Defiance of the Fall

That would explain why the AI had taken so long to awaken . It only happened months after the integration was over according to his Sister . Had it fed on her soul until that point , slowing her progression and weakening her potential?

Then again , all this was just conjuncture , his frayed mind running amok from not knowing whether this was real or fake . Was this just the System messing with his head , preying on his fears , causing a bout of paranoia that would trap him in this illusion forever? Or was it trying to create a rift between himself and his mother , making sure that he never joined Leandra's camp?

Did the System have other plans for him?

Zac’s mind was a mess , and he felt a weird sense of disconnect with reality like he had been living a lie his whole life . The whole room around him started to twist and contort like it tried to superimpose on his own sense of reality .

His emotions started to spiral out of control , but Zac quickly stabilized his thoughts . He knew that these feelings were mostly fake . This was the Heart Tribulation . The System had shown him an illusion that had caused a crack in his mental fortitude , and it had tried to push him toward insanity from there .

But his mind wasn’t so easily shaken , not after all the things he had gone through the past year . He had looked at the Terminus and survived , how could this compare? Perhaps the things he had seen were real , perhaps they weren’t . It wasn’t much that he could do about it in either case if he didn't get stronger .

The fact that their mother might have ulterior motives about Kenzie had been something that Zac had considered a real possibility since the moment he figured out their origin . Witnessing this scene did nothing to change that . He would still keep his guard up for anything that might come his way .

It was the same with his own heritage . Perhaps Robert wasn't his biological father , but so what? He had been as real a father as any could have been . The fact that there might be some other guy out there didn't matter in the slightest to Zac , he could just be considered a sperm donor at best if it even was true . There was no point in looking into the matter any further .

It was far more important to keep improving and get stronger .

Only then would he be able to achieve his goals , only then would he be able to feel a sense of safety and freedom . He needed to become stronger to protect his sister and everyone else that had come to mean something to him over the past year . To protect Earth itself against those who wished it harm .

The room drenched in the red glow cracked , and he immediately found himself back in his body , the real one . He didn’t know exactly what had changed , but he somehow felt stable , like he could face anything with a calm heart . Was this a hidden benefit of succeeding against the Heart Tribulation?

He breathed out in relief , but he quickly remembered that he wasn’t out of the woods just yet . He just overcame the Heart Tribulation , but there was still the Soul Tribulation to deal with . Just before he was dragged into the illusion he had felt like his soul was lit on fire , and it had made itself remembered multiple times during the hallucinations as well .

Another wave of terrifying agony assaulted him the moment he remembered his predicament , setting his whole world on fire . He screamed in pain , but he quickly activated the Fragment of the Axe and spread it across his whole soul . The Soul was the connection to the Dao , and his fragments would be able to dampen the effect of the Tribulation from what he knew .

And thankfully , the searing pain quieted down by a noticeable degree the moment his soul was covered in a dense layer of his Dao . It was just like when he used the Seed of Trees to ward off the corruption in the wound that Mhal left in his side . However , the mysterious energy that had descended upon him was still there in full force , meaning he wasn't safe just because his tactic had worked out .

Zac quickly looked inwards and breathed out in relief when he saw that his soul was fine apart from some small wounds that could be fixed with a normal Soul Healing Pill . It was a lot better than he had feared after having felt those bouts of agony during the Heart Tribulation , and nothing compared to the time after the Shard had ripped it apart and ensconced itself in the tears .

But one part was a bit worrying . The scars were still there , and not only did they seem more integrated with his soul , but they had now regained some of their luster . Had they somehow managed to feed on whatever energy the System used to put his soul under pressure?

The pain quickly got worse though , making Zac unable to gather any further clues from the scars . The Dao energy of the Axe was somehow losing its efficacy , but Zac had an idea and swapped to the Fragment of the Coffin . The pain became manageable once more , and Zac soon set into a cyclic pattern where he moved from one Dao Fragment to another to handle the Soul Tribulation .

Zac lost track of time as he just focused on enduring , but it gradually grew harder as the effect grew steadily worse , even if he kept swapping between Daos . However , a sudden shudder from within his soul suddenly blasted his defenses straight open , giving the tribulation energy free access to his soul .

However , Zac felt no pain at all as two whirlpools appeared , one black and one white , and they dragged the Tribulation Energy into the abyss with extreme fervor . Zac was shocked to see that the energy didn't go into the scars though , but the other side of the whirlpools were clearly inside the cage that housed the two Remnants .

Both of them seemed enlivened , and they started fighting with each other once more . However , they quickly calmed down and focused on absorbing the unwilling Tribulation Energies . Zac tried to figure out a way to break the connection , but he couldn't destroy the two whirlpools no matter what he did .

However , it thankfully looked like he had the System on his side this time . It Seemed that it considered him having passed the second Tribulation as well as the Soul Tribulation was actually becoming food , and the energies around Zac dissipated the next second . Better yet , the Fractals of the cage woke up once more and stole most of the energy from the Remnants .

They looked clearly upset about the situation as they slammed their tendrils against the walls , but the cage didn't even shudder as it continued its siphoning . A few minutes later a surge of extremely pure energies seeped into his soul and body , and he felt extremely invigorated . The wounds on his soul closed by themselves , and he felt a huge surge of power coursing through his body .

He had made it , he was finally an E-Grade Mortal .

Chapter 489 - A Frayed Web of Uncertainty

What had changed?

Who had made such a mess of his Karma , turning it into a frayed web of uncertainty? Finding the source of the Karmic Turbulence had proven futile though , with connections having formed from every single direction . There was a larger overlying cause , but any attempt of his to scry the source was met with failure .

Voridis hesitated for a while longer until he finally made a decision . There was a populated world just one jump away , and Voridis realigned his vessel after casting an obscuring haze to confuse any potential pursuers . He needed to know what was going on . Had the orthodox faction among the elders finally made their move?

That was the only explanation Voridis could think of as he descended upon the planet . The humanoids of the town he chose fell to the ground as their futures were was drained clean , but these morsels wouldn’t even pay for the delay to his plan . Only the Mayor was left alive , turned into a marker to enable his return .

Anger bubbled in Voridis’ chest as he located the Nexus Hub and teleported away after donning his disguise . He was finally reaching fruition of his goal , thousands of years of planning on the cusp of producing results . His wretched circumstances over the past eons would all change as long as he succeeded , but something was threatening to ruin it all .

A brief bout of darkness swallowed him before he appeared in a simple tower .

Identification , - the golem rumbled with a threatening tone , but it immediately backed away when Voridis flashed his token as a member of the Hephasar .

His identity was stolen , of course , the token was taken from the body of one of their Chieftains . But they wouldn’t know for a few centuries as the corpse of the man was currently soaring through the outskirts of the sector attached to a meteor .

His family was still believing him to be traveling the Zecia sector in search of opportunities to form his inner sanctum , when it was just his body kept - alive’ by special means . Voridis snickered at the thought as flew straight toward the floating palace in the distance , the local chapter of The Hidden Whispers .

Just emitting a hint of his aura , modified to be unrecognizable of course , was enough for him to immediately receive VIP treatment . He was led into an opulent room where an elderly man waited . Voridis inwardly snorted in annoyance when he realized the old man was not only Peak D-Grade as well , but also wearing multiple layers of protection .

So much for free information .

What do you wish to know? - the man said with a smile as they sat down .

Voridis A’Heliophos , - Voridis said with a growl .

Oh , you too? Well , it is no wonder , - the old man smiled , his eyes never leaving Voridis in search of any clues .

Hmph , - Voridis grunted noncommittally , though he was extremely anxious to know what the man meant .

It really looked like there was something wrong , to the point that it was already spread to the better information houses within a day .

He wanted to trap the old bastard's soul and drain it of its secrets , but he knew he couldn't cause any waves in this place . There was a C-Grade Monarch presiding over this town , after all . Voridis normally wouldn't have come to a place like this at all , but he was afraid some backwater Information House wouldn't have the information he needed .

What does Sir need to know? I am afraid we have no clues about his current whereabouts . But we have gathered his known movements over the past few Millennia , - the old man said . - We are also buying any pertinent information . -

I heard there are opportunities related to his capture from certain channels , but I just emerged from cultivation , - Voridis said . - I need to know what rewards there are . -

I understand . Sir can buy the relevant information for 1 Billion Nexus Coins . The price is steep due to how fresh it is , these things will not become public knowledge for some time , - the old man smiled .

Hmph , old thief , - Voridis snorted , but he still transferred the money without hesitation .

A few minutes later he was returning toward the Nexus Hub with haste , not wanting to spend one second longer in this place than necessary . He paid the exorbitant fee and teleported away , once again returning to the remote town at the edge of the Zecia sector .

Voridis culled the Mayor as well before he flew off in his vessel , not leaving a soul behind who could bear witness to his appearance . He quickly performed his obscuration rite before he jumped back to the original plane , only then feeling safe from pursuit once more . He didn’t immediately set the course toward the closest beacon though , but he started reading the contents of the missive he just bought .

He needed to know who would have to pay the ultimate price for messing with his plans .

However , Voridis' anger was exchanged for exhilaration the more he read . Ninth Floor? Known across the Sector? Powerhouses of the upper realms asking about him? How was it possible that he had lucked into such a huge windfall?!

A soul embraced by the fate of a world , a world steeped in the Energy of Inception . Two Fulcrums , and one world would be born from the death of another . But what if the Fulcrum of Fate was powerful enough that it could impact the whole Sector? His plan no longer seemed like a long-shot , but almost a foregone conclusion .

It felt like his worn body was injected with stimulants as his mind ran thousands of simulations to make sure that his original design for his Fulcrum Array would still work . He might need to make some alterations to capitalize on the external Karmic Links , but it was definitely possible .

As for any repercussions , he didn’t care . That brat would disappear long before the Shroud of the Ruthless Heavens dissipated , turning him into an interesting but forgettable side-note of the Zecia Sector’s history . No-one would mourn or avenge the death of an unattached F-Grade brat .

The question now was how to locate which of the seed worlds held the key to his ascension .

What is your impression of the situation? - Theos asked .

It’s tricky . Voridis is extremely crafty , but Zac Piker is no doubt in possession of multiple Teleportation Tokens . If Voridis makes a mistake a lingering threat might be created , one that would lead to the demise of our clan , - Reolus sighed as his milky-white eyes gazed toward the stars . - I can’t see it… -

I know , - Theos Heliophos sighed . - Voridis will never back away from such a convergence of Karma , even if I send out Geros in person . I should have followed the whispers of fate and killed that boy . I became too greedy . -

We all did , - Reolus muttered from the side . - So what do you want to do? -

Spread the news . I will perform a Fate Augmentation to the person who brings Voridis to us , dead or alive , - Theos said after a while . - Make a show of looking for him as well , but no need to draw upon the Eyes of Heaven . We’ll show our stance , and let the chips fall where they may . We are not yet facing a choice between calamity and fortune . -

Voridis will either find him , or he won’t , - Reolus nodded . - It has nothing to do with us . But what about those people from the higher planes? -

They won’t cause any storms in this remote place over a single child , at least not until someone claims him . There’s no lack of talents in the higher planes , and even if they miss out on this seedling , another one will come along in a millennium or two from another sector , - Theos said .

They failed , - the sturdy man growled as the golden flames in the brazier died out , ending the telepathic communication .

Perhaps this was the Boundless Heavens punishing us for consorting with the cursed races , - Vicar Uld sighed as his hand created the sigil for a blessing . - Bishop Kyhv-Elerad and our brothers have joined the embrace of the Heavens , it is a small consolation at least . -

Uld had honestly been skeptical about the excursion from the beginning , which is why he sent Kyhv-Elerad and kept his trusted subordinate Trovad next to him . Both of them were zealots and fools , but Kyhv-Elerad had already cozied up to Arkensau . And he couldn’t have that .

He really missed Bishop Orsiccas , the only other leader of the mission team that knew of the true purpose of these Invasions . Sending his confidante over to secure the body of the Monarch-Select had been a massive miscalculation , one that had left him alone dealing with these maniacs for months .

Did we manage to retrieve any of the bodies? - Uld still had to ask . - I would like to send them back to be interred among the other martyrs . -

None made it back after stepping foot on the island , - Trovad sighed . - Only the vessel aiming for the spatial tunnel survived . -

Shame , - Uld muttered , feeling the pinch of missing an opportunity to make some money .

Some good news has emerged from the Incubator Realm though , - Trovad added . - We have managed to seize and purify one of the towns on the second layer . Our scribes are already working at gaining control of the systems . Inquisitor Arkensau has entered the depths . -

Uld nodded with equanimity , but a pang of annoyance flared up in his chest upon hearing that name . This was supposed to be his opportunity , his chance to garner massive amounts of credit with the Zecia Chapter . But who would have expected the Grand Cardinal to send his own disciple to this remote planet to take charge of the invasion?

He had thought that this would be his chance to get transferred out of the Zecia sector to one of the real Cathedrals of the Everlasting Dao . To be anointed in the holy flames and born anew as a true elite of unlimited potential . But that bastard was stealing it under his nose , and he was unable to do anything about it .

Have we located the inception point of the Dimensional Seed yet? - Uld asked . - We’re only a few months away from its completion . -

He still couldn’t believe that a treasure like a Dimensional Seed could be found in a remote sector like the Zecia . He had never even heard of such a thing before the Grand Cardinal himself explained what it was and the importance of acquiring it . There shouldn’t be enough energy in this area of space . Just which of the heretic factions was it that had created this mystic realm?

That seed held the promise of endless possibilities . It could be the core to create a Hidden Realm of almost unimaginable size . Imagine , controlling a Hidden Realm that would slowly grow to the size of an Empire . But in contrast to a normal Empire that was beset by threats in all directions , you would be a true hegemon as long as you controlled who could enter through the spatial tunnel .

A hidden Realm of that quality was unheard of in a small place like Zecia .

But that wasn’t the reason the Grand Cardinal wanted it . There was one more usage for the Seed from what Urd understood . It could be used as a foundation upon creating the Inner Sanctum of a C-Grade Monarch . It would help create a world so powerful that it might even have enough potential to take that mythical next step .

The vaunted B-Grade .

The Grand Cardinal couldn’t use it for himself since he had already formed his inner world , but Uld was willing to bet that he planned on trading it for some opportunity to break through his current bottleneck , or to be transferred to the Embrace of the Boundless Heavens . Even Uld himself was tempted to take the treasure and run , but he knew that was impossible with the Martyr Array engraved into his soul .

There was no escape , only obedience .

We haven’t found it yet , the spatial anomalies are too numerous , rendering our arrays useless . We have been forced to search manually , but those natives know the depths far better than us , leading to setbacks , - Trovad said .

Well , Inquisitor Arkensau is the best suited for handling the Natives , - Uld said .

What about the last vessel and the Monarch-Select? -

Have them investigate whether they can destroy the entrance , - Uld said . - We will not be able to hold that place it seems , but we might at least be able to stop the Monarch-Select from entering . -

What about the Super-Brother Man? - Trovad asked with a smoldering anger . - With all due respect , are we leaving him after what he’s done? -

The Monarch-Select has no choice but to assault the cursed races if he wants to protect this planet , - Uld said with a small smile . - We will find our opportunity there , we will be able to end both the Natives and the Unliving in one fell swoop if the Heavens provide . Inform Inquisitor Arkensau about the return of the Monarch-Select . He will no doubt be interested in joining the Holy War . -

Trovad’s eyes lit up with fervor upon hearing the term Holy War , and quickly left the chapel after saluting . Uld looked at the receding back of the Bishop with some disdain , before he started to plan his next move .

If he played his cards right he might be able to realize all his goals in one fell swoop . If all three of those powerful bastards died he would be half-done . Only those monstrous Insectoids and the slippery bastards inside the Mystic Realm would stand between him and the Dimensional Seed .

Those were odds he was willing to take .

Chapter 490 - The Second Step

Zac took a deep breath as he looked around , a sense of calmness filling him .

He had done it , he’d passed the first true bottleneck of cultivation , the watershed that separated those who had a shot at immortality and those who were destined to stay mortal . He had been a bit worried about complications arising due to his weird body without any affinities , but it looked like he had been worrying about nothing .

Then again , he certainly understood why most warriors waited to consolidate their gains before evolving , some taking years to ready themselves for the Tribulation . He hadn't been prepared for just how perilous it would be . However , things had gone above expectations all things considered . Getting dual Tribulations was pretty rough , but he almost felt he was lucky it happened .

The Heart Tribulation was much harder than the Spirit Tribulation in his case . Enduring pain was his forte by now , but he had been drawn into those visions that preyed on his insecurities way too easily . If it wasn't for the constant waves of pain he might have forgotten himself for real , which would have made it so much harder to extricate himself .

He might even have failed that Tribulation altogether .

It was dealt with now though , and he wouldn't have to worry about the next Tribulation for quite some time . The remnants had fallen asleep again it seemed , but they didn't look quite as wretched as before . However , it was a good sign that they immediately started fighting each other rather than the cage the moment they got energized , and perhaps he wouldn't have to keep living in dread of their awakening .

But he made a mental note to mention the arrays for the Soul Strengthening Manual to his sister . Perhaps she could work on it while he dealt with the undead threat .

He cracked his neck and looked down at his watch , extremely surprised to see that almost 14 hours had passed since he sat down . It felt like the Tribulations hadn't taken more than half an hour . Something had messed with his sense of time it seemed , most likely the five visions .

But it still was better than his allotment of one day , and it gave him some room to figure out his situation . He immediately opened his status screen to see what was going on .

Name

Zachary Atwood

Level

75

Class

E-Epic] Edge of Arcadia

Race

E] Human

Alignment

Earth] Port Atwood - Lord

Titles

Born for Carnage , Ultimate Reaper , Luck of the Draw , Giantsbane , Disciple of David , Overpowered , Slayer of Leviathans , Adventurer , Demon Slayer I , Full of Class , Rarified Being , Trailblazer , Child of Dao , The Big 500 , Planetary Aegis , One Against Many , Butcher , Progenitor Hegemon , Duplicity Core , Apex Hunter , Heaven's Chosen , Scion of Dao , Omnidextrous , Eastern Trigram Hunt - 1st , Tyrannic Force , Achievement Hunter , The First Step , Promising Specialist , Tower of Eternity - 8th Floor , Heaven's Triumvirate , Fated , Peak Power , Monarch-Select

Limited Titles

Frontrunner , Tower of Eternity Sector All-Star - 14th

Dao

Fragment of the Axe - Middle , Fragment of the Coffin - Middle , Fragment of the Bodhi - Early

Core

E] Duplicity

Strength

1704 Increase : 91% . Efficiency : 199%]

Dexterity

708 Increase : 65% . Efficiency : 170%]

Endurance

1871 Increase : 99% . Efficiency : 199%]

Vitality

1136 Increase : 89% . Efficiency : 189%]

Intelligence

434 Increase : 65% . Efficiency : 170%]

Wisdom

721 Increase : 70% . Efficiency : 170%]

Luck

321 Increase : 91% . Efficiency : 179%]

Free Points

0

Nexus Coins

F] 6 862 691 291

There wasn’t a lot of things that had changed to the status screen from his evolution , apart from his attributes having increased a by quite a bit . However , Zac was a bit surprised he was still level 75 . He had assumed that he would move to level 76 upon evolving , but it looked like he was wrong in that regard . It seemed that Evolving was just shedding the limiters on your body , but you would still have to do the work yourself .

