ã€ŠInto the Wilderness- LITRPG Apocalypseã€‹


 Chapter 1: Sponsor

    Jack Smith was sipping a beer on his sofa, watching a football match after a long, tiring day of work. At twenty two years old, he was a recent college graduate with almost six figures in student debt, with a job that only paid half of that yearly- wondering if his expensive education had been worth it.

    He was a man who liked to go about his business in silence, but standing at six feet three inches tall, it was a bit difficult to go around unnoticed- sure he wasn¡¯t a giant, at least not by american standards, but he was definitely tall enough to stand out. With close-set green eyes, high cheekbones and a fairly long scar running across his forehead, if he ever ended up committing a crime, the cops would probably laugh their way to his doorstep. He was an attractive man, though perhaps some points could be docked for the scar- however in Jack¡¯s personal experience, a lot of women found it attractive, oddly enough. They always ask for the story though, whether they find it attractive or a red flag- which always leaves him in an awkward spot.

    You see, getting dropped by your parents in a cinema hall as a child and cutting yourself on the metal part of the seat in front of you isn¡¯t exactly the kind of glorious or dark story they expect. It was an accident, and Jack was a shifty child back then- thankfully, there was no damage beyond the cosmetic scar.

    Anyway, that¡¯s beside the point. Simply put, Jack was the kind of man who got the job done. He wasn¡¯t an introvert, he was just the kind of guy who clocked into the office, worked hard, and talked to whoever needed talking to if it meant putting food on the table (or more aptly, paying off student debt). He may not be the man that would sell everything he owned to open the next big billion dollar company, but he wasn¡¯t the kind of guy to break under pressure trying to pay off his debts. For Jack, there was only the objective and the method. Maybe some might call that boring, but that was the way he was taught by his father.

    The notification blip sound of his smartphone roused him from his thought process, causing him to reach for it. A quick glance showed that it was an email from work. Deciding that it was probably important if it was sent at night, he clicked on it.

    As Jack scanned through the contents of the mail, the expression on his face went from relaxed to serious, and then angry. The beer bottle in his left hand accidentally slipped, falling to the ground and shattering, spilling all over the wooden floor.

    ¡°Well fuck!¡± Jack exclaimed with some anger, lightly chucking his phone onto the adjacent one seater sofa and falling back into his sofa without bothering to clean up the spill or the broken glass. His company had just filed for bankruptcy, and they had terminated his employment effective immediately with one month severance pay from what should be three months.

    Jack just sat there for a few minutes, taking in the anger, pain and frustration and all the other negative emotions he felt, and then letting it flow through him, releasing it.

    ¡°Screw this, I need a vacation,¡± Jack spoke aloud to himself, deciding to take a few days off to re-center himself. He did have a month of severance pay, and there was nothing like a hiking and camping trip to soothe his soul. Jack has always been very passionate about spending time with, and respecting nature.

    The purring of a cat echoed in the background, seemingly agreeing with him.

    ¡°Your ladyship seems to agree then?¡± Jack asked with a chuckle, as the cat approached him from the other side of the broken glass. Yes, he had named his cat Your Ladyship Luna, but he usually just called her Luna.

    Jack lifted Luna from the floor, placing her onto his lap and gently stroking her fur. Honestly, if it were up to him he¡¯d have a lot more animals than one cat, but he just didn¡¯t have the funds to afford it.

    ¡°Meooow,¡± came the response, and Jack just smiled, giving her a few scratches on the back.

    ¡°As per your royal decree, let us be off tomorrow at the break of dawn,¡± Jack smiled, before grimacing when he remembered he had to clean up the mess he¡¯d just made.

    <hr>

    Jack breathed deeply as he took his first whiff of country air, surprised every time he visited the countryside at how pure and clean it felt. His cat was walking alongside him, attached to a collar that was tied to his waist to ensure she didn''t get lost. Jack was usually against leashing animals, but he¡¯d be heartbroken if Luna got lost and so he had to make a compromise- he¡¯d spent a lot of money to buy the most comfortable collar he could find.

    He¡¯d pitched his tent early morning, alongside seven or eight other tents in one of the designated tent sites. Malanike National Park which was a famous camping and hiking spot, and Jack was familiar with the trail he¡¯d chosen. Now, it was just a man and a cat out in the wilderness, enjoying nature¡¯s¡¯ great bounty, three hours into the trail.

    Jack knew that there was a waterfall coming up ahead, with the trail leading right to the base of the waterfall, when he suddenly froze up for an instant. His left foot was still in the air, while his right acted as the base and allowed him to maintain balance- Jack realized that despite willing his left foot to stomp down, he couldn¡¯t make it budge even the slightest. Even more so, he couldn¡¯t even scream out loud for help, and his facial muscles were frozen solid. Eerily, he felt no muscle burn or pain from standing on one leg for what had been over a minute. The only mercy that he was afforded was that his face was angled in such a posture that he had a clear view of Luna. Confusion changed into horror when he realised that his cat seemed to be frozen in place as well.

    Jack had no words for the phenomenon that occurred next- the best he could describe it was as embers of¡­ ethereal blue fire exploding in a massive firestorm all around him, and engulfing every form of life in its wake. However, what was even stranger was that it awoke an instinct within Jack that he did not even know he possessed, that wished to embrace the fire. As if granting Jack¡¯s wish, he, his clothes, and his entire body was ablaze the next second, by a fire that seemed to be solid for one moment and transient the next. He did not feel any pain or terror from that fire, only warmth and¡­ growth?

    It ended as soon as it began, lasting only for a few seconds. Even Jack, who could keep his composure in some tough circumstances, felt his resolve being shaken at the absurdity of it all.

    The next moment, everything went dark.

    <hr>

    Jack gasped out loud as if he¡¯d just come back to life, looking around himself in a blur- adrenaline pumping through his veins. He found himself in a completely white 4x4 room with no exits, and only three pieces of furniture that were perfectly white as well, blending in so well with the room Jack had to do a double take: the chair he was sitting on, the table in front of him, and the empty chair directly opposite him on the other side of the table.

    ¡°Wait,¡± Jack spoke out loud in a panic, and focused on the opposite side of the table, squinting.

    ¡°What the fuck!?¡± Jack screamed, as he could make out a four and a half foot person sitting on the other side, draped in white cloth covering the entirety of his chest,legs and hands, with a hood and a face mask obscuring the rest of his features.

    ¡°Hello, Jack. I¡¯d suggest you keep your voice down, I really wouldn¡¯t want to mess with your vocal chords again,¡± The entity spoke in a gender neutral voice with an even pitch and sound, as he conjured a thick hardcover book out of thin air. The book had no words written on it, just a bright red hardcover that stung at Jack¡¯s eyes due to the contrast with the white room.

    Jack¡¯s pupils dilated, and he was on the verge of hyperventilating. The only thing that stopped him from losing composure was his father¡¯s teachings coming back to him, and so he did what he was taught. Focus the stress, anxiety and fear of the unknown into a ball near the heart, and then let it flow through himself. Use it as fuel to drive himself, to determine the situation and how to escape it. He had a job to do, an objective and as for the method, he¡¯ll have to use what he has.

    ¡°Okay, okay, fine. So, first, who are you and what do you want? If this is not a dream in the first place?¡± Jack asked, consoling himself that this was most likely the result of a hyperactive imagination.

    ¡°Who am I? My dear boy, you know there are only two answers to that question: either I am what you think I am, or you are either hallucinating or dreaming,¡± The entity with an amused tone, as if he had encountered an entertaining specimen.

    Jack felt his throat tightened, but he decided to continue to press on for results. Once he had decided to do something, he was relentless, and so he asked,¡± Fine. So what are you reading?¡±

    ¡°Oh this?¡± The entity¡¯s voice changed from an amused one to that of interest. They answered after a pause, ¡°The list of crimes the human race has committed against itself and other sentient species. I have to say, I¡¯m impressed. Mass genocide of other species, crimes against humanity, destruction of the natural environment, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction among a thousand other things. This deserves a D rating, no, maybe a C rating? Yeah, a C rating sounds good.¡±

    Jack gulped, and responded defensively without thinking it through, ¡°That has nothing to do with me.¡±

    ¡°If that helps you sleep at night Jack, sure. Anyway, it¡¯s not really my business and to be honest? I don¡¯t really care. Back to business, I-,¡± The entity spoke, but Jack cut him off before he could get any further.

    ¡°First, can you prove that this is not a dream?¡± It felt too real to be a dream, and the only other thing Jack could think of was that he¡¯d hit his head hard and was currently in a coma.

    ¡°-I really don¡¯t like getting interrupted, but I suppose you¡¯ve had a rough day. There¡¯s nothing within the rules that I can divulge that¡¯ll make you believe this is real, even when your instincts clearly know the answer- but if you think your puny human brain can simulate the apocalypse, then your understanding of advanced biology is even weaker than I thought,¡± The entity replied in a slightly irritated tone.

    ¡°Uh¡­. I¡¯m sorry, what did you just say?¡± Jack just stared blankly at the entity, unable to comprehend the scale and gravity of the statement.

    ¡°Don¡¯t go into denial, Jack. It won¡¯t help you prepare for what¡¯s coming ahead. Anyway, it¡¯s not quite as much an apocalypse as a trial. Most of Earth¡¯s population will probably be wiped out, but when it comes to actual numbers, millions are expected to survive. If you want to be one of them, listen to what I have to say. The Cultivation Alliance does afford you certain rights,¡± The entity explained with some gravity leaking into his voice, though Jack was too lost in his own shock to care.

    ¡°Damn, this is why inferior species are so¡­.,¡± The entity clicked his fingers, and the next instant a glass of what appeared to be water materialised in front of Jack. ¡°Drink that, it¡¯s temporary,¡± the entity spoke in a commanding tone, and Jack was too out of it to care. If an alien that could control his body wanted to do him harm, there was not a lot of room for resistance. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

    The moment the tasteless liquid went down his throat, Jack felt as if a burst of dopamine had been injected into his veins, just enough to counterbalance the influx of negative emotions brought on by the revelation- he could think clearly.

    ¡°Okay, go on,¡± Jack responded with a certain urgency, wanting to extract as much information as he could out of the alien entity.

    ¡° I didn¡¯t restrict your movement for fun back in the National Park, you know. I did it so I could let you see what I can. The blue flames,do you have any idea what those flames represent?¡± The entity asked rhetorically, though his voice was soft and respectful.

    ¡°I don¡¯t,¡± Jack answered without hesitating or wasting any time.

    ¡°The remaining essence of our divinity, who perished thousands of years ago- that represents his divine power. Each new planet that the alliance discovers is baptised in the flames of the founder, the first and only being that ascended to the divinity within what is now called the three realms. Sentient life that has reached the required level of evolution to qualify is only found in every one out of hundred thousand planets, and after 14.6 billion years there are very few unconquered planets left. Every human who qualifies shall receive a small part of his divinity as a reward, and their potential to cultivate shall be unlocked. Cultivation is the path to supernatural power beyond your imagination, but it can only be unlocked under extreme duress and threat to one¡¯s life,¡± The entity patiently explained, giving Jack some time to digest the information.

    ¡°Why tell me all this? Why do you give us this power we never asked for and then try to kill us? What are the details of this trial you speak of?¡± Jack asked the question with some anger seeping into his voice, but kept it professional.

    ¡°Hey, hey, hey, come on man? You think I¡¯m the bad guy? Damn, I thought white rooms were supposed to be meditative and calming, that book on human psychology is complete bullshit!¡± The entity¡¯s voice changed from solemnity to mild amusement, as he reached for the mask on his face and removed it. The scenery changed, and Jack found himself sitting in a plush sofa next to a fireplace, while in the sofa adjacent to him was a four feet five bearing resemblance to a humanoid female with light red skin, two pair of close set white eyes that stared at him with curiosity, with a third eye resting on the centre of their forehead that was shut, a set of jagged, sharp teeth and the rest of her features bearing resemblance to the physiology of a female woman that was in her mid twenties, on the stouter side.

    ¡°....,¡± Jack just stared at her, and she stared back. After a few seconds of silence, he said ¡°You¡¯ve got to be kidding me. Inferior human? Aren¡¯t you just criticising yourself?¡±

    ¡°Hey!¡± a soft, squeaky voice that resembled that of a child, but sounded deeper, cried out in protest.

    ¡°Pffft¡­ hahahahaha, okay I¡¯m sorry please don¡¯t kill me but, I- I just can¡¯t-¡± Jack barely got to that sentence before he burst out in laughter till he was on the verge of tears. The situation was just too fucking weird for him to bother rationalizing anymore.

    A sharp kick to the shin finally caused him to recoil in pain and shut up, only to stare at his demon kidnapper whose face was scrunched up in irritation as if this was the expected response.

    ¡°You-¡± She started out, but was interrupted

    ¡°In my defence, absurdism and laughter are a natural response for some people when confronted with grief,¡± Jack blurted out before she started throwing around accusations.

    ¡°Fine, but this is the last pass I¡¯m giving you,¡± she reluctantly seemed to cede for now, while Jack was chanting the mantra ¡®don¡¯t laugh¡¯ in his head continuously.

    ¡°So to answer your question, I have nothing to do with this invasion. I am much like you, Jack, a person who once went through the same cycle of grief and devastation. The only difference between us is that I survived, and now I am the one who decides the life and death of others,¡± She spoke in the same squeaky voice, but this time there was a gravity and tone of command in her voice that evaporated all notions of humour in Jack¡¯s mind. At that moment, he felt like he understood why she called humans inferior species- she gave off an aura of bloodlust, and those sharp, shark-like teeth sent a chill down his spine- this¡­ the only thing that came to his mind was an ¡®apex predator¡¯.

    ¡°So who does?¡± Jack asked, recovering quickly after being affected by her bloodlust- probably because of the liquid he¡¯d been made to drink earlier.

    ¡°Our divinity, of course,¡± She replied nonchalantly,, and Jack much preferred it over that neutral, creepy voice earlier.

    ¡°I thought he perished thousands of years ago?¡± Jack questioned puzzledly at the apparent contradictions in her theory.

    ¡°If a divinity can die, is he really a true divinity? I did not lie to you, in fact, as your sponsor I cannot lie to you and it would be against my interest to do so. A divinity exists as long as time itself, but in the divine war twenty thousand years ago, our divinity chose to irreparably fracture his soul and merge with the last three realms under his protection- half his divine power was used to seal seal the three realms from the usurpers, and the other half was used to create the system in search of a successor. A mere fragmented soul forever severed from the divine path can regulate the affairs of countless billions of cultivators and mortals, that is a divinity Jack,¡± She spoke and Jack could almost feel the power surging through her words. For some reason, adrenaline surged through his veins as it resonated with the concepts she spoke of.

    ¡°Who is powerful enough to reduce a divinity to such a state?¡± Jack asked her, kind of terrified by the concept. If even the divine weren¡¯t safe in this crazy alliance Earth was being forced into, then who was?

    ¡°You are not qualified to know that. But I will tell you of your own importance. A planet that contains sentient life that has reached the optimal stage of evolution only occurs in every hundred thousand planets, and since the death of our divinity the system has crazily expanded in all directions in hope for a suitable successor. Restricted to only three realms, or universes, that survived the divine war and Earth is one of the last few suitable planets left. The cultivators of the three realms fear the day when the protection seal is finally shattered, and they are exposed to the hungry predators, the source of their power seized and corrupted and their populations enslaved, their spirits broken,¡± Jack¡¯s expression changed a few times when and as she explained, finally settling on a confused one.

    ¡°You¡¯re that desperate and you¡¯re just going to kill us off like barbarians in hopes that we awaken some voodoo mystical power? That doesn¡¯t make any sense,¡± Jack questioned without malice, since it seemed unlikely that the short predator in front of him could influence the thinking of a divinity.

    ¡°Well, on the scale of three universes, a few means at least a thousand planets left. And I do have a bit of a penchant for exaggeration, think of it as, hmm, in Earth¡¯s context, you know how you get rogue asteroids passing by and one of them could smash your planet to bits at any time. Do you live in constant fear of that happening? No right? By the way, notice how they seem to miss you all the time. Yep, that was us. Anyway, it¡¯s like that, but each time a planet turns out to be a bust, we get just a little bit more skittish. And lastly, killing you off like barbarians is the only way to unlock the voodoo magical power- sorry, that¡¯s just how it is. But, each of you will have a chance to survive and then thrive like me, as long as you¡¯re brave enough to take it- the aim is not to kill you, but to hone you. Think of it as basic evolution theory, but in the compressed format- only the fittest shall survive,¡± Jack did appreciate the analogy, though he still found the reasoning absurder than a short red-skinned horned girl using darwinism as a justification for genocide. Truth can truly be stranger than fiction.

    ¡°Alright, so my two questions. What is a sponsor, and of all people why sponsor me?¡± Jack asked, quite puzzled about this aspect. Last he checked, he didn¡¯t have any wilderness survival skills, or any military training that he knew of. He had a degree in animation for god¡¯s sake, definitely not equipped to slay anything except his bank account considering how much it cost.

    ¡°A sponsor is someone who paid a lot in resources to be allowed to guide you, and in this edition, should be extremely powerful individuals on the scale of the three realms. There are only ninety eight thousand five hundred and twenty one allowed based on your planet and population and size, and I chose you as my first pick. As for why I believe I already told you. I am a lot like you Jack, or rather, you remind me of myself: a strong predator that hides himself under the mask of a meek civilian,¡± She spoke with a certainty that confused Jack, because he himself didn¡¯t understand where it was coming from. Wouldn¡¯t it be smarter to just choose some military trained professional or convict?

    ¡°So you hope that I¡¯ll become a god, and remember you or something?¡±

    ¡°Or you become very powerful and become someone I can rely on. Or you become an ally as powerful as me. Perhaps I will take you as a student under my tutelage if you show enough promise. That is not up to me, Jack. That is up to you,¡± She replied with poise and grace that spoke of a being much older than her physical appearance.

    ¡°So tell me about the trial, or mass extinction event we¡¯re going to face. Details, guide, anything that can help me survive and get back to my parents,¡± Jack asked her with a humble tone, a slight pang of sorrow washing over him as he thought about what lay ahead.

    ¡°I cannot. Anything that violates the integrity of the trial cannot be discussed, not before a certain time period otherwise the system might strike me down without mercy,¡± She answered with a grimace, as if she expected this question long ago.

    ¡°Are you fucking with me? What the hell is the point, then? Are you here just to mock me before the apocalypse starts?¡±

    ¡°No Jack, I am here to tell you that if you survive the first phase, I will be free to guide you as and where you require assistance. And the most important thing, before you go: A being that can reduce your planet to smithereens on her own believes you hold more value than most people on your planet, and you shall see why soon enough. And beings at my level of existence do not make frivolous or emotional decisions. The parameters that you look at from your perspective are just far too limited to see the entire picture. Survive, Jack, and we shall meet again,¡± She responded, and was about to wave her hands to dismiss Jack.

    ¡°Wait!¡± Jack interrupted her before she could do so.

    ¡°I told you, I cannot assist you any further without breaking the divinity¡¯s rules,¡± She responded.

    ¡°Where¡¯s my cat?¡± Jack asked bluntly, already resigned to not squeezing any more information out of his supposed mentor.

    ¡°That inferior being? You still have time to care about a being with such limited intelligence and emotional capacity?¡± She tilted her head as if she were looking at a particularly odd specimen, condescendingly.

    Jack¡¯s eyes hardened inadvertently, and he just stared coldly at his mentor. Maybe it was not the smart move, but odds were he¡¯d be dead in the next twenty four hours anyway- he wasn¡¯t going to start bending on his principles now.

    ¡°Wheres. My. Cat?¡± Jack asked again, with anger voluntarily leaking into his voice

    ¡°Oh intriguing. Are you angry? Maybe I killed it because it was going to be a distraction for you, ¡± One side looked on with apathy, while the other side looked on with a cold, burning rage that seemed to intensify every second, a cold rage Jack himself had not known he possessed the capability for.

    Just when Jack felt like he couldn¡¯t take it anymore and was about to do something supremely stupid, the woman in front of him grinned, with her terrifying teeth at full display. It was not a show of ferocity or a threat, but a brilliant smile that seemed satisfied by Jack¡¯s response.

    ¡°That is the second reason I chose you, Jack. We are not all monsters lacking a sense of empathy. I fight and kill to end the fighting and killing, that is my chosen purpose. As bizzare and hypocritical that may sound, I believe that one day, you will understand what I mean. Your cat is fine, and I hope you like the gift I have prepared for you. Please, try and survive," She waved at Jack, still smiling as everything went dark for Jack.

    The moment he teleported out though, her expression changed to a gloomy one as she muttered with a sigh, ¡°Oh Jack, why¡¯d you have to go and drive off for the wilderness¡­

    System, what are the new odds of him surviving the first phase?¡±.

    A blue screen materialised in front of her, causing her to cringe in response. The number written on a screen only visible to her was,

    0.8532%

    ¡°I told you ma¡¯am, gambling on civilians will result in a swift disappointment,¡± A respectful yet slightly chiding voice came from the shadows. The voice was thin, raspy and felt a bit strained, as if it was a struggle for the being to speak.

    ¡°Shut up Zephyr. And make yourself scarce, I wish to be alone,¡± She strictly reprimanded him, and smashed her fist down on the sofa she was sitting on, causing it to crumble to dust instantly.

    ¡°Impressive control as always, ma¡¯am. I shall comply,¡± The shadows receded into nothingness, as if they had never been there to begin with.

 Chapter 2: Class Selection

    Jack found himself back three hours deep into the hiking trail. A few seconds later though stumbled on his feet and fell flat on the ground, emotionally drained.

    A blue screen popped up out of nowhere in Jack¡¯s field of view, and he would probably be startled if it weren¡¯t for the situation he was in.

    The Effects of the Heart Calming Elixir have been nullified.

    Before he could do anything else, a loud voice assailed his senses from all directions, yet seemingly no direction in particular at the same time, as if Mother Earth :¡°Shit,¡± Jack groaned in protest, not knowing exactly when he had been microchipped. Though this time he felt virtually no time lag between meeting his meeting with the alien and being back at the National Park, which implied that¡­ he was teleported? The four foot five inch red devil also seemed to mention shattering Earth to bits using her physical strength alone, and now that seemed more plausible- though it still didn¡¯t feel real. None of it did.

    ¡°Humans, heed my words. I am Empyrean Valik Shan, acting in the service of the divine one. You have been conquered, and will be integrated with the Cultivation Alliance of the Three Realms. Welcome to a new world, where the only prevailing law is conflict. Each of you have been bathed in the divine fire, your feeble bodies transformed, your physical defects cured, and the effects of time nullified. This is our gift to you, in accordance with the will of the divine one. Your planet has been enriched, not only returned to its original state but is far superior. But there is a price to be paid. Your civilization is no stranger to war- those of you who are accustomed to it shall prosper in this new world, for there are no laws, no government and no enforcers to prevent you from taking anything you like: but by all means, feel free to try. Those of you that fail to adapt, shall without exception die. Only conflict and struggle on the verge of life and death can unlock your inner talent and let you progress upon the path. The three realms shall eventually be bathed in the flames of war, and for that day we require skilled cultivators if we are to have any chance. Are you angry? Do you feel that this is unfair? Will you feel grief at those who you lose? Then seize the power that is dangled in front of you and kill me if you dare, weak mortals!¡± His last words echoed in Jack¡¯s ear, for they were said with such power and conviction that even he felt a little moved. Jack wondered if there was any voodoo magic involved in his words, which honestly seemed plausible at this point.

    Another, more feminine and gentle voice took over the mantle from the clearly domineering Empyrean Valik Shan, ¡°I am Empyrean Shal Xin, acting in service of the divine one. Those below eighteen life cycles, or years in human speak, are not qualified to cultivate and have been relocated to the Citadel of Paradisia, where they shall be trained in the art of warfare, along with advanced studies before they come of age. They shall be treated with the utmost care and no harm shall come to them. Those above the age of fifty can no longer cultivate, and they shall be relocated to the Citadel of Paradisia where they can live out the rest of their mortal lives in luxury- as a show of good faith, they have been cured of physical defects. The words of an Empyrean are absolute, and shall not be violated under any circumstance. If you survive the trial, you shall be allowed to meet them. Keep in mind that any adult who leaves the Citadel of Paradisia, shall no longer be afforded any protection and shall consider to have waived all their rights. Cultivators are not allowed access to the Citadel of Paradisia, and those currently eligible for cultivation shall never be granted entry.¡±

    Jack sighed in relief, tears flowing down his eyes as he clasped his hands towards the sky and muttered, ¡°Thank you¡­¡±. His father was 55 and his mother was 51 years old, having barely made the cut. They would not be subject to this insanity at least.

    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s my turn?¡± Another gruff, slightly irritated voice boomed out in a lackadaisical manner. ¡°Okay, okay, I get it, follow the protocol and all that. I am Empyrean Weaponsmith Zanis Kai, acting in service of the divine one. Notice how you can understand what I¡¯m saying? Well that¡¯s the work of the divine for you, the gift of languages. Anyway, I¡¯m the guy that took away all the inefficient machines that were killing this planet, and the crude toys you guys call weapons. And yeah, your civilization has been replaced by our structures, to keep it all fair y¡¯know. Though just give it a month or two, and they¡¯ll be obsolete anyway,¡± Taking a pause, for dramatic effect and then continuing,

    ¡°Did I mention that if you fight well, you can extend mortal lifespans? So yeah, you can make your old man life for another 300 years, if you want. Oh, and you can become strong enough to fly off to space without any ship, strong enough to blow away mountains with a punch, and visit hundreds of other planets in your sector if you survive. Heck, even if you screw that, just manifest a good talent and you¡¯ll be recruited the moment you get out of the trial. That means enough money, resources, protection and whatever else you ask for will be yours. The survival rate isn¡¯t all that high, but those who survive will go further than the human race would¡¯ve gone in thousands of years- pretty cool, isn¡¯t it. Yep, that should be all, right? Can I go back to forging now?.¡±

    Shal Xin took over to conclude, ¡° The trial shall commence in one hour. Please take the time to compose yourself and make your selections. You will not be attacked within this one hour:

    Sensory restrictions are now lifted.

    ¡°Holy fuck!¡± Jack whispered to himself, as his eyes opened wide in astonishment. The first thing he realised was that the forest air that he thought to be fresh and clean before was toxic in comparison to what he was breathing now, because with each breath it felt as if his lungs got purified of the accumulated toxins.

    The next moment he was onset by a sudden series of wheezing coughs, and he felt something akin to bile rising in the back of his throat until he couldn¡¯t take it anymore- spitting out a black glob of what looked to be crystalized pollution, Jack felt repulsed but infinitely cleaner.

    A sharp meow came from his side, in protest of his disgusting action. Jack turned around to face his cat, who seemed to be curled up in a ball as if it were afraid of something. Jack knew that loud noises were harmful to animals, but he wasn¡¯t sure if that was the only reason she was scared.

    Before he could comfort his cat, another screen popped up in succession.

    Please choose a class (touch/ voice/ thought enabled):

    Swordsman (Offensive, F-): Choose a F minus grade sword artefact (short, medium, long) and receive basic sword skill: Qi Blade.

    Qi Blade description: Most basic form of qi-usage, channelling elementless qi into the sword and creating a sharp sword halo that increases sharpness and decreases wind resistance.

    Swordsman (Defensive, F- ): Choose a F minus grade sword artefact (short, medium, long) and receive basic sword skill: Qi shield.

    Qi Shield: Most basic form of qi-use, channelling elementless qi into the off-hand and creating a small circular shield that can block attacks.

    Spear adept (Offensive, F-): Choose a F minus grade spear artefact (medium, long) and receive basic spear skill: Qi Spear.

    Qi Spear description: Most basic form of qi-usage, channelling elementless qi into the spear tip and creating a sharp spear halo that increases sharpness and decreases wind resistance.

    Note: There is no defensive class for spear adept available.

    Assassin (Offensive, F minus): Choose an F minus grade dagger artefact (curved, serrated, long) and receive basic movement skill: Qi Steps. Most basic form of qi-usage, channeling elementless qi into the feet- significantly increasing movement speed while muffling sound of footsteps.

    Mace-Knight (Defensive,F-): Receive an F minus grade mace artefact and receive basic shield skill: Qi Tower Shield.

    Qi Tower Shield Skill: Most basic form of qi-usage, channelling elementless qi into the off-hand and creating a tower shield that covers all frontal attacks. Note: Skill cannot be maintained while running or jogging.

    Explanations:

    Skill: A boon granted by the system, allowing new cultivators to channel qi through their meridians in varying forms without any practice. Note: Basic skills can be learned by the users without any guidance or system assistance through practice and experience.

    Class rank: A class is ranked from F- to [***]. F- is the lowest tier of classification. The progression is as follows: F-, F, F+.

    Artefact: A weapon or equipment or other item that is manufactured with special materials to allow qi-channelling through it. An artefact cannot be destroyed, chipped or damaged by artefacts of the same rank.

    Qi: An energy source that is not limited by human understanding of physics. Can be used to perform extraordinary feats.

    You have 15 minutes to make a decision. Please note that the decision once made is final. Thought/Voice commands are now available. The system will answer any questions that are addressed to it, restricted by tier authorisation.

    ¡°Damn, those are a lot of options,¡± Jack muttered out loud, overwhelmed by the constant influx of new information. He had to make a decision that would directly determine his chance of survival. His heart was thumping with adrenaline, and his mind was full of chaos- thoughts layered upon thoughts complicating an already tricky decision.

    Then, Jack did something unexpected. He sat down and assumed a meditative posture. His safety was guaranteed for an hour, of which barely a minute had passed. If the rules of this twisted survival game couldn¡¯t be trusted, then he was doomed anyway.

    ¡®Take a deep breath,¡¯ thought Jack to himself. ¡®The fear, the anxiety, the uncertainty, let it all coalesce at the centre of my heart¡¯, he chanted to himself with almost religious fervour, and then concluded, ¡®let it flow through you¡¯ and then Jack exhaled, his tense muscles slightly relaxing. He repeated the process for a minute, and immediately felt much better.

    ¡°Focus,¡± he spoke out loud. ¡°What is my objective, and what is the method needed to fulfil the objective?¡± he mused, looking at the timer the blue screen was projecting. He now had 13 minutes to make the decision, but he was focused, calm and steady.

    ¡°Survival,¡± he said, but then immediately denied it. He knew he was subconsciously ignoring the hard truth, and as hard as it was, he had to accept it. ¡°Survival from the trial, and¡­ survival from other humans,¡± He spoke, and it left a bitter taste in his mouth. His sponsor had clearly spelled out for him that she had killed multiple people, or something else. She tip-toed around it, but Jack had picked up on it: Killing to stop the killing? Jack figured her point was that she did not enjoy, or wanted to kill, but was forced to because of the environment she was in. The first ¡°empyrean¡± clearly encouraged and even enjoyed conflict, and went as far as to say their actions will have no repercussions. Jack knew the atrocities that were conducted around the world and even in his own country, and he knew that the ¡®bad¡¯ part of society will have no qualms. But the question was why? What was there to gain? He was unsure about this point. He had not missed the carrot and the stick approach, with the first empyrean trying to intimidate and make people understand that this was real, and they will most likely die, while the second and third empyreans talked about mercy and extending lifespan.

    The objective had been ascertained. What method would he use to survive? What else was he not considering? Of course! The system mentioned that people could potentially learn ¡®basic skills¡¯ on their own. This meant that any bad actors he might face might not be limited to just one skill, and they might even try to mislead Jack. He would have to explore this avenue and see if he could learn a skill himself.

