Outcast Chapter 256 (Book 6 Chapter 41) (Patreon)

Author's Note:

8600 words. Enjoy!

--

The world was...buzzing.

Rob felt acutely aware of every inch of his body. His pounding heart, his tingling skin, his uneven breaths, his burning soul. Like he'd been electrified with unbridled fury. The sensation was so vivid and intense that it almost hurt.

Yet rather than turn away, he harnessed it. Rob pushed more and more kindling into the blazing inferno of his anger, letting it feed into itself, turning Never Forget Your Rage into a self-sustaining forge powered by memories and hatred. He could feel his body grow stronger as the forge's furnace swelled with heat.

The sight of Ragnavi laying sprawled out on the ground made for excellent fuel. A swift and painless death, he decided, would be far too much of a mercy for her. Rob wanted to beat her to an unrecognizable pulp, his fists caked with a sinner's blood. Wait, no. Not before force-feeding the Queen her own scales, peeled off one-by-one. No. Worse. So many possibilities – and after all the pointless suffering she had inflicted upon this world, they would be the bare minimum of what she deserved.

Leveling High was to blame for some of those thoughts, influencing his mind in ways that were both subtle and overt. But for the most part?

This was him.

It was so intoxicating that he nearly charged her right then and there.

Careful. With a willpower forged of iron, Rob held his wrath at bay. Something felt off about this situation. One punch wouldn't have been enough to kill Ragnavi, so why hadn't she gotten back up? Was she lying in wait to ambush him when he drew close? He couldn't go rushing in just yet; not without properly assessing the situation and learning exactly what Skills she'd gained from reaching Level 99.

And if nothing else...

{Your prey is wounded. A kill for the taking. Finish her.}

Doing the opposite of whatever Leveling High suggested seemed prudent.

Fists clenched, Rob forced his taut muscles to relax. Riardin's Rangers. They're always priority #1. Tend to them before fighting.

First: heal the wounded. He was out of Potions, and they'd probably used up all of theirs as well. However, Spatial Storage let multiple people store items in separate personal 'slots', which Riardin's Rangers had stocked full of supplies back when prepping for the Deadlands. Rob couldn't access his friends' slots, but they could.

He opened his Party Screen, relieved to see that they'd accepted his invitations. Mind buzzing, Rob composed his Messages as quickly as he could, the mere act of forming words stymied by the haze of anger obscuring his thoughts.

Group Message Sent
Rob: Regeneration is br@#oKeN.
Rob: Can't rely on it.
Rob: Take your Potions.

Everyone who could move ran up, getting in close proximity to activate Spatial Storage. Rob felt a strange sort of gratitude that they didn't appear frightened of him. In fact, as each person emptied their slot of Potions, they looked at him with worry-filled eyes. "Rob...are you alright?" Orn'tol asked.

Group Message Sent
Rob: What did Ragnavi get from Level 99?
Rob: Use Messages.
Rob: She can hear.

For a moment, they seemed about to object that he hadn't answered Orn'tol's question, but the severity of the situation overruled their immediate concerns.

Group Message Received
Keira: Her stats permanently increase over time as she basks in sunlight.
Keira: The longer this fight goes on, the worse our prospects become.

Despite himself, a jolt of surprise caused Rob to break his own rule. "The sun?" he muttered aloud, realization dawning on him. Wasn't she laying in sunlight right–

"Oh, so they've told you."

Rob whirled around to see the Dragon Queen standing up. Her broken neck was at a harsh right angle. Grunting, she casually snapped it back into place. "I was hoping you'd either rush in like a madman or allow me to sup on the sun's rays for a time, but I suppose you never fail to disappoint, Human."

Her reptilian eyes narrowed as she cast Identify. "Level 99. I suppose you've gained the strength and speed of a frenzied beast?" She sneered at him with a mouth of sharpened teeth. "It suits you."

Rob refused to take the bait. Even if Ragnavi's stats were gradually increasing, he could afford to stall for a bit longer while his friends healed up. Seven high-Level allies were worth more than whatever power she'd accrue in the time it took them to drink a batch of Potions.

If he was being honest with himself...he didn't know if his strength alone would be enough to win. But together, Riardin's Rangers–

"I think I'll be taking my leave."

That was all the warning given before she spread her wings and fled to the skies.

Too late, Rob understood. Ragnavi was just as unsure about her chances of victory as he was. Why fight a risky battle when the coward's option was so readily available? She could simply take a sunbath for several months and come back unstoppable.

{The Queen is fleeing.}

His prey was fleeing.

"YOU AREN'T GETTING AWAY."

Rob jumped – if it could be called that. It was more like he rocketed upwards with tremendous force, as if launched from an explosion beneath his feet. The Deadlands trembled as legs infused with incredible Strength pressed against the ground. Riardin's Rangers were pushed back by a minor shockwave, some of them nearly spilling their Potions.

Air buffeted Rob's face as he soared towards the Dragon Queen. He could already tell that he would reach her in time. While Ragnavi had a split-second head start, her size meant that her aerial speed was slightly more affected by gravity and wind resistance. She would easily outpace him once she got going, but in the brief period it took her to ascend...

Don't leave so soon. His lips spread into a feral grin. I have so much PLANNED for you.

Ragnavi noticed his trajectory with widened eyes. She hastily summoned destructive orbs of mana, each powerful enough to atomize a Leader. They were shot forth at speeds faster than normal people could perceive.

Rob swatted them out of the air like gnats. Below, the Deadlands erupted with scattered explosions as bursts of mana plummeted to the ground, as if celebrating his might with an impromptu fireworks display.

Unfortunately, the orbs had still done their job. Just the act of hitting them aside was sufficient to delay his approach. He got so close, reaching out to grab hold of the Dragon Queen, his fingers grazing her crimson scales...and then falling short by a hair.

