SCREE!
The goblin king screamed in pain and grabbed his head.
I need to wrap it up!
Jumping down from the monster's back, I pushed my strength to the limit and tried to take its head with one slash.
But to my disappointment, the goblin king grabbed my scythe with his bare hands and stopped my attack. Before he could pull me toward him, I quickly canceled my weapon and resummoned it after putting distance between us.
My body's regeneration speed has become so fast. I think my bones are all healed now!
I was amazed that during the short time I was fighting the monster, my body had managed to heal itself.
Suddenly, my body became hot, and I felt my blood boil.
It's time to end it.
My passive skill had finished stacking, and I felt tremendous power rush through my veins and muscles. Whatever wounds I had left fully recovered, and I felt as light as a feather.
Soul shackle!
The monster froze, fear deep in its eyes, as if it could feel its end was near. I closed the distance in a split second and used all my strength to slash at the neck where I'd left wounds before.
Blood splashed everywhere, soaking my entire body. It felt disgusting but also refreshing at the same time. I stood there, holding its giant head in my hand, looking down at it coldly. I could still see the goblin king's eyes moving with complete madness and fear. However, I only felt joy at my victory and no sympathy.
"You can move on to your next life now!"
My words were cold, and after throwing the head into the air, I used my kinetic slash to destroy what remained of this beast who killed my party members.
-You have slain an epic monster Level 7 Goblin King!
-Your experience has increased by 300%!
-Congratulations! You have reached level 4!
-Congratulations! You have reached level 5!
-Congratulations! You have reached level 6!
-Your overall stats have been upgraded.
-Level 8 stamina -> Level 2 Lesser stamina Current Stamina 110
-Level 8 Attack -> Level 2 Lesser Attack (Level 21) Current Attack 210
-Level 6 Magic –> Level 9 Magic (Level 29) Current Magic 290
-Level 7 Strength -> Level 1 Lesser Strength (Level 30) Current Strength 300
-Level 8 Defense -> Level 2 Lesser Defense Current Defense 110
-Level 7 Agility -> Level 1 Lesser Agility Current Agility 100
-Level 4 Mana spring (Level 14) Current mana 1400/1400
-Level 4 Quick mana regeneration (15/sec)
-Level 3 Physical resist -> Level 6
-Level 3 Magic resist -> Level 6
-Level 3 Illusion resist -> Level 6
-Level 6 Element resist -> Level 9
-Level 4 body regeneration -> Level 7
-Level 7 Magic growth -> Level 10 Magic growth (increases magic stat by 20)
-The new condition has been met. A new stat has been granted. Soul expansion level 1 (increases mana stat by 10)
-Level 7 Strength growth -> Level 10 Strength growth (increases strength stat by 20)
-The new condition has been met. A new stat has been granted. Attack expansion level 1 (increases attack stat by 10)
-Your abilities have been upgraded.
-Level 3 Kinetic slash(evolving) (15 mana) -> Level 6 (20 mana)
-Level 3 Kinetic shield(evolving) (3.5 mana/s) -> Level 6 (5 mana/s)
-Level 3 Soul harvest(evolving) (35 mana) -> Level 6
-Level 3 Space distortion(evolving) (20 mana/s) Level -> 6. (30 mana/s)
-Level 2 Darkness steps(evolving) (10 mana/step) -> Level 5
-Level 2 Soul Shackle(evolving) (20 mana) Up to 8 targets at a time -> Level 5(50 mana) Up to 20 targets at a time
-Level 1 Soul bite (50 mana) -> Level 4 (100 mana)
-Level 3 Laughing at the death. Each second in combat gives the user 1 stack which can stack up to 100: -> Level 6
-After the user reaches 100 stacks a special ability is granted:
-Level 3 -Each stack gives 0.3% attack power. -> Level 6 Each stack gives 0.6% attack power
-Level 3 -Each stack gives 0.3% defense. -> Level 6 Each stack gives 0.6% defense
-Level 3 - Death shall not claim me - User becomes immortal for 12 seconds. -> Level 6 (15 sec)
-Level 3 - Increased regeneration -> Level 6
-Level 3 - Increased vision -> Level 6
-Level 3 - Quick movement -> Level 6
-You may now use Soul Harvest.
Wow, I grew so much after killing the goblin king! Level 6? If I can find more high-level monsters and solo kill them, how fast would I grow?