    Jack opened his eyes to check the timer, and found that there were only ten minutes left. ¡°Faster.¡± he whispered to himself, and started analysing the standalone classes. The first class that stood out was the spear adept, which did not have a defensive variant. Perhaps because a shield and spear combo would be too powerful? Jack knew that it was the primary combo used in historical warfare between armies of old, and it made sense. With the reach of the spear combined with the defence of the shield, it was a nasty combo. But using the spear alone, without understanding whom, what or how he would face whatever entity/animal or even automation they would throw at him, he needed a shield to guard him. If the apocalypse were to come in the form of a virus or a swarm of insects, that would be counterintuitive to handing him a mediaeval melee weapon, so that was the assumption he was going with. Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

    The assassin class was ruled out, because Jack had no confidence in frontally assaulting anyone or anything with a knife, and found such an approach exceedingly stupid except in the hands of a trained soldier or professional. That, Jack admitted, would be a nightmare and he was yet to think of a counter to that. Well, if there was one. The Qi steps skill was an attractive option though, if it were paired with a better class.

    Essentially, his decision was made. Mace Knight¡¯s tower shield skill was attractive, but if it meant sacrificing mobility for complete defence it would leave his back completely unguarded and make him a target for stationary assault.

    Jack checked the timer again, to see that he was down to five minutes. He had just enough time to analyse the Swordsman (Defensive) class. His objective was to survive against human and apocalypse related threats, and survival did not mean that he had to kill or grievously wound the opposite party. He wasn¡¯t viewing things morally, that decision would be left for later, but objectively; The Qi shield skill would provide him defence with mobility, and if he chose the long variant of what should be a one handed sword, he would have an acceptable level of reach. He did have the means of offence, but it was a tricky situation: what would happen if a qi shield and a qi blade skill would collide? Which would prevail?

    At three minutes left, Jack pressed on the Swordsman (Defensive) variant with his finger.

    Are you sure you wish to choose Swordsman (Defensive)? Please give verbal authorisation.

    ¡°Yes,¡± Jack said, without hesitation. Once the decision was made, he did not look back. He simply followed the method he¡¯d ascertained to achieve the objective.

    Swordsman (Defensive) has been confirmed! Please select a one-handed sword size: short, medium, long.

    ¡°Long.¡±

    Confirmed. Processing class selection¡­

    Please say/think about the word status to view your current overall statistics.

    ¡®Status¡¯, Jack thought, feeling creeped out by the microchip implant or its divinity equivalent: but he had no real time to care about it right now, and he still felt like himself.

    STATUS

    Name: Jack Smith

    Affiliation: -

    Age: 22 Years

    Cultivation Cycle[?]/ Level: 1

    Race [?]: Human (F-)

    Cultivation Stage [?]: Qi Channeler- Initiate (Current race limitation:???)

    Innate Talent [?]: Not discovered.

    Cultivation Manual[?]: -

    Class: Basic Swordsman [Defensive]

    Skills: Qi Shield

    Primary weapon: F minus one handed sword.

    Secondary weapon: -

    Feats: -

    .

    .

    .

    [Not Unlocked]

    Statistics:

    Physical [?]: 1

    Sensory [?]: 1

    Thought Processing [?]: 1.5

    Qi (Pool) [?]: 10/10.

    --------------------------------------

    Please maintain a standing posture to receive class confirmation.

    Jack complied with the request, standing up and wondering how he would get his delivery.

    Turns out when you¡¯re the fragmented soul of a divinity, logistics isn¡¯t exactly a problem. Jack was awestruck when the hiking clothes he was wearing metamorphosed or rather were transmuted into a pair of warm leather gloves, a full sleeved dark navy blue shirt whose sleeve ends were covered by the gloves, brown trousers that were tucked into long leather boots meant for weathering the terrain, affixed to the waist with a perfect fitting belt. Before he even realised, he was holding a straight double-edged sword with a sharp tip that was bluish-silver in colour, with a small silver cross-guard for balance and some sort of white covering wrapped around the hilt and a circular pommel at the end. It felt perfect, but it was only maybe twenty seven or eight inches long. It was long, but when Jack measured it up from his shoulder to the tip of his hand it still felt a little bit short. That was to be expected at his height, but he was satisfied.

    The next instant he felt a presence around him, and then compressed information flooded his mind, causing him to drop his sword and grab his head in agony with both his hands. Thankfully, the sensation was gone the next instant.

    This time though, Jack didn¡¯t have a grimace on his face. Picking his sword back up and holding it in his right hand, he slashed at the air in front of him. Then, taking two steps back in quick succession he clenched his left arm in front of him and said ¡°Shield.¡±

    ¡°Shit, I¡¯ve always wanted to say that,¡± Jack grinned at having his childhood dream satied, and watched the magic happened. A perfectly round shield that was roughly nineteen or twenty inches in diameter materialised, connecting to the back of the hand and the upper portion of the arm. The shield was a shimmering, translucent azure blue and Jack could feel the energy coursing from somewhere below his heart, maybe near the stomach, and flowing through his arm. He unclenched his hand, and the shield dissipated.

    What Jack was trying to do was correlate muscle memory by assigning the motion of clenching his arm with activating the automatic qi transfer process, and deactivating it by unclenching. If you asked him to explain how he did it, he would be unable to- it was like having incomplete pieces of information forcibly crammed together in his head.

    Jack practised again, with two slow slashes in quick succession, then bringing his shield and opening it. Then again, but faster. Each time Jack practised, he would up the tempo by a notch, and three minutes passed in quick succession.

    27 minutes have passed. You have 33 minutes remaining before the trial starts.

    The Inventory has been unlocked. You have received a gift from your sponsor.

    ¡°All that talk about fairness and she sends me a gift? Is she playing me?¡± Jack looked confused, but complied regardless.

    Inventory:

    -500 nourishment capsules (One capsule removes food requirement for twenty four hours)

    -500 hydration capsules (One capsule removes water requirement for twenty four hours)

    - 5 Recovery Pills (Heals non-lethal wounds over the period of five hours)

    - Familiar Collar (Rank F+, untradable, inventory-bound, restricted).

    ¡°Is that what I think it is?¡± Jack grinned as he looked up to the sunny sky with gratification in his eyes.

    He selected it, and a light pink fluffy collar materialised in his hands.

    Inspect skill unlocked. You may now inspect items.

    Naturally, Jack chose to do so.

    Familiar Collar, Rank F+ (untradable, inventory-bound, restricted)

    Note from sponsor: Hey Jack, don¡¯t think too much and put it on the cat. You can unbind familiars later, but this will make the cat smart enough to follow basic instructions. Also, %$@%%$$% $#@$, ah, come on at least let me tell him to #$%#@%. Seriously? Don¡¯t die, Jack. Oh, that one went through. And that wasn¡¯t cheap, you know.

    Description:

    Restricted to unranked animals. Binds any one unranked animal to the user. Increases intelligence by 0.35 percent. Animals receive the gift of languages.

    ¡°Luna, come here,¡± Jack called out, and beckoned her. She was still curled up in the corner, and it was the first time he had seen her usually haughty cat act like that.

    She still remained curled up on the spot, and as Jack went closer to her he realised that she was slightly shivering. She wasn¡¯t sick from the looks of it, but Jack still reached for her forehead to check for the temperature. Jack felt a tingle run down his spine when he realised that his cat was fine, leaving only one likely possibility: Cats share a lot of common features with predators, and one of them is to sense another predator. Normally, she should have run away or hidden herself but she didn¡¯t. She just sat there, cowering in fear.

    Sweat ran down Jack¡¯s eyebrows as he realised the most likely possibility: the predators were in every direction. There was no place to run.

    ¡°Objective. Remember the objective,¡± Jack whispered to himself, as his shaking, unsteady hands gently placed the collar on Luna¡¯s neck.

    Familiar Bond Detected: Do you wish to appoint a female cat as your familiar? You may only have one familiar at one time.

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    Please decide the familiar¡¯s name.

    ¡°Luna.¡±

    Familiar bond confirmed. You may view familiar statistics in the familiar section. The familiar will now understand your command, but may choose or not choose to obey it.

    ¡°Hey Luna, can you nod to show that you understand me?¡±

    His curled up, shivering white cat finally stopped, getting up and looking directly at Jack. Her intelligent eyes stared at Jack with curiosity overwhelming the earlier fear she felt. She tilted her head and then bobbed downwards, and then upwards, emotionally moving Jack.

    ¡°Okay Luna, if anyone or anything attacks me- you run away, okay? Run away and then come back when you feel the threat is gone. Nod once if you understand/¡±

    Luna seemed to have gotten the hang of it, looking at Jack and nodding again. In friendlier circumstances, Jack would be the proudest cat owner in the world. His hands were still shaking, but at least he got to see a magical sight.

    Jack then left her on her own, spending the next ten minutes speed reading through all inventory descriptions and detailing them in his mind, building an understanding of all the buzz words.

    First Trial- Survival.

    Duration- 60 Days.

    Instructions- Cultivation can be achieved in two ways: cycling qi using cultivation manuals until you reach the next cycle, or killing another life form and receiving a part of their cultivation cycle.

    For your purposes, you may choose to use either of the methods, or none. Be warned that the use of basic cultivation manuals will take a minimum of ten years to show any significant results. The objective is to survive for the stipulated period, using any and all means necessary. Killing another human will also result in an increase in the cultivation cycle along with receiving all the Tutorial Tokens in their possession, as well as the most valuable item in their inventory.

    The Cultivation Alliance does not forbid cultivators from allying with each other, and there is no limitation on the number of allies you can recruit into your fold. Cultivators cannot trade or give away any item received from the system. Any such items traded shall lose their efficacy.

    During the period of this trial, the cultivator may encounter the following: Genetically modified predators from Earth, weakened enemies or oathbreakers of the Cultivation Alliance, recreated dungeon[?] monsters and [???].

    A Citadel that can contain up to 10,000 people has been positioned within fifteen days time of every cultivator at a brisk pace. Certain cultivators may have been randomly relocated to achieve this distribution. A Citadel is a safe haven where all manners of fighting is strictly forbidden, but requires 150 tutorial tokens every twenty four hours as upkeep.

    Killing any of the three designated enemies rewards tutorial points, increases your cycle progress and comes with a small chance of receiving powerful artefacts or equipment along with hidden rewards. Reaching the next cycle shall automatically increase Physical, Sensory, Thought Processing and Qi Pool Parameters.

    The Mini-Map has been unlocked.

    Physical restrictions are now lifted. Your body has been upgraded to the minimum level of Physical, Sensory and Thought Processing the system considers for a cultivator. Those already above the parameters remain as they previously were. Note: Your physiology does not require sleep any longer.

    Random blessings will periodically pop up across the map. These blessings will contain one piece of random artefact or equipment that may vary from F- to F grade. These blessings may be claimed within thirty minutes of discovery on the mini-map. Every blessing is guarded by a designated guardian, ranging from very weak to very strong.

    Artificial light akin to daylight conditions shall be provided at night to ensure fairness of the trial.

    Hidden pieces have been scattered near every citadel. No further information shall be disclosed at this stage.

    Those who succeed in awakening a favourable unique innate talent shall be exempt from the trials and placed under the highest grade of protection.

    Those who succeed in awakening a favourable Tier 5 talent and above, shall be exempt from the trials and be allowed to join a clan, sect or guild of their choice.

    Note from Empryean Valik Shan: Those who don¡¯t take risks, shall die. Those who take risks, might die. Choose well.

    Note from Empryean Shal Xin: I shall accept the first three performers in the first trial as my personal disciples, the first fifty performers as honorary disciples, and the first thousand performers and core disciples of my sect.

    Note from Empryean Weaponsmith Zanis Kai: I shall forge one, wait, whoa, whoa, Xin are you serious? Personal disciple? Really? When was the last time you took a personal disciple, again? If this old man¡¯s memory serves him right, it was fifty thousand years ago¡­Damn it, I can¡¯t have this primitive planet looking down on me. Uh, let¡¯s see, first three get F- grade growth type weapons that can go up to C- grade personally forged with an Empryean Seal. For reference, it¡¯s worth more than this solar system. The top fifty get a bunch of good stuff, and the top thousand get slightly lesser good stuff. Not like it¡¯ll mean anything to you when you¡¯re busy trying not to die, anyway.

    Amendment from Empryean Valik Shan: I shall choose one personal disciple based on my own discretion.

    Twenty minutes later, Jack had made all the preparations he could think of and could only wait for what was going to be the craziest two months of his life. He¡¯d tried to get a head start and run back to the base camp, only to be violently repelled the moment he got more than a few dozen metres from his original spot.

    All Jack knew was that he had an objective, and a method he¡¯d designed to achieve it. That was all that existed and mattered in the present moment.

    The First Trial hereby commences¡­.

 Chapter 3: Luna

    Jack didn¡¯t really feel any significant changes in his body, but he wondered how those people that had injuries or other restrictions felt after being cured.

    His new clothes were already drenched in his own sweat, as he scanned every direction for threats. There were only giant douglas-fir trees in every direction, and barring the trail he had used to arrive at his destination, Jack couldn¡¯t identify any immediate landmarks he could use to map the area around him. What Jack¡¯s panic-addled brain had missed earlier but now realised, was that the trees seemed a quarter taller than they should have been, and the foliage relatively denser.

    Jack had already noticed the minimap in the corner of his vision, and found it slightly distracting. But all it gave him was further bad news: the citadel seemed to lead deeper into the forest, and not away from. He had to make a choice: return back to the base camp and hope other hikers got a similar idea, banding together with them, or push for the citadel without any support and most likely die a painful death.

    How did these enemies he was supposed to face detect opponents? Was it a sight? Sound? Smell? All of the above? Would running expose him to every monster in the nearby vicinity? There just wasn¡¯t enough information, and Jack could feel it in his bones: it was intentional.

    Jack mentally asked Luna if she felt any direction was safe, in hopes that her predatory instincts might serve her better. She just stood there, but did not budge or mewl in response, not covering in fear either.

    ¡°Guess that¡¯s a no,¡± he thought, figuring he¡¯d never have been allowed to appoint Luna as her familiar in the first place if she could give him a definite edge over other ¡®cultivators¡¯.

    Multiple thoughts flashed in Jack¡¯s mind, until he decided that he could tarry no longer: He would make the three hour trek back to the campgrounds, and then assess the situation. Sword clenched in his right hand, force shield projected in his left, Jack slowly tread upon the grass, taking special care to avoid crushing any dead branches afoot, footsteps weaving from the cover of one douglas-fir tree to the next.

    He ordered the system to make the minimap less visible, and it complied by reducing its size and opacity.

    An eerie silence seemed to have engulfed the forest, with Jack only able to hear the sound of his own muffled footsteps and the sound of his breathing. His cat moved with a natural grace, trailing behind him by only a few metres.

    The Qi shield consumed one point of qi every thirty minutes, and regenerated one point in every one hour so Jack wasn¡¯t too worried about consumption right now. He just wanted to make sure he was fast enough to react when the time came.

    Minutes passed in silence, and Jack and a sense of danger was assaulting him from every direction- he swerved his neck around, but all he saw was a dense forest that offered increasingly poor visibility. He could try to think from the perspective of a trained soldier, but that didn¡¯t make him one, and for all he knew half his conjectures were completely wrong.

    ¡®Shit, focus,¡¯ Jack chided himself, not knowing when he¡¯d fallen into a cycle of self doubt and cynicism.

    The sound of rustling bushes broke him out of his reverie, snapping him to attention. His heart rate spiked, and he immediately tried to identify the source of the noise. He could hear the rhythmic thumping of a four legged animal or creature striking against the ground, and Jack decided to instantly make a break for the nearest douglas-fir tree, that was only a few metres away from him. He now knew that the sound came from his behind, and peered from behind the cover of the tree- sword and shield at the ready.

    Jack almost froze at the sight of a red furred wild boar that easily cleared four feet, with unnatural looking leg muscles that resembled more of an oxen than a boar, with a sharp, protruding horn jutting out of its forehead that was easily fifteen inches long and extremely sharp, and eerie pitch black eyes that were fixated on him.

    If that were not all, perhaps he would not have frozen. Seated on top of it was a shrivelled, green humanoid creature perhaps four feet two or three, with a long pointy nose, slightly oval shaped skull, murky brown eyes a necklace made of animal bones and a spear, that it held in its right hand alone, hoisted over his head. What did that stance mea-

    His instincts screamed at him and he hurriedly dropped to his knees behind the cover of the tree. Jack felt the spear whizzing past by him, feeling a light breeze blow past his right ear. Before he had time to collect himself, a loud slam rocked the douglas fir tree that had just saved his life, startling him again.

    From the looks of it, the boar had rammed itself into the tree. This was a chance as good as any, and Jack knew he wouldn¡¯t get another one. Running away seemed like a monumentally poor decision, for he had no idea if that green creature had more projectile weapons at his disposal. Jack felt surprisingly little moral resistance towards killing an alien that had just tried to impale his head on a spear.

    He stabilised himself on his two feet and flanked the tree from the right with resolve running through his veins. He moved with his qi shield guarding his chest, and the sword held in a lunging posture, to arrive at his destination seconds later.

    ¡°What the¡­,¡± thought Jack, as he saw the red wild boar collapsed next to the tree, its horn embedded in its centre, but the green humanoid was nowhere to be found. Something was off, but he realised too late.

    Anger coursed through Jack, but it didn¡¯t belong to him. It was coming from his familiar bond, and the next second a combative, sharp meow rang out from behind him. Jack¡¯s eyes went wide, as he realised that Luna had not run away as he had instructed her to.

    He turned around, only to see his cat leaping at the humanoid green creature who was almost successful in his attempt to sneak up on Jack.

    ¡°No!¡± Jack screamed, as the creature roared in frustration, swatting Luna aside with the pommel of a short sword.

    Jack felt a primal rage awakening within him, staring at the creature with bloodshot eyes. He was angry, far angrier than he had ever been in his life. He wanted to scream and destroy, but he would not give into that impulse. Anger was no more than a source of motivation, a very effective one at that. Remember the objective. Channel the rage. Compress it. Harness it. And finally, use it. He exhaled, and he was eerily calm. He had fallen for one ambush, and he would not make that mistake twice.

    Scan the ground for any irregularities. None. Then, move. Jack jogged towards his target, merely separated by six or seven metres, his sword raised and poised to strike. Jack got closer and closer to his target, but even knowing he had the reach advantage he did not take any action to strike. He just stared in those murky brown eyes with his own green pupils, waiting to see who would flinch first. Five metres, four metres, three metres, Jack still did not make any move to strike. Finally, the goblin flinched and moved forward to strike with its inferior reach, slashing downward.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    Jack stopped at that exact moment, as this was the exact scenario he wanted to see- with his significant height and reach advantage, he could tell where the green humanoid would strike. He caught the blow on his qi shield, sparks flying as his shield rippled from the impact, but held- Jack exploded in a burst of motion, using his right leg to kick the green humanoid¡¯s legs as hard as he could. The green humanoid lost its grip over its short sword as it fell sideways, face-first into the ground. It cried out in pain, screaming the sentence ¡°Garubaltak Darulami,¡± as it was falling.

    Jack repositioned his shield to guard his vitals again and thrust his sword from behind it, aimed at its exposed neck, leading to a large spurt of green blood oozing out from the wound.

    Jack was still on guard, wondering if that was enough to kill it.

    You have encountered a Dungeon Monster: Goblin ( Beast Initiate, Level 2).

    You have slain Dungeon Monster: Goblin (Beast Initiate, Level 2). First kill bonus unlocked: Additional 50% cycle reward. Congratulations, you have reached Level 2.

    You have now reached the Second Cycle of Qi Channeler- Initiate.

    Following items have been deposited in your inventory: 20 TP (Tutorial Points), +1 Recovery Pill.

    He once again saw blue flames, though these paled in intensity to the miracle he bore witness to earlier, flowing from the dead ¡°goblin¡± and into his own body. The next moment the blue flames lit him ablaze, though he once again welcomed the feeling. Earth had many tales about the nectar of the divine, a heavenly liquid that could cleanse the mortal body of all impurities and tasted better than anything the mortal world had to offer. This, Jack figured, was even better. The longer the contact with the flames, the more he felt his bones strengthen, muscles tighten, senses expand and neurons firing off faster.

    Physical, Sensory, Thought Processing and Qi have been Increased by +1.

    But it only lasted an instant, and Jack was fine with that. Pulling out a recovery pill, he sprinted towards his cat without giving a damn about the system and its jargon. Her beautiful white coat of fur was marred with blood, and her side was marred by a bluish-red bruise that was swelling up like a golf ball. Jack¡¯s heart ached as if nails were hammered into it, Luna had been given the gift of intelligence and used it to save his life. He pushed the small red pill into her mouth, hoping it would work on animals as well.

    She was unconscious, but the pill went down her throat without resistance.

    Familiar Status.

    1/1

    Luna: Unconscious, Wounded. Non-critical. Expected recovery time: 5 hours.

    ¡°Thank god,¡± Jack exhaled in relief, but his expression hardened the next instant. The goblin had screamed out something before dying, which was not good. And there was one more thing to be done before he left.

    Jack got up with conflict in his eyes, but he would not hesitate. That monstrosity was not a creation of mother earth, but some aberration created by forcing the evolution process. Shield in front, sword gripped in thrusting stance, Jack broke out into a genuine sprint this time, generating momentum before slamming directly into the unconscious wild boar¡¯s neck- slicing throw muscle, bone and sinew in one swift motion. A merciful death was the best Jack could do for now, his shield protecting him from the fountain of red blood that poured out all over the floor.

    You have slain Twilight Boar (Earth), Beast Initiate, Level 3.

    You have received 70% cycle experience.

    Current Progress: Second Cycle of Qi Channeller- Initiate, 70%.

    Following Items have been deposited in your inventory: 25 TP (Tutorial Points), Twilight Boar Fur (Unranked).

    Jack was mentally, physically and emotionally drained, but he had to move. Pulling out the beast fur from his inventory, he circled around the goblin¡¯s corpse once. He¡¯d seen it happen the moment he¡¯d killed it, but it was still irritating to see his short sword evaporating away like it never existed.

    He then ran back to Luna, poking a few holes in the surprisingly rugged beast fur and then wrapping Luna within it, using his newfound strength to gently sling her over his shoulder, and then sprinted away to create as much distance as he could between himself and the goblin cry, in the direction of the camping grounds.

    <hr>

    Thirty minutes later, Jack finally slowed down to a walking pace- finally feeling safer, if that were even possible in a forest full of monstrosities.

    A part of him wanted to scream towards the skies and ask them what kind of trial was this supposed to be. It had not even been one hour. Not. even. one. damn. hour. And he would already be dead, if Luna hadn¡¯t taken the blow in his place. This was hell, and all he had to fight off its army was an obsolete weapon and a puny shield.

    Wait¡­ why didn¡¯t he feel tired yet? Half an hour of sprinting through the woods at a pace he wasn¡¯t used to running at, and he wasn¡¯t even winded? Jack thrusted his sword forward without much force and found himself surprised. Even a casual thrust was executed with enough speed and strength to likely go clean through the goblin he had fought earlier. Not only that, but his movements felt snappier, precise. It was hard to describe, but he now understood that there was a slight lag between his brain thinking of, finalising and then executing a command, and that had been slightly improved somehow.

    STATUS

    Name: Jack Smith

    Affiliation: -

    Age: 22 Years

    Cultivation Cycle[?]/ Level: 2 (70%)

    Race [?]: Human (F-)

    Cultivation Stage [?]: Qi Channeler- Initiate (Current race limitation:???)

    Innate Talent [?]: Not discovered.

    Cultivation Manual[?]: -

    Class: Basic Swordsman [Defensive]

    Skills: Qi Shield (Basic), Inspect.

    Primary weapon: F minus one handed sword.

    Secondary weapon: -

    Feats: -

    .

    .

    .

    [Not Unlocked]

    Statistics:

    Physical: 2 [?]

    Sensory: 2 [?]

    Thought Processing: 2.5 [?]

    Qi (Pool) [?]: 8/11

    --------------------------------------

    Inventory (NEW)

    45 TP

    1 Recovery Pill

    --------------------------------------

    [?]**- 1 point is considered the equalised average human Physical, Sensory and Thought Processing Capability.

    Subsequent Points earned by increasing cycle level represent a fraction of the equalised base value (1).

    After clicking on the question mark icon, one of Jack¡¯s questions had been cleared. He was stronger, faster and well, not smarter, but able to think faster, but definitely didn¡¯t have the strength of two humans.

    Jack had taken a great risk earlier by making a run for it, but he figured any nearby monsters or aliens would rush towards the goblin cry. He wondered why the system¡¯s gift of languages didn¡¯t work on the goblin cry, but he supposed that a ¡°help me¡± cry wouldn¡¯t do his conscience any favours

    He was maybe an hour and a half away from the base camp now, sprinting having shortened the time he¡¯d have to spend reaching his destination. Once again slowing his progress to a slow walk, Jack sheathed his sword and channelled his Qi shield again. With one hand occupied with carrying Luna, he didn¡¯t have much of an option.

    He figured that as long as he moved from tree to tree like before, he should be able to guard himself against any ambushes long enough to set Luna down and draw his sword. It had saved his life once already, after all.

    Jack thanked his lucky stars as the rest of the trip was mostly uneventful, as he spotted the end of the trail. He gently set Luna down behind a tree, drawing his sword and approaching the camping ground crouched with his head down, trying to get a clear field of view. He¡¯d marked Luna¡¯s location on his minimap, just in case things went south.

    Finally, he had arrived at his destination with some hope in his heart¡­.

 Chapter 4: New Reality

    Jack moved through the bushes, trying to move silently in order to get a better view of the enclosure. The first thing he noticed was a barren patch of land, his tent, along with all other belongings gone. He wasn¡¯t much fazed at that, for this was the second time such a phenomenon was occurring.

    However, what made his face blanch was the thirty or so year old blonde woman lying twenty metres away from him, staring at the sky motionlessly- though Jack could only see one side of her face from this angle. His body, refined under the blue flames of the divine, could make out her features clearly.

    She wore a look of horror on her face, or at least watch Jack inferred- her left pupil was wide, from possibly shock, and her mouth was still open- she might have died screaming, which sent chills down Jack¡¯s spine. A puddle of blood had coagulated along her abdomen, but there were no further wounds on her face, arms or legs Jack could make out. There were no scratch marks, so it was unlikely that the perpetrator was an animal type monster, but more likely one of those alien goblins or some other variant.

    Jack¡¯s instincts flared up, and he had not forgotten how badly he¡¯d fallen for the ambush last time- almost resulting in the death of his companion. He had lucked out at a second chance at life, and if he was destined to go down, then it would be on his terms.

    He slowly retreated, his emotions as a civilian on Earth biting at him for letting a crime go unpunished, but there were no cops to call anymore. His brain however, did not help- reminding him that he¡¯d actually seen the woman in the morning, drinking coffee with a black haired man in his late thirties, who had a well built physique and gave the aura of a serious, no-nonsense type of man. Jack hadn¡¯t really exchanged any words with the duo, beyond a casual ¡®morning¡¯ greeting- he liked minding his business anyway, and the couple didn¡¯t invite him for a chat either- a fact that he subconsciously appreciated them for.

    Huh, how did he even remember that much detail? Jack inferred that thought processing went beyond the literal description, and even improved his memory storage capabilities. What happened to the man? Did he manage to survive? He should still be within the forest, which meant that there was a chance Jack might run into him later. Where were the rest of the campers? Did they scatter?

    ¡®Fuck. Relax,¡¯ Jack said to himself, but it wasn¡¯t helping. That was a person right there, a human fucking being. Thousands of years of societal evolution and weapon development gone just like that, with a ¡®poof¡¯. This was the wilderness, and the only laws that applied here was that of the jungle. He felt a wave of nausea was over him, but the adrenaline and tension he felt seemed to stave that off for now.

    Jack retreated backward slowly, while keeping his eyes on the open campground to watch for any threats.But the bigger problem he was being confronted with was, what now? Regrouping with the campers didn¡¯t seem plausible since the only one he found was dead and the nearest motel was a seven hour drive away, through forest roads. : Jack knew he¡¯d just find an empty patch of land there instead, not to mention he¡¯d be going further and further away from the Citadel.

    Jack felt a sensation akin to a phantom pinprick assailing the right side of his body, and the next instant his instincts started screaming at him. Without hesitation, he shifted from his crouching position, using his left hand to roll forward- a fear he had confidence performing with his reforged body.

    Turning around swiftly, shield at the forefront, Jack turned around to face¡­ nothing. There was nothing there, except an empty patch of grass flanked by shrubbery at either side. The instinct Jack felt at that moment was a primal response, and every instinct of his being told him he was not being paranoid: but then what was the problem?

    Concentrating on his hearing, Jack tried to see if anything for amiss. It was very slight and muted, but Jack could barely hear the shifting of grass in the eerie, silent forest. A hiss echoed out the next second, and a slender blur of purple and pink that was three feet in length darted at him with surprising speed.

    Jack¡¯s eyes opened wide, and he shifted his shield to guard lower while taking one step back. His shield rippled as now what Jake identified as most likely a snake clashed against it, being repelled half a meter. The snake was relentless, taking half a second to recover and then leaping back at him, but Jack was prepared. The snake leapt, and Jack waited for it to make contact with the shield: it was connected to his qi, so he could sense the exact moment it did. Then he pushed his shield outward with all the force he could muster, sending the snake careening for over a dozen meters, easily.

    Jack took off into a sprint in the other direction, without looking back. He wasn¡¯t about to gamble his life on a puny snake that he could barely slash at with his sword- his objective was survival, at all costs, not mindless killing. There was simply no way a snake was catching up to him, or at least it shouldn¡¯t. If it could run faster than him at full speed, he was probably a goner anyway.

    He now severely regretted leaving Luna along for even one minute, switching to the direction his mini-map pointed in. He picked up the fur bag he¡¯d fashioned along the way, slightly reducing his speed to do so, then going for another five minutes before taking cover behind a tree.

    He was panting from the exertion this time around, but thankful for the new ¡®danger-sense¡¯ power the sensory stat seemed to have unlocked. He had no intention of finding out what toxic venom the snake carried within its poison glands, but it had still come too close for comfort. He desperately needed something to level the playing field, but getting in one piece to the citadel was a long term goal.

    After scanning his surroundings twice, he decided to wake up Luna because carrying her around simply wasn¡¯t feasible with how dangerous things were getting.

    He unfurled the fur cloth, delighted to see that the wound on her cat¡¯s abdomen had mostly healed, only slight bruising remaining on her side.

    ¡°Luna, hey, Luna, time to wake up,¡± Jack gave her a good head rubbing, causing her to nuzzle in his hand. She opened her eyes, communicating a general emotion of grogginess and confusion. So far, Luna seemed to only be able to communicate one emotion at a time, but that was still a great feat. Jack conveyed a sense of urgency and asked her if she could follow.

    The feline did not complain, getting up to her feet and shaking her head vigorously from side to side. Then, she gave Jack a nod.

    Jack told her to try and walk around, and though her first few steps were a little sleepy she seemed to be alright.

    ¡°Thank you, Luna. You saved my life.¡± Jack thanked her with heartfelt emotion, and the cat seemed to stand uprighter at that, extending her neck out.

    Jack had an amused expression on her face, because the emotion Luna conveyed was of pride, deservedly so.

    ¡°Please, just warn me by screaming, er.., mewling, as hard as you can. Never do that again,¡± Jack tried to be stern, but it was damn hard to scold someone who just saved your life.

    Luna nodded in response, but Jack didn¡¯t know if he could trust her word. He just hoped she listened this time around.

    The man and cat were back in action, moving deeper through the jungle after running out of options. Besides, Jack figured that if he couldn¡¯t meet up with people at the camp ground, on route to the citadel was the next best option. He would honestly have preferred to wait at the campsite, but one dead woman and a mutated snake attack weren''t exactly the welcome he was hoping for.

    The next forty or so minutes passed uneventfully, with Jack taking the lead and Luna following behind him. He knew he¡¯d lost out on a few hours of travel by going back to camp, but he had to try and recruit people.

    Distant voices coming up from up ahead alerted Jack, causing him to stop in his tracks- trying to make out what was being said.

    ¡°- is that!? I lost sight of- aaaaah!¡± A gruff, older male voice screamed in agony, Jack only being able to catch a part of the conversation.

    ¡°Fucking hell! Run!,¡± A manic female voice of a younger woman screamed shrilly, barely a minute later.

    ¡°Alex on me, Sam with Charlie. We need to split up, or we¡¯re all done,¡± A commanding, loud male voice ordered loudly, in immediate succession.

