The battle raged on, the entire place a scene of carnage.
The field was filled with bodies. Blood lay like sand beneath their feet, while battle cries and clashing weapons filled the air.
The Chosen, having understood it was a battle between life and death, fought fiercely.
Most of them aided one another, grouping on the orcs whenever their colleagues were losing ground.
They displayed great finesse with their weapons and skills, proof of the years of training they had endured.
In the midst of this blood-soaked battle, Fearless Rebel stood with a face full of excitement. All around him lay several orcs he had ruthlessly slain.
Pressed beneath his foot was one of the dead orcs. His weapon laid atop it as his eyes swept across the entire expanse that was filled with red.
"This got more exciting than I imagined," he grinned.
His eyes further lit up with thrill as he watched his fellow Chosen brutalize the orcs without mercy.
Although he didn't exactly doubt their capabilities from the beginning, he was quite worried that they'd be against killing.
He had a competitive nature.
Somehow, after finding out the Paths were segregated into different zones, he had thought about the possibility of every zone's performance being calculated and displayed in the interface to note the ranks.
If that happened, he wanted their zone to be at the top, and of course, him at the very top if there were individual rankings.
Seeing the Chosen unleash their full power, his worry faded.
He further scanned the battlefield, his eyes roaming the battlefield as if in search of something…. or someone.
But when his eyes didn't land on whatever he was looking for, a small smile curved the corners of his lips.
"Good, he's hiding well."
With calm eyes, he dragged his gaze back to his front, staring intently at his weapon that stood pressed against the dead orc.
The weapon was completely soaked, dripping thick blood onto the already bloodied orc on the ground.
His eyes fixated sternly on it, a puzzling expression quietly taking over his face.
The weapon was a basic axe, entirely black.
Its handle was matte black, while the blade gleamed with a sleek dark sheen.
It measured roughly thirty inches in length.
To every eye, it seemed nothing but a plain axe fit for chopping wood. That was what it looked like from all angles.
Some Chosen had even doubted its use when they saw it, terming it useless.
Even Fearless Rebel himself didn't think much about it when he chose it. He simply took it because the plain design looked enticing to his eyes.
But—
I've awakened three skills with this axe at beginner level. That's odd, he stared intently at it.
Not only are the skills very useful, they are deadly and vital for this battle…. almost as if it was crafted to aid the user to victory.
"Status Window," he whispered.
He lifted his gaze to the interface when it appeared and started browsing his skills.
______________________
— Skill —
Blooded Edge
Type: Passive → Triggered (Weapon-Bound)
Cost: None (Conditional)
Trigger: Hits that draw blood
Level: 20% awakened
Description: The axe feeds on the blood of enemies it wounds. Each drop absorbed sharpens the blade beyond mortal craftsmanship, allowing it to cleave through armor, bone, flesh and more with terrifying ease.
However, each absorbed blood charge increases the weapon's weight, reducing swing speed and increasing stamina strain.
High strength recommended for optimal usage.
•Limits/Condition•
To cleanse the axe of the blood it drank and return its weight to normal, the skill must reach maximum level.
Maximum level not yet attained?
Blood Cleanse → 5 stat points
•Special Effect•
For each successful kill and hit that draws blood, Blood Charges are gained. Available only at max level.
Full Awakening: At maximum level, awakens a new skill.
Skill Acquired: ???
Type: ???
Cost: ???
Level: ???
_____________________________
"It was just 12% awakened a while ago," Fearless Rebel muttered.
"It's a good skill," he said, staring at the glowing writings. "Great, actually. Because it's gotten immensely sharper and easier to cut down these orcs like bread. Its weight is no joke though, I keep having to adjust. I'll bear it till I can't handle it anymore and cleanse it. The cost is a bit… excessive, but worth it, I guess" he dragged his eyes over to his stats.
Right now, agility and strength are the vital attributes needed. Although intelligence would help me quickly analyze tactics, I can manage without it by simply charging straight into these orcs.
