Blood and bodies littered the ground by the time he stopped. With the mages gone, Seth steadied his breath, flames still licking faintly along his blade. His eyes lifted again, locking onto the region boss.
Seth exploded forward, his feet tearing into the dirt as he closed the distance. The region boss roared in fury, its cry shaking the air as it charged to meet him. Injured, bleeding, and weakened, the monster still radiated raw power, but Seth didn't care. To him, it wasn't strong enough anymore.
Desperation burned in the boss's eyes as it bellowed once more, its body swelling grotesquely. Muscles bulged and cords of flesh tore as it forced itself into a berserk state, trading away speed for raw power and towering defense. Its body hardened, its movements slowing, its posture braced for defense above all else.
But that choice was a fatal mistake.
The massive, broken greatsword swung down, slow but crushing, a blow meant to pulverize him. Seth moved before it even reached halfway. He leapt upward, clearing the blade with ease, his form twisting through the air. His sword flared as he came down, and with ruthless precision, he drove the blade deep into the region boss's eye.
The monster shrieked, its howl cut short as the steel pierced through, ending it in a single, decisive strike.
If the boss had chosen speed, it might have lasted longer. Seth's Nexus Eyes allowed him to read every twitch, every shift of muscle—it was impossible to hide movement from him. By trading away agility, the boss had sealed its fate.
"What a pain," Seth muttered inwardly. His gaze shifted toward the remaining goblins still scurrying about the ruined village. Letting out a soft sigh, he stepped forward once more, blade in hand, and resumed the slaughter. Even weakened and bearing injuries from the fight with the boss, his strikes were merciless. Goblin after goblin fell in a grisly cascade, their bodies piling up around him.
[Congratulations on being the first person to clear a tier 2 region all by yourself. The rewards you gained have been doubled. No new monsters will spawn for the next 24 hours. Do you wish to become the Region Overlord?]
The glowing system window appeared before his eyes, its message direct and absolute. Seth stared at it for only a moment before selecting Yes. Instantly, the title bound itself to him, marking him as the new master of the Goblin Region.
With the prompt gone, he walked over to the corpse of the fallen region boss. Drawing his blade again, he began harvesting the body. From the remains, he pulled free a cache of 100 tier-two monster crystals—a total of 10,000 XP in raw value. By anyone's measure, it was a tremendous haul.
Seth, however, barely spared it more than a glance. The numbers didn't excite him. What caught his attention instead was the skill crystal among the loot. That was the true prize. Pocketing it, he turned away from the carnage and called for his men, ordering them to come and harvest the rest.
"Boss, is it wise to clear the region all by yourself?" one of his men asked with a frown, his eyes lingering on Seth's bloodstained body. Wounds covered him from head to toe, proof of the brutal fight he had endured.
"I wanted to test my capability," Seth replied softly, his tone even. "Go ahead and focus on Red. I want him to be able to summon more useful Pokémon."
Seth had his reasons. In a world where wishes had reshaped reality, there was no telling what kinds of abilities others had gained. For all he knew, someone could have wished for something as dangerous as the Death Note—or worse. A name alone could become a weapon. Because of that, Seth ordered everyone under him to conceal their true identities and adopt fake names. It was better to be cautious than to fall to something unseen.
"Got it, boss," the man said, nodding before heading off to carry out Seth's instructions.
As for Seth, he returned home. His body screamed for rest, and he finally allowed himself to collapse into recovery. By the time morning came, his wounds had closed, and the ache had faded. Rising from his bed, he called up his status window and froze for a moment. His combat power had jumped by 65 overnight—a massive increase in such a short span.
The cause was obvious. It wasn't just his body's natural growth, but the skills he had stolen. Mimicking the boss's sword slashes had expanded his arsenal, giving him more options in combat and pushing his strength to new heights, plus the fact he pushed himself in that battle, it meant growing stronger after healing.
Once his body had fully healed, Seth reviewed what he had gained by becoming the region's overlord. As the new boss, the authority of the Goblin Region now rested with him. That authority came with clear benefits. For one, no new goblins would spawn within his domain so long as he held the title, giving him absolute control over the territory.
There were other perks as well. Within his domain, he received a passive boost to his own power, making him even deadlier when fighting inside his borders. He also had access to a special Region Boss store, as well as a map that displayed the entire region under his command.
The map, however, had its limits. While he could view every detail of his territory, the rest of the world was obscured beneath a dense, impenetrable fog. His control ended at the borders of his region.
"Seems a lot like a game," Seth muttered softly, recalling a handful of games that worked exactly this way. His gaze shifted briefly to the Region Boss chat, which was flooded with messages from other overlords, conversations and arguments spilling in real time. With little interest, he ignored the noise and turned back to the map.
There, laid out in detail, were the resources of his region. And it was clear—they were already running low on food.
'We need a wall. And we should establish farms—for both animals and crops,' Seth thought, his mind already shifting toward long-term stability. With that in mind, he opened the Region Boss store, curious to see what options were available.
The interface split neatly into three primary tabs:
[Items], [Manpower], [Skills/Spells]
The Items tab was exactly what it sounded like—an expansive catalog filled with countless objects. Food, weapons, armor, and tools of every variety were listed, some mundane and practical, others outrageously powerful. Ordinary gear sat beside legendary equipment, and each came with its own price.
One entry in particular caught his eye: an apple. On the surface, it looked like any other fruit, but its description was anything but ordinary. Eating it would grant the consumer true immortality, but Seth ignored it since his talent gave him that and more.
The Manpower tab allowed an overlord to summon monsters directly into their service. But as Seth quickly realized, the cost was hardly worth it. Even the weakest options were overpriced. A simple tier-zero goblin required ten tier-zero monster crystals—an absurd price for something so fragile and expendable.
The Skills/Spells tab wasn't any kinder. It offered a wide range of abilities, from basic spells to higher-tier techniques, but every single one came with a steep cost. Even the lowest quality—a mere F-tier spell—demanded one hundred tier-zero crystals. Scaling upward, the prices grew far worse, practically draining resources for the smallest scraps of power.
"What a pain," Seth muttered as he leaned back, letting the screen hang before him. At present, he had about 10,000 monster crystals stored away, a stockpile earned through the boss fight and his earlier battles. With that amount, he could afford a tier-D skill or spell… or perhaps a single tier-three monster. Neither option felt particularly satisfying.
But weapons—that was where the real value lay. Browsing deeper into the Items tab, Seth's eyes caught on something unusual: a piece of cursed equipment.
[Item Name: Cursed Heavy Armor
Item Type: Cursed Armor
Item Rank: D-tier
Item Ability: A cursed armor that feeds upon its wearer. Those who wear this armor will have their energy drained to increase its weight. Once bonded, the armor can also be given to an enemy, forcing them to endure its crushing burden. The owner controls exactly how much weight the wearer is forced to carry.]
Without hesitation, he made the purchase. The cost was 5,000 XP worth of monster crystals—a modest sum compared to most items of its tier. In fact, the average D-tier item listed at nearly double that, around 10,000 XP. Getting it for half the cost almost felt like theft.