As Rob lost his battle with gravity, Ragnavi whipped her tail around and smashed it into him, reversing his momentum and sending him plunging straight back to the ground. He crashed down with the grace of a wingless airplane, engraving yet another crater into the war-torn battlefield.

532 Blunt Damage Received!

218 Blunt Damage Received!

The tail smash hurt far more than the fall – and neither could compare to the knowledge that he'd let Ragnavi slip through his grasp. NO. FUCK NO! YOU WON'T ESCAPE! Rob channeled his frustration and sorrow directly into his anger, hoping against hope that he would somehow empower Never Forget Your Rage to the point where he could catch up with her.

"Ensnare."

His gaze snapped to the side, two muffled words drawing his attention. Rob was greeted by the sight of Orn'tol taking aim at the Dragon Queen's shrinking figure. Although his quiver was empty, an arrow of pure mana had formed inside the young Ranger's bow. Its aura shone with the rich brown of healthy soil, and its sharpened tip glowed blood-red, as if guaranteeing the future of a successful hunt.

Ragnavi had already put distance between herself and them. A normal arrow wouldn't have come close to reaching her. Orn'tol let the Skill fly regardless, his eyes laser-focused on his quarry. The arrow blasted forth like an enhanced sniper bullet, seemingly unbound by the petty laws of physics, leaving a thin trail of mana in its wake.

Less than a second later, Rob was treated to the sight of an almighty monarch freaking the fuck out. Ragnavi did her best to juke Ensnare as it pursued her, but the Skill didn't seem to care that she was the fastest mortal in existence. She could've been on the other side of Elatra and it still would have caught her.

The end result had been a formality since the moment Orn'tol fired his bow.

Rob heard a distant yelp of concern as Ensnare dug into Ragnavi's flank. Her concern morphed to confusion when the Skill left no mark of injury – and then surprise when she came to an abrupt stop mid-air, like she'd collided with an invisible wall. Slowly, laboriously, the Queen started moving back towards Riardin's Rangers, as if she was being hooked to a pulley and dragged against her will.

Orn'tol calmly placed an emblem of mana on the ground. It radiated an aura of nature, of the hunt, bringing to mind images of Elven Rangers trapping animals within Ixatan Forest. "You shouldn't have threatened Malika," he hissed, in a voice as cold as Alaskan winter.

Group Message Received
Orn'tol: Step away. She'll be pulled to the emblem.
Orn'tol: Don't want her to flatten you when she lands.
Orn'tol: And be prepared to strike. After she arrives, Ensnare won't hold her for long.

Rob mutely nodded, rendered speechless. When did he learn *that*? Was it during our fight with the Second Will? What other Skills have they–

{Concentrate. There will be no margin for error.}

Grimacing, he was forced to admit that the psychopathic voice in his brain had a point. Rob backed up along with the rest of Riardin's Rangers – and not a moment too soon, because the rate of Ragnavi's return speed was increasing the longer Ensnare dragged her. She went from inching towards them to becoming a red blur speeding through the air, shouting obscenities and...What's...

"GET BEHIND ME!" Rob hurriedly positioned himself in front of his Party, deflecting a mana blast that would've vaporized the still-healing Vul'to. Explosions alighted all around them as Ragnavi's fury tore the ground asunder. She'd opted for the spray-and-pray approach, rapid-firing destructive mana orbs as she neared Ensnare's emblem.

While it was sloppy, it was actually more dangerous than if she'd taken careful aim. If Riardin's Rangers spread out and attempted to dodge, someone might end up misjudging the orbs' erratic trajectories, and none of them were in any condition to take a blast head-on.

None except for Rob.

The BERSERKER let out a snarl as his fist connected with another orb of mana. Any stronger, and his attack would have ruptured the orb, causing it to detonate in his face. Any weaker, and his attack would have failed to deflect it, causing it to do the same damn thing. He managed to thread the needle of brute strength and subtle finesse, knocking the orb aside and letting it harmlessly explode a safe distance away.

There was no time to pat himself on the back. More orbs were coming. A single mistake on his part would probably cost someone their life.

Rob fell into a trance, rushing from one spot to the next, all distractions excised from his thoughts.
The only thing that mattered was the barrage of destructive mana raining down from above. He gave belated thanks to the Second Will – its Corrupted Cataclysm had been good practice for this kind of scenario. Leveling High rose to a frenzied crescendo in his mind, and although he considered suppressing its presence, he reluctantly allowed its static to flourish.

The noise was really pissing him off, and he needed every last ember of rage he could muster.

Finally, the orbs subsided, and Ragnavi collided with the ground. Her arrival blew a huge cloud of dust and dirt over Riardin's Rangers. She bellowed a tremendous ROAR, thrashing against the trail of mana connecting her body to Ensnare's emblem. Both the trail and the emblem were already starting to waver, the former wearing thin and the latter flickering like a lightbulb about to pop. She'd be free in no time at all.

Rob had started running before she even touched down, moving as fast as his feet could carry him. He couldn't squander this chance. With Ensnare now on cooldown, nothing would prevent Ragnavi from escaping after she broke free.

His feral grin returned with a vengeance. The Dragon Queen had been abusing her flight privileges, hadn't she? Naughty child. She needed to be grounded.

Let's {clip} her {wings}.

As if she could hear his thoughts – or perhaps because she could sense the killing intent emanating from him – Ragnavi's eyes widened as she turned to face Rob. In an instant, she opened her mouth and let loose an inferno of scorching flame. The dragonfire raced towards him in a wave, so large and wide that it would've been impossible to dodge for a Combat Class user of lesser speed.

Not that he bothered dodging. That would waste time he didn't have.

The only way was forward.

Rob summoned a slab of Dwarven Sheet Metal from his Bound Items. He hid himself behind the Sheet as he advanced, raising it as a makeshift shield against Ragnavi's flames. Dwarven Metal was the toughest in Elatra, so naturally, it lasted a solid quarter of a second before melting to useless slag. He may as well have used a ratty, worn umbrella to protect himself from a hurricane.

