Stygon
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Chapter 152
🕑 Added 2025-07-16 16:55:48 +0000 UTCThe first thing he tried was to read up on all the Challenge Convergences- or Challenge Dungeons as some called them- and what they might entail. He chose one of the shortest, which took people around two years to complete, and got information on its exact contents.
Once you knew about what was in a Challenge Dungeon, you couldn’t take it, part of the experience was going in blind. Still, he wanted to get a feel for if he might be able to speed through them.
Unfortunately, he found not. There were many “timed” levels in a dungeon that involved surviving for a while, or even enemies with increasing levels. The dungeons also tried to match the power level, at least a little, of whoever entered them.
There was no chance of him completing them quickly, so he shrugged and moved on.
‘How can I increase my power in my time here?’ he asked himself, once more being drawn to his Class and Profession.
At this point, he knew that levels would not come to him at any meaningful speed, so he didn’t bother practicing anything. No, maybe he should just take the fame that came from helping people research Mythical-grade System constructs.
‘Actually not a bad idea, really. I’ve got a week and a half, I could spend that time doing some kind of crowd work! I can’t forget, there are Achievements for being famous, but Aloran said that I couldn’t force it. Wait, actually, for that matter, Why don’t I ALREADY have some Achievements for becoming some major celebrity in Agartha? Didn’t like, a bajiliion people watch me grow into a kaiju? There’s no way an event like that is common enough to be unnoteworthy. Time to hit the books and see what the issue is. And by books, I mean Iten. And by hit, I mean ask him nicely.’
*
Iten knew the answer off the top of his head, no books required. “Reputational Achievements require both notoriety and time. If you become a fad for a week or two, it won’t work. I think the minimum is one month of notoriety before they start popping up. The larger the population that knows you, the longer it takes for the Achievement to kick in. The earliest you can gain one is if ten thousand people think of you consistently for one month, then the next is if fifty thousand people think of you consistently for two months, so on and so forth. That way if you do one big thing in front of a crowd of billions, you can’t just get the highest tier reputational Achievement.”
‘Drats, that’s exactly what I was trying to do. Still, I think it’ll stick in their heads long enough so I don’t mind too much.’i
“Okay, well I might need your help to get some incredible Achievements in that case. Do it and I’ll let you tack your name on mine so we can potentially both become famous.”
Iten smiled and rolled his eyes, “Not gonna work. For one, I’m already at tier three in fame. And two, ‘Get famous quick’ schemes never work.”
Dei chuckled, “Mine will. I’ve been looking through your history books and I’ve noticed something of a… black spot.”
He looked around the private room they’d rented out in a restaurant. Dei had requested privacy specifically for this purpose.
“You all believe Mythic grade Classes and Professions are impossible. I already have a Mythic Profession, which I’ve completed, and would like to subject myself to a bit of testing for research and fame purposes.”
Iten froze, staring at him for several long seconds, studying his expression.
“Liar.”
Dei sent him a copy of his Profession description, as well as the rarity listed.
He stared at it, reading it over for half a second before looking up at him.
In a much different tone, he asked “How can I help?”
*
Iten started to organize some kind of showing with several scientists, but Dei was left in a luxurious hotel of sorts. It looked much closer to a nicely decorated apartment, but he didn’t bother over the specifics, he just wanted a quiet place to look over his options.
‘Finally gonna do it I suppose.’
He’d intended to wait til the last second to choose his options, but reputational Achievements were too valuable to pass on.
Starting with the arguably more important one, his Class, he let out a soft prayer.
‘I’m begging you here, System. Please give me a Mythical. It’ll take a while to level up, but I could really use that five stats per level to fight the demon.’
Breathing in, he centered his mind and calmed his nerves.
Then, he opened his Class options.
[Diverging paths for evolution open:
Dreamwalking Slaughterer (Legendary)
The Divine Slaughterer (Mythical)
Slaughterer of the Sundered Realm (Impossible)
The Father of Slaughter (Impossible)]
He blinked owlishly at his options.
