Don knelt beside Kragg's corpse, the arena silent except for the rhythmic CLANG of weapons against shields—three thousand goblins saluting their fallen General.
Respect for the dead. Honor for a warrior's end.
It wouldn't save them.
Don began eating.
The process was mechanical now—cut flesh, consume, repeat. His enhanced Vitality and Stage 2 body made the act less revolting than it should have been. Kragg's flesh was dense, saturated with essence accumulated over two centuries of warfare.
Each bite flooded Don's system with power.
[DEVOURING IN PROGRESS...]
[STAGE 2 GENERAL DETECTED] [TARGET: STAGE 2, LEVEL 5]
[ANALYZING ESSENCE...]
The transformation started before he'd finished half the body.
Heat. Burning. Every cell in Don's body screaming as Stage 2-5 essence flooded his system. His muscles swelled, tore, reformed denser.
His bones compressed, becoming harder than steel. His heart beat faster, then slower, then stronger—each pulse pushing refined blood through vessels that were restructuring themselves.
[IMMORTALITY: ACTIVE - CRITICAL ADAPTATION MODE]
[NEXUS OF ALL ENERGIES: FULL INTEGRATION]
Don's mana burned to fuel the transformation.
[MANA: 4,868/9,250]
[MANA: 4,368/9,250]
[MANA: 3,868/9,250]
Five hundred mana per minute. His Immortality was working overtime, rebuilding his body to accommodate the massive power influx.
[MANA: 3,368/9,250]
[MANA: 2,868/9,250]
[MANA: 2,368/9,250]
Two thousand five hundred mana consumed in five minutes of continuous eating and absorption.
Don forced himself to continue despite the pain. Kragg's arms. His chest. His organs. Everything that contained essence, Don consumed.
The crowd above continued their salute, unaware of what was happening. To them, it looked like the human was simply... honoring the dead in some strange ritual.
They didn't understand.
He was devouring their General.
[ESSENCE INTEGRATION: COMPLETE] [STAGE 2 GENERAL (LEVEL 5) SUCCESSFULLY ABSORBED]
[MEMORY INTEGRATION: IN PROGRESS] [WARNING: 217 YEARS OF COMBAT EXPERIENCE]
[PROCESSING TIME: 8 MINUTES]
The memories hit like a physical blow.
Kragg as a young goblin—small, weak, the runt of his tribe. Beaten daily. Left for dead twice. Surviving through pure spite.
Kragg's first kill—age seven, using a rock to crush a rival's skull. The feeling of power that came with taking a life. The addiction that followed.
Decades of combat—raid after raid, battle after battle. His body growing larger, stronger with each kill. His reputation spreading.
Warriors seeking him out for duels. All of them dying.
The Cleaver's creation—Kragg personally melting down the weapons of fifty defeated heroes. Folding the metal. Forging his signature weapon. Each strike of the hammer a prayer to violence itself.
Kragg's Stage 2 advancement—standing in his Crucible, two hundred years ago. His body burning as essence reformed layer by layer. The pain was exquisite. The power was absolute. He emerged reborn.
Two centuries of warfare—leading armies under the Sovereign's banner. Conquering territories. Building his war camp. Three hundred duels in the arena. Three hundred victories.
Until today.
Kragg's final thought as Don's blade pierced his heart: Good death. Clean death. Warrior's death. Finally... worthy.
The memories compressed, filtered through Don's Emotion Suppression, processed as pure data.
Combat techniques. Berserker strategies. How to fight outnumbered. How to break enemy formations. How to lead through fear and respect. How to survive when your body should have died a hundred times over.
All of it absorbed. Integrated. Made his.
[MEMORY INTEGRATION: COMPLETE] [KNOWLEDGE ACQUIRED: EXTENSIVE] [PSYCHOLOGICAL DAMAGE: MINIMAL]
[ABSORPTION SUCCESSFUL] [CALCULATING ENHANCEMENTS...]
