Atlas trudged through the forest for about a half hour, before finally hearing the melodious sound of rushing water.
He got excited, and took off, running as fast as he could.
Which was pretty fast.
Trees bent as he soared past them, leaving a large gust of wind in his wake. His speed was on a completely different level than olympic sprinters, they couldn’t even hope to get in a quarter of the track before he would be finished with the entire race.
And that was without his boost from Moonwalker.
He finally reached a break in the trees, finding a small slant that led to the large river. It was more than 100 feet across, no wonder he had been able to see it so easily from the top of the tree.
Sliding down the rocky hill, he reached the river, thrusting both of his hands in and scooping water, bringing it to his chapped lips and drinking it in a single gulp. He did this a couple more times before forgoing it and just thrusting his entire face into the water, gulping down the water at a ridiculous pace.
When he had reached his fill, he leaned back, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand and sighing loudly in content.
He stood up stretching and yawning. He was now rested, full and ready to take on anything!
Well… almost anything.
As he started to get relaxed, he failed to notice the water rippling just a few feet away from him. It grew larger and larger, until Atlas finally noticed it, eyes shifting into a burning red.
As he watched, the rippling turned to large waves, and he was forced to take a couple of steps away from the river so that he wouldn’t get drenched. Even so, he still got quite a bit of water on his now not so fancy business clothes. He really should have worn something more practical.
He continued to watch as something finally emerged from the river, water sloshing down in colossal waves. Its blue scales gleamed in the sun and its twin eyes looked at Atlas with pure bloodlust.
Terror of the River: Shakra
Level: 80
Atlas clenched his fists, staring in awe at the giant creature before him. It was almost the size of a house, and it wasn’t even fully out of the water.
Atlas continued to stare, and the snake roared, water sloshing around it as it channeled its fury, which was almost palpable.
You have encountered a Hidden Boss of Impossible difficulty! When you kill it, you will unlock another one of your skills, and get other rewards. Be wary though, as a Hidden Boss is no weakling, it is a foe that you will struggle to face with your current powers. Consider leveling up a lot before fighting it.
A hidden boss? How was this boss hidden? It was the size of a freaking building!
He prepared himself, getting ready to fight this giant monstrosity of a snake. He wasn’t sure if he could take it, but he was willing to try!
He just hoped he wouldn’t die trying.
The snake shot forward, jaws snapping wildly at him. He pushed off of the ground with his spear, narrowly avoiding the gaping maw of the boss.
It slid after him, a long serpentine body flowing like water in his direction.
Atlas panicked, jumping away again and activating Drain to try and slow it down.
The snake flinched for a brief second, before coming after him even faster than before, it looked like Atlas had angered it.
He thrusted with his spear, hoping to hit one of the snake's eyes. His spear missed spectacularly, throwing sparks as it struck the creature's scaly neck.
Shakra lunged forward, snapping wildly at him. Atlas leaped to the side, tripping on a rock and rolling a couple of feet before coming to a stop, head spinning.
He turned just in time to see the gaping jaws of Shakra lunging for his face.
He panicked, plunging his spear into the monster's throat. Shakra hissed in pain, thrashing its tail and making huge waves and sending up large sprays of water in all directions.
Atlas pushed his advantage, gripping the spear tightly and shoving it deeper into the snake's mouth.
Just as everything was starting to go in Atlas’s favor, Drain gave out as Atlas’s magic ran dry.
Atlas and Shakra stared at each other for a brief moment, Atlas’s spear still lodged deep in the snake's throat.
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
Atlas gave a sheepish smile, before gripping the spear and using all of his newfound strength to shove the spear ever deeper.
The spear pierced through the snake's mouth, coming out of the back of its neck with a spray of blood.
The snake hissed loudly, shaking its head and trying to dislodge both the spear and Atlas.
Atlas lost his grip of the spear, flying through the air before landing on the sandy earth just a couple feet from the churning water.
The snake's eyes narrowed, staring at Atlas with pure, unfiltered hatred. It wanted nothing more at that moment than to see Atlas writhe in pain.
Atlas shook his head, sending sand flying everywhere. He turned his head looking around for the giant snake. He found it hurtling toward him, only a couple dozen feet away.
He screamed, activating Weakening Punch out of pure instinct and standing up, fists raised defensively.