He opened his Class Screen next , and he saw one of the major sources for his massive boost in Strength .

Class : E-Epic] Edge of Arcadia .

Strength +100 , +10% . Vitality +50 , +5% .

Level : Strength +14/28/42 , Vitality +8/16/24 , +10 Free .

Skills : Rapturous Divide (LOCKED)

The class itself gave him an impressive 100 flat Strength , which turned into almost 200 thanks to his titles . He guessed that his Draugr form provided a similar boost , but he held off on swapping over for the moment as there were more things he wanted to check out first . Another reason for his increased attributes rather was his new title .

He couldn't help but be a bit curious about his first E-Grade title , and he focused on the line that said - Monarch-Select’ . Titles would get harder and harder to get now that he had Evolved , so anything he got was likely based on a real tough accomplishment .

Monarch Select : First to Reach E-Grade in World Reward : Base attributes +50 , Luck +5 , All stats +5%]

The term - Base Attributes’ was the same as the one he had seen on the prompt where he chose which class to upgrade . It looked like any low-tiered title he got now wouldn’t give +All Stats any longer , as the boost to Luck would be too massive . That was a relief for Zac though as it meant it would be easier for him to maintain his advantage .

The flat attribute bonus was enormous though , 50 points in each attribute was a massive boost even for him , especially with his extreme multipliers . A single title gave him 305 raw attribute points , which was almost as much as he got from gaining 50 levels while in F-Grade . Add to that yet another multiplier , and he had gained big from not letting anyone else snag this unique title .

He had thought that the massive amounts of Attributes gained from his Dao Fragments would be the only thing that mattered for a while , but he now knew that wasn’t the case . Both his levels and Limited Titles would provide massive boosts that would be equally impressive .

It really made sense now that he could take care of dozens of Early E-Grade warriors without breaking a sweat , but started struggling against Middle E-Grade warriors . Peak E-Grade was still impossible for him to deal with , even the weakest ones .

Just breaking open all nodes alone would rack up to something like 1300 points in each attribute by the time one would have reached level 150 . Furthermore , someone who had reached Peak E-Grade couldn’t be complete trash as such people would have been weeded out long before then . They would have a bunch of titles and Daos to supplement those attributes even further .

There was still a long way for him to go .

The name of the title made him think of something else as well , and he opened the Quest Screen next . As expected , there were new quests that had appeared in the previously empty menu .

Second Step of Hegemony (Unique , Limited) : Enter the Trial within one Year . Reward : Unique E-Grade Structure (Quality based on performance) , Qualification to stake claim on World . (0/1)

Zac’s eyes lit up with glee as he saw the new quest . He had been pretty sure that he would get something like this upon Evolving , and he had been proven right . The quest where he had killed the Star Ox had only been called the first step , which heavily indicated it to be a chain quest .

That quest had given him the ticket to the Tower of Eternity which had turned out hugely beneficial to him , so he had high hopes for the follow-up quest as well .

And the rewards really didn’t disappoint .

Every unique structure that Zac had seen had come with enormous benefits to a nascent force . Brazla was pretty annoying , but the value of the inheritances and the Skill Repositories was enormous . The Creator Shipyard was perhaps even greater , with the ability to upgrade its grade perhaps even all the way to B-Grade . Even Thea’s Library was a valuable asset .

Qualification to stake claim was likely related to upgrading one’s town to a World Capital , and himself from a Lord to whatever the equivalent was of someone ruling over a whole planet . However , the upgraded title wasn’t directly given as a reward , making Zac believe there was some hidden catch to the qualification .

Perhaps it would activate some sort of quest that pitted him against the world , and he wasn’t sure if he was ready to do that while the Dominators were still around . But as long as he dealt with them one way or another he felt confident that no one on earth would have anything to say about him becoming the de-facto leader of the planet .

The contents of the quest itself were equally vague as the last one though . It looked like he would be teleported to another world once more . However , after having completed over 70 levels in the Tower of Eternity it didn’t feel like a challenge to do one more .

The only issue was that of what level the System expected him to be before undertaking the trial . For the last quest he had been given a month before he needed to activate the quest , but this time there was a full year . It was great for Zac who had his hands full at the moment , but it also made him wonder what level of strength was expected to complete the quest .

However , the Hegemony Quest would have to wait until he’d dealt with the more pressing issues , and he rather turned his attention to another quest that had appeared .

Rapturous Divide (Class) : Split Life and Death . Reward : Rapturous Divide Skill (0/1) .

The second quest was far more inscrutable than any other Skill quest he had gotten before now . Split Life and Death? What did that even mean? It made him long for the easier tasks back in F-Grade , which essentially told him to go chop a tree or kill some monsters . It really felt like he finally had left the beginner village of a game and the difficulty suddenly spiked .

Life and death were related to his path though . Was the System testing him? Or perhaps even pushing him to experiment until he managed to push his Creation to the next level . He already knew that there would be less hand-holding in the E-Grade , and that was probably even more so for Epic-Ranked Classes .

They were on the precipice of forming their own cultivation paths , and it made sense that the System tried to encourage you in that regard .

It also probably meant that his other Class , Fetters of Desolation , had a similarly inscrutable quest to gain the Blighted Cut] skill . The name might sound simpler compared to Rapturous Divide] , but he doubted that meant it was a weaker skill or an easier quest . Chop] was a pretty simple skill , but it had become a staple of his fighting style , something that could be used in almost any situation .

Apart from the quests and the updated class , there was not much new in the Status Screen . However , there were still differences to explore , and Zac turned his vision inwards . His outward appearance was the same , but that couldn’t be said for his interiors . Almost completely new Pathways had been branded onto his body after he passed the tribulations .

The pathways were far more intricate compared to before , and there was a sense of spirituality radiating from them that had been completely missing before . His skills were thankfully all still there , and from the looks of it , the fit of his skills was at least as good as before . However , that might not be the case on his undead side , as he had chosen a divergent class .

Zac immediately started to experiment with his new pathways , it felt as though he could cram massive amounts of Cosmic Energy into the pathways without damaging them . That would no doubt allow him to generate far more power in his attacks , provided that the Skill Fractals could accommodate all that extra energy .

However , even though the flow of Cosmic Energy far eclipsed anything he’d felt before , he still noticed dozens of spots in his pathways that worsened the circulation . They reminded Zac of stagnant ponds in the middle of a river of Cosmic Energy , disrupting the flow and tainting the outlet .

They could be found all over his body , but they seemed to mainly be in - critical’ spots , with almost two-thirds being found in his head and torso . But there were also places like this in every major joint , and next to the locations that housed or could house Skill Fractals . Were these hazy ponds the nodes he needed to break?

It was as though these stagnant pools in his pathways both contained some sort of leaks while simultaneously blocking the flow . With this happening all over his body he felt he could only use his body to a fraction of its real potential , and it was no wonder that fixing these trouble spots by breaking open nodes would boost one’s attributes .

His mental image of nodes had been completely different compared to how these things looked like though . He had pictured something like a pressurized tank he needed to push more and more energy into until it finally popped . But it seemed like it was more like a clog in a pipe that needed to get flushed .

But even with all these obstructions in his upgraded pathways , there was no denying that the speed with which he could circulate Cosmic Energy had increased by at least five times . That was pretty huge as well as it would drastically cut down on recuperation time since it meant he would be able to absorb Nexus Crystals a lot faster .

He still was barely better than Thea who was still in F-Grade though , but he was doomed to fall short in this regard when comparing to elite Cultivators . But with his Vitality and Endurance , he would be able to keep fighting almost continuously , which would be needed if he wanted to move through the levels quickly .

Chapter 491 - Clashing Versions

Since he was done with checking what he needed to in his human form he finally swapped over to his Draugr side . The process activated as usual , but Zac frowned when he felt that it took almost 3 seconds to transform , which was a lot worse compared to before he evolved . Was it because the Pathways had become more complicated , and swapping them out took more time and energy?

However , there was still a solution . The transformation skill Yrial provided was geared toward the F-Grade , and it could hopefully be upgraded to once again shrink the time it took to change forms . The skill was unfortunately something that the C-Grade ghost put together without much thought , and it neither had proficiencies or an upgrade Path .

Zac would either have to figure out a way to recreate the skill or wait until he could enter the Inheritance Trial again . He could only put the issue aside before opening his Class Menu once again , as there were some things he wanted to confirm there as well .

Class : E-Epic] Fetters of Desolation .

Strength +50 , +5% . Endurance +50 , +5% . Wisdom +50 , +5%

Level : Strength +11/22/33 , Endurance +8/16/24 , Wisdom +5/10/15 , +10 Free .

Skills : Blighted Cut (LOCKED)

Zac was a bit surprised that he had gained equal parts in the three attributes from the class , even though he would gain more than twice the amount of Strength compared to Wisdom at each level . But that was great news for Zac as he was already pretty lopsided toward Strength with his class choices , while his low Mental Defense was his biggest weakness .

A quick mental calculation confirmed what Zac had expected . The per-level gains from his old classes remained , but the flat class bonuses had been swapped out . For example , Undying Bulwark had provided 10% Endurance and 5% Vitality before , but 5% of the Endurance and all of the Vitality was swapped out for Strength and Wisdom .

There was still a net gain as the flat attributes increased drastically , but it was still a bit of a shame . One of his strong suits was his almost inhuman Endurance , but that advantage would slightly weaken in favor of the massive amounts of Strength he would rack up during the E-Grade . Perhaps it might even be worth putting some of his free points into Endurance to maintain the lead over normal Cultivators .

He opened his Quest Menu next , and interestingly enough , the Hegemony quest wasn’t there in his Draugr form . Was the quest chain perhaps connected to the race he was when the integration started? He still hadn’t gained his Draugr form when completing the first quest , after all .

There was a skill quest though , and Zac breathed out in relief when he read the task .

Blighted Cut (Class) : Kill an evolved being of equal or higher level with a single non-lethal cut . Reward : Blighted Cut Skill (0/1) .

The quest for Blighted Cut was thankfully a lot more straightforward compared to the one for Rapturous Divide] . However , it was still not a free win by any means , as it seemed to put very high demands on the corrosive effects of his Dao . That was at least Zac’s takeaway going by the name of the skill . He needed to make a non-lethal attack lethal with the help of his caustic power .

The Fragment of the Coffin contained a decent corrosive effect , but it always required him to stack up numerous wounds to create an effect strong enough to cause real harm . For example , Faceless #9 was completely covered in rotting wounds by the time he finally gave up , but it wasn't enough to actually take him out .

It meant that he would have to make some inroads into the death-aspect of his cultivation path as well to complete this quest . Perhaps the System felt that he had utilized too many Dao Treasures to prop up the Seed of Rot , leaving the foundation lacking .

Zac shook his head as he turned his sight inward , and unfortunately , it looked like the bad news would just keep coming . His pathways had been reformed just like in his human form , but there were some other changes . The once-perfect fit of the class skills was ruined for multiple skills , mainly those that dealt with pure defense .

However , he noted that the fit for Profane Seal] , Deathwish] , and Immutable] was just fine while the fit of Winds of Decay] had actually improved . This was just what Zac had expected though , where he moved away from a defensive class toward a more offensively geared one .

But more importantly , the nodes looked completely identical in his Draugr form as in his human side . The effect the nodes had on the flow of energy through the pathways wasn’t exactly the same , as the two sets of pathways differed from each other . But the nodes themselves were in the exact same position .

It was clear to him that the Nodes weren't actually a part of the pathways themselves , but rather something tied to his body . However , they didn't feel corporeal at the same time , but rather intangible . Zac suddenly had an idea as a knife appeared in his hand and he stabbed his leg , aiming right for a node .

Black ichor started dripping down his leg , but the bleeding quickly stopped thanks to Zac's massive pool of Vitality . However , Zac was more interested in the fact that the node he just struck showed no reaction at all from being stabbed . It ruined one idea he had where he would forcibly rip the nodes open and rely on his inhuman durability to recuperate . It simply didn't work .

The situation clearly hinted at a situation where he would only need to break open each node once . This was great news for his leveling speed , but it was horrible news for his Attribute Gain . Of course , he would have to confirm his hypothesis by actually cracking open a node and gaining a level , but it looked pretty clear-cut from where he sat .

There was one more thing he wanted to consume before he ended his seclusion , but he first wanted to tell his sister he was fine .

However the scenes from the tribulation repeated in his mind upon thinking of Kenzie , and he was unsure what to think . Was their mother really on the way back to take his sister somewhere? And judging by the malice and madness in her eyes she might just kill Zac along with the whole planet if she was in a bad mood .

Her ability to simply conjure a spatial portal out of nothing proved she was a big-shot , though he had already suspected as much . Not only was she involved with a peak force like Firmament’s Edge , but her necklace seemed to be some sort of ghost key that gave blanket access to Technocrat facilities .

The necklace by itself was a cause for concern , and he took it out of his Spatial Ring and looked it over . Reaching the E-Grade , unfortunately , hadn't increased his skills of discernment , and he still couldn't find any clues of how it worked . However , the moment he touched the token with his mind in an attempt to look inside , a drastic change occurred .

The token hummed to life and floated up into the air by itself . Verun's Bite] was already in Zac's hand as he jumped up in alarm , though confusion plagued his mind . He had tried scanning the medallion the same way dozens of times , but there hadn't been any response until now . What had changed? Was there something different about his mental energy after evolving? Or was it the Remnants?

However , Zac had no time to figure it out as a figure appeared in front of him . The figure of his mother .

Zac , my son , - Leandra said with a smile marred with longing .

Mom? - Zac said , his mind thrown into chaos once more . - Is that you? -

He had just seen a crazed incarnation of his mother during the Heart Tribulation , but now a completely different Leandra stood in front of him . Her demeanor was in stark contrast to the one the System depicted . There was happiness , but also sadness as she looked upon Zac .

It looks the Integration took place , after all , - Leandra sighed , not answering his question . - I am glad you are fine , and evolved at that . Where is your sister? Is she okay? -

Kenzie's fine . Is this really you , or an AI? - Zac asked , some doubts worming into his heart when he heard his mother immediately ask about Kenzie .

It seems you have learned a few truths , - Leandra nodded . - You are not speaking with the real me , but a Synthetic AI based on me . I left it in the necklace , and it activated now that someone of my blood has reached the E-Grade . -

Why wait until now? - Zac asked with a frown .

My identity is a bit complicated , I am an enemy of the System , - Leandra freely admitted . - I couldn't allow any clues of my existence to appear on the planet right after it got integrated . The Cursed Heavens would have spotted me , which would have put your lives in danger . It should have taken you a while to reach E-Grade , and the System has long turned its gaze elsewhere . -

What's going on? - Zac asked , trying to calm his chaotic mind to not miss any details . - Why did you leave back then? Kenzie was just a newborn . -

My family , your family , has been working on a miraculous device with the help of some of the greatest minds of the multiverse for dozens of generations . But things turned awry and most of our clan died . Some people we thought were friends betrayed us at our moment of weakness out of greed , causing even greater losses , - Leandra said , pain and anger flashing in her eyes .

I was badly hurt , but I managed to barely escape . I set course for your homeworld as it was a desolate rock far from either integrated or controlled space , where our family once hid a small laboratory . The base was abandoned after the experiments were concluded , to not draw the attention of the System , but I discovered it in our family's archives . I scrubbed any knowledge of it to make it a safe harbor in case I needed it , - Leandra said with a wry smile . - Who knew that the desolate world would have turned populated in just a few dozen millennia? -

My wounds were too harsh , and a safety protocol kicked in where I lost my memories and any aura that could lead my captors to me . Robert found me as I wandered around in your world in a daze , and we had you two years later , - Leandra smiled . - But when I had Kenzie ten years later there were complications , and the pain woke the real me up from its recuperative slumber . -

My aura was immediately noticed by both the Heavens and my enemies , and I was forced to flee Earth shortly after Kenzie was born . I couldn't risk leading my enemies to you , especially not while I wasn't strong enough to protect you . I don't know where my real me is , but I am sure I am still working hard on finding a solution so that I can return to your side , - Leandra said .

Is Kenzie here as well? The time I can stay here is limited , I want to see her before I go , - Leandra said .

She is out in the wilderness training , - Zac lied . - She will be back in a week or so . Can you wait until then? -

Zac felt he could see a spark of turbulent emotions flash in her eyes , though it was quickly masked with a forlorn disappointment .

Well , there will be time for us to meet in the future , - Leandra sighed . - Be careful , you two . Don't mention your connection to me , it will cause you trouble . And stay away from the Mystic Realm that seems like a science fiction movie . Some unknown force found it and set up their own experiments after we abandoned the place . It might be extremely dangerous depending on what they did there . I didn't have a chance to scout it out myself . -

Are you really coming to get us? - Zac asked , his heart beating in fear-mixed anticipation .

Earth is a low-tiered world with no strong points . The Multiverse is a magical place that you cannot even imagine . Staying there will only harm your future , - Leandra said with a shake of her head . - You need land , resources , and opportunities to reach your full potential . Earth is lacking on all three fronts . Staying there is a waste of your future . -

Remember to protect your sister . I left a protective AI with her that will be able to help her out , but it is just an assistant in the end . It's not infallible , - his mother added . - I must go now , or your location will be discovered . Stay safe , Zac . -

With that , she was gone , and the medallion once again turned into an inert ornament as far as Zac could tell . He stood frozen for a few seconds , unsure of what to believe . Seeing another version of Leandra just after seeing the vision hadn't really made him clearer on whether his mother was a friend or a foe , or which version was the real one .

But there were a few snippets of information that probably were true as they were mentioned in both encounters . First of all , it really didn't look like she had left willingly . Both versions seemed forced to leave Earth because her presence was made known .

Secondly , she was coming back . One version felt like a farmer who wanted to reap her harvest , and the other was a loving mother who wanted to provide a better future for her children . His heart wanted to believe that the second version was the true one , but something held him back . There was a voice whispering in his mind that all the projection said , was just a cover story to make sure he didn't mess up her plans .

Then again , he had become pretty paranoid over the past year , and his opinions were already somewhat swayed after having been shown the original vision . Perhaps that was exactly what the System was aiming for by creating a Heart Tribulation like that , just as he had initially suspected .

But the real question was ; did he dare to risk it? Could he really allow his mother to return?

Chapter 492 - Heartbeat

Zac wasn't sure . Was he willing to bet his and Kenzie's lives on his mother being a friend who wanted the best for them , or should he start looking for ways to actively hide from her just like he was planning to do with the Great Redeemer? Perhaps the two plans could be fused , making sure neither party could find their way to Earth .

The more Zac thought about it , the better the idea seemed . He would try to stop Leandra from finding them , at least until they could protect themselves from whatever she had planned . One piece of good news in that regard was that she was wounded just thirty years ago or so . It might seem like a lifetime to him , but it was just the length of a single round of meditation for high-grade powerhouses .