    Silence reigned for a few minutes, before Jack realised he could feel the footsteps getting closer.

    Jack cursed under his breath, this was not what he had in mind when he said he wanted to recruit people. This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    ¡°Charlie, we need to fight back. They¡¯re gaining on us too fast!¡± The woman shouted with panic dripping from her voice.

    ¡°Damn it all. Fine!¡± An equally young male voice responded back with resignation in his voice.

    Jack¡¯s self preservation instinct long having kicked-in, he was clambering the douglas-fir tree he was using for cover earlier, gripping between the gaps in its bark for grip. The moral conflict raged in his heart: the idealistic side believed that he should assist his fellow hikers because that was the right thing to do, while the pragmatic side argued that his efforts to provide assistance might backfire on him if they were dead before he even reached them, meaning that he¡¯d be next in line for whatever monstrosity they were facing. He tightened his resolve: the objective mattered above all, but he would reserve the decision for later.

    His increased physical and sensory stats meant that it only took him a few minutes before he was up on the lowest hanging branch that jutted out from the opposite side of his fellow cultivators. He stood upright on the branch, Luna already having gotten up there on her own with a feline agility that surprised Jack every time he saw it.

    He was still fifteen, maybe twenty metres high, but didn¡¯t feel particularly nauseous or scared despite never really having climbed a tree before. In fact, when Jack let go of the tree¡¯s bar for support, standing on a thick tree branch that could easily support his weight, he felt confident, knowing that he would not fall- a certainty had born into his actions, after surviving two creatures that most likely should have killed him.

    He perked up because he could clearly see the back of the hikers from his new vantage point, and the foes they faced.

    ¡°Guard my back!¡± The five foot ten man roared, and Jack could feel the adrenaline in this voice. This was the voice of a man who¡¯d accepted the odds were stacked against him, and would not go down without giving his foes a glimpse of what awaited them in the afterlife.

    He was projecting a Qi Tower Shield in the front, and the system wasn¡¯t lying- it was a curved semi-cylindrical shield that guarded the entirety of his front from all attacks, while a large, intimidating, bloody mace was raised up high in his right hand.

    ¡°Be careful,¡± The woman called out as repositioned herself, holding a long spear with a glowing light blue tip- that Jack assumed was the skill: Qi spear. He guessed she was the one called Sam, while the other one was charlie- from the tone of their voices.

    Jack¡¯s heart almost skipped a beat when he saw the monstrosities they were facing: their base physiology resembled that of wolves, but they were much smaller and compact in comparison. Their skin was composed of a crystalline substance that was glimmering under the light of the setting sun. Each time Sam¡¯s qi spear collided with the surface of the wolves¡¯ skin, sparks echoed out as cold steel met mutated physiology before the wolves retreated. Their bright orange eyes, razor sharp teeth and claws and tricky speed due to their small size made them a bonafide nightmare.

    Sam kept two wolves from snapping at Charlie¡¯s exposed back, thrusting wildly with speed beyond the average human, while Charlie defended her front from two wolves relentlessly slamming their bodies into the qi tower shield, trying to breach its tolerance level.

    Pressed to the breaking point, Charlie roared madly and started to press forward- with one step, he maneuvered his tower shield and slammed one wolf charging at him from the left- sending it flying for half a dozen meters. He caught the other wolf leaping at him with a scary precision, connecting his brutal spiked mace directly with the wolf¡¯s small head- slamming it into the ground.

    ¡°Die!¡± Charlie screamed, and smashed down his mace again, and this time Jack saw silvery liquid dripping from his mace.

    However, Charlie¡¯s abrupt movement caused an already swamped Sam to lose her tempo. She managed to finally pierce through one wolf¡¯s hide, causing a painful yelp from it in response, but it wasn¡¯t fatal. Perhaps it was the anxiety from not knowing if Charlie was still guarding her back, but she ended up taking a fleeting glance involuntarily.

    That turned out to be a costly mistake, as the other wolf used that moment of weakness to its advantage- clawing at her arm and leaving three streaks of bloody laceration across it, rendering it useless.

    Sam screamed, instinctively flailing her muscles and luckily pushing the wolf away from her before she lost feeling within that arm . This entire exchange had taken place in slightly over a minute''s time, and Jack was moved by their determination. His objective was one thing, but he was a human like them in desperate straits- his instincts told him that it was just the right thing to do, even if it placed him in danger. Civilization had once shaped itself out of the law of the jungle and it could do so again.

    Just as he was about to scream at them to hang in there, something happened that caused Jack to just stare at the scene of their epic fight with hollow, blank eyes. His sword hand lay limply at his side, and his shield dissipated.

    A bloody Sam, who was down to gripping her spear with her remaining hand, turned back around to gaze at Charlie, who coincidentally looked back at her at that exact moment- taking in each other¡¯s situation. On her side, there was one healthy and one lightly injured wolf, while Charlie, who seemed to be in perfect condition, had killed one but still had to face one down. All their efforts, and only one of their foes was dead.

    In one fluid motion, Sam swung her spear with such precision and grace that Jack was entranced- until he realised that she wasn¡¯t aiming at the wolf. A slashing sound echoed out- Sam had perfectly targeted the back of Charlie¡¯s right ankle, cleanly severing all his tendons in one go.

    Charlie screamed in pain, but even greater rage. ¡°You bitch!¡± He howled in the agony of betrayal, as he fell down to one knee- his tower shield dissipating from the momentary loss of focus.

    Without looking back, Sam rushed into the nearest forest clearing and broke out into a sprint, leaving Jack¡¯s field of vision.

    The wolves remaining three howled in unison, and one of the two healthy ones broke out from the pack to hunt Sam. The other two jumped at a defenceless, horror stricken Charlie from both sides. One wolf instantly ripped out this throat, causing him to die choking on his own blood, eyes wide in horror.

    ¡®No¡­¡¯, Jack powerlessly whispered to himself, and felt something breaking inside him. Until now, he didn¡¯t really understand what the ¡®survival¡¯ part of the trial meant, but now¡­. All Jack wanted to do was walk away and deny the event ever happened, deny that it might have been his fault.

    But he couldn¡¯t. At that moment, Jack realised that he hated himself. He couldn¡¯t walk away. A tear dripped down his right eye, as he confronted his conflicted emotions.

    ¡°Remember the objective, Jack,¡± was all his mind kept telling him over and over again. There were two powerful monsters out there in the open, one injured and the other one vulnerable.

    A hollow-eyed Jack disembarked from the tree, climbing down for five meters and then just letting him fall on his knees. Sword drawn and shield projected, Jack charged- already knowing their exact location from his vantage point.

    He broke through the clearing two minutes later, to see two repulsive crystalline wolves whose luminescent skin was matted in blood by now. Red blood.

    There was no doubt or hesitation in his movements as he charged with his shield at the front, already having mapped out any obstacles in his path. The wolves were startled by the entry of this new combatant, and the uninjured one managed to beat a hasty retreat. The one that was leaking silvery blood however, was just a bit slower.

    Jack smashed, more than slammed his sword down upon its head, forcing it to crumple against the ground- but from the sparks it was clear he hadn¡¯t done enough damage. The mace was a brute force weapon, and this artefact wasn''t supposed to break easy- so Jack just smashed his sword at its head again. And again.

    The wolf whined in pain, but Jack was incapable of mercy after seeing what it did to that helpless man. This was a creature that killed not for food, but for pleasure- it enjoyed dealing pain. The other, uninjured wolf roared in anger leaping at Jack furiously.

    But Jack just easily sidestepped it, letting it use its own momentum to create distance from him. He used that momentary respite to smash down one final time, causing a spray of silver blood to gush out.

    A mental notification informed him that the wolf was dead, but Jack did not feel any sense of accomplishment at the feat. He had expected it, after watching their movements in advance.

    The second wolf leapt at him again, but Jack felt a massive burst of energy flow into his body after the first kill, energising and empowering him.

    The wolf charged at him, and he parried with his shield. It came again, and this time Jack countered with a slash. The wolf was relentless, even though it could escape at any time, but Jack had already realised that he was not much different. It took ten long minutes, but Jack grinded it down until its crystalline shell took so much damage it began to show visible cracks.

    With one final strike, Jack granted the wolf absolution- severing its neck clean from its abdomen. His sword was now a gleaming silver, dyed in wolf blood. Another wave of blue fire purified him, but he did not feel strength flow into him like before. Now that silence had once again shrouded his surroundings, he could hear light whimpering from behind him.

    Surprised, Jack turned around, only to almost vomit as Charlie¡¯s body came into his sight. Next to it, the wolf Charlie had pummelled into the ground was surprisingly still alive, its small chest expanding and contracting in agony. He walked over and dealt it a finishing blow as a mercy, but Jack knew he would have done it regardless for the power it would grant him.

    The blue flames flowed through his body, healing a small nick the wolf had left behind and strengthening him. Jack filed that in his mind for later use, it could be a possible life saver.

    Before going back to pick Luna, Jack felt that he could do the brave warrior one little mercy- Jack did not wish to see those haunted eyes on a man who fought with such valor, so he moved his palm to close them and offer a prayer.

    To his surprise, a system alert popped up in front of him.

    You have discovered an unclaimed kill. You may claim the cultivator¡¯s items. Time remaining: 12m 24s/ 30 m.

    Jack felt himself losing strength in his knees, as he fell to the ground- conflicted with the new reality he faced, a far cry from the civilization he was used to.

    He stared at the sky with conflicted emotions in his eyes and spoke, ¡°You terrible, terrible bastard.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

 Chapter 5: Miracle

    System Log:

    You have killed Diamond-Back Wolf (Earth), Beast Initiate Level 5.

    You have received 85% cycle experience.

    Current Progress: Third Cycle of Qi Channeller- Initiate, 55%.

    You have killed Diamond- Back Wolf (Earth), Beast Initiate Level 5 x 2.

    You have received 100% cycle experience.

    Current Progress: Fourth Cycle of Qi Channeller- Initiate, 55%

    You have looted cultivator Charles Miller (Deceased).

    You have received the following:

    150 TP (Diamond-Back Wolves) + 70 TP (Charles Miller).

    [No items have been found in Charles Miller¡¯s Possession. System issued items cannot be looted, only those earned by a player through combat, drops or looting other cultivators can be looted.]

    Congratulations, you have received an uncommon drop for killing a Diamond Back Wolf two levels above your own:

    Wolf¡¯s Legacy Chest Artefact (F-)

    Durability: 100/100

    Description: Crafted from the hide of a Diamond-Back Wolf, this artefact chest piece provides robust protection against all physical attacks. This artefact also possesses a resistance against Qi based attacks, however every physical and/or qi based attack will reduce the artefact¡¯s durability. Durability can be repaired at the citadel or through the use of specialised tools.

    Jack pressed the equip button, a thin crystalline half-vested layer manifested above his warrior attire- much akin to the covering on the wolves that gave him so much trouble before he finally managed to vanquish them. He first hand knew how good it was, having tanked multiple hits from his sword artefact despite him not holding any punches back.

    STATUS

    Name: Jack Smith

    Affiliation: -

    Age: 22 Years

    Cultivation Cycle[?]/ Level: 4 (55%)

    Race [?]: Human (F-)

    Cultivation Stage [?]: Qi Channeler- Initiate (Current race limitation:???)

    Innate Talent [?]: Not discovered.

    Cultivation Manual[?]: -

    Class: Basic Swordsman [Defensive]

    Skills: Qi Shield (Basic), Inspect.

    Primary weapon: F minus one handed sword.

    Secondary weapon: -

    Artefacts (New!): Wolf Legacy¡¯s Chest Artefact (F-)

    Feats: -

    .

    .

    .

    [Not Unlocked]

    Statistics:

    Physical: 2+2= 4

    Sensory: 2+2= 4

    Thought Processing: 2.5+ 2= 4.5

    Qi (Pool) [?]: 7/13.

    --------------------------------------

    Jack could see that his physical body was starting to change: his muscles were compressing with each successive upgrade, but their tensile strength seemed to improve: he could lift quite impressive weights by this point, he¡¯d wager. But more than that, his senses had expanded: sneaking up on him would be more difficult now.

    He put his new found strength to work, already half-way through the digging process. It was an increased risk, granted, but something told Jack if he didn¡¯t do this at the very least, it was hard to describe but it felt as if he would lose a part of himself, a very important part at that, forever.

    So he drove his sword into the soil, tearing out chunks of grass, soil and plants in one clean motion, and then repeating the process until a makeshift grave was ready- a shoddy job pulled over in minutes, but it was the intention that matters.

    His face solemn, Jack walked over to the man¡¯s corpse, picking it up with caution and gently laying him down. Carrying over fresh flowers he¡¯d plucked earlier, he laid them at his chest and then offered him a respectful bow.

    ¡°Go with dignity, Charles Miller. If you have any family outside, and if by some miracle I survive- then I will not forget this debt,¡± Jack felt overwhelmed with emotion, even though he barely knew the man. Humanity was the foundation of civilization,and Jack would not abandon it so easily.

    Jack covered up the open grave with soil, and then left the area- leaving behind one large rock with the words ¡®Here lies Charles Miller. Beware of Sam,¡± scratched onto it with Jack¡¯s sword, in case the other two members of the group came looking. It was cryptic, but planting the seed of doubt was enough.

    Jack whistled lightly, and Luna came trotting out from the shrubbery. Both man and cat receded deeper into the forest and moments later there was nowhere near the clearing except a few dead wolves and a headstone.

    <hr>

    The World Announcement feature has been unlocked.

    Please select a [Pseudonym] to protect your identity (Recommended). Note that you will be able to contact blood relatives at the citadel unless they block you. Please select your Pseudonym in a safe area.

    ¡°A pseudonym, huh?¡± Jack wondered why, who was he supposed to hide his identity from. Civilization had disappeared overnight, would the government still have a record of its citizens? Seemed implausible.If his name was going to be announced, was there anyone who he cared enough about to give them a hint? His family, of course, but the system seemed to have that covered. His last ex had been together with him for six months before the relationship just fizzled out, and last he heard she had a new boyfriend. He was only twenty two, so it wasn¡¯t serious to begin with. His college mates? Funnily enough, he¡¯d lost touch with most of them a year after graduation, besides a few courtesy calls here and there.So basically, he was free to choose any name he wanted.

    What should he go for? Something misleading? Confusing? Short? He didn¡¯t exactly have the free time to decide, so he just went with his gut feeling: his core directive, the reason why he¡¯d lasted this long, and his objective:

    Survivor.

    To serve as a reminder for what he had done, and what he might have to do in the future. The apocalypse might have come knocking on his doorstep, but Jack would wither through it and reunite with his parents. It was a reminder to keep on going, no matter what this hellish world threw at him, and no matter how unfair it was.

    Would you like to confirm Survivor as your Pseudonym?

    Yes.

    Confirmed. World Announcements Activated.

    Cultivator ¡®John America¡¯ has unlocked Tier 1 Talent: Ember.

    Cultivator ¡®Y¡¯all seein¡¯ this?¡¯ has unlocked Tier 1 Talent: Frost. Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

    Cultivator ¡®Chyou¡¯ has unlocked Tier 1 Talent: Hardening.

    Cultivator ¡®Miguel_1987¡¯ has unlocked Tier 1 Talent: Voice Projection.

    Cultivator ¡®Monica Jones¡¯ Husband (912) 823-5532¡¯ has unlocked Tier 1 Talent: Animal Communication.

    Cultivator ¡®Entropy¡¯ has unlocked Tier 1 Talent: Flash.

    Cultivator ¡®Alien_Chicks_DM¡¯ has unlocked Tier 1 Talent: Shadow.

    Cultivator ¡®Professional Killer¡¯ has unlocked Tier 1 Talent: Flare.

    .

    .

    .

    ¡®Well, this is certainly bad,¡¯ Jack muttered. Ember and Frost seemed self explanatory, but the idea of some homicidal woman like Sam running around chucking flames at people was downright terrifying: especially while his own talent had not yet manifested. The system seemed to consider talents Tier 2 and above valuable, but all he saw was a growing list of Tier 1 talents being received by cultivators. Jack did not know how potent these talents were, but he wouldn¡¯t make any assumptions right now.

    According to the system description, an innate talent was a piece of the divine power that manifested in everyone differently. The system stated that the power that was bestowed came from the power of the divinity, but it was regulated by the law of the world, so even the system did not know which power was going to be bestowed in advance. Long story short, what Jack understood was that an Innate power is 100% luck, and it might awaken for some early on in their cultivation journey, but never for others.

    Jack had picked a different direction from Sam, but in the end he supposed all roads lead to the citadel eventually.

    <hr>

    Jack had been on foot for a while now, and the sun had already set: replaced by an artificial light source that was almost identical, except not being able to see the friendly gas giant in the sky made Earth feel a little¡­. unfamiliar. The sky was clear, but the tall trees in the forest obscured his vision to see the horizon, and the moon had been obscured, because Jack couldn¡¯t find any trace of it.

    Jack scanned his surroundings for any enemies, but after a minute he couldn¡¯t hear or sense anything off. Deciding that now was as good a time as any, with his new physical sensory stats Jack decided to scale the tree as high as he safely could, in order to get a glimpse of the citadel and if possible, any nearby landmarks or cover that stood out.

    At about twenty metres, Jack still couldn¡¯t see past the bushes and was just about to climb higher, when his danger sense, given to him by the sensory stat, started going haywire. A close twang of a bow echoed out, followed by another. Jack did not expect ranged attacks, but his eyesight was good enough to get a glimpse of two short projectiles in motion.

    Jack jumped to the ground the next instant, but it was too late. One arrow clashed against his armor, causing sparks to fly in the air before it fell to the ground harmlessly, while the second caught him in his sword arm, causing Jack to let out a painful yelp, followed by a ¡°Fuck!¡±.

    This was the first time Jack had taken a real injury, and it felt like a huge nail had been hammered into his right arm. He landed on the ground the next second, and were it not for his sensory stat he would have twisted his leg, badly. Two more arrows fired from a different direction, and Jack didn¡¯t have any cover to rely on. This time his danger sense gave him a general idea of where the firing was coming from, so he threw himself in the opposite direction.

    The problem was that, while Jack was fast, arrows happened to be faster. Most of his body was safely in cover, but the second arrow ended up grazing his right leg, eliciting another painful scream. His hands were shaky, but Jack managed to pull out a healing pill from his pocket and swallowed it. His cat jumped down from the tree the next instant, thankfully completely fine.

    The blood loss seemed to immediately start slowing down, much to Jack¡¯s relief- but that didn¡¯t change the fact that the only thing that was keeping him safe was a tree, and he could be flanked at any moment. Jack heard an approaching set of footsteps behind him, and he counted, two, three, four, five¡­ fuck.

    Jack grabbed the arrow stuck in his arm and pulled it out, wincing in pain. Then, without caring anymore, he immediately pulled out the one in his leg. The increase in blood loss Jack was expecting didn¡¯t come, it seemed that ¡®physical¡¯ did make him more resilient to damage after all.

    Hoisting Luna with his right hand, and putting his left arm behind his head and projecting as qi- shield, Jack broke into the fastest sprint of his life- this was real, and death was mere metres away.

    He sprinted for the next tree in his line of sight, and the firing squad behind him reacted promptly: four sets of arrows were let loose against him, in unison this time.

    Jack¡¯s speed now far dwarfed his previous record as a normal human- he felt like he was running at olympic level speeds, cutting through the wind with each large stride he took. He took in far more information with each breath than usual, sight, sound, smell- and almost could feel the enemy arrows cutting through the air. Strafing behind cover right in time, Jack felt some relief as the four arrows impaled the ground behind him.

    He continued to run without looking back, in a zig-zag manner between the forest trees, trying to maintain his balance in the process. Every fibre of Jack¡¯s being was focused on evasion, so much so that he was no longer particularly concerned about which direction he was going in. But his pursuers were consistently keeping pace with him, and from the footsteps he could hear, they were gaining on him. He may be operating at peak human capacity, but humans could hardly compare against the top predators on Earth in speed, let alone alien physiologies.

    Jack felt another volley was fired, but this time Jack was too far away from the nearest tree to take cover. He felt a response from his Qi Shield, as an arrow landed on its surface causing sparks to fly off before it fell to the ground harmlessly. If Jack hadn¡¯t positioned a shield guarding his neck, he would be either dying or dead. A second arrow gazed past his left arm, while the other two were narrowly off target.

    He glanced back for less than a second, but couldn¡¯t make out his adversaries in that small window. Minutes passed, as Jack kept running blindly- paranoia creeping up on his nerves. A marksman that cannot be seen is the most frightening type of marksman.He realised that he was hyperventilating from the panic as he jumped over a small log, when a roar from his right side awoke him from his musings.

    ¡°Oh fuck!¡± Jack screamed as he tilted his neck to see the threat, only to be met with a much larger cousin of the Twilight Boar he¡¯d slain earlier. He barely had enough time to put a qi shield to guard him, but the resilient shield that had saved his life so many times before failed him this time

    A cry of heart-rending agony was let out by Jack, as his Qi shield completely shattered upon contact with the Twilight Boar¡¯s horns. The small, sharp and lethal horn had completely pierced through his left hand, and gone on to passing through his lower abdomen- shearing through his artefact after a small struggle .. Blood flowed from Jack¡¯s orifices like a flowing tap, and Jack was starting to feel the effects of the blood loss.

    Jack knew his story would probably end here, but all he wanted to know at that moment was if Luna was okay. He craned his neck to look down, to see a perfectly unharmed cat looking at him with what seemed like sorrow in her beady eyes. The horn had missed her by a hairs length, barely at that. It was a genuine miracle, and on the verge of death that realisation gave Jack such a high, that it was akin to a magical power. He feared no man, he feared no eldritch horrors and he feared not the divine.

    He grinned, with a maniacal gleam in his eyes. Using the strength in his right hand, he lightly tossed Luna away, knowing she would escape well. Cats were part predators, hopefully they understood when a man was done.

    Turning around to face the red furred, pitch-black eyed mutant, Jack did something very unexpected- he spat the mouthful of blood he felt pooling up his throat, aiming right at the Twilight Boar¡¯s eyes.

    A whine rang out from the wronged animal, causing it to drive deeper into the wood and forced Jack to cough out another mouthful of blood.

    He just grinned again, for a dead man had no need to concern himself with any further wounds.

    ¡°You see motherfucker¡­¡± Jack spoke with a hoarse, feeble voice, as he pulled out his sword and drove it into the boar¡¯s eye with one fluid motion, causing the boar to whine loudly as it backed up, hoisting Jack in the air along with him. ¡°....We call that a¡­.¡± Pulling out his sword, he impaled the boar in the other eye without any mercy as deep as he could, his sword embedded through its eye and hopefully its brain..The boar just started shaking even more violently, trying to get rid of Jack, while twang of an arrow echoed out in the backdrop On the verge of death, his senses were the sharpest they had ever been, but try as he might he could no longer conjure a Qi shield. ¡°.... Miracle,¡± Jack broke out into a mad laugh in between coughs, and raised his right arm up. Time seemed to pause for Jack, just for an instant, as he clenched his fist tightly whilst testing the very limits of his sensory abilities and danger sense, catching the arrow right in its centre mass before it impaled him in the throat.

    ¡°¡­.Where I come from,¡± Jack broke out into a violent cough as he finally concluded the sentence, snapping the arrow in half by clenching his fist, and the boar who was equally struggling on the verge of death finally managed to get rid of him. The next thing Jack knew he was flying in the air, for what was easily dozens of metres. He¡¯d seen the ferocious leg muscles of a twilight boar first hand, but this was still impressive.

    Jack rolled across the forest terrain, tasting a mixture of blood, soil and grass. It took all the effort he had left, now that the bravado was wearing off, to get back face-up especially when he¡¯d lost all feeling in his left arm.

    Jack felt more blood rising up from his throat, and felt like cursing at the system. Little good that armor did him, the boar had rammed clean through the protection it offered. Though Jack should have known, three swings of his sword in killing the Diamond-Back Wolves wouldn¡¯t match one sharp pierce from a monster that could literally send him flying with leg strength alone¡­ maybe it had mitigated some of the damage?

    You have leveled up. You have reached Level 5.

    Jack broke into tears, realizing that his frenzy from blood loss and resignation had indeed created a miracle. The Blue flames had healed him from a minor cut when he had leveled up before, so he figured a portion of his wounds might be healed. For him, the holy flames were like water offered to a man dying of thirst, the pain that tore at him with every breath, the gaping hole in his lower abdomen, the ounces of blood he¡¯d lost and his non functional arm- it was all being repaired, his blood loss replenished, wound closed and his arm healed.

    You have discovered a World Boss: Earth Orc Titan: Recommended Level: 24. Rewards based on current level: F+ to E- Grade Equipment. Rare Qi Skills. Feat: Titan Slayer: +10 Free Stats. 100,000 TP. ???+

    Recommended Course of Action: Do not engage or approach at any cost.

    Alert: You are approaching the territory of the Earth Orc Titan. Immediate retret is recommended!

    Alert: You are approaching the territory of the Earth Orc Titan. Immediate retreat is recommended!

    Alert: You are approaching the territory of the Earth Orc Titan. Immediate retreat is recommended!

    Alert: You are approaching the territory of the Earth Orc Titan. Please retreat immediately. This is the last warning.

    Alert: You have entered the detection range of the Earth Orc Titan.

 Chapter 6: True Despair

    ¡°Survive!¡± Jack¡¯s inner consciousness screamed at him, and his danger sense had such an intense reaction that he felt like he was being suffocated. Rolling sideways, he used his right arm to push himself back up to a standing position.

    Jack thought that he was a survivor. Jack thought he now knew fear. He now understood that he had thought wrong. True terror was not something explained so easily. He stood there frozen, his legs feeling heavier than lead. Abject fear enveloped him from all directions, and he felt his hands shaking from the horror. He had no weapon upon his person left, but Jack had no thoughts of resistance at that moment. This was not an entity a man could beat, but a primal, ancient force of nature that had existed long before him, and would continue to exist long after. The atmosphere around him felt dense, heavy, bringing a pressure from all directions that Jack felt would crush him to paste any second. His danger sense had gone crazy, and he felt as if taking a single step in any direction would result in a fatal attack that could not be resisted.

    You have been inflicted with the passive debuff: Titan Fear.

    He found himself staring down a true behemoth- the humanoid creature was nine feet tall, its dark green, leathered skin in perfect harmony with the grassy forest they were standing upon. Its arms were double the thickness of its already muscular legs, green veins popping out from how exaggerated its physiology was- Jack had no doubt the creature could rip him in half without even trying. Its wide, barrel chest was equally impressive, the earth seeming to resonate with its every breath. The creature''s face was as ugly as it was horrific- two small fangs protruded from its lower jaw, causing its mouth to remain in a semi-open state, with drool dripping outward. It¡¯s blood red, predatory eyes, sharp, pointed ears and angled nose sent chills down his spine, especially when those eyes seemed to be staring down at him from a distance.

    The creature held a massive wooden, spiked club that had had a handle almost half the thickness of the Orc¡¯s biceps, easily two foot long in itself, made out of white timber of unknown origin. The remaining seven feet was a cylindrical wooden body made out of blackish brown timber, which was littered with lethally sharp spikes across its surface area. An nine foot orc titan holding a weapon as long as itself with merely a single hand brought about a kind of despair Jack had never felt before in his life.

    ¡°Shak Krai¡¯nal Mukris!¡± The Orc roared mightily, and it felt as if the Earth itself roared alongside him. Jack watched in horror as the grass, soil and dirt rose from the ground, floating in the air for a second before rushing towards the orc. Moments later, an earthen armor in the contrasting hues of green and brown was born- complete with a helmet, chestplate, leg greaves, boots and gloves.

    Earth Orc Titan has used Tier 1 Innate Talent: Earth Resonance.

    Jack was still rooted to the spot, his hands shivering in fear. ¡®Move!¡¯ Jack mentally screamed to himself but he remained rooted to the spot, his arms and legs feeling far heavier than lead. This wasn¡¯t natural fear, but it felt as if something had been done to his body, reminding him of the time when his sponsor cut off his vocal cords temporarily.

    ¡®Remember the objective,¡¯ Jack chanted in his mind, and it provided him with a burst of clarify in a fog of terror. He quickly glanced around his surroundings, even though he could barely budge his face. The Titan still separated him by a few dozen meters, so he had a few seconds to think. Jack was surprised, as open, clear areas of land were pretty odd to see in the forest. He was even more surprised when he saw an entire, small dull-gray jagged mountain behind the Orc Titan, too busy focusing on the monster to scope out the surroundings. That, Jack was damn sure, was an addition made by the system. Malanike National Park had many attractions, but random mountains was not one of them.

    The Orc Titan took its first step, and the Earth rippled in resonance, as if it was announcing the entrance of its chosen champion. The soil was trampled beneath its Earthen armor, leaving behind a small depression in the ground.

    ¡°Move. Move, god damn it¡­. fucking move!¡± Jack mentally pleaded himself, but it was to no avail. His fingers started twitching, but his body refused to accept his mind''s commands. The growing sense of impending doom only increased, which ended up making his situation worse.

    The orc took a second, wide step, closing the distance.

    Jack saw the orc approach, and it caused his anxiety to further increase.

    He tried everything in the playbook- he tried to bite his tongue, but his jaw wouldn¡¯t budge. He tried to tip over, but his body wouldn¡¯t budge.

    A third step echoed out, and the orc was closer than ever before.

    Jack realized that the fear was making him irrational, making him unable to see the obvious solution in front of him.

    So he gave up. The fear flowed through him stronger than ever, making him want to kneel for mercy, to cry out from the abject terror, but Jack didn¡¯t budge. He let it flow through himself, letting all the negative thoughts of death roam free.

    Accept the fear.

    Own the fear.

    Channel the fear.

    ¡°I will survive,¡± Jack said, regaining an eerie composure. ¡°I am afraid. I am weaponless. I am weak. You are strong. You are Powerful. You are Fierce. I have all the reasons to be afraid, but you have none. That is precisely why I will survive.¡±

    Passive Debuff Titan Fear has been broken.

    Confusion. Shock. Rage. Jack was not an expert upon Orc Titans, but those were the emotions it saw on its misshapen face. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

    Jack was positioned near the center of the circular clearing, so he could either take his chances in a random direction, or try to scale the mountain faster than the Orc could. He¡¯d already taken off in a random direction, but the Orc¡¯s reaction was not slow.

    The Orc did not chase after Jack, but let out a roar so loud that it could be heard kilometers away.

    Jack screamed in agony as he collapsed to the ground, blocking his ears with both his arms in order to make the noise stop.He could still hear the loud roar even despite his efforts to mitigate the sound, and the next second he felt a loud pop in his left ear followed by silence. He felt a liquid flow down his left hand just as the roar stopped, only to realize that it was his blood. His left ear drum had just burst, and Jack¡¯s balance was off.

    You have been affected by Titan¡¯s Roar. The Titan¡¯s vocal cords have been damaged, and it cannot perform it again for one day.

    He hurriedly popped a healing pill, but that didn¡¯t help with the dizziness. Jack got back to his feet, just in time to see the Titan charging at him. One wide footstep followed another, but it''s posture seemed off- Jack¡¯s eyes widened in surprise as the Titan took a third footstep before leaping in the sky, with its spiked club held up high.

    Jack¡¯s danger sense rocketed off the charts, as he broke away bearing left in a mad dash for his life.

    A loud crashing sound echoed out from behind him, followed by a shockwave emanating from the sound of impact that sent an already off balance Jack tumbling to the ground. He barely managed to transition into a roll at the last second, getting back away on his feet. But the time lost was crucial, and Jack felt the Titan getting back up for round two. He did not understand how such a large being could be so athletic and quick at the same time, but there was no point debating that now.

    He changed his direction, the Titan seemed hell bent on stopping him from escaping, first using an immobilization skill and then going berserk when he broke out of it, so he decided to bait it by going towards the mountain.

    Another cataclysmic boom echoed out behind him, merely half a minute later. Jack quickened his pace, ready to switch directions the moment he felt movement behind him.

