Ashley

“This event will be a race to kill the elite monster roaming around the maze,” the Master of Ceremonies says over the sound of the cheering. Cheering that is only growing in volume as new people rapidly join the spectating area. “The condition for winning this race is simple. Either kill the elite monster, or have the most contribution towards killing it when it dies. Nothing more, nothing less.”

While the MC talks, I look around the room at the other competitors and the terrain of the chamber itself. Which is largely swamp-like, even if it’s still a cubic room with stone walls.

It has wet moss growing between the stones, with some large puddles and even some areas of dirt and mud. Just like the little preview I got while looking at it in the System Hub.

“Every monster kill will net the one who kills it a single Skill Point, and every competitor kill will get the killer two Skill Points,” the MC continues as I inspect the chamber. “There are precious few benefits to killing other competitors, so the majority of the competitors who join this type of event typically focus solely on hunting monsters until they find the elite monster. But with Young Ashley amongst our competitors this time around…”

My right eyebrow twitches ever so slightly at the implication. Even if it’s not wrong.

Since a lot of people apparently want to kill Successors. Simply for access to the Successor Events.

So I can expect to be targeted in every event I join.

I focus on the other competitors now.

Amongst them, most are, on average, between levels 8 through 15. With the lowest level being 5 and the highest 17.

There aren’t any Successors, and their equipment all looks rather basic. Except for three of the nine. One of which being that level 17, the other two being levels 15 and 14.

Of those three, one is the humanoid bird level 17, and the other two are both elves.

The level 5 is the dwarf, and the dragonborn is level 12.

Then there’s the level 10 human other than myself, assuming I can really classify as human anymore, and the level 9 orc.

And finishing with two level 8s. One being some sort of humanoid insect called a zlarkt, and the other a lizardman.

“Noooowwww! Who’s ready to see the Successor of Chaos in her very fiiiirrrrsssttt Official System Eveeennnttt?!!!” the annoying MC shouts, riling the crowd up even more. A crowd that, once again, is still growing.

Along with my followers.

I wish I could just turn off the whole follower feature.

Anyways, a large countdown appears at the top of my interface, distracting me from the focused looks I noticed the other competitors sending my way. Or half of them at least. And as soon as it appears, everyone, me included, tenses up. Preparing for the event to begin.

I look around at the walls of the chamber, wondering where the entrance to the maze will be. Only for the floor to suddenly vanish from under me when the countdown strikes zero. Making me realize that the maze was beneath us this whole time.

Then, without missing a single beat, the winged birdman who the MC was interviewing before I came in immediately makes a beeline straight towards me. Flying through the air in the process as some of his feathers detach from his wings and fly straight towards me. Sharpening mid-flight.

My eyes widen ever so slightly, and I immediately fly out of the course of the attack with my own wings. And then I teleport down into the maze with the help of Shadow Step through my shadow that stretches down to the bottom of the little tunnel we’re all falling through before passing into one of the corridors of the maze.

I would stay behind to fight, but half of the other competitors looked like they were preparing their own attacks as well. And I’d rather not be ganged up on by half the competitors at once.

It doesn’t take long for the birdman to begin catching up to me, though. The man proving to be faster than the other competitors. Not to mention me.

But I just keep flying through the tunnel of the swampy maze, only briefly pausing to kill a level 5 monster that I see surfacing out of a pool of murky water. Some sort of large frog that I kill with a single knife slicing straight through its head as I pass by.

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Of course, only after I use Assimilate. Netting me another skill and proving to me that I can, indeed, assimilate Skill Trees from monsters in the System Events.

{You have been granted 1 Skill Points for killing a monster within System Event #1,279,131.}

{You have slain a being while Assimilate is active. You have now unlocked the Skill Tree: Marsh Frog}

{You have unlocked a new Skill Tree, therefore the root skill of the Skill Tree, Acute Detection, is now unlocked for your usage.}

Although after I read what the skill is, I find it to be rather useless. What with it doing nothing but helping me detect tiny creatures like bugs more easily.

I glance backwards to find the birdman still flying after me and gaining ground. Then I face forwards again and purse my lips. Trying to come up with a plan to beat him.

It might still be possible to hide my ability to assimilate skills for another event or two. So I should keep going with that in mind.

But since it’ll come out eventually, I don’t have to be too strict with it.

Meaning it’s fine to use skills from monsters they’ve seen as long as they haven’t seen the monster using the skill before.

