I stared up at the Princess, tilting my head slightly. Quickly making a decision, I pulled off my hood and looked directly into her eyes. Where I expected to see some sort of twisted amusement, I saw nothing but joy in her eyes.
This shocked me and, forcing my expression to stay the same, I nodded to her slightly before frowning at Mia, who was still giving me a quizzical look, like she wanted to eat me, but something was stopping her. I smiled at the dragon and looked back at the crowd, waving to a chorus of even louder cheers
“Play with it,” I muttered out the side of my mouth to Leah, who seemed dumbfounded. “I still don’t understand anything going on right now.”
“Her Prince? You don’t belong to anyone though!” she hissed, taking a step behind me.
“By technicality, I am,” I responded quietly, as the Princess began to speak, reluctantly looking away from me.
“With special events comes special rules!”
I then began to ignore her, trying to focus on Mia, who still hadn’t stopped looking at me. Wondering what was going on in her head, I focused on the Princess once again.
***
Mia couldn’t tell why this boy was important. The way he looked at her when he first saw her was filled with recognition while Mia didn’t even know who he was, though she did know something else.
Whether or not this boy won these “Games”, as Armindaene called it, she’d Bond with him. She didn’t know why she wanted to, seeing as he was a Horned One, but Armindaene had said that one day, she’d know who’d she want to Bond with, no matter how long it took.
She just knew that she'd kill whoever tried to take him from her.
***
Forcing back the happiness from seeing her Prince while trying to ignore the effects of her Class on her emotions, she finally felt herself whisked away back to her mother’s side giving her all the time to stare at her Prince.
The first thing she noticed was his galaxy blue eyes, which seemed to have stars in them. She’d known that’s where the Andromeda’s got their name from but she didn’t know what “Andromeda” even was. Based on the color of his eyes, she’d assume it was a galaxy. Anyways, she looked from his eyes to his dark hair and horns, that, without him noticing yet, had dark blue veins that glowed softly, almost pulsing with Mana. She couldn’t see much below his cloak, but she saw he wore a dark blue shirt with some sort of foreign writing.
Was it runes? Did he make them-?
“Ow!” she yelped as her mother hit her over the head with her forearm. “What was that for?”
Her mother looked down at her disdainfully. “Control yourself. Quit staring. Even he was able to stop staring at you after only four seconds. Though, seeing the one next to it, he’s used to people like you.”
“Eh? What’s that supposed to mean?”
Her mother shook her head, looking back to the girl next to him who had her arms crossed over her very pronounced chest. Frowning, Jasmine looked down at herself.
“Oh…”
***
Leah glared at the spot the Princess had been in with her arms crossed until I poked her in the side with my sheath. She looked over to me and sighed, clearly losing the will to say anything snarky.
“So we’re gonna be fighting people, huh? For Mia?” she asked, looking up at the clearly annoyed dragon who was currently staring at Stevan like he was some sort of treat. He gave Mia a wary look before addressing the crowd again.
“And let us start the first Game! Our monster fights!”
At that, he disappeared and I heard a roar from a gate across from us. Frowning, I simply stared at the gate that began to open painfully slowly. Once it was finally open, a blur shot through it and Leah yelled at me.
“It’s coming from the left as well! Level 42! A Lightning Hedgehog that is severely oversized.”
I thought for a moment, realizing that this was the highest Level being we’d fought. However, if it was just all speed…
“Don’t worry about using too many buffs. Let’s kick Sonic’s ass.”
Leah snorted and shot forward, me barely keeping up. I switched to Abyss on my sword and let Leah get the first hit, somehow getting the first hit in even as the beast blurred to the side. There was a yelp as it blasted across the arena and into the wall, me following it closely. Remembering the Fencing Club I’d joined after Leah begged me to go with her to it, I thrust my sword at it, opening a cut on its side.
“Damn i-” I got out as it ran directly into me, quills stabbing me and the crackling of electricity running over my body.