That was fine. A quarter of a second was plenty, letting him close most of the distance to Ragnavi. She kept her inferno roaring, bathing Rob in flames that felt like they were born straight from the fires of hell. He couldn't summon another Bound Item so soon...but fortunately, Heat Resistance hadn't been br@#oKeN. It reduced any heat or fire-related damage he incurred by 50%.

1175 Fire Damage Received!

Half of a lot was still a fucking lot.

HP: 3188 / 5113 (FLUCTUATING)

Oh well. Third-degree burns never hurt anyone. He made sure to cover his eyes, cause he'd need those, though. Priorities.

Ragnavi's flames abruptly cut out. Whether because she'd run out of juice, or because she'd realized that it just wasn't going to stop him, Rob couldn't say. Regardless, it left him with a clear view of the Queen's situation. Ensnare was milliseconds away from breaking apart. He had to act now, or all was lost.

Rob pulled his fist back, as if preparing for a punch. He intentionally mimicked the same pose and body language that he'd had when first greeting Ragnavi several minutes ago. She bared her teeth and raised her claws at him, hatred blazing in her eyes. And then–

Rampage.

Numerous things happened in rapid succession. Very rapid succession. They transpired in the brief moments that only Combat Class users with high Quick Thinking could perceive.

One instant passed. Rampage started to divert Rob's body past the Dragon Queen's head, aiming for her wings. What did she think he was, a neanderthal? He hadn't charged through hell itself just to punch her in the face again. Not after she'd already shown she could shrug off a direct hit.

One instant passed. Ragnavi's gaze sparkled with vengeful delight.

One instant passed. Rob's blood ran cold as the Queen shifted, tracking his Rampage movement. She positioned her claws to skewer him like barbecued meat on a stick.

His fake-out hadn't fooled her in the slightest.

One instant passed. How had she reacted so quickly? he wondered. Their Dexterity seemed roughly equal...but Never Forget Your Rage didn't increase Perception, and hers was doubled. Or maybe she'd just out-predicted him. He'd seen combat for barely a year, while she'd been fighting for centuries, and Experience wasn't the same thing as experience.

One instant passed. Rob was at a loss for what to do. He'd only had enough MP for one Rampage, and the Bracelet of Teleportation took too long to activate. Getting shishkebab'd by Ragnavi's claws wouldn't kill him, but her follow-up attacks would be a problem. He could try Dauntless Reprisal, although it might fail like when–

Error: Due to your Soul Instability, Rampage has malfunctioned!

...Malfunctioned?

One instant passed. Rob stopped in mid-air.

One instant passed. To both his and Ragnavi's surprise, he was abruptly sent flying at a completely different angle – towards the Dragon Queen's unguarded right side. Almost as if Rampage had forgotten what it was doing and hastily took an action before the system noticed it was slacking on the job.

Ragnavi just stared, frozen by momentary astonishment. She couldn't have predicted a maneuver that even he didn't know was going to happen.

One instant passed.

Rob decided not to look a gift horse in the mouth.

He sailed towards Ragnavi's right wing. She moved to intercept him – too little, too late. Claws shredded his burnt back, dealing hundreds of HP damage that didn't fucking matter because HE HAD HER. Rob grabbed onto her wing, clutching it in an iron grip. Rather than fruitlessly attempting to pull it out by the joint, he reached further down, grasping the bottom part of its leathery membrane.

And pulled.

RIIIIIIIIIIP.

A shriek nearly as loud as the Second Will resounded across the Deadlands. It mingled with Rob's manic laughter as he disassembled Ragnavi's wing, tearing it apart like a piece of old parchment. The wing was made of material that could've deflected a high-Level greatsword strike, but in the hands of an ascending BERSERKER, it was no more than clay to be molded as he chose.

He chose violence. In less than a second, Rob had separated the upper 90% of Ragnavi's wing from its bottom 10%. The only thing holding it all together was the connecting bone at the top – and would you look at that, a muted SNAP took care of that as well. As the shrieking somehow grew louder, so did Rob's laughter. He kept laughing and laughing and laughing, static filling his thoughts. The Queen's shrieking subsided, he tossed aside her ruined appendage, and still his laughter just wouldn't stop.

Not even when she grabbed him with her claws and slammed him to the ground.

"YOU FOUL, HORRIBLE CREATURE! I'LL – I'LL – AAAAUUUUGGGHHHH!"

Whatever taunt she'd been about to say was replaced by deranged screaming. With an unfocused gaze bereft of sanity, Ragnavi savaged his body, using impossibly sharp claws to tear out chunks of hated meat.

Blood painted the ground in flowing red brushstrokes. Thousands of HP worth of flesh disappeared within seconds. At that point, Rob was forced to stop laughing, as his voice box no longer existed. He tried to defend from Ragnavi's onslaught, yet while their Strength and Dexterity were comparable, she'd denied him leverage by pinning him to the ground – and unprotected skin wasn't exactly suited to blocking claws that could rend steel like grass.

Distantly, Rob noted that he was sinking perilously close to 0 HP. Waymark could potentially save him, but he had plans for it. Playing that card too early might come back to bite him later on. Should he sacrifice long-term success for the sake of short-term survival?

The decision was taken from him by a well-timed distraction. Zamira rushed in from outside of Ragnavi's peripheral vision, slicing her longsword directly at the Queen's eyes. Instinct compelled her to flinch away before the blade would have met soft tissue. Growling, the Dragon struck back, as if she was a great beast annoyed by the insect buzzing around her face.

Zamira dodged...mostly. She had just enough speed to turn certain death into a grievous wound. Anyone else in Riardin's Rangers – except for Rob with Never Forget Your Rage – would've been immediately disemboweled, their Dexterity a mere fraction of the Dragon Queen's absurd quickness.
Thankfully, while the fresh cut on Zamira's torso looked painful, it was nothing she couldn't grit her teeth and endure.