By this point, I had only spent two days in this world, yet my level had risen extremely fast. Even I felt scared of myself at this point. But I also felt happy. The faster I grew, the more likely I was to survive in this cruel world where you can die at any moment.
It's hard to describe in words how I felt. The feeling of your body becoming stronger in seconds is weirdly satisfying.
Soul harvest!
"WAIT! NO! STOP!"
I made a mistake, for the first time after coming to this world… I was so excited by my victory that I had forgotten about the player characters lying on the ground in the area.
All the goblins that had died in this battle and all the humans turned into darkness orbs that flew into my mouth. I had no control over it. Even if I had… it was too late. I had already cast the skill.
-Congratulations, the condition has been met.-
I suddenly felt dizzy again.
-Proceeding to evolve into the Soul Lord-
-The system has detected a taboo.-
-Four human souls have been consumed.-
-The system is evaluating the situation, please wait.-
-The evaluation has been concluded. The player Lee Gaon is awarded a new passive: Ruler - Players who encounter a ruler become intimidated and lose the will to resist commands if they possess low soul strength.-
-The system will now announce to the world the new fifth ruler.-
-The evolution has been concluded.-
-You have successfully evolved into the Soul Lord.-
-A special bonus reward has been granted.-
-New skills have been acquired.-
-Air Shatter level 1 – The user can shatter the air in front of them sending a shockwave of compressed air.
-Earth Shatter level 1 -Shatter the earth in front of you to inflict heavy damage in a straight line, leaving a lava pool on the ground that deals heavy fire damage to enemies standing in it.-
-Space Shatter level 1 Shatter the space around you to create a rift that you can use for teleportation. The travel destination must be imagined in your mind and only works for places the player has already visited.-
-Ruler rewards have been granted. Passive: All basic stats have been multiplied by 2 times.-
-A new quest has been added.-
-Hunt down 2 rulers to become the king.-
-Current kings throughout the world: One-
-New skills have been granted from leveling up-
-Magic control level 1-
-Shadow blast level 1-
-Wind slash level 1-
-The harvested souls will be counted as personal kills. Your Memento Vivere has reached the halfway point. 50/100-
I felt a headache… What in the world just happened? My body surged with tremendous power, and my stats had suddenly skyrocketed. Too many things happened at the same time, and I didn't know how to swallow it all in one go.
Who were the rulers, and what were these soul evolutions? Will I be hunted down, or will I hunt down the ruler players to become a king?
What about after that?... I wanted to cry, but no tears came out. I felt lost but also excited. My body could not stop trembling.
"Hahaha! This world is becoming more and more fun! Rulers? The mysterious creator? Powerful monsters? Bring it on!"
I shouted at the top of my lungs in excitement. I finally found a world worth living in.
As the bright evening sun gently warmed my cold body, I could feel the very soul of this world surrounding me. The feeling of connection mysteriously settled in my hollow heart, and the once-dead heart beat again. I believe this was the turning point for me, as my once-boring life suddenly became meaningful and a new goal was tailored for me: to become the king!
If I meet Kim Ha-joon again, I will make him regret crossing paths with me! I will return all the suffering he caused me tenfold!
My thoughts were filled with a thirst for revenge. I had a feeling that person had to be in this world. Perhaps he was one of the rulers, considering his talent. It was not a big feat for him. Even though I hated him to the core, I had to admit that he was the only person in this world who could match my gaming skills.
As strange as it sounds, I could feel a mysterious force pushing me to kill and filling my mind with revenge thoughts that had been hidden inside me for a long time. Little by little since I've arrived in this world, I've started losing my mind. It might be hardly noticeable, even to myself.
"Gaon! Gaon!"
I could hear somebody's voice calling out to me as I was staring into the sky with lifeless eyes. My mind was slowly sinking into darkness. I could feel the ground slipping under my feet.
Thud!
I felt my body crash into the cold grass. As my eyelids grew heavier and heavier with each passing moment, I saw him standing there. Why are you looking so concerned for me? Why are you looking at me with those puppy-like eyes? I'm okay, I'm fine. Even if I'm hurt, I can recover once I rest slightly. So why are you worried? Kim Seong-Hoon... why?
I felt a tiny warm flame somewhere in my heart at that moment, one I hadn't felt ever since I lost my last friend. But this moment was short-lived. My heavy eyelids shut themselves like castle gates, refusing to open again. I was tired...