Paragon of Skills

“YOU DARE!” Lyra shouts, parrying a blow that feels too strong coming from the boy. “WHERE ARE YOU STEALING THIS POWER FROM?!”

“The power of… goodness? Heh, look, the day I lose to an evil bitch like you, I’m retiring.”

“What did you call me?!” Lyra swings her Mithril scythe to cleave Jacob Cloud in two, but instead of dodging it, he raises his sword and blocks the terrifying blow. The Mithril Scythe cracks where Jacob hit it.

“Oops, is that a flaw in the Mithril?” Jacob smiles, suddenly kicking Lyra right in the stomach, making the woman reel back.

Lyra, at this point, levitates in the air, not sure about what’s happening with the brat in front of her. How is he so strong? And where is he drawing his power from? Her own Primordial Spells cannot interfere with the Grimoire anymore. He’s seen through her attacks, through her weaknesses! It’s like she’s naked in front of him!

Jacob observes her, powerless, unable to reach her.

What is he doing? Where does he draw the power from? Lyra thinks frantically. There must be something that I’m not getting!

By killing her own Boss and severing her resource of power, her children, she had thought that, at the very least, she’d be able to first kill Jacob Cloud, and then the rest of the Champions and Dark Champions.

I must first kill him. Until they’re ensnared, they can’t use their Rainbow Skills. But if I attacked them and they survived, then Jacob Cloud would use them. He’s at his weakest when he’s alone… but then how is he doing this?

At the very least, Lyra is relieved that Jacob can’t reach her up in the air. After fusing all of his Skills, he has no way to—

Two angelic flaming wings appear on his back. They shine like liquid Mithril that has caught on fire—that has been tinted red.

“I was always fascinated with fire,” Jacob Cloud tells her, slowly rising in the air. “It’s… the red? It’s so cool.”

Then, he shoots at insane speed toward her, with a trail of blazing fire in his wake.

Lyra growls and throws her scythe in the air, joining her palms.

“CAGE OF THE RUINED APOCALYPSE!”

Jacob Cloud freezes mid-air in a space-lock. Tendrils of white Mithril separate from Lyra’s body as they go on to strengthen the ethereal cage.

“I will make you mine, Jacob Cloud. I will take you apart like a toy, and find what makes a brat like you so strong. And then, I’ll offer it to my Mistress!” Lyra cackles evilly.

The cage is transparent and she sees Jacob just standing there, unbothered.

“This is one of my most powerful Primordial Spells,” Lyra says, and then she starts channeling more and more Mana, summoning her next spell. “Your pathetic Skills, your pathetic magic… you can do nothing to me. I am Lyra! Apocalypse’s Apostle! I am the Bringer of Ruin!”

She raises her arms and more Mithril comes out of her body, forming seven long spears.

“SPEARS OF RUIN!”

She has poured so much Mana and Mithril into her best attack, a formation of flying spears that can pierce through anything, that she just knows she’s won this. There’s nothing that Jacob Cloud can do against her.

How could he respond to an attack meant to end an entire civilization?

Her spears are able to seek out the living across an entire continent, to continue their slaughter, drinking of their victim’s souls and becoming stronger with each mortal they drain.

Suddenly, the space-lock explodes forward.

Lyra has to shield her face against the extreme heat that buffets her. Even her Mithril-made body starts to partially melt.

When she’s able to look forward, she sees Jacob’s sword has changed color. It’s red now. But not the red of blood. The red of flames.

“Y—you!” Lyra is stunned. “What are you?!”

“Well, technically, an ex-miner, a student of the Academy, Leader of Champions, and now also commander of the expedition against you, the Original Primordial Dungeon, and… oh right. A blacksmith, I suppose?”

“What?”

“You asked what I am. That’s, in order, what I was, have been, just became. Blacksmithing is the latest addiction. But… I don’t really vibe in the forge, you know? I don’t like spending that much time closed off from the world, using an anvil… it’s a bit boring. I’ll fold some metal when I can, but just out of pure necessity. I mean, when I was maxing out every single Skill I got, I—“

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“You… WHAT?!”

“Oh, I forgot to say, right? All those Skills? It’s not that hard to max them out once you have the Grimoire at your disposal and you can spend some time in a forge. But trust me, never again. Forging, with all due respect to blacksmiths, is boring as hell. That’s where I got the idea for my next Class.”

Lyra is speechless. She’s still reeling from the first revelation.

She cares not about Skills, but did Jacob Cloud just imply he leveled to level 100… what, hundreds of different Skills?

She knows from the souls she’s absorbed that one usually levels up a handful of them around level 80 or 90. Did Jacob Cloud really just…

“If you’re wondering about the Skills,” Jacob says, as if reading her mind, “yeah, it was a hassle. But I’m not risking my life and doing things halfway through, right? I leveled up each Skill to level 100. It was easy. Most of them share many pathways in common. It was like a domino, leveling up one would level up many others. And so, here we are. And…”

Jacob Cloud groans in pain.

“Oof, that was the last of it. So, let’s see, this should be my new Imperium Rank Complete Skill. I hope it has ‘forge’ in its name…”

Lyra is dumbfounded as Jacob shares the description of his Skill with her.

