Ashley

I stare at the enormous and slightly draconic looking worm until the very last part of its crimson-crack-covered body vanishes beneath the ash. Ash that honestly reminds me of a regular desert except with ash instead of sand. Even with ash floating in the air amidst the crimson haze.

Then me and Blake share a glance before more warning bells ring in my head, forcing me to instinctively fly as quickly as I can to the side.

Just barely allowing me to dodge a large drake’s fireball that ends up flying right past me to eventually slam into the ground.

My eyes narrow a little on the drake that shot the fireball, only to widen a bit when I identify it as well.

♢ Level 98 Destruction-Touched Ashen Drake – 420 Potential Skills – X ♢

Then three more fireballs fly at us from other ashen drakes in the sky, with me and Blake having to rush to create a barrier in order to block them. But their destructive fireballs shatter our barriers with ease before more of them fly at us, making us dodge the hell out of them.

My eyebrow twitches as I find myself being reminded of my first day in the Unique Domain.

Especially when two more wyrms jump out of the ash down below with their large, circular mouth filled with razor sharp teeth spinning in circles as they soar towards us through the air. Making it even harder to dodge the fireballs.

And it doesn’t end there either, as more new monsters begin to show up.

Large, walking skeletons with glowing crimson cracks running through their bodies that are wearing rather torn up cloth and sending spells at us. Also level 100.

Elementals made out of the destruction-touched ash on the ground blowing about like a mini tornado of crimson-crack-covered ash while hunting down said skeletons. Also level 100.

And even giant vulture-like birds that seem to flock towards any dead bodies they can find. Except the skeletons, of course.

Also. Level. 100.

As more and more of the powerful monsters attack us, Blake and I find it harder and harder to dodge them all. Eventually leading to us taking more and more hits directly as they break past our barriers.

But after flying through the chaos of tornadoes chasing after skeletons chasing after us while giant wyrms jump out of the ash and drakes shoot fireballs at us from a distance for over an hour, we finally find something that could give us a break. A large pit in the ash.

Right when we’re about to enter the pit though, I see multiple wyrms moving around down there. Clearly implying that the pit is the wyrm’s little nest.

So the two of us turn away and begin making distance between us and the pit. Resuming the new death march that we’ve made.

Although I’d say this death march isn’t as bad as the last one simply because I’m a heck of a lot stronger now than before.

Even if these monsters are stronger too.

We continue flying through the air, slowly growing more and more tired while using up our mana and energy. All the way until we find the next possible hideout.

Blake and I share a glance before nodding.

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Then we fly straight to the top of a massive pyramid where the skeletons are walking in and out of before breaking straight through the ashen structure without bothering with an entrance. With the monsters chasing after us all hesitating as we do so. As if they’re wary of trespassing directly upon one of the other monsters’ turfs.

Well, except the skeletons. I sense those things just waltzing right on inside of the pyramid’s entrance.

Seeing as they own the thing.

Our death march doesn’t end here though, because what we’re greeted by inside of the pyramid are more skeletons. Skeletons that begin chasing after us while lobbing spells our way just like the ones outside.

I grit my teeth as the two of us charge straight down one corridor after another made of ashen blocks until we arrive at a dead end. With the skeletons all chasing after us.

And if it weren’t for the fact that they have no lips, I’m sure they’d be smiling right now at the sight of us cornered.

At least, until I activate Assimilate and convert half of my remaining mana into destruction mana and activate Alpha’s Breath after pulling Blake behind me. Shooting out a powerful breath attack from my mouth that envelops the entire corridor along with the skeletons.

The walls of the corridor quickly begin to shake with ash coming down from the ceiling, meanwhile I continue shooting out the breath attack.

One second passes.

Three seconds.

Five.

Ten.

It isn’t until an entire fifteen seconds have passed that I finally get a System Message that gives me a bit of relief.

{You have been granted 3 Skill Points for killing a monster within a Unique Domain.}

{You have slain a being while Assimilate is active. You have now unlocked the Skill Tree: Destruction-Touched Ashen Centurion}

{You have unlocked a new Skill Tree, therefore the root skill of the Skill Tree, High-Stage Destruction Mana Manipulation, is now unlocked for your usage.}

I instantly feel disappointment at the skill that I unlocked. Because it’s one I already have.

Then my next feeling is fear.

Fear that these skeletons – of which I’m pretty sure are the weakest of the skeletons in this pyramid – have High-Stage Destruction Mana Manipulation. Making me wonder just what the stronger skeletons here have.

It takes a few more seconds before another System Message plays out.

{You have been granted 3 Skill Points for killing a monster within a Unique Domain.} x2

{You have slain a being while Assimilate is active. You have now unlocked the Skill Tree: Destruction-Touched Ashen Centurion} x2

{You have unlocked a new Skill Tree, therefore the root skill of the Skill Tree, High-Stage Destruction Mana Manipulation, is now unlocked for your usage.} – [ERROR – High-Stage Destruction Mana Manipulation is already unlocked. No skills are unlocked. New skills will now be added and made available to purchase to the preexisting Skill Tree: Destruction-Touched Ashen Centurion.] x2

I continue launching the breath attack at them for over an entire minute. All the way till my destruction mana begins to very nearly run out and the walls and ceiling of the corridor around my breath attack is beginning to crumble.

Then a surprise arrives in the form of another System Message. Right after a message about three more Ashen Centurions dying and not giving me any root skills.

{You have been granted 3 Skill Points for killing a monster within a Unique Domain.}

{You have slain a being while Assimilate is active. You have now unlocked the Skill Tree: Destruction-Touched Ashen Centurion}

{You have unlocked a new Skill Tree, therefore the root skill of the Skill Tree, Moderate Mental Destruction Resistance, is now unlocked for your usage.}

I blink at the sight of an occurrence I haven’t seen since the tutorial. Where a monster can have more than one root skill.

“There are quite a few monsters across the universe that can have more than one root skill across their species,” Chaos says right as my breath attack finally runs out, and the ceiling caves in front of us. Trapping Blake and I between it and the dead end. “We just specifically design the Tutorial to include plenty of those rarer species for more variety.”

Huh.

Both for what he said and our current situation.

I glance at Blake to find him collapsing to the ground in exhaustion. Then I look back at the rubble again, taking in a breath of air, only to realize that Blake is making air himself through magic so that we don’t suffocate in here.

Well, guess we found our place to rest.

So with that thought in mind, I collapse flat on my back myself. Feeling my exhaustion finally sweep over me.

Then I go ahead and open the new skill that I just got to see what it is.

{Moderate Mental Destruction Resistance – Grants the user a Moderate resistance to destruction of the mind. All attacks that cause damage to the user’s mind will be resisted based on the level of this skill.}

It’s pretty much just the mind version of the regular destruction resistance then.

That’s good.

I feel my eyes beginning to droop closed.

That’s very good.

And with that, I fall asleep, giving into the exhaustion.