Roughly at the same time Alex returned to the [Fox Tribe Village], another figure was creating chaos elsewhere.
“Annnd… 100!” Daniel grinned, panting slightly as he stood over the lifeless body of his final victim.
He’d managed to complete his gruesome task with just ten minutes left on the timer.
[Hatred Quest #1]
[Objective: Kill 100 Players in Universal Descent.]
[Note: It cannot be people part of your guild. Do not try to cheat me. I will know.]
[Time Limit: 3 hours.]
[Penalty for failure: destruction of the soul.]
Daniel hadn’t hesitated for a second. The penalty for failure wasn’t something he was willing to risk.
Instead of targeting his guild members, he’d gone straight for the [Novice Villages], slaughtering low-level players with ease.
His methods were brutal, and his reputation spread quickly through the community.
“Player killer!”
“Damn bastard, get him!”
“I-Isn’t that MartialMage though…?!”
“Oh shit!”
Their attempts to stop him were laughable.
None of them could match his power.
His spells were too advanced, and his attributes far surpassed theirs.
[MartialMage]
[Level: 218]
[Occupation: Mage]
[Class: Powerful Mage]
[Talent: Mega Mage (SS)]
[Skills: Fire Meteor (Max-Tier), Electric Field (Advanced), Thorn Swipe (Intermediate), Mega Barrier (Max-Tier), Shadow Blades (Max-Tier), Rain of Fire (Max-Tier), Temporary Flight (Advanced), Player Radar (Unique), Blood Drops (Unique)]
Daniel’s status window was impressive.
His SS-rank [Mega Mage] talent amplified his damage output, enough for him to rank as one of the strongest in the game.
Both in game, in the forums, and on the internet, everyone was praising him.
He also had a good amount of skills, not on Alex’s level, obviously, but still decent.
For information, other people could get skills by completing dungeons, secret realms, getting them from items, doing quests or simply from skill books that could be dropped.
He had also used his money to buy [Skill Stones] to upgrade his own skills, and though that had been expensive, it was still worth it since many of his were max-tier now.
But after dealing with the last player, he finally received a notification.
Ding!
[You have completed your first of the three “Hatred Quests.”]
“Huh, three?” Daniel muttered, getting up from the ground from which he was sitting on, “This might be easier than I thought.”
Suddenly, a deep voice echoed in his mind.
[You haven’t disappointed me, human. Here’s your reward.]
A crimson portal materialized in front of him.
And from it emerged a monstrous red hand, covered in sharp black scales, clutching a book that radiated a dark, menacing aura.
[Take it.]
Daniel didn’t hesitate. He reached out, grabbing the book.
The moment he touched it, a chill ran down his spine, and his eyes widened as another panel appeared.
[Skill Book: “Hatred Claws” (Artifact Skill)]
If you don’t remember, skills are spread out among 9 categories: Common, Uncommon, Rare, Epic, Legendary, Mythical, Divine and Artifact.
He had just been given a skill of the highest category of all.
For context, even Alex’s most powerful skill, [Fire Fox Summons], was only Mythical-tier. This was on a completely different level.
A grin spread across Daniel’s face. Without wasting a second, he tried to learn the skill.
Ding!
[You do not meet the conditions to learn this skill.]
“Tch.” Daniel frowned.
Of course, if any player could get a skill as powerful as this one at the start, then it would be too overpowered.
But before frustration could set in, the voice returned.
[Here, take this too.]
A snapping sound echoed in Daniel’s mind.
Suddenly, a powerful crimson aura erupted around him, surging into his body like a raging storm.
[You have unlocked the unique talent: “Hatred Wielder.”]
[Try again.]
Daniel’s grin returned. With the new class unlocked, he tried once more to learn the skill.
Ding!
[Skill Learned: “Hatred Claws” (Artifact Skill)]
The information flooded his mind immediately.
[Hatred Claws (Artifact)] (Basic)
[Deal 50,000,000 base + 5000% Strength, creates shadow-enhanced claws that can tear through any defense, if user manages to attack an opponent from behind and grip their heart with his claws, it will result in an instant destruction of the soul; no cooldown.]
Daniel flexed his fingers, feeling the newfound power coursing through him.
The claws formed around his hands, their razor-sharp edges shimmering with dark energy.
“This… could kill FateBreaker in seconds,” he whispered, his eyes gleaming with excitement.
But before he could revel in his newfound power, another notification appeared.
Ding!
[Second “Hatred Quest” Unlocked.]
“Alright,” Daniel canceled the usage of the skill and immediately got ready to see what he would need to do next.
The panel was more ominous than the last, its red text flickering against a pitch-black background.
[Objective: Kill a human in real life.]
[Note: No disguises. No proxies. You must deliver the killing blow yourself. Do not cheat me. I will know.]
[Time Limit: 48 hours.]
[Penalty for failure: destruction of the soul.]
Daniel read it carefully, his expression unchanging.
“Alright,” he muttered, cracking his knuckles. “Someone’s gonna die for me, heh.”
There was no hesitation, no shock.
The difficulty had skyrocketed, but that only made the game more interesting.
For Daniel, it was all part of the fun.
All he wondered at this very moment was what kind of powerful skill or weapon he would be getting from completing this.
It seemed like the [Hatred Demon] or whatever had linked with him didn’t have its full power, which is why he only had three quests.
But with his new powers, Daniel knew that this game was now his for the taking.
You annoy me? Boom, [Hatred Claws], you’re dead.
If you really don’t want to stop getting in my way, then I’ll just use my [Hatred Claws] to destroy your soul, which would mean real life death as well.
“Come to think of it,” Daniel’s grin widened so much it became scary, “Maybe I should just use my new skill…”
After all, going out of his way to kill someone in the real world wasn’t really suitable for him as he was lazy.
His sister and father were both assassins that could have done that easily, obviously, but as said before, Daniel ignored his training and took it lightly.
For him, it had looked like he made the right choice!
After all, it was because he wanted so much power without training in the real world that he joined [Universal Descent].
And now, look at him, he was more powerful than them all!
His father? His sister? He would crush all of them!
[…]
“Hatred Demon!” Daniel grinned, “If I use my [Hatred Claws] on someone in-game to destroy their soul, does that count as a kill?”
[Yes. It does.]
“Hahahahaha…” Daniel laughed so hard that he scared some of the nearby players and silver-skins, who backed away, “I could try and kill FateBreaker now… but I have no idea where he is.”
With this new skill and these up-coming powers of his, there was no one that could defeat him anymore!
[Rewards for Second Task: x3 Random Hatred Items…]
“Even better!”
In addition to that amazing skill of his that could kill people in the real world, he would be granted items that would further boost his power!
Just what couldn’t he do with the power of the [Hatred Demon]?
At this point… he would become a god!
“FateBreaker… I’m sure we’ll meet again somewhere, and when we do…” he summoned back his claws, looking at them with a hint of madness in his eyes, “You’re… gonna die.”