Passing through Kanundra Hell's Gate, a pair of white wings waved silently. It was supposed to be a river that served as a barrier between the infamous Red Island and the other side of the Kegali forest. But the reign of Kegali's most populous monster species and their queen had come to an end, as had the warden who had been guarding the Hell's Gates for years. The coexisting balance of monsters in this region had now been permanently altered—it had been altered by the newly ascended strongest monster in this region. The old rulers had been deposed, and Kegali was about to be ruled by a new one.
Eon landed on the ground and looked around the area around his house. The sounds of birds singing nearby, monsters howling, a gentle breeze, and the soothing flow of the river. The sun was setting and the day was coming to an end.
Eon entered his chamber through a narrow path of stones and roots. His dark and humid chamber greeted him. As he walked in, his pace slowed as he looked down. He came to a halt in the middle of the room and stood motionless for a second, staring at the floor and breathing softly. He appeared to be reflecting on all of the difficulties he had overcome to get to this point. And it all began with him being the weakest of the weak.
He overcame the forest's challenge, the Peasant evolution line's mandibles, the superior species, and defeated the rulers of this region.
But that was only the beginning... Everything was just a step closer to his ultimate goal.
Eon growled and looked up at the two floating status boards in front of him. His gaze alternated between the three evolution options available to him.
***
Arcryonide Greater Snow Barbarian.
Race Description:
[The Arcryonide species that rules over the snowy landscape. They can create a massive snowball as hard as rock out of thin air and throw it to destroy everything in its path. If they are unable to approach their targets, their massive ball of ice and destruction will.]
Skill: [Gigantic Snowball.]
***
Arcryonide Tundra Barbarian.
Race Description:
[The Arcryonide species designed to destroy enemies with their destructive war cry. Their ferocious roar can wreak havoc and kill those around them. Disaster will ensue once this species opens its mouth.]
Skill: [Ruinous War Cry.]
***
Arcryonide Novice Berserker.
Race Description:
[The Arcryonide species that embodies the ferocity of a true ice land fighter. The Berserker Class is an advanced class. They are fierce and formidable fighters who specialize in damage, heavy crowd control, battle initiation, survivability, and eliminating the most dangerous threats. They are endowed with exceptional combat and destructive abilities. Their stomp can cause ice spikes to appear all around them, causing death and destruction wherever they step.]
Skill: [Ice Spikes Domain.]
***
Eon was given the option of becoming a superior Snow Barbarian, a Tundra Barbarian, or a Berserker. Whatever evolution he got this time, he'd get Area Of Effect damaging active skills, which was completely new because all of his current abilities were melee attacks. Any of the skills would greatly improve his fighting ability, so none were a bad choice. However, choosing the correct evolutionary path was critical.
Eon moved back and forth, nodding his head. Nodding his head—something a monster should never do—but Eon did it naturally and unconsciously. After a few moments of thought, Eon raised his head and nodded and growled once more. He crawled to the corner of his room, his eyes fixed on the option he had chosen. He then lay down on the ground and closed his eyes.
[Initiating the evolutionary process.]
Eon's body melted into a white liquid before transforming into his crystal ball form. His body flickered for a few seconds before finally turning off, indicating that he had entered hibernation.
Eon had no idea, but his evolution process was longer than his previous evolution. His evolution process had taken ten days to complete. As a result, algae had taken residence in his crystal ball form. His light was so dim when he flickered again because of the algae stuck to his skin.
His evolution was complete.
[The evolution process is complete.]
[You have been awarded one defense point.]
[You have increased your Strength stat by nine.]
[Deceitful Shapeshifter has been activated.]
Eon crawled out of the hole he'd been in for days. Eon growled as he shook his body, removing the algae that had adhered to his white skin; he no longer preferred to eat algae, preferring meat and fruit instead.
His gaze wandered around, meeting a ray of the noon sun shining in the middle of the sky. Monsters such as wolves and bears could be seen roaming the area, but they did not capture Eon's attention. Eon's gaze was drawn to his newly updated status board.
