fighting corrupted creatures burrowed deep under the castle mountains. He felt his aura dip and rise as Para cast multiple spells, drained aura out of the monsters, and swung many whips and scythes and whatnot. He also noticed a camp of humans hanging out near the battle wall in the basin over yonder, about a mile away. It wasn¡¯t hard for Zarian to figure out most of them were adventurers from the Windy Strider Kingdom. Para had roots and growths spread underneath them. At any moment, she could slaughter and consume all a thousand of them. ¡°The depths of Para¡¯s capabilities are still fathomless to me,¡± Hannah said from Zarian¡¯s left. Turning to her, he saw Hannah sitting at a workbench while tinkering with the big black thing of a sword. ¡°I woke up yesterday, by the way. Gilbert woke up a few days before us. He¡¯s fishing at a castle lake half a mile to the southeast. Naomi and Bianca are still unconscious.¡± Zarian turned and saw that Bianca was back to being human. She was in a bedroll next to Naomi, both women deep in slumber. He imagined Bianca would wake up next, leaving Naomi last. Zarian looked up at the twinned suns high in a clear blue sky day. There were scant blocky clouds in the distance. He noticed the heat and reasoned it was Mid Summer. ¡°It¡¯s been a whole year.¡± Zarian could hardly believe it. ¡°Indeed, it has.¡± Hannah stood from the bench. She was dressed casually: a white billowy shirt, dark red britches, and white sandals. Various golems waddled, whizzed, or orbited around her. Hannah used aura and enchanted magic to heft the giant sword. She had it laid down in front of Zarian with a gentle drop. Then she said, ¡°I did all I can to push it to the top of legendary quality. But I couldn¡¯t get to mythical just yet. Oh, and we haven¡¯t checked our notifications, of course. Thankfully, the Star System isn¡¯t being a pest with its dinging.¡± ¡°I think as long as I¡¯m alive and dandy, the Star System is a friend. He has bigger things to ¡­ deal with.¡± Zarian trailed off as he tried to remember what happened in his dream. ¡°I was somewhere special while asleep. Like an astral projection scenario.¡± ¡°Tell me before you forget.¡± Hannah dropped to her knees next to Zarian. The son of ultra gods sat back against the thick stalk Para had become. Then, to his surprise, Para reshaped the stalk attached to him. She turned into a grand throne of glimmering red leather, bone spikes, white spines, sharp teeth, and various bestial skulls, some with horns. Apparently, she was paying more attention now, and he could feel that through their connection. She was probably giving him time to sort himself out. Or maybe she needed time to sort herself out after being independent and monstrous for nearly two weeks. Zarian relaxed into his throne, with Hannah still knelt before him, the giant sword laid between them. ¡°You don¡¯t have to kneel,¡± Zarian said. ¡°I don¡¯t mind. Now go on about the dream,¡± Hannah said sternly. You and Lady Rhea have such a weird complex about authority, Zarian thought to himself. He moved on quickly before he forgot the dream, which was weird. His Thematic Law/Floridian Mindset usually made his mind a steel trap. It was as if the memories were actively trying to escape, but he caught on to enough to get the gist. ¡°I think I was spying in on a cosmic meeting. Outside of the Star System. It was like ¡­ a multiverse meeting between different Systems of different universes. I think they were arguing, threatening the Star System. They wanted to break in, and the Star System was getting pressed hard. Then ¡­ he showed up.¡± Hannah leaned forward, her hands gripping tensely on her knees. Zarian noticed how the brown of her eyes glowed with a bronze light. Her puzzle-like and mechanical aura shifted with a frenzy. ¡°A jokester. A prankster. That bastard.¡± Zarian growled, becoming enraged as he remembered more things clearly. ¡°He swooped in and grabbed my astral dream self and GERMAN SUPLEXED me! Ugh!¡± Zarian threw up middle fingers into the sky. ¡°Fuck off, Funnest Granpapa!¡± Before Hannah could reply, a green streak with a white-purple top bolted through the air. Zarian barely got his arms spread open in time before his daughter crashed into his chest. Thankfully, he was tough enough to endure the impact and the crushing hug from Foodie, because she would¡¯ve splattered weaker men. ¡°Hello, Father!¡± she greeted cheerily, her big ears waving up and down. Her adorable smile and cat-like eyes snuffed out his anger as she looked up at him. ¡°Who is it that rouses your wrath? If I¡¯m strong enough, I will hunt them for you. I¡¯ll chop them up and cook them into stew and eat them.¡± Zarian sighed. He combed his fingers through her hair. It was growing back to its former mohawk glory. Though it would take a while to get the dangling braid from before. At the very least, Foodie was looking far better than before. She must¡¯ve been eating well, because he could see she¡¯d put on some healthy weight. ¡°As amusing as it would be to do that to the Funnest, he¡¯s family. And he¡¯s at the top of our family tree,¡± Zarian explained. ¡°Our family tree?¡± Foodie said in a low voice. ¡°Yeah. You¡¯re a Darkrun now. It should show¨C¡± ¡°It does. It¡¯s in my profile. I¡¯m officially called Foodie Darkrun,¡± she piped up, her words ringing with truth and grand ultra magic. Zarian smiled, and Foodie shivered, eyes fluttering, before she continued. ¡°I just didn¡¯t know it means I am part of a grander family. I also have Shadowfell Daughter in my origins, too.¡± ¡°Well, there you go. You are now part of a family of ultra gods.¡± As Foodie froze up, overwhelmed with emotion, Zarian shifted her into a comfortable position on his knee. He looked down from his throne at Hannah and saw a calculating glint in her eyes. Sighing, he said, ¡°I can¡¯t adopt you. It has to be earnest, I feel, not something you can cheat or min-max. There was a force or something inside of me that wanted to adopt Foodie, and it felt authentic enough.¡± Hannah glanced away. ¡°I figured as much. Still, there are all these esoteric things about you that remain unquantifiable and it annoys me. Like the POV Shift. Or the magic surrounding the Darkrun name. And everything else.¡± ¡°Sorry.¡± ¡°Please, don¡¯t apologize.¡± ¡°She is right, Father. You shouldn¡¯t have to apologize for being so grand and ultra!¡± If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Zarian laughed. He thought about whether he should say sorry less or more. He decided it didn¡¯t matter. He wanted to say what came from the gut and people could take it how they wanted. For the next week, Zarian remained seated on his throne while doing some light drafting in preparation for upgrading his first spell. Para hunted down monsters around the castle mountains and deep in the caverns. Gilbert went back and forth from their small camp in a mountaintop courtyard to his new favorite fishing spot. Both the happy fisherman and carnivorous parasite provided some catches to Foodie. She also went hunting in the wilds with her giant cleaver to add more food to the supply. She cooked three courses a day, and each one was beyond satisfying and delicious. If she wasn¡¯t cooking, and if Zarian wasn¡¯t working on wizardry, she would kneel before his throne. The little goblin girl, a new royal daughter of ultra gods, listened to Zarian retell the adventures from the past year. He watched as her eyes opened wide and her ears moved up or down in response to his tales. Sometimes she would grab his leg and shake it whenever he held her in suspense. Zarian had never felt such happiness before. Was the main quest really about saving a mythical cook and getting aggressive stat growths? Or was it for something deeper? Zarian had no idea. Spending time with Foodie felt like a whimsical dream. His stories had her shouting in surprise, crying, or bouncing around like an excited goblin. He loved every frank showing of her emotions and how she looked up to him. Hannah chimed in while tinkering away at minor projects at her workbench. Sometimes she turned to reading some journals and tomes Zarian had taken from the Grimrock Warlock¡¯s vault. Zarian also noticed Hannah rereading the same journal they¡¯d gained as a reward from the Devouring Librarian Dungeon last year. It was the journal that should help find the entrance to the Forgotten Kingdom Dungeon. Eventually, Bianca woke up next with a typical and cheery scream that reached far across the castle mountains. Zarian snickered as the thousand strider adventurers camped in the basin became all spooked and wary. Bianca was so powerful her morning scream could scare people a mile away. After her rousing scream, Bianca zipped free from her bedroll and crashed into him, taking a seat in his lap. As she blabbered about random dreams and how happy she was to be human again, Foodie walked around the corner while hauling a beast for cooking. She saw Bianca, squinted, then jumped into the middle to secure her father¡¯s lap for herself. Before Foodie could establish lap dominance, Bianca screamed again, shocking the goblin. Bianca gathered Foodie into her arms, and Zarian just sat there, enduring the chaos on his lap. Gilbert came around brunch, dropped off some more fish, and shook his head in a judging manner at Zarian and the two princesses occupying the wizard¡¯s lap. Then Gilbert left to go fish some more, taking his snooty judgment with him. And regardless of all the activities happening, Hannah kept her nose in her studies. After a few more days, while three weeks into Mid Summer, Naomi finally woke up. Zarian¡¯s heart raced. Without him asking, Para finally disengaged from her campaign to excavate, slaughter, and consume monsters. That was fine, because she damn near emptied the monster population that lived under the Grimrock Castle Mountains. She slurped up everything into the cloak and Zarian¡¯s back. Miles and miles of expanded root structures, predatory forms of giant maws, grand tendrils that could snatch up giants, and more. It felt like a lot, and Zarian imagined the practice of stretching herself out complexly might¡¯ve improved Para immensely. Either way, her competent genocide would leave her mark on monster population here for years to come, making the castle mountains a safer place. Once para reeled herself back into being an edgy and shiny cloak, Zarian became free to move again. He crashed into Naomi, who groaned with a parched throat and three weeks of morning breath. ¡°I need to take a dump again,¡± Naomi mumbled. ¡°And I still feel shitty.¡± Zarian chuckled. ¡°I don¡¯t need to do that anymore. My body doesn¡¯t produce waste.¡± ¡°Carry me,¡± Naomi grunted. ¡°Please.¡± He picked her off the floor, and she acted dainty while in his arms. Once again, Foodie came around the corner with a new beast dragged behind her. She squinted. Her ears flattened to the sides of her head. She stood still, her head turning. Her eyes followed Zarian and Naomi as they floated off to the bathroom area. Zarian shivered from the judgmental weight of his daughter¡¯s glare. The weight compounded as the ring on his left hand pinched a little more, but his wife remained a distant figure still. Zarian let Naomi do her business behind him as he looked out over a mountainous rampart edge. He was going to comment about the beautiful view when an entire castle mountain collapsed in on itself. It happened right next to the same castle lake Gilbert fished at religiously. Zarian watched as the massive structure came tumbling down. Walls imploded. Statues fell to ruin. Large and thick columns, ancient spires, and sprawling courtyards became part of a churning debris fall. Tons and tons of stone roared as they moved in a cascade. The castle lake Gilbert had made into a second home ended up buried. Then, after all the roaring and falling, things became still again. A keening noise filled the air. That noise then became the hoarse howl of a tormented man. ¡°LORD, WHAT HAVE I DONE TO DESERVE THIS?¡± roared the poor, poor fish-happy Christian. ¡°I believe that was my fault,¡± Para said from the cloak. ¡°I excavated a little too much under that mountain.¡± ¡°Yup,¡± Zarian said. ¡°I should apologize.¡± ¡°Eh, maybe not yet.¡± ¡°WHY MUST I SUFFER?¡± Gilbert hollered. Zarian rubbed the back of his neck. ¡°Yeah, so give it a few days. Let¡¯s just wait until he calms down, okay?¡± ¡°Okay.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know why,¡± Naomi said from behind the wizard and cloak, ¡°but that had to be the second best dump ever. First being the one after I made a bitch out of Jack. But this one was awesome. Must be something special in the mountains. Or Gilbert¡¯s crying. Probably both.¡± For the rest of that day, they hung about and did little much of anything. Zarian caught up with Naomi about the events that had transpired in his dream. She found it amusing that the Funnest Granpapa had appeared and gave Zarian a German Suplex. Unfortunately, no matter how many times Zarian explained the story, he still couldn¡¯t describe how the old man looked. His appearance always remained on the peripherals, mostly as a shadow or as a blobbed figure. Zarian also didn¡¯t know the multiverse outcome between the Star System and the other Systems. Maybe the Funnest helped resolve it after he slammed Zarian¡¯s dream-self out of the way. Gilbert sat morosely in the corner. Hannah did some light reading in another corner. Bianca and Foodie cooked together, the legendary blonde princess becoming a protege of the mythical goblin princess. Bianca¡¯s meals wouldn¡¯t come out as magical as Foodie¡¯s cooking. They were still tasty, however, and became a bit more magical when Foodie added a touch of her abilities. Spectral spiders scurried and danced about. Golems came and went on routine patrols or to handle tasks for their crafter. Loner had on a new black trench coat that made him look cooler at the cost of appearing more edgy. He led around a thousand new human skeletons, catching them up with certain procedures. Apparently, a troublesome adventurer group had come around and caused Princess Cook Foodie some problems. They were like the one group camping out in the basin. But unlike them, they didn¡¯t listen to Foodie Darkrun. Zarian figured some folks had to learn the meaning of ¡®fuck around and find out¡¯ the hard way. He didn¡¯t question it any further for now and would talk to the remaining group later. Everybody was fine and healthy, especially Naomi. The two fellow Marines shared a sofa together made from Para¡¯s body. They also shared a blanket, which Para also made. ¡°My birthday passed,¡± Naomi said, leaning against Zarian¡¯s side. Zarian combed through her curly hair. He ignored the bleeding from his ring finger. ¡°We¡¯ll have to make up for it.¡± That night, Foodie somehow made a cake for Naomi from leftover ingredients she had in stock, plus stuff she sourced from the wilds. Everyone had a slice, with Naomi having the biggest one of all. ¡°Thank you,¡± Naomi said. ¡°This is honestly the nicest birthday I¡¯ve ever had.¡± They were all standing around a cubic table Hannah had made lickety split. Nobody felt like sitting right now. Zarian stood next to Naomi and saw the corners in her eyes glimmering with some wetness. ¡°Don¡¯t you fucking dare, Bianca,¡± Naomi warned half-heartedly. There was no stopping her. Bianca swept around like the fairy of tears. The blonde Latina caught Naomi in her embrace before the militant black woman could escape. On cue, Bianca burst out into tears. Triggered, Naomi let a few tears drop more freely. Then Foodie burst out into open tears. Hannah, the last woman to hold out, turned away and wiped at her eyes. Zarian looked left and right at the tear fest. Then he saw something misting around Gilbert¡¯s eyes. The wizard was about to ask if Gilbert was okay when the healer muttered, ¡°Why the lake, though? Why, Lord, why?¡± Zarian held in a chuckle. Para reached over with strands of the cloak. She formed multiple hands and patted each of the girls and ladies. Once the tear-fest ended, they had more of the cake and settled for the night under the many stars and moons. The moment sunrise arrived, the Star System raged with a constant stream of dinging in Zarian¡¯s head. Everybody else had the same incessant ¡®dings¡¯ going off in their heads. The Star System wanted all of its notifications acknowledged. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s do this!¡± Zarian cheered as fresh meat sizzled on the stoves, breakfast on its way. The Princess Cook remained at her magical kitchen while the Floridians gathered in a circle with bean bag chairs or a throne. The focus remained on the Floridians themselves. Zarian would check on Foodie¡¯s personal growth later. He also had a specific request for her, since her role was more of a floater compared to the five of them. Foodie¡¯s adventures could co-assign with theirs or lead to her working on her own things. She was a free goblin now, regardless of her being his daughter. As for the magic stat growth from her cooking, they could only really take advantage of that occasionally. The bonus stats from a feast provided by Foodie worked best after hard and long adventures, anyway. In fact, because she was a Darkrun, Zarian felt some measure of sending her off for a while. Darkruns needed to freewheel a bit and figure themselves out. She also had the typical start as a female Darkrun with having a lot of power at a young age that came at a cost, so everything checked out. He would figure something out with his daughter later. It was time to focus on himself and his party. ¡°Main quest and other quests first. Then achievements, then skill levels, and then the rest. Let¡¯s go,¡± Zarian said from his parasite throne, the giant black sword leaning against it on the left. Everybody showed different degrees of excitement. Some, if not all of them, might become Master Rankers if they reached Level 100. 230: B3: C20: Testament of Progression Before anyone reported their gains, the Star System appeared as gold message boxes above their camp. Heart thumping, Zarian shifted to the edge of his throne. Everyone shifted along with him. Even Foodie slowed down to give the group messages a curious look. ¡°Eh. I wonder who that certain someone is?¡± Zarian asked as the others glanced in his direction. Foodie giggled, and Para let out a snort from her throne-shifted body. ¡°Yes, thank you, Star System. It¡¯s quite nice of you to dangle a mystery in front of me that¡¯ll keep me up at night,¡± Hannah said dryly from her bean bag chair. ¡°I keep telling you, Hannah, you need to sleep on your back. You¡¯re going to get a kink if you don¡¯t,¡± Bianca said in a saucy tone from her own bean bag chair. ¡°He¡¯s messing with us, isn¡¯t he?¡± Gilbert pointed out. ¡°I like it,¡± Naomi added. <[1] Current Quest Results, [2] Alignment Growth, [3] Skill Levels, [4] Personal Growth, [5] Pre Level 100 Personal Level Ups, [6] Second Class Advancement(s), [7] Rank Judgment, [8] Post Level 100 Level Ups, [9] Achievements, [10] End Results.> ¡°Hell yeah, it does! Dale!¡± Zarian cheered, and so did the others. Spectral spiders flicked into view and danced. A passing unit of skeletons rattled their bones, cheering as well. <[1] Current Quest Results.> ¡°Holy shit!¡± Zarian shouted. ¡°God Almighty,¡± Gilbert prayed. ¡°Well, fuck me,¡± Naomi said. ¡°NICE!¡± Bianca screamed. ¡°Incredible,¡± Hannah murmured. Zarian¡¯s mind burst with activity. He felt the surface thoughts from the others zipping across the spider network. He shared his thoughts with Para. Merging three traits for every trait combiner would ultimately yield a higher quality and more powerful trait. The trait combiners would also clean up their profiles. A cleaner profile would lead to gaining more traits. Then later on, they could combine those for even better results. Or they could merge as many traits as they could to get the most cohesive traits with the best qualities. Once the Star System moved onto the next thing, Zarian forced himself to leave the meta-gaming and theorizing for later. So far, the rewards from the Star System struck like a punch right out the gate, and they still had nine more out of ten specific reward sections! <[2] Alignment Growth.> Feeling surprised, Zarian delved into his newly upgraded free evil +5. He felt the depths of its boosted cunning and intelligence. He remained free from the influence of evil as long as he didn¡¯t tap into it, but once he did, he found a deeper well of evil that he hadn¡¯t fathomed before. Such evil would enact absolute horrors upon those he pointed his free evil +5 toward. I must¡¯ve grown it by out-smarting and out-doing the devils in the Hell Gate, Zarian thought. His free evil +5 would¡¯ve grown more if he had done that against the forces of good. Maybe one day he could test himself directly against the Ascended Heavens. Until then, he was happy that it had grown at all after crawling through a Hell Gate. Everyone else¡¯s growth was more explosive compared to his. Gilbert and Hannah felt more free. Anything or anyone who would attempt to control them or read into them would find that incredibly difficult. Then there was Naomi. She was the freest of all. She was a force of unpredictability that would block out anyone¡¯s hostile attempt to scan her or control her. That was already a hard prospect with her high Willpower and psychic abilities before her sub alignment growth. But now the Rumble Psion lived up to being a juggernaut of freedom. Then there was Bianca. She seemed ¡­ unchanged. On the outside. Zarian watched her closely, carefully. Bianca sat with legs crossed and eyes closed on her bean bag chair. When she came out of meditation, she smiled a simple smile. She nodded in satisfaction and did nothing else. Zarian and the others looked at her curiously. Bianca waved at them. This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Slowly, everyone moved on. Zarian could only imagine how much stronger Bianca would be when she delved deep into her free good +7. Para gave him the impression that even she felt a little scared of Bianca. Zarian didn¡¯t blame his parasite for having some concern. They would have to be careful the next time they pushed Bianca to power up in a training exercise. Based on prior experience, Bianca¡¯s free good +7 would be harder to access, but at its peak of power, Zarian imagined it would be stronger than good +8, which nobody had faced before. Zarian suppressed the shiver that wanted to crawl up his spine. He focused on the next section for rewards and gains. <[3] Skill Levels.> <...> <...> <...> <...> <...> ¡°Thank God,¡± Gilbert said, slouching into his seat. ¡°All +3¡¯s for me.¡± ¡°Sorry about Magi, Hannah,¡± Bianca said quickly. ¡°Oh, damn, sorry, Hannah,¡± Gilbert added. ¡°I¡¯ll make up for it when we get back to the village,¡± Hannah said quickly. ¡°Are we all going to look at the changes or wait to do it afterward? Because I¡¯m very curious about Bianca¡¯s skill advancing from Shining Mark +2 to Great Shining Territory. It¡¯s been a while since we¡¯ve seen a total skill evolution and level reset.¡± ¡°I¡¯m tempted. Like hella tempted. What do you say, huh, Zarian?¡± Naomi asked. Zarian was tempted to look at his advancements most of all. Just like the Pre-Grimrock Review, everything felt greater and more cemented once they acknowledged the notifications. All of his friends had grown tremendously. The only downside was that Hannah¡¯s Summon Magical Intelligence +2 couldn¡¯t grow while Magi was far away in Ride-or-Die Village. It was a sacrifice Hannah had made for the betterment of their village. Zarian hoped he could help her make up for the loss in skill levels. But other than that loss, everybody had blown up tremendously. The new Great Shining Territory skill was indeed a big surprise, at least based on the sudden evolution and what the name implied. During the hell crawl, Bianca had shown a knack for using Shining Mark +2 more appropriately. Each time she¡¯d marked a hell orc, they became easier to hit and somewhat weakened, which helped a lot against those tough bastards. Would Great Shining Territory do the same, but on a larger scale? Other than that, Zarian imagined everyone¡¯s skill advancements would make their skills even deadlier, more efficient, or more creative. His advancement in grimoires was the most curious thing for him, especially the ones that were +2¡¯s. Would he get new spell upgrades? Would they ask him to turn more skills into spells? Or did they have something new for him? At the very least, he knew Advanced Grimoire of Freaky Morphs would let him learn some new spells. He would also get to upgrade a spell immediately. He could decide on which spell to upgrade afterward. Everybody was waiting for him, and he felt the patience of the Star System waning thin somehow. ¡°Let¡¯s keep going. We can do our own personal overviews later.¡± Zarian smiled. ¡°But I gotta admit, numbers going up feels nice. And sorry, Hannah.¡± The engineer sighed. ¡°Again, we will reunite with Magi and fix that skill discrepancy later. Onward and upward, yes?¡± Zarian and the others agreed. His goblin daughter kept cooking in the background while watching the mega review proceed. <[4] Personal Growth.> ¡°Wow,¡± Foodie said from her magical kitchen. ¡°Fuck, fuck, keep going!¡± Zarian shouted. He nearly buckled and checked his profile and the description of his new mythical trait, Devil Bane. He could see the growing desperation in everyone¡¯s eyes, especially Naomi¡¯s and Gilbert¡¯s. The wizard, psion, and healer were the first of their party to get mythical traits! That was on top of Hannah earning three new traits, while Bianca and Naomi were the first to advance a trait of their own naturally. Zarian locked his eyes with Foodie. He couldn¡¯t say if it was because of her they¡¯d gained these powerful traits. But he could certainly say it was thanks to her they came out with anywhere between 170 to 270 stat points each! That was fucking insane! Mythical fucking food! That¡¯s what we get from my new daughter after every hard and high-level adventure! They had to keep going. Because this review was getting better and better. Zarian didn¡¯t want them to get bogged down until they finished seeing what was all available to them. ¡°Go, Star System, go!¡± Zarian shouted. <[5] Pre Level 100 Personal Level Ups.> Nobody could utter a word for a while. They all collectively held their breaths as they took in what just happened. Then someone broke the silence. ¡°Damn, I¡¯m pretty far off still,¡± Gilbert said. ¡°Five levels in the Level 90s? That¡¯s going to be hell to overcome. Congrats to the rest of y¡¯all, though.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll get there in a jiffy. Let¡¯s just be happy we¡¯ve gotten close,¡± Bianca cheered. ¡°I can¡¯t believe it. I actually made it.¡± Hannah turned pale with shock. Naomi exploded out of her bean bag chair, destroying it with a blast of psychic force. ¡°FUCK YES!¡± Naomi screamed. ¡°FUCK YES! FUCK YES! FUUUUUCK YESS!¡± ¡°Keep going,¡± Zarian said in a strangled voice. He could barely hear himself over how loud his heart hammered and his blood rushed. He and Para both felt overloaded with too much dopamine, like they were a pair of junkies. Granted, they could feel the immense dump of stats becoming solidified with their acknowledgement. It was a lot. It was heady. It felt like they were moving further and further away from the mortal coils of those far below their levels. Zarian was already the son of ultra gods. But now he was really feeling it. It was almost scary to think that there were four hundred more levels of this. He was trying his best to keep a handle on himself. Or he thought he was, as Para helped center his attention on the next major notification and information boxes. <[6] Second Class Advancement(s).> ¡°Yeah, sure, why not?¡± Zarian urged. ¡°The more opinions, the better. We¡¯re going to be stuck with these classes until the Third Class Advancement at Level 200. We better make these choices count.¡± 231: B3: C21: Second Class Advancement 1 Zarian twisted his body left and right on his throne after sitting there for over twenty-four hours. He blinked up at the sunrise of a new day, his daughter coming around with another round of meals and drinks. He smiled at her, and she smiled back as she handed him some piping hot and tasty cooking. Then Zarian glanced at the others. They looked as ready to move on as he felt. It had taken all day and the night to decide on the top five picks for each reselection for the Second Class Advancement. Zarian had it easier with narrowing his choices from the thousands offered. Anything that sounded bad ass and fitting while having the highest quality entered the final five choices. There weren¡¯t that many high quality and bad ass choices, anyway. He had a slush pile of choices that ranged from legendary down to even common. As for Hannah, she had a wide range of solid choices that centered on enchantments, engineering, and other themes that bordered that. The problem with Hannah was her meticulous nature, which made things tedious after a while. It was because of her the Floridians had debated from day to night and now faced a new morning. Naomi¡¯s choices were ¡­ poorer, unfortunately. She was handling it well enough, but it became uncomfortable for the Floridians and their goblin cook at times. Naomi hadn¡¯t gotten the high quality choices she¡¯d deserved. The Star System didn¡¯t bother explaining itself. Their current reasons for Naomi¡¯s misfortune stood soundly. She¡¯d started one quality behind the others, and that cursed start continued to follow her. Zarian devoured the spicy eggs the quickest. He chugged from a mug of pulped juice before setting it down on his armrest and sighing pleasantly as he lounged deeper into his parasite throne. Once the others finished, he waved his hand at Hannah as her cue to go. She was still acting wishy-washy, though. Hannah stood in front of a work bench while tinkering with multiple minor projects, some of which with pure abilities. She frowned at the enchanted knife in her hand before dissolving it and restarting from scratch. Finally, she sighed and looked up at the message box that displayed her options. Zarian and the others did the same. Zarian could see why Hannah struggled. Some of these options could lead her down a speciality she would enjoy. She could focus more on the golem aspect. Or she could focus more on magitek crafting. Or constructing civilizations. Two out of the five options seemed more middle of the road but with wildly unique outcomes. She could get one mythical trait from Runic Artificer. Or she could have three of her most prominent skills combined for something new while getting a legendary trait, an epic trait, and another skill choice. At the very least, each class choice was mythical quality. Better yet, choosing a mythical class at Level 100 yielded an extra stat point compared to choosing one at Level 40. Zarian once had a mythical martyr class option at Level 40. That would¡¯ve only given him an extra +3 in stats compared to at Level 100 where mythical gave +4 stats. That raised a certain question, however. What qualities and stats existed above mythical? They would have to see what Foodie would get once she reached Level 100. So far, none of the Floridians knew what qualities existed above mythical and below divine. Ruvaria probably knew, but Zarian imagined such a high quality was a secret reserved for the Greater Worlds. The Star System wouldn¡¯t want to tell. So, for now, they had to contend with what they could gain at Level 100. ¡°What¡¯s the point of getting a mythical class if I don¡¯t get a mythical trait?¡± Hannah asked after a stretch of time. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°You sure?¡± Zarian asked. The brunette woman shrugged one shoulder. ¡°It¡¯s a safe choice, even if it¡¯s a little dull. But I don¡¯t mind that in the end. The choice in class itself shouldn¡¯t be too exciting for me. The more important factor is having the right foundations that allow me to pursue my various practices efficiently. And ¡­ I think having a mythical trait will do me justice. In fact, I know it will.¡± Zarian nodded. ¡°Then so be it.¡± Hannah stopped tinkering and crafting. All of her random doodads and thingamabobs clattered down on her work bench or the courtyard floor. She furrowed her brow, pouted, and then locked in her choice. ¡°Runic Artificer, please.¡± Before the Star System moved on, Hannah dropped backwards. She crafted a seat under her tush before she landed. She sat with her head hanging low. Her body shivering, undergoing the changes to her class, to her profile runes, and to her existence. Zarian¡¯s Aura Mastery noticed the weight of her presence becoming more significant quite fast. That was on top of everything else she¡¯d already gained and would gain. Before Hannah recovered from her Second Class Advancement, the Star System moved onto the next. Zarian and the others watched Naomi prowl about like an angry beast trapped in a confined cage. She opened her mouth and closed it multiple times. She pointed a finger at the Star System¡¯s gold box, opened her mouth again, then huffed out angrily. She stopped and glared down at the floor with so much intensity her psychic power drilled a hole through the stone blocks by mere happenstance. Then she stomped with another angry huff and formed a crater under her, rattling the courtyard mountaintop. ¡°I really got fucked because I chose my beginner class before meeting Foodie, huh?¡± Naomi asked. The Star System remained silent on the subject. Naomie raged. ¡°You let a bastard like Jack get legendary, then mythical! Just like that?! But I have to keep chasing while I¡¯m behind on qualities and stats.¡± Naomi raged on further. ¡°You know how hard it¡¯s going to be to make up the difference when we¡¯re high in the Level 100s? What if I¡¯m still behind when we¡¯re in the Level 200s? How big of a difference would it get then?¡± Naomi found a piece of a broken column and kicked it into the sky. ¡°Damn, man! Why do I always get shit on even when I work my ass off so fucking hard I end up killing myself?!¡± Zarian couldn¡¯t take it anymore. The throne shifted into a cloak by the time he stood up. He crossed the distance and hugged Naomi from behind. Her body was rigid against his. Then she softened up and leaned back into his hold. There were no tears in her eyes. She was beyond tears at this point. But the rage underneath simmered. ¡°Okay, alright, I¡¯ll stop whining,¡± Naomi muttered. ¡°It is what it is. I¡¯ll make up for it. Even if I have to sweat and puke blood. I¡¯ll push so hard I¡¯ll make this class quality bullshit a joke. Y¡¯all are going to be looking up to me no matter what.¡± ¡°Do you know which one?¡± Zarian asked. Naomi huffed. ¡°I don¡¯t like how three of them change my shit up too much. Maybe I would¡¯ve chosen Storm Juggernaut, but I like my psychic stuff for what it is. Death Chaser almost sounds like me, but that¡¯s not really what I¡¯m all about. If I die, I die. But I¡¯m not chasing it.¡± Naomi moved her head from side to side. ¡°I want to say Tempering Cultivator. It¡¯s a big maybe though. I don¡¯t even know what that exactly means.¡± ¡°Someone who cultivates the spiritual lifestyle of being forged, reforged, and hardened,¡± Zarian said. ¡°That¡¯s what I think it means, and I think it suits you the most, honestly.¡± ¡°Ain¡¯t nobody harder than you, woman,¡± Gilbert added. ¡°But I guess if one person can be harder than you, it is you.¡± Hannah and Bianca nodded. Foodie nodded as well as she took out some sweet bread loaves from the oven. The smell wafted across the courtyard, and Naomi seemed to relax as she sniffed at it. Foodie came up with a piece and handed it to her. While still wrapped in Zarian¡¯s arms, Naomi ate a piece of the delectable bread and relaxed some more before she proceeded. ¡°Yeah, that sounds about right. It comes with a legendary trait that I imagine will make me a cultivator or whatever while I¡¯m still able to keep my psychic stuff. And it seems like cultivating your darkness helps you, Zarian, so sure. Hit me with that thing, Tempering Cultivator,¡± Naomi announced. She patted her hands on Zarian¡¯s arms. They stayed like that for a few heartbeats longer than necessary before separating. Zarian watched as Naomi stumbled a little before straightening up. The wizard remained standing. The Star System moved onto the final class choices. 232: B3: C22: Second Class Advancement 2 232: B3: C22: Second Class Advancement 2 Zarian felt a little guilty that he had it easier compared to Naomi. Yeah, he¡¯d done incredible things the past year. He¡¯d taken on unique challenges that few could handle. He¡¯d broken his brain that one time, after all. But he was a recipient of ultra god nepotism, while Naomi would have to work thrice as hard if she wanted to stay competitive. That dream of hers ¨C to become stronger than ¡®all of him¡¯ ¨C seemed to grow more distant as he advanced further. It¡¯s not too bad yet. She has a uniquely powerful Second Ignition, far more powerful than it should be. She could probably fight my wizard magic and quarter percent darkness together with her Second Ignition. Maybe even up to one percent darkness. Setting aside Naomi¡¯s troubles, Zarian looked over his top five options again. Cosmic Warlock sounded badass and came with one mythical trait. That trait had to give something significant that would change up things for him. Would he get access to the high level magic of Hidden Hell for more cosmic power? He did have a new mythical trait called Devil¡¯s Bane, after all. Darkness Cultivator was tempting. He could use the next one hundred levels to cultivate Overwhelming Darkness more effectively. Then he could switch back to a wizard class at Level 200. He imagined the legendary trait and four skill choices would help him deal with that big cosmic doomsday device even better as a Darkness Cultivator. Void Sorcerer sounded like it would make his void spells even more problematic for his enemies. The mythical trait and +4 Wonder would be ridiculously OP for Zarian if he wanted to lean further in that direction. It almost felt like the best choice, based on how he used Void Authority and Void Layer in combination with other spells. Para thought of it as a strong choice as well. Grand Magician made the cut for offering three high-quality traits and a choice of two skills. It wasn¡¯t the most exciting choice, but it was better than most other options. Being called a mythical Grand Magician had some fun whimsy to it. Though it was still bottom of the running compared to the more interesting choices of the five. Then there was the Conquest Wizard. This one was weird. It had the most appropriate name out of all of them, since Zarian had a tendency to conquer. It stuck to the wizard theme, too. However, this was the first class choice to offer a way to advance a trait, especially one that had restrictions. Zarian had tried to upgrade Overpower before with a trait upgrade reward, and it didn¡¯t work. Yet, with this class, it would advance. And he would get a skill called Lion Prince, which sounded quirky to him. Last, he would have +4 stats on Willpower alone, which was strangely lopsided for his type of build. None of that was exactly a bad thing. Advancing the Overpower trait would be an immense upgrade overall. Lion Prince was a quirky mystery that might work out in his favor even if it was off-meta. The heavy growth in Willpower would make his Parasite Cloak +3 even stronger. Granted, Conquest Wizard would still be a weird choice. ¡°Any last thoughts?¡± Zarian asked. ¡°Let¡¯s be cultivators together.¡± Naomi chuckled darkly. ¡°I want to move on, honestly. Just choose something, dammit,¡± Gilbert grumbled. ¡°I still want the Wizard Knight option,¡± Bianca admitted. ¡°Void Sorcerer,¡± Hannah said. ¡°The Advanced Grimoire of the Voidling Exile +2 is your most versatile and integral book of spells. Having a mythical trait tailored for that and +4 Wonder would make you a greater monster of the void than you already are for the next one hundred levels. Maybe you could use your void magic more in Hidden Hell or any other realm that tries to punish you for it. That¡¯s the best pick.¡± ¡°I agree with Hannah somewhat,¡± Foodie said. ¡°But?¡± Zarian asked. His little daughter wrinkled her green nose. ¡°You are more than the void, Father. You are not bound by meta and parameters. You are ultra, and you are a wizard, and because you are both, it would be weird to bind you in such a small way.¡± ¡°How would that bind him? He would have greater power over the void? We all know well enough that the void is powerful,¡± Hannah argued. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. Zarian gestured his hand in a so-so manner. ¡°It gets hazy against warp magic and some other countermeasures.¡± ¡°You have the Warp Adaptation trait,¡± Hannah pointed out. ¡°Forgive me for being insistent, but Void Sorcerer screams out to me as the best choice.¡± ¡°Hannah, you¡¯re acting like me. I wanted Wizard Knight for Zarian, but that wasn¡¯t honestly best for him,¡± Bianca said brightly. Hannah gawked. ¡°No, I¡¯m not like you! Wizard Knight is illogical. Void Sorcerer is logical!¡± Bianca laughed. ¡°We are the same!¡± ¡°No!¡± Zarian let out a soft snort. He waited for someone else to speak up for a final opinion. ¡°What feels right to you, Zarian?¡± Para asked from the cloak. ¡°Trust your instincts. You alone would know. Do what you must.¡± That was that. Zarian looked down at his marriage ring. Then he made his choice. He smiled, feeling the magic of the Star System funneling into him. The radical update to his profile runes came into effect. He took a deep breath. He closed his eyes. The sound of breaking waves reached his ears. Warm, powdery sand caressed his feet. Wait. Waves? Sand? Zarian nearly screamed. His eyes ripped open. He expected to see South Beach and thousands of tourists passing by him without a care for the homeless veteran among them. He didn¡¯t see that. Before he truly saw, he heard. ¡°Do not fret, my child.¡± A feminine voice that was everything meaningful, massive, maternal, and monstrous struck him. Her voice was like a waterfall of ambrosia and a rainbow inside a thunderstorm. Her voice was a tsunami of legendary proportions that was hitting with a soft splash. Her voice made him feel melancholy like no other, to a degree that made Shadowfell¡¯s mannerisms seem as bright as a solar flare. Zarian looked out toward a world of ocean, wind, and sand. Gray hues, light and dark, took over all colors. He was not where he belonged. He was somewhere else that didn¡¯t exist on the cosmic rules he knew. Still, the reality here seemed real enough. He even heard the rustle of jungle leaves behind him as an oceanic wind blew past. He still felt the soft grip of the sand beneath him. There was something fuzzy and incomprehensible to his right. It existed in his peripherals, and the instinct to look at it head on slammed into a wall of dread he¡¯d never felt before. He didn¡¯t want to look at the thing. But his curiosity kept urging him to get past the wall of dread and see. ¡°Please, don¡¯t. You mustn¡¯t look. Or you will die. And everyone you know along with the section of the Verse we sent you will die.¡± Her voice was the song of a cosmic mountain that could endure the end of time. Her voice was lightning caught in a trillion bottles all at once. ¡°Why?¡± Zarian asked hoarsely as another wave splashed up onto the beach. ¡°I am the Biggest, and I must remain outside of your full awareness. And you must remain outside of my awareness as well. Once I become aware to a certain degree, you and all that is around you will die.¡± Her voice was the beginning and the end and the beginning and the end and the beginning. ¡°How?¡± Zarian said, the palm leaves rustling some more. ¡°Because I am a monster. And a majority of your woes come from me. And it is quite unfortunate, but I am glad you are still trying despite whatever past failures you¡¯ve suffered. I am glad my husband still loves me despite the trouble I bring him, despite the burden I am to our family. So, forgive me, child, for I must burden you some more. Please ¡­ tell me about yourself.¡± Her voice was a paradox. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t that damn me and where I exist?¡± he asked, the sand shifting a little under him. ¡°You aren¡¯t exactly telling the real me, but this tiny version of me who can withhold some knowledge safely from the rest of me. And yet, even that is dangerous, so you are right to be wary. But I can¡¯t help but have some part of me know. You are my family, and yet we cannot truly meet because of my nature. Yet, I must ask you again for forgiveness, and to let me have this pleasure of something of mine getting to know you even if I cannot truly know you.¡± Her voice hurt him, but not in the physical sense, and not in any way he understood. Her voice tormented him with an unfathomable sadness. Again, Shadowfell couldn¡¯t compare. Not yet, at least. ¡°Haven¡¯t we met before? I¡¯ve been through loops, right? I bet if I look at you, the Funnest can¨C¡± ¡°No, this is our first time. And no, you cannot reverse the degree to which I can destroy a far lesser realm of existence. You shouldn¡¯t even tempt such fate yourself, especially with our powers, the Funnest can only reverse so much. And if I were to let slip too much of me, you will die for certain, and so will many others. Forever. So do not tempt this, fate, please. Do not look. I¡¯m sorry.¡± Her voice contained a darkness that made Zarian¡¯s own darkness seem puny, like a grain of sand in the ocean. Her voice spoke of a truth that was undeniable to the Biggest Granmama. Zarian choked on air somehow. He thought about her request for him to talk about himself and decided he would humor her. Then she spoke again, out of turn. ¡°Oh, child, we are out of time. There is so much I wish to hear from you. There is so much I wish to apologize for. I hope we can meet again even when we cannot truly meet. Be kind to the Funnest, for he is our hero in ways that should¡¯ve broken him. Oh, and one more thing. Please protect what you care about most.¡± Her voice was the end of an entire cosmos far bigger than the Star System and the many Systems beyond. Her voice was the killer of one reality that rose and died in the blink of an eye. Then Zarian was on his knees, surrounded by tiny people with tiny voices in a tiny world made of sandcastles and ant holes. They were all infinitesimal compared to the Biggest and her crime for being too damn powerful. And that crime was his crime. He could feel it in his tail bone. 233: B3: C23: Grimrock End Results 1 Other than his lower back flaring with intense pain, Zarian knew things were especially wrong when the Star System sent notifications in a panicked tone: The Star System¡¯s panic changed the public notifications floating in the air from screen size to giant billboard size. The color switched from gold to red, matching the intensity of the System¡¯s warnings. Zarian hadn¡¯t seen the Star System freak out this much except for when he¡¯d pulled the trigger on himself. Maybe the Star System was especially upset because something had gone out of its control again. Welcome to my fucking world! Zarian thought, jaw clenched. A scream wanted to fight its way out, and he kept holding it back, sounding like a grunting animal as the pain in his lower back redoubled. He saw white spots in his eyes, and everyone looked shady and out of focus around him. He felt Gilbert¡¯s Healing Force +3 try to pump into him, but nothing could ease the pain. Then he felt Gilbert¡¯s Tranquilizer Touch +3. That helped soothe some of the pain, but not all of it. ¡°Breathe, Zarian, breathe!¡± A fuzzy outline with Naomi¡¯s voice knelt next to him. She placed her hands over one of Zarian¡¯s own, and he gripped back with all of his Strength. She was strong enough to handle the pressure. ¡°One, two, three! Breathe! One, two, three, breathe!¡± she instructed. From behind him, he heard the panic in Para¡¯s voice. ¡°I can¡¯t stop it! Something is emerging from his back, and I¡¯m powerless against it. Please, help him!¡± ¡°I¡¯m doing all I can, okay?!¡± Gilbert shouted. ¡°Is he going to die? He has a charge on the Divine Revival Charm, right? That should prevent him from dying.¡± ¡°Father, don¡¯t leave me again!¡± Foodie cried out. ¡°I¡¯m not going to,¡± Zarian grunted in between big breaths. ¡°Something ¡­ is ¡­ changing.¡± ¡°Could it be what I think it is?¡± Bianca asked. ¡°The truth of his lineage,¡± Hannah said in awe. ¡°One, two, three, breathe! Now push!¡± Naomi demanded. Zarian roared with more volume and depth than ever before. His roar resounded far across the Grimrock Castle Mountains, traveling so far that even the citizens at Crossdeath heard the power and anger in his voice. Hearing that, most humans instinctively screamed and acted out in terror. Outright hysteria broke out at the basin camp of adventurers. They acted like headless chickens from hearing Zarian¡¯s massive roar. The son of ultra gods cared little for the fears of mortals right now. Despite Gilbert¡¯s best efforts and Naomi¡¯s encouraging instructions, the pain rose tenfold. He felt his body change, especially the end of his spine. Something wanted out of his back. It had to come out no matter what. Instead of suffering this pain any longer, Zarian pushed with all of his might. He listened to Naomi repeat her instructions and pushed so hard he fractured a tooth from between his clenched jaws. Gilbert¡¯s Healing Force +3 fixed that and nothing much more. A large clot of blood burst free from his back, splattering on himself and his friends, and only then did the pain turn into a deep relief. Zarian collapsed forward, and Naomi caught him and hugged him close. Her body felt soft and welcoming, and Zarian appreciated all of that despite the tense disappointment with her class reselection. Everything quieted down. He leaned his head on Naomi¡¯s chest for a while and heard her thumping heart beat. He felt his daughter¡¯s grip on his side, which comforted him even further. Finally, he paid attention to the weighty addition to his back. He could sense it with his wondrous and mystical perception. He also felt how the air swished and fanned as the new addition coiled about. Zarian slowly broke away from Naomi and looked back at the long and muscular lion tail extended from his lower back. The damn thing was as long as he was tall. Maybe even a little longer, which was impressive, because Zarian wasn¡¯t the same height anymore. Standing firmly to his feet, he noticed the change in his own frame immediately. Hannah called it out first. ¡°You¡¯re six feet now.¡± ¡°Yeah, I am,¡± Zarian said. Just like that, he¡¯d grown an extra three inches. The only people who¡¯d grown taller while enjoying the splendors of Infinita were Gilbert and Bianca. It seemed like the new world and magical food had introduced a late growth spurt for them. Thus, making them both statuesque to the point of some people looking up to them as if they were half-giants, Gilbert especially. Zarian had heard people refer to the big blue-eyed blond as if he was part bear. But now Zarian was taller than the average human from Corma. And his viscera-covered tail seemed extra long to him for some reason. Zarian looked as the tail meandered back and forth from one side of him to the other. Sometimes it would fan against the Parasite Cloak +3 with the puff ball of fur at the end looking heavy, matted with blood. ¡°Hey, let me clean it for you,¡± Naomi said. Before he answered, she stroked her hand over the tail from the base to the tip, which Zarian remembered to call a tuft. She used her psychic power to push the blood out of the fur and down the tail. The clingy mess splattered onto the courtyard floor. The black tuft at the end became poofy and pristine. ¡°Hey, you didn¡¯t need to touch him for that.¡± Bianca pouted. ¡°You did that to touch his tail first, didn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Yo gano.¡° Naomi laughed. ¡°I win.¡± ¡°This isn¡¯t going to be a thing, right? We aren¡¯t all turning into cat people, right?¡± Gilbert asked. ¡°I don¡¯t need to be a tom cat. Trust me on that. I really don¡¯t.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not letting me fuse with it,¡± Para said from the cloak. ¡°This is the first time I¡¯ve been denied like this.¡± Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. Zarian looked down at his taller, bigger, and denser body. He looked back where his daughter stood with eyes opened wide, ears raised, her head turning to follow the motion of his waving lion tail. She was looking more like a green-skinned cat right now. I feel like I¡¯m getting set up for some big joke, but I don¡¯t know what it is, Zarian thought. Out loud, he said, ¡°Let¡¯s move on, Star System. We¡¯re over halfway done.¡± Everybody agreed. The excitement over his tail¡¯s appearance didn¡¯t die down exactly, but it dipped under the surface for now. Zarian ignored how hard the others stared at his new body part. The most interesting thing was how Para had to work around it as she formed into a modestly spiky throne for him. Before he sat down, Zarian thought quickly about his tail. Then his instincts kicked in. His tail swooped around his waist multiple times until it became like a wide waistband. With the warm and fuzzy thing wrapped around his lower torso, he could sit back comfortably. ¡°One last thing,¡± Hannah blurted out, taking a seat on a simple stone chair she¡¯d crafted. ¡°Why is Lion Prince a skill and not a trait?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t say exactly without looking at it,¡± Zarian replied. ¡°But it might be like Overwhelming Darkness. Lion Prince has to be a skill attached to my soul instead of ingrained into my soul, or it might take over my soul. My ultra family has to do these things because they are a lot scarier than we thought.¡± Zarian held up his hand before Hannah asked another question. ¡°We need to move on, Hannah, please.¡± ¡°Sorry.¡± She quieted down, head tucked low. Zarian hated to see it, but there were too many factors that weren¡¯t out on display just yet. Right now wasn¡¯t the time to get bogged down by the minutia. Still, he didn¡¯t like how stifled Hannah looked. ¡°After we¡¯re all caught up and updated, we can dig into the nitty gritty later. At least before we head off to our next adventures,¡± Zarian said in encouragement. Hannah didn¡¯t respond, but she seemed to take that better. The Star System returned with screen-sized notifications, all gold again. ¡°WHAT?!¡± Zarian and Gilbert shouted together, with the Conquest Wizard¡¯s voice resounding with a louder and deeper range. The two looked at each other as if they weren¡¯t sure who should go first. Then Gilbert palmed his face and grumbled unintelligible words into his hand until he grunted something more decipherable at the end. ¡°He¡¯s a saint? How is he a saint? Is that supposed to be a sign or something? Does that make him a fallen saint instead of a fallen angel?¡± Gilbert was clearly exasperated. Zarian could hardly believe the name change. Would this have happened if he chose anything else other than the Conquest Wizard? Why did the name change happen? Was it because of the feverish dream he had of meeting a fake version of the Biggest? Did his little sister have a name change? What if she didn¡¯t? What would that do to them going forward now that his ultra lineage renamed him as Zarian Sainte-Darkrun? ¡°Go,¡± Zarian muttered, trying to get ahead of the complications. ¡°Go, go, go.¡± Altogether, that meant they had six alpha skill slots and eighteen beta skill slots in the Level 100s. Zarian didn¡¯t think that was nearly enough with their growing choices in skills and the possible future skills they could earn. They were going to need skill combiners. Maybe, just maybe, they might get lucky with that as a reward from their achievements. But that was nowhere near as important as the rank up segment. <[7] Rank Judgment.> ¡°Of course!¡± Hannah shouted. Naomi smirked. ¡°I¡¯m the master now.¡± ¡°I¡¯m all in,¡± Zarian said. Before anyone could applaud or cheer, Zarian urged the Star System onward. It almost felt like he was cracking the whip. He would¡¯ve felt bad if it wasn¡¯t for how the System had so many unique mechanics that took time to review personally. <[8] Post Level 100 Level Ups.> That caught them all off guard. Bianca recovered first and got to cheer out. ¡°See, Hannah! You are more than good enough!¡± ¡°Not now, Bianca,¡± Hannah mumbled, cheeks turning red. ¡°Congrats,¡± Naomi grouched with open envy. ¡°Amazing,¡± Zarian said, enjoying the three levels of significant stat points. He couldn¡¯t wait to dump his Free Points somewhere after gaining so much post rank up. Only Master Rankers would know how hard each of those levels was to get. They had experience reductions from the Hell Gate, from hitting Level 100, from not ascending, and from being Master Rankers. So, yes, gaining any level right now was a feat worthy of devout worship from all the human kingdoms around the Walled Continent. How many Master Rankers are human? Could Zarian even count himself? Did it matter? The Floridians were progressing hardcore. Knowing all of that, a rumbling tone reverberated from his throat. A deep, rumbly purr. He ignored the wide-eyed stares from the others. He paid more attention to Foodie who couldn¡¯t stop herself from crawling into his lap. She was done with cooking for the morning anyway. The little goblin princess rubbed her hand over his fuzzy waistband tail as the Star System moved on quickly. It was finally time for the pi¨¨ce de r¨¦sistance. <[9] Achievements.> <...> <...> <...> <...> 234: B3: C24: Grimrock End Results 2 The Star System paused at the appropriate time. Everyone was lost for thought. That was ¡­ a lot of achievements. Zarian came out with so many that his total number of achievements jumped from thirty to forty. Hannah had also gained ten achievements. The others followed suit, with Bianca having nine, Naomi grabbing up eight, and Gilbert coming in last with seven, which was still an impressive amount from one crawl. Zarian imagined everyone was paying close attention to the Dragon Goddess Banisher achievement. That confirms it. Bianca actually banished Ariana from Corma. Holy shit. What would Bianca get from that achievement and how pissed off was Ariana still? Foodie broke the silence. ¡°I¡¯m going to have to work hard to become like Father and the rest of you. I don¡¯t even know of anyone who had this many achievements at once.¡± Zarian combed his fingers through Foodie¡¯s hair. Softly, he urged the Star System once more. ¡°Let¡¯s finish up, please.¡± <[10] End Results.> ¡°Damn,¡± Gilbert said. ¡°It was bound to happen,¡± Naomi muttered. ¡°Yeah, it was,¡± Zarian murmured. ¡°And what does that mean?¡± Zarian asked. Zarian growled softly. His dislike for Ekri had simmered down as of late. He wouldn¡¯t mind having a chat with him as long as it was necessary, but he wasn¡¯t looking forward to doing that right now. He wanted to go out and test his new abilities and new stats. He wanted something tough enough to fight to see the difference between the version of him before Operation Save The Cook and the version of him now. With a glance, he noticed Naomi looking at her nails. ¡°He¡¯s around here, isn¡¯t he?¡± Zarian asked. The Star System answered indirectly.