[MAJOR POWER INCREASE DETECTED]
Attributes:
Strength: 188 → 230 (+42)
Agility: 193 → 220 (+27)
Vitality: 135 → 175 (+40)
Dexterity: 173 → 195 (+22)
Stamina: 177 → 187 (+10)
Wisdom: 192 → 210 (+18)
Magic Power: 189 → 205 (+16)
Intelligence: 185 → 200 (+15)
[STAGE ADVANCEMENT DETECTED]
[STAGE 2 - CRUCIBLE OF ESSENCE] [LEVEL 1 → LEVEL 3]
[SKIPPED LEVEL 2 DUE TO MASSIVE ESSENCE INFLUX]
Don's entire body surged with power. His essence layers—all six of them refined during his first Stage 2 advancement—compressed further, becoming purer, denser, more perfect.
His four Executioner's Edge blades, still hovering nearby, pulsed with increased strength. They grew fractionally larger—perhaps five centimeters each—their edges sharper, the crimson veins glowing brighter, the midnight steel darkening to true black.
[EXECUTIONER'S EDGE: ENHANCED] [BLADE COUNT: 4 (UNCHANGED - STAGE 2-3)]
[BLADE POWER: +35% DAMAGE]
[BLADE DURABILITY: +50%]
[NEW PROPERTY UNLOCKED: ESSENCE STRIKE]
Can channel essence directly through bladesAttacks damage target's essence structureBypasses physical defenses partially
Cost: 30 mana per strike
[NEW TRAITS ACQUIRED]
[BERSERKER'S FURY - RARE]
Effect: +60% Strength, +40% Agility, Pain Immunity
Duration: 5 minutes
Cost: 100 Stamina
Cooldown: 1 hour
Warning: Reduced defense while active
[WARRIOR'S ENDURANCE - UNCOMMON] Effect: Stamina consumption -20%, Can fight while exhausted
Passive: Stamina regeneration +50%
[CLEAVER MASTERY - UNCOMMON] Effect: Expert proficiency with heavy bladed weapons
Bonus: +25% damage with two-handed weapons
[BATTLE ROAR - COMMON]
Effect: AoE fear (30m radius), enemies below Stage 2 flee
Duration: 10 seconds
Cost: 30 Mana
[IRON BODY - RARE]
Effect: Skin density increased dramatically Bonus: Physical damage -15%, Resistant to cuts/pierce
[LANGUAGE COMPREHENSION UPDATED] Goblin Language: Master → Fluent (Perfect)
[MADNESS: 25% → 27%]
The two percent increase was noticeable. Madness's presence in Don's mind became slightly heavier, like a weight pressing against his consciousness.
[Oh... oh my, little seed. You're getting so STRONG. So POWERFUL. And so much closer to letting me OUT~]
Don ignored the whisper and stood.
His transformed body felt fundamentally different. Each muscle fiber was denser. Each bone was harder. His heart beat with authority—slow, powerful strokes that pushed enhanced blood through a cardiovascular system rebuilt for combat.
He was 240 pounds of pure violence compressed into a twelve-year-old frame.
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
[LEVEL UP!]
[LEVEL 12 → LEVEL 13]
[EXPERIENCE: 4,717 + 1,500 (Kragg) = 6,217]
[LEVEL 13 ACHIEVED]
[EXPERIENCE: 717/8,000]
[PHYSICAL STATS +10]
[MENTAL STATS +15]
Updated Attributes:
Strength: 230 → 240
Agility: 220 → 230
Vitality: 175 → 185
Dexterity: 195 → 205
Stamina: 187 → 197
Wisdom: 210 → 225
Magic Power: 205 → 220
Intelligence: 200 → 215
[FREE STATUS POINTS: +5]
Don allocated them immediately.
[5 POINTS → AGILITY]
[AGILITY: 230 → 235]
Speed was life. Speed was death. Speed was everything.
[FINAL STATISTICS]
Level: 13
Stage: 2 - Crucible of Essence (Level 3/6) Experience: 717/8,000
Strength: 240
Agility: 235
Vitality: 185
Dexterity: 205
Stamina: 197
Wisdom: 225
Magic Power: 220
Intelligence: 215
[MANA CAPACITY INCREASED]
Magic Power: 220 → Mana: 11,000
[CURRENT MANA: 2,368/11,000] [CURRENT STAMINA: 137/197] (burned 60 during absorption stress)
Don flexed his hands, testing the new power. His fingers could probably punch through steel now. His legs could carry him at speeds approaching sixty kilometers per hour. His durability meant he could survive falls that would kill normal humans.
