A frightening man walked out of the miscellany and stared at the combatants. Not long after the guards left, Jimmy and his crew had made their move and attacked Etu. He was ready for them, however, and they were at a standstill facing off against each other when the man had appeared between them.
The fear in Etu quickly turned to confusion as the man looked past him and slowly turned his glare on Jimmy’s crew. A menacing sound of thunder sounded as he attacked.
The man appeared before Jimmy in a flash, punching into the large tower shield he held. Surprise was written plainly on his face as he was sent reeling several feet backward from the attack. He and his crew were caught off guard but quickly recovered as Karen yelled, “Form up!”
Karen jumped back into the shadow of a tree, turning invisible as she landed. Jimmy stood up, spit blood into the ground, and was enveloped in a semi-translucent barrier of gray magic. Katherine stood back behind the others, shining a green light onto Jimmy as he stopped bleeding and breathing heavily. James glowed purple as several cone-shaped projectiles floated in front of him.
Etu stood at the ready with his hair standing on end as if it were on fire. Fire arrows floated above him as his hands burned fiercely. A hazy aura clung to him as the heat rolled off him. He was unsure of what to do at first, but it quickly became clear that the monstrous man was on his side, at least for the time being.
***
Achak’s vision was dyed red as he managed to barely hold on to his sanity. His mood had been rotten since the fight with the young Drakes, and it completely boiled over when he’d seen those assholes who’d driven him into the miscellany attacking someone else in the same area. He felt strength and power overwhelm him as he attacked the team of four.
James fired purple bolts of energy at him and with both Bolt and Shock activated, he stomped on the floor sending shockwaves forward to intercept the projectiles. A dagger appeared from the shadows beside him stabbing into his shoulder.
Achak turned his head toward the shadow and roared, unleashing a Bolt from his mouth and blasting Karen out of the shadows and off her feet.
Katherine made to heal Karen, but before she could, several fire arrows struck Katherine in the abdomen making her double over in pain as she screamed.
Jimmy charged at Achak and pulled a giant mallet from his back. He swung for Achak’s head as he did hoping to put him down with a well-placed smash.
Achak blocked the mallet with the back of his left hand, stopping it cold and swiped at Jimmy with his black dagger. His dagger shattered the barrier Jimmy had erected for himself and left a large ugly gash down his chest. Black lightning clung to the knife mark and ate away at the armor and flesh beneath.
Jimmy yelled for Katherine to heal him as he backpedaled, but she was too busy trying to stay alive to help him. Etu was battering her healing barrier with fire arrows and punches from his burning fists.
Achak Flashed and appeared next to James who was preparing another volley of cone projectiles. Before James even knew what was happening, Achak removed his head from his body with a powerful swipe of his red dagger.
Karen had managed to get back up and began calling up the shadows around them to cover the area in darkness. Jimmy ran to her and reapplied his barrier around them both. Achak threw two Orbs at Katherine and Flashed again appearing before Jimmy and Karen.
Red lightning enveloped his fists as he punched his way through the barrier once again and fired a Bolt at Karen. Jimmy dashed in front of her catching the attack but was struck with such power that both were blown back off their feet.
Achak was on them in an instant delivering powerful blows empowered by Shock. Jimmy did his very best to use his tower shield to protect them both as they were battered into the ground by the deadly monster that was Achak.
Two Orbs came to hover over Katherine and bombarded her barrier with lightning. Etu set the ground beneath her feet ablaze, making it unbearable inside of the barrier until she released the skill. He bombarded her with fireballs the second her barrier went down quickly bringing their fight to an end.
Red and black chains of lightning burst from the ground around Jimmy and Karen, tying them up and wrapping around their necks. Karen was no match against the assault and her head fell from her shoulders in an instant.
Jimmy activated all of his protective skills and stubbornly held on. The black chains drained his life force as the red chains crackled and charred his skin. Achak enveloped his fist in crimson and black lightning as he activated Shock and Bolt at the same time. He punched down bursting through the shield and armor burying his fist into Jimmy’s chest.
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Unsure of how things would play out now that the others were dead, Etu stood ready to defend himself. Achak stood up and let out a savage roar into the heavens as a large crimson bolt fell upon him from the sky covering the area in a red light.
As the light dissipated, and the lightning died out he stood there breathing heavily, looking at the wall of system notifications he had been ignoring.
[You have leveled up.]
[You have leveled up.]
[The required level has been reached. Choose a genus… Due to unique galvanization, a genus has been chosen for you.
Genus: —Transcendent (Mythical) —
This Genus suites those who were born with a unique energy. Their power transcends both magic and divinity and is not limited to any specific species.
+5 Wisdom, +5 Capacity, +2 All physical attributes, +8 Free points.]
