Too Stubborn to Die

Darius knew what was going on. He knew how the armies he had built were being crushed in the thousands. So much of what he had conquered was being reversed in such a short time. At first, it infuriated him. He had put quite a bit of effort into building up his armies and spreading across the land, and it was all coming undone.

But bemoaning defeats was not how he had gotten to where he was. In fact, he had gotten close to dying multiple times in the Tutorial. Compared to that, what was any of this?

Besides, even with the drawbacks, his minions had spread far and wide, and now, his spies were everywhere. And now, the information they gathered poured into his lair from across the world. Which was exactly why he was where he was.

Instead of meeting his rival personally, he was marching down the hall of a high-level dungeon with several undead elites at his side.

Reaching the dungeon had required traveling across the world. But it was a small cost for what he was after. If the missives were correct, this dungeon held the key to securing the power he needed. A power that would push him far beyond anything Aaron Dober was capable of.

A small force of mid D-grade weresnakes charged him from all around as they reached the inner chamber. They were decently strong, but his undead companions dealt with them easily, while he saved his own necrotic power for their leader.

In the following chamber, they spotted it. A giant rattlesnake the size of a small building. It was tough and put up a brave fight. In fact, it was so strong that he might have struggled against it if not for his undead companions.

But like everything, their combined power was simply too much, and the boss folded under their might. Darius didn’t lose a step, marching straight through into the treasure chamber beyond.

“There it is. Just as the missive said it would be. How fortunate.” Darius rubbed his white hands together and reached out for the divine shard. “Ohoh. And to think, they actually thought I would be defeated. What fools. A fragment of a god’s power. And it’s all mine.”

Darius laughed, sounding utterly insane. He marveled at the glowing shard of divine energy as he took it in his hands. To anybody else, the true power of such a treasure would be wasted. After all, normal mortals couldn’t wield divine power.

But the Death God had seen to it that he was no normal mortal. He had taught him how to corrupt his aether and bind his soul to the divine plane. But being that he was still mortal, he wasn’t able to take full advantage of that power, or what the god had shown him.

Until now.

A toothy grin crept across Darius’ face. This treasure changed everything, and madness flashed across his face as he stabbed the shard straight into his chest. Golden veins wrapped across his body, and a faint glow emanated from within his chest as the power thudded through him.

“That… that’s it,” he gasped with delight. “Divine power at my fingertips. It’s all coming together. Now for the final ballet. Time to go and claim the world core, and end this pointless struggle.”

Darius turned and exited, undead in two. The pieces were all falling together, and it made the temporary loss of a few obelisks seem so utterly pointless in the grand scheme of things.

Somewhere at the edge of the barrens

Agatha’s command tent shook with each labored step of the massive construct. From atop the construct, she could look out upon the sea of undead she commanded as they reached the end of the barrens and neared their destination.

Finally, we’re getting close.

Just as she sighed with delight, her viewing screen beeped with an incoming message, and she groaned. “What now?” Agatha muttered as she meandered over to it.

Unlike most undead, she had kept her mind, and because of that, she had been rewarded with a command. In truth, though, she had hated Darius when they first met, a hatred that only grew worse after he tricked her and murdered her.

But in undeath, she had learned new Skills, and her physical form was stronger than ever before. And Agatha had a pragmatic outlook. The world had changed. The multiverse treasured power, and she had long realized that was what was most important. And if Darius could give it to her, she wouldn’t hold a grudge. Not a big one, at least. And now, leading an army of his, she found herself fully immersed in the role of a loyal subject.

That said, she was no drone, and Agatha enjoyed her independence. Groaning, she accepted the call, even though she felt as if they were invasive. And she wished Darius would allow her to work in peace.

“Is everything going to plan?” Darius asked as he appeared on the screen.

“It is,” she said. “As it was last time you called.”

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“Is that so?” Darius raised a brow. “I hear irritation in your voice. Remember what is important. I need you to succeed. You have an army at your fingertips. You cannot fail me now. And I shouldn’t need to remind you of the rewards should you impress me. My power at your command. Whatever you desire. A new body perhaps? Or maybe just parts? I could tear them from a top ranker and grant them to you. Or maybe family resurrection? Who knows, I might even decide to let you govern a world, should you prove yourself worthy.”

“Yes, sir,” Agatha bowed. She might have been a little irritated, but the rewards were tantalizing. “I will not fail you. We’re moving toward the city, as you commanded. I am not like those other weaklings. The Alliance won’t see me coming.”

“Good. See it done,” Darius said, and disappeared from the screen.

Raksha

Poison struck the C-grade ghoul at different angles as countless attacks rained down upon it, and tendrils whipped across its body.

