The Malefic Viper stood in his Order as his gaze pierced through the void - the fight between the King and Jake reflected in his eyes.
A fight between a human that had only been part of the system for a mere two months and a being that had lived for a century or more. A unique lifeform that had been born at D-grade. A being that the human should have no right even to approach, much less fight. And yet he fought, and he didn’t just fight but had brought the creature to a state of desperation.
But life was often cruel. Unique lifeforms came with abilities that many considered unfair. Often born with magic or skills that would take an enormous investment of time and effort to learn for any other.
They started ahead of the curve and often ended up becoming powerhouses. Possessed inherent Records to become pinnacle creatures of the universe. Stat growth per level surpassing even those with special classes that came with severe limitations. Like Jake’s pal, the Augur.
The Viper observed as the mask fell, and the true visage of the King was revealed. He sighed as he saw the wave of mental force fly out - an ability that the Viper had to admit that even he would have fallen to if he was still only an early… or maybe even middle D-grade snake. It was an attack that the god could see directly drained the soul of the being. It would take years for the King to recover after using it.
You did well, Jake. More than anyone could ever have expected.
His mortal friend had, indeed, done well. He had already felt that the King didn’t intend to kill Jake, so he would get another chance. In a few days, he would exit the tutorial, still receiving great rewards. That is what his prophecy had shown him… Jake lying there till the end with the King recovering, eliminating all the energies ailing him.
The Viper was about to turn his gaze away as he stopped, his eyes opening wide in genuine astonishment.
The human before him fell backward from the wave of mental energy. The King had felt parts of the soul shatter, his consciousness disperse. The fight was over, and once more, the King reigned supreme. He admonished himself for allowing himself to get to this state, bu-
The human stopped.
His fall paused, his back bent at an impossible angle. Like a whip, the human flew forward towards the King. Fast.
Surprised, the creature didn’t manage to react before he was struck in the chest by a fist. Strong.
*CRACK*
His rotten armor cracked more than before as he was shot backward, reeling from the force as blood poured out of the new deep imprint of a fist on his chest. Confused, disorientated, and in a state of utter disbelief, he gazed at the human before him, now with a broken hand from the attack he had just made.
The King couldn’t understand. The mind had been shattered. How did he move? A thought that was interrupted as the human kept attacking.
This time he managed to repel the hunter with a blast of force, allowing him to float backward and create some distance. He didn’t even consider attacking the human. He couldn’t comprehend what was happening, and his only thought at that time was to get his bearing and understand the situation.
Jake had struggled for only a few moments, but it felt like ages and it was as if his head was on fire. When he was finally starting to get a semblance of control back, he was hit by it. A wave that hit him like nothing else ever before.
He felt everything being shredded as it turned dark. He felt his mind break, and he was no longer able to think or act. He felt himself lose consciousness. And then… he did…
THUMP!
And as his mind faded, that which lay beneath came forth.
THUMP!
A cold, unfeeling thing that held no thoughts, no considerations. Only instincts.
THUMP!
No tactics, no strategy, no considerations
THUMP!
body was very much awake. A part of that which was 'Jake' dwelled deep within. And that part had now taken over as he stopped his fall and attacked the King of the Forest. He didn’t need to
had to be
King as every bone in his hand shattered. The veins
clear warning. Go above 20%, and there would be unforeseen consequences. Consequences Jake would logically aim to
to be stronger, so he became stronger - his energy within flowing faster and faster as his energy rose.
25%
30%
35%
40%
50%
60%
…
but it gave him power far above anything he ever had before. His skin flaked and began breaking off, fissures opening in
action from his enemy as he charged again. This time even faster than before. Too fast for the
burst out as his fist was embedded deeply into the creature.