Getting wounded enough to lose your memories at that level must mean that her enemies , possibly the rulers of Firmament's Edge , were extremely powerful , and healing from such a battle could take centuries . It was just like the Great Redeemer and his nasty scar that radiated terrifying energies . He would probably carry that wound for centuries before he could completely heal .

Leandra might be unable to come back for the time being due to being forced to focus on recuperating . She had been awoken ahead of time , and perhaps there were repercussions for that . The longer he had to prepare , the better he could hide himself and his sister . He would begin with the lantern , but he had a feeling that a Technocrat's tracking wouldn't be based on something like Karmic Threads .

Perhaps there were anti-technocrat arrays that would stop her from finding Jeeves . The orthodox forces had been fighting the Technocrats for millions of years , there should be all kinds of solutions in circulation .

Zac stood up with a grunt and walked out of his courtyard to let his sister know he was fine , but he was surprised to find a drone hovering just a few meters outside . He knew it must have been Kenzie who put it there , and she came running a few seconds later as expected .

You did it , - Kenzie said with a wide grin , and Zac nodded with a smile , inwardly thankful he had erected his obscuring arrays around his courtyard before he evolved .

Zac knew that he would have to tell her about his visions sooner or later , but now was not the time . However , he couldn’t help but feel a foreboding as he saw the undeniable similarities between Kenzie’s and Leandra’s features .

His mother’s appearance had always been a bit blurry in his mind , but it was refreshed upon seeing her twice in short order . And Kenzie really took after Leandra , no matter if you spoke of the slightly curled hair or their hazel eyes . Her appearance was a stark reminder that Leandra might come to collect at any moment , and it reignited his desire to become stronger .

And the first step toward that end was to open his first Hidden Node .

I’m fine , - Zac said as he looked around . - I passed the tribulation without any issue . I just wanted to tell you that before I headed inside again . -

What’s going on? - Kenzie asked . - Do you need to undergo the tribulation twice because of your two races? -

No , I actually got two tribulations , but they descended at the same time , so it’s dealt with . I have gathered a few things I can finally use now that I’m E-Grade , - Zac explained . - I can use a few of them while heading toward the Dead Zone , but some need to be taken while in seclusion . I’ll be away for a few more hours . -

Is it dangerous? - Kenzie asked with some worry . - You just passed the tribulations . Don’t you need to stabilize your foundation or something? -

It should be fine , - Zac said , though he honestly had no idea .

Yrial didn’t explain exactly what would happen when he used the Eye of Har’Theriam] , apart from that it would break open a Hidden Node . If you were lucky and knew to listen well it could also expose more of the Hidden Nodes spread through your body , but only the one node was essentially guaranteed .

However , the Lord of Cycles never divulged if there were any dangers to absorbing the treasure . Taking normal pills to gain a level wasn’t dangerous from what he had gathered though . It mimicked the method used when cultivating , but it sped up the process drastically . It would hurt a bit , but you wouldn’t cripple yourself from opening a node this way .

It was nothing like forcing them open by cramming the nodes full of cosmic Energy .

But opening a Hidden Node was his best shot at getting a direct power spike before setting out to the Dead Zone . He would be able to force a few nodes open as well while traveling , but he had no idea what to do about the skill quests for the time being . He didn’t have any Dao Treasures either , at least not that he was aware .

So the Hidden Node had the highest priority .

Alright , I’ll keep helping old man Gemidir with the Array , - Kenzie said . - Be careful . -

Don’t let that old thief scam you , - Zac smiled before he returned to the courtyard .

Zac erected the restrictive arrays once more , and he sat down as he took out the box he bought during the trial , the container that held the Eye of Har’Theriam] . It was the most valuable item available in the inheritance , except for Yrial’s lock of hair , that is .

He gingerly took it out , and the whole courtyard was suddenly drowned in cascading waves of energy . The fluctuations were extremely exotic as well . They neither felt like Attuned Energies or Dao Energy , but rather something he had never encountered before . Of course , it could simply be a higher-tiered attunement that he was too stupid to recognize .

The so-called Eye of Har'Theriam] didn’t really look like the eye of a beast , which wasn’t a surprise since it actually wasn’t one . The Pathfinder Eye he recently expended to create Love’s Bond] was actually part of a slain beast , but this thing was something else entirely . It was rather a natural treasure , a convergence of specific energies that had been given physical form .

It was an object created by chance from some unknown event in a dead universe , something that had proven extremely hard or even impossible to reproduce . It meant that the supply was extremely limited , and not something that normally would appear in the hands of someone like him . The name came from the fact that the crystalline clump had a discoloration in the middle that somewhat looked like an eye .

Zac didn’t eat the treasure , but he rather took off his robe to leave his chest bare before he pushed the item against his navel . Next , he simply started infusing the thing with Cosmic Energy . The small rock was like a bottomless abyss , swallowing everything Zac threw at it . But it was finally satiated after Zac had spent more than half of his reserves , and treasure started to sink into his body .

He had expected to feel a scorching pain like he had put a piece of coal against his flesh , but nothing of the sort happened . It rather felt like he suddenly had eaten a massive feast , making him a bit bloated . The treasure was quickly getting ready to do its thing , and Zac immediately focused his mind again as he observed the changes .

The slightest fluctuation could be a clue to another hidden node going by how Yrial had explained it , and he didn’t want to miss a single thing .

The amount of energy Zac could sense from the Eye of Har’Theriam] was just shocking , like he had swallowed dozens of high-grade pills in one go . His own Cosmic Energy was just a fraction of the whole , something to mark the treasure with his own aura . However , the energy ball didn’t spread out across his pathways and , but it rather set up camp close to his Duplicity Core .

One tendril after another reached out in various directions of his body , like they were some sort of scouts that looked for their target . After having looked around for a bit they returned , looking slightly expended . This repeated over and over , and Zac tried to engrave every movement and every pause in his mind .

However , he couldn't help but worry as time passed . He and Yrial had briefly wondered whether he actually had any Hidden Nodes due to his unique constitution , and things weren't looking too good right now . The ball of energy had almost halved in size over the hours as it sent out one tendril after another in search of a node , but it hadn’t found anything of note just yet .

Zac refused to give up unless the ball of energy completely ran out of steam though , so the search continued until there was finally a change . Zac felt a surge of victory as one of the tendrils froze after having dug into his heart . One tendril after another joined it until there suddenly were ten of them reaching inside , clearly having found what they were looking for .

The next moment the main energy ball pounced like a predator going for its prey .

Only then did Zac see what the treasure was doing . A major section of his pathways ran through his heart , and six normal nodes were surrounding it . However , there was now a small distortion added to the mix right in the middle . Zac was 100% sure that it hadn't been there before , since he had gone over his whole body after his evolution .

Or rather it hadn't been visible to his internal vision .

However , the Eye had managed to find it , and the small disturbance was quickly enlarged as the ten tendrils of the Eye of Har’Theriam] poured massive amounts of the mysterious energies into the hidden node . Another stagnant pond quickly appeared , though this one looked completely different to the other ones he had seen so far .

It looked like an actual black hole , and any energy that entered it was swallowed without a hint of where it was going .

A shudder spread across his body as it suddenly felt like he had two hearts , each one beating to its own tune . The new addition was deeper and slower , like the beat of a war drum . Each beat became heavier and heavier as the hidden node was getting unlocked by the remaining energies of the Eye of Har’Theriam] , and Zac finally couldn’t hold on as he spat a mouthful of blood .

He was shocked to see that the blood actually looked like brown sludge , but he didn’t get a chance to even consider any course of action before he felt a crack in his heart , and a surge of energy stormed into his mind .

Zac had once again been thrown into a vision , finding himself on an utterly lifeless piece of stone soaring through the vast cosmos . There were no stars around him , leaving the area almost completely shrouded in darkness . The weak light from a distant nebula was all that illuminated the surface of the celestial body , and the single feature that barely stood out against the bleak surroundings .

It was a man , or Zac at least guessed it was a man going by the muscular build , stoically sitting on top of a prayer mat . His features were shrouded in darkness , and most of his body was covered by a simple robe , giving no indication of who it might be . He was completely unmoving as well , utterly blending in with the surroundings to the point Zac would have thought he was a statue or a corpse if it wasn’t for one detail .

The heartbeat .

A heavy heartbeat beat once every few seconds with such vigor that ripples pushed out from around the cultivator's unmoving form . But more interestingly it looked like there was a pushback the next moment , like a receding wave . The counterforce dragged dense amounts of energy into his body , before the man’s heartbeat once more to send out another ripple to gather even more .

It felt as though his heartbeat was absorbing the power of space itself , and even the stars in the distance flickered as if they were affected by the beat as well . It was like this man was an actual black hole , taking everything from the surroundings for himself . It was no wonder that the meteor he was sitting on was completely void of life and energies . He had no doubt already consumed it all .

Was this some sort of cultivation method based on the heart? Or was it simply the effect of his unique constitution? Was he traveling across the cosmos like a locust , draining any area he passed of its vitality?

Zac quickly realized that the meteor was moving with shocking speed as well . They were rapidly closing in on a sun and looked like they could collide at any moment . However , the man was completely oblivious to his surroundings , and Zac soon understood why . The sun was completely helpless in front of that man's heartbeat , and a massive chunk of flames was ripped from the enormous sphere in an instant .

An odd crack in space appeared above the man's head , and the stream of flames was swallowed without leaving a morsel behind . Zac was flabbergasted at the scene , as just a fraction of those streams of flames were far more condensed than the whole scorching sun that Iz Tayn summoned during the Battle of Fates .

Finally , there was a change in the man's demeanor as they whizzed past the dimmed-out sun . Steam rose from his body as he slightly shuddered , and Zac looked on with a mix of confusion and anticipation . It appeared as though the heart cultivator might have swallowed a bit more than he could chew , and Zac was curious to see if he would show some way to deal with the fallout .

Zac had found himself in the very same predicament a couple of times after all , and he had only survived by the skin of his teeth .

There was also one more question burning in Zac’s mind . Was this man in front of him an ancestor of his , either living or dead? Dao Visions showed you people who were walking the same general path as you , such as the Axe-Man and the Immutable Defender , but this wasn’t a Dao Vision . It was a vision brought forth from his own body , a hidden node in his heart .

And such a vision would probably be based on an ancestor of his .

Chapter 493 - Void Heart

Hidden nodes could generally be categorized into two types from what Zac had gathered . There were the Racial Nodes that most cultivators of the same race had , such as the Three Gates . Pretty much all humanoids had these three hidden nodes , with one important exception . They could have been swapped out by Inherited Nodes provided by your bloodline .

Perhaps there were more types out there , but those were the two that Zac could gather intelligence on .

People with strong enough bloodlines had hidden nodes more specialized for their Paths , and these types of Inherited Nodes were one reason that families with amazing bloodlines churned out so many powerful warriors . However , he was a bit confused by what he saw , as the most likely source of any bloodlines and Inherited Nodes was no doubt his mother .

However , the shuddering man in front of him definitely didn’t look like a Technocrat . He was emitting a terrifying force from his body , like his average-sized frame contained endless power . It was the same sort of fierce aura like he had sensed from Greatest , one of a warrior who used his own body as a weapon .

However , Zac felt this man was on par with those supreme existences he had seen in his previous visions , rather than some D-Grade warrior .

Finally , the man stopped shaking , but plumes of steam still rose from his body from the heat he emitted . A small dagger that seemed able to tear space apart by its very existence suddenly appeared in his hand , and he stabbed his leg in one swift motion .

A torrent of blood shot to the sky , and Zac was shocked to see the amount . The wound had closed itself in a fraction of a second , but hundreds of liters had poured out in that short window . Weirder yet , the blood didn't actually freeze from the glacial cold of the vacuum of space .

In fact , it did the opposite as it suddenly combusted like it was gasoline rather than blood , lighting up the meteor for a short moment before the area was once more plunged into darkness . It looked like expelling the burning blood had drastically improved the man's situation , and he had once returned to his statuesque demeanor .

The heartbeat the only proof that the man still lived .

Zac slowly woke up from the vision , but he somehow still heard the man's pulse deep in his soul . Each thud made Zac’s blood rage like it followed the mysterious man’s heart rather than his own . With every thud , their hearts synchronized a bit more until Zac’s heartbeat was perfectly in tune to the hooded man’s .

His blood started coursing through his body at unprecedented speeds , but he felt no discomfort at all . It was like his heartbeat was in tune with the universe , and a small ripple spread out from his body before space stabilized itself again .

A crackling sound from the sky woke Zac up from his reverie , and he was shocked to see a massive swirl up in the sky . Massive amounts of Cosmic Energy had gathered into a whirlwind of untamed power , and Zac's eyes lit up in anticipation as he waited for the energy to descend .

However , elation quickly turned to confusion , before he was filled with annoyance . The energy had no intention of entering his body as it did with the mysterious cultivator in the vision , but it was rather dispersing again now that Zac no longer heard the deep heartbeat . Zac's dreams of a few free levels crashed and burned just as they were born , and he instead turned his attention to a screen that had appeared in front of him .

Void Heart – An all-encompassing heart born from the primordial void

Zac looked at the screen with some confusion , trying to understand just what this new node meant . It was clear that it was an Inherited Node he had opened , rather than something like the three gates . But the problem was that there were a huge number of these Inherited Nodes , and people rarely divulged them .

A hidden node was like a secret weapon of a clan , and one of the most guarded secrets . This had made it impossible for Zac to gain a decent understanding of Inherited nodes , like what limits and capabilities they usually had . But he had learned a thing or two from Galau , who freely admitted that his clan possessed no Inherited Nodes .

Him getting an unknown Inherited Node rather than one of the Three Gates could be both good and bad , as Inherited Nodes ranged from being extremely overpowered to utter trash . Void Heart] seemed to be a Node that helped with cultivation rather than giving a direct boost to his power like the common nodes like the Flesh Gate] .

But the description was unfortunately of the less informative variety .

The - all-encompassing - was no doubt referring to the man's ability to seemingly absorb any energy , as he swallowed anything he passed , even a sun . There was also no doubt an element of energy gathering to the node , evidenced by the convergence of Cosmic Energy in the sky just now .

Unfortunately , improving energy absorption might mean that it increased cultivation speed , which would be pretty useless to Zac since he couldn't cultivate . What if this Void Heart] kept gathering massive amounts of energies around him , but he could only look at it from a distance , unable to take it for himself?

Wouldn't that be a novel way of torture?

But the vision gave him an inkling that it might not be exactly that case . There seemed to be two components to the ability that the node provided , judging by the vision . The first was the heart , and the second was the blood . The heart seemed to swallow the energy of the area , which was related to some sort of absorption , though not necessarily one related to normal cultivation .

The man also exsanguinated himself on purpose , and there was clearly something wrong with the blood . Zac’s best guess was that it was a node that would allow him to absorb various types of energies better than a normal warrior , but that kind of absorption would fill his heart with impurities or toxins .

The exsanguination would in turn allow him to simply flush the toxins out of his body . It was a system of keeping the good and expelling the bad . Something like that seemed to match with Zac’s impressions of his own body as well . He had survived his body getting crammed full of all kinds of weird energies until now .

There was the Cosmic Water , then the storm of Miasma in the Dead Zone , and finally the high-grade energies of the two Remnants in his mind . His body was clearly unnaturally resilient to all kinds of energies , and this Hidden Node might actually be the first step toward taking advantage of this , more than just surviving .

It was just a hypothesis though , but one easily tested . Zac took out a Miasma Crystal from his Spatial Ring and absorbed some of its energy . At first , he felt extreme nausea having condensed death-attuned energies in his system , but something mysterious soon happened .

The death-attuned energies entered his pathways and were shot in a few quick revolutions through his body , but each time they entered his heart the nausea lessened . A few minutes later the feeling was gone altogether , but there instead was a chilliness in his veins . Zac took out his axe and drew a small cut on his arm , and blood that was slightly darker than normal started dripping down on the ground .

It was barely discernible , but then again he had only absorbed death-attuned energies from the Miasma Crystal for a short duration . Perhaps his blood would turn into the black Ichor altogether if he kept at it long enough .

This quick experiment clearly indicated he was on the right path with the node , but this obviously wasn’t the right way to utilize the hidden node . It would be a lot more efficient to simply use a normal Nexus Crystal in this case , as there would be no need to waste time and energy on cleansing it .

But some things might work , such as Natural Treasures . A lot of herbs and other Natural Oddities contained massive amounts of energy , but they were too chaotic and toxic to ingest unless made into pills or concoctions first . And sometimes even that was impossible . Besides , this sort of refinement always led to a significant loss in energy , at least among pills made by normal Alchemists .

Perhaps it wasn’t the case with top tier Alchemists in the multiverse , but it wasn’t like Zac had access to those kinds of people .

He didn’t dare try that out right now though , as he might be badly wounded if proven wrong . But if he was right , then he might have found the key to leveling up quickly in E-Grade , perhaps even beyond . He might not be able to gobble up a sun anytime soon , but he might be able to bargain hunt for energy-rich items that were normally too chaotic to turn into anything useful .

He really wanted to find the little blue merchant and requisition some items immediately , but he knew that such experiments would have to wait until after the Undead Horde . Instead , he out of his courtyard only to find Emily waiting some distance from the gates . She was lazily throwing rocks at a drone that deftly dodged the small projectiles .

Zac was a bit surprised to see the teenager here , as she was out at sea last time he heard , boosting the Intelligence for the scouts and water mages in charge of searching for the Jamming Arrays .

You’re back! But why do you look the same? - Emily added from the side as she suspiciously looked at him up and down . - And what did you do just now? I thought you were about to upgrade the Nexus Vein or something . -

It didn't work out , unfortunately , - Zac said with a smile . - You'll have to make do with the normal one for now . And why would I look different? -

Suddenly a fiery axe appeared in her hand , and she threw it at Zac .

WOW! - she screamed as she looked at Zac with wide eyes . - Monster! At least you got stronger . A lot stronger . How am I supposed to beat you up now? -

I guess you'll have to work harder , - Zac snorted .

Aren’t people supposed to become more handsome when evolving? But you’re still the same monk as ever , - Emily said , waving at Kenzie who was coming over as well .

You’re thinking of race upgrades , - Zac sighed with some exasperation as he ran his hand across his once-again bald head . - I haven’t upgraded that yet . I thought you were helping the others looking for the jamming arrays? -

I returned when I heard you were back . I’m coming with you to fight the zombies , - Emily said , her face scrunching up with stubbornness when seeing Zac’s frown . - You might need me . What if you’re just too weak to win? Wouldn’t you feel stupid if you got stuck outside an array , just lacking 10% Strength to get through? -

… Fine , - Zac sighed . - But you should know that even getting to the mainland will be risky . -

I’m going as well , - Kenzie suddenly added from the side .

What? Why? - Zac said , just stopping short of staunchly refusing .

