Dimensional Descent

[Bonus chapter for 600 powerstones... On another, completely unrelated note, I can see the names of everyone who votes and recently ordered a death note from the dark web. I'm not mentioning this for any particular reason, just an interesting tidbit about my life. :) ]

Xinghai had always been a proud man.

When he was three years old, he was designated as a Five Star Arms Professional. In the history of the Ascension Empire, barely a thousand people had ever earned such an evaluation.

From that day onward, he was placed under the intensive care of the government with the consent of his parents. He began playing with swiss army knives before his fourth birthday and was already handling guns by the time he was seven.

When he began school, he entered the Royal Blue Education program, starting from Royal Blue Elementary School, entering Royal Blue Middle School, and eventually venturing to Royal Blue Academy.

He received the best education, the best nutrition plans, and the best care and attention one could ask for. He boasted a position in the top 1000 of the Most Eligible Minors list before his 18th birthday, and even after he became 18, he was within the top 10 000 Eligible Bachelors list.

However, after graduating from Royal Blue Academy five years ago, life became boring to him.

His family background wasn't as great as his peers, so he found moving up ranks in the army difficult. The rebels who spent their time trying to take down the Ascension Empire were nothing more than a clown show who could only cause skirmishes once in a while. And, without a high enough rank, he wouldn't be trusted enough to become a part of missions to quell rebellions on the Moon and Mars.

His life stagnated.

Sure, with his potential, all he had to do was wait a few decades for those old fogies to die and he would eventually get his shot. But... he didn't have such patience.

Before the Metamorphosis began, he had actually been approached by a member of the rebel army. Instead of reporting the incident like he should have, he actually kept it to himself.

What he wanted the most was the thrill. He loved battle and those damned virtual reality pods weren't worth shit to him. How was it the same if his life wasn't on the line? If he couldn't feel his blood boil? If he couldn't feel his opponent's life slipping between his fingers?

He needed more.

would have joined the rebel army

him. Just when he was about to, his ability awakened, then Invalids appeared, and then Zones began to open one after

his boring life revved back up. He suddenly felt

longer he spent in a world like this, the more he felt that this was the way it should be. When things were

wanted to

that Leonel was all alone and was actually carrying a girl on his back, he disdained to participate. This kind of boring hunt, what

imagined that this prey would be so interesting. It made him a bit curious, almost like a cat who found an adorable

tower, he picked out his favorite

to be completely out of their expectations. How a man who lived for battle and blood could remain motionless for so long,

the barrel of his rifle as steady as the surface of a calm lake. Even after he saw his

with a deep breath. As he

BANG!

completely out of Xinghai's expectations happened. The sound of the second bullet didn't come from his gun... but his

impossible. Sniper rifles of the 21st century had a range of about a kilometer at best. However, those of the 25th could shoot from ten kilometers away. Not only were they equipped with far stronger bullets, but they also came with an on board AI capable of executing the calculations a sniper needed

to be so far away. So, he picked a tower just a kilometer and a

shot. But, wanting to play around a bit, Xinghai aimed for Leonel's shoulder first. He wanted to see his prey squirm and struggle

actually be able to react to a small extent. Like that, the bullet that should have been powerful enough to blow his arm off was actually obstructed by the tactical armor, causing it to lose some momentum and

as if that wasn't shocking enough, without the slightest hesitation, his prey turned toward his direction as though their gazes could meet across

bullet radiated and dripped with confidence. He didn't fire a second and didn't even wait for it to land. His prey turned and sprinted into the park, disappearing into the depths of the

overwhelmed Xinghai's senses. It was impossible, but he knew what would happen. This bullet would hit

rifle with a single arm and accurately shoot down a target over a kilometer away,

here it was, happening before him