Vicky Thorne stood atop a floating shard of what used to be a skyscraper, his body perfectly healed, his power thrumming. He was Level 16, a pinnacle of supernatural might, his stats (STR 22, SPD 21, END 21) making him the undisputed apex predator of this shattered dimension.
Then, at the 24-hour mark, the plane responded to his arrogance.
The distant, floating island—the one that pulsed with a deep, red light—flared. It was a silent explosion, a wave of pure, psychic dread that washed over the entire dimension. It was the Level 20 Boss, and it was awake.
The air itself changed. The clear, purple light was choked out by a thick, swirling, blood-red fog that rolled in from all directions, smelling of rust and ozone. Vicky's Blood Sense (Lvl 2) screamed a new warning. The environment was no longer just "Hostile." It was "Corrupted."
Quest Timer: 48:00:00 remaining.
Vicky's new, advanced senses pierced the fog. He saw a shape. A Fragment Wanderer (Lvl 15). He had killed dozens of these creatures. They were slow, weak, and no longer a threat.
But this one was different. It was coated in the new, red haze. Its obsidian skin seemed to boil, and its movements were no longer a smooth glide; they were a twitchy, hyper-aggressive skitter.
CORRUPTED WANDERER
Level: 16
Tier: 2 (Corrupted Hostile)
HP: 800 (Previously 600)
Special: Haze Frenzy (Increased speed and aggression)
The boss's aura was buffing all the monsters in the plane.
"Good," Vicky snarled, his fangs extending. "I was getting bored."
A pack of three Corrupted Wanderers burst from the fog. They were now Level 16, his exact level. This was no longer a one-sided slaughter. This was a fight.
They didn't circle. They didn't plan. They charged.
Vicky met them head-on. He poured Chi (20) into his Blood Claws, his hands becoming white-hot blades. He slashed at the first Wanderer.
CLANG!
The sound of his claws hitting its hide was like striking an anvil. His attack, which used to disintegrate them, now only left a deep, smoking gash. The creature roared—a new, grating sound—and swiped at him.
He was forced to dodge, his Speed (21) barely enough to avoid the wild, frenzied attack. A second Wanderer was on his flank. He had no choice. "Blood Shield!"
CRACK!
The Wanderer's blow hit the shield, and the energy dome cracked. It held, but it was a solid hit. These things were stronger.
"My turn," Vicky growled. He dropped the shield, grabbed the Wanderer's arm, and used Titan's Strength (Lvl 2). He channeled his Strength (22), ripped the creature's arm from its socket, and stabbed it through its own chest with its severed limb. It was a brutal, physical kill.
SYSTEM :
Corrupted Wanderer (Lvl 16) defeated.
Trial Bonus (XP Multiplier) active.
XP Acquired: +800 XP.
XP Total: 1,000 / 14,500 (To Lvl 17).
The XP was higher. The reward was greater, but the cost in energy was far more. He dispatched the other two in a flurry of Chi-infused strikes and tactical Blood Arrow blasts, the fight lasting a full thirty seconds—an eternity compared to his previous five-second kills.
SYSTEM
Corrupted Wanderer (Lvl 16) defeated. (+800 XP)
Corrupted Wanderer (Lvl 16) defeated. (+800 XP)
XP Total: 2,600 / 14,500 (To Lvl 17).
He was breathing hard. The fog was thick. He needed to be smarter. He needed to grind, and he needed to do it fast. He had to reach Level 17 before the plane threw anything worse at him.
He checked his XP: 2,600 / 14,500. He needed 11,900 more.
"Time to hunt the hunters," he decided.
The Phase Stalkers were the greater threat, but also the greater reward. In the red fog, they were even more dangerous. Their static-blinks were now masked by the haze.
He climbed a broken radio tower, perching like a gargoyle. His Blood Sense (Lvl 2) cut through the fog. He could feel their intent. He could sense four of them, teleporting in a patrol pattern through a floating maze of office buildings two blocks away.
CORRUPTED STALKER
Level: 18
Tier: 2 (Corrupted Hostile)
HP: 900 (Previously 700)
Special: Haze Phase (Faster teleport, unpredictable patterns)
Vicky was Level 16. They were Level 18. They were faster, tougher, and could ignore his defenses. This was a suicide run. He loved it.
He sprinted, leaping from floating rock to broken rooftop, his speed a black shadow in the red mist. He landed in the middle of their patrol route.
"Come and get me," he whispered.
The static sound filled the air. Four Stalkers blinked in at once, their red eyes glowing in the fog, their phase-claws ready.
This was a true Hollywood action scene. It was a battle of pure speed and reflexes.
A Stalker blinked behind him. Vicky, sensing its intent to kill, didn't turn. He ducked, letting the creature's claws whistle over his head. At the same time, he stomped his foot, his Strength (22) shattering the concrete, and kicked a chunk of rebar backward like a spear. The rebar impaled the Stalker, pinning it to a wall.
