Don opened his eyes exactly one hour after he'd closed them.
His internal clock—sharpened by years of tactical training and now enhanced by his Stage 2 body—was precise. Sixty minutes of rest. Enough for his Warrior's Endurance trait to work its magic.
[STAMINA: 117 → 217/217]
His body felt ready.
The ache from the thirty-two-minute slaughter had faded, replaced by the coiled tension of a predator preparing for the next hunt.
Don stood and surveyed Kragg's personal quarters. The room was surprisingly Spartan for a General—no luxuries, just functional furniture and trophies from defeated enemies. Skulls mounted on walls. Weapons from fallen warriors.
A necklace of finger bones—identical to the one Kragg had worn—hanging from a hook.
But one item caught Don's attention.
Kragg's Cleaver.
The massive weapon leaned against the far wall, four feet of dark metal forged from the melted weapons of fifty heroes. Even from across the room, Don could feel the weight of it—not just physical mass, but accumulated violence. Two centuries of kills compressed into steel.
Don approached and gripped the handle.
[ANALYZING ITEM...]
[KRAGG'S CLEAVER]
[GRADE: B-RANK]
[WEIGHT: 47 KG]
[PROPERTIES:]
Damage: Extreme (Physical)
Durability: Exceptional (Near-indestructible)
Special: Accumulates "kill energy" - grows stronger with each enemy slain
Current Kills Recorded: 3,847
Bonus: +15% damage vs armored targets
Requirement: 200+ Strength to wield effectively[SELL VALUE: 8,000 KP]
Eight thousand Kill Points for a single weapon. Tempting.
But Don had no use for it. His Executioner's Edge blades were superior—lighter, faster, controlled by thought. The Cleaver was a brute's weapon, designed for someone like Kragg who relied on raw power.
Don scanned it with his System.
[SELL TO SYSTEM?] [YES] - Item will be added to Store catalog [NO] - Keep item
[IF SOLD: Kragg's Cleaver (B-Rank) will become available in Equipment for 9,800 KP]
Don selected YES.
[SALE COMPLETE: +8,000 KP] [CURRENT TOTAL: 22,070 KP]
The Cleaver dissolved into light and vanished, absorbed into the System's catalog.
Don continued searching the room. He found a crude chest beneath the bed—locked, but his Strength of 250 made short work of it. One twist and the metal lock snapped.
Inside:
Gold coins (500+) - useless in the AbyssA collection of carved bone tokens - probably some goblin hierarchy systemThree vials of thick red liquidDon scanned the vials.
[ANALYZING ITEMS...]
[BERSERKER BLOOD (D-RANK)] [EFFECT: Temporary +30% Strength, +20% Stamina for 10 minutes]
[SIDE EFFECT: Severe fatigue after duration ends]
[SELL VALUE: 400 KP EACH]
Useful for someone without Berserker's Fury. For Don, redundant. He sold all three.
[SALES COMPLETE: +1,200 KP] [CURRENT TOTAL: 23,270 KP]
Don opened his System Store and navigated to the INFORMATION section.
[PURCHASE: GENERAL INFORMATION - MORGASH THE FLAME-EATER]
[COST: 2,000 KP]
[REMAINING: 21,270 KP]
Knowledge flooded his mind immediately.
MORGASH THE FLAME-EATER
Stage: 2, Level 4 Specialization: Pyromancer / Shaman Leader
Age: 183 years
Territory: Northeast Shadowfen (The Scorched Vale)
Physical Description:
Covered in burn scars, some still smolderingParts of body burn with eternal flamesEyes = empty sockets that leak smokeHeight: 5'8" (shorter than most Generals)Consumed his twin brother in ritual for powerSpeaks with two voices simultaneously
Weapon: Staff made from his twin's charred spine - screams when casting spells
Known Abilities:
Black Fire Manipulation (Tier 5 - burns physical matter AND souls)
Flame Immunity (Complete - cannot be burned)
Inferno Domain (Turns environment into hellscape)
Soul Burn (Direct essence damage)
Resurrect Through Flame (Can revive once if fire source available)
Commands:
2,000 fire shamans300 corrupted fire elementalsTotal forces: 2,300
Territory Characteristics:
Everything constantly burningAir superheated (normal humans die in minutes)Ground is volcanic rock and ashRivers of lavaNo water sources
Weaknesses:
Physically weaker than other Generals (Strength ~190)Relies heavily on magic (high mana consumption)Vulnerable to ice/water elements
Critical Weakness: Staff is source of black fire - destroy it, his power drops 60%Arrogant - underestimates physical fighters
Personality:
Sadistic pyromaniacEnjoys watching things burn slowlyBelieves fire purifies everything
Knows about Vex and Kragg's deaths - preparing for Don's arrivalWill NOT offer honorable duel - attacks on sightThreat Assessment: EXTREME (magic-focused, environment advantage)
Don processed the information with cold efficiency. Morgash was dangerous—his black fire could damage essence directly, bypassing physical defenses.