¡°Does that mean we¡¯re not going for the Forgotten Kingdom Dungeon, Zarian?¡± asked the Runic Artificer, sounding meek and doubtful. ¡°I¡¯ll be fucking damned if we put that aside again, Hannah. I won¡¯t do that to you.¡± Zarian swept up his daughter into his larger and longer arms. His parasite throne turned into a majestic and nightmarish cloak that flapped behind him. His powerful tail unwound from around his waist and waved off to the side, with Foodie¡¯s eyes swiveling from side to side and watching the tail like a cat. Zarian watched her in return before glancing back and noticing his new sword waiting on the courtyard floor. With a flex of aura, he yanked it off the floor and sent it straight into his cloak¡¯s pocket dimension. Then he turned to the others. ¡°Okay, here¡¯s the game plan. Let¡¯s all look at the achievements together here. Because any of those could be trait upgrades, trait combiners, and maybe even skill combiners. If we come out with skill combiners, I¡¯ll head over to the strider camp and shop around.¡± ¡°Can I join you?¡± Hannah asked. ¡°At this point I should be capable enough at controlling aura to copy skills. However, I might not be as ¡­ delicate as you are.¡± Zarian imagined Hannah¡¯s way of copying skills would be clunky and hard. She might outright hurt people by accident. She would also make her profile more inefficient if she copied too many Level 0 skills. Para nudged him with a clever thought: Hannah¡¯s Aura Generator would make the Level 0 inefficiency less of an issue for her. That and I imagine she can use the skill copies as study material for her enchantments. Perhaps this can speed up our grimoire research. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. Para¡¯s points were solid ones, Zarian realized. Hannah spoke up again. ¡°I might not even copy the skills fully. It would just be interesting to see if I can. It¡¯s more important that I can study another person¡¯s profile competently, even if it takes some force.¡± ¡°Yeah, that sounds about right.¡± ¡°Can I get a Level 0 Parasite Cloak?¡± Naomi asked. Zarian and the others paused from hearing that. Even Para expressed some shock inside of Zarian¡¯s mind before she spoke aloud. ¡°I¡¯m not sure if that¡¯s safe. A Level 0 version of me would lack certain runes,¡± Para admitted. ¡°What if it actually tries to eat you?¡± Naomi shrugged. ¡°If we get skill combiners, I¡¯d merge the Level 0 you with some other skills. I want to squeeze as many topline abilities into my alpha skill section as I can. I think the difference between alpha and beta is even greater. Like beta is a bigger drawback for us, the Master Rankers.¡± ¡°Yup, there it is. They¡¯re the Master Rankers while we¡¯re non-rankers or something.¡± Gilbert shook his head. ¡°I can already feel the treatment of being lesser.¡± ¡°Maybe they¡¯ll be nice to us. We¡¯ll be their special non-rankers!¡± Bianca suggested. ¡°We¡¯re the good non-rankers, huh?¡± ¡°Super good non-rankers!¡± Zarian shook his head at Gilbert and Bianca¡¯s shenanigans. There was indeed a significant division. Their lack of rank was notable, making them seem ¡®lesser¡¯ in some ways. The sharp difference in qualities compounded the issue. Going from the legendary Madness Wizard to the mythical Conquest Wizard made Zarian feel much greater. Hannah probably felt the same as a woman who went from the legendary Runic Engineer to the mythical Runic Artificer. Regarding Naomi, she felt like she was in between two worlds after leaving behind the epic Rumble Psion to become the legendary Tempering Cultivator. To Zarian, Naomi was technically greater than Bianca and Gilbert because she was a Master Ranker. But she seemed lesser than Hannah and him because she wasn¡¯t mythical. It felt weird having those divisions, but they¡¯d gone through this before. They¡¯d begun their run in the Infinita Star System with a vast difference in qualities, power, and stats between members of their party. This was nothing new for them. ¡°You¡¯ll be Master Rankers soon,¡± Zarian said to Gilbert and Bianca. He smiled at his cute goblin daughter he still hoisted in his arms. ¡°You, too.¡± Foodie nodded seriously. ¡°Yes, Father. I won¡¯t disappoint you.¡± Turning back to Naomi, Zarian said, ¡°We¡¯ll have to play that game carefully, because a Level 0 version of Para is dangerous. But you got a point. Alpha is better than beta by a large degree now. I can sort of feel it, too.¡± Zarian sighed. ¡°I¡¯m actually in a worse position because with Lion Prince being similar in origins to Overwhelming Darkness, that¡¯s two alpha slots locked up for me. I¡¯m not shifting Para down to beta. I¡¯m not shifting the spider network down to beta, either. So ¡­ I¡¯m pretty screwed.¡± ¡°What if you combine me with the wizard hat?¡± Para asked softly. Zarian shivered. He felt Para becoming distressed in his mind and quickly said, ¡°You don¡¯t have to do that, Para. We don¡¯t know what would happen to you in the end. And you¡¯re still growing, still learning. Any sort of skill combiner or even skill advancement could change you forever.¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s what I fear,¡± Para said. ¡°Thank you ¡­ I just thought it would be easier for you.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t do things easy. Not at the sacrifice of those I care about.¡± Zarian moved on as he let his words weigh on Para. He looked at everyone and smiled at them proudly. His tail flicked with enthusiasm under his billowing cloak. ¡°There¡¯s a lot to go over,¡± he said. ¡°But damn it, guys, we did it. We accomplished our main quest. We hit the Level 100s or close to it. And we¡¯re snowballing hard. There¡¯s still much to do. And ¡­ we have some hard decisions to make for our profiles and for what¡¯s going on in the world.¡± ¡°My mind can¡¯t race any faster. There are so many factors to consider and theorize on,¡± Hannah murmured. ¡°Unless ¡­ I get a Level 0 version of the High Rune Mindframe skill and combine that with another skill or two. There¡¯s bound to be some mental enhancing skills among the mortals down in the basin.¡± ¡°Mortals? Seriously?¡± Gilbert pointed out. ¡°Leave her be. Hannah¡¯s practicing to be a boss goddess.¡± Zarian waved off Gilbert¡¯s indignation. ¡°I¡¯m serious, though. We worked our asses off. If you want to enjoy that a little, go ahead. Besides, we¡¯re not killing people for not kissing the ground we walk on ¡­ right, Hannah?¡± ¡°Hm? Oh? Well ¡­ no. I wouldn¡¯t be that depraved,¡± Hannah said meekly. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t stop them if they decide to do so, however.¡± ¡°You¡¯re so funny when that ego of yours flip-flops,¡± Naomi quipped. ¡°Yup. That¡¯s it. I gotta be the fun police. If y¡¯all start acting up, I¡¯ll rein you down to earth. Especially the apparent ¡®saint¡¯ and ¡®boss goddess.¡¯¡± Gilbert raised his hands and performed air quotes. Shaking his head at the silly Christian, Zarian said, ¡°Either way, that¡¯s why we have a week to enjoy the changes and get past certain kinks. I¡¯m proud of you guys. And I don¡¯t think anyone here is going to be a major jerk about our privileges against innocent people. Now ¡­ let¡¯s open up these achievements and¨C¡± ¡°WAIT!¡± Bianca screamed. Zarian and the others blinked at her in confusion as she strode around stiffly. She moved behind Zarian and made a strange request. ¡°Put down the wonderful chama, por favor.¡± Zarian had no idea what she was doing. She was keeping her mind blank on the spider network. He did as requested and set Foodie down. Then Bianca scooped Zarian up by the armpits and raised him from behind. ¡°Gilbert, you know this, right?!¡± Bianca shrilled. ¡°Huh? Oh! OH! YES! GOD BLESS YOU, BIANCA GARCIA! GOD BLESS YOU!¡± Gilbert bellowed before breaking out into song. Bianca joined him. Then Hannah joined in while smiling from ear-to-ear. The nail on the coffin was Naomi, who sang with an evil glint in her eyes. As they sang, Bianca walked Zarian over to the nearest castle cliff edge. She hoisted him as high as she could. The twin suns shone extra bright for some reason. Eventually, Para realized what the others were doing and reiterated her discovery in Zarian¡¯s mind. Oh, I get it! This is based on a song in a motion picture media originating from your old world. The motion picture is called ¡­ The Lion King ¡­ a movie, as you would say. Is this song supposed to be in honor of you? Zarian let his grumpy mood become answer enough. Para soon realized this was a joke at his expense, and Gilbert was eating it up the most, finally having his revenge on Zarian for the Zombie Jesus joke. Once they had their fun, Bianca placed Zarian back down on his feet. They opened up the achievements and made it rain rewards. Everyone was stunned once again by the results. Their stats ballooned by a lot. If they weren¡¯t walking gods among mortals of the Lesser World prior, they certainly would feel it now. Even Gilbert struggled to stay grounded with all that he¡¯d gained. There were less item drops this time around, but that was fine. A deluge of stats from a bunch of epic and legendary achievements was nothing to snub at. The most significant rewards were the trait combiners and the skill combiners for sure. Zarian, Hannah, and Naomi ¨C the Master Rankers ¨C had come away with three trait combiners and two skill combiners in the end. Bianca and Gilbert ¨C the non-rankers ¨C had come away with two trait combiners and one skill combiner. The extra trait combiner and skill combiner for the Master Rankers came from the Level 100 achievement and Master Rank achievement. Gilbert and Bianca had something to look forward to in the next few levels. After adjusting to their new stats, Zarian and Hannah went straight for the adventurer camp. It was time to pick out some skills from the incredibly weak non-ranker livestock. ¡°Ugh,¡± Zarian grumbled as the two flew. ¡°I have to catch myself from being prejudiced.¡± ¡°It is quite difficult. They¡¯re not like us,¡± Hannah admitted. ¡°We really are the masters.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s try, at least. They can¡¯t help being what they are.¡± The Master Rankers landed at the edge of the camp. They did their best to contain their obvious power and appear as grounded individuals. Yet, the non-rankers seemed to act out of sorts as the two approached them. One man, a Level 53 Power Archer, lost his sense of judgment and shot a rare quality arrow at Zarian. The archer put all of his traits, skills, and relevant stats into that shot. With a flick of his tail and a strident crack, the Conquest Wizard swatted the projectile out of the air. He barely felt anything from that and suffered no real inconvenience. The scared archer would¡¯ve been better off shooting his arrow at a mountain. Mountains were less imposing than Hannah¡¯s annoyance. With a minor flex, she altered the runes in the archer¡¯s gear and turned them scalding hot for his level. The non-ranking man screamed and hopped around, forced to strip out of his gear as the nearest adventurers trembled in terror. Zarian smiled, as if the violent exchange was a trivial thing. Besides, the leaders had arrived to reestablish order. He strode toward Dawson and Gisella for a meet and greet. ¡°How do you do, fellow people?¡± 235: B3: C25: Comparison 1 The early morning shifted toward late morning. More blocky clouds appeared in the sky above the bombed out and devastated basin where Castle Grimrock had once stood. A thousand men and women milled about nervously as two overtly powerful Master Rankers prowled among them. The leaders, a Level 70 Storm Blaster named Dawson and a Level 75 Blessed Cleric named Gisella, were the only two capable enough to serve as guides. The guides weren¡¯t necessary. They were merely a show of compliance and cooperation ¨C puppets, really. That way, nobody would do anything too stupid out of fear or irrationality. Or they would risk annoying Hannah, which could lead to a large swath of them getting harmed by a flex of her power. Zarian and Hannah could easily sift through the masses on their own with their heightened aura abilities. Zarian, of course, would be better at it than Hannah. But she was growing more adept at working with aura. While she lacked his finesse and artistry, she made up for it with down-to-the-basics effort. Her Mysticism stat had grown immense, too, getting further ahead of Zarian¡¯s, at least when comparing raw stats. Having high Mysticism lent her some more leeway even though she wasn¡¯t a wizard like him. Zarian couldn¡¯t help but observe her. He was observing himself, too. They were so much different now compared to who they were before Operation Save The Cook. Zarian felt as if the earlier version of him was dumber, weaker, less sophisticated, and less of everything. Now, he was greater, more masterful. Turning his attention back to the non-rankers, Zarian felt even more intrigued as he compared himself to the weaker humans some more. The difference in power was staggering. The camp of non-ranking adventurers comprised mostly late Level 30s and early Level 40s. There were some youngsters in the Level 20s, too. Anyone below Level 40 might as well be a small rodent or a bug compared to the Master Rankers. Zarian tried not to think too lowly of them. He also kept his power under wraps. A combination of System Suppression and his own efforts ensured the Master Rankers avoided any unnecessary accidents. But the effort was a little more noticeable than before. Granted, Zarian didn¡¯t want outright suppression from the Star System, not when he was among strangers. He was also thriving on a post-growth high like no other. The dopamine rush was still doping him up, for good and bad, after coming out of the biggest post adventure growth he¡¯d ever experienced. Hannah was probably feeling the same way. Neither of them were set on finding suitable skills just yet. They were just wandering about in camp and getting a feel for being Master Rankers among the non-rankers. This is ¡­ intoxicating, Para shared via spider network. She wanted Zarian and Hannah to hear her while keeping the non-rankers ignorant. Have you looked at the stats? You should look at those. Want to share, Zarian? Hannah asked via spider network. Yeah, we can share. I also want to know about Dawson¡¯s stats and some others. How big is the difference exactly? I can only examine their best stat, Zarian shared via spider network. Oh, allow me, Para shared. I will be happy to investigate once we have our baseline set. Zarian checked his stats. He halted in surprise. Hannah stopped with him, which spooked the paranoid Dawson, the old man shaking like a leaf. Gisella clenched her fist around the handle of her mace. She knew better than to take a swing, but that didn¡¯t stop her from staying tense and ready. Zarian paid them no mind as he saw how much his stats had ballooned. He made a quick judgment call and invested all of his Free Points in his Wonder stat. As the 90 stat dump into Wonder made his sense of highness ever greater, he shared his stats with Hannah. Willpower: 715 Strength: 125 Agility: 112 Wonder: 712 Mysticism: 763 Total Stats: 2,427 Hannah shared her stats along with some interesting news. I just got a new epic achievement called One Thousand Mysticism. It gave me an extra +50 Mysticism for hitting the milestone. Willpower: 569 Strength: 136 Agility: 260 Wonder: 551 Mysticism: 1050 Total Stats: 2,566 Zarian almost wanted to whistle. Hannah¡¯s raw stats eclipsed his own. He messaged Naomi on the spider network and asked about her stats. Just like Hannah, she¡¯d gotten a new epic achievement. This one was called One Thousand Willpower, and it gave +50 to Willpower. The results were respectable. Willpower: 1087 Strength: 606 Agility: 522 Wonder: 128 Mysticism: 138 Total Stats: 2,481 Nobody had saved their Free Points. They all shared the same mentality of spending them while they had them, at least at the moment. Zarian would have to play it safe when he cultivated Overwhelming Darkness the next time ¨C the doomsday skill grew stronger the more stats he accrued. Dawson and Gisella were waiting on the Master Rankers, the former sweating bullets. The two had no idea that the Floridians could communicate via the mind spiders inside the heads. Zarian let the old man and paladin woman wait as he called for Gilbert and Bianca¡¯s stats, making further comparisons. Gilbert¡¯s stats: Willpower: 354 Strength: 584 Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. Agility: 317 Wonder: 658 Mysticism: 408 Total Stats: 2,321 Interestingly enough, Bianca also had the epic milestone achievement, One Thousand Wonder, rewarding her +50 Wonder. The results led to this for Bianca. Willpower: 356 Strength: 198 Agility: 271 Wonder: 1050 Mysticism: 476 Total Stats: 2,351 It looks like Hannah has us all beat in base stats, Naomi sent via spider network. Well, that isn¡¯t my true baseline, Zarian admitted via the network. My real baseline is much higher because of my new legendary trait ¡­ Overpowered Times Two. With some quick math, Zarian figured out his natural baseline without powering up and shared it with the others: Willpower: 894 Strength: 156 Agility: 140 Wonder: 890 Mysticism: 953 Total Stats: 3,033 With some intense effort, Zarian¡¯s powered-up baseline would look like this: Willpower: 1073 Strength: 188 Agility: 168 Wonder: 1068 Mysticism: 1145 Total Stats: 3,642 And that was before applying hard or soft buffs that came from his other traits and skills. ¡°YOU ARE UTTER BULLSHIT!¡± Naomi roared from the mountain peak a few miles away. Her voice reached the basin with some oomph. The non-ranked adventurers dove to the ground. They groveled, cowered, and begged for mercy. It was as if they thought an angry goddess, like a regressor of some sort, would smite them. Zarian tried not to laugh. Naomi wasn¡¯t wrong. He really was utter bullshit. But he wasn¡¯t bullshit alone. The other Floridians had various ways to power up using their traits or skills, especially Naomi. She had Second Ignition, and probably the most powerful version of the trait. However, that took Naomi some effort to grow. Zarian¡¯s new legendary trait, Overpowered Times Two, was the most blatant power up of them all. The +250% boost to one skill could be so enormously devastating in any situation. Zarian wasn¡¯t sure what he would get to use that on. But that was one of many interesting facets of his growth. His Strength and Agility were outrageous, in his opinion. It almost felt like a crime for a wizard to have over one hundred points in either stat. That was without considering his Parasite Cloak +3¡¯s physical boosts, which had the immense benefit of a boost from his divine trait, Thematic Law/Floridian Mindset. Zarian could kill these men and women with no magic. He could rip their heads off from between their shoulders like tearing paper in two. He could slap their heads and make them explode. He could also kill them without touching them. Without even casting a spell or doing much of anything. His aura alone ¨C pure aura, at that ¨C was more than enough to press down on the non-rankers and turn them into paste. He¡¯d gotten great at killing ever since he arrived at the Infinita Star System. But the ease with which he could kill a thousand people like it was a walk in the park was frankly scary. They could do nothing to threaten him. They had nothing that could harm him. Hannah was similar. He saw it in her eyes. They shone with a cold, calculative bronze light. She looked at the non-rankers like they weren¡¯t real people. How could they be when it would be so easy to eliminate them? They weren¡¯t like children. Children, even with levels and classes, still needed protection as they grew up. These grown men and women were adventurers. Yet, it didn¡¯t feel like they were. It felt like they were weak things. ¡°You¡¯ve seen some hard fighting, yeah?¡± Dawson asked nervously. Zarian¡¯s eyes swiveled toward the impish and scarecrow-like old man. Hannah tilted her head and furrowed her brow. She seemed slightly annoyed to have her thoughts interrupted, but not enough to act out. Zarian waited patiently as his powerful lion tail and monstrous cloak swayed and wavered behind him. Dawson gulped. He rubbed the sweat off his forehead. He smiled a crooked and deathly afraid smile. ¡°I can tell by the look of your eyes, milord. You¡¯re, uh, measuring us. It¡¯ll be easy to wipe us out in one go, huh? With a snap of your fingers, we¡¯ll be all dead.¡± ¡°Not a snap of the fingers,¡± Zarian said. ¡°It would only take a thought.¡± ¡°Oh. Ah. Well, yeah, I suppose it would, wouldn¡¯t it? We must be babes in the cradle compared to you. Ah, no, not even. Bugs, really?¡± Dawson bobbed his bald head a few times as he kept sweating profusely. ¡°We, uh, saw how easily your daughter and her friends took out the Rat Adventurer Guild. I can only imagine how much scarier you and milady are.¡± The Master Rankers held their silence. Dawson breathed hard. Gisella braced herself even harder. The nearest adventurers stood like deer in headlights, eyes big and wide. Then, finally, Zarian broke the tension with a chuckle. And an apology. ¡°Sorry, sorry, we¡¯re being rude,¡± the Conquest Wizard said. ¡°We¡¯ve done a lot of killing last month. A lot, a lot of killing. It was non-stop killing, honestly. All the way to the bottom of the Grimrock Hell Gate. Only after we closed that thing did we finally stop killing.¡± ¡°Hell Gate?!¡± a man shrilled, his voice breaking. ¡°Good Gods, lay your protection over us all!¡± screamed a woman. ¡°Serveserf, guide me,¡± Gisella prayed softly. More people shouted out. Some seemed ready to run. The camp of adventurers grew more riled up. Hannah released a pulse of aura. Her aura was like metal parts and electric synapses. The magic zipped, clanked, and shifted like an automated machine. The way it pressed upon the non-rankers was rough and inhuman, lacking Zarian¡¯s finesse for sure. It still got her message across. She wanted the non-rankers to act orderly, and they complied pronto. Zarian sighed as he reached over with his lion tail and smacked the tuft on Hannah¡¯s face. Dawson gawked. Gisella¡¯s eyes opened wide like saucers. The nearest non-rankers who saw that slowly inched away, as if expecting the Master Rankers to burst out into a crazed fight. Hannah pouted. ¡°What was that for?¡± ¡°Humble yourself,¡± Zarian demanded. ¡°You¡¯re being too rough. Don¡¯t forget how it was last year. Don¡¯t forget about the times when you were weak and helpless.¡± Mouth flapping, Hannah couldn¡¯t utter a word. A blush crept across her face. She nodded a bunch of times and turned to the camp leaders. ¡°Sorry,¡± she muttered. ¡°No, no, don¡¯t apologize to me! There is no need! I¡¯m just a lowly adventurer scum compared to the likes of you, milady!¡± Dawson squealed. Gisella bopped the older man on the head with a loose fist. Dawson returned a withering glare, but the big woman didn¡¯t care. ¡°Relax, old man. The Master Rankers are acting like sensible folks, so we¡¯ll act the same. I¡¯m not interested in scraping and bowing all the time, anyway.¡± Gisella shook her head before looking at the Master Rankers head on. ¡°For the sake of Serveserf¡¯s unending patience, can we learn what you want with us? We ran out of proper provisions two days ago, by the way. But I¡¯m willing to spare a little more patience for the ones who¡¯d stopped a Hell Gate from breaking, but I pray you don¡¯t push it any further.¡± Dawson gasped like a fish out of water. Zarian was a little surprised, too. Then again, Gisella had traditional good +2. She had enough power to moxie her way through the intimidation factor wafting off the Master Rankers. He appreciated her frankness, honestly, because he didn¡¯t realize these men and women had a food shortage problem. Zarian did a quick scan with his aura to reconfirm. Gisella was speaking the truth. These adventurers were going hungry. ¡°Oh, fuck. We kept you waiting for a while,¡± Zarian said. ¡°Maybe we should hurry things along, then?¡± Hannah murmured. Zarian nodded. ¡°Yeah, okay, how about this? We want to copy some skills from your people. We also want to know about your stats for vanity¡¯s sake. Don¡¯t worry about secrets. Anyone who hears anything private about your profile won¡¯t remember it.¡± This time, both Dawson and Gisella looked equally worried. Zarian smiled. ¡°We¡¯ll prefer not to force it out of you. Then again, that¡¯ll be fucked up. I guess if you tell us no we¡¯ll just leave disappointed.¡± ¡°We could just pay them gold,¡± Hannah suggested. ¡°Oh ¡­ yeah ¡­ people like gold. They¡¯re not just shiny gifts for the kiddos, huh? I forget about that sometimes. We never have to pay for anything,¡± Zarian admitted. Hannah grasped a strand of her hair and twisted it. ¡°Yes, indeed. It would be an interesting change of pace. That and Bianca¡¯s the one who usually likes to haggle and pay for stuff.¡± ¡°It just occurred to me that Bianca would¡¯ve handled this better than us.¡± ¡°She¡¯s closer to us than them, but she¡¯s technically still a non-ranker. She can speak their language.¡± ¡°Ah, yeah, you¡¯re right again.¡± As the Master Rankers spoke, Dawson turned to his partner. ¡°I think things are going well,¡± he said. Gisella snorted. ¡°Everything that comes out of their mouth insults me. But I¡¯ll keep putting aside my pride as Good God Serveserf would.¡± Dawson shook his head at the woman. ¡°Pride? What¡¯s pride? In Evil God Hisscreep¡¯s name, all that matters is survival. And riches.¡± 236: B3: C26: Comparison 2 Zarian invited Bianca over with a simple swivel of his hips, a graceful flutter of his cloak, and a flick of his lion¡¯s tail. Then the statuesque, amber-haired, amber-eyed woman appeared through a darkened wrinkle in the air. With a flashy smile, she wiped away the non-rankers¡¯ fears and had them eating out of the palm of her hands. ¡°With whatever reward she got from putting the ban-hammer on my little sister, she¡¯s going to be an insufferable Master Ranker,¡± Zarian said. ¡°Any more insufferable than you?¡± Hannah quipped. Zarian had to think about that. Para chuckled as she took over, splitting and shapeshifting into giant, leathery serpents with eyeless heads. A dozen of them slithered in all directions from Zarian¡¯s back. The non-rankers became afraid again. Who could blame them? Para¡¯s giant serpentine bodies could swallow up half a dozen men in one bite. She¡¯d gotten better at that lately, becoming big and imposing. But she spoke gently enough to the non-rankers to instill that she had some sense of humanity, even if that was a hard pill to swallow. Thankfully, Bianca helped soothe tensions and fears while Para interviewed non-rankers for their profile information. The parasite wiped the memories of everyone who overheard anything private before paying glittery gold coins and a few valuable trinkets to the ¡®volunteers.¡¯ As Para collected a consensus, Hannah studied the way Para used aura. By this point, Zarian and Hannah had contacted the others via the spider network to figure out what sort of Level 0 skills they would like to combine with others in their profiles. Hannah wanted to copy some skills directly. Zarian did his best to guide her to ensure she didn¡¯t hurt people needlessly. While Zarian could copy stuff without breaking a sweat now, there weren¡¯t any skills he wanted from the camp. He already had four Level 0s he could merge using one of his two skill combiners. As for the last skill combiner, Zarian wanted to take a bigger risk. ¡°I think I might combine High Rune Mindframe +3 with Summon Wizard Hat +3,¡± Zarian said as he observed Hannah accomplish her first skill copy for herself. She was a little ¡­ rough. Zarian made it rain gold coins on the guy she¡¯d taken Level 0 Enhanced Focus from. The poor man had only shedded a few tears while convulsing on the floor during the process. ¡°Sorry,¡± Hannah muttered to the hardy-looking man. He had more weight and size on Hannah, who was still five-foot flat. But that didn¡¯t matter against her masterful power, only that she lacked with having a softer touch. Turning to Zarian, she tapped her finger on her bottom lip. ¡°Wizard hat with your mindframe, huh? That¡¯s going to come out interesting.¡± ¡°What are you building?¡± he asked. ¡°I¡¯m thinking Enchantment +3, Rune Alteration +3, and Rune Scan +3 for one skill combiner. Then Level 0 Tranquil Mind, Level 0 Summon Wizard Hat, Level 0 Enhanced Focus, and Level 0 High Rune Mind Frame ¡­ before you merge it.¡± ¡°Damn, I thought I was bold,¡± Zarian said. ¡°You sure you want to do away with all of those?¡± Hannah nodded. ¡°For the first skill combiner, I took the idea from one of the mythical classes I passed over. For the second skill combiner, I reason I¡¯ll get something amazing if I put together the sort of skill combination that¡¯ll lend me more power to my mind and aura.¡± ¡°We¡¯re practically doing the same thing, you and I,¡± Zarian said. ¡°But for different specialities.¡± ¡°Speaking of specialities, have you checked your rank?¡± ¡°Yeah, I have.¡± Zarian sent his rank via spider network. He didn¡¯t mind talking about skills in front of the non-rankers. Para could wipe their memories of private conversations lickety split. But the rank stuff felt more particular and dangerous. It came with a new section in his profile that read like this: Rank: Master (4,925th Mage) Hannah had the same section in her profile. But hers came out a little different: Rank: Master (4,108th Crafter) That was it. There was no more information to be found. Zarian and Hannah communicated their theories via the spider network and came to a reasonable conclusion. They were being ranked for broad specialities against other masters. Zarian checked with Naomi for her rank via the spider network. He and Hannah traded theirs in return as Naomi told them hers. Rank: Master (13,892nd Fighter) Furrowing his brow, Zarian flicked his tail quickly in intense thought. There was no way there were that many Master Rankers on Corma. Who are we being ranked against? And how do the rankings work? What do the rankings do? Zarian assumed they would find out eventually. Once they finished getting what they wanted, Zarian went back to camp with Hannah and Bianca, and Para built them a decent adventurer model to go by after interviewing the striders. By Level 50, most adventurers from the Windy Strider Kingdom would be anywhere between thirty to fifty years old, depending on how fast or slow they gained experience. Most were older in age at that level and would either retire by this point or die off. Adventurers like the Level 70 Storm Blaster Dawson or Level 75 Blessed Cleric were indeed very rare. Also, by Level 50, most adventurers had uncommon classes, but a solid chunk of them would have a rare quality class. The rare classes would have three uncommon traits with one rare trait, around three to four alpha skills, and four to five achievements, mostly uncommon. A majority within the rare quality demographic were warrior-types or fighters, so their stats averaged to something like this: Willpower: 65 Strength: 125 Agility: 100 Wonder: 65 Mysticism: 45 Total Stats: 400 Para had accounted for personal growth with this model, too. This was the reality of most grizzled and veteran adventurers in Corma, especially humans of this Lesser World. They were small in the grand scale of things, which was a cold and sobering fact to examine. On the other hand, the plain stats demystified how much the Floridians had grown in one year. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. Gilbert and Bianca were still non-rankers, yet they were giants compared to other adventurers, which was accurate in more ways than height. Zarian was a god in power and a god in flesh, with Naomi and Hannah standing as growing demigoddesses compared to the mortal non-rankers. It was a lot to take in, honestly, but they were adjusting quickly enough. With those curiosities fulfilled, Zarian went about doing something thoughtful before the Floridians locked into intense theorizing and meta-gaming. He asked Foodie if she would be okay with sharing some food with the adventurers, which should be a reasonable request. Unfortunately, his daughter didn¡¯t want to share her mythical cooking. She didn¡¯t like how weak the adventurers were. To her, they weren¡¯t deserving. Zarian felt the ghost of a migraine. He could understand why Gilbert felt concerned about their egos becoming too big. Then Zarian had to remind himself that Foodie had slain and eaten adventurers before. That came with the attitude to match. Zarian did his best to be a father, making it up as he went. ¡°I know you don¡¯t have to. You really don¡¯t have to. But it would be nice to see these men and women fed.¡± With a deep breath, he dug deep, touching on something he would like to leave behind in his past. ¡°I know what it¡¯s like to be weak and hungry. Hell, if it wasn¡¯t for my ultra bloodline, I would¡¯ve been chopped up and eaten by you, most likely. Or ¡­ I wouldn¡¯t be here. I would¡¯ve died in a ditch somewhere. Still, going hungry sucks.¡± Foodie¡¯s ears lowered. She pouted at the courtyard floor. ¡°Yes ¡­ I would¡¯ve eaten you if you were that weak.¡± ¡°Well, you¡¯re not back in Grimrock anymore. You¡¯re out here in the wider world. You can go exploring, too. And if you do, you¡¯ll realize that not all of your problems should be solved by killing people and making them into stew.¡± ¡°Hm, maybe you are right. Maybe.¡± ¡°And if you take it a step further, you might find it nice to act kindly to people. How about we do a practice run with these guys, huh?¡± Foodie swayed her head from side to side with a frown. ¡°What if they turn out like Jack?¡± Oof. That was a hard question to answer. Once bitten, twice shy. Zarian didn¡¯t blame her. So he spoke from the gut. ¡°Destroy them. Without mercy. With as much power as needed. Maybe even to the point of overkill. We want to lead with kindness, but make it known that your kindness isn¡¯t a weakness. They will have to respect that or find out the hard way.¡± Somehow, that worked. Foodie decided to share. By the time night rolled around, all the adventurers had something small but filling to eat. It was Foodie¡¯s cooking at its lowest quality, but she¡¯d given it enough magic for it to push aside hunger for multiple days. ¡°That was good of you,¡± Gilbert said while sitting next to a campfire. ¡°The real good. Not the fake good.¡± Zarian was standing while looking up at the night sky. ¡°I was being a jerk earlier, so I owe it to them.¡± ¡°How so?¡± ¡°I kept looking at them as lesser people, as if they were things.¡± Gilbert took a deep breath before letting out a huff. ¡°Yeah, well, that¡¯s how it is with power, right? It¡¯ll get to all of us from time to time. But no matter how powerful you think you are, you aren¡¯t really the one who sits at the top. And you aren¡¯t some perfect thing without faults. We¡¯re all lesser in some way. Just gotta keep that in mind as we meet people who aren¡¯t as fortunate as us.¡± Zarian nodded. ¡°You got a point.¡± ¡°I hope I do. I don¡¯t want to lead you astray, Young Simba.¡± ¡°Shut up.¡± ¡°Okay, okay, my liege, my Adventurer King.¡± Zarian¡¯s tail caught Gilbert by the ankle and threw him two castle peaks over. By pure wondrous luck, the healer landed in a hidden lake filled with high-quality fish and stayed there for the night and day after ¡­ while singing Hakuna Matata and other classics. Three days later, the Floridians were saying their farewells to their precious goblin princess. After going back underground with her father¡¯s help to retrieve some part of her former mother ¨C to cook it and eat it ¨C Foodie was taking her father¡¯s advice. She was going out to explore the world while making her way to Ride-or-Die Village to help them out with the mythical event. Of course, she wouldn¡¯t head out alone. Loner the skeleton expert, Slip the Sleipnir, four thousand advanced and sufficient skeletons, ten thousand spectral spiders, and seven dozen various automated smart golems went with her. Of those golems, eighteen were Hannah¡¯s personal destruction-shooting orbital golems. Another twelve golems were experimental projects she¡¯d recently crafted. Mobile mid-range artillery crawlers. Basically ¡­ smart spider tanks. Each one had little compartments for spectral spiders to work in and add their own brand of magic to the new golems, making them rideable smart spider tanks. Unfortunately, their main gun had limited ammunition. Hannah hadn¡¯t found a way for the smart spider tanks to construct their own ammunition while away from her, and she couldn¡¯t quite make a mobile ammo factory workable just yet. She¡¯d mentioned there was an energy complication issue. She couldn¡¯t lump in more recharge enchantments without heavily risking a runic power surge. The designs for automatic ammunition creation for the main tank gun would require too much aura for the spider tanks or a sacrifice in their magical intelligence to fit in more recharge enchantments. So each spider tank had a rechargeable beam shooter as a side weapon or last weapon, which could stun or kill. That seemed like a decent enough solution until Hannah fixed the walking ammo factory issue. Foodie also had new gear, which included a legendary cleaver that was nearly as high in quality as the lowest mythical item. She also had their spare Spatial Satchel for storage. In that legendary bag of holding was the Scroll of Godly Banishment (Legendary), the Scroll of Mountainous Castle Fusion (Legendary), the Scroll of Death Blight (Legendary), the Scroll of the Hell Orc Pack Summon (Legendary), the Scroll of Horrific Battlefield Mayhem (Legendary), the Scroll of Friendship Revival (Epic), the Scroll of Evil Disruption (Legendary), the Scroll of Intense Gravity Field (Legendary), a Good Suppression Orb (Divine), and the Lesser Star Shard Flask (Legendary). Naomi even handed over her Divine Revival Charm. Added to the goblin¡¯s soul, the System-blessed item would grant Foodie one revive a week and weaken death magic. Naomi didn¡¯t need the charm anymore, and Zarian kept his charm in his soul just in case. After the bestest hug ever between father and daughter, Zarian patted his little princess on the head before he watched her march off as the leader of her own adventurer army. Just like any female of his messed up ultra god family, Princess Cook Foodie Darkrun had to learn to wield her power at an early age. She seemed both thrilled and afraid to head off on her own, but Zarian trusted she would be alright. She was a Darkrun now. At the very least, her first stop was at Crossdeath City. There, she could find Lord Hoodah the Hulk Meister for her first foray into politics. Maybe she could convince the troll and his legion to join her march to the Mythical Wolf Dragon Regional Event. Watch over her, okay? Zarian thought as he rubbed his fingers over his marriage ring. Flickering into his vision, a pair of dark and luscious lips curled into a smirk. Then they disappeared from his mind¡¯s eye like smoke. Zarian nodded before looking up and calling out to another godly figure. ¡°If you¡¯re listening to this, Ruvaria, my daughter is on her way. I know you¡¯re busy right now, but please keep an extra eye out for her.¡± He didn¡¯t expect a response. But Ruvaria remained the best teacher he ever had for a reason. ¡°I gladly will,¡± Ruvaria said from the air above, like a goddess of the Lesser Worlds. She made no appearance, but Zarian felt some trace of subtle magic coming from Corma¡¯s Chosen One. One of these days, he was going to learn how she observed things from across massive continental or planetary distances. ¡°Ready to go?¡± Naomi asked. He turned to look at her. She was dressed pretty spiffy in the new adventure gear. Hannah had designed the outfit to hug the cultivator¡¯s dynamic body like a bodysuit while colored black and dark red. As per her style, Naomi¡¯s hands and feet remained bare. Zarian had on a pair of shadowy leggings and boots. His torso and arms remained bare for the sake of his parasite wardrobe. Their new gear was more powerful. More impervious to damage and mundane inconveniences. Still legendary quality, but very close to base mythical. And they both had the tribal insignia of a gator head with the cursive words ¡®Fuck Around and Find Out¡¯ engraved on their stuff. Zarian inhaled deeply before letting out a long breath. ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s go.¡± The Conquest Wizard and the Tempering Cultivator went north-north east toward a specific area called the Harrowing Mist Isles Region. Hannah, Gilbert, and Bianca took the Vulture Adventurer Guild east to cross the Stone Sea River. The Floridians were splitting up with the promise to meet back up at the Windy Strider Kingdom. It was near there that the entrance to the Forgotten Kingdom Dungeon awaited, which was kind of ironic. Striders were known as the most adventurous, yet one of the most important dungeons in the world was under their noses. Zarian imagined Ruvaria having a laugh at all the silly little humans for knowing no better. For now, Zarian and Naomi went on a side excursion as part of Naomi¡¯s birth month wishes. Other than the Cold Booth Castle Mountains, the Harrowing Mist Isles was the only place on the Walled Continent with a massive population of monsters above Level 100. It was an abandoned region because it was both dangerous and uncivilized, making the Harrowing Mist Isles the nightmare of ninety-nine percent of human adventurers plus other adventurous races across Corma. It was a place to be avoided. Yet, Zarian and Naomi flew straight toward it. The two Marines, a wizard and a cultivator, couldn¡¯t help but lust for some high-level action to test their mettle. 237: B3: C27: Wizard, Cultivator, Harrowing Mist Isles, First Contact 1 Blocky clouds and grasping mists blurred past the two hellbent and aerial Marines. Beneath them, the castle mountains crumbled into irrelevance. The massive titans of fabled geography shrank downward into the earth until they were mere fortress foothills. Then the last traces of the Grimrock Castle Mountains disappeared. The land of stone forts and wild gardens merged with brackish wetlands. Ancient architecture and old trees with slick moss covering their stone bark became one with bricks of fog tumbling across like grounded clouds. Zarian enjoyed the view. He enjoyed the feeling of danger when he crossed a certain magical and game-like line delineating a low level area from a high level area. He kept going as he funneled his aura and the surrounding air from in front of him and thrust it behind him. That created a vacuum to his face and a roaring torrent behind his tail. Thus, he flew like a frictionless rocket Naomi used no finesse. Only raw power. A combination of her psychic abilities and buffs, old and new, propelled her through the skies. Despite being a quality below mythical, the mad woman let nothing slow her down. She rocketed next to Zarian with a savage smile on her beautiful, dark face. Zarian smirked, impressed by her. They¡¯d done nothing but nonstop rocket flight for two days and two nights. The twin suns were peeking over the eastern horizon once again. But their morning light wouldn¡¯t shine as great today. Not while the wizard and the cultivator flew toward the lesser known and plenty dreadful Harrowing Mist Isles. And to think ¡­ I wouldn¡¯t have gotten a clue about it if it wasn¡¯t for Dawson and his vultures, Zarian thought humorously. Para spoke up in their shared mind space. I¡¯m thankful for him, Gisella, and the others for being forthcoming with their information. Zarian chuckled aloud. Inwardly, he stated, Yeah, well, I guess them being forthcoming has everything to do with them being honorable adventurers. And it had nothing to do with us dumping a lot of gold into their hands while you interviewed them with giant serpent heads big enough to eat them all whole. Para didn¡¯t respond. Zarian felt a little bad about teasing her until he received a mental ping from Naomi. Because of the heavy changes to their profiles, especially in the skill department, they had to readjust to how they operated. In some ways, the downpour of trait combiners and skill combiners might¡¯ve set them back. They lost out on old abilities and advancements. But their profiles would become even stronger as they progressed further and advanced their new abilities. Naomi sent over a section of her profile via the spider network. She applied asterisks to the traits and skills she wanted to test out the most. Traits (11 Total): Psionic Affinity (Rare), High Intimidation (Uncommon), Truly A Savage (Rare), Fatal Finisher (Rare), Thematic Concept/Even Further Beyond (Divine), Adventurous Breaker (Epic) *Barehanded Sage (Epic), *Aura Ignition/Second Stage (Legendary), *Half Titan Warrior (Legendary), *Dao of Power (Mythical), *Undying Tyrant (Mythical). Alpha Skills (6/6): Psychokinesis +3 (Level 70), Overclock +3 (Level 71), *Mind Spike +3 (Level 63), *Primal Huntress Form +3 (Level 50), *Harmonious Meditation of Heaven and Hell (Level 1), *Nascent Soul Robe (Level 1). Beta Skills (0/18): ¡­ They hadn¡¯t shared up to this point, so Zarian was impressed. He was probably as excited as Naomi to see her new abilities at work. He noted how she¡¯d applied asterisks to Barehanded Sage and Aura Ignition/Second Stage. Without asking, Zarian concluded Naomi wanted to advance those naturally. Barehanded Sage could probably advance on its own. Bianca had shown how style-based traits could advance through personal growth like her legendary Twelve Step Killer Whirlwind Princess Style. As for Second Ignition, Zarian knew that trait had restricted parameters. There was no way to advance it or combine it with other traits. The only way to improve Second Ignition was with personal growth. Naomi had fought a dangerous death battle against a maniac like Jack to push from First Ignition to Second Ignition. What would it take for her to reach the Third Stage of Aura Ignition? Granted, those weren¡¯t immediate attention-grabbers. Not like the two mythical traits Naomi had. What the heck can Dao of Power and Undying Tyrant do? Zarian wondered. Those weren¡¯t there before. She really squeezed the best out of her old traits with those combiners. Half Titan Warrior sounds interesting, too, even while legendary. Zarian didn¡¯t ponder about Naomi¡¯s changes for long. Their drop point was coming up. He sent over something via the spider network for Naomi to chew on. This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. It was ¡­ extensive. He marked all the fundamental changes with asterisks, too. Traits (9 total): Dark Affinity (Rare), Thematic Law/Floridian Mindset (Divine), Bearer of the Twenty Dark Locks Sealing Style (Legendary), Aura Mastery (Legendary), Aura Magnificence (Epic), Overpowered Times Two (Legendary), *Devourer of Secrets and Stories (Legendary), *Eldritch Existence (Legendary), *Outer Planar Scourge (Mythical). Alpha Skills (6/6): Overwhelming Darkness (Level 23), *Lion Prince (Level 1), Parasite Cloak +3 (Level 74), Spectral Spider Network +3 (Level 66), *Intense Arcana Hat (Level 1), *Grand War Mage Body Furnace (Level 1). Beta Skills (4/18): *Advanced Grimoire of the Voidling Exile +2 (Level 30), *Advanced Grimoire of Black Magic +2 (Level 38), *Advanced Grimoire of the Hell Gator +2 (Level 40), *Advanced Grimoire of Freaky Morphs (Level 7). Voidling Spells (6/7 Learned): Void Waltz (Legendary), Void Shout (Legendary), Void Madness (Rare), Void Acid (Epic), Minor Void Portal (Legendary), *Void Domain (Mythical). Black Spells (5/7 Learned): Bloody Lifesteal (Uncommon), Deploy Expert Skeletons (Epic), Black Fire (Rare), Arcane Artillery Platform (Legendary), *Crucifying Storm Tower (Mythical). Gator Spells (6/8 Learned): Quagmire Pit (Uncommon), Dread Mire Bite (Rare), Dread Mire Bellow (Epic), Dreadnought Hell Gator (Legendary), Hellish Breath (Legendary), *Hell Gator Mega Slam (Legendary). Morphs Spells (4/7 Learned): No Hard Walls (Uncommon), Water to Slime (Rare), Animate The Thing (Epic), *Big Bad Polymorph (Mythical). Zarian hadn¡¯t gotten trait combiners and skill combiners alone. It turned out the +2 advancement to his advanced grimoires had introduced SPELL COMBINERS! He could only combine two spells within the same advanced grimoire when the option had come up for Voidling, Black, and Gator. That still occupied a lot of his theory-crafting and meta-gaming time the past week. It was only recently he¡¯d decided on the spell combiner results for sure. With Voidling, Zarian had combined Void Authority and Void Layer to form Void Domain. With Black, he¡¯d combined Torturous Lightning and Graven Glacial Tomb to create Crucifying Storm Tower. Then, with Gator, he¡¯d combined Hell Gator Quake and Hell Gator Crush for the new Hell Gator Mega Slam. Morph had only become an advanced grimoire just recently, leaving Zarian to settle with choosing a spell to upgrade. He¡¯d turned Bad Polymorph to Big Bad Polymorph. Other than reading their descriptions and seeing the changes in their pages, he had no idea how some of these new spells would come out. The one or two mythical spells might end up being devastating. Maybe even too dangerous for compact uses within non-ranker civilizations. If that wasn¡¯t a lot already, he and Para had spent hours mulling over which traits to combine with which. That part had ended up the hardest. Certain traits had restrictive parameters ¨C Dark Affinity, Floridian Mindset, Bearer of the Twenty Dark Locks Sealing Style, Aura Mastery, Aura Magnificence, and Overpowered Times Two ¨C which meant they couldn¡¯t combine. That hadn¡¯t turned out to be the case for the others. Identify, Lore Eater, and Unraveled Mind had merged to become a legendary trait, Devourer of Secrets and Stories. Frenzy Zone, Uncanny Valley Effect, and The Dreaded One had merged to become another legendary trait, Eldritch Existence. Then Void Mysticism, Warp Adaptation, and Devil Bane had merged to become his only mythical trait, Outer Planar Scourge. Zarian shivered, still feeling the echoes of his soul getting rearranged and consolidated with fewer but more potent traits. He¡¯d lost a few minor quirks, but he gained much more, especially in his potential for growth. Granted, nothing in his profile had the greatest potential compared to his skills, new and old. Don¡¯t forget, we still have Bloody Lifesteal to upgrade on our own and new spells to learn! Para reminded him. Para ¡­ what if it¡¯s more than just that? What if the grimoires are really trying to teach us to learn, upgrade, add, and combine through the guidance of the System first? What if this is something we¡¯ll do on our own once we maxed out each grimoire? Zarian asked his head-mate. Para didn¡¯t respond right away. Zarian could tell the theory was a major one for her. It was the same for him. Unfortunately and fortunately, a certain dynamic woman demanded Zarian¡¯s attention. It was time to get out of his head and touch some swamp grass. ¡°There!¡± Naomi shouted. ¡°Let¡¯s drop in there.¡± ¡°Oorah, Marine!¡± Zarian replied with a growing grin. ¡°Time to kill!¡± ¡°KILL!