Calrin and I figured out a few of the Array Breakers while you evolved , but you probably won’t be able to use them , - Kenzie explained . - They either takes a few weeks of study or general knowledge of formations . So I need to go as well . -

Zac really didn’t want to bring his sister to the heart of the Dead Zone , but he knew that he might not have much of a choice . It was all hands on deck right now , and Kenzie might be the foremost expert on arrays among all the natives of Earth . There were more skilled people among the Sky Gnomes and the Creators , but he couldn’t bring them for something like this due to the limitations of the Mercantile System .

Alright , alright , - Zac sighed before he turned to the demon who had appeared to the side as well . - Did you evolve as well? -

No , - Ogras said . - Me evolving won’t change the grand scheme of things in the battle with the undead . I need a month or two to consolidate everything . So , what classes did you get? Epic? Or Even Arcane? -

It’s too early for me to get an Arcane , - Zac said . - I don’t think it’s a good idea to get that rarity before you really know what you're doing from what I gathered . -

Well , I guess that excludes you . So what did you end up with? - the demon said , almost leaning forward in anticipation .

What about you? - Zac snorted . - There’s no way you didn’t check out your options while I evolved . -

He did , like two seconds after you left , - Kenzie smiled from the side . - But he won’t say what options he got . -

Why aren’t you working on that reinforcement array? - Ogras said with some exasperation .

Zac laughed , but he was inwardly a bit worried about the demon . Was there some trouble with his evolution? He had seemed pretty intent on evolving the moment they returned based on their discussions in the tower , but something seemed to have changed his mind .

He knew that the demon had a Rare class right now . Was he perhaps lacking something to get an option? Or was it the opposite? Did he feel that he was on the verge of getting enough merit to be provided with an Epic class , and closing out the Undead Incursion might give him the final push to take that step?

Chapter 494 - Balance

Thankfully it wasn't critical to Zac's plan that Ogras had evolved . He mainly wanted to bring the demon for his obscuring capabilities , and those seemed to be mainly based on his Dao of Shadows . Getting a boost to his main attribute Dexterity probably wouldn't make those skills any stronger .

The fact that Ogras wouldn't be as strong wasn't a huge deal either , as he would personally deal with the Lich King . However , as Zac looked around at the three people he was reminded that no man was an island . Certainly , none of these people were nearly as strong as him in direct battle , but they all brought something to the table that would increase the odds of success .

He realized now how foolish his initial idea to deal with the Undead Empire alone was .

I’ve done what I can about that array , - Kenzie said as she pointed toward the house housing Zac’s private Teleportation Array . - The old Gnome is performing the finishing touches over there . -

I’m thinking of leveling up immediately , - Zac said , changing the topic . - Is there any problem for me to start taking the pills I’ve prepared? -

Not that I’m aware of , - Ogras said . - That’s usually how it goes . Of course , most people spend years at the peak of F-Grade to solidify their progression . But you should be fine . You’re a meathead who find your path in battle anyway , I’m not sure sitting down and meditating will do you any good . Just eat it and then stabilize your foundation by bashing zombies . -

Sounds good to me , - Zac said as he took out one of the pills that would give him a level .

It wasn’t the Four Gates Pill] with spirituality he found during the Hunt though . He wasn’t sure if he wanted to eat that thing right now , or rather save it for when he hit a roadblock . It might even be something that he could use to open up more hidden nodes in the future .

There were no guarantees , but Zac felt he had a pretty good idea about the location of one hidden node at least thanks to ingesting the treasure earlier . He had observed every movement of the energy tendrils from the Eye of Har’Theriam] , and it had sent its tendrils to one specific spot multiple times , and they had stayed there with hesitation for a bit before moving on .

This node was close to a crossroads of pathways on the top of his head . He obviously couldn't be sure , but he believed that the node the tendrils had found might be the Spirit Gate] , one of the three common Hidden Nodes . It supposedly increased your control over Mental Energy by a large degree , which was something Zac desperately needed .

His control was atrocious because of his non-existent affinity to the Daos , but opening the Spirit Gate might allow him to at least control his Daos to the same degree as most cultivators did . He probably wouldn't reach the level of people like Catheya or Iz Tayn , but it was at least something .

His goal wasn't to become the most powerful man in the universe or anything , but he still wanted to maintain his ability to punch above his weight class . Being an elite was the best deterrence , after all . People still spoke about the Eveningtide Asura in hushed tones after a million years . He wanted to create that same effect so that Earth would be left alone without him having to guard the planet day and night .

Of course , there was no guarantee that the pill he picked up during the hunt was any good for opening hidden nodes , and he didn't want to take the gamble just yet . Judging by the power it contained it might even be able to break open nodes at high E-Grade . Besides , he still knew nothing about his Void Heart] .

Perhaps he would see far better results if he waited to take that pill until he could maximize the benefits with that node somehow . There was a chance that the Node might have an impact on the absorption of pills , after all . But until then there were still a bunch of normal pills he could take .

He couldn’t wait any longer , and he took out one of his normal leveling pills . Zac really wanted to know how leveling would work in E-Grade . The attribute gains were split between opening nodes and gaining levels , and he still didn’t know if the Node breaking needed to be done in both his forms .

And eating these kinds of pills won’t weaken or wound me before the battle? - Zac asked .

It’ll hurt , but not like forcing it open with excess energy , - the demon said as he looked on with curiosity .

Zac nodded and immediately popped the pill in his mouth as he sat down . The pill felt like a small sun that ran down his throat before it hit his stomach . However , the energies didn’t set up camp like the Eye of Har'Theriam] , but it rather shot out like it had a life of its own .

The little packet of energy surged around his body with shocking speed until it suddenly stopped at one of the weak spots on his right arm . Zac was a bit surprised as he had simply assumed that it would go clock-wise from where his Duplicity Core was placed , but it looked like it was random .

The intensity of the pill energy kept increasing as a huge amount of warmth streamed into the node , and Zac was shocked at how much energy the unassuming bead had contained . It was just like Ogras had said , it hurt a bit but it wasn’t too bad , it almost felt like he was getting pinched . However , his brows started to furrow as time passed .

Over twenty minutes had passed , and the pill was starting to lose its steam . However , the node showed no signs of changing , and the pill finally petered out . Zac felt the same , but he opened his status screen to be sure . But just as expected , he was still level 75 .

Wasn’t this thing supposed to guarantee a level up to level 80? - Zac complained as he opened his eyes and turned to the demon . - What now? -

The demon looked perfectly jubilant as a grin spread across his face .

I guess there’s some justice in the world , after all , - Ogras snorted . - If you gained level quickly on top of everything the rest of us might just as well have given up . -

Well? -

I don’t know? Take another one , you should have a few , - the demon shrugged as he looked at Zac as though he was an interesting oddity .

He also threw a Cosmos Sack at Zac , who caught it with an inquisitive look . It wasn't like Ogras to freely give out any gifts .

These are some of the gifts I gathered from the rich bastards in Base Town earlier . There should be a few dozen such pills inside . I handed most of it over to the gnomes to categorize , - Ogras said as a grin spread across his face again . - Now let's see how many you need to eat to break open the first node . -

Zac sighed , but he could only oblige . He took out a second pill that guaranteed the same effect , and he was relieved to see that the pill energy stopped at the same node as the last one and continued the work there . However , his frown quickly returned as the pill energy quickly drained while the node stayed the same .

Only at the last second did he felt something change in his body . It was like he had cracked his neck and suddenly felt looser . His body felt lighter , and the energy surged through his body with greater vigor .

Zac quickly looked inward and saw that the weak spot had completely transformed . The murky pond that sucked energy had changed into a slowly rotating whirlpool that kept moving from its own momentum . It reminded Zac of the Dao whirl he had experimented with a bit during the time he tried to keep the Draugr-wound in check with the Seed of Trees .

A quick check on the status screen showed him that he had gained 7 points to the base attributes , but surprisingly enough he hadn't gained the extra Strength and Vitality from gaining a level in Edge of Acadia . He frowned in annoyance and immediately ate another pill , ignoring the demon's snicker from the side .

Ten minutes later the whirlpool had gone from a slightly weak swirl into a surging but stable whirlpool that empowered rather than weakened his pathways . He had finally gained a level and reached level 76 in his Edge of Arcadia class . It looked like two pills weren't quite enough for both opening the node and gaining the level , but the third one did the trick .

He would probably have been better off using a Nexus Crystal after the node was opened , as breaking the node was the hard part . After that , he only needed to gather enough energy to qualify for a level increase . But he had been a bit impatient , and the condensed energies in these pills were far more efficient for this purpose , though they left some toxins behind .

Having to use three pills wasn't great news when only one was supposed to 'guarantee' a level , but it also wasn't too bad , especially after having gotten his new hidden node . However , there was one more problem . He didn’t gain anything from his Draugr side it seemed , neither from levels or nodes .

Zac gave it a thought before he activated his Duplicity Core , and he changed into his Draugr for the second time this day . A glance at his status screen proved what he already knew ; Fetters of Desolation was still at level 75 . However , there was an interesting change when he checked out the node on his right arm .

It had actually turned into a whirlpool as well , but it was so weak that it was almost completely unmoving . It was far worse than it had been in his human side at any point in time , and it looked like it could die out at any moment . It was obviously lacking energy , perhaps the full amount needed for a level .

Node-breaking was something that affected both his classes simultaneously it seemed , but he would need to fill the nodes with energy separately . That , unfortunately , confirmed that he wouldn’t get a second set of base attributes and that he no longer would get twice the amount of attributes from levels compared to others .

This was a pretty big blow to his unique advantages to becoming a powerhouse . His massive pool of raw attributes was his greatest ace against the cultivators who could fuse their Daos and empower their strikes with their Manuals . He would still get more points than others , but the difference was nowhere near as big any longer .

It was a very important reminder that he couldn’t relax in the pursuit of power . You needed to keep pushing yourself and keep finding new opportunities to advance . If he couldn’t steamroll people with raw stats any longer , then he would simply have to find another advantage . The first thing that came to mind was the Nine Reincarnations Manual] that hopefully would be able to make his soul strong enough to handle the Remnants .

The second thing was the possibility of getting rewards for closing down the last Incursions and reaping the rewards .

How are your preparations? - Zac asked as he got back to his feet . - How soon can we leave? -

We’re ready anytime , - Kenzie said as she got up from the table she had summoned while Zac focused on leveling up .

Good . There’s no time to waste , - Zac said . - We’re heading out in 1 hour . Get a defensive squad of Valkyries as well . -

I can protect myself , - Kenzie disagreed .

Yes , but Emily is a Support class who needs guardians . We’re going all out here , and we have no idea what we might be facing , - Zac said . - I'll be able to unleash more power if I know you guys are safe . -

Fine . We’ll get everything in order , - Kenzie nodded . - Meet back here? -

I’ll go see if I can get some goodies from that slippery bastard we picked up in the underworld , - Ogras muttered . - Knowing you , things will turn pretty chaotic over there . -

With that , he disappeared in a puff of shadows , and Emily sat down on a rock and started to play with her tomahawks . Kenzie sent out a Drone before she walked back to the Teleportation House , no doubt to make sure the Stabilization Array would be installed in time .

Good , - Zac muttered as he simply sat down under the sun to start stabilizing his mind . - In one hour we'll assault the Undead Incursion . -

As long as we don't get ripped apart by the spatial turbulence , Zac added in his mind .

Chapter 495 - Turbulence

You sure you need me for this? - Ogras said as he looked at the modified Teleportation Array with some trepidation . - It might cause less strain on the array the fewer people who goes , it might be better if I just stay behind after all . -

This is our only shot , and I might not be able to deal with this alone , - Zac said . - Besides , what are you whining about? Even a teenager is going , and you’re afraid? -

Sending two or ten people won’t really make a difference to the Array , - Kenzie adding from the side , a hint of schadenfreude in her eyes . - As long as we enter the same time we have as good a chance of surviving as when going alone . -

Don’t speak such unlucky words , - Ogras muttered , but it looked like he had resigned himself to going with the rest .

Is there anything we need to know? - Zac asked the old Sky Gnome to the side .

The moment the Spatial Reinforcement Array] activates it will cause a clash with whatever the unliving have planted , - Gemidir said . - If you see new destinations appearing in the teleportation screen it means it's working . For the time being . -

For the time being? - Zac repeated skeptically .

Our array will probably only last a minute or two against the jammers of the undead empire , so you can’t dally or hesitate , - Kenzie said . - Immediately pick an option and we’ll all jump onto the array . We can’t waste a single second . Just make sure you don’t pick a town in the wrong direction . -

Zac looked around , his eyes turning to Joanna and her squad of six valkyries who silently stood behind her . Zac recognized all of them , as they were all among the oldest members who had followed him all the way from Greenworth . They had followed him to both close incursions and conquer the underworld . The constant battle had utterly reforged them into stalwart warriors .

Their gear was swapped out since the last time he saw them though . All of them wore massive shields made from chitinous shells on their backs , each one large enough to cover their whole bodies . Their goal in the upcoming fight wasn't to boost Zac's prowess , but rather use their newly-acquired War Arrays to protect the rear against unanticipated attacks .

He couldn't always protect Emily and his sister , but this group of six would hopefully be able to stall long enough for him to come to their aid . Zac took a deep breath before he turned to the ancient Sky Gnome who stood by to the side .

Do it , - Zac said as he opened his teleportation screen .

It only showed the handful of teleportation arrays that were studded across the island , but nothing beyond that . He heard some tinkering sounds as the Gnome drew some lines to connect the final power outlets , and a hum suddenly echoed out from the array as Zac felt his vision doubling for a second .

However , Zac forcibly ignored the odd effect and immediately chose a town he recognized . It was one of the newly created settlements close to the shore of Pangea , as he figured a shorter jump would have a higher success rate .

Zac jumped into the array , dragging a swearing Ogras by his lapel just in case the demon chose to change his mind at the last second . The array whisked them away , and his surroundings were replaced by darkness .

However , something felt wrong . It was as though he was being squeezed through a too-thin a pipe . The discomfort quickly turned to pain , but there was nothing he could do about it . He wasn’t in control of himself during these types of teleportations , and he could only endure the pain and pray that the others were fine .

But the darkness of subspace suddenly cracked , and Zac found himself far up in the sky , heedlessly tumbling from the wind as droplets of blood rained down all around him . Screams echoed out from every direction , and he saw multiple bloodied people flailing about . He was obviously wounded as well judging by the blood around him , but they were flesh wounds at worst considering his sturdy frame .

However , his sister and Emily weren’t so lucky , and they were utterly drenched in blood as they fell toward the ground . The scene made his heart burn with anxiety , and four chains shot out as Love's Bond] transformed to its backpack form . The emerald leaf appeared beneath him the next moment , and five seconds later the whole group was collected and safe .

Ogras and Kenzie had appeared on top of the leaf by their own means , whereas joanna had managed to throw out ropes to half the valkyries . Zac only needed to snatch up a screeching Emily and the rest of the Valkyries . Thankfully everyone was fine , apart from getting bloodied . No one had died and no one sported a crippling wound .

Only then did Zac take stock of their whereabouts , and he frowned when he realized they were above the open sea . No matter what direction he looked in there was nothing , just sky and water . There was a pretty nasty storm cloud in one direction , but there was not a hint of shoreline .

Is everyone okay? - Joanna said with a hoarse voice from the side .

I’m fine , - Kenzie said as she ate a healing pill . - I think they booby-trapped the subspace by filling it with spatial tears or something . If we had continued the whole way we would probably have emerged as chunks of meat . Thankfully we installed a failsafe in the array that would take us out of subspace if it got deadly . -

You had? - Zac said with surprise .

Do you think I would gamble with all our lives? - Kenzie retorted with exasperation .

Where the hell are we though? - Ogras muttered from the side as shadows rushed through his alabaster hair and face to remove any blood .

We can’t be anywhere close to the Dead Zone , - Joanna said as she looked around . - The array in the sky is massive , yet we can’t see it at all . I think we might be some distance away from the continent . -

Well , we’ll just have to fly , - Kenzie said as she pointed in a certain direction . - We should hit land as long as we move in that direction . -

Zac guessed that Jeeves had calculated it for her based on the suns in the sky or something , and he unhesitantly sent a mental command to the leaf . However , Zac soon enough handed over the task of steering the vessel to Joanna as he wanted to take the opportunity to start leveling up in earnest .

The leaf was terrifyingly quick , but New Earth was also shockingly large , so now was as good a time as any to start eating his stock of Node-breaking pills . There was the issue of Pill Toxicity , but right now wasn’t a time to worry about that .

Besides , his new Hidden Node might even have some ability to deal with toxicity . He didn't feel any better after getting bled by the spatial tears , but he also shouldn't carry a lot of toxicity just yet . He doubted it would let him eat pills indiscriminately even if it worked , but it would still be a great help since he didn’t have access to things like cleansing arrays at the moment .

Now that Zac knew what kind of energies he was dealing with he felt confident enough to swallow two Node Breaking Pills at once . He wanted to see whether they attacked different Nodes , or if there was some sort of system to which nodes were opened .

Lunatic , - a disgusted grunt came from the side as the demon looked on with shock . - The heavens won't abide with you forever , you know? -

Zac only flipped the demon off in response before he focused on the two balls of fire that had erupted in his belly .

He was happy to see that they both stopped by one of the nodes in his left leg after having skittered about for a bit , as that proved that he would be able to improve his leveling speed as long as his body could take the extra strain . But Zac started sweating from pain immediately the moment the two streams of power entered the nodes .

There wasn’t a simple doubling of pain when taking two pills , but rather an exponential increase by ten times . It felt like his leg was getting continuously stabbed , but he grit his teeth and endured it until the pain finally stopped after half an hour . Was this what it would feel like to brute-force nodes in the future?

This time the Node didn't even break open even after ingesting two pills , and Zac unhesitantly slammed two more of them . Another bout of agony lasting for half an hour passed , and the second node had finally been opened . He took a shuddering breath before he kept going . It felt like torture , but he wanted to gain as many levels as possible before he reached the Dead Zone , especially now that he had brought his people with him .

Zac didn't know how much time had passed as he crammed one pill after another down his gullet as though he was possessed . Sweat streamed down his body , and soon enough the sweat had turned red as he actually started bleeding from his pores . His sister tried to stop his manic assault on his nodes multiple times , but Zac shrugged away the attempts as he felt it was working .

But finally he couldn't take the pain any longer , but he had already broken open his fifth node and gained its equivalent level by that point . The suns had started to set by that point already , meaning that Zac had been occupied for at least 4 or 5 hours .

Just what did you eat growing up? - Ogras muttered from the side when he saw that Zac finally had stopped abusing himself . - This was not what I meant that it was fine to start taking Node-Breaking Pills . Taking pills like that should be a straight ticket to the morgue , or at least the infirmary . -

Zac could only respond with a weak smile , and he guessed that this wasn’t the time to explain that he was actually a bit disappointed with the results of the experiment . When he was forcibly instilled with the Miasma from tens of thousands of Zombies he managed to eat ten purification pills in one go . Just three was supposed to be a death sentence , but he survived just fine .

He had thought that he would at least be able to take four or five Node Breaking pills in one go to speed up the process , especially after gaining the odd Hidden Node . But he honestly didn’t dare to even try three of them at the moment .

