The system-wide announcement, blaring in gold letters across the sky, stunned Willow and Marcus Chen into silence. They had just felled the Normal-difficulty Goblin Chieftain, a Black Iron-Tier boss, and were poised to claim the World First Clear for Starter Village #9526. Now, this.
“Holy sht,” Marcus breathed, his voice a cocktail of shock and raw envy. “This Whitenox guy is on another level.”
“Whitenox?” Willow’s brow furrowed, a flicker of recognition in her eyes. “Why does that name feel so familiar…?”
Marcus’s eyes lit up. “Familiar? Rack your brain, Willow. One of your old admirers, maybe?” His tone was laced with a greasy sort of excitement. “If so…”
“What?” Willow shot him a look, seeing right through him. “Thinking of pimping me out again?”
It was their sick little game. He loved to watch, and she loved to stray. They were a match made in the gutters of heaven. Ethan Sorel had been nothing more than an unwitting pawn in their twisted play.
“What’s the big deal?” Marcus chuckled, completely shameless. “It’s not like you get the short end of the stick. Being with Ethan Sorel bought you a few years of luxury, didn’t it?” A flash of fury crossed his face. “Damn this Myriad Realms Online. Just when I was about to hit the jackpot, this fcking game throws us all back to square one.”
“Ethan Sorel…” Willow whispered the name. Her mind clicked. She slapped a hand over her mouth, her voice trembling as the realization hit her. “He… he always used that name in games!”
“What?” Marcus’s expression hardened for a second before smoothing over into practiced denial. He shook his head. “Impossible. Ethan Sorel is dead. I pulled the plug myself.” He waved a dismissive hand. “Plenty of people could pick a name like Whitenox. It has to be a coincidence.”
Willow nodded, though a knot of anxiety remained. “But what if it is him?”
“And if it is…” Marcus frowned, his eyes darting back and forth as the gears in his mind turned. Then, a slow, predatory smile spread across his face. “Wouldn’t that be a good thing?”
“A good thing? We conspired to kill him! If he finds out, we’re finished!”
“Are you stupid? He was in a vegetative state. How could he possibly know?” Marcus scoffed. “Only the two of us know what really happened. As long as you keep your mouth shut and I keep mine, that little punk will stay in the dark forever.”
The smile on his face widened as he pulled Willow into a rough embrace. “If this Whitenox isn't Ethan, you’d have to find a way to seduce him anyway. But if it is him? That just saves us a step.” He leaned in, his voice a conspiratorial whisper. “The way that kid was wrapped around your finger… all you’d have to do is crook your little finger, and he’d hand over everything he has.”
“You’re a degenerate,” Willow purred, but a glint in her eyes confirmed she had already bought into the plan.
“Hahaha! With my Willow’s charms, it doesn’t matter who he is. He’ll be eating out of the palm of your hand.”
They shared a conspiratorial grin, their decision made. The moment they left the Starter Village, their first priority would be to find Whitenox.
They had no idea that Ethan Sorel already knew everything. They were looking for him, and he was looking for them. In a way, it was a perfectly matched, mutual hunt.
The Dracoveil Empire, Starter Village #9527.
The oppressive mists that had choked the forest for so long were gone, devoured by the fallen Regi. For the first time in what felt like an age, light pierced through the canopy of The Mistwood. Mottled sunlight dappled the ground, breathing a sliver of life back into the silent woods.
Ethan Sorel paid the system announcements no mind. Such interruptions would soon become routine, given the monstrous trajectory of his power. A server-wide broadcast was hardly worth his attention. His focus was solely on the spoils of his victory.
“Killing you twice had better be worth it,” he muttered, cracking his knuckles as he reached for Regi’s corpse. “Don’t disappoint me.”
Crack… crunch…
Stripped of its Death Miasma, the skeletal colossus was now incredibly brittle. The moment his hand made contact, the entire frame crumbled into a pile of bone fragments, revealing a glittering heap of loot.
“A jackpot!”
Ethan’s eyes widened at the sheer volume of drops, and he began to collect them.
【You have obtained 10 Gold Coins and 38 Silver Coins.】
【You have obtained Level 1 Attribute Gem x10】
【You have obtained Level 1 Critical Gem x3】
【You have obtained Gold-Tier Equipment x5】
“Why are these all Level 5?” Ethan frowned, inspecting the five pieces of armor. A Level 10 boss should drop Level 10 gear. He gave their stats a cursory glance before tossing them into his inventory. They were vendor trash.
