Earth kind hadn't left their home planet for two weeks, and already billions were dead. In less than two weeks, we had unleashed more evils than any war in our history.
Humans weren't meant to have the powers we had; there should have been maturity and responsibilities to balance our strengths. Instead, many turned to hedonism, satisfying endless pleasures until some lucky native took the fools out. The saner users took to either blending in or isolating themselves from the rest of the world.
Nothing could stop us from claiming a piece of land and farming it for a few centuries until boredom inevitably sent us out to cause trouble. After that, becoming a member of one of the many governments on these worlds wasn't impossible. I've done it a couple of times. There are a few who even take to the local high society.
Less sane are the heroes, villains, and dark lords. While I played the role of a hero at this time, I've been the villain and even the dark lord later. Those roles are interchangeable and unstable; many heroes who become villains go suicidal or become dark lords. Once one takes on the role of the dark lord, there are only three outcomes. A hero can kill the user, obtain total victory, or my personal favorite, leave the cycle, and start a homestead. Truly with farming comes sanity.
King didn't fit either category; he was one of the least sane types. He was the broken emersion type. No matter what happened around him, he couldn't shake a feeling that this world was false. If that type doesn't die to hedonism, then they start doing things to damage the omniverse itself. So the system referred to them as dark gods.
…
As monsters raged around me, rushing barricades, climbing over their dead, and killed the innocent, I stared at my hands. I barely recognized them after the system changed me. My skin bent and flexed like normal skin, but I felt an undercurrent of QI and Magic flowing beneath my skin. Cords of unseen energy bound my flesh together, flowed between cells and realigned my body. Even as I stared down at my hands, I could see the tiniest of flashes between quadrillions of cells.
I was enthralled by the feeling of my own strength. "Why are you still here, Red? This city has fallen what the point. It's over; the time to stop me has passed."
My hand shot out and smashed the speaking clone into bloody bits. It felt effortless, like swatting a fly. Nearly all of my Parameters were in the hundreds now, and I felt it. But, of course, just having the numbers wasn't the end. Time also played a role. While I was stronger, it would take a long time for the Parameters to finish their work on my body.
Another of King's clones approached. "I think I figured out where the knowledge to manipulate spiritual energy came from." A smile spread across my face at seeing King pause. "If he hadn't contacted me, I'd have never guessed. Fister gave you the knowledge you needed to make use of that tower and become a ghost." I shook my head.
My spectral fist shattered the clone, scattering pieces of it across the other clones. The majority kept their distance. I wondered if they could feel the weight of my QI the sheer potency of my power.
Knowing that I was changing even now made me think. How did King feel about losing his body and becoming a ghost? Oh, he had Parameters through his ring, and the system wasn't the only thing that used them. It wouldn't surprise me if they were more a natural force in this world. Wasn't there an event with seemingly powerful targets?
Time felt like it was running together. Only the collar around my neck connected my past and present together.
A boyish smile spread across my face despite the state of the city and King's latest success. That event seemed silly now. Wiping out the zombies of that world would be child's play to me now.
Three Berserkers charged me wielding swords taken from the defenders and shops. Each of them moved with the precision of trained soldiers. So, King was directly controlling them.
It reminded me of a scene from an old final fantasy game. To show the disparity in power between the final boss and the player, they had the boss teleport around the room and take out the player with one hit.
One aimed high with a downward swing aimed at my neck, another thrust his sword forward to run me through, and the last aimed for my groin in an upward slash.
I took a step forward, turning Accelerate on and off. My wanking arm smashed groin stabber with an uppercut. The blow struck so quickly that the creature's head exploded like a grape under a shopping cart. Then, with the delicacy of a New Orleans pickpocket, I snatched the sword from the creature's death grip. It weighed around 14lbs and was constructed from an unrecognizable black metal.
It wasn't steel; I could tell that from my other's memories. He'd seen a true noble who wore the knife made of similar steel as if it were more precious than his silk clothes. The noble liked to brag how his father took it off of a Tributo tribe centaur war chief.
