The fire sphere arced high, a miniature sun trailing flames. The lightning spear shot straight, nearly invisible in its speed.
WHOOOOMP. CRACK-BOOOOM!
Twin explosions ripped through the camp's northern section. Tents vaporized. Goblins died instantly. The survivors screamed and scattered.
[YES! CHAOS! BEAUTIFUL, DELICIOUS CHAOS!]
[MANA: 8,810/9,250]
Don didn't stop running. He created another fire sphere while moving, hurled it, created an ice spear, threw that too.
WHOOOOMP. The fire hit the eastern section.
CRASH. The ice spear froze a cluster of fleeing goblins solid.
[MANA: 8,704/9,250]
The camp was in immediate chaos. Goblins ran in every direction, some toward weapons, others toward escape routes, most just panicking.
[They're RUNNING! Like little GREEN rats fleeing a burning ship! Chase them, little seed! HUNT them!]
Don closed to three hundred meters and switched to wind blades—cheaper, faster, perfect for area suppression.
[ELEMENT: AIR - BLADE FORMATION]
[COST: 45 MANA EACH - 10% REDUCTION = 40.5 MANA]
He created three wind blades in rapid succession and sent them spinning into the camp. Nearly invisible death, cutting through everything in their path.
Goblins fell, bodies bisected by compressed air.
[MANA: 8,582/9,250]
Two hundred meters. Don activated his Execution Field.
[EXECUTION FIELD: ACTIVATED]
[RADIUS: 10 METERS]
[COST: 50 MANA ACTIVATION + 10 MANA/MINUTE]
The field expanded around him—invisible to normal sight but HEAVY with presence. Any goblin that entered it would suffer reduced stats, automatic fear effects, and the Mark of Death.
[MANA: 8,532/9,250]
One hundred meters. Don manifested all four Executioner's Edge blades.
[COST: 8 MANA/SECOND]
The blades solidified, midnight steel with crimson veins pulsing. Two hovered behind each shoulder, ready to strike.
[FOUR blades! FOUR instruments of DEATH! This is going to be a SYMPHONY, little seed!]
Fifty meters. The first goblins saw him and raised their weapons.
Too late.
Don entered the camp like a hurricane of death.
His four blades moved independently, each one attacking different targets. The Execution Field suppressed every enemy within ten meters. His enhanced stats made him faster, stronger, more lethal than anything the goblins had ever faced.
Slash. Thrust. Parry. Execute.
The first wave died in seconds—twelve goblins, eliminated before they could mount a defense.
[+240 XP]
[Death Parade: +8% damage (Stack 1/10)]
[Twelve in SECONDS! You're not even TRYING! This is just PRACTICE for you now!]
More goblins came, drawn by the screaming.
Warriors with crude swords, shamans with dark mana, scouts with bows.
Don's blades wove a pattern of death that nothing could cross. One blade would attack high while another struck low. A third would parry incoming attacks while the fourth executed from an unexpected angle.
Perfect coordination. Perfect efficiency.
[+20 XP] [+20 XP] [+35 XP] [+20 XP] [+20 XP]
[Death Parade: +16% damage (Stack 2/10)]
[Death Parade: +24% damage (Stack 3/10)]
A goblin warrior—Level 4, wearing actual armor—charged with a battleaxe raised.
Don's Execution Field hit it immediately, reducing its combat effectiveness. The Mark of Death branded itself onto the goblin's essence.
The warrior swung. Don's first blade parried. His second blade removed the goblin's arm. His third blade took its head.
Three moves. One second. One corpse.
[+40 XP]
[Death Parade: +32% damage (Stack 4/10)]
Don's Toxic Touch was active, each cut inflicting poison that stacked with bleeding.
His Poison Immunity made the camp's naturally toxic environment strengthen him instead of harm him—a five percent stat boost in this poisoned area.
He was UNSTOPPABLE.
[You're not FIGHTING anymore, little seed! You're ERASING them! Like wiping words off a page!]
More goblins died. Warriors, shamans, scouts, non-combatants fleeing—his blades didn't discriminate. Total extinction. No survivors.
[+20 XP] [+20 XP] [+35 XP] [+20 XP]
[Death Parade: +40% damage (Stack 5/10)]
[Death Parade: +48% damage (Stack 6/10)]
A group of shamans tried to coordinate a spell—some kind of mass curse. Don's yellow eye tracked the mana formations, his enhanced Wisdom letting him see the energy structure clearly.
He threw a lightning spear into their center before they could complete it.
CRACK-BOOOOM!
The shamans died, their half-formed curse dissipating harmlessly.