[Heartforge (Imperium) - Lv. 5]

[Description: Heartforge allows for manipulation of Heartfire.]

“If you don’t know, since I didn’t as well, Heartfire is apparently… this.”

Jacob’s body suddenly explodes with the red flames, covering him from head to toe, making him become an avatar of fire.

“The Grimoire says it’s an all-encompassing flame that allows for attack, defense, mobility, and even body tempering.”

Suddenly, a massive shockwave rocks the cavern, making many shriveled bodies of the Nightmares above fall in the underground lake.

Lyra’s eyes go wide.

“That was my new Class. I only got one new Skill, it seems. Want to see it?”

Jacob raises his hand toward Lyra.

“Fireball.”

Lyra braces for a massive impact but… nothing happens.

“I’m joking,” Jacob says, suddenly behind her. “I don’t need it for someone like you.”

Suddenly, Lyra is consumed by Jacob’s Heartfire, burning away in seconds, turned to ash.

[You have defeated Lyra - Dungeon of Ruin.]

[You have gained a reward.]

A chest falls in front of the old Dungeon Core, which now starts to crack and shatter in a million pieces.

[You have twenty-four hours to leave the Dungeon.]

Jacob approaches the platform and sees that the Champions and Dark Champions have all left their bindings.

One by one, they hit the ground.

“Heartfire, huh?” Nimirea says, looking straight at Jacob. “I wonder how strong that is.”

“So, is she dead?” Vyrrak says, looking at the ash flying in the cavern. “Is she really dead?”

“I got a notification,” Jacob explains, “we have twenty-four hours to evacuate the Dungeon.”

“My Dark Door works again!” Augusta chimes in. “We can leave immediately!”

Jacob sighs.

“About that… Champions, would you mind taking a few steps back?”

The Champions, caught by surprise, still obey.

“What?” Delefagus asks. “Why, you intend to immediately try and fight us? Do you think you can take—“

Augusta falls to the ground, unconscious, with Jacob above her. Seven Mandalas appear on top of her.

The Mandalas rotate slowly around Augusta, each turning against its neighbor, and the sound they make together is a same low, bell-throated hum. It’s a sound no instrument should be able to produce, and that the mortal ear should not be able to hear. Augusta’s back arches off the ground. Her mouth opens and closes wordlessly. The tattoos on her face flare bright red, then bright white, and snuff out at once.

Just as had happened with Nimirea back at the tournament, Augusta vomits a Dark Seed and Jacob crushes it with his foot.

“Have you lost your mind?!” Korrath Kethys shouts. “We have been allies until now! What are you doing?!”

Jacob ignores Korrath and dodges two blades, one coming from Veyrissa and the other from Asterismos. As they pass beside him, he rotates on his hands, and hits them both with kicks to their stomachs. Both collapse to the ground, retching.

Next, before they can react, seven more Mandalas appear above each of them.

They vomit two more Dark Seeds and Jacob crushes them both.

Korrath activates his Rainbow Skill and charges for Jacob, shouting, “Talia, take the bastard down!”

“Jacob!” Asterion shouts.

“Stay back!” Jacob shouts back.

Jacob appears behind Korrath, but instead of fighting him directly, he just restrains the black-scaled Dragonkin’s wrists, kicking his legs under him, landing on his back. The next moment, seven Mandalas are above Korrath and he’s vomiting his Dark Seed, with Jacob crushing it a moment later.

Before any Dark Champion can use their Rainbow Skill or even realize what’s going on, they’ve all been neutralized, passed out on the ground, deprived of their Dark Seeds.

There’s just Delefagus, who has monsterified… but… he still looks remarkably human. There’s just a lot of scales over his body.

Without saying a word, Delefagus throws a punch at Jacob, and then, up close, releases his miasma. Jacob’s Heartfire burns up all of Delefagus’s miasma. And even in his monsterified form, with Delefagus’s power reaching Intermediate Imperium Rank, Jacob hits the man’s solar plexus, making him fall, breathless.

Seven Mandalas appear above Delefagus and the monsterification is slowly shed away, dissipating into black smoke, as the Dark Champion vomits his Dark Seed.

Passed out because of the Ordeal, there’s no other Dark Champion standing.

“That’s one way to do it,” Baal says, eyeing Jacob. “What are we going to do with them—“

“I’m not done,” Jacob says, turning toward Nimirea. “I offered you to join the Champions several times and you always refused. You held out even after I ripped Asmodeus’s claws out of you.”

Nimirea walks forward, eyes narrowed.

She takes out her pink sword and licks her lips.

“You’ve always been a smug, arrogant prick, Jacob, with your holier-than-thou attitude. What, you want to give me a rematch from the tournament? Do you want to risk losing after your big win? After attacking the same people who just helped you?”

“I’m tired of apologizing for saving stupid bastards who sold their soul. I’ll first wipe the floor with your sorry ass,” Jacob says, “and then you and all the others will join the Champions when I win. I’m done asking.”

“And if you lose?” Nimirea says, summoning the pink avatar beside her and covering her sword in Devouring Ocean Eating the Heavens.

“Good luck with that,” Jacob says, fire covering him all up again and lunging forward.

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