As I enter the portal, a somewhat familiar nothingness takes over, this time allowing me full use of my body. Before I can call out to the Void Lady, however, a screen pops up in front of me.

[Leave the Gods to Rot]

[Lose your class in exchange for a new class, [Dark Crusader]?]

[Yes][No]

[Dark Crusader - The strength of others shall be yours. Take what they have. Make them suffer.

Stat Scaling -

Strength: +3

-Previously 304, will decrease to 151

Dexterity: +3

-Previously 34, will increase to 142

Defense: +3

-Previously 144, will increase to 137

Intelligence: +3

-Previously 17, will increase to 135

Vigor: +3

-Previously 151, will decrease to 140

Charisma: +3

-Previously 46, will increase to 134

Skills -

[Passive] Soul Steal I - Upon killing creatures, gain 1% of their highest stat. Upon killing humans, gain 15% of their highest stat.

[Active] Rend I - Deal 15% extra damage on your next attack, if this attack slays a human, you may choose to absorb one of their Skills at the lowest level. Cooldown one week.

Debuffs -

Beholden - You must work to fulfill the desires of the one who grants you this class. Resisting will bestow the [Decay] Condition]

“What the fuck? I’m not going to kill people, and I’m definitely not going to just do everything you want,” I say in shock as I hit [No]. “Is this some kind of fucked-up test? Void Lady, I’m not going to work with you at all if you’re going to do this kind of fucked up shit.”

TAKE IT. A voice hisses sharply into my ear. I flinch away from it, looking to find nothing there. YOU WISH TO BE STRONG, AND STRENGTH I CAN BESTOW. ACCEPT MY OFFER! The prompt reappears. With +5 scaling on all stats this time.

I think about all the stat increases I’d gain and consider for a moment the fact I’d be able to wear armor again. I’d be able to catch up so easily. I’d be strong, the strongest. None would be able to stand in my way. I shake my head to clear it. These aren’t my thoughts; they may sound like me; they may even feel like I’m thinking them, but they aren’t my thoughts. Once again, I hit [No] and scream, “Fuck you! Get out of my head! I’m not going to be some pawn in your game!”.

YOU WILL COME TO REGRET THIS DECISION, MICHAEL WARD, is the only response as the Boss arena begins appearing in front of me.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

[New Title, [Defier of the Depths] awarded!]

[Heavenly bonuses increased by 5%]

[Damage dealt to Demonic entities increased by 10%]

[Demons will now prioritize killing you over other creatures]

I’ll have to figure out what all of that means later.

As I enter, I startle Carlos, who says, “What the fuck took you so long? We’ve been fighting this thing for two minutes and were worried about you!” I look around and find it’s true; the sixteen-foot-tall High Orc is covered in cuts and bruises from Maria, Robin, and James’ attacks. It’s also already got its glowing red aura surrounding it, which should mean it’s sitting somewhere below forty percent health.

Other than some slight scuffs from the boss monsters warhammer, The Misfits seem to be handling everything alright. “I’m sorry, the portal changed to almost black as everyone entered, but I only took like five seconds before I followed you in! Then there was-” I stop myself. I’m not sure if I can trust anyone with the fact that some demonic entity had approached me, basically ordering me to kill people.

“Whatever, it’s fine. As long as you’re safe now. Just... don’t do that again,” Carlos says with genuine worry, taking over the anger he’d previously displayed. As he finishes, the Orc Boss seems to register my presence in the dungeon. Even from fifty yards away, I can see its eyes cloud over to black as its back straightens and it stops fighting for a moment. It begins charging through the formation the rest of The Misfits had formed, taking hits that it seems not to register as it rushes toward Carlos and me.

“Mike, run!” Carlos shouts as we begin sprinting away from its charge while the rest of the party begins attacking while it leaves itself completely open in its charge. Unfortunately, it’s much faster than either of us, and even with the damage the others are dealing, it isn’t slowing down much at all. With its long legs bristling with muscle, it closes the gap in less than three seconds, with thundering footsteps that threaten to crush me. I hear a swing whistle through the air just to my right as I make a quick left turn, trying to throw off its aim, and am almost knocked off my feet as the hard-packed earth where I would’ve been explodes in a cloud of dust and sand. I look back to see how close it is, figuring dodging a target will be easier if I can see it coming.

The world slows down for a moment, and the only thing in my vision is the flat face of a warhammer about to crush me to the ground. With little time to react, I try and bring my hands up to block, but it’s too late. My vision goes dark as I’m taken off my feet and flattened to the ground. It feels like everything in me is shattered. I cough up a bit of blood, lying helplessly and trying to blink my vision back. I watch through dark spots in my vision as it rears back for another swing and check my HP, 112/4781. I smile weakly, thinking, ‘Looks like Carlos actually saved my life with his dramatic overhealing. Too bad it doesn’t matter now.’

It begins to swing its hammer down, and I close my eyes, wanting my end to be a somewhat peaceful one, and wait.

And wait.

I’m jolted out of my peaceful death by two piercing screams. Carlos and the High Orc boss are both letting out cries that would shatter the heavens. I look up to find Carlos with his hand on the High Orc boss’ leg. I’m not entirely sure what Carlos is doing, but both he and the leg he’s touching seem to be shriveling up. The other four are attacking it with a previously unknown ferocity, trying to save both mine and now Carlos’ lives, as the Giant turns from me and regards Carlos, who is now backing away from the monster, seemingly spent.

I push myself into a sitting position, groaning in agony as I do. It seems like maybe less is broken than I thought, but everything is in agony. The monster stumbles forward, looking like all it wants now is to smear what’s left of Carlos into the ground. Anger begins clouding my vision. Carlos just saved my life, and I won’t let him die here.

Pushing through the agonizing pain, I stand and grab my barbell. I don’t have a lot I can do to this creature, but I activate [Shatter] anyway. I take a few labored steps toward the High Orc Boss before gritting my teeth against the pain and pushing off into a run. As I get closer, I watch Carlos stumble and fall. The boss monster raises its foot to stomp down and end him. Realizing I have to move now before I run out of time, I jump toward the shriveled leg it’s using to brace itself and swing my barbell at its knee, hoping that this might be enough to push it off balance.

I realize I’m not the only one with this idea, as Maria’s hammer meets the other side of the Orcs knee, and I feel a burst of energy as glowing musical notes flood into my body, giving me further strength. As soon as my swing connects, a notification pops up.

[Synergy discovered! [Titan] + [Shatter]]

[None Larger - When attacking an enemy that is larger than you with [Shatter] on a bone, deal +50% damage and increase the chance for the bone to break based on damage dealt.]

The High Orcs knee shatters between the two strikes as our weapons nearly meet in the middle. The monster's body twists around its shattered knee and falls beside Carlos. As soon as its back touches the ground, James is upon it, repeatedly stabbing both of his daggers into its eyes. Robin begins slamming her staff repeatedly into its chest, and I hear bones cracking with each swing. It begins wailing in pain, and remembering what it felt like when my chest cracked in two, I would almost feel sorry for it if it wasn’t a monster intent on killing us.

As I try and regain my footing and swing at the monster, my vision begins to darken. The last thing I see as I fall is another set of notifications.

[Level 89 Demon Touched High Orc King Slain - Exp. awarded]

[Level up]

[Level up]

[Level up]

…