I grit my teeth and activated my Armor and let the passive healing keep me alive for longer as I grabbed the beast with a hand and pressed it into the ground, choking it. Leah then shot over to me and I threw it at her, letting her smash her fist into it. She grinned as she clearly got a kill notification.
“Four Levels,” she said.
I nodded.
“WHAT A BATTLE!” Stevan exclaimed. “It was over before the beast could do anything to stop it! Now, for the next battle!”
Sighing, I looked over to another gate that opened, letting out a large beast that moved sluggishly and clearly had rock hard skin. When it saw me and Leah, it roared.
Rock Rino - Level 45 | Tier 2
This beast is heavily attuned to the Earth Element, and it’s skin is difficult to puncture, with blunt force more effective.
I snorted. “Let’s see how you like Void then, asshat,” I said, Wreathing my sword and running over to it, channeling [Abyss Touch] instinctively.
Moving out of the way of its horn, I pressed my hand against it, letting my Touch infect it. I quickly moved out the way and ripped through its back with Void. Jumping back, I let it bleed out and was pleasantly surprised by my Level gain.
You have Leveled Up (x4)
Your Skill : Void Armor has reached Level 25!
Void Armor is now Tier 1!
Void Armor - Level 25 | Tier 1
Draw on the Void to create an armor that both negates a percentage of damage and restores Mana and Health. When this armor blocks spells, it will restore Mana equal 17% of the
Mana used in spell and restore Health equal to 15% of half the Damage that would have been done with no defenses. Additionally, when the Armor is broken, it will let out a pulse of Void, dealing Void Damage based on your Max Health
Damage : 45% Max Health
Damage Negation : 18%
Cost : 25 Mana/2s
I spread my points out evenly and looked over to Leah, who nodded with an even larger grin than me.
“Upped a skill?” she asked.
“Yep. You?”
She nodded, looking over to the next gate.
***
“At this speed, he’s gonna hit Level 50 right here…” Jasmine said in awe, watching Jason and his companion destroy beast after beast.
The large serpent dragon looked at her, clearly confused.
“What? Do you not understand me?”
It blinked, clearly not understanding her.
“Well, deal with it,” Jasmine huffed.
***
You have Leveled Up (x3)
You have Leveled Up (x4)
You have Leveled up (x2)
Panting I looked over to my Status as Leah gritted her teeth next to me, her Strength and Endurance Tiering Up.
“Two hundred… and… fifty,” she growled.
Status
Name : Jason Andromeda
Level 40 | Tier 2
Race : Voidborn Abyssal
Health : 10823/33408 (1670 Health/Min | 27.84/s)
Mana :15546/33408 (2506 Mana/Min | 41.76/s)
Class : Voidborn Abyssal Prince I (Unique)
Stats
Strength : 418 (Base : 232 Effectiveness : 180%)
Dexterity : 418 (Base : 232 Effectiveness : 180%)
Endurance : 418 (Base : 232 Effectiveness : 180%)
Vitality : 418 (Base : 232 Effectiveness : 180%)
Mana : 418 (Base : 232 Effectiveness : 180%)
Intelligence : 418 (Base : 232 Effectiveness : 180%)
Free Points : 0
Titles : The Top of Humanity…?, Abyss Enhanced, One Tier Ahead!, Speedrunner
Skills : All Seeing Eye of the Abyss - Level 11 | Tier 0, Abyss Touch - Level 25 | Tier 0, Void Armor - Level 28 | Tier 0, Wreath of Destruction - Level 27 | Tier 0
Growth Item Creation Uses : 0
Crap, I thought. This is getting heated.
I then took a look at my notifications.
Your Skill : Abyss Touch has reached Level 25!
Abyss Touch is Tier 1!