more, but it did nothing. There was no mind to attack,
push the human away with a blast of force. The creature saw the human be lifted off the ground as he tried to shoot him kilometers away, but
bound up the human and the King both. Tethering them together while
as the fists descended. Veins burst all over Jake’s body, his already broken body breaking even further. The energy within him rotating faster and faster, showing no signs of stopping as his condition worsened by the
lucid, he would understand exactly how dire his situation was. The internal energy was now fully rampant, and even if he tried, he would be unable
Paradoxically he exerted himself so much to survive but ended up
instincts knew that the death of the
be called fists. The King struggled still, but even his most potent attacks were useless. He couldn’t do anything. The face was his weakness, hence the mask
struggle. He saw
waivered. His struggle slowly ending as the attacks only got more and more vicious. When Jake's hands could no longer
I was mistaken…
smashing his head down. All that was in the man's world was to kill the enemy.
could… lose… I...
live within both Jake and the King. The deepest parts of their souls were struggling to stay alive. But willpower could only last so long as both their sparks
…die
it and knew the source - the patron himself. What could possibly have happened to cause the mood
into his
the Viper had succeeded in doing the impossible. The outcome was different; the fate changed. Was this omen good or bad for the future? How would it
didn’t know. She couldn’t predict it. Something that rarely happened. Subverting destiny could
void. A tutorial had been cleared, and by one he had
their paths to intersect.
sat on his throne as he smiled lightly. "I
more, and he became aware. His mind was a jumble as he tried to collect his memories. The last thing he remembered was getting hit by a wave of energy
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Fdjx6NzHGq74q0XPm+6WGVnqYVjJJ8Wx+h/6HAa3O9hoT2HkOQsqFVfjZF7ZqdsZXxRP85Jk11J9zLhpNPR3JJOL/eM8OcbLlbjTD3DmDCEciVLARfA1o5gSLjzoE9yIzsNR96mecC23Eb4Avwrx0HSB1MrAmvKU2o0aMTjGRUnZHf6a6IqdnyFt7TMjTngQo3Oka58XsJBhTDMsi6UvsvJU6BQZbs2SDSZ0XNf5q4a/AWfyx4QC2lbHI9P5cDL+Bgn85LSeFuPhiTnBdmV3MNLYDbp0b9Ecp5tqFo1FefQqRdV22zL0P+NrN5fcKPG61J9v9ItjUJ+vkrAglVEXpKJ6fkoYjoWhctGEdGhRBkEj5QXgjWdw3ffTPGI0abTlEouwqbUAzwec0DXNvdU7BNkYKFka9X1Q71Fj4tX9dBH+GMF66dF5FxKdEg8u5M0W+TfB1UYUbvVEyfCX8W2