Chapter 56: Rotted Vessal

Mid jump, Imogen was thrown off course by one of the spectral claws; having to switch to her human form so she could grab onto a facial scale.

"Now that I think of it, what even are you... you look like the byproduct of a snake; but have the stupidity of a worm!" Taunted Imogen while kicking away a spectral claw, and swinging onto another scale.

"Shut up!" "And why aren't you burning, you're grabbing onto my fucking scales without even getting singed!" Shrieked The King Of The Dunes as he watched Imogen grab onto a burning hot scale seemingly unfazed.

"Oh... I don't actually know, maybe it's because your strength stat is so fricking low!" Mocked Imogen while nearly getting her fingers torn off by trying to grab onto a horn.

"You talk weird, there's more that goes into inflicting harm than pure strength... if that is of course; what you meant!" Shouted The King Of The Dunes as he increased the heat intensity on his face.

Imogen Scowled, for the only escape route off her current scale, was blocked by a spectral claw. "You fricker, do you enjoy toying with disabled creatures; because I'm very clearly missing an arm!"

"You dare try to infringe the guilt upon me, you're the one who woke me from my rest; you're the one who instigated this very fight!" Snarled The King Of The Dunes while knocking Imogen off his scales, and frowning as Imogen grabbed onto one of the spectral claws.

"Get off my claw... just accept your loss, go; and leave me to my rest!" Exhorted The King Of The Dunes as Imogen bit into his spectral claw with her broken teeth.

"Sorry, but I kind of have to kill you; there's just no avoiding it." Grinned Imogen while preparing to jump onto The King Of The Dunes head.

"Then I've nothing to lose, let's see just how well you handle this heat!" Bellowed The King Of The Dunes as all his fire ceased to be, just to be returned in white fire on the spectral claw Imogen stood on.

"This is the peak of manaless fire, no mere second evolution creature can withstand it; no matter how much they've specked into defence!" Claimed The King Of The Dunes while Imogen started morphing into her true form.

"See, even as your true self, a being made solely for the purpose of defence; you melt!" Crooned The King Of The Dunes as he watched Imogen's outer shell bubble.

"Well, your fire certainly melts me; but... it still doesn't hinder me from jumping onto your exposed head!" Cackled Imogen while jumping off the claw of white flame, and landing upon the scaleless scar on The King Of Dunes Head.

"What even made this scar... does it hurt when I touch it?" Inquired Imogen as she dodged the claw of white flame, and stomped on the exposed hide.

"Yeah, it looks like it hurts for sure; maybe even stings a bit." Laughed Imogen while switching back into her human form, and blocking the claw of white flame with her halberd.

*𝐒𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞: Just kill him already, I'm starting to think you're more of a plauge on society than anything; maybe it would've been better had I let you kill yourself

"No, why should I let him die! His pain is so pleasurable… Wait what?" Chuckled Imogen as she made a small cut through The King Of The Dunes' exposed flesh.

*𝐒𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦 𝐑𝐚𝐠𝐞: I'll tell you why, I can sever your connection to The Mana Rupture; leaving you as a true mortal. And not to mention that what you're doing is wrong in every way, I thought you were going to live to help people; not make them suffer. So you better find pleasure elsewhere, your actions sicken me

"...Yeah, I guess you're right, I... I don't know what's wrong with me." Sighed Imogen while stabbing her halberd deep into The King Of The Dunes brain, causing him to let out one final blood curdling screech before crashing to the ground.

~~~

"He's dead... do you hear that everyone; The King Of The Dunes is finally dead!" Cheered a man as he gathered the rest of the townsfolk to announce this joyous fact.

"Is it true Enoch, is the nightmare finally over... do we not have to sacrifice any more innocent souls?" Questioned a lady while relaxing the tight grip she held on her two children.

"It is true, no longer must we serve our very families to The King Of The Dunes; we can finally live without fear!" Announced Enoch as he smiled, and a relieved expression was found on his face.

"Who killed him... men usually don't do these sort of things out of the kindness of their hearts; he'll most likely demand a reward!" Admonished an old man while drawing attention towards himself.

"Hmm, let's see then, if they do demand a reward; it will be rightfully earned!" Reasoned Enoch as he started to walk towards The King Of The Dunes corpse, and gestured for others to do the same.

~~~

"Is it me... or is it just this body, I never felt pleasure from someone else's pain back on earth, but then of course; I never hurt anyone either." Pondered Imogen while looking down upon The King Of The Dunes' corpse in shame.

