Ding!
[Congratulations! You have killed 239 Longback Beetles. Exterminator level increased to 7.
[Would you like to turn the kills into bonus rewards?]
[Yes/No]
"Phew, that was close! If I hadn't dodged that last attack, I might have died from the pain I would have received after exiting. Yes, please."
Although Samuel was excited at the prospect of rewards and achievements, he did not forget about the punishment he would receive upon exiting the Garden of Doom.
Ding!
[23 hours and 45 minutes have passed; you will now be transported to fight the Punishment Boss (Level 19, Rare). If you die in this battle, you will not truly die but will face a harsh punishment. Consequently, if you kill the beast, you will receive abountant rewards upon your return.]
[Transporting in 3, 2, 1,...]
[Transportation complete]
[Since you have killed an exuberant amount of insects, you will face a Rare Insectoid boss. Good luck!]
What greeted Samuel's eyes in his new location was a grand cavern, riddled with holes of different sizes. In the center of the cavern lay a truly giant beetle-like creature. The creature was emitting the pressure of a level one Mortal Evolution stage beast and was clearly way above his level. If not for the fact he had received a lot of achievements, leveled them up sufficiently, and would not die in this battle, Samuel would be sweating buckets at the mere thought of figthing it. It was specifically the perks of the Exterminator achievement that soothed his mind.
[Exterminator: You are the bane of insects, choosing to eradicate all you encounter.]
[Perks: All insectoid creatures below the rank of True Cultivation will feel trepidation towards you, albeit with the stronger ones becoming more immune to it the closer they are to the limit of the perk. Increases all abilities by the respective percentage of the level of Exterminator.
[Current level 7]
[Current increase: 7%]
[Evolution to (Nightmare of Insects): Level 20 required]
This giant Insectoid as the system called it, had power at the Mortal Evolution stage but was still a Superior Mortal stage creature. Meaning the perk would be effective. Trepidation leads to weakness, and weakness leads to death. This is what Samuel discovered during his hunt.
“A hunter must hunt! God, that was so cool! I finally found a fitting situation to say it, where people would think positively rather than negatively of me. Okay, to commemorate this joyful occasion, I find the rewards from killing this thing to be fitting.”
“Schreech!”
A terrible screech echoed throughout the cavern, causing it to tremble and for Samuel to become dizzy. The frequency of this screech was indescribable, but its effect was not.
Ding!
[You have been afflicted with the Overlord's Suppression.]
[You will feel revolted at the thought of crossing the caster of the spell, causing dizziness and nausea.]
“What!? There are spells here? Why is it not a technique but rather cast through the system?”
With his confidence wavering with every passing moment, Samel was starting to consider killing himself in the most painless way possible to avoid the extra punishment he would receive.
Ding!
[Killing yourself will result in twice the death penalty. Good luck!]
“Damn. Well, there is only one thing to do now.”
With his trusted Black Spear appearing in his hands, Samuel decided to take the initiative to attack. Instead of his amateurish moves against the Predator Snake, he now looked much more experienced and decided to throw his spear towards the only visible weakness of the Insectoid, its eyes. The spear produced a tearing sound as it, well, tore through the air and approached the beetle. Unfortunately for Samuel, this Insectoid was not the same as the other insects he had defeated previously; it was far superior. The shell covering its back extended to cover its entire body, generating the sound of metal hitting metal when the spear collided with it.
If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
Sparks flew throughout the cave, with Samuel having to cover his eyes in self-defense, lest they get scorched. Instead of standing still like an idiot, he started running in circles in the cave to be sure he was not hit by some evil power, since he was unsure of what other abilities the Insectoid had. If it has one power cast through the system, it could have others, as well as normal cultivation techniques. This proved to be the right decision, as the spot where he had stood previously was hit by a dark beam, which erased the rock of the cavern more than five meters down.
“Oh shit, oh shit. Fuck! It's my end if I get even grazed by that thing. How can it be so overpowered? I don’t have any active powers, only the passive ones, and my spear is clearly unable to penetrate the shell of this thing. This might be a lost cause.”
As he was thinking about this, he felt a weak tingling sensation coming from the depths of his soul, telling him to move two steps back at all costs. Trusting this sensation instinctively, he did as he was told, mere instants before a dark hellfire engulfed the area.
“First, how many powers does this thing have? This is outrageous! Second, I almost forgot about the effect of the Survivor achievement. If I focus and stay in tune with my instincts, maybe I will be able to find a way to survive this."
Indeed, he might, but it sure was not going to be easy. The tingling came back, urging him to move three steps towards the right to avoid certain death. A minor spatial collapse, not comparable to Singularity, but still lethal, covered a quarter of the cavern, almost grazing Samuel as he dodged.
“It is indeed doable this way. However, I need to retrieve my spear to have any chance of doing damage. I shouldn't have thrown it away. Damn!”