Abyss Touch - Level 25 | Tier 1
Draw on the latent Abyss Element in your body and push it into raw materials to Transmute or destroy them. You can also use this skill on sentient beings for an infection-like attack that can only be removed by another Abyssal, including you, or specialized instruments. This will convert their mana into a damaging substance that their body rejects.
Cost : Transmute - Dependent on Tier of object. Infection - 100 Mana to start. You can infuse up to twice the base Mana to increase the damage dealt.
This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Damage : 20 + (Extra Mana/2) Abyss Damage/ 30s. Damage increases by 200% every two minutes
Your Skill : Wreath of Destruction has reached Level 25!
Wreath of Destruction is Tier 1!
Wreath of Destruction - Level 27 | Tier 1
Pulling on the Elements of Void or Abyss, wreath your weapon in either of them converting damage dealt with that weapon to that type and increasing damage dealt by a set amount for a certain time. Every hit you make with this skill active will decrease your opponent’s Resistance by 2% for the corresponding Element, stacking to a 20% decrease. This lasts until the duration ends or is refreshed.
Damage Increase : 30%
Duration : 5 min
Cost : 110 Mana
I punched the final beast in the face, gaining another Level. Scowling, I looked up to the announcer as Leah stood, a blood red aura surrounding her. I gave her a quizzical look, side-eying her.
“New Skill,” she growled. “Just got it.”
Before I could complain, the announcer began to speak.
“What a show! They both have triumphed against beasts higher than their own Levels, the Prince reaching Level 41!” I sighed as the crowd cheered, putting on a wide grin. “Now, the beast part of the battles are over! While they recuperate, let us introduce their challengers!”
I immediately sat down in exhaustion next to Leah, her aura disappearing as she sat with a growl.
“I hope we get at least twenty minutes. Enough for us to get all our health and prepare,” I mumbled.
“I’m gonna need way more. 257 Endurance with a 200% multiplier is 82k Health. And I need one more point for Vitality. Then I’ll be Tier 3.”
I nodded and looked up. “I need another 2 Levels. Then I’ll be Tier 3.”
“Why do I think the only reason that you’re keeping up with me is because of the sheer amount of points your class gives?”
“Hey, you get less points. What gives?”
She looked away, embarrassed. “I kinda… lied about my class. Just a little.”
I stared blankly. “Eh?”
“I don’t get 8 points per Level and I also get stats in Vitality for each Level, eight of ‘em. I also get 10 free points I put in Dexterity.”
I gaped. That was more Stats than I got. “Why-”
“I don’t know! I'm sorry!” she said over me.
I sighed. “Okay, okay. Let’s just be honest with one another about this stuff from now on, okay?”
She nodded and we sat in silence, listening to the cheers of the crowd as people were introduced. After nearly half an hour, Stevan began talking again.
“And those are our contestants! Now, let us begin the duels!”
~~~
I gave the horned man under my foot a quizzical look. “Forfeit?”
He bared his teeth, his face quickly contorting into a grimace as I pushed my foot down further, listening to the cracking of his ribs.
“Forfeit?” I repeated, tapping my sword against his brow, causing a drop of blood to bead.
He glared at me as he strained his next words. “I… forfeit.”
I lifted my leg as he disappeared and I shrugged, looking over to Leah as she beat someone to the ground with ease. Shaking my head, I looked over to Stevan.
“Prince Jason Andromeda has won yet again! But next up, we introduce our most accomplished Battlesmith of her Tier, Mary Annebeth!”
A girl who had to be around my age appeared on the field in front of me and I took a few steps away as she brushed off her armor, made of a white metal, which was covered in dust. She had a very violent-looking hammer the size of her strapped on her back though she seemed to not mind the weight. One of her horns was chipped and the other had a light green glow. A Tier 3.
I restrained a frown. How did I know she was a Tier 3?
She then gave me a pensive look that did not fit her build whatsoever. “Well, well. The newest Abyss Prince who doesn’t seem like a complete ass, unlike the other Princes from history.”