    This time though, a minute passed and there were no loud footsteps echoing out behind him. His gut tightened, because he knew something was wrong. The Orc would not give up on him now, when it was so close to its prey.

    He slid forward, turning around in the process in order to get a better view.

    ¡°Shit,¡± Jack thought, having forgotten to take into account the power the Titan had used in the beginning. In its pulled back right hand was a circular mound composed of soil, dirt and grass packed together, with sharp pieces of stone jutting out from all directions- a natural mace without a handle. The moment it saw Jack, it threw the earthen mace head with such terrible speed that Jack knew it would hit him before he took a step.

    ¡®Qi Shield! Qi Shield! Come the fuck on, Qi Shield!¡± At the very last second, Jack managed to double cast Qi shield, but he felt both his arms burn from the forced casting. The shields slowed the mound down for a second, before crashing into Jack and blasting him dozens of meters back, until he crashed straight against the base of the mountain with a loud bang.

    ¡°Must¡­ survive,¡± A delirious Jack whispered to himself in between bloody coughs. He felt his heavy eyelids drooping, and there was nothing he¡¯d like more than to take a short nap.

    ¡°No¡­ cannot sleep¡­ remember, recov¡­recovery pill,¡± He thought to himself, reaching for it with his right arm. A sharp burst of pain caused him to scream aloud, but the adrenaline also killed all notions of sleep with it.

    He used his left arm this time, which thankfully didn¡¯t come with a searing pain. He pulled out all the remaining recovery pills in his pocket, and popped them all in his mouth at the same time.

    A strong burst of rejuvenating energy flowed into him, but Jack felt like something vital was being robbed from him in exchange. He looked down to see the full extent of his wounds, to see the ground littered in his blood. His right thigh had a jagged rock embedded deep within, gushing out blood every few seconds. The moment he looked at it, he felt the excruciating pain that he¡¯d somehow managed to ignore until now. Maybe it was the adrenaline. His right arm was definitely fractured, probably in multiple places from how bad it hurt. Also, his ribs were probably fractured.

    He sighed, knowing that there was no way he could level up and heal his wounds, and the recovery pills would take too long. It was funny, how quickly he oscillated between pure hope and absolute despair. But he would keep fighting, keep struggling, keep trying to find a way to survive until the end.

    The connection between him and his bond reignited at that moment, causing Jack¡¯s eyes to light up in anger.

    ¡°No! Luna, no! Go back, please. Please, please go back. You don¡¯t have to die,¡± Jack pleaded her through their bond, this wasn¡¯t like her stunt before. What could she possibly do against a nine foot Titan?

    Grief was the emotion she channeled back, such strong, empathetic grief that tears rolled down Jack¡¯s eyes.

    But then it was followed by a burst of Joy, confusing him. The small feline blazed towards him at a rapid speed, and soon Jack could sense her approach. Tilting his sprained neck to gaze at her, Jack felt a burst of emotions that were excited, happy and energetic, as she lifted up her right paw and pointed towards Jack¡¯s left, as if something there could save him.

    The footsteps of a titan echoed out in the background, followed by another. Jack expected death the next second, but it never came. Then he realized that the Titan could kill him at any time when he was under the effects of Titan fear- but it didn¡¯t. It liked to play with its prey, immobilizing them first before killing.

    ¡®If I can¡¯t walk, then I¡¯ll crawl,¡± thought Jack, as pulled out the jagged rock from his right leg in one swift motion, before clawing at the ground with his remaining working hand, and using his functional left leg to kick forward.

    Two minutes passed, as Jack could feel the Titan¡¯s approach growing closer and closer. Perhaps it enjoyed the sight of its prey crawling on the ground to survive, because it could have ended his life at any moment.

    Finally, he saw it- a small, secluded cave nestled behind a protruding edge of the mountain. The energy he was saving for this very moment burst out in an explosion of moment, as Jack got up in one fluent motion, sprinting for his goal in such wide strides that it would put the titan to shame. He¡¯d put the time the titan had given him to recover to good use, leading to this very moment.

    A dozen meters was all that separated him from his destination, and Jack ran without caring for the condition of his body.

    ¡°Shari-Dhar! Kalruk!¡± The Orc Titan angrily grumbled in surprise, before taking off to prevent him. Jack was merely separated by a meter from salvation, but his right angle twisted badly at the last moment. His instincts took over as angled his fall towards the downward sloping dark cave, falling face first into unknown territory.

    Luna waited for Jack before jumping inside at the same time.

    ¡°Yeah fuck you too, condescending prick,¡± was the last thing Jack said in protest before the adrenaline left him and everything went black.

 Chapter 7.1 : Unknown

    Jack didn¡¯t know how long he had been unconscious for- it could have been anywhere from a few minutes to over a day. A splitting headache was the first thing that welcomed him as he opened his groggy eyes. Then came the pain, the muscle ache and a powerful hunger gnawing at Jack¡¯s stomach, causing him to groan tiredly.

    ¡°Get up,¡± Jack¡¯s consciousness chided him, for he was lying on the floor unguarded and weaponless, an easy target for even the weakest of monsters. He tried to put strength in his arms, and a sharp burst of pain tore at his right arm, but it surprisingly held. Jack was pretty sure his arm had been fractured in three places, but the pain was nowhere near that level. He figured that the physical stat did pull its weight, or maybe it was the four recovery pills he¡¯d downed in one go that did the magic. Either way, it didn¡¯t matter.

    ¡°Meoow!¡± Luna projected the emotions of excitement as she saw Jack regain consciousness, causing Jack to involuntarily break out into a smile. He had survived. Luna had survived. The Orc Titan either couldn¡¯t get inside, or just gave up. That was enough for Jack to smile, he had succeeded in his objective. Well, for now.

    Jack had managed to hoist his upper body, but he wondered if his right leg was still serviceable- if fractures could be healed, why not flesh wounds. Left leg first, followed by the right, he got back up to a standing position, and a searing pain tore across his right thigh. Jack let out a silent scream, but the pain immediately started receding- almost as if his body was adapting to it.

    He started to examine his surroundings, slightly surprised that he could see inside the cave without any light source. It was hard to tell in the daylight, but the white marble like substance the mountain was made of had luminescent qualities, and the small, narrow cave he was in was constructed entirely of that material.

    ¡°Meeeooow!¡± A louder, miffed wail of protest came from his side, and Jack turned to Luna, who was clearly displeased.

    ¡°Ah¡­¡± Jack played with his hair, a nervous tick of his, ¡°You¡¯re hungry, aren¡¯t you? Well, I guess the pills should work. Sorry, Your Highness, I don¡¯t have the royal fare you are accustomed to,¡± He pulled out two pills from one of his pockets, tossing one to Luna and biting down on the other.

    Luna swooped the pill midair, downing it in one go.

    ¡°Hey, it¡¯s actually not bad,¡± Jack muttered appreciatively, because even though it didn¡¯t have any real taste his hunger was gone in an instant.

    ¡°Meow,¡± Luna gave Jack a small nod of acknowledgement, seemingly satisfied by his humble offering. Jack had to admit it, he still wasn¡¯t used to a cat that nodded to his responses, but it was the one good thing this apocalypse had brought him.

    ¡°So, where the hell are we,¡± Jack turned around, but like his sensory abilities had already informed him, the entrance that had saved his life was replaced with a wall of white rock- he could neither feel air flowing in from any opening in the cavern walls, nor could he hear any sound from outside.

    ¡°Meow,¡± A small, uncertain response was the answer Luna gave, projecting the emotion of confusion through their bond. Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    ¡°So the mountain just decided to close in on us,¡± Jack sighed, but didn¡¯t seem too phased. The thing about confronting an Orc Titan almost twenty levels above you is that there¡¯s few things that can terrify you anymore. It was almost expected in this purgatory they called a ¡®trial¡¯. Maybe this was a different kind of test, some other challenge created by the system.

    Jack did feel as if he was missing something, and his higher thought processing stats immediately gave him the answer: his mini-map was missing.

    ¡°Hey System, can you pull up the mini-map?¡± Jack asked, for relying on the system for support was almost second nature.

    The familiar blue screen that he¡¯d come to appreciate and hate at the same time, was nowhere to be seen.

    ¡°System?¡± Jack called out again, with some uncertainty building up in his voice.

    No response.

    ¡°System?¡± Thought Jack, hoping that thought commands would work if voice commands did not.

    No response.

    ¡°Uh, Sir Divinity. I deeply apologize for cursing at you earlier, I -er, wasn¡¯t in the right frame of mind,¡± Jack called out, with unmasked shock in his voice. Would a divinity really be that petty? Jack didn¡¯t think so, it would certainly be easier to smite him down to rubble instead.

    No response.

    A deep chill ran down Jack¡¯s spine, and he felt goosebumps all over his body. A cold bead of sweat trickled down his forehead, as he tried to assess the situation. The trial was designed by somebody, which was either the system itself or the three unknown beings that called themselves Empyreans. Their aim should not be to kill all humans, and Jack couldn¡¯t imagine most people surviving what he did- it was a combination of will power, determination and luck- and even Jack would not claim that he could replicate the feat under the same circumstances.

    The thought that something had gone wrong with the trial, that was what terrified Jack. Who were the enemies of the three realms? Who had killed their divinity? What information were they withholding?

    Jack smashed his fist against the white stone in frustration, causing a loud boom to echo out in the narrow cave, sound bouncing off against the walls. The wall stood there unfazed, while he received a minor cut for his attempt.

    ¡°Odd,¡± Jack muttered, because he clearly felt as powerful as he was before. The system disappeared, but his improved stats did not. So the system was still connected to him, but couldn¡¯t respond? He didn¡¯t have enough damn information to reach a conclusion.

    Jack did not attempt to break through the wall again, he knew that was a lost cause. If the mountain was so easily penetrated, then Jack figured the angry orc outside had a far greater chance than him. Anyway, his senses were sharp enough now- he could tell that material would not budge, weapon or no weapon.

    A thought struck Jack, clearing the fog of uncertainty looming over his thoughts in one go. Perhaps this was a test from the system. Perhaps this was the work of an organization or entity that opposed the system. What did it have to do with him? He was not the aggressor, but the victim. What value did killing him have? The system was doing that well enough on its own. He had allegiances to no party but his own.

    The Orc Titan was also standing outside this place. Was that a coincidence? Jack did not think so. Was it guarding this place? Why?

    What secrets did this place hold?

    He had the option to sit in a narrow cavern, weaponless, until his food ran out or move forward and discover them for himself.

    His danger sense indicated that there was no danger coming from up ahead, not even a trace of it. Maybe it was his paranoia talking, but that made Jack even more wary.

    "Survival lies ahead," Jack mentally centered himself, knowing that there was no other option. He had fought an Orc Titan and lived to tell the tale, and he would face what lay ahead with the same determination.

 Chapter 7.2: Shiina Yul

    A few hours earlier¡­.

    Shiina Yul, Jack¡¯s diminutive red-skinned sponsor, sat on a deep-velvet recliner that was created for someone three times her petite frame, holding a glass of a purplish-white liquid in one hand and a chicken drumstick in the other. On her lap lay an extra large tub of fried chicken, filled to the brim, and four empty buckets were scattered across the lustrous white carpeting.

    She intently watched Jack¡¯s movements on a hologram that was projected in the air, as he finished the last Diamond-Back wolf

    The shadows in the room suddenly started behaving erratically, and the next second a vague figure cloaked in shadows was standing beside her.

    ¡°Impressive foresight, Ma¡¯am,¡± Zephyr spoke in his thin, wispy voice, tone and pitch remaining consistent throughout.

    ¡°You are too attuned to the Dao of Bloodshed, Zephyr. It is both your greatest strength and your greatest weakness,¡± Shiina chidingly swiped a drumstick at Zepyhr, like a mother lecturing a naive child.

    ¡°I still stand by my words, Ma¡¯am. His aura is too soft, too weak, to survive in our world,¡± Zephyr calmly evaded the drumstick, his shadows dispersing and reforming a small distance away.

    ¡°But,¡± he added, ¡°I do have a question.¡±

    ¡°Mhm.., one second,¡± Shiina dropped the rest of the drumstick, along with the bone, in her mouth, her razor sharp teeth grinding it to dust within one second.

    ¡°Why did you lie to him? The system requires you to tell the truth to all sponsee¡¯s,¡± Zephyr asked, tilting his obscured head sideways as if he couldn¡¯t fathom the answer.

    ¡°Paragons do not lie, Zephyr. Also, this bird tastes quite good,¡± Shiina nonchalantly asked, as she took a sip of the liquid she held in her right hand.

    ¡°But-,¡± Zephyr moved to interject, but Shiina cut him off.

    ¡°Then should I have told him? And lose the last bit of pride as a paragon I have left? How do you explain the destruction of three entire realms to a mortal who has never set foot outside his planet, Zephyr? How do you explain to a race that dreams to one day touch the stars, you already destroyed them? How is the third realm down to a measly seventy three planets, and the galaxies they see are just an Empryean¡¯s Illusions? That very soon, the seal will be broken and they will come to destroy us, and what little remains of the three realms? That we are simply out of time, and the reward they get for surviving is just the conscription to an even greater war? Do you want me to tell him that?" Shiina asked, with anger rising in her voice. The void around the area had solidified, and Zephyr¡¯s shadows were struggling under the pressure.

    ¡°I apologize, Ma¡¯am,¡± Zephyr pleaded, and the pressure receded the next instant. This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    ¡°Remember, Zephyr,¡± Shiina said, with a bright smile on her face as she picked up another drumstick from her bucket. ¡°Paragons do not lie. I told him the truth, it just happened to be slightly outdated. By a billion years.¡±

    ¡°Understood, Ma¡¯am,¡± Zephyr nodded, and then they both turned their attention towards Jack¡¯s struggle for survival.

    ¡°Get me another glass,¡± She snorted angrily, and Zephyr took that opportunity to vanish into the shadows before another wave of pressure tore him and his shadows apart.

    Hours passed and to Shiina¡¯s left, empty chicken buckets continued to accumulate. Zephyr had resupplied her within another glass of Spirit Wine, and stood at her side.

    Shiina watched with worried eyes, as Jack came under fire by a squad of hob-goblin archers. They were faster, smarter and far more coordinated than the average goblin, moving in groups and prioritizing easy targets. She watched as Jack dipped, ducked, and weaved through the forest, much like a human watching their favorite reality tv show with bated breath, struggling his hardest to survive. She watched as Jack took non-fatal hits from the hobgoblin archers, going through her chicken drumsticks at increasingly greater speeds, and soon it was beyond the scope of the human eye¡¯s detection. If she were not a mighty paragon, one could perhaps describe her as nervous.

    ¡°No, damn it!¡± She yelped angrily as Jack was impaled by a Twilight Boar, chucking her wine glass again. But this time Zephyr was there in time to pluck it calmly from the air, placing it back on the tray he carried in his other hand.

    She watched as Jack, in a burst of adrenaline, slew the twilight boar, and cheered knowing that the system would heal him.

    The smile quickly faded though, when she realized through the tracking mark she had placed on him that Jack had fallen into the territory of a boss monster. She was tempted to crush the puny insect, but knew that the retribution the system would bring down upon her was not a price she could pay. Only Empyreans were qualified to negotiate with the system, them and only them.

    ¡°It is regrettable,¡± Zephyr calmly replied, as if this was the expected outcome. He closed his eyes, not interested in watching the gruesome death of a man who had fought with valor. Zephyr had acknowledged Jack, be it only so in his death.

    Shiina watched on with bated breath as Jack ran for his life, watched on with dismay as Jack was smashed into the mountain¡¯s base, and yet again surprised when he crawled towards the small hole in the cave, towards salvation.

    ¡°Ha! See that, you little murderhobo. He¡¯s gonna make it,¡± Shiina clapped her petite hands together in delight, and Zephyr opened his eyes with some surprise.

    ¡°He broke through Titan Fear? Humm¡­..¡± Zephyr replied, seemingly lost in thought.

    Jack fell inside the cavern, much to the dismay of the Titan, who roared in anger and charged towards the mountain.

    Shiina, who was about to burst into a hearty laugh, suddenly turned unprecedentedly serious. The next second she threw up a mouthful of red blood, her eyes going wide in unprecedented horror- falling from the recliner and onto the floor, frozen.

    Zephyr¡¯s eyes went wide with shock, and a torrent of immense bloodlust was released over the area. He had already casted fifteen protective skills in barely any time, engulfing the room in complete blackness- Standing over Shiina protectively.

    ¡°Zephyr¡­ I¡¯m fine. My¡­ tracking mark¡­ was broken. Do not¡­. let anyone¡­know,¡± was all Shiina could manage to say, before she fainted.

    Zephyr checked her vitals, her meridians, and her bloodstream for poisoning- only to reach the conclusion that Shiina was fine, just drained.

    Cold sweat drenched Zephyr¡¯s back, unable to fathom what kind of ability was required to make a paragon faint just from the miniscule link left by a tracking mark.

    Shadows engulfed both himself and Shiina, and the next instant they disappeared without a trace.

 Chapter 7.3: Calm before the Storm

    Jack walked deeper into the cave, knowing that each step he took could be his last. Luna walked alongside him, but Jack could feel the fear she felt through their bond.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Luna. They¡¯re going to have to go through me before they can even think of harming a hair on your body. And I¡¯m surprisingly not that easy to kill,¡± Jack smiled at her, as he confronted humanity¡¯s greatest and oldest fear- of the unknown.

    Luna paused in her stride, turning back to face Jack. His eyes met Luna¡¯s large, beady ones, and then she did something that took him aback. First she shook her head, something that Jack had taught her- it was a refusal.

    ¡°Meeeeooow!¡± She royally proclaimed, lifting her right paw up and swiping it forward aggressively in the air. Her eyes gleamed with intent, the emotions within them clear enough- ¡®Fight¡¯.

    Jack felt something in his heart stir. Luna¡¯s petite frame held the courage of a lion, first standing up to a goblin and almost dying, then rescuing him from the jaws of death from an Orc Titan that was hundred times her size. She was no doubt afraid, but chose to be brave despite that fear.

    How could Jack not be moved by that?

    ¡°Fight,¡± he said out loud, a bold proclamation to the one who had trapped him in this cave, as he went deeper into the cave with force behind every step. ¡°If survival is not an option, then I will die fighting, if only to damn one more monster to hell alongside me.¡±

    Luna broke eye contact and then nodded twice, as if she were pleased by that response. Jack could feel the fear she felt had diminished. His own taut nerves loosened, and he exhaled a deep breath he didn¡¯t know he was holding.

    So Jack took the next step forward, no longer fearing it might be last but thinking of how to make each one count instead.

    <hr>

    Merely five minutes had passed as Jack walked down the narrow tunnels made out of a white marble like stone, without any end in sight. Jack had placed his hand on the white stone to try and determine if there was anything extraordinary about it, but he could neither feel nor sense anything special about it. The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

    So he simply trudged forward, body poised for action and senses heightened- ready to give anything that charged at him a free trip to eternal damnation. In these narrow tunnels, where else could he even run to? Another half an hour passed without any event, and in that time Jack had noticed no special markings, no odd flora or any geological structures- just endless white rock making up the ground, the cave walls, the ceiling- everything.

    Jack didn¡¯t want to admit it, but his theory of this being some kind of system trial was falling apart, and consequently the feeling of a pervasive wrongness in the air was increasing. He only hoped he was wrong.

    Finally, after another two hours of walking, Jack noticed a bend in the tunnel. Jack signaled Luna to fall back, as it was the most strategically likely place for an ambush. The bend was a sharp right, meaning that Jack couldn¡¯t see what lay at its end.

    Normally, the first thing he would do was to channel his trusted skill: Qi Shield. But with the system gone, Jack couldn¡¯t even sense the Qi running through his body, let alone channel it.

    Jack knew that if they charged headfirst at him with weapons at the front, in this narrow cave there was little he could do to fight back- especially when he was unarmed. The only real chance he had was if he could get the drop on at least one of his hypothetical enemies. It was time to put his upgraded physique to the test.

    Without taking much time to prepare, Jack broke out into a sprint- one step, two step and then a leap. Jack propelled himself off the right side of the cave with a single leg, using his powerful leg strength to reach the left cave wall and take three quick steps in mid-air, using the little structural support the wall provided. He figured that the aliens didn¡¯t expect him to make a parkour entrance, and he was ready to rain down hell upon them with a powerful flying kick.

    Rather anti-climatically, Jack landed on the ground without any major event. There was no ambush lying on the other side, but perhaps something even worse.

    It was a dead-end. Jack¡¯s heart dropped to the bottom, as he realized that he was likely trapped in a tunnel with no exits. But then, why was the end of the tunnel painted black? That too, such a perfect pitch-black that seemed to absorb light from its surroundings.

    Feeling Jack¡¯s distress, Luna sped over to arrive next to him. Upon seeing Jack still alive and in one piece, she relaxed.

    Jack had noticed her, but the sense of wrongness he felt since he arrived in the tunnel exploded at that moment, as he realized that the black stone wasn¡¯t stone at all- it was moving.

    ¡°Fuck!¡± Jack screamed in terror, as a tidal wave of black viscous fluid exploded towards his direction. He barely had any time to react, but his body reacted instinctively before his mind could choose- grabbing Luna and turning his back towards the black fluid.

    Moments later, the tunnel Jack had chosen to take sanctuary within started crumbling, and within seconds it was as if it had never existed to begin with- while Jack and Luna were nowhere to be seen.

 Chapter 8: Discovery

    Jack felt the black liquid flow towards him, but there was no place to run towards in an enclosed cave with no exits. It made contact with his back, but Jack was surprised when it simply passed through him as if it had no mass.

    The first conclusion he reached was that they were simply shadows of some kind, or some sort of illusion messing with his sensory perception. That was ruled out the next instant, because Jack could feel that he was somehow moving while remaining stationary at the same time- perhaps he was moving so fast that his senses could no longer keep track?

    Jack wasn¡¯t sure, but the next instant he felt the ground under himself disappear, yet he somehow remained standing without any structure to support him.

    ¡°What the¡­.,¡± Jack gaped with a half open mouth, his hands trembling, but not from fear or terror this time, but marvel. A sense of euphoria awoke from the bottom of his heart, as he felt that he was bearing witness to something truly extraordinary- even though he couldn¡¯t understand it.

    Jack was not flying, but floating instead- he realized that there was no gravity to hold him down in this place. It was a sight Jack found difficult to describe with words- no, it felt wrong to describe it with mere words. It was something greater than that- it was a truly otherworldly experience.

    In front of him were small landmasses dotted across the landscape in every direction, somehow fixed in space without any apparent tethers. The enclosure he found himself in seemed as if it were constructed by someone, as Jack could see a light blue halo at the edge of the small, spherical enclosure- as if a massive Qi shield had been cast outside to maintain this space-like phenomenon.

    The landscape was easily the length of a few football fields, the most relatable metric Jack had in mind on the spot. At its center, were two ¡®forces¡¯, on a massive crimson platform- looking directly at them sent a pang of pain down Jack¡¯s eyes, but he¡¯d managed to get a glimpse- they were small diamond shaped objects or entities that glowed with a radiance that could be spotted from kilometers away.

    The one on his left exuded a brilliant golden radiance, projecting a bright aura. The one of the right was a dark, deep mix between crimson and black- seeming to oscillate between the two colors, projecting a dark aura that seemed to obscure everything it touched upon. Hundreds of thin tendrils of energy had been projected from those two objects, wildly swaying around the landscape without any discernible pattern. Each time a golden tendril met a red tendril, or vice-versa, a¡­ life would be born.

    Jack didn¡¯t know why he felt amazement and wonder when he should feel horror- perhaps it was because he knew that this was an extraordinary sight even after he¡¯d seen the miracles the system could perform, or if it was some sort of influence the object at the center was exerting.

    He watched as two tendrils collided not far from him, and with the horror finally seeping in as a misshapen creature was born. What terrified Jack even more was that the creature bore a resemblance to a tiger, if it were intentionally genetically deformedr - it was a red furred creature with an oversized head, thin neck and a bloated feline abdomen, with six legs instead of four. The creature opened its black eyes, only for them to remain eerily still as it floated in space with a hollow expression on its face.

    Jack¡¯s senses and instincts only reached one conclusion- it had died almost as soon as it was born, and the next second a gravitational pull suddenly weighed down its dead body. He watched as the poor creature was yanked downwards at a frightening speed- pulled below the level of the lowest island in his sight. Before it could make contact with the Qi barrier, a wave of pure blue flames that were tangible this time around, washed over it and not even ashes remained of his body.

    Danger signs went off in Jack¡¯s mind, and the next second a gravitational pull locked on to him, and he screamed in terror hoping he wasn¡¯t next in line for the incinerator. His worries were only partly unfounded, as he accelerated forward to uncomfortable levels before abruptly stopping- the remaining momentum enough to send him crashing down to one of the small landmasses, managing to barely turn in time and crash on his back, insulating Luna from the damage. This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    Jack found that the air had been knocked out of his lungs, but due to his improved stats he didn¡¯t feel as if he¡¯d broken anything. Luna leapt out from his arms, meowing loudly in alarm. Jack didn¡¯t need a second warning, and he got back up to his feet while panting for air- trying to assess for threats.

    ¡°Meeeeow!¡± Luna shrilly cried, and this time she was truly terrified. Jack felt his heart palpitate as well, when he saw what she was looking at.

    Jack could feel it. The system had thrown all kinds of monsters at him, but it had never felt this wrong. If what the system did was a forced evolution of natural life, then the monstrosity in front of him was a perversion. From the very core of his being, he knew that this was wrong.

    Staring back at him was a humanoid creature- except there was nothing human about it. It¡¯s bright red eyes stared back at Jack, sending shivers down his spine. It¡¯s skin was an eerie pitch black, with long, thin and extremely sharp looking black claws protruding out from its nails. The creature¡¯s chest and abdomen were completely exposed, a robust set of black bones forming a ribcage with no heart to guard. The creature was completely hollow from inside, and all Jack could see was a black ribcage and spinal cord connecting to the waist. Its forearms and legs still retained the fleshly form, and somehow turned to be extremely muscular. The creature''s head was much like a human, except for its pitch black skin, red eyes and the third, unopened eye slit on its forehead.

    A cloud of black mist had formed a halo around him, and Jack¡¯s instincts told him that it was a form of power much like the Qi he felt pumping through his veins.

    ¡®Huh,¡¯ thought Jack, as the creature took a step forward, leaving a trail of black miasma behind him. Since when could he feel Qi again? And what was with the absurd quantity of Qi he had access to? His previous reserves were like a trickle, but now it was as if his body was absorbing a torrent of Qi from the surroundings, a never ending flow of power energizing him.

    He didn¡¯t know how to channel it into the form of a Qi shield, but with this much power did he even need to? He had used the Qi before, so he somewhat understood the feeling of channeling it. If he could release only five percent of the power flowing through him, he had a chance.

    The dead man walking took a second step, and then a third, before breaking out in a charge. Jack took a deep breath, as he tried to feel the Qi that was concentrated slightly below his navel, and nudged it to move, to head in the direction of his right arm. Jack felt only a portion of the Qi obeying the command, while the other Qi went haywire in all directions. The Qi in his body could not do him any harm.

    Jack didn¡¯t know it, but his eyes had turned light blue from the sheer amount of Qi he was channeling. His reflexes felt sharper, body lighter, and eyes clearer. He saw the trajectory the creature¡¯s sharp claws were taking, and sidestepped towards the right.Jack saw the claws raking the empty air around him, knowing that if they had landed they¡¯d most likely take his face off.

    The creature had extended itself, but Jack was yet to make a move. In one quick, clean jerk, Jack punched the creature¡¯s right jaw, releasing all the Qi he managed to gather in one hand at that very moment.

    A loud boom echoed out, and Jack cried in pain when his hand met the creature¡¯s metal like jaw- but the creature still took the brunt of the damage, and the Qi insulated Jack from most on the other hand. The creature was blasted away with such force that even Jack was surprised by his borrowed strength, leaving a trail of blue Qi in its wake before smashing into a large boulder near the edge of the island, and kicking up a trail of orangeish dust in the air.

    ¡°It felt good to be doing the punching, for once,¡± Jack said in amazement of his own prowess, as he saw the creature embedded within the rock.

    ¡°Meooow!¡± Luna cried out, causing Jack, who was examining the extent of his hand injuries to be surprised.

    He gazed in the direction of the creature, only to see its red eyes looking back right at him.

    ¡°Krrrrrrr!¡± The creature started growling in what was unmistakable anger, before pulling it¡¯s right arm out of the bolder, followed by its left leg, and then its entire body.

    Jack¡¯s heart dropped, when he realized that what he thought would have left grievous wounds of the creature had not even managed to leave a single damn mark on its body, except bolder dust.

    ¡°Well shit.¡±

 Chapter 9: Jack

    Jack braced himself as the undead creature charged at him again, focusing on regulating his breathing and qi channeling. Black Miasma exploded around the creature when it had covered half the distance towards Jack, and its speed increased dramatically, taking Jack by surprise.

    He dodged to he right, but felt weak in his knees when the claws missed him by barely an inch this time, feeling a small breeze land upon his nose. He smashed his qi imbued fist at the monster again, this time with a scream of his own- sending the creature flying back once again, half embedding it in the orangeish-grey soil of the platform.

    Jack knew that there would not be a third time. If it sped up any more than it presently could, he knew he wouldn¡¯t be able to dodge. But it was more than that. It was¡­. Learning. That was what his instincts were telling him. Nothing Jack did would hurt the creature, so it would just getting back up and coming back at him until he died- like being trapped in an eternal, unending nightmare.

    ¡°Luna,¡± Jack called out, and his small cat leaped up in his arms. Based on what Jack knew of this place, his strategy should work.

    ¡®Focus,¡¯ Jack chanted to himself, as he tried to sway his massive Qi reserves once again. One step, two steps, three steps, and then a loud boom echoed out.

    ¡°Whoooaaaaaaa,¡± Jack was capable of superhuman feats by this point, but he couldn¡¯t help but exclaim with exhilaration at this moment. He had channelled Qi in the bottom of his soles, before heading towards the edge of the platform. A trail of Qi was left in his wake, as Jack blazed through space- heading in the direction of an adjacent platform that was empty.

    He was flying.

    ¡°Fuck yeah,¡± Jack muttered with a grin on his face, wondering how the creature would react to his quarry just¡­ flying away.

    That smile though, was soon replaced with an ugly expression. Because he stopped midair, his qi still burning through the soles of his feet, unable to make him budge any longer. The next moment he felt another force of attraction, which was much stronger this time- it was pulling him towards the center, where the two mystical forces were located.

    ¡°No, please, no, no,¡± Jack muttered under his breath, trying to break free from the restriction. But the more Qi he used, the faster the attraction got and the next second his surroundings were a blur.

    He smashed into another island, but this time he had expected it. It only took him a couple seconds to reorient himself, and another few seconds to get back up to his feet. He got up just in time to see three bright flashes of light slam in front of him.

    He would never get used to the process of life blooming in front of him, but Jack knew that this period was also the moment where they were the most vulnerable. He was facing down a greyish-black furred lupine with only three legs, a four foot brownish-white colored creature that resembled a goblin and a white furred long necked four footed animal.

    ¡®Do not hesitate.¡¯

    The creatures each looked more disoriented than the last, but after seeing what that undead was capable of Jack wouldn¡¯t take any risks. He charged, crossing the distance in an instant before releasing every inch of Qi he could, pouring it all outwards.

    A loud boom echoed out, and Jack was drenched in the blood of three different types of creatures the next second. A part of the ground had been eroded from how powerful his Qi blast was. The creatures lay at his feet, parts of their body scattered all around in a gruesome scene that made Jack want to vomit. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.

    ¡°This is wrong. It¡¯s too easy,¡± Jack knew that when it came to this new world, nothing was easy. He felt a weird tingling on his skin, and realized in the next second the blood on his skin and over his warrior outfit was gone. No it had left him, and headed toward where the carcasses were strewed.

