Since Leon's frantic retreat, it's been exactly an hour. Currently the Heartfelt Country was in turmoil as word of what went down at the Magic Tower had long spread far and wide. The citizens couldn't believe their ears and understandably wanted to see it with their own eyes. That they were able to do in a short matter of seconds as several teams of Healers and Knights were dispatched towards the Magic Tower. Lined up outside their houses on both sides, leaving only a pathway at the center for the Healers and Knights to pass, they soon saw them return with several corpses and injured folks. Their expressions darkened at this sight, fear and anger welling up within them.
They couldn't believe that a child was capable of such destruction and was so cold hearted enough to run away and not look back at what he had done. As the country slowly spiraled into chaos, the Ruler, Regald Heartfelt was currently sitting on his throne, his eyes drooped and his body somewhat slumped. In front of him was a smaller version of the Magic Crystal that the seer used at the Magic Tower, this one however being slightly different. Instead of being used to evaluate and read a person's ability and fate, it was used to monitor everything throughout the country and even within the kingdom. As he gazed at the happenings of the Magic Tower, an inexplicable feeling of sorrow, rage and hatred coalesced his heart. Seeing the state of his wife brought him anger and sorrow whereas seeing that it was his son which had caused it made him feel hatred yet he was doubtful.
Unlike everyone that had rushed to make an assumption due to being in the situation itself, he was merely a spectator. And as a spectator, he naturally had his doubts. Did his child truly cause that? What was the Fate and Karma of his son if he was able to impact Seer Theressa so heavily? But why did he have such a nonchalant face as he caused those things? Damn it! Is my child truly the Son of Calamity?!
BOOM!
A powerful and regal aura flew out in an unrestrained manner as Regald slammed his hand onto his throne's armrest. The knights at his side couldn't help but buckle at their knees, sweat forming immensely at their backs and faces. 'His majesty is truly powerful!' They each couldn't help but usher some words of praise beneath their breath. Regald rose from his throne, His aged yet handsome face now tinged with bits of doubt, his tall and imposing figure hugged by his golden sets of garments as he stepped forward.
Swoosh!
His figure blurred, an afterimage left in his previous place. His knights chose to remain kneeling as they saw their King off. Regald appeared at the infirmary where he saw countless knights rushing in with the wounded whereas the Healers followed from behind them. The last batch of wounded contained his pregnant wife. His heart tightened as he thought of his to- be born son Dereck, staring at her stomach. Yet his anger and hatred soon overtook him as he thought back to the cause of his wife's feeble state.
'Leon!!'
He abruptly turned, his long and flowing cape swayed as he made his exit.
Swoosh!
He blurred once more as his figure once again vanished, reappearing within the Royal Palace's innermost chamber where a hunched back elder who strangely gave off an eerie vibe was dwelling at. The elder looked at him and bowed slightly before gazing into his cold and indiscernible eyes. It was then that Regald's voice leaked out.
"Contact the King of Valeria and dispatch the news to him. However, have everything of this child erased from existence, do not leave no traces that his existence is tied to my wife, the Heartfelt Country, the people nor me. Also, contact 'him' and have a ritual performed to alter the people's minds immediately.
Fabricate a story after and feed it into their minds before spreading it outside the country. It shall be labeled, Disaster of the Son of Calamity. Have the News Stork Establishment publish it. Pay them a hefty amount with large, High-Tier Mana Stones and gather all members of Viron 0."
The elder couldn't help but stare at Ruler Regald with widened eyes. "Regald-sama, you truly wish to bring the Underworld into matters now? Wouldn't it rush our plan in the long run?"
The elder's tone was a bit shaky as he couldn't believe his Ruler was rushing certain things. "It matters not, that person and the figures of the Underworld were bound to be used sooner or later. Having some pieces used ahead of time is not really a bad thing. Do as I instruct, my son was an unseen variable and I can't have his reputation as a Son of Calamity tarnish my plans, Dero!"
Regald said sternly. Dero sucked in a cold breath of air as he couldn't help but marvel at his Ruler's cold and decisive mind. He simply bowed before asking one more question. "And what about Seer Theressa? Do we kill her or alter her memories as well?"
"Killing her is a no. The moment she dies the other Seers will know. Alter her memories and place her in therapy. She'll recover from the madness soon and will be one of the key pieces in steering away the attention from me."
Once again Dero could not help but be astonished. The way his Ruler thought was truly not to be trifled with. It's either you are useful to him or you aren't. Truly inspirational! Truly! He had made the right decision swearing fealty to this man. He was a man born for conquest!
With their discussion over, Regald turned and left swiftly whereas Dero shortly after took his leave as well. With things put into place to further slander Leon's name and save Regald's own Dero executed it perfectly. Like so, a month had passed since. It's been a month since the 'Disaster of the Son of Calamity'.
The people of Valeria hunted diligently yet couldn't find him whereas the Seers who had heard of this tried using the power of the stars to locate him. That too was a bust.
