All thoughts of finishing our battle ended as the world erupted into violence. All of our killing intents roiled together. The forest felt like the site of a million battles. Every hair on my body stood on end and my danger sense became a constant alarm. None of that mattered. My body started moving before I had a chance to process what was happening. The monkey dropped down from above and was rapidly approaching the fruits. My fruits. I let out a scream of true fury.

Spiritual energy surged as I activated every spell that was off cool down. Psychic Blast, Psionic Rain, and Psychic Aegis exploded into existence. Psychic Aegis became a wall that prevented the Monkey from taking another step. Psionic Rain assaulted everyone else. Several of the spell's blades ended up cutting me which caused Intellect Fortress to trigger.

I barely even felt it. My focus narrowed to the fruits and the rest of the world ceased to exist. When the fruits were less than ten feet away I launched myself at them. The world slowed to a crawl and I begged for just a few more inches. As if just wanting it more would let my fingers reach. I wrapped my hands around the closest fruit when the tree hollow was obliterated by a burst of air. Wind and wood tore at my body and the second fruit was launched into the air.

My dive became a roll. A mental command sent my prize into my storage ring. The second fruit was airborne. I snarled as the lion creature closed in on it. Once again I felt a caress on the back of my mind. Just enough to calm me down and illuminate the path forward. I grinned and raised a hand. I pushed spiritual energy into Psychic Blast. I let the energy form in the space just above my fingertips. The caress then urged me forward. Like a mother encouraging a child, I took both my Tao strands and wrapped them around one another. The two Tao pushed against each other. Like two brothers warring with one another.

It barely took a flexion of will for me to force them to stop. For me to force them into unity. Psychic Blast changed from an indigo-colored attack into a grey-silver one. The light it emitted made my mind haze over. Almost like staring at a dream. My focus was pulled back to the fruit. The lion dog and monkey were rapidly catching up to it but I didn't panic.

I felt the lion dog getting closer to the fruit but I didn't rush. It felt like someone was guiding my hand. All I needed to do was trust in them and everything would be fine. An invisible wind picked up around me. One that didn't affect the physical world. It felt like my psyche had become the idea of a maelstrom. Distant howls filled the air but they were like ants.

I felt the caress pull away and I released the attack. Time crawled to a stop as it shot forward. The attack wasn't so much a projectile as it was a flashbang. My entire world narrowed to the grey light. My mind began to haze over when Intellect Fortress activated. On instinct, I closed my eyes not wanting to find out what would happen if the spell failed.

The rest of the forest had gone by the time I opened my eyes. I scanned the battlefield but no one was moving. I held my breath expecting to feel a torrent of kill energy flood into me but there was nothing. "What the hell did I do?" I shook my head and took off for the fruit. I had no way of knowing how long this would last so I couldn't waste it. It only took me a few seconds to grab the fruit but a scream of danger told me my time was up.

I did a backflip that would have made Spider-Man jealous and unleashed a trio of psychic blades. My attacker was the large dog which wasn't a surprise. Whatever my last attack did seemed to have some long-lasting effect because the beast didn't even attempt to dodge the blades. All three embedded themselves in its side before fading away.

"How are you still alive," I grumbled as the rest of the battlefield came to life. The monkey launched itself at me and I was forced to block its hammock-sized hands with my own. By the third exchange, my hands had gone numb and the bones in my arms felt like jelly. I conjured two more blades but when I tried to imbue I found that I couldn't use either of my Tao.

"Fuck me," I exclaimed and launched both blades. The monkey managed to dodge the first but the second slammed into its raised arm. Before I could savor the small victory something slammed into me from behind. It was as if I had been tackled by an NFL player. The pain shot up my spine and caused my head to snap back.

I unleashed another round of mental attacks as I moved into a barrel roll. I scanned the battlefield and saw nothing but enemies. Most of which still struggled to stand. I wasn't sure how long that would last. I considered running away for a moment. There were too many enemies. Most of my spells were unavailable. The more I thought about the more the idea filled me with anger. As if running away would be some kind of betrayal of who I was.

Despite my anger, it was clear that there were just too many of them. I unleashed another group of blades this time at a group of lizard monsters that had decided numbers would help them. The second fruit went into my bag and I sprinted toward the only open patch of land. The beast tide most of have taken that as an admission of weakness. The entire group made so much noise that the ground shook. I gritted my teeth and swore to hunt them all down as soon as I was strong enough.