He had become something beyond what he was.
And he was still only Stage 2, Level 3.
Kragg's corpse was gone—completely consumed, not even bones remaining. Just a dark stain on the arena floor where a General had fallen.
Don looked up at the three thousand goblins watching from above.
They were still saluting. Still honoring their General's death.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
The sound echoed through the valley.
Don's voice cut through the noise, cold and absolute:
"The General died a warrior's death."
The clanging continued.
"He earned respect."
Don's four blades rose higher, spreading into attack formation. Each one blazed with power, the black steel reflecting the crimson twilight like mirrors of death.
"But you—"
His mismatched eyes—both showing spreading gold cracks now, both glowing with inhuman light—swept across the crowd.
"—you are just experience points."
The salutes stopped.
Silence.
Then—understanding.
Three thousand voices screamed.
Some in rage. Some in terror. All recognizing the same truth:
He wasn't here to duel. He was here to exterminate.
Don moved.
[EXECUTION FIELD: ACTIVATED]
[RADIUS: 10 METERS]
[COST: 50 MANA ACTIVATION] [ONGOING: 10 MANA/MINUTE]
[MANA: 2,368 → 2,318/11,000]
The field expanded around Don like an invisible sphere—ten meters in all directions. Any enemy entering it would suffer stat reduction, fear effects, and automatic marking for death.
Don's enhanced Agility of 235 carried him from the arena floor to the upper wall in a single leap—fifteen meters straight up, landing among the first cluster of goblins with enough force to crack stone.
His four blades struck before the goblins could react.
First blade - horizontal sweep, took three heads.
Second blade - downward chop, bisected a warrior raising its weapon.
Third blade - thrust through a shaman's chest mid-chant.
Fourth blade - spinning slash, opened the throats of two fleeing scouts.
Eight kills. Two seconds.
[+10 XP] [+10 XP] [+10 XP] [+10 XP] [+10 XP] (non-cultivators) [+20 XP] (Stage 1 warrior) [+35 XP] (Stage 1 shaman) [+10 XP] (non-cultivator)
Minimal experience. Trash-tier enemies.
But Don didn't care about efficiency right now.
He cared about sending a message.
More goblins rushed toward him—a mix of warriors and non-cultivators, perhaps fifty in total. They thought numbers would save them.
They were wrong.
Don activated Berserker's Fury.
[BERSERKER'S FURY: ACTIVATED] [STRENGTH: 240 → 384 (+144)]
[AGILITY: 235 → 329 (+94)] [DURATION: 5 MINUTES]
[COST: 100 STAMINA]
[STAMINA: 137 → 37/197]
The world slowed.
Don's perception struggled to keep up with his enhanced body. His Agility of 329 meant he could move at speeds approaching ninety kilometers per hour. His Strength of 384 meant each strike carried enough force to crater stone.
He became a blur of black steel and crimson light.
The fifty goblins didn't stand a chance.
Don's four blades moved independently, each one carving through multiple targets per second. His enhanced speed meant he crossed the entire fifty-meter section of wall in four seconds, leaving nothing but corpses behind.
Slash. Thrust. Decapitate. Bisect. Pierce. Rend.
Mechanical. Efficient. Absolute.
[+500 XP] (50 goblins, mixed levels)
[CURRENT EXPERIENCE: 1,217/8,000]
Don didn't slow down. His Berserker state gave him pain immunity and the goblins' desperate attacks—arrows, spears, crude magic—bounced off his Iron Body trait or missed entirely due to his impossible speed.
A cluster of twenty Stage 1 warriors—Levels 2-4, the camp's elite forces—formed a proper defensive line. Shields interlocked. Spears extended. A shaman behind them casting enhancement magic.
Competent tactics.
Useless against Don's current power.