RACE: Arcryonide Novice Berserker [Level: 50/60] [Exp. Points: 18.6/25].
HP: 950/950
MP: 500/500
Top Speed: 100 km/h
Defense: 5
[STATS.]
Strength: 95
Agility: 50
Intelligence: 50
[DAMAGING ACTIVE SKILLS.]
Lethal Augmentation [MP Cost: 20] [Level: 20/20].
Icy Touch [MP Cost: 20] [Level: 20/20].
Barbaric Rush [MP Cost: 20] [Level: 20/20].
Ice Spikes Domain [MP Cost: 1] [Level: 1/20].
[NON-DAMAGING ACTIVE SKILLS.]
Deceitful Shapeshifter [MP Cost: 1].
Ice Armor [MP Cost: 20] [Level: 20/20].
Snowfield [MP Cost: 20] [Level: 20/20].
[Imitation] Vanguard [MP Cost: 40] [Level: 20/20].
[Imitation] Sovereign's Healing [MP Cost: 40] [Level: 20/20].
[PASSIVE SKILLS.]
World Conqueror's Perception.
[Lesser] MP Regeneration.
[Lesser] HP Regeneration.
[Lesser] Mana Absorb.
[Lesser] Life Absorb.
[Lesser] Desperation.
SKILL POINTS AVAILABLE: 5
Eon officially became a Berserker. The battlefield master he was born to be... The unstoppable force that was Eon, the seventh child of Vaas the conqueror, would lead his army while fighting in front of their formation.
[Desperation.]
[If there isn't enough MP to cast a skill, use HP instead, but at a 400% cost. This skill will be upgraded when the user reaches level 100.]
A double-edged sword of a skill that would allow Eon to cast his skill even if he had run out of MP—but at the cost of a large amount of HP. A passive skill that would come in handy in a variety of situations. In a world full of skills and equipment with powerful buffs, debuffs, and crowd controls, one could only guess how important a particular skill was. And it didn't matter how disadvantageous a skill appeared to be— this skill was named Desperation for a reason.
Eon's gaze shifted to his newly acquired skill, the first Area Of Effect that was truly his.
[Ice Spikes Domain.]
[Unleash the destructive wrath of a snow fighter. Stomp the ground to summon ice spikes that impale enemy units around the user, transforming the terrain into a spike field. This skill deals 160% of the user's strength stat (+60% per level). This skill has a radius of 2.5 meters (+2.5 per level). The user has control over where the ice spikes appear. As long as they are within the user's range, the user has full control of all ice spikes and can perform actions such as throwing the ice spikes as projectiles. The ice spikes will remain for one hour unless the user deactivates them. This skill cannot be used again as long as there is at least one ice spike in the user's range.]
A powerful Area Of Effect skill that also had excellent Crowd Control. This skill would not only deal damage to Eon's enemies, but it would also disrupt even the most well-organized battle formation.
[Ice Spikes Domain has received 5 skill points.]
[The damage output and range of Ice Spikes Domain have increased from level 1 (160% of strength stat) (2.5 meters) to level 6 (460%) (15 meters).]
Eon crawled out of his chamber, his gaze wandering throughout the surrounding area.
It was completed...
Eon had completed his first step, which was to become strong enough to begin his conquest. With his current power, he could now begin to build his own army. An army that no nation could ever stop, no hero could ever fight, and no god could ever trample. And under Eon's rule, that army would tremble Giera.
Their prowess would be heard all over the world, and just hearing about them and their apathetic ruler would cause fear.
Eon, Vaas' seventh child, the sin of Sloth... His grand conquest would now officially begin.
[Deceitful Shapeshifter has been activated.]
Eon took to the sky, waved his wings, and flew in a specific direction... He already had a plan in mind; all he needed to do was put it into action.
However, he required a means of communication in order to build his own army. Even a versatile leader would struggle to lead without the ability to pass command to his army. Eon required a form in order to communicate with the other inhabitants of this world.
A form with the ability to communicate.
And he'd get it... Soon enough.
[End Of Volume 1.]