Rob didn't care. This was the first time he'd personally witnessed Ragnavi hurting one of his friends.

Volcanic fury erupted within, like lava coursing through his veins, boosting his stats to unprecedented heights. Capitalizing on the Queen's moment of distraction, he threw off her claws and delivered an uppercut to her chin, a silent scream gurgling in his blood-swamped, half-torn lungs.

It wasn't an especially strong hit. His arms had lost so much muscle mass that the system saw fit to penalize him, ridiculous Strength stat or otherwise. It still dizzied the Queen for a few crucial instants, granting him opportunity to cast Lifesurge – which mercifully didn't fail – and deposit a Riardin Special right by her head.

Ragnavi faltered. Not physically; but mentally. Unlike Riardin's Rangers, who were accustomed to withstanding severe punishment to prevail over hopeless odds, the esteemed monarch of Dragonkin territory was, in her heart of hearts, a coward. Even though she basically had Rob dead to rights, no coward's resolve would be left unshaken by the loss of a wing and three consecutive attacks to the face.

So when she leapt backwards in a fit of panic, allowing Rob the chance to pick himself up off the ground, none present were surprised. Ragnavi self-justified it as conducting risk assessment. Riardin's Rangers recognized it for what it truly was:

A weakness to be exploited.

"Lifesurge?" The Dragon Queen glared at Rob's restored body with frustration. "I never learned that. When did–"

Her eyes widened as he quietly dashed forward. Keep her unbalanced. {Slaughter the prey.} He was tempted to point out that her lack of interest in other people was yet another weakness, but banter would've just let the Queen re-center herself. She'd grown up with nobles who traded insults as if they were friendly greetings. Barbed words were familiar to her.

Being hunted like an animal? Less so.

Joy soared in his heart as he saw panic return to Ragnavi's gaze. She opened her mouth and formed a monstrously powerful orb of mana, firing it at Rob the second he got too close for comfort. It was so strong that it beggared belief – but it wasn't Annihilation. As long as he didn't fucking let up, she wouldn't have time to charge that particular Skill.

He'd planned as much. Dauntless Reprisal only affected a single instance of damage, meaning it was useless against a continuous beam of destructive mana such as Annihilation. This attack, however?

Dauntless Reprisal.

This attack would do nicely.

Ragnavi's expression rapidly transitioned through a variety of emotions. Wariness, confusion, comprehension...and ending on terror. "Not A Scratch!" she yelled, the instant before her own spell would've sealed her fate. She may not have known exactly what Rob's unknown Skill did, but she'd fought enough battles to tell the difference between a suicide charge and a frontal assault with purpose.

4,683 Damage Reflected!

Explosive mana washed over him. It reminded Rob of being at the center of Living Bomb. Both he and Ragnavi were sent flying back by the force of her mana orb. The Queen's face alighted with shock – presumably, she'd received a system message stating that Not A Scratch had nullified thousands of damage.

Rob allowed himself a moment to be offended, feeding the reaction into his rage. How the fuck was one Combat Class user this strong? Living Bomb was a high-tier Class Skill on a five-minute cooldown, and it wasn't that much more powerful than the mana Ragnavi had conjured up as a normal spell. He couldn't even return the favor, as Living Bomb was still br@#oKeN.

{She'll run out of MP eventually. Press the attack.}

Don't need to tell me twice.

There was no hesitation. The BERSERKER landed on his feet and immediately took off running, leaving deep imprints in the ground with each Strength-filled step.

"You–" Ragnavi began, before realizing that Rob was in no mood for conversation, nor would he ever be.

At that moment, a new emotion was born. Fear and certainty mixed in the cauldron of her mind, brewing a concoction with no specific name, but which was closest to...inevitability. While she'd known that Rob was here to kill her, now she truly understood what that meant. He was just going to keep coming for her, again and again and again and again.

Until one of them was dead.

Rob wondered what he looked like to her. A Human – the creature that she despised more than all else – wearing tattered clothes, and covered in his own blood. Healed to full after having most of his body removed. Matching her strength and speed. Uncaring of multiple near-death experiences. Dealing worse injuries to her than anything besides the Blight. Moving forward. Always moving forward.

He hoped that he appeared as if something straight out of her nightmares. He hoped that she felt like a field mouse beneath a pouncing lion. He hoped that her spirit would break into a million tiny pieces. He hoped that she was able to comprehend the barest sliver of the horrors she'd wrought on so many others.

He hoped that she suffered before she died.

HP: 6348 / 6348 (FLUCTUATING)

The Dragon Queen shouted a bestial roar. Perhaps worried that Rob would reflect another orb of mana, she elected for a frontal assault, rushing to meet his charge with one of her own. He raised his fists, and she readied her claws. They drew closer. Meters separating them became feet, inches, millimeters–

571 Slashing Received!

Ragnavi was slightly faster, gouging out a chunk of Rob's left arm. He didn't flinch. A furious haymaker collided with the Queen's chest, its damage boosted by Blood for Blood, crushing a section of scales to crimson powder. Lifesteal partially fixed Rob's newest wound, his flesh knitting itself back together, the Skill replenishing his HP by draining Ragnavi's.

He'd counted on attacking second. Regeneration was br@#oKeN, and Lifesurge was on cooldown, so Lifesteal was the sole healing he had – and it would only kick in if he beat the everloving shit out of Ragnavi.

Perfect.

Claws lashed out, shaving off an ear and part of his face. Rob expressed his displeasure with a straight shot to her center torso, targeting a sensitive area that Riardin's Rangers had damaged before he arrived. Fangs bit down on his shoulder, and were answered with five fingers to the back of Ragnavi's neck. She gutted his kidney, so he sank his fist into hers.