The Scorched Vale's environment would be actively hostile. And unlike Kragg, Morgash wouldn't play fair.
Good. Don didn't need fair. He needed effective.
He opened the CONSUMABLES section of the Store.
[PURCHASE: FIRE RESISTANCE POTION (C-RANK) ×3]
[EFFECT: 60% fire damage reduction for 30 minutes each]
[COST: 500 KP EACH]
[TOTAL: 1,500 KP]
[REMAINING: 19,770 KP]
Three crystal vials materialized, filled with orange-red liquid that seemed to shimmer with inner heat. Don stored them in his Spatial Storage Ring alongside his mana potions.
He considered purchasing more items but decided against it. Nineteen thousand points was a solid reserve for emergencies.
Don exited Kragg's quarters and walked through the silent war camp. Three thousand corpses surrounded him—goblins who'd saluted their General's death, then died themselves. The war drums were cold. The forges were dark. The massive bone-and-wood walls stood empty.
A graveyard.
[Such beautiful devastation, little seed. You're becoming quite the artist~]
Don ignored Madness's whisper and headed northeast, following the territorial map toward the Scorched Vale.
Twelve kilometers. At his current Agility of 250, perhaps ninety minutes at a sustainable pace.
But Don had no intention of simply running straight there.
He needed to experiment.
Two kilometers into the journey, Don stopped in a clearing.
His fight with Morgash would require countering fire with its opposite element. Ice. But Don's experience with ice manipulation was limited—he'd created a few ice spears during the slaughter at Kragg's camp, but nothing sophisticated.
Time to practice.
Don extended his right hand and focused on his Elemental Manipulation skill.
[ELEMENT: ICE]
[MANA COST: 60]
Frost gathered in his palm, forming crystalline patterns. The temperature dropped sharply—not just around his hand, but in a three-meter radius. Moisture in the air condensed into visible mist.
Don shaped the ice carefully, using his enhanced Intelligence of 230 to calculate molecular structure, optimal density, thermal properties.
A sword formed. Two feet of clear ice, sharp as steel, cold enough to cause frostbite on contact.
[WEAPON CREATED: ICE BLADE] [GRADE: D-RANK (TEMPORARY)] [DURABILITY: 20 MINUTES OR UNTIL SHATTERED]
[PROPERTIES:]
Physical Damage: Moderate
Cold Damage: HighSlowing
Effect: Targets hit suffer -20% Agility for 10 seconds Shatters on high-impact strikes (explodes into ice shards)
[TOTAL COST: 60 MANA]
Don tested the blade against a nearby tree trunk. The ice sword cut cleanly through bark and wood, leaving frost spreading from the wound. When he struck harder, the blade shattered—but the explosion of ice shards peppered the tree like frozen shrapnel.
Interesting.
He dismissed the fragments and tried again. This time, a spear.
[ELEMENT: ICE]
[MANA COST: 65]
The spear formed faster—Don's muscle memory was building. Three feet of ice with a wicked point, designed for throwing.
He hurled it at a tree fifty meters away.
The spear flew true and impaled the trunk.
Frost spread outward from the impact point, encasing half the tree in ice within seconds.
[Ooh, very pretty. Very COLD. But will it work against fire that burns SOULS, little seed?]
"It will have to," Don muttered.
He created a third weapon. This time, something different.
An axe.
Two-handed. Heavy head of compressed ice. Handle reinforced with frozen layers.
[ELEMENT: ICE]
[MANA COST: 80]
The axe was dense—easily twenty kilograms. Don swung it experimentally, his Strength of 250 making the weight feel manageable.
The weapon generated its own cold aura, frost spreading across the ground where he stood.
He chopped at a thick tree trunk.
CRACK!
The axe bit deep—eight inches into solid wood. Frost exploded outward, freezing the entire tree solid. When Don pulled the axe free, the frozen tree shattered like glass.
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
[WEAPON MASTERY MILESTONE ACHIEVED]
[REQUIREMENTS MET:]
• Mastered 7+ weapon types (Knife, Sword, Spear, Shield, Heavy Blades, Hammer, Axe)
• Created weapons from pure energy (Adept level)
• Demonstrated proficiency across multiple combat styles
• Combined elemental properties with weapon crafting
[NEW MASTERY UNLOCKED]
[UNIFIED ARMS MASTERY - RARE]
Effect: All weapon proficiencies merge into single comprehensive understanding
Bonus: +15% damage with ANY weapon type
Bonus: Weapon creation cost -10%
Bonus: Can instantly adapt to unfamiliar weapons
Passive: Weapon durability +20% for created weapons
[PREVIOUS INDIVIDUAL MASTERIES ABSORBED]
[NEW UNIFIED MASTERY: ADEPT → EXPERT (ACCELERATED)]
Combat Arts: Enhanced through weapon unity
Don paused, feeling the shift in his understanding.