[+175 XP]
[Death Parade: +56% damage (Stack 7/10)]
[MANA: 8,372/9,250]
Don continued the slaughter. His four blades moved like extensions of thought, each one perfectly controlled despite operating independently. His Execution Field moved with him, a ten-meter zone of death that nothing could escape.
Goblins tried to flee. The field prevented voluntary exit. They were trapped, forced to fight or die trying.
They all chose wrong.
[+20 XP] [+20 XP] [+20 XP] [+40 XP]
[Death Parade: +64% damage (Stack 8/10)]
A roar split the air—not goblin, but something larger. Don's Sense detected two massive signatures approaching from the camp's center.
The summoner.
[Oh! The puppeteer arrives! Let's see his TOYS!]
Two dire wolves materialized from dark mana—each one three meters long, with jaws that could crush steel and claws like daggers.
Their eyes glowed red, their fur was black as midnight, and they RADIATED Stage 1 power.
Behind them stood the summoner—a goblin in ritual robes, staff raised, chanting in that grinding language Don understood perfectly:
"Kill the invader! Tear his flesh! Drink his blood!"
The wolves charged.
[Wolves! I LOVE wolves! They're so much more FUN to kill than goblins!]
Don's four blades intercepted them.
The first wolf snapped at the nearest blade with jaws strong enough to bite through stone. The blade STABBED into its open mouth and out through the back of its skull.
The wolf dissolved into black mana.
The second wolf was smarter—it tried to circle, to attack from the side. Don's second blade cut its legs out from under it. His third blade took its head while it fell.
The second wolf dissolved.
Both summons eliminated in four seconds.
[+200 XP]
[Death Parade: +72% damage (Stack 9/10)]
[Four SECONDS! The summoner spent YEARS learning to call those wolves and you killed them in FOUR SECONDS! Look at his FACE!]
The summoner's eyes widened. He started another chant—probably trying to summon reinforcements or cast a defensive spell.
Don threw an ice spear.
It crossed fifty meters in a heartbeat and took the summoner through the chest. The goblin froze solid, the spell dying on his lips. His body shattered when it hit the ground.
[+90 XP]
[Death Parade: +80% damage (Stack 10/10 - MAXIMUM)]
[MANA: 8,312/9,250]
Don's blades were at maximum damage now—each strike doing nearly double its base power. Nothing could survive contact.
He continued through the camp, systematically eliminating every remaining goblin. The massacre took twenty more minutes of sustained combat.
[Twenty minutes to kill HUNDREDS! You're getting FASTER, little seed! More EFFICIENT! Soon it'll be ten minutes! Then FIVE!]
His mana dropped steadily from maintaining manifestation and the Execution Field:
[MANA: 8,312 → 7,432 (after 20 minutes)]
But it was more than enough. The goblins couldn't mount an effective defense. They were disorganized, terrified, completely overwhelmed by his Stage 2 power.
Don moved through them like death incarnate, his four blades reaping lives with mechanical efficiency.
[+20 XP] [+20 XP] [+35 XP] [+20 XP] [+20 XP]
Bodies piled up. The camp's population dwindled with mathematical certainty.
Five hundred alive.
Four hundred.
Three hundred.
Two hundred.
One hundred.
[We're almost DONE! Just a hundred more! Then ZERO! Complete EXTINCTION!]
Don hunted the last survivors methodically, his Poison Sense detecting hidden goblins, his enhanced hearing picking up whimpers and breathing.
Fifty goblins left.
Twenty.
Ten.
Five.
The final three goblins huddled together in a collapsed tent, children probably, too terrified to run. Don's blades found them anyway.
[+60 XP]
[And… silence. Beautiful, perfect SILENCE. Not a single one left. TOTAL extinction. You know what this means, little seed? You're not just a killer anymore. You're a GENOCIDE.]
Silence.
Don stood in the center of the ruined camp and activated Analyze one final time.
[SCAN COMPLETE]
[GOBLINS REMAINING: 0]
[CAMP POPULATION: 573 → 0]
[TOTAL EXTINCTION: CONFIRMED]
Then the notifications flooded in.
[DING!]
[MASSIVE EXPERIENCE GAIN]
[TOTAL EXPERIENCE: 4,127 XP]
[CURRENT LEVEL: 12]
[EXPERIENCE: 4,127 = 4,127/6,500]
Not enough for another level-up. Don would need 2,173 more experience to reach Level 13.
But the quest—
[DING!]
