Ding!
[You have defeated the “Hatred Demon” and gained 5,000,000,000,000 experience points.]
Five trillion experience points.
Alex’s breath caught in his throat as he stared at the message.
For a moment, he thought he had read it wrong.
But no, it was real.
That number, so absurdly massive, was the most experience he had ever received from a single enemy.
Hell, it was likely the most anyone could get in the entire game at this point.
Even with everything he’d been through, even after fighting beings stronger than mountains and mages who warped reality, that number still made his jaw tighten and his body freeze.
His legs finally gave out beneath him.
Alex collapsed onto the cracked, ruined ground, gasping for air.
His chest rose and fell rapidly as if his lungs were struggling to keep up with his heart.
He was drenched in sweat, blood still smeared across his armor, some of it his, some of it not.
Every muscle in his body ached, his hands trembling from a mix of fatigue and lingering adrenaline.
He had been through countless battles before, some long, some brutal, many that had pushed him close to death.
But this, this was on another level entirely.
The Hatred Demon hadn’t just been strong, it had been something else entirely.
Something terrifying, something primal.
And now, it was over. Finally over.
Alex let out a slow, shaky breath and closed his eyes.
He sat there in silence, forcing his racing heart to slow down.
His breathing gradually evened out.
The trembling in his fingers began to fade.
He clenched his hands into fists, grounding himself again, then slowly opened his eyes and nodded once.
“Alright…” he muttered under his breath, his voice rough and low.
His body had stopped shaking.
“Time to get this over with.”
Ding!
[The Hatred Demon has died, meaning that one of the participants of the “Hatred Domain” has been killed.]
‘Right.’
That was something Alex hadn’t forgotten, this entire battle had taken place inside the [Hatred Domain].
Despite its terrifying name and intense setting, the Hatred Domain wasn’t a buffed arena for the demon or a handicap zone meant to trap him.
It was neutral ground, a sealed battlefield meant for two fated enemies to settle their score, one way or another.
And now that one of them was dead, that domain would collapse.
[Good job winning this, FateBreaker.]
The use of his in-game name made him blink.
It had been so long since anyone actually called him that.
Most people just used his real name now.
Still, it made sense, the system always referred to him that way.
Above, the once-twisted sky began to shift.
The crimson and golden hue that had stretched across the heavens faded.
The massive blood-red eye that had loomed over the battlefield like a watching god blinked once, then rolled away, vanishing beneath the horizon as if falling into some abyss beyond reality.
Specks of crimson dust drifted away from the world around him.
The ground cracked and peeled like burnt paper.
The strange, alien terrain of the Hatred Domain began to dissolve, vanishing into floating fragments as darkness enveloped everything.
For a brief second, Alex stood in total blackness.
Then—
Fwish! Ding!
[You have been transported back to the real world.]
The world around him reformed in an instant.
Alex blinked against the sudden sunlight and took a cautious step forward, scanning his surroundings.
He was back in Dragon City, or at least… what remained of it.
Everything was in ruins.
The proud city that had once stood as a monument to the dragons’ strength and legacy was now nothing more than scattered ash and crumbling stone.
Entire buildings had collapsed, the stone pathways were split apart, and thick clouds of smoke still hung in the air like ghosts of what once stood.
Even the grand temple, the one where he had begun his path toward unlocking the [Dragon Bloodline], was gone.
Reduced to rubble. Not even the entrance remained.
The aftermath of that battle had utterly destroyed this place.
But Alex didn’t feel anything close to grief.
Truthfully, he had never been attached to the dragons or this city.
They were powerful, yes, but he never really cared about them beyond what they offered in strength.
To him, it was just another location. Another step in his journey.
Still, he was grateful this fight hadn’t taken place anywhere more populated.
If this battle had occurred near the spawn zones or any of the major cities, they would’ve been erased from the map.
Hell, if this had happened in the real world… entire countries might not exist anymore.