It wasn't just that he knew how to use different weapons anymore—he understood the fundamental principles behind all of them. Balance. Leverage. Force application. Edge geometry. Weight distribution.
A knife and a greatsword were no longer separate skills. They were expressions of the same underlying truth.
[Oh my, little seed. You're not just learning weapons anymore. You're MASTERING the concept of weapons themselves. How delightfully EFFICIENT~]
Don flexed his hand, and an ice dagger materialized—then shifted seamlessly into a sword, then a spear, then a hammer, all without breaking form. The transitions were fluid, natural, inevitable.
Unified Arms Mastery.
Perfect.
He continued walking, creating ice weapons as he moved.
A hammer—massive head, designed for crushing. Cost: 90 mana. Effect: Anything struck became brittle with cold, then shattered.
A shield—circular, two meters in diameter. Cost: 70 mana. Effect: Absorbed fire/heat, converted it to more ice. Duration: 15 minutes.
A whip—ten meters of flexible ice somehow remaining solid. Cost: 100 mana.
Effect: Wrapped around targets and froze them solid.
Don tested it on a large boulder. The whip coiled around the stone, and within five seconds, the entire boulder was encased in ice half a meter thick.
[You're having fun, aren't you, little seed? Experimenting. Playing. Creating. It's almost... human of you~]
Don frowned but didn't respond.
Madness had a point—he was enjoying this. Not emotionally—his Emotion Suppression filtered that away—but intellectually. The problem-solving. The optimization. Finding the most efficient ways to counter fire-based enemies.
Eight kilometers from Kragg's camp, Don stopped again.
Time to test combination weapons.
He'd made the Thunderstone Lance by combining Earth and Lightning. What about combining Ice with other elements?
Experiment 1: Ice + Wind
[ELEMENT: ICE]
[ELEMENT: AIR]
[MANIFESTATION FORGING: FUSING]
A spear formed—ice blade, but with compressed air swirling around it constantly. When Don threw it at a tree, the spear screamed through the air, the wind accelerating it to twice normal speed. Impact was devastating—the tree exploded into frozen splinters, the shockwave knocking down three nearby trees.
[WEAPON CREATED: WINTER'S SCREAM] [COST: 140 MANA]
Experiment 2: Ice + Earth
[ELEMENT: ICE]
[ELEMENT: EARTH]
[MANIFESTATION FORGING: FUSING]
A hammer materialized—head made of ice reinforced with stone. Impossibly dense.
When Don struck the ground, the impact created a crater five meters wide, and ice spread outward in a perfect circle, freezing everything within ten meters solid.
[WEAPON CREATED: FROZEN EARTH BREAKER]
[COST: 160 MANA]
Experiment 3: Ice + Lightning
[ELEMENT: ICE]
[ELEMENT: LIGHTNING]
[MANIFESTATION FORGING: FUSING]
A sword formed—blade of ice with blue-white electricity crackling through it. When Don swung it through the air, it left a trail of frozen lightning that persisted for several seconds.
He struck a tree, and the ice and lightning combined—the tree froze solid, then shattered as electricity exploded through the ice, creating a shower of electrified frozen shards.
[WEAPON CREATED: STORMFROST BLADE]
[COST: 180 MANA]
[MANA: 11,615/12,500]
Don had burned through 885 mana on experiments. His natural regeneration was keeping pace—fifty mana per minute meant he'd regenerate the deficit in eighteen minutes of travel.
Acceptable.
Ten kilometers from Kragg's camp, the environment began to change.
The temperature rose noticeably. The moss underfoot became dry and brittle. Trees showed scorch marks on their bark. The crimson twilight took on an orange tinge, like the sky itself was reflecting flames.
Don's Mini-Map showed no red dots nearby, but his Enemy Tracker detected... something. Heat signatures. Lots of them. Still beyond the hundred-meter range, but present.
The Scorched Vale was close.
Don created one final ice weapon—his most ambitious yet.
[ELEMENT: ICE]
[ELEMENT: WATER]
[ELEMENT: AIR]
[MANIFESTATION FORGING: FUSING ALL THREE]
The creation took thirty seconds—three elements fighting for dominance, requiring Don's full concentration to merge properly. But when it finished...