I shrugged. “I mean, I could insult you if you’d like. For instance, why are you wearing white armor with a black hammer? That’s a bit off the mark. They should both be green. They’d match far better with your eyes. And horn, for that matter.”
She grinned. “Can’t tell if that should be an insult.”
“Well, I don’t insult people I think will give me an interesting fight. I mean, I would’ve declined if not for M- the Lightning-Ice Draconic Serpent.”
She laughed, pulling out her hammer. “Well, I think that serpent would be a great forging partner. So, sorry about this.”
She then blurred towards me, closing the distance terrifyingly quickly. I tried to move my legs but found they were covered in vines.
“Ah,” I said. “Green.”
I activated my armor, and, right before she was about to hit me, stabbed it with my sword, causing a shockwave that ate up the vines and knocked her off balance. I rushed her and punched her directly in the face, knocking her back a foot.
She stood still for a moment, thinking. Then understanding dawned upon her.
“Ah. A Voidborn. Only they can get that Armor. Always wanted to study it. Promise to let me after I beat you?” she asked, blurring.
I grinned even wider. “You know what, even if I beat you, I’ll let you,” I said, infusing my legs with Wreath, a technique I’d recently found worked quite effectively for increasing my speed back in my Dreamscape.
As we clashed, I immediately realized I was outclassed when it came to physical strength. Not that it surprised me. Moving sideways, I slipped around her and stabbed with a Void Wreath, a plan forming.
***
Jasmine watched closely as Jason and Mary went at one another at speeds even she could barely keep track of. If she could have, she’d bet on Mary winning this. She was twenty Levels higher than him and was Tier 3 with her armor giving her even more buffs. Jason had been going longer than she’d expected though, getting small hits in while he took larger hits.
“He’s planning something,” her mother mused from beside her. “But what?”
***
Twenty stacks, I thought.
Finally, I infused the rest of my body with Void and Mary’s eyes widened.
“Wha-”
[Prodigy I] Six stacks, Wreath, Weapon passive that also affects the Res. shred. NOW-
I kicked her, causing her to stumble.
Then I stabbed her. Twice.
Critical Hit!
x2 Damage!
Critical Hit!
x2 Damage!
And to my absolute joy, I felt them both deal max damage.
39053 Void Damage! (Bypassed Armor)
39053 Void Damage! (Bypassed Armor)
Mary shrieked as I kicked her off my sword and stabbed her through her arm.
“I forfeit, I forfeit!” she yelled, trying to get away from me. “What the HELL was that?”
I pulled my sword from her arm and bent down. “My special attack.”
She glared at me. “You better keep your-” she disappeared mid-sentence and I fell to the ground, exhausted. After a moment, I noticed the entire arena was completely silent. Looking around, I saw that all of the spectators were looking at me in awe.
I flicked the blood off the sword and slowly sheathed it, making it click in. I sat down and opened my notifications, quickly regretting it.
You have defeated Mary Annebeth!
Due to the nature of your battle, you have gained 2 Levels.
Without much thought, I put the points into my stats. Then, I realized that was what I needed to get to the next Tier.
“Oh, fuck me,” I grumbled, steeling myself as pain began to invade my body.
I grit my teeth and sat there, shaking as I Tiered up…
Congratulations! You have reached Tier 3!
You have earned :
+20% All Effective Stats
+ 2 Skill Choices
I took a deep breath and opened my eyes, looking at my Status.
