Quest Timer: 48:00:00 remaining.
Vicky Thorne stood at Level 18. His stats (STR 24, SPD 23, END 23) were so high they felt like a heavy weight under his skin, a coiled spring of nuclear force. The red fog of the Corrupted Plane swirled around his knees, and in the far distance, the massive, floating boss-island pulsed like a diseased, crimson sun.
He had 48 hours left. His goal was simple: to become so powerful that the final boss would be nothing but his final meal.
He took his first step, and the ground cracked under his boot. He was no longer a visitor. He was the new apex predator, and the plane's current monsters were his livestock.
He activated Blood Sense (Lvl 2), which cut through the red haze. He felt a Fragment Guardian (Lvl 19) stomping through a broken cathedral a mile away. When he was Level 17, this was a 5-minute boss fight.
Now, at Level 18, it was a speed-bump.
Vicky didn't run. He launched. His Speed (23) was a black, subsonic blur. He crossed the mile in seconds.
The Guardian, a ten-foot golem of crystal and rage, sensed him. It turned, raising its massive axe.
Vicky didn't dodge. He didn't aim for the joints. He didn't have time.
He activated Titan's Strength (Lvl 2) and poured every ounce of his Strength (24) and Chi (20) into his Blood Claws. His right hand became a white-hot, burning, crimson drill.
He met the Guardian's charge head-on.
The Guardian swung its axe. Vicky punched the axe.
KRA-KOOM!
The sound of the impact was a shockwave. The two-ton crystal axe shattered into a million pieces.
The Guardian's red eye flickered. It was confused.
Vicky didn't give it time. He jumped, his fist still burning, and punched the Guardian's "High Defense" chest.
CLANG!
The sound of his claws hitting the crystal armor was deafening.
CRACK!
A spiderweb of fractures appeared.
"Break!" Vicky roared.
He punched again. The Guardian's entire torso exploded.
SYSTEM
Fragment Guardian (Lvl 19) defeated.
Trial Bonus (XP Multiplier) active.
XP Acquired: +4,000 XP.
XP Total: 4,000 / 18,500 (To Lvl 19).
The fight took three seconds.
This was the "god-machine" phase. The next two hours were a whirlwind of absolute dominance. Vicky was a typhoon of violence. He hunted the Corrupted Stalkers (Lvl 18) and the Guardians (Lvl 19) with a brutal, mechanical efficiency. He was a force of nature, an engine of pure XP generation. He didn't just kill them; he dismantled them, his stats so high that their defenses meant nothing.
He found a pack of four Stalkers. He didn't fight them. He just activated his Blood Shield and detonated it, the Blood-Chi Fusion blast killing all four instantly.
He found another Guardian and tore its arm off, beating it to death with its own limb.
The plane felt empty in his wake.
SYSTEM:
Fragment Guardians (Lvl 19) defeated. (+12,000 XP)
2 x Corrupted Stalkers (Lvl 18) defeated. (+2,600 XP)
XP Total: 18,600 / 18,500.
A wave of power surged through him. He was already leveling up.
SYSTEM: LEVEL UP!
Level 19 achieved.
Stat Points Available: +3.
XP: 100 / 21,000 (To Lvl 20).
All attributes strengthened.
"Allocate," he commanded, his voice a deep rumble. "One to Strength, one to Speed, one to Endurance."
VICKY THORNE: STATUS
Level: 19
Stat Points Available: 0
STR: 25
SPD: 24
END: 24
Chi: 20 / 20
He was now Level 19. He felt invincible. He felt like the final boss himself.
And at that exact moment, at the 40-hour mark, the plane answered his arrogance.
The red fog did not just thicken. It boiled.
The distant, pulsing, boss-island roared—a psychic, silent scream of pure rage that shook Vicky's very soul.
The ground trembled. The red fog began to pull back, like a tide receding, leaving the world clear, but... darker.
A new, malevolent energy filled the air.
SYSTEM ALERT
Plane Instability: 50%
BOSS PROXIMITY: AWAKENED
PRIME-TIER HOSTILES DETECTED.
"Prime-Tier?" Vicky said, his confidence wavering for the first time.
Blood Sense gave him a new reading.
A new creature. It looked like a Wanderer, but it was taller, leaner, and its obsidian armor was streaked with crimson lines that pulsed with light. Its claws were no longer just black; they were blood-red and seemed to drip with shadow.
PRIME WANDERER
Level: 18
Tier: 2 (Prime Hostile)
HP: 1,200
Special: Blood-Marked Claws (Causes Bleeding), Pack Tactics
Vicky (Lvl 19) looked at the Lvl 18 Prime Wanderer. "Still just a Wanderer."
He blurred forward, his Chi-Claws aimed for its chest.
CLANG!
His claws, which had just shattered a Guardian, bounced off the Prime Wanderer's armor. It left a scratch, but the creature lived.
The Wanderer didn't just counter. It danced. It sidestepped, its movements fluid and intelligent, and its blood-red claws swiped at Vicky.
Vicky was forced to dodge. "It's... smart."
A second Prime Wanderer appeared, then a third. They were using tactics, flanking him, cutting off his escape.
