Ding! Experience tales with empire
[You have extracted the “Hatred Claws” (Artifact) skill!]
[Deals 50,000,000 base damage + 5000% Strength, creates shadow-enhanced claws that can tear through most defenses, no cooldown.]
Alex’s eyes widened as he read the notification.
The damage output was staggering, far beyond anything he had used before.
However, this version of the skill lacked the terrifying ability to crush a soul, something likely taken by the [Hatred Demon] when he severed his connection with Daniel.
Still, Alex couldn’t help but feel a spark of excitement.
Even without the soul-crushing power, [Hatred Claws] was an incredibly potent skill.
It was essentially a much stronger version of his [Bleeding Strike], albeit without the bleed effect.
“Actually…” Alex muttered, an idea forming in his mind.
He pulled up his skills panel.
[Skills: Fire Meteor (Max-Tier), Crimson Cataclysm (Max-Tier), Mountain Shatter (Max-Tier), Impenetrable Fortress (Max-Tier), Rain of Fire (Max-Tier), Bleeding Strike (Max-Tier), Fury of Thunder (Max-Tier), Heaven’s Chains (Max-Tier), Poison Resistance (Passive), Aura of Death (Undead Skill), Aura (Passive), Shadow Veil (Unique), Shadow Strike (Unique), Arc of Divinity (Max-Tier), Demonic Spear (Max-Tier), Electric Storm (Basic), Hatred Claws.]
Unlike the others, [Hatred Claws] had no rank, likely because it had been forged by the [Hatred Demon] itself.
But that got Alex thinking.
Because it meant…
“Synthesis,” he said with a grin.
Ding!
[Bleeding Strike (Max-Tier) + Hatred Claws = ???]
It worked!
The two skills could be combined into something even stronger.
Without hesitation, Alex activated the synthesis.
Ding!
[You have acquired the “Bleeding Claws” (Artifact) skill]
[Deals 60,000,000 base damage + 5000% Strength, creates shadow-enhanced claws that can tear through any defense, with a 5% chance of inflicting bleed on the target; no cooldown.]
A 10-million damage increase, plus the added bleed effect. To Alex, this was a massive win.
“Do I even need [Demonized Whispers of Shadows] anymore?” he mused.
He imagined wielding his staff in one hand and transforming the other into [Bleeding Claws].
And as for the [Staff of Hatred] and [Hatred Armor] that he was supposedly getting, it seems he still needed to wait.
[Please wait a bit, equipment will be transferred shortly.]
It was confusing why he couldn’t get them right away, but he couldn’t forcibly extract it from Daniel anyway.
“Alex, hurry up!” Alice and Aurelia’s voices called out to him, reminding him that the [Golden Star Festival] would begin in less than ten minutes.
“Just a quick test,” he muttered, storing [Demonized Whispers of Shadows] in his backpack.
Extending his left arm, he whispered, “Bleeding Claws.”
But nothing happened.
“Huh, maybe I need to master it a little more.”
He couldn’t imagine it much since he never did this before.
So instead, he just thought back to Daniel’s figure when he wielded it, and how powerful he was when doing so.
The [Bleeding Claws] had lost its most important features like [Soul Crushing] and being to negate most magics, but it was still fine.
And so instead of just saying the name of the skill, he focused on his hand and feelings instead.
[Wield the Hatred…]
“…” he took a deep breath, visualizing the skill.
And then, the transformation happened instantly.
His left hand morphed into massive crimson claws, their edges glowing with an ominous shadow.
“Wow.”
Alex couldn’t believe that he actually managed to do it, and this easily too.
“What’s this?” Alice and Aurelia approached, confused as to when Alex got such a powerful thing.
“Hey, isn’t this what Daniel had…?” Aurelia tilted her head, making the connection between the two.
“Haha,” Alex laughed, ready to boast about his new acquisition.
In fact, he even wanted to try and use it on some of the nearby forest monsters before going to the festival.
Being late by a few minutes didn’t matter much as long as they didn’t miss the [Wandering Merchant] after all!
But then, right as Alex took his first step forward—
“AHHHHHHH!”
[I got you now, child.]
He heard a distance voice, but before he could react, an intense, searing pain erupted from his arm, spreading through his entire body.
His skin lit up with crimson flames as the claws seemed to reject him, their instability threatening to consume him.
[You have received the “Curse of Hatred.”]
[Effect: the flames of Hatred will consume you.]
“What the—?!” Alex gritted his teeth, dropping his staff as he tried to dispel the skill.
But the flames only climbed higher, creeping toward his chest.
Realizing the danger, Alex made a desperate decision.
Grabbing his dagger back from his backpack, he brought it to his burning arm.
“Grrr… DO IT!”
With one swift motion, he severed his own arm just below the shoulder.
The pain was excruciating, but the moment the claws hit the ground, they disintegrated into nothingness, taking the crimson flames with them.
Ding!
[The “Heart of Calamity” has stopped the curse from spreading further.]
Alex fell to his knees, his vision swimming as blood poured from his wound.
“What… the hell…?” he gasped.
The curse had tried to kill him, and now his left arm was gone.
[The Heart of Calamity advises you not to use this skill until mastering it or removing the curse.]
“No… shit…” Alex groaned, breathing heavily.
His blurred vision caught movement: several figures rushing toward him.
“Oh my god, Alex!” Alice’s voice cracked with panic as she dropped to her knees beside him, trying to assess his injury.
“What happened?!” Alera shouted, her [Frost Spear] materializing in her hand as she scanned the area for threats.
“Who attacked you?” Aurelia demanded, her [Shadow Control Daggers] flying into the surrounding trees to check for hidden enemies.
“I-It’s fine,” Alex rasped. “Just… a little mistake.”
“A little mistake?!” Alice cried, her face pale. “You’re missing a whole arm!”
“Relax,” Alex said, trying to grin through the pain. “I’ve got a plan.”
“What plan?” Aurelia narrowed her eyes.
Alex forced himself to sit up, blood still dripping from his shoulder.
“I’ll teleport you both to Star City, then head to the seventh floor of the [Tower of Destiny] and let one of the monsters kill me. They’re twice my level, so it’ll reset my body without losing any gear.”
“You’re insane!” Alice snapped. “There has to be a better way!”
“Thirty minutes of cooldown, max,” Alex replied, ignoring her protests. “You two can enjoy the festival while you wait.”
“No—”
Before either girl could object further, Alex grabbed Alice’s hand with his remaining one.
In a flash, he teleported her to Star City.
Returning to the [Fox Tribe Village], he turned to Aurelia, who glared at him, clearly prepared to dodge, “You’re next.”
“Don’t you dare—” she began, but Alex’s agility, boosted by his [Fox Clan] perks, outmatched her.
He grabbed her wrist, and with another flash of light, she too was sent to Star City.
Finally, Alex teleported to the seventh floor of the [Tower of Destiny], known as the Obsidian Cradle.
“Here we go…” he muttered, staring at the empty space where his left arm used to be, “Guess I should’ve been more prepared before messing with a skill from the [Hatred Demon].”
Ding!
[Global Announcement: The Golden Star Festival has officially begun!]
[Global Announcement: The Golden Star Festival…]
[Global Announcement…]
Alex sighed as he silenced the notifications. “Perfect timing,” he muttered. “Let’s get this over with.”
He needed to quickly die, and though he would have preferred to just kill himself, it would have meant the possibility of a penalty.
That is one of the loopholes of Universal Descent while the [Revive] feature was still active, and he would make sure to abuse it as long as he could.