[You have leveled up.]
[You have leveled up.]
[Designation: Achak Health: 520/520 Essence: 20/90
Level: 12 (600/2000)
Soul: Ancient
Race: Human
Genus: Transcendent
Species: None
Strength: 22
Constitution: 24
Endurance: 24
Agility: 26
Dexterity: 25
Awareness: 21
Wisdom: 31
Capacity: 39
Free Points: 16
Skills: Shock, Orb, Bolt, Volt-Gen, Chains, Flash]
***
Etu remained ready for a fight, hoping it wouldn’t come down to that. This person had just plowed through four level nineteen galvanized with ease. Etu had helped, but his role in the massacre had been minimal at best.
“Uhm, excuse me,” he said, unsure of what else to do. He didn’t want to make any sudden movements and startle the man. His life would end easily if the man decided to attack him.
The man turned to look at him and Etu involuntarily took a step back, startled by the fierce appearance of the man. The man’s eyes were frightening, the scleras were black, the irises were crimson red, and the pupils were a silver color. He had fangs like a beast, and his body was lean and powerful, rippling with muscle.
The man spoke, and a powerful voice emanated from him. “Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you or get you caught up in my mess. These assholes tried to ambush me a few days ago forcing me into the miscellany, and I lost it when I saw them attacking someone else, in the same spot no less.”
“Uh, thanks for saving me actually. They were much stronger than me, and I’m not sure I would have been able to take more than one of them with me if it came down to it,” Etu said.
“Mm,” said Achak with a nod. “Names Achak. And you?”
“Etu,” he replied.
“Nice to meet you Etu. I’m not from this area. Think you could help me make my way to the city and maybe get some clothes and a place to sleep for the night?” He asked. The man had a sincerity to him that Achak liked. Had it been someone like the dickheads from before they would have attacked him and run while he was distracted instead of thanking him for his assistance.
Etu smiled and dropped his guard a little. Achak didn’t seem like he was looking for any more fights and gave off a friendly vibe. Etu dismissed his flames as he walked up to Achak and shook his hand, “Sure, no problem. Nice to meet you by the way.”
Achak smiled, “Same, and thanks. I could use a shower and a good meal for at least one night.” He would have taken the clothes from the dead fighters if he could. But two were females; one was a giant, while he was barely 5’10”; and one wore mage robes which he found too cringe to wear.
***
They began making their way toward town, but Achak remembered something important before they got too far.
“Oh shit, hold up! I didn’t collect my reward after finishing the miscellany!” He yelled and turned back to the gate. A miscellany remained accessible only to the person, or party, who had completed it for one hour after.
Etu waited for him on the road while he ran back and through the gate. He received a system message the moment he walked back through it.
[You have achieved a feat.
Solo: Complete a miscellany or defeat a boss monster higher level than yourself alone. Adds a 5% boost to all offensive damage.]
[You have completed a miscellany, claim your rewards!]
A sphere of silver light floated over the boss’s corpse. Achak reached out to it and watched as it morphed into a medium-sized chest and gently floated to the ground. He opened the chest to find two large daggers, he replaced the broken ones and dragged the boss’s corpse out with him.
After exiting again, he realized that Etu and the others didn’t have either rucksacks or other types of baggage for their equipment and spoils. “Hey, were you here to run the miscellany?” He asked him.
“Yeah, I was supposed to run it with them. Thank the heavens I didn’t. Otherwise, I’m sure I would have suffered some strange accident before getting a chance to come back out,” answered Etu.
They both chuckled as Achak seconded the sentiment, “You would have never made it out of there for sure… Anyway, how were you guys going to carry the spoils back with you? I don’t see any carrying gear.”
“Oh, see that bracelet on Jimmy’s right hand?” He asked.
“Yeah,” said Achak.
“It is a dimensional storage. A fairly new reward some people have been getting in the other miscellany on the island.”
Achak walked over to the big man and grabbed the bracelet. It came unhinged on its own as he did, and a system message popped up.
[You have acquired ‘dimensional storage (medium).’ Would you like to equip it? Yes/No]
He chose yes and put on the bracelet, and it adjusted to his wrist and body size as he did shrinking down to a thin two-inch wide bracelet. The next system message told him how to use it. He need only will himself to see what was inside, will items to enter it, or will them to be removed.
Putting the knowledge to use he willed the items in the bracelet to be displayed in front of him. His smile widened from ear to ear as he found money, food, and many other materials inside, and then he placed his own spoils in the bracelet.
On the way to town Etu explained that there were two miscellanies on the island, both were roughly the same level. This explained why he hadn’t seen any monsters on the island yet, the areas surrounding a miscellany would usually be completely devoid of monsters. Turned out the rest of the island had plenty of monsters.