Currently within a large and eerie forest, a child-like figure was seen jumping from tree to tree. With the large trees blocking out the rays of the sun, a dark and shady hue was casted onto the ground making the child look like a young leopard in action. In front of the figure rushing forward expertly, a massive wolf as large as a full grown bull could be seen fleeing in terror. An apex predator was now reduced to nothing but prey. Just what was the being chasing it? Just as the wolf had thought it was escaping successfully, the figure blurred once more as a few cold words were heard.
[Abyssal Touch]
The figure's body then suddenly appeared atop the giant wolf's own, a black and inky substance leaking out of his hands as he grabbed towards its head. Suddenly, it stopped. No longer running as its eyes widened in horror. An evil madness entered its head as it frothed from its mouth. Then suddenly, its body started convulsing as though something was trying to break out of it.
Bang!
Swoosh!
Its stomach then exploded as large, inky and disgustingly smelling tentacles tore out of its stomach, latching onto its face devouring it as a whole. Everything finally ceased after it finished its meal, reverting back into that inky black fog that left the figure's body, entering him once more.
The figure's ruby-red eyes glistened coldly as his neck length, untamed raven-black hair flowed captivatingly through the air. He no longer looked child-like despite being eight years old. A month in this deadly new environment showing its effect as he now held a cold and decisive glint within those eyes. This boy was, of course, Leon Heartfelt. Leon raised his head and gazed at the panel screen which displayed his current kill and the rewards that came with it.
[Congratulations Master for killing a Great White Wolf of the Mortal General Rank!]
[You've gained 65 Blank Attribute points due to using Abyssal Touch]
[You've gained 30 Strength Points along with an additional 45 due to Abyssal Touch]
[You've gained 30 Stamina Points along with an additional 50 due to Abyssal Touch]
[You've gained 35 Defense Points along with an additional 50 due to Abyssal Touch]
[You've increased your mana reserves by five times! It is multiplied by two due to Abyssal Touch]
[You've achieved the Mortal General Rank]
[Your Racial Skill: Abyssal Touch has broken through the Third Inner Shackle reaching Mid-Tier stage]
[Do you wish to view your current status?]
"Yes." He replied calmly.
—--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Name: Leon Heartfelt
Race: Half Human (Halfway to being a Bearer of the Abyss)
Status: 55% Completion of Race Change
Title: Monster Slayer, Child of Calamity, Advent of Madness
Rank: Mortal Soldier→ Mortal General
Class: Ancient Eldritch Ruler (HighMythical, Locked)
Stats: Str: 145+(30+45) → 220
Stm: 130+(30+50) → 210
Def: 140+(35+50) → 225
Luc: -
MP: 100,000
BA: 60
Class Skills: Archaic Touch Low-Tier, Revered King Low-Tier, Cry of the Fallen Low-Tier
Racial Skills: Abyssal Touch, Mad Glutton (Locked), Veil of Madness (Locked), Tyrannical Shattering (Locked)
Uncategorized Skills: Sprint, Meteor Punch, Murderous Intent, Palm Strike, Fleet Fists, Kick of Tarnished, etc.
—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Good, I've improved once more. Allocate 30 blank attributes to strength and the other 30 to defense."
[Str has increased to 250]
[Def has increased to 255]
Indeed, a lot has certainly changed within a month. But how did the faltering, weak minded Leon turn into this? Well, it started the moment he was brought here via the system.
[Flashback]
Pa!
Pa!
Pa!
It was already night, the sun had long set allowing the creatures of night to come out and roam. A young boy, an arm missing, rushed throughout the forest with his burning red eyes and a listless expression. This young boy, Leon who was currently being controlled by the system had actually managed to escape the Heartfelt Country and retreat to a distance a few hundred miles away. Of course it was only thanks to the system he was able to run this far in such a short period of time as it forcefully rejuvenated his stamina in order to continue using his body to flee.
His steps were heavy yet fast, gazing around cautiously he spotted a large hole in a massive tree to the distance and shot towards it like a bullet. In only a few seconds he had reached the location, gazing inside only to see a large snake nestled in a coil, sleeping peacefully. Stiffening his remaining arm and bringing it towards the sky, it resembled a lance. Without mercy his hand burst forth, penetrating the head of the snake as though it was butter before removing his bloodied hand and tossing it out.
Entering his new home which was large enough to foster his entire body and still leave room for him to crawl around he lay down, his conscious mind fully awake even though the system was in control. Meanwhile the system began working even harder than it did in the past few days.
[The administrator has sensed your unwillingness to die and has rewarded you with an opportunity of a lifetime! Your scorn for humans has risen greatly, your madness has been heard! You seek to grow stronger and live. Do you wish to accept the Fruit of Conversion and become a bearer of the will of the Abyss?]
