Yeah… this could go better, Jake thought, barely managing to roll out of the way as a giant tree-spear was shot towards him.He managed to dodge it with Shadow Vault, but more were coming. And not just trees. Several large boulders were also thrown after him, along with pretty much anything within hundreds of meters of the King.Dodging and weaving in between the attacks, he managed not to get hit by a single one. A slight positive, but ultimately, he was only buying time—time that wasn’t to his advantage.The King of the Forest was clearly multitasking, as he worked on clearing away the curse from the Nest Watcher and the energy from the Horde Leader while he attacked. Jake, on the other hand, was slowly running out of his resources. He had gotten back quite a bit of health from the potion, but both his stamina and mana were draining.Limit Break had been active at 20% from the very first Infused Powershot. In reality, it had only been minutes, but he was already starting to feel it

The Malefic Viper stood in his Order as his gaze pierced through the void, the fight between the King and Jake reflected in his eyes.A fight between a human that had only been part of the system for a mere two months and a being that had lived for a century or more. A unique lifeform that had been born at D-grade. A being that the human should have no right even to approach, much less fight. And yet he fought—not just fought, but brought the creature to a state of desperation.But life was often cruel. Unique lifeforms came with abilities that many considered unfair, often born with magic or skills that would take an enormous investment of time and effort to learn for any other.They started ahead of the curve and often ended up becoming powerhouses. Possessed inherent Records to become pinnacle creatures of the universe. Stat growth per level surpassing even those with special classes that came with severe limitations. Like Jake’s pal, the Augur.The Viper observed as the mask fell,

What appeared before Jake was less of a list and more comparable to an online shop with pictures of items and everything. What amazed him, however, was the sheer quality and quantity of goods available. He had expected for a few epic or maybe ancient-level items to be there at most. It turned out he had been sorely mistaken.[Spirehawk Longbow of Endless Embers (Legendary)][Blade of Material Rending (Legendary)][Spear of Illea (Legendary)]… And the items continued like that. He was amazed and awed but soon found an issue. All of them were marked with a small red cross. Upon further inspection, he found what it meant.You do not meet the requirements to use this itemTo make it all the more aggravating, it didn’t tell him what the requirements were for any of them. Like it was all just a big tease to annoy him. He could buy them, just not use them. However, his annoyance got better when he scrolled downwards to find some he could use—even legendary ones.[Consuming Light (Legendary)

Casper stood silently as he looked at himself in the mirror before him. He still found it hard to recognize that this was truly him, even after so many days has passed. His ashen skin, gray eyes with black pupils, and black hair that looked to be graying were all so unfamiliar.But what was eerier was that he now couldn’t feel himself. He didn’t feel the faint response from his muscles when he moved his arms, he didn’t hear or feel his own heartbeat, and his senses, in general, felt dulled… or perhaps replaced was more correct.Instead, he could smell the mana in the air; he could sense the warmth of things even if it wasn’t through the feeling of touch. A feeling of warmth that his own body did not give off, as it idled at the same temperature as whatever environment he was in. Any normal human would be dead if their body reached such a low degree… but perhaps that was normal.Because Casper had to accept that he wasn’t alive anymore. The only warmth he felt was from the necklace he

Jake stepped through the door into the bedroom that he remembered belonged to the Viper. He had barely entered the room before a loud popping noise was heard along with a… party horn?"Congratulations!"In front of him stood the legendary god known as the Malefic Viper, who wore a small party hat and had a horn in his mouth. Beside him was an old-looking man with a big white beard, messy clothes, and overall unkempt appearance. Except for his headwear. He, too, wore a party hat, though he seemed less than amused at the entire ordeal, and Jake would bet his entire potion stash on the Viper having forced him to wear it."Thanks, I guess?" Jake managed to answer, still bewildered by the beaming Viper and the bored old man.The old man was plump, if not outright obese, and looked like he hadn’t taken a shower for months. Yet the most noticeable things about him were his sharp eyes and the faint aroma of soil around him. Looking at him, Jake also instantly knew that this man was a god. He