A second Stalker phased in on his left. Vicky met its phase-claw with his own Chi-infused Blood Claw.
SCHREEE!
The sound of reality tearing echoed as their attacks met. Vicky's claw held, but his arm was numb from the phasing energy.
A third Stalker blinked above him, dropping for a death-blow.
Vicky grabbed the second Stalker—the one he was clashing with—and threw it into the air, using it as a shield. The third Stalker's claws tore its partner to shreds.
Vicky used the moment. He poured his power into a Blood Arrow (Lvl 2).
"Shotgun!" he roared.
He fired a massive, point-blank blast of crimson energy at the third Stalker, vaporizing its torso.
SYSTEM :
Corrupted Stalker (Lvl 18) defeated.
XP Acquired: +1,300 XP.
XP Total: 3,900 / 14,500 (To Lvl 17).
He was now in a three-on-one fight. The two wounded Stalkers and the one pinned by the rebar. They all blinked, trying to get range.
Vicky wouldn't let them. He was a predator. He grabbed the rebar-pinned Stalker, ripped it free, and drank from it, his fangs tearing into its crystalline neck. He drained it of its energy in seconds.
SYSTEM :
Corrupted Stalker (Lvl 18) defeated.
XP Acquired: +1,300 XP.
XP Total: 5,200 / 14,500 (To Lvl 17).
The last two, one heavily wounded, blinked in for a final, desperate attack.
Vicky was ready. He had his Blood Shield active, and his Chi-claws burning. He met them in a storm of red and white energy. His speed was just enough. He dodged, he parried, he struck. He was a blur of violence. He tore the head off one and kicked the other through a building wall, before finishing it with a long-range Blood Arrow (Sniper) shot.
The fight was over. He was covered in his own blood and theirs. His Endurance (21) was working hard, the cuts already sealing.
SYSTEM :
Corrupted Stalker (Lvl 18) defeated. (+1,300 XP)
Corrupted Stalker (Lvl 18) defeated. (+1,300 XP)
XP Total: 7,800 / 14,500 (To Lvl 17).
He was only halfway to Level 17. He spent the next three hours in a grueling, non-stop hunt. He killed five more Stalkers, pushing his body to its absolute limit. His suit was in tatters, his body a map of cuts that healed as fast as they were made.
SYSTEM :
Corrupted Stalkers (Lvl 18) defeated.
XP Acquired: +6,500 XP.
XP Total: 14,300 / 14,500 (To Lvl 17).
"One more!" he panted, his energy reserves dangerously low. He found a lone, Corrupted Wanderer. He didn't have the energy for a flashy kill. He tackled it, and it was a simple, brutal, ground-and-pound fight until it stopped moving.
SYSTEM :
Corrupted Wanderer (Lvl 16) defeated.
XP Acquired: +800 XP.
XP Total: 15,100 / 14,500.
Finally.
A wave of energy, purer and stronger than any before, washed over him. His tattered suit, his wounds, his exhaustion—all of it vanished. He was remade. He was stronger. He was full.
SYSTEM: LEVEL UP!
Level 17 achieved.
Stat Points Available: +3.
XP: 600 / 16,500 (To Lvl 18).
All attributes strengthened.
He stood tall in the red mist, a god reborn in a hellish landscape.
"Allocate," he commanded. "One to Strength, one to Speed, one to Endurance."
VICKY THORNE: STATUS
Level: 17
Stat Points Available: 0
STR: 23
SPD: 22
END: 22
Chi: 20 / 20
He was now Level 17. The Corrupted Stalkers (Lvl 18) were only one level above him. He was ready for the real challenge.
Blood Sense (Lvl 2) flared. A new signal. It wasn't the fast, static-blink of a Stalker. It wasn't the slow, stupid shuffle of a Wanderer. This was heavy. It was powerful.
THUD... THUD... THUD...
The ground itself was shaking.
Through the red fog, a new enemy appeared. It was ten feet tall, a golem made of the same broken, hexagonal plates as the ground. It had no head, just a single, glowing red eye in its chest. In its hands, it dragged a massive axe made of pure, jagged crystal.
FRAGMENT GUARDIANLevel: 19Tier: 2 (Mini-Boss)HP: 2,000Special: Crystalline Armor (High Defense), Sundering Cleave
This was a true "mini-boss." It was Level 19, two levels above him. Vicky's new Strength (23) tensed. This would be a test.
The Guardian saw him. It raised its axe—a weapon that must have weighed two tons—and charged.
Vicky charged too.
Titan's Strength (Lvl 2)! Chi-Claws!
He met the charge head-on, his claws aimed at the creature's chest.
CLANG!
The sound was deafening. Vicky's claws, which could shred Stalkers, scraped harmlessly off the Guardian's crystalline armor, leaving only a faint white scratch.
Vicky's eyes widened. High Defense.
The Guardian's axe came down in a sweeping arc.
Vicky used his Speed (22) to "dash" backward, the wind from the axe nearly tearing his clothes.