On and on they went. It was a cycle of carnage that even the rest of his Party struggled to keep track of. Redness blurred around them; his blood and her scales. Blows were traded without end, like a macabre dance of overwhelming brutality. Any single one of their attacks would have reduced a lesser combatant to a smear of viscera staining the dirt.

Elatra held its breath as two titans clashed in a desolate corner of nowhere, the world's future hanging by a thread for the second time in that same day.

Unfortunately...

HP: 3154 / 6837 (FLUCTUATING)

The thread was starting to fray.

Rob landed a glancing hit directly on Ragnavi's jaw. It was weaker than it should have been, and she retaliated quicker than he anticipated, nearly taking off his whole right arm. He clenched his teeth and channeled the pain into his rage, but he already knew it wouldn't be enough.

Even with a mind suffused with so much anger that it would've given a priest a heart attack, Rob possessed the self-awareness to recognize that he was losing ground.

It came down to simple biology. At the end of the day, despite his newfound power, he was still a Human trying to punch out a literal Dragon. Ragnavi's claws were designed to tear into flesh, and her scaled exterior resisted pressure that could bend metal like twigs. Maybe things would be different if Tough Skin hadn't been br@#oKeN, but as things stood, Lifesteal's healing couldn't keep pace with the punishment Rob was enduring.

Sooner or later, he would lose. He couldn't beat her in a 1-on-1 duel.

Good thing...

Keira fell down from above, driving both fists into Ragnavi's skull.

THAT THIS WAS NEVER A DUEL.

The mighty Queen of Dragons let out an indignant squawk. She moved to slice Keira to ribbons, yet Meyneth had already snatched the Warrior out of the air with a Leap-enhanced jump. Rob took advantage of the opening, landing several blows for free before Ragnavi could retaliate.

"INSOLENCE!" She snapped her teeth, pushing him back. "YOU DARE TO–"

Ragnavi was interrupted by four mana arrows striking her in the face. Orn'tol had used Refill to briefly stock up his quiver. The Queen promptly lost composure, her words degenerating into incoherent snarling.

Not that she would've said anything worth listening to. Rob had gotten enough of this drivel from the Second Will. Despots who thought they were an existence above others always thought it was unfair when people banded together against them.

As if bonds of trust and camaraderie were like cheating.

You could have had this. Rob ducked under a claw swipe, then countered with a jab. With all your power and influence...you could have shaped Elatra into a land of peace.

Ragnavi lunged forward, seeking to tear him apart. Vul'to blocked her attack in the nick of time, having removed his armor to use as an improvised shield. He was forced back – and Rob moved to take his place, breaking one of Ragnavi's claws with a vicious right hook.

Instead, you did everything you could to spread misery. No better than the gods or the Second Will. Just another monster that needs to be slain.

Know what the worst part is, though?

Faelynn came dashing in. Dread surged in Ragnavi's gaze, the Queen firing poorly-aimed mana orbs just to get the Fiend to back off. Rob didn't have the slightest idea why she was so scared of Faelynn, but he wasn't one to miss a golden opportunity. He wrapped both arms around her rear left leg and squeezed, laughing with glee as he heard a loud crack.

The gods and the Second Will are alien abominations. It's not a huge surprise that they treat lives so callously. While that doesn't justify their actions, it at least helps explain them.

He squeezed harder, turning bones to dust. What's YOUR goddamn excuse?

Ragnavi whirled around in a fit of pain. The moment she focused on Rob, Zamira and Sylpeiros were behind her, slashing and stabbing at open wounds. Their attacks wouldn't have left a dent at the start of the fight, but Ragnavi's injuries were starting to pile up. Her blood flowed freely now, and her lightning-fast movements were beginning to slow.

So many filled graveyards, because of you. So many broken families, because of YOU. So much senseless suffering, because of *YOU*.

Unshed tears threatened to obscure his vision. I had to kill...he asked me to...BECAUSE. OF. YOU.

Rob screamed as he delivered a devastating punch to the side of Ragnavi's face. Her head spun around – then spun back around thanks to an immediate follow-up strike from Keira. The Warrior broke both fists to do it, yet that didn't stop her from smiling with delight as Rob swiftly grabbed the Queen's head and kneed her in the jaw.

BUT DOOOON'T WORRY! TURNS OUT YOU ACTUALLY DID SOME GOOD AFTER ALL! YOU'VE TAUGHT ME THE EXACT *OPPOSITE* WAY TO LEAD WITH POWER! THAT'S YOUR LEGACY – BEING A 'HOW-NOT-TO' GUIDE FOR A HUMAN! I BET THAT MAKES YOU SO, SO HAPPY!

Ragnavi was too stunned to do anything as Rob lunged for her neck and snapped it once, twice, thrice.

"YOU'VE DONE YOUR PART! NOW JUST– FUCKING–DIE!"

The fourth snap rang out like a gunshot.

All at once, Ragnavi sagged down, her body going limp. Agony and fright could be seen in her twitching eyes – the only part of her still able to move. Either she'd been paralyzed by pain...or just plain paralyzed.

Riardin's Rangers didn't let up. They'd fought enough Blightspawn to know that a battle was only over when their opponent's HP reached 0. As his allies continued their assault on Ragnavi's prone form, Rob scrambled towards her head, which was now flopped helplessly to the side. He wouldn't be convinced until he'd cracked open her skull like an egg and scooped out what little brains were in there.

The Dragon Queen stared directly at him. Rob stared straight back as he punched. His first hit broke bone. The second would shatter it.

Suddenly, Ragnavi's twitching ceased. Her agony and fright shifted to something else.

With trembling lips, she mouthed two words.

"My...thanks."

The light of a Skill shone bright, and everything went wrong.

Flesh healed. Scales regrew. Open wounds closed. Bones re-set. Lastly, her missing wing regenerated, the severed limb rapidly blooming from a stump to a fully-formed appendage.

In the blink of an eye, Ragnavi had been made whole again – and not by unknown means. Rob knew precisely what Skill was responsible for the Queen's recovery.