But the next items made his frown disappear.
【You have obtained the Dark Gold-Tier equipment “Deadbound Pendant”.】
【You have obtained the Dark Gold-Tier equipment “Shadowstep Boots”.】
【You have obtained the Dark Gold-Tier equipment “Bonewarden Colossus Blade”.】
【You have obtained the Dark Gold-Tier equipment “Bonewarden Plate”.】
Four Dark Gold-Tier pieces, all of them Level 10. That explained it. The Level 5 junk must have been from Regi’s original loot table, before its undeath. These new items required identification to see their attributes, so Ethan didn’t bother using 【Cataclysm】 on them just yet. He swept them into his bag, still feeling a pang of dissatisfaction.
Though they were unidentified, he could see their equipment type. Aside from the `Deadbound Pendant`, the other three were Plate Armor. Useless to him.
“Alright, time for the good stuff,” he said, his gaze falling upon the five ancient-looking tomes and a single, smooth crystal orb that remained on the ground. He took a deep breath and began to inspect his final haul.
【You have obtained the C-rank Skill Book “Summon Skeleton Champion”.】
【You have obtained the C-rank Skill Book “Summon Skeleton Archer”.】
【You have obtained the C-rank Skill Book “Summon Skeleton Mage”.】
【You have obtained the B-rank Skill Book “Aura of the Fallen”.】
【You have obtained the B-rank Skill Book “Thunder Cleave”.】
“Well now,” Ethan mused, “looks like I practically cleaned out Regi’s entire skill set.”
Of the five books, four were usable by a Necromancer. He hesitated for a moment. Learning all three skeleton summons would eat up three precious skill slots, which felt wasteful. Yet, they were essential skills for his class.
As he weighed his options, a new system prompt appeared.
【System Alert: You possess the skill books for “Summon Skeleton Champion,” “Summon Skeleton Archer,” and “Summon Skeleton Mage” simultaneously. Do you wish to fuse them into “Summon Advanced Skeleton”?】
“Fuse!” Ethan’s eyes lit up, and he selected the option without a second thought. The three tomes dissolved into motes of light, merging into a single, new volume in his hands.
The fused skill was still C-rank, but it now allowed him to choose which type of skeleton to summon. The cast time, mana cost, and cooldown were identical to his original `Summon Skeleton Champion` skill. On the surface, the fusion was actually a slight downgrade; he could now only summon one advanced skeleton every thirty seconds instead of three. The only real advantage was that it occupied a single skill slot.
But Ethan didn't care. With his SS-rank Talent, 【Death Conscription】, cooldowns were irrelevant. He immediately chose to learn the new skill.
【System Alert: You have learned the new skill “Summon Advanced Skeleton.” The skill “Summon Skeleton Champion” in your skill bar will be overwritten.】
“Shit!” A jolt of panic shot through him. Overwritten? Does that mean the Calamity Trait is gone?
Before he could even open his skill menu to check, another notification followed.
【Anomaly Detected: The target skill contains an anomalous trait that exceeds system limitations. Full overwrite failed. Anomalous trait has been preserved.】
【Summon Advanced Skeleton】 (C) Level 1, Active Skill
Summons a Skeleton Warrior, Skeleton Marksman, or Skeleton Mage to fight for you.
Cast Time: 3 seconds
Cooldown: 30 seconds
Mana Cost: 300
【Calamity Trait】:
1. Skeleton Warrior: Maximum HP +500%, Attack Power +100%.
2. [Locked]
3. [Locked]
(Advanced Skeleton stats scale with the player’s Spirit attribute.)
“Thank god.” Ethan let out a long breath of relief. His Talent truly was beyond the system’s rules; even a forced overwrite couldn't erase its effects. The two locked traits likely corresponded to the Marksman and Mage summons. To unlock them, he would have to use 【Cataclysm】 on this new, fused skill. And since the original skill had been "overwritten," he had a free ascension waiting for him.
He selected the new skill and activated his talent.
【Cataclysm】!
【Target: Summon Advanced Skeleton】
【System Alert: Please select an Ascension Tier. (Tier 1 / Tier 2 / Tier 3)】 (Click for details)
The system seemed to be constantly updating. The new "details" option was a recent addition.