BOOM!
The axe hit the ground where he had been standing, and the entire floating island shattered. The ground broke apart, sending Vicky leaping onto a smaller, floating rock.
This was a new kind of fight. His claws didn't work. His speed was his only advantage.
"You're just a big, dumb tank," Vicky snarled.
He ran up a floating wall, the Guardian tracking him. The golem was slow, but its attacks destroyed the environment. Vicky had to be perfect.
He leaped from the wall, aiming for the creature's back. The Guardian spun, its axe coming around in a 360-degree arc.
Vicky was in mid-air. He couldn't dodge.
"Blood Shield!"
He took the full force of the axe-swing on his shield.
KRA-KOOM!
The shield imploded. The force was too much. Vicky was sent flying like a cannonball, smashing through the wall of a broken building. He landed in a pile of rubble, his body screaming in protest. His Endurance (22) saved him from broken bones, but he was badly wounded.
"Okay," he coughed, spitting out dust. "That hurts."
The Guardian stomped toward the hole he'd made. It raised its axe for the finishing blow.
Vicky looked at the creature's arm. The "joint" at its shoulder was made of swirling, purple energy, not solid crystal.
"There," he whispered. "The weak point."
As the axe came down, Vicky didn't run. He dashed forward, under the swing, and leaped onto the creature's arm. He was moving so fast, a crimson blur.
He ran up the golem's arm, his feet finding purchase on its plated armor.
The Guardian tried to grab him, but it was too slow.
Vicky reached the shoulder joint. He raised both hands, his Chi-Claws burning white-hot.
"Break!" he roared.
He plunged his claws deep into the swirling energy.
The Guardian screeched, a sound like a thousand nails on a chalkboard. It thrashed, but Vicky held on, pouring all his power, all his Chi, into the joint.
CRACK!
The creature's arm severed, the crystal axe falling to the ground with a thud.
The Guardian was crippled. It swiped at him with its one remaining arm.
Vicky jumped onto its head. He placed his hand on the glowing red eye in its chest.
"Go to sleep," he said.
He fired a max-power, Chi-infused Blood Arrow shotgun blast straight into its core.
The golem's red eye flickered. It froze. And then it exploded, its 2,000 HP vanishing in an instant.
SYSTEM :
Fragment Guardian (Lvl 19) defeated.
Trial Bonus (XP Multiplier) active.
XP Acquired: +4,000 XP.
XP Total: 4,600 / 16,500 (To Lvl 18).
Vicky landed on the ground, his body aching but victorious. He was now Level 17, and he had a clear path to Level 18. He needed 11,900 more XP.
"Just three more Guardians," he panted.
He spent the next two hours in a grueling hunt. He found his second Guardian. This time, he didn't brawl. He used his speed. He was a phantom, a gnat. He stayed in its blind spots, dodged its swings, and went straight for the shoulder joints. The fight was clean. It took him five minutes.
SYSTEM
Fragment Guardian (Lvl 19) defeated.
XP Acquired: +4,000 XP.
XP Total: 8,600 / 16,500 (To Lvl 18).
He hunted the third. He was even faster. He was a master of its movements. He took it down in two minutes, a flawless, tactical kill.
SYSTEM
Fragment Guardian (Lvl 19) defeated.
XP Acquired: +4,000 XP.
XP Total: 12,600 / 16,500 (To Lvl 18).
He needed 3,900 more. He found a final pack of Corrupted Stalkers (Lvl 18).
When he was Level 16, they were a life-or-death struggle.
Now, at Level 17, with STR 23 and SPD 22, he was their god.
He moved through their patrol like a typhoon. He didn't just predict their blinks; he interrupted them. He grabbed one mid-phase, his Blood-Chi energy solidifying its form, and shattered it. He killed all three in a whirlwind of red and black, his power absolute.
SYSTEM: Corrupted Stalkers (Lvl 18) defeated.
XP Acquired: +3,900 XP.
XP Total: 16,500 / 16,500.
A third wave of divine power surged through him. He had done it. Three levels in 12 hours. The system was showering him with power.
SYSTEM: LEVEL UP!
Level 18 achieved.
Stat Points Available: +3.
XP: 0 / 18,500 (To Lvl 19).
All attributes strengthened.
"Allocate," he commanded, his voice a deep, powerful rumble. "One to Strength, one to Speed, one to Endurance."
VICKY THORNE: STATUS
Level: 18
Stat Points Available: 0
STR: 24
SPD: 23
END: 23
Chi: 20 / 20
He stood at Level 18. He had 36 hours left. He looked at the distant, red, pulsating island. The Level 20 Boss.
The "Dread" signal was gone. Blood Sense (Lvl 2) no longer registered it as a threat.
It registered it as prey.
VICKY THORNE: STATUS
Level: 18
XP: 0 / 18,500 (To Lvl 19)
Stat Points Available: 0
STR: 24
SPD: 23
END: 23
Chi: 20 / 20