Status
Name : Jason Andromeda
Level 43 | Tier 3
Race : Voidborn Abyssal
Health : 80960/80960 (4048 Health/Min | 67.47/s)
Mana : 80960/80960 (6072 Mana/Min | 101.2/s)
Class : Voidborn Abyssal Prince I (Unique)
Stats
Strength : 506 (Base : 253 Effectiveness : 200%)
Dexterity : 506 (Base : 253 Effectiveness : 200%)
Endurance : 506 (Base : 253 Effectiveness : 200%)
Vitality : 506 (Base : 253 Effectiveness : 200%)
Mana : 506 (Base : 253 Effectiveness : 200%)
Intelligence : 506 (Base : 253 Effectiveness : 200%)
Free Points : 0
Titles : The Top of Humanity…?, Abyss Enhanced, One Tier Ahead!, Speedrunner
Skills : All Seeing Eye of the Abyss - Level 11 | Tier 0, Abyss Touch - Level 25 | Tier 0, Void Armor - Level 28 | Tier 0, Wreath of Destruction - Level 27 | Tier 0
Growth Item Creation Uses : 1
I smiled slightly before looking over to my Skill choices.
New Skills available!
Choose 2 from this list:
Void Manipulation - Level 1 | Tier 0
A manipulation Skill that allows you to draw on the Void Element and use it in a variety of ways. Can be used to develop new Skills.
Damage : 15 Void Damage/s
Cost : 25 Mana and 10 Health/s
*Your Race : Voidborn Abyssal negates Self-damage dealt by this skill
Avatar of Destruction - Tier 3
Envelop your body with the Elements of Destruction, increasing various attributes. This Skill has two modes : Partial and Being
Mode - Partial : Envelop up to two body parts, increasing the Damage caused by those body parts by 50% (Applies to weapons used by those parts) and the speed you can move them by 40%.
Cost : 50 Mana/s per body part
Max Time : 3 min
Cooldown : 10 min (Starts after use begins and is separate for each part.)
Mode - Being : Envelop your entire being with Destruction, channeling the full power of your Avatar (Applies to Weapons). Increases Mana Regen, Health Regen by 250%. Increases Damage inflicted by 200%. Increases Void/Abyss Damage by 100%. On hit, damage is considered Destruction Damage, applying both the effects of Void and Abyss. Your speed and processing speed will be increased by 400%. When duration ends, you will be put into a weakened state where your Mana Regen and Health Regen are decreased by 80% and you take 100% more damage. This lasts for 1 hour.
Cost : 40000 Mana
Duration : 5 minutes
I glared at the screen as I slid my eyes over the other four choices. Nothing even to say about them.
“Well, fuck you, Systie,” I grumbled, selecting the skills. “But, thank you.”
I looked up to Stevan and, not being able to stop myself, I grinned. He was speechless for a few moments before he seemed to get his voice back.
“And, from our exciting battle, our Prince has reached TIER 3!”
For once, I reveled in the cheers.
***
Mary Annebeth stared at the Prince, frustrated by herself. She was mid-Tier 3 and was beaten by a late-Tier 2. The damage he’d taken from her was repaired in front of her eyes, even his cloak, like their fight had never happened.
He’d played me from the start, she thought, scowling deeper.
“Mary.”
She turned on her heel to look at her master, the most renowned Blacksmith in all of the Abyss.
“I know, father,” she muttered, taking one last look at the boy. “He just better keep his promise. If I can just figure out that armor…”
***
Mia watched the boy fight, intrigued. He’d fought someone with nearly one and a half times his stats and came out on top. Strange, but as her future Bond, she only expected the best.
Miana turned to the shining Horned One and the gloomy Horned One, as they watched the boy. The Shining One seemed a bit over excited as the Loud Man yelled something. A potential rival for her Bond much?
Shaking her head slowly, she looked at the Gloomy One, who simply stared into space, unimpressed. Mia could bite her head off right at this moment, but…
As if Gloomy One could understand Mia’s thoughts, she turned around and gave the serpent a flat look. Mia bared her fangs in response. The Horned One just shook her head and muttered something.
“What a child.”
***
“And for our final battle, we have our two special contestants, the Demigod, Leah Bane, and our Prince, Jason Andromeda! The winner of this battle will
Leah looked over to Jason, who was simply staring into space, ignoring the roars of the crowd. Well, less into space and instead in the direction of Mia, the train-sized serpent.