That was from the Portofino territory dispute and later wars a few centuries ago. It was a province in Ferrari, a land south of BMW but Northeast of Audi. But, of course, Audi was the eastern half of a whole continent, and Flank Town was in Taur territory.
The black metal must have been traded far and wide.
I swung the blade with enough strength to crush the other two berserkers three times over. But, despite my expectations, the blade didn't shatter. Instead, the unsharpened blade swept through both clones, leaving massive gaping cuts in their bodies. Accelerate activated again before a hale of arrows could catch up to me.
Ding!
Item Equipped: Ghost Rock Sword lvl1
Nameless Ghost Rock Sword lvl1
Skill Tree: Ghost Rock Sword
Ghost Rock Sword
Hungry Ghost 1/5 – Absorb 10% of the user's spiritual energy to sharpen the blade. +10% slashing damage X Skill Points in Hungry Ghost.
5 points in Hungry Ghost to the Next Tier
Powerful 0/5 – Through the absorption of blood, this blade grows larger and heavier. +30% Slashing damage X Skill Points in Powerful.
Precise 0/5 – Through adjustments to the blade's tip, a weapon to bypass armor was forged. +20% Piercing Damage X Skill Points in Precise.
Mystic 0/5 – Through the steady absorption of spiritual energy, this blade has gained the properties of a magic focus. +15% Magic Damage X Skill Points in Mystic
Slay enemies to level up 3/10
Execute to level up 0/10
Decapitate to level up 0/10
Disembowel to level up 0/10
Disarm to level up 0/10
Bisect to level up 0/10
Silent Kill to level up 0/10
Slay dragon to level up X 10 0/1
Slay Archlich to level up X 8 0/1
Slay skeletal dragon to level up X 15 0/1
Slay dark God to level up X20 0/1
Slay Ruling God to level up X 20 0/1
…
The sheer list of creatures and ways to kill was extensive. I held up the sword and stared at its mirror-polished exterior despite ripping through two clones. Blood had splattered on the blade, but the obsidian metal had soaked it up. While it was called ghost rock, it didn't feel like rock or metal.
Ding!
New Skill
Swordplay lvl1
Rank: C
Type: STR/DEX
Description – The ability to wield single or double-handed weapons designed to kill humans and look cool.
ATL – Slay enemies with an impractical weapon. The more enormous and more ridiculous the sword, the better.
Abilities
1. Parry – The single most crucial maneuver a swordsman can know. Knock the enemy's weapons out of the way and deal a death blow.
A laugh escaped my throat at the system's antics. Ok, swords were impractical as hell when it came to modern or even a lot of pre-gunpowder combat. But this was different. A spear, while deadly, could only punch a single hole in a target. The extra 3ft of the blade sticking out of my sword's handle gave me more reach and let me position my strength to slice my enemies apart. Weapons were force multipliers, and I had a lot of force to multiply.
I stared up at King. The bastard hovered hundreds of feet in the air, more than happy to direct his; I stared at the giant flesh mass rising from the sewers.
King's Divine Placenta
"Your naming scheme sucks," I yelled up at the bastard.
So, a giant placenta was terrorizing the city, knocking down buildings absorbing pedestrians, and spawning more clones. If I was going to get King to come down and fight, it had to die first.
I charged forward even as the defenders retreated from the pink mass. Tentacles reached out, and I sliced, diced, and burned them to prevent regeneration. My aura bubble encased the sword in my hand as the enemies charged at me like a flood.
My sword flashed under my ever-growing strength. Heads blasted off of bodies from my slashes, I raised my hand, and Mini Heavy Flame Bullets blasted them. A Berserker shot through the mob, and I shoulder-checked it into the Placenta. I sliced upward with my blade spilling its guts.
Ding!
Nameless Ghost Rock Sword lvl3
Hungry Ghost 3/5
Slay enemies to level up 10/10
Slay enemies to level up X 2 0/100
Decapitate to level up 10/10
Decapitate to level up X 2 0/100
The blade in my hand vibrated, and its edge glinted in the sun. If my sword kept upgrading at this rate, I'd have a formidable weapon before too long.
Since King was busy doing nothing. I was free to kill all of his clones and level up my sword.
