The noble armsman spread its bony arms to the sides and roared a challenge at Raine. There was no sound, of course. Nonetheless, a powerful, nauseating wave of mysterious energy slammed into him, pushing so hard he slid back three paces through the dirt. His will to fight waned, sapped dry by the very feature which made noble monsters so deadly: Killing intent.

[Negative affliction received (Enfeared): All attributes reduced by 20% (Duration 15.73 seconds)]

All monsters above the noble threshold had killing intent in one form or another, and even a few lucky players had managed to physically manifest it. Though for them, it had another name, a name that Raine's tongue had used as a curse too many times to count: Mental abilities.

Only the truly blessed, talented martials managed to achieve the genesis of their mental abilities. And only those few were permitted by the heavens to continue down the martial path. For everyone else, the path ended, for without a mental ability, progress past a certain point was impossible.

The passage of time swelled as Raine stiffened, artificial dread washing through him. This was far from his first encounter with the enigmatic force, but this time, something was different. The noble's killing intent seeped deep into his consciousness as though searching for something. It invaded his mind, traversing the thetadrive’s link between ZionLine and reality. His brain, revitalized by the ReGen in ways he didn’t yet understand, resonated with the terrifying mental assault.

Inside empty sockets, glowing crimson orbs flared, commanding Raine’s unconditional surrender. The resonation pulsed again, stronger. A stirring swept through his muddled thoughts but was beaten down beneath the noble’s overwhelming desire for his blood, for carnage. It lifted a foot, its towering frame inching toward him with the promise of death. The motion was slow, each second a bloated eternity that the two were forced to crawl through.

Raine grasped for that resonance, his whole being screaming with need. He had no way to know if what he was feeling was truly the genesis he had strove for with all his being for thirty long years, but it felt good, it felt right. The sweet call of salvation was right at his fingertips, buried deep in his brain, just out of reach.

The skeleton leaned toward him, blasting from the ground so slowly it hovered in midair, creeping through space. Its already large body swelled in Raine’s vision. This was a creature of slaughter and death. It needed blood as surely as it had been wrought in blood.

Am I any different? No… I have swam through oceans of death.

He saw them all in a flash; endless faces of players and Vatterrans rife with suffering as he dealt the final blow. Millions of beasts, their ends ruthlessly delivered by his fists. As ancient as it may be, the deaths laying at the noble's feet were a speck compared to the mountains of corpses belonging to Raine. On all of Earth, there was not one who had delivered more death with their own two hands.

That's right. I am Alaric… The King of Death.

A sound like glass shattering filled his ears, both in the makeshift arena, and in his room at home. The resonance pulsed again, a thousand times stronger than before. It coalesced deep in his consciousness, taking the form of a tiger. Roused from its slumber, it bared fangs coated in the blood of countless felled enemies. The tiger inside him stood, thick muscles quivering with need. It growled deep in its throat, the sound a rumble that transformed the resonance into something of Raine’s own making: Rage for any who would dare suppress him, mingled with an inextinguishable desire for worthy combat.

Raine rode the wave of emotion as it barreled through his chest, up his throat, and was released in a deafening roar. The pall of killing intent holding down his limbs was thrown back by a wave of crimson energy that burst free from his entire body. It smashed into the noble, knocking it from the air and throwing it back four paces.

Raine recognized the physical form his killing intent had taken. There were many kinds, yet his was the same as his foe’s: Bloodlust.

[Negative affliction resisted: Enfeared]

[Negative affliction applied (Enfeared): All enemy attributes reduced by 20% (Duration 9.55 seconds)]

As its bony toes slid through the hard ground, light enveloped Raine’s clenched hands, and weapons that felt incomparably familiar settled over his fists.

