Chapter One: Well, I'm Overpowered
I am a Lich King, Scourge Of the Seven Planes, Bane of the Elder gods, Destroyer of Amphias, and… I should explain how I got here.
It all began after I fell into the Animi River as a child, the border between Life and Death, which enhanced my connection with the Afterworld. The day started with flame—an inferno burning in my dreams. I could see scales, the scales of a dragon, yet there was another force to it. The scales melted into dust, and a bony hand reached from the void, the Reaper, when I had fallen into the Animi; he had been there watching me. I had heard words spoken with biting calm, a prophecy from death, "The day You are marked, you will be the Destroyer of the Elder Gods. You be a master of the System and conquer even me." The people who had rushed in to save me heard those words.
Since that day, the [Priests] looked at me contemptuously. The prophecies of death always came true. I awoke with a start. It was just a dream. I dressed and left for the farm. My mom was always trying to find a way for us to survive, and we needed me to head to the farm to ensure that we got our coin and wheat. As I left, I noticed my mom was gone, as she had been for the past week but still hadn't returned. As I was harvesting wheat, one of the kids beside me whooped joyfully. The overseers rushed to the commotion; the kid explained, "I got a class. It's just a [Farmer] class, but still, it's a class, A CLASS!" The overseers were shocked but overjoyed, "Well then, we have to inform Priest that's your first person to gain a class in months.' I knew that I would never receive that reaction when I got a class because of the prophecy, that if I did, it would be combative and would threaten the gods; as I left for home, he appeared, the King of Death, the Reaper, and the Supreme Dragon, King of Life, showed themselves to me, and mana sparked in the air, Marks appeared in the air and burned themselves into my chest, Reaper and Dragon, Life, and Death joined me, a golden, snarling dragon and a grim black reaper inked themselves onto my torso. I ran to my house just over the hill's cleft. Smoke was rising from the chimney as I burst through the door, [Skill gained, [Personal Interface], Skill gained, [Dragonflame], Skill gained, [Death Tendrils], Skill gained, [Dragon's Flight], Skill gained, [Scales of the Supreme Dragon], Skill gained, [Shadow travel], Skill gained, [Revival], Skill gained, [Armor of the Deathly Gods]. My mom was in the house, but I knew everything was going to the hells when she said this:
"Lival, the [Priests] want to see you."
Guards rushed into the house and grabbed me.
Frick, Frick, FRICK, THEY KNOW! My mind screamed in terror as guards grabbed me. They probably knew about the markings, but maybe there was a chance that they didn't know. Nope, they probably knew. The life-and-death mana coming off me would be evident from a mile away. How I knew that term: I looked at my [Personal Interface]. Why is Lich Prince grayed out, and why is my output SSS!?!
Class: Lich Prince
Name: Lival, Level: 0, Rank: F, Next rank up: Five levels left
Race: Human
Mana: 10,000 out of 10,000, Mana Absorption, C rank, Mana Capacity, B rank, Mana Output: SSS
Strength: 10
Attunement: 10
Intelligence: 10
Wisdom: 20
Dexterity: 10
Endurance: 10
Marks/Runes: Torso, Mark of the Reaper, Mark of the Supreme Dragon
Skills: Active: [Dragonflame], [Scales of Supreme Dragon], [Dragon's Flight], [Death Tendrils], [Shadow Travel], [Armor of the Deathly Gods],
Passives: [Regeneration], [Supreme Senses], [Death Seer], [Revival], [Personal Interface]
I had gained all those skills from my Mark of the Reaper and Mark of the Supreme Dragon. It was more than most B-ranks had, but I probably wouldn't use them too much since I would be executed. The fact that I hadn't gained any levels and that my stats, except for Wisdom, were absolute trash wasn't helping! As I was led to the Temple of the Seven Elder Gods, I saw something like a specter of the Reaper. My [Death Seer] skill was going berserk, showing people dying, me and some other people to be executed. I assumed there was no chance I could escape from the guards as most of them were low C rank, much stronger than me. As I was thrown into the temple atop a pentacle, I saw the [High Priest] glaring at me, "Lival, you are guilty of attempting to supplant the Elder Gods; for this, you shall banished to Broken Hells!" No monologue, no intro, nothing, nothing, straight to the point; I'm so dead. Aeon and Akios are famous for their monologues; if they weren't bragging about capturing me, bye-bye world, I thought at the words that Aeon spoke, the Broken Hells were a lawless place where the evilest, conniving, despicable people went, I wouldn't join them. Desperation gripped me, and as priests prepared to banish me to the Hells, I reached for the sun of the skills inside of me.