    Jack didn¡¯t know he still had the capacity to process more horror- apparently though, the human race seems to have no upper limits. The blood coagulated together to form a sign on the ground, a sign simple enough that even he had no problems understanding the unknown alien entity¡¯s intention- an arrow made in blood, pointing towards the center of the space- where the tendrils originated from.

    ¡°Oh, fuck no,¡± Jack stumbled backwards, and falling on his behind. Somehow, knowing that the system¡¯s trial was hijacked was even more terrifying than the system being behind it.

    ¡°Who are you? What the hell do you want from me? Why not approach me in person?¡± Jack asked out loud, tired of the smokes and mirrors. ¡°Damn it, show yourself!¡± He got back around and yelled towards the sky, his emotions overwhelming him in a moment of weakness.

    What he did not expect was, that the skies replied. Just not in the way Jack expected them to.

    Two tendrils of energy snaked across the sky from opposite directions: one shining with a golden, bright radiance, while the other a mix of deep red and black, exuding a disturbing aura that Jack now found akin to the undead monster he¡¯d encountered, in Jack¡¯s general direction.

    If this entity wanted him dead, Jack did not have any illusions that he could fight back. But it seemed contrary to its actions, for it was the one that had lead him there. Was a mere refusal enough to make the entity kill him? Why go through all the trouble then? Also why did it use such a primitive form of communication? Signs was the method of communication early humans used, outdated by tens of thousands of years even for human civilization. Was he misunderstanding something. Why kill him if it clearly wanted something from him?

    An answer rang out in his mind, one that had been staring at him in the face the entire time.

    ¡®Luna.¡¯

    ¡°No!¡± Jack screamed in anger, eyes bloodshot from the almost inconsolable hatred he felt at that moment. His reflexes were sharp as lightning, as he picked up the nearest carcass belonging to the now dead lupine creature, while mentally telling Luna to run.

    He¡¯d forgotten one, crucial factor. While Jack was evolving each time he levelled up, Luna had remained the same physically and her reaction time was just that of a normal house cat. The tendrils were seconds away from making contact with Luna, and Jack had personally seen what they were capable of.

    ¡®Move,¡¯ Jack felt a burning sensation in his right arm as it overflowed with Qi, his anger fuelling him to as fast as he could. A blue trail was seen as Jack threw the carcass at Luna, who¡¯d only managed to take a single step forward- at that moment he knew he could only block one of the tendrils, a notion that tore at his heart, but he didn¡¯t let that make him hesitate. He chose to block the disturbing black-red tendril as a tear flowed down his right eye, not sure what consequences his decision would have.

    The black-red tendril made contact with the carcass, reducing it to ember the moment it made contact, but dissipating at the same time. The golden tendril struck Luna directly on the head, causing her to faint instantly.

    Jack had already began sprinting over to her before, reaching barely two seconds later. He reached for her, grabbing her and holding her tight in his arms before crouching with her in his arms, shielding her from any further retribution.

    Jack had been beaten, bruised, faced opponents larger than him, faced impossible odds and survived, but nothing could make him angrier than he was now. He realized that when the human body reaches its limitation to process anger, all that remains is calmness. Eerie calmness. If Luna died, this entity, demon, whatever it was, would die too. That would be his objective, until either he perished or the entity perished.

    Jack reached out with their mental bond, his heart pounding, unsure if he was ready for the answer he¡¯d receive.

    ¡°Luna? Luna, are you okay?¡± Jack asked, with building anxiety in his voice.

    ¡°.....Jack?¡±

 Chapter 10: Negotiation

    Jack just stood in silence for a few seconds, before the absurd truth hit him in the face. At first he thought it was the entity communicating with him, but the voice felt unfamiliarly familiar. It was a voice that he could have imagined hearing before, but hadn¡¯t.

    He felt Luna¡¯s warm body grow larger from underneath his protection, and soon Jack couldn¡¯t shield her completely with his own.

    ¡°I accept!¡± Jack shouted out, knowing that if the entity were to direct even half of its tendrils to Luna, she would have no way of surviving. ¡°I accept, but let her go. You don¡¯t need her, your business is clearly with me,¡± Jack called out again, hoping the entity was amenable to negotiations.

    He waited for a full minute, but there was no response. The tendrils though, seemed to start moving slightly erratically, Jack could almost start to recognize a pattern to their movements. The creation of new monsters had also slowed down, maybe the entity was thinking? He had no way to be sure.

    ¡°Enough is enough!¡± Jack screamed, and then followed, ¡°You are not going to let me escape. That¡¯s fine. But she clearly has no value to you. You can create life. But can you bring it back as well? What will happen if I implode all the Qi in my body? Can you bring me back? Can you take that gamble? All for a creature you were willing to kill a few seconds ago? Is it worth it?¡± Jack slammed the entity with every argument he could think of, holding nothing back. He could only hope that the entity did not react badly to his harsh words, but he wasn¡¯t lying- a peaceful death seemed much better in comparison to being turned into those deformed monstrosities. Though the entity¡¯s purpose seemed to run deeper, considering it chose to vent its anger on Luna instead of him earlier.

    The tendrils of energy started to sway wildly, while Jack wildly channeled the Qi in his body without any direction, rhyme or reasoning behind its motion. One thought from Jack, along with this platform he was standing on would be blown to bits. Jack saw tens of reddish-black tendrils snake towards Luna, but before he could even react the light golden tendrils cut them off.

    Flashes of light occurred in rapid succession, hapless, misshapen monsters being born and dying in the next second, sucked into the furnace of blue flames beneath the small floating islands and reduced to ash. Both the reddish black and golden tendrils seemed to pause after that internal conflict, leaving an eerie stillness in the air.

    Jack sighed in relief as he saw the ¡®evil reddish-black tendrils retreat, or at least that¡¯s how he¡¯d come to see them. The radiant golden tendrils remained frozen still in the air, before a single one approached Jack slowly. He was still prepared for a betrayal, but it seemed unlikely- the entity had all but one of the cards in its hands while Jack just had one scuffed card he wasn¡¯t sure he had the courage to use.

    Jack didn¡¯t retreat from the tendril, but instead stood in front of it- in his effort to ensure Luna¡¯s safety.

    ¡°No!¡± A boisterous feminine voice echoed out in protest in Jack¡¯s mind. ¡°Luna will stay, fight!¡± She loudly proclaimed, with masked anger than feigned to hide the fear she felt. But Jack could sense it through their bond.

    Luna¡¯s transformation had caught Jack aback the first time he saw it- but he had barely any time to evaluate or appreciate the changes. Her body now resembled that of a cheetah, albeit one with a beautiful, radiant silver coat of fur that Jack found it hard to take his eyes of. At the center of her forehead, a light, transparent diamond had been embedded, giving her the feel of an otherworldly being. Her golden eyes beamed with intelligence, while her fanged teeth had been enlarged to meet the size of her body- Jack could tell, those teeth were both sharp and deadly, because his danger sense was sending alarm bells when he had gazed at them. Initially Jack couldn¡¯t tell, but her paws had sharp fangs that were made out of a crystalline, translucent material that seemed to blend in with the surroundings. All in all, Luna was now a true, bonafide predator, one that was capable of making even Jack wary. This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    But she was still Luna.

    ¡°Luna, do you trust me?¡± Jack asked, as the tendril drew nearer.

    ¡°Yes, but-,¡± Luna replied in an argumentative tone, trying to justify her side of the argument.

    ¡°Luna, do you trust my judgment?¡± Jack asked, this time with a commanding voice.

    ¡°I- um, yes,¡± She replied in a small, feeble voice as she slightly lowered her head, while the golden tendril now stood in front of Jack, making a circular motion in the air. Luna¡¯s large, beady golden eyes were now wet, two drops of tears streaking down her eyes. She was now smart enough to understand that the existence of someone who could give her the power of advanced thought and such a strong physical body, would also have no problems taking it instantly. And she understood Jack enough to know what he wanted. She didn''t want to leave him, and that coupled with her elevation to the status of a sentient being made so many turbulent emotions hard to process.

    Jack couldn¡¯t bear to be stern with her any more, so he turned around and opened his arms. Luna¡¯s now large frame jumped into them, as she burst into a flood of tears when Jack embraced her.

    Jack stroked her soft fur gently, before speaking, ¡°Luna, I don¡¯t know what¡­ they want from me, but I am sure they have some need of me. Otherwise, they have no reason to concede to my demands.¡±

    Jack paused, as he felt a gust of wind from behind him. He glanced behind, only to realize that the golden tendril had opened a portal for him, and Jack knew enough about the terrain to know it was in Malanike National Park. He guessed it was the backside of the mountain, because he saw no Orc Titan guarding the place.

    ¡°Go on, Luna. Trust me, have I ever taken any decision that I wasn¡¯t confident I¡¯d survive? I¡¯ll be just fine. And Luna, I give you an objective. No matter what happens, you survive, you hear me? If anyone tries to hurt you, and leaves you no choice¡­ you do what needs to be done, okay?,¡± Jack lovingly stroked her hair one last time, but then mentally nudged her to leave.

    Jack could feel the red tendril that had sneaked up behind him- it just floated there, without moving. He understood what it was- a clear threat, and he didn¡¯t want it to get antsy and lash out at Luna.

    Two teardrops hit the soil as Luna put Jack¡¯s head against her own for a full minute, before turning around and entering the portal. One last parting glance was thrown his way, full of grief, sorrow and what was unmistakably anger, directed towards the tendril behind him.

    The portal closed the moment she left, and now Jack was alone in a land of eldritch horrors and unknown entities with obscure objectives.

    The mask of bravado and confidence he had put on shattered the moment Luna left, replaced with vigilance, caution and above all else, a will to survive so that he could reunite with Luna and his parents.

    It was time to finally discover what this accursed place wanted from him, and what secrets lay at the center.

 Chapter 11: Reward?

    Jack had managed to work out the inner workings of these alien structures, or at least a working hypothesis. As long as he remained on the platform he was currently on, or any platform for that manner, no force of attraction emanating from the other platforms would have any effect on him.. But the moment he tried to escape a platform, or choose his direction, one of the forces of attraction would lock on to him. If the process was random or controlled by the entities, Jack was not sure.

    Both the golden and the reddish-black tendrils had withdrawn, after all where could Jack even run to now? As long as he stayed on the platform, he would be safe- since the entity had not yet displayed a willingness to harm him. But did he wish to gamble his life upon the wrath of an unknown entity, who almost reduced Luna to embers because of his refusal?

    Before leaving the platform though, Jack had one last thing to do. Usually, he was not the sentimental type- but when he took a glance at the hundreds of tendrils of energy originating from the central platform, he wasn¡¯t too confident of his chances. Picking up a small piece of rock, Jack walked over to a medium sized boulder- the only boulder on this platform, proceeding to scratch out a series of words in the only language he knew.

    ¡®Jack Smith, Human Being of Planet Earth, was here. And against all odds, he survived.¡¯

    He grinned at his handiwork, thinking of how absurdism was truly the most convenient way to face eldritch horrors.

    ¡°Who says history is written by the winners?¡± Jack broke out into a laugh, before breaking out into a sprint. If death was what awaited him, he would approach it head on with a smile instead of cowering in fear, broken by the terror.

    It was a leap of faith, Jack still believed there was a greater purpose that drew him towards the center, believed that there was some reason why the entity needed him.. But if it was to be his end, then let no one say that he was a coward in death.

    Jack¡¯s feet exploded outward in Qi towards the center, and only a few seconds outside the bounds of the platform he felt the force of attraction. As expected, he was headed right towards the eye of the storm- the central platform, and there were no detours or scope for resistance this time around.

    A minute of flying later, Jack crashed into the central platform with a bang, sent rolling in the dirt before he managed to stabilize himself.

    ¡°Argh,¡± Jack groaned in protest because the entity had definitely used more force than necessary this time around, but his survival instincts were in overdrive so he kicked up using both his feet- managing to get back up on them almost instantly. Except for his slightly sore back, Jack was otherwise unharmed.

    The next instant, two ancient, primordial auras washed over him- one eliciting a deep, profound reverence from Jack, which made him want to bow out of a respect that seemed to be encoded deep within his bloodline. The other aura though, made Jack immediately throw up in disgust- it was as if thousands of invisible insects were crawling on his skin, but somehow even worse- the aura projected cruelty, but it was something deeper- a profound violation of the natural order, an entity that his genes seemed to reject.

    The feeling thankfully subsided, as Jack, through his senses realized that the myriad number of energy tendrils surrounding him were retracted back into the two entity¡¯s physical form. Jack crumpled to the ground, sweat running down his back as he tried desperately to breath. He was now convinced that the system had nothing to do with this entity, the horror that the orc titan had projected was not even one hundredth the black tendril¡¯s true form had brought him. Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

    A queasy Jack got up, finally face to face with his tormentors. He stared ahead with trembling hands, with his own determination to stare death in the face if today was the day he was destined to die.

    He realized that his initial assessment from afar was slightly off- the entity¡¯s were not diamond shaped objects, but far thinner, having the thickness of a human fingernail by his estimates. For almost translucent objects, they glowed with such radiance that Jack had to avert his eyes after one glance that left his eyes with some lingering pain. With the hundreds of tendrils no longer obscuring his vision, Jack realized that the central island, apart from its crimson colored grass, was completely barren of any structures or life forms- Except the circular depression that he was standing upon.

    He watched as the two entities, that had remained stationary and next to each other this entire time, moved away from the center of the circular depression and towards opposing directions, each stopping at the circumference of the depression, as if they wished to measure its diameter.

    Jack¡¯s attention was drawn to their previous residing spot, where three stone slabs slowly emerged from the ground. He was taken by surprise, but indeed found it curious. Before approaching though, Jack wondered why the entity¡¯s were standing on opposite sides of the circular depression? Had they had a disagreement? Seemed unlikely. Then were they there to prevent him from leaving? That seemed far more plausible.

    There was no response from the entities, but Jack guessed the course of action he should follow was obvious. So he walked towards the center, able to make out what was kept on them as he drew closer.

    On the first stone slab, was a thick, mottled looking tome that had an ancient aura practically exuding from it. A bizarre thought crossed Jack¡¯s mind, but he refuted it the next second. To him, it felt as if this Tome might be older than human civilization itself. It¡¯s outside was covered by a worn white animal hide, any luster it might have held eroded through the years. The pages too, were too thick to belong to the near industrialized world- Jack figured they were also fashioned out of different animal, or perhaps monster skin.

    Three letters were scrawled over the tome, but Jack was surprised when even without his gift of languages from the system, he could still read them.

    ¡°Legacy Technique: Deny,¡± Jack muttered out loud, a bit perplexed. That didn¡¯t sound like a powerful technique to him, but the words ¡®Legacy¡¯ made him rethink that supposition. Could anything with such a grand title be completely useless?

    Jack didn¡¯t reach for it yet, moving to the second slab. He wished to see his options before making any choices.

    The Second Slab had five weapons laying upon its surface. On an initial examination, Jack found nothing impressive about the five weapons except how rusted they seemed. The lack of maintenance and disrepair was almost impressive. Jack spotted a medium sized sword, a spear of standard length, a short bow, a mace and finally, a long knife that could pass as a dagger as well. From what Jack could tell, the weapons were originally painted in a silverish hue, but the passage of time had accumulated a black layer of dirt, grime or some other type of degradation had accumulated on its surface, barely letting the silver poke through. The roman numeral for 1 was carved on the stone tablet, making Jack glad that he didn¡¯t start reaching for weapons before a thorough examination.

    Jack¡¯s heart sank upon seeing the choice of weapons, knowing that this entity wanted him to fight. What was with these invaders and fighting? But he was glad the entity was considerate enough to offer him a weapon- though from the looks of it, he could only choose one. It was a pity, because he figured that there might be something special about the weapons as well if the entity was the one offering.

    Finally, on the last stone slab lay a tattered yellow scroll that seemed on the verge of complete degradation. This time, there was truly nothing Jack could use to try and determine the scroll¡¯s worth, but he feared it might be reduced to dust the moment he touched it. Though he figured the entity would have taken such a consideration into mind before offering it to him.

 Chapter 12: Final Fight

    Jack thought it through, and then decided to go through with the selection. He had been using a sword this entire time, so it made no sense to switch weapons at this juncture. He picked up the sword from the stand, and watched in surprise as the sword automatically resized itself to become longer, exactly the same length as his previous one.

    The other four weapons vanished the next instant, the process being so fast that Jack couldn¡¯t even track it with his eyes.

    ¡°As expected,¡± he muttered, not surprised. Moving on to the next item in the agenda, Jack walked over to the Legacy Technique, really hoping that it would increase his chances of survival, since he was still a little hesitant to approach the crumbling scroll.

    Jack reached out to grab the book, feeling the soft texture of ancient animal hide meet his skin. The next moment though, something unexpected happened. An electric current rippled through the contact, and the next moment information far greater than the system had ever offered him flowed through his mind. It was as if thousands of fragments of information had been fused together to form one greater whole, one greater truth, that Jack could now utilize- utilize a power that he could not even begin to fathom. It was true to his name- a legacy technique that even a mortal like him could use without having almost any exposure to the cultivation world.

    Jack stared at his right hand in disbelief while the tome that had given him the mystical power turned to ash and scattered over the stone slab almost immediately after.

    ¡°Is that even possible?¡± Jack asked out loud, in almost complete disbelief. He felt as if his horizons had significantly expanded, just to know that it was possible for a human to accomplish such a feat.

    Slightly dazed from the new power he felt at his finger-tips, Jack walked over to the last stone slab. Jack was terrified at the prospect of being rewarded even more: it only made him wonder what kind of monster he would be forced to face.

    He gently reached out for the scroll, and the moment he made contact the scroll unfurled on its own, floating in the air. Words of golden radiance were scrawled over the scroll, but Jack could tell that it was incomplete- a chunk of parchment ripped off from the bottom, and he was unable to tell how much was missing.

    Jack looked impressed as the golden words that looked like intangible squiggles made without any discernible pattern turned tangible, floating in the air with actual density to them. They formed four concentric circles with Jack as the center, and started rotating clockwise with increasing speed until they were a blur.

    Jack could hear the sounds of some unknown entity chanting in a voice that carried the weight of a world within, or at least that was how Jack felt- Each word that the entity spoke in his language weighed down on Jack as if an additional boulder had been placed on his shoulders, the sensation along crushing him without any weight. The circles started spinning faster, and the number of people chanting increased, from one to ten, ten to a hundred, hundred to a thousand.

    If it had lasted more than a few seconds, Jack would have gone insane from the pressure. Panting, Jack took deep breaths and tried to calm down. It felt as if the worlds had been encoded, or rather branded in his ¡°soul¡±, if the concept existed in the cultivation world. But try as he might, he couldn¡¯t recall the foriegn words they had chanted- his increased thought processing offering no assistance in that aspect.

    ¡®Snap out of it¡¯.

    Jack shook off the lingering psychological effects the experience had caused him, going back to a state of alertness. He had claimed the items the entity had rewarded him with, perhaps for surviving this long. It raised another question- was the Earth Orc Titan a guardian appointed by the system, or an entrance test by the entity?

    But Jack was sure of one thing- the circular layout could only mean one thing¡­. This place was an arena, and the two shards were guarding the exit on either side. If so, where was his foe?

    He looked around,trying not to gaze at the entities directly lest he get burned, but there was nothing but eerie silence all around, especially since the entities stopped ¡®manufacturing¡¯ more monstrosities. A minute passed in silence, before his sensory stat picked up a vague pinprick of danger coming from behind him.

    Jack, armed with a new sword that he found much sharper than his original one, even in its damaged, rusted condition and nigh endless reserves of Qi that were being charged into his off hand, turned around instantly, ready to counter anything that moved.

    All he saw was a sea of crimson grass, a fitting decoration for this grim island. Until he realized that he was looking at the wrong place for his foe. He turned his gaze to the sky, and he involuntarily ended up flinching.

    ¡®Of fucking course.¡¯

    The undead creature Jack had escaped from walked in space, its bare feet creating small platforms made of the black miasma-like substance it had utilized to increase its speed earlier, which dissipated as soon as the creature moved to the next platform. The creature displayed no emotion, no urgency or effort as it walked on an even space, it¡¯s sharp black claws sending a cold chill down Jack¡¯s spine.

    ¡®Why didn¡¯t he think of it before? Why would the entity create a new monster if it already had a perfect candidate waiting?¡¯ Jack thought to himself, even though the thought of him guessing the motives of a higher entity seemed implausible, to say the least. Maybe it was his frayed nerves acting up, based on his hypothesis earlier. Could the creature really learn? Or was Jack just imagining things earlier? This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    He raised his left hand up, in an attempt to see if he could lob his Qi at the creature while it was still in space. A reddish-black tendril appeared in front of his right hand, thankfully maintaining a safe distance from him.

    Jack sighed, knowing that it was a longshot to begin with.

    He took a deep breath, and started preparing for what he knew to be the most difficult challenge of his life. There would be no running from this one and no tricks or subterfuge would save him this time around.

    Jack was afraid. But this time, instead of choosing to channel his anger or fear, he chose to remember. Remember the moments where he had gone fishing with his father on a warm, sunny day. Remember the day when his mother cried as she hugged him, because he was accepted into the animation college he wanted so desperately. He remembered the day when he¡¯d first met Luna, a small baby kitten that could fit in the palms of his hands,who had brought him joy and happiness even on the darkest of days.

    ¡®Remember why you fight¡¯.

    With burning determination in his eyes, Jack steeled his nerves- ready to explode into combat the moment the entity allowed.

    The undead creature landed with a thud the next instant, easily thirty meters away from Jack, but within the bounds of the arena.

    Two bursts of radiance occurred on either sides, and the next second a dome enveloped the circular area, that was half and half in the respective colors of each entity, with a divider in the center.

    Jack could hear the sound of his own heart beating, as the divider in the center disappeared the next moment. For an opponent that Jack had previously fought, no matter how he tried to view the situation from an objective purpose, experience brought expectation.

    Jack expected the undead creature to charge at him without any strategy, like it had two times before. Unfortunately for Jack, expectation brought predictability. He found himself staring at its soulless red eyes with perplexion. The undead creature didn¡¯t move, but instead opened its jaw to show it¡¯s sharp, jagged and uneven teeth.

    Jack felt his heartbeat quicken as he realized the creature was smiling at him, before it''s third eye opened.

    A wave of black miasma exploded with the undead creature at the epicenter, sending miasma flying in every direction of the energy dome Jack was trapped in with the creature. His eyes watered at contact with the miasma and he felt nauseous, but he had locked his gaze on the undead creature¡¯s location.

    Which was why Jack was horror struck when he saw the undead creature meld into the black miasma, before being completely enveloped by him. Jack figured it could switch between a miasma like state and a solid form, which did not bode well for him.

    The enemy could strike from any direction, so Jack maintained a constant state of vigilance- constantly changing direction and examining any disturbance in the miasma that had covered the entire arena¡¯s floor by now.

    Jack sensed a disturbance ten meters away from him, towards the right and he immediately switched stance to face it. The ghoul materialized from the black miasma within a matter of seconds, perplexing Jack- it had the perfect chance to ambush him, why didn¡¯t it take it? Jack knew now that it was not learning or evolving in their previous bout, but feigning weakness. Perhaps its purpose was to lead him here, for it definitely could have killed him if it used that skill before.

    The danger sense that had saved his life so many times before went haywire when he gazed in the direction of his opponent, pinpointing the threat towards its dark yellow third eye.

    ¡°Shit, Shit, Shit!¡± Jack bellowed in panic, knowing that he had fallen for a trap. He had figured that the third eye¡¯s purpose was to unleash the miasma, but the undead creature had intentionally given him that impression.

    He felt his gaze locked on to those yellow pupils, entranced for half a second before he broke free from contact. Though Jack¡¯s expression was even gloomier, because he knew the damage was done. Instead of one undead monster, Jack now saw twelve, arrayed in a semi-circular formation- all of them identical in size, shape and even even the light growling sound they made.

    Jack knew that they were just empty constructs, a figment of his mind¡¯s imagination. The undead monster had used some kind of ocular ability on him, but which one was the real body?

    He barely had time to think any further before they all charged in unison, with their sharp claws pointed right at Jack¡¯s throat. Out of time, Jack picked a direction and ignited the qi he¡¯d channeled towards his footsteps, holding his new sword out front. In merely a few seconds, Jack pierced through one of the twelve silhouettes, not surprised when he met no resistance. Tumbling for a few meters before he stabilized himself, Jack turned around with haste to see a total of eleven remaining silhouettes.

    He braced himself for the second wave, finding his impromptu strategy more effective than he expected. The silhouettes once again arranged themselves in a semi-circular formation with haste, instead of directly charging at him like he expected. Jack was getting ready to channel Qi and escape once again, when he felt a sharp pang of pain erupting from his abdomen.

    Jack felt a liquid-like substance flow up his throat, before he puked a large mouthful of blood. Horror stricken, Jack angled his neck downwards, only to see a sharp, blood stained claw protruding out from his abdomen. Jack felt lightheaded, but he immediately understood what happened- this was not just cunning, but plain insidious. This creature enjoyed toying with his foe, Jack now understood that. The creature had ensnared him with its ocular vision, while it blended into the miasma and let him believe the real body was among one of the clones.

    The wound Jack felt was unmistakably fatal, but due to his increased physical constitution he wouldn¡¯t pass out just yet. Instead of a dread for his impending doom though, Jack just felt an overwhelming, rising primal anger that he would no longer try to hold back.

    From the moment Jack had stepped into the Wilderness, the World had treated him like prey. He was bruised, battered and forced to participate in the games of beings whose objectives he could not understand.

    He would not be prey any longer.

    If this was what the world wished him to be, then so be it.

    He would become the predator. The predator that hunts down the worst among his kind.

    Jack felt his condition worsen, but he remained unfazed. He only spoke two words as he felt his consciousness slipping:

    ¡°Deny Time.¡±

 Chapter 13: Final Fight (2)

    The world turned gray. Jack no longer felt any pain, and he also felt exceptionally light at the same time: as if his body had no weight or physicality to it. He calmly gazed ahead, not surprised when he found himself looking at a person that looked identical to him from the back, with the hand of an undead creature impaled through his abdomen- both of them completely frozen in place, motionless.

    Because that was him. His physical body, or more accurately, vessel as he¡¯d come to understand it. Jack looked down at his hand, realizing that it was just a translucent outline- much like the rest of his body. In the background, Jack could hear the sound of gushing water coming simultaneously from all directions, but upon scanning his surroundings he saw no river or stream of any sort.

    The landscape was identical to the real world, except Jack saw everything in muted gray colors, with misty fog obscuring his view when he tried to make out the edge of the landscape he was within. A thought came across his mind, and he turned to focus his gaze on the golden entity, wondering if he could figure out something about its origin.

    ¡°Curious,¡± Jack muttered, though no voice came out from his mouth. Everything else in his line of sight, whether it be the arena, the undead creature, or the surrounding platforms was painted in a dull gray, but the entities had retained their original color, without any change. Jack was slightly disappointed because he couldn¡¯t find anything new about their origin in this form either, and had to veer his gaze away before he met with any retaliation like he had earlier. It was only natural that the being who granted him this power wouldn¡¯t be affected by it, but Jack was desperate for any and every clue so he had to try.

    ¡®Focus,¡¯ Jack mentally adjusted himself, remembering that the time he had in this form was very limited. The Tome that had transferred this legacy technique to him had defined this as the ¡®state of semi-permanence¡¯, but for Jack it was just confirmation that the ¡®soul¡¯ actually existed. In this state, Jack was no longer limited by the constraints of his physical body. Time had not stopped, his senses had expanded to the point where the motion of the undead creature piercing his body, which should have taken barely a few seconds, had slowed down to months or even years from his point of view.

    Though Jack could not maintain this form for more than a few minutes, in that time almost no time would pass in the real world- it would basically be an instantaneous transition. He walked towards the undead creature, covering the distance in a matter of a few seconds. Jack had his fair share of supernatural experiences by now, but seeing yourself getting impaled by an undead monster that had driven its claws through your abdomen in slow motion was another level entirely.

    When Jack had scouted the area earlier, he had discovered that he could no longer see the hallucination-clones in this soul form of his, only the sole undead who¡¯s attention was focused on his physical body¡¯s back.

    He examined the ghoul from behind, able to spot the residual miasma left over from its switch from miasma form to physical form.

    ¡°Manifest,¡± Jack proclaimed, and the next instant the misty, gray fog Jack had noticed earlier rushed towards him from all directions, forming a small, cylindrical object that was wide enough to fit in the palm of his hand, and just barely as wide. Thousands of small runes had been carved upon its surface, so small that Jack could barely make them out due to his heightened awareness. From the knowledge imparted to him, Jack knew that it was a rotary device, he just had to apply pressure in the right direction.Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.

    The next instant Jack was taken aback, as he could suddenly see. See the thin gray strings extending from the small rotary mechanism floating in the air to his physical body, the droplets of blood he had spilled across the floor and bits of organs that were hanging out of his body- there were easily hundreds of such strings. He also noticed that one singular thread was connected to the undead creature¡¯s right arm, the one it had used to impale Jack.

    He extended his right arm forward with some trepidation, grasping a hold of the mystical rotary object with care. The moment he made contact, Jack felt a power flow through him that was simply incomparable to the inferior Qi he was so grateful to channel before. His aura in that moment changed, and the raging anger Jack was feeling earlier transformed into a placid calmness that felt unshakable. This was a power that those who existed, could not defy.

    This was time.

    ¡®Snap out of it!¡¯ A part of Jack¡¯s consciousness roared inside his mind, and he realized that he had been subconsciously influenced by the potency of this power. His right hand now looked significantly fainter, and he knew that he¡¯d lost a lot of time.

    ¡°Fucking damn!¡± Jack exclaimed but no voice came out, completely aghast. This terrifying power was not one someone at his level should have come across easily, and if he continued to tarry he would''ve died without even getting a chance to activate his power.

    ¡®Come on, move,¡± He felt desperation leaking into his voice as he put the entirety of his effort into making the mechanism move, finally hearing a small click. It was barely a centimeter, but it had definitely shifted.

    Jack watched in awe as the hundreds of gray threads exploded into motion, one string pulling the undead creatures arm from his physical body and forcing it two steps back, while every single drop of blood he spilled returned to its liquid form and was returned to his body via dozens of threads that moved at lightning fast speeds,, his organs reinstated to its original position and knitted together, and the gaping hole in his abdomen replaced by a perfectly smooth, scar-free patch of skin, all happening almost instantaneously.

    Initially, Jack thought that he was reversing time. But now he understood that he was denying time instead, denying the minute or so in which he was inflicted with a fatal wound. If he had reversed time, the undead creature would react in the exact same manner as it had before, and it would have no knowledge that he had already tried and failed in his attempt to kill Jack once before.

    No, what Jack had done was far less powerful and much more nuanced. His technique only affected time for his own physical body, invalidating all damage done to it in the last minute by reinstating it to the condition it was in a minute earlier. So if he had been greviously injured for longer than the time he could deny, he would still die.

    Jack knew that this technique would be far more potent if he could unlock its full potential, but even currently it was a terrifying power far beyond the realm of his expectations.

    ¡°So that¡¯s why it''s called a legacy skill,¡± Jack muttered in realization, his hands barely visible by this point. Before dissipating though, he made sure to memorize the exact position of the undead creature.

    He was long overdue for some payback, and this time it was the undead who wouldn''t see it coming.

 Chapter 14: Final Fight (3)

    Jack was jolted back into his body the next instant, barely able to process how fast his body knitted itself back together now that his senses were back to normal. In his mind, he had already visualized the position of the undead creature well in advance. His eyes closed shut, he used the full extent of his sensory abilities to plot a course- pivoting on his right foot, before channeling all the Qi in his body into his sword arm and then swinging with everything he had.

    He took a breath in relief when the sword made contact with an equally robust material, struggling to compete with it in strength for a few seconds before Jack felt no weight on the opposing end. He opened his eyes just in time to see the undead creature crashing into the rippling barrier of energy with a loud bang.

    ¡®Be relentless.¡¯

    Jack no longer bothered to close his eyes, channeling Qi to his feet before releasing it half a second later.