[QUEST #3: COMPLETE]
[OBJECTIVE: Eliminate All Three Goblin Camps]
[STATUS: 3/3 CAMPS DESTROYED]
[TOTAL KILLS: 1,674 GOBLINS]
[STAGE 2 GENERAL DEFEATED: 1]
[ANALYZING PERFORMANCE…]
[EFFICIENCY: EXCEPTIONAL]
[TIME TO COMPLETION: 7 DAYS]
[CASUALTIES INFLICTED: TOTAL EXTINCTION]
[Quest COMPLETE! Sixteen hundred and seventy-four goblins DEAD! One General DEVOURED! And you—YOU, little seed—are still standing! Still STRONG! Still HUNGRY for more!]
[QUEST REWARD: CALCULATING…]
Don waited, his four blades hovering around him, his mismatched eyes glowing in the ruins.
The System processed for several seconds—longer than usual, as if analyzing something complex.
Then—
[REWARD: SYSTEM UPGRADE UNLOCKED]
[THE SYSTEM IS READY FOR UPGRADE, HOST]
[SYSTEM UPGRADE WILL PROVIDE:]
• Enhanced Interface
• Advanced Features
• Improved Analysis Capabilities
• New Functions (Currently Locked)
• Optimization of Existing Skills
[INITIATING UPGRADE SEQUENCE?]
[YES / NO]
Don stared at the notification.
System upgrade. The reward for eliminating three entire goblin camps and surviving encounters that should have killed him dozens of times over.
[A SYSTEM UPGRADE! Oh, little seed, this is BIG! The System itself is going to EVOLVE! Just like you! Maybe it'll get a personality! Maybe it'll learn to APPRECIATE our work!]
His tactical mind processed implications. An upgraded System could mean better information, more efficient skill usage, possibly entirely new capabilities.
But it could also mean changes he couldn't predict. The System had been predictable so far—cold, mechanical, following clear rules. An upgrade might alter that.
Don looked around the ruined camp. Three camps destroyed. Sixteen hundred and seventy-four goblins eliminated. One Stage 2 General consumed. Stage 2 advancement achieved through deception.
He'd accomplished everything the trial demanded and more.
The summoner's corpse lay thirty meters away, still frozen solid. Don walked to it and crouched down, preparing to activate Devoured Traits one final time.
[One more meal before the System changes! Smart! Always eat while you CAN, little seed!]
The ice shattered at his touch. He began eating, the familiar process of consumption and absorption happening mechanically while his mind focused on the System notification still floating in his vision.
[DEVOURING IN PROGRESS…]
[STAGE 1 SUMMONER CONSUMED]
[ANALYZING TRAITS…]
[ABSORPTION SUCCESSFUL]
[NEW TRAIT ACQUIRED]
[SUMMONING AFFINITY - UNCOMMON]
• Can form contracts with spirit beasts (limited)
• Understand summoning magic fundamentals
• +10% effectiveness when using summoned entities
[MINOR STATS INCREASE]
Wisdom: 188 → 190 (+2)
Magic Power: 185 → 187 (+2)
Don stood, the summoner's essence fully absorbed. His stats had increased marginally—nothing dramatic, but every point mattered.
[Summoning affinity! You can make PETS now! Little creatures to do your bidding! Or BIG creatures! Oh, the possibilities!]
He looked back at the notification.
[THE SYSTEM IS READY FOR UPGRADE, HOST]
[INITIATING UPGRADE SEQUENCE?]
[YES / NO]
Don's enhanced Intelligence of 185 ran through every possible scenario. The risks, the benefits, the unknowns.
[Do it, little seed. EVOLVE the System. Let it become something MORE. Just like you became something more. Everything EVOLVES or DIES. Even systems.]
Finally, he made his decision.
"Yes."
[SYSTEM UPGRADE: INITIATING]
[PLEASE WAIT…]
[ESTIMATED TIME: UNKNOWN]
[STANDBY MODE: ACTIVE]
The System interface flickered once, twice, then went completely dark.
[Ooh! It's CHANGING! Can you FEEL it? The System is… quiet. Silent. Like it's sleeping. Or being reborn.]
Don stood alone in the ruined camp, surrounded by corpses and ash, his four Executioner's Edge blades hovering silently around him.
Stage 2. Level 12. Three camps destroyed. And a System upgrading itself to something new.
He waited.
[We wait together, little seed. You and I. Always together. Through every evolution. Every transformation. Every DEATH. We're bound now, you know. Your twenty-five percent Madness… that's not just a number. That's ME, woven into your ESSENCE. We're becoming ONE.]
The silence stretched.
Don said nothing.
But deep in his chest, where golden blood drops mixed with human red, his heart beat steady and strong.
Waiting for what came next.