He exhaled through his nose and scanned the wreckage until his gaze fell on the motionless body nearby: the Hatred Demon.
Or rather, what remained of it.
Its massive body, which had once loomed over him like a nightmare made flesh, was no longer the towering monstrosity it had been in the domain.
In this world, it had returned to its original form, a tall but human-sized figure, though still clearly demonic in appearance.
Alex walked toward it, boots crunching over shattered stone and bone.
The demon’s arms and legs were broken into jagged fragments, its black armor shattered and strewn across the ground like discarded glass.
Its eyes were empty sockets now, dark, hollow, and lifeless.
There was a large hole in its chest, where its heart had once pulsed with raw hatred, but it was now gone.
And with its death…
[+5,565,000,000,000 experience points!]
That was the total.
Five trillion from the [Hatred Demon] itself, three hundred billion from the [Hell Abomination] he had defeated, and another 265 billion from the [Guardians of Hatred].
The combined total was staggering.
And with it came the system’s rapid response—
Ding! Ding! Ding!
[You have reached level 1304, gaining 4 stat points to all attributes and 5 free points to assign.]
[You have reached level 1305, gaining 4 stat points to all attributes and 5 free points to assign.]
[You have reached level 1306…]
[You have…]
…
[You have reached level 1454, gaining 4 stat points to all attributes and 5 free points to assign.]
“Phew…”
Alex let out a soft sigh as the endless stream of level-up notifications finally stopped.
One hundred and fifty levels in one go.
A staggering gain, even for him.
It wasn’t quite as much as what he had gotten from the Grand Mages, mostly because there were dozens of them, each granting a large chunk of experience.
The Hatred Demon had been only one enemy, but a single one powerful enough to wipe those mages out in seconds.
Still, it was close. More than worth it.
And the levels weren’t the only thing he gained from this.
Ding!
[Advancement Task: Destroy the Hatred Sect and kill the Hatred Demon.]
Followed immediately by—
Ding!
[You have completed your Tier-8 and Tier-9 Advancement Task.]
Alex stared at that panel for a moment, then let out a long breath.
The system had combined the two tasks into one because he had ascended past both level 1000 and 1250 in one go.
That was why this mission, killing the Hatred Demon, had been so absurdly difficult.
It was two Advancement Tasks fused into one nightmare-level quest.
But now it was done, and the rewards were coming.
Ding! Ding! Ding!
Multiple panels opened in front of him.
[You have been granted two rewards for completing this seemingly impossible task, FateBreaker, for even the system didn’t believe you would be able to do it.]
“Damn…” Alex mumbled.
[First, you are allowed to ask us three questions that we will answer no matter what, granting you any information or knowledge you desire.]
[You have one hour to ask your questions. If you go over this hour, we will no longer respond. Please choose wisely.]
Alex’s eyes widened.
Now that was something new.
He expected an overpowered skill or a shiny weapon, but this?
This was better.
Much better.
There were so many things he needed answers to.
So many mysteries about the game, the Chosen Games, the real world, and how everything was connected.
Getting guaranteed answers, even just three, was a massive boon.
[In addition to that, your Destiny Points will be evolved, allowing you to go from a max of 150, to 200!]
“Nice!” Alex grinned widely, his earlier fatigue fading just a little.
That was huge.
Destiny Points were some of the most valuable resources in the entire game, and being able to hold fifty more meant that he could do far more than ever before.
The system had actually surprised him. Twice.
And just as he was soaking that in, another panel appeared.
[Your Tier-10 Advancement Task, the final one, will contain the hardest possible task you could receive, but also the greatest reward of them all.]
[Please be ready.]
And just like that, the panels vanished, and silence returned.
Alex stood alone in the wreckage of Dragon City.
Smoke curled up into the air.
The silence of victory hung heavy in the ruins around him.
He exhaled slowly.
There were still things to do. Still paths to walk. Still enemies ahead.
But for now… this part was finished.
And he was one step closer to what truly mattered.