Sprinting towards the center of all the attacks being cast at him, Samuel was on the edge of life and death at all times. His heart was pumping, his eyes were constricted, and his back was soaked in sweat, with his concentration on the task at hand being uncanny. Dark beams of destruction and dark hellfire were covering the entire perimeter of the toad. In the midst of all this, where the toad was, his trusted Black Spear lay.
Three steps to the north-east, one to the west, and five to the south, Samuel was nearly dancing his way towards greatness. Soon, without being hit even once, he managed to get his hands on his spear. Without a moment's hesitation, he lunged towards the underbelly of the Insectoid, the area his instinct guided him towards. There he found a minute crack in its shell, perfect for breaching its defenses. The spear was jabbed rapidly into it, inflicting significant damage. The same wretched screech as it emitted earlier entered his head once again, together with the feeling of not being able to avoid the attack being launched at him. The Insectoid struck its pincers through the ground, seemingly conjuring something massive to emerge from it.
“I only have this one chance—do and die—but hopefully I can kill it before I die. Argh!”
His iconic warcry caused a slight tremble to occur in the Insectoid boss, seemingly because of trepidation. This was the effect of Exterminator taking hold—the only reason he was confident in killing it. This tiny moment of fear caused the attack it was launching to be delayed by just enough to allow him to approach the crack in its shell once again. A dark glow appeared on the spear as he used it to carve a tiny opening in the shell, which he then proceeded to thrust the spear into with full power. The dark glow came from the perk of the Viper achievement, containing a one-in-100 chance to grant your attack a poison effect, significant enough to kill common beasts at levels 19 and below. It should not be powerful enough to kill the Insectoid by itself, but together with his spear tearing through its insides, it would take but a few seconds before it would fall.
Now covered in a discusting green mucus, Samuel prepared himself for what was about to come—a certain death. There was no chance he would not die; even if he killed the Insectoid, he would still die. From the ground came an even louder tremble, before a gray liquid erupted from it. This liquid caused the temperature in the entire cavern to surge. Before it even hit Samuel, he could feel his skin being singed from the heat.
“No, no, please, God! Why does it have to be such a painful attack? I regret everything."
With his regret soaring to the heavens, he was fully engulfed in the lava. Pain so intense that it threatened to disconnect his soul from his body consumed him completely. Yet he refused to give in and either pass out or die before knowing he had managed to slay his prey. Luckily for him, he did not have to wait for long.
Ding!
[Congratulations on slaying the Rare Insectoid boss.]
[Your rewards have been tabulated. Your bonus rewards have been tabulated. Your punishment has been tabulated.]
[Congratulations on surviving your first 24 hours in the Garden of Doom!]
[Transporting you back to the Shattered Realm in 3, 2, 1,...]
Lights once again filled Samuel’s eyes before showing the familiar scene of the Guarantor of Truth on the table in front of him. He was out! He was both excited and slightly disappointed at being back. After all, how can he continue to get achievements like he did in the Garden of Doom out here?
Ding!
[Congratulations! Your punishment has reacted to your achievement, Tempting Fate, and your reward from the Garden of Doom, transforming into something different than intended. You have received the system function Wheel of Pain and Happiness. Choose the function page for more information.
[Important to notice: All achievements obtained in the Garden of Doom can only be improved in the garden, not in reality, but will still function in both, while all achievements obtained in reality will not be usable in the Garden of Doom.]
“Wheel of Pain and Happiness sounds quite good, doesn't it? Is it some form of lucky wheel? Let me check it out.”
[Wheel of Pain and Happiness: The wheel contains 10,000 slots, where 9,999 are of pain and one is of happiness.]
[Pain slots: Your body will be inflicted with terrible pain, pain so extreme it will cause your body to improve beyond the limits previously thought possible by man. Pain will in turn cause happiness.]
[Happiness slot: Your body will experience the most euphoric and blissful happiness you can ever imagine, brought upon your body by becoming slightly closer to REDACTED. The aftermath of this change, however, will cause you pain at the same level as the pain slots. Happiness will in turn cause pain.]
[Spins are restricted and can only be obtained as rewards from quests the system might dish out or from any of the infinite dungeons it possesses.]
[Current spins: 100 (10 from unlocking the function and 90 as a reward.]
"This is awesome. Not only did I not have to suffer any of the intended punishment, but I also received this indreadable hack. How painful can this pain really be? Hell, I was tortured for over three months before time reset. This should be manageable, I hope.”
Thinking about it, Samuel found it prudent to test this new system function out to see how painful it truly was and the consequent improvement he would receive. He was also curious what it meant by 'cause your body to improve beyond limits previously thought possible by man’. ‘Didn’t the body improve with cultivation? Is this a different kind of improvement—a better one?
“Spin. The. Wheel!”