A skill-activated power emanated from me, and words sprung onto my tongue; I shouted at the [High Priest], "IN THE NAME OF THE SUPREME DRAGON AND THE REAPER, DIE, [Dragonflame], [Death Tendrils], [Scales of the Supreme Dragon], [Armor of the Deathly Gods]!" Tendrils of pure Death energy snaked towards the [Priests], a pillar of flame erupted from beneath the [High Priest], and Dragon scales and gleaming, gilded black armor materialized on my body. A notification from my [Personal Interface] indicated I had succeeded in my goal, [You have slain, High Priest Akios, You have slain, High Priest Aeon, You slain thirty minor Priests of the Elder Gods. Class not found experience held in escrow until class is acquired.] [WARNING MANA AT ZERO PERCENT, CANCELING SPELLS!] It was too late for me; even though I had wiped out the [Priests], it had cost my life; using SSS-ranked mana output with only B and C ranks in capacity and absorption was like trying to control the sun and the stars. My vision went black as the flame of my life was extinguished, and then the skill that set me on my current path was activated: [SKILL ACTIVATED, REVIVAL]. I didn't know how long it took, how long I was dead, but being resurrected was so painful.
As I awoke, I saw the world had changed, and I didn't know how much time had passed. Dead, broken birch trees surrounded a fractured, shattered, scorched marble temple; the roof had collapsed entirely. When I looked down at myself, I was still in the gilded armor, and I still felt the scales on me, but as I looked down, I caught my reflection in the armor. What I saw shocked me; in the armguard where my tan skin and eyes should have been, there was a gleaming white skull with two burning blue flames for eyes; when I had first manifested the armor, I hadn't had a helmet, now I had one with points resembling a… resembling a crown, "[Personal Interface]!"
Class: Lich Prince
Name: Lival, Level: 30, Rank: C, Next rank up ten levels left
Race: Undead Human
Mana: 1,000,000 out of 1,000,000, Mana Absorption, SSS rank, Mana Capacity, SSS rank, Mana Output: SSS
Strength: 50
Attunement: 50
Intelligence: 50
Wisdom: 50
Dexterity: 50
Endurance: 50
Marks/Runes: Torso, Mark of the Reaper, Mark of the Supreme Dragon
Skills: Active: [Dragonflame], [Scales of Supreme Dragon], [Dragon's Flight, [Death Tendrils], [Shadow Travel], [Armor of the Deathly Gods], [Royal Subjugation],
Passives: [Regeneration], [Supreme Senses], [Death Seer], [Revival], [Personal Interface], [Devil's Luck].
[You have 90 stat points to spend, Skill gained, Royal Subjugation: Instantly kill any hostile undead within 50 feet, if the hostile is not undead, deals moderate to significant damage, Skill gained, Devil's Luck: On fatal blow, have a 50% chance of revival to Max Health. Note: Due to the power of the skills, 15 levels were needed to unlock them.]
I put the new stat points into Attunement, and instantly, the world slowed, the leaves blowing from a live part of the forest slowed to a snail's pace. I could now dodge attacks so easily.
Class: Lich Prince
Name: Lival, Level: 30, Rank: C, Next rank up ten levels left
Race: Undead Human
Mana: 1,000,000 out of 1,000,000, Mana Absorption, SSS rank, Mana Capacity, SSS rank, Mana Output: SSS
Strength: 50
Attunement: 140
Intelligence: 50
Wisdom: 50
Dexterity: 50
Endurance: 50
Marks/Runes: Torso, Mark of the Reaper, Mark of the Supreme Dragon
Skills: Active: [Dragonflame], [Scales of Supreme Dragon], [Dragon's Flight, [Death Tendrils], [Shadow Travel], [Armor of the Deathly Gods], [Royal Subjugation],
Passives: [Regeneration], [Supreme Senses], [Death Seer], [Revival], [Personal Interface], [Devil's Luck].
