"Congratulations on your promotion." The Pactmaster offered.

"Why thank you." I smiled. "What's that make it? Fourth?"

He nodded. "Indeed it does."

I considered the huge kill requirements to get where I was... I doubt I could make it to fifth anytime soon... especially now that I've cleared out just about all of the Nemeses in the vicinity.

I looked over at the small number of new recruits... it seemed like it was getting harder to find new champions. "This will likely have to do... let's move out!"

The Punctual looked at his pocketwatch. "Let's just hope this doesn't require as much time-wasting as last time."

I shook my head. "No, this time, we're going straight for him before he can recover."

----------------------------------------

Andrew

I looked at the new modifications to Hole Puncher.

The word that comes to mind when I look at it is 'tacti-cool'... that and the phrase 'mall ninja', but we'll stick with the more flattering one.

"Hole Puncher, let's give the upgrades a test run shall we?"

'Understood.'

"Also, don't add anything to power this time, it will just make the bolt harder to find... or explode I guess..."

'Understood.'

It feels like I'm texting someone and getting 'k' as a response.

"I think I'm going to paint panty stripes on the side of you Hole Puncher."

'Understood.'

I threw my hands into the air, letting Hole Puncher rest on the sling. "Okay, now you're just doing it to annoy me!"

'I'm glad you understood.'

"I hate you so much right now Hole Puncher."

'Understood.'

I sighed heavily. "Yeah, I walked straight into that one."

I grabbed Hole Puncher and aimed for a nearby tree. "Just like we discussed Hole Puncher."

'Understo- I apologize, that one wasn't on purpose.' She replied, still as monotone as ever.

After much ado, I pulled the trigger.

As was custom at this point, I was knocked onto my ass.

Beside that, Hole Puncher seemed relatively intact.

"How do you feel Hole Puncher?" I asked.

'My string is a little sore and my tubes feel strange, but otherwise I feel perfectly within acceptable pararmeters.'

I furrowed my eyebrows. "Huh... good to know..."

I retrieved my bolt and thought about what was next.

That thinking was interrupted by an announcement.

"The champions are returning!"

----------------------------------------

Sydui

I could feel the anger radiating from Andrew when he heard those words... it was almost scary...

"Polyu, Sydui, and Rahyu, you're with me, everyone else protect the camp while we murder every single one of them."

Andrew started walking, and those called upon simply fell into step, including myself.

We all wanted exactly the same thing as Andrew did after all.

We met the champions halfway, both parties stopping just outside of striking distance of each other.

A figure stepped forward.

[The Voracious Stalker, Nemesis Fourth Stage]

"I'm surprised to see-" The Stalker began.

"Shut your dirty whore mouth!" Andrew interrupted. "There's a dozen of my friends that are in critical condition because of you, I don't want to hear it!"

Everyone, and I mean everyone was taken aback by this... I mean we Fifskae felt angry, but this was pure rage talking there.

The weirdest reaction was from the Stalker though... he seemed almost... sad?

The Stalker nodded somberly. "Just... start the attack."

Nobody moved at first, clearly confused and unsure of the situation.

That was until Andrew leveled Hole Puncher at them and blew a pair of champions to bits with a single shot... that got everybody moving.

"Sydui, as soon as you get the boost, tear as many of them apart as possible."

I dodged a gout of purple sludge. "As soon as I get the what?"

"[Ascend, Echo]!" He yelled.

I felt a sudden surge of immense power fill me.

[Gained the Skill "Skullshatter", when activated, your next strike will cause a significantly higher amount of concussive force. This Skill cannot be used again until five seconds have passed.]

[Gained the Skill "Night Force", while "Berserk" is active, you retain more of your mental faculties, and have all bonuses received increased even further. Additionally, each time you land a strike, a "Nightfire" attack bursts from the contact point.]

I activated [Berserk], [Skullshatter], and [Slaughter] all at once... my target was clear it my mind.

I charged at Oligog.

With my current speed, he wouldn't be able to counter before I got to him.

I swung with all of my might.

Suddenly, The Stalker was in my way.

My fist slammed into The Stalker's face, knocking several of his teeth out... but that was all.

It felt like I was punching iron.

The Stalker definitely wasn't this tough before.

That distraction gave Oligog enough time to complete his action. "[Domain, Redouble]!" A gem I hadn't noticed was in his hand, glowed briefly.

The sphere expanded across the battlefield, encompassing at least double, if not triple, the area it had the previous time.

I definitely felt slower, but I was about my average speed again, so I wasn't overly worried about myself.

I looked over to Andrew...

...And saw he was absolutely fine.

I wondered how that could be, until I saw that he was wearing The Gem Of Relativity around his neck.

