[Set of items detected, enhancing the power of hatred.]
“Huh?”
Alex blinked, confused. A system notification flashed in front of him.
[You have in your possession a set of items from the same type that enhance one another and the user that owns them.]
[Armor of Pure Hatred (Artifact) + Staff of Pure Hatred (Artifact) + Heart of Calamity.]
Before he could even process what that meant, a deep crimson aura burst from his body, illuminating the pitch-black abyss around him.
The swirling red energy felt alive, twisting and turning like it had a mind of its own.
It spiraled upwards, forming what looked like a crimson banner in front of him.
Alex squinted, trying to read the symbols glowing on the banner.
But before he could…
BOOM!
An invisible force slammed into him.
Alex dropped to his knees, his eyes widening in shock.
Blood dripped from the corner of his mouth.
“What the—?!”
It felt like his very soul had been shattered.
His chest tightened, making it impossible to breathe.
His vision blurred, darkening around the edges.
Worse than that, his mind was flooded with overwhelming, twisted thoughts.
DiEyOuWontSurvIveStOpTryInGiVeuPLettHeHatredtaKeOver
Voices, dark, sinister, and chaotic, echoed in his head.
Alex gritted his teeth, but it was no use.
The pressure was unbearable.
He screamed, a raw, guttural sound, and slammed his head against the cold, dark ground of the abyss.
Again. And again.
The pain barely registered compared to the storm raging inside his mind.
It felt endless.
But after what seemed like forever, though it was probably just a minute, the voices faded.
As if… they had merged with his thoughts.
Panting heavily, Alex collapsed onto his side, his heart pounding in his chest.
His body trembled, and he genuinely believed he was about to die.
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But he didn’t.
Slowly, shakily, he pushed himself back onto his knees, his muscles weak and trembling.
“What the hell… was that…” he whispered, his voice hoarse.
Lifting his gaze, a new panel hovered in front of him.
[Some of the Hatred of the “Hatred Demon” has leaked inside your body.]
[You have unlocked the skill “Hatred’s Fury.”]
Alex stared at the words, his mind struggling to process them.
“…Holy… shit,” he muttered.
This was just some of the Hatred Demon’s power?
If this was only a fraction, he didn’t even want to imagine what the full force would feel like.
It nearly broke him.
He shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts.
But one thing was certain, he had never heard of items combining to grant new abilities like this.
It had to be something unique to the hatred aura.
Once his vision cleared a bit, he opened the skill panel to see what exactly Hatred’s Fury was.
There were still things he wanted to check about his dragon bloodline, but this took priority.
[Hatred’s Fury (Forbidden Skill): When the situation becomes almost impossible, and the user’s will doesn’t falter, there is a chance this skill will activate, unleashing your hatred on them.
Upon activation, this skill will slowly corrupt the user’s soul in exchange for immense power. Cannot be activated by will. Needs to meet specific requirements, which will be specified when you do.]
“…FORBIDDEN?!”
Alex practically shouted the word, his voice echoing off the cavern walls.
“HOLY SHIT.”
His heart pounded harder in his chest. A Forbidden skill?
He knew he should stay quiet in the abyss, drawing attention here was a death sentence.
The [Abyss Watchers] or other monsters wouldn’t hesitate to swarm him if they sensed his presence.
But he couldn’t help it.
Even among forbidden skills, some were far stronger than others.
Like [World Cleaver], a skill wielded by Kaelios, one of the top five strongest gods.
But no matter how you looked at it, any forbidden skill was insanely powerful.
And now… he had another one.
Alex’s eyes darted to the next notification.
[The Heart of Calamity has tanked the hatred’s power and strengthened your soul.]
“…Thank you,” Alex whispered, genuinely grateful.
[No problem.]
The sudden response from the Heart made him blink in surprise, but he didn’t dwell on it.
He focused back on the skill description.
It didn’t explain what kind of power Hatred’s Fury would give him, only that it would activate when the conditions were right.
He figured he’d know when the time came.
Curious, he tried to see if it would activate now.
“Hatred’s Fury,” Alex said aloud.
[You cannot use this skill. The conditions aren’t right.]
“Ah…” Alex sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. “Figures.”
Since he couldn’t use it now, he shifted his attention back to the golden panels still floating in front of him.
Time to check out the dragon bloodline perks.
His eyes landed on the next notification.
[You have unlocked your dragon wings.]
The moment he read it, pain flared in his back.
With a sudden, tearing sensation, two massive wings erupted from his back.
The force made him stumble forward slightly.
These weren’t just any wings.
They were the Wings of Destiny, ones he had extracted from the top boss of the Tower of Destiny.
‘So that’s why choosing your wings was important,’ Alex thought.
Apparently, you inherited the exact wings you brought into the ritual.
If you brought weak ones, you were stuck with them.
Luckily, Alex had fought and defeated an extremely powerful dragon, so the wings he now had were equally powerful.
He stretched them out, feeling the immense strength in each beat of the wings.
Another panel appeared.
[You have unlocked the “Fly” passive skill.]
Alex grinned.
Not only did he have wings, but he could now fly whenever he wanted.
This would be insanely useful for traveling to places not marked on his [World Map], or even fighting alongside Alphox in the sky.
This was a huge advantage.
But one thing bothered him.
‘How do I retract them?’
Having massive wings constantly sticking out of his back sounded more annoying than cool.
The moment he thought about it, the wings folded back into his body, disappearing seamlessly.
‘That’s better.’
There were two faint lines on his skin where the wings had emerged, but it didn’t bother him.
He wore full-body armor anyway, so no one would see them.
Satisfied, he moved on to the next notification.
And what he saw nearly made his heart stop.
[Your “Bleeding Claws” (Artifact) skill has been upgraded to “Bleeding Dragon Claws” (Artifact+).]
“!!!”
Alex’s eyes widened.
Another skill upgrade?
Without wasting a second, he opened the skill details.
[Bleeding Dragon Claws: Deal 250,000,000 base damage + 10,000% Strength. Creates shadow-enhanced draconic claws that can tear through any defense, with a 5% chance to inflict bleed on the opponent. No cooldown.]
“HOLY SHIT!”
This time, Alex couldn’t stop himself from screaming.
These numbers were insane!
Two hundred fifty million base damage, plus a ridiculous strength multiplier?
At this rate, each of his strikes could deal close to five hundred million damage.
That was enough to kill some level 1,500 beings in just five hits.
He remembered Vorsak, the final boss of the Tower of Destiny, only had a billion HP.
If he had these claws back then, he could’ve taken Vorsak down in two strikes.
That just showed how powerful he had become.
Alex’s heart raced with excitement.
Right now, he was growing stronger and stronger, preparing for the impossibly powerful beings he would have to face in the future.
But he couldn’t let the excitement distract him.
“Phew,” he exhaled, wiping the sweat from his forehead. “Focus, Alex.”
There were still a few more panels to check.
And if these were anything to go by… things were only going to get crazier.
