Chapter 71
These ogres had great fighting skills, and Dane recognized potential in them. They can improve even further with the correct instruction. The ogre doesn't understand why their adversary is moving in this way; they know it will wear him down, but apparently they were wrong—they were the ones taking a breather. Dane's plan was effective because they are starting to slow down as a result of the minor wounds and bleeding cuts he gave them. Dane sensed a chance to swiftly and effectively terminate the battle as the ogres began to wear out.
However, the six ogres were too arrogant and steadfast in their resolve to demonstrate their might. Dane was aware that he would simply need to beat them up into submission and show them that he was the stronger opponent.
With a deep breath, he prepared himself for the final showdown, knowing that victory was within reach if he could just push through their stubbornness and overpower them. The adrenaline pumping through his veins fueled his determination to emerge victorious in this battle of strength and willpower.
Dane jumped backward, and the six ogres took out healing potions and quickly drank them. As they recovered twenty percent of their health and stamina , they took their weapons and decided to rush the enemy. When they saw the enemy release a massive killing intent that made them feel fear far deeper than facing death,. As if they were torn apart and scattered like leaves in the wind, the ogres hesitated momentarily before regaining their composure. The chaos mana he was emitting was so massive the ground trembled and shook. The other creatures residing in the gorge felt his presence.
Melgil, the Demon Queen of Spiders, felt his energy as if it were an aphrodisiac seeping into her body, filling her with a primal desire for destruction. Her senses were heightened, and the pleasure she was feeling was making her quiver in delight.
The ogres, sensing the power emanating from the chaos mana, exchanged wary glances before preparing to face this new threat head-on. Then suddenly Dane retracted his energy and removed his weapon and will face them head-on without using mana to fight them, just using his raw physical skill.
Fighting without mana will be a challenge in itself; getting punched with a fist embedded with mana was a destructive force of a car hitting a human body running 30 miles per hour. It's not fatal, but it certainly packs a punch. Dane's decision to rely solely on his physical abilities was a risky move but one that showcased his confidence and discipline in the face of danger.
When the six ogres took the opportunity to overwhelm him, the first step Dane took was normal, but it was heavy. His motion was not that fast, but his action was fluid and swift, like he was dancing through their attacks. With each strike, Dane's precision and timing proved to be his greatest assets in the battle against the ogres. His ability to anticipate their movements allowed him to outmaneuver them with ease, despite being outnumbered.
His punch looked light, but as his fist connected with their body, the impact was felt instantaneously, and it was sharp. Dane would use his open palm as he slid his hand along the ogre's blade path and changed the direction of the strike. And he steps in close to the enemy' body at a low stance and use a close right hook punch toward the side and delivers powerful blow that left the first stunned. And like what he usually do Dane would withdraw his left hand as the weapon strike path was already away from him, him; a change of body posture, he used his shoulders to push he target and deliver an upper cut using his left arm.
The second ogre was already on Dane's left side as it was already swinging its axe; the strike path will cut his side . But he lean back nd used his foot to kick the axe flat surface to redirect the strike away from him, then quickly followed up with a powerful punch to the ogre's exposed side, causing it to stagger back in pain.
The two ogres fell just as fast as they lunged toward him. Dane didn't give the two time to recover and delivered continuous blows while they were on the ground. Dane quickly sat on the fallen ogre's body and pinned it down and used his weight to hold its arms. He knew this would only give him a few seconds, so he delivered consecutive and alternating powerful short jabs to the first ogre's jaw, and as soon as the second ogre moved, he rolled away and dashed toward the second and used his knee to deliver a swift blow to its stomach, causing it to double over in pain. Dane then swiftly grabbed a nearby rock and struck the second ogre on the head, knocking it unconscious. With both ogres defeated, Dane quickly crawled on the ground and lunged toward the third ogre like a pouncing leopard.
The third ogre was caught off guard by Dane's speed and ferocity, unable to react in time as Dane delivered a series of quick and precise strikes. With each blow, the ogre stumbled back until finally collapsing to the ground. The remaining three wounded ogres were shocked to see the enemy they were facing was like a rabid animal; it wasn't backing down or showing any signs of hesitation.
Dane Mask had already changed into a fearsome beast; his eyes were glowing gold and bright blue. He was already running toward the remaining three ogres when they reacted. His sidekick connected with the female ogre; she felt it but held on to secure her foothold as she sliced upward, but she was cutting air.
The impact on the right temporal lobe made her react that way. Dane targeted their weakness and even made sure to render their motion less coordinated by attacking their heads and limbs. The ogres were caught off guard by Dane's speed and precision, unable to mount a proper defense against his relentless assault. The fifth and sixth Orges were using long-range weapons and could not attack their enemy; the two were frustrated seeing a single being was overwhelming them as if they were younglings .
The formless armor wasn't using mana or chaos energy. It was just showing a Dane representation of being an undefeatable enemy; the two jumped backward a few times to gain distance, and as soon as they were far enough, they had already placed their arrows and pulled the string on their bow and were already aiming at their enemy.
The large arrow was secured on their bow. And the ogre plucked the string near their sweating cheeks as they aimed at their target, who looked at them as the dust from the battle swirled upward, temporarily blocking a clear view, and without warning, the two released their hold, and the string rapidly moved with a vibrating sound that pierced through the wind. The arrows flew swiftly through the air.
hitting their mark with precision. The silhouette of their enemy was still standing, and the two ogres felt relief, but as the dust settled, what they saw suddenly turned their blood ice cold.
The two ogres let out a roar as they felt a sharp pain in their legs and arms, causing them to stumble backwards in surprise. The wounds they received came from the enemy that was supposed to be in front of them; the cut they gained was deep enough to sever their muscle and immobilize them. And the blade that their enemy used was the same dagger that the female ogre used. The two were bleeding out, but I was still trying to get up, but Dane didn't give them the chance.
Nothing was more terrifying than meeting defeat at the hands of an enemy, and serving out of mercy was more than enough to shatter a warrior's pride and break their spirit. The realization that they were overpowered and at the mercy of their enemy was a bitter pill to swallow, leaving them feeling defeated and vulnerable.
The six ogres were wounded and felt fear for the first time as their enemy stood without hesitation or doubt. The leader of the Ogres stood up as he vomited blood from his internal bleeding. His ribs were shattered, and his body was beaten to the point of being unrecognizable. The once fierce and formidable leader now stood before his enemy.
broken and defeated, a stark contrast to the powerful figure he once was. The defeat at the hands of their enemy was a humbling experience that left the ogres questioning their own strength and abilities. When confronted with an adversary who is aware of their weaknesses and knows where to strike, the being that demonstrated to them that brute force is useless.
Dane's physical traits were no longer of a young man, but his body had already adjusted based on the upgrade of his attributes. Unlike other normal players that rely too much on magical buffs and enchantments, Dane was reconstructed at his prime, where he never neglected his training, even inside his apartment home. Nobody can ever say he was weak or fragile.
His medical condition made him see his daily life as a routine and unconsciously honed his skills even after working on the virtual game he was developing and constantly improving. Despite his physical limitations, Dane's determination and dedication to his craft set him apart from others, but nobody knew about this..
As the ogre walked toward Netherborn, it was struggling, as each step was painful and excruciating. Despite the immense pain, the ogre leader refused to give up and continued to push himself beyond his limits, and as soon as it was near Dane , standing 6 feet 5 inches, it stared at the being that defeated it and kneeled on the ground, admitting its defeat and acknowledging Dane's skill and strength. The ogre leader's respect for Dane was evident in its actions, as it surrendered with honor and accepted defeat gracefully.
