Naira watched the multiversal broadcast, annoyed. Others called her mad for spending so much on a humanoid wolf, but she felt something from him that she hadn’t in a long time. The very essence of fear.

But the situation wasn’t going according to how she liked. It all started when he became wounded at his first fight. Because of a small amount of blood, he decided to join a group. Whether it was to hunt them, or for safety, it was a foolish decision.

With his talents, he could have killed to his heart's content. To murder and inspire fear. But again and again, he fell behind Ekralo’s little pet.

Each time he watched Noah forge ahead, Victor decided to walk another path. To conspire against him. Make others hate him. To, in the end, take his rightful kill.

But the human Noah was different. He didn’t care about plots or schemes. The skinny human only cared about one thing. Power. He put his body on the line to a suicidal degree, and risked everything to claw for even a single level up beyond his peers.

It was the crazed thinking that put him apart from the others. While others had other thoughts. Whether it was to survive, hunt, or murder–Noah didn’t care that he was putting his life on the line as a solo act.

Where did he gain that beastly ferocity? The desire to storm ahead regardless of anyone's thoughts.

She hated to admit it, but Noah had a mind that far outpaced anyone else. With little talents, he was without a doubt a young man that would forge his path out of blood, and bone.

You better appreciate my next act of kindness. Naira, the Goddess of Fear, gazed at Victor through the screen in front of her.

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

Victor wasn’t given a chance to revel in his victory. Noah’s body was falling, then something happened. The falling human shouldn’t have a range ability. He had watched him, studied him, not once did he make use of a projectile.

In the blink of an aye, a spear head with the visage of a monstrous beast clamped around his arm. The impact caused red to stream, to drip. His arm was missing.

He didn’t know how Noah had managed to do it, but the sacrifice of an arm was a small price to pay. The reward will be more than sufficient.

However, Victor knew he had to live through the next attack. Beset by dragonborn and an enraged mole-like dragon creature, he had to move.

Thraz’s axe cut through the air like a death scythe. It cleaved at his chest, but a pointed blade diverted it. By a hair's breadth, it slammed into the ground. Crumbling, the floor wouldn’t last long.

Noah’s body had still yet to hit the ground, but just a few more seconds, and he would turn the tide with his reward. Is what Victor thought, but seconds passed, and nothing happened. Not the reward he was promised. Not even the kill notification.

His heart sank, but he to survive the next encounter. Victor told himself that it was a further drop than expected, and leapt to another platform.

The tiles were falling, and soon, the entire path would be nothing but an entrance to the abyss. He didn’t want to follow Noah, so he urged his battered body forward. Jumping to the other platforms.

Thraz was of the same mind. Along with Krall, they ignored Chloe, and raced to the end.

Victor was half expecting the mounted monster to completely lose its rationale, maybe even attacking the dragonborn out of rage, but it was smarter than he thought. He was on the right side of the room, while the duo was on the left.

They were overtaking him. It shouldn’t be like this. Victor grit his teeth. He was too injured. And even the heavily armoured brute was stomping ahead of him. He had to do something.

Thankfully, he wasn’t alone. Chloe sprinted forward like a well practised athlete. Her legs were quick, and she quickly caught up to the duo.

Her thin blade shot out, and lengthened, until it scraped past Thraz’s ankle. A thin line of blood seeped, a fact that it had just penetrated the missing armour.

Forced to stop, Thraz grabbed hold of Krall, and hoisted himself up.

Chloe was relentless in her attacks. They were blindingly fast for the strength focused dragonborn to deal with, but at least none of her attacks could kill him.

Although she had only managed to waste a couple seconds of time, it was enough for Victor to overtake them. He quickly jumped over a crumbling platform, and threw a spike at the four legged monster. It shred through the air thanks to the stimulant still surging through his muscles.

It managed to hit its mark, slamming into the monster's hind leg where there was a lack of armoured plates. It howled in pain, and their speed fell even more.

The fact that he had overtaken them should have filled him with relief, but it was far from it. He could feel his body breaking down cell by cell. The stimulant, and the wounds, were ravaging his body. If he made it out of this alive, it would be a miracle.

However, the reason his heart was sinking was because he had yet to receive the kill reward from his mission. He was banking on it to kill the others.

How far down was the pit? Thud. Or was Noah still alive somehow? Thud. Victor struck his heart as he arrived at the doorway of the next room.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

Thraz was fast approaching, and Chloe was hot on their tail. But his blood gurgled. If he attempted to stop them from the front, he would die.

He didn’t have the energy to use another [Fear Step]. And if he tried to fight for much longer, his body would give out.

Victor glanced into the next room to find something. Anything. And there was, but it wasn’t something he wanted. From the earthen walls in all directions, undead pierced through the hardened soil. Their hands thrashed in the air, and it wouldn’t be long before they emerged completely.

If he wanted to stay alive. Then he would have to head toward the other door. Now. In hopes of finding something else to help him and Chloe.