The experiment also indicated that the Void Heart] did not have much of an effect when ingesting pills . He couldn’t sense his heart doing anything at all , really , compared to the noticeable effect when absorbing a Miasma Crystal . Did it perhaps only work on natural sources of energy , rather than refined ones? The man in the vision had eaten the void and a sun , after all , not a mountain of pills .

Another stark realization was that he couldn’t simply eat Node Breaking Pills continuously . He felt that he was quickly building up a resistance as they traveled , and by the time he had cracked open the fifth node he wasn’t very confident there was any point in continuing his mad consumption . He knew that once couldn't simply keep eating pills for a few days and reach the peak of the E-Grade , but he still felt it was too early to feel this kind of response .

Isn’t there anything I can do? - Zac asked . - I still have a lot of pills . -

The resistance will decrease with time , but the process is pretty tedious . And you won’t get the full effect again no matter how long you wait . - Ogras leered . - But gaining levels through killing and cultivation also helps reset your body , so to speak . I guess you’ve reached your cap for now unless you find some Natural Treasure with similar effects . -

Zac sighed , but he guessed he should be thankful there was a limit to how much you could gain from just cramming a bunch of pills down your gullet . If there were no restrictions then the Incursion leaders would all have been level 150 rather than 80 to 90 by now . Gaining 5 full levels in one day was still extremely good , and it had boosted his attributes by a shocking degree .

However , he still wasn’t out of things to use just because he couldn’t eat any more Node-breaking pills . Zac swapped over to his Draugr form and took out one of his D-Grade Miasma Crystals . He didn’t have too many of them , but Zac figured it would be enough to fill up the five empty Nodes on his Undead Side .

Terrifying waves of Death-Attuned energies slammed into his body as he started absorbing a D-Grade crystal for the first time . It felt like he was deep inside the liquid miasma that surrounded Be’Zi for a second , almost drowning from the waves crashing through him . But he soon managed to steady himself and , it felt like he had ascended to the heavens because of how good it felt .

He could barely restrain himself from moaning out loud , which would have become an eternal point of embarrassment in front of this group . He would rather stab himself to snap out of it than being forced to listen to Emily's and Ogras' taunts over the following centuries .

Zac noticed that the death-attuned energy from the Miasma Crystal didn’t have any idea where to move , in contrast to the Pills that almost seemed to have homing capabilities . Still , it wasn’t too hard for Zac to push the excess miasma into the sluggish whirlpool on his right arm . It felt like the whirl was like a bottomless hole as more and more energies burrowed into the spot , gradually filling it with vigor .

The stagnant whirlpool slowly started to pick up speed , but it took Zac well over an hour before he felt a shudder through his body as the node stopped consuming Miasma . The time it took wasn’t too bad , but it was still more than expected .

He had leveled pretty damn quickly with E-Grade crystals in the F-Grade , and he was already in the 40’s by the time he got his hands on some . If he got some E-Grade crystals at level 1 , then he’d blast through levels like they were nothing .

It only got worse from there though , as the second node took almost 50% longer to fill up until another wave of power spread through his body . He simply kept going though as land was still nowhere near in sight .

The third node took over three hours to fill , and the fourth node took five . It had cost him 9 D-Grade crystals to complete , which was pretty bad news . It had almost emptied his stock , and this was just for filling already opened nodes . The node breaking was the most energy-demanding part , and it seemed like using Nexus Crystals to level up would already be impractical for him by the time he reached level 80 with both his classes .

Zac still had one more node to fill with energy though , but he stopped as they finally could see land far in the distance .

Chapter 496 - Death Defiance

At first , there was just a thin green line , but they were able to make out the landscape soon enough . Zac breathed out in relief when he saw that it was a pretty normal coast with some leafy growth and grasslands .

It wasn’t the sandblasted desert of the scorched continent , as the only greenery there was the strip of palms along the coast . Zac still couldn’t see any massive Array in the sky though , which meant they were still quite far from the Dead Zone .

We’ll have to keep going until we find a settlement , - Zac said as he put away his Miasma Crystals . - We will need to make another jump . -

Finally , - Emily muttered . - It’s so uncomfortable to sit next to you while you absorb that stuff . Feels like I am both cold and feverish at the same time . -

Sorry about that , - Zac smiled as he turned back to his human form . - I needed to get some levels for my second Class as well . -

Zac opened his screen again and couldn’t help but marvel at the progress over the past day . Rushing levels in the E-Grade was just putting himself further and further apart from the rest of the humans of Earth .

Name

Zachary Atwood

Level

80

Class

E-Epic] Edge of Arcadia

Race

E] Human

Alignment

Earth] Port Atwood - Lord

Titles

Born for Carnage , Ultimate Reaper , Luck of the Draw , Giantsbane , Disciple of David , Overpowered , Slayer of Leviathans , Adventurer , Demon Slayer I , Full of Class , Rarified Being , Trailblazer , Child of Dao , The Big 500 , Planetary Aegis , One Against Many , Butcher , Progenitor Hegemon , Duplicity Core , Apex Hunter , Heaven's Chosen , Scion of Dao , Omnidextrous , Eastern Trigram Hunt - 1st , Tyrannic Force , Achievement Hunter , The First Step , Promising Specialist , Tower of Eternity - 8th Floor , Heaven's Triumvirate , Fated , Peak Power , Monarch-Select

Limited Titles

Frontrunner , Tower of Eternity Sector All-Star - 14th

Dao

Fragment of the Axe - Middle , Fragment of the Coffin - Middle , Fragment of the Bodhi - Early

Core

E] Duplicity

Strength

1988 Increase : 91% . Efficiency : 199%]

Dexterity

766 Increase : 65% . Efficiency : 170%]

Endurance

2004 Increase : 99% . Efficiency : 199%]

Vitality

1278 Increase : 89% . Efficiency : 189%]

Intelligence

492 Increase : 65% . Efficiency : 170%]

Wisdom

814 Increase : 70% . Efficiency : 170%]

Luck

321 Increase : 91% . Efficiency : 179%]

Free Points

90

Nexus Coins

F] 6 896 098 998

Zac’s Strength had already passed his Endurance by this point , though Forester’s Constitution] was barely keeping it ahead in his human form . It was no surprise though , as his class choices heavily leaned toward Strength .

It was crazy to think that his Strength wasn’t even 1000 just two days ago , and it was a clear justification why so many he met believed that choosing low-rarity classes was the way to go .

It made sense . He felt he had pushed the F-Grade to a point that was almost unprecedented in his whole Sector thanks to his combination of having two classes and snatching up almost all progenitor titles of Earth . He had then risked his life multiple times inside the Tower of Eternity to push himself even further .

Yet he had gained just as many attributes by simply gaining a couple of levels in the E-Grade .

He also knew it would be an extremely taxing challenge to form a Cultivation Core that was high-quality enough to be able to support someone like him , whereas a genius who chose an Uncommon E-Grade class would barely meet a bottleneck at all .

Zac’s eyes turned to the 90 Free Points next , but there wasn’t really a question of what he needed to do for now . He threw it all into his Dexterity , pushing it to 914 . The flat points from the class had skewed his ratio , but the allocation had righted the ship once more .

However , he wasn’t sure whether he could keep putting all his free points into Dexterity as he had done during most of the F-Grade . His fighting style didn’t only rely on his massive strength , but also his nigh-invulnerability . The latter would take a hit during the E-Grade , as he only got 8 points in Endurance per level from his Fetters of Desolation class .

Meanwhile , he would get more than three times that in Strength if you counted the Strength coming from both his classes . Perhaps putting part of his Free attributes into Endurance to help it stay up was his best shot at keeping himself sturdy enough . That combined with the Boosts from his Daos would probably be enough to stay an unkillable juggernaut .

Zac put the matter aside for now as he wouldn't gain any more easy levels in the short run . However , he was still a bit leery about the attribute cap , and he ate one of his basic Race Evolving Pills to push his attribute cap forward a bit . It was obviously not enough to completely evolve his race to D-Grade , but he could still improve his attribute cap from 2500 by at least a few hundred this way .

That was all that Zac needed for the moment , as it was enough to avoid any issues in case he had some Dao Epiphany during the battle with the Undead . An exuberant energy entered his stomach , and an intense warmth spread throughout his whole body . Streams of the power entered every single pore , filling them with power .

His cells were like a bottomless abyss , and they greedily swallowed everything he could give them . Unfortunately , the pill only contained so much energy , and the warmth quickly abated as his body absorbed the last of the energies . He hadn't made any breakthrough or , but his body felt extremely good , like he had just had a full-body massage .

Zac took a deep breath to enjoy the fresh air , but an abominable smell hit his nostrils and immediately dragged him out of his reverie , only to be met with ten appalled stares . He quickly looked down at his body , only to find his skin covered in an oily brown substance .

You stink , - the demon said with a disgusted snarl . - Why are you improving your Race in this cramped space? -

Kenzie didn't even speak up before she blasted him with cascading waves of water with the help of one of her skills , utterly drenching him and almost throwing him off the leaf . The torrent of water continued for a few seconds , but all the gunk was blasted clean when it abated .

Uh , thanks , - Zac said as he spat out a mouthful of water . - I'd forgotten that would happen . -

It almost felt like he had made a social faux pas akin to releasing a fart in a cramped elevator , and he turned his gaze toward the horizon to hide his embarrassment , instead focusing on finding a town . Thankfully he had the perfect item for an occasion just like this , and he took out the Automatic Map] from his Spatial Ring .

The area it showed was a bit limited , but it was still twice what they could see with their naked eyes , and there were even markings of Nexus Nodes on it . It didn’t take them long to find a settlement with the help of the map . It was a walled-off enclave with about 200 houses hidden in the shadow of a mountain , with no roads leading to and from the place . Zac didn’t bother announcing their presence they landed in the middle of the square .

Unfortunately , it looked like the place was one of the weakest settlements that hadn’t even bought a Teleportation Array so far .

They were a small community completely cut-off from the world , and seeing the flying treasure and the weird retinue was a huge shock to them . However , Zac had no time for an orientation with these people , and they simply found the leader , a nondescript middle-aged man who had reached level 32 .

There was a small exploit he had found while traveling before . Zac essentially explained who he was and exposed his level , and the mayor was more than willing to join his banner as a subordinate . Judging by how gaunt everyone looked they had a hard time even getting enough Nexus Coins for food , and joining the strongest man in the world was no doubt a godsent opportunity .

A small hovel like this would never have unlocked the ability to buy a Teleportation Array normally , but now that they were part of Port Atwood the mayor suddenly had a large increase in available purchases , including a slew of arrays . There were limits to how many places Zac could - boost - like this , but he was still well within his limits as he only had a dozen towns or so under his command .

Zac then donated enough money for him to buy the array , and he breathed out in relief when he saw that almost all of his connections were still there when checking out the Array Menu . The advance forts belonging to the Marshal Clan weren’t available though , meaning that anything inside or even too close to the Dead Zone was blocked out by jammers or the death-attuned energies .

They were gone from the remote village a few seconds later , having teleported over to one of the strongholds closest to the Dead Zone . It was a base controlled by the Underworld Council , and Zac felt it was their best bet at getting updated intelligence from the front-lines .

Halt! - a man mounting a massive machine-gun shouted upon their appearance , but he quickly realized who they were and stood down .

I need to speak with the Council , - Zac said , and he was immediately led out of the building housing the Teleportation Array .

However , Zac stopped in his tracks the moment he exited the building , and he couldn’t help but gawk at how the whole world was tinted in azure . The blue sky of Earth had been completely supplanted by the chilly light-blue tint of death attuned energies . If it wasn’t for the normal Cosmic Energy in the area he would have thought the world was already realigned .

However , there was an unmistakable hint of death in the ambient energies even though this camp wasn’t inside the Dead Zone , proving that the alignment was already in progress .

The azure hue was unexpected , but the most shocking scene was the gargantuan lines crisscrossing the sky , forming fractals whose size beggared comprehension . Just how much energy had been siphoned out of their planet to form this array? Zac started to worry that Earth would end up crippled even if they managed to deal with the undead somehow .

He hated to say it , but was this world even worth staying on if that happened?

Death Defiance (Unique , Limited) : The war between life and death is as old as time . Stop the realignment of your world . Reward : World Core Upgrade . Individual rewards based on contribution . (0/1) .

Did you guys just get a quest? - Zac asked with confusion as he looked at the screen that had suddenly appeared in front of him . - To deal with the undead? -

Yep! - Emily said with excitement shining in her eyes , and the Valkyries nodded their heads as well .

Zac frowned in confusion as he looked away from the ominous skies . Why was the System giving out a quest like this? It hadn't done that when he fought any of the other Incursions . Did the system perhaps feel that people weren't struggling enough against the Undead Empire , and wanted to push for a final cataclysmic battle?

They soon walked into a command tent , where six of the Underworld Councillors were already waiting .

Thank god you’re here . We were starting to get a bit worried , - Gregor said , and it almost looked like he wanted to run over and touch Zac to make sure he was actually real . - We were even contemplating paying the fee to enter the Ark World . But seeing you shoot up in levels the past hours felt like a stay of execution . -

Zac nodded at the human Councillor with a smile before frowned in confusion at the unfamiliar word .

The what? Ark World? - Zac asked with confusion , almost forgetting about the quest he just got .

The New World Government approached us two days ago , shortly after we lost connection with Port Atwood . They said that they have discovered a spatial tunnel leading to a safe Mystic Realm . They call it the Ark World . They are currently shaking down the elites of the Earth to allow them to join the exodus , - Gregor explained .

So they’re abandoning Earth? - Zac asked with a frown .

Well , honestly I can understand them . There’s not much we can do . We can barely hold the lines against these undying bastards . Reaching the heart of the Dead Zone and taking out the leaders? Impossible . At least for us… - Gregor said pointedly .

That’s why I’m here , - Zac said . - If the array in the sky activates , then I have failed . At that point , you might as well leave for the Ark World if you can . Humans won’t survive long on a death-attuned planet . -

Is there anything we can do to help? - Romal , the official speaker of the council , said . - I would be honored to join you in battle . I would rather fight for our shared planet than hiding in some cramped Mystic Realm . Our people have already done that once , and I know what future such a decision will lead to . -

And it’s not like the unliving are stupid , - another councilor added . - They will find us sooner or later hiding in that hidden realm . I bet they have ten ways of forcing a passage open for every way we have to keep it closed . -

I will just take a very small group that will help with the arrays . I will deal with the Lich King myself . But you can still help me in other ways . Do you know if any of the Undead Generals are out on the battlefield? - Zac asked .

We believe one still resides within the closest horde , - Gregor nodded . - It has stayed extremely cohesive compared to the other two hordes . -

Can you make sure the horde and their army are occupied for the next two days? - Zac asked . - Things will go smoother if the Lich King isn’t aided by any generals or his hordes . -

We’ll do what we can , - Romal promised . - When are you setting out? -

Immediately after we’re done here . The sooner the array in the sky is turned off the better , - Zac said . - By the way , have you guys received a quest to stop the Undead Incursion as well? -

We received it yesterday , - Gregor nodded . - Everyone who is above level 30 and beneath this cursed sky has it . I guess the rest are considered irrelevant in this fight . -

Chapter 497 - Attunement

Are there any merit exchanges that have cropped up? - Zac asked as the quest reminded him of the beast waves back on his island . - And have you figured out what the World Core upgrade entails? -

Merit exchanges? Not that we know of , - Gregor slowly said with some confusion . - We don't know anything about the core either . Perhaps it will upgrade our planet to C-Grade? The System did mention it was D-Grade when we got integrated , after all . -

You wish , - Ogras snorted from the side , drawing everyone’s glances . - This World is as wretched as D-Grade worlds come . The feels abundant now , but wait until the Origin Dao is gone and you’ve reached peak E-Grade . There is no way that a single quest will bump you all the way to a C-Grade Planet . Our whole Demon Horde with tens of thousands of forces only have one of them . -

So what do you think? - Zac asked .

It might push the world a bit further , to something like middle D-Grade . It might increase the size of the world as well , as it is quite small . A larger planet would allow larger forces and higher overall strength . Or it might even give the world an attunement , which would probably be the most valuable reward . -

An attunement? - Zac repeated thoughtfully .

It might not be useful for us , but for the following generations , - Ogras added . - A fire-attuned world would generate a lot of fire-aspected treasures and herbs , attuned crystals , and even the fire affinities of cultivators would slowly increase . Specialization begets power . -

Zac nodded in agreement . Such a scenario would probably be the best for Earth , though it was useless for him unless the attunement was Life . The planet becoming Death-aspected for his Draugr-side was obviously not going to happen , as that was the very thing the quest goal was designed to stop .

The Councilors also tried to discreetly inquire why he had been missing the past days and how he managed to gain so many levels in short order . Zac explained it by slightly mixing truths and lies . He said he left for the Tower of Eternity in order to evolve his Daos and gain achievements to the point that he could evolve . That was the only way he would gain enough power to assault the Dead Zone .

Lying about going to the Tower of Eternity was a waste of effort . It was just a matter of time before his activities were made known across Earth . It shouldn’t be too hard for people to figure out he was the one who caused such a ruckus the moment they went to the Tower themselves .

As for the levels , he didn’t bother hiding it and told them about the Node Breaking Pills . He had a massive surplus of them now that he couldn’t use any more for the time being . Most would probably be put into his Merit Exchange so they stayed within his force , but he could also consider selling some of them to outsiders .

In fact , Zac was already thinking of holding an auction of his own sooner or later , provided their whole planet didn’t fall to the Undead Empire . He had a lot of items right now that were pretty common in the Multiverse , but still unheard of on Earth . It was a perfect opportunity to make some money before people managed to find their own business connections .

No one on Earth was nearly as wealthy as he was , but the accumulated wealth of tens of thousands of elites should be pretty impressive by now . It was a bit unethical to overchange his fellow countrymen , but it could be considered a fee for closing pretty much all the Incursions for them .

Zac didn’t want to stay in the base any longer than that , and he left after he had transferred all the latest intelligence reports to a tablet . The bad news was that the Dead Zone was enormous by this point , having grown more than twice in size since he visited the last time .

The realignment array had not only increased the density of the Death-Attunement , but the forces of Pangea left multiple kilometers every day . Death spread forth like an intractable wave , and you could even see the process with your naked eyes . Every single one of the border towns was long gone , having turned into unlivable ghost towns by now .

Teleporting closer wouldn't work either due to the jamming . That meant that there was no time to waste , as the distance they needed to traverse was simply massive . He guessed that it would take over half a day to reach the core of the Dead Zone even with the flying treasure .

They still had some time according to Kenzie's estimate , but he didn't want to be late once more . The desolate landscape flashed past them as they soared through the air , this time hidden from sight with the help of a mobile illusion array that made them perfectly blend in with the surroundings .

He had gotten the idea from the seer during the climb . He had mentioned that his descendants had placed a treasure on a flying treasure and hid in the sky , making them impossible to find . The Dead Zone was no doubt crawling with those ghost scouts , but this would give them a small chance at arriving to the core unnoticed .