A blast of wind slammed into my back with so much force that it felt like I had been run over. I forced spiritual energy into my feet so fast that it strained the channels in my legs. I didn't slow. I picked up speed hoping to use the trees as cover. Hoping that the beasts would lose their cohesion and descend into violence. Hoping that anything would happen. I summoned two healing pills from my rings and swallowed them as fast as I could.

My muscles stitched themselves together while I ran. A sensation that was beyond uncomfortable. As soon as Psychic Aegis came off cool down I activated it. The wall formed behind me in an instant. My heart sank a second later as the barrier began to crack. I tried to will myself to run faster as I waited for Apportation to come off and cool down. I only needed a few more seconds. I felt Aegis shatter a second later and then the sounds of the horde picked up.

Attacks fell from the sky like rain. Acidic bubbles, earth spikes, vines, and every other thing under the sun tried to claim my life. The trees managed to block a lot of the attacks. Some crashed into each other due to the sheer number of them but more than a few slammed into me. The shield on my robes shattered. Even the auto repair feature began to fail. At this rate, I would be naked by the time I got through the forest.

A roar of rage shattered my thoughts as my old rival returned. The leonine dog broke free from the rest of the horde and unleashed a blast of wind. I didn't need my danger sense to tell me that surviving this hit would be a feat let alone being able to run away. I did my best to recreate psychic aegis through energy manipulation. What came out was closer to an amorphous blob than a proper shield. Regardless it was just enough. My makeshift shield was just strong enough to weaken the attack so my body could take it.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

The forest around me exploded as if a bomb had gone off. I screamed in pain as multiple bones snapped. I pushed myself to my feet and tried to run. My legs were like jelly and a scream of danger told me that I was out of time. I forced spiritual energy toward the sigil for Apportation. The spell had finally come off cool down and had become the light at the end of my proverbial tunnel. I forced myself forward as the swirling portal opened. Two more attacks slammed into my back. In a twist of fate, they pushed further into the portal and away from the army.

I bit back another scream as I landed face-first in the safe zone. I felt the portal close behind me but I didn't relax. It would reopen soon and I had to be ready. I swallowed another two pills and grimaced as they got to work. The siren call of my new prizes filled my mind but now wasn't the time. I had no idea what they would do to me. The last thing I needed was for them to put me in a vision and leave me a sitting duck.

I grabbed my last Spirit Stone and drained it as fast as I could. The amount of energy inside wouldn't be enough. Not for a real fight but it would be enough for me to defend myself. When the portal opened I stumbled out and looked around. The lack of enemies felt like a reprieve from heaven. I pulled my aura inside myself as deep as I could. I waited a second half expecting a massive monster horde to come barreling out of the tree line but there was nothing.

A strange sound filled the air and my heartbeat picked up as if it was trying to flee my chest. It took me another second to realize the sound was laughter, it was my laughter. I survived. A wave of relief slammed into me like a tidal wave. I didn't just survive. I won! I got both fruits. I killed a fuck ton of them and I got away. I collapsed to my knees as my laughter grew. I wasn't sure if I had finally lost my mind but I couldn't stop laughing. It was like the floodgates had been opened and I no longer controlled my body.

I was in the middle of a new forest at the end of the world. I was still standing. I wasn't sure how long I sat there before the laughter stopped. Nor did I know how long it took before I was able to move. When I gained control over myself I took stock of the situation. I damaged my channels but I was pretty sure they would heal with time. My dantian was almost empty. I was in no shape for the drawn-out battle which meant I needed to find a place to rest.

My robes were in tatters and the sigils on them were destroyed. Which meant that there was no chance they would heal. "Guess it was a good thing I packed a couple of spares of clothes." I let out a dry chuckle as I picked a direction and started walking. I pulled out both fruits and put them into proper storage boxes. I wasn't sure if I should consume them both now or wait. There was no way to know if the researchers would be able to tell me anything more but it would be real stupid if they were poisonous.