I breathed a sigh of relief and focused back on the enemies in front of us.

Andrew leveled Hole Puncher at Oligog and fired, only to be blocked by The Stalker's sudden appearance. The impact of the bolt still split The Stalker's head in half, causing it to awkwardly sway in the crawl that Oligog's [Skill] generated.

I used the opening to attack as well, only for The Stalker to teleport in front of my fist just before it connected again.

The both of us tried to create some distance and strategize... but that didn't last long.

Oligog pointed at The Stalker. "[Prodigy, Ascend]!" Oligog pointed at both The Stalker and I. "[Force Bolt]!"

It suddenly felt like someone threw a train at my solar plexus, and I was pushed all the way out of his [Domain] and into a tree, The Stalker not far behind.

[The Voracious Stalker, Nemesis Fifth Stage]

Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

It was now a battle of attrition against an enemy that could regenerate.

What would Andrew do?

----------------------------------------

Andrew

Oligog started squawking and looking at his pocketwatch.

I fired a bolt at him.

"[Prodigy, Swap]!"

As soon as I heard that, I jumped to the side.

My bolt passed behind me, barely missing me... even then, it tore a gash in my back.

I was thoroughly not in the mood for this dog and pony show, so I strode toward Oligog.

"Shreddy, when you see an opportunity, see if you can surprise him... careful though, you'll be moving at a crawl."

'Gotcha!'

I pulled out The Great Stabbinsky. "Let's kill this fool."

'It's certainly been a while, but I'm glad to serve you once more!'

I nodded.

I was now within striking distance, so I began my attack.

Oligog blocked my swing with a metalcorn knife of his own... he must have picked it up from one of the Fifskae last time.

I get it, but... what an asshole.

He countered, with a slash that barely missed my throat.

I jumped backward to gain some distance, but he predicted my move and jumped with me.

I dodged under his follow-up attack and grabbed his arm in an attempt to force an opening.

As it turns out, that was a stupid idea, as he was many times stronger than me.

I was flung off of his arm in a matter of moments, almost certainly accidentally on Oligog's part.

I crashed against a tree and had the wind knocked out of me.

I barely had time to look up before he thrust his knife downward at me.

"Shreddy! Now!"

Shreddy attempted to jump at Oligog, but it was far too slow to do anything helpful.

Oligog jumped backward, leaving the knife in the tree.

I threw The Great Stabbinsky at Oligog as he retreated backward, and Oligog caught him.

"Shreddy, get that knife out of the tree for me please."

'On it!'

After a moment of cutting, the knife popped out and I grabbed it.

"I need you to stay behind, that way he won't be as wary of me."

'That sucks, but I gotcha.'

I walked forward with the knife in my left hand, ready to attack Oligog.

Oligog lunged at me, aiming for a clearly fatal location.

I held out The Gem Of Skill Storage. "[Domain]!"

Out of it exuded a sphere, as it expanded, it showed us both a landscape of skyscrapers and about a thousand different things I'd thought of inventing everywhere.

My first thought upon seeing it was...

"A sphere of my utopia."

"Utopia? It's far too angular for my liking." Oligog squawked.

We both looked at each other in amazement and confusion.

"You can understand me?!" We asked in unison.

Oligog's eyes took in the surroundings for a moment as he thought. "If I had to guess, the reason is probably because the expressions of our minds are overlapping right now... so it's a sort of accidental mindreading."

This was an amazing [Skill], I wanted to refill the gem so I could use it again later. I decided the best way to do that was to keep him talking.

"So while I can still ask, what's up with the colors and clocks?"

"I have what's known as 'arithnomania', which was paired with 'synesthesia'. I experience numbers as colors... and I have no choice but to remember every number I see." He held his head as if it was going to split and he was trying to hold it together. "Everything is numbers! How many steps have you taken?! How many degrees is your range of motion?! How many breaths have you taken?! I can't take it anymore!" He took a deep breath. "That's why I'm going to use my wish to remove it from me."

My eyes widened. "Wish?"

His eyebrows furrowed, or he at least did the equivalent of it for his species. "Did you not hear the divine being tell you that at the start?"

I kicked myself mentally for not listening to the lady before the game started for about the infinity-and-first time in a row. "I actually never heard the speech, could you sum it up for me?"

Oligog seemed to think about it. "Why are you here if not for being told the prize for winning?"

I shrugged. "I just wanted to get away from the boredom of my life, at first I thought I was just going to be living here, but it's become apparent that that is extremely unlikely to happen. I've been fighting wave after wave of things trying to kill me... it feels like there's no end to it."

Oligog scratched his chin. "I will give you the message you missed then."

"Really, thanks a ton!"