He created a Thunderstone Lance while moving, the process taking barely two seconds.
[COST: 150 MANA] (optimized through practice)
[MANA: 2,318 → 2,168/11,000]
Don threw the lance into the shaman first—eliminate the support, then the warriors.
The lance crossed thirty meters and impaled the shaman through the chest. The lightning detonated, chain-striking three nearby warriors.
CRACK-BOOOOM!
[+35 XP] [+20 XP] [+20 XP] [+20 XP]
The defensive line broke immediately. The remaining seventeen warriors tried to scatter.
Don's four blades pursued, taking them down one by one. His enhanced Agility meant none could outrun him. His enhanced Strength meant none could block his strikes.
Within thirty seconds, all twenty were dead.
[+340 XP]
[CURRENT EXPERIENCE: 1,632/8,000]
Don continued his systematic slaughter, moving section by section through the camp.
Arena perimeter - 400 goblins, mostly non-cultivators with scattered Stage 1 warriors. Eliminated in three minutes.
[+1,200 XP]
War hall area - 600 goblins, including thirty Stage 1 warriors and five shamans. The shamans tried coordinated curses. Don killed them first with Thunderstone Lances, then swept through the rest. Four minutes.
[+2,100 XP]
[MANA: 2,168 → 1,418/11,000] (five lances + ongoing field maintenance)
Barracks section - 800 goblins, the densest concentration. Heavy resistance from fifty Stage 1 warriors. Don activated Battle Roar.
[BATTLE ROAR: ACTIVATED]
[COST: 30 MANA]
[EFFECT: 30M RADIUS FEAR]
[MANA: 1,418 → 1,388/11,000]
His voice boomed across the barracks, carrying physical force. Every goblin below Stage 2—which was all of them—felt primal terror grip their hearts.
Half fled immediately. The other half froze in fear.
Don's blades carved through the frozen ones while they stood paralyzed. Then he pursued the runners, his speed making escape impossible.
Six minutes of continuous slaughter.
[+2,800 XP]
[BERSERKER'S FURY: DURATION ENDED]
[STRENGTH: 384 → 240]
[AGILITY: 329 → 235]
Don's perception snapped back to normal speed. His body felt suddenly heavy—not weak, but no longer superhuman. The five-minute Berserker window had expired.
He'd eliminated over eighteen hundred goblins in that time.
[CURRENT EXPERIENCE: 7,732/8,000]
One thousand three hundred remaining.
And Don's stamina was critically low.
[STAMINA: 37/197]
His Warrior's Endurance trait meant he could still fight effectively despite exhaustion, but he was feeling it now. His muscles burned.
His breathing was heavier. His movements were still fast but no longer supernatural.
The remaining goblins—the survivors who'd witnessed the massacre—weren't fighting anymore.
They were fleeing.
En masse. In every direction. Abandoning the camp, abandoning their dead, abandoning everything in desperate bids for survival.
Don pursued.
Not with Berserker speed, but with relentless efficiency. His four blades hunted fleeing goblins through the camp's ruins. His enhanced Agility meant he was still faster than any goblin. His Execution Field marked every enemy that got close.
Twenty minutes of pursuit and execution.
The non-cultivators died by the dozens, giving pathetic experience. But scattered among them were Stage 1 warriors and shamans—higher-level enemies that provided decent returns.
[+1,500 XP]
[DING!]
[LEVEL UP!]
[LEVEL 13 → LEVEL 14]
[EXPERIENCE: 9,232 - 8,000 = 1,232/10,000]
[PHYSICAL STATS +10]
[MENTAL STATS +15]
[FREE POINTS: +5]
The level-up energy flooded Don's exhausted body.
[STAMINA: 37 → 117/207]
(base 197 + 10 = 207, restored to 117) [MANA: 1,388 → 11,750]
(Magic Power 220 + 15 = 235 → 11,750 capacity, partially restored)
Updated Stats:
Strength: 240 → 250
Agility: 235 → 245
Vitality: 185 → 195
Dexterity: 205 → 215
Stamina: 207 → 217
Wisdom: 225 → 240
Magic Power: 235 → 250
Intelligence: 215 → 230
[5 FREE POINTS → AGILITY]
[AGILITY: 245 → 250]
Renewed vigor coursed through Don. Not full strength, but enough to finish.