¡± Naomi shut off her psychic thrust. She spiraled through the air. Then she pointed her bare toes at an angle up in the sky. With an explosive blast, she shoved psychic force from her feet and rocketed even harder down to a misty series of broken land masses surrounded by wetlands, ancient ruins, and dark stone forests. Zarian followed her with more grace, with his cloak fanned out. Para manipulated aura and air with him, propelling the wizard downward like a divine dragon with a lion tail. He followed the cultivator at a slightly slower pace, letting her make her grand slamming entrance. Zarian and Para chuckled as Naomi landed like a bomb, blowing up multiple temples and waterlogged courtyards. Weathered stone blocks flung in all directions as hurtling debris. Waves of brackish water spread out fast. Blocks of mist scattered away. The song of doom and destruction resounded for miles and miles as Naomi slowly floated out of the large crater she¡¯d made. Intense blue-purple psychic electricity cracked and popped around her body. Her voluminous and curly hair waved and zipped about. ¡°Was that loud enough?¡± Naomi asked. ¡°Could¡¯ve been louder.¡± Zarian slowed to a hover next to her. His Parasite Cloak +3 remained attached to his back and shoulders. The dark red, cosmic-lit, and flesh-eating fabric fluttered behind him majestically, disregarding the dead swamp air. His lion tail curved and twisted from behind him in excited motions, matching his mood. It might¡¯ve seemed like fun and games to them, but the Harrowing Mist Isles was everything Dawson and his vulture guild members had warned about. There was a potent aura drain curse acting on the wizard and cultivator. There was a warp-style curse in the air, too, but more advanced. There were even other hidden and unfamiliar curses set to debuff them. Zarian sensed a concealed actor in the mist, maybe even a clever one. He wasn¡¯t quite able to interact with the mist naturally without force, but the thing controlling the mist could interact with them. The wizard could tell it didn¡¯t want its secrets getting out as the mist and water returned with a rush from all sides. Great, he could push one of his new abilities against the magic information block. 238: B3: C28: Wizard, Cultivator, Harrowing Mist Isles, First Contact 2 Zarian and Para weren¡¯t linked like they used to be. They couldn¡¯t unravel into each other anymore. That was okay. Zarian¡¯s aura-rich wizard madness and Para¡¯s parasitic nature found a few workarounds, even if it meant the Parasite Cloak +3 drained a larger amount of aura and focus from Zarian for them to stay deeply connected. The benefits were worth the drawbacks. Gold notifications popped up around Zarian, telling him what he wanted to know as he swept his aura over the mist isles. Spectral spiders plopped down onto the water¡¯s surface as he summoned a few thousand of them and sent them exploring north, northwest, and west. As they travelled into the unknown, each spider spun multiple webbed barriers and cast enchantments of protection on themselves that Hannah had taught them. That way, the curses had less of an effect on the little eight-legged and dance-happy explorers. The spiders searched for the small things of interest such as lost treasures or cool lore-related stuff that Zarian might overlook. That left the wizard with sweeping broadly for major things of interest while he counteracted the informational defenses of the actor in the mist. He smiled as he felt a pulse of anger from the mist. Whatever was out there didn¡¯t like their major secrets getting out. ¡°What¡¯s the SITREP?¡± Naomi squinted at him as they remained hovering and waiting. Since he hadn¡¯t finished compiling a report yet, Zarian thought of something else to say to fill the gap. ¡°You¡¯ve eaten well. Your butt¡¯s bigger.¡± She bobbed near him and swung a half-hearted punch, which could knock down half of a small castle mountain. Zarian dodged it. She kept throwing half-hearted punches at him and forcing him to dodge around in the air as he read up on the mists, the curses, the nearest monsters, and whatever other information he could devour. Spectral spiders sent brief messages of the things they found, such as lost artefacts and hidden shiny stuff. When they performed their creative spider dances, Zarian could low-key cast Void Waltz on the little treasure hunters. Through the void, he hauled in treasures for the cloak to store away. In the meantime, Para worked on counteracting the various curses that were trying to debuff the wizard and the cultivator. She was tactical, pragmatic, and relentless in finding and destroying debuffs as they came. The experience in the Grimrock Hell Gate had taught Para well. Finally, something arrived, a roguish type of monster. It was a high-level creature that would¡¯ve slaughtered most adventurers who weren¡¯t adept enough to sense invisible, intangible, and damn near imperceptible monsters. It seemed like it had its eyes set on new victims, but had no idea it was truly prey to the adventurers. Zarian turned around and used another one of his new traits. Zarian liked his odds against the spectral ambusher. A roguish monster wouldn¡¯t have high Willpower, would they? The creature, a Marsh Wraith Monster, screamed in horror as it came into contact with Zarian¡¯s eldritch presence and lost its ghost-like camouflage. Zarian noted how it looked like a rotten mannequin covered in swamp-soaked rags and heavy chains. It stood ten feet tall while standing on the water¡¯s surface, too. So, when it fell back, it didn¡¯t make a splash or sink down. It scrambled backward with thin, spiky legs and four arms, its chains rattling as it screamed. Zarian turned to Naomi. ¡°It¡¯s a wraith with a legendary class, Level 122 Spirit Drowner. It¡¯s not Master Ranked, but do you want it?¡± Naomi pouted. ¡°No, you found it, you get it.¡± The wraith twisted around and tried to run. Zarian smiled. He summoned all of his grimoires. Stolen novel; please report. The steely Voidling flashed out of a portal with a bloody metal hum and orbited around the wizard. The thick Black came out of his soul like a crawling ghoul, its spectral chains rattling. The leathery Gator appeared over his right shoulder with a deep growl and a huge predatory presence. And the centipede-like Morph scrambled into view from behind his back with a hiss before latching on to his left shoulder. Because of the heavier beta skill debuff as Master Rankers, summoning the grimoires as conduits while using spells helped to counteract that. All of them were mainly immaterial, too, except for Morph, which lessened the danger of someone wrecking them and removing a part of Zarian¡¯s toolkit. At these levels, that was more of a concern Zarian had to look out for. But in this case, against the wraith, he felt confident. Summoning the grimoires hadn¡¯t taken him that long, either. The wraith couldn¡¯t run fast enough to escape Zarian¡¯s reach as he used another new trait along with one of his new spells. The wraith had the misfortune of relying on a void-based skill. That was how it could become imperceptible to most sensory abilities or even a decently high Wonder stat. Zarian was sure Bianca would¡¯ve figured it out anyway, since her Wonder stat was uber high at the base amount. She wasn¡¯t here, though. Zarian was, and he gave the wraith no means to escape. It tried to use its Void Stalk +3 again. The Conquest Wizard stopped the skill outright as he darkened the area with the Void Domain spell. The brackish water became black. The blocky mists turned nightmarish gray with strange shadowy faces that twisted, morphed, and screamed silent screams. The hostile curses weakened, especially the warp one. And the wraith¡¯s void skill failed outright with each attempt. Impressed by the power of Void Domain, Zarian kept the dance going by using Void Waltz on himself. He repositioned from behind the wraith to in front of the tall and gangly monster so smoothly it felt spontaneous, leaving little to no wrinkle or sign of teleportation in the air of his domain. The creature shrieked and flailed. The wraith was obviously confused and terrified. Zarian was more of a wraith to the monster than the monster was a wraith to him. Still, it tried to fight, even if pathetically. Every swipe of its claws made the air screech like a thousand banshees. Its traits and stats empowered those strikes, too, and at Level 122, it had enough power to knock down castles like they were little toy blocks. Against non-rankers and weak adventurers, the wraith¡¯s Nightmare Strike +3 would¡¯ve petrified them on the spot for a simple hit and easy kill. Against Zarian, the screaming did nothing. The strikes themselves couldn¡¯t harm him much, even while he stood still and took them on the face and chest. The same went for three out of his four grimoires. Morph crawled to his back to avoid a direct strike, but the other grimoires hovered about just fine. His Aura Mastery thickened the air into a barrier that slowed each Nightmare Strike +3 and dampened their magical and physical damage. On top of that, he had his three new skills working in concert as he flexed more of his overt dominance. One skill had replaced his mindframe and wizard hat with a new hat that looked like the last ¨C black, crooked, and wide at the brim. But it would sometimes glow with a subtle array of colors, veering between blue and red when Zarian used more of its power. Unfortunately, Zarian couldn¡¯t link the benefits directly to others anymore. But that was okay. He had a few workarounds. Namely, Aura Mastery and Spectral Spider Network +3. Besides, the new hat skill was so powerful, losing advancements from his two prior skills wasn¡¯t a huge drawback. The intense aura power up became a bigger deal when paired with the other new skills, such as the body enhancing one. That skill had come from a combination of Level 0 Willful Might, Level 0 Wondrous Speed, Level 0 Mystic Toughness, and Level 0 Shredded Grimoire of Battlefield Destruction. Zarian liked the end result. Just like that, Zarian had a smaller but easier wizard version of Aura Ignition. A plasma-blue force covered his muscular frame as it drained slightly from his vitality, which Eldritch Existence buffed from making the wraith deathly afraid. But wait, there was more. This last new skill tied together how stupidly busted Zarian had become as a Master Ranker. It was outright unfair. It shouldn¡¯t really exist. But there was no doubt about why he had the skill after choosing the mythical class, Conquest Wizard The Lion Prince was truly part of his birthright, maybe a direct gift from the Biggest Granmama despite her being some ultra scary cosmic threat. Then again, maybe her being so scary was the reason for the skill. 239: B3: C29: Wizard, Cultivator, Harrowing Mist Isles, Danger Hot 1 Zarian asserted his claim as the mightiest by facing the wraith at the center of his Void Domain. His claim became greater by partnering Overpowered Times Two with Grand War Mage Body Furnace and his other physical buffs. Para helped the most as his biggest physicality reinforcer while Floridian Mindset did its divine Thematic Law thing, of course, making Para even greater, which made Zarian¡¯s body greater. Because of all that, the wizard¡¯s reality-bending assertion ran little to no risks of being wrong. Causality followed his certified whim and made him as strong as he needed to be. Making him an indomitable tank. The wraith¡¯s attacks went from leaving a little damage to leaving no damage whatsoever even when it added other skills ¨C such as Chilling Death +3 and Soul Shatter Howl +3. The creepy, white-blue-green death skill crackled and snapped like splintered glass off his body. Its icy conjurations faded into the voracious gaps of Void Domain after having no effect. The howl skill struck like a cannon that could¡¯ve killed hundreds of Level 50 adventurers or obliterated the heart of a human capital city in the Walled Continent. Against the Conquest Wizard? It was more like a breeze that hit a brick wall that had Sainte-Darkrun written on it before petering out in the corners of Void Domain. The wraith¡¯s traits weren¡¯t much help either, a few failing because they depended on the wraith having an overt advantage or doing a specific action that weakened Zarian. Sadly for the wraith, the ultimate tank wizard remained strengthened. In fact, Zarian damaged himself more by using his Grand War Mage Body Furnace. However, the vitality loss was trivial, a price worth paying. With the wraith¡¯s attacks staying impotent against a wizard, the monster became more afraid as the dark and hungry void clamped down from all directions. Zarian added a cast of Void Madness as the last nail on the coffin, and the wraith¡¯s Willpower broke apart. It couldn¡¯t handle the overpowered and devouring existence of an eldritch scourge like Zarian. Traumatized, the wraith stopped fighting. It didn¡¯t bother to flee. The monster froze up like an oversized prey animal. With his arms crossed, Zarian¡¯s lion tail reached into his cloak. The fifth limb pulled out the big black sword Hannah had redesigned and touched up a few times before they separated. Zarian channeled Void Domain into Aura Slayer. The six-foot-long ¡®wand¡¯ turned hazy, nightmarish, and blacker than black. A fiendish force ran along its edge. Then Zarian took things a step further by casting Void Acid and Bloody Lifesteal on the sword as well. Why? Just for kicks and giggles. With the wraith standing like a vegetable, Zarian¡¯s tail snapped around and swiped Aura Slayer through the monster. One cut. One kill. The wraith¡¯s life energy disappeared into the void. Its soul untethered from its physical frame and faded into the embrace of the Infinita Star System. Its body physically unraveled on the spot while disappearing in acid-dissolving chunks that dripped into the void. All that remained were its chains, the links clattering into the brackish water with a solemn splash. Familiar dinging sounds rang in Zarian¡¯s head. Since the Master Rankers were waiting for their non-ranker friends to rank up, checking notifications on the go was a fine deal in the meantime. Zarian smiled as he gave in to the old impulse. It really seemed like leveling up skills would be harder as Master Rankers. All his skills were advanced or high-quality stuff. Also, being a Master Ranker was like turning on the super hard mode difficulty in gaining experience. Zarian either had to murder more monsters for experience or find more difficult events that yielded more experience. He wouldn¡¯t be ascending until after the tournament, after all, so he might as well explore more intense and alternative ways to level up. ¡°Hm, I think I will change into a kilt, after all,¡± Para said, shifting from her cloak form to her kilt form. Her ragged strands of dark red and cosmic-like fabric fell from out of Zarian¡¯s uncovered waist and draped over his shadowy leggings and boots. ¡°There. It¡¯s safer for a tail to wield a mighty sword with the cloak out of the way.¡± ¡°You can be whatever you want to be, Para, and you¡¯ll never be in the way,¡± Zarian said. Para giggled. ¡°I like talking fashion like the next girl, but I think there¡¯s something new stomping in our direction.¡± Naomi pointed toward a section of the misty marshes. In that direction, a new challenger rushed forth, shaking the area with its immense strides. Tall and ancient walls, stony trees, and other swamp-slick obstacles tumbled to pieces as the latest monster charged straight at the cultivator and wizard. Zarian turned to see with his eyes while still floating in the air. His uniquely powerful tail swept from side to side with the tuft-end curled confidently around the handle of Aura Slayer. His Lion Prince skill had stopped asserting its dominant claim, so Zarian was back to being more like a bullshit wizard instead of an unbeatable wizard. He might not want to use the same Lion Prince trick on this new challenge, though that depended on if he was fighting once again. This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. ¡°You want?¡± Zarian asked. ¡°Yes, please.¡± Naomi shook her hips saucily. Zarian smiled. ¡°Show me what you got.¡± She shot him a teasing smirk before blasting off to face the giant monster crashing onto the scene. As she fought, he used the spider network to update her on the most important parts of the monster¡¯s profile. In return, she fed him info on her new abilities. It turned out being a cultivator was perfect for Naomi. So much so, Zarian found himself drifting. Not physically. And not exactly mentally. At least not in the mundane way. It was as if ¡­ his point of view ¡­ was switching. It was moving to where reality mattered most, at least for a short period determined by his ultra bloodline. Chance, challenge, and change be damned, his Lion Prince snapped on a different focus. *** Naomi felt something was off before she rammed head-first into the fist of some big old ugly thing. Whatever weird funk was going on, she made a quick mental note to blame Zarian. That usually made things easier, even when she was crash-landing backward into thigh-high water because she got cocky and led with her head. Oh, freaking well. She stuck the landing feet first and looked up, seeing a hulking ape that was fifty feet tall and had fists the size of pickup trucks. Its dark green fur was shaggy and filthy. Its huge fangs had small skulls and human-sized bones stuck between the gaps. There was an uncanny intelligence and wickedness in its glowing red eyes, too, as it paced from side to side and studied Naomi in return. While it was big, mean, and monstrous, it was clever enough to recognize something unusual about the little human woman. It ought to be wary. She¡¯d just planted her forehead on its knuckles and came out just fine as rain, which hadn¡¯t been on the cards for this morning, but Naomi could dig it. The monster was tough enough to warm her up. Maybe it could really get her going, make her feel danger hot. She wanted to tango with the downright worst of them. She wanted to build her new power-chasing foundations for the next one hundred levels. And she wanted the side excursion with Zarian to have a cherry on top as another belated birthday gift for her ¨C but that was for later, depending on how she played her cards right, depending on if she deserved it. The Man-Breaker Gorilla Monster, a Level 130 Sonic Mauler, had none of the concerns of the Tempering Cultivator Master and all the reasons to smash Naomi into the marsh. Even as a non-ranker, the gorilla had thirty levels on her and centuries of monstrous evil +3 experience, so it didn¡¯t seem to care for the cocky smile on Naomi¡¯s face. The gorilla got its reads, howled, and set things off properly with a Sonic Slap +3 on the drowned ruins between them. She expected that because of all the detailed info Zarian fed into her brain through the network. Most adventurers would¡¯ve dodged, but Naomi popped a deep squat and chopped her hand forward. She also flipped on multiple abilities with a bright flash. She became a solar flare of blue and purple power, psychic thunderbolts and something grander and soulful. Her body shifted a few feet taller, with her bodysuit stretching just fine to match her suddenly increased dimensions. Cat-like features appeared from her head, her digits, her mouth, and from the diamond cut in the back of the bodysuit where a tail could sprout. Blood-pumping veins appeared on her forehead as her irises sharpened into slits. Her hand chop split the water, the sonic wave, the flying debris, and smashed down on the ugly gorilla¡¯s hand, fracturing some bones. A deep, water-draining ravine appeared in the middle with a big splash, stretching across two hundred feet between her and the monster. Surprised, the gorilla roared in pain and stumbled backward. It shook its hurt hand as if the oversized ape hadn¡¯t faced a real challenge in a long time. With blood in the water, the cultivator stalked forward slowly, arrogantly, with her fanged mouth grinning ever wider. Her black, fuzzy tail snapped from side to side. Her heart hammered with the deep beat of a rave as her new abilities filled her to the brim with power. God damn it all, did she love power! She loved, loved, loved it! Her new trait from combining Power Seeker, Mental Sharpness, and Dao of Tempering represented that perfectly. The gorilla turned its roar of pain to a roar of anger. It raised its broken hand and clenched it into a fist before emitting a red flash. The fractured bones corrected themselves with a loud crunch, showing off its healing ability, which was honestly great to see. Naomi could practice more things on the monster to grow her power. Thus, she turned off multiple abilities and returned to being a smaller human woman without the super glow of overlapping abilities. From there, she could be more selective. Let¡¯s start with my new wardrobe. Seeing her become vastly weaker, the Man-Breaker Gorilla vibrated rapidly, its Sonic Dash +3 starting up. It had traits that leveraged its immense 1131 Strength for more speed, since its 113 Agility was its lowest stat. So having a super speed skill was killer move for the gorilla. Most adventurers without an ultra god hot boy like Zarian as their super wizard support wouldn¡¯t have known about the Sonic Dash +3. Most adventurers would¡¯ve got caught outright as the gorilla launched its quote-unquote surprise attack. Naomi had already braced herself before activating a new skill she¡¯d gotten from combining four Level 0 skills: Willful Might, Summon Wizard Hat, Parasite Cloak, and Potent Spirit Force. The result was as cheesy as it was fabulous. A purple aura robe appeared over her body with long loose sleeves and a billowy skirt that reached down to her feet without getting entangled. Then a purple-lightning bolt formed as a sash around her waist, cinching the high-fantasy Kung-Fu look. She funneled more power from her Psychokinesis +3 into her body. She used Overclocked +3 to break her bodily limits further. Then she tested one trait, Barehanded Sage, against the fast-as-hell and demented little brother of King Kong. Naomi nearly got crushed as she waxed-on-waxed-off the meteorite of a punch that crashed down on her. The gorilla had to angle low while moving super fast to hit, too. So having its punch redirected by the wushu move of a little purple-robed black woman sent it off its feet and into a rapid roll through some ancient and swamped ruins. As for Naomi, her arm bones suffered some hairline cracks. Her entire body rattled. But her arrogant smile remained, even as she tumbled backward across the water. Flipping with the momentum, she touched the ball of her foot on a thick column and kicked toward the gorilla, demolishing the column behind her with an explosion of pure physical force. She felt the temptation to use her other abilities. She clamped down on that to make things more difficult for herself, to develop her Dao. That might¡¯ve been arrogant. Even if it wasn¡¯t, she paid for it. The giant gorilla went from moving slowly to moving fast again, as if it had hatched a plan to catch Naomi slipping. An ugly smile crossed its face as the gorilla used Shock Dash +3 and Sonic Slap +3 for a blurring and powerful backhand. Naomi curled into herself with elbows and knees forward before the gorilla¡¯s backhand struck with a resounding impact that felt like an earthquake inside of her bones, joints, and internals. More fractures appeared all over her skeleton frame. Her forward progress stopped completely, beginning to reverse. Even though she avoided the fate of most adventurers ¨C being turned into a pink mist ¨C she had a ticket with her name on it that suggested a new area code. Naomi growled. Oh, hell no! You got me fucked up if you think you can pimp slap me for the home run! She ignored her bone fractures and bloody organ ruptures to grab the gorilla¡¯s finger. She stopped herself from flying away even as the gorilla¡¯s arm and her rag-doll body swung around at sonic speed. The woman was too determined to let go, and her Dao of Power wasn¡¯t yet satisfied. Alright, the real training starts here. 240: B3: C30: Wizard, Cultivator, Harrowing Mist Isles, Danger Hot 2 Naomi used another trait of hers, Truly A Savage. If Barehanded Sage was a trait that made her a grandmaster in high fantasy super Kung Fu while buffing her best stats, then Truly A Savage was a trait that buffed her most willful abilities when she acted like a primal beast of a woman. This was perfect for another new skill she¡¯d gotten from combining Tranquil Mind +3 and Earth-Sky Meditation +3. Naomi chose the berserk mental state. The veins on her head pulsated with tension. Her heart drummed louder than a hell orc drummer. Her vitality dwindled faster along with her aura, but that was a manageable price to pay. She became the essence of savagery and violence. She refused to let go as the gorilla reached the end of its arm swing. Then, strictly out of spite, grabbed another finger and snapped it backward. The gorilla staggered in shock. Rarely had anything hurt it so many times like this, at least in many years. Angered, the giant gorilla roared and used its healing ability again while raising the hand that Naomi was holding onto toward its face. The mad cultivator jumped toward gorilla¡¯s eye for a personal strike, but that depended on if Naomi could get past¨C The gorilla triggered its Sonic Dash +3 with its Sonic Chomp +3. Naomi saw a flash of massive teeth with human bones stuck in the gaps as the gorilla¡¯s big mouth zoomed up. She reacted too slowly before the inevitable came down like a horrific and unstoppable guillotine. She felt a flash of pain cutting down on her chest, her Nascent Soul Robe unable to resist, her high-quality bodysuit getting shredded. Her rib cage burst. Her heart ruptured under the point of the gorilla¡¯s monstrous fang. Her vision turned red, then it went dark. Her energy dissipated, and her body became lifeless as her blood sprayed across the monster¡¯s teeth and over its tongue. She became a twisted chew toy, her blood mixing with the gorilla¡¯s drool, as Naomi became a future addition to the decorations stuck in the gorilla¡¯s fangs like many before her. The creature smiled with savage glee and turned its red eyes toward the hovering wizard. It wanted to gloat as its mucky and rotten drool turned pinker with the blood of the dead cultivator. There were two problems with that. A threatening and disturbing presence made the wizard¡¯s outline hazy, unreadable, and horrific. The gorilla couldn¡¯t help but look away. Then the gorilla noticed the chewed-up piece of female meat twitch before popping back to life, suddenly becoming whole again. Her other mythical trait ¨C the result of combining Battle Maniac, Vitality Monster, and Death Proof ¨C came in clutch. Death was yet another tool for Naomi¡¯s Dao of Power. While she had less life energy going into this new round, her vitality and mightiness rose sharply to an extreme degree. Because of her Nascent Soul Robe, those benefits from her mythical Undying Tyrant trait became even greater. All of that streamed into her other activated abilities of a physical, mental, and psychic nature. Like a hyper-charged feedback loop. And she still wasn¡¯t using her best abilities just yet. Was this arrogance? Or was this insanity? In the sunshine! Under the rain! Hell, you can even die! It doesn¡¯t matter! It¡¯s training time! Naomi sang in her head. Catching the King Kong wannabe off guard, the super Marine kicked up with one foot against the roof of the gorilla¡¯s mouth. Then she kicked down with her other leg and performed an insanely strong and perfect split. She snapped the monster¡¯s mouth open and popped the jaw out of its joints, leaving it hanging. Before it could recover, Naomi flipped out from its mouth and landed on its chest. The death-defying smile on her face became even more arrogant as she struck down with a powerful sage-like punch. She avoided piercing the chest by spreading the surface area through her Psychokinesis +3. That way, it felt like the gorilla took a punch to the chest from a bigger and badder giant. She felt the sternum break like a column beneath her. She heard the air rushing out of the gorilla¡¯s open throat and hanging jaw as the monster stumbled backward. Then Naomi landed another big, chest-hammering punch, and then another big punch, and then another and another, laying on more damage than the gorilla could heal at once. She turned the chest into a shattered and pulped crater, displaying outright dominance on the part of a gorilla that should be the toughest. Out of desperation, the gorilla struck with a Sonic Slap +3. The vibrating hand came down right on top of Naomi, regardless of the potential damage to itself. The cultivator laughed as she straightened with a girlish twist, her hands flourishing upward, her feet pointing downward. Her psychic power contracted to a fine point at the tip of her toes. The gorilla¡¯s Sonic Slap +3 smacked down on her, meeting her upturned hands. She speared through the demolished ribcage, through its heart, and out its big back. She pulled with her an explosion of blood and viscera like a powerful cross bolt, jettisoning gore in a thick red torrent, which would¡¯ve hidden her away if it wasn¡¯t for her glowing purple robe. The gorilla staggered in shock as Naomi hit the watery marsh and bounced for a return trip at its back, flying kick incoming. She struck the base of the gorilla¡¯s spine as it tried to heal the hole in its chest. Something snapped, and the gorilla folded backwards slowly, almost like a leaning tower whose supports finally gave out. By the time the gorilla¡¯s head reached a slick courtyard floor behind it, Naomi was already there with her arm cocked back as far as it could go. She let herself feel a little more powerful, just a little more, just for extra effect. Her Primal Huntress Form +3 blew her up in Strength and size, making her eight feet tall, as her black cat features came out ¨C claws, fangs, ears, and a tail. Then, as she swung forward with another hand chop, she felt her third new trait activate fully. This one had come from a combination of Juggernaut Hitter, Little Giant, and Physical Freak, which made a sizable difference. Being a half titan with the Fatal Finisher trait, the Adventurous Breaker trait, and other overlapping abilities was too much for the gorilla. Her hand split the monster¡¯s head in an explosion of chunky brain matter and flying skull fragments. The force of the strike was so great that more of her psychic power leaked through like a dull cleaver. She split the neck and the rib cage before the cut became more of a hammer. Then the remaining force shattered bone, pulped flesh, and made organs pop like giant viscera-filled balloons. The gorilla¡¯s mutilated body tumbled and splattered across the marshes away from Naomi before flopping like a pile of lifeless meat one last time. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. Naomi stood still. Her mind was filled with joyful wrath and lustful intensity. Her vitality and aura were draining away, still, but she didn¡¯t care. Her tail snapped from side to side while she delved into her nature, her path, as a berserk and power-hungry huntress. She wanted more. Her Dao of Power wanted her to seek more challenges. She knew where she could find the ultimate challenge. The challenge wasn¡¯t far. She snapped her attention upward, her ears turning toward something irresistible. Him. The Lion Prince. The son of ultra gods. Yes, he was perfect. Naomi let out a deep growl that resounded far in all directions. She was tempted to push all of her abilities and grow more powerful. She could grow her size and Strength further. She could use Half Ignition for more power. She could sacrifice her vitality and rely on her overt Strength and Agility even if her body tore apart. She could die again and come back even stronger. She could become a walking goddess if she burned herself on the combined stake of power, if she gave everything to Even Further Beyond and Second Ignition. Naomi¡¯s mind spiralled and spiralled as her path urged her. Yet, she didn¡¯t act as Zarian bumbled over. He brought along his grimoires, his big black magic sword, his parasite kilt, and all of his ridiculousness. He moved right up in front of her and patted her on the head, between the cat ears, as he kept doing that thing that made him look like the black god of her dreams while being himself. She hated how handsome he¡¯d become. He had too much muscle going on for a wizard. She almost missed how much scrawnier and scrappier he was last year. He wasn¡¯t so distracting back then, so hard to be around. Then he spoke, his voice deep and arresting, making her clench her toes with tension. ¡°There. There. You¡¯re all riled up. And that¡¯s great. But you have to balance that with recovery, too,¡± he said smoothly. She growled at him. Attack. Use him for more power! He smiled at her. ¡°We¡¯ll have more fun later. I just need you to power down for me, please?¡± Naomi growled again, but softer. Fun?! Is he talking about that ¡®type¡¯ of fun?! Naomi was lucky she started as a psychic with the Psionic Affinity before becoming a cultivator. Her thoughts remained her own when she wanted them to be, putting her mind spider under her control. That way, she could have her bastard thoughts without feeling embarrassed. She wanted to say no to him. He kept petting between her ears. She tried not to lean into it. But she did purr, ignoring the heat creeping up her neck and cheeks. She wanted to entwine her tail with his. Instead, she said, ¡°Aye, sir.¡± Powering down, she shrank back to her base human form, dismissed her Nascent Soul Robe, and flipped her Harmonious Meditation of Heaven and Hell from berserk to tranquil. She recovered her vitality and aura at the cost of feeling physically and mentally dimmed down. With a decent flex of psychic power, she rose out of the mucky water and stood on the surface. Then, with a snort, Naomi asked, ¡°You like the view?¡± There was a big hole in the chest portion of her bodysuit. The enchanted leather was repairing itself gradually while feeding on her aura. He frowned. ¡°No, actually. It¡¯s a little awful watching you die while I waited in the back. Thanks for sharing your abilities with me or I wouldn¡¯t have waited.¡± He might as well pull the rug from under her. Heart fluttering, she took a split-second to reply. ¡°It¡¯s different letting something else kill me, huh?¡± She was teasing. It was a risk. She hoped he didn¡¯t take it badly. She felt a little worried when he took his time. Then her worries faded when he smiled. ¡°Don¡¯t let anyone kill you more than me, okay? That¡¯s our thing.¡± Order received. Zarian¡¯s kill count of me is at three so far. Let none succeed past that. ¡°Whatever you say, sir.¡± She felt tempted to use her Primal Huntress Form +3 just for the tail wag. She glanced at his big lion tail and the large magic sword it held before turning her gaze elsewhere. ¡°What now?¡± ¡°Monster wave.¡± The way he said that with a toothy grin on his square-cut and heartthrob face, while under the shade cast by his wide-brim wizard hat, did unfair things to Naomi ¨C very unfair things. She tried to pay attention to his words. ¡°There¡¯s a definite big bad boss in this entire area that¡¯s in control of the monsters. The spectral spiders are setting down some trap spells for us, too, while the monsters gathered into ranks. I say in three to five minutes, things are going to get froggy.¡± Naomi nodded. She checked her notifications. YES! She turned to tell Zarian about the results ¨C but a strident and ghoulish scream interrupted her. She saw shadowy and huge shapes moving in the blocky mist further in the distance. She heard ancient and waterlogged structures fall to devastation against an incoming tide of horrendous monstrosities. She felt heavy waves of killing intent from the latent instincts and primal thoughts that pulsated through the harrowing atmosphere. ¡°The curses have dialed up in power,¡± Para said, speaking as a serpent wrapped around the waist, her head serving as Zarian¡¯s buckle. She seemed to really like having serpent features. ¡°Something, a Master Ranker, no doubt, is acting even harder against us. This area is extensive, too, a region of its own. What could control all of this?¡± ¡°Maybe a Region Boss. I¡¯m picking up enough secrets and stories along with details from the spectral spiders that might suggest something bigger than a Lair Boss and Dungeon Boss,¡± Zarian said. ¡°However, I¡¯m running into stronger info blocks now. Heavier obscuring magic in the mist. At least from a distance. Up close, I¡¯m devouring all the profiles and details I can get as the monster wave gets closer.¡± Naomi thought about putting aside the Dao of Power stuff. Then she felt a quiver in her heart and pushed forward. It was selfish, but she wanted him to hear about it. ¡°I got +1 Strength from Dao of Power,¡± she said. His void-like eyes, with the faintest glimmer of starlight, opened wide. A genuine, happy, and warm smile spread wide across his face. That smile, the way he saw her for her, his genuine joy for her success were part of why she and the others loved and/or followed Zarian. He didn¡¯t make everything only about himself even though he should. Hell, he made it his mission to spotlight others as much as possible. I would die for you again and again and again. And she would rise in power as fast and as best as she could to exceed his expectations. And maybe overpower him entirely. She could tell he was going to say something that would make her heart do back flips. But some motherfucking ass-brain bastard of a monster interrupted him with a tree-trunk size barb of hardened flesh. It flew far faster than expected, too, catching even Naomi off guard, which pissed her off further. ¡°Don¡¯t interrupt us,¡± Zarian growled deeply, mirroring Naomi¡¯s anger while thrusting out his right palm. She felt something leave her, making her a little less than before ¨C the Lion Prince. Then Zarian became even grander and more magnanimous. He became the omega and the alpha to a ridiculous degree. The giant flying barb met his palm and ricocheted away as if it was a mere toothpick flicked at a steel wall. Naomi was a little shaken up from seeing that because Zarian wouldn¡¯t normally handle big hard stuff straight on. The wraith was one thing, but that barb had more power in it. That power showed when the barb¡¯s landing blasted up a bunch of temples and trees off in the distance after the deflection. ¡°What did you do?¡± she asked, concerned. Please don¡¯t tell me he went overboard. ¡°The Lion Prince plus the 250% skill boost from Overpowered Times Two,¡± Zarian said with a grin. ¡°I asserted that this conversation was more important. And it was. So everything¡¯s all¨C¡± The same arm Zarian had used to deflect the giant barb erupted with a large splatter of blood. The right arm flopped to the side, useless, at least until his vitality and parasite fixed it up. That didn¡¯t go as quickly as it should, though. The Gator grimoire let out an angry growl while bobbing over the pulverized arm. Morph screeched and made unhappy sounds as it scrambled from side to side behind Zarian¡¯s shoulders. Naomi looked at the mushed limb before meeting Zarian¡¯s eyes. She put on her tough mom/big sister/Staff Sergeant/Lady Instructor face. ¡°What did we learn?¡± she asked. A spark of that old and reckless young man she knew ¨C and also loved ¨C came to the surface of the handsome man-god. ¡°Don¡¯t abuse the Lion Prince or the odds will not be in my favor.¡± He ducked his head lower and rubbed his hand behind his neck. ¡°It¡¯s a cheat skill that comes at a heavy price if I fuck up. Also, putting the 250% skill boost from Overpowered Times Two with the Lion Prince is a bad idea. Even that 250% comes with consequences if overused.¡± ¡°Thankfully, it¡¯s not too terrible,¡± Para said. ¡°I¡¯m able to help fix up some of the damage with vitality¡¯s help. But it¡¯s slow for now, so the consequence factor might last until we rest properly, which we must account for going forward just like Overwhelming Darkness.¡± ¡°Oh joy,¡± Naomi said dryly. She wanted to hammer the point home, since they all knew Zarian could be headstrong. She also wanted his opinion on what Dao of Power would do for her in the next one hundred levels to Champion Rank. But then the monster wave arrived fully as an onrush of tumbling, slithering, roaring horrors in the mist. And a new side quest appeared in gold above their heads. And just like that, things became as Naomi wanted, danger hot. 241: B3: C31: Wizard, Cultivator, Harrowing Mist Isles, Monster Wave You¡¯re still the POV Character, Zarian sent to Naomi¡¯s mind. We¡¯re splitting the power of the Lion Prince, which makes it a little weaker than usual after I, uh, screwed up. So be careful! And if push comes to shove, we¡¯ll have to make a tactical retreat like the System suggests. The odds were that bad, huh? It is what it is. Naomi figured she could work with that as she flipped away from clawing strikes, gnashing teeth, and grasping tentacles. All of that came from one butt-ugly monster that looked like an angry beaver had a baby with a coked-up octopus. And that baby was the size of a school bus. She barely had enough time to absorb the info Zarian sent through the network. Another half a dozen large monsters were trying to gang up on her from behind. All of them were between Level 125 and Level 140. No Master Rankers, which was fortunate, because Naomi was a little disoriented and feeling slow. One reason for that was her harmonious meditation skill. It slowed her while she used a tranquil mind state to recover. The other reason was the powerful debuffs targeting her, cursing her. All nasty stuff, far stronger than what the Grimrock Hell Gate had done. Maybe there was a Region Boss out there like Zarian had said. Damn, I gotta take this seriously, Naomi thought to herself. Less Dao of Power, more Fatal Finisher. Less Barehanded Sage, and more Psionic Affinity. She might have to use Half Ignition, which was a special Aura Ignition technique she¡¯d taught herself. Before she could decide, whooping barb shots flew like mega sized artillery rounds. There were also acidic torrents shooting down from the thick cloud cover high above. Zarian hadn¡¯t caught on to enemies being up there until they started shooting. Naomi lunged out of the way of the attacks despite her physical and mental slowness. She barely dodged in time. Then she felt something she didn¡¯t like. Zarian and Para¡¯s distress. It was loud and clear to her even though they wanted to hide it. Just like how Naomi¡¯s psychic nature made it easier to hide her thoughts and feelings, being psychic made it easier to pry a little while connected on the spider network. She glanced past another butt-ugly monster that was half-snot, half corpse-pile and saw Zarian flickering in and out of sight as a hailstorm of attacks fell on him. Nothing could land flush. But Naomi could tell he was having some trouble. Her instinct to serve and protect Zarian kicked into overdrive. She knew what to do. She looked deep inside of herself. She found that extra angry juice that made her a hard ass woman. She found that little special sauce from Zarian. Then she used all of her Willpower and a little of Thematic Concept/Even Further Beyond to shove the POV thing away. She couldn¡¯t move her body much while doing that, at least not effectively, so she took her licks. She got battered around by vicious monsters. They tore her ass up. But Naomi kept shoving and shoving until, finally, she felt something dislodge. She threw back what belonged to her handsome man-god. Even as Naomi suffered another brutal and painful death, Zarian¡¯s shock was loud and clear on the network. Wait¡­ did you just ¡­ *** Did you just push the POV all the way back to me with Willpower and pure DETERMINATION?! Zarian sent on the network, surprised by the mad woman¡¯s audacity. She even got herself killed again, torn down by a mob of monsters. Thankfully, her mythical trait, Undying Tyrant, revived her and made her enormously stronger than before. That was relieving and worrying. Naomi¡¯s life energy suffered. And the monsters had heavy doses of death magic on their side. But Lion Prince wasn¡¯t getting split anymore. The skill was still weak, and causality was definitely not in his favor. The enemies had a better chance against him. They could challenge him. They could change everything if they actually took him down. But he felt better now that he had all the Lion Prince with him. You¡¯re welcome. Now pick up the slack and get to killing, Naomi sent after reviving herself. There was only one response that he could give. I¡¯ll set something up to make your sacrifices worth it, Marine. We¡¯re gonna hit them with that oorah magic of freedom. Rah! Naomi triggered Half Ignition with an immense shockwave that threw back the monsters, and Zarian regathered his thoughts and assessed the situation for more intel and recent updates. He relied less on the void and jerked himself around in the air using pure Aura Mastery. His grimoires followed him just as always, especially Morph. The buggy thing had wrapped himself up in the kilt¡¯s ragged threads behind the small of his back. I have options. But what are we facing fully? Zarian dialed up his intellect from his free evil +5, his arcana hat raised his high-speed smarts even higher, and Devourer of Secrets and Stories kept churning through the information blocks to steal intel. There were six types of monsters attacking as a collective wave. First type, the Octo Reaver Monsters, averaging in the mid Level 120s, with classes ranging from Corpse Collector, Bone Mounter, and Adventurer Ensnarer. They looked like giant beavers fused with octopuses. They moved super fast, favoring their Agility and Mysticism stats. Most of their skills came with the death element except for the Adventurer Ensnarer class, which focused on swamp magic and poison magic. Second type, the Sludge Serpent Monsters, averaging in the late Level 120s, with Cadaver Fuser as their only class. They looked like subway trains made of sludge and corpses. They had heavy stats built into their Strength and Wonder. They could make all the corpses in their slimy bodies move individually and cast large volleys of death related attacks. They could also lunge with a sticky, acidic body slam to catch prey. Third type, the Mire Hound Monsters, averaging in the early Level 130s, with classes ranging from Bone Cruncher, Terror Howler, and Adventurer Hunter. They were like Naomi, focusing on Strength and Agility, but depending on their classes, their third top stat might be Willpower for crunching, Wonder for hunting, or Mysticism for howling. Each one was the size of a pickup truck, too. They ran around on the fringes and lunged in from the blindsides for easy strikes. Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. Fourth type, the Buzz Zombie Monsters, averaging early Level 130s, all with the Hive Carrier class. They looked the most humanoid while eight feet tall, which would make them the most nightmarish to most adventurers. They had dry, husk-like skin that looked like enchanted wasp paper. They had bloated faces with no eyes, no tongues, which were used as passages. Their whole thing was to catch other humans and unleash their swarm of thumb-size Hive Wasp Monsters, each with the Level 85 Hive Maker class. That would technically make them an extra monster type on the scene, with abilities for paralyzing and creating new buzz zombies. The last two types were the ones Zarian disliked the most. Further out, while shrouded in the mist, an artillery line of Spiny Crawler Monsters shot at him, all with the Level 135 Barb Cannon class. All of their abilities surrounded their Barb Shot +4 skill, the most advanced skill Zarian had ever identified. No wonder his right arm was out of commission. The power of that skill¡¯s advancements wouldn¡¯t allow causality to follow Zarian¡¯s whim so easily. The creature itself looked like the bones and flesh of a hunched over giant crawling face first through the muck. The arch of its spine, where the barbs grew from, was extra pronounced. Each barb had seeker magic, warp magic, poison magic, death magic, and something new ¨C unlucky magic, which would explain why his causality skill failed so harshly. They were screwing with his luck, which weakened his chances, which lowered his odds. The flying barbs stressed Zarian the most as every close dodge became closer and closer. The fucked up part is the Level 0 version of Barb Shot would not come with the unlucky magic. It¡¯s an extra ability from being a +4 skill, and a Level 0 copy wouldn¡¯t have that. Level 0 skills were stuck in the beta section, and they were much weaker and insufficient than before after reaching Level 100. This made skill copies less valuable at these levels compared to ability combiners. Still, he might keep his options open for something truly extraordinary, after he had more of a handle on things. There was still the sixth type, which were monsters that had the best obscuring magic Zarian had faced, which overlapped with the powers of the Harrowing Mist Isles Region Boss. The sixth monster types were shooting down acidic beam torrents from the thick clouds above and remaining concealed from the Conquest Wizard¡¯s senses and identifying scans. Every time he tried to sweep over them with Devourer of Secrets and Stories, he kept getting denied. So far, they had used nothing else but acidic beams. They stayed focused on him, but he didn¡¯t like the lack of intel on the sixth. He didn¡¯t want to go up there and leave Naomi alone, either, at least until he shifted the flow of the battle. At the very least, Naomi was going hog wild now, which was her being serious. Her incredible trait, Dao of Power, might or might not grow from this. But it didn¡¯t seem to matter to Naomi. She was already on her second death for the day, increasing her tyrannical buffs. She paired that with Half Ignition ¨C which allowed her to use her skills ¨C while adding some other physical and psychic powers, regardless of the costs. With Harmonious Meditation of Heaven and Hell, she became berserk. She put on her Nascent Soul Robe, becoming a bright purple beacon of cultivator grandeur. She sized up, becoming far bigger than ever before with her Primal Huntress Form +3. Eight feet. Ten feet. Twelve feet. Sixteen feet! She didn¡¯t stop until she was twenty feet tall, making her an obvious supersize threat. A flick of her tail sounded like a thunder clap. Her claws and fangs were longer than combat knives. Her cat ears barely poked out from her voluminous and curly hair, which waved about from the chaotic aura venting from her like an inferno. She growled, her voice shaking the air, making all the monsters freeze up a little, their Willpower getting tested by the primal huntress. That was fine and dandy, but for Zarian¡¯s sake, he was glad that her purple soul robe and blue bonfire of ignited aura expanded with her body. The layer of shiny magic powers covered the exposed hole in the chest of her bodysuit, hiding some of the major parts that grew to match her dimensions. Then the uncharacteristic distraction, which Zarian blamed on Lion Prince, fell out of focus as Naomi powered up more and more. She hit a new peak of power for the day before throwing her first proper attack on an Octo Reaver Bone Mounter. A single palm thrust. The creature snapped out of its temporary fear before slapping its tentacles into the marshy floor and launching off its claws. Its beaver head tilted forward while glowing with a necrotic green energy. There was a glint of confidence in the monster¡¯s dark eyes while counterattacking with a Death Skull Bash +3. Then the eyes of the Octo Reaver Bone Mounter popped out of its skull and joined the explosion of gore blasting in all directions from its body. Naomi¡¯s giant-sized and super-strong palm thrust was ramming straight through with a compact and brutal psychic eruption as the cherry on top. After she destroyed her first monster of the monster wave, the side quest became a violent mosh pit of blood and gore with a giant psychic cat girl cultivator in the middle. Naomi marched through the monsters, soaked massive hits, and struck back with bigger and badder hits. Hand chops. Palm thrusts. Backhands. Claw slashes. Elbow strikes. Stomps. And many more. Each hit sounded like thunder and lightning. Viscera and swamp water rained everywhere. Shockwaves of magic, brutal bone-breaking impacts, and giant mutilated bodies caught in a wushu meat grinder flew about. The nearest ancient temples and lost structures scattered away like they were sand castles caught in a riot during a severe storm. The unfortunate part was how she was slower at this size. She had to take more hits to dish out the pain. Faster monsters could dodge around her. Fortunately, she didn¡¯t need to always hit directly to leave a mark or drop a monster into a defenseless position. Some of her strikes discharged psychic blasts of force and electricity. All for the sake of rattling the fast ones and battering everything caught in the wake. Then the ones that fell over and recovered too late ended up trampled underfoot as she kept marching in a savage circle of death, psionics, and power. To see it from a distance as mere observer was like seeing a moving painting of an ancient war goddess at work against evil creatures of the most demented nightmares. Thick purple psychic thunderbolts cracked across the air from her heaviest hits. The roaring blue fire of ignited aura covered her massive frame and kept her fueled. Her purple robe, with the purple lightning sash around her waist, remained pristine and beautiful even as Naomi turned monsters into splatter art with her hits. She became such a menace while palm-thrusting Octo Reaver Monsters, hand-chopping Sludge Serpent Monsters, tail-whacking Mire Hound Monsters, and stepping on Buzz Zombie Monsters, that the fifth and sixth monster types had to split their attention away from Zarian and start raining attacks down on her. Zarian bided his time to further prepare his counteroffensive and to let Naomi soak in hits for her Dao of Power. As much as he worried, he loved to see her grow, and he felt he was gambling correctly this time. Even with a class that was less in quality than she deserved, the woman was a monster of a cultivator. The powerful barbs struck Naomi, knocked her off-course, but couldn¡¯t stop her fully. The acidic torrents couldn¡¯t burn her fast enough before she released a pulse of psychic force that removed the gunk from her body. She slowed down a bit, but she kept handing out defeat after defeat to monster challengers anyway. After Naomi soaked a few more hits and drew some more attention, drawing heavy enemy aggro like a proper tank, Zarian checked with Para. Ready, she said in his head. ¡°Give me sacrifice,¡± Zarian said. All around the monster wave, spectral spiders waved their little arcana hats and triggered their arrays. They hadn¡¯t triggered them prior because Zarian and the spiders redirected from their original strategy. They created something new based on prior research. Which research was that? The gravity research, of course. That damn unsolvable spell was still their most researched magic ability other than Overwhelming Darkness. Zarian needed to get back to his gravity work some day, but today he settled with pieces and the simple basics of the real thing. So under his directions, the spiders had hastily made arrays with one purpose, to askew gravity at a certain angle and have it localize at a spot in the air. Many of the corpses on the battlefield, most if not all having suffered a crushing defeat by Naomi, had webbing spun in intricate runic arrays on their mutilated bodies. The runic webbings flashed a cosmic purple. The corpses flew up at an angle, rising toward a spot above the middle of the monster wave attack. Smashing together, the growing ball of corpses became a fleshy, gory singularity over everyone¡¯s heads. The corpse singularity reached the size of a giant fortress hill when the second monster wave came rushing in with fresh units of each type. By this point, Naomi was looking heavily strained. The amount of vitality and aura she needed to work a twenty-foot powerhouse body was enormous. Some of her key buffs had degrading effects on her, regardless of the benefits. The debuff curses in the region were having an effect, too. She couldn¡¯t afford another death. That would be too dangerous for her life energy. She would have to power up to First Ignition, since the new monster wave promised to overwhelm her. Nah, no need. You¡¯ve done enough, Naomi. Time for me to bring the overkill. ¡°Give me death and destruction,¡± Zarian said, tracing his fingers on the big black cover of the Advanced Grimoire of Black Magic +2. The spectral chains attached to his soul rattled as he powered up. He pointed Aura Slayer at the corpse singularity in the air before chanting aloud. ¡°Crucifying Storm Tower.