I did a double-take when I saw the stats: 50 in everything besides Attunement and 140 in that!!! How can I use this strength and SSS in Output, Capacity, and Generation? That's so overpowered! My racing thoughts landed on my new body, So I guess I'm a skeleton now. That could be a problem, considering that I could be killed instantly if all my bones were shattered. I suppose that mana-steel could work, but it has to be tuned to both life and death. My thoughts were interrupted as a fireball streaked over my shoulder, barely missing. I had only managed to kill the priests so quickly because I had caught them by surprise if someone was prepared to kill me and was high enough of a level. I didn't want to finish that thought; I realized my only goal right now was to fight and ensure I didn't die again. This time, since I knew it was coming, I activated Attunement, and an incoming fireball slowed to a crawl. Suddenly, skeletons burst from the ground and charged me, "[Royal Subjugation]." All the skeletons exploded into dust. [Twenty greater skeletons and one lesser
Lich has been slain, Class Skills granted, [Summon Greater Undead Legion], [Summon Lesser Lich], [Soul Suck], Level gained, you are now level 31, Skills granted, [View], [Map], [Aural Fist], [Aural Armor], [Heal], and [Storm Gambit]. [View] allows you to see the rank, health, class, and skills of an object or person. [Map] grants you an accurate mental map that covers areas you have seen. [Soul Suck] allows you to drain the life force of an object or being. [Aural Fist] uses your aura to cover your fists, allowing you to deal much more damage. [Aural Armor] uses your aura to cover your body and decreases damage by 20%. Summon skills will enable you to summon certain creatures. [Summon Greater Skeletons] Summon a dozen Greater Skeletons. [Summon Lesser Lich], summon a Lesser Lich capable of summoning Lesser Skeletons. Your class allows the undead you have slain to be summoned as vassals. [Storm Gambit] adds chain lightning damage to unarmed attacks and, at 25% or lower, unleashes a massive electrical explosion. It grants access to the ultimate attack, Ultra Storm Blast, at the cost of 25% health and deals 75% percent damage to everything not the user within 10 meters. [Heal], heals 25% health
Class: Lich Prince
The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
Name: Lival, Level: 31, Rank: C, Next rank up nine levels left
Race: Undead Human
Mana: 1,000,000 out of 1,000,000, Mana Absorption, SSS rank, Mana Capacity, SSS rank, Mana Output: SSS
Strength: 50
Attunement: 140
Intelligence: 50
Wisdom: 50
Dexterity: 50
Endurance: 50
Marks/Runes: Torso, Mark of the Reaper, Mark of the Supreme Dragon
Skills: Active: [Dragonflame], [Scales of Supreme Dragon], [Dragon's Flight], [Death Tendrils], [Shadow Travel], [Armor of the Deathly Gods], [Royal Subjugation],[Aural Fist], [Aural Armor], [Heal], [Storm Gambit],[ Summon Lesser Lich], [Summon Greater Skeletons]
Passives: [Regeneration], [Supreme Senses], [Death Seer], [Revival], [Personal Interface], [Devil's Luck], [Map], [View], you have three stat points to spend.
