Rise of the Super War God

Chapter 5: Into the Voidspawn Swarm

Kael Ardyn’s chest burned. Frustration slithered through him like wildfire, licking at the edges of his patience. But his face remained a mask—stone, unreadable. If someone looked closely, they might catch the faintest twitch of his jaw or a flicker in his eyes. Beyond that, he seemed calm. Composed. A predator trapped in a cage, coiled and ready to strike, yet forced to lie still in the cold embrace of the cryo-pod.

“Host,” a voice slid into his mind, smooth, teasing, each syllable dripping with impossible confidence. “You’re just lying there, doing nothing. Shall I help sharpen your survival instincts?”

Kael pinched the bridge of his nose. His voice was low, sharp. “Sharpen my survival instincts? Explain. How exactly?”

“By transferring you into another dimension,” Lyndric Fayne replied, mock-serious, each word deliberate, “for a short but highly efficient training session.”

Kael exhaled through his teeth. “Training, huh? Fine. Training’s fine. But if we’re doing this, at least assign me a sparring partner. Make her… interesting. Beautiful. Someone with personality.” Sarcasm laced his words, but underneath, he was dead serious.

A soft chime echoed in his mind.

“Scanning nearby environment and host requirements… sixty-five percent match detected. Activating War God System mission mode.”

A holographic map unfurled inside Kael’s consciousness: a desolate planet, writhing with insectoid monstrosities stretching into the horizon.

Mission Name: The Blessing of Struggle (Voidspawn Edition)

Scenario: Frontlines of humanity’s relentless Voidspawn Swarm—one thousand years before their first invasion. The planet is crawling with the swarm.

Objective: Explore and escape.

Completion: Leave the planet alive.

Failure: Death, entrapment, or failure to locate the escape.

Reward: Special-Class Talent Skill.

Penalty: Optional survival; permanent residence on insectoid-infested wasteland.

Newbie Privilege: Voidspawn Survival Manual provided.

The description faded, leaving an icy void echoing in Kael’s mind. Then a countdown began—three minutes, each tick reverberating like funeral drums in his nerves. Panic clawed at him.

“What the—this is the mission? No! Absolutely not!” he yelled, voice trembling. “I don’t want this! It’s insane! I’m an Arcane Mind Arts specialist, not a soldier! You’re throwing me onto a planet swarming with alien insects! Stop this, Lyndric Fayne! Stop it now!”

Silence. Cold. Mechanical. Unyielding.

“Once a mission is issued, it cannot be altered. As per your request, a strong-willed female character will assist you. Mission begins now. Strive, host, and aim to become a War God soon.”

Another voice, robotic and unwavering, interjected: “Host will now draw a Special-Class Skill.”

Inside Kael’s mind, a massive wheel appeared, glowing and spinning. Each narrow segment is a promise—or a curse:

Immortal Body

Heart of the Bloodthirsty Werewolf

Spatial Teleportation

Elemental Envoy

Iron Will

Kael’s stomach churned. “Stop!” he shouted inwardly. The wheel ignored him, spinning with indifferent fury.

The pointer staggered like a drunken arrow, hovering over Immortal Body. His pulse surged. Then it jerked again and finally stopped.

Reaper’s Eyeballs.

“Congratulations, Host. Special Ability acquired: Reaper’s Eyeballs (Beginner). Initiating transplantation…”

Pain exploded behind Kael’s eyes. Invisible but unbearable, molten orbs replacing his own. Blood ran down his cheeks. He thrashed violently, screaming, before finally daring to open his eyes.

The world had changed. Colors vanished. Monochrome stretched infinitely—desert, sky, shadows of unseen creatures. Even the interior of his vanished spaceship was now a hollow shell. Instinctively, his hand found the sunglasses dangling around his neck. Once on, depth perception softened, but black-and-white vision remained. Until his Reaper’s Eyes matured fully, color would not return.

Above him, a white circular gate shimmered into existence. Majestic, ancient, pulsing with light, it yawned open. Gravity, alive and conscious, tugged at him. His body twisted violently, flung through the void as if reality itself had snapped, until unconsciousness claimed him.