¡± Meanwhile, Para reached out with a parasite-made hand and placed it close to Zarian¡¯s hand on the black magic grimoire. Another hand from Para grabbed the orbiting metal cover of the Advanced Grimoire of the Voidling Exile +2. The ragged, cosmic-lit strands of the kilt flared out. Para drew aura and power from her host before hissing aloud two spells. ¡°Arcane Artillery Platform. Void Domain.¡± 242: B3: C32: Wizard, Cultivator, Harrowing Mist Isles, Crucifying Storm Tower If it wasn¡¯t for Zarian¡¯s free evil +5 and the pressure of causality turning against him, he wouldn¡¯t have brainstormed with Para to do something extra devious. These factors had led to them stacking the effects of his incomplete gravity spell, Crucifying Storm Tower, Arcane Artillery Platform, Void Domain, and an extra surprise that the wizard was saving for the end to fuck over the monster wave. Void Domain, a mythical spell, was a known factor for infusing the void with the environment, far or near. It could twist elemental magic and even enchanted effects. Paired with the mythical trait, Outer Planar Scourge, and all the other wizard-based buffs, the domain was powerful by itself. Most wizards wouldn¡¯t dream of using something like Void Domain as mere support for other spells. Granted, its aura cost was steep, so it seemed more like a special badass finisher move. Zarian and Para thought differently when they became creative while under enough stress. Especially with how they wanted to apply the main wombo-combo spells coming from the Black Magic grimoire, which they hadn¡¯t used before. ¡°Give me CONQUEST!¡± Zarian shouted for extra dramatic effect. That might¡¯ve seemed silly and impractical, but the flow of causality was changing for the better. His odds improved as Zarian and Para leaned into the dramatics while doing badass wizard stuff. Para used Void Domain to darken the surrounding skies. Eldritch windows to the beyond appeared like fracturing rips. Flickering images of maddening void creatures flashed in and out of appearance. They circled like sharks, with a thousand eyes peeking at a little world dipped into their endless waters. The sight of the eldritch horrors was so grave that even the monsters of the mist isles had their Willpower tested, making them hesitate and slow down, easing the pressure off Naomi. That was really the main point of Void Domain. It was a distraction for Crucifying Storm Tower to form and start its grim work. The storm tower speared upward and downward from the middle of the corpse gravity singularity. It looked like a growing funnel of frost shards and lightning bolts that aimed to strike both heaven and hell. The lower end of the storm tower struck first with a marsh-shaking quake. Then the frost shards and lightning bolts combined, becoming wondrous and mystical frost-lightning torture chains with nails at the end. By then, the corpse singularity blended into the storm tower, which crunched, minced, and fused all the corpses into a death pillar at the center. Then, with a ghoulish and stormy roar, the tower expressed its hunger to collect more dead things and continue its growth. Blue-white magic chains reached out with lightning speed. The chains struck with giant icicle nails that skewered deep into their targets ¨C the monsters of the monster wave. The first monster caught was an Octo Reaver Monster. The frost nail was ten feet long and rammed right into the side of its gut, the chains rattling with a promise to bring about ultimate pain. The monster screamed from the initial hit, but it was too slow to smash away the giant nail before the lightning effect struck. Then the monster suffered the most pain it ever faced in its monstrous life, paralyzing it as things only grew worse. The icicle nail grew with spreading frost that froze up the monster¡¯s guts and cemented the hold. Then the frost-lightning chains went taut with a loud clang, jerking the monster toward its doomed fate ¨C the storm tower itself. Seeing this, the Octo Reaver Monster tried to dig its claws into the marsh bed. It tried to grab the nearest structures with its tentacles. It tried to fight the inevitable pull and the torturous lightning pain and the growing frost spreading from inside. Miraculously, the reaver resisted enough to stop from getting reeled. A little hope appeared in the monster¡¯s dark eyes. Another frost-lightning chain and nail struck it in the spine and sealed its fate, all hope lost. The storm tower reeled the monster all the way in. The same happened to another Octo Reaver Monster. Then another and another. One or two chains stopped them in their tracks if they didn¡¯t move fast enough. They were agile monsters. The storm tower wasn¡¯t too fast. But their Willpower was under duress from a combination of Void Domain and Naomi¡¯s rampage as a giant cat girl cultivator. The storm tower wasn¡¯t sapient, but it was opportunistic. The spell lashed, nailed, chained, and reeled in the first living sacrifices. The caught reavers screamed and struggled, their attempts to escape becoming futile as the storm tower brought them into its embrace. Most ended up crucified to the base of the storm tower. Others that had the misfortune of getting reeled up higher on the tower suffered for longer and died slower. From there, the lightning torture grew more intense, the frost magic slowed further, and the life drain quickened until the reavers became proper corpses. Their dead bodies disappeared into the raging funnel, which minced, crushed, and fused them to the lengthening corpse pillar at the center. The tower grew. The tower caught more sacrifices, this time with more speed, with more force, which put the Mire Hound Monsters in trouble. The evil hounds resisted for a time, but eventually the storm tower won out. The hounds suffered the stormy crucifix treatment, killing and making them a part of the corpse pillar like the reavers before them. The storm grew. The storm lashed out with more frost-lightning chains. They went for anything that moved now, which included the Sludge Serpent Monsters and Buzz Zombie Monsters. The interesting thing about undead creatures was that they had no life energy. They still had basic souls, however, each one equipped with profiles, abilities, and stats. But instead of life energy, they ran only with vitality and aura. In a way, enough hits to an undead could take them down once their vitality was spent. But the undead had more vitality than most creatures. That made up for their lack of life energy. Hence why the undead were so tireless and seemingly unstoppable ¨C especially Zarian¡¯s sufficiently advanced skeletons. Despite the lack of life energy, the storm tower chained and crucified the sludge serpents and buzz zombies anyway. It couldn¡¯t torture them much, but it could slow them and apply basic physics damage that came from the unmentioned part of the spell ¨C a fucking storm of frost and lightning whirling fast like a blender. This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Zarian also added Aura Mastery as a damage boost modification. The damage effect was slower on the undead monsters, but their death-based nature was still a draw for the tower. Once defeated and broken down to minced pieces, the sludge serpents, buzz zombies, and their extra baggage became one with the corpse pillar at the center of the growing storm tower. Just like that, the monster wave¡¯s numerical advantage became its own weakness. The oncoming monsters that were reinforcing the wave, living and undead, fed themselves to the storm tower, which only made the legendary spell even stronger. It was for that reason Zarian had waited to gather the defeated monsters of Naomi¡¯s rampage into a corpse singularity. The early sacrifice gave the spell the head start it needed against monsters in the Level 120 to 140 range, on top of all the buffs, aura, and mastery Zarian applied to it. The fight quickly went from decently challenging to manageable to easy. Naomi switched her mind state from berserk to tranquil to help her recover. She focused on defense as a few Barb Shot +4s and acid torrents came at her as pot shots. Other than that, she didn¡¯t have to do much more now. All the ground-based monsters sweeping in with the wave became easier and easier pickings for the storm tower. A multitude of monsters cried as they ended up crucified to the nightmarish spell thrusting up into the sky. It churned up plenty more sacrifices that it could catch from farther out and with greater tenacity. At some point, a large swath of the sky became the roaring rattle of frost-lightning chains reaching out to prey as far as a mile and beyond now. Flying barbs and acid beams lost their accuracy as the shooters pulled back to stay out of reach of the storm tower. They were the only ones that could attack from afar, their one saving grace. Then Para blasted forth an arcane artillery round from one of thirty-six slots, all arranged in six orange diagrams filled with vibrant runes, lines, circles, and deep arcane symbols. The artillery shot traced back the exact direction of the last barb shooter, drawing a magic blue-purple line in the darkened battlefield, before erupting at the end with an explosion of gravity force, frost fragments, and lightning bolts. Not a kill, but it didn¡¯t need to be. The Spiny Crawler Monster had its back legs blown off, its body frozen over, and its weight multiplied. It was stuck. Para changed targets and fired again. She changed targets and fired a third time. She sped up, double-tapping in quick succession. Then she pushed some more and triple-tapped. She pushed her speed to where she could reload six slots in the time she fired seven, which sounded like a rapid battery line going off at a cyclic rate. Zarian flew in up and down patterns, around the reaching and yanking chains of frost and lightning. He circled round and round the storm tower while Para provided aerial artillery support ¨C as if the wizard and parasite were a flying gunship. Only when she completely emptied her slots by firing faster than she could reload did she pause, reassess, then acquire new targets after the artillery slots refilled. She did this while maintaining Void Domain as an aerial distraction and for the Outer Planar Scourge buffs. By not wasting more than one shot on a Spiny Crawler Monster, Para¡¯s efficiency could hit its peak, leaving the injured monsters as easy prey for the storm tower to chain and crucify to help feed and grow it. The storm tower rose taller and taller. It reached further and further. It became such a dominating phenomenon that Naomi ran out of monsters to fight. Zarian and Para took over, slaying monsters faster than the monster wave could produce. With nothing else to do, Naomi jumped into the air while maintaining her giant cat girl form. She bobbed and weaved between frost-lightning chains and screaming monsters getting reeled to be crucified and crushed. Then the cultivator slowed to a hover next to the dynamic duo. ¡°How can I help kill more?¡± she growled. ¡°Load up the artillery platform with psychic force,¡± Zarian said. ¡°Oh, and let Para drain from your Half Ignition. We need more aura! MOOOORE AURAAA!¡± ¡°Your help will be much appreciated, Naomi!¡± Para cheered. Naomi gave them a big and toothy smile. She let Para feast on her extra aura, which was a gigantic relief for the wizard and parasite. The cultivator added her psychic power to their artillery platform, her big finger curled around Zarian¡¯s tail as part of the transfer. Touch wasn¡¯t necessary for her. But he would not disapprove. Soon enough, Zarian and Para¡¯s rendition as a flying gunship loaded up with explosive rounds of gravity, frost, lightning, and psionics became even more powerful. That last element damaged the minds of the monsters and made them easier prey for the storm tower. Naomi laughed at the chaos and madness of it all, which came out loud and bold while she kept up the giant cat girl act. Para laughed along with her. The two of them reminded Zarian of that song about how girls just want to have fun. He found that amusing until his attention snapped toward the results he was looking for. The crucifying chains of frost and lightning were catching the acid-shooting monsters that had stayed hidden up to this point. They couldn¡¯t move any further back. Just like all monsters, they had hard coded parameters that made them more linked to the System than other creatures. That was why monsters could grow faster and seem stronger than the magical beasts and adventurer races of the land. Monsters had specific designs that rewarded their evil with hidden mechanics and buffs from the Star System. But they also had to succumb more to certain rules. It was for this reason that monstrous creatures like Reiki of the White Silk Dancers were so special. She was the most human of monsters, which gave credence to her being a person before becoming a Dungeon Boss. But unlike her, the regular mill of monsters who lusted on eating and tormenting people were stuck in a box. The same went for the clever and evasive Gloom Hornet Monsters, Level 140 Acid Shooters. They couldn¡¯t back up anymore. This monster wave was a mini quest event, and an event with waves couldn¡¯t run without its main enemy force. Thus, the gloom hornets found themselves stuck between an invisible box and a storm tower that quickly chained them, crucified them, and carved their asses up. With that, the wizard and cultivator should have total victory. But Zarian and his free evil +5 had some doubts about that. Come on, come on, do a switch up on us! Zarian begged. Try to surprise us! Zarian nearly screamed in joy as a gold notification with ¡®troubling news¡¯ appeared above them. Having free evil +5 was the best, because he didn¡¯t have to read the notification to know what was happening. Still, for the sake of playing their role, he scanned the notification. Zarian slapped his cheek with his working hand and shouted in shock. ¡°Oh no! It looks like the end of the monster wave being an easy victory for us made the boss monsters mad! They must want to stop us after defeating all of their monsters!¡± Para played along with maximum enthusiasm. ¡°Oh, mercy us! How foolish are we for thinking we can overpower the dangers of this grave place without comeuppance! Surely we are DOOMED!¡± Zarian gave it an A+ score in his head, and his parasite glowed inwardly with joy. They were starting to like the idea of playing off as super bards for the sake of Lion Prince. Naomi growled as she took the situation seriously, and causality wobbled in uncertainty. But that was fine. Zarian wanted the five Dungeon Boss Master Rankers to square up. The boss rankers drew closer at startling speeds. They had powerful magic that obscured their profiles, too, giving nothing away. Zarian couldn¡¯t even see their true forms. They had hazy mist magic that coated each one of them, forcing Zarian to judge them by size and outline. Each one looked like dark, smoky comets the size of three story apartments, with the one at the center giving off the most powerful and evil vibes. ¡°I¡¯ll go to Second Ignition if I have to!¡± Naomi shouted. ¡°But I need time to power up to first, and then to second!¡± ¡°No need,¡± Zarian said. Once they got in range, the storm tower tried to catch the incoming boss rankers, but it was to no avail. They rammed straight through the chains of lightning and frost. Clearly, the raiding bosses were near the peak for monsters on the World of Castles and Caverns, to where Zarian and Naomi should cut their losses and run. This was not a fight they should have without the full party, especially since the point of this trip was for practice and some personal fun. Yet, with a spreading grin, Zarian grabbed Morph from behind him. The creepy crawler grimoire screeched and hissed with some sass, but not too much. Morph settled into his role as a source of major spell magic. Aura Slayer served as a fancy wand with an edge while held by Zarian¡¯s lion tail. Zarian cast his pi¨¨ce de r¨¦sistance for this entire event. ¡°Big Bad Polymorphs!¡± 243: B3: C33: Big Bad Retreat Zarian and Para felt an immense amount of aura drain away faster than ever before. The wizard clenched his jaw and endured as he held tight to Morph and Aura Slayer. Para let out a soft squeal, forced to drop the Arcane Artillery Platform. She put all of her focus on maintaining Void Domain, affecting only a few dozen feet of surrounding air space. Even then, the dynamic duo nearly lost everything as Zarian finished casting Big Bad Polymorphs on the titanic and ever-hungry Crucifying Storm Tower. There was a point where the amount of aura pouring out of Zarian strained his Aura Mastery and Aura Magnificence. He dumped so much he lost vitality from the ordeal. His vision shook. He heard the rapid drumming of his overstressed heart in his ears. Everything was out of whack for him. Para yanked at his attention through their connection, snapping him out of his daze. He did what the spell description said and ¡®beheld¡¯ the results of his latest crash out choice. ¡°Dear Gilbert¡¯s God,¡± Zarian said, eyes widening. ¡°What have we created?¡± Morph made squeaky burp sounds as if to mock the wizard. Zarian paid the unruly grimoire little mind as Crucifying Storm Tower finished its transformation. It was no longer a mere legendary spell. Instead, it was another nightmarish creature of the Infinita Star System, which Zarian identified as the Undead Elemental Polymorph, a Level 155 Corpse Stormer. By the virtue of that name alone, most adventurers and monsters would run. The boss rankers kept flying forward, uncaring of the newly formed monstrosity. To be fair to them, the polymorph wasn¡¯t a Master Ranker. But it had a massive half-a-mile long arm that it swung with such speed and force, it created multiple tornados from the sheer movement and magic. The gnarled and rotten hand, which was the size of a small stadium at the end of the swinging arm, swatted one of the boss rankers down with an explosive impact. The boss struck the marshes like a meteorite. The hard landing blew down swamp temples hundreds of feet of the crash. Seeing that first strike, Zarian figured the immense polymorph had enough stats and power to get past the rank issue. It damn sure looked like it as Zarian examined the Corpse Stormer¡¯s entire appearance. It was a towering three-mile tall mass of corpses fused with lightning, frost, death, and gravity magic. It had the silhouette of a mummified humanoid with extra limbs when looked at from a distance. Its legs were fused together while covered in a roaring funnel of destruction ripping at the ground below. Multiple arms of different lengths swung about at different lopsided heights. Its lumpy head, which was made of thousands of skulls, moved in circles at the top of the storm funnel. Between all of that was a chest that was a patchwork fusion of over a thousand corpses. There were so many gaping, oddly sized holes in its chest that someone with trypophobia would have nightmares from seeing all of that. ¡°That¡¯s one big ugly motherfucker you created, Morph!¡± Naomi yelled over the roaring winds and thunderous frost lightning. The creepy crawly grimoire squealed with pride. Zarian was about to say something when the titanic polymorph showed off its magic. A pulse of death-fused gravity blasted outward in a shockwave that traveled for miles. Frost lightning chains lashed out similarly to the former Crucifying Storm Tower, but with greater heft, speed, and accuracy. Then the Corpse Stormer opened its chest, all of its many holes gaping wider with a thunderous crack, and inhaled with an immense suction to draw its victims closer. Every power it unleashed served a simple purpose ¨C bringing all life into its deathly embrace. And that included Zarian, Para, and Naomi. The polymorph behemoth was not on their side. Zarian roared as he pushed his limited aura and his incomplete wizard studies against the green-purple wave of death and gravity. He blocked off the gravity portion to stop him and Naomi from getting yanked toward the Corpse Stormer. And he endured the death magic with his own body. His Divine Revival Charm kicked in with its anti-death protective measures. With that in his soul, he bent the nearest flow of death magic toward him to absorb it and crush it, saving Naomi¡¯s limited life energy. ¡°Do we fight it and the boss rankers!¡± Naomi shouted, her giant fist cocked back as the death-gravity wave passed over everything else. Zarian wasn¡¯t sure as the surrounding area roared with peak destruction. Ancient temples, swamped gardens, underwater mausoleums, and many types of monsters outside of the event ended up ripped up into the air along with countless gallons of water. Everything the death-gravity wave touched got yanked toward the Corpse Stormer, and if it was alive, it was dying on its way toward a horrific collision course. ¡°It¡¯s swinging those giant chains our way!¡± Naomi pointed out. Zarian chuckled sardonically. A contracting wall of gravitational destruction enclosed them as chains and powerful suction funnels made it harder to maneuver around the titanic polymorph. It was clear that they either moved forward and faced the polymorph head on or get caught by something to the sides. Each choice had nothing but downsides. And Zarian¡¯s aura was close to depletion. It¡¯s time to retreat, Para sent on the network. Zarian agreed, turning and flying into Naomi¡¯s chest. She was still twenty feet tall, unfortunately, so the next maneuver would cost his nearly depleted aura a lot more than he¡¯d like to spend. But there was a part of Zarian that found it a little exhilarating, even if frightening, because he hadn¡¯t pushed his wizardry this close to the edge in a while. He had a smile on his face as he latched on to anything grabbable on Naomi¡¯s ripped up bodysuit as Para cast Void Waltz. They barely made it out in time as a giant frost-lightning chain with a fifty-foot nail swung at them, which missed by a hairbreadth. Even through the void, the nightmarish power of the Corpse Stormer followed them. Frost, lightning, and death-cursed gravity winds billowing over them for a moment. Then all traces of the polymorph¡¯s power petered out as all things would in the void. Silence reigned. Nothing but Zarian, Para, Naomi, the grimoires, and the void creatures existed here. Then the void peeled away, Para cancelling all magic before they bottomed out. The wizard and the cultivator tumbled through the air ungracefully. The sky and mountainous ground flipped over and over from their view point. Zarian didn¡¯t bother using any aura or magic to stop himself from the hard landing with his name on it. Naomi, however, had different plans. She righted herself mid air with a torque of her body and a pulse of psychic force. She swooped in fast with her long arms, snatching up and hugging Zarian like he was a stuffed animal. Then they crashed into the face of a castle mountain. Naomi plowed straight through all obstacles with her backside first, protecting Zarian with all of her body curled around him, even if it was unnecessary. Still, the wizard appreciated the gesture. He also enjoyed the rough ride. Weathered stone walls, cracked columns, sunken stone floors, and cavernous halls behind tons of mountainous rock had a crash course with reality. The backside of the Tempering Cultivator was nearly unstoppable when she was in motion, especially at high velocities. Eventually, she crashed through enough obstacles to slow her down. She landed somewhere beneath the surface with a cascade of debris following in her wake. They struck an underground lake. Crystalline and aura-rich water rushed over Zarian¡¯s body, feeling so cool and nice that it was almost too abrupt. Some of it went down the wrong pipe, but he was too powerful to get bothered by that. He still felt a little disoriented while wrung out from having dumped so much aura. Thankfully, Naomi still had a hold of him, and she remained aware enough. You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. There was a sudden pulse of motion. More things crashed into the water with them. It took a second for Zarian to realize at least a quarter of a mountain side was sliding down the same hole Naomi had created. The cultivator was using her Psychokinesis +3 to propel herself like a submarine away from the rock fall. Once they reached the other side of the underground lake, she stood to her very tall height. Zarian remained in her arms, held up against her chest like a wet child. He didn¡¯t mind the treatment, especially since they were far from danger and he could relax. All of his grimoires hovered or scrambled around his body. His tail dangled over the side of Naomi¡¯s arm with Aura Slayer held by the tip. The giant cat woman strode toward a dry and safe corner with shimmering crystals filled with condensed aura. They were Aura Crystals, to be exact. Those were rare in rarity and extremely valuable. Zarian summoned a few spectral spiders to go collect them. Then he put them out of mind as Naomi sat her large self down on a shelf of rock while still holding onto Zarian like he was her child. ¡°I think we¡¯re safe,¡± he said, lounging in place. ¡°Maybe.¡± Her cat-like eyes turned down to focus on him. Her ears twitched this way and that. Then she looked up where the last portion of the mountainous stone waterfall entered the once pristine lake. The enriching waters clouded over with dust and dirt as the new hole shone with the twin suns into the dirtied cavern lake, which was a shame to see, honestly. ¡°No, seriously, we¡¯re safe,¡± Zarian insisted. ¡°Uh huh,¡± she said dryly. ¡°Para took us far, far south, back within the Grimrock Castle Mountains.¡± Zarian used his tail to pass Aura Slayer to a lazing strand of the parasite kilt. With a single touch, Para sent the overly large and sharpened wand back into their pocket dimension. Zarian continued. ¡°While that thing back there was scary and Level 155 ¡­ it¡¯s got no void magic. It couldn¡¯t follow us.¡± ¡°I felt it try to pull us with a lot of magical weight, sir,¡± Naomi said, her tail flicking aggressively from behind her. ¡°I can¡¯t believe a spell from Morph can make something like that.¡± The creepy crawly grimoire spat and burped rudely while sashaying on top of the wizard¡¯s chest. Zarian flicked his tail and smacked his tuft on the grimoire¡¯s cover before dismissing him and the others. Instead of trying to convince Naomi to calm down, he waited. He noted her Half Ignition was gone, so she was maintaining her size and her battle alert nature through sheer grit and effort. Eventually, after half an hour passed, Naomi had to power down. Her tranquil recovery from her harmonious meditation skill turned out more potent than Zarian realized, because staying twenty feet tall was an aura guzzler move. Nonetheless, the Corpse Stormer wasn¡¯t their problem anymore. That was a problem for the Harrowing Mist Isles and the monsters there to deal with. ¡°Huh? When was the last time we performed a tactical retreat?¡± Naomi stretched and twisted about with slow, methodical motions while standing on a rock ledge hanging over the lake. The damages to her body suit revealed a lot of skin underneath. At the very least, the hole in the middle of her chest had fixed itself enough to cover the important bits. Zarian still ended up looking at the obvious cleavage gap as Naomi bent forward to touch her toes. ¡°We never really had to retreat.¡± Zarian sat on a modest, high-backed chair made from the parasite kilt. He tossed up and down a small Aura Crystal shard that a spectral spider had given him. Every time the shard landed back in his palm, Para¡¯s hunger aura took a bite from the condensed energy inside the crystal. There was so much of the stuff, Zarian could easily recharge himself if he swept his aura over a fraction of the discovery. He refrained, of course. He had enough Mysticism to recover on his own and the Aura Crystals were hella valuable. Most were epic quality with a few giant versions that were as tall as a one story building. The big ones were legendary in quality. Those contained a lot of condensed aura. More than even Zarian needed. Naomi slowly straightened her body. She pointed at the crystal shard in his hand. ¡°That¡¯s supposed to be something important?¡± Zarian smiled. ¡°Oh ¡­ it¡¯s very important. Hannah has mentioned she¡¯d run into issues with her golem projects because of their aura-intense nature. She could only use so many recharge enchantments before that led to other complications or outright burnout.¡± Zarian waved the crystal around. ¡°These can solve that problem for her. Maybe not perpetually. But if her golems had condensed sources of aura for emergency cases when their recharge enchantments aren¡¯t enough ¡­ yeah ¡­ this is going to be great for her projects.¡± Naomi squinted at him. She smirked a little. ¡°It¡¯s also great for when you do big bad wizardry stuff and need some extra juice.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what your ignition is for.¡± ¡°You drained my Half Ignition and caused it to fail.¡± Zarian jerked in his seat, shocked. Para spoke through the serpent¡¯s head at the waist of his kilt. ¡°She¡¯s right. The Big Bad Polymorph was an immense spell that drained more aura than any magic we¡¯ve ever cast before. That would explain how the Undead Elemental Polymorph came to be as a Level 155 Corpse Stormer. We not only created a unique brand of monster ¡­ we created one with an overly powerful class.¡± ¡°The class was legendary,¡± Zarian said, in agreement. ¡°Not mythical, thankfully, but we both know legendary can still carry.¡± ¡°Yup,¡± Naomi grunted. Zarian wondered if Morph was something he should pay more attention to going forward. After all, Morph had come from a special achievement. Zarian remembered the exact one ¨C Greater Boon Avatar Domination (Divine). The Star System had rewarded that one for raking Sinfeast across the dark-enhanced void back at the Chimera Tyrant Lair. ¡°Huh, so Morph coming from a divine achievement actually fits,¡± Zarian said. ¡°He¡¯s a powerful grimoire. And there are new spells to learn in his screwed up pages.¡± ¡°And you thought little of our precious grimoire when he first came to be,¡± Para said, chuckling. ¡°That¡¯s okay. I knew he would prove you wrong with his true power.¡± Naomi laughed along with Para. Zarian frowned a little. Well, he supposed he deserved the ribbing. He hadn¡¯t taken Morph seriously beyond trick plays or to serve as an extra damage modifier. Now he¡¯d seen for himself that Morph was a mighty grimoire with serious implications. I¡¯ll give him some praise. But not too much. Morph already has an ego. Zarian kept the ball rolling. ¡°Well, we got to see how capable we are. We took down monsters forty levels above us. Not master rankers, sure, but that¡¯s freaking crazy. Great job with stacking as many buffs as you can, Naomi. And good work in handling some tough wizardry without too much of my input, Para. We can¡¯t unravel into each other like before, but I think we¡¯ll be alright going forward.¡± ¡°Yes, I agree. We still share a space in your head. We don¡¯t need much more than that,¡± Para said. Zarian nodded stiffly. He couldn¡¯t hide all of his worry. Para didn¡¯t mention it. She didn¡¯t have to. Naomi picked it up with her psychic feelers or by reading the room. ¡°Para was helping you with Overwhelming Darkness. Now that there¡¯s more of a separation, you¡¯re going to have to carry more of that burden on your own, huh?¡± Naomi walked over and sat on his armrest. She reached under the brim of his wizard hat and combed her fingers through his nappy hair. It might be time for her to take care of that again. Zarian hummed calmly as he looked up at Naomi, his eyes meeting hers. ¡°Before we head back to reunite with the others, I need to test Overwhelming Darkness.¡± ¡°Wanna go kill your Frankenstein¡¯d creation with it?¡± Naomi suggested. Should he? Or should he let it rampage? No, no, no ¡­ that¡¯s how you create another Jack scenario. Zarian grimaced. ¡°I should go clean that up once we recover fully.¡± ¡°If nobody else does it.¡± Naomi kept combing her fingers through his hair, her nails scratching lightly into his scalp. ¡°But if something kills off that thing for us ¡­ how about you lay your big, bad darkness on my Second Ignition?¡± Zarian¡¯s eyes fluttered from the feeling of Naomi¡¯s caresses. He didn¡¯t respond until half a minute later. ¡°It¡¯s going to be dangerous ¡­ I¡¯ve blown up in power. Overwhelming Darkness will have grown more unruly from that, too. I don¡¯t know if the levels in control are enough for a sparring scenario.¡± ¡°I know. But I want to see more of you. From all perspectives ¡­ even from the other side of the line.¡± There was a thrilled and hungry humor in her voice. Her nails scratched a little harder, a little rougher, but only a little. ¡°Maybe ¡­ maybe ¡­ my Second Ignition can take on your Two Percent Power. Or ¡­ more.¡± Ridiculous. Dangerous. Irresponsible. Zarian should shoot down the idea. Yet, he let some insane humor creep into his voice as well. ¡°You better watch it, Naomi Washington. You¡¯re playing with forces beyond your mortal comprehension.¡± ¡°Fine by me, oh Zarian Sainte-Darkrun, son of ultra gods. I¡¯ll go walking into the endless darkness if you¡¯re there.¡± ¡°Need me to hold your hand?¡± ¡°Sure, you can hold one of them. My other hand might be busy elsewhere.¡± ¡°It does get dark. I suppose you need to feel around.¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll feel around alright.¡± Zarian laughed. He raised a hand and grasped Naomi¡¯s forearm, stopping her scratches. He wanted to shove her away playfully. He hadn¡¯t planned to pull her down to him, yet he did it anyway. Instead of pulling away, Naomi smoothly slid into place, as if she belonged on top of him. She sat with her side leaning against his chest, one leg folded across his lap. She wrapped an arm around the back of his neck and got comfortable after tilting his hat so the wide brim wasn¡¯t in her face. ¡°So, are we in agreement?¡± Naomi asked. Zarian didn¡¯t respond. His blood was rushing. He felt hot. The post battle weariness vanished suddenly. He felt energized. ¡°Let¡¯s look over our notifications together, eh?¡± Zarian asked slowly. ¡°Before we make any major decisions.¡± Naomi rubbed one foot along Zarian¡¯s shin. She spoke with a straight face, all humor gone, yet there was a glint of something ¡­ primal ¡­ in her eyes. ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s do that.¡± Zarian nodded. ¡°Hey, Star System, can you merge the notifications for us both and make a nice show of it?¡± Golden boxes appeared above their heads. It looked nice with the backdrop of a crystal-covered cavern, although Zarian wished the hole in the ceiling wasn¡¯t there and the lake was clear of debris. I know who can fix that. On a whim, he summoned some more spectral spiders. They scurried over to the hole in the ceiling and covered it up with webbing. The cavern darkened. The crystals shone with their natural and aura-condensed power. The spiders also cast webbed gravity arrays on the water, moving debris and dirt to the lake¡¯s shores. They beautified the place, and Naomi seemed to respond to that favorably. She snuggled closer to Zarian. His heart drummed louder, and his blood rushed faster. He felt hotter and hotter. ¡°Mm, the results are interesting,¡± Para said, trying to redirect Zarian and Naomi¡¯s attention. ¡°Yeah, the results,¡± Zarian said. ¡°Exactly. That stuff,¡± Naomi said. They were looking into each other¡¯s eyes. Zarian forcibly broke eye contact first to see the gains. Naomi kept looking into his face for a while longer until she finally turned about, rotating slowly, before scooting her backside further into his lap. Zarian concentrated on the gains with all of his Willpower. Para vanished like a ghost after seeing the gains first, closing the door to her side in their shared mental space. She also left a faint impression upon her exit. Two thumbs up. Thus, Zarian found himself on his own for the first time in a while. 244: B3: C34: Cultivator Versus Wizard, Temptation They had reasons to celebrate. The results were better than Zarian had hoped, which had him smiling. He lost his smile when he realized his hand was gripping one half of Naomi¡¯s very well-rounded rear. How had that happened? He could¡¯ve sworn he was keeping his hands on the armrests. My body ¡­ it¡¯s betraying me. She didn¡¯t jump out of his lap despite the risqu¨¦ hold on her person. Instead, she wriggled further into him, squeezing away every inch of space, which wasn¡¯t hard for her as she weighed down heavily on his lap and his hand. His hand disappeared from view, completely pinned. Somehow, Zarian returned his attention to the gains. He even requested for the Star System to show the exact amount of stats dispensed from personal level ups. Seeing more of the numbers would help him stay focused. <...> <...> <...> ¡°I can appreciate the stat dump in Agility. That¡¯s a nice achievement, and I haven¡¯t been working on my speed as much as I should,¡± Naomi said, going from playful to serious. He became more serious, too, because of her tone. Yet, when he tried to pull his hand free, she shifted more of her weight on his palm as she talked. ¡°But I don¡¯t like how we came out of that with only five levels between us. That¡¯s ridiculous. We killed thousands of monsters with some of them forty levels above us!¡± ¡°None of those killed were Master Rankers,¡± Zarian said calmly, even though he felt nothing of the sort. ¡°Yeah, it does feel ridiculous, but that¡¯s how it is. On top of that, we can¡¯t gain much experience now that we¡¯re at the peak of adventurer power on a Lesser World. We¡¯re supposed to ascend to the next realm and adventure around the Greater Worlds to get back to the real grind.¡± ¡°Yeah, well, it¡¯s still pretty badass what we did out there,¡± Naomi grumbled, swaying back and forth. Then she bounced up and down. ¡°That¡¯s the most powerful I¡¯ve felt while only using Half Ignition. I can¡¯t wait to see what I get from harmonious meditation and soul robe when those advance. I¡¯m almost tempted to push it while we¡¯re here ¡­ but ¡­ I don¡¯t want to leave the others behind.¡± Zarian found that interesting to hear from Naomi. It was usually something he would concern himself with. He wriggled the fingers of his pinned hand, prodding upward, finding areas where the weight yielded softly. Naomi wriggled her lower body in return, making it hard for Zarian to gather his thoughts before speaking. ¡°They aren¡¯t easy to leave behind anymore,¡± he said. ¡°Not Hannah. Definitely not Bianca. And Gilbert¡¯s going to be the most important for times when things get too dangerous. My right arm is still healing from fucking it up with Lion Prince.¡± ¡°Oh, shit.¡± Naomi shifted to one side. She¡¯d been sitting on his right hand the whole time. Zarian regretted saying that last part. Even with the damage, he could endure the pain for what he had in hand. ¡°Sorry. Forgot about that,¡± she said. ¡°Anyway ¡­ before we get too distracted ¡­ Can you answer something for me?¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Why the heck did you copy Hive Creation out of all things? Hm?¡± Naomi turned about on his lap to look directly into his eyes. Zarian¡¯s gaze slid to the side. Naomi leaned over to maintain eye-contact. Sighing, Zarian admitted the truth. ¡°Originally, I was going to get Barb Shot from the spiny crawlers. I knew Morph¡¯s advancement was coming up where he can turn a skill into a spell. But ¡­ I was looking at the zombies and I came to a realization.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°I enjoy being a creepy wizard who uses unusual and nightmarish spells to win.¡± He beamed a big and cheesy smile. ¡°I¡¯m not even going to hide it anymore. I like playing with unethical moves.¡± Another golden notification appeared for both of them to view. The Star System was taking Zarian¡¯s closeness with Naomi as permission for her to see his gains right away. You know what? The Star System got it right with this one. ¡°You just want to make Geneva Conventions your bitch, huh?¡± Naomi asked, twisting about some more on his lap. ¡°To be fair, I¡¯d make Geneva Conventions my bitch, too, but you¡¯re just taking it to the next level, huh?¡± ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am,¡± Zarian said. ¡°You¡¯re a bad, bad Marine, Private Sainte-Darkrun.¡± She settled her knees into the gap between his armrests, mounting his waist, her chest in front of his face. Her hands settled on his shoulders as she slowly swayed in a rhythmic motion. With their clothes still on, she said, ¡°I guess you need your Staff Sergeant to put you in your place. We don¡¯t let bad Marines go unpunished in my Marine Corps.¡± ¡°Aye, Staff Sergeant.¡± Zarian checked with Para again. She was still secluded in her special mental room. He focused on the Parasite Cloak +3 and manipulated the chair himself, which was something he¡¯d hardly done before. He reshaped his parasite until it was only a belt around his waist. He had to grab Naomi from behind, making her slide forward onto his waist so he could hold her up. While his shapeshifting, amorphous parasite was handy for a lot of situations, it didn¡¯t feel right to use Para without her being fully conscious. He did, however, use his tail to reach into the parasite belt and throw out an entire bed. Zarian backed into it and fell over, lying with Naomi in a mounted position on top of him. With an epic-quality bed underneath them, Zarian waited for her to pick up from where they left off. His heart sank when he saw the wooden smile on Naomi¡¯s face. ¡°I think I¡¯m going to break the role-play before we go too far.¡± Zarian felt a cold and uncomfortable flush of disappointment wash over him. Rising, he prepared to make his case. Naomi stopped him with a hand on his chest and a look that was a whirlwind of passion, inner struggle, want, fear, animosity, vulnerability, and something both feral and human. Then she leaned down, teeth flashing and glinting, and gave him a small pinch on his bottom lip. When she let go, she leaned back and sighed heavily, and Zarian was left under her, stunned, waiting for an answer. It took a while before she spoke. ¡°I have to pause for now,¡± she murmured. ¡°I can¡¯t go all the way yet.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Zarian grunted. ¡°I have to be real about this, since, you know, you¡¯re the greatest power in this universe. And since you¡¯re the greatest, I¡¯m gonna devote my life to you and do whatever you ask of me. But I need your help in return to keep fighting the good fight and to grow my power.¡± ¡°I know that. But what¡¯s stopping us from doing what we want and seeking power later?¡± ¡°Because ¡­ I love you, Zarian. And there¡¯s the danger of falling completely in love, and I don¡¯t think I can handle that just yet. That¡¯ll destroy me.¡± ¡°What?¡± Zarian blinked in confusion. Naomi sighed. ¡°I love you. But I¡¯m not ¡®in love¡¯ with you just yet. And I can¡¯t handle that ¡®in love¡¯ part just yet. Or you¡¯ll see a pathetic version of me. The me without ambition. Without a care in the world for anything else other than being ¡®in love¡¯ and that¡¯s kind of ugly.¡± Zarian was still confused. Naomi chuckled sardonically. ¡°It¡¯s not a secret I¡¯m screwed up. I know this about myself. I¡¯m an addict to what I worship.¡± She let out a soft huff. ¡°So I can¡¯t go all in with you just yet. Not until we¡¯re at the top. Not until I can challenge all of you like nobody else can. If I fall completely ¡®in love¡¯ with you, I¡¯ll lose that fire.¡± She rested her hands on his chest and looked deep into his eyes. ¡°You have no idea how hard it is not to be my younger self, acting like an addict with you as my drug. To where I¡¯ll absolutely wreck myself and all of my dreams just for you, my handsome, ultra hot man-god. I¡¯ll ruin things with us. Then I won¡¯t be the woman you deserve.¡± ¡°So ¡­ we can¡¯t do anything?¡± Zarian sounded dumb to his own ears. But he wasn¡¯t really using his Willpower stat. He was just another full-blooded male at the whim of his own urges while facing a dangerous and beautiful woman like Naomi. Granted, he¡¯d been hurt before. And he didn¡¯t have that much experience. He¡¯d dealt with being on his own and alone except for the Marines, the foster families, and his little sister. He should feel jaded. Yet, he didn¡¯t feel jaded enough to push Naomi away or draw up his defenses as he should. A part of him hoped Naomi wouldn¡¯t crush his heart. Or maybe she would reconsider. ¡°We will do something. I will pay you back, and it¡¯ll be fun for me, too,¡± she said. ¡°But I gotta be careful, or you¡¯ll make me fall in love all the way.¡± ¡°What do you want, then?¡± Zarian grumbled. Naomi remained cool and collected. ¡°In order to save myself, I need to test myself. I need to face your Overwhelming Darkness first. I need to make sure I¡¯ll stay the course no matter how much you try to make me fall all the way in love with you too early.¡± ¡°That¡¯s it? You want to fight me first?¡± ¡°Uh, yeah, that¡¯s it, really.¡± She slowly retracted herself off of him. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. The moment her touch and heat faded away ¡­ Zarian felt pain, loss, and hate. It wasn¡¯t a terrible hate. It was more petty than anything, but it was definitely there. So you want to face the wrath of a young ultra god, huh? Zarian thought darkly. Fine. You better be ready to face my judgment if I have nothing else to smite with Overwhelming Darkness. She chuckled a little, almost in an awkward matter. She was reading his mind. Or reading his feelings. There was still that glint of want in her eyes, but she wasn¡¯t going to act on it. And he wasn¡¯t going to hide his displeasure or pretend everything was fine. He wanted her to know how he felt regardless of rationality. Standing up, Zarian harrumphed and walked awkwardly to the cool lake, his tail flicking angrily behind him. He turned his irritation to his leggings. They were confining him. He controlled strands of the parasite belt, taking the leggings and boots off and storing them in the pocket dimension. Naked, he stopped and turned back to glower at Naomi. She stopped chuckling. Her gaze dipped downward. Her bottom lip quivered. It took Zarian a split-second to realize what had caught her off guard. He looked down. He looked back at her. He looked down again. Then Zarian looked up with a big, mischievous grin on his face as he flexed his muscular body and bent at the waist. As he arched his spine, he got on his tippy toes, just to flex his hips a little more. He watched Naomi from the side of his vision. Her mouth and eyes were wide open. She was absorbed with the sight of him, all of him. Finally, she found her voice again. ¡°You know how to use that cannon, Marine?¡± Zarian smirked. ¡°Who knows? We¡¯ll have to find out later, since we aren¡¯t fucking around now.¡± He sauntered away and entered the cleaned up lake, sending a big thanks to his spectral spiders for their continuous work. The touch of the cool water helped chill him out, and his thoughts flowed more clearly. He could reason that in a game of Willpower, Naomi was queen. Even if Zarian had tried to apply more of his Willpower stat, it wouldn¡¯t have worked out well against Naomi in a personal confrontation like the one they just had. However, he wasn¡¯t completely hopeless. Naomi had revealed the truth of her position ¡­ She loves me ¡­ but she¡¯s afraid of falling ¡®in love¡¯ with me. Zarian¡¯s heart thumped hard and fast. It pisses me off that she, well, blue-balled me. That was fucked up. But damn ¡­ to hear that she has major feelings like that for me is awesome, too. Part of him wondered if he should try to romance her all the way. Maybe he could prove her wrong. Maybe she could be ¡®in love¡¯ and follow her Dao of Power. But another part of him reasoned Naomi was the expert on herself. Maybe she really was the type to lose herself in someone she fell deeply in love with. Would he prefer that from her? I don¡¯t want her to lose herself. Naomi won¡¯t be Naomi without her ambitions. I don¡¯t want a pathetic version of Naomi. Zarian sighed. How long until she¡¯s my equal in all ways? How long until I can control all of Overwhelming Darkness? Gradually, Zarian¡¯s petty anger turned into determination. They were back at square one, weren¡¯t they? He needed to control his overwhelming power, while his best friends needed to gain greater power. But now he knew the woman he liked most had intense feelings for him, and with that sort of dangerous love, she was trying her best to not fall apart. At the very least, she wasn¡¯t teasing him or controlling him purely for power. There was a hazy boundary she could¡¯ve crossed that would¡¯ve ruined things between them completely, but she narrowly avoided that. She¡¯d definitely gotten too close for comfort, that was for sure, which had their blood boiling hot still. He heard something dip into the water with him. He made the mistake of turning and ¡­ ¡°EVIL!¡± Zarian pointed. ¡°YOU¡¯RE EVIL!¡± Naomi was in the water, ten feet away, skinny dipping. Her gaze flicked in his direction with a mischievous and vengeful glint. Was she angry with him because of how he¡¯d shown off to her? But that wouldn¡¯t be fair. She was the one who¡¯d gotten him going and left him feeling angry! Before Zarian could wonder what she would do next, Naomi¡¯s evil tactics grew more pronounced, which was literal. She used her Primal Huntress Form +3 to extend her cat-like features and grow herself. Cascades of aura-rich and shiny water flowed in rivulets down her athletic demigoddess body. As she rose into the air, her shape of power and beauty seemed to draw him closer, which was an optical illusion from her measurements expanding while staying perfectly proportional. Zarian ran out of the lake cavern before Naomi reached ten feet. But no matter how far he ran, the visions of her sculpted, battle-ready, and beautiful naked body covered in aura-rich water followed him through the tunnels. There was no choice. He had to teach her a lesson with Overwhelming Darkness. He had to vanquish the wicked and evil woman as if he was a valiant knight and she was a bad witch. But that was for later. Right now, he needed to clear his head. Zarian hunted down some deep cavern monsters. There was nothing really that strong to provide a challenge, so he fought them with his bare hands and one of his newest skills, Grand War Mage Body Furnace. He threw himself into gory carnage and monster murder. The blood of his victims splashed against the plasma-blue force covering his muscular body. Nothing could stick. All the blood hissed away as vapors. Zarian kept on killing and killing for a while. You¡¯re being irrational, Para chided softly, cracking the door open to her private mental space. The body furnace skill burns vitality. You need vitality to heal your right arm. Also, we have spare health potions. Yes, they are weak, and the immunity build up is fast and long, but you might as well use those. Para shut the door with a soft click, returning to her privacy. Zarian stopped using the Grand War Mage Body Furnace. He sat himself down on a big mushroom cap while deep in the caverns under the Grimrock Castle Mountains, miles away from Naomi. He looked at his right arm and saw that it had some scarring and weird joint aches. Vital health regeneration was fast, but not perfect. He needed the legendary Knighted Healer to heal the arm perfectly. Para could¡¯ve helped with healing, too, but she was staying in her private space, avoiding the troublesome human activity going on between the wizard and the cultivator. ¡°You know what?¡± Zarian asked himself after drinking some terrible health potions. ¡°It¡¯s about time I upgrade Bloody Lifesteal.¡± He¡¯d already regenerated his life energy with the blood of his monster victims. Yet, that wasn¡¯t satisfying enough. He wanted the next version of Bloody Lifesteal to help regenerate the life energy of allies. That would essentially make death magic and old age nonexistent, as long as they had blood to spill and life energy to absorb, a perfect match for Naomi¡¯s Undying Tyrant trait. Zarian summoned the Advanced Grimoire of Black Magic +2. The grimoire¡¯s spectral chains rattled ghoulishly while bound to his soul. The covers flipped open, the pages fluttering in front of him, only to stop where the runic text and spell diagrams shone bloody red. His first ever spell, Bloody Lifesteal. Zarian chuckled darkly. ¡°With this, Naomi will be unkillable as long as we¡¯re together. That way, I won¡¯t feel guilty when I can knock some sense into her whenever she wants to throw down with me. That silly mortal will rue the day for messing with the son of ultra gods!¡± Zarian shook his fist upward in the direction where he knew Naomi waited. He saw two images at once, both superimposing over themselves intensely. The first came from Naomi, who sent Zarian a mental snapshot of herself posing over the mirror-like surface of the cavern lake. The second image came from his wife, Luciana Shadowfell Darkrun, whose luscious black lips formed into a pout. Once Naomi¡¯s nude mental picture faded off, Zarian noticed Shadowfell¡¯s presence becoming heavier in the dark shadows hiding away from the red glow of his bloody spell pages. ¡°Are you jealous?¡± Zarian asked. The shadows spoke with Shadowfell¡¯s magnetic, gothic, and irresistible voice. ¡°I¡¯m not yet sure. I¡¯ve never felt jealousy before.