    ¡®Control the momentum.¡¯

    The trick he¡¯d learned earlier had come in handy- Jack had used his Qi to propel himself forward, falling to the ground like a meteor descending upon the Earth with his sword held forward.

    ¡®Faster. Go even faster.¡¯

    Near the end of his descent Jack channeled one last burst of Qi into his legs, letting out an adrenaline filled scream before he crashed to the ground, carrying a tremendous amount of momentum with him.

    Jack braced himself as he crashed into the undead creature¡¯s left bicep with his sword tip held forward, causing a proper shockwave to emanate from the sight of impact. The shield remained unchanged, but Jack could feel the platform tremble for a second before it subsided. He¡¯d originally aimed for the head, but it was hard to accurately pinpoint a target midair.

    This time, Jack felt the impact too as a powerful shockwave ran through his body as he landed, but he ignored it. He angled his gaze towards the undead creatures arm while avoiding gazing at its third eye, knowing that he had definitely pierced through something. Black fluid was leaking out from the spot where he had cleanly stabbed the creature through skin, muscle and bone.

    ¡®So you do bleed, motherfucker.¡¯

    ¡°Krrraaagh!¡± The undead creature screamed, perhaps in an attempt to distract Jack- he wasn¡¯t sure if this being was capable of feeling emotions or physical pain, but it had displayed a high level of intelligence earlier.

    It swiped at him with his right claw, but Jack was prepared as he withdrew his sword to parry the claw. Sparks flew out as its claws grinded against his mottled sword, and Jack took the opportunity to drive a Qi infused kick to its lower abdomen- sending it careening towards the shield once again.

    For the first time since Jack had set its eyes on the undead creature, it looked vulnerable. His opening attack had wasted its left arm from the looks of it, since it was hanging limply to the side, and his kick had sent the undead creature involuntarily sitting on the floor, leaning against the shield barrier.

    Jack knew that this was the golden opportunity he was waiting for, so he moved like lightning, channeling Qi in his sword arm with a crazy fervor.

    The undead seemed to realize its aim, shutting its third eye just before Jack made contact with his sword. Jack had already memorized the location of the eye, so at this point no petty trick or illusion would distract him from his target.

    Jack drove fast and true to his aim, striking the shut eye with clinical precision. Sparks rang out as the sword clashed with the eye slit, instead of the clean stab Jack expected- in his mind, he was hoping to impale the undead creature¡¯s brain at the same time.

    Jack had already extended himself, so he barely had time to block the miasma infused kick heading for its abdomen. A clang rang out as his sword came into contact with the powerful kick, and he was pushed back a few meters unwillingly. A quick glance at the creature¡¯s forehead surprised Jack- the third eye was nowhere to be seen, only its eerie red eyes that stared back at him, devoid of any emotion.

    Had it imploded its own eye to distract him? Why? Jack didn¡¯t understand, but the next moment it channeled black miasma into its right hand. He kept his gaze on it, ready to dodge or counter the miasma attack. Except the attack never came. The black flames of burning miasma transmuted the flesh on his hand, leaving a slit that was half the length of its palm. The next moment the slit opened, and Jack found himself staring down a yellow eye that he was but all too familiar with.

    ¡®Don¡¯t panic. Ambushes don¡¯t work twice.¡¯

    Jack tried to reassure himself as he once again faced down twelve illusions, not knowing if the real body was within them or not. Interestingly all the hallucination-clones, as Jack liked to call them, all sported the wounds he had left on the original body, and they were healing.

    Of course, if he had magical healing powers, his opponent had to have them too.

    ¡®I¡¯m missing something,¡¯ This was a thought that had been running through his mind since the beginning, but he couldn¡¯t pinpoint exactly what. Jack started retreating, trying to buy some time to think. He knew that he couldn¡¯t stop the undead creature from healing, and even if he could, what would be the point? He couldn¡¯t pierce through its forehead, his sword wasn¡¯t sharp enough. There had to be something else. The legacy skill had saved his life, and without the sword he wouldn¡¯t be able to keep up with the undead.

    What about the scroll then? Why read him a scroll that he would forget immediately after? Jack had been trying this entire time to remember, even if it was a single alien word, but his efforts were futile.

    ¡®Wait.¡¯ If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.

    Back when Jack had unfurled the scroll, the text that formed in the air was colored golden. That was definitely not a coincidence, meaning that it was likely that the brilliant golden entity that had rewarded him with the scroll. Jack¡¯s eyes widened at the implication- earlier he would not have understood, but after coming in contact with the threads of time that saved his life, he was very sure of his hypothesis.

    The golden energy was unmistakably an alternate form of energy much like ¡®Time¡¯ was. That much though, had been obvious. However, if they were both forms of energy could his Qi be used as a substitute for the golden energy?

    Jack might have forgotten the words the chanting voices had said, but his increased thought processing skill let him memorize the characters used in the innermost concentric circle¡¯s layout. The moment he tried to recall them though, all one hundred and twenty symbols flashed in his mind, and Jack knew he was on the right track.

    The undead creature and his clones just looked at Jack from afar, about a third of their wounds already healed. They seemed perfectly content to wait and regain mobility of its left arm before going back to trying and killing him.

    Channeling a thin stream Qi through his right index finger, Jack drew a symbol in the air as quickly as he physically could with a trail of blue Qi following in his wake. The symbol flashed two times, before abruptly solidifying.

    Jack could hear a chanting sound in the background, the words barely registering in his mind before he forgot them. The solitary voice alone brought him a terrifying pressure, and he almost bucked under it. It felt as if the right side of his body had caught on fire, while the left side of his body was frozen behind a block of ice. But that wasn¡¯t even the worst part- Jack felt an intangible pressure that seemed to come from all directions, yet no direction in particular at the same time. It felt as if the world around him wanted to crush him into a mist of blood, bringing him a terror that was hard to describe in words.

    On the other end though, one of the clones in Jack¡¯s field of vision shattered, and Jack felt his resonance with Qi deepen, a small part of the greater truth revealed to him. But it was not enough, not enough for him to harm the undead creature. He needed more.

    ¡®Re¡­member¡­. the¡­objective¡­. this ¡­ is¡­.the¡­.real¡­..test,¡¯ Jack felt his reactions slow down, but knew that he was going in the right direction. Though he said that, fear and indecision had frozen his right arm in place. This ability might be his only chance at piercing through the undead¡¯s body, but could Jack survive going through this ordeal eleven more times without going insane? Could he afford to take that gamble?

    ¡°.....Fuck¡­. It¡­¡± Jack said out loud, his voice slow and raspy, as if each word was a struggle. There were twelve clones. The first layer of the concentric circle had twelve symbols. The chanting increased Jack¡¯s ability to increase and utilize Qi. This was the way to beat the deadlock. And Jack was, for the first time, willing to bet his life on it.

    ¡®Whatever happens, don¡¯t stop,¡¯ Jack said to himself as he took a deep breath, before drawing symbols with such speed and force that Jack felt his wrist dislocate and fracture itself.

    Two, four, six, eight, ten¡­ and then twelve. Jack braced himself for pain unlike anything he had ever witnessed before, pain that would destroy his capability to think, pain that would make him beg for death¡­. But none came. Instead of increasing, it disappeared all together.

    Jack opened his eyes in surprise, only to see a thin layer of golden radiance around his body. His eyes were so wide they were on the verge of popping out, back drenched with sweat, hands bleeding from having dug his own nails in them and two tears streaming down his eyes.

    ¡°Thank you¡­. Thank you¡­,¡± Jack muttered in a dazed state, knowing that he¡¯d guessed correctly. He wasn¡¯t sure of the specifics, but he knew that he was being tested.

    All the clones shattered at the same time, leaving only the undead creature standing in the center, both alone and from the looks of it, puzzled. What had once looked like such a terrifying creature now looked so¡­. pathetic.

    Jack stood in the arena, the first layer of the chant rotating around him with him as the axis. Unbeknownst to even him, his green eyes had turned light blue, as he stared at the undead with hatred in his eyes. Irreconcilable hatred.

    Jack was in a state where he was closer to Qi than ever before- earlier he was like a blindfolded man trying to pluck a fish out of the sea with his bare hands, the difference truly being so exaggerated. Now he could see the thin network of vein-like structures extending to every part of his body from the reservoir of Qi below his navel, like a small pond of liquid Qi where all Qi absorbed from the surroundings went to.

    He took a deep breath in, and began absorbing the Qi from his surroundings. A large majority of Qi in the room responded to his call, flowing through his body at crazy speeds.

    The undead creature seemed to realize what he was doing, and it broke out into a frenzied dash towards Jack, claws poised to strike.

    In his present state, manipulating Qi for Jack was no different from breathing air or drinking water- it was simply natural.

    ¡®Qi Blade.¡¯ The skill that Jack had come to regret not choosing was cast with no difficulty, a sharp, edged layer of Qi manifesting around Jack¡¯s new sword, giving it a meters worth of extra reach. However the amount of Qi Jack had channeled into the sword was so enormous that it just kept going, first five meters, then ten meters, twenty meters, finally stopping at thirty meters, before it started growing in thickness- all occurring in a matter of seconds.

    The undead, who was only ten meters away from Jack stopped in its tracks, but it was too late. Almost nonchalantly, Jack swung the massive sword construct sideways, while the undead started to exude miasma around its body to shield itself from the impact.

    Jack¡¯s sword construct cleanly bisected the undead creature in half, causing its torso to fall forward while its upper body fell backward. Not done yet, Jack retracted his sword construct and slammed it down again, and then a third time- he wasn¡¯t sure if a dead creature could die, after all. With each strike, a portion of Jack¡¯s anger dissipated. Holding emotions and bottling them up in his heart wasn¡¯t healthy, and in this twisted new world it was the only outlet he had. All the fear, anger, and despair the creature had brought to him was now considered paid back in full.

    The undead burst into translucent black flames, and the first layer of the chant started spinning even faster, drawing the black flames towards it. When the black flames made contact with the chant, it was almost as if they were being purified, and Jack felt the familiar comfort of blue flames washing over his body, improving it immensely in all aspects.

    Jack was about to take a breather and just wanted to scream out his frustrations, but a question arose in his mind.

    ¡®What now?¡¯

    Jack turned his gaze to examine the two entities, hoping this nightmare was finally coming to an end. The shield around the arena dissipated, which was a good sign.

    The next instant though, both the entities, as if they were finally in agreement for once moved in unison.

    Towards him.

    ¡°FU-¡± was all the time Jack had to scream before both the entities slammed at him from either side without breaking the first layer of the chant, and then everything went black.

 Chapter 15: Here we go again

    Jack drifted in and out of consciousness, before a sharp, searing pain originating from his abdomen jolted him awake. Before he could even guess what happened, he found a deluge of system notifications awaiting him:

    You have discovered a hidden piece ¡­¡­ [Divination Error].

    You have discovered a hidden piece ¡®Unknown Ancient Ruins.¡¯

    You have killed a¡­.[Divination Error].

    You have killed a Unknown Level 17 Creature. An Essence Art has already been used on the creature. Note: Due to limited efficiency of Essence Art, experience has been lost in progress. The system does not recommend Essence Arts for cultivators below Level 50.

    You have reached level 6.

    You have reached Level 7.

    You have reached Level 8.

    You have reached Level 9, Cycle Completion: 72.5%

    You have discovered a new essence art. Divination for sponsor interference has begun¡­.. Divination in Progress¡­.. No Interference found.

    You have received a message from the System. Would you like to read it?

    ¡°Uhhh¡­. Yes, I guess?¡± Jack replied, a little shocked that a deity level existence would deign to directly contact him.

    To Cultivator, Jack Smith.

    You have encountered a Class A+ Aberrant Event. A Class A+ Aberrant Events are extremely rare occurrences, however they are not unheard of. Extensive Divination has concluded that you have not been possessed, controlled, corrupted, are not under the influence of a superior cultivator or any other such mishap that would require your immediate termination.

    Class A+ Aberrant Events resist all attempts of divination and restrict or eliminate access to the system, unless direct intervention is undertaken by the system. The remaining traces of the Ancient Ruins has been evaluated, but no further information has been discovered.

    Due compensation will be provided at the end of phase one of the tutorial.

    The system makes you the following offer:

    <ol>

    <li> For Unnamed Essence Art: No longer required to participate in the trial. D- Grade Protection for you and anyone blood related to you (including descendants) for the next 10,000 years. Training in combat or non-combat classes and entry into a D- Grade or above Sect. This offer will always remain open. </li>

    </ol>

    <ol start="2">

    <li> For Ancient Legacy Technique, Deny: Any and all demands can be negotiated. This offer will always remain open. </li>

    </ol>

    ¡°Class A+ Aberrant Event? All things considered, that does make sense,¡± Jack groaned, the splitting headache hammering away at his skill. Meanwhile, the pain in his abdomen slightly subsided, giving him time to think clearly.

    You have discovered an Unnamed Essence Art. An Essence Art is a way to transfer cultivation base or Qi from a slain combatant to the victor. Currently unable to evaluate Essence Art Quality. Please note that at your current level, prolonged use of any essence art will have lasting and severe consequences to your health.

    You have discovered Ancient Legacy Technique: Deny. Legacy Techniques are techniques created by a Paragon Level Cultivator or higher cultivator for their descendants. A Legacy Technique sacrifices a portion of the creator¡¯s understanding of the Great Dao to allow its descendant¡¯s to tap into his power without an understanding of the Dao. Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!

    Ancient Legacy Technique: Deny is an [Empyrean Level] Legacy Technique. A World Announcement will be made soon.

    ¡°Empyrean Level? What the fuck?¡± Jack muttered in astonishment, confident that it was the tier of supposed leaders of the Invasion that had lived for over fifty thousand years.

    Just when Jack was about to enter a name, the pain in his gut suddenly intensified, a burning sensation so powerful that it caused him to kneel over from the pain. It was then that he remembered the entities that had charged at him from either side, and now the horror started creeping in. He had won the trial, but at what cost? What had the entities done to him?

    With Jack at the epicenter, a shockwave rippled on his either side- on one side, a golden light washed over the fauna, giving them a lustrous sheen that made the originally plain forest an otherworldly beauty, while on the other side a wave of disturbing reddish-black light made trees standard earth douglas fir trees contort, the leaves on it turning from a light green to a disturbing blood red and the bark from a natural brown to a pitch black that seemed to absorb all nearby light.

    Jack felt something manifest inside his chest, absorbing all the Qi from his surroundings at a speed that left Jack stupefied. Soon, he couldn¡¯t feel any latent Qi remaining in the area, and the phenomenon ceased not long after. Jack could sense a small cube that rested below his heart, feeling intangible yet solid at the same time.

    Congratulations, you have manifested your Innate Talent!

    Divining¡­.

    Tier 1 Innate Talent: Dice has been detected! Please utilize your talent to understand its effects.

    ¡°Tier one?¡± Jack asked incredulously, as if he was in disbelief, before laughing bizarrely as if he couldn¡¯t believe how screwed he was. Jack had never been as sure of anything before as he was now, but that thing sitting inside his body was not a Tier 1 Talent. Anything given to him by that entity couldn¡¯t be a Tier 1 talent, no, it was something far more ancient and powerful than that.

    Jack was about to experiment with it, but his bond with Luna suddenly reconnected. He was overjoyed for an instant, before his expression suddenly morphed into that of shock, and then one of absolute rage.

    Luna was under attack, and she needed his help. The ones attacking her weren¡¯t monsters though¡­ They were humans.

    Jack¡¯s state of mind was hard to describe at that moment. First he was thrown into the middle of an alien invasion. Then he barely managed to escape from an Orc Titan with his life, only to be transported into some kind of bizarre, dystopian science fiction setting, forced to fight against a walking damn corpse with mind powers. After surviving all that, the first bunch of humans he¡¯d actually have to go and greet were trying to kill his cat.

    At that moment, Jack hoped that the attackers would be gone by the moment he arrived.

    For their sakes.

    STATUS

    Name: Jack Smith

    Affiliation: -

    Age: 22 Years

    Cultivation Cycle[?]/ Level: 9 (72.5%)

    Race [?]: Human (F-)

    Cultivation Stage [?]: Qi Channeler- Initiate (Current race limitation:???)

    Innate Talent [?]: Dice (Tier 1)

    Legacy Technique (New): Deny

    Essence Art (New): [Name]

    Cultivation Manual[?]: -

    Class: Basic Swordsman [Defensive]

    Skills: Qi Shield (Basic), Inspect.

    Primary weapon: F- Growth Type Sword Artifact (Damaged)

    Secondary weapon: -

    Artefacts (New!): Wolf Legacy¡¯s Chest Artifact (Damaged, F-)

    Feats: -

    .

    .

    .

    [Not Unlocked]

    Statistics:

    Physical: 5+4= 9

    Sensory: 5+4= 9

    Thought Processing: 5.5+4= 9.5

    Qi (Pool) [?]: 18/18

    --------------------------------------

 Chapter 16: Charge

    Jack sprinted through the wilderness, heading towards the general vicinity where he felt attraction from Luna¡¯s bond. He found himself slightly conflicted- on one hand, his sensory abilities were clearer than ever after he absorbed the undead creature¡¯s cultivation base, but on the other- Jack could no longer sense or absorb Qi the way did earlier. The difference was so vast, it was like a mortal being given the power to shape the world, only to be deprived of it a few hours later.

    He didn¡¯t dare cast the essence art again, since casting just one symbol alone had the ability to drive him insane, and the ability to clearly see the Qi channels, the thin veins that he was supposed to channel Qi through, was also not a feat he could accomplish again. There was a difference, he now knew what the correct path ahead was. And he also understood a lot about how the system works, based on his conjectures.

    Jack had managed to cast Qi Blade, and the system had mentioned that cultivators had the potential to learn basic skills on their own. Could he do it again? Without the control his essence art provided, and the ability to see his Qi channels, no. However, that gave him a lot of information to work with. The system let him cast the skill he¡¯d selected, Qi Shield, because Jack had received fragmented knowledge and muscle memory that meshed together to let him accomplish that feat. But would it be different if he were to learn it himself, again? Yes, it definitely would. The state where he had perfect control of Qi made Jack realize he could manipulate it to any state he wanted, as long as he had the ability and the Qi reserves.

    Another deduction he made was that it was not the system that allowed him to increase his cycles, but rather the system was acting as an intermediary for those who did not have an Essence Art of their own. His surrounding environment had a very sparse density of Qi, but Jack could now sense that the system had also granted him the ability to automatically absorb Qi from the surroundings- much like breathing except he couldn¡¯t sense it clearly before. But due to the sparsity, the process was agonizingly slow compared to the ocean of Qi he had access to earlier. A rich man reduced pauper would be an apt way to describe how Jack felt at that moment.

    Jack had been sprinting at his peak speed for ten minutes now, moving through the woods with the grace and poise of an experienced hunter- moving from tree to tree to guard against any ambushes. His increased physical ability meant that such maneuvers had almost no effect on his speed.

    The bond¡¯s location was getting more and more clear with every step he took, but Jack was no longer nervous at the thought of being outnumbered-. He was extremely concerned about Luna, and very, very, angry, but he would find it hard to feel nervous even if he tried to. Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

    One question was in the back of his mind though- what would he do if they had unlocked innate talents? That, Jack admitted, would make things complex. He had used [Deny] once earlier, and based on how much it had drained him, he could use it once more at most without shattering his soul. So he had one extra life, essentially.

    Qi Blade was out, so he was back to no offensive skills. His sword¡­. Well, after so many surprises receiving a damaged growth type weapon didn¡¯t seem that impressive in comparison. He¡¯d gone through the description, and it was just like any other F- Grade Sword, except once fixed it had the ability to evolve. Considering what the Weapon Master had said about Growth Type Weapons being worth more than Earth¡¯s entire solar system¡­ Jack felt like a big, red target had just been painted on his back. But he¡¯d also mentioned something about it going up to C grade. What tier could his weapon go to-

    ¡®No, no, nevermind. I don¡¯t want to know the answer to that question,¡¯ Jack stopped deliberating on that matter, taking everything one problem at a time. Though he definitely appreciated the boost to his thought processing, letting him analyze the new information he¡¯d received while he ran so fast that he could feel steam rising from his shoes.

    World Announcement: Cultivator ¡®Survivor¡¯ has received an Ancient Legacy Technique.

    ¡®Shit. Yeah go on, paint an even bigger target on my back,¡¯ Jack felt like cursing out loud, but after the harrowing experience he¡¯d been through he wished to stay away from doing anything that might antagonize ancient entities for now.

    Jack urgently wanted to reach out to Luna through their bond, but she could definitely feel his approach and a mental message could distract her at a crucial moment.

    ¡°Jack¡­ Help! Wounded¡­.,¡± Luna¡¯s soft, comforting voice echoed out in his mind, and he had to try and not let the rage overwhelm him by taking deep breaths. Finally, she was close enough for him to get a lock on her location. She was situated North-East from his current location, some fifty or sixty odd meters away- bushes, shrubbery and trees obscuring his vision.

    Luna, by intelligence, was no longer a cat. Due to Jack¡¯s actions, her mind was no less advanced than a human teen, perhaps even a human adult. She was an individual now by human standards, and he was her guardian. If they wanted to harm his ward, they would have to be prepared to bear the wrath of an enraged father.

    Jack felt the cube in his heart stir, rotating slightly in an anticlockwise direction- almost as if his rage had managed to invigorate it, but Jack was in no mood to be paying attention.

    Qi Shield at the ready, Sword pointed forward, Jack charged towards Luna¡¯s location like an ancient viking charging towards a bloody war, without any fear of death- knowing that the result could only be victory or a banquet in the halls of Valhalla. For Jack, it was even simpler. If they wanted to kill him, they better get it right the first try.

    Because they wouldn''t get a second.

 Chapter 17: Second Encounter

    Jack shortened the distance at a rapid speed, his sensory skills working overtime- Anything that moved in his field of vision, he would be ready to react to. Continuously scanning his surroundings, straining his hearing to catch the distinctive sounds of battle and estimate the number of attackers and being in a state of constant vigilance.

    Fifty meters had been reduced to thirty meters, and Jack had a hunch that the moment he passed through the shrubbery up ahead, he would have the assailants in his sight. But something was off. With his senses, he should have been able to overhear them by now. The dead silence in the forest was eerie, when his bond indicated Luna was just up ahead. On the other hand, every second he tarried was one where Luna could lose her life.

    ¡®Proceed.¡¯

    Jack didn¡¯t slow down his speed, feeling that the possibility of a trap was a bit far fetched. How would they even know he was coming, anyway. Cutting down branches or shrubbery obscuring his way, Jack finally arrived at a small bald patch of land surrounded by trees at all sides, about twenty meters in circumference.

    Covering almost the entire clearing, was a dome created out of light-green energy, constantly shimmering under the natural sunlight. If Jack wasn¡¯t in a hurry to save Luna¡¯s life, he might even appreciate the beauty of the construct.

    Tier 1 Innate Talent: Barrier has been used in the vicinity.

    The system¡¯s voice transmitted the information directly to his mind, and it took Jack only a second to reach a conclusion. He had already guessed it, but now reality was staring straight at him. How many times had Jack encountered near death scenarios in the past day? While some of his experiences might have been too unique to be replicated, he couldn¡¯t imagine anyone having an easy time in the wilderness.

    They too would have had their life and death battles, and those who were not able to adapt or trick their way to survival, like that woman Sam he¡¯d met earlier, would have already died. He had to assume that every single one of them had already unlocked their talents, otherwise he might be in for some suffering.

    ¡®That doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯m going to let a puny barrier stop me.¡¯

    Jack slashed his sword down on the barrier ferociously, causing a grating sound to ring out before a loud crack was heard. There was one large gash across the barrier, followed by smaller surface cracks spreading from the point of impact. He was honestly surprised that a barrier didn¡¯t shatter, he was level 9 now after all.

    Another slam echoed out at the exact same place, and a portion of the barrier collapsed, followed by the entire thing dissipating.

    Jack saw two men, one a five foot nine white man with a patchy beard and blond hair, and the other a dark skinned taller man standing at five feet eleven, clean shaven and bald. Both of them were holding two tower shields, standing side by side with each other, intimidatingly holding maces. From behind them, a brown haired lithe woman had notched a bow, peeking out of cover, and a hooded man was crouching, with his palm placed on the ground- Jack was able to make out a surprised expression on his face.

    A few meters away, an older white man lay sprawled on the floor, his hollow eyes staring at the sky with a shocked expression on his face. A distinct claw mark could be seen on his throat, blood already spilled all over the ground- in the process of coagulating on the ground.

    Opposite the remaining group of four, was Luna. The right part of her lustrous silver coat was singed black, while three arrows were embedded in her torso. Her right hindlimb had a coat of frost emanating from it, further slowing down her movement. Seeing her strafing while limping trying to dodge arrows made Jack¡¯s blood boil.

    ¡°Who the hell are you?¡± The blonde Mace-Knight shouted at Jack, clearly caught unaware by his flamboyant entrance.

    The archer switched its target to Jack¡¯s forehead, while the kneeling man hurriedly pressed his hand to the ground again. One of the Mace-Knights stored the Mace in his inventory, his right hand starting to grow in a bright red color, while the other Mace-Knight¡¯s weapon started to exude a chilly frost. Before Jack had much time to react, another barrier had been cast encompassing both him and Luna.

    Luna took the opportunity Jack¡¯s distraction had brought him, running for two steps before leaping in his direction. The archer, no longer able to hold back, let the arrow loose at Luna¡¯s torso.

    ¡®Did she think I¡¯m here to steal her kill?¡¯ Jack thought as he moved with grace and finesse, stepping in front of Luna with his Qi Shield. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

    A clinking sound rang out as the arrow grinded against his Qi shield, before losing momentum and falling harmlessly to the ground.

    ¡°Can you stop trying to kill my pet?¡± Jack calmly questioned the group in an even tone, displaying a level of control over his anger that surprised even him.

    ¡°.... Your pet? That alien is your damn pet!?¡± The archer questioned angrily, as she notched another arrow, this time aimed directly at Jack¡¯s head.

    ¡°That monster killed James, you piece of shit!¡± The dark skinned man with the glowing blue mace that seemed to freeze the moisture in the air around it, didn''t scream at him but seemed equally aggrieved at the loss of a companion.

    Jack too was in shock when he saw the older man¡¯s body lying on the floor, never having expected the situation to escalate this far. But he wouldn¡¯t make any judgments before getting Luna¡¯s side of the story first.

    ¡°I sense danger from this man,¡± the hooded man who was still hunched over behind the shields lightly whispered to his group- by this point Jack was sure he was an Assassin class holder. Jack¡¯s improved sensory skills allowed him to hear the Assassin''s whispers. He figured it would buy him a few seconds, so he asked Luna about the situation.

    ¡°I see. Did Luna attack you first?¡± Jack asked, as his thought processing went into overdrive.

    The brown haired woman¡¯s mouth slightly twitched, and Jack didn¡¯t miss that small movement.

    ¡°No, but why does that matter? Things a damn monster like the ones we¡¯ve been fighting, why should we care? You''re gonna side with this thing over your fellow man?¡± The blonde Mace-Knight retorted, slightly holding back his aggression after the Assassin¡¯s remark.

    ¡°I noticed that there were three different types of wounds on my pet. Now it¡¯s quite evident who the arrows belong to. Fire and Ice powers are also pretty obvious. That barrier innate talent looks quite handy too, Mister Assassin. May I ask what talent that man had?¡± Jack asked, as if he were trying to piece the course of events together.

    ¡°What are you trying to prove, murderer?¡± The archer, almost defensively, snapped at Jack.

    ¡°Wait, Elise. No, he did not have any innate talent, what is your point?¡± The dark skinned Mace-Knight seemed to be the voice of reason in the group, or at least able to regain his composure quicker.

    ¡°Ah, I see. At first I thought it was incompetence. No, I don¡¯t think so. Three of you have manifested their innate talent, and a fourth has managed to get a bow somehow. Could be all four, for all I know. See what I find curious is how none of you have a single scratch on your body, while your fifth teammate mysteriously ends up dead,¡± Jack saw their expressions fluctuate, though they tried to hide it. So he continued to press on.

    ¡°On my way here, I saw a young woman backstab a man who was guarding her- leaving him bleeding out on the floor for the monsters to feast on. You are skilled, and you coordinate well- with the barrier in place, you can ensnare and finish off monsters easily. Well, the four of you do. The fifth guy, he was a liability wasn¡¯t he? An aged man with no innate talent that was struggling? Very pragmatic,¡± Jack shot off his conjecture which he mostly knew to be true, based on Luna¡¯s narration of the events. The older man kept charging at her with the Qi Blade skill, while the others supported him from a safe distance by pelting arrows, or using their innate talents- never in any real danger. He was basically cannon fodder, used to weaken and scope out the monster¡¯s abilities before they attacked in unison- until he almost lopped off Luna¡¯s head and she decided to reply in even.

    ¡°Shut the fuck up, prick,¡± The archer muttered, but her head was hung a little lower and her tone a little meeker.

    ¡°What do you want?¡± The dark skinned man asked, seeming wary of Jack after witnessing his so-called ¡®deduction¡¯ skills.

    ¡°I am not here to avenge that man. Let me and my pet leave, and you will never see my face again,¡± Jack replied, his tone even and calm to not reveal any of his true emotions. But inside, he didn¡¯t know what to feel. He felt disgust at the groups actions, forcing an old man out in the front to face the brunt of the monster''s attacks, but this group was no pushover. He was a survivor, and challenging these four wouldn¡¯t bring him back. But he still felt terrible, and his consciousness seemed to struggle to reach a consensus.

    ¡®The only one you owe an obligation to is the one behind you.¡¯

    That was right. He had to think of himself and Luna first.

    ¡°Let him leave, Mike. It¡¯s not worth it,¡± The Assassin, who had been wary of Jack since the start, cut in with certainty in his voice.

    ¡°Are you serious, Bryan? Elise got her bow from killing a monster that didn¡¯t look half as impressive as that. We¡¯re just supposed to let him walk away after his pet monster killed one of our own!?¡± The Blonde Haired Mace-Knight burst out in a fit of rage, staring at Luna with greedy eyes.

    Elise looked over to the dark-skinned man, who was clearly the decision maker in the group, asking, ¡°Andreas, what do you think?¡±

    Andres looked over to Jack, staring him right in the eye, and Jack glared back without flinching. ¡°You can leave¡­.¡± Jack saw Mike¡¯s expression to change into a scowl, while Bryan seemed to release a sigh in relief.

    ¡°.... But. Leave that armor and weapon behind,¡± he concluded, taking all of them aback.

    ¡°Hahahaha¡­..,¡± Jack burst out laughing, as if he couldn¡¯t believe what he was hearing. ¡°Man, you¡¯re a real piece of work aren¡¯t you. Leave my weapon and armor behind? You want to kill me, don¡¯t you? At least have the guts to say it out aloud, you coward. Oh and for the record, I refuse.¡±

 Chapter 18: Challenge

    Andreas raised his right hand up in the air, and the remaining three members of the group immediately focused their attention on Jack, with battle intent in their eyes.

    ¡°You¡¯re outnumbered. Your pet over there is half dead. Don¡¯t sacrifice yourself over your ego, man,¡± The Assassin who had been reluctant to fight this entire time called out.

    That was not an option for Jack. The moment he removed what little protection he had, he was sure that the angry blonde man and the crazy woman would attack him, and Andreas sure as hell wouldn¡¯t stop them.

    He knew this wasn¡¯t going to be an easy fight. He might be individually stronger than any one of them, but their talents and coordination would make things very tricky. Another factor that Jack had to take into account was¡­. When it came to it, he couldn¡¯t hesitate. His objective was survival, and these people were a grave threat to it. They would kill him without hesitation. Perhaps they would feel regret later, but what was the point when he would be dead? If he hesitated to take the opening when he had it, he would have no chance of surviving.

    A repressed memory started to rise in his mind, bits and fragments of an event coming back to him, but he quickly started thinking about other things, managing to suppress it for now. Not now. He couldn¡¯t remember now. Preferably, not ever.