This was a real fight again. He was in a three-on-one. He used a Blood Shield blast to push one back, then focused on the other two. He had to hit them three times in the same spot to break their armor. This was no longer a one-punch kill.
After ten seconds of brutal, close-quarters combat, he finally shattered the first one's head.
SYSTEM
Prime Wanderer (Lvl 18) defeated.
XP Acquired: +1,500 XP.
XP Total: 1,600 / 21,000 (To Lvl 20).
The XP was higher. The monsters were better. The grind was back on.
He finished the other two, his suit now torn from their new, bleeding-effect claws.
He was about to hunt more when his Blood Sense picked up two new signals. One was the static-blink of a Stalker. The other was the heavy thud of a Guardian.
But they were Prime.
A new Stalker appeared. It was no longer made of "glass." It was made of jet-black crystal. Its red eye was a burning coal, and its static-blink burned the air, leaving a trail of black-red energy.
And the Guardian...
Vicky felt his blood run cold.
It was fifteen feet tall. Its crystal armor was a deep, blood-red, and its massive crystal axe was literally on fire, wreathed in black-red flames.
PRIME STALKER
Level: 20
Tier: 2 (Prime Hostile)
HP: 1,500
Special: Blazing Phase, Soul-Burn Claws
PRIME GUARDIAN
Level: 22
Tier: 2 (Prime Mini-Boss)
HP: 4,000
Special: Crimsonflame Axe, Unbreakable Armor
Vicky was Level 19. He was facing a Level 20 and a Level 22 at the same time.
"This," he panted, "is a real test."
He knew he couldn't fight them both. He had to separate them.
He fired a Blood Arrow at the Stalker to get its attention.
The Stalker's red eye locked on him. It blinked.
Vicky was ready for it. He activated Blood Shield.
The Prime Stalker appeared, its claws sizzling.
SCHREEE!
The Stalker's claws burned through his shield's energy, but the shield held. The Stalker was repelled, its claws smoking.
Vicky dropped the shield and attacked.
He was Lvl 19. It was Lvl 20. They were almost equals.
It was a high-speed, teleporting duel. Blink. Clash. Blink. Dodge. Vicky's Speed (24) was just high enough. He was using Blood Sense to predict, not react.
The Stalker blinked, Vicky predicted, and he met the Stalker as it materialized, his Chi-Claws plunging deep into its back.
It was a clean, hard-fought kill.
SYSTEM
Prime Stalker (Lvl 20) defeated.
XP Acquired: +3,000 XP.
XP Total: 4,600 / 21,000 (To Lvl 20).
He was about to catch his breath when the THUD arrived.
The Prime Guardian (Lvl 22) was here.
It didn't roar. It just raised its massive, flaming axe.
Vicky stared at the "Unbreakable Armor."
"We'll see," he growled.
He flew at it, his Chi-Claws at full power. Titan's Strength!
He punched the Guardian's chest.
CLANG!
The sound was like a high-pitched bell. His claws bounced off. They left a zero-millimeter scratch.
Vicky's eyes widened in genuine shock.
The Guardian's flaming axe came down.
Vicky was so fast he dodged it, but the heat from the axe-swing seared his side, melting his suit and blistering his skin.
His Endurance (24) fought the burn, but it hurt.
He couldn't break the armor. He couldn't tank the heat.
This was an impossible fight.
He ran, the Guardian smashing the world to pieces behind him. He needed a plan.
He looked at the creature. The joints. The shoulder and elbow joints. They weren't solid crystal. They were swirling vortexes of pure, red energy.
"That's it. It's not a rock. It's a machine. I have to overload it."
He couldn't break the armor. So, he wouldn't try.
He led the Guardian on a chase, weaving through a field of floating spikes. The Guardian was slow.
Vicky stopped. He turned. He didn't use his claws.
He aimed his hands.
"Blood Arrow! Blood Arrow! Blood Arrow!"
He didn't fire one. He fired twenty. He fired a non-stop, machine-gun stream of crimson, Chi-infused bolts. He wasn't aiming for the body. He was aiming for the shoulder joint.
The Guardian raised its shield-arm, but the bolts were too fast, too small.
Pew! Pew! Pew!
They sank into the energy vortex. The Guardian stumbled. Its energy shield was flickering.
Vicky kept firing. He poured all his vampiric energy into the assault.
The vortex sputtered. It died.
The Guardian's arm, now just dead weight, fell to its side, its flaming axe extinguishing.
It was crippled.
"One down," Vicky panted.
The Guardian, enraged, charged, trying to crush him.
Vicky was a blur. He ran up its back, got to the other shoulder joint, and repeated the process.
Pew! Pew! Pew!
He overloaded the second joint. The creature was now armless. It was just a big, stomping, useless golem.
Vicky landed in front of it. He placed his burning, Chi-infused hand on its chest.
"Thank you for the XP," he said.
He fired a max-power Blood Arrow shotgun blast into its core, shattering the red eye and killing it.
SYSTEMPrime Guardian (Lvl 22) defeated.XP Acquired: +10,000 XP.XP Total: 14,600 / 21,000 (To Lvl 20).