[Damascus Spiked Knuckles: (Lustrous Blue - LVL 15) (Attack Power +56) (Attack Speed +1.5) (PTC +18) (ACU +12) (PHY +15) (Durability 140/140)]

Swept away in the moment, Raine smashed his armored fists together, bared his teeth, and charged. His initial burst of bloodlust faded and the noble recovered from its affliction. Now, their killing intent clashed in the air directly between them. The two fields of energy struggled mightily, neither gaining ground as the two met in the center of the arena. Sword and axe fell in blurring succession, each strike guided by the unerring precision of a martial master.

Raine wasn’t given any room to dodge. His sidestep was flawlessly matched by a similar movement and the attack that should have missed fell directly toward his neck. Powered by attributes greater than his own, the slash was beyond quick. Still, Raine’s spiked knuckles, with their innate 1.5 Attack Speed were faster. Relying on decades of experience, he deftly struck the armsman’s greataxe on the flat of its blade, nudging it to the side enough that it missed his shoulder by a hair before crashing into the ground with tremendous force.

The greatsword was right behind it, followed again by the axe in a rapid flurry of masterfully executed blows. Raine’s fists met each one. Despite only facing a fraction of the noble’s Potency with each deflection, his feet were slammed into the ground from the oppressive force and his health rapidly drained. [-18] [-15] [-21]

[Damascus Spiked Knuckles: Durability [-1] [-1] [-1]

Raine’s body came to life a little more with each blow. His desire for the fight swept him away in a frenzy of punches, feints, and narrow evasions. At first, only a few of Raine’s attacks made it through the noble’s formidable martial dodges, then more and more as he grew accustomed to fighting while maintaining the strange new energy that buzzed inside his skull. As he stumbled for control, his recently increased Connection saved him time and again. By focusing on the air around him, Raine forced tiny bits of it to firm, allowing him to subtly press against it. Using the pockets of solidity prevented his limbs from overextending under the force of the noble's blow. Additionally, they allowed him to redirect his limbs in unexpected directions, circling around its guard and cutting off its martial evasions. [-291] [-293] [Critical hit! -587]

Ten seconds of frantic combat passed and a dark wave swept over the massive monster. A number that should have been demoralizing beyond belief appeared above its head. [+6k] All Raine felt was a spine-tingling desire to conquer the worthy foe before him.

Heavy blows repeatedly filled the air with obscuring dust. Raine shuffle-stepped backward, the motion smoother than ever. The noble again matched his technique, giving chase without ceasing its powerful swings. Knowing he couldn’t continue like this and have a chance of winning, Guardians Embrace drained a third of his Celestial Power. Rocks pulled themselves free from the ground. They clung to his body, weightless. A shimmer of golden energy swept across them and they absorbed into his armor and skin, reinforcing his Defense by 64.

The deflections no longer hurt. Gaining confidence, Raine launched a point-blank Rupture with his next swing. [Critical hit! -4,186] Its lowered defense allowed his follow-up punches to hit a little harder. [-350] [Critical hit! -699] When the next ten seconds ticked by, it healed again. Though this time, not to full.

Raine didn’t know if his damage would be enough to kill the noble in time. His brain was too occupied groping with bloodlust while deflecting several attacks per second to do the math. He didn’t dare waste Discipline by weaving in Strike once per second. He had a little more than enough of the resource to use Rupture twelve more times. The extra was needed for emergency evasions. The durability of his gloves wouldn’t last the whole ten minutes anyways and swapping was out of the question. He wasn't at all confident in matching the monster’s expertise while using any weapons other than his fists and growth weapons; a three in nine gamble wasn't a risk he was willing to take.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

Raine didn't have to worry about any of those pesky little details. Eventually, repeated experience allowed the mind to form new instincts, and for Raine, that meant knowing what needed to be done without actual considerations. This allowed all of his intellect to be absorbed by the bloodlust bubbling up from his core, and the next punch, and diverting the wickedly sharp blades crashing down around him.