Option 1: Ascend to B-rank skill【Summon Advanced Skeleton】. Cost: None.
Option 2: Sublimate to A-rank skill【Summon Elite Skeleton】. Cost: 10,000 Gold Coins.
Option 3: Cataclysm to S-rank skill【Summon the Ossian Legion】. Cost: 1,000 Years of Lifespan.
“Tier 1.”
There was no choice to make. He had neither ten thousand gold nor a millennium of life to burn. Free was the only price he could afford.
【Your C-rank skill “Summon Advanced Skeleton” has successfully Ascended to B-rank.】
The name remained the same, as did the three summon options. The key difference was that a single cast now summoned three skeletons instead of one. The mana cost jumped to 1,000. A low-level Necromancer would be drained after just a few casts, but Ethan’s mana pool was already immense.
With the old skill overwritten, his invested skill points were refunded. He immediately dumped all 8 points into the new `Summon Advanced Skeleton`, bringing it to Level 9. A small "Max" icon appeared on the skill, indicating it had reached its level cap.
In Myriad Realms Online, players gained one skill point per level. However, the cost to level up skills varied by rank, as did their maximum level. From what Ethan had observed, skills below A-rank cost one point per level. A-rank skills cost two, and S-rank skills cost five. After ascending `Death Drain: Feedback` to SS-rank, its upgrade cost had ballooned from five points to ten. He could only imagine that an SSS-rank skill would require at least twenty points for a single level.
There had to be other ways to acquire skill points besides leveling up. His 【Cataclysm】 Talent, which preserved a skill’s level upon ascension, was already saving him a fortune in points. Still, forgoing ascension just to save points early on would be foolish. The power of an SS-rank skill was leagues beyond that of an S-rank.
Two skill books from Regi’s loot remained. `Thunder Cleave` was a Warrior skill, useless to him. But the other, `Aura of the Fallen`, was a major upgrade.
【You have learned the new skill “Aura of the Fallen”.】
The book dissolved into a stream of light that flowed into his forehead. A faint gray circlet of energy appeared at his feet before fading from sight, though its effect remained active. It was a passive aura, just like the one Regi had used, boosting all allied undead by 20% of their total attributes.
He checked the description, then immediately activated his talent.
【Cataclysm】!
【Target: Aura of the Fallen】
【System Alert: Please select an Ascension Tier. (Tier 1 / Tier 2 / Tier 3)】 (Click for details)
“Tier 1.” No need to check. He knew he was broke.
【Your B-rank skill “Aura of the Fallen” has successfully Ascended to the A-rank skill “Aura of the Fallen: Ascended”.】
【Aura of the Fallen: Ascended】 (A), Passive Skill
All allied undead creatures gain a 30% bonus to all attributes.
Area of Effect: 500 meters
The attribute bonus only increased by 10%, but the range had exploded from 100 meters to 500. This already exceeded his current maximum control distance for summons. And when combined with his class-specific Calamity Trait, the effective range ballooned to an absurd one-thousand meters.
Vwoom…
Ethan waved his wand. A three-meter-tall, gray vortex swirled into existence beside him. His mana dropped by a thousand as six skeletons marched out, two of each type. Their forms were identical to the ones Regi had summoned, but they radiated a far more potent aura of menace.
He didn't bother checking their stats just yet. After he equipped his new gear, their attributes would see another massive jump. First, he needed to fill out his summon capacity.
Since the Calamity Traits for his Marksmen and Mages were still locked, his Skeleton Warriors were disproportionately stronger. But summoning only warriors was inefficient; due to unit collision, too many melee units would just get in each other's way against a large boss. He settled on a balanced 4:3:3 ratio of Warriors, Marksmen, and Mages.
All that was left of Regi's drop were some materials and the item that intrigued him most: the crystal ball.
【You have obtained Dark Gold-Tier Material: Death Miasma Bone x10.】
【You have obtained Dark Gold-Tier Material: Soul Remnant x10.】
He threw the materials into his bag without a second thought, not bothering to ascend them for now. His entire focus was on the crystal orb. As he stared into its depths, he could just make out a faint, spectral shape swirling within.
He reached out and picked it up.
【You have obtained the Quest Item “Harens' Scrying Orb”.】
The moment it entered his hand, a new system alert chimed in his ears.
【System Alert: ...】