He looked at Chloe as she looked back at him. He snorted, and bolted through the zombie infested room toward the door. Hands almost clamped around his neck, but he managed to side-step his way through.

Gritting his itchy teeth, he stumbled into the next room. His eyes lay on a golden box. Finally. Victor approached it as his heart stung in pain.

Images of his father beating him, training him until his hand, and feet were bloodied. Abandoning him in harsh forests to claw his way back home through beast ridden forests. He was doing this for him. Victor wanted to make his father proud, and yet, he kept failing.

Ever since he encountered the human named Noah, everything wasn’t as it was meant to be. He was meant to be the predator, but a moment of weakness had taken him on the wrong path.

I should have murdered more. Killed everyone. Then Noah wouldn’t have been a problem.

A sudden scream, and a sickening crunch forced Victor out of his thoughts, and his head to snap around.

Thraz’s two-handed axe had cleaved Chloe in half. From her shoulder to her waist. Blood spilled, yet there was nothing Victor could do about it.

He clenched his itchy teeth shut. He had failed… again.

Victor opened the golden chest.

Your sponsor - Naira, the Goddess of Fear - has upgraded the chest!

And finally, his lips curled. Blood boiling, he grabbed hold of a new set of armour. It was made of sturdy metal, but it was light. Light to the point he almost couldn’t feel it. White leather straps were placed in a cross pattern for comfortability, but even if it stuck nails into his flesh–he would still wear it.

Level 30 Epic - Armour of Regeneration: An armour made from the blood essence of a troll king, and its bones.

| This is a set piece, 4/4. The entire set increases regeneration considerably.

The moment Victor strapped it to his body, he felt the regeneration take effect. The sickening wounds from inside his body healed, where even the health potions struggled. It was a great boon, but Thraz, along with the monstrous beast, was already smashing the undead into pieces.

I have to continue. Go another path and gain strength. Victor took a breath.

His pride had taken a beating and he no longer had the confidence he once had. But his father was watching. He had to act like a proven wolf-born, and get on with it.

However, one thing was clear in his mind. For the time being. For the remaining future, he wouldn’t go near Noah again.

He would gather his strength, until Noah was drowned in his Epic skills, and Pathways.

Rekindling his fighting spirit, he darted into another path. One where he could gain the levels he needed to get stronger. His mission of murder transformed into one of survival.

But if there was anything his father had taught him–it was just that–survival. No matter how long the hunt lasted, he would survive until the very end.

***

Noah stood over the wolf-bat with bloodied hands. Within them, was a stone the size of a marble. Of course, it wasn’t any ordinary stone, but an Expanse core.

Upper Expanse Core [ D-Grade ]

He could feel the vibrant energy held within. Noah doubted the egg would be happy that he butchered its parent, but he would have to deal with that later. For now, he needed to recover his strength, and his Shards were a large part of that. Especially now that he didn’t have Krall to fight alongside him, and the extra power that he granted.

Sitting down, he used the time where he wasn’t being attacked by the undead to absorb the energy within the core.

From the core, to the centre of his container, it began fixing the fractures walls around it. Like particles joining together to form something stronger.

As minutes passed, the particles transformed into a solid barrier that finally managed to hold back the Expansion from leaking to the outside. In turn, seeping out into the world.

Noah made sure that everything was in order before channelling the energy into his Monster Shard. There was a prick of pain–notifying him that it wasn’t entirely repaired yet–but it wasn’t anything serious. Pain, he could handle. Not being able to use it all, he could not.

With the Shard activated, he attempted to connect to Krall’s senses, but it was obvious he was too far underground for the connection to be made. Realising that it was a pointless endeavour, Noah got back to his feet.

Spear in hand, he was finally fit to fight. He took a closer look at the cave around him, but it was entirely void of monsters–or life at all, for that matter.

“The skeleton knight must have annihilated them all.” He muttered to himself. A habit he couldn’t shake when alone.

He walked through the cave until finally, he saw something of note. A large set of old stone doors, to be exact. They were roughly carved, like someone had created them in a haste with nothing but hand tools, and spit.

The handles were made of chunky ringed metal. Pushing it, the doors opened with a groan.

Noah was well aware he was at half of his fighting strength, but there was nothing he could do about it. He just had to be more careful than before, and use everything at his disposal if he wanted to come out on top.

“Hopefully the monsters aren’t as strong as the knight from before,” He whispered. Because if they were, it would be a hell of a fight to get back to the surface.

As if listening to his thoughts, the walls rumbled. He half expected a skeleton to dig its way out of the floor, or walls, but that didn’t happen. Instead, the air tumbled as something from high above fell.

With a resounding crash that caused the dust within the room to blow like a cloud of smoke, a blazing set of eyes flickered behind the smokescreen.

Level ?? - Skeleton Elite Brute

“Well shit.” Noah chuckled, and spat at his damned luck.

Spear in hand, he prepared for a fight. But, it wouldn’t be one of honour.

For Noah didn’t have so much as a trace of it.