He'd used it himself less than a minute ago.

Lifes–

A burst of explosive mana knocked aside the Party, sending them and Rob tumbling away. The Queen laughed uproariously as her enemies were scattered like bowling pins. She made no move to take advantage of the situation, indulging in a moment of pure, unfettered triumph. As Riardin's Rangers struggle to regain their bearings, Ragnavi fixed Rob with a piercing glare, her eyes glowing with a bizarre fusion of loathing and satisfaction.

"If I have one complaint about being this powerful," she began, "it's that the system often punishes you for fighting too well. Especially as it pertains to learning Vitality Skills. One ability in particular continued to elude me, simply because I hadn't met an opponent who could push me to within an inch of my life."

She put on a broad smile, showing two rows of fang-filled teeth. "Until this auspicious day. Rejoice, Human – your existence has finally gained meaning."

Rob stayed quiet. While he couldn't access his Character Sheet, he'd long since memorized Lifesurge's signature Prerequisite.

The one that his Party had just unwittingly fulfilled.

'Fall below 5% of your Max HP at least once.'

Ragnavi cackled as she watched horrified realization spread through Riardin's Rangers. Just like that, all their desperate effort had been undone. The Queen was back to full HP. Even if they pulled off a repeat miracle, one push of the reset button would erase their progress yet again. And considering how exorbitantly high Ragnavi's stats were – and still increasing – the cooldown on her version of Lifesurge would be extremely low.

Victory was well and truly impossible. Riardin's Rangers could fight perfectly from here on out and never have a chance of winning.

Rob took a careful look at his friends. In each of them, he found the same emotions. Grief, despair, hopelessness...and resolve. None of them had given up. They knew that death was fast approaching, but they would oppose its arrival until their very last breaths.

For a moment, he felt immeasurably proud, admiring the people who had chosen to walk by his side.

That fleeting sensation was cut out and fed to the flames of rage. He couldn't afford those kinds of sentiments right now. Admiration would merely dull his anger; he needed more kindling to stoke the fire.

Like how these people he admired were going to die soon after the Queen stopped laughing. Their corpses would become fertilizer for the Deadlands – if anything remained of their corpses at all. Unless he managed to execute an untested plan he wasn't sure would succeed, then the trust his friends had given a Human outsider, that vow Riardin's Rangers had made so many months ago when choosing their Party's name...

It would have been little more than a suicide pact. Just a group of young fools deluding themselves into thinking they could change the world for the better.

All because they'd mistakenly put their faith in him.

...Yeah.

HP: 6193 / 8002 (FLUCTUATING)

That'll do.

"You should have stayed down."

Rob's proclamation silenced the Queen's mirth. She huffed and sent him an unamused glare. "Excuse me?"

"Did I stutter?" With unhurried steps, he began to walk away from Riardin's Rangers. "You should have stayed down." A few of his Party members tried to follow, but he forestalled them with an outstretched palm, not wanting them to get caught in the crossfire of what was about to transpire.

"Is this some sort of Human joke that I'm too intelligent to understand?" Ragnavi drawled. "How, precisely, would it have been advantageous for me to lie still and let your band of upjumped malefactors butcher me?"

"Well, you were below 5% HP, right?" Rob asked. "That's the threshold for learning Lifesurge."

"2%," she grumbled. "The threshold is 2% if you aren't a wretched *Human* with Fast Learner."

He nodded. "Proved my point. You were probably a split-second away from croaking."

"What does–"

"It would've been over quickly."

She quieted as Rob stopped walking. He turned to face her, his expression unreadable. "One more stab, one more snap of the neck...and then peace. All you had to do was wait just a moment for the sweetness of oblivion to consume you."

An apologetic smile crept up his face. "Instead, your death is going to be slow and painful. Unlike anything you've ever experienced before. Thanks for that, by the way. Would've been a shame if you got off easy. Now?"

His mask of civility slipped, revealing the boundless cruelty that lay beneath. "I get to make your last few minutes hurt."

Ragnavi froze. Over the centuries, she'd dealt with countless blowhards in the Dragonkin noble courts. When combined with her various social Skills, it meant she possessed a keen understanding of when someone was making empty threats...

And when they genuinely believed every word they were saying.

The Human suddenly charged forward. As if he was the reaper come to life, Ragnavi gasped and backed away. She formed intense mana within her mouth as she retreated, the Skill aimed directly at him.

Rob counted that as a win. Better she target him than his friends. While he would've also preferred that she meet his charge like before, at least she wasn't flying away. Then they might have actually been screwed, depending on how long the cooldown was for Orn'tol's Ensnare. Based on her sideways glances towards the Ranger, that lack of knowledge was keeping her grounded – she didn't want to try for an aerial escape only to be sent crashing down again.

To Ragnavi, these were instances of fear, ignorance, and indecision. To Rob, they represented opportunity. The last and final opportunity his Party would get.

One way or another...

{It ends here.}

The BERSERKER advanced, and the Dragon Queen fled. Gradually, the distance between them shortened. Partially due to Never Forget Your Rage continuously boosting Rob's Dexterity, but mostly because running forward was just easier than running backwards. He was on pace to catch her.

Yet not on pace to catch her before her Skill finished forming. Brilliant, staggering mana coalesced inside Ragnavi's mouth, like the core of a planet contained within one absolute attack.

Bring it. Rob closed his eyes, preparing himself to endure a sensation of–

"ANNIHILATION!"

Light shone.

Reflective Skin Level Increased! 4 → 5

Mana ravaged.

Before this moment, Rob had honestly thought that he'd felt all the types of pain there were to feel. During his Elatran travails, he'd been sliced, squashed, battered, burnt, electrified, eaten, minced, mashed, crushed, corrupted, and more. He'd suffered a degrading soul with the stability of a twig house, and even had his consciousness put through Attunement vision blenders. If there was a pain bingo card, he'd fully stamped it and was long past due for a prize.