He continued the hunt.
The final survivors—perhaps two hundred goblins—had reached the camp's outer walls and were trying to climb over, flee into the Shadowfen, disappear into the forest.
Don created three Thunderstone Lances in rapid succession.
[COST: 450 MANA]
Three throws. Three detonations.
CRACK-BOOOOM! CRACK-
BOOOOM! CRACK-BOOOOM!
Chain lightning arced through clustered goblins, killing dozens per strike.
[+800 XP]
The survivors broke completely. No more fleeing to safety—just running blindly, mindlessly, driven by pure animal terror.
Don's four blades hunted them down methodically.
One by one.
Until silence fell.
Thirty-two minutes after Don spoke his declaration, the last goblin died.
Don stood in the center of Kragg's war camp—now a graveyard of three thousand corpses. Blood soaked the ground. Bodies piled against walls. The war drums were silent. The forges were cold.
Total extinction.
[SCAN COMPLETE]
[GOBLINS REMAINING: 0]
[KRAGG'S WAR CAMP: ELIMINATED]
[FINAL EXPERIENCE GAINED: +2,100 XP] [TOTAL EXPERIENCE: 3,332/10,000]
[KILL POINTS GAINED: +4,800 KP]
[TOTAL KILL POINTS: 14,070 KP]
Don dismissed his four blades and let them fade to semi-transparent form. His body ached—not from injury, but from exertion.
Even with his enhanced Stamina and Warrior's Endurance, thirty-two minutes of continuous slaughter had pushed him.
[CURRENT STATUS]
Level: 14 Stage: 2 - Crucible of Essence (Level 3/6) Experience: 3,332/10,000 Kill Points: 14,070 KP
Strength: 250
Agility: 250
Vitality: 195
Dexterity: 215
Stamina: 217
Wisdom: 240
Magic Power: 250
Intelligence: 230
Mana: 11,300/12,500 (regenerated during slaughter)
Stamina: 117/217
Madness: 27% Blades: 4
Generals Eliminated: 2/6
Vex the Poisoner Kragg the Butcher
Remaining Targets:
Morgash the Flame-Eater
Skarr the Breaker
Zyx the Shadow
Rathka the Blood Priestess
Uzgoth the Sovereign
Don pulled out the territorial map he'd taken from the summoner's tent—now stored in his Spatial Storage Ring. He studied the marked domains.
Kragg's territory: Eliminated.
Next closest: Morgash the Flame-Eater.
Northeast, approximately twelve kilometers away.
The fire General. Stage 2, Level 4 according to the intelligence Don had purchased about the Generals collectively.
Specialized in flame magic and commanded two thousand fire shamans plus corrupted fire elementals.
Don's Poison Immunity would be useless there. His new Iron Body might help against physical attacks but not against flames.
He'd need to adapt. Experiment. Maybe create ice-element weapons to counter the fire.
But first—rest. His Stamina was barely above half. His Mana was decent but not full. Charging into another General's domain while exhausted would be suicide.
Don found Kragg's personal quarters in the war hall—a large room with a bed made from pelts, a table, and various trophies from defeated enemies.
He sat on the bed and pulled a C-Rank mana potion from his Spatial Storage Ring.
[MANA POTION (C-RANK) CONSUMED] [RESTORING 7,000 MANA]
[MANA: 11,300 → 12,500/12,500]
(maxed out, excess wasted)
Full mana now. His natural stamina regeneration—enhanced by Warrior's Endurance—would restore him to fighting condition in about an hour.
Don laid back and closed his eyes.
Not to sleep. Just to rest. To let his body recover. To prepare for the next hunt.
Four Generals remained.
And each one would make Kragg look like a warm-up.
[Little seed... you're doing SO well. Two Generals dead in days. At this rate, you'll reach the Sovereign within a week~]
Don said nothing.
But Madness was right.
The hunt was accelerating.
And Don was getting stronger with each kill.