    ¡®Luna, how much have you healed?¡¯

    ¡®The frost is gone, so I can run again. Pull these arrows out.¡¯

    ¡®You¡¯ll bleed out if I do that.¡¯

    ¡®No, I can recover naturally after this¡­ change.¡¯

    Jack complied, pulling out three arrows from her torso in rapid succession, causing silver blood to flow from her wounds.

    ¡°Thanks for the free arrows,¡± Jack called out to the group, as he stored them in his inventory with a flourish, mocking them.

    ¡°You know, if you leave that bow and all your arrows behind, I¡¯ll let you leave unscathed. How about that for a counter offer? My old man did tell me that I¡¯d make a good lawyer,¡± Jack insultingly called out, hoping, even if slightly to disturb their tempo and coordination.

    Andreas, Brian and Elise saw through his taunt for what it was, but Jack saw Mike¡¯s expression contort for a second.

    ¡®Seriously? What is he, a kid?¡± Jack transmitted his thoughts to Luna as well, wondering just how smart she was now. And was she even speaking in english, or was it the gift of languages working its magic.

    ¡®No, just an idiot,¡¯ Luna¡¯s response came, and Jack had to try his hardest not to burst out laughing right there. He¡¯d noticed it earlier, and perhaps it had to do with the way he¡¯d brought up Luna- but she didn¡¯t see him as a parental figure or someone to look up to, but as an equal. He liked that.

    ¡®Okay Luna, just focus on evasion. I can negate all wounds I take within a minute, so don¡¯t interfere until you see me use that technique. How long will it take you to heal completely?¡¯ Jack had come to appreciate how faster mentally communicating was when compared to talking. This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

    ¡®Fifteen minutes.¡¯

    ¡°We gave you a chance,¡± Andreas said with a light shake of his head, and Jack was starting to get sick of the man¡¯s posturing. In the next instant, Andreas waved his right downward, and Jack guessed that was the signal for ¡®Attack¡¯.

    ¡®Now Luna. Run!¡¯ Jack mentally ordered Luna, while the sword of an arrow whistling towards him was heard seconds later.

    Jack moved his shield to guard his chest, successfully deflecting the arrow. However, Andreas action¡¯s surprised him- Jack had initially thought Andreas waving his mace down was just a signal, but the frost-imbued mace continued to move until it made contract with the floor.

    A wave of frost exploded outward in a flat conical wave, headed towards Jack¡¯s direction.

    Tier 1 Innate Talent: Freeze has been detected.

    Jack knew that the talent wasn¡¯t strong enough to cause him any real damage, but having his mobility restricted might result in similar consequences. Using his superior reflexes, Jack dove out of the way, dissipating the Qi shield for a second and using his left arm as leverage to perform a combat roll.

    ¡°Tch,¡± Jack muttered in irritation, as his left hand was now partly frozen despite his best efforts just as he got back on his feet.

    Thankfully, casting Qi shield wasn¡¯t a problem, and the circulation of Qi coupled with his physical body nullified part of its effects.

    ¡°Die, you cocky motherfucker!¡± The blonde haired man pointed his glowing red hand at Jack, sending Jack¡¯s danger sense off.

    Tier 2 Innate Talent: Fire attuned Lightning has been detected.

    ¡°Shit,¡± Jack exclaimed, as a bolt of red lightning arced through the air at a rapid speed, aimed right for his chest. Jack made the mistake of blocking instead of dodging, the impact pushing him two meters back through the forest soil. Jack watched on in surprise as multiple cracks appeared on his shield, before it shattered entirely.

    Fire erupted across his left arm, but thankfully most of the impact had been absorbed by the shield. Jack patted his arm on his thighs a few times, managing to put out the fire but the pain lingered. If Jack had not suffered all kinds of terrible pain before this encounter, he would have screamed, but his tough physical body and growing tolerance mitigated that.

    ¡®How did Luna take such a powerful attack head on and survive?¡¯ Jack wondered, as he moved his neck sideways, dodging the arrow easily.

    Tier 1 Talent: Minor Telekinesis has been detected.

    ¡®Minor Telekinesis¡­.?¡¯ Jack was confused because he couldn¡¯t see anything out of the ordinary, when his danger sense suddenly triggered, at the back of his neck. He moved his slightly charred left hand towards his back, guarding the area around his head and his neck. If it struck anywhere else, with his high physical stat it wouldn¡¯t be anything serious.

    A clink rang out as the arrow bounced off his shield and fell to the ground. Jack turned around and stomped on it, breaking it in half lest it once again start flying at him.

    Jack realized that this fight would be more difficult than he bargained for. The blonde man, Mike, was the true threat in this group, but he listened to Andreas. That convinced Jack that they knew each other before this all went down, otherwise with his personality it would not be possible for him to cooperate.

    Once again, Jack was on the move, thinking of ways to make his approach. They had the perfect skillset to fight at range, while on his side he had Luna who was far stronger than he expected. What exactly had the entity done to her? Did she have some special ability as well?

    Either way, Jack knew he was in for a challenging fight.

 Chapter 19: Outnumbered

    Jack dived out of the way of another fire bolt, wondering how many times Mike could continue to use that talent. He had tried to close the distance to the group, hoping his greater physical stats would make it possible. So far, each time Jack got within thirty meters of the group, they began focus firing at him like crazy. Mike¡¯s fire bolt coupled with Andreas¡¯ frost wave were a nightmare when used with synergy, not to mention Jack had to guard his back for any curving arrows the entire time. They fired an occasional arrow at Luna, who was just focusing on evasion until her wounds healed. It made her look like an injured animal trying to survive rather than a threat, and from his boisterous words earlier Jack had hinted at the possibility of having his own innate talent.

    Jack had tried to change tactics and head towards the barrier¡¯s edge, aiming to shatter it as quickly as possible, but they had countermeasures for that as well. Mike, the only innate talent user that had the range, perhaps due to his being Tier 2, started blasting fire bolts towards him, and due to him heading in one fixed direction, a bolt barely missed the back of his head. Not only that, but the other two started firing on Luna, hoping to get a level up from killing her.

    Jack¡¯s anger was starting to rise, now realizing just how badly these people wanted to kill him. Was getting a level up that much of a high? Jack felt like this might be part of the reason, because he too had experienced the euphoria from being an average human to a man who was close to approaching the physical limits of the human body, but even then these people were a special brand of murderous.

    He didn¡¯t want to use his innate talent, because using an unknown power in the middle of a live battlefield seemed like a terrible idea. Not to mention that he wasn¡¯t naive enough to believe that the entity had given him its power without any reason. What would happen to him if he used it? Would he instantly die? Would he be, without realizing it, controlled by an ancient being? There was simply no way to know until he used it, and Jack was not going to risk it until he had no choice left.

    Qi Pool: 15/18.

    ¡®Damn it,¡¯ Jack thought, knowing that his senses did not deceive him. When his Qi shield was shattered, all the Qi used to channel it was lost. Which meant that he could only block the firebolt five more times. If this battle of attrition continued to last, Jack knew that either him or Luna would be grievously injured or even worse, dead.

    ¡®It was time to begin the countdown,¡¯ Jack thought, as he blocked another arrow that was trying to sneak up on him.

    Instead of evading close to the edges of the dome, Jack finally changed his direction- heading straight for the good men and women that wanted him dead.

    ¡°What happened to all that big talk earlier? Pathetic,¡± Mike¡¯s irritating voice rang out in the background, but it was of no consideration for Jack.

    At that moment, Jack was operating at a full hundred percent- his senses were sharper than them, his physical body stronger, and his mind faster. First came the wave of frost, freezing the ground in his direction at rapid speed, but Jack was prepared. Merely an instant later, Jack applied force to his legs and leaped- a normal leap, no longer capable of doing the fancy Qi powered ones.

    His powerful leg muscles were enough to give him a few seconds of airtime, the ground under him frozen solid by the time he landed. He had reached the thirty meter mark. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

    A bolt of red lightning snaked through the air, leaving a thunderous rumble behind. Jack braced himself, as his shield exploded again with a bang, fire erupting over his left arm.

    ¡°Fuck!¡± Jack grunted, flames once again burning his left hand- this time it hurt more in comparison, especially over the already wounded area. But his physical resilience had also reached an impressive level, and Jack had a feeling that if it were not a Tier 2 talent, he could have shrugged it off.

    Qi Pool: 12/18.

    ¡®60, 59, 58, 57¡­..¡¯

    Perhaps they expected him to dodge instead of taking the blow head on, because he was able to cross the next five meters unscathed. Another Qi shield had materialized in place of the old one, but Jack¡¯s arm was throbbing with occasional bursts of pain. He had begun the countdown the moment he had taken the first hit, knowing this might be the only chance he had to resolve this threat.

    ¡°Hahaha, he¡¯s gone insane!¡± Matt howled like a lunatic, almost as if he was enjoying the pain and suffering he felt.

    An arrow was fired, headed right for his exposed thigh without any talent being used. The intent behind it was simple, to get him to change directions.

    ¡®49,48, 47¡­¡­¡¯

    The arrow, much to Elise¡¯s shock, just stabbed Jack in the thigh. He made no attempts to dodge it, knowing that his physiology would minimize blood loss.

    Twenty meters¡­

    ¡°Attack together and finish him!¡± Andreas shouted out, slamming his mace into the floor once again. Jack saw the wave of frost head towards his direction, leaping once again, but this time leftward. A bolt of red lightning snaked to where he would have been if he leaped forward, missing him by a meter. Landing back on his feet, Jack took two steps before breaking into a slide, using the wave of frost Andreas had carpeted the floor with to his advantage. The ice had reduced the friction considerably, an arrow flying past where Jack¡¯s head would have been if he had not gotten creative, increasing his speed tremendously.

    Ten meters were crossed almost instantly.

    ¡®41, 40, 39, 38¡­.¡¯

    Jack slid back to his feet and started strafing forward, moving in a zigzag manner. But the distance at this point was too close to comfort, and a potent bolt of red lightning was headed for his chest, point blank. The shield shattered the next moment, and Jack¡¯s left arm was droused in fire.

    ¡°Aaaaagh!¡± Jack screamed, but even then rolled forward while his left arm made contact with the frozen floor, reducing some of the burn.

    Seven meters. He was down to just seven meters.

    Qi Pool: 9/18

    Without waiting, Jack dove forward with his left arm hanging limply at the side, an arrow whizzing past his forehead, rolling and landing on his feet- another wave of frost catching him the moment he landed. Andreas had learned from his mistake, as Jack was only four meters away from the two mace-knights hidden behind their shields.

    His left arm completely burnt, right thigh having an arrow poke out, both legs frozen solid- with only four meters left.

    Jack got a glimpse of the three attackers, looking at him with some relief in their eyes- clearly not expecting him to be crazy enough to charge head on.

    ¡®12, 11, 10, 9¡­¡¯

    ¡°Deny,¡± Jack whispered, and all the extensive damage he had taken in the past sixty seconds disappeared, as if it never existed. For Andreas and the others, one moment Jack was half dead lying on their doorstep, and the next second the only wound he had was a light burn on his left hand.

    Anger coursing at how cruelly they had attacked him, Jack moved forward in a burst of motion, a distance of four meters almost nothing to him. With a single, clean jerk of his sword, Jack cleanly sliced off Andreas¡¯ mace wielding arm that was protruding out from behind his shield.

 Chapter 20: I am Jack Smith

    ¡°Aaaaaagh!¡± Andreas'' blood curdling scream rang out in the forest, completely unable to understand what had happened in that short period of time. Jack had been burnt, shot at by an arrow and even had his mobility frozen, how could he possibly move after that? Furthermore, much like Jack had been getting notifications each time an innate talent was activated in the vicinity, Andreas should have received one too- but the system had remained silent.

    Jack of course, by now, had learned not to trust the system. Perhaps if the divinity were still alive, it would be infallible. But he had first hand seen the system fail on him. In this case though, the system had not failed- he had not used an innate talent at all.

    ¡°Andreas!¡± Elise screamed a mix of shock and anger, notching an arrow and firing at Jack from the other flank. But Jack had never stopped moving this entire time, out of respect for his enemies- he never underestimated them. He had learned from watching Sam¡¯s betrayal, the key weaknesses of Mace-Knights. The sense of security that their Qi Tower-Shield provided was both a blessing and a curse in the wilderness- for safety was naught but an illusion. It already negatively affected their movement speed, coupled with the element of surprise Jack on his side- flanking Andreas from the right.

    Pivoting on his right foot, Jack shifted his weight and did a 180 degree turn- mirroring Sam¡¯s movement by cleanly cutting through the tendons in the back of Andreas¡¯ right knee, sending him to the floor.

    ¡®Luna, now!¡¯ Jack called out to their bond, being all the time he had before the assassin stopped casting the barrier around the arena and rushed at him, his feet glowing with blue Qi. This was the first time Jack had witnessed the skill Qi Steps, and Jack was surprised. The assassin moved as if the ground held no friction for him, making almost no noise as he covered the distance very quickly and drove his dagger towards Jack¡¯s abdomen.

    <hr>

    On the other hand, Luna who was believed to be too injured to do anything but dodge by this point suddenly recovered her vitality and blazed forward with surprising speed.

    Thirty meters, twenty meters, ten meters¡­.

    ¡°Mike, stop it!¡± Elise yelled, causing a flummoxed Mike to finally come to a decision. He dissipated his shield, completely unarmed but his red, glowing hand and fired a bolt in Luna¡¯s direction. While on the other hand, Elise pointed her bow in Jack¡¯s direction, but due to the melee that Jack and Brian were engaged in, she couldn¡¯t get a clear shot.

    Luna was like a young child, except she was far smarter and more vicious than one. Perhaps it was her bloodline as a part-predator, or perhaps she was not yet as mature as she thought herself to be- but the thought of losing to any human except Jack didn¡¯t sit right with her. She had faced that powerful bolt before, and it had burnt her skin pretty painfully. But she wouldn¡¯t make the same mistake twice. She was a natural feline, no human could compare with her when it came to agility.

    So watched the human cast the bolt, timed it based on her prior experience and then leaped the furthest she¡¯d ever done in her life- surprised at how powerful and responsive her muscles were- the distance of ten meters was reduced to a mere three, her longer legs making short work of the remaining distance. This was one of the humans that had humiliated her, and he would pay.

    She watched as the panicked humans swallowed one of the pills, trying to stem the flow of the meeting. Their eyes made contact, the human while kneeling at the same level as her- she found that amusing. She saw the panic, the fear in his eyes, much reflecting her own when she was besieged by five powerful foes. She knew he would try to manifest his shield, but she was faster.

    In a swift, elegant leap, she ripped the man¡¯s throat out with her sharp teeth, landing on the ground just as Andreas¡¯ lifeless body made contact with it, a ¡®thump¡¯ sound echoing out in her sensitive ears, before she broke out into another sprint. A furious red lightning bolt struck the ground where she was standing before, but it hit nothing but air.

    ¡°Andreas! No!!!¡± Elise¡¯s pained cry rang out, while Mike just stared on in shock. Andreas was dead¡­. Just like that?

    Elise¡¯s eyes were bloodshot, and a tear trickled down her right eye.

    <hr>

    Jack parried the assassin¡¯s dagger, but found himself surprised when the assassin pulled out another dagger, made out of sharpened white bone like material from a sheath concealed in his robes.

    If it weren¡¯t for his higher stats, Jack would not have been able to parry that attack. Even then, he barely blocked its long, serrated edge.

    ¡°Get out of the way, Brian!¡± The scream of a crazed Elise rang out behind him, and though Jack already knew, it still made him squirm when he received confirmation. Luna had killed Andreas, just like¡­. he had instructed her to.

    ¡®They threatened your survival. Only the objective matters. Forget everything else.¡¯

    Chanting that mantra gave Jack clarity, and he didn¡¯t find it surprising when Brian chose to disengage and start stepping backwards, his Qi Steps skill making even that action quite fast.

    Jack didn¡¯t hesitate either, choosing to chase after Brian with a mad fervor- as far as he was concerned, Brian provided him with immunity. Three arrows were fired in rapid succession, but no fire bolt came. Mike was too busy trying to guard against the threat of Luna. Two arrows swept past him, but the last one missed him by mere inches- Jack found his danger sense to be slightly sluggish when multiple targets were aimed at him.

    He knew this fight had gone beyond looting reasons and was now a vendetta, so retreat was no longer an option. Jack decided to¡­ as difficult as it was, to lunge at another human with intent to kill. This was the wilderness, and if a man drew his sword and you or your people, it had only one meaning: either kill, or be killed. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

    The dual wielding assassin¡¯s eyes went wide with panic, as he leaped backwards with surprising grace- his lightweight frame floating in the sky for half a second.

    ¡®Luna, get this guy!¡¯

    Jack had formulated this plan when he saw the nimble assassin get away from him easily- he decided to completely ignore the assassin and took off towards Elise and Mark, while Luna who was pressuring Mark broke out into a sprint away from him. In an instant, they had switched targets. Jack did not have any need to guard his back, the assassin was the only one in the group without ranged attacks.

    Jack moved in a zig-zag motion, momentum building up with each stride- he was now accustomed to this movement style, it had saved his life many times before in the wilderness after all.

    ¡°Come on then. You wanted to kill me, so here I fucking am!¡± Jack replied, and for the first time he screamed at them. This loss of life was unnecessary, he didn¡¯t want this. But they pushed, and pushed him until there was no remaining path left.

    ¡°Mark, kill him!¡± Elise shrieked, maybe intimidated by Jack¡¯s six foot three figure barrelling towards her at full speed.

    Elise fired arrow after arrow, without stopping. The moment an arrow left the bow, another one was notched and ready to fire, or at least that¡¯s how it felt to Jack.

    ¡°I¡¯ll fucking blast you to cinder this time. Let¡¯s see if you can come back from that!¡± He bellowed, channeling the red thunder in his hand before firing it in Jack¡¯s direction.

    Jack started to move even faster, wishing he could have Qi Steps at this moment. One of Elise¡¯s arrows hit him in the right arm, making him strafe to the left. Mark had learned from his previous mistake, this time aiming for his legs instead of his chest. Pity Mark didn¡¯t know Jack would soon run out of Qi, if he kept shattering his shields. Jack tried his best to jump over the fire bolt, but his lightning was truly fast.

    ¡°Aaaah fuck,¡± Jack¡¯s right leg had caught fire, and this time no magical healing technique would save him. Either he would be fatally wounded, or he used to deny and shattered his soul. The first option somehow seemed less painful in comparison.

    But he kept running, another arrow catching him in the arm- but less than three meters remaining.

    Jack made eye contact with Elise¡¯s features, which had just finished firing the most recent arrow that had struck Jack. At that moment Jack saw her as a twenty five or six year pretty brown haired girl with hazel eyes, and not someone who would make an old man fight a cheetah like creature to the death and try to kill him for his items and experience.

    She had a small sword tied to her waist, but it was unsheathed. Matt had already fired his Red Bolt, and was recharging it. Jack knew he at least had a few seconds.

    Did he have to-

    ¡®Do not hesitate.¡¯

    A voice rang out in Jack¡¯s mind. A voice that brought back terrible memories that he couldn¡¯t afford to remember at any cost. No. Never.

    So he complied.

    Jack watched as her neck burst out with trickling blood, feeling too terrified of that voice to realize the nature of what he had done.

    ¡°Die!!!¡± Matt screamed like a maniac, his red hand glowing with such power that even Jack felt enough fear to snap him out of his trance.

    In that moment, pragmatism took over his thoughts, and he let go of his sword, grabbing Elise before she fell to the ground- using her as cover.

    A wave of fire unlike Jack had never experienced before burst forward, reducing Elise¡¯s body to embers, shattering his shield and searing his left arm completely aflame. The pain was maddening, but Jack in a moment of quick thought dove to the ground and started rolled away from Matt, trying to get rid of the terrible pain and the fire.

    A quick gaze at Matt showed him to be completely spent, Jack figured that last attack took every single inch of power he possessed.

    ¡®Finish Him.¡¯

    The voice returned, once again bringing Jack a deep terror that far overwhelmed the pain. Most of the fire had been doused, but the upper part of his left forearm was still aflame. Just the act of leaving the grass and getting back on his feet took immense courage, but Matt also knew that the battle had to end here. Taking out the mace was slower than depositing it, perhaps so people couldn¡¯t pull out battles mid fight- that gave Jack some time to get back on his feet, but that was it.

    Matt charged with his Mace held up high, too mentally and physically drained to channel his Qi. He had overdrawn his talent, but Jack was equally exhausted and his left arm was in no position to channel a shield.

    Matt screamed, and then charged.

    Jack screamed, and charged back.

    Jack swung his sword, knowing he had the reach advantage. Matt parried, with a blow from his hefty mace. Jack was sent stumbling back a few steps, the pain still making him unable to focus. Matt charged again, swinging his mace sideways.

    ¡®Do not prolong his misery, Jack. Finish it.¡¯

    ¡°Fine! Fuck!¡± Jack yelled, as he sidestepped the mace swing, all his subconscious inhibitions gone. He knew somewhere, down deep, he was slightly holding back. He didn¡¯t want to kill him. But he slashed his sword anyway, taking off Matt¡¯s overextended arm that had hit nothing but air. The arm went flying, and Jack shifted to a lunge, straight for the heart- to make sure he didn¡¯t have to suffer any more than he need to.

    ¡°It¡¯s done, motherfucker! Are you happy now! Are you fucking happy!?¡± Jack screamed, losing all the strength in his body and collapsing along with a hollow eyed Matt, who stared back at him with hatred, right to his last breath.

    A proud Luna waltz in, her white coat marred with sticky red blood, but Jack was in no position to pay her attention.

    He just kept chanting the same mantra over and over again.

    ¡®I am Jack Smith. Son of George and Amanda Smith. I live in the suburbs. I did a three year animation degree in college, after that I worked in an animation studio till I got fired. My passions are playing basketball, reading and drawing comics and occasionally, going to the gym. I am Jack Smith. Son of George and Amanda Smith. I live in the suburbs. I did a three year animation degree in college, after that I worked in an animation studio till I got fired. My passions are playing basketball, reading and drawing comics and occasionally, going to the gym¡­.¡¯

    Over and over again, in a landscape painted with blood sweat and gore- Jack kept repeating the same words until two hot tears rolled down his eyes. Knowing that once pandora''s box was opened, it could not be closed. The memories could no longer be suppresed. No longer denied.

    His original name was not Jack Smith. And this was not the first time he had killed a man.

 Chapter 21.1: Mother

    Jack remembered. In all honesty, he had never forgotten. He had just ignored it. Suppressed it. Buried it in the deepest corner of his mind in a small box full of his demons, and tossed the key into the abyss. Or so he had thought.

    Suppress a memory long enough, and the details become hazy. Suppress it even longer, and it starts to feel like a bad dream. Craft a persona and deny the memory ever existed, and you go back to a normal, functioning adult. But you can never truly forget.

    And one day, your past will catch up with you. One day, it will all come crashing back, like an unstoppable torrent of water, washing away all the pretension and the lies.

    For Jack, that day had come.

    His name, back then, was different. But the name itself held no value, no strong meaning or memory behind it. Back then, he had none of what he had today.

    <hr>

    The small dilapidated apartment they lived in could barely be considered furnished. A small box tv was placed on a rectangular table in the center of the living room, opposite which was an ancient creaky maroon sofa that was purchased second hand. Apart from that was a wooden dining table with four banged up chairs, upon one of which a young Jack was sitting, eating a bowl of cereal.

    ¡°Mom, can I get more cereal?¡± A young, twelve year old Jack asked in a cute, innocent voice.

    Jack¡¯s mother was a thirty four year old woman five feet nine tall, with long black hair, brown eyes and high cheekbones. Her frame was on the lighter side, which considering her poor appetite was only understandable.

    ¡°It¡¯s almost time for the bus, son,¡± His mother took a glance at her wrist watch before replying.

    Jack made a downcast expression, prompting a sigh from his mother. ¡°You just don¡¯t want to go to school, do you?¡±

    Jack¡¯s mouth twitched, and he averted his gaze from his mother.

    ¡°What did they do this time?¡± His mother asked softly, tone turning gentle, caring.

    ¡°They¡­.. Nothing,¡± Jack thought about it, but then decided to keep silent on the matter.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to talk to the principal today. This is-,¡± Jack could feel the anger rising in her voice, so he hurriedly cut her off.

    ¡°No! Please, don¡¯t do that. That just makes it worse, mom,¡± Jack exclaimed, with concern rising in his voice. He had seen first hand how much worse it had gotten for a different kid.

    ¡°I-... ,¡± His mother sighed, and seemed to age a few years in an instant. ¡°Just a few more days, Jack. I¡¯ve been saving up, and one of my colleagues told me there¡¯s an opening for a managerial position in his city. I promise I¡¯ll get the job, so just wait.¡±

    Jack walked up to her and gave her a hug, acting quite unlike children of his age would.But as a child he had never known privilege, and tough times had exposed him to the way of the world far earlier than children his age should. He knew how hard his mother worked to provide for him, never once complaining, never once showing any weakness.

    ¡°Okay mom. The bus should be here anytime, so I need to go,¡± Jack said with a smile, which was only half-feigned.

    ¡°That¡¯s my boy,¡± She replied with a smile.

    <hr>

    Jack might not have the many privileges, but he had never felt a lack of love, no matter how tough it got.

    He was sitting in class, listening to his physics teacher talk about ¡®Friction¡¯, as he doodled the teacher¡¯s face on his notepad. He had to be discreet with his strokes though, his math teacher had already caught him once doing exactly that, though seeing his drawing did mellow him down.

    His focus was interrupted when a man Jack barely remembered as a substitute teacher for his english class barged in through the door, quite rudely at that. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.

    ¡°Is Jack here?¡± The substitute teacher asked loudly, causing the physics teacher to look at him with some irritation. But from the serious expression on the man¡¯s face, he swallowed his complaints.

    Jack raised his hand, utterly confused at what was happening.

    ¡°Follow me. It¡¯s urgent,¡± The substitute teacher said, and the physics teacher seemed to understand that something bad had happened.

    ¡°Go on. Don¡¯t worry about class,¡± he added, but didn¡¯t ask any questions.

    <hr>

    Jack felt numb after the news, so much so that it didn¡¯t even register that he was being driven by the substitute teacher to the hospital. His mother had been in a car accident- she had survived, but had been injured in the head.

    He was taken to the hospital room, where he saw his mother with her head bandaged up, fast asleep.

    Tears spilled out of her eyes, but the doctor at his side patted his back reassuringly.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, son. The MRI just came back, she¡¯s just suffered a concussion. Give it a few days, and she¡¯ll be fine,¡± The doctor reassuringly said, and Jack could finally breathe again. He pulled out a chocolate bar from his pocket, handing it over to him.

    ¡°Now it says here you don¡¯t have anyone else to take care of you, so we¡¯ll be putting an extra bed next to your mother¡¯s. You okay with that?¡± The doctor asked, his tone steady and calm, which oddly gave reassurance to little Jack as well.

    ¡°Yes,¡± Jack nodded, feeling very grateful to the doctor.

    <hr>

    A day passed in relative boredom. Some of the nurses had brought him children¡¯s books and toys to play with, but they could only alleviate so much of it. The doctor¡¯s said his mother would be fine, so now all there was left was for her to wake up.

    As he had done hundreds of times before in the last twenty four hours, he turned to look at her mother. His mother was staring back at him, she was awake. For a moment, his mother¡¯s eyes were a bright red, gleaming with the luster of a ruby as they stared at him with complex expressions in their eyes. Jack blinked, wondering if he was more tired than he thought, and his mother¡¯s eyes were back to the comforting hue of brown he was used to.

    ¡°Mom?¡± Jack asked, wondering if she was alright.

    ¡°Son,¡± his mother stated plainly, without much emotion within them. Then to Jack¡¯s surprise, she sat upright- pulling out the IV drip attached to her right hand and tossing it aside without a second glance.

    ¡°Mom, I don¡¯t think you¡¯re supposed to do that. Are you okay?¡± Jack asked with concern rising in his voice, she wasn¡¯t acting like herself.

    She ignored his concerns, getting back up on her feet as if nothing happened to her.

    ¡°Follow me,¡± she said, as she walked out of the hospital room with her forehead still bandaged.

    ¡°Mom?¡± Jack followed after her, feeling freaked out by how much his mother had suddenly changed.

    Walking up to the reception, they attracted the gazes of many hospital staff and patients alike.

    ¡°Ma¡¯am, you¡¯ve just suffered a concussion, you can¡¯t be walking around!¡± A middle-aged female nurse hurriedly walked towards her hurriedly, with concern in her eyes.

    Jack looked at his mother, trying to discern from her expression what was wrong with her. At twelve years of age, he didn¡¯t really understand what a concussion meant, but it didn¡¯t sound good.

    He could have sworn that he saw his mother¡¯s eyes flash red once again, after which she spoke, ¡°Listen woman, I have no insurance, so unless you¡¯re offering to pay my hospital bills, get out of my way.¡±

    It felt a reasonable enough answer to Jack, but his mother would never disrespectfully talk to someone who had healed her.

    ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am,¡± The nurse seemed to also find that reasonable, as she nodded and complied, getting out of his mother¡¯s way.

    Walking up to the receptionist, she calmly spoke, ¡°I want to be discharged.¡±

    The receptionist seemed confused, looking at the nurse with an odd expression on her face. ¡°Hey Zuri, are you sure this is okay?¡±

    The nurse just nodded, before replying, ¡°It¡¯s fine. She¡¯s already past the worst of it.¡±

    ¡°Well, I¡¯m not the one that¡¯s going to be sued later, so, whatever you say,¡± The receptionist seemed to agree, beginning to type on the ¡®boxy¡¯ paraphernalia they used to call a computer back in the days.

    The bill was handed over to Jack¡¯s mother after a ten minute wait, and Jack tried to get a glimpse of it.

    His face went white when he saw the final figure, a total of 12,000$ had to be paid for their one day stay. Jack did not know how much savings his mother had, but he was sure that the possibility of relocation just went out of the window.

    Jack¡¯s mother did not complain, simply handing over her debit card as if the amount didn''t faze her at all.

    ¡°Thank you ma¡¯am. I recommend you take a taxi on the-.¡±

    ¡°You just emptied my bank account. Have some respect and shut up,¡± Jack¡¯s mother retorted, and Jack followed along behind her, as they exited the hospital, leaving behind a receptionist that didn¡¯t know whether to be mortified or irritated.

 Chapter 21.2: True Identity

    ¡°Mom, are you sure you can drive?¡± Jack asked, but his question received no response.

    Jack was starting to feel very uncomfortable, not understanding why his mother was acting so cold and distant. The rest of the drive was in relative silence, Jack not knowing how to react to this sudden change.

    Soon, they reached their apartment building.

    ¡°Jack, we need to discuss some things,¡± His mother finally spoke, as they reached their doorstep, taking out her key and unlocking the front door.

    ¡°Okay mom, but are you sure you don¡¯t want to take a rest first?¡± He asked, but his mom just waved her hand, indicating that he was to sit on the dining table.

    Jack complied.

    ¡°Jack, I¡¯m not going to sugar coat this. We don¡¯t have enough for this month¡¯¡¯s rent. I¡¯m going to go to work tomorrow, make some calls, and see if someone¡¯s willing to put us up for a few weeks. You don¡¯t need to go to school for now, just stay at home until I figure something out. Okay?¡± His mother asked, and for a second Jack saw the shadow of her old self peeking out, concerned about his well being, but only for a second.

    The next few days were a blur in Jack memories, and it only got blurrier from here on out. But his mother used to make meals for him in the morning, then disappear for most of the day, before arriving at night, with the same, placid expression on her face. He was given strict instructions not to open the door unless she knocked thrice in quick succession, and that was that- he spent most of the day reading comics, playing on his handheld console, and chowing down on the excessive amount of food his mom left for him.

    Perhaps it was three, or perhaps five, but Jack still remembered when he let her inside, only to hear the words,

    ¡°Pack up. We¡¯re leaving tomorrow.¡±

    ¡°So soon?¡± Jack asked, wondering how his mother had managed to work out alternative accommodation this fast.