As more of the clones died, a few of the defenders started following me. Three minotaurs dressed fully in heavily enchanted plate mail and armed with axes shadowed me along with a slew of mages. Centaurs, lamia, and a few hyenoids grouped up as I cut down clones by the score, carving my way towards the Placenta.
Fireballs flew from wands behind me in volleys while I led them into hell. The minotaurs each took a flanking position while I moved all over the battlefield with bursts of Accelerate.
King's Knight
I saw it charging for a barricade and intercepted it. The monster twisted and rammed me with a tower shield larger than the front door of my old house. Heavy Fireballs appeared in front of my hands as I activated Accelerate.
The explosions rocked the creature back a step as it shifted its form and adjusted to the sudden explosion.
Mid transformation Accelerate planted me in for a flanking maneuver. There was no time for curses to slowly kill in this battle. I needed to dispatch these creatures quickly.
Nameless bit into the creature's still shifting leg and cleaved through it. I raised my hand and conjured Heavy Fireball Bullets in a short ten-round burst. They exploded out of the creature's back and peppered the clones behind the monster. Explosions behind the knight took out hundreds of clones.
I sliced my blade through the creature's arm at the armor gap in the elbow. Despite King's power as a flesh mage, he still made conventional units. Two spectral arms folded into my wanking hand with so much spiritual energy flow from my limb that it became visible. I punched the creature and felt Mortal Telekinesis activate.
Below the creature, the ground disintegrated along with the creature's body. My spectral arms disengaged, and I sprayed the remaining clones with Heavy fireballs before retreating for another area. When the dust settled, a big centaur stallion dressed in heavy plate wielding both a wand and a spear charged to join my growing band of defenders.
With every siege, we broke there were countless more. I didn't know if these people would be helpful against King's Placenta but seeing the relief on the people's faces when we turned the tide of clones was worth it.
Our numbers reached the low hundreds when we came into range of the Placenta. I began our assault with a volley of fireballs. Strange bat-like clones swarmed out from the Placenta and intercepted my fireballs.
The armies arrayed against Flank town gathered their strength around the Placenta and charged.
At that time, the wards around the city flashed and failed. Hot arid wind rushed in with sand from the desert.
I activated Accelerate and swept through the clones, slashing them to pieces and burning them with fireballs. Explosions littered the streets as I moved. Not ever Berserkers were a threat to me; any more normal clones were just sacs of flesh, and their disguises couldn't hide from my perception.
Ding!
Nameless Ghost Rock Sword lvl23
Hungry Ghost 5/5 – Absorb 10% of the user's spiritual energy to sharpen the blade. +10% slashing damage x Skill Points in Hungry Ghost.
A Powerful 5/5 – Through the absorption of blood, this blade grows larger and heavier. +30% Slashing damage x Skill Points in Powerful.
Ac Presence 1/1 – Through the absorption of blood, this blade becomes aligned to spirit energy. Cuts off Aa, Ab paths
B Precise 5/5 – Through adjustments to the blade's tip, a weapon to bypass armor was forged. +20% Piercing Damage x Skill Points in Precise.
Bb Charge 1/1 – Through slight adjustments to the aerodynamics of the blade, it becomes ideal for charging.
C Mystic 5/5 – Through the steady absorption of spiritual energy, this blade has gained the properties of a magic focus. +15% Spiritual Damage x Skill Points in Mystic
Cc Underworld 1/1 – Through the specialization of spiritual energy, this blade becomes aligned to dark, earth, and Devils
I stumbled once, and a centaur mage threw a green potion to me. Without a thought, I upturned it. "To think even a slave can fight for what is right." The centaur said.
The potion was terrible; it tasted like a salted grass smoothy. But, after drinking it, the world stopped spinning. "Thanks for the potion. I needed it."
"Can we win?" The centaur asked.
I clutched my nameless ghost rock sword as my QI rushed through the strange weapon.
It had shortened after all the skill tree upgrades. The blade itself had a white streak gone down it with a black edge. It was angled in a way that made charging and stabbing with it easier. Unfortunately, my Mortal Telekinesis had become attached to the weapon. With a bit more practice, I might be able to throw it and call the blade back.