N4jtlCeivIlcQvsfpWAaGi59HYBy9smlEvNasFaCYBIo2MF9Nq03U+32Zqg4dZAmI8PnXd9k8QhK+fWvPGN241TaR2iix5qzaPk6rco1MaPzOaeI88Yr8TQmTbnIMk6yWdXMvPkM6c6Fj8J5aTHhuVAADvsXuWG4B7jEys3PJxFRG7TJ5KZKD+G17i/bUjjVoJdWDapzMwhO33NWxGL13pbb9qj+uOPmLamO3Y3hStQZOgQOosGbvdZKyKC/Ez26xhzOGGv8zd5nNpCRj30R/a4NACFBKKx1c4lHdty1EB43lNbQY2WVD0AcNBF+kuFK0lxOzNQB2IGjJX02Y+L8nljj6mQd80LhuDsbeM4AqPUITH2RKSMMyAAzMIMk4kqeWK3gfffLDvkNhJusvH6nT1UzQBYld8yVK7EyGmrEcdIOfgMWzKj88sVboLiFn257d8G1MliG62bLH0w2WhoJNgsuQXU9J1rKQePuuJhChQNaEhGLjMJCUc5YVMvoiJozD4PqOqwpbEpboI784MglZPBJbx35lKZigzhbXtQYsWZLSBlsgTwNuEARuBtkGb9yoveGP+SHkylqn7JH0nKJB8wEKpEuPnzgGiyX+N+oeYO4RgDV1X51i+cfcxxEsW1tF6oadnwV1eE4hESfi7fWjNvaQ23L/b1UTNtdbBdBKM2CaRQCqvLN+y2uSzrFkGwmDDyefVBGAUBZjCCHiKajqLRM7zVmSPa/21Q7IHtcMR5KiGl0H6CnOPZPNdzhsDB5viULuRJlm/cuXJlFBaISgXa+EOz2fIllp1J6u6NTaRL0HuqAVv+b+Iwg6G960JbqK61QOC2yPZTs8WasdrEARnGKG0Bv/+VJTu8EDBny4JOGnjTANwfuRg3wVRTzmv4YnfrOEP7j9IMirYE9uMwpEQIciOb3Of4N9oeBTflAKn2jXxv3DWBlh+BsA8W+IcJ+mjcC9xpDKkd2gPfWlhLeieqO7sO1ZBtDl6ptJ7reEHG6nsd/NePJGwSTRGDt/SefVT676i+UMB2am8oX3l8ycJG7U1tQlKAtU17YdLHnBqE7ApJdL432p1mlqGvwpjDtJIbRouUskuAyY4qckV8rwvgmWE8Yc3Z3jL1vT8QLTbvGADzMCApoSjl3c+tC6j5x3FbXEyOoZ/sbIrRXgp02f88NrOjT3VOgqyx/u37ZEYwYe3jpV971tCI3d0g/s5Woa0Ey3UFCo4sAma2M4tuN6OW2XPHVur9BX7O6rkN7vKl2uukznnW2tNGB+ZBnDUfgJJEE68ZSwC5jMbEmOu5c1LeLHDZPTE/41lubeFsqjW41l/SutpIGJ8oKUuSQRo+htzw9VzEfC/fYb1Yqivmi1T2Gi/GKM2rYs4H0uh8RRQ7N8Bc7aPe0AZE1k+yhVXtgCGNXRBHGksjstP1DVjXhFOvgzBx9yZo++WdDKBBu9hCEnIx5R8p41tx9PjmJAfJmUbdDwlTiR8OBvlYJ3Y0KTPP80s8m3ExLOFv//oYA5sPaDWgI0TMAgVv8eA7A0wf9phQj/1BlT0lyqLq0kEkvl/EGh8glFMWtimP7VUaKwEFL8Rm9cppH5DY/+Ja/5XrSl/XRscF5YVyCGh0ICYSlW4Liy9ztioIekie/wywxI+c9WzPa1rQ8ywKIrAUYmWMPVvBu1lcQ4NXh2DY0twHHYSMxfBF+4kbaBc/tFMLwVv2hjbtZXr1F6dROSymVi/so7i1iMlB+rExL8eWFL7BKs+1VlIvMDXiISXs+tGPRyp1KZEXlUNntdReV4agkuuXpbd3+5OyVFksyxobR2nol67SuqeM5AfeFlVwC/0/sMFRQwMOy5jUoZ2JdeB8oVuDoTpx2o9s0Robt2Vb9NtKl/65To8j9nfeRPJMVbhPqoZ01lV/sUWkK11mSDUxpXS8lZECvWCHL1ToBlbjeCz+kCNaER6ODUldtT8URHCayCQnlswmSKwZdXdeSonJ1PoFUV8y1Hl7fgI0KscKLJ9oWS5NeJQQ5aEWXMe2cg1ui/4nsrmaSewVz20CxKkYhq26RzASczRiazy/6pmcRd8+lGytOViMT1nZ3AWJTP77fMLntYcDUN4rqX6gC8fjW0M6E1nwoCe0drGcJ8F5vn1Y3oXuWn5oNtpoRaeJvGwnsynT5zhRAXMDw7mO4jb63dHdyc+yB0dzMN0zT7TUbQPllY7Z7fn6Rs6ng4fF2mzWTkb6WAcRu1PhU8nsIu0Ogn9xrvzYqrT6Gw97RI2bhJJmPKpCHsnNuT/0UDlNm91aFTAaEbiJlPAPiwWkWetDlGN72HXxoWHXvLoZXiNK14+VxJED/F7ssiUj+Vbv36TVoprxjTOIQK06Y7yTnfXOlEeoKDkaa6DmUFSovrOY2qDzQ=
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