    ¡°Yes. Our landlord was kind enough, and agreed to forgive this month¡¯s rent if we moved out by tomorrow. I already managed to work out¡­ an arrangement. You¡¯ll just have to adjust until I get my next paycheck.¡±

    <hr>

    The next day.

    After an hour¡¯s drive, Jack found himself staring down at¡­. A motorhome, of all things. A trailer. This, Jack had not expected. A six foot one obese man walked out of the doorway, dressed in nothing but a white tank top and black shorts, a bottle of beer clutched in his right hand.

    A motorhome outside town was not what Jack had expected, but it was in surprisingly good condition. Jack supposed it was better than staying on the streets, especially in a city where he¡¯d hear at least three to four distant gunshots go off every night from his block.

    ¡°Hey, there. You must be Jack, eh little man?¡± The man gave Jack a little friendly head rub, before he pulled his mother into a hug, making Jack squirm slightly

    ¡°I didn¡¯t think you¡¯d actually come, Agnes,¡± The man said with slight surprise, and then welcomed them in.

    The man, as Jack came to know him, was called Jim. Both his parents had died at a young age, and upon turning eighteen he¡¯d inherited an impressive sum. He invested a quarter of it into a motorhome, two quarters into the stock market, and the rest was kept in his bank for day to day expenses. Long story short, Jim believed himself to be a trader.

    The motorhome was surprisingly comfortable from the inside, having two bed rooms, one having a queen sized bed, and the other a king sized bed, with only one bathroom in the larger room.

    The first three months went by in relative comfort, as Jack had started going back to school, driven by his mother every morning before work. Jim and his mother got along well, but he always had this odd feeling that his mother was putting on an act every time he saw her with Jim. She never smiled after the accident, but when she was with Jim she would put on a smile, that just didn¡¯t feel right to him.

    It was after, the day that the stock market crashed, that Jim¡¯s demeanor changed. He had overheard enough of their conversation to know that Jim had lost a significant amount of money. Then he started to notice the bruises on his mother¡¯s body. The late night screaming fights kept Jack awake up till late at night, but it was mostly Jim that was doing the screaming. One morning,on his way to school, Jack awoke only to see a sharp cut across his mother¡¯s cheek, still not fully scabbed.This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

    ¡°Mom, why don¡¯t we just move out,¡± Jack asked, unable to describe the mix of anger and fear he felt at seeing his mother like that.

    His mother remained silent.

    Then she answered.

    ¡°Jim needed some money to cover his losses,¡± she answered, causing Jack to feel sick at the thought of his mother¡¯s hard earned money going to that fat slob.

    <hr>

    After a month, it was his turn. One day, when his mother was out for groceries, Jim called him over. Without saying anything, and without reason, he punched him in the abdomen, knocking the wind out of his lungs in one blow, sending him sprawling to the ground. Grasping, coughing, begging for air, for it to finally respond before everything went black.

    ¡°If you tell your mother about this, I¡¯ll throw you both out to the streets. Do you want that, Jack? Do you want that!¡± Jim screamed at Jack, for no fault of his own, before kicking him again.

    Jack did not know why, but he obeyed. He wished for his mother to notice, after all how could she not notice when he was in such pain? But his mother¡¯s expression never changed when looking at him, as if she knew but ignored it.

    Each day, every day, there was only one thought that kept Jack sane: he wanted to survive the day, only to know if tomorrow held anything different for him. It was a twisted curiosity borne of desperation, wondering if someone would save him like in those comic books he liked to read before.

    He did not know how many days passed like this. For him there was no concept of time anymore, only the next day. The next day was what mattered.

    <hr>

    It was late at night.

    Jack heard Jim scream at his mother again, except the words this time were far too alarming for him to ignore.

    ¡°You cheated on me, didn¡¯t you. You fucking whore, I¡¯ll kill you!¡± he screamed, causing Jack to head for the door. A burst of terror ran up his spine, immobilizing him. What would he do against Jim? What could he do? Going out there meant pain, he would just get the air knocked out of his lungs until he wished he was dead.

    No, no, no¡­ was the next day worth it if he couldn¡¯t see his mother? She might have changed, but Jack knew she still loved him deep down.

    Jack burst out of the door, only to see Jim,using his bulk and muscle to push his mother away. He couldn¡¯t even react, as he saw her head slam against the marble kitchen furnishing of the RV, blood spilling all over the kitchen table and the floor, and his mother hitting the ground.

    Jim looked ashen at his actions, looking at his own shaking hands with horror in his eyes.

    Jack saw his mother¡¯s bloodied body, and in that moment there was only one thing he felt:

    Hate. Endless Hatred. Hate, Hate, Hate!

    The world turned crimson. Unknown to Jack himself, at this moment his eyes were glowing, practically shining, in a deep, blood red crimson. His skin changed into a washed out, bordering on translucent white and two small baby fangs protruded out of his upper jaw.

    In the crimson world, Jack was invincible. But he was too young to understand the physiological changes he had undergone.

    For there was only one thought in his mind:

    Kill.

    He moved. Moved so fast that it was nigh imperceivable by the human eye. Nothing had shifted in the surroundings, and even Jim was standing where he originally was- except with one small difference.

    His head was dangling from Jack¡¯s right hand, who had held it up with curiosity in his eyes. In the world of crimson, the human seemed more pathetic than scary.

    He tossed it aside with disdain, a disdain that seemed to emanate from his very bloodline itself.

    In the world of crimson, Jack felt some movement behind him. He turned around, only to see his mother standing there, completely unscathed.

    ¡°You managed to awaken after all, son,¡± Jack stared at her, and their eyes had made eye contact. Jack felt that he was looking at his mother for the first time, the crimson world seeming to be almost subservient to the woman in front of him. If his crimson world was a room, hers was an entire, kingdom, no a planet

    ¡°I had not wished to bring you into this world. But I fear that wretched divinity¡¯s remains will soon come and claim this world, bloodshed and wrath consuming it.. I cannot take you with me either, for even I am not sure to survive the pursuit of an Empyrean. All I can leave you behind is this lesson, son. Perhaps it will help you survive. Now sleep,¡± She said, and for a moment Jack saw his old mother, the mother that had pampered him, cared for him and loved him with all her heart. But that was only an instant, to be replaced with cruelty and indifference in the next.

    She chanted two words in rapid succession, "Yaksina Samui," the meaning of which Jack could automatically understand for some reason.

    ''Bloodline Seal.''

    Then he fainted.

 Chapter 21.3: Lifting the veil

    Jack awoke in a hospital room, but this one was much more expensive and clean than the one his mother had been kept in after her accident. He felt a blur of movement in front of him, and a silhouette practically barreled into him, wrapping him in a hug.

    ¡°Oh, Jack! I¡¯m so glad you¡¯re okay! We thought¡­¡± That was the only thing she could manage to say before she broke out into sobs.

    A burlier set of arms hugged him from the other side, saying nothing but sobbing. The woman had beautiful blonde hair, appearing to be in her late thirties or early forties and a face that looked at him with almost endless compassion. The man had a grizzled beard, bloodshot eyes that spoke of sleepless nights and tears and two burly arms whose warmth Jack could feel.

    ¡°Um, who are you?¡± Jack asked, completely confused to the point of being flabbergasted. ¡°Where¡¯s my mother?¡±

    The woman looked so shocked at his response that she just stared blankly at Jack, while the man tightly clenched his fist, then released it, as if he were trying not to unleash violence on everything around him.

    <hr>

    ¡°Jack, do you not have any recollection when you see these two photos?¡± The doctor, dressed in white overalls and wearing a mask, showed him the photos of the two people who hugged him earlier.

    ¡°No,¡± Jack asked for the fifth time. ¡°Where¡¯s my mother?¡± Jack asked, a question that had been met with awkward silence the last time he¡¯d brought it up.

    ¡°Well Jack, that is your mother,¡± The doctor replied, gently trying to break the news to little Jack.

    ¡°No, I mean my real mother. I told you-,¡± Jack, with his tone rising, replied.

    ¡°Jack, I understand. I know this might sound harsh¡­ but you were kidnapped. You are a very brave boy, Jack. Don¡¯t worry Jack. I understand it might be traumatic, but no one will look poorly for shooting your kidnapper. In fact, they will applaud you. They will respect your bravery. You are a hero, Jack. Now, the mind works in a funny way, Jack. The brain, when faced with extremely dangerous situations can manifest, no let me put it in a simpler manner, create certain personas to help you survive. We found no one else in that caravan, Jack. It was just you and that terrible man.¡± The doctor seemed to be struggling for the words, trying to explain it to someone as young as Jack.

    ¡°No! You¡­ you don¡¯t understand. My mother had red eyes and she said something about an Empy¡­ Empra? I don¡¯t know, but she was very powerful, like one of those superheroes. Give me a paper and I¡¯ll show you!¡± Jack defiantly refuted, only being a twelve year child who didn''t understand how outlandish his words sounded.

    ¡°Okay, Jack. Don¡¯t panic, I¡¯ll get you the paper,¡± The doctor empathetically replied, not at all dismissive of his claims.

    A few minutes later, Jack had a paper and a crayon in his hand. He had asked for a pencil, but the doctor had refused for some reason. Anyway, he would show him.

    Jack put the crayon on the paper and began to draw¡­.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

    ¡®Huh¡­. How did she look like again?¡¯ Jack tried to recall, but the memory just turned up blank. He could recall his time with Jim, but when it came to his mother the face was blurred. This¡­ this was¡­ impossible.

    The crayon fell to the floor, as Jack stared at the doctor with shock and disbelief in his eyes.

    ¡°Ma¡¯am!¡± The doctor called, and the blonde woman burst out of the door, hugging Jack while bursting out into tears herself.

    <hr>

    It had been a few days since the incident, and Jack had come to know what his parents, the doctors, and the police believed to be the truth. Jack Smith, which was apparently his name now, had been abducted from his house one year ago. A frantic search was undertaken, but his kidnapper had fled to a different state. His parents had never stopped looking, spending money out of their own pocket to hire private investigators, putting out posters, and doing everything they could. Until Jack managed to make use of a loaded gun belonging to the kidnapper, shooting him. An anonymous call was called in a day later, where an unconscious Jack and a dead Jim were discovered.

    The trauma and possible head injury he had suffered during that time had caused Amnesia, or at least that was the working theory his psychologists were going with.

    For the next three months, Jack went through each and every type of psychology, counseling and healing session money could buy. He still felt disbelief at the thought that his entire life had been a lie, that they were just memories he conjured to help him survive the hell Jim had wrecked upon his life. Was that even possible? No. But then why couldn¡¯t he recall the face of his mother? The grief they spoke of, the grief brought on by what he did to Jim, why didn¡¯t he feel any of it. His musings, though, were interrupted by a loud, powerful, voice.

    ¡°Son.¡± The voice said, with an immeasurable pain hidden within those words.

    ¡°....Father?¡± Jack replied, unable to hide the tinge of doubt in his voice.

    His father closed his eyes, releasing a breath before continuing, ¡° Son. I¡­ have come to understand that you no longer remember me. I am here to tell you that it is alright. You are still my son. I still love you, no less than I loved you before.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, father¡­¡± Jack replied, the unfamiliarity in his words now tinged with a touch of gratitude.

    ¡°Before I leave, I have a gift for you,¡± His father¡¯s face was facing away from Jack, as if he could not bear the shame he felt each time he saw Jack¡¯s face.

    ¡°Yes, father?¡± Jack asked, curious, much like any other child of his age would be.

    ¡°Bring her in!¡± His father called out, and a man dressed in army overalls walked into the room, holding a tiny white baby kitten in her hands, her fur looking so soft, her tiny face so cute, that Jack¡¯s hurt soul immediately reacted with a joy that felt unnatural, his eyes going wide with fascination.

    He reached out his arms without even realizing how excited he was, and the man deposited it gently within.

    ¡°Her name is Luna.¡±

    <hr><hr>

    ¡°So it wasn¡¯t a lie¡­..¡± Jack said, as the memories crashed down onto him like a thunderclap. His entire life, he was told to forget that incident as a bad dream. His parents had switched states, he had received a new life where no one knew of him or his past. He had come to believe that he was Jack Smith, Son of George and Amanda Smith and the memories of the past felt like the dreams of a boy who had read too many comic books. He was trained to learn how to deny the past as it never existed, the medication and his young age helping him greatly with that.

    The veil was lifted, and the truth could not be swept under it any longer.

    With that, came revelations. Jack now understood what the reddish-black power he had encountered in the cave was.

    And he had a feeling that the system wouldn''t treat him very kindly if it knew what he was.

 Chapter 22: Dice

    You have killed Matt Caul (Level 7, Initiate). You have received 657 TP.

    You have killed Elise Miller (Level 6, Initiate). You have received 521 TP. You have received Item: Songcaller¡¯s Bow (F-), x15 Common Arrows, x1 common quiver.

    You have killed Andreas Brown (Level 8, Initiate). You have received 820 TP.

    You have Killed Brian Crowley (Level 5, Initiate) . You have received 239 TP. You have received Wilderness Dagger (F-). It has been equipped to your secondary weapon slot.

    --------------------------------------

    You have reached level 10!

    You have reached level 11, Cycle progress: 97.8%!

    Note: Your familiar has received 11% experience for the kill of Andreas Brown and 50% experience for the kill of Brian Crowley. A familiar cannot receive more than 50% experience for a kill.

    --------------------------------------

    Congratulations, you have received a Feat for your valiant efforts in battle!

    Feat: Killer.

    Kill another human being. +1 Free Points.

    Feat: One against Many.

    Fight multiple cultivators within a five level difference, and come out triumphant with each and every last one of your enemies dead.

    +5 Free Points.

    --------------------------------------

    Statistics Subcategories now unlocked!

    --------------------------------------

    STATUS

    Name: Jack Smith

    Affiliation: -

    Age: 22 Years

    Cultivation Cycle[?]/ Level: 11 (97.8%)

    Race : Human (F-)

    Cultivation Stage [?]: Qi Channeler- Initiate (Current race limitation:???)

    Innate Talent : Dice (Tier 1)

    Legacy Technique (New): Deny

    Essence Art : Survivor¡¯s Manual [Automatic name assigned]

    Cultivation Manual: -

    Class: Basic Swordsman [Defensive]

    Skills: Qi Shield (Basic), Inspect

    Primary weapon: F- Growth Type Sword Artifact (Damaged)

    Secondary weapon: Wilderness Dagger (F-)

    Artifacts: Wolf Legacy¡¯s Chest Artifact (Damaged, F-)

    Feats: Killer, One against Many.

    Statistics:

    Physical: 9+2= 11

    Subcategories:

    Strength: 22This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

    Physiology: 22

    Sensory: 9+2= 11

    Subcategories:

    Perception: 22

    Agility: 22

    Thought Processing: 9.5+2= 11.5

    Subcategories:

    Intelligence: 23

    Wisdom: 23

    Free Points [Can only increase sub-categories]: 6

    Qi (Pool) : 18/18

    --------------------------------------

    Familiar Tab:

    Name: Luna.

    Age: 12

    Race: Auspicious Qi-Beast.

    Racial Skill: Locked

    Level: 3

    Stats:

    Physical: 10

    Sub-categories:

    Strength: 6

    Physiology: 14

    Sensory: 12.5

    Sub-categories

    Perception: 10

    Agility: 15

    Thought Processing: 20

    Sub-categories

    Intelligence: 10

    Wisdom: 10

    --------------------------------------

    A blood stained Luna walked out to him, trying to get his attention. Jack snapped out of his thoughts, getting back up on his feet. The wilderness was not a place where he could simply sit down and take time for introspection.

    He gave a quick glance over the corpses of those who tried to cross him: no longer feeling as squeamish or sick about it after recovering his memories. In fact, he almost found it natural. They were the ones that pushed him this far, and they reaped the price for it.

    The system had mentioned that he would only receive one most valuable item from their inventory besides their tp. So he¡¯d received a bow and a dagger, a secondary weapon that he could actually use. The bow was useless for him, it barely did any damage to someone of his stats and only had 15 ammunition. Good for poking monsters, but without any way to channel Qi on the tip, useless.

    He got up, not giving the corpses a second glance, and started moving. He did not move towards the citadel, no, there was something he had to try first. He had not forgotten the torment the Titan had inflicted on him, but he was not foolish enough to believe he could kill it on his own.

    But he had to try his new talent. The titan couldn¡¯t kill him the first time around, when Jack barely had any levels and was helpless, so it had no chance when he had reached level 11 and was on the verge of reaching twelve.

    On the way, Jack encountered a group of three goblins. Giving his new wilderness dagger a whirl, Jack sliced through their throats with practiced ease, sifting through their formation like a ghost, no, a reaper of death.

    You have received 3% Cycle experience. Congratulations, you have reached level 12!

    You have received 50 TP.

    ¡®So the TP reduces for killing lower level targets?¡¯ Jack thought, noting the observation before carrying on his way.

    Merely half an hour later, Jack was standing on the outskirts of the Titan¡¯s den, but he could no longer spot the mountain that had been there before. It was as if it had vanished, leaving behind an Orc Titan guarding nothing except its own life.

    ¡®Jack, are you sure you want to use that power?¡¯ Luna¡¯s voice echoed out in his mind, raising a valid question.

    ¡°Nope,¡± Jack smiled uncertainly, giving his cat a good head rub before doing something crazy.

    ¡®Hey! I¡¯m not a dumb cat anymore!¡¯ Her voice echoed out in protest, but her expression was that of bliss.

    ¡°But you do seem to like it a lot, don¡¯t you,¡± Jack almost laughed, but then reigned it in.

    ¡°...¡± Luna just ignored that comment.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure, Luna. Life just got a whole lot weirder. But if it makes me stronger, well I have to try, at least. So the next time a group of psychopaths try to kill me for my stuff, I¡¯m not forced to be reduced to a half-dead state before I can begin fighting back,¡± Jack voiced out his honest thoughts, Luna being the only person he could trust out in the isolated wilderness.

    ¡°Okay now, go on and retreat a bit. I¡¯m not sure what¡¯s going to happen, but I have a feeling if I don¡¯t start using this power, it¡¯s going to activate on its own.¡±

    ¡°Take care,¡± Luna complied, and started retreating into the forest, staying within hundred meters.

    ¡°Alright, now it¡¯s time to see what you can do.¡± Jack thought, before beckoning the dice below the center of his heart.

    ¡°Damn¡­,¡± Jack inadvertently blurted out, as a small die started to manifest itself in his right palm. The numbers one to six were carved on it in the roman numeric system, namely, I, II, III, IV, V and VI. The first three numbers were carved out of a radiant golden light, while the remaining three numbers were carved out of a reddish-black light that he was all too familiar with.

    ¡°No, no, wait, stop,¡± Jack called out as the Dice started spinning on his own, realizing the drastic consequences that could take place if it landed on the reddish-black tiles. But it was too late, the process was out of Jack¡¯s hands. He watched with tense anticipation, as the die finally stopped rotating, stopping on the number,

    IV.

 Chapter 23: Dice IV

    ¡°Oh¡­ shit,¡± were the last words Jack was able to eke out, before a torrent of reddish-black energy covered every aspect of his body, making it look more like the flames were consuming him than empowering him.

    The process lasted a full minute, causing Luna to come back from her hiding spot when she saw Jack¡¯s entire body on fire, the reddish-black energy giving her the chills- she knew it was the same energy as the entity she encountered in the cave, and dared not to approach. Her intervention would do nothing, she was smart enough to understand and acknowledge that fact.

    The process ended, and in place of Jack was a¡­.. Familiar figure. Luna immediately retreated a few meters, mewling angrily trying to intimidate the creature that Jack¡­. Had transformed into? Possessed Jack? She wasn¡¯t sure.

    Staring back at Luna was a humanoid creature- except there was nothing human about him. His bright red eyes stared inquisitively at her, sending shivers down her spine. His skin was an eerie pitch black, with long, thin and extremely sharp looking black claws protruding out from its nails. His chest and abdomen were completely exposed, a robust set of black bones forming a ribcage with no heart to guard. He was completely hollow from inside, and all Luna could see was a black ribcage and spinal cord connecting to the waist. His forearms and legs still retained the fleshly form, and somehow turned to be extremely muscular. His head was much like a human, except for its pitch black skin, red eyes and the third, unopened eye slit on its forehead.

    A new system prompt materialized in front of him, except this one clearly did not belong to the divinity/system he was used to dealing with. The box was half golden and half reddish-black, as if the two forces were clashing with each other for supremacy.

    [Lesser Ghoul Transformation Complete]

    ¡°Hello, Cat,¡± He spoke in his raspy, eerie voice, transforming into the very thing he¡¯d destroyed to emerge victorious from the trial.

    ¡°....Jack?¡± Luna¡¯s voice echoed out, uncertain if this monster in front of her was the same Jack that used to treat her so gently.

    ¡°Oh, gods no. Shawn Beck, trailer trash and murderer with mommy abandonment issues at your service,¡± The Ghoul replied with a mock bow, stunning Luna. ¡°Ah, it¡¯s good to be back,¡± The Ghoul said, taking a long, deep breath but stopping abruptly.

    ¡°Not needing to breathe is surprisingly inconvenient,¡± The Ghoul replied with distaste, though it was hard to tell with his monotonous ghoul voice. Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

    ¡°Who are you? What did you do to Jack!¡± Luna started to approach the Ghoul threateningly, causing him to focus his eerie red eyes on her.

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t do that if I were you, cat. I am Jack, as much as Jack is me. Tell a child a lie long enough and he starts to believe it. Jack is the lie, and I am the truth. Or have it the other way around, it doesn¡¯t matter,¡± The Ghoul replied nonchalantly, using its sharp nails that could be used to maim animals, to scratch his head instead.

    ¡°I-... what?¡± Luna looked completely stunned, not knowing what Jack had gone through in his early years.

    ¡°Tell me, Cat. Would you die for me? Or the one you call Jack. Would you die for him?¡± The Ghoul asked musingly, as if it was pondering on a decision.

    ¡°What? If he was in danger¡­. ¡° Luna felt angry just at the thought, ¡°Of course I would!¡±

    ¡°Hmm, I suppose I can respect loyalty. Fine, I guess I won¡¯t kill you,¡± The Ghoul nodded, as if it were the correct course of action. Or at least it thought.

    ¡°You can¡¯t be Jack!¡± Luna screamed at the Ghoul angrily. ¡°Jack would never say something like that!¡±

    ¡°Oh, my dear kitten, I am Shawn Beck. I suppose you are new to this ¡®sentience¡¯ business, hmm, how do I explain it. Yes, yes, that should do the trick. Now, you see my friend Jack, he likes to believe that he¡¯s a pragmatist. Nope, too emotional. Too much thinking. Why do humans think so much. Oh, he attacked me first, so is it right for me to kill- gah! The constant need for justification, jeez man,¡± The Ghoul animatedly explained, sounding almost comical with his raspy voice being in contrast to the words he was spewing out.

    ¡°And what are you supposed to be?¡± Luna asked defiantly, still in denial.

    ¡°Me? Oh, I¡¯m the small, traumatized kid who got beat up by his mother¡¯s boyfriend on a daily basis. Wanna hear a secret? My mother was the one who orchestrated it, because she wanted me to awaken these freaky powers. Insane, right? Guess it worked out, eh mum. Oh I also ripped off that guy¡¯s head when I was twelve, barehanded too! So what does that make me? Hmm. The guy that kills everyone that gets in his way? Sounds about right,¡± The Ghoul slapped his thigh, as if a particularly amusing joke had been cracked in the background.

    ¡°What-¡± Luna tried to ask, but was cut off.

    ¡°Seriously. Q&A is over. Get out of my way now, kitty cat. Those weren¡¯t empty threats, you know,¡± The Ghoul twiddled his fingers in Luna¡¯s direction, causing her to back off.

    The Ghoul ignored Luna, walking straight through the forest and into the Orc Titan¡¯s field of view.

    ¡°Hey, you fat bucket of lard! Daddy¡¯s back!¡± The Ghoul screamed at the top of his lungs, causing a furious roar to echo out in response.

 Chapter 24: Beatdown

    [Lesser Ghoul Transformation:

    Physical Stats Doubled.

    Sensory Stats Doubled.

    Automatic Regeneration Active.

    QI Pool has been converted into Miasma.

    Divination Disrupted.

    Miasma Properties: Natural suppressive effect on Qi Users. Prolonged exposure with miasma corrupts all living creatures and affects their cultivation base.

    Racial Skills:

    Cloak of Miasma: Envelop your body in miasma to greatly increase speed.

    Eye of Undeath: Look into a living creature''s eye to manifest eleven illusory clones. No living creature on the same level can resist its influence.

    Life Leech Claws: Direct contact that breaks skin absorbs living creature¡¯s life force.

    Sea of Miasma: Release half the miasma in your body to release a sea of miasma. Can transform from a solid to a miasmic form, using the miasma to traverse quickly. ]

    Shawn charged head on at the nine foot Orc Titan, willing the miasma around him to manifest as a cloak that enveloped everything but his face. He had no difficulty channelling the miasma, and he didn¡¯t feel like a particularly talented Ghoul. It came naturally to him, as natural as a human knowing how to breathe upon birth or a bird being able to teach itself to fly- encoded in his bloodline.

    The Orc Titan roared, taking wide steps in his direction before swinging his spiked mace.

    ¡°Hey buddy, I¡¯m a monster too y¡¯know. You¡¯re gonna hurt my feelings if you keep shouting at me,¡± Shawn replied as the miasma around him rippled- he broke off to the left at the last moment, the impact of the spiked wooden mace rattling him as it missed him by a few meters, a cloud of dust obscuring his vision for a moment.

    However, Shawn didn¡¯t learn the lesson Jack had experienced first hand- the Orc Titan was deceptively quick for its size. Without even flinching, the Orc Titan switched his stance in an attempt to make up for its failed attack- pulling his spiked mace from the ground and swinging it sideways, in as wide an arc he possibly could - heading towards the cloud of smoke.

    All Shawn felt was a tingling sensation on his right, before a mace broke through the cloud of smoke.

    The next second he felt an impact on his exposed ribs, blasting him dozens of meters like a ragdoll- shattering his ribs, breaking his neck and probably his spine at the same time, and one of the spikes left a large gaping hole in his right thigh, before crashing into the trunk of a tree. Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

    The Orc Titan roared in triumph, and Shawn could hear the glee in its voice. Miasma flared across his body, flailing wildly as if in mockery. His own miasma started burning every part of his body, and a few seconds later Shawn, who was partly embedded in the tree, extricated himself out of it.

    ¡°Did I mention that I¡¯m immortal? Oh yeah, I¡¯m immortal,¡± Shawn yelled at the Orc Titan from afar who looked at him with abject confusion. Shawn paid him no attention and started doing some morning calisthenics- stretching his legs, cracking his neck and moving his rotor cuffs to see if everything was in order.

    ¡°You know, I always felt that there was something off with that runt¡¯s explanation. But now, I kinda get it man,¡± Shawn muttered musingly, before charging at the Orc Titan again.

    ¡°You see,¡± Shawn said, as he burst out into his peak speed, this time dodging the wooden mace with much greater ease, before leaping forward, and slicing at the Orc Titan¡¯s ankle, leaving behind a trail of green blood dripping from his right claw as he rolled forward.

    Shawn felt a burst of motion from behind himself- the Orc Titan kicked at his back with frightening speed, blowing him again once again.

    The cycle of healing repeated.

    ¡°No matter how powerful you are,¡± Shawn replied, his red, bloodthirsty eyes looking at the Orc Titan with greed, as he felt the nectar like life force flow through his body, getting converted to a denser miasma in the process- not only helping him heal his wounds faster, but also making him stronger, his bones denser, his muscles more tensile.

    The cycle of violence repeated, with Shawn trading two scratches this time for another nigh- fatal wound. In this form, he felt no pain, after all he had no reason to- pain is only an instrument used to protect the living.

    ¡°It is just a matter of time,¡± Shawn replied with a grin, and this time the Orc Titan looked in his direction- perplexed by the monster who couldn¡¯t die.

    Jack stared right back at it with his ensnaring eyes, making eye contact and then holding it.

    [Eye of Undeath activated. Due to tier difference, only five clones can be manifested.]

    The Orc looked around in many directions in a frenzy, starting to feel some level of danger from this new monstrosity.

    ¡°Shak Krai¡¯nal Mukris!¡± The Orc roared, and Shawn was familiar with those words- but this time they were tinged by a bit of anxiety and fear. It felt as if the Earth itself roared alongside him. Shawn watched calmly as the grass, soil and dirt rose from the ground, floating in the air for a second before rushing towards the Orc. Moments later, an earthen armor in the contrasting hues of green and brown was born- complete with a helmet, chestplate, leg greaves, boots and gloves.

    ¡®So you finally decided to hide in your shell, eh?¡¯ Shawn thought to himself, no longer taunting the Orc because it would give away his position as the real body.

    All the six ghoul clones strafed towards the Orc Titan, approaching from different directions. The Orc Titan manifested an orb of sand, dirt and rock, before launching it at one of his phantoms. The target was on its mark, but it was only a clone.

    The Orc Titan ran towards the one approaching from its south-east, slamming its wooden mace on top of the Ghoul¡¯s head, aiming to squish it to nothingness.

    Unfortunately for the Orc Titan, it was another clone. And by now, Shawn was close enough.

    ¡®Sea of Miasma.¡¯

 Your feedback is taken (Not a chapter)

    So for this new project, I''ve recieved a lot of feedback, which I''ve taken in due consideration.

    My aim while writing this project did diverge from my original vision, which was to have a pragmatic protagonist that actually thrives in the new twisted survival world.

    After thinking it through, I have taken the relevant feedback while not letting it overwhelm me, the project is still very much what I want to write and that will never change for any of my works. So it is with great excitement that I present to you an upgraded version of Into the Wilderness, with a lot of things heavily tweaked and changed, while a fair amount of the core elements have carried through. Those who read it will feel like reading a brand new novel, with the doctrine of ''show not tell'' imbibed into it.The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    Tl;Dr: Bigger, better and a hella lot more fun. No more info dumps.

    Born for the Wilderness

    Synopsis: The apocalypse arrived without warning¡ª First Contact? Check. Eldritch horrors? Yup. Magical Powers? Right this way.

    Welcome to a new, twisted world where the only remaining law was that of the jungle¡ª where the weak perish and the strong prosper. Not all were fit or able to survive in the new world, but for Jack Fletcher, Doomsday Prepper, it turned out to be simple.

    After all, he was born for this shit.

    Link:

    https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/52573/born-for-the-apocalypse</a>

    [Cover is a placeholder]

    What this means for the current version: It''s pre written till 100k, so for now chapters will continue as usual.

 Into the Wilderness Update

    People have been asking me about the status of this story and I''ve been conflicted. Mainly because the version 2, [Born for the Apocalypse] -https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/52573/born-for-the-apocalypse

    Is such a comprehensive update from the previous story when it comes to worldbuilding, writing quality and tension in the world, that I''ve kind of lost my motivation to continue writing this story. Negative ratings do impact an author, and a 4.04 with the top reviews being largely negative isn''t really offering me much incentive to continue writing.

    I was of a mind to release the 50k word backlog I have, but a lot of ideas in those have been used for the version 2, which just hit 100 pages, so it would be like spoilering my own story for others.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    So yeah, if you want to check out how far I''ve improved, you can check out the link down below or above. The reviews so far have been glowing, and people really seem to like the version 2, which is about a pragmatic man''s approach to the apocalypse.

    I''m sure some people will be dissappointed by my decision, but all I can promise you is that I only get better with practise, not worse. That does make me apologetic, but I''ve already explained my reasoning.

    Well, I''ll just post the synopsis here to make it simple for y''all:

    The apocalypse arrived without warning¡ª First Contact? Check. Eldritch horrors? Yup. Magical Powers? Right this way.

    Welcome to a new, twisted world where the only remaining law was that of the jungle¡ª where the weak perish and the strong prosper. Not all were fit or able to survive in the new world, but for Jack Fletcher, Doomsday Prepper, it turned out to be simple.

    After all, he was born for this shit.

    [100 pages written, updates Daily]