The snake didn’t slow down at all, if anything, it got even faster.
It steamrolled Altas, before he even had a chance to react.
Luckily for him, the snake was blinded by hate and rage, and didn’t use its fangs, it simply ran over him, two tons of muscle squeezing the life out of him.
He screamed in pain, lashing out with his fists, using Weakening Punch over and over, with no stop.
If he stopped, he would die. Of that he was almost certain.
The snake hissed, lifting up and slamming the full weight of its body onto him.
Atlas gasped for breath, but his face was covered with hard scales, making it all but impossible to breathe.
He yelled, using all of his breath and channeling every resource he had, gripping the scaly body of the snake and shoving it with all of his might, yelling even louder.
For a split second, nothing happened, but then the snake was thrown over a dozen feet into the air, soaring through the sky before landing with a large splash in the river.
Skill gained! Full Might! S grade. You use the entire might of your body into one movement, strike, or block, making it far more powerful than it should ever have any right to be. (Warning! This skill has severe drawbacks, and you will feel incredibly weak after using it.)
Congratulations! You are the first player to create your own skill! This is a skill that only you can use, unless you teach it to others or they experience similar things that you have. Title gained.
Title Gained! Skiller: You are a master at creating skills, and it is now 200% easier to create said skills, you can understand the workings of a skill and break down its effects just by witnessing it once. You can choose to upgrade this title, and make it a 600% increase, but you will no longer be given skills by the system. (This does not apply to the tutorial reward or skills gifted from achievements)
Atlas reread the message, a smile growing on his face as he realized what this was saying. “upgrade!” he wheeze-yelled, not wanting to waste a second on this golden opportunity.
“Shesh, you only had to think about it, don’t yell at me.”
This system message seemed unnecessary to Atlas, and he raised an eyebrow at it.
“Fine.” Upgrading title…
LUCKY BONUS!
Title benefits have raised from 600% to 1,000%.
You have received a lucky bonus! You are the third player to receive this bonus so far, as such, you will gain a minor title. Lucky bonuses are effects that have a 0.001 chance to trigger when upgrading or gaining a benefit. (doesn’t trigger for spells or skills)
(System tip: minor titles are far less powerful than normal titles, as they are usually awarded to people who get a certain thing second or third.)
Title Gained! Lucky: you have a +1% chance to gain a lucky bonus. (1.001% chance)
Atlas blinked. What was happening? Since when has he ever gotten this lucky before? It was like the calm before the storm.
He heard something lurch behind him, and turned to come face to face with the snake.
It was only then that he realized that he was tired, really tired. This must be the aftereffects of his new skill.
Deciding to end this quickly, he activated Full Might, lunging forward and slamming a Weakening Punch into the snake's snout, sending it flipping head over tail over the river and crashing onto the bank.
LEVEL UP!!! X20
Atlas screamed in pain as white light descended upon him, this was almost double his levels, and it hurt.
A lot.
Atlas convulsed on the ground, the power literally remaking him and ripping away impurities in his body.
Too bad it was ridiculously painful.
Atlas could barely think through the mind-rending pain, but it soon wore off, to just a dull throb.
His body was weak. It must be because of using Full Might twice in a row, with no breaks. It had certainly taken its toll.
“You would usually get some skills at this point, but because of your title, you instead gain +20 free stats, enjoy!”
Atlas saw the words, but didn’t really comprehend them. He was just too tired.
Before he could lose consciousness, he pulled up his status.
Atlas Channing
Level: 57
Class: Master Slayer
Subclass: Lifestealer
Titles: Moonwalker, Skiller, Lucky
Skills: Weakening Punch 2 (A), Lifesteal (B), Hunter’s Instinct (A), Full Might (S)
Spells: Drain (S)
Talent: Complete tutorial
Potential: Complete tutorial
Stats:
Endurance: 55
Constitution: 60
Strength: 159
Dexterity: 159
Wisdom: 80
Intelligence: 82
Free points: 40
Still not fully comprehending the insane growth he had experienced, he split the 40 equally between all of his stats, adding the remaining four into endurance and constitution.
He smiled dully as he looked at his stats again, happy about what he had been through.
But he was just too tired, and with droopy eyes, he fell asleep, not aware that he was being watched.