Every cell in my body thrummed with power fed from my QI time would only increase my strength further. King wasn't meditating high in the air because he thought it was badass, and his clones didn't abandon territory for no reason. The Divine Placenta was important to him, and King wanted to guard it at all costs. He probably wasn't used to a purely spiritual body either.
One of the knights broke off from the main force and approached.
"If we had no chance, he wouldn't have sent a delegation. He's stalling because he can't win yet." I said.
"What's your name?" The centaur asked.
"Red, what's yours."
"Karrot, if we survive, I'll do my best to free you," Karrot said.
I met with the massive flesh knight backed by the original three minotaurs. Up above, King's actual body had changed, going from a collection of particles to a solid humanoid shape.
The knight stood easily 12ft tall, dwarfing the minotaurs by a head and shoulders. It had an uncomfortable amount of intelligence in its eyes.
It flicked its face guard up, revealing King's face. "You don't know when to quit, Red. Even if you kill all my clones, this city is already done for. Do you know what's west of here?"
"Impossible the A6 wouldn't break the treaty." One of the minotaurs said.
"The Qs and Rs have joined forces, and Audi Federation's regime changed. So you can take your Treaty with the A6s and wipe your ass with it. So even calling them a federation now is inaccurate. But don't worry, I don't plan to be here when they push through. Although, of course, the only city of note between here and Rein is Bridle, it might be decades before the Feds are pushed out." King said.
I searched my memory for even a trace of the Audi Federation and only came up with golems that made golems. That was concerning.
"When they come, I'll kill them too." I stepped forward and merged my four limbs with my physical limbs.
My winning condition hadn't changed; King would flee or die.
I punched through the shield and crushed King's wrist. Flesh tried to wrap around my hand only for the intense spiritual energy produced by my Force skill to burn it away. Finally, my hand opened, and Heavy Fireball Bullets blasted the creature in the chest. Then I twisted, lifting the monster off its feet before throwing it back into the enemy lines.
I charged into enemy lines slashing and unleashing barrage after barrage of various Fireballs. But, no matter how many I killed, the King's Divine Placenta continued to birth more. Only by destroying it could this theatre of battle conclude.
My knees bent, my eyes locked on the target, and I leaped. Hundreds of bat-like creatures mobbed me as I shot through the air as gracefully as a lop side boulder. Nameless sliced through wings, bones, and heads, steering me through the air. Finally, I impacted the Placenta and unleashed Curse.
A sickness-like black ink passed through the mass of flesh for a moment before it gathered into a fleshy lump and broke off from the main mass. I shot across the side of the flesh, mass dropping fireballs and curses with my spectral arms.
Thousands of fleshy tentacles erupted from the mass wrinkled and tipped with a barbed point of bone. Each shot out as if from cannons before deflating back into the mass.
I dodged, cut, and blasted what I could and dropped fireballs into the mass of clones. Then, a powerful leap took me from the flesh mass to the fallen side of a building. Even as I ran through hundreds of rooms, I also battled the clones fitted into the structure like bees in a hive.
Nameless went into my inventory as I burst from the side of the building.
My mind didn't have time to consciously formulate a plan as I ran and killed my way through the building. King was right about me; I was a simple hero build. That didn't mean my build was ineffective. I had a lot of physical strength and Fireball. No, I had fire. These thoughts weren't conscious. One moment I was running like hell and slicing every to pieces; the next, I was standing in the middle of an army of clones.
I realized I'd run out of ideas and had used what I always had. Fire was something that comforted me. Some human part of me would never give up the memory of fire and my grandfather. Fire Manipulation wasn't just about throwing Fireballs. With just the right amount of heat, I could burn right through the Placenta.
One of my fists tore through one, and it burst into flames. I turned up the heat more.
My next punch unleashed a storm of telekinesis.
Flames shot through the clones along with the generated force. The clones around me caught fire as I powerwalked towards the Placenta. With every step, I turned up the heat. Finally, with a mighty leap, my body shot into the Placenta.