Pieces of the ghoul were beaten away, as its power dwindled as the fight dragged on. But the fast creature kept coming, unwilling to give up as it swung its clawed attacks furiously.

But Raksha was always one step ahead, avoiding attacks and countering with her own. Though the frustration of her poison being completely ineffective was evident on her face.

A back-and-forth continued for some time, her thal’kesh warriors standing back. They desperately wanted to join the fray, but knew better than to ignore a command.

Raksha’s word was law.

But despite her strongest Skills, her poison not damaging the ghoul, she carefully whittled down the C-grade monster, and the moment it was weak enough, she finished it off. Her tendrils wrapped around its head, crushing it with a single powerful attack.

“You did it! Amazing, my queen!” One of the thal’kesh said, rushing out and bowing before her. “To defeat something so powerful without your poison. You really are the strongest in our world, and worthy of the top rank!”

“Pfff, shut up!” Raksha hissed. “This was not good enough. Not good enough if I want to beat him.”

The thal’kesh looked around as if they had shoved their boot down their throat, but were relieved when a human woman walked past.

“Him?” The human woman said. “You’re talking about Aaron Dober, my queen?”

“What do you think? Of course I am. The struggle for the world core will be pointless unless I can best him.”

“I understand. Commanders!” The human shouted. “Do not disappoint the queen! Push your scouts harder! We must find more top-level prey for our queen to temper herself against! Failure is not an option, understood?!”

“Yes, we won’t fail you!” Several commanders shouted back, taking a knee before heading out on their quest.

“Keep on their backs,” Raksha hissed. “We have no time to take things easy. We must keep pushing. Until the world core is ours.”

Erdek

Drums and guttural singing filled the air as the goblin legion marched. When so many goblins gathered in one place and moved as one, it was essentially a never-ending party of debauchery.

Rattling vehicles that looked like they were about to fall apart coughed black smoke as they sped along the ground. Some had platforms built atop them with sneering goblins in celebration, consuming all kinds of questionable things.

This was the horde, and it was hundreds of thousands strong, stretching across the land as far as the eye could see, and the many sounds of it turned into a chorus of indistinguishable noise.

As the horde moved, most they came across didn’t even put up a fight, surrendering the moment they saw the horde blanketed across the horizon. And at each conquest, the strongest men were taken into Erdek’s personal camp and added to her honor guard.

But the horde’s movement was not mindless. Erdek kept careful study over the System map, fueled by a Title she had unlocked some time ago, called [ Conquest Prodigy ]. The Title granted her the ability to see exactly where the world core was on their world, and that was exactly where she led her horde.

But as they neared their target, she realized that Aaron’s faction had become involved in its defense.

It wasn’t that she didn’t respect Terry. She had seen him in the dungeon and knew that he was strong; it was just that she believed herself stronger. And felt the same way about Talia and Soohyun. But she knew her place, and knew she did not want to draw the wrath of Aaron, not yet, at least.

She ordered her horde to come to a halt some distance away to avoid discovery. And fortunately for her, she was an empress. Ruler of countless followers, including many gifted alchemists.

Erdek had been waiting for several hours, and the moment her tent flaps rustled, she perked up. Several of her followers entered alongside the best alchemists.

“It’s completed, just as ya requested,” one of the alchemists said, stepping forward and bowing.

“Bring it to me,” she snapped her fingers.

The goblin hurriedly raised and rushed over, bowing again, and raising the potion above its head. Raksha snapped it up, looked at the peculiar liquid for a moment, and then downed it in one.

A few seconds passed with nothing, and then she burped loudly.

“That’s it! It’s working,” the alchemist said.

Suddenly, Erdek’s form started to stretch, her features twisted and morphed. In less than a minute, she was standing at five feet and nine inches, with long, smooth legs, and hefty, eye-catching proportions. Her hair was long and dark, her features sharp but feminine, with wide, mesmerising yellow eyes and thick, fluttering lashes.

“What is this?” She huffed as she looked in the mirror. “Why do I look like this? I was supposed to look human! Why is my skin still green?!”

“I-uh, I…” the alchemist stammered and fell backward. “Maybe I can...”

“Relax, Empress. It’s fine. In fact, it doesn’t look bad on you at all,” one of her human honor guards said. “Besides, with everything that’s happened since integration, I don’t think anybody will care too much about green skin.”

Erdek glared back, and then sighed. This mission was already taking too long. She was frustrated she couldn’t just charge straight toward her target with her horde and kill everyone. But that might cause Aaron to hunt her down. And the last thing she wanted to do now was to wait around for another potion to be brewed.

“Fine. But if this fails, you will suffer,” she pointed at the alchemist. “And you, dress me.” She turned back to her manservant guard. “I must appear irresistible to the human man. This must work!”

“I understand, Empress. You will catch his gaze, I guarantee it.”

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