I barely had any time to react to the deluge of notifications when a man punched through the chest. Pain erupted, and [ability activated Devil's Luck] I realized that I had died again and I had only been saved by [Devil's Luck] already. It saved my life. An enormous electrical explosion resounded through the dead forest. Just one punch, and he killed me; he's A-rank, way stronger than me! Then a light, eerie voice rang through the battle, "[Holy Barrier]." Giant glowing wings surrounded me, and another skill activated, "[Holy Missile]." a golden projectile was shot at me. I dodged, but then it multiplied and was reflected at me. Two golden missiles darted at me, and I couldn't dodge them. Then, I activated my Attunement. The world slowed like honey had been poured over it, and avoiding it became easy. Still, it hit the barrier again, and two became four, four became eight, eight became sixteen, and soon it became overwhelming. Hundreds, then thousands, swarm me. I couldn't dodge; there were too many, and a wall of light hit me, [Debuff, Stun, Debuff, Purge, Debuff, Drain, Debuff, Leech, WARNING MANA AT ZERO, HEALTH BELOW 25%, STORM GAMBIT ACTIVATED, skill granted [Debuff Resistance], skill granted [Shadow Weave], ERROR, ERROR HTTP 429, DEBUG, REDIRECT, ERROR 404, REDIRECT, System Master Skill granted, [Latent Divinity], System Master Skill Granted, [Unbridled Potential], one stat point added to all stats, adding 3 three stat points for future leveling, [Latent Divinity], times two multiplier, all stats doubled, stat gain doubled to 12.
Class: Lich Prince
Name: Lival, Level: 31, Rank: C, Next rank up nine levels left
Race: Undead Human
Mana: 1582 out of 1,000,000, Mana Absorption, SSS rank, Mana Capacity, SSS rank, Mana Output: SSS
Strength: 102
Attunement: 282
Intelligence: 102
Wisdom: 102
Dexterity: 102
Endurance: 102
Marks/Runes: Torso, Mark of the Reaper, Mark of the Supreme Dragon
Skills: Active: [Dragonflame], [Scales of Supreme Dragon], [Dragon's Flight, [Death Tendrils], [Shadow Travel], [Armor of the Deathly Gods], [Royal Subjugation],
Passives: [Regeneration], [Supreme Senses], [Death Seer], [Revival], [Personal Interface], [Devil's Luck], [Latent Divinity], [Shadow Weave], [Debuff Resistance], [Unbridled Potential], You have six points to spend.
Power surged through me. I didn't understand this new power, but whatever happened to me didn't matter: anger, adrenaline, and rage filled me. I was a [Lich Prince], and none would oppose my conquest.
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What was going on? Bjorn, Celeste, and I were going on a routine scouting mission in a C-rank area when we found a [Lich]; it had only been C-rank, so we had expected an easy battle. I was Aver Greenleaf, Moon Elf, A-rank [Wizard], slayer of the great dragon Arkas, yet this C-rank [Lich] was putting up a level of resistance that rivaled Arkas, Bjorn had nearly been killed after the [Lich] had used its ultimate. Celeste was unconscious after her summons had been eviscerated with one skill. I had used my [Holy barrier] and [Holy Missile] in an attempt to get so many Debuffs on the [Lich] that it wouldn't even be able to stand. It had worked, but then a power had erupted from the [Lich]. Despite all the Debuffs, despite its mana being near zero, it had looked at me, and I saw a fury in its eyes, shadows gathered around it despite the glaring light of my holy attacks. Suddenly, it vanished in a burst of darkness. “[Analyze]!” I shouted, and the threat level of the lich appeared before me. [Threat level: S-rank →F-rank→B-rank→SSS-rank→ C-rank] "What the hell! Why is the threat level all over the place?"
Suddenly, the [Lich] appeared behind me, another explosion of electrical mana sent me reeling, and then the [Lich] sent a haymaker my way that blasted me back another ten feet. The thing glared at me, tendrils erupting from the ground and raced toward me, "[Bind]!" White glowing chains wrapped around the Lich, and I realized I had somehow managed to bind the [Lich] to my will. [Skill [Bind] has evolved into skill, [Enthrall], [Enthrall] allows the user to bind a creature to their will, sentients will retain complete control over their mind. However, they cannot harm the user. Interesting, this would be a powerful skill, but I had to ensure that I did not abuse it; hopefully, [Heightened Morality] will allow me to resist the urge to use this skill, but the [Lich] is now my pawn, servant, I wouldn't say I like how that sounds, accomplice, that sounded better. Now that it can't kill me, maybe we can discuss things civilly. "[Communicate]," then the Lich killed me. [Skill activated, [Undying Soul], WARNING S RANKED THREAT DETECTED!] [Teleport] activated, all party members have been sent to the home point. The forest changed to a bright, cheery town.