The world warped around me as flesh melted like snow under the southern summer sun. A punch blasted concussive waves of flames through the mass of flesh. My enhanced senses did me little good when all I could smell was burning flesh. Fat bubbled as I punched and fought my way through hell.
Barbed spear tips smashed into my skin only for Force Aura to stop it cold. Next, force Body and Accelerate allowed me to move deeper into the flesh mass. Eventually, I crossed into an air pocket and found a new location.
King's Womb of Avatar
Sterre Groot hadn't escaped after all. Instead, King had captured her after his ascension for a project of sorts.
Hundreds of fleshy tubes merged with her skin fed into a massive, bloated womb. Within a large fetus pressed against the woman's paper-thin flesh. The heat from my body crossed into the chasm and burned away the flesh like a wax candle; it melted.
Ding!
Fire Manipulation lvl15
6. Cloak of Flames – By replicating a dragon's natural scales, the user taps into a dangerous belief stepping ever closer to controlling the force of change itself.
QI 233
MAG 56 (66.08)
A feeling of incredible danger came over me. I saw the flash before my body was thrown through the mass of flesh and into a building.
King flashed in his hand outstretched and deformed as a ball of pure spiritual energy deformed his own hand as it charged. A scream of pure madness shattered the last of the glass in the building even as my own flames melted the building and melted steel.
The blast fired as I pulled nameless free. A bubble of spiritual energy wrapped around my sword as I blocked the discharge with the flat of my blade.
"Was that your final step, a new body made using everything you learned about flesh manipulation? I'm sorry it's a little melted, but I'm sure you can still use it." I said.
No, he couldn't hear my taunts over the sound of metal screeching, warping under my head, and our building beginning to fall. I knew he wouldn't be able to even as I struggled to hold back his fuck all beam attack.
I adjusted to the force of his attack, activated Accelerate, and charged forward. Blue beams slashed through more steel beams as I charged the ghost. He stopped gritting his teeth long enough for his eyes to widen in shock as I closed the distance.
Just before I would have cut his head off, the floor gave way. The second I hit the next floor, I sensed King just outside the building and spiritual energy gathering. Fireball blasted out only to pass through the bastard.
He flicked his finger, launching and beach ball-sized mass of unstable QI.
My vision went white as the building vaporized, and I went into freefall.
King wasted no time. He flew below me to deliver a hell of a kick to my spine. I bit my cheek as King flung me several stories up before appearing above me with a punch to my face. He followed it up with punch after punch to my face and torso as he flew down, punching me down faster than gravity's pull. Finally, the street broke my fall and collapsed, blasting me into the sewers.
My vision hadn't cleared up from the beach ball blast when I felt beams slam into me. Each hit like a train and smashed me further into the ground. Then, as my vision cleared, I saw a steel beam bearing down on me. I felt it when it hit my face.
Steel beams fell on me like raise positioned like the spread of a sharpshooter. I should be dead. I knew that after the first beam hit. Parameters or not, such a blow should have pulped my head. Instead, my body ached from head to toe. Breathing was next to impossible, and I felt him dump a whole building on top of me.
Molten steel filled my crater like a jacuzzi. It felt like my body was moving on its own. Then, sword in hand, I crawled out of the pit and stood up.
King hovered in the air, huffing and puffing glaring down at me. He descended upon the remains of his flesh mass and reached down. From the flesh, a spear rose to glow with crimson light. I bent my knee and activated Accelerate.
I hadn't been idle. All this time, I've searched for a way to end this fight. Before, I couldn't reach him, and even my Fireballs would have detonated before reaching him. So, I targeted his remaining plans. But, King wasn't at full power or didn't know how to use his power yet. That or I had become stronger than I thought.
The spear flashed, cutting me across the chest. I swiped with my blade but just missed.
King was fast, and he had a longer reach. I've been for days while he's fresh. Time wasn't on my side, especially if an invading army was on our doorstep.
"You could have left at any point. If this place doesn't matter to you, then why not attack some other place. You could have chosen..." I said.