Intelligence is the scapegoat then.
He took his eyes back to his skills, browsing the rest.
__________________
— Skill —
Fracture Feedback
Type: Active → Triggered
Cost: Self damage
Trigger: Hitting hard targets (bone, armor, reinforced structures, etc)
Cooldown: 25 seconds
Description: When the user's axe strikes a hard target, the impact releases a shockwave that damages nearby enemies. A reduced portion of this shockwave rebounds into the user's body to cause brief self-damage.
The harder the target, the stronger the outward shockwave and the rebound effect.
This skill rewards heavy attacks but punishes reckless overuse.
Level 1
—Shockwave Damage: 10% of registered impact damage
— Shockwave Radius: 1.5 m
—Rebound Damage (User): 2% of registered impact damage
—Target Type: standard hard targets only
[Attain maximum level to unlock sub skills tied to skill (Fracture Feedback)]
<
...
_______________________________
This isn't bad either, he said.
It's not exactly friendly, but the success rate depends on the user's ability to recover quickly from the rebound.
If wielded correctly, I can actually eliminate multiple orcs in a few minutes without much struggle.
But considering the level 1 is just for standard hard targets, it can't help much. I have to level it up. And—
He dragged his eyes back to the interface, lingering on the 'explore sub skills' spot for a brief moment before clicking on it.
__________________________________
[Sub Skills]
~~Shatter Burst [Locked]
•Detonates all shockwaves applied by Fracture Feedback in a localized area. All
targets previously affected by Fracture
Feedback take additional damage proportional to their registered impact.
The user experiences minimal rebound damage proportional to the strongest shockwave released.
{Fulfil Requirement to Unlock}
~~Reverberation Strike (Single Target Follow-up) [Locked]
• Amplifies the next axe strike on a Fracture Feedback target, dealing damage proportional to accumulated shockwaves. Can briefly weaken the target's armor. Partial rebound damage affects the user.
{Fulfil Requirement to Unlock}
~~Fracture Field [Locked]
•Converts Fracture Feedback shockwaves into a temporary zone. Enemies entering the field take minor instant damage and are slowed. Targets previously affected by Fracture Feedback take increased damage. User experiences minor rebound damage if entering the field.
{Fulfil Requirement to Unlock}
~~Shockwave Chain [Locked]
•Redirects shockwaves from one Fracture
Feedback target to nearby enemies in a chain sequence. Each chained target takes reduced impact damage. User takes scaled rebound damage based on the number of chains.
{Fulfil Requirement to Unlock}
__________________________
They aren't showing the requirements, he thought, a bit puzzled.
Probably because I haven't reached the maximum level yet.
Not pondering hard on it, he resumed scrolling the interface.
I won't necessarily use this skill now anyway since I'm quite fond of blooded edge. I'd use them both together, but I'm not craving death, so….
He went down to the last of his skill, clicking on it to read the description.
In a whispery, dragging tone, he said, "As for the last skill, we have…."
____________________
— Skill —
Executioner's Silence
Type: Active
Cooldown: Scales with level
Description: A strike that crushes an enemy's will, freezing them in place and leaving them unable to act.
Limits
— Less effective against mindless creatures
—Short duration
—Does not stack
Level 1
—Target is frozen, unable to move or act.
—Duration: 2 seconds (1 second vs mindless creatures)
—Cooldown: 40 seconds
_____________
It feels so unreal. To be blessed with these many good skills.
He darted his eyes around, watching the other Chosen and their fighting techniques.
Did they also get multiple good skills as well? He wondered, studying them.
But after observing the way most of them fought, he shook his head.
Very unlikely.
Fearless Rebel couldn't help but ponder at the unsettling feeling in his gut that kept insisting the weapon wasn't ordinary.
Was this plain looking axe… that wasn't so plain… supposed to be here in the first place?