"It was never this bad before, I always felt a bit of joy from killing people; but of course not to this extent." Ruminated Imogen as she sat down, and covered her face with her hands.

"That was real bona fide pleasure I was feeling, like the type you'd feel after taking the first bite out of your favorite food... what's wrong with me system?" Mumbled Imogen while wondering why she even exists in the first place.

*𝐒𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐎𝐟 𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐞 𝐖𝐢𝐬𝐝𝐨𝐦: Oh yeah, you're an ***hole for sure, a complete ******* jack***. But if you don't go around torturing people, and you quit your god**** moping; I think you'll be fine

"God, you're such a dick system... but I did kind of deserve it." Suspired Imogen as she ripped her bloody halberd out of The King Of The Dunes head cavity.

"Well then, I'll stop my griping; and await my undeserved rewards." Muttered Imogen while standing up, and watching about a hundred people start walking towards her.

*𝐐𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐑𝐞𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬: 5 Skill Stones, 2 Evolution Shards, Pilgrimage Of The Burning Tears; and 1 key to the second successor dimension

*𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐒𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦 𝐅𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐔𝐧𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐝: You've unlocked the system features - Stature, and Infamy

*𝐏𝐢𝐥𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐎𝐟 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬: Gain some of a fallen opponent's DEF by performing this burning rite upon their corpses, but beware; overuse will cause your eyes to meld shut -This skill's effects are permanent

"What a nice skill... I'll have to use it after I sort out my other 'rewards', for now put two Skill Stones into both Proficient Halberd Mastery, and Vine Dart; then follow it up with an Evolution Shard each." Yawned Imogen as she wondered how difficult it would be to create a planet.

*𝐘𝐨𝐮'𝐯𝐞 𝐒𝐥𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝: The pseudo tier 4, and reasonably dubbed King Of The Dunes - You've gained 2 levels, and a Binding Token

*𝐒𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦 𝐒𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐄𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: Proficient Halberd Mastery has evolved into - Adept Halberd Mastery, Vine Dart has evolved into - Dryad's Thorn

*𝐐𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐑𝐞𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬: 3 Skill Stones, 1 Evolution Shard; and a Binding Token

*𝐌𝐢𝐝-𝐓𝐢𝐞𝐫 𝐒𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐬: You've acquired, or evolved a mid-tier skill; and mid-tier skills require 5 Skill Stones to evolve. This is because of how much more powerful they are than their lesser counterparts

*𝐀𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐭 𝐇𝐚𝐥𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐝 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐲: Through hard work, and determination; you've finally evolved this skill into mid-tier. You now know how to use halberds with expected expertise, cut your opponents to shreads

*𝐃𝐫𝐲𝐚𝐝'𝐬 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐧: These darts now have a subtle piercing effect to them, making them more deadly; and of course their damage has increased drastically.

"Put the Skill Stones into Vine Wrap, and Plea To The Vines; then put the Evolution Shard into one of them at random." Asked Imogen as she tried to comprehend all these notifications.

*𝐒𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦 𝐒𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐄𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: Vine Wrap has evolved into - Thorn Maiden

*𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐧 𝐌𝐚𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧: Thy vines will now fully encase the victim, and the thorns shall be aimed towards vital organs

Imogen grimaced while kneeling down, and performing Pilgrimage Of The Burning Tears on The King Of The Dunes Corpse. "Hopefully this doesn't count as overuse... I wonder how many defence points he'll be worth."

*𝐔𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐒𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐆𝐚𝐢𝐧: The skill Pilgrimage Of The Burning Tears, has extracted +6 DEF points from The King Of The Dunes' corpse

"My head hurts, I'm going to need to spend hours trying to remember all this crap." Complained Imogen as she felt a very nasty headache develop.

~~~

"Retrieve the five scourges' bodies, make sure to bring them directly to me!" Commanded The Omniscient One while looking about his servants in displeasure.

"And remember, every last piece must be found; if even one piece is missing... well you know what'll happen." Smiled The Omniscient One as the Ancient Winds bowed, and sped off to lands unknown.

"Now you four, retrieve my book from the catacombs; make sure none of the pages are torn this time!" Demanded The Omniscient One while pointing towards the library.

"...Every day I get a slight bit closer to becoming full once again, the day of my completion is near; and then we'll remove life from the very land itself!" Screamed The Omniscient One as he looked down at his split body, of which was a quarter way healed.