[Warning: Remaining Lifespan insufficient.]
[You possess three zero-cost usage charges. Confirm expenditure of all charges to evolve Unique Innate Skill: ‘Ascension’ to a higher tier?]
Ethan Sorel stared at the prompt, a manic grin twitching at the corner of his mouth. Even the system behind Myriad Realms Online seemed to have no idea how much this would cost. Where a number should have been, there were only three golden question marks.
He had guessed right. If the system couldn't calculate the price in years, it meant he was pushing the boundaries of the game’s logic.
If an S-Tier talent evolves once to SS, and twice to SSS... what happens on the third strike?
According to every guide and lore scrap released before the launch, SSS-Tier was the absolute ceiling. Nothing existed beyond it. The "???" cost wasn't just a bug; it was a testament to the fact that no one was supposed to be this reckless.
But Ethan was a dying man with less than a year to live and a single point of Health. He wasn't playing a game; he was a gambler staring at a losing hand, deciding to shove his entire life's savings into the pot.
"Confirm," Ethan rasped, his voice cutting through the sterile silence of the Sanctum. "Burn it all. Evolve it."
The system didn't respond immediately. For a few agonizing seconds, the interface flickered, as if the sheer audacity of the command had caused a logic loop. Cold sweat beaded on Ethan’s forehead. If this failed, he was a dead man walking with a useless talent.
Then, the world turned inside out.
BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.
Three successive shockwaves of raw power erupted from his chest, tearing through the darkness of the Stellarion Sanctum. Pillars of light, shifting through impossible colors that shouldn't exist in the visible spectrum, spiraled into the void. The sheer pressure forced Ethan to his knees, his vision swimming in a sea of gold and obsidian.
When the light finally bled away, the system’s voice returned, sounding almost... strained.
[Notice: Unique Innate Skill ‘Ascension’ has successfully evolved through three consecutive tiers.]
[Congratulations, Player ‘Whitenox.’ You have obtained the Singular Forbidden Tier Unique Innate Skill: ‘Cataclysm’.]
"I won," Ethan whispered, his knuckles white as he slammed his fist into the floor. "I actually fcking won."
Singular Forbidden Tier. The words felt heavy, dangerous. If "Unique" meant he was the only one who had it, "Singular" implied that in the entire history of this digital universe, there could only ever be one "Cataclysm."
He pulled up the skill description, his heart hammering against his ribs.
[Cataclysm] (Singular Forbidden Tier)
1. Ascension: Permanently upgrade any object or skill by one tier. Cost: None.
2. Sublimation: Permanently upgrade any object or skill by two tiers. Cost: Specific Resources.
3. Cataclysm: Permanently upgrade any object or skill by three tiers and imbue it with a [Calamity Trait]. Cost: Lifespan.
(Note: Tier limit exceeded. Target is unprobeable, uncopyable, and unstealable. Skill vanishes upon the permanent death of Player ‘Whitenox’.)
Ethan stared, breathless. The first effect alone was game-breaking—infinite, cost-free upgrades. But the target had changed from "Skill" to "Any Object." Gear, gold, professions... even himself.
A dark, greedy thought crossed his mind. What happens if I use Cataclysm on Cataclysm?
He didn't hesitate. "Ascension target: Cataclysm!"
He waited for the world-shattering light. Instead, a cold, mechanical chime slapped him back to reality.
[Error: Skill tier exceeds current system limits. Cannot target ‘Cataclysm’ with its own effect.]
"Figures," Ethan chuckled, leaning back against the Void. "If I could loop that, I’d be the God of the Multiverse in five minutes. The devs aren't that stupid."
But the system wasn't done. A new prompt blinked urgently in his peripheral vision.
[Notice: Usage restrictions have been added to Singular Forbidden Tier Skill: ‘Cataclysm’.]
[Revised Restrictions:]
Cannot target this Talent.
Cannot target the Player’s base physical vessel.
Cannot target ‘Calamity Traits.’
Repeated use on the same target will overwrite previous effects.
Ethan scoffed. "You didn't have those rules thirty seconds ago. You're patching me in real-time, aren't you?"