At the beginning of their flight they could see not only the undead horde far in the distance but also trucks and armies moving about on the ground . However , after one hour had passed there was no activity from the living . They saw a smaller horde move toward the larger one at the edge of the Dead Zone , but that was about it .

The hours passed but no one could relax . Everyone was afraid a storm of ghosts would blast through the clouds and attack them at any moment . But it really looked like their approach went by unnoticed . The Dead Zone was perhaps too big to monitor by now , allowing them to pass by unnoticed .

Zac was about to return to his meditation but something in the distance caught his attention .

Wait , stop for a second , - Zac said as he pointed at a specific spot . - Set down the vessel over there . -

He had kept Cosmic Gaze] running to keep watch of any hidden threats . But rather than ghosts , it had allowed him to see something unexpected , a beacon of life in a sea of dour death . Joanna immediately changed course and they landed where he indicated , and Zac's eyes widened with recognition as he looked around . He had been here before .

He once sat beneath the tree in front of him .

What is it? - Ogras asked with confusion as Zac walked over to the mutated tree . - We don’t really have time for a botanical study . -

I just want to confirm something , - Zac said as he closed his eyes with one hand against the magnificent tree .

It was really the same one . He had found this mysterious tree once more , hidden in a sea of death . It felt like there was some sort of fate behind the second encounter .

Hopefully you can help me in the future , - Zac muttered as he ran his fingers across the bark . - I’ll come back again after I’ve dealt with the undead . -

Heaven’s help us , - the demon muttered from the side . - He’s lost it . -

Shush , - Kenzie said as she kicked Ogras’ shin before turning to Zac . - What is it? -

Life and Death , - Zac said as he stepped back onto the leaf . - It’s pretty amazing . If I could bring it with me without killing it I would . I feel I can use it as a base to study my Daos . -

Seeing the small beacon of life in the sea of death not only resonated with his Daos , but it also made him remember his Skill Quest . Splitting Life and Death was such an obscure concept , but perhaps this natural oddity might guide him down the right path .

Take note of this place , - Zac said to the Valkyries and his sister . - We need to return after we’ve dealt with the Incursion . -

The group kept flying through the Dead Zone , but the dense Death-attunement was , unfortunately , having an impact on his vessel , drastically slowing its speed . It was still a lot quicker compared to the old disk he had , but it felt like a crawl after the shocking speed it exhibited when infused with the Dao of the Bodhi .

Zac didn’t dare waste his mental energy on speeding up the vessel though in case something happened . He knew he was the muscle of the expedition , with the others acting as backup . The delay gave him enough time to finish filling his fifth node on his Draugr though , allowing him to balance out his two classes at level 80 .

He put the 10 points into Dexterity once more before he turned back into his human form . He still didn't want to expose his Draugr side to the undead invaders unless necessary , especially after learning about Catheya and her master . What if that Peak C-Grade monster became interested and tracked him down?

He was already traveling in search of something to break through , and wouldn't Zac's body make an interesting study? Even Yrial said so . Zac sighed for the umpteenth time over the fact there was no one to turn to for help regarding these issues . No old ancestor who could make their problems go away with a wave of his hand . Everything was up to him to solve , but he was out of treasures that could help him become stronger .

He instead turned his attention to the next thing ; his skills .

With him having reached Peak mastery of multiple skills along with having evolved , then upgrading his skills was the next logical step . He had already learned some of the paths from Galau and his visit to the Undead Kingdom , and he had shored up his knowledge from the following encounters .

There were a few ways to upgrade his skills , demanding various degrees of interaction by himself . The simplest method was to adjust the skill fractal so that it would be useable in the e-grade as well . That wasn’t to say that his old skills suddenly had turned useless , but there was a limit of how much energy they could contain .

His miasmic bulwark would only be able to block so much damage , and the wooden hand he conjured with Nature’s Punishment] would only be able to unleash so much destruction . But this could be changed .

The skill fractals were right now like crude drawings placed in the masterpiece that were the intricate E-Grade Pathways . You could slowly adjust these drawings to blend better , to take advantage of the higher amount of energies that could flow through them . The process of doing this was the same as when he manually drew the pathways for his two classes back in the F-Grade .

However , there was no blueprint provided this time . This meant that you were required to not only understand the skill to a great degree , but also how the skill fractals worked . You could actually ruin the skill altogether , forcing you to redraw the fractal from scratch . It wasn’t really a big deal for someone as durable as him , but it would no doubt hurt like hell and likely force him to delay his progression for a while .

This method was generally considered the easiest way of progress , but it wasn’t really that case for Zac . Most people had grown up in a world of cultivation , spending their entire childhood studying fractals and pathways and the Dao in preparation of when they could finally start cultivating . He could still somewhat intuitively understand what parts of the fractals did , but his understanding was still far worse compared to any average cultivator in this regard .

The second method was to upgrade through epiphany , and Zac guessed that this was his best shot at rapid progress . Just like one could have a Dao epiphany mid-battle , so could he have a breakthrough for his skills . He had seen it a few times already with his skills , though that was just upgrading the proficiency .

Galau had also mentioned Skill Arrays , which was something that most forces and academies used . You could even say they were an integral part of a proper Heritage . They were like assisted guidance systems that helped you upgrade certain skills . They resulted in slightly worse compatibility compared to doing it yourself , but they would undeniably save time that you could spend on gaining levels instead .

You also needed an array that would work on your specific skills , and Zac was pretty skeptical he would be able to find something like that anytime soon .

Finally , there were the Skill Upgrade Quests that the System would reward , but the first one wasn’t until level 90 as far as he knew . It was usually a branched quest that would either allow him to upgrade a skill or transform it , and he guessed that this was the best chance to fuse two of his skills into one .

Certainly , one could fuse skills without the assistance of the System , but you needed an extremely strong understanding to do something like that . Some treasures could put you in a state of faux-enlightenment to assist you in the process , but it was probably something better left alone until you had reached a much higher understanding .

Perhaps Yrial could assist him a bit the next time he entered the Inheritance , but that was still a decade away .

Zac didn’t really have a lot of options right now , but he kept looking inward at his skill fractals , and their connection to the pathways . He figured that if he got a better grasp of the fractals and how they were lacking compared to the pathways , then he might be more likely to be able to gain an epiphany mid-battle .

Sort of like the heat of the battle was how he managed to form the bronze flashes inside the Tower .

However , no matter how hard he tried over the following hours , he simply couldn't make heads or tails about it . He would no doubt be able to redraw all the fractals in his sleep by now , but that didn't really help him in his predicament .

I think we’re just two hours away by foot now , - Kenzie suddenly said , waking Zac up from his reverie . - What do you want to do? -

Let’s go by foot from here , - Zac said after some hesitation . - We’ll see if we can reach the core unnoticed . -

Chapter 498 - Go Time

Zac wasn't confident that their mobile illusion array would do them any good against the defenses of the Undead Empire . He figured that they would be able to hide more efficiently as a small group of humanoids in a forest that was no doubt teeming with zombies , rather than on top of a lustrous giant leaf ripping through the otherwise dour sky .

There was no way that the Lich King hadn’t erected any defensive arrays now that the realignment was so close , but there was a very big difference between a passively running array and an array actively controlled by an array master . Perhaps they would be able to crack open the entrance if they caught the Lich King by surprise .

Besides , they would have to be on the ground anyway if they wanted to deploy any of the array breakers they had brought .

The group landed inside the forest , and everyone already wore some sort of equipment that hid their life-attuned aura . Ogras and Zac increased the effect even further by adding a layer of shadows and dousing them in his Dao Field for the Fragment of the Coffin .

The coffin wasn’t strictly Death-Attuned just yet , but it was death-adjacent , and it helped them blend into the surroundings a lot better than if they just walked in as-is . They soon got a chance at testing the efficacy of their disguise as they spotted a mob of zombies lumbering about . But they could breathe out in relief when their small group could walk by completely unnoticed .

The zombies treated them as though they were air , and the group kept running further toward the core of the Dead Zone . Of course , that small encounter wasn’t enough for them to relax . Those zombies were still unawakened , which meant they were as dumb as they came . Real Revenants might not be able to sense that their group was alive , but they would no doubt understand that something was amiss with a group of strangers running toward their stronghold .

Luckily it seemed that the undead didn't bother planting any spectral scouts in the forest . Perhaps they figured that the increasingly dense number of zombies would be enough as an early warning , or perhaps they didn't even care if anyone came all this way , confident in their defensive capabilities .

But the group of 11 still avoided any undead they spotted as they inched closer to their target . It forced them to take some detours , but it still only took them three hours until reached their target , the true inner sanctum of the Dead Zone . Or rather the barrier that blocked them off from it .

Massive pitch-black runes hovered in the air , each of them humming with strength . They formed a long wall that stretched kilometers in each direction , and Zac could vaguely spot massive Unholy Beacons some distance behind them , no doubt powering them with a steady flow of power .

There was no physical wall acting as a foundation , but that didn’t mean the barrier would be any easier to deal with . This was something that made use of the Dead Zone itself , and it would no doubt require a massive blast to crack open . However , reaching the target wasn’t the only trouble they faced .

There was also the even thicker wall of zombies that stood between them and the array . The density of the undead lumbering about in the forest had gradually increased as the density of Miasma did , and they currently had zombies within 30 meters in pretty much every direction by now . However , they almost formed a solid wall of putrid flesh along the defensive array in front of them .

The swarm of zombies was well over twenty meters thick , and it seemed to stretch endlessly in each direction along the barrier . Millions and millions of former citizens of earth turned into nothing more than an unliving fortification . At least that was what Zac figured they were , as this band of zombies definitively hadn't come about naturally .

How the hell are we supposed to sneak in like this? - Ogras spat . - There is no way that the people inside won't be alerted if we start killing this rabble . -

Can't we just walk past them? - Emily asked . - Isn't that what our talismans are for? -

No way , - the demon said as he threw a humored glance at the teenager . - They're stupid , but not that stupid . Besides , I bet there is some failsafe for that . -

Some sort of diversion? - Zac muttered .

He briefly considered using the thing he had gotten from Void’s Disciple , but he eventually decided against it . This was still just an outer shield , and the real forces of the Lich King were nowhere in sight . Using that thing right now was a waste , and better left to use as a surprise when Zac was right in front of his target .

Besides , Void had said that he was meant to activate the black crystal it inside a - castle’ and there were nothing of the sort in sight just yet . That point alone made Zac a bit worried . It meant that his whole idea to sneak attack the leaders had already failed . Even if they rushed inside after blasting through the wall the Lich King would probably be ready to meet their assault .

Still , they had managed to get pretty close without getting noticed , which was worth something . It would be too late to recall larger forces to defend by this point , and there was no way undead general stationed in the horde would be able to come back in time .

Can’t be anything big , - Ogras slowly said . - We want these rotting bastards out of the way without causing a scene . We need to hit the shield before the owners inside notice us . If they take active control it will be twice as hard to break inside . -

What about Miasma Crystals? - Emily ventured . - We throw a few of them to the left and one to the right . I heard that zombies search out things that benefit their strength instinctively . Shouldn’t that split them up? -

The idea of throwing out Miasma Crystals as breadcrumbs sounded extraordinarily stupid , but it quickly became apparent that no one had a better idea . Joanna proposed they dig a tunnel , but Zac remembered how the slightest tremor in the earth was immediately exposed by geomancers when fighting the second beast wave .

Orgas also suggested for Zac to somehow telepathically control them in his Draugr form , but he simply had no way to do that .

Though to be fair , turning into a Draugr might push the zombies away , as there was a massive inherent difference in caste between the noble races and some newly turned zombies without sapience . But he wanted to keep that as an ace in the hole , so they had no better option than going with Emily’s plan .

Dozens of F-Grade Miasma Crystals soared through the air and landed in the densely packed groups of zombies as Zac started to throw them to their left and right . It took a few seconds for the undead to register what was going on , but they slowly started to congregate toward the energy-rich crystals on the ground .

It created a five-meter wide corridor almost completely devoid of zombies in front of them , and the group unhesitantly rushed forward and set up an illusion array right next to the barrier . A few zombies seemed to feel that something was amiss , but they soon joined the others in the struggle for Miasma Crystals after they couldn't see anything odd in their surroundings .

This close to the barrier they could finally spot an almost completely transparent black film blocking them like a wall , proving the shield covered every inch of the Core Zone . Kenzie immediately set up a set of mobile arrays that blocked out their presence , meaning the Zombies wouldn't find them even if they lost interest in the Miasma Crystals .

However , there was clearly no love lost between the zombies , and the attraction of the crystals was beyond their expectation as undead fought tooth and nail for them . It was just a matter of time before the ruckus was exposed or the zombies started getting ripped apart , so they were still against the clock .

The group had gone over the plan multiple times on the leaf and as they ran through the forest , and now was the time to put it into action . Zac and Ogras were both imbued with a fiery axe , whereas Kenzie got the one crackling with lightning that improved Intelligence and Wisdom . This was the benefit Emily had gotten from upgrading the proficiency of the skill . She could now boost three people in total , but she was only able to get one boost per type .

The six valkyries each took out a large engraved spike and stuck it into the ground , forming a perfect circle within their bubble . They then placed their massive bulwarks outside them to prevent any interference while further isolating their small circle . Kenzie withdrew a densely inscribed skull that emitted scorching heat , along with a bunch of Flame Crystals they had dug up from Zac's new mine in the underworld .

Six chains were attached to the skull in various positions , and the six valkyries each took one and attached it to their respective spike , effectively fettering the head to the ground . Kenzie made sure that the inscriptions held and that the array flags were properly planted , and Zac couldn't help but look at the odd scene with bemusement .

This was one of the array breakers he had found in the mentalist's Spatial Ring , and Kenzie had chosen this one for two reasons . First of all , it was fire-attuned , which seemed pretty effective against the undead based both on Zac's experiences and looking at the Church of the Everlasting Dao . Secondly , it was one of the breakers that were simple to use , with the downside that it carried low strength on its own .

Its strength was rather based on the power of the people infusing it . The users would feed it with their energy and Dao , and the Array would convert it into an attack especially suited for burning a hole in an array . It would allow Zac to not only take advantage of his recent boost in energy circulation but also release a blast of power without wasting any of his long cooldown attacks on the wall .

Give me a few seconds , - Kenzie said as she pushed one spike after another down into the ground , forming yet another array surrounding the treasure in the middle . - Get ready to infuse the main array with your Cosmic Energy and Daos . The more chaotic the better . -

Ten spikes turned to dozens that embedded themselves in the ground as Kenzie threw them in rapid succession , forming an increasingly large array that soon enough spread even outside the confines of their illusion array . Small spikes shot out between the zombies with pinpoint precision and lodged themselves in the ground .

These spikes will destabilize the energy flow in the area , making it harder for the shield to feed off the ambient energy . They might even disconnect this section of the barrier from the Unholy Beacons . They will burn out quickly though , so you need to activate the array breaker immediately , - she said .

Zac and the others nodded , and cosmic energy was already coursing through Zac's body as he readied himself .

Go! - Kenzie said the moment she had finalized connecting the inscribed skull with the six spikes that the valkyries controlled .

Zac , Ogras , Kenzie , and Joanna immediately placed their hands on the skull that was as large as an elephant's , and the whole area started to twist and turn as a massive congregation of power started building inside the hollow head . Its eyes started to flicker with chaotic colors as the Daos of the four clashed with increasing ferocity . It even started to vibrate , causing the chains to rattle , but it still seemed like it could swallow more .

Emily was instead dancing around inside the array waving her tomahawks , and Zac realized that his mind felt extremely refreshed . Whatever she was doing was actually dispersing the negative effect of standing inside miasma . It was a lot like Hatchetman's Spirit] in that regard , as it felt like the inhospitable atmosphere had suddenly turned into something uniquely suited to them .

It helped Zac move his energy with a lot more vigor as an unceasing torrent of energy coursed through his arm and into the inscribed head . He infused the head with his Fragment of the Axe as well , as he felt that Dao Fragment would increase the destructive might the most . In a perfect world , he would have wanted to use all three Fragments , but he simply wasn't able to do that .

The hollow skull was quickly approaching the limits of what it could contain , while the six remaining Valkyries focused on keeping the supportive Array Flags stable . The ground shuddered and heaved by this point , and the Zombies finally realized something was amiss .

There was no way for the illusion array to block out the terrifying amounts of energy they were churning inside as it was affecting the whole area by this point , and the zombies roared as they charged at the source of the disturbance .

Shield! - Joanna shouted , and six streams of silver Cosmic Energy streamed from the Valkyries and fused to form a sturdy wall surrounding them , using the chitinous shields as a base .

The zombies desperately tried to cut through , but the War Array the Valkyries got from the quest showed it's worth as it didn't even shudder from the onslaught . Of course , these zombies were far from being the elites of the Undead Empire , but there were over a hundred attackers in just a second .

The stalwart shield allowed Zac and the others to wholeheartedly focus on the skull , and it finally rose into the air , stretching all the chains taut .

Get ready to run! - Kenzie said as she swiped straight at the chains , breaking it in three swift motions .

A piercing screech seemingly from the abyss emerged from the mouth of the skull , and a blinding flame illuminated the sky it exploded into motion . Zac's heart lurched when he saw that the flaming skull actually flew straight into the sky , and he started to worry that the weird treasure would simply fly away . However , his worries were alleviated when Kenzie threw out a flaming spike straight at the closest of the black runes that was twenty meters away from them .

It looked like the skull had found its prey as it immediately did a 180 and shot toward the barrier with extreme momentum . It instantly broke the sound barrier as it flew toward the wall , causing waves of multifarious flames to incinerate everything close to its path , including dozens of zombies .

A terrifying blast spread out the next moment as the flaming skull actually bit into the black fractal , and Zac's eyes lit up when a small crack in the rune appeared in an instant . The crack quickly grew as the flames increased in intensity seemingly without limit , and Zac took a steadying breath as Verun's Bite] appeared in his right hand .

It was go time .

Chapter 499 - Pillars and Beams

The whole array of black runes lit up in an instant , but the runes around Zac's group were still dim thanks to Kenzie's efforts . However , explosions erupted in every direction as the Array Flags burnt out in quick succession . Thankfully the barrier couldn't hold it any longer , and it suddenly shattered as the maw of the fiery skull closed with a snap .

A massive crack provided an ingress for the group and they heedlessly braved the flames as they rushed inside , protected by the still-running War Array of the six Valkyries . A victorious roar sent a fiery discharge in each direction before the skull crumbled to white ash . Zac immediately summoned Nature's Barrier] and blocked out the fallout , but the zombies on the other side of the array weren't so lucky .

Hundreds of them were incinerated in one fell swoop , and the shield had already mended itself before any new unliving could take their place . It looked like these pitiful creatures really weren't considered part of the Undead Empire just yet , as they were utterly incapable of following Zac and the others through the intangible barrier .

Zac knew that an advanced force like the Undead Empire would be able to erect arrays that could discern friend and foe , especially when there was such a striking difference between the living and the dead . But it looked like the Lich King had elected to keep even his own outside the core area . Perhaps too many zombies would be a drain on the limited Miasma in the atmosphere or something .