If they needed to be refined into a potion or a pill I killed myself due to impatience. Ultimately it didn't matter. I wasn't going to eat it until I had a safe place and once I found a safe place it would be better for me to rest. I couldn't afford to get pulled into another fight before I was ready. I tracked through the forest for nearly an hour before I came across something unexpected.

"Is that an Aztec temple?" I asked no one while I stared at the massive stone building. It was made out of aged white stone that must have been beautiful when it was first built. It was a massive stone pyramid type with stairs on all four sides. "If I go in here and get attacked by an army of zombies and or ancient robots I am going to be furious." I couldn't stop myself from chuckling as I sprinted forward. The short jog up the stairs tempted me to put on my best Rocky impression but I resisted.

I stepped into the chamber at the top and shrugged. It was an empty ancient entranceway. I don't know what I was expecting but this was normal. I stepped into the temple and scanned the walls. It took me a second to realize what was going on. I could understand the images. My spell must work on pictograph languages which was convenient. The temple was boring, to say the least. It was just a temple to either a god of war or a god of death. Even with the spell, it wasn't clear. There was a spot deeper into the temple where sacrifices would go but that felt like the kind of place the System would create an evil monster.

We still had no hint of an explanation for that. Some of the lizards looked awfully similar to dinosaurs. I found a small empty chamber with a skylight that I decided to use as my cultivation chamber. It lacked any kind of array or anything that would help gather the energy for me. I didn't even have my mat beggars couldn't be choosers. I sat cross-legged and started to practice the Ethereal Codex.

It took me nearly three hours to get to the point I was comfortable with my spiritual energy. I was nowhere near ready to level up but it was plenty to get into a fight. I was pretty confident I could fight the remaining boss monsters if I needed to. Most of my combat abilities were back as well. Which meant it was time to go over my notifications.

[1]Psionic Rain – Proficiency: Advanced.

[1]Intellect Fortress – Proficiency: Intermediate.

[1]Realm of Consciousness – Proficiency: Intermediate.

One Man Army: Stand against one hundred enemies of the same Realm as you and survive Reward: Constitution +10

I smiled as I read through the highlights of my recent battle. All three spells were improved which was beyond convenient. I was starting to worry that I wouldn't be able to max out our fortress but it seemed like I could just fuck myself up. Still wasn't sure I wanted to beat myself but you do what you got to do.

The other two were just as good. My domain got stronger and so did rain. I scanned their sigils but I couldn't tell what the change was. All three sigils were much more detailed now but they didn't give any hint as to how they improved. I had to assume that they were just strength upgrades. Which was good enough for me.

Especially since I didn't see anything that indicated an increase in energy cost. The new titles were interesting as well. I wasn't sure how many beasts were in the clearing but a hundred sounded right. All together I had made out like a bandit today. My power had taken a noticeable leap even if the level standings didn't show it. That wasn't even counting the real prize.

I raised my ring to the light as if I could see the fruits inside if the light hit it just right. I couldn't resist summoning one of the boxes from the ring. The sigils guaranteed it wouldn't lose any more energy. I stared at it for a few more minutes before I shrugged my shoulders. "Fuck it, My danger sense didn't tell me not to do it."

I opened the box and was met with another wave of energy. It made my body ache almost like eating something incredibly sweet. Now that I could get a clear look at it. The fruit was a deep emerald green and looked kind of like an onion. It didn't have the peel-away layers but it had a single point toward the top where it connected to the tree. There was a spiraling design that crossed the surface of it that got smaller toward the top. As it was leading the eye to the stem.

I gave it another second before taking a bite. The fruit tasted horrible. It was surprisingly bitter like biting into a lemon that had been made even more lemony. Despite that, I couldn't stop eating. By the time I had consumed the whole thing a storm of spiritual energy erupted in my stomach. It felt like my stomach had become the eye of a maelstrom that threatened to rip me apart. I closed my eyes and started going through the Ethereal Codex. It felt like I was trying to hold back a flood with my bare hands. Energy surged out of my stomach and rushed into my channels. I gritted my teeth as pain erupted through my entire body.

I tried to take hold of the energy to force it into my dantian but it was clear I wasn't in control. The energy surged forward undaunted scouring every part of me. I opened my mouth in a silent scream as the energy broke me down. The panic and fear were so intense that Intellect Fortress activated. Tears rolled down my face as I desperately searched for a way to take control before the energy killed me.