Suddenly, the noble’s empty sockets pulsed and it disappeared. Raine could feel its killing intent looming behind him. The hair across his skin stiffened painfully and he spun with a burst of Discipline but he may as well have been standing still. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the tip of its blood-drenched sword flash with light.

Parry spun him around so fast the world blurred. Thanks to his higher attributes, his arm didn’t dislocate despite being painfully wrenched. The noble’s force, redirected by Parry, pulled it in a random direction. Instead of flying away like every other creature, it slammed a foot into the ground with a martial technique, completely negating its momentum.

It turned back to tower over him; menacing, quick, and equally skilled. Raine couldn’t have been happier. Quick as lightning, he jumped backward into the obscuring dust while consuming a Stremph Berry and a potion.

[Stremph Berry: (Common Gray) +5 Potency and Discipline for 15 minutes. Effect fades automatically after combat ends (Cooldown: 30 minutes)]

[Minor Discipline Recovery Potion: (Common Grey) Restores 20% Discipline over 60 seconds (15 minute shared potion cooldown)]

It kicked off the ground, reaching him in an instant and their furious exchanges began anew. Raine jumped to undestroyed soil before Rupture was released again. Its health fell to 90% and its jaw snapped shut with a loud click. In two blazing fast motions, it raised its axe high and its sword low, dragging one through the air, and the other across the ground. Both weapons glowed, prepared to release a Guillotine Slash and Great Divide respectively.

With Parry still on cooldown, Raine had no choice but to activate Returners Privilege. He vanished, then burst from the still-settling dust behind the ancient armsman.

[Locket of Rendition: (Lustrous Blue) This beautiful necklace contains a glimpse of what could have been, and what could be again (Durability 75/75) (Innate skill - Returners Privilege: Teleports the wearer to any location visited in the last 5 minutes) (Cooldown: 1 hour)]

He pushed against the air with all his might, rushing forward to pummel the noble’s left leg four times. He wove in a Life Drain and Strike on the last two hits. [-342] [Critical hit! -697] [Critical hit!] [-1,284] [-437]

Raine's health was instantly topped off. [+1,284] Far more importantly, the combined strikes all hitting the same bone with pinpoint accuracy threw the huge skeleton's leg sideways. It teetered off balance as its two skills activated.

A dark cut formed in the air, and twin tornadoes sucked at Raine's armor despite him being on the other side of the noble. From below, the ground was sundered and blazing filaments of raw elemental power tore upwards. Raine jumped, turned sideways in the air, and Lunged at the back of its head. A punch containing all his Potency and martial technique blasted into the back of its oversized skull which was sucked into the dark slash in the air. Its bony body convulsed as Guillotine Slash struck three times in an instant. [-24k] [-24k] [-24k] Additionally, it caught the tail end of its Great Divide, receiving another devastating hit. [-80k]

Pinpricks of jubilation and astonishment from the huge number tickled Raine’s chest, but were instantly snuffed out by his roaring bloodlust. He dove atop his fallen foe, taking full advantage by pummeling it relentlessly until it regained its footing. Its health ticked up by another six thousand and Raine knew their fight was far from over.

The boss definitely wouldn’t repeat the same mistake, and Raine’s Discipline wouldn’t last forever. Once the resource was dry, he would have no way to outpace its ludicrous regeneration. The only pinpoint of hope was its health finally dropped low enough to only show two question marks beside its name, meaning it was now below one hundred thousand.

Deciding to take a risk, he let the next regular swing of its axe glance directly off his shoulder pad. Between his armor’s excellent Defense, and Guardians Embrace, his health fell by a mere twenty percent. A maniacal grin pulled his cheeks taut and his bloodlust pulsed, momentarily overpowering the noble and causing it to flinch.

He dashed into the opening, his fists crunching into its knee repeatedly as three more swings fell on his back. He twisted his torso for each one, forcing them to slide off rather than fully impact—which would have slammed him into the ground from its significant advantage in force.

