The pulse of the Bone Shrine echoed through Aethernox's veins, spreading a surge of raw power that bent the very air around him. His skeletal crown shimmered faintly, resonating with the ancient necromantic magic imbued within the shrine. But it wasn't just the power of the shrine that stirred his ambition—it was the whispered promise of an awakening, a power sleeping beneath the marsh for millennia.
[System Panel Activated]
[Current Level: 7]
[Available Skill Points: ∞]
[Available Trait Points: 0]
[Tutorial Quest Progress: 3/4 Complete]
[Final Objective: Establish Dominion over Wraithbone Marsh]
[Bonus Objective Activated: Awaken the Deep Ancient]
Aethernox's gaze pierced the swirling fog ahead. Below the surface of the stagnant water, deeper than any mortal dared venture, lay the Deep Ancient—a primordial entity said to be the Marsh's first guardian and a remnant of the vanished First Age. Waking it would unlock unimaginable power but risk attracting the attention of the world's most dangerous beings.
Without hesitation, Aethernox summoned his newly acquired skills, his fingers tracing intricate patterns in the thick, fetid air.
[Skill Menu Opened]
[Bone Shaping (C-Rank)]
[Death Speech (B-Rank)]
[Skeletal Mastery (A-Rank)]
[Phantom Acid (B-Rank)]
[Essence Theft (A-Rank)]
[Undead Resilience (C-Rank)]
[Necromantic Drain (A-Rank)]
[Guardian's Wrath (B-Rank)]
"Time to upgrade," he muttered, voice thick with resolve.
[Skill Upgrade Initiated: Skeletal Mastery]
[Upgrade Cost: 5,000 SP]
[Rank Increased: A → S]
[New Effects: Can fully animate skeletal structures into autonomous warriors with enhanced intelligence and combat capability]
[New Effects: +30% damage and durability to summoned undead]
[Skill Upgrade Initiated: Bone Shaping]
[Upgrade Cost: 3,200 SP]
[Rank Increased: C → B]
[New Effects: Can create organic bone weapons, armor, and constructs with adaptive strength]
[Skill Upgrade Initiated: Necromantic Drain]
[Upgrade Cost: 4,800 SP]
[Rank Increased: A → S]
[New Effects: Can siphon life, mana, and essence from multiple targets simultaneously]
Power coursed through him as the skill ranks climbed. The system allowed no limits on his infinite points, so he lavished them on rapid mastery, improving every skill he acquired whether by extraction, level-up, or discovery. Mastery beyond divinity was no longer an unreachable goal—it was inevitable.
Yet as he prepared for the final stage of the tutorial quest, the marsh itself seemed to grow restless. The fog thickened, swirling with unnatural force, and a voice echoed inside his mind—deep, resonant, and dripping with ancient malice.
"Who dares awaken me from eternal slumber?"
A shadow long and vast rose beneath the rippling surface, teeth like jagged bone encircling a mouth that seemed to absorb light itself. Aethernox's enhanced Death Sight recognized the signature immediately:
[Deep Ancient - Leviathan of the Bone Marsh]
[Level: 45]
[Health: 3,800/3,800]
[Mana: 1,200/1,200]
[Attributes: Strength 150, Constitution 180, Intelligence 110, Wisdom 130]
[Skills: Bone Crush (S-Rank), Soul Rend (S-Rank), Marsh Phalanx (A-Rank), Bone Pulse (S-Rank)]
[Traits: Primeval Guardian, Undying Essence, Bone Regeneration, Ancient Wisdom]
It was the primal source of the marsh's power—a living relic from an age when gods and mortals were less clearly divided.
"Come," Aethernox said with deadly calm, stepping into the murky water that swirled around the creature's immense form. "Let us evolve together."
The battle began with the Leviathan's Bone Pulse, ripples of necromantic energy radiating from its core and causing the water to boil as spectral bone shards lunged toward him in torrential waves.
Aethernox responded instantly, activating Phantom Acid to dissolve bone shards mid-flight, then he channeled Skeletal Mastery to command a dozen skeletal warriors to rise from the marsh floor and shield him from the worst of the assault.
Bone Crush came next—a devastating strike meant to pulverize his defenses. He leapt aside, drawing strength from Undead Resilience, upgraded beyond normal limits.
With the momentum broken, Aethernox began his counterattack.
"Essence Theft!" he commanded, seizing the Leviathan's lifeforce with a swell of necromantic energy. The creature recoiled, but its bone armor cracked and splintered under his assault.
He struck with Bone Shaping, manifesting a massive bone halberd that dripped with corrosive acid. With a roar, he drove it through the creature's side, fusing his Acid and Bone energies for maximum effect.
[Skill Fusion Activated: Phantom Acid + Bone Shaping + Essence Theft]
[New Skill: Acid Bone Rend (S-Rank)]
[Effect: Delivers corrosive, essence-draining strikes that weaken enemy defenses and extract life force over time]
The Leviathan howled, its deathly voice shaking the marsh as it summoned its next attack—Soul Rend, meant to rip apart body and soul alike. But Aethernox had anticipated this.
"Death Speech," he whispered, and the words of command echoed in the creature's mind, binding it in place for a fatal moment.
His skeletal warriors surged forward, piercing the Leviathan's exposed flank. He drove Acid Bone Rend deep, the halberd eating through scales and sinew alike.
With one final surge of accumulated power, Aethernox cast Guardian's Wrath—absorbed and mastered from the slain Osseous Leviathan—unleashing a sphere of necrotic energy that shattered bone and marrow in an instant.
The great creature collapsed, its ancient eyes dimming as life drained away.
[Deep Ancient Defeated]
[Experience Gained: 5,478,000 EXP]
[Level Up! You are now Level 25]
[Skill Points awarded: ∞]
[Auto-upgrading all newly acquired skills...]
[New Skills Unlocked: Ancient Bone Construct, Necromantic Overlord]
Aethernox exhaled slowly, marveling at the vast power flooding his being. Here in Wraithbone Marsh, among the dead and forgotten, he was becoming something more—something closer to the god he once was, and far beyond what any ruling power had ever expected.
The Bone Shrine's pulsing light stabilized, signaling the complete claiming of his first domain.
[Domain Established: Wraithbone Marsh]
[Domain Effects Activated: +50% Skill Upgrade Rate; +30% Trait Extraction Efficiency]
[New Title Unlocked: Bone Sovereign]
[Special Permission Granted: Access to Realm Spirit Fusion]
In the distance, the Great World Tree shimmered faintly—a cosmic beacon linking infinite realms. The multiverse awaited, ripe with countless challenges and treasures.
For now, Aethernox stood triumphant in the heart of his reclaimed territory, the Dark Fantasy of his origin melding with the boundless potential of infinite progression.
His rise had only just begun.
To be continued...