‘IMPOSSIBLE?’
He felt some feedback from the System that told him he could expand the Impossible tag, and did so immediately.
[Impossible - A grade above Mythical which is impossible to achieve under normal circumstances. One must earn a Mythical grade, then a Metasystem Upgrade to whichever construct is Mythical in order to receive Impossible grade]
‘Metasystem Upgrade!? Oh! My Slaughterer Achievement! It upgrades my Class selection! I thought that was a one time deal, but looking back, it’d be a bit silly if all my future Classes were weaker. DUDE!’
Excitement bubbling up, he wasted no time in selecting [Slaughterer of the Sundered Realm].
[Slaughterer of the Sundered Realm
They are the screams that echo across fractured timelines, the blade that sunders the seams of creation. Once mortal, now something else, the Slaughterer of the Sundered Realm consumes broken realities to fuel an insatiable hunger for existence, opening worlds within themselves to host whichever life they deem worthy. Wherever the veil grows thin, they emerge wreathed in cosmic entropy, wielding weapons of chaos forged from collapsing worlds. Their very presence causes time to stutter, logic to warp, and weaker minds to shatter.
Gives the Skills: [Realm of Hunger], [Aura of Chaos], [Entropic Touch]
Grants Skill Permission: [The World that Walks]
Gives the Stats: +4 Physical, +1 Spiritual, and +1 Magical every level]
His mind raced as he tried to understand everything he could about this Class, and exactly what went into making it. It likely factored in how he devoured the Dream and The Mothers entire Mental Realm in general, turning himself into an Embodiment, and glancing at either Chaos or “The One” that the System called that Primordial Slayer. Not just that, it was a direct upgrade from his Watchful Slaughterer Class, which focused on protecting his friends, if the “World within themselves” part of it was anything to go by.
Speaking of, the Skill Permission section was new, yet he was familiar with the term The World that Walks. He remembered Justin saying that such a term was lodged in his Presence, and it was representative of Leviathans. Supposedly, that was a lesser known name for the Primordial Children. Aloran called them something similar, “The Living Worlds Below.”
The Skills… He didn’t hesitate to go through them.
[Realm of Hunger - Level 1
The Slaughterer rends all, tearing at flesh and fabric alike to fuel its insatiable hunger. Take solace in the limits of its maw, for it is the only comfort the victims will find.
Grants the user a Domain of Hunger which breaks down useless or hostile affinities and concepts into more palatable energies.
Digestive speed accelerates with each level.
Variable energy cost, but can potentially feed upon itself once strong enough and enough mana is consumed to create a feedback loop of concepts.
Warning: Heavy overlap between existing domain and Domain of Hunger. Skill will consume Fortress of Denial, assimilating it into an Outer Skill]
His eyes gleamed at the already incredibly powerful Skill, and the warning did nothing to dampen his excitement. It would not only serve a similar role by eating any attacks within him, but it would be better. He’d previously wondered if he was filled with parasites that he simply couldn’t detect, and this would take care of that. It would perfect his soul by devouring anything non-beneficial to himself.
The only thing that made him slightly disappointed, and this was not the Skills fault, was its limitations of the space within his soul. Fortress of Denial had the same drawback, where the Domain was only present within him, but that was simply a side effect of his Slaughterer evolution. He could not manipulate magic outside of his body, which meant Realm of Hunger would work on nothing outside of his body.
Still, ideas bubbled up. Ways to get around this, to potentially gain the ability to feed on his enemies using the Skill, and he couldn’t stop the mad beating of his heart.
He looked to the next.
[Aura of Chaos - Level 1 - Passive
The touch of impossibility resides within your soul. A well of endless potential just within reach, yet the water is poisoned. Chaos cannot be tamed, only contained or directed, and its effects are as blessed as they are cursed.
Laces Presence with chaos, ripping apart everything that comes into contact with it.
Explosivity of chaos increases with each level.