When he woke, the sun blazed mercilessly across endless white sand. At his feet… something unnatural. A human head. Detached. Stitched together like a haunted doll repaired obsessively over decades. Hollow eyes stared, lifeless yet judging.

The Reaper’s Eyes forced him to see stark contrasts: life and death, sin and survival. Beneath the sand, subtle movements hinted at creatures lurking, unseen but present. A harsh wind cut across the monochrome world. The gate hovered above, glowing.

Train. Survive. Become a War God.

Instinct screamed: run, hide, scream. But deep inside, a primal surge stirred. Clenching his fists, Kael let blood and sand mingle beneath the relentless sun. Lifting his gaze toward the gate and the horrors beyond, he realized: survival alone wasn’t enough. He would fight.

A rasping voice croaked, breaking the silence. “Finally! Someone came to save me! That boy Lyndric Fayne wasn’t lying—he acted fast!”

Kael froze. The head he assumed lifeless blinked. Mouth moving. Reflexively, he kicked it. It spun several meters away, shrieking: “Ugh! That hurts, you damned brat! How dare you kick your grandma!”

Six dark gray tentacles erupted from the jagged neck stump, thick as a baby’s arm, lined with glistening suction cups. They writhed, dragging the head forward with terrifying speed.

“M-Monster!” Kael stumbled, heart hammering. Legs frozen in the sand.

“Don’t move, boy!” rasped the voice. “I sense the aura of my disciple, Lyndric Fayne, on you. Far too strange…”

Kael’s pulse raced. “War God System—Lyndric Fayne! Is this really your teacher?”

Silence.

Swallowing hard, Kael stepped closer. “I’m Lyndric Fayne’s assistant. You said you were his teacher. What should I call you?”

“You may call me Grandma Stitcher,” the head replied sharply. “I mentored Lyndric Fayne in biomedical engineering. That boy… gifted beyond reason. Yet even he remains the only person I could never fully see through.”

Kael’s eyes scanned the monochrome desert. “What is this place? The Voidspawn swarm… everywhere, right?”

“My ship was caught in a cosmic storm,” Grandma Stitcher said grimly. “I escaped with bio-guards in a survival capsule. But it crashed-landed. Nighttime, when we arrived, the bugs swarmed immediately. My warriors fought, but I lost my body. Barely survived. Where is your ship?”

“I… don’t have one. Lyndric Fayne teleported me here,” Kael admitted shakily.

Her tentacles twitched, impatient, like living whips. “No ship? Then can you survive a planet full of bugs?”

“I was about to ask the same,” Kael said wryly. “I’m a psychology student, not a soldier. Combat ability… minimal.”

“What? Then why are you here? To die? You cannot protect yourself!” Grandma Stitcher shrieked, tentacles lashing.

Kael’s pulse slowed. Thoughts sharpened. “Wait… did Lyndric Fayne tell you anything before sending me?”

Her tentacles froze. “Hmm?”

“He said a strong-willed, unique woman would help me find a way off this planet. That’s on me.”

A harsh laugh rattled the desert air. “Fine. I’ll trust no one but myself. You, boy… you’re my errand runner now.”

Kael’s stomach tightened. “Do you actually have a way off this planet?”

“I might. But it won’t be easy. Day and night, we fight to reach extraction. Full cooperation—no hesitation, no whining, no running off.”

Kael exhaled, gripping resolve like a weapon. “Then… let’s get started.”

Tentacles lashed the sand, throwing clouds into the air. Shrill warnings screamed through his mind: Move, boy! The swarm is coming!

The desert seemed alive. Every shadow, twitch, ripple amplified. The planet pulsed with hunger.

The first monstrous bugs crested the horizon, moving with terrifying speed. Mercy? None. Kael swallowed hard, gripping determination like armor. One thought echoed: If I fail, no one survives.

Grandma Stitcher’s eyes narrowed. “One misstep, boy…”

The swarm advanced. The fight for survival—and escape—had truly begun.