¡± ¡°You can divorce me,¡± he suggested. ¡°Hm? Divorce? No, I won¡¯t let you off that easily. How about I make demands for your attention in the future? I can ensure it will be a slight inconvenience in some way, making use of you while I have some petty vengeance. It¡¯s what Lovewar advised¡­¡± Zarian wasn¡¯t sure if he should be concerned, annoyed, or happy. It sounded like Shadowfell was speaking more of her mind and feeling more of a wider range of emotions than before. Thinking that also made him feel a little guilty. Especially since Lovewar was helping Shadowfell with her sudden bout of jealousy. He hadn¡¯t talked with Lovewar in a long time, too. He still missed how she used to call him little brother. It is what it is. Whenever Lovewar was ready to talk to him again, they could do so at her temple honored in Ride-or-Die Village. And while Shadowfell was developing a wider range of personality, Zarian had his own interests that wouldn¡¯t always line up to what she wanted. Still, he could do his best to give a little. ¡°Well, sure, in the future, I guess you can make requests to inconvenience me. I¡¯ll see if I can accept them as long as they aren¡¯t out of control.¡± ¡°They won¡¯t be out of control. They will be reasonable enough. But they will inconvenience you in some way. Just because you¡¯ve made me unhappy. Now do what you must, my dear heartbreaker husband.¡± Luciana¡¯s presence faded, not completely gone, but lost to the background once again. Zarian looked at his marriage ring for a while and let out a heavy sigh. He felt a little dirty. He knew he shouldn¡¯t. But Luciana really knew how to twist the knife. He had to remind himself that the ring on his finger was a political symbol, and a temporary one. He focused on the big black magic grimoire floating in front of him. There was no need for him to touch the grimoire. All he had to do was to impress his whim and a healthy dose of Aura Mastery on the grimoire. Months of blood magic study filtered through his mind and streamed into the pages of the grimoire. He took inspiration from the Chimera Tyrant Lair. He took inspiration from Ezda and her blood-focused gnolls. He took inspiration from multiple skills he¡¯d scanned that had something to do with blood. He used a few simple philosophies for blood magic that showed up almost everywhere he looked ¨C blood was a life-carrying, life-giving, life-supporting essence in the body. Blood was like the rivers and moats of a healthy world. Blood wanted to flow where it was needed or where it could spread. It didn¡¯t matter if the blood was used as a weapon, as a movement ability, or for something as impressive as stealing life energy. Blood existed with the purpose of flowing or spreading or dealing with life. After days of intense concentration, Zarian hit the jackpot. He succeeded where few wizards have while on a Lesser World. He manually upgraded a spell on his own! He turned it into something far better than before! The foot-and-a-half yellow parchment with a thick rawhide cord tied at the middle fell from the thin air. Zarian caught it with his right hand, the arm mostly healed now. Using his Devourer of Secrets and Stories, he knew the legendary reward was an amazing one. Once activated, the scroll would create a perfect studying environment for twenty-four hours. Within that time, studying speed and concentration would get increased by legendary mental buffs inside of that study zone. I¡¯ll be able to get through a bunch of new spells this way! Zarian slipped the scroll into his parasite belt. He used Aura Mastery and an underground stream to clean himself off before putting back on his shadowy leggings and boots. With a flick of his lion tail, he cast Void Waltz. He returned to the lake cavern where Naomi waited. She was all dressed up. ¡°You took all the food with you,¡± she said. Zarian¡¯s stomach growled loud enough to reach every corner of the cavern lake area. ¡°Whoops.¡± They ate a mighty meal from the extra leftovers Foodie had cooked for them. The meal was so delicious they were smiling at each other in a more friendly and innocent way, completely caught under the mythical magic of the Princess Cook. Once they had their fill, they were back to business. Zarian collected into the parasite dimension a hill-size pile of crystals his spectral spiders situated, leaving others behind for the sake of preservation and to avoid over-mining. They exited the caverns while keeping some space between them and headed down south. They found the polymorph¡¯s demolished remains shrouded in mist. ¡°Huh, so there¡¯s something tough in this region for sure,¡± Zarian said. Naomi couldn¡¯t speak. Her breathing was coming out hard. A creepy smile was on her face. Zarian tried to keep his cool. But his heart was hammering fast in his chest. He looked up. ¡°It¡¯s night time. That¡¯s going to make this more dangerous.¡± Naomi wiped the drool from her mouth and licked her full lips before giving him a toothy smile. She kept breathing hard with her eyes set on him. Creepy. Zarian rubbed the back of his neck. He smirked. ¡°You know what? I don¡¯t feel up to it right now.¡± The look of fear and outright disappointment in Naomi¡¯s eyes was worth the teasing. She looked like she was about to throw herself at his feet and beg. Zarian felt vindicated just from that alone, but anymore would give him second-hand embarrassment. ¡°Relax, relax, I was teasing.¡± ¡°So, does that mean¡­¡± She was breathing hard again. Zarian huffed. He looked away. Then he said, ¡°Yeah, come on, little mortal. Let¡¯s go fight.¡± Naomi let out a giddy laugh, like the mad woman she was. As they flew away from the Harrowing Mist Isles, he kept his distance while monitoring her. The way she radiated a willful madness that he couldn¡¯t fully appreciate was its own charm. Unlike her though, he needed to remain calm and focused on what was to come. Her Dao of Power was perfect for her, while unsuitable for him. His Bearer of the Twenty Dark Locks Sealing Style was more like a dao of control. They traveled and traveled until Zarian found a spot in the Grimrock Castle Mountains that was far from anything significant. They landed on a flat courtyard that was a mile wide in all directions. Hardy weeds stood out from the cracks. A cool mountainous breeze blew by despite the seasonal time being Late Summer. The moons and stars shone like magic jewels in the night sky. Zarian stood a hundred feet away from Naomi. Naomi bounced, stretched, and skipped around. The wizard urged his parasite to her original form, at least physically. Para¡¯s full consciousness remained in her private mental space, staying out of things still. Once the cloak formed around his shoulders and hung down from his back, reaching the heels of his boots, he changed its color to a deep black. His tail remained unchanged, mostly golden with a black tuft, the limb swaying from side to side in a slow pattern. He looked down at the dwarven cuffs on his wrists. He focused on his bare arms above the cuffs. With Aura Mastery merged with Dark Affinity, he marked whorls of inky symbols on his arms as another stop gap measure for his sealing style. After that, a dozen spectral spiders wove two arrays of gravity webbing on top of the inky arm markings before activating a more advanced gravity enchantment. His arms with their dwarven cuffs, black magic tattoos, and purple gravity webbing felt heavy from the layered seals. ¡°Okay, I¡¯m ready.¡± Zarian looked up. ¡°Start powering up first. I¡¯ll time the last part with you.¡± ¡°Oorah!¡± Naomi raised two thumbs up before she tucked her arms, elbows pointed inwardly, and braced herself. She even spoke aloud her power-up sequence. ¡°Even Further Beyond. Half Stage of Aura Ignition!¡± She exploded like a bomb with a roaring blue shockwave. An inferno of blue aura shot upward into the sky like a godly finger. Zarian held his ground as the shockwave passed over him, sending his black cloak into a flutter. He raised his heavily sealed arms, his open palms at chest height. He waited as Naomi powered up again. ¡°Even Further Beyond. First Stage of Aura Ignition!¡± Zarian had to use Aura Mastery to push aside the madness of Naomi¡¯s power. Her First Ignition came out far larger than the last time he saw it. She destroyed the courtyard floor beneath her. Her blue-green aura glowed so brightly she chased away the shadows. The night seemed more like day with Naomi acting as her own colorful sun. She even used pure Willpower and ignition force to keep from falling into the gaping wound she¡¯d created at the top of the castle mountain. It was around this point that Zarian began his unsealing process, floating in the air across from the core of the blue-green sun Naomi had formed. Zarian remained undisturbed. His hands moved calmly and smoothly, signing while he chanted. ¡°Overwhelming Darkness: Twenty Dark Locks Sealing Style Technique. Unlock Dark Lock One. The Worm Lurks Buried Deep Under Fabled Myth.¡± Even with Naomi burning like a star of the Star System, the darkness came from older corners of the cosmos. The darkness, unlike the shadows, refused to go away so easily. There was plenty of old darkness waiting within the bowels of the castle mountain and the caverns below, too. Zarian hadn¡¯t even finished unsealing his power when the mere motion of his technique made the darkness move and sway like heavy tides. The darkness reached up from below. The darkness clamped down from above. The darkness wanted to serve their young lord, the son of ultra gods, the sleeping behemoth whose true form could eat multiverse primordials like they were candy. Yet one mortal woman not only dared to upset him, she dared to challenge his overt power. She dared to tempt his monstrous hunger. She dared to grow her power by striking against something more absolute than the entire Star System and universes beyond. With a big heart filled with the ever-burning mortal ambition that represented the core of being human, Naomi powered up, breaking old limits, reaching a new peak. ¡°One more time now! Let¡¯s go! Even Further Beyond! Second Stage of Aura Ignition!¡± With a heavy sigh heard by all the seers and those sensitive to oncoming calamities, Zarian released a piece of the monster inside. The night sky and the cavern depths spoke with his deep voice. ¡°Two Percent Power Unsealed. Growing Darkness.¡± 245: B3: C35: Cultivator Versus Wizard, Apocalyptic Zarian nearly lost in the split second it took him to wrangle his darkness under his control. To be fair to him, there was no hesitation coming from Naomi. Her mind was as deadly as her body, angled toward an impossible pursuit, giving her no room to come out slow. She wouldn¡¯t even let her disadvantaged position hold her back, her legs racing in place to keep from falling, since she had no footing, only darkened space. Even as her green-yellow aura condensed and reinforced her impeccable body, her shaky position in the air made her seem like an easy target. While Zarian tamed his raging darkness, his overwhelming power sought to finish this fight quickly by surrounding Naomi. That was a mistake. She kicked back against a tendril of darkness that was already converging around her, reminding Zarian and his Two Percent Darkness there was nothing easy about Naomi Washington. Not as she was now, having broken prior limits to reach a new peak. If it wasn¡¯t for the mental boosts from his free evil +5 and Intense Arcana Hat, despite them playing minor roles compared to Two Percent Darkness, Zarian wouldn¡¯t have reacted in time. Naomi¡¯s punch fell short of a few inches when a sheet of darkness slid down from the sky. The dark sheet stopped her from turning Zarian¡¯s skull into splitting atoms. Instead, she punched through the titanic dark sheet and missed him by an inch as he waltzed backwards into the void. Once he left the void, he landed on another mountain peak a few miles away. The skin on his left cheek was raw and bruised. The power of her punch and her willful intensity had slipped into the void and touched him. Zarian updated himself on the deadliness of Naomi¡¯s Second Ignition. He made measures to keep his distance and fight like an out-boxer, as a wizard should. Of course, his plan wasn¡¯t easy. Naomi covered the distance at mach speeds. The noise from her jump off, destroying half of the last castle mountain, fell far behind Naomi¡¯s soaring form. It was as if she was her own rendition of She-Hulk, but as a cultivator with aura instead of radiation. Hell, she was half a head taller than him now. The condensed and potent power of her current ignition used all of her skills as a foundation that made her Second Stage the first technical tier of Aura Ignition. Supposedly, Naomi should have access to new techniques using her ignition, which clearly amounted to only two. They were simple techniques. Amplifying her body based on her determination and amplifying whatever the hell she did with her body, even if it meant she had to break physics. That was all there was, which was plenty enough for her strong-as-hell moves. But Zarian was the son of overpowered motherfuckers, and he wanted to lay down the law with the simplest projectile. He shot at Naomi with a bolt the size of a skyscraper. The bolt was made from the darkness of the night, the underground, and the void. For once, his darkness became more compliant, as if recognizing the threat of the Tempering Cultivator and her foolish pursuit to challenge a young ultra god. At the same time, Zarian felt the reality magic of Lion Prince helping him have more control over Two Percent Darkness. The inky and purple sealing layers covering his arms became more prominent as he faced against the wild she-beast of a mortal. So, even when Naomi punched away one of his most powerful conjurations, Zarian wasn¡¯t annoyed. He noted he could slow her down and keep the space between them. That way, he could shit talk. ¡°I¡¯m all aligned now, mortal.¡± He stepped back into the void and ended up on another castle mountain a few miles away. The last one erupted with a green-yellow flash after Naomi struck like an epic fantasy nuke. When he spoke ¨C the night, the shadows, the blackness inside the caverns, and even the gaps where reality thinned and his void magic slipped through ¨C all the dark elements resounded with his voice. His words bore down on Naomi and everyone around the Grimrock Castle Mountains, and perhaps further beyond that. ¡°Thanks to you, I¡¯ve reached a new benchmark. My darkness is falling under me smoother than before. I won¡¯t need any more power than this to put you down.¡± Zarian knew he sounded like a cheesy villain. He didn¡¯t care. There was some internal magic that went beyond the Star System happening. The pride he felt from his name as Sainte-Darkrun was immense, especially the Darkrun part. It was a pride that he shared with his little sister despite their diverging views on how to act as young ultra gods. Owning up to that pride felt right, especially with his tail lashing confidently, his darkness-dripped cloak waving like a flag of ultimate power. Maybe if he wasn¡¯t so drunk off of himself, he would¡¯ve cringed or felt embarrassed by his own words. Instead, he leaned all the way into the act. ¡°You can start being afraid now. I¡¯ll beat you up a little before ending this with a neat death.¡± He really wanted to keep this fight between him and Naomi contained with the power of Two Percent Darkness. And playing up his role made the power of Lion Prince stronger for him, manipulating the flow of causality and keeping his darkness further bound. Yet, not everything fell under his whims perfectly. ¡°Nah, I¡¯m here to win. And Two Percent Darkness isn¡¯t enough to beat me. You¡¯ll see soon.¡± Naomi¡¯s voice traveled to Zarian¡¯s current castle mountain with a shockwave. His mind spider was still in her head, which was fine. That made it easier to locate each other after every dramatic exchange of attacks and maneuvers. Neither of them were trying to hide, and Zarian noted how Naomi would only shut off the connection to her mind spider when she was about to make her next move. The moment her mind spider went dark, Zarian cocked back a hand and gathered every type of darkness he could. Darkness streamed from the caverns and castle mountain gaps below. The night melted into streams of darkness flowing down to him. He used his Void Domain to make reality thinner so the darkness from the void, the most powerful darkness, would join the others. By gathering darkness from all places, he could focus more on control instead of conjuration. For Naomi to fight him under the night was the epitome of arrogance. There. Movement. She was trying to strike without making a big scene. The human-shaped projectile came in faster than sound, too, just like the last time. Zarian shot forth a dark javelin that was twice as long as a skyscraper. He realized his mistake a split second before impact. The human-shaped projectile was a piece of crumbling stone Naomi had thrown earlier. The real human projectile flew at him faster from a lower angle. She threw a punch with all of her might, but Zarian¡¯s darkness remained plentiful, unyielding, and stable. Even with his mistake, he fired off another overwhelming javelin and slowed Naomi down while diverting her off course. Then instead of waltzing into the void like the last time, he drenched the entire castle mountain he stood on in void-manipulated darkness. The moment Naomi landed three hundred feet off to the side, the void-wrapped castle mountain endured her landfall. Next, Zarian took the entire castle mountain, which was a few miles tall, and carried it through the void with him and Naomi on it. When they exited the void, he hurtled the void-wrapped castle mountain and the cultivator down on a slightly bigger castle mountain. The two geographical features of epic world design crashed into each other, and the void-wrapped one became the victor while slamming Naomi through the weaker one, breaking into the caverns below. Only then did Zarian yank back the void and let everything fall to obliteration underneath him. The noise from the impact traveled halfway across the Walled Continent and sent debris raining down on the nearest civilizations, Central Crossdeath being one of them. Thankfully, Zarian was aware enough of collateral risks. He had giant dark tentacles swinging about to stop the largest pieces of debris from crushing cities, farms, and whatnot. But even that sort of act of dark godliness was terrifying as people near the Grimrock Castle Mountains looked up. They saw whipping tentacles that were miles long and made of the deepest darkness. They saw debris the size of city blocks get smashed apart by those same titanic tentacles. Then they had to run for cover as smaller pieces of debris rained down like hail. *** Around the World of Castles and Caverns, many peoples reacted in ways that were mostly predictable. Many lost their nerves and thought another Darkrun Apocalypse was upon them. A few grabbed their weapons and made way to fight the greatest battle Corma had ever seen, forgoing whatever event that held their current attention. Others made doomsday sacrifices to summon whatever or whoever they could. In the old North Crown Peak Region, now occupied by Ride-or-Die Village, Ruvaria the First Free Elf was laughing drunkenly with a glass of elven wine in hand. She¡¯d finished another step to turning Jack into a dungeon an hour earlier. She was now overlooking the start of a long and drawn out siege from the wolf dragons and wolf kobolds, with hundreds of thousands of scaly mongrels positioning themselves north of Ride-or-Die Village. She floated above the northern wall and defenses as guild members, enlisted adventurers, and paid villagers scurried about frantically beneath her in their efforts to repel an invasion. Magic artillery cannons blasted off consistently with other siege weapons at play. She could have ended this conflict easily, but she didn¡¯t. She would observe instead, just like how she observed the dramatic life of her dear student. Her orbital simulacrum scryers fed her everything, though the feed was hazier and darker than usual because of her student¡¯s apocalyptic and dark power. Still, Ruvaria enjoyed herself, sometimes to the point of dancing in the air as elven wine warmed her belly. Even with the horrid curse of free good in her heart, she gave herself time for merriment. It was because of the accursed freedom alignment that she stopped caring so much about her family¡¯s absolute legacy and her control over the entire world. She stopped taking things too seriously. Her world, the World of Castles and Caverns, was unraveling. Her careful machinations were falling apart. Her children, her children¡¯s children, her children¡¯s children¡¯s children, and many other descendants and distant relatives were lost without her and angry with her. They would soon make mistakes that would further unravel the world Ruvaria had painstakingly watched over after it fell into her lap thousands of years ago. Many would suffer from her lack of care. Many would die. But none of that mattered at this point, because all that mattered was her dear student¡¯s growth and feats. Unlike many others around the world, Ruvaria relished the chaos and destruction as Zarian tried to snuff out the determination of an unruly human woman. ¡°Crush that little human, dear student. Put her in her place,¡± Ruvaria said. ¡°Show everyone you are the master of us all and nobody can challenge you!¡± *** Ruvaria¡¯s words reached him. She might not have meant for that to happen. Zarian heard the drunkenness in her voice and safely assumed she was enjoying some of that rare and high-quality elven wine, which had her speaking more of her mind freely. Still, he would not correct her. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. He really wanted to lay down the law and enjoy the moment while his Overwhelming Darkness was on its best behavior. The odds were still in his favor because of the Lion Prince. So, yeah, he let Ruvaria stroke his ego. She wasn¡¯t the only one. He saw flickers of Luciana¡¯s luscious dark lips curled into a smile. Clearly, his wife supported every showing of his grand and cosmic power. Despite the political optics with their relationship, he and Luciana were both children of ultra gods. Thus, the Shadowfell Goddess also had a stake in this match between those with ultra bloodlines being challenged by humans with no bloodlines, no specialness, only what they could gain from the Star System with their determination. Disregarding the irony of his position, Zarian floated in the air and waited for the results of his castle mountain on top of castle mountain slam after Naomi suffered the brunt of the maneuver. The militant black woman brushed the dirt off her shoulders. She strode up the sides of a broken tower lying on the ruins of two castle mountains. There were still plenty of dust clouds billowing in the air, but she wasn¡¯t trying to hide much. She didn¡¯t even try to hide how she was wounded. Her naked body was a canvass of bruises after her legendary bodysuit came out demolished, unable to survive a match like this. Her nakedness didn¡¯t seem to bother her. The unfairness of her position didn¡¯t seem to bother her, either. In fact, she exuded more confidence as her green-yellow aura rotated like the core of a neutron star around her. She had grown, too, becoming seven feet tall. Her body showed her off as the perfect female specimen of power and beauty regardless of her wounds. Then there was her hair, which had blown up in volume and style, her curls waving about as kinky stalks from around her head and back, reaching down as far as her knees. Black hair didn¡¯t reach out like that naturally because of its curly nature. Yet Naomi maintained the curls and grew its volume to ridiculous dimensions, making her look extra foxy. When she spoke, her voice resonated far and wide across the remaining castle mountains. Each syllable was a nuke of force that was still easy to understand. ¡°Damn, it¡¯s hard to get a hit on you.¡± Zarian¡¯s voice bellowed from the darkness all over. ¡°Why do you think I held back as a wizard when there were no real challenges? If you look in a dictionary, you¡¯ll probably find a picture of me defining what overpowered is.¡± Naomi burst out with explosive laughter. ¡°Damn, you¡¯re so cocky when you¡¯re like this, Zarian. I love it.¡± She snickered some more. ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll push myself a little harder. Here comes the humbling.¡± Zarian sneered. ¡°Yeah, Naomi, there will be a humbling. But not for me!¡± Zarian acted faster than Naomi this time. He stepped in and out of the void. He reappeared close to her, right outside of the green-yellow shell of ignited power. While up this close, he could feel the grand nature of her constantly perfecting techniques ¨C the amplification of her body and what she could do with her body that defied physics. She was now half a foot taller than seven feet. She looked more like the absolute version of a dark-skinned battle demigoddess. Nobody should get close to her. Nobody should dare. But Zarian dared, with his hands tucked to one side, palms facing each other. His fingers clenched around a dark ball of condensed and overwhelming power that just finished charging up. The wide eyes and open mouth of shock on Naomi¡¯s face were satisfying. Zarian grinned as he pushed his dark ball forward with a final ¡°HA!¡± He struck her at a distance that was relatively point blank. He struck her with his most concentrated attack, too, a beam of darkness made from the void. The void beam was one hundred feet thick, thrusting through the Grimrock Castle Mountains with ease. After taking one long but quick trip all the way down the eastern coast of the Walled Continent, the void beam reached the ocean waters. From there, the void beam took a trip down the southern hemisphere of the World of Castles and Caverns. It reached the central pole at the bottom before petering out. ¡°Winner, winner, chicken, dinner,¡± Zarian said. ¡°My victory.¡± The Lion Prince disagreed when it suddenly flipped causality against Zarian. The feeling of the odds ¨C of cosmic chance ¨C going against him so suddenly was the most existentially dreadful thing Zarian had ever felt. The flip in odds was also the best warning he could get, making him step back into the void for a quick and tactical retreat. He also covered himself with as much darkened armor he could pack on without being heavily weighed down. Naomi punched her way into the void through sheer force of determination. Her body was more beaten and battered, with blood flowing from everywhere. She looked like she should be at the hospital, at least at first glance. But the eight-foot super amazon defied what should¡¯ve been her defeat and threw herself into the void to chase after Zarian. She ran through the void with void-breaking defiance, even though this was outside of the usual bounds of the Star System, where even gods lost power. When Sinfeast had ended up in a similar situation, the bastard god had only faced one percent while stuck in the void with Zarian. Sinfeast had cried a vial of tears that Zarian¡¯s wife now possessed after suffering to the Dark Lord in his best element. Forcing her way into the void was a foolish and rash choice, so Zarian struck at her with void darkness at two percent. He formed void teeth that clamped down on Naomi¡¯s little green-yellow form. He formed thousands of bolts that flew at Naomi from all angles. He whipped at her with void tentacles. He even grabbed the nearest eldritch creatures that called this space their home and threw them at the determined woman. She punched through the void teeth. She punched through thousands of void bolts. She punched his void tentacles back into nothingness. She ignored the eldritch creatures, battering straight through them, as she ran after Zarian. Everything she was doing was flabbergasting and impossible. The core concepts of Naomi¡¯s two ignition techniques, amplifying her body and doing impossible things with her body, were extending to the void! That could change once she ran out of aura, but her unstoppable rush had Zarian on the back heels, and she was closer to getting to him than she was to going empty on aura. Zarian exited the void, and Naomi crashed through the barrier between dimensions with a roar. She swung her hand to catch him, but she missed by a scant inch. The sheer force of her miss smacked Zarian and peeled away layer after layer of void darkness from his body. He gasped, disoriented, as he careened into the side of another castle mountain. He broke through floors, tunnels, hallways, banquet chambers, and struck the caverns below. He landed with a quake that shook the castle mountain above him. He had little time to recollect himself. Naomi would be on him soon. But his concerns for himself were falling away fast, really. Things were getting dangerous. Naomi was going to do irreparable damage to herself in her crazed pursuit to challenge him. The longer and harder she pushed her Thematic Concept, the greater the blowback. Even if Zarian killed her on the spot now, the way she¡¯d leveraged Even Further Beyond with Second Ignition was so over the top that she might suffer something worse than a long rest. They were reaching a territory where Naomi might stay down for the count. The cold reality of the risks they were taking hit Zarian like an ice bath. The time he took to realize all that was enough for Naomi to find him. A punch with his name on it swung toward his face as the entire castle mountain imploded from how fast and hard Naomi crashed through to reach Zarian. Since she was a lot taller than him, she had to throw her fist from her hip, but that came with the power of her backside getting added to the blow. The wizard didn¡¯t defend. The fastest way to end this bout would be for him to lose to the cultivator. That and it would be a painless defeat, at least. But Naomi stopped an inch from hitting him between the eyes. More surprising than that, she clamped down on the rush of force following behind her, stopping anything that tried to hit Zarian. Surprisingly, he came out untouched as an entire castle mountain clattered to pieces from around them. ¡°No,¡± she mumbled. ¡°Don¡¯t stop like that.¡± ¡°We need to stop, Naomi,¡± Zarian urged softly. ¡°You¡¯re reaching too far. You might not come back from this.¡± ¡°Hit me with three percent. One last exchange. After that, I¡¯ll stop, at least for tonight.¡± ¡°Fucking idiot.¡± Zarian looked away, feeling angry, scared, and thrilled. ¡°Crayon muncher. Jarhead. Dumb jock. Idiot. If you don¡¯t come back from this, I will find your soul and give you hell.¡± ¡°Rah.¡± Zarian sighed as he walked through the void. Naomi walked through the void with him ¡­ by smashing her way in and out. When they left the void, they came out on top of the largest castle mountain on the range. The darkness in the sky and the darkness in the world spiraled as if they were throwing a jubilee. The celebration was more menacing, more threatening, and more wrong. Zarian wasn¡¯t sure if he should go to three percent. But Naomi was too determined to let this end simply. I could shoot myself, Zarian thought. But how would that affect Naomi? Hell, how would that affect Gilbert, who would get angry with Zarian for choosing that option. Even if the Divine Revival Charm would save Zarian, knowing Gilbert¡¯s feelings about that slowed his hand. The sentiment around taking one to the dome wasn¡¯t practical in this instance. But Zarian couldn¡¯t go through with it. He didn¡¯t want to disappoint Gilbert, nor would he want to hide something like that. Wow ¡­ I¡¯m literally trapped by the power of friendship here. The irony keeps getting stronger. Besides, he was already this far deep with Naomi. Zarian stood three hundred feet away from Naomi. The look in her eyes worried him. She wasn¡¯t all there. She was nothing but ambition. She was the Dao of Power. So this is what it¡¯s like to face Broly. He knew he shouldn¡¯t do this. He knew he should deny Naomi¡¯s request and find another solution. But there was a part of him that was curious about hitting three percent and coming out okay anyway. He also wondered how Naomi would handle it With a sigh, Zarian ignored the wrongness of causality and took a risk. He performed the same song and dance once more for the sake of the moment. ¡°Overwhelming Darkness: Twenty Dark Locks Sealing Style Technique. Unlock Dark Lock One. The Worm Lurks Buried Deep Under Fabled Myth¡­¡± Zarian trailed off. He looked up at the night sky. There were no blocky clouds in the way. And there were no stars. Barely any light. The moons were deeply submerged. The darkness reigned supreme above their heads, covering all vision of the cosmos beyond the moons. He could feel the darkness of the world reaching up from its gaps, its faults, and its deepest caverns. The oldest and most unseen darkness streamed upward toward their young lord. With so much darkness gathered for the son of ultra gods, the east side of the Walled Continent darkened heavily, making the night look like a place in the void. Crossdeath, Windy Strider, Stalwart Paladin, and other civilized areas experienced nothing but darkness from above and below. Whether they were evil, good, or neutral, the inhabitants and adventurers of these places cried out for the help of the gods. But none of the gods, good or evil, answered them. Zarian looked across from him and saw the emptiness in Naomi¡¯s eyes. She was losing herself further and further. He prayed to the Funnest and Biggest that Naomi would come back from this, and that he wouldn¡¯t lose control. Then he finished the technique with a hopeful smile on his face. ¡°Three Percent Power Unsealed. Triple Threat Darkness.¡± The next moments happened quickly. Naomi threw herself at him. Zarian raised his left hand. As he lined up his shot, he felt from in front of him and within him two immense forces he had to battle. Naomi¡¯s insatiable determination to break the curse of her humanity bore down upon him like a flying sun. Her green-yellow ignition was changing, too, shifting toward a more orangish color. She was reaching toward the Third Stage of Aura Ignition, stability. Zarian wished he could enjoy her growth with her. But he was stuck on the edge as his darkness stopped acting like a servant. His darkness was trying to take control. His darkness wanted to rip him apart from the inside, destroy Naomi, and then treat everything else as a buffet. The safest thing to do would be to hold back Three Percent Darkness and let Naomi get the hit. She would probably transition to Third Ignition, and if they were lucky enough, she might survive afterward. Then Zarian would revive because of the charm while stopping his darkness from breaking free. They could carry on merrily from there. There was one problem with that. Zarian would¡¯ve felt like a bitch, more so than any moment prior. He refused to lose to both Naomi and his darkness at the same time. He chose the third option. He bent Three Percent Darkness to his demands and shot out a dark beam that he aimed upward with a curve. He ignored the warnings of causality and put everything he could to control his darkness and kill Naomi. The sheer blowback flattened the castle mountain they stood on along with the neighboring ones. The three percent dark beam carved a path across the sky that was visible to everyone on the Walled Continent. The beam looked like a line of blackness that was blacker than black. Then the beam exited the atmosphere, crossed the orbital space of Corma, and carved away half of the orange moon ¨C Cavern Hellion. The three percent dark beam kept on flying into space while Cavern Hellion flew into an alternate angle, with the orange moon crashing into the blue moon ¨C Sea Strider. Orange and blue moon rocks flew into Corma¡¯s atmosphere, the moon meteorites raining down on the Walled Continent and half of the world. Some of those rocks landed around Ride-or-Die Village, though none of them touched the home of the Dark Lord¡­ *** Ruvaria the First Free Elf thought it wise to intervene for the sake of her dear student ¡­ so he wouldn¡¯t feel too guilty about the doom he brought down upon the world. She made sure none of the moon meteorites struck down on the home of the Floridians. She blew up the largest pieces of moon rocks to save a few little civilizations from total annihilation. Then she teleported to the desolation where the Grimrock Castle Mountains had once stood. They were all mostly gone now. Ruvaria found the lower half of Naomi Washington lying on the floor, her bottom cheeks pointed to the sky. The First Free Elf checked the magical fate surrounding the dead human and saw the odds were terrible. She made mental notes to help her dear student grieve later. She threw those aside when Naomi pulled off another impossible feat. She revived herself despite the odds. She was back to being a plain human, though. And she was unconscious, stuck in a coma, in fact. She might not wake for a while, at least not for the next few months. Still, that was better than the more likely outcome of Naomi staying dead. She was the perfect match for Ruvaria¡¯s dear student. The stubborn human¡¯s continued existence was a necessity for Zarian. Turning away from the reckless black woman, Ruvaria walked over to where her student struggled with his darkness. A cosmic power that wanted to consume the Star System from the inside out covered half of his body, the left side specifically. He was doing everything he could to stop it, but he couldn¡¯t quite seal it with his sealing technique. Ruvaria glanced up as more moon chunks rained down in streaks of flaming orange and blue. Half of Cavern Hellion was gone, and the remaining half of the orange moon had smashed its face into the side of the blue moon, staying stuck to Sea Strider. Never had Ruvaria seen such a sight, such a calamity, from a small percentage of someone¡¯s true power. It was quite impressive. ¡°I can¡¯t stop it,¡± Zarian moaned, falling to his knees in front of her. ¡°Please ¡­ Ruvaria. Please ¡­ stop me.¡± His call for her was both touching and painful. But she was his teacher first and foremost. ¡°Start from the basics,¡± she instructed. He tried to argue. She cut him off. ¡°I don¡¯t care that the fate of the universe rests on this moment. I am your teacher, and this is a wonderful learning experience. Now sit back in the proper position. And start with the basics. If you wish to play with forces beyond your control, then you must clean up your mess properly.¡± Zarian slowly nodded. He sat back in the proper position with his legs crossed. Orange and blue moon meteorites streaked above her as Ruvaria smiled down at her dear apocalyptic student. ¡°Now let us have another session of the most studious kind.¡± 246: B3: C36: Let Me Cook 1 Five weeks after that calamitous night of destruction, Princess Foodie Darkrun was listening to the crinkling of autumn leaves on the small game trail she walked along. She liked the feel of them under her feet. It was vastly different compared to the feel of mountain, stone, and rugged caverns. It was for this reason she preferred going barefoot even though she could afford the nicest shoes now. Nobody would judge her for it, at least not with the company she kept for the past two months. Looking up, she saw the fiery sunset in the gaps of the stone forest canopy. The western half of the sky looked like the dying embers of a furnace. The other half of the sky was a twinkling canvas that was darker than usual, much darker than it should be for Mid Autumn. Looking eastward, Foodie¡¯s ears rose, her bottom lip quivering. She still couldn¡¯t stop from marveling at the sight of the oncoming night. Cavern Hellion had lost half of its orange moon body while the other half was crushed into the side of the blue moon, Sea Strider. Orange and blue moon rocks the size of kingdoms or larger trailed behind the two conjoined moons. She wasn¡¯t the only one amazed or horrified by the sight. She was far from the most affected by the worldwide calamity, the one known as the Dark Quarrel of Mountains and Moons. Foodie frowned. She disliked that name a lot. It was hard not to take offense when her followers joked about the ¡®quarrel¡¯ between the Dark Lord and the Sky Bringer. They¡¯d done so while thinking Foodie wouldn¡¯t overhear them, but she had the highest Wonder stat among her army, boosting her perception more than any other stat. Even when Foodie tried not to overhear things, Mother would make her aware anyway. Breaking her line of thoughts, Foodie noticed some tiny movement on the darkening trail. She tightened her grip on her legendary giant cleaver as a spectral spider scurried out from between rows of yellow and red hedges while dodging around crimson grass stalks that were still prevalent on the border between the Blood Prairies and Ride-or-Die Village. The little guy raised its hat and performed an interpretative dance. Other spectral spiders scuttled into appearance and gave their reports with their dances before bobbing down, kowtowing in front of the princess. One spider held up a little blue pebble that shone with an icy aura. The tiny moon piece from Sea Strider had a potent elemental effect that coated the spectral spider in flakes of frost. The token gift wasn¡¯t the first and wouldn¡¯t be the last. Foodie smiled. She summoned a mug of fruit juice from her pocket kitchen and lowered it down. The spectral spider added the frigid moon pebble to her drink. Then the spiders danced as Foodie enjoyed another moon slushy along with the benefits of consuming something so unique. Her stats grew. Even as a Level 70 Indomitable Cook, she was much, much stronger than before leaving Grimrock, which was saying something since she was already mythical. To think, she had only consumed a fraction of the moon rocks that had fallen from the sky. It was thanks to her abilities that she could make pieces of the moon digestible. Or she would¡¯ve died. She knew from her journals there were other creatures who could do something similar. She knew her mother¡¯s toys, the corrupted, certainly could eat the moon rocks and grow stronger. Last week, she fought one that had ingested a large piece from Cavern Hellion, and that had turned out as an immensely interesting fight. The orange moon rocks from Cavern Hellion could give new stats to Willpower or Strength. The blue moon rocks from Sea Strider could give new stats to Strength or Mysticism. They could also lead to unique mutations among monster populations by just being near the energy-intense moon rocks. Foodie liked to eat anything related to the moons. Having consumed both types, Foodie¡¯s Strength had grown the most. She was also taller and heavier. She was now halfway between four feet and five feet, which she figured came about from her extraterrestrial diet. Too bad most of the moon rocks out there would¡¯ve been collected, hoarded, or eaten by now. Shaking her head, Foodie glanced back down at the growing number of spiders appearing to give their report and worship. Because of the distance with their true master, getting direct network impressions from the spectral spiders was slow. Thankfully, Foodie still had an easier time understanding them because of her personal mind spider. The spiders had seen the real enemy a dozen miles southwest of them. Ride-or-Die Village would be a little further down past the enemy¡¯s entrenched position. There would be heavy fighting ahead. More than anything Foodie and her army had seen before. Thus, the spiders were quick to reunite with her. They also liked to dance for her amusement before things turned serious. Foodie nodded, appreciative of their reports and their constant show of adoration. She tried not to show her enjoyment on her face, but she liked the status of being a princess. She enjoyed being free. She enjoyed being the adoptive daughter of the Dark Lord and Shadowfell Goddess, despite all the trouble. She enjoyed adventuring, especially when she got to cook new enemies into tasty meals. And she liked to prove her mettle and the prowess of her unusual army. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. ¡°Time to cook for freedom,¡± Foodie said, hefting her cleaver onto her shoulder. A mysterious bird cried out with pride somewhere in the stone forest behind her. *** Foodie thrust her cleaver through the worn leather straps in the back of the kobold¡¯s armor. She felt the tip of her weapon crack apart the ribcage before piercing the heart. Since the kobold was Level 75, she knew her foe had enough vitality to survive the surprise backstab. The kobold, however, could not do much while surprised and critically injured. Foodie had plenty of time to yank her cleaver back, step closer, and chop at the back of the kobold¡¯s head. The kobold¡¯s helmet was only uncommon in quality. It might as well be paper against Foodie¡¯s legendary cleaver, high stats, powerful abilities, and mythical nature as the Indomitable Cook. She split the kobold in half with an easy-going power stroke. An explosion of gore heralded her arrival at the edges of a kobold camp made for auxiliaries or those resting after their time in the siege¡¯s front. Torch lights snuffed away, the spectral spiders dousing them with webbing and magic. The darkness of the night swallowed them all up. Both kobolds and goblins had an acceptable dark vision, but it was Foodie who was more at home in the darkness. It was Foodie who had spectral spiders already sabotaging and terrorizing the enemy as the kobolds acted erratically. It didn¡¯t take Foodie long to realize she could take care of this camp herself. She went about doing so with a heartfelt prayer. ¡°In your honor, Dark Father, Shadow Mother, I slay, I cook, I feast, I grow.¡± Purple spider webbing spun into complex arrays humming to life, the gravity traps catching dozens of kobolds, bringing them down to their knees. More spider traps lit up the darkened camp, the most prevalent being the green destruction traps, which disintegrated the flesh and armor off of screaming kobolds. They could scream all they wanted, and they wouldn¡¯t receive reinforcements. Foodie¡¯s spiders had wrapped the entire camp in a sound trapping bubble. No other camp within listening distance would hear them. The flashes of spell magic wouldn¡¯t go far, either, with how the spectral spiders also draped the area in thick curtains of darkness. The hardest part was catching runners. Foodie was stomping a fallen kobold on the chest, making the creature pop in his armor, her ears shifting and turning. She caught the sound of a kobold fleeing at the camp¡¯s edge. Spider webbing stretched like tripwire caught the kobold¡¯s ankle and slowed him down for Foodie. With a flick of her hand, Foodie pulled from her pocket kitchen a rare-quality knife. She slung it with cannon-like force, blowing a hole through the runner. It also caught two more kobolds who were stuck in a spider gravity trap. Foodie grabbed more kitchen knives from her personal pocket kitchen and launched them hard. She slaughtered the strongest kobolds with little effort, one of them being Level 90, the leader of the camp. She then turned her focus to a messy squad of defenders who gathered at the center. ¡°We serve the wolf dragons! We serve The Dragon! Our power is the strongest!¡± A kobold declared at the front of the rabble. ¡°I wonder what you all will taste like.¡± Foodie drooled a little. She¡¯d never eaten kobold before. She was excited to have quite the meal tonight with her army. ¡°For the dragons!¡± The last capable camp defenders attacked. A kobold with magical speed rushed around and stabbed at Foodie¡¯s side. She took the stabs, suffered some nicks, and grabbed the speedy kobold by the wrist. Her grip turned the kobold¡¯s wrist into bone powder and fleshy pulp. She yanked the crying kobold close and smashed his head to pieces with a headbutt, then she raised her cleaver to deflect a mighty hammer strike from a muscular kobold. Other kobolds attacked with elemental bolts, some dragon-based wizardry, and enchanted arrows. None of it could stop Foodie from having her rampage. A big gobbo smile appeared on her face. Her stoic nature shifted, becoming more like other goblins. She giggled and laughed, waving her cleaver, chopping kobolds left and right. All they could do was damage her a little, maybe even slow her down with walls of rock or ice. She plowed through it all anyway. More kobolds tried to run. Foodie took out more kitchen knives. She stopped when something with too many arms, joints, and mismatched heads reached through the barrier of silence and darkness. The kobolds ran into the grasping aberration as the creature wormed its way into camp. Specks of orange and blue moon rocks glowed while embedded into its chimeric centipede body. The kobolds screamed in horror. The princess screamed in delight. ¡°Thank you, Mother! I will cherish this gift as I eat it!¡± Foodie¡¯s heart raced as she made preparations for an intense fight. She let the aberration move and eat like a great serpentine creature with many arms and mouths, tearing apart the screaming kobolds while also merging with some. Soon, it had two dozen kobolds added to its dark, twisted, elongated body, the kobold limbs and faces twitching and swaying with some remaining will. It was as if they still lived or had their souls kept by the aberration of Shadowfell, which forced the kobolds to take part in the amusement of an Evil Goddess, one who could be friend or foe to The Dragoness. It¡¯s still hard to believe the old dragon is gone, killed, eaten, and replaced by a much younger and stronger dragoness. It didn¡¯t matter now. The camp was empty of living kobolds. None had escaped the children of Shadowfell. Foodie faced the strongest aberration she¡¯d seen at the center of the camp. She wiped drool from her mouth with the back of her hand. She tried not to focus on the blue and orange moon rocks glowing in the flesh of her corrupted kin. The creature spoke with many mouths. ¡°You ¡­ are ¡­ unworthy.¡± The creature reared back and stood to its tall, hulking height over Foodie. It had more to say with its many side mouths along with the big main mouth that peeled open at the head like a flower petal. ¡°You are not ¡­ a true child ¡­ of Shadowfell.¡± Foodie blinked, her ears going up and down. She dropped her happy gobbo mood and became serious, deadly. She scraped her claws along the spine of her cleaver, creating sparks that drizzled down and caught the grease she spread over the edge just prior. Yellow flames covered her cleaver, the heat warping the cool night air, sending out vapor ripples. Then Foodie held up her cleaver like a yellow flaming flag as she looked up with defiance at the twisted creature. ¡°You are mere toys to Mother. Nothing but things for her to spend as she pleases. I am a true daughter of tragedy. I¡¯ve surpassed the suffering there is in Mother¡¯s shadow. I remain unbroken, untwisted. I am wholly myself, much greater than you. You are the false child.¡± ¡°I am not false! You ¡­ are ¡­ false!¡± ¡°I see. You won¡¯t listen. Fine then. Let me cook.¡± 247: B3: C37: Let Me Cook 2 The aberration squealed like a demented thing before lunging forward, its mouth petal spreading wide open. Its speed was respectable for something so large. Foodie still dodged out of the way of its main mouth with an explosive lunge and went straight for the body. She swung her burning cleaver with all her Strength and her Thematic Concept, but the aberration showed some cunning by teleporting through the shadows before impact. The first exchange led to no damage on either side. Foodie skidded to a stop while turning her head and seeing her ugly foe twist and coil in and out of the shadows draped across the ground. It was like a giant fish that could swim about on and below the surface of a body of water. Foodie had seen similar abilities from the corrupted before. She braced herself for the creature to strike from below or from behind her. She didn¡¯t expect her ugly foe to surface in front of her and shoot a powerful shadow torrent from its mouth petal. Foodie barely reached into her pocket kitchen in time to pull out her best defense ¡­ a large frying pan. The thing was only epic quality, and the shadow torrent would¡¯ve wrecked it if it wasn¡¯t for Foodie¡¯s cooking abilities. Specifically, the Maestro Cooking Force +2 gave the frying pan a much needed reinforcement. That way, she blocked off the torrent with the bottom of the pan and came out mostly unscathed except for her left arm feeling shaky. She also lost some ground after getting pushed back fifty feet, making quite the trench with her body. This aberration was strong. She scrambled out of the trench and tried to use her Identify trait. No use. The aberration had enough levels and range of power to block the scan. Was it more than a mere lesser aberration? Did all of those moon rocks advance it that much? Foodie tried not to drool. She really wanted to eat her corrupted kin. She switched out the epic frying pan for an epic rolling pin. With a legendary cleaver covered in greasy yellow flames in one hand and a large roller pin in the other, Foodie marched toward her opponent. Her heart thundered in her chest as a plan formed in her head. Predictably, the aberration sunk down into the shadows. It swam up and down the surface around Foodie, staying far enough away from striking distance. Then the aberration submerged completely and seemed to disappear. Foodie let out a long breath. She inhaled calmly. Her heart slowed. She listened to her Wonder stat and knew where her opponent would strike from. Only when the time felt right, she used a new technique she¡¯d developed for herself ¡­ Quick Ignition! The would-be sibling, a nobody toy of Mother, rose from the shadowy depths below Foodie. Its mouth petal spread wider. Inside of its throat was a bigger shadow torrent charge, and with its surfacing, the little goblin ended up tossed into the air like what a whale predator would do to an ocean prey. Unlike a seal, Foodie had a divine trait and Aura Ignition. Her Aura Ignition was not as strong as the one used by Naomi the Sky Bringer, but Foodie kept trying to progress it in her way, hence her special technique Quick Stage of Aura Ignition. It was like Half Ignition, but for quick uses, which allowed Foodie to erupt with a miniature blue inferno blazing around her body. The aura-displacing shockwave rebounded her from her aerial toss, sending her on a rapid descent back at her would-be sibling. Surprised, the aberration released its powerful shadow torrent early. The squirming bodies attached to the main centipede body screamed in rage and horror together as the shadow jet of tragic magic and foul destruction met the bad end of Foodie¡¯s roller pin. The roller pin won. The shadow jet diverted like a stream hitting an immovable boulder. Then the stream broke into dozens of fragmented lines as Foodie¡¯s roller pin smashed the top of the mouth petal and crushed down on the head of the aberration. Foodie lost her Quick Ignition. Her body throbbed with some stress, but not by much. So she erupted into a blue inferno again with another Quick Ignition. She weaved her blue aura flames with her yellow grease flames as she slid into the aberration¡¯s throat. Then, with one wide swing, she sent out a blue and yellow ring of flaming force. The head of the enormous creature flew off. Of course, that was not enough to kill such a creature, so Foodie milked her Quick Ignition for all its worth before it snuffed away. She dumped more grease fire out of her pocket kitchen and onto herself. Blue and yellow flames burst outward from Foodie¡¯s body, spreading everywhere, streaming through every nook, cranny, and crevice. Roaring gouts shot forth from all the mouths and openings along the disgusting creature¡¯s body. The twisted creatures and kobolds added to the aberration all seemed to scream in dread and delight. The flames cooked the flesh gestalt from the inside out, roasting it alive, giving it no chance to seek refuge in the shadows while covered in so much bright light. By the time it died, granting Foodie more growth that took her all the way to Level 75, her Quick Ignition ended. She felt a little more worn down, but mostly okay. She could use a little rest, but that was the last thing on her mind. Foodie used her abilities as the Indomitable Cook to snuff out the flames. Then she feasted! She ate, ate, ate, and ate some more. The meal was a decent one, but each time she ate a moon rock, the meal became more flavorful and irresistible. Foodie loved it and kept eating. She wished she could share this with Father and Mother, but she suspected this was something Mother wanted the goblin princess to eat. So Foodie ate, and she became stronger, much stronger. Then Foodie snapped awake after eating the last bone and realizing it was morning. Heavy smoke and the scent of blood wafted through the air. The haze of magic smoke and battle vapors covered the local stone forest and a few patches of crimson grass. Foodie turned about and saw Prince Loner leaning cooly against a fence where the kobolds kept baby boars and other living rations, such as human adventurers. The living rations were gone, the kobold having eaten them before Foodie¡¯s arrival. The black skeleton and his black trench coat looked odd in the early morning hours. He also looked annoyed with Foodie. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Foodie ¡­ felt embarrassed. She looked back where the body of the aberration had once rested. It was all gone. She¡¯d eaten every scrap. She¡¯d never eaten such an enormous meal before. Because of her abilities, she could eat more than her size. But a whole creature that was large enough to reach the wall ramparts of a fort town should¡¯ve been too much. Still, something had taken over Foodie last night. The challenge from a pretender. The moon rocks in its body. The new stats and pleasurable fullness coursing through her veins. Foodie drooled. She wanted more. Prince Loner walked over and smacked the princess in the back of the head. ¡°Hey!¡± She glowered up at him. ¡°I¡¯m not your annoying little sister anymore. I¡¯m a powerful princess.¡± The black skeleton, who Foodie recognized as one of her older brothers, shrugged his trench-coat-wearing shoulders at her. He turned away quickly, the tail of his one apparel whirling behind him. He waved for her to follow, then he pointed to the edge of camp. The great steed, Slip the Sleipnir, was there, on the lookout for trouble. Paying more attention, Foodie heard clashes of powerful magic and enchanted weapons somewhere in the stone forest some mile or two from her position. She also heard the unique buzzing and popping sounds of beam shooters. Now she understood what was wrong. Her army had engaged in the fight to reach Ride-or-Die Village without her. They must¡¯ve gotten going because of her overstaying in this one camp. ¡°Oh, I see. I jeopardized the operation,¡± Foodie said. ¡°I better hurry to the front and lead the charge.¡± She felt even more embarrassed, her cheeks flashing with heat. With a bob of her head and the lowering of her ears, she scurried up to Loner¡¯s back and joined him to mount Slip¡¯s back. Three orbital golems swooped through the air as a flying escort for the official princess and unofficial prince. Then Loner reached out with one bony hand extended from the sleeve of his black trench coat. A green necromantic light pulsated from his hand as Loner used his skill, Raise Helpful Skeletons +2. From the remaining dead kobolds, skeletons rose, removing their unneeded flesh. They become thin, ivory things that were slick with blood. They had the Self-Sufficient trait, which meant they could draw on aura by themselves after being raised. But they were only helpful skeletons and couldn¡¯t advance. Still, having thousands of helpful skeletons that were autonomous made Foodie¡¯s army quite large while cutting down on supply costs. With the newly raised skeletons acting as an extra escort unit that covered the flanks, the merry trio of a spirit steed, skeleton prince, and goblin princess went on their way. Foodie did a quick nuzzle into the trench coat covering her brother¡¯s bony back. Father didn¡¯t know it, but Loner was Foodie¡¯s favorite brother from the times before the Green Hop Explorers fell to corruption. His old name was ¡­ well ¡­ that didn¡¯t matter anymore. He was Loner now. And Loner was a great name for him. As they rode off to join the front of their army, Loner reached back and patted his little sister¡¯s head. Gestures like that coming from him sent Foodie¡¯s heart into a painful place, reminding her of all that she¡¯d lost. Then she looked at her profile and saw all that she¡¯d gained. Wow ¡­ I¡¯ve gained a lot. It¡¯s unbelievable! Foodie tried not to smile. She focused on the fight to come. The sounds of raging battle grew in volume. There were many dead kobolds along the trail that Slip hoofed over as they hurried past a few demolished camps. Someone dressed in a green cloak walked into their path. Slip trampled to a stop. Foodie tensed up. Her senses felt wrong when regarding the figure in the green cloak. It was as if they weren¡¯t there even though Foodie, Loner, and Slip could clearly see the cloaked figure. ¡°That weakling prince was right. This foul continent has truly fallen too far into depravity after our leaving. To what lengths will the evil Dark Lord go to make a mockery of how things should be?¡± the cloak figure said. Foodie felt annoyed at hearing the disdain in his voice. ¡°I am Foodie Darkrun, the Princess Cook and Princess of Crossdeath. I will be the Princess of Ride-or-Die Village as well. Who are you to get in my way?¡± Foodie declared boldly. The cloaked figure tossed back his hood and revealed a sharp face, sharp ears, vibrant green eyes, and an arrogant frown. His next words roused Foodie¡¯s hunger as he spoke with the utmost of disdain. ¡°You green-tainted worm. I am King Rithos, Son of the Sorceress Queen, ninth in line to the throne of the Forever Green Empire! I am the Commander of the Promised Continent Slayer Scouts, and I promise to put you mongrels in your place for corrupting our empress!¡± Foodie launched forward off Slip¡¯s back. Cleaver in hand, she chopped down on the elf king. A split second later, she ended up whirling through the air high above the stony trees and vine-covered towers. Her side hurt. It was hard to breathe. She didn¡¯t know what had hit her. How had she gotten hit? Before she landed, she quickly realized she was not yet strong enough to fight an elf, let alone a kingly elf. She also realized the others needed her help to run. She hit an old tower and plowed straight through. She landed hard, forming a crater. She was still struggling to breathe. She got up and ran as fast as possible, ignoring her shortness of breath. She reached into her satchel and dug for two items, a scroll and an orb. Looking up, the tension inside of her chest tightened. She saw Slip getting thrashed across the forest. She saw orbital golems streak through the air after getting batted away. She saw dozens of skeletons fly in scattered parts, their skulls busted, leaving them unable to reanimate. Loner was pulling himself together in a small glade with cracks running across his skull. The elven monster was stalking toward her undead brother with a staff that hummed with powerful enchantments. Foodie¡¯s heart clenched even more. No, don¡¯t take my family from me again! She activated both items. She threw forth the good suppression orb. She opened up and cast the Scroll of Death Blight. The orb released an area-affecting pulse that cut the good alignment in half. From the scroll, a dark-green fog the size of a castle rushed out and rolled over the land. The grass and trees died the fastest. Foodie relied on her Strength, Wonder, and vitality to outlast the blight while reaching into her satchel again for another pair of scrolls. Someone grabbed her wrist with a painful grip. She looked up and saw the elf, his cruel and hateful eyes boring down on her. He had simmering golden magic that glimmered and rung like clattering coins. The death blight tried to invade his body, but to no avail. Foodie tried to use Aura Ignition, but another super fast blow to her face broke her concentration. ¡°Stop fighting, you horrid mongrel. You will serve a purpose.¡± Despite the ringing in her ears, the elf king was loud and clear. ¡°You will draw out the Dark Lord to our trap. Then he will finally be sealed.¡± Foodie refused to lose her freedom again. So she did the next best thing. ¡°Mother, help,¡± she moaned. The elf king slapped her again. Hard. Her head rang harder. Then she felt yanked by the arm and whisked off her feet. The elf was going to run away with her. He was going to trap her and take her freedom. She was going to suffer more tragedy again. Foodie couldn¡¯t bear to let that happen. With a swollen jaw, she asked once again. ¡°Mother, Father, help.¡± The elf stopped running. Foodie jerked to a stop while still held by her captor. She looked around deliriously. She was in a different patch of the forest. She could faintly hear the fighting her army was conducting behind her. She should be leading them. She needed to go find Loner and Slip. She was scared, but she didn¡¯t let fear cloud her judgment. Instead, she focused on why the elf stopped. She looked up along the trail, hoping to see her father. It wasn¡¯t him. It was the last person she expected. ¡°If you¡¯re going to go around announcing yourself as princess this and princess that at least dress better. Take some pointers from that funny tall woman with the quirky accent and phrases. What is it that makes all the boys go crazy? Bueno, papi! Dale, dale, dale! I think it¡¯s something like that. It sounds silly, but who can judge that woman? She¡¯s a demigoddess of fashion and really knows how to walk in a pair of heels like no other. Maybe that¡¯s what we should work on first. Getting you fitted for proper heels. The bare-foot action was last season¡¯s draw, and nobody cares for sweaty maidens as much as they did in the summer,¡± said Ekri the Tailor. 248: B3: C38: Masterful Battle 1 Foodie and her kidnapper were stunned into silence by the preposterous words of the drider. Then again, she was probably more stunned. She was recovering from a concussion, after all. She had to second guess herself on what Ekri the Tailor was saying before realizing the drider was being his usual weird self. Once her hazy vision cleared, she saw Ekri was wearing a crisp three-piece suit of brown and beige coloring. His high-quality shoes were polished to a fine finish, and so were the necklaces and the eight-legged brooch on the left side of his suit collar. With all six arms folded behind him, Ekri smiled, his dark eyes glinting, his spider fangs moving separately inside of his mouth. He stood like a dressed up and pale-skinned oddity, like someone who was misplaced in the wrong setting. The backdrop of stone forests, ancient statues, autumn-colored hedges, and eroded fortresses with winding river-moats didn¡¯t seem to fit him. Granted, this was the first time Foodie had seen Ekri outside of Castle Grimrock. ¡°What are you doing here?¡± Foodie blurted while preparing to pull out a knife from her pocket kitchen. ¡°Serving the will of milady, of course,¡± Ekri said, his hands unfolding from behind him to gesture casually. ¡°She¡¯s being radically different now. I dare say she¡¯s lost her concerns along with a few parts of herself. Thus, she¡¯s giving me more freedom! Ha! I didn¡¯t even mean to say that pun! That¡¯s how out of sorts everything is.¡± King Rithos tensed up. His grip on Foodie¡¯s wrist tightened. The little princess braced herself, biding her time, ensuring she would strike when the opportunity presented itself. She trusted her Wonder stat to tell her when that would be. It wasn¡¯t yet time to strike. The elf king was too wary. He wasn¡¯t open enough. He had already summoned his staff back into his other hand, too. However, him not attempting to crush Ekri the Tailor like he¡¯d done to Foodie and her companions said a lot about the situation. I wish I had my cleaver. She¡¯d dropped it somewhere. Foodie engaged in more conversation. ¡°What do you mean to serve the will of ¡®milady?¡¯ Who is this mistress you serve?¡± ¡°Be quiet, you!¡± King Rithos snarled down at her. ¡°Now, now, don¡¯t treat the princess that way,¡± Ekri said, with a hint of seriousness. The elf king shivered. His grip tensed even further, but up to a limit on the goblin¡¯s wrist. Yellow sparks appeared where the elf kept hold of a very strong goblin. Foodie noted how his grip didn¡¯t come from raw Strength. There was magic in his grip. I¡¯m physically stronger, but he probably has more aura and more advanced skills than me. He was most likely a Master Ranker, too, so her chances against the elf king in a fair fight were still slim. But Foodie was confident she could break free once the opportunity presented itself. Still, a lot depended on Ekri the Tailor. Both the goblin princess and elf king were waiting for the Carrowmore Baron to explain himself. ¡°Nice day, isn¡¯t it?¡± Ekri asked, as if to make small talk. Foodie almost felt a kindred moment with King Rithos about how exasperating Ekri could be. The drider was keeping them in suspense on purpose, milking the moment. Then things became even more dire. King Rithos smiled cruelly as four more elves appeared! Each elf gave off powerful auras and magical forces that had Foodie feeling oppressed. She¡¯d never seen an elf until this morning. Now she was seeing five of them all at once! Worse yet, they had Ekri surrounded. We¡¯re DOOMED! Foodie thought to herself. She tried to steady her thumping heart. She prepared to risk everything for her freedom and to avoid being used as bait for her father. The only thing that stopped her was the growing smile on Ekri¡¯s face. He even laughed. ¡°Ah, there you all are. You know, it¡¯s quite hard to wait for my moment and let things be. But I must say this is the perfect opportunity to market my services to the right people.¡± Ekri¡¯s dark eyes focused on Foodie. ¡°My dear princess, we crossed paths aplenty when I sold my business to your former mother. I won¡¯t say too much about that, since she¡¯s dead, but who I truly serve is far, far above the warlock and others of my usual clientele. Milady has a vested interest in a certain apocalyptic someone, and that apocalyptic someone has a vested interest in you. So, I¡¯m going to intervene here, teach these elves a thing or two, and let you scamper off and have your mythical fun slaying wolf dragons.¡± Foodie¡¯s mind flipped and twisted to figure out what Ekri was saying. Apparently, his lady, an esteemed and mysterious mistress, had a vested interest in ¡®someone apocalyptic.¡¯ The apocalyptic person had to be her father. If so, then the mysterious mistress with the vested interest had to be Shadowfell, Foodie¡¯s new mother. Though Foodie found it strange that Ekri wouldn¡¯t come out and just say it. The elves didn¡¯t care. ¡°No matter who you serve, fiend, you will finally meet your end here,¡± King Rithos declared. ¡°You are surrounded by the five great commanders of the Promised Continental Slayer Scouts! Queen Rani! King Rathmore! Queen Rham! King Rovert! And I, King Rithos! Together, we children of the Sorceress Queen are some of the strongest of the Forever Green Empire. You alone cannot stand up against our combined might!¡± Each of them unfolded their traditional good alignment and increased their power sharply. Without the Good Suppression Orb, Foodie felt they were truly doomed, yet Ekri didn¡¯t act like it. ¡°There it is! The introductions! The stage is set! Now let¡¯s get to tailoring those attitudes of yours, oh children.¡± Ekri laughed gallantly as all of his hands blurred with a whirring motion that Foodie couldn¡¯t track. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. A gout of blood splashed the side of her face. The grip on her wrist loosened. The fingers remained curled, but without magical force. She stumbled to the side in shock as King Rithos screamed, having lost his hand at the wrist. Something unseen had cut straight through. Did Ekri do that? How did he slice through King Rithos¡¯s defenses so easily? Foodie¡¯s thoughts raced, but everything around her was racing faster. A powerful bolt of sticky web magic knocked her away from King Rithos¡¯s side. The bolt sent her crashing through a few statues until she struck the base of a sturdy stone-barked tree five hundred feet away from the conflict. The webbing shriveled and flaked off of her, dropping her. By the time she touched down, the earth bucked violently. Explosive clashes between immense forces destroyed the area she¡¯d once stood on. King Rithos¡¯s blood was still on the left side of her face and shoulder as she tumbled backwards, her body forced to roll with the shockwaves. Foodie summoned two kitchen knives and stabbed them into the ground, sliding to a stop after so much tumbling. She looked up in awe as Ekri the Tailor¡¯s voice boomed clearly over the roaring elemental clashes between Master Rankers. ¡°What¡¯s wrong, King Rithos? Why are you so mad? Do you need help? Do you need a hand?¡± Ekri¡¯s appearance flickered in and out view through the raining debris, billowing dust clouds, mounds of ice, and leaping shades of many creatures. King Rithos appeared while swinging his staff and roaring with rage, his body glowing intensely with a bright golden light. Then a sharp impact cracked through the air followed by the pained wail of King Rithos having suffered another severe injury to his person and his pride. Ekri continued to boast aloud, as if the fight was all a joke to him. ¡°Queen Rani, my dear, if you¡¯re going to throw around frost like that, you¡¯ll need to act more like an ice queen. Please keep your dignity and your wardrobe intact as I punt you in the cunt.¡± A loud crackling sound, like glacial ice shattering into many pieces, roared across the area. Then Foodie saw the form of an elf queen shooting upward into the air. Frost trailed behind the queen, the icy flakes twinkling in the light of the twin suns. Queen Rani was faintly screaming, too, as Ekri continued with his boasting. ¡°King Rathmore, you are the fattest elf I¡¯ve ever seen. I will have to charge you extra to fit you more accurately.¡± Somehow, Ekri¡¯s ridicule could still be heard over the bellows and cries of many shady forest creatures stampeding through the raining debris, billowing dust clouds, and ice mounds. Foodie saw flashes of the summoned beasts trying to attack Ekri¡¯s quick and shifty form in the middle of the chaos. Suddenly, all the beasts fell apart into many pieces. Then the remaining parts burst into bluish-white particles of aura. Following that was a mighty thump, like a cannon shot hitting a castle wall. Then another impact resounded far across the area. Foodie assumed King Rathmore was nursing an injury like the others as Ekri moved on. ¡°Queen Rham, King Rovert, I won¡¯t go out my way to tell anyone of your incestuous experimentations and failed hopes to create a purer bloodline! I ask that you think of me when you need special tailoring for the malformed children you hide away during family gatherings!¡± After Ekri¡¯s scandalous boasts, Foodie heard the strident clashes of magic blade meeting magic blade. Each steely strike threatened to burst her eardrums, despite having moved thousands of feet from the masterful battle. She should have run away fully by now, but her curiosity was greater than her fear. This showing between Master Rankers could pave the way for how she wanted to conduct herself as her own Master Ranker. She hadn¡¯t gotten to see much when her father rampaged against the warlocks and the royal devils. She also wanted to catch Ekri using an actual weapon. Foodie pushed on her high Wonder stat and squinted into the middle of the chaos. She barely caught sight of the incestuous elf duo wielding their enchanted high-quality swords. Queen Rham swung a large great sword while King Rovert held two broadswords. As for Ekri the Tailor, Foodie could hardly believe what she caught sight of. No, I must be wrong. She had to be wrong. There was no way that Ekri¡¯s weapon in a sword fight could be that thing! There¡¯s no way his chosen weapon is a pair of scissors. Feeling mistaken, Foodie felt the urge to return to her companions. She heard more of Ekri¡¯s boasts as he thwarted the sword pair¡¯s attacks and struck back with his ¡­ unlikely weapon. Foodie ran and ran, putting the masterful battle further behind her. The exchanges resounded clearly for miles on end. She could hardly believe how truly strong Ekri the Tailor was. She knew he was greatly feared across the Walled Continent. But none of her journals had spoken about the true height of his power. Five elven kings and queens! He can fight a full party of them and ridicule them at the same time! Foodie glanced down at her arm where King Rithos had once held her. He was still holding onto her. The hand hadn¡¯t let go. She pried it off, took out some seasoning from her pocket kitchen, and sprinkled it over the hand. Then she ate it. She¡¯d never eaten elf before, and she wished she had the time to cook it properly. Still, the meal was an interesting one, though a tad on the bony side, lacking in chewy meat. By the time she finished eating a piece of King Rithos, her orbital golems found her. All eighteen of them buzzed in circles above her head, their round bodies giving off green flashes of destruction magic. Soon, other companions appeared, such as the spectral spiders and a few helpful skeletons. Better yet, Foodie saw Slip and Loner riding up fast toward her. The crushing tension inside of her chest unwound at the sight of them. Despite everything, King Rithos hadn¡¯t bothered to see Loner and Slip destroyed. It was times like these that Foodie was glad she¡¯d split most of her attention primarily on Strength and Wonder. The Wonder stat granted more supernatural perception, faith, hidden power, aura power, and luck. They came out especially lucky to not have lost anything severe, if only their own sense of invincibility. Before Foodie could utter a word to them, the clashing between Master Rankers grew louder and more destructive. Everyone looked back as wide-reaching destruction scoured the land only a few miles away. Multiple fortress hillocks fell apart as victims of the masterful battle. Entire patches of forests with stone-barked trees and autumn-colored hedges disappeared, completely wiped out. Glacial hills of ice jutted into the sky. Strident clashes of magic metal on magic metal resounded so far, so sharp, they still hurt Foodie¡¯s ears despite the distance. An immense blow shook the ground. The cry of thousands of beasts raging about intermingled with the incredible noises of destructive power coming from the masterful battle. Yet, while in the middle of all of that, Ekri the Tailor continued to boast aloud. ¡°Bravo! You¡¯ve succeeded past the first round of my tailoring process. Now that we¡¯ve got the measurements of you, let us chart the beautified vision that you may one day become if you live long enough to see it!¡± Slip neighed in utter disbelief at the situation. ¡°There¡¯s a reason Ekri the Tailor is greatly feared,¡± Foodie said. ¡°However, don¡¯t let this distract you from the truth.¡± Slip and Loner looked at her tensely. Foodie looked back at them with a serious expression. ¡°Father is scarier and stronger than them all.¡± Both the eight-legged horse and black skeleton nodded in agreement. The powers of the drider tailor and five elven kings and queens were immense. But they couldn¡¯t compare to the mighty and apocalyptic power of Foodie¡¯s adopted father. The Dark Lord was the destroyer of mountains, the breaker of moons, and the one who could eat the entire universe and beyond. I must grow stronger! She carried the Darkrun name. She represented her father. To show such weakness earlier, even at the hands of elven kings and queens, made her feel ashamed. I¡¯ll make up for it at Ride-or-Die Village! Before they headed off, a handful of spectral spiders came scurrying up to her with something dragged in webbing behind them. Foodie smiled as she reached down and grabbed the handle of her legendary cleaver. 249: B3: C39: Masterful Battle 2 ¡°Lord Hoodah, what is the situation as you see it?¡± Foodie requested, jumping off of Slip¡¯s back. She hit the ground and rolled underneath a fire torrent shot in her direction by a kobold mage. Back on her feet, she stepped on the corpse of another kobold before lunging at the fire mage. The corpse exploded into splatters of gore from the force of her lunge. She thrust her cleaver straight through the fire mage¡¯s chest armor, body, and out of his back with minor issue. Then, with a flick of her arm, she threw the kobold off her cleaver and into the air. Lord Hoodah the Hulk Meister swung his giant club and smashed the dying fire mage into bloody smithereens. ¡°Princess! It¡¯s getting closer to noon, and you¡¯ve only finished your beauty sleep now, eh? It¡¯s about time you joined us hard working trolls on the front lines!¡± Lord Hoodah said jokingly, which she¡¯d expected. There was rarely a moment spared without Lord Hoodah teasing her. The fifteen foot and muscular troll struck an imposing figure on the battlefield. He always fought at the front with his band of troll warriors and shamans from the Death Forested Marchers, so she didn¡¯t mind the teasing as long as he worked hard for her. There weren¡¯t many troll tribes out there, but Foodie knew the Death Forested Marchers were the biggest and most battle-tested. They were the main reason the Crossdeath Region had remained unconquered as an evil city before the arrival of the Floridians. She could see the efforts of Lord Hoodah and his tribesmen and tribeswomen for herself even as Lord Hoodah explained things from his perspective. ¡°We¡¯ve crushed camp after camp of kobolds in our way! My trolls led from the front while the smart and weak golems stayed behind us, conserving their strength. We didn¡¯t even need the help of your little spiders. Oh, and the skeletons and goblins helped here and there, but they were unnecessary! We trolls will defeat the wolf kobolds and wolf dragons for you, princess! Heh heh heh heh!¡± Most leaders might find it hard to disapprove of Lord Hoodah¡¯s words, and Foodie was one of them. While riding over here, Foodie had seen the destruction that trolls were mostly capable of. The kobold settlements had fallen like giants had stomped all over them. There weren¡¯t many trolls in her army, only two thousand of them, but each troll had the staggering presence and physicality of twenty to thirty humans. Trolls were born with more stats in Strength than most other adventuring creatures, except Foodie, but she was an unusual goblin. Foodie looked around as kobolds screamed while trolls laughed. The trolls waded through magic attacks while swinging heavy metallic clubs. Their mighty weapons were high of quality and enchanted, their base material coming from the Slag River flowing through the middle of Central Crossdeath. Under the late morning of a mostly blue-sky day, with the haze of smoke and blood lingering in the air, trolls smashed and crushed their foes. The warriors fought the hardest with their buffs. The shamans would sometimes cast wild magic powers on themselves or other trolls, making them better at smashing and killing with elemental bonuses. Only a few shamans had healing skills, but they were mostly unnecessary, since trolls had high vitality too. ¡°Your report seems accurate for now.¡± Foodie nodded seriously up at the towering Lord Hoodah. ¡°But I imagine things will change when we finally have Ride-or-Die Village in sight.¡± ¡°Heh heh heh! Watch us smash all the way to the village gates! Few can best troll muscle and vigor! Not even wolf dragons can compare!¡± Lord Hoodah raised his metal club, bashing his weapon on his spiraling horns while roaring. ¡°SCRAP!¡± His tribesmen and tribeswomen turned and yelled back, regardless of them being in a fight or not. ¡°SCRAP!¡± For the most part, Lord Hoodah¡¯s words rang true. Hours passed, the twin suns made their way closer to setting, and Foodie¡¯s unusual army stormed forward with little to no challenge with the trolls leading at the front. Foodie¡¯s advanced skeletons split into two battalions, with one covering the left and one covering the right of their large wedge formation. Her thousands of spectral spiders avoided direct conflict and focused on catching and slaying runners on the fringes. Foodie¡¯s golems, specifically the spider tanks, stayed out of the conflict mostly. Only occasionally did the orbital golems shoot their green-tinted beams. They destroyed hardy structures of enchanted siege engines the kobolds had built, such as rolling towers that were over two-hundred feet tall or massive rams that were three hundred feet long. This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Then there were the goblins of the Old Death Crawlers. Foodie found it weird being around more of her own people even though they were far removed from the ways of her previous tribe, the Green Hop Explorers. The goblins of the Old Death Crawlers were plumper and grayer. They had more human-like mannerisms, which came from living in a city among humans for many generations. She¡¯d caught herself looking at them weirdly ever since she took a great number of them along with the trolls from Central Crossdeath. She¡¯d caught them looking at her in amazement, as if they thought of her as some goblin goddess of sorts. Nonetheless, the foreign goblins did their part as either archers or supportive experts. They knew where to look for the best supplies, taking everything of value from the camps regardless of all the damage the trolls had wrought. Because of the supply-minded goblins, the spectral spiders could lean on being more like little wizards and scout experts. Or the spiders kept a lookout for moon rocks. Loner rode on Slip¡¯s back. The black skeleton focused on raising helpful skeletons consistently without burning out his aura. Foodie monitored her bony, trench-coat-wearing brother to ensure he was alright. The cracks in his skull were slowly fading away, his vitality taking care of it. Because the undead lacked life energy, the moment Loner¡¯s vitality ran out, that would be the end of him. Foodie tapped her hand on her satchel, knowing she had the right item to help Loner just in case the worst might come to pass. The strangest part was the lack of difficulty as they drew closer to the primary location of the siege. Foodie had killed nothing in quite some time. They hadn¡¯t suffered any real setbacks other than her getting kidnapped. Kobolds died. Trolls laughed and fought, wearing their wounds proudly, if they collected any that would last on their vitality-rich bodies. Goblins of the Old Death Crawlers raided anything of worth from the demolished camps. The army of the undead steadily grew. Spectral spiders skittered into view to give their reports through interpretive dance. Sometimes, they arrived with a piece of the orange and blue moons. Foodie consumed the moon pieces with food or drink and grew her stats. Her army distanced themselves further from the mighty fight between one Master Ranker and five Master Rankers. Then her army broke through a mostly demolished forest line and finally saw Ride-or-Die Village. The walls were grand and tall and pristine, more so than Foodie had imagined even after hearing it described by her father. At the center of the extraordinary village, a tower a thousand feet tall stood like a dark monument of otherworldly craft and runic prowess. Foodie, the trolls, the goblins, and even some skeletons stopped to marvel at the fable-like sight. Hannah really created all of Ride-or-Die Village over the course of one winter? Foodie could hardly believe it. ¡°Where is the fighting?¡± Lord Hoodah asked, his brutish tone sounding dumbfounded now. That snapped Foodie¡¯s attention away from the village and to the lands surrounding the heart of the Dark Lord¡¯s empire. The lands were covered in kobold corpses. There were so many dead kobolds, their bodies acted as one massive carpet surrounding all of Ride-or-Die Village. That wasn¡¯t the scariest part. Foodie recognized the massive bodies of wolf dragons of different classes laying about near the walls of the heavily fortified village. ¡°There is plenty of fighting still,¡± said an old goblin, Elder Snatcher. He was the oldest goblin of the Old Death Crawlers. Very gray. Very bent over. But he was easy for Foodie to talk to when she needed the goblins to handle the grunt work. Elder Snatcher also seemed to have garnered the respect of Lord Hoodah and his trolls. So when the old goblin hobbled up with his little cane, the mighty troll lord stepped aside and gave Elder Snatcher the floor. Foodie paid close attention.. ¡°Yes, yes, plenty of fighting still,¡± Elder Snatcher said, scratching at his rear with his gnarled free hand. ¡°But not as much fighting as we thought. It seems the home of the Dark Lord is much, much capable of defending themselves. But there is still much opportunity to establish our glory, yes, yes.¡± Foodie agreed. The last fighting of the siege was near the northern gate of the village. It looked like the wolf dragons and wolf kobolds were making one last push to break beyond the walls. They were doing so by stacking mounds of their own corpses to reach the top of the northern wall easier. No matter what attack the village defenders delivered to destroy the mounds of corpses, there were plenty more corpses the kobolds and dragons could use to clamber up to the top. Because of the large sizes of the wolf dragons and some of the high levels among the kobolds, they didn¡¯t need much to jump onto the ramparts and cause trouble there. Other than that, there weren¡¯t more than fifteen thousand kobolds and three dozen wolf dragons left for this desperate frontal assault. Foodie looked back. She counted fifty helpful golem supports that walked like cube-shaped men. She counted eighteen destruction-shooting orbital golems that were shaped like hand-sized balls. She counted twelve spider tanks, each one large enough to ride on while having little compartments for spectral spiders to do their work inside. Then she counted two thousand trolls, four thousand advanced skeletons, and five thousand goblin supporters. There were also eight thousand helpful skeletons made from various humanoid creatures, half of them being kobolds. Finally, she felt through the spider network that nine thousand spectral spiders survived the trip from Grimrock to here, with each one ready to work. The count was quick for her. Her Wonder stat helped. She checked on Loner and Slip the Sleipnir. They were both ready and healthy enough. Then Princess Foodie turned to look up at Lord Hoodah. ¡°Take your trolls and lead the way.¡± 250: B3: C40: Ride-or-Die Siege Prince Omar Windstorm had never read of such a siege like the one that Ride-or-Die Village endured for the past two months. He¡¯d never faced such challenges himself, nor have the Windstorm Tribe of the United Nomad Empire. As a people who moved regularly based on the generational wisdom needed to survive in the arid and harsh lands in western parts of the Walled Continent, intense sieges weren¡¯t the norm. Granted, he was experiencing abnormal times. There was the Darkrun Apocalypse that wiped out the universe and gave it a second chance during a period of darkness. Then there was the Dark Quarrel of Mountains and Moons that left the blue Sea Strider and orange Cavern Hellion damaged and conjoined, with Grimrock wiped out. Such abnormal times would make most nomad princes and princesses run back to their tribes and stay with their concubine mothers. Yet, here he was, on the northern wall, his Advanced Grimoire of the Windstorm Adept in his hand. With his other hand, he sent forth another epic spell, Cutting Wind Blast, while preparing another spell in his mind¡¯s eye. The Cutting Wind Blast sliced through armor, scales, and fur that covered the attacking kobolds. A dozen fell, but more jumped off the grotesque constructions of their own brethren¡¯s corpses and scrambled onto the ramparts. Omar and his fellow defenders cried out in defiance as the kobold menace cried in bloody rage and hunger. The kobolds sounded louder. ¡°Die fleshy things! Die, die, die!¡± ¡°You are weak! Wolf dragons are strong!¡± ¡°You will be food for the wolf dragons!¡± ¡°Death to the Dark Lord! Death to everyone!¡± ¡°Wolf Dragons forever!¡± No matter how many kobolds Omar cut down with his sharp and windy spells, the kobolds kept coming. No matter how many levels Omar had accrued in such a ridiculously short time, he still felt the weariness of two months of battle weighing him down. His vitality was short. His movements were slower. His aches hurt more. He was barely casting his wizard spells fast enough. Yet, he was on the wall, using wind magic to slide out of the way of a kobold spearing at him. After the dodge, he shot a smaller, quicker wind spell that slashed out the throat of the kobold. Then the blood-slick stone under his feet sent him into a stumble. He knocked shoulders against an advanced gnoll skeleton with charcoal bones ¨C this one he recognized as Flamer. Flamer¡¯s scalding grasp pulled Omar up by the arm. With his other burnt and bony hand, Flamer shot a torrent of fire at a kobold¡¯s face and melted the helmet along with the flesh off his head. Once Omar was stable on his feet, Flamer stepped forward to smash his burning fist into another kobold¡¯s face. Just like many advanced skeletons, Flamer fought tirelessly, covering for the weakness of his fleshy companions, such as the nomad prince. Then Flamer disappeared, the gaping maw of a wolf dragon flashing over the edge of the rampart and catching the mighty skeleton. Omar¡¯s heart sank at seeing the disappearance of one of the most battle-tested skeletons. And with Flamer¡¯s loss, more kobolds scrambled onto the wall, screaming threats and insults at the defenders. The last thing Omar heard of Flamer was an explosion of flames. No doubt, that was Flamer¡¯s surefire act of defiance against the horde before the skeleton met his true end. ¡°Make them pay! Make the kobolds hurt! KILL ALL KOBOLDS!¡± roared a living gnoll who was defending the wall along with the humans and skeletons. Omar hadn¡¯t yet grown accustomed to the savage gnolls compared to the advanced skeletons. Yet, he fought beside them, for they had sacrificed much to help Ride-or-Die Village in their time of need. Their own elder, the great and terrible Ezda, had even thrown herself down there among the stacking mounds in her bestial form. She¡¯d made the sacrifice to hold back the wolf dragons despite her being obscenely outnumbered. She hadn¡¯t gone down alone. The Silver Guardian, Arnold of Ambrose, had gone with her. Omar had heard little else from them now. And he could see the snapping jaws of the wolf dragons taking defenders that drew too close to the frontal edge, freeing up space for kobolds to clamber up to the rampart and push the defenders back. Is this where we meet our end? He shouldn¡¯t be fighting this fight. He could¡¯ve retreated to a room at a building near the Central Library Artillery Tower. He¡¯d done his duty by sacrificing his scorpions as extra meat for the villagers when the corpses of their enemies had remained out of reach. Unfortunately, hunger was the least of their troubles. There were no more rounds for the siege weapons on the walls or the artillery tower to shoot. There were no more worthy adventurers they could pull into their ranks. There were no more bombs, arrows, or surplus of fighting supplies they could use. Their demands had exhausted the epic Level 85 Dancing Librarian Dungeon. Everything was looking bad while teetering on the brink of ruin. And from what Prince Omar could see, they were leaning more and more toward ruin. Yet, the fight hadn¡¯t left the spirits of the two hundred and ninety members of the Ride-or-Die Guild. Somehow, every member remained alive. Somehow, every member responded fast to where they were needed most. Somehow, no matter what wound they suffered, they found a way to recover and get back to the fight. None of what they did was secret or only spared to them. They had a prized alchemist among their ranks ¨C a Wallen Huntsmen ¨C and he did his best to create brews for the guild and for everyone else defending the walls, regardless of them being foreign adventurers or gnolls. The guild risked much, too much even, as the honored pupils of the great Sorceress Queen and the Dark Lord¡¯s Floridian Party. ¡°Look at them,¡± said a familiar voice next to Omar. It came from Bernard Bonfils, one of several hundred paladins who remained in the village to assist in the siege efforts. The old Battle Priest looked as worn out as Omar felt. They had skeletons in front of them, giving them a break from the savage fighting. But the pressure from the kobolds was pushing them back, human, skeleton, gnolls, and all. Yet, the guild members found ways to get back into the fight and make a difference, no matter how small. ¡°By the grace of the Good Gods, the children of Ride-or-Die still fight even when every other human tires,¡± Bernard said, straightening with a groan. His bronze armor and robes were soaked in blood. Some of it might be even his. Bernad didn¡¯t seem to care. ¡°I dislike the Dark Lord. I fear for our universe with a creature like him remaining unsealed. But I must say this. No creature has brought together such a fighting force like this.¡± ¡°This is why I¡¯m here. To see how our world will change because of the Dark Lord.¡± Omar groaned as he straightened up. ¡°If I survive this day, that is.¡± He walked over to a waist-high and round golem that gave off aura recharging magic. The prince was so tired, the act of recovering aura felt terrible. He must¡¯ve run out of vitality by now. Any severe injury could be the end of him. Still, Omar prepared himself to return to the fight. He saw that the old Battle Priest was making preparations as well. Bernard nodded at him as both the pious paladin and princely nomad joined with mercenary striders and some free gardeners. They rejoined the line to help the skeletons, the gnolls, and the guild of Ride-or-Die. Omar fought from the midrange for the sake of accuracy and speed. He saw where he was needed, casting his rare spell, Wind Wall. He helped defend against powerful magic attacks from the kobolds that crashed upon them like bombs. But some of the powerful dragon magic broke through, hurling men, skeletons, and gnolls backward. The large and ferocious heads of wolf dragons lunged over their kobolds with fiendish, slavering maws gaping wide open. Omar looked up to see a wolf dragon chomping down upon him, his life flashing before his eyes, only to get shoved out of the way. The wolf dragon snapped its jaws. Splatters of blood covered Omar¡¯s back before the horrid monster slunk out of view below the rampart line, leaving Omar alive. Omar looked back and saw the remaining legs of a man who had suffered the bite of a wolf dragon after pushing the prince to safety. Omar recognized the boots. Bernard Bonfils, the old Battle Priest, was no more. Omar was too tired to let that affect him as skeletons and gnolls surged back to fill the hole in their defenses. There wasn¡¯t much of a defense left, however. The entire defensive line along the northern rampart had found themselves pressed back to the edge. Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Omar could look over to the side and see into the streets of Ride-or-Die. He saw brave villagers running back and forth to provide aid, either by carting to the wall the last dregs of supplies they could scrounge up or to haul off grievously injured defenders to the dungeon where Dungeon Boss Reiki could take care of them. If their defense broke here at the rampart, the cost of life would be horrendous. Yet, it looked like that was a fate the village would suffer along with the nomad prince. ¡°Mother,¡± Omar said, ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be returning home.¡± The nearest defenders, poor striders, paladins, and gardeners, overhead him. Omar was too tired to feel ashamed as they all shared the burden of feeling defeated. Then, finally, a miracle arrived. ¡°Hello, everyone.¡± A feminine voice spoke across the entire village using the tower¡¯s magic speakers. Omar recognized the voice belonging to the Head Admin, Lady Rhea Hemlock. While she was not one for fighting on the walls, the village remained functional as an impromptu society under siege because of her impeccable organizational prowess. She was also known to use the speakers for spreading joyous news, so Prince Omar felt his hopes rising against his better judgment. ¡°I have just been informed by our friendly spectral spiders that our reinforcements have arrived. I repeat. Our reinforcements have arrived. Please welcome the army brought forth by the daughter of the Dark Lord and Shadowfell Goddess, our Ride-or-Die Princess, Foodie Darkrun.¡± Just like that, a battle that was falling toward ruin flipped into something greater, something more glorious, something beyond Omar¡¯s princely nomad teachings. The kobolds on the ramparts lost their fervor as they turned more of their concern toward what was happening behind them. The wolf dragons stopped snapping up wall defenders, because they, too, had to turn their attention toward what was happening behind them. ¡°Push, god dammit! Push and give them fucking lizards a taste of their Hidden Hell!¡± yelled a girl with an enormous axe, one of the former flowers of the Eternal Garden Kingdom, now a savage killer. Her name was Clotilda, Omar believed. Many of the former flowers had similar attitudes, even if they weren¡¯t as brusque as Clotilda. Omar¡¯s fellow nomads had quickly learned not to mess with the savage girls of Ride-or-Die, for they weren¡¯t afraid of speaking and fighting for themselves. Who could blame them? They fought just as hard next to the former young soldiers of the Eternal Garden Kingdom. ¡°This is our moment! This is what we¡¯ve trained for! We are no longer sacrifices and flowers! It is here where we make our stand as children of the Dark Lord, of the Floridians, and of the Sorceress Queen!¡± yelled the gallant Roland of Wood, the Rose Knight. Every time Omar had seen or heard of the young man, he was at the front of Ride-or-Die, risking life and limb. Omar had to admit there was no perfect representation of the Dark Lord¡¯s empire than the one Roland seemed to embody. Brazen. Bold. Brave. Brash. And battle hardened. ¡°I just want to sleep you ride-or-die crazies!¡± shouted Wallen, the alchemist. Everyone ignored him, because he often complained, but he fell in with the others anyway. So did Prince Omar, even though he agreed with Wallen with wanting to sleep like the dead. Nonetheless, the nomad prince, the paladins, the striders, the gardeners, the skeletons, and the gnolls fought and pushed, slinging rare and epic magic attacks while wielding epic and legendary weapons. They pushed, shoved, killed, and slaughtered the kobolds on the ramparts, sending many of the mongrel horde spilling back whence they came until the defenders cleared the ramparts of all attackers. Omar couldn¡¯t believe that they¡¯d achieved such a feat. More importantly, he couldn¡¯t believe what was happening outside of the walls. ¡°Are those ¡­ trolls?¡± asked a young strider man. ¡°And goblins!¡± said the Ride-or-Die Lightning Amazon, Eleanor. ¡°And more skeletons! More, more skeletons!¡± shouted a gnoll, who threw his long arm around a skeleton that was a former gnoll. All the other skeletons rattled. Omar couldn¡¯t pay them much mind as he watched the army of the so-called Ride-or-Die Princess brutalize the remaining siege attackers. Omar watched mighty trolls catapult themselves and smash down their metal clubs on the faces of wolf dragons. He watched thousands of skeletons mob the kobold back lines. Omar felt a shockwave of strange and eerie purple magic. Then a few thousand kobolds found themselves ensnared by increased gravity, crushing them into the ground. Such magic came from a little green goblin with a giant butcher¡¯s blade in one hand and a legendary scroll that was fading away from the other. The goblin was riding on the back of a majestic eight-legged horse with a black skeleton wearing a dark coat, the strange trio galloping through the mad battle. Behind the trio, strange golem crawlers that were three times bigger than Omar¡¯s scorpions followed while having cannons on their backs. The golem crawlers fired their weapons into the bodies of the wolf dragons, and to Omar¡¯s surprise, the crawlers replicated the power of the much larger artillery guns of the tower, knocking the terrible monsters off their feet. Then Omar looked up as buzzing orbs flew through the skies and rain green-tinted magic of the utmost destruction. Nothing could stop the green-beaming orbs as they rampaged above the wolf kobolds and wolf dragons. ¡°So, which one is the princess?¡± said a young man, Obert, of the Ride-or-Die Guild. ¡°Is that Loner down there? He¡¯s all black now!¡± said the Shadow Saboteur, Amabel, the creepiest of the Ride-or-Die Guild. ¡°Hm, I guess what my goddess said about her child is true.¡± ¡°What is true?¡± asked Wallen, as humans, skeletons, and gnolls gathered around Amabel. Omar drew closer, too. The girl held back the secret and kept them in suspense. She had a nasty knack for doing that as one who could survive the taint of Shadowfell Tears. Finally, Amabel uttered the truth. ¡°See that green one with the big, big knife. See how she¡¯s chopping off a wolf dragon¡¯s head. That¡¯s the daughter of the Dark Lord and Shadowfell Goddess. That¡¯s our new princess of Ride-or-Die.¡± ¡°Is she more of a princess than Princess Bianca?¡± asked Wallen. ¡°I think she¡¯s the direct princess of our village. So, maybe yes.¡± ¡°I see now,¡± Wallen said strangely. Everyone turned to look at Wallen in confusion. Of course, Omar didn¡¯t look directly at the young man, because he understood the implications of this. Princess Foodie Darkrun was the most precious princess in the entire world. What would it take to win her heart and have more access to the abundant offerings and immense powers of the Dark Lord? Omar looked over the edge as Foodie Darkrun exploded with an extraordinary power ¨C Aura Ignition. She quickly killed two wolf dragons back-to-back as her trolls cheered for her. The blue flames of her aura snuffed away, but she kept fighting to clear out the remaining enemy forces. ¡°Well, what are we doing? Having a garden tea party? We got fucking kobolds to kill. Let¡¯s go!¡± Clotilda raised her axe and roared. ¡°I like that human! She¡¯s like a gnoll, but human!¡± said one of the gnolls. The others laughed with their high-pitched and disturbing laughter. ¡°Let¡¯s kill more kobolds. Let¡¯s go find Elder Ezda.¡± Omar had his doubts that Ezda was still alive. But they went down from the walls and out of the gate anyway. They had to fight the rush of kobolds trying to break into the village once the gate opened, but they had the good fortune of many wizardly spectral spiders helping them. Complex and intricate webbed magic struck with a force that launched the kobolds backward, clearing the way out. Then the two hundred and ninety members of the Ride-or-Die Guild along with their enlisted allies ran out and joined the army of Princess Foodie Darkrun. Together, they finished what remained of the attackers. Then a series of golden notifications appeared in the sky for everyone to see. Prince Omar nodded. The first notification cleared up why some of their boons had failed during Part 1 of the Mythical Wolf Dragon Invasion. Three Evil Gods had conspired against them. Thankfully, they had two Good Gods and two Evil Gods that were on their side. The boons of their fourth godly patron gave them enough of an edge. Despite the nebulous nature of the freedom alignment, it was still possible for the gods outside of freedom to lend their support. That would come at a cost, but that was not a concern for the defenders of the village. Everyone was cheering. Dozens crowded around the Ride-or-Die Princess. Then the jubilee hushed down when a mutilated giant dragged itself free from under a pile of dead wolf dragons. Prince Omar gaped up at the horrid thing, realizing it was Ezda herself. She was immense, bigger than ever before. But her entire form looked as chewed apart as a dog toy. The gnolls crowded close to the giant paws of their elder as Ezda stumbled slowly toward the party around the princess. Then Ezda dipped her colossal head down and vomited. From her own gullet and up her throat, a barely recognized human form dropped free in a pile of bloody ooze and bile. ¡°Arnold? Is that you?¡± Omar called. ¡°Yes, Prince of Windstorm ¡­ it is I,¡± Arnold said miserably. ¡°Even as old as I am, I still live, saved from a proper death by the most improper of means. And if I¡¯m to be honest, death would¡¯ve served me better than to have been saved by Ezda of all creatures.¡± ¡°Ha ha ha! Elder Ezda ate you and spat you back like bad food, Silver Guardian!¡± a random gnoll pointed and laughed. Ezda laughed hoarsely as she sat on her haunches. All of her remaining gnolls laughed together, which seemed to make Arnold even more miserable. Omar didn¡¯t blame the man. A proper death would¡¯ve been more dignified than what Arnold had just gone through. ¡°Well, it¡¯s great you¡¯re alive, old man. We have another princess of the Dark Lord, but with a bigger claim to the village. Better shape up and be presentable,¡± Clotilda said, some of the guild members doing their best not to laugh. ¡°Oh, heavens, no. Not when I¡¯m like this.¡± Arnold tried to stand, only to trip over haphazardly. Princess Foodie Darkrun, whose presence was both small and somehow intimidating, dashed from her position among many who would like to rub elbows with her. She stopped next to Arnold and supported him with her own hands despite the unseemly bile covering his person. ¡°My father spoke of you. He said you¡¯re the best good aligned person he has ever met. It is nice to meet you as well. I¡¯m Princess Foodie Darkrun.¡± ¡°Oh, hm, well. This is not a meeting I¡¯ve expected, nor have I prepared for. But you are quite the good child, regardless of alignments. I much appreciate the assistance, princess, although you shouldn¡¯t dirty yourself for me.