Warning: Once activated, chaos CANNOT be directed. Will lash out at friends and foe alike, only the users soul and body are spared]
This one was dangerous in more ways than one, but he immediately knew of the exact perfect use for it.
Justin spoke of a battlefront with demons, where the Sapients banded together to fend off its armies. Dei bet that he could just jump headfirst into the frontline, then walk through and tear everything apart.
‘Not only that, but I don’t think the warning is as dire as it seemed at a glance. It would be, if I didn’t, say, have a way to attach people to my soul in a way that I can readily remove at a moment's notice. Perhaps one called CONNECT?!?’ he screamed the last word in his head, resisting the urge to stand up and holler in excitement. This Class likely tailored directly to him, as anything in Impossible grade would be. He had nothing to back up the claim, but it seemed a reasonable assumption.
It was especially nice to have at least some form of external attack, even if it came with a lot of downsides and clauses. True, he still couldn’t manipulate it outside his body, but the System got around this for him with the whole “Lacing it to his presence” deal.
[Entropic Touch - Level 1
With a mere gesture, the Slaughterer channels the raw entropy of their sundered realm into their touch, unraveling the cohesion of matter at a molecular, spiritual, and temporal level. Flesh wilts, steel rusts, and magic itself rots beneath the grasp of the Slaughterer.
Allows the user to channel entropy into anything that interacts with their existence.
CANNOT be powered by mana, only by the energies produced from [Realm of Hunger], or through having a successful internal reality from [The World that Walks]; The more diverse and successful the ecosystem, the more entropic energy is produced.
Efficiency of energy conversion increases with each successive level]
Another unmatched Skill with odd limitations that were tailor-made for him to bypass. He could still picture one particular way to increase the range of Realm of Hunger, but he’d need to test it first. If he did? Entropic Touch was going to become his best friend fast.
This Skill also hinted at him that the Class took part of his connection to Void, as it was a more “Conceptual” attack. It seemed like a scalable version of [Void Walker]’s clause about intangible enemies:
[When striking intangible opponents with a physical attack, 20% of the physical damage is carried over into intangible damage]
This Skill, too, would let him attack enemies he normally couldn’t. Once more, he could punch his problems away.
‘Score!’
Last, but absolutely not least, was [The World that Walks]
[The World that Walks - Upgrade
“I do not know what is wrong with this little Reaper but he makes some Leviathans nervous with the Achievements that mar his soul. Many more are excited to see where his path takes him though. On behalf of Leviathan kind, I permit him access to The World that Walks upgrade; may he use it well.” - Haramacia, Leviathan ambassador to the System.”
Integrates The World that Walks upgrade into existing fragments of Right of the Leviathan]
He was surprised, but not in the slightest disappointed. It wasn’t a Skill at all, but some kind of fifth fragment to Right of the Leviathan, as far as he understood?
He thought for a moment on why it wasn’t included in the list, but arrived at the answer rather quickly.
‘Right of the Leviathan is something every Leviathan is born with. The World that Walks must be something they earn as they grow up. It is an integral Skill to Leviathans, but not actually a fragment of their Right that they inherit from their parents.’
Though there was no description of the Skill, he could tell it was some kind of inner world based on what Entropic Touch said and its name alone.
He hadn’t actually tested whether the storage of Cycle of Sealing could hold living things, but based on how it shredded and digested The Mother’s soul, he was fairly sure it wasn’t exactly safe for living things to go in. This though?
He’d have to cancel that order for a spatial terrarium.
The stats on the Class too! Total stats given by the completion of a Class increased by fifty with each rarity, but Impossible took something of two steps up, granting a hundred more total stats than Mythical grade. Now, once he completed the Class, he’d have a total of six hundred more stats on his interface, the majority of which would go towards Physical.
As he finished going over the Class, he couldn’t stop the grin that split his face. True, there was another Impossible class, but he just couldn’t imagine anything better than what he already got from this one.
Nevertheless… he was a bit curious.