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Somehow, I had managed to win; the [Latent Divinity] skill had given me so much power, and the wizard had left a bag behind. It was small, but wizards often bent space to create tiny pocket dimensions, creating items called [Bags of Holding]; they were rare. I took the bag and ran; I saw a small cave after an hour. I ran inside, safe from outsiders. I opened the bag, and parts of plate armor poured out, along with four scrolls, a book, and a white bone needle; suddenly, the needle flew up to me, it began to race around me, and suddenly it fell to the floor. Weird, and there is no complete armor set, and that needle is odd; at least I have a bag of holding. I decided to use one of the skills I had gained during the battle, "[Shadow Weave]." a shining black cloth appeared to me. "COME ON, that's useless!" Then I realized that I could make armor out of it, using the pieces of plate armor. I decided to look deeper into the bag and was rewarded, as a chainmail shirt rolled out.
I put everything inside the [Bag of holding] and left the cave; as the rosy-fingered dawn greeted me, a giant wolf attacked, "Gods, I JUST FOUGHT THAT WIZARD!" Suddenly, lightning shot from its maw. I quickly dodged, and with a swift [Aural Fist,] I killed it; it vanished in a puff of light, leaving behind its fur. An idea stuck with me: I could make my armor if I could get a sewing skill. I grabbed the pelt and ran back to my cave. Conveniently in the bag was a knife; I was starting to question how much was in this thing. I assumed it would be something reasonable, but how much was in it felt ridiculous. I had my armor, the [Armor of the Deathly Gods], but if someone saw me wearing that, there would be questions. It would be better if I made some decent armor rather than fighting hordes of priests who saw me as the [Arch-Heretic]. The second I touched the needle, I gained a skill, [You have killed an Elite Alpha Thunder Wolf, you have leveled up, level 32, Level up, level 33… leveled up, level 40, skills gained, [Divine Crafter] you are now a crafter whose proficiency rivals the gods, skill gained, [Divine Weaver] you are now a weaver whose proficiency rivals the gods, skill gained, [Draconic Claws], unleash deadly draconic claws from your hands as an unarmed weapon, deal damage based off 75% off your strength and 25% off highest stat, skill gained, [Reapers Aura] unleash a massive, intimidating wave that stuns and burns enemies, skill gained, [Analyze], compatible skill detected, [View]. [View] and [Analyze] have been combined into skills. [Foresight] allows you to see one minute into the future, [Trueseer] enables you to see when others are lying or someone has evil intentions. It also allows you to see the rank, health, mana, and skills of an object or sentient, and [Danger Sense] enables you to know when danger is imminent. You have 162 stat points to spend; if Luck was a god, I needed to sacrifice something to them. I had gained nine levels, and combined with the six points I hadn't spent, I had the equivalent of around FIFTY levels of stat points thanks to [Latent Divinity] and [Unbridled Potential]; the System wanted me to be overpowered, assigned 18 to my Attunement to bring it up to an even 300, and added the remaining 144 to Wisdom, I was guilty since I had neglected my once highest stat.
Class: Lich Prince
Name: Lival, Level: 40, Rank: B, Next rank up ten levels left
Race: Undead Human
Mana: 500,000 out of 1,000,000, Mana Absorption, SSS rank, Mana Capacity, SSS rank, Mana Output: SSS
Strength: 102
Attunement: 300
Intelligence: 102
Wisdom: 246
Dexterity: 102
Endurance: 102
Marks/Runes: Torso, Mark of the Reaper, Mark of the Supreme Dragon
Skills: Active: [Dragonflame], [Scales of Supreme Dragon], [Dragon's Flight, [Death Tendrils], [Shadow Travel], [Armor of the Deathly Gods], [Royal Subjugation], [Divine Weaver], [Draconic Claws], [Reapers Aura], [Analyze]
Passives: [Regeneration], [Supreme Senses], [Death Seer], [Revival], [Personal Interface], [Devil's Luck], [Latent Divinity], [Shadow Weave], [Debuff Resistance], [Unbridled Potential], [Foresight], [Trueseer], [Danger Sense], You have zero points to spend.