Reflective Skin Level Increased! 5 → 6

But none of it was quite the same as Annihilation. He could feel his material components being deconstructed at their base level, like his atoms were rotting by the nanosecond. It was the closest thing to the Second Will's corruptive influences that he'd encountered from a mortal Skill. As if the certitude of entropy and the ferocity of destruction had melded into one all-powerful ability.

Reflective Skin Level Increased! 6 → 7

Little surprise that even with Reflective Skin reducing the amount of magic damage he incurred, Rob had lost thousands of HP in the breadth of a single heartbeat.

HP: 3734 / 8317 (FLUCTUATING)

Close. Rob was close to her. Just needed to land a punch, interrupt her Skill. As the Queen's mana engulfed him, disintegrating his body, it took the sum total of his willpower to take one step forward.

HP: 3111 / 8469 (FLUCTUATING)

He may as well not have bothered. The gap had scarcely closed. Annihilation was an endless ocean he couldn't hope to wade through.

HP: 2473 / 8605 (FLUCTUATING)

Dauntless Reprisal and Lifesurge were on cooldown. The attack was too wide for Rampage to evade. No deflecting, no healing, no dodging. No options.

Except one.

Reflective Skin Level Increased! 7 → 8

HP: 1984 / 8813 (FLUCTUATING)

Outlast.

Do Not Go Gently.

Rob activated it as soon as he saw his Max HP shrink below 25%. With that necessary condition achieved, the Skill immediately doubled his Vitality.

HP: 3915 / 17936 (FLUCTUATING)

Just as importantly, Do Not Go Gently doubled the potency of his defensive Skills. Reflective Skin Level 8 went from reducing magic damage by 45% to 90%.

The effect was instantaneous. For the first time since he'd willingly stepped in front of the strongest ability in the world, Rob allowed himself a modicum of relief. Annihilation's mana was still peeling his body mass away with ruthless efficiency, but reducing its damage to 10% felt...manageable.

HP: 3766 / 18021 (FLUCTUATING)

That was about when Ragnavi realized that he wasn't fucking dying. Her onslaught intensified, frantic mana pouring over Rob, somehow more powerful than before.

HP: 3324 / 18227 (FLUCTUATING)

He accepted the challenge, gladly trapping them both in an Elatran standoff. Annihilation couldn't last forever. Which would hit 0 first: his HP, or her MP?

HP: 2865 / 18409 (FLUCTUATING)

As Leveling High once said...she had to run out eventually.

HP: 2403 / 18629 (FLUCTUATING)

Ideally before he lost so much muscle that he couldn't stand, though.

HP: 1938 / 18952 (FLUCTUATING)

Any moment now.

HP: 1461 / 19287 (FLUCTUATING)

Shit.

He wasn't going to make it.

In previous fights, Rob had kept track of how long Ragnavi's Annihilation beams lasted – and this new one just set a new record. He got the impression that she was pushing herself to the brink of mana exhaustion. It would come down to a mere tenth of a second, but...the Queen was going to win their standoff. Even if Rob miraculously pulled through, he'd be in too bad of a shape to act afterwards.

Come on. Rob clenched his fists, digging exposed bone into bloodied palms. COME ON! He shoveled more fuel into the fires of Never Forget Your Rage. {DON'T STUMBLE} AT THE FINISH LINE, YOU PIECE OF SHIT! YOU'VE {HURT WORSE} THAN THIS! DON'T YOU GODDAMN DARE–

Without warning, Annihilation ended.

It was too soon. Both he and Ragnavi knew that. The two titans were left staring at each other in disbelief, the Queen's open mouth appearing almost humorous as wisps of mana sputtered within.

"What...what is..." Her eyes widened as she read a system notification visible only to her. "Skill failed? Fragment of soul missing...Status Effect...Soul Instability? What is Soul Insta–"

Ragnavi snarled, whirling towards Faelynn, who wasn't even anywhere nearby. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME, YOU HORRID CREATURE?!"

Rob still didn't know what had happened – but an opening was an opening. As the Dragon Queen ranted, he summoned a very specific dagger from Spatial Storage and quickly broke off its bladed section. Anything that made the object smaller would help.

His eyes briefly hitched on the dagger's hilt. If...if I had thrown this in time...if Duran hadn't knocked it out of my grasp...

Would he...

Contemplating that gave Never Forget Your Rage the extra burst of Dexterity his ravaged body needed.

Ragnavi was about to lunge at Faelynn when Rob dashed in front. He used Throwing Proficiency to toss the dagger hilt through the Queen's mouth, down her throat, and into her stomach.

Waymark.

--

Rob was surrounded by darkness and nauseating warm wetness.

He didn't waste time lamenting his lot in life. With a thought, he activated a Skill–

And in doing so, asked a question. The same question that this entire gambit was predicated on. One that he couldn't have possibly tested without rousing suspicion.

If there was a Skill that conjured fire...but had a Description which specified it as non-elemental damage...and labeled it as 'fire' in air quotes...an azure fire that somehow persisted underwater...yet that didn't burn wood...and that only seemed to affect organic material...

Did the system actually consider it to be fire at all?

Would it bypass the Dragonkin Racial Trait of 100% Heat Immunity?

Flames of Vengeance.

Shrieks of pure anguish were his answer.

"WHAT – WHAT IS – AAAAUUUGGHH!" Ragnavi's voice sounded muffled yet loud. "HURTS HURTS HURTS AAAAAAAUUUUUGGGGGHHHHHHH!! WHAT IS THIS?!"

The Dragon Queen, unsurprisingly, was at a loss for proper words. Heat Immunity had previously rendered her impervious to burning sensations. She possessed no frame of reference for what she was currently experiencing.

Granted, Rob wasn't sure how many people had frames of reference for their stomach and organs being set ablaze from the inside.