[Father of Slaughter
The Father of Slaughter is not merely a warrior- he is the origin, the architect of carnage, and the founder of the group he simply calls The Slaughterers. This enigmatic and formidable being has established an elite organization dedicated to one purpose: eradicating monstrous hordes with ruthless efficiency. His very Presence scours unsuspecting souls and empowers the bloodthirsty legions at his back. The Father of Slaughter thrives not by standing alone, but by training, empowering, and unleashing Slaughterers. He molds the broken, the vengeful, and the forsaken into precise instruments of death. An uncanny ability to pinpoint the strengths of those below him, the Father of Slaughter holds a perfectly specialized soldier for every battle.
Gives the Skills: [Butcher King], [Immortal Defiance], [Broken Souls]
Grants the Skill Permission: [The Fathers Exception]
Gives the Stats: +1 Physical, +3 Mental, +1 Spiritual, and +1 Magical every level]
‘Ohhh no,’ he thought with both dread and excitement, ‘Nooo no please don’t tell me.’
Without nearly as much fanfare, he tore through everything he’d get from this Class.
[Butcher King - Level 1 - Passive
The Father of Slaughter is not the first upon his path, but he is the greatest. Unlike many others raised as he was, he understands that some issues do require a deft hand, but just as many require unending rage. Channeling the legacy of the first Slaughterer, once called the Butcher King, the user may lace their presence with his unending rage and power.
Activates Presence of the Butcher King, temporarily empowering all nearby Slaughterers at the cost of their minds while simultaneously amplifying their weaknesses.
Weakness of each Slaughterer is lessened with each successive level]
‘No…’
[Immortal Defiance - Level 1 - Passive
The battle for civilization never ends. As the hordes of monsters beat down at the walls, eager to tear apart all that one holds dear, warriors rise to resist. Only when faced with a monster's endless rage, can a man find the Immortal Defiance in his heart.
Grants the Immortal Defiance buff to all allies on the battlefield, drastically increasing their endurance in all ways while accelerating how quickly they regenerate HP, MP, and SP.
Endurance, regeneration, and range increase with each level]
‘OH MAN!’
[Broken Souls - Level 1 - Passive
The Father knows you well, perhaps better than you know yourself. He looks below the surface and sees your fear, your insecurity, and foists it into the light, both healing and remaking you. He doesn’t see what you are. He sees what broke you- and what that can become.
Grants a supernatural sense for those of civilization with the potential to become Slaughterers, and exactly what one must do to bring out their full potential.
Range and clarity increase with each successive level]
‘DON’T TELL ME!’
[The Fathers Exception - Permission
“Only by surpassing the bounds that shackle most others can one truly see the cage; Go forth. Find what shackles the others, and shatter the bars. Free them from the bindings of pain, so they may know strength.” - The System
Grants The Fathers Exception permission, allowing you to create Slaughterers in a manner that would normally be impossible. Break them, guide them, build them back anew in your image]
‘IT’S ACTUALLY GOOD!’
He wanted to scream because, for the first time since he was in a Class or Profession selection, he actually had to choose between two equally amazing options.
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Authors Note: I'd love to see what you guys think he's gonna pick and why! Hope I surprised yall with the options :P
Comments
Burcury Neptune
He got it as a sort of mirror to The Mother, where he fights for Sapience and she fights for monsters. Wont say anything else about your theories, but I do love them!
Jason Hardman
Feels unclear what he's done that qualifies him to the "Father of Slaughterers", and to be honest, I strongly dislike the tone it sets. Sounds like he'll become good at torturing people into becoming the best slaughterer they can be. I quite like the idea of him gaining chaos and entropic powers, as that sounds like the only thing that might be able to truly harm the demon. Turn its own power against it. Also let's him embrace his power through community, growth through bonds idea he's currently got going. Can't help but feel if he snubs the leviathan option, they might be pissed at the rejection.
Christopher Abernathy
That poor t-rex won't even see it coming...