With that in mind, I begin using gravity magic to decrease my own gravity. Only, instead of increasing my speed, I slow myself down a bit.

Then I wait.

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System Event #1,279,131

“It looks like the first one to take a crack at the new Successor is the zyrian with the root skill to turn his feathers into blades and manipulate them!” Vorthan exclaims as he watches everything going on within the maze right now. Including both with the Successor, the zyrian, and the two people chasing after them from a large distance away, along with the other competitors who either went their own ways in different corridors, or are fighting with each other. “And Zephyr is gaining on her by the second! But what’s that purple light shining from Ashley’s body?! She seems to be slowing down. Could it be some sort of reinforcement skill?”

Vorthan flies back and forth around the screen as the cheers echo from the audience. Everyone watching the two in their chase.

“It looks like Zephyr is about to reenter attacking range soon!” Vorthan continues, feeling a little anxious for their new Successor of Chaos. “If Ashley doesn’t make a move soon…”

He trails off there to build the anxiety within the crowd. Ignoring his own building anxiety in the process.

The zyrian continues gaining ground until he finally sends several sharpened feathers straight at the Successor of Chaos. And right when they’re about to hit her, she suddenly teleports down to the ground again.

But while everyone is expecting her to continue fleeing, she surprises them all by instead letting out an incredibly disorienting screech that can only be even worse for the zyrian hearing it point blank. Without the protections that the spectators get through the screen.

“And here we go! Ashley’s counterattack is finally here!” Vorthan shouts, a grin forming on his face without his realizing as the cheers echo out from the audience. “But will it be enough?!”

Zephyr quickly begins to shake off the disorientation, but Vorthan and the audience are surprised by the sheer speed in which Ashley is approaching Zephyr. Going far faster than she was moving before and further throwing him off in the process. Then she proceeds to swipe both of her knives straight into the weak points on his armor, pinging off with her large knife but ripping through with her shorter one.

But Zephyr doesn’t just let her do as she pleases either. Because even with his new wound, he sends more feathers flying her way.

Except, Vorthan notices something strange about the wound on Zephyr’s body.

Not only is it larger than the girl should be able to do physically with her level, the blade, and the angle with which she attacked, but Vorthan gets a glimpse of Zephyr’s blood dripping from under his armor and the under armor beneath.

Blood that is dripping with a sickly green color rather than the vivid bluish red it should be as a zyrian.

“Zephyr’s been poisoned!!!!” Vorthan exclaims, riling up the audience in an instant. “But what will this poison do?! And will it tip the scales of this battle?!”

He asks that because two of the feathers he sends flying at Ashley manage to score a hit on her wings. Sending her crashing towards the ground even as the feathers themselves – which attempt to fly back towards the zyrian as usual – begin to mutate from her blood.

Chaos’s blood.

And when they return to Zephyr’s body, they begin to mutate Zephyr’s wings as a whole.

Making him join Ashley in her freefall.

Until Ashley once again teleports to the ground, cutting her own freefall short with a grimace after hitting the ground with her remaining momentum. But her wound should be nothing more than a bruise.

Unlike Zephyr, who Vorthan and the audience find falling straight towards the ground without being able to use his wings.

“Will Zephyr be able to turn this around?! Or will our new Successor have claimed her first kill within a System Event?!” Vorthan shouts, getting more and more excited.

And it’s not just him as the rest of the audience grows louder and louder as well.

But Zephyr isn’t as new to this as Ashley is, and instead of letting himself die, he sends out dozens of sharpened feathers and begins to create a platform beneath him.

“Annndddd he’s saaaaved himsellfff!!!” Vorthan shouts again, his voice echoing out through the spectating area, inaudible to the competitors themselves. “Buuuut!!!! Will Young Ashley let him?!”

Just as Vorthan shouts that, the Successor in question squints ever so slightly, still showing as little emotion on her face as possible, and lets out another horrific screech.

One that instantly stuns Zephyr and makes him lose control of the feathers.

Then he falls crashing to the ground, making a crunch when he hits. Following which Ashely walks up while holding her most-likely-bruised shoulder before stabbing the zyrian through the back with one of her blades.

“And it’s oveeerrr!!!!” Vorthan shouts, his excitement making him fly back and forth as the crowd goes wild. “Ashley Sinclair, Successor to Chaos, has defeated her first competitor in the System Events!!!”