Raine’s health flashed red and the next two punches contained a Rupture and Life Drain that snapped him back to full. Over the next ten seconds, he allowed four attacks to land on his back and shoulders. His health plummeted, but a tick of Greater Werewolf’s Regeneration brought him high enough to take one more hit. He shouldered the hefty blow, then another Life Drain restored him to peak health. [+1,265]

During those same ten seconds, he landed an additional fifteen punches by focusing more on offense than defense. The difference was significant, and after another rotation, the noble was staggered again. As soon as it teetered, the tip of its sword glowed, the weapon accelerating beyond what Raine’s Acuity’s could track. He didn’t fall for the unconvincing feint and another Parry drained five more of his dwindling Discipline.

This time, when the noble slammed its foot, Raine was ready. He tore into its stabilizing ankle with everything he had and the joint buckled, sending it crashing to the ground. By the time it got back to its feet, another huge chunk of its health was gone for good. They exchanged several rounds of blows, each filling Raine with more confidence.

As expected, he didn't manage to push it into its next Great Divide. Two Lunges brought him outside the range of the relatively slow AOE attack. A third Lunge sent him hurtling toward its head just as it raised its axe high, the weapon glowing a sickly gray. Face to face, Raine wore a smug grin as he unleashed a Parry that halted the descent of its weapon, cancelling the Guillotine Slash before it could create another inescapable vortex.

Staggered backward by the redirected force, its guard was open. Raine arrived at its side and his next punch reduced its health to a single question mark. Knowing he was close, he burned the last of his Celestial Power and Discipline, reducing its health to zero before its skills could finish their cooldowns. The noble collapsed in a heap of bones and heavy armor.

Raine sank to his knees, his chin lifted to taste the fresh sunlight that beamed through evaporating, angry clouds. Distant applause reminded him he wasn’t alone. He met the soldiers’ gazes, finding burning respect looking back at him. A plethora of welcome interface messages awaited his perusal.

[For becoming a rare pillar of strength in the Tri-glades: Celendine Dynasty Reputation +15]

Fifteen Dynasty rep for one fight? That’s… so good.

[Congratulations!]

[You are now an Armsman! The Armsman personifies strength through the prowess of arms. This once renowned class was cast from history for fear of its versatility and might. The budding Armsman must always remain vigilant, guarding against those who would exterminate them, until they grow powerful enough to return the favor]

[Class specific skill store (Armsman) unlocked!]

[Level up bonuses increased: (+20 free attribute points) (PTC +3) (FIN +3) (ACU +3) (PHY +3) (CNC +3)]

Thirty-five attributes per level?! And twenty are free… That’s more than a basic level fifty class and I can shape my build however I want. Amazing.

[Retroactive Attribute Bonuses]

[Potency: +3]

[Finesse: +3]

[Acuity: +3]

[Physique: +3]

[Connection: +3]

The increases to his attributes registered and Raine’s baseline Connection reached 52, breaking through the first threshold. The space around him flexed and shuddered uncontrollably. The ground in a one-meter-radius quivered while the air coagulated, holding him stiff. Without his other attributes to balance the effects, he was effectively stuck wading through mud. Before he could do anything about it, a blaring message swept across his HUD.

[World System Announcement: ZionLine will experience an emergency shutdown in ten seconds for a Major Content Expansion (Expected downtime: six hours)]

[Please conclude any combat. Those still in combat will be teleported to the nearest safe space. Thank you for your understanding]

That can’t be right. The first expansion didn’t come until after I started, nearly a month after launch. It’s only been a week!

Raine didn’t find an answer before he was pulled down a tunnel of light and deposited on his comfortable bed.

- Moments ago -

Buried beneath thousands of lines of hashgraph encrypted data, a single stream of communication shot a message across vast distances. Its contents were short, but the few exchanged words would change their lives forever, “There’s been a reaction.”

The line of communication blossomed, an instant response reaching a dozen additional listeners, “The time has come. Begin the second phase.”