Seeing the system prompt, Leon was taken back. Did he scorn humanity? He sunk into a moment of thought because of this. Sure he hated the bad humans but scorning the entirety of humanity seemed a bit extreme no? However before he could even continue that kind of thinking, his mind was suddenly hit by a wave of unfortunate memories.
Both of his past life and his current one. In his past life even though he was bullied by a group of people no one around him ever reached out to lend a hand. He was powerless. Whereas in this life, he was given a short lived fantasy where he was loved unconditionally and the moment he inadvertently caused a casualty everyone, including his own mother turned on him. Blood to him at that moment and even in his previous life, was the worst form of love.
Staring at the panel screen that awaited his command, he gritted his teeth as his determination grew. A twisted sense of thinking started forming from within him.
'My greatness caused those weaklings to perish! How dare they blame their deaths on me? That fucking Seer dared try to read my fate and descended into madness but I was blamed? Bitch I am the advent of madness! ME! I'LL SHOW EVERY ONE OF YOU! ESPECIALLY YOU MOTHER!'
[The administrator smirks at your thoughts]
[Your madness comes from far within you, bottled up and sealed but now finally unrestrained!]
[You, being able to control such madness have found peace in it!]
[You have met the first criteria to initiate the Fruit of Conversion!]
[You have gained a new title: Advent of Madness]
[Wherever you go, you leave a wake of madness in your path! You can tap into the slumbering madness within you using this title as your witness. Trading your sanity temporarily in exchange for unbridled madness causes all your attacks to increase by 50% in destructiveness and mana recovery is increased by 50% also!]
[Beginning transformation at 50%]
[Ding! Transformation has been completed! You have now rid half of your humanity! To rid the other half and complete your transformation into the [Bearer of the Abyss] you must achieve the Celestial King Rank of this world!]
[You have solidified your title as the Child of Calamity granting your attacks a 100% increase in destructiveness. You leave a trail of calamity and destruction in your wake as it is your sole purpose as the bearer of this title.]
[You have gained the following Racial Skills: Abyssal Touch Low-Tier, Mad Glutton Low-Tier, Veil of Madness Low-Tier, Tyrannical Shattering Low-Tier]
[Further solidify your being as the Bearer of the Abyss to gain the rest of your abilities!]
The moment Leon accepted and had completed the first half of his transformation, his wounds both minor and fatal had been completely healed. His exhaustion had dissipated and his mana and strength began to quickly recuperate.
His skin started cracking whereas his hair started falling off. They both started to crumble as new skin as white as snow and hair as black as the night started blooming from him. His eyes glowed brighter than usual for a moment before dimming down slightly whereas his height grew by a few inches making him resemble that of a 12 year old.
From then on Leon went onto hunting monsters and increasing his strength as the calm of his madness and the chaos of his calamity gave birth to an alter-ego so fearsome that if the powerhouses of this world were to evaluate it they would yield willingly. He unknowingly dubbed this alter-ego as the future, Lord of Tyranny!
[End of flashback]
Leon stood perched atop a thick branch as he monitored his surroundings. He reviewed his rewards again as a satisfied feeling rose within his chest. 'Just wait for my return world. With it, I'll bring true tyranny!'
Swoosh!
TO BE CONTINUED!
—-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Abyssal Touch feeds off of a being whilst nurturing its user. It allows the user to currently, due to its low level, steal a small amount of additional attribute points from every victim devoured. Currently as the skill has reached the Mid-Tier he can now plunder 70-90 of each attribute of his victims whereas the mana reserve multiplier is increased to three]
[Mad Glutton grants the Bearer of the Abyss an endless stomach as it is a passive skill. It plunders skills whether racial, class or uncategorized from the victims devoured by the host of this skill. It can be used through Abyssal Touch as both skills share a similar DNA]
[Veil of Madness grants the user the ability to unleash a wave of tyrannical madness that has an AOE effect. It causes those affected to succumb to a state of madness and start hallucinating whilst sucking out the lifeforce bit by bit from them. Duration can be increased the stronger the host mana reserves are]
[Tyrannical Shattering is a skill that can be used with either fists, legs, sword, saber etc. It has a base Destructiveness of 110% and can be increased as the user of this skill levels it up and also increases his/her own stats]
[Skills and Magic Items have the same ranking: Low-Tier, Mid-Tier, High-Tier and Peak-Tier. Each tier consists of Three Inner Shackles the person must unleash in order to reach the next tier]
[Advent of Madness: Wherever you go, you leave a wake of madness in your path! You can tap into the slumbering madness within you using this title as your witness. Trading your sanity temporarily in exchange for unbridled madness causes all your attacks to increase by 50% in destructiveness and mana recovery is increased by 50% also!]
[Child of Calamity: You leave a trail of calamity and destruction in your wake as it is your sole purpose as the bearer of this title granting your attacks a 100% increase in destructiveness!]
[Monster Slayer: You are feared by the weaker of the Monsters and are sought out to be challenged by their strongest! Grants you a 50% boost in strength against the Monster Race and 25% boost against other races]
—---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------