¡± The princess waved off the faux pas. She ensured Arnold could stand. Then she turned about to look at everyone with her fists on her hips. Again, Omar couldn¡¯t help but think she was both an interesting and intimidating creature. The way her eyes and ears moved reminded him of desert panthers. And the stoic way she spoke had its own powerful charm. ¡°You all worked hard. And you look very hungry. Let me cook a tasty meal for you.¡± It was on that night, when many hungry mouths had the pleasure of tasting the princess¡¯s cooking, that they truly fell in love with her. It was also on that night Omar noticed he along with others became more interested in finding time to speak with the Ride-or-Die Princess personally. Perhaps this was the real reason he came here. *** Far away from the mythical event at Ride-or-Die, Zarian snapped awake for the first time in two months. His heart thumped hard in his chest. Shifting nightmares, uncanny dreams, wild memories, and painfully beautiful moments with a playful and dangerous Naomi whirled in his frayed mind. Out of all that, he could only focus on one dreadful thing. ¡°Foodie, no, you¡¯re too young! Don¡¯t let those boys steal your precious heart!¡± 251: B3: C41: Intense Growth Zarian took his time to relax in the high-quality bed and comforters, even though that was hard for him. His mind whirred with flashes of his dreams, some of which might not have been dreams. He recalled his adopted daughter coming to the defense of Ride-or-Die Village at their hour of need. After the battle, various figures had gotten drawn toward her like moths to flame. None of the figures seemed like immediate threats, but their intentions could make things awkward at family gatherings. There was also the issue with Ekri the freaking Tailor. A part of Zarian wanted to skip-and-a-hop over to the village to check in. He didn¡¯t follow that inclination because he wanted to trust Foodie could handle herself. She was on a journey of discovery, and the young goblin woman needed time to settle with her life away from Grimrock. Ah, yeah, I destroyed Grimrock. In fact, he could recall putting the moons through the wringer as well. What the hell got into me and Naomi? Why did we go so far? Zarian palmed his face and moaned. With a sweep of Aura Mastery + Devourer of Secrets and Stories, he could tell how much time had passed since the climactic wizard-versus-cultivator fight. The hedges outside of the cabin were shriveling, turning shades of darker colors, preparing for the coming of winter. He figured he was in Mid Autumn still, maybe close to turning over to Late Autumn. He¡¯d been out for a while, long enough for a lot to change, long enough for him to miss out on Bianca and Gilbert ranking up, if they somehow found a decent enough challenge to push them to Level 100. That gave him a positive rise in excitement, but it also brought him back to square one. ¡°Ah, dammit, I screwed up again,¡± he said. ¡°Do not put the blame on just yourself. In fact, I blame Naomi more.¡± Para slithered from around Zarian¡¯s back with the head and body of a dark-red and leathery serpent. She¡¯d taken on more of the serpent motif lately, which Zarian hadn¡¯t questioned much. Shapeshifting as a snake seemed to fit Para along with being his cloak or his kilt. No matter what shape she took, she spoke with eloquence and intelligence. ¡°Her pursuit of power for her dao has blinded her to the costs. She¡¯s gone too far in leveraging you and risking herself. But I¡¯m getting ahead of the conversation. I think Ruvaria could explain things better.¡± Zarian kept his mouth shut. He could hear Para readying herself for an argument if he tried to refute the placement of blame. He also knew he was biased. His dreams had a linchpin of safety that revolved around Naomi. He retreated to that when things became too much for him, regardless of his dreams being visions of what was happening currently or just a mess of things that his eldritch mind could conjure. Focusing on what he¡¯d learned from his Devourer of Secrets and Stories, Zarian knew the cabin he was in had legendary materials and enchantments all designed by Ruvaria. He knew he was near the Stone Sea River, but on the side closer to Crossdeath and other places he¡¯d seen. He still had to cross the Stone Sea river to get to the Windy Strider Kingdom and link up with the others. But how could he just up and go? The Grimrock Castle Mountains were gone, and the World of Castles and Caverns was forever changed. It was night outside. The darkest shades felt sharper, more dangerous, more animalistic. They waited like a pack of wolves for him to lead them out on the hunt again. Zarian wasn¡¯t sure how to feel about that just yet, since it looked like his sealing style hadn¡¯t failed him outright. Raising his hands, the greater cuffs on his wrists remained intact. The durability of Corma Dwarf Adamantium remained a high point, at least for now, at least on the surface. When he delved deeper into himself, he saw some troubling signs. The inky blot in his soul was covering more distance. Zarian sighed. The thing he worried about most had sped up. Sealing Entropy. The eventual breakdown of all sealing techniques. He would need to advance his sealing style and maybe get better cuffs. ¡°You know what¡¯s screwed up?¡± Zarian asked. ¡°What?¡± Para hissed. The wizard shifted into a seat, his lion tail unwrapping from around his waist. It felt a little stiff after being stuck in an awkward position for nearly two months. Taking his time before answering, he stretched his tail and let it wave behind him as it wanted. Para¡¯s serpent body wound from the middle of his back, coiling smoothly around his shoulders and neck. ¡°Hitting Three Percent Darkness was kind of fun.¡± A small smile lit up his face. ¡°In that moment, I stopped Overwhelming Darkness from taking over and I bested the monster that Naomi¡¯s becoming. But only for a moment.¡± His smile dimmed. ¡°Now ¡­ I can only hope Naomi¡¯s alright and that the damages aren¡¯t horrific.¡± ¡°She is alright, as far as you can describe someone in her state with the world ¡®alright,¡¯¡± Para said. ¡°However, it is best that Ruvaria explains further. Just make sure to brace yourself.¡± ¡°I know, I know,¡± Zarian said. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. With his aura, he saw Ruvaria reading a slim book in the kitchen area, which was sectioned off from the sleeping chambers. The cabin was a big, fancy place. Almost like a rich person¡¯s lodge while nestled in a beautiful glade surrounded by formidable hedges, courtyards filled with ancient, vine-covered statues, and darkened towers. They were in a subtle valley between two fortress hillocks that might¡¯ve been part of the foothills belonging to the formerly formidable Grimrock Castle Mountains. Zarian swept his aura and devourer traits south of the cabin where Grimrock should be. It was truly gone. He and Naomi had demolished it. Granted, that was mostly on him. He¡¯d unleashed more power than what was suitable for the setting. ¡°It all felt like a dream,¡± Zarian said, looking up at the ceiling. ¡°It¡¯s hard to believe I was that guy who wrecked the mountains and the moons.¡± ¡°You certainly are him.¡± Para nuzzled against his cheek. ¡°A dangerous and apocalyptic host, you are. But who am I to judge? I¡¯m a man-eating article of clothing.¡± Zarian chuckled. Para laughed with a hiss. They kept Ruvaria waiting, but that seemed to be okay. The elf empress continued to flip slowly through her slim book, so Zarian turned his attention to the dinging noises in the back of his head. They were growing steadily louder for the past few minutes, and Zarian was sure the Star System wanted him to acknowledge his notifications before moving on. That was fine with him. Zarian let out a low whistle at all of his gains. He could feel himself becoming more willful especially from having over 50 points dumped on the Willpower stat. He was surprised the most by how much he¡¯d grown from one fight with Super Naomi. He might¡¯ve gotten levels from demolishing a range of castle mountains and damaging two freaking moons. If it wasn¡¯t for the penalty of being in a Lesser World when he should be in a Greater World, then he might¡¯ve gotten more levels and stat points. He imagined that Naomi¡¯s Dao of Power would yield some ridiculous growth. She wasn¡¯t here right now, which was a little worrisome, but Zarian felt the tranquility inside of the cabin should mean that things were okay with Naomi. Ruvaria wouldn¡¯t just sit there calmly, reading her book, while holding back some negative news about Naomi¡¯s condition. Or maybe she would. He didn¡¯t want to become too paranoid. He had free evil +7 now, which was scary to behold. He imagined if he delved deep enough into his free evil, his genius and cunning would be monstrous. He might not want to lean too far into that unless the situation called for it. Zarian moved onto the next thing on the list. He checked the changes that came with Intense Arcana Hat +1. ¡°Oh, I like that,¡± Para hissed. ¡°Should we try it on?¡± Zarian¡¯s nappy head was without an arcana hat. After some thought, he decided against summoning the hat just yet. ¡°Later. Let¡¯s check the achievements.¡± Para nodded her serpent-style head as Zarian opened up his achievements. Zarian fell backward. Para grew larger and wound around the bed. The dump in stats was no small thing. Having an extra 450 shared by Willpower, Wonder, and Mysticism had him reeling. His soul and mind became more willful. His sense of magical power and luck grew greater. His technical touch for magic grew finer along with his aura recovery. Para was also heavily affected since she scaled with Willpower, Wonder, and Mysticism. Their connection as host and parasite became greater, enhancing Zarian¡¯s body while raising his appetite. By the time he settled down, he noticed Para had grown more serpent bodies, with each one as broad as his torso. Each dark red and leathery serpent stretched and slithered about, fork tongue flicking out from their many mouths, as if she was a hydra in search of food. ¡°We¡¯ll eat soon,¡± Zarian said. ¡°Let me deal with the Free Points first.¡± Para hissed in agreement, seeming to act more bestial for the moment. She wasn¡¯t herself when she was hungry, and Zarian didn¡¯t feel like himself either. His ravenous appetite came with gut wrenching pain. Thankfully, he had a lot of Willpower. He also had enough Free Points to make either his Willpower, Wonder, or Mysticism hit 1000 stats for another achievement. ¡°Willpower is becoming more important for me,¡± he said. ¡°And my class as the Conquest Wizard seems to like it. It also makes you more powerful, Para. So let¡¯s push Willpower to 1000, and I¡¯ll put the rest in Wonder so it can keep up.¡± Zarian invested his points and rode out the changes. He opened up the epic achievement, One Thousand Willpower, and gained +50 Willpower. His base stats now looked like this while factoring no buffs: Willpower: 1050 Strength: 127 Agility: 142 Wonder: 982 Mysticism: 954 Free Points: 0 Total Stats: 3,255 With Overpowered Times Two factored in, then his total stats came out as 4,069 effortlessly or 4,883 with effort. By factoring his other soft and hard buffs, his range of power went up even more based on stats alone. It was all ridiculous. It also made Zarian and Para starving. But wait, there was one last thing Zarian wanted to check. He pulled up his rank. Last time he saw it, he was in the high 4000s. That wasn¡¯t the case anymore. Rank: Master (31st Mage). Im tired. Gonna take a week off. In the past week, I''ve been late to posting a chapter twice. That hasn''t happened in a while. And while I know I can push through and keep going until the weekend, it struck me that writing and editing and keeping things going has been getting harder lately. I''m tired. I''ve been mostly nonstop since late June of last year, writing and posting chapters 6-7 days out of the week. And if I wasn''t doing that, I was doing edits. I think it''s best I take a week off from here and from Patreon just to chill out and recover. Especially with what I''m planning for the Book 3 ending, which is going to feature Bianca''s first POV in the entire series plus a bunch of other crazy stuff going on that''ll shake up the world, lead to other worlds, and get us going into the Carrowmore Tournament, and more. Much more. A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. But yeah, I really don''t like the idea of tackling the last major chapters to Book 3 while feeling tired and worn down as I am now. So ... I''m going to just take a break, spend time with family, clean up my life a little, go to the beach, and touch some grass. Hopefully, I''ll be more recovered and feeling more energetic by then. Next chapter should be out by March 5th. And if you can''t wait that long, check out the Patreon. You have over 50 chapters on that thing. Book 2 chapters will still get removed on the 28th from royal road, but those get to stay on longer on Patreon until Book 2 comes out on KU on March 11th. Anyway, thanks for your support, and thanks for everyone who has kept commenting. A lot of the comments have been nice to see. Even the ones pointing out grammar issues. 252: B3: C42: 31st Mage and 3rd Mage (Soft NSFW) ¡°Oh, shit, I¡¯ve gone down in the rankings. Or have I gone up?¡± Zarian had no idea. He would have to ask Ruvaria about the rankings along with a ton of other questions. That would come later, after he and Para had something to eat. It was hard to think straight without pleasing their monstrous appetite. ¡°There¡¯s a trap door near you. It¡¯s enchanted to block your aura perception specifically because I wanted to keep it a surprise. You¡¯ll find all the food you need to satisfy that hunger of yours.¡± Ruvaria¡¯s voice carried from around the corner and reached Zarian with a gust of caressing wind and a scent of something sweet. ¡°Food first. Flirt later,¡± Para hissed with her four serpent heads. Zarian rolled out of bed and landed on his feet. He stood still to settle into the changes from his radical growth. Even without the Intense Aura Hat, his aura abilities were incredibly more potent. His body felt so strong he was afraid that one wrong step could destroy the floor underneath him. Because of the intense growth, Para¡¯s parasitic threads had woven tighter around each part of his body, from skin, nails, muscles, bones, and all. Para kept slithering about with four snake bodies extending from around his back. Zarian had to admit he really was rocking the chimera-look now. Better than what Sinfeast had tried to pull off at the Chimera Tyrant Lair. Finding the latch on the enchanted trap door, Zarian flipped it open with a flick of his finger. Para contracted from her broad size until all four serpents could coil easily around Zarian¡¯s body. His lion tail waved behind him as he descended the steps and into a cool subterranean room. The place was far larger than the cabin above and held a vast range of meaty options. Drool oozed from Zarian¡¯s mouth. His hunger pangs struck harder. He noticed Para¡¯s many serpent heads making predatory sounds, their mouths flexing. ¡°You haven¡¯t eaten much, have you?¡± Zarian asked. ¡°I hibernated while waiting for you to wake up,¡± Para said. ¡°Ruvaria would come and go to check in on us in between her projects, which would lead to me waking shortly for updates before hibernating some more. So, yes, I¡¯m starving. And I think it¡¯ll be nice to save what remains of Foodie¡¯s cooking for later.¡± Without further ado, Zarian and Para feasted. Once they finished, there was nothing left down in the massive basement. Their appetite had grown gargantuan, keeping pace with their ballooning stats. That might become a major concern for them later down the road. Zarian didn¡¯t think too much about that problem right now. He strode through the cabin sections and reached the idealistic kitchen area where Ruvaria sat with a new book. He noted her changes with his own eyes. He¡¯d already swept over her with his aura and devourer traits, but seeing was believing, and what he saw gave him some pause. Then he pressed on anyway. Ruvaria placed down her book and looked up at him as he approached. Before she could utter another word, Zarian pulled back her seat with one hand. With the other, he scooped her up by the waist. There was no resistance. She gave herself over to him like she was his prize as Zarian pressed his lips to hers and lost himself for a moment, completely struck by wondrous and delightful bliss. Her lips were soft, supple, and sweet. Her lithe body against his muscular own, wrapped in his arms, felt delicate despite how dangerous she truly was. There was no danger at this moment. Only vulnerability and joy. As she kissed back, she kissed passionately. She kissed with openness and excitement. She kissed like she¡¯d wanted this for a long time. After all, the two of them were lovers of all that was magical. And all of that magic between them sparked and crackled with energetic lightning flowing around them. The sheer friction of their auras moved like wild currents while clapping like booming thunder. The cupboards shook and slammed. Utensils fell over. The table rattled, and the chairs ended up knocked aside. But everything remained whole and unbroken. Any lesser dwelling without the legendary materials and enchantments of the Sorceress Queen would¡¯ve gotten blown down by their combined might and fervor. After what felt like a long and short time, things settled down when Zarian broke the kiss. He looked into her rose-tinted face and took in the first immediate change. A mythical emerald stone replaced her right eye. Then, when he looked down, he saw the magic prosthetic grasping his shoulder. It was pale and wooden, almost like a doll¡¯s arm sculpted by a master woodcarver. Both her original right eye and right arm were gone. ¡°It was Overwhelming Darkness, wasn¡¯t it?¡± Zarian asked. Ruvaria smiled kindly. ¡°Yes, but no ¡­ it was my curiosity. I looked where I shouldn¡¯t have dared. I reached further than I should¡¯ve reached.¡± ¡°Ruvaria, no¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, dear. I couldn¡¯t help it. All of your dark power is fascinating. In the end, I gleaned something that would help me break past a certain bottleneck. But at a cost.¡± She waved about her cream-colored and intricately carved wooden prosthetic. ¡°And ¡­ I saved the universe, of course, when you lost control. Unfortunately, you weren¡¯t able to seal yourself as we hoped at the ultimate moment.¡± Zarian sighed. He had half a mind to tell her off. He also had half a mind to follow his other urges. Why did he attract crazy women? Why was he so interested in them in return? ¡°I¡¯m assuming that the damage is so extensive you can¡¯t heal it?¡± Zarian asked. ¡°It¡¯s engraved into my soul, dear. The damage is a part of me now. There is no healer, at least of the Master Ranks and even Champion Ranks, who could fix this. But it is a worthy sacrifice for what I¡¯ve achieved.¡± Zarian knew of one healer who could fix something that seemed permanent once the healer was strong enough. He kept that to himself for now as he glared into the elf empress¡¯s face. ¡°Ruvaria.¡± ¡°Yes, dear?¡± ¡°Never again. Do not ever sacrifice a piece of yourself like that. Not with me. I got issues. And what you did is going to screw with me for a while.¡± He expected her to argue or debate with him. Instead, her cheeks turned rosier, and she looked down from his gaze, thoroughly ashamed. Bottom lip quivering, she took her time to answer. ¡°I knew you would get mad. I was afraid of it, too. But I figured it would be best to deal with it and be forthcoming. It still stings.¡± Zarian huffed. ¡°Of course it should sting. But I need you to say it. You won¡¯t sacrifice yourself like that again. Say it.¡± She pouted. ¡°Well, if you must insist, I won¡¯t make such a sacrifice again. I suppose I don¡¯t have the same benefits that the incredible human woman, Naomi, has. And that is fine. You and her are a match made for each other.¡± Zarian slowly set Ruvaria back on her feet without letting her go fully. She didn¡¯t pull away from him either. ¡°Speaking of Naomi,¡± he said with a low growl. ¡°She¡¯s on my ass-chewing list, too.¡± ¡°There¡¯s quite a lot of that to chew, if you¡¯re being literal.¡± Zarian ignored the joke. He was going to have Para speak her mind when he noticed Para was gone from sight and from the forefront of consciousness. The Parasite Cloak +3 had hid her material into his body and shut the door to her private space in his mind. She must¡¯ve done that the moment Zarian kissed Ruvaria. Fair enough, he could handle things from here. ¡°I want to take the blame for all that happened, but to be honest, Naomi shares the blame, too,¡± he said. ¡°We went way too far. I¡¯m not even sure what got into me or her.¡± Ruvaria smirked. ¡°I can hazard a guess, but it¡¯ll be inappropriate.¡± Zarian sighed. There was no need to guess. He, a wizard, and Naomi, a cultivator, had placed themselves under a lot of tension. Thus, in a moment with passions running hot, he wiped out an entire mountain range and damaged two freaking moons. It was still hard to wrap his head around that. Such a thing only happened in anime. Zarian released Ruvaria. He rubbed his hands up and down his face with a groan. He was going to dread the conversations he was going to have with Gilbert and the others. If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. He could already feel the Christian man¡¯s disapproval, like an executioner¡¯s axe on his neck. As much shit as he¡¯d given Gilbert over their adventures, he appreciated the man a lot, and disappointing him felt terrible. ¡°I have to face facts,¡± Zarian muttered, his tail coiling around Ruvaria¡¯s waist. ¡°I have to be held accountable even if I rather not.¡± Looking at Ruvaria standing still, ensnared by his tail, Zarian took his time to examine her some more. Despite the losses, she still seemed to act as his adoring teacher, and something more. ¡°How¡¯s Naomi?¡± Zarian asked. ¡°She will be in a coma for quite some time.¡± Ruvaria rubbed her soft left hand over his fuzzy tail. ¡°I have her secured and safe. I¡¯m using the best enchantments and alchemies that my family can offer to keep her body from deteriorating after pushing too far beyond her mortal limits. She might awaken from her ordeal in six months to a year.¡± ¡°Damn.¡± ¡°There is good news.¡± ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± ¡°She¡¯s still training. Her brain activity suggests so. Such a willful nature like hers won¡¯t allow her to rest easily. I imagine she¡¯ll grow her Willpower to an extreme degree that way.¡± Zarian barked with laughter. Even when stuck in a coma, Naomi would find a way to train. It was almost fitting. That woman chased after power like a fish to water. He shouldn¡¯t laugh about that, knowing the damage wrought because of them. But it couldn¡¯t be helped. He was in love with that woman. He was in love with her ever since she stuck her neck out for him and helped him get into the Marines despite his issues. Which was why he needed to make sure he had a clear head around Naomi. She was dangerous to him. They were too dangerous around each other. ¡°Anything else on your mind, dear?¡± Ruvaria¡¯s emerald eyes, one of flesh and one of stone, looked up at him invitingly. Zarian¡¯s chest felt like it was on fire. His thoughts became murky. He leveraged his improved Willpower and thought about the most pressing information that mattered. ¡°So, to reiterate Naomi¡¯s case, she¡¯s under your care and will be in a coma from six months to a year. I¡¯m going to assume you will also take the opportunity to study her safely and without sacrificing much from yourself or Naomi.¡± Ruvaria flashed an impish smile. ¡°I¡¯ve learned my lesson in regard to sacrifice. But yes, your assumptions are correct.¡± Zarian fixed her with a glare. She lowered her head like a scolded child for quite some time before he moved on. ¡°What do the rankings mean? Because I¡¯m the 31st Mage.¡± ¡°Oh, congratulations. You aren¡¯t too far from me. I¡¯m the 3rd Mage of the Master Ranks. I¡¯ve never gotten down that low before, but I suppose recent events helped me skip up near the top of all the Master Rankers.¡± ¡°When you say ¡®all the Master Rankers,¡¯ do you mean across the world?¡± Ruvaria shook her head. ¡°All the Master Rankers across all the Infinita Star System. In fact, the rankings don¡¯t truly matter until you reach a Greater World. But we¡¯re still included in the rankings, anyway.¡± Zarian was dumbfounded. There was a big universe out there. He would know, since he ate all of Infinita that one time. Ruvaria was basically saying that out of all the Master Rankers in the rankings, he was the 31st Mage, and she was the 3rd Mage. ¡°How?!¡± She giggled. ¡°Because we¡¯re better than most others regardless of levels. The higher your level is as a Master Ranker, the more that detracts from your ranking. But having levels and experience would usually mean you¡¯ve done quite a number of incredible things to improve your ranking.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the basis?¡± ¡°It¡¯s based on your stats despite your level, your achievements, your abilities, and your Feats of Adventure. You are the 31st Mage of the Master Rankers because everyone else beyond you is not as great as you even if you¡¯re still low in levels. I¡¯m assuming the Star System is not accounting for your apocalyptic nature, or maybe it¡¯s factoring a fraction of that, which grants you quite some leeway.¡± ¡°I came down from being the 492nd Mage. So, fuck, even being within the top 500 is insane if we¡¯re accounting for all the fucking Master Rankers of an entire universe.¡± ¡°Oh? Then you really proved yourself. I suppose destroying some geological and astronomical features while in the low Level 100s would do that.¡± Ruvaria laughed, which was music to Zarian¡¯s ears. It nearly pulled him away from his shock, since Zarian couldn¡¯t wrap his mind around the scope of it all just yet. He was the 31st of all Master Rankers. And his teacher was freaking 3rd of all Master Rankers. And they hadn¡¯t even left the Lesser Realm of Worlds yet. Wait, who are the next thirty rankers above me? Who is the 2nd? Who is the 1st? Shaking his head, Zarian asked, ¡°When do those ranking changes happen, anyway?¡± ¡°The start of a season. You became the 31st Mage, and I became the 3rd Mage of the Master Ranks in Early Autumn. Though, having been inactive for quite some time might drop you in the rankings, but I wouldn¡¯t worry about that. These games of ranks only matter when you first venture into a Greater World. Down here on a Lesser World, they remain as instruments of inflating one¡¯s ego, really.¡± Zarian nodded. The rankings would not be a big deal for him until after ascension. But he was already starting off with a huge lead. He would probably slide down the rankings once Early Winter arrived, but he imagined he would climb back up even faster after he ascended. That begged the question of when he should ascend and why the Star System had given him a main quest based on waiting. He was supposed to talk to Ekri the Tailor, but Zarian kept avoiding it. He figured if there was anyone who might know what was happening, it would be Ruvaria. ¡°I have a mythical main quest called All Roads Lead to Carrowmore. I was supposed to talk to Ekri the Tailor about something going on that has the Star System recommending for me and my friends to wait before ascending. Do you know what¡¯s up with that, Ruvaria?¡± ¡°You rather not hear it from that bug¡¯s mouth?¡± ¡°I really don¡¯t want to. I don¡¯t like the guy. And he makes me angry whenever I think he¡¯s around Naomi.¡± Ruvaria chuckled softly. ¡°You and the human Naomi are truly quite the pair. Well, I wouldn¡¯t worry too much about Ekri. He saw something in Naomi similar to how I saw something in you, though that bug isn¡¯t one for these kinds of intimate persuasions, as one may think.¡± She chuckled again as she flickered the fingers of both hands through the tuft at the end of his tail. Zarian raised an eyebrow. ¡°He doesn¡¯t ¡­ get around?¡± ¡°He has no children. He has nothing but himself. Very much unlike me. In fact, driders are notorious for having many children. Most don¡¯t survive to adulthood, so he¡¯s quite the exception.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Zarian wasn¡¯t sure how to take that. He still didn¡¯t want to like Ekri. But now his dislike of the drider was a little fainter. He brushed it off. ¡°Well, do you know what¡¯s going on?¡± Ruvaria combed the fingers of both hands, flesh and prosthetic, through her long waterfall of gold-silver hair. She leaned forward to rest against his hard body. When she finished with her hair, her hands laid delicately on his arms. ¡°The Carrowmore Thousand Year Tournament is happening Early Summer 1534 D.E.,¡± she said. Zarian¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Fuck! That¡¯s next year! Hell, that¡¯s less than a year away. It¡¯s about to be Late Autumn so we have seven fucking months.¡± ¡°Hm, yes, that and upon the ending of the tournament, all of Corma would ascend.¡± Zarian froze. The mental door to Para¡¯s private space cracked open. A toothy mouth appeared on his shoulder and said, ¡°Oh my.¡± Then Para receded away, all physical traces of her gone, the private mental door shutting. Zarian recollected his thoughts quickly, using a bit of his free evil +7, but not much. ¡°Ascend?¡± ¡°Yes. This world has reached its peak and pushed over the edge. Most likely thanks to myself and you. Thus, the World of Castles and Caverns is going to become a Greater World, where it¡¯ll be more accessible to Master Rankers all across the Greater Realm. And as a Greater World, that also means we can have more regular visits from Champion Rankers and those in the Level 200s.¡± ¡°Something tells me I¡¯m going to be fighting a bunch of Master Rankers and Champion Rankers after our world ascends, won¡¯t I?¡± ¡°You and I both, dear. You know what¡¯s the worst part?¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°We won¡¯t have to do a First Star Ascension Trial. Instead ¡­ we must compete in a First World Ascension Event.¡± Zarian gave Ruvaria a moment as they both reconciled in different ways. Her father died during his First Star Ascension Trial. Now they had to consider an entire world being put under judgment. Softly, Zarian urged the conversation onward. ¡°Does that mean the way our world gets treated depends on this event?¡± Ruvaria nodded stiffly. ¡°Exactly. If we do poorly, others from the Greater Worlds will have more privilege to do what they like with our world. That would give Champion Rankers, who live on Greater Worlds known as Champion Worlds, more freedom to act as they please. That might be okay for the likes of me and you ¡­ but for the rest of the world.¡± Zarian frowned. He didn¡¯t like the idea of off-world foreigners coming in and making a mess of things. That was usually his thing, and the thing of his freedom alignment. ¡°I guess that means Carrowmore was always a part of my destiny,¡± he said. ¡°It is the same for me. I have business to settle there. With the Carrowmore Barons. And with the one who lurks deeper in the shadows, the Countess of Carrowmore.¡± ¡°Never heard of her.¡± ¡°That¡¯s the point.¡± ¡°Fun. I got a trait for that. The Countess of Carrowmore better not turn out to be a bunch of gnomes in a fashionable trench coat.¡± Ruvaria burst out into laughter that sounded like more music to Zarian¡¯s ears. He laughed along with her. He couldn¡¯t take it anymore. He couldn¡¯t wait anymore. He stopped caring about the lines getting blurry and his many issues. He lifted Ruvaria off her feet with his tail and took her out of the kitchen area. With a flick of his tail, he tossed her down onto his bed. She wasn¡¯t wearing much, only something silky and see-through. And he hadn¡¯t woken up with anything on him. So, he returned to bed just the same as Ruvaria looked up at him with a smile. He stopped himself with only an inch of room to spare. ¡°I¡¯m in love with her, you know? With Naomi,¡± he said. ¡°We have our issues, and she can be shitty, and I can be shitty, and we got stuff to work out. But ¡­ I sense there¡¯s something else between you and me that¡¯s worth trying out. If any of that bothers you, let me know now and I¡¯ll stop.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t bother me.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Dear, I¡¯m ten thousand years old. And I¡¯m experienced. Do you really think I¡¯ll be bothered so easily?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not so sure. You still have a heart, Ruvaria.¡± ¡°And this heart cares for you, and cares for your development. The human Naomi is your match. She is your challenge. Yes, she is a frustrating and brusque mortal, but she is everything that fits you. However¡­¡± ¡°However?¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t mean we should leave you in a tense and destructive state. It is time for you to relax, dear student. Let me ease your burdens so you can better handle your feature endeavors.¡± That was all Zarian needed to hear, unable to hold himself back anymore. He hadn¡¯t had a release in forever. He hadn¡¯t had pleasure or peace or the fulfillment of his carnal desires in forever. Every brush with Ruvaria¡¯s lips stole his breath. The taste of her neck, her collar, her breasts, and further down her flesh was sweet. The sound she made when he nipped her ears between his teeth was like the cry of an angel. The feel of her fingers and toes tracing over the contours of his limbs, regardless of the prosthetic, was heavenly. The emotions that welled up from how she accepted him so easily and cared for him without demanding much were more than he could ask for. And then there was the wet warmth of being inside of her, all while more of her aura unfolded from her body and swallowed him up with her vast power, placing Zarian in between two different worlds of pleasure, one of flesh, and one of magic. As he thrust, her aura pressed down upon him with pulsating heat that matched the rhythm of her racing heart, crushing him lightly against her, squeezing him from all sides, enhancing each sensation they shared. Eventually, when they finished together, it was a miracle the cabin survived. 253: B3: C43: Para鈥檚 Research ¡°Hm. You¡¯ve really relaxed some,¡± Para said from multiple mouths. A dozen dark red and leathery serpents, some thin and some broad, slithered from the middle of his back and coiled around his neck, arms, and chest. ¡°You are more relaxed than when we first met. Is that the power of casual intercourse?¡± Zarian chuckled, feeling a tad embarrassed. He didn¡¯t answer right away. He took in the feel of being a new man and the sights of the outdoors. He was standing shirtless outside of the cabin with a new pair of dark bottoms and boots Ruvaria had gifted him. They had the fibrous and high-quality nature of something woven from the forest while being as soft as cotton. Definitely elven. Late Autumn had just arrived. More of the leaves and plant life had darkened and littered the forest floor. He liked the cool feel of the autumn temperature along with the days shortening and the night stretching longer. Winter was coming, and Zarian was both excited and nervous about facing it. So he took a deep breath of fresh air with his fists on his hips, Para¡¯s coiling serpent bodies draped all over him, and his lion tail wagging from behind. He¡¯d spent four nights and five days inside of the cabin with Ruvaria. Half of that time they¡¯d spent in bed. The other half they¡¯d spent going over a large pile of subjects. They¡¯d reworked his sealing style techniques. They¡¯d talked about how his name was now Zarian Sainte-Darkrun, which Ruvaria found charming, calling him a ¡®dark saint¡¯ if not dear student. They¡¯d also gone over how he should further train his wizard powers and aura traits going forward. He needed to study, upgrade, and push the boundaries of his grimoires, too. The grimoire skills and their advancements were leading to a point where he should eventually add skills, upgrade spells, and combine spells on his own. Ruvaria had revealed that the grimoires would still offer the option to do either. But real grand wizards shouldn¡¯t rely on that alone or he wouldn¡¯t reach the full heights of his wizarding prowess. She¡¯d also urged him to get more familiar with mixing One Percent Darkness or even Two Percent Darkness with his wizard abilities. He couldn¡¯t rely on just cultivating his darkness and hoping for the best when he finally used his ultimate power in rare exchanges. I have so much to do. Yet Zarian didn¡¯t feel pressured. He felt great, honestly. He could accomplish a lot in less than seven months, before Carrowmore¡¯s Thousand Year Tournament. He also knew he had to stay on the ball, since Naomi was still mentally training even while stuck in a coma, so who knew what would happen once she woke up. Maybe she¡¯ll make it time for the tournament and we can take part together. Zarian smiled as he looked up at the oncoming night sky. Another autumn gust blew through the frayed, mostly barren trees and around the darkened hedges and the weathered statues covered in withered vines. Would Ruvaria join the tournament? Zarian wondered. She¡¯s avoided it for all her life. But maybe she¡¯ll surprise everyone. If so, would the Star System have to place her under nerfs? It would be amusing to see the Sorceress Queen take part in the last grand tournament. However, Ruvaria had a lot on her plate already. She was still in the middle of turning Jack into a horrific monster before turning him into a dungeon. She¡¯d gone over a lot of the details with Zarian, which he was happy to hear. The main gist of it came down to using some mythical scrolls, alchemies, and hidden sorceress techniques she and her family had gathered over the years from their most evil enemies. The process of monsterization was excruciatingly painful, too. She had to keep Jack drugged enough to stop him from resisting too much, especially since he was favored by the heavens and had traditional good +5. But she also had to keep him lucid enough as part of turning him into a monster, a creature more hooked to the parameters of the Star System. Pain, anguish, hatred, horror, and other negative feelings were necessary when using ancient monsterization techniques. Listening to all that, Zarian had felt a little bad. For Reiki. She was once a drider a while ago before becoming the Dancing Librarian Dungeon Boss of Ride-or-Die Village. As for Jack¡¯s pain, Zarian had listened to every detail with a glass of elven wine in one hand and Ruvaria in his lap. They drank a lot of elven wine together when Ruvaria had talked excitedly about the most evil and depraved things to do to a person. Ruvaria was also keeping track of Ride-or-Die Village. They were besieging the fortified base of the wolf dragons and wolf kobolds right now. Part 2 of the mythical event was turning out to be mostly one-sided in favor of the home team. Princess Foodie Darkrun was becoming a hero of fabled proportions. ¡®Prince¡¯ Loner was also getting some heroic status for raising thousands and thousands of helpful skeletons as foot soldiers. The helpful skeletons were inferior to the advanced skeletons, or to an expert skeleton like Loner, but they made up for it with sheer numbers. Hearing about Ride-or-Die¡¯s exploits had filled Zarian with pride. Hearing about how the elves had acted up, which matched what happened in his dreams, filled Zarian with annoyance. For some reason, Ruvaria was staying out of the growing issues with her family and empire. It sounded like the Forever Green Empire and their Promised Continent were going crazy without her. Zarian had asked if she needed any extra help with that, but she said things were well in hand. Ekri the Tailor was dealing with the major members of Ruvaria¡¯s overreaching family. Something between Ruvaria and Ekri wasn¡¯t adding up, however. Every time he¡¯d asked, Ruvaria shook her head, not wishing to expand on her relationship with the drider. It was clear to Zarian that Ekri wasn¡¯t just a bug to Ruvaria. Ekri might be working with her. Either way, talks about unpleasant worldly things didn¡¯t last. Zarian and Ruvaria, and sometimes Para, had invested in more interesting pursuits. Like training methods. Wizardry theories. Or letting Ruvaria play with his lion tail, letting out more of her girlish side, while they talked in length about the implications of a hugely powerful skill like Lion Prince plus the meaning behind the cryptic words the Biggest Granmama had left with Zarian. Whenever he and Para had gotten hungry, Ruvaria would go somewhere and bring back lots of meat. She¡¯d made sure they were fed. Then she¡¯d spend the night in bed with him, teaching him eleven arts unless they were talking and sharing personal thoughts. ¡°I¡¯ve lived long enough to understand these fleeting lives we have are best used in pursuits of our passions and to enjoy ourselves. The times that are most harrowing will bear their weight upon us if you live long enough. There is only so much Willpower one can have without release, without happiness, without moments to just let go and be. No matter what happens after this day, I will cherish it always,¡± she¡¯d told him in bed. She¡¯d done a lot of pillow-talk with him, sometimes in her beautiful elven accent, or in full-blown elvish. Some of the pillow-talk had gone beyond his understanding even when translating it with his Devourer of Secrets and Stories. Not all of it had gone super happy all the time. He¡¯d caught her in a morose mood a few times with actual tears rolling down her left eye. She wouldn¡¯t say what was wrong, and he hadn¡¯t pressed her. He¡¯d assumed after ten thousand years of living her life, there was a lot of baggage. Nonetheless, he¡¯d always listened when she talked even if he lacked her full perspective. He¡¯d held her in his arms and gave her random bouts of affection when the mood called for it. He¡¯d taken care of her as much as she took care of him. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. Thus, the last week in a cabin with the most powerful woman across all the Lesser Worlds was a soothing and therapeutic one. So, yeah, he was feeling very relaxed indeed. ¡°Sex is awesome,¡± he said plainly, summing up a roller coaster of revelations, moments, and emotions in three words. ¡°I didn¡¯t have enough of it up to this point. And by enough, I mean none of it.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think I care about it,¡± Para said. ¡°I like emotions. I like feelings. But I don¡¯t care about sex itself. Does that make me strange?¡± ¡°No, it doesn¡¯t. It just means you have your own preferences, and that¡¯s okay. Besides, you still got a lot of growing to do.¡± ¡°Hm.¡± Para turned all her serpent heads toward his face and flicked at him with her tongues. ¡°Well, I¡¯m glad you¡¯ve relieved some tension. Perhaps we will learn to avoid the mistakes of the past this way.¡± Zarian nodded before turning toward the door as it opened and shut. Ruvaria stepped down from the porch in a black and green gown with a high collar that made her look like an evil Disney villainess. She¡¯d even sported a pair of tall and dark heels. She sauntered up to him, flicked her wooden hand daintily over her shoulder, and made the entire cabin disappear with a flex of dimensional magic. She stopped a few inches in front of him with a smirk on her darkly painted lips. ¡°Well, hello there,¡± Zarian said as Para¡¯s serpents slithered backward and away from his front. ¡°I have a favor to ask,¡± she said. ¡°I think I have a clue.¡± He offered his hand. ¡°It¡¯s not suitable for you, is it? Free good +4.¡± ¡°No, it is not. I think it¡¯s best I¡¯m honest with myself, dear. I was never a good elf.¡± ¡°That¡¯s okay. I still like you for who you are. Just know, switching to a divergent sub alignment will reset the count. You¡¯ll have to start at the bottom of free evil.¡± Ruvaria laughed it off, with a voice that was delightful and dangerous. Then she laid her hand daintily on his. He lifted her hand and kissed the back as the notifications came up. Only Freedom Leaders could switch around the sub alignments for other freedom aligned members. While it was a considerable loss to go from +4 to base, Ruvaria was better off using a sub alignment that actually benefited her. After the switch, Ruvaria stood with her eyes closed. She raised her face to the night sky and its broken moons. She became as still as a statue while basking in the dark radiance of the night. A flying beast hooted in the background. Autumn winds rustled the few darkened leaves still clinging to stone branches. The same nightly winds whirled around them both. Ruvaria opened her eyes. A smile that was both beautiful and terrifying beamed from her face. A hint of sinister intentions shone through her eyes, one of flesh and one of stone. Other people might¡¯ve cowered at the sight of Ruvaria having access to free evil. But Zarian grasped her by the waist with his hands and gave her a kiss. He pulled back just enough to speak while his lips brushed against hers. ¡°Go on and be your best evil self. I¡¯m sure you have some new epiphanies that weren¡¯t available before.¡± ¡°It¡¯s incredible,¡± she said breathlessly, her breath smelling and tasting of mint. ¡°It feels like this was who I was always meant to be. It¡¯s like ¡­ it¡¯s like ¡­¡± ¡°A tool that¡¯s perfect for you. That¡¯s what it is, a tool. One that comes with extra intelligence. And you¡¯re already smart, Ruvaria. So now you get to make yourself even smarter and more devious. But promise me you¡¯ll use free evil wisely, more wisely than me.¡± ¡°I will, oh dark saint, I will.¡± She kissed him again, desperately so, her hands clinging to his arms, her lithe body pressed to his. When she pulled back, she replied in a throaty tone. ¡°Thank you for this. For bringing me such freedom. I will only use evil as a tool it is meant for. And I still have much to atone for. I still have much to redeem. But I also have debts I must settle. The end of everything as we know it is coming. And I¡¯ll like to embrace the end with, as you may say, a cleaner slate.¡± He spent half an hour kissing her, holding her, and giving her a few rubs along her ears, which she enjoyed a lot. Then he and Para said their farewells for now before watching Ruvaria teleport away. She was going back to work, whether it was to perfect the monsterization and dungeon transformation of Jack, safeguard and study Naomi, or to plan the downfall of Carrowmore or her own empire. Zarian wasn¡¯t quite sure of all the details other than the cases that surrounded Jack and Naomi. Everything else with Ruvaria was still shrouded in a few mysteries. He could dig it, though. She was a bad, bad elf. And that was hot as hell. ¡°I didn¡¯t go away this time,¡± Para said as a single serpent on his shoulder. ¡°You don¡¯t mind me being around during more of these lighter activities, do you?¡± ¡°As long as you feel comfortable,¡± Zarian said. ¡°Will you be kissing and having casual intercourse with Bianca, Hannah, and Gilbert, too?¡± Para asked. Zarian tripped on nothing and fell flat on his face. He slowly pushed up to his knees. ¡°No.¡± ¡°Hm, I suppose it makes sense with Gilbert, since you both are male. I see that males traditionally court females, but not always, so there is still a slight chance. Beyond that, I have noticed moments of tension between you with Bianca, and with you and Hannah.¡± Zarian was tempted to use free evil +7 to dissuade Para from going down a dark path. It almost sounded like she was going to match him with everybody. When he looked into the empty eye sockets of her serpent head, he had to stop himself from shivering. He thought Bianca and girly gossip were bad. But what if Para was even worse with shipping? Zarian took a deep breath before replying. ¡°Bianca and me ¡­ it¡¯s more like we¡¯re siblings, with me being the older brother. Even though we say papi or mami with each other, sometimes in a flirty way, it¡¯s a friendly Miami thing. We don¡¯t always mean anything heavy with that stuff.¡± ¡°But isn¡¯t Bianca considered one of the most beautiful human females in this world?¡± ¡°Yes, she is. She¡¯s drop dead gorgeous. She would be a goddess in the old world based on looks alone. Hell, most people see her as half a deity now. But I say that from a more factual standpoint, even if there is some tension between us. There will always be a little tension. But the vibe between me and Bianca is friendly, and I like it that way, honestly.¡± ¡°What of Hannah?¡± ¡°Hannah looks up to me way too much for anything between us to be healthy. And after hearing about how she got divorced, I¡¯m ironically similar to her ex, but maybe not in an asshole way. So there¡¯s an entire field of landmines there that can get toxic quickly. I think the amount power I will have over her romantically will be fucked up. So, Hannah needs to explore other options.¡± ¡°Such as Lady Rhea?¡± ¡°Maybe. I think it¡¯s one-sided there. It¡¯s kinda obvious Rhea is down bad for Hannah, but I don¡¯t think Hannah knows it. And we don¡¯t know if Hannah would even swing that, but maybe she might. Things could change along the way.¡± ¡°So, you and Gilbert¡­¡± ¡°No, Para, no! What is up with you?!¡± The emptiness in Para¡¯s eye sockets grew more focused. She expanded her one serpent head until Zarian was looking up at a giant snake that could swallow him whole. It was almost comical with how there was a contracted point where her body connected around with his back, but that also made Para¡¯s intensity somewhat worrisome. ¡°I am ¡­ researching. You have gone through a significant change that seems to be for the better. I wish to prepare contingencies that would help ease tension for the next time Naomi threatens to make you act out of sorts. Ruvaria might not always be available. She is a busy elf woman, and she¡¯ll grow busier now that she has the proper sub alignment.¡± Zarian found it weird that Para was not interested in sex, but she was interested in matchmaking for him. It really was borderline scary. Para was becoming his personal shipper. How far would she go if she thought it was best for her host? ¡°Look, Para, let me deal with this, okay?¡± Zarian asked, hands motioning in a peaceful gesture. ¡°So please don¡¯t match me with anyone inside the party. That would endanger the party dynamics, and I think everybody knows Naomi has the biggest claim on me within the party.¡± ¡°Will Ruvaria truly suffice for now? It seems like you two both know the romance is a temporary attachment to your genuine relationship as teacher and student.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know how long it will last, but I¡¯m okay with it ending as long as we can still talk magic. And I think Ruvaria thinks the same.¡± Para let out a loud, air-shaking hiss. ¡°Hm. If the side romance with Ruvaria ends sooner than later, how will you avoid being overloaded with tension again? Because the next time Naomi awakes, she will come for you.¡± Para grew more excited as she spoke. ¡°We won¡¯t know what state of mind she¡¯ll have. She might have even achieved Third Ignition, making her even more dangerous! What if another Darkrun Apocalypse or Dark Quarrel of Mountains and Moons happens?! And I get more hungry when you are too tense!¡± Ah, there it is. Para is affected. ¡°I won¡¯t let myself get too tense again, or I will make sure you are fed as much as possible. And I¡¯ll be ready when Naomi shows up again.¡± Zarian felt his heart thump hard. He couldn¡¯t deny how he felt about Naomi. Para could feel it inside of him, too. Zarian kept going. ¡°I¡¯ll talk her down or whatever. But we can¡¯t have another apocalyptic fight like that unless ¡­¡± ¡°Unless?¡± Zarian looked up at the night sky. The stars were twinkling. Blue and orange moon rocks trailed behind the conjoined Sea Strider and Cavern Hellion. ¡°We take it off world. To somewhere safe for how dangerous we both can be. Besides, we¡¯ll have time to prepare in case Naomi is still all gung ho after her coma.¡± ¡°Hm, I see. Well, there is one other option. But I¡¯m not sure about how that would work. And I don¡¯t think she wishes to fall under Naomi¡¯s importance nor Ruvaria¡¯s.¡± Para contracted her form into one serpent the size of a python. She directed her gaze down at Zarian¡¯s left ring finger. There, the Darkrun Marriage Ring emitted an ominous, shadowy light. Shadowfell hadn¡¯t appeared in a while. ¡°I wonder what she¡¯s up to,¡± Zarian mumbled. ¡°She acted really haughty when she made some requests of me. Now she¡¯s radio silent.¡± Para glanced at the side of his face. ¡°Whatever it is, we both know your wife is up to no good, that¡¯s for sure.¡± 254: B3: C44: Long Distance Call ¡°Kilt or cloak?¡± Para asked, as Zarian floated up into the night sky. ¡°Or do you like me as I am? I seem to find the serpent motif a comfortable look. We really are like a chimera.¡± The stars seemed to wane a little as Zarian rose a few hundred feet above the rugged fortress foothills, patches of stone forests, and various gardens sprawled around flowing river moats. The more he elevated himself with Aura Mastery, the more the darkness of the night deepened. His presence seemed to weigh on the dark element in every place nearby, even with his seals fully engaged. His darkness was stronger. His seals weren¡¯t as strong as they were prior. That was a little worrisome. Thankfully, the last week with Ruvaria taught him much on how to proceed forward in his many pursuits. Before he got going, he first helped Para in the choice of fashion. He was glad Bianca wasn¡¯t here right now or they would¡¯ve gotten a full PowerPoint class. ¡°How about a kilt of serpents?¡± Zarian offered. ¡°Hm? A kilt of serpents? Maybe some serpents will have fingers fused with their heads. Or some will be more like bone-headed tendrils. Others can have very long and steel fangs, like combat knives. Hm. Yes. I have options. It¡¯s almost like making art with your body.¡± ¡°As long as you don¡¯t do too many freaky things with me. I still like the core concepts of my identity.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± Para repositioned and shapeshifted from his back to around his waist. Black and dark red leather strips hung down at first. Then she reshaped them until they were more-like different serpents. Some had mouths with long, knife-like fangs. Others had pointy, bony heads that could pierce armor. Others had faces made with claw-tipped fingers. Then there was one that was a simple snake head that served as the buckle to the kilt. Once finished, all the serpent strands coiled and moved independently around his lower body. Altogether, Zarian looked like he had monster serpents for legs. Zarian chuckled at Para¡¯s eccentricities and constantly changing appearance. He offered some advice, such as merging some of the plain features of a ragged kilt with the serpents. That way, it could hit the right levels of uncanny without giving the game away too easily. ¡°Brilliant! You¡¯re an artist, too!