Of course , it wasn't like there weren't any zombies on the other side of the enclosure .

Large mobs of the undead were already rushing toward them from the distance , while Zac spotted clumps of Corpse Golems guarding the Unholy Beacons . These ones were the real deal as well , the crafty and ruthless elite zombies that probably were on the precipice of evolving into sapient Revenants .

Zac flashed away and gripped one of the zombies who shrieked as he tried to dig his rotting teeth into Zac’s arm . Its assault was obviously futile with Zac’s 2000 plus Endurance though . Zac shook the undead man for a bit to make him release his grip before he flung him toward the defensive array .

The nearby zombies roared in anger as they tried to mob Zac in retaliation , but they were immediately dismembered by a few lazy swings of his axe . The projectile zombie flew straight through the array , confirming Zac's guess . It worked like his own Town Defense Array] , only keeping people out in one direction . It was valuable information in case they were forced to flee later on .

Let's go , - Zac said . - They definitely know we're here by now . -

The squad immediately started running toward the shining Incursion Pillar that was barely discernible in the distance through the thick miasmic haze . However , they barely had time to move a few hundred meters before the sky changed , and one azure fractal after another started appearing .

These runes were clearly not the realignment array , but rather something meant to deal with intruders .

Uynala , you were right , - Ogras groaned . - It's not worth it . -

What? - Kenzie asked with a frown from the side .

Zac ignored the two as he activated Cosmic Gaze] and turned it toward the sky . The arrays were obviously made from miasma , but Zac frowned when he saw that they contained something that could best be described as condensed death , and this weird energy was quickly accumulating more power . It was like the array was taking the death-attuned Cosmic Energy and taking away the energy itself , leaving just the concept behind .

He didn't know what use that stuff was , but it felt extremely dangerous . He needed to stop them from activating .

Destroy the Unholy Beacons , - Zac said as a massive fractal edge grew out from Verun's Bite] .

He activated Loamwalker] the next second , and within moments he found himself in front of the closest beacon . It was more than three times the size of the mobile pillars he had seen so far during the two invasions of his island , and the hair on his arms stood on end from the extremely condensed miasma surrounding it .

A fractal blade grew from his axe and a wide arc swept through the guarding golems , causing them to fall apart into stale clumps of meat . A small amount of energy entered his body , but Zac frowned when he realized that it didn't target any specific node in his body like he would have assumed . It instead started to spread out across his limbs , until it finally started to dissipate .

Did he need to direct the energy himself?

Zac quickly took hold of the energy and condensed it into a ball , and it was thankfully an easy process to figure out the next step . He quickly pushed the ball of energy through his pathways until he felt some pliability from a node in his left leg . But he barely had time to push the small amount of energy inside the node before almost a hundred translucent green balls poured out of the massive brazier at the top of the beacon .

They caused an extremely uncomfortable weight to descend on him , and it felt like a mix of mental and physical pressure . However , Zac's Wisdom had shot all the way up to 800 over the past days , a number that even most early E-Grade mentalist would be hard-pressed to match . Combine that with a soul that had been forced to endure the continuous pressure from the Splinter of Oblivion for months , and he was starting to truly shore up his old weakness .

He didn't even need to infuse Mental Fortress] with the Fragment of the Bodhi to effortlessly shrug off the mental pressure , and a few quick swings caused the tower to crumble . However , his mind warned him of danger the moment the beacon started to collapse , and he hurriedly flashed away .

It was just in time as well , as a chain of explosions turned the whole area around the beacon into a frozen hellscape . At least half of the odd spheres had been filled with ice-attuned energies it seemed , and while their individual destructiveness wasn't too threatening they still were a cause for concern when there were almost a hundred of them balled together .

Zac glanced at the sky and was relieved to see that a handful of the newly appeared fractals had dissipated , but most were still going strong as they condensed their energies . One of them suddenly activated , and a wave of darkness shot down at Ogras and Kenzie who were whittling down another one of the beacons .

Ogras had already taken out the Corpse golems and was working on the tower , whereas Kenzie waved her staff to conjure dozens of fireballs in an instant that shot out at an incoming wave of zombies . The flames seemed to have a life of their own as they hopped from target to target and caused an extremely impressive amount of destruction for how little energy she seemed to have consumed .

However , there was no time to admire his sister's growth as the wave from the sky was almost upon them .

Watch out! - Zac shouted at the demon , who immediately was swallowed whole by a shroud of shadows .

Another ball of shadows started to rise around Kenzie , but she had already flickered away in a gust of wind , narrowly avoiding the darkness . The demon wasn't as lucky , as he was actually forced out of the shadows a few meters away from his earlier position as the wave swallowed him whole . The area turned back to normal the next moment , but Zac knew something was wrong when he saw how pale the demon was .

He instantly flashed over and immediately sensed an overwhelming death-attuned aura coming from the demon . It was like he was being forcibly converted into a Revenant in front of his eyes , and the process looked extremely painful . Zac quickly grabbed the demon's shoulder and flooded him with the Fragment of the Bodhi as he gobbled up the large amounts of death-attuned energies for himself .

He felt a bit queasy from the incompatible energy , but his Void Heart] would deal with it soon enough .

Urh , - the demon groaned as he spat a ball of black phlegm . - Zombifying beams . Just great . Thanks , by the way . -

No problem , - Zac smiled . - Thank you for protecting Kenzie . -

What protecting , just making a fool of myself , - Ogras grunted as he shakily got back to his feet .

The next moment he disappeared and reappeared next to the Unholy Beacon once more . A storm of strikes slammed into the base as a forest of shadow spears rose to meet the falling balls , piercing all of them with expert accuracy . The beacon toppled the next moment , but the demon was obviously out for blood , or at least unwilling to let the arrays in the sky keep shooting at them .

The demon didn't even stop to loot the potentially valuable pillar as he shot toward the next one , repeating the process . However , the arrays in the sky were all starting to power up by now , and they clearly didn't only rely on the closest Unholy Beacons for power . Staying around and taking out the pillars was a waste of time , and the group instead started rushing toward the core .

Wave after wave of elite zombies appeared to impede their path , but Zac's group was like a grindstone that turned anything that came too close into shreds . Zac was occasionally shooting out a fractal blade or flashed away to take out another beacon , but he mainly relied on the others to break open a path so that he could reserve his strength .

It was rather Kenzie and Joanna that did the heavy lifting . The Chief Valkyrie seemed to have gained a repeatable area strike upon reaching level 50 , and she was using it freely at the moment . It was a pretty odd one as well . She kept conjuring a silver ball in the air in front of her , but the moment it appeared she attacked it with a powerful stab with her spear .

The ball immediately cracked like a broken mirror , and sharp shards reminiscent of all kinds of crude weapons shot into the zombie horde with even greater momentum than her strike had . Some of the shards were shaped like speartips , and they punched gruesome holes into the undead . Others were bladed weapons like swords or axes , and these shards cleanly cut limbs or heads off any zombie they passed .

Zac shot a surprised glance at Joanna , feeling that she was walking down an interesting path . It made him think of the War Stele and the Dao of War , one of the possible upgrade-paths of the various Weapon-based Daos . If Joanna managed to walk down that road she would have a chance to become as powerful as the great general in the vision .

Kenzie's side was an ever-changing scene as well , where the undying got incinerated one second and flash-frozen the next . She had also summoned a mysterious wheel that hovered above her head , and every time it turned 90 degrees a devastating blast from one of the four elements was launched .

It reminded Zac of a drone as it kept pace with Kenzie , but he could quickly confirm that it was a construct made from Attuned Energies with the help of Cosmic Gaze] . Zac didn't understand what kind of skill it was , but it felt a bit like the massive demonic angel that Iz Tayn had summoned . Was the wheel some sort of companion , but perhaps more akin to a golem than an Elemental?

However , while the recent improvements of the two were impressive , their low levels was an undeniable weakness . Each strike could only kill so many of the unthinking rabble , but there was an unending stream of them that kept trying to tire them out before they reached the core . At least that was what Zac thought the undead were trying to do .

They were beset by an endless number of elite zombies as they ran , but they had not encountered a single revenant or another elite unit of the undead Empire since taking down the Unholy Beacons . Worse yet , the group was constantly bombarded by waves of death from above , and they often had to interrupt their strike to desperately scramble out of the way .

Kenzie was already panting from the exertion , but she insisted that she could keep going . Zac didn't say anything as he knew they tried to help as much as they could while allowing him to save his strength . Because these waves of unliving were just the appetizer , whereas the main course was finally coming into vision in just ahead .

A massive black fortress , reaching toward the sky with a backdrop consisting of an azure pillar that pierced the miasmic haze .

This was the first structure Zac’s group had encountered inside the Dead Zone , aside from the endless ruins of the countries it had gobbled up . But Zac guessed that this monstrous structure would have no problem housing every single elite that was brought over from the Undead Kingdom of the Zecia sector , along with tens of thousands of the best zombies who were - recruited’ here on earth .

It might even be more apt to call it a city than a castle if it wasn’t for the fact that it really seemed to be one cohesive structure . It’s pitch-black wall rose almost twenty meters into the air , wrought from some stone that Zac didn’t recognize . It was covered in both azure fractals and intricate carvings reminiscent of European Gothic architecture .

Dozens of towers protruded from within the walls as well , each of them well over a hundred meters tall . They all seemed to house terrifyingly powerful Unholy Beacons at the top , probably responsible for providing energy for the whole building . They almost looked like fountains as dense clouds of Miasma billowed down along their lengths as though it was liquid .

They could vaguely spot the roof of many more sections , but the towering wall made it hard to make out any real impression of the layout inside . However , finding their way inside was the least of their concern at the moment , as they first needed to break through the army waiting at the wall walk .

Thousands of Revenants , Golems , and Corpse Lords stood at the front , their killing intent palpable as they looked down at their small squad from above .

Super-Brother Man , or should I say Zachary Atwood? - a decrepit voice full of power flowed down from up high , which helped Zac spot an all-too-familiar hooded being . - You came after all , not that you had much choice . But you’ll find the Undead Empire a completely different target than the invaders you’ve fought until now . -

Fury surged in Zac’s chest as he looked at the man at the wall .

It was him . The Lich King .

Chapter 500 - Wallbreakers

It was the man that had almost killed Alea . The man who had left him no recourse but to either let her die or turn her into a Spirit Tool , not to mention causing the creeping death of their whole planet .

His appearance was all-too-familiar , as it was the very same one as the four ghosts he had fought back on Port Atwood . Zac had already known that the hooded beings he killed were clones or projections , as destroying the four identical copies provided no Cosmic Energy . He had also suspected him to either be the Lich King or one of his Generals , but it looked like he had his answer now .

He was accompanied by a powerful-looking female to his left , and a wretched ghost to his right . If one of the generals was occupied in the zombie horde , then these two might just be the last two generals of the Undead Incursion . The Abbot had killed two of the six when they tried to take down Mount Everlasting Peace , and Zac dealt with Mhal himself , leaving just three . A host of ghosts who hovered behind them in the air as well , perhaps there to provide the three with War Arrays .

Anger burned inside his chest , and his mind worked a mile a minute in figuring out a way to get up on that wall-walk to rip that man into pieces . However , he was surprised to sense the Demon next to him sporting a similar killing intent .

It’s that bitch , - Ogras muttered from the side , his eyes trained at the ghastly woman standing to the side of the Lich King .

She looked almost like a pale human with long , black , flowing hair , but her hands were replaced by grisly claws with unnaturally long fingers .

You know her too? - Kenzie asked with surprise . - She’s the one that almost killed me and Ilvere . I thought we had killed her by detonating the mecha . -

All the more reason for me to skewer her , - the demon muttered . - That crazy banshee almost caught me inside an array when we fought last time . This time we’ll see who will be the Scuttlecreeper and who’ll be the Gwyllgi . -

A roar from behind interrupted their discussion , and Zac turned around to see that the zombies pretty much had caught up with them . There were thankfully no zombies between themselves and the wall though . Perhaps the Lich King was afraid of friendly fire .

The Undead saw zombies as something between children and potential recruits , after all . They both were and weren’t part of the Undead Empire just yet , and while they wouldn’t really mourn their true death , they also weren’t keen on killing them with their own hands .

The six Valkyries set up their war array once more , and they started a methodical slaughter of anyone that came too close under the direction of Joanna , allowing Zac and the others to focus on the castle .

Do you people have any better ideas than charging right at them? - Zac asked .

They are obviously prepared for a siege , - the demon said with a frown . - I can’t sense anything , but I bet this place is covered in both defensive and Offensive Arrays . -

He’s right , - Kenzie said from the side . - The wall itself is full of array flags . Those huge towers contain offensive arrays as well . -

We can’t dally too long , - Joanna said from the side as she looked behind then . - We will be overrun in a few minutes without assistance . -

I can’t keep boosting you either for very long , - Emily muttered . - It drains way more energy now than it did before . Perhaps because you’re E-Grade and boost me a 100 points? -

Zac’s brows rose in confusion as he looked over . Her skill was supposed to boost his attributes by 10% after having been upgraded to High Mastery . However , a glance at his status screen confirmed that it truly only gave him 100 Strength .

Perhaps there were limits to how much the skill could provide , and 100 Points was no doubt a huge amount for most people in the F-Grade . It made sense that she couldn’t use it on a B-Grade monster and gain tens of thousands of points too , which would allow her to skip multiple grades and kill D-Grade Hegemons without much effort .

But now was not the time to experiment with the limits of Emily’s supportive capabilities .

Let me see how the arrays look , - Zac said as he shot forward , a surge of warmth entering his back as Emily reapplied her buff .

A pillar of light rose toward the sky as a shockingly large fractal edge appeared . It glistened with sharpness as it stretched almost a hundred meters into the air , far exceeding the height of the wall . Chop] might not be able to evolve , but just being able to cram five times more energy into the Skill Fractal before he lost control made a huge difference .

The ground cracked for dozens of meters in each direction as Zac launched himself into the sky , and the air screamed as he swung the towering fractal edge straight down toward the Lich King , seemingly intent to cut the whole fortress in two . The area heaved as a black shield materialized just before the blade would hit them , forcing Zac's edge to a stop .

The clouds of miasma churned as blade and shield met , and winds buffeted the zombies who were approaching . Zac grunted in annoyance though , as he was incapable of cutting the shield open even after having infused the skill with the Fragment of the Axe . He lost control a second later and the blade dematerialized while the barrier remained .

However , while the shield held against Zac's strike it didn't do so effortlessly . It didn't crack , but it did shudder and fluctuate a bit , and Zac noticed that a few of the core members of the Incursion took a step back or reached for their weapons upon witnessing the strike . The shield wasn't invincible after all .

It looked like the Lich King hadn't completely ruined his finances when erecting the defensive arrays around his fortress . Perhaps he had spent too much of his invasion budget on the massive fractal in the sky and thousands of Unholy Beacons . This was the only reason Zac had a chance at taking them down at all , as there were obviously way more powerful arrays than this readily available in the Undead Kingdoms .

But those were too expensive to bring , and a Kingdom would rather cut their losses than overinvest in an incursion .

Not quite enough , Monarch-Select , - the Lich King snorted as a green fractal appeared in front of him .

He reached out a withered hand and tapped it , and a massive copy appeared above one of the Array Towers the next second . Danger screamed in Zac’s mind as the fractal started humming with power , and a torrent of what looked like radioactive toxins shot toward him while he was still mid-air .

Another fractal blade shot into the array with tremendous speed , this time forming a stab aimed right at the Lich King’s head . The Lich welcomed the strike without a care , and the shield unfortunately held against the assault once more . However , piercing the shield with a normal Chop] had never been Zac’s intent .

He shot away from the rebound like a bullet , narrowly dodging an acid beam that would have swallowed him whole if he didn’t react in time . It was the downside of Loamwalker] ; the skill didn’t do him much good while mid-air .

However , Zac could always move around with the help of Chop] as long as he had some fixtures to generate momentum with . He could probably even generate some push by simply swinging in the air quickly enough . He landed some distance from the wall and immediately flashed away , appearing next to his squad the next moment .

They were currently embroiled in a moving battle where they kept running back and forth while keeping a safe distance to the fortress' wall while dodging the constant blasts from the fractals in the sky .

It’s strong , - Ogras muttered as he threw out a barrage of shadows at a clump of zombies . - But not impenetrable . What about that thing you used in Base Town? -

It’s too soon , - Zac said with a shake of his head after sending a mental thread into his Spatial Ring . - It is still drained from the last strike . I’ll have to use Nature’s Punishment] . -

Wait , - Kenzie said . - I still have a few ideas . We should use some treasures so you can save your strength . -

What do you need us to do? - Zac asked , agreeing immediately .

Can you hold their attacks off for a few seconds while stationary if we get closer? - Kenzie asked .

Those Array Towers are pretty scary , but it shouldn’t be a problem , - Zac nodded . - Worst case I'll have to use a defensive treasure . -

He was out of powerful offensive treasure from the mentalist's collection , but he still had a few defensive ones . He figured he might as well use them sooner rather than later , as they would become useless soon enough with his rapid growth in attributes .

Good , - Kenzie said as she took out a golden eye that was a bit reminiscent of the skill that the Mentalist used to fracture his soul during the climb . - This thing should both weaken the shield and give its controller a backlash . -

What if it fails? - Joanna asked with some worry .

The drones are not completely restored , but they’ll be able to launch one strike , - Kenzie slowly said before she turned to Ogras and Zac . - If that fails as well you’ll have to do the rest yourself . -

What are you doing playing with those cursed things anyway , girl? Don’t you know you’ll draw the ire of the Heavens by getting involved with that stuff? - the demon muttered .

It’s not like we have a lot of options right now , - Kenzie said as she put away her staff . - Oh , and this attack will cost some of the Soul Crystals . -

That’s fine , - Zac nodded , feeling it was worth the exchange if it gave a shot at wounding the soul of the Lich King . - Ogras and I will guard Kenzie , the rest stay behind . -

The group didn’t tally any longer as they rushed toward the wall as one . A storm of attacks quickly descended from the undead elites at the wall walk , but between Nature’s Barrier] and Ogras’ ability to slightly move the trio by holding their shoulders they reached their targeted distance without wasting too much energy .

Of course , the attacks were not the full force of the Undead Empire , as neither the Lich King nor the generals had made a move . That changed though as the Lich King swung his hand , causing a full five of the array towers to light up and form a series of different runes in the sky . Each of them contained even more power than the toxic attack from earlier , far exceeding Zac's expectations .

Zac's eyes widened as he turned to his sister who was fast at work with the golden eye .

How long? -

Ten seconds , - Kenzie said as a sheen of perspiration covered her forehead , mostly from the pressure of the situation Zac guessed .

The two generals , at least Zac assumed that the unmoving ghost to the Lich King's side was general as well despite his weak energy signature , were thankfully still unmoving though . Zac still gave up any thought of defending that long with the help of Nature's Barrier] , as the arrays alone would prove too much to handle .