Leah shook her head. Jason and his snakes, she thought with a small smile.
He’d always loved animals, but when it came to snakes, he’d treat them like they were gods. Or royalty. Or royal gods. Something in between those. She watched as he sighed and looked over to her.
She frowned. He’d taken all of this battling thing in stride, even getting to Tier 3. She’d also managed to make Tier 3 since some stupid Abyssal refused to admit defeat, and she’d ended up killing her. Oh, well. More Levels are better.
Anyways, Jason clearly had some sort of plan or was betting on something happening (Wouldn’t that be considered a plan though?). What Leah understood best was that he had zero intentions of going with that Princess and also had no intention of leaving without Mia.
She flinched when he waved over to her. “Heya,” he said, grinning. “Ready?”
Leah looked over to him in his armor Skill and cloak. He looked like some sort of… mage. A Battlemage.
She grinned, realizing what his next class would probably be.
“I’m ready.”
His grin widened and they shot at one another, moving faster than most people could see.
***
The Princess was completely befuddled at the current battle. Her Prince was moving faster than she could see, even though she was higher Level.
What could his Effective Stat Multipliers be? 180%? 190? 200?
She’d be surprised if his Multipliers were all 200%. Demigods, yeah 200% at Tier 3 would be normal. But Abyssals, the sworn enemies of the gods? That would be just insane. She was only at 170%.
Well, all she could do was watch.
***
Narrowly dodging a punch from Leah, I kicked her knee and used her moment of skewed balance to my advantage, opening a wound on her shoulder. She jumped back, her aura growing wider, impeding my movement slightly… no, not impeding my movement. She was getting faster.
Channeling [Void Manipulation], I shot a tendril of darkness at her wrist, causing a large, black mark to eat away at her skin.
Void Manipulation is Level 5!
“Oh, come on!” she yelled, a pulse of white energy healing the wound. “You’re better than this!”
I shook my head and Wreathed my legs, blasting forward. She blocked my sword and, before I could move out the way, punched me in the gut. I grunted as I flew back nearly ten feet, lifting my arm to block another punch from Leah. I couldn’t block the next and I flew back another six feet, somehow standing.
I growled and used my Avatar on my sword arm, blocking her next attack easily. I then stabbed her thigh and kicked her back. She frowned and shot at me again, hitting the flat of my blade.
Our exchange went on for another four minutes before Leah started to grow impatient. She began going on the offense, whittling down my Health and Mana, though she was starting to feel the effect of breaking my Armor four times.
I took a look at my Status.
Health : 32657/80960 (4048 Health/Min | 67.47/s)
Mana : 10670/80960 (6072 Mana/Min | 101.2/s)
Shit. She’s gonna win if this keeps up. I can’t let that happen though. All right. Time to get serious.
I growled and began to channel [Wreath of Destruction] over my entire body, losing a god 550 Mana. I then began channeling [Abyss Touch]. Instead of doing it with my sword, I channeled it through my body.
I grit my teeth trying to ignore the pain in my body as I registered a notification. I ignored it however.
“Let’s do this,” I growled, shooting towards Leah as her eyes widened.
In less than a second, half a dozen cuts opened on her body, shredding her cloak and tanking her health. She let out a primal roar and began to attack back, losing all reason.
I checked my Health again and cursed mentally.
Health : 12768/80960
Time to finish this.
I punched Leah in the chest, with my left arm and she had barely flown four feet when I appeared behind her. How I did that, I can’t remember, as I didn’t get a skill for teleportation until much later, but what I do remember is my next attack.
I activated all my buffs except for [Prodigy] and punched her in the back with all the force I could muster. The next thing I knew was I was taking breaths on the floor as Leah groaned from across the arena as Stevan yelled the words I wanted to hear the most.
“AND THE WINNER OF THE GAMES IS PRINCE JASON OF THE ABYSS KINGDOM!”