¡± Para complimented. Para took to his advice swimmingly, making less do more. Now she appeared as a more subtle collection of various serpent bodies intermingled with thick strands of the kilt. Most people could easily confuse the kilt with a strange article of clothing from afar. This effect would get the benefit of Zarian¡¯s Eldritch Existence, making Para¡¯s form harder to discern while coming across as unsettling to some. It merged well with his black elven bottoms and boots, too. ¡°Okay, now that we are fashionable, it¡¯s time to see if we can do long-range contact,¡± Zarian said. ¡°I know what we¡¯re doing on our way to the Windy Strider Kingdom, but that depends on if the others need us to be more prompt.¡± ¡°Oh, interesting, can I help?¡± Para asked. ¡°I¡¯ve been thinking about how to better improve our synchrony now that we can¡¯t unravel like before. I was thinking of weaving more of my threads through your brain synapses.¡± ¡°Sounds like a fun idea with my favorite parasite.¡± Para laughed from the multiple serpent heads before proceeding with a more thorough threading of strands through his brain. He watched the process with his aura. First, Para created thinner strands, going down to microscopic sizes. Then she carefully threaded the strands with his brain meat and along the nervous system. Finally, she used Aura Mastery without hunger aura and linked herself more to the structures of his nervous system closer than ever before. Zarian felt something akin to static and some negative feedback that resulted in a few migraines. A trickle of blood leaked from his nose. Para cleaned it all up with her threads before everything seemed to lie in place and the migraines disappeared. Then Zarian¡¯s awareness of his entire body expanded, becoming more involved based on Para and all the power she drew from his stats and abilities. Para¡¯s perceptions expanded as well. Their thoughts ran alongside each other with a synchrony that was far better than before. Yes, Zarian and Para had the benefits of being linked through the skill, through the Star System. But this felt like less an effort from the System, and more of a benefit of their progress as a wizard and his parasite. This was also more efficient compared to using pure aura to approach something close to perfect synchrony. Still, this would¡¯ve been far more difficult to do smoothly if it wasn¡¯t for his growth in Willpower and several other buffs that made Para stronger, better, more in tune with him. Better yet, Para could easily turn off her part of the connection to give Zarian more space, like flipping a switch. ¡°Fine work, Doctor Para. You would make a killing as a brain surgeon back in my old world,¡± Zarian said. ¡°Your old world is boring, without magic, and filled with trauma. I think our lives, despite certain issues, are more interesting here.¡± Zarian agreed. Now that they were perfectly in sync, they could double the output on many of Zarian¡¯s abilities except for Overwhelming Darkness and Lion Prince. Zarian didn¡¯t even have to explain himself or think too hard, since Para was in perfect sync with him. Together, they floated in the sky, legs crossed, hands folded in front of their naval. They closed their eyes and focused on a single shining thread among tens of thousands spread about the Walled Continent. They could tell this thread was special for the way it shone with more activity. It was a brighter blue in the dark space between linked minds. Once they had the right thread, they used Overpowered Times Two, but not for the skill boost. That was unnecessary. They just pushed themselves with more concentration, more effort. They jumped from 25% to 50% added to all stats, before factoring all the other buffs. Then they cast Void Domain to alter the surrounding sky a little, triggering the buffs from Outer Planar Scourge. The intensity of the power increase was grand. Willpower, Wonder, and Mysticism rose the most out of all five stats. Para benefited from this directly, becoming even more powerful, which buffed Zarian¡¯s body and made their synchrony even greater, especially with their Thematic Law/Floridian Mindset acting as a bedrock to their wizard-parasite bond. But wait, there was more. They summoned the Intense Arcana Hat +1. The moment the dark and crooked conical wizard hat landed on Zarian¡¯s head, their aura prowess expanded to an incredible degree. The expansion reached out for three dozen miles because of their concentration and buffs. That would seem like too much aura for any person to handle all at once. But not only did Zarian have a stellar partner in Para, they had one of the best traits in the universe, Aura Mastery, a legendary ability that Ruvaria had instructed them to work on advancing. Zarian nearly ruined the synchrony when he felt tempted to use Lion Prince. He quickly decided against it. They were powerful enough without the reality-bending skill. It didn¡¯t mean he would ignore it for long, but he could go without it while working on more immediate concerns. Thus, Zarian and Para took all of their aura and ran it down the network thread they signaled out. Just for kicks and giggles, they also pushed Devourer of Secrets and Stories down the thread with their aura. They fed into their mind the journey of a long-distance network call. They could¡¯ve used the Supreme Crystal Ball, but where was the fun in that? Down the network thread, while using Devourer of Secrets and Stories, they saw the western banks of the Stone Sea River. They saw the demolished and weird open space where the Grimrock Castle Mountains should¡¯ve stood. The strange, forlorn, and broken vista faded behind them quickly enough. They saw the deep waters and rising towers of hard, dark stone, which was part of the reason the Stone Sea River had gotten its name. They saw leviathans, krakens, ships on a journey through treacherous waters, and flying monsters crossing the immense river by air. They saw creatures that were nightmarish and without purpose other than to exist as twisted playthings of an evil shadow goddess ¨C the corrupted. This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Then, after a long journey across water and stone, they reached the other side, where the Walled Continent continued to extend eastward. They saw a giant barrier reef of many islands. They saw fortified island towns with docks for seafaring travelers. They saw people avoiding the dangerous waves and monster-infested waters by taking to the skies by whatever means they could. Then Zarian and Para passed over a hundred islands before reaching a giant island mass in the middle. They passed over a bustling walled city. They went past some violent protests between vagrants and powerful men with polished armor. Their vision passed through the walls of a ritzy and expensive hotel. Then they found Hannah dressed in a high-quality and fancy robe while in a lavish penthouse room. She had dumpster-size stacks of documents surrounding her while she was flipping through research material at superhuman speeds. Finally, they were inside of Hannah¡¯s head where a mind spider received them. The Runic Artificer Master froze. She looked in the direction that the long-distance call came from. She quickly realized that was pointless, since there was a wall in the way, but that didn¡¯t stop her heart from racing with excitement and frustration. ¡°Zarian!¡± Hannah blurted out. Because of the long distance of the transmission, Hannah had to lend her mouth and voice for him to speak with words instead of thoughts. It felt more familiar that way, almost like how they first started when he¡¯d proposed to put his spiders in their brains a year ago. ¡°Hey, Hannah Banana, it¡¯s probably been a long while.¡± Para took over Hannah¡¯s mouth and voice next. ¡°I missed you, too, Hannah. It¡¯s been quite the ordeal ever since Zarian and Naomi demolished a mountain range and damaged two moons with their dark quarrel.¡± They returned full control of herself back to Hannah as she walked into the fancy bathroom that was attached to her grand penthouse suite. She looked into the mirror with a smoldering pout, her bronze-colored eyes glowing as the surrounding air became electric with her aura traits, mechanic and generator. ¡°I¡¯m so upset with you two.¡± Hannah gripped the sink and crushed it in her grasp without thinking. She pouted down at the pathetic constructions, then quickly moved on. ¡°You made us worried. We knew you should be fine because of the spider network, but the extent of the damages had me thinking whatever you and Naomi did had gotten so serious you, well, left us.¡± All the way on the other side of the Stone Sea River, Zarian jolted in shock. He hadn¡¯t realized Hannah and the others would feel abandoned. Maybe he should¡¯ve. The fight between him and Naomi had turned out extreme. Then there was radio silence right afterward. Zarian took over Hannah¡¯s mouth again. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Hannah. Things got out of hand. We were egging each other on. Maybe Naomi more so than me, but I stopped caring and just wanted to prove a point.¡± Zarian sighed through her before moving on. ¡°So ¡­ Naomi might¡¯ve hit Third Ignition while pushing her abilities beyond the limits of her humanity. I went up to Three Percent Darkness, and it nearly cost us the universe again. Ruvaria saved us, at a cost to herself. It¡¯s a lot to go over like this, really.¡± Hannah pursed her lips and looked at herself in the mirror sourly. She didn¡¯t hide the relief, anxiety, disappointment, irritation, and happiness she felt. That was clear on the network. She was cold sometimes, but she could also be warm or even feisty, too, especially with him. The fact that she was revealing so much of her emotions despite everything was both positive and painful for him. It meant Hannah cared a lot. It also meant she really was hurt. After some silence, Hannah tried to put on an amicable act to move things along. ¡°Well, we didn¡¯t lose the universe again, thankfully. We still don¡¯t know how many loops we have and what happened in the previous loops. I would like to receive a full report about this battle between you and Naomi. I wonder how powerful you two are compared to the rest of us now. Is it possible for me and Gilbert to close the gap?¡± ¡°Not Bianca?¡± Zarian replied. ¡°She¡¯s her own monster now. She¡¯s a Master Ranker, in fact. I almost want to say she¡¯s a step or two behind Naomi. Gilbert¡¯s at Level 99. How long will it take you to get to us now? No more detours, please.¡± Both Zarian and Para felt their heart clench. They missed Bianca¡¯s Level 100 rank up. They didn¡¯t even know the extent of Bianca¡¯s changes before that point, since Bianca wanted to keep it a secret until he saw her again. Zarian sighed. ¡°I was going to say that it might take a week. Maybe longer. I can probably squeeze it down to seven hours or fewer. My plan right now is to cruise over the Stone Sea River while practicing some stuff. I¡¯m Level 115, by the way.¡± Hannah¡¯s mouth fell open. ¡°We¡¯ve been fighting corrupted and mutated moon creatures, some of which are considerably above Level 100, and I¡¯ve only leveled up three times so far. Bianca¡¯s gotten deadlier and more ¡­ celestial now. She¡¯s been playing a role from every range, even to the point of safeguarding me when I¡¯m distracted. She¡¯s Level 102 now. Gilbert¡¯s been struggling. I¡¯m a little worried about him. I really hope becoming a Master Ranker will help him.¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad that we all have the belief that we¡¯ll become Master Rankers together,¡± Para said. ¡°There is always a chance that it doesn¡¯t happen. In fact, it is more likely not to happen to most creatures.¡± ¡°Nah, Gilbert¡¯s done plenty of hard work. He¡¯ll make it. It is sad to hear he¡¯s struggling, though.¡± Zarian took a moment to think. ¡°How upset is he with me?¡± ¡°Quite upset,¡± Hannah answered. ¡°I also think that¡¯s contributing to his, um, slowness. I¡¯m trying not to overstep my bounds. I think we both know I can be a little heavy-handed in how I approach things, especially with the apparent difference we can feel as Master Rankers compared to non rankers.¡± Zarian sighed through Hannah¡¯s mouth. ¡°I¡¯ll talk to him. Maybe I should speed things along.¡± ¡°If you need the time to sort things out, take it.¡± Hannah clenched her hands in front of her stomach. ¡°But it would be better to have you back. You mean a lot to us, Zarian. If I hadn¡¯t said it enough already, then I¡¯ll proudly say it again. You are both the destruction of old and the creation of something new. You, um, inspire me like nobody else. So, please, don¡¯t leave us in the dark too long. And please don¡¯t leave us behind, if you can. You and Naomi.¡± Zarian took a while to respond. ¡°Yeah, I know. I feel that. I¡¯ll be there in six to five days. Without Naomi, unfortunately. I¡¯ll explain more about that when we meet up, but know that Naomi¡¯s okay. She just needs to rest for a while longer.¡± ¡°Oh, okay. I¡¯ll be expecting you in ten days then. See you, Zarian.¡± ¡°Later, Hannah.¡± Zarian and Para ended the long distance transmission and powered down, turning off the perfect sync. By the time they were normal, Zarian felt his brain was hot. A little blood trickled down from his nostril that Para soon cleaned up. A lot of power had run through his head when he and Para were synchronized. Without perfect synchrony, he felt a clear separation, even if they shared the same body and mind. The space didn¡¯t seem like much, but it was there. Para¡¯s way of achieving perfect synchrony was a big improvement compared to their past attempts when Zarian unraveled. So that was the good news from this long distance call. ¡°I feel bad,¡± he said. ¡°That¡¯s because you care,¡± Para said. ¡°Which is good, regardless of alignments.¡± Zarian sighed as he looked up at the night sky. ¡°Seven months. It feels like enough time and not enough time. Ride-or-Die Village will be done with the mythical event shortly. We¡¯ll have to consider what it will become when an entire region belongs to our home. Then there¡¯s the tournament. Then the whole world ascends.¡± Zarian shook his head. ¡°But before all of that ¡­ we¡¯ll finally get to crawl the Forgotten Kingdom Dungeon. I know Hannah¡¯s stressing herself over that, but I¡¯m honestly excited about something that seems pretty simple to me.¡± ¡°Shall we get to training, then?¡± Para¡¯s kilt body of serpent monsters and hardy strands swished and coiled around Zarian¡¯s legs. His lion tail moved with her to an extent, although its long length made it harder to blend in. With a small smile, he turned toward the remnants of the former castle mountains. He looked up at the conjoined moons. Then he raised his arms to the sides and summoned spectral spiders along them. They quickly spun a more intricate gravity spell array on his back that flashed bright purple upon activation. Zarian chanted and hand signed as dark whorls and symbols covered his arms. He finished by saying, ¡°Cultivation¡± before weaving his darkness through his inner channels and gates. Zarian didn¡¯t stop there. He removed his wizard hat with one hand. He reached down into his kilt. Then he pulled out the mythical container that contained his cursed gift from Ruvaria. Para used her serpent hands to unlock the box and flip the lid, revealing what was inside. The Barbed Crown of Ravthar the Absolute King hissed and muttered with a desire to consume aura and kill the wearer. Para¡¯s many mouths hissed in return as she grabbed it with delicate, snake-like finger protrusions. She placed the crown on Zarian¡¯s head. The barbs tried to sink into the flesh of his scalp. The skin didn¡¯t give. Zarian was too tough for the barbed crown to draw blood. The crown tried to dive into Zarian¡¯s body and rip away his aura. Para fought back mostly on her own while Zarian concentrated on cultivating his Overwhelming Darkness. Things were mostly okay. Then Zarian dismissed the arcana hat, which led to the wizard and his parasite undergoing a hellish struggle like no other. The cultivation was still hard on him, making wizard activities difficult. The mythical cursed crown had an appetite that rivaled Para¡¯s, especially without the help of the arcana hat. Because of Aura Magnificence and all of Zarian¡¯s recent growth, the act of cultivating darkness while wearing a mythical aura-cursed crown remained in the realm of possibility. The wizard and parasite carried the immense pressure that would¡¯ve killed most others Eventually, after hours of wrangling both the cultivation and the mythical curse, the duo found a miserable equilibrium. It would seem like the training method was fully engaged. But wait, there was more. Still not satisfied, Zarian reached down into his kilt again with his right hand. He pulled out Aura Slayer and placed the big black wand of a sword on his shoulder. Since he was a glutton for punishment, he channeled his Aura Mastery through it for different sorcery effects, like lightning, fire, or even ice. These elements weren¡¯t naturally a part of his profile, which made them hugely costly for him and Para. But he channeled these opposing elements through the sword anyway before they finally departed. For the next week, this would be their training, a state of constant misery. Their only relief would be to summon the Intense Arcana Hat +1 to recover their bleeding aura quickly. Then they would dismiss it again. They aimed to keep this training method going even if they got attacked by powerful monsters, moon-touched mutants, Shadowfell¡¯s corrupted toys, and all that the Stone Sea River offered. And if that wasn¡¯t a lot already, Zarian and Para were mentally constructing training methods for Bianca, Hannah, and Gilbert. Naomi wouldn¡¯t be here to help with that. It was up to Zarian and Para to make sure the other three were up to par. They might end up joining the tournament with him, after all. But such a thought was getting ahead of themselves. First, they had to cross the dangerous Stone Sea River. All while heavily weakened with their insane dark cultivation and aura training. No sweat. 255: B3: C45: Grand Turtle Beast Zarian realized on the first day of his journey that he and Para had to compromise their insane training method. Journeying across the Stone Sea River demanded some measure of practicality. Spikes of atmospheric wild magic mixing with irradiated moon dust surfing on the briny winds created a host of random and nearly cataclysmic storms that flew at his face. The higher the altitude, the worse the moon-touched winds roared in his ears and assaulted the wizard with gusts that could rip apart non-rankers below Level 100. Moon magic didn¡¯t seem to agree with Zarian, either, since moons were sources of lonesome lights that held against the darkness. Not as strong as the suns or the stars, but they were still a little antithetical to complete darkness. Thus, he couldn¡¯t really gain anything from the fallen moon rocks. Zarian kept cultivating anyway, his back shining purple from the gravity-producing webbing there. Para handled the bulk of the curse from the mythical crown, fighting it with a frenzy and some input from Zarian. They were doing decently. But they felt wearier faster than they should. Aura Slayer was the blame. So they compromised there. Zarian came down to the water¡¯s surface and used Aura Mastery in another unique way. He channeled water magic through the sword. That was easier to do while surrounded by water that wasn¡¯t all moon-touched and had some ancient magic of its own. Like a high-powered surfboard, the legendary weapon took them on a ride over the rolling waves. Zarian kept his feet glued on its broad surface and learned to surf on the fly. He had more than enough base Agility and physical buffs to learn in one minute. After ten minutes, he was a better surfer than all the surfing grandmasters from the old world. Zarian curved around skyscraping stone spires jutting up from the dark surface of the Stone Sea River. He cut straight through low-sweeping walls of winds that came barreling down from the skies. With a big broad smile on his face, he zipped quickly across the water on his sharpened wand of a sword. Para¡¯s kilt-shaped and serpentine body parts coiled around his legs or fluttered behind him with his waving lion tail. He ignored all the noise from moaning storms and the many creatures bellowing out above the surface of the huge salty river. There were more interesting things beneath the surface that he perceived with a limited use aura. He would¡¯ve seen more if he wasn¡¯t under the curse of the mythical crown. He found some treasure chests along the way from sunken vessels or within the rib bones of dead behemoths. Instead of stopping, Zarian sent down brave spectral spider explorers to dive into the water. They quickly swam down to reach the treasure chests, wrapped it up in webbing, then performed a dance on top of them. With the metallic and alien grimoire of Voidling in his hand, Zarian cast both Void Domain and Void Waltz to yank each spider and treasure chest to him. Para quickly stored away the lost treasures. The successful spectral spiders made themselves at home with the others on Zarian¡¯s purple webbed back or went off to explore on their own. They still had their little wizard hats even if Zarian wasn¡¯t using his. Because of their hats, each spectral spider was self-sufficient. It was still dangerous out there for the little guys, but they were all capable enough of doing webbed magic on their own. If they wanted to go, then Zarian felt proud to see them off. He gave a salute to each brave spectral spider that wanted to do their own little expeditions. It was kind of bittersweet and awesome to see them ride their own little boards made of webbing as they went to explore where no spectral spider had explored before. Other than that, the spectral spiders that hung around or got summoned made Zarian richer and richer. He had no idea how rich he was, honestly, but he¡¯d collected an immense amount of treasures from Grimrock, the Harrowing Mist Isles, and now from the Stone Sea River. It was surprising how much gold and enchanted items were lying around. It was also surprising how he easily collected the stuff with little thought. Like picking up trinkets that were mildly useful and pretty to look at. Most adventurers would go years with no big returns from their adventures, forced to scrape by here and there. As someone who¡¯d grown up as fostered and as a vagabond, it was bewildering to think he had so much money that he didn¡¯t know what to do with it. It felt more natural that he had benefits for simply existing because he had to make do with his existence one way or another before the Marines, while in the Marines, and after the Marines. Now he could see for himself the truth of having overwhelming power ¡­ it was easier to get more and more gains. Well, sometimes. The Star System did a decent job of making the climb upward harder for those at the top, but Zarian obviously wasn¡¯t fair whatsoever. Hence, he made things harder on himself on purpose while doing some good deeds, regardless of alignments. He kept a lookout for the voyage ships he¡¯d seen from the long distance call with Hannah. He had picked up some details with Devourer of Secrets and Stories about the water-braving vessels and the people on them. He knew enough to tell which vessels had worthy enchantments and fighters to brave these moon-touched waters and storms, and which ones were completely caught blindsided. Many vessels had on board some decent enough paladins or striders to protect them. Some vessels had more special conditions, like mutual relationships with the ancient and friendly beasts of the Stone Sea River. Some of these beasts were even eager to help the little people against the monsters. Monsters were cruel and hideous creatures that were under heavier parameters of the Star System. The main exception was Reiki and her spiders from the Dancing Librarian Dungeon. The same could be said for Reiki Junior and the Spider Bear Dungeon at the Blood Prairie Savages¡¯ Stronghold, but maybe less so than Reiki Senior. Unlike monsters, beasts were creatures that were far from human or any of the adventurous races, while still being a natural part of the world. A great example of them were the intelligent wolves Zarian and Bianca met in the Bramble Wolf Forest a while ago. Not all beasts were like that. But there were plenty of ancient, large, and intelligent beasts in the Stone Sea River. Many of them were in battle against the evil monsters sharing their waters. Some even acted as escorts for the vessels with crew who were on their good grace, regardless of alignments. But with recent events of an apocalyptic kind, there were more monstrous dangers out there in the Stone Sea River. Some of which were corrupted, some of which were mutated, and others were both. Zarian found himself in some interesting encounters to help a few friendly beasts or many desperate people. Or in one case, he helped both simultaneously. *** Sometime later, Zarian was munching on dried jerky Foodie had made for him as adventuring snacks. He was watching a drama unfold beneath him while staying completely unnoticed. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. ¡°We don¡¯t have a choice! We need to leave the fucking turtle!¡± one older man shouted while at the stern of the ship. ¡°Don¡¯t you curse at him like that! He¡¯s been a friend to my family for generations! We aren¡¯t leaving him behind when he¡¯s done everything to protect us!¡± said another older man, who was at the helm of the vessel. The first man shouting from the stern was a strider, a Level 95 Water Cutlass, his chosen element flowing with a blue shimmer up and down the heavy saber in his hand. He was the strongest man on an enchanted seafaring vessel that looked like a green, shell-shaped, supersize galleon that could easily hold a thousand people. There were only five hundred people on board, all human adventurers from the Windy Strider Kingdom. Mostly everyone else, other than the Water Cutlass and a few others, hovered around the average of Level 50 or below. The Water Cutlass was also one of the mid-level leaders of the Shark Adventurer Guild, but he was on a private contract as the main human guard. The passengers were from a bunch of minor guilds seeking glory and gold where all the chaos was happening, west of the Stone Sea River, where Zarian had come from. The Water Cutlas was the type of man to place more importance on himself and his career than to uphold anything that felt honorable and righteous. Sometimes, that was a smart thing. Or the Water Cutlas wouldn¡¯t have made it all the way to Level 95. Too bad he was out of his depths in his current situation. Zarian gathered all of this information easily with his legendary trait, Devourer of Secrets and Stories. He checked out the other main human of this encounter while he was enjoying the drama. The man at the helm, another strider, was a Level 73 Sea Captain. He reminded Zarian of the classic grizzled and salty men of the sea. The type of men who had a grumpy and aged appearance while there was still a golden heart under all that crust. The Sea Captain had spent his whole life taking voyages around the Stone Sea River. He¡¯d faced plenty of great times and horrible times. But he¡¯d never seen so much monstrous danger and terrible weather like in the current times he was in. He blamed the Dark Lord for everything. He wasn¡¯t wrong about doing so. The Dark Quarrel of Mountains and Moons had affected almost every corner of the Walled Continent, maybe more so than the Darkrun Apocalypse. The Sea Captain¡¯s best friend, the primary protector of the Twinned Turtle, had gone through some rough scrapes to keep the vessel from facing certain doom. But they were still a few days from port, and their greatest challenge yet was closing the net upon them. That was why the conflict between the Water Cutlass and the Sea Captain was at its boiling point. ¡°Look, the turtle obviously cares about us making it to port. It¡¯s going to sacrifice itself, aye, because it has a good human-loving heart. That¡¯s very nice of the beast. But what good is that sacrifice if we die with it, you foolish old man?!¡± shouted the Water Cutlass, taking a threatening step toward the helm. ¡°He is not an ¡®it,¡¯ you sniveling, goat-blowing gold-dog! He¡¯s Aspis! He¡¯s a Master Ranker! He¡¯s older than the Dark Era! You cannot just leave behind a Grand Turtle Beast like him and think you¡¯ll find a place in the Ascended Heavens!¡± the Sea Captain shouted, as his loyal crew gathered around him, bracing themselves to protect their leader. The Water Cutlass took another dangerous step forward. In a menacing voice that cut past the crashing waves and howling winds and groaning wood of the Twinned Turtle, the Water Cutlass said, ¡°I don¡¯t have to give a damn about the Ascended Heavens if I ascend my way up to God Land. And I can¡¯t do that if you get us killed along with your fucking giant turtle.¡± The drama was about to cross the line of no return. The Water Cutlass was powering up his abilities. He knew damn well nobody on the ship could stop him unless they all ganged up on him at once. But there weren¡¯t enough of them on the stern and around the helm at that point. ¡°Please don¡¯t fight,¡± resounded a deep voice from overboard. Behind the green vessel, Aspis broke the water¡¯s surface with his great snout. If the vessel was supersize compared to a traditional galleon from the old world, then the Level 118 Water Guardian Master was humongous. It truly was an ancient beast born from the Adventure Era, a living example of fantastical tales that men of the sea would tell while at port. The head of the friendly magic beast was a third of the size of the enchanted vessel. The rest of the turtle¡¯s body was fifteen times larger. The top of the shell even had stone constructions and watery forests made of hardy algae-like plants. All of it looked like a section of Atlantis rising from the depths. There was nobody currently home, but Zarian imagined the Water Guardian Master could house people there on his back. Zarian could tell through Devourer of Secrets and Stories that Aspis had ferried and housed many people over the years who ended up stranded or lost across the Stone Sea River. Aspis was truly a friendly beast who didn¡¯t seem to understand why humans were selfish and cruel to each other. And he really looked at the Sea Captain as a friend, which was why he was doing what he was doing regardless of self-preservation. Because of Devourer of Secrets and Stories, everything about Aspis was as open as an easy-to-read book for Zarian. The kindness of the Grand Turtle Beast made Zarian rethink his approach for when it was his time to reveal himself. It wasn¡¯t yet time, so he waited a little longer. ¡°Please listen to the adventurer,¡± Aspis advised with a big and rumbly old voice. ¡°Leave me behind. The Kraken Siren Monsters have grown terrible with the touch of the fallen moon drops. They also seem to be on the verge of corruption, too, because of Evil Goddess Shadowfell.¡± The Water Cutlass waved around his sword. ¡°See, even the turtle agrees with me!¡± The others ignored him as the Sea Captain shouted back over the crashing waves and roaring wind. ¡°But you¡¯re powerful, Aspis! You¡¯re a Master Ranker! You can¡¯t let the damn sirens with tentacles bring you down!¡± Aspis sighed with the breath of a long and enduring life. ¡°They have many benefits under these dark times. They have more numbers than I can handle. And they, too, have Master Rankers. I¡¯m afraid, my friend, that this will be the end of me. But please don¡¯t let this be the end of yourselves.¡± ¡°What if you become corrupted and turned into a thing of Shadowfell?!¡± the Sea Captain argued. ¡°You can¡¯t risk it!¡± ¡°Do not fret. I will ensure that I don¡¯t. Even if it means I must end myself first,¡± Aspis replied kindly. The hard and crusty facade of the Sea Captain was on the verge of breaking. Zarian swore the man was about to shed tears, but at that point, the wizard couldn¡¯t handle it anymore. His parasite was getting antsy from all the drama, too. All of her snake bodies coiled tensely around his legs, cutting off some circulation. It was time to make his move. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ve heard enough. Anymore and you might have me tearing up,¡± Zarian said from on top of the mizzenmast, right above the squabbling Sea Captain, his crew, and the Water Cutlass. ¡°I¡¯ll help y¡¯all out, okay? I¡¯ll help.¡± Before anyone could get an accurate look at him, he dropped and made a soundless landing on the stern that seemed as light as a feather. Everyone staggered backward from the sight of him except for the Sea Captain, who clenched the enchanted helm with a tense grip that would¡¯ve broken a weaker and less magical wheel. Zarian was about to speak again, but the Water Cutlass cut him off with a battle cry. The Level 95 man attacked with all his years of hard earned savagery, experience, stats, and abilities. ¡°Die, Kraken Siren Monster! Die!¡± With a strong sweep of his sword, the Water Cutlass sent forth a sharpened water crescent that was six feet wide. He followed up with a few more water crescents that were smaller but faster. Then the Water Cutlass charged up his body with water-based enhancements before diving forward with a power stroke. The blitzing attack came with the weight of a large and condensed wave aimed at the top of Zarian¡¯s head. Afterward, the Water Cutlass added a series of fast melee strikes. He mixed the fluidity of water with the sharp expertise of his sword play. All the powers from his traits, skills, and stats attached to his experience made him a superior expert of his craft. He would¡¯ve slaughtered most adventurers. But most adventurers weren¡¯t Zarian. From the start, Zarian¡¯s first action was blinking and chuckling. He had his sword held by his lion tail and didn¡¯t bother to get it. Para¡¯s coiling serpent bodies and thick kilt strands remained around his legs. She didn¡¯t even bother using any magic, leaving Zarian to handle things. The wizard used a few active buffs and some meticulous Aura Mastery. Then he reached forth and grabbed the first water crescent. With a squeeze of his hand, he broke the elemental conjuration effortlessly. He flicked his fingers against the smaller and quicker water crescents that flew afterward. He turned those into harmless droplets of water that sprayed him and the others nearby. With the back of his hand, he smacked aside the chopping power cut aimed for his head and dismantled the crashing water magic for the sake of the others more than himself. Then he used the bottom edge of his hand to deflect each rapid strike from the Water Cutlass. Zarian¡¯s Aura Mastery dampened the water magic so all the water splashing off each time they connected remained harmless for everybody else. ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s a Kraken Siren Monster, everyone,¡± Aspis said wisely. But the Water Cutlass¡¯s focus was too narrow to understand the words of the grand and ancient beast. The berserk man kept up the attack against Zarian Sainte-Darkrun. 256: B3: C46: Kraken Siren Monsters ¡°I got about fifteen minutes before the kraken sirens attack. We might as well let this guy work out his frustrations and burn some stamina.¡± Zarian turned toward the Sea Captain while he kept the berserk Water Cutlass busy with one hand. Everyone looked at him with bulging eyes. Zarian took his time, scratching his free hand under his barbed crown, as he deflected some more watery attacks with his other hand. ¡°Hello, I¡¯m ¡­ the Dark Saint. I see you are in trouble. I¡¯m sorry about all that you¡¯ve gone through and that I wasn¡¯t fast enough or wise enough to stop it.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t say if you should apologize when everything is the fault of the Dark Lord,¡± mumbled the Sea Captain. Zarian slowly nodded. ¡°Well, sure. You can say that. I say let¡¯s focus on the now. How about you let me help you? Free of charge. No catch. I¡¯m doing it for my own conscience, really, so you receiving my help is payment enough.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll help Aspis?¡± the Sea Captain asked shakily. ¡°I¡¯ll not only help Aspis, I¡¯ll leave behind the means that¡¯ll help you get through your voyages easier and serve as a backup for Aspis. In fact, say hello to your new crew mates.¡± Two thousand spectral spiders turned visible all over the Twinned Turtle. The hand-sized and self-sufficient critters grabbed the brim of their little wizard hats and waved them in greeting at all the humans. Many of the crew and passengers screamed. Some attacked with elemental bolts or swings of their magic weapons. None could hit worth a damn against the spectral spiders, though. The little guys were savvy enough to dodge out of the way. Or they were powerful enough to use a quick cast of web magic to deflect or gum up weapons. The Sea Captain remained disciplined behind the helm as the spectral spiders danced about, cast magic, and made a fool of some of his crew. Trying to find something to say, he worked his jaw around, but seemed to reach the conclusion of keeping his mouth shut as the Water Cutlass roared with renewed fury. The berserk man used a super move that combined all his traits and skills for a big, unified attack. From his saber, he gathered and formed a large, glowing blue sword construct that was fifty feet tall and came with a powerful hydro sonic edge. Seeing that, Zarian had to act with a bit more seriousness. The wizard grabbed Aura Slayer with his free hand. Then he smacked his long lion tail against the giant water blade. He used a tiny bit of reality-bending power from the Lion Prince. He also used a solid amount of magic control from Aura Mastery. That led to the giant water blade ending up as a harmless spray that splashed across the top deck of the vessel with mundane-feeling water. The spectral spiders kept dancing and waving their hats under the water spray, and the Water Cutlass kept trying to fight Zarian. ¡°Man, this guy is relentless. No wonder he made it to Level 95,¡± the wizard said, deflecting more attacks with his whipping tail. ¡°I¡¯m on the verge of eating him, honestly. I would prefer he ended the hostility before I do,¡± Para hissed from the kilt, scaring the hell out of the already scared crew. ¡°Do so kindly, please,¡± asked Aspis with a humble bellow. ¡°And I¡¯ll very much appreciate your assistance, Dark Saint.¡± Zarian nodded. He raised a free hand. He sighed as he called upon the spellcraft symbols of Black Fire in his mind. He struggled a little. The dark cultivation and mythical aura curse were heavy to get past, especially after going at this for so many hours straight. It didn¡¯t help that having his grimoires in the beta skill section and not summoned also made casting spells more difficult. But he wasn¡¯t a punk bitch, he was a masochist. In training, he liked the challenge. He went back to the basics. He carved every part of the Black Fire spell into his mind thoroughly. Then, with a push that relied more on himself than the Star System, he conjured silent black and gray flames in his left hand. The Water Cutlass¡¯s eyes grew wide. His face paled. His body became even sweatier. But he still had plenty of vital stamina to keep attacking. The man was clearly more a warrior than a mage. Even with his big showing of magical attacks, he had just enough aura for his skills to empower his melee attacks, letting him rely more on his body. He went even more berserk at the sight of the nefarious black and gray flames, though. He tried to douse them with more water slashes or thrusts. He failed, of course. The water had no effect, and Zarian lobbed an easy-going ball of Black Fire that splashed on the Water Cutlass¡¯s chest. Still making no sound, which was probably beyond creepy, the black and gray flames spread rapidly over the man and feasted hungrily on his vitality. The Water Cutlass screamed in terror. He finally stopped attacking Zarian. He dropped his sword and tried to splash away the black and gray flames with water. It was no use. The flames were too powerful and too hungry for vitality. Many of the sailors and the passengers acting as an audience screamed along with the Water Cutlass. They stumbled back in fear of getting caught by the black and gray flames. The Sea Captain remained at the helm with a discipline that was exemplary. He steered the vessel while up against hostile conditions, his back to the commotion where the Water Cutlass made a fool of himself. Eventually, the Water Cutlass stopped screaming when he realized there was no pain. He only had freaky gray and black flames that seemed to do nothing special to his body, at least to his perspective. Angered, he picked up his saber and attacked Zarian some more. The wizard yawned while deflecting some more attacks with his tail until all that vigorous energy the Water Cutlass had disappeared. The black and gray flames snuffed away on their own, their duty complete. The foolish and berserk man collapsed in front of Zarian while gasping for air. He tried to lift himself up to only collapse again. ¡°What did you do?¡± asked the Sea Captain, looking back at the turn of events. ¡°I believe the Dark Saint used a spell that stripped the adventurer of vitality,¡± Aspis said, using his own aura abilities and high Wonder stat to answer the Sea Captain¡¯s question. ¡°It is quite a clever move. Most people think of vitality for regenerative health, but it is also vital for regenerative stamina. The adventurer will be incapacitated for the rest of the day or longer, but he will come away from this without needing a healer. You are truly the hero we need most, oh Dark Saint.¡± Zarian shook his head, arms crossed. ¡°Eh, not really. I can¡¯t claim that when I¡¯m around you, Aspis. You¡¯re a real hero. But I feel guilty. So let me help kill these monsters for you. My spectral spiders will help you with the rest of your voyages. They can last for ¡­ well ¡­ forever, I guess, as long as nothing bad hits them. Take good care of them for me, please. Farewell.¡± Before they asked any more questions, Zarian reached down and patted the shoulder of the Level 95 Water Cutlass. ¡°Stop being such an ass all the time, man. You¡¯re like one or two despicable deeds away from making a deadly enemy out of me. But you¡¯re still on the edge of changing things around.¡± ¡°Yes ¡­ milord,¡± sputtered the Water Cutlass, still gasping like a fish out of water, which was kind of ironic. Zarian nodded and hopped off the ship, leaving the stunned Sea Captain, sailors, and adventurers. Landing on the head of the Grand Turtle Beast, Zarian gave the big green guy a few head pats, which Para gladly joined in with her serpent hands and creepy reptile fingers. Aspis chuckled some, showing that he was a great sport. Then Zarian hopped off the head of the Water Guardian Master and dove into the water. He thrust Aura Slayer forward and channeled water magic through it, making it act like a rideable torpedo under the surface of the Stone Sea River. He torpedoed around the Grand Turtle Beast even though that was delaying the inevitable departure. He couldn¡¯t help it, though. Seeing a Grand Turtle Beast, a Level 118 Water Guardian Master Ranker, who was the size of a small island, wasn¡¯t something he¡¯d kept on his bucket list. But he gladly added it so he could put a fat check on the accomplishment. The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. He also got to see the extent of Aspis¡¯s damages, and they were frankly huge and scary. Aspis had fought some hard battles on this voyage. Seeing that, Zarian made it a personal objective to do as much cleaning as he could on his way to the Windy Strider Kingdom. Once he had a minute left before the attack of the Kraken Siren Monsters, Zarian finally split away from Aspis and the vessel he guarded. The wizard did so after leaving a little treasure on board the vessel that only the Sea Captain would find. He also left a battalion of spectral spiders on Aspis¡¯s back as extra helpers. Zarian and Para dove straight into the churning depths. The purple glow of the gravity webbing on his back became the sole light anyone could see for miles and miles. That was perfectly fine with Zarian, who embraced the darkness of the waters and felt the burden of his cultivation ease up some. *** A moment later, Zarian was striking at the hideous giant monsters before they realized he was at their flanks. They hadn¡¯t prepared for something like him. Granted, nobody would usually go head-to-head against such evil creatures. Each siren kraken had the oily dark torsos of giant women, the lower half of monstrous squids, and the horrid faces of fishes with big reflective eyes and big jutted teeth. They were all giant, too, each one half the size of the Twinned Turtle. Their long, sinewy, poison-drenched tentacles could wrap up the vessel easily. Some siren krakens had the faint glow of orange moon magic or blue moon magic, too, which either made the water boil or turn glacial around them. They also jerked and growled in rabid ways that were unusual for monsters. The oily taint on their skins grew deeper faster as they became crazier and more demented from the curse of Luciana Shadowfell¡¯s tears. And if that wasn¡¯t terrible enough already, there were a hundred of them, all above Level 100. Out of those hundred, three were Master Rankers in the 120s. They were already singing, too, expressing themselves with enthralling magic that reached far under the water. Plenty of other monsters and beasts drew near against their Willpower, unable to break free from the hold of the kraken sirens¡¯ magic songs, especially when they all sang together. Aspis had a mental ability to defend against that. But even the Grand Turtle Beast would¡¯ve found himself slowed down by the hundred intersecting voices of charmed magic working in chorus. The three Master Rankers elevated the others, too, making all of their voices powerful and irresistible. All of that led to making the kraken sirens the top predators of this section of the Stone Sea River. They almost seemed invincible. Floridian Mindset didn¡¯t give a fuck. The interlinked and elevated charm magic slid off the divine power of Zarian¡¯s Thematic Law like water off a duck¡¯s backside. It mattered little that he glowed like a purple beacon, too, because the siren krakens had truly faced no one like him. Still, he covered himself in darkness using Aura Mastery + Dark Affinity to give himself more of a leg up. He might as well catch them off guard for the first hit or two. With his right hand on Aura Slayer, the blade working as a rideable torpedo, Zarian extended his left hand. He had some spectral spiders hanging on to the extended arm while they weaved some tightly held web magic. Zarian used more of his Aura Mastery + Dark Affinity to conjure a thirty-foot long blade of darkness. Then his little wizard assistants cast their web magic with a gravity enchantment from the incomplete gravity studies. They made the giant dark blade into something akin to a sharpened singularity. It had a dark purple glow along the edge. When the nearest kraken sirens noticed his presence getting extremely close, Para used Aura Mastery + Devourer of Secrets and Stories + Eldritch Existence. She kept them blind to Zarian¡¯s approach. She made him even more invisible, more concealed. He was practically a phantom, a figment of imagination, as he added the finishing touches. He summoned the spectral and chained black magic grimoire. He also summoned the metallic and orbital voidling exile grimoire. Black and Voidling kept their immaterial forms close to his body as he cast two spells at once. Void Domain and Black Fire. He condensed the spells into the underwater gravity dark blade. The power of the blade grew, especially with his Outer Planar Scourge kicking in with its buffs. Once he reached the apex of the blade¡¯s power and got close enough, he swung his sword upon the first Siren Kraken Monster he reached. He struck the creature¡¯s neck, but he was doing more than cutting physically. He sent forth a dark gravity crescent wave that was covered in black and gray flames while two thousand feet wide. The crescent wave cut down another twenty-five kraken sirens in one go. Their split apart bodies had vitality-burning Black Fire all over them to ensure they couldn¡¯t heal from the severe wounds. But just to be doubly sure, Para cast Blood Life Vent. She drained all the remaining life energy from the dying monsters and poured that into Zarian. The wizard and parasite killed their first victims so fast the entire group hadn¡¯t fully reacted to what was happening to them. A quarter of their numbers snuffed away like bugs under a boot. Zarian swung his sword for a second and third time. He struck twenty more kraken sirens with the second swing. Then he struck down fifteen with the third swing. Their split apart bodies bled profusely, turning the already dark water even murkier, while lit up by black and gray flames. A faint bloody red light brightened the dark waters with Para¡¯s use of Blood Life Vent, dooming all of Zarian¡¯s fish-market victims. Zarian smiled as heavy currents of life energy flowed into his body, overriding the burdensome misery that came from the dark cultivation and cursed aura training. Things were looking up. Sixty of the kraken sirens were dead within the first five seconds. Then things turned for the worst as the Master Rankers finally responded. They let loose a screech that turned the water volatile and damaging faster than Zarian expected. Then all three summoned something that had Zarian surprised even though he¡¯d already glimpsed their class as Underwater Witches. Each one summoned giant and crooked wands with a skill they all shared, Witch Medium +4. They waved their wicked wands around. The nearest kraken siren non-rankers imploded into bloody giblets and contracted into condensed flesh balls the size of a man. Each Master Ranker pointed at the sacrifices, drew power from the fish balls, then pointed at Zarian. They pinpointed his exact location with their terrible abilities enhanced by moon magic and Shadowfell Tears. His Eldritch Existence wasn¡¯t enough to hide him for this occasion. Zarian steered Aura Slayer to take him around to the nearest dark stone spire. He barely made it in time as viscous blood beams speared by at supersonic speeds, leaving underwater shockwaves with their passing. The blood was lifeless and cursed. It also had the boiling or frigid touch of moon magic. Having them pass nearby made Zarian feel physically sicker, too. All the life energy he¡¯d just gorged on felt threatened as well. The first salvo was a warning, but Zarian knew he was in for a rough time. The Underwater Witches could cast the same crazy attack using the same fleshy fish balls prior, not needing to sacrifice more just yet. It was also obvious the other kraken sirens were waiting their turn in case the Underwater Witches needed more sacrifices. As if to prove their point, the witches pointed at the sacrificial fish balls and then pointed at Zarian¡¯s hiding spot again. Three powerful, supersonic, cursed blood beams struck the dark spire in between them and Zarian. Their attack crumbled Zarian¡¯s cover like someone kicking their foot through a flimsy sand castle. The spire that was a mile tall collapsed with a rumbling groan that spread far above and below the surface of the water. Debris, dust, and billowing bubbles blocked all direct vision of the results. Then a shimmer of void magic appeared behind the witches. They reacted faster than most, turning about almost instantly, attacking with more supersonic blood beams at the spot they felt the void magic appear. But they struck nothing, because Zarian had used that cast of Void Waltz as a faint. Instead, he came straight at them mundanely, from the billowing and demolished mess that had befallen the stone spire he¡¯d hid behind. His body carried a few wounds, but other than that, he survived the triple attack with sheer guts and power. He didn¡¯t care to endure another bombardment unanswered, so he got more serious. He moved like a torpedo with Aura Mastery focused on the water around his body. He channeled a combination of Aura Mastery, Dark Affinity, Void Domain, Black Fire, Blood Life Vent, and webbed gravity magic from his spectral spiders on Aura Slayer. He did so as he moved straight at the witches. They turned about quickly. They sacrificed more of their own. Then they charged their next cast before sending an even stronger trio of wicked beams of cursed blood and supersonic force down at Zarian. He swung his sword and split the waters in front of him with a bright ultraviolet wave that was nearly a mile wide. He even added Void Shout with an underwater roar, weakening all enemy magic. He cut through all three beams and dissipated their power. His attack didn¡¯t go any further than that, which was fine. He came out winning and torpedoed unharmed through the mess of colliding magic. With his Eldritch Existence becoming a bigger factor, raising his vitality while making him scarier, his dominance stunned the witches. In their hesitation, Zarian found outright victory. He reached their bodies and swung Aura Slayer. He cut them down one by one before they could bring up a proper counter maneuver again. Then he finished the weaker siren krakens with little effort. Para feasted on their bodies, which helped mend Zarian¡¯s wounds faster. Overall, not a bad fight, though it was a little riskier than expected. It could¡¯ve been worse if they were fully corrupted and had more moon mutations. Satisfied, Zarian went back to the surface. Being down there in the deep depths made his dark cultivation and aura training a little too easy. A glutton for punishment, he surfed his high-powered sword on the waves, his tail and kilt whipping in the wind. Sometimes, he reached up and scratched around the barbs of his crown. He was getting used to wearing it as the time passed, thankfully. The days and nights passed him by. He saved a bunch of people and friendly sea beasts. He gathered many treasures. He sent off full companies and battalions of spectral spiders wherever they were needed. He slaughtered a great host of super evil mutants and aberrations without too much trouble. Then he finally ran into a true behemoth of a challenge. ¡°Hello, husband,¡± said his wife, speaking through her latest toy with her magnetic and gothic goddess voice. ¡°I¡¯m quite angry with you. I¡¯ve never been this angry before. It is almost pleasurable, since it¡¯s something Lovewar and I can talk frankly about. She¡¯d given me some great advice. Thus, I¡¯ve focused more of my attention in creating something that would get your attention and disrupt your training. ¡°So, please struggle against my creation here, even if only a little. I will quite enjoy it. Oh, and when you¡¯re done, please give me a full report of what you think of it. I will very much like your thoughts on how to improve my craft. Using the radiation of fallen moon rocks with my tears is an interesting development, and I¡¯m not sure if I have mastered it yet. But with your help, perhaps I will become more adept.¡±