"Don't thank me yet, I'm still going to try to kill you afterward."

I nodded. "Yeah, but I expected that... that was my plan too after all."

Oligog made a gleeful birdcall, the equivalent of a laugh. "Fair enough. Basically, it explained that this game is a last-man-standing tournament to the death, and that the winner would get the ultimate prize: a single wish. They also mentioned that they couldn't grant something like infinite power or something like that, but it could alter your very being in some way if you desired; which is exactly why I'm here."

I thought about that. "Fascinating." I looked up at him. "Well, are you ready to resume our fight to the death?"

Oligog made the same gleeful birdcall. "Definitely."

I ran at him in a very straightforward manner.

He stepped forward as part of the follow-through of an attack, but I used my control over my [Domain] to trip him.

His eyes widened as I stabbed toward his chest.

He brought The Great Stabbinsky up to block it.

I stopped my feint and called The Great Stabbinsky to my right hand.

Oligog's eyes widened as my attack landed.

Oligog's neck spewed blood out as if it was a geyser.

Suddenly, it felt like I was choking on my own blood.

I put a hand on my neck and looked at it.

I wasn't bleeding from it at all.

My mind was in a panic.

I tried to figure out how to escape this fate.

And then it ended all at once.

Oligog's [Domain] disappeared, and the sensation with it, as he disintegrated.

I coughed and sputtered.

Let's never do that again.

----------------------------------------

Sydui

I'm at such a severe disadvantage it's not even funny.

If I wait too long, there's almost no hope of my survival because he would have at least twenty seconds where he's three stages above me... and even if I can survive that by some miracle, it would only reduce by one stage.

I think Andrew said that [Ascend] lasts for a minute?

I didn't have any more time to waste, I needed to obliterate The Stalker as quickly as I could.

Luckily, I'm a bit faster than he is, which means that he can't just run away.

He is, however, extremely good at dodging my punches.

I changed tactics.

I shot a [Nightfire] directly into the ground, causing dust to fly up into every direction.

I lunged at him with a double hammerfist.

But he wasn't there.

I unlocked my eyes and looked around for him.

I ducked moments before he bit off my head.

I then grabbed his hind-leg and smashed him into the ground.

A gasp of air escaped from his mouth.

He unfolded his foot and slashed at me, forcing me to drop him or lose my hand.

I dropped him, and he stood up clumsily... almost like he had a concussion... but only in one of his legs somehow?

Before he had the time to [Regenerate], I charged at him and punched him the shoulder.

Sure enough, not only could he not dodge it well, it also caused the same pseudo-limp.

He pounced, trying his damnedest to bite me with his massive maw.

I grabbed his upper jaw with one hand, and his lower jaw with the other. "I think you've forgotten, I'm not 'The Night Puncher'..." I started tearing his jaw apart. "I'M THE NIGHT RIPPER!"

His jaw came off... but I didn't stop.

The rip went deeper and deeper, until it reached his clavicle.

Suddenly, his [Regeneration]'s charge-up time got extremely short, his wounds already starting to heal.

I put my foot against the inside of his neck and pushed.

He started slashing at me randomly, causing gashes all over my body.

Then suddenly, all at once, his [Regeneration] just stopped and fear filled his eyes.

I pulled my foot out of him and raised it above my head. "[Skullshatter]!"

I brought it down through him, cutting him clean in half.

And for good measure, a burst of black fire exploded from where my foot hit the ground, burning both halves from the inside-out.

Interestingly enough, he was clearly dead before I even got all the way through splitting him in half.

[You have been demoted due to the end of the duration of a Skill.]

[You have been demoted due to the end of the duration of a Skill.]

[The duration of Berserk has ended.]

[The duration of Slaughter has ended.]

I slumped over, completely exhausted.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw something though...

I saw The Stalker sneaking away... if he hadn't brushed against a nearby bush a little too unnaturally, I wouldn't have noticed it.

I'll definitely tell Andrew, but for now I need to rest... there's a lot more enemies to fight after all.

----------------------------------------

Andrew

All of the champions who were stuck because of Oligog's [Domain] were all suddenly released.

They all seemed wary of my sphere, so I picked up the gem Oligog had used before and decided to do a little experiment.

"[Redouble]!"

My [Domain], suddenly increased in size by somewhere between double and triple.

All of the champions looked around.

A few of them used mobility [Skills] to escape immediately.

Those who didn't were in for a world of hurt.

All of the champions who were left were suddenly swallowed up halfway into the ground and then gagged.

I used this moment of increased connection with my mind to focus on my sabatons, chestplate, and helmet.

My sabatons were the closest to completion, so I started with them. "Saiph and Rigel! Arise!"