I immediately went to work with the cloth and the armor, after hours and many failed attempts, I made my armor, [Set, The Growing Shadow's Hope, C rank, +200% movement speed, increases and matches with user rank, Self-cleaning, Self-repairing, total set bonus [Ever-changing] always matches environment if not desired can be disabled, Glove of Clawed Shadow, the wearer can never be disarmed and receives 50% more damage on unarmed attacks, grants buff [Alpha Wolf's Fury] grants 100% more damage to self and party, Hood of Shadow, the wearer cannot be blinded and cannot be revealed from spells, skills, or normal eyesight up to A rank, enhances vision range to up to 150 yds, Tunic of Shadow, grants 50% damage reduction on hostile magical physical attack damage and 25% damage reduction on physical attacks, grants ablity [Afterimage], creates an illisory copy, that does not require any mana to use, Trousers of Shadow, user gains 25% chance to dodge all attacks, Boots of Shadow, footfalls are entirely silent and the user can never die from falling, attacks that disrupt footwork do not work on the user, and the user gains the skill, [Death-flame Trail], when activated sparks a trail of Death-Flame which removes 1% health every 10 seconds that an enemy is in the fire.
It was only a C-rank set, but it was incredibly powerful for its rank; the growing modifier meant I wouldn't have to replace it anytime soon. I noticed that the System liked to give me massive walls of text if it made me more overpowered. Okay, but it was getting annoying. I had gained many powerful skills and ranked up over a day; if this continued, I would be SSS-Rank in a month. I started running north, hoping to find civilization.
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I, Aver Greenleaf, had been defeated, an A-Rank [Wizard], slayer of the Great Dragon Arkas, had been defeated, and a C-rank [Lich] had done it; it should have been easy, but I had been destroyed; my team had barely survived. "I need to get, I need to get to SSS-Rank!" My goal was set. First, I would find that [Lich] and I would destroy it, then I would find an Evolution Stone to evolve my class to [Arch-Wizard], "[Personal Interface]." The familiar HUD appeared in my vision
Name: Aver, Level: 55, Rank: A, Next rank up five levels left
Race: High Moon Elf
Mana: 58,563 out of 100,000 Mana Absorption, S rank, Mana Capacity, A rank, Mana Output: SS
Strength: 51
Attunement: 100
Intelligence: 300
Wisdom: 252
Dexterity: 51
Endurance: 100
Marks/Runes: Torso- Rune of Mana
Skills: Active: [Undying Soul], [Holy Barrier], [Holy Missile], [Arcana Bolt], [Arcana shield], [Arcana Strike], [Anti Magic Circle], [Enthrall], [Teleport], [Get-Out], [Arcana Gambit], [Blood Pact]
Passives: [Dragonslayer], [Holy Blessing], [Enhanced Senses], [Debuff Resistance 75%], [Hardened Skin], [Unbreakable Soul], [Unbending Mind], [Greater Mana Cycling], [Heightened Morality]. You have zero points to spend.
I was proud of all the skills I had. It was more than most S-ranks had, but I was still destroyed by the [Lich]. I even had a rune on me; I had found it in Arkas's hoard when I had slain him. It made my mana skills S-rank. A single shot would have killed most beings, yet the [Lich] had survived my strongest blows. If I didn't have [Undying Soul], my life would have ended in a backwater C-rank forest, "[Blood Pact], from this day, I will not stop leveling until I kill the [Lich] that wronged me and reach SSS-rank until that day comes, I shall not stop until the day!" Just like that, the [Blood Pact] had been signed; it was unbreakable, but now there was no turning back. I looked around and saw Bjorn and Celeste lying on the ground; I teleported them to a hospital and began to search for a library, Little did I know that my [Blood Pact] awakened beings of incredible power and they answered the call of revenge.
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In the abandoned sea, the searing desert, the floating mountains, and the flaming core of a volcano, four beings awoke, the Primordial Dragons, sealed brothers of the Supreme Dragon, and they called, they called to a power beyond the Veil that bound them, they called to a [Champion], and it was answered that day the world forever changed. The Primordial Dragons knew that someone had been fool-hardy enough to sign a blood contract against the chosen of their brother. They would be freed, and no one would stand in their path.