A lance materialized. Six feet long. The shaft was compressed ice reinforced with flowing water that somehow remained liquid despite the freezing temperature. The blade was a swirling vortex of frozen air—constantly moving, constantly sharp, constantly cold.
[WEAPON CREATED: LANCE OF THE FROZEN TEMPEST]
[GRADE: C-RANK (TEMPORARY)] [DURABILITY: SINGLE USE (HIGH IMPACT)]
[PROPERTIES:]
Physical Damage: Extreme
Cold Damage: Catastrophic
Area Effect: 15-meter radius freeze on impactGenerates blizzard for 30 seconds after detonation
SPECIAL: Designed specifically to counter fire-element enemies
[TOTAL COST: 300 MANA]
Don held the lance, feeling its weight—not physical, but elemental. This weapon carried enough cold to freeze a small lake solid.
Against Morgash's flames, it would be devastating.
But it cost 300 mana. He could only afford four of these in a single fight.
Choose the moments carefully.
[Oh my, little seed. That's... that's actually IMPRESSIVE. You've become quite the weapon smith. Kragg would be proud. Or maybe jealous~]
Don stored the lance in his Spatial Storage Ring—the dimensional space preserved its integrity perfectly—and continued northeast.
Eleven kilometers from Kragg's camp, he encountered the first patrol.
Six goblins. All fire shamans, their staffs glowing with embers. Stage 1, Levels 2-3.
They spotted Don immediately and raised their staffs, chanting in unison.
[ENEMY DETECTED]
[FIRE SHAMANS ×6]
[PREPARING COORDINATED SPELL]
Don didn't give them the chance to finish.
He created an ice spear—not one of his elaborate combination weapons, just simple compressed ice—and threw it through the lead shaman's throat before the chant completed.
His four Executioner's Edge blades manifested and took the remaining five in seconds.
[+210 XP] (35 XP per Level 3 shaman)
[CURRENT EXPERIENCE: 3,542/10,000]
The shamans' corpses smoldered despite being dead, their bodies still radiating heat.
Don didn't bother consuming them—Stage 1 Level 3 enemies would provide minimal gains for someone at his level.
The experience points barely mattered anymore. Only Generals and high-level elites were worth his time now.
Twelve kilometers from Kragg's camp, Don crested a rise and saw it.
The Scorched Vale.
The forest ended abruptly, giving way to a hellscape. The ground was black volcanic rock, crisscrossed with rivers of glowing lava. Everything—everything—was on fire.
Trees burned eternally without being consumed. The air shimmered with heat waves so intense they distorted vision.
And in the center of the vale, a massive structure of obsidian and flame—Morgash's Citadel.
Don activated his Enemy Tracker at maximum range.
[ANALYZING TARGET LOCATION...]
[MORGASH'S SCORCHED VALE] [ESTIMATED POPULATION: 2,300] [BREAKDOWN:]
Non-cultivators: 0 (cannot survive the heat)
Stage 1 Fire Shamans: 2,000
Corrupted Fire Elementals: 300
Stage 2: 1 (General Morgash)[GENERAL MORGASH DETECTED]
[STAGE 2, LEVEL 4]
[LOCATION: Citadel - Center]
[STATUS: AWARE OF YOUR APPROACH] [THREAT ASSESSMENT: EXTREME]
Aware.
Don's enhanced Sense detected movement. Not goblins—something else.
A figure materialized from the flames thirty meters ahead. Not walking. Emerging from fire itself.
General Morgash the Flame-Eater.
Shorter than Kragg—perhaps five foot eight—but radiating power that made the air itself burn. His body was a patchwork of burn scars, some still smoldering with eternal flame. His eyes were empty sockets leaking smoke. In his hands, a staff made from charred bone that screamed faintly.
When he spoke, two voices came out simultaneously—his own and his dead twin's:
"Don Valdruun. The red-haired demon. Killer of Vex. Slayer of Kragg."
The dual voices overlapped, creating a disturbing harmony.
"We knew you would come. We have been WAITING."
Morgash raised his screaming staff, and the entire vale ignited.
Walls of black flame erupted from the ground, cutting off every escape route. The temperature spiked to levels that would vaporize normal flesh.
"This is OUR domain, human. Here, we are GOD. And gods do not lose to MORTALS."
Don's four Executioner's Edge blades manifested fully, spreading into combat formation.
His hand moved to his Spatial Storage Ring, ready to pull a Fire Resistance Potion.
[Little seed... he's not going to duel you. He's going to BURN you. This will be... difficult~]
Don's mismatched eyes—both glowing with spreading gold cracks—locked onto Morgash through the waves of heat.
"Then burn me if you can."
Morgash's empty eye sockets blazed with black fire.
"Gladly."
The black flames exploded toward Don like a tidal wave of soul-burning death.