His defensive skill in his human class was designed to withstand many smaller hits , not to take on extremely powerful blasts like this . His Draugr side would probably be able to deal with it , but it was still too early to expose that side . He instead activated one of the rings on his finger . A golden gate appeared in front of them , each door branded with a fractal that emitted extremely dense power .

What?! - the Lich King exclaimed , seemingly taken by surprise for the first time since they arrived .

Zac wasn't surprised , as the quality of his defensive treasures wasn't something that should exist on a newly integrated world , perhaps not in the Zecia sector at all . But it was too late to cancel the attacks as they shot toward the defensive treasure . The whole area was suffused in a storm of chaotic energies the next moment , but the divine gate held fast , protecting the trio behind it .

However , the threat wasn't over as Zac sensed something that he had been ready for the whole time . He stomped into the ground with his full force , causing a massive explosion that spread out in each direction . Rampant waves of his Dao spread through the cracks as Zac had flooded his leg with the Fragment of the Bodhi as well , and Zac felt a small of Cosmic Energy entering his body .

Kenzie hadn't been prepared for the massive shockwave , and she helplessly fell over , barely managing to hold on to the Array Breaker .

Sorry , there are ghosts in the ground , - Zac explained , and Ogras instantly disappeared .

He reappeared among Emily and the Valkyries the next moment , just in time to rip two spectral assassins to pieces with a barrage of swings . A vast sea of shadows spread out from their position the next moment , no doubt making it impossible for any more backstabs to take place . Zac had already seen this tactic being used before and he wasn't about to fall for that trick , especially not after having learned how to deal with the ghost warriors during his climb .

Kenzie shot another glare at Zac before she crammed a bunch of Soul Crystals into the eye as she realigned the pedestal that came with it . It was covered in dense inscriptions as well , and Zac felt his mind blurring a bit just from looking at them . His sister wasted no time as she adroitly activated the Array Breaker , and a gargantuan sapphire eye appeared in the sky .

The blue eye didn't launch an attack , but it rather shot straight toward the Lich King until it hit the barrier . However , no explosion wreaked havoc on the barrier . It rather looked like the eye had jumped into a pond of water as the whole barrier started to ripple like a pond as the Array Breaker entered the defensive layer itself .

It somehow seemed to have managed to brand itself on the barrier , like an enormous sticker on the shield that gazed down on the soldiers on the wall . Multiple warriors keel over from its stare and even the Lich King hunkered over from its assault .

But the shield still held true .

Chapter 501 - Death's Embrace

The Lich King was clearly hit by a psychic attack , but he still seemed very much in control of the shield . And while the barrier had dimmed by a certain degree it wasn't to the point that a swing or two would break it .

I guess we have no choice , - Kenzie muttered as drones started appearing above her in rapid succession , each of them independently dodging any errant attack that came too close .

This was the first time Zac had seen his sister control more than one or two of them , and his eyes widened when he saw that she had summoned almost a hundred of them and had them coordinate with perfect precision as they charged up a beam . Something like this would no doubt demand great control even if she was assisted by Jeeves .

If he had a tenth of this skill when controlling his Dao Fragments , then he would be nigh-unstoppable .

The brand of the eye remained on the barrier no matter what the Lich King tried , but he obviously wasn't dismayed to see the appearance of the drones . Zac’s brows rose when he saw the arrays on the wall light up as an uncountable number of the same balls floated out to create a second barrier .

They were similar to ones those that had poured out of the Beacons earlier , but Zac' felt some disgust when he noticed there seemed to be screaming faces inside the balls . They only appeared for a second before they were replaced by churning mists , making Zac wonder if his eyes were playing a trick with him .

These are the souls of your people , - the white-clad general laughed to the Lich King's side . - Are you ready to sacrifice them to break our shield? They can still enter the Wheel of Samsara , but not if you destroy them like this . -

Zac froze as his eyes widened . Those things were really the souls of former Earthlings? Were the Unholy Beacons of the Undead Empire actually powered by souls? Kenzie paled at the words , but Zac put a hand on her shoulder .

Keep going , I'll deal with these things . Destroying the balls is the best thing we can do for them . Imagine being trapped by these lunatics forever , - Zac said as Cosmic Energy surged to the fractal close to his heart . - Besides , there's no way that E-Grade people are strong enough to affect the afterlife . -

Zac at least hoped that was the case .

There was no time to lose . He felt that these things would impede and weaken the strike of the drones , ruining their best option to break inside the fortress . He needed to do something about it , but a couple of Chop]'s wouldn't be enough . It was a bit of a shame to bring out his big guns early , but it was time to activate Deforestation] .

Zac figured that at least only one of his swings would be wasted on these floating spheres , and his arm grew taut as a huge surge of Cosmic Energy entered the skill fractal . This time he didn’t feel any pain or pressure at all , and he immediately swung his axe as he imbued the Axe of Felling] with his Fragment of the Bodhi .

It wasn’t as powerful as his Fragment of the Axe , but that was against normal targets . He wanted to purify these souls and release them to the afterlife if there was such a thing . The Fragment of the Bodhi was no doubt his best chance for accomplishing that .

A green ripple of destruction shot forward , and a deafening wail made Zac stumble for a second . It was the innumerable souls getting cut apart , causing a massive backlash to rush back at Zac . If this had been before , then his soul might have actually cracked like during the climb , but now he only felt a splitting headache as he started running forward .

The way was paved , and Kenzie seized the opportunity to follow through on her end . Heat blared down on Zac as dozens of beams of pure energy passed above him before they tore into the weakened shield , right on top of the blue eye . Cracks immediately spread across the whole barrier as multiple fractals on the wall broke .

The wound quickly started to close though , but a massive torrent of shadows followed the blast , and they wriggled inside the cracks in an instant . A few of the shadows stayed inside the cracks , reminiscent of the scars on Zac’s own soul , whereas others continued through the cracks and shot toward the Lich King .

Ogras was obviously not trying to kill him , but rather to divert his attention by forcing him to deal with an attack while controlling the Array . The desiccated Lich was unfortunately a powerful E-Grade warrior , and a swing of his staff was all that was needed to disperse the dozens of shadowy spears .

However , the small delay was all Zac needed as his second swing of Deforestation] was already in full force , and the Infernal Axe] unleashed a rampant wave of flames at the weakened barrier . This time he did utilize the Fragment of the Axe , and the splintered shield was quickly cut to ribbons before the wave continued forward into the physical wall .

The flames climbed up the pitch-black fortification , utterly destroying the remaining fractals and ornamental details before it reached the crest of the wall . A large number of the elite soldiers of the Undead Empire were instantly incinerated , but the Lich King quickly prepared a response . An enormous avatar appeared in the sky , a chained-down corpse that spewed an unending stream of green bile from his mouth .

The putrid liquid fell onto the flames of Zac’s attack , and a rapid shockwave of noxious gasses shot down in Zac's direction as the green bile was vaporized by the wave of flames . Zac also sensed that his skill was quenched in one move , though it was slightly expended already from breaking the barrier and destroying half the wall .

The cloud rapidly closed in on him and Zac’s hairs stood on end as he realized just how potent the toxin was . There was no way that his sister or even Ogras would survive taking a single breath of that stuff .

Back away! - Zac shouted and was relieved to see Kenzie flashing away to rejoin the others , but he didn’t follow his own advice .

The Fragment of the Coffin churned through his body , and he thanked the gods for his recent boost to his Vitality as he rushed through the broken barrier before the Lich King had time to repair it . Even then , he felt extremely weakened for a few seconds , but his heart suddenly thumped with increased vigor .

It was the Void Heart] that had activated once more , and Zac's heart beat with enough force to cause some ripples in the noxious fumes around him . Of course , it was nothing like the massive effect of the man in the vision , but the poisonous vapors right next to him slowly seeped into his pores and were absorbed into his heart . Zac couldn't worry whether this was a good or a bad thing right now though , as he was in the middle of a battle .

His vision was completely obscured by the extremely dense poison , but he could still spot Death-Attuned hotspots when activating Cosmic Gaze] . However , he noticed something odd when he looked around . The general stood like a beacon of power on top of the wall walk , but the Lich King standing next to her was barely contained a third of her power .

Had he somehow swapped his real self with a clone the moment Zac lost vision of his target due to the toxic fumes? And where was the original? Zac had planned on taking them all out in one move by unleashing the third swing now that the barrier had been breached , but it looked like that idea was out the window .

It felt a bit of a waste , but he couldn’t keep the Axe of Desolation] on the back-burner for too long . If he didn't use the swing within a minute or activated another skill , then the skill would reset and enter its cooldown period . The last thing he was lacking at the moment was Cosmic Energy reserves , so not using the attack with this many targets in front of him would be a huge waste .

He quickly ran up the wall , using the cracks from his previous strikes as a foothold to reach the crest with a few jumps . The ghost was gone , but the female general immediately launched a swipe with enough power to make Zac’s danger sense prickle . A shield appeared on his left arm as his amulet transformed into its defensive form .

The massive swipe was blocked without issue , but it had left a few small marks on the surface of Love’s Bond] . Still , seeing his new Spirit Tool get damaged like that filled Zac with a towering fury as he rushed straight toward the banshee , utterly destroying the clone of the Lich King with a sideswipe , almost as an afterthought .

Zac was in far better control of his emotions now that the Splinter was properly locked up , so he didn't completely give in to his anger . However , that didn’t mean he couldn’t utilize it , and he channeled his churning killing intent into True Strike] , launching it toward the Undead General’s back .

With Zac’s amount of accumulated killing intent the skill could barely be considered a feint any longer , but almost a compulsion . It probably felt like a D-Grade Hegemon was bearing down on her from behind , and the general couldn’t ignore it just as expected . She quickly turned around to meet the attack as a shimmering shield appeared to block out Zac , but nothing met her furious swipe toward the rear .

The general immediately understood she had been duped , but she didn’t have time to retreat before she was slammed in the face with a shield-bash powered by 2000 Strength and rage . A crunching sound echoed out as she was thrown back like a ragdoll , black ichor spewing in every direction .

Zac couldn't activate Loamwalker] at the moment , but the wall collapsed beneath his feet as he pushed forward to catch up to her flying form , and Verun’s Bite] keened as a Bodhi-infused swingripped through the air . The general unfortunately had enough mental presence to desperately block the swing with her claws .

However , she couldn’t match Zac’s power output at all and was flung toward the inner section of the fortress with a wail of pain , four of her fingers cleanly cut off . Her bad luck wasn’t ending there though . The coffin shield quickly returned to its necklace form while Zac growled as he swung Verun’s Bite] in a wide arc toward the general . A massive half-moon of death spread out as the final swing of Deforestation] had activated .

Zac figured that if he couldn't locate the Lich King , then he might as well just destroy everything .

There was no need to even use Hatchetman’s Rage] to activate the third swing it this time , his evolved physique more than enough to handle the massive strain . A coruscating wave of destruction ripped into the inner structures of the fortress , causing a chain reaction of buildings collapsing . The ground shuddered as almost a third of the fortress was leveled with one attack .

A series of interlocking shields in front of the Miasma Towers eventually managed to exhaust the energy of the strike , but the ground still shook for a few seconds as a few structurally unsound parts of the fortress collapsed . A shocking surge of cosmic energy entered his body as the Axe of Desolation] no doubt killed hundreds of the undead who were staying inside the buildings he destroyed , and he immediately directed it toward the node he located earlier .

He dispatched the few Revenants foolish enough to actually attack him before he turned his sight inward for a second . He had started feeling some discomfort in his Node when he kept infusing it with energy , and it even resisted his attempts at pushing more of his accumulated energies inside .

He wanted to see if it was ready to burst open , but was quickly disappointed . The node looked pretty much the same as before , apart from there being a decent amount of energies swirling about beneath the surface . Even more Cosmic Energy was needed it seemed , and he tried instilling some of his left-over kill energy again .

This time it worked , but he really had to cram it inside . It felt like the node was completely full , and he was currently increasing the pressure inside by forcibly instilling more Cosmic Energy . The pain was gradually increasing , but Zac sighed in relief when the pain abated a few seconds after the last of his surplus energy had been pushed inside .

Just how much energy would be needed was something he would have to worry about later as bursting nodes mid-battle seemed like a spectacularly stupid idea . He instead activated Cosmic Gaze] again as he looked around for his next target . The Incursion was still very much active , which meant that the Lich King still hadn’t left Earth even after Zac had made his way inside .

That meant he was currently hiding somewhere in the area , most likely protecting the core of the realignment array . The ghost was nowhere to be seen as well , and Zac didn't remember killing it . However , that was of lesser concern as it didn't seem to be a combat-oriented cultivator . Perhaps he was the strategist of the invasion or something .

However , Zac frowned in annoyance when he noticed that the other general was still alive as well . She had probably managed to flicker away just in time to avoid getting engulfed in the wave of desolation , and was now standing on top of one of the Array Towers .

Her face was completely disfigured and black ichor stained her dress , and her aura was clearly a bit unstable . She touched an array atop the tower before she floated down again . Zac saw her running further into the fortress before slinking inside a massive palatial section that was built on top of the roof of a more common-looking barrack .

He was just about to go after her , but he sensed a presence to his right .

You go find the boss , - Ogras said as his eyes were trained on the fleeing form of the undead general . - I’ll deal with that one . I want to see what she has prepared inside her own lair . -

What about the others? - Zac hesitantly asked . - There might be more of the ghosts . -

They can keep the trash at bay for hours if need be , - the demon shrugged . - And your sister has erected some anti-ghost array . If my clan had someone half as talented in formations as that girl back home , we wouldn't just be a bottom-feeding clan at the edge of our planet . -

Zac nodded in agreement , but his eyes widened in alarm when he saw the surviving towers all light as one . It looked like the undead planned on unleashing everything in one massive blast before Zac dismantled the rest of the forest .

Run! - Ogras screamed as he was swallowed by shadows , but Zac shrugged off the demon’s attempts at bringing him along .

Instead , he instructed Love’s Bond] to retake its defensive form , and he unhesitantly activated the circular fractal on its lid . This was the first time Zac actually activated one of the two skills , this one called Death’s Embrace] .

The whole coffin shook as the chains that held the lid shut twisted and moved until a small opening appeared . A dense black cloud spread out and rose into the air until it formed a massive torso , making it look like he had summoned a genie . But Zac's heart was still thrown into chaos as it was no ordinary elemental that had appeared .

It was Alea .

Chapter 502 - Scourge

Zac froze as he looked up at the sky with shock in his eyes , but he quickly regained his wits . However , he couldn't help but feel some sourness in his heart as he looked at the familiar figure in the sky , as he knew it wasn't Alea come back to life .

The avatar looked a lot like the poison mistress , but there were also undeniable differences . Its eyes didn't have the signature red irises , but they were rather pitch-black and without emotion . The same went for her usually expressive features , as it was the same delicate face but without any of the emotions .

The previously beautiful horns that shimmered in red like a sunset or crystallized fire were replaced by far longer curved horns , these ones tainted by green and purple . She no longer looked like the Torrid Demonkin that all the members of Clan Azh'Rezak belonged to , but was rather an avatar of corruption .

Perhaps this was what she would look like if she had managed to perfect and awaken her poison constitution before she fell , though Zac felt her appearance had more to do with the materials that went into the creation of Love's Bond] .

The skill didn't create a whole body either , which was yet another reminder it wasn't actually Alea . Beneath her upper torso there was only black smoke that reached down into the coffin . Yet this semi-corporeal avatar was still more than ten meters in height , and it completely blocked Zac from the Array Towers' barrage of attacks that were bearing down on him .

The demonic avatar’s arms were formed as well , and they reached up toward the incoming attacks as though she wanted to embrace them . A small sphere appeared in between her outstretched hands , a small seed that started to rapidly spin around its own axis . It was as though this unassuming ball was a black hole , and the air around it immediately started to twist and distort .

The torrential downpour of poison , ice , and miasma was seemingly unending , but it was all dragged into the small seed . It almost looked like the attacks tried to ignore the suction , but they were distorted and bent beyond their normal shape as they were dragged inside kicking and screaming .

Zac first thought the attacks were weaker than expected , but then a trail of ice broke free from the suction of Death's Embrace] and slammed into the wall twenty meters from him . The wall immediately froze right over , creating a huge ice block that sealed over thirty unlucky Revenants inside . Even Zac felt some pain in his feet as the ice spread across the wall-walk , and he had to circulate some energy to not get frozen as well .

But there were only a few such examples as most of the attacks were sucked into the rapidly rotating ball . It grew larger and larger until it had turned into a chaotic sun that illuminated the whole fortress in green and azure light . Only then did the offensive arrays run out of steam , and the arrays slowly stopped radiating power .

The ball stayed where it was between the arms of the avatar though , and Alea’s avatar slowly cradled it in her arms as she put her cheek against its surface in an embrace . Zac couldn’t help but feel some trepidation as he looked at the ball . If that thing destabilized and exploded then it would probably be game over even for him . He wouldn’t get away without some serious wounds at the least .

But the ball appeared completely inert , and Zac’s eyes widened as Alea’s maw opened wider and wider until it swallowed the thing whole . It looked absolutely horrific as the glowing sphere was even larger than Alea’s head , but it was still gobbled down whole . The whole avatar lit up with terrifying power , but it didn’t unleash a strike or something with the excess energy .

Instead it started to dissipate into clouds that receded toward the coffin .

Zac couldn't help himself , and he tried to send his mind to the avatar in hopes of getting a response , but Alea didn't so much as look at him . There was no connection like the one he felt with Verun either , and Zac shook his head before he gave up . The lid snapped shut the moment the avatar had returned to the coffin , and Zac didn’t even get a chance to look inside .

A few violent shakes rocked the Spirit Tool , but it still seemed fine overall . In fact , it felt like it had just eaten a treasure , and it gained a slight green luster as it turned back to its necklace form again .

This was the first skill of Love’s Bond] , a terrifyingly powerful summon that not could defend against most kinds of attacks , but it could even take the energy for itself . The full-powered blast of the undead fortress would probably have been able to seriously harm him in his human form , but now it was turned into food for his new Spirit Tool instead .

However , while the skill was extremely powerful it wasn’t without its limits . It would take days for the skill to be usable again , perhaps over a week if it took longer to refine the ball of poison . But it was still just what Zac needed . The defensive charges on his robes were essentially useless for someone like him by this point , and this was an excellent replacement .

His life wasn’t in danger very often , but when it was he needed an extremely powerful , and preferably reusable , skill that could turn calamity into opportunity .

Having stolen a full-powered blast of the array towers meant he had avoided crisis for now , but he still didn’t want to wait around for the towers to recharge for another salvo . He immediately rushed into the fortress toward the closest tower , but he was immediately beset by attacks from hidden mechanisms from every direction as the remaining soldiers on the wall followed him into the fortress , joining the hidden defenders in assaulting him .

Arrows , ice spears , and blobs of poison shot toward him from hidden vantages , and Zac could barely see the dour sky any longer from the chaotic waves of power . It looked like the Lich King had already expected his outer shields to be broken , so he had set up a second layer of defense . These attacks by themselves weren’t a threat to someone with 2000 Endurance , but they still required him to either dodge or block with Nature’s Barrier] .