"GET OUT GET OUT GET OUT GET OUT!!" A thin ray of light entered Rob's vision. He saw desperate claws puncture the exterior of Ragnavi skin, searching within her own body to try and yank him out.

She pulled back a moment later, unable to bear the sensation of scraping at her insides with hands broiled in Flame. "YOU – NO NO NO! LIFESURGE! LIFESURGE!"

The healing Skill washed over her...accomplishing nothing. It wasn't Ragnavi's fault. Even if she'd expressed legitimate interest in learning about Riardin's Rangers and their abilities, Rob would have hid this particular caveat from her.

'If the user chooses, wounds inflicted by the Flames of Vengeance cannot be healed by natural or magical means for one week.'

"...What?" For a single instant, her voice sounded quiet, helpless, and lost.

Then it was back to pain and screaming. "NOOOOOAAAUUUUGGHHH!" The air around Rob suddenly heated up. She was summoning searing fire inside her stomach, attempting to burn him out. It might have worked if not for Heat Resistance Level 10 combined with Do Not Go Gently, granting him 100% reduction to heat and fire-related damage – but lucky him, he had those too.

Only one person here could be hurt by Flames right now.

"HHUUUMMAAANNNN!" Rob was mildly impressed. Even amidst the throes of Ragnavi's suffering, she managed to turn that hysterical screech into an insult. "ST–STOP! NOW! OR–AAAAUUUGGHHH! OR I'LL KILL YOUR PARTY!"

He doubted she could, in the state she was in. And just in case...

With what little light afforded to him, Rob located her vile beating heart, ready to crush it if she started acting up. He was still weakened from Annihilation scouring most of his body mass, but Lifesteal had replenished enough muscle for him to do some damage with his fists.

Until then, he would stay the course. Flames of Vengeance only. Burning slowly and painfully, unlike anything she'd experienced before.

Just as promised.

"H–HUMAN! I YIELD! I, AAAAUUUGGH, I SURRENDER!"

Silence.

"CEASE THIS BARBARISM!"

Silence.

"PLEASE!"

Silence.

Rob could almost hear the moment her sanity cracked. Words and pleas degenerated into screams and blubbering, the Dragon Queen reduced to a forsaken child operating on base instincts. She pounded the ground, roared with fervor, cried tears of sorrow, punched at her stomach, and prayed to the gods. Anything that came to mind.

Anything to make the pain go away.

Ragnavi's body abruptly shifted. Rob realized that she'd taken flight. Wind howled outside as she soared up and up, as if fleeing to the sun itself, attempting to wreathe herself in the caress of its warm embrace.

The Flames of Vengeance were hotter.

"STOP! AAAUUUGH! PLEASE STOP!"

"PLEASE...please..."

"Please..."

"I'm sorry..."

"I'll do anything..."

"So hot..."

"Can't..."

"Augh...auuugh..."

"Hurts..."

"..."

"So cold..."

Rob perked up. Ragnavi's internal organs were now charred and blackened – although still not as blackened as her soul. He could sense that her strength was flagging.

The BERSERKER began to salivate, sensing the hunt's end drawing near.

"You..."

Soon.

"I..."

{Soon.}

"Ardrud..."

Her movement stilled.

Her heart stopped beating.

None of it meant anything until a flood of EXP slammed into Rob's mind. It was there, in the stomach of a deceased airborne Dragon, that reality shifted on its axis.

Secondary Prerequisite for the Skill '???' has now been achieved!

Secondary Prerequisite revealed to be: Receive an astronomical amount of Experience while at Level 99!

Skill '???' revealed to be: Limit Break!

Name: Limit Break (Passive)
Prerequisite: Reach Level 99, Receive an astronomical amount of Experience while at Level 99
Description: Level cap of 99 removed. Level cap is now WARNING: UNBOUND LIMIT DETECTED. Stats gained per Level now increase additively. EXP gained per kill now increases with each additional Level. Waymark cooldown reduced to 1 minute. Infinite Waymark spots can now be placed. All previously-expended Waymark spots have been reactivated.

Reached Level 100!

10 Stat Points Gained!

Reached Level 101!

15 Stat Points Gained!

Reached Level 102!

20 Stat Points Gained!

Reached Level 103!

25 Stat Points Gained!

Reached Level 104!

30 Stat Points Gained!

Rob couldn't breathe. It was too much. Joy subsumed his thoughts, like the sweetest ambrosia he'd ever tasted. It was too much, too much. Static overwhelmed his body, mind, and soul. Too too too much. Couldn't breathe or think or it felt so good. He fought it but the sweetness and joy was–

Gone.

The change happened so swiftly that he didn't have time to process it. One moment he was being inundated with the artificial bliss of Leveling High – and the next, it was gone. As if it had been ripped out of him in a flash of intent.

Even his anger was beginning to fade, like tidal waves receding at the end of a devastating tsunami. With the Dragon Queen now dead, there was no immediate target to direct his rage towards. Aside from the gods, eventually, yet killing them was far off. Right now he just felt...

Empty was the word that came to mind, and he dearly wished it was true. Emptiness would have been better than what he'd been left with. Without joy to fight off, rage to feast on, or a target to slay, there was nothing in him, anymore.

Nothing but grief and guilt.

{Blame it on me.}

He froze.

{It wasn't you. I killed Duran. Without my presence twisting your thoughts, you never would have raised your blade.}

Rob's heart ached like it had been stabbed.

{So blame it on me.}

Static.

{Just...let go.}

Static, everywhere, drowning out his–

{No need to be burdened by grief or guilt.}

Voices slithering into his ears–

{You weren't in control, right? Then or now.}

Images of his longsword running Duran through–

{If you aren't in control...}

No no no–

{Then it won't have to be your fault that he died.}

A single instant of weakness was all it took.

Leveling High has permanently increased to Complete Madness!

And

The

World

Turned

Red

--

Thanks for reading!