"I could say the same about you. But here you are playing the hero and fighting till the bitter end. What would you have done if you won? You're property to the civilized societies of this would. So you should hate this place even more than I do." King said.
Sword and spear flashed in a series of charges, feints, and slashes. Multiple wounds scored my chest and legs. The spear's longer reach was taking a toll against a fresh opponent with similar speed and strength.
"We were made to believe lies but so what. There is more to life than rage. You would have felt the grief for what could have been; you would have tried to bargain, looked for a solution, and then accepted the world for what it is. Would you have rather lived your whole life believing a lie?" I demanded.
King's spear shot towards my eye only for a flash of Accelerate to save it at the cost of a cut across my skull. I struggled to hold his spear back as he bore down on me.
"Yes, I wanted what was promised. I could have tried again and found a better woman, but now our world is gone." King yelled and kicked me in the balls.
My vision went violet. Prism Rush activated.
I turned my blade, threw his spear point up, and cut down on King's fingers, including glowing ring fingers. King screamed as I merged spectral arms with my wanking arm and punched the bastard in the face. I raised my sword and stabbed it into the ring. With a twist, I tossed the ring far behind me, raised the tip of my blade, and charged.
King stared down at the black blade piercing his chest. "You idiot, this won't kill me." Cracks covered his body, and his spiritual energy was rapidly dissipating. "My hate will live on in everyone dissatisfied with this world. One of us will win eventually." I pulled my sword free.
"I wish you would have found someone to confide in, but I get it. Some can't survive the disillusionment, and many want to return to the way things were. It's hard to suffer through it all alone. When I warned you, I had just come out of the rage." I said.
His body broke down rapidly. Finally, only his chest and head were left.
"Does it ever get better? After accepting the world, can you say that you're happier than before you knew?" I turned away from him.
"Happiness comes from finding your own meaning and purpose. So why did you do it, really? I don't think you believed they were fake." I said.
"It was the system, Red. I tried to get away from it, but the ring made it worse. If I hadn't put that ring on, I could have been free. Don't put it on Red; you must destroy it. The vampires they…." King froze.
Red flowers exploded from his spiritual body before rotting away quickly. I turned to where I'd thrown the ring to see nothing.
The scent of flowers like the ones that just finished off King filled the area. All around the battlefield, I heard cheering. The Blue Blood coven had King's ring; all of this would start again, and an army could invade soon.
Ding!
9th Quest Completed
Defeat Or Drive Off King Without Burning Down Flank Town
Reward: +2 Gold Skill Dice, +1 Platinum Skill Die, +10RP with Kale
Kale 34/100 You saved a whole town, and everyone knows it. She sees you as a valuable possible future friend.
Keeping my eyes open was a challenge. Accelerate kept me moving back through the shattered city until I found the building Kale and Fang Mei barricaded in. Melting clones covered the ground. I trudged over the barricade, and Kale welcomed me inside. She looked a little roughed up but otherwise ok.
She opened the door for me. "Are you the only one left?" I asked.
Kale shook her head. "No Fang Mei left to meet with the Spotted Pack and Pink Scale Matriarchs. When the clones melted, everyone split up. I stayed in case you came back." Kale said.
I nodded and fell on the floor. "Please don't rent me out again. I'm exhausted. How long before we have to leave? Apparently, the Audi Federation plans to attack next." I said.
Kale's breath hitched. "How could they have prepared for war so quickly?" Kale said.
My eyes wouldn't stay open. "The Blue Bloods Betrayed Flank Town. It was probably to cover up any evidence just in case King left any survivors. If we run into another flesh mage again, I'll let someone else handle it." I said.
"Do you want to be free, Red?" Kale asked.
"You could still travel with me but as a free human. It may make some places less accessible to you but," Kale said.
"I want to see where our journey goes. So, I'll wear it for a while longer." I said.
"What about Fang Mei? You could be with her instead." Kale said.
"Sorry, Kale, you're stuck with me," I said.
Kale grumbled. "You're like hay stuck to my hoof fine. The second you wake up, we're leaving; it isn't the job of a traveler and slave to deal with the aftermath of this mess anyway." Kale said.