He had tried to cheat the house, and the house had responded by locking the windows. Still, as his eyes drifted to the bottom of the notification, his grin returned.
[Compensation: One-time zero-cost usage of the ‘Cataclysm’ effect granted for 'bug discovery'.]
"A freebie. I'll take it."
Ethan looked at his pathetic character sheet. If he couldn't upgrade his body, he would upgrade the only thing that mattered in a world of magic: his soul's calling.
"Targeting Class: Necromancer," he commanded. "Activate Cataclysm."
[Warning: Upgrading ‘Necromancer’ by three tiers requires 100,000 years of Lifespan.]
[Insufficient Lifespan. Use free 'Cataclysm' charge?]
One hundred thousand years. The number was so absurd it was almost funny.
"Do it."
The void didn't just light up this time; it shrieked. A vortex of necrotic energy swirled around Ethan, sinking into his marrow, rewriting his very DNA. The scent of graveyard soil and ancient ozone filled the air.
[Notice: Class ‘Necromancer’ has evolved.]
[Congratulations, Player ‘Whitenox.’ You have transitioned to the Exclusive Mythic Class: ‘Death Sovereign’.]
Stat growth modified.
New Skill Learned: [Life Tether].
New Skill Learned: [Summon Amplification].
Unique Item Acquired: [Tome of Death].
[Calamity Trait] applied to Class: [Death Sovereign].
Ethan checked his stats as a countdown timer appeared in the center of his vision.
[10... 9... 8...]
The loading phase was ending. He didn't have time to read the skill descriptions in detail, but a quick glance at his mana pool told him everything he needed to know. His Max Mana had jumped from 200 to 600. His Magic Power was at 30. More importantly, his Free Attribute Points per level had tripled from 5 to 15.
A Death Sovereign gained stats three times faster than a standard Necromancer—and nine times faster than a common class.
"Willow. Marcus."
Ethan’s eyes turned cold as the light of the Starter Village began to pull at his form. Myriad Realms Online wasn't just a game. Outside the protected zones, death meant a 10% loss of total Lifespan, with a minimum penalty of ten years.
For Ethan, death was final. But for his betrayers? He would make sure they died until they had no years left to lose.
[Welcome to Starter Village #9527, Dracoveil Empire.]
The sensory overload was immediate. The smell of horse manure, the chatter of thousands of panicked players, and the blinding sunlight of a world that felt too real to be code.
"This is bullshit! Let me out!"
"Look at my stats! I got a B-tier talent! I'm going to be a god!"
"LFG! Need a Cleric for slimes! Must have C-tier or higher!"
The Arrival Plaza was a mosh pit of humanity. People were crying, laughing, or desperately trying to harass the local NPCs for quests. Ethan ignored them all. He turned toward the village gates, his footsteps slow and heavy.
With an Agility of 1, he moved like he was walking through waist-deep water. In this world, there was no 'Auto-Dodge' stat. If you wanted to live, you had to move your body. His abysmal speed was a death sentence for anyone else, but as he opened his skill menu, he knew it didn't matter.
[Summon Bone Minion] (F-Tier, Lvl 1)
Summons a skeleton to fight. 30s cooldown. 20 Mana.
(Note: Scaling based on Spirit stat.)
[Soulfire Burn] (F-Tier, Lvl 1)
Deals 150% Magic Power over 5 seconds. 5s cooldown. 10 Mana.
These were the bottom-tier scraps of a starter Necromancer. Then, he looked at his Sovereign additions.
[Life Tether] (A-Tier, Lvl 1)
Link your soul to a summoned undead. You share a health pool.
Instant Cast. 10s cooldown.
[Summon Amplification] (S-Tier, Passive)
Cast time and Cooldowns reduced by 50%.
Summon attributes increased by 50%.
Summon Capacity increased by 500%.
Ethan stopped at the edge of the village. His [Tome of Death] sat in his secondary slot—an indestructible, untradeable book of law that would unlock its secrets as he leveled.
But his gaze finally landed on the [Calamity Trait] attached to his class. His pupils dilated as he read the description, and for the first time since he had been betrayed, Ethan Sorel truly smiled.
The game hadn't just given him a class. It had given him a plague.