He was exhausted, burned, but alive. And he knew how to kill them.
He needed 6,400 more XP. He hunted and killed three more Prime Stalkers.
SYSTEM(3) Prime Stalkers (Lvl 20) defeated.XP Acquired: +9,000 XP.XP Total: 23,600 / 21,000.
SYSTEM: LEVEL UP!
Level 20 achieved.
Stat Points Available: +3.
XP: 2,600 / 24,000 (To Lvl 21).
All attributes strengthened.
"Allocate," he commanded, his body healing instantly. "One to Strength, one to Speed, one to Endurance."
He was now Level 20. The Prime Stalkers were his equals. The Lvl 22 Guardians were the perfect challenge.
VICKY THORNE: STATUS
Level: 20
Stat Points Available: 0
STR: 26
SPD: 25
END: 25
Chi: 20 / 20
The next eighteen hours were the hardest, most brutal, non-stop grind of Vicky's life.
It was a blur of red-hot crystal, phasing static, and Vicky's own crimson blood. He was not a god. He was a butcher, and he was also the one being butchered. He was healing, fighting, leveling, and healing again.
At Hour 48: He hunted two Prime Guardians. His Strength (26) was high enough that his Chi-Claws could crack their armor, but it was still easier to overload the joints.
SYSTEM:
Prime Guardians (Lvl 22) defeated.
XP Acquired: +20,000 XP.
XP Total: 22,600 / 24,000 (To Lvl 21).
He killed a pack of Prime Stalkers to tip the scales.
SYSTEM:
Prime Stalkers (Lvl 20) defeated.
XP Acquired: +6,000 XP.
XP Total: 28,600 / 24,000.
SYSTEM : LEVEL UP!
Level 21 achieved.
Stat Points Available: +3.
XP: 4,600 / 28,000 (To Lvl 22).
All attributes strengthened.
"Allocate. All balanced."
He was now Level 21. (Stats: 27, 26, 26).
At Hour 55: He was a well-oiled machine. He could take down a Lvl 22 Guardian in under three minutes. He was a master of his environment. He was hunting them in pairs.
SYSTEM :
Prime Guardians (Lvl 22) defeated.
XP Acquired: +20,000 XP.
XP Total: 24,600 / 28,000 (To Lvl 22).
He needed 3,400 more. He killed three Prime Stalkers.
SYSTEM:
Prime Stalkers (Lvl 20) defeated.
XP Acquired: +9,000 XP.
XP Total: 33,600 / 28,000.
SYSTEM: LEVEL UP!
Level 22 achieved.
Stat Points Available: +3.
XP: 5,600 / 32,000 (To Lvl 23).
All attributes strengthened.
"Allocate. All balanced."
He was now Level 22. (Stats: 28, 27, 27). He was equal to the Prime Guardians.
The fight changed. He didn't need to aim for the joints. His Strength (28), combined with his Chi-Claws, could break their unbreakable armor.
He hunted his next Guardian and shattered its chest plate in a single, Titan's Strength blow.
At Hour 59: He was on his final push. He was a god of war. He was moving through the Prime-Tier enemies like a typhoon. He was bleeding, healing, and killing in a continuous, ecstatic loop of violence.
SYSTEM : Prime Guardians (Lvl 22) defeated.
XP Acquired: +20,000 XP.
XP Total: 25,600 / 32,000 (To Lvl 23).
He needed 6,400 more. He found a nest of Prime Stalkers. He waded in, a whirlwind of Blood Shield detonations and Chi-Claws. It was a "berserker" mode. He killed them all, his body a map of wounds that were already healing.
SYSTEM : Prime Stalkers (Lvl 20) defeated.
XP Acquired: +9,000 XP.
XP Total: 34,600 / 32,000.
Yes.
The fifth and final wave of power for this 24-hour period washed over him. It was a divine, healing fire. He had done it. He had gone from Level 18 to Level 23 in one day of hell.
SYSTEM:
LEVEL UP!
Level 23 achieved.
Stat Points Available: +3.
XP: 2,600 / 36,000 (To Lvl 24).
All attributes strengthened.
"Allocate," he commanded, his voice a deep, resonant rumble that shook the ground. "One to Strength, one to Speed, one to Endurance."
He stood at Level 23.
STR: 29.
SPD: 28.
END: 28.
He was a god-machine. He had 12 hours left. He turned and looked at the distant, pulsing, crimson island.
The Level 20 Boss.
His Blood Sense no longer registered it as "Dread." It no longer registered it as "Prey."
It registered it as irrelevant.
He was Level 23. He was three levels above the final boss.
"You've been buffing this whole plane, making my grind harder," Vicky said to the distant island. "Thank you for the training."
Quest Timer: 12:00:00 remaining.
"Now," Vicky Thorne said, his eyes glowing with power. "It's time to kill the king."
STATUS UPDATE
VICKY THORNE: STATUS
Level: 23
XP: 2,600 / 36,000 (To Lvl 24)
Stat Points Available: 0
STR: 29
SPD: 28
END: 28
Chi: 20 / 20