[Your 'Creative Spark' has been special-activated and caused your item to gain 'Limited Sapience'.]

'It's too early to be waking up.' Saiph, the younger sister, protested.

'It's the middle of the day!' Rigel, the older sister, admonished.

'I don't see your point.'

'Either you get up right now, or I'll tell Andrew all about your-!'

'I'm up! I'm up!' Saiph yelled frantically.

"Nice to meet you both."

'Thank you for saying so.' Rigel replied.

'Yep, hi.' Saiph added with a yawn.

'Be more respectful!' Rigel scolded.

"I hate to cut in, but I'm going to need to focus for a moment longer." I interrupted.

'Fine! Let Saiph get away with it I guess!'

I focused on my chestplate next.

It was significantly more difficult to bond with them, but now that I have an accelerated connection with my mind and have a couple of tricks to help, it didn't take too much time.

"Arise! Leonidas!"

[Your 'Creative Spark' has been special-activated and caused your item to gain 'Limited Sapience'.]

'None shall harm my master while I yet breathe!'

Just then, a champion attempted to sneak up behind me and attack.

I used Leonidas to create a barrier behind me, deflecting their suckerpunch easily.

I then turned and used Saiph and Rigel to anchor me to the ground.

"Hole Puncher! Full power!"

I stayed standing and Hole Puncher was able to endure the punishment.

On the other hand, my legs and back hurt a lot after doing that, probably due to the position I anchored myself into.

I unanchored my feet and reanchored them into a wider stance. "Ready everyone?"

'Indeed.' Hole Puncher replied.

'I will protect you until I am shattered into a million pieces!' Leonidas resounded.

'If I have to...' Saiph acquiesced.

'You'd better Saiph!' Rigel accused.

'I've always got your back, you know this!' Shreddy added.

'Even if you dropped me to the bottom of the ocean, I would return at your call, after all... the show must go on!' The Great Stabbinsky agreed.

"Let's do this!"

I let the champions out of their holes.

Each one attacked at whichever range they felt most comfortable.

A dozen fighters charged toward melee range.

I picked as many off as possible, but I wasn't able to get them all.

Five champions made it to close range and attacked all at once.

I tripped the first with my foot as I dodged behind him.

The next few missed their swings because of the dodge, one of them even hitting a nearby champion instead.

I pushed the champion into the others, knocking him and two others prone.

The final two melee champions swung at me, and were blocked by Leonidas and Shreddy respectively.

The one blocked by Shreddy met a gruesome end right then and there, the other was killed not long after when I stabbed him with The Great Stabbinsky.

The three who were knocked prone got up and used different [Skills] to try to kill me with.

"[Earthquake]!"

"[Phantom Blade]!"

"[Mountain Sundering Strike]!"

The ground beneath me started to shake, so I dodged to the side and anchored myself to the ground.

The second champion tripped due to his friend's poor timing, and his blade went wide.

The third champion had jumped, so was unbothered by the ground shaking. I simply sniped him out of the air, killing him instantly.

After the shaking stopped, I unanchored myself and ran into close range with the [Earthquake] guy.

His first attack missed by a mile as I dodged under it.

I followed up by heel-kicking his knee with Saiph.

He screamed out in pain and stumbled backward, this gave me enough time to finish reloading Hole Puncher and fire, killing him too.

I turned to face the last guy, but didn't see him.

I strained my ears and eyes to their limit trying to figure out where he had gone.

I barely managed to dodge under an invisible [Phantom Blade], but I couldn't tell from which direction it came from.

I focused on my senses, and then on my helmet.

A dodged a second [Phantom Blade], and then a third.

Then I felt it, a spark.

"Arise! Insight!"

[Your 'Creative Spark' has been special-activated and caused your item to gain 'Limited Sapience'.]

'None shall escape my gaze.'

Suddenly, I could hear the enemy champion's heartbeat.

I used Leonidas to grab him, and then I shot him with Hole Puncher.

I looked at the shocked masses of champions who watched me easily kill their compatriots, even with whatever support they could muster.

The ranged attackers all attacked with whatever they could muster, but I simply raised some skyscrapers out of the ground to block their shots.

"Thank you for your participation, but that's all I wanted from you."

I turned the ground into liquid metal and used it to saw them all apart.

Not long after that, [Domain]'s duration ended, I think it ended up being five-ish minutes long.

Both Rahyu and Sydui were staring at me in awe.

"Yeah, I can't do that usually but it was pretty-"

I was interrupted by a message.

[New Acquired Title: Millenneist]

[Congratulations for making it into the top one-thousand champions!]

[From now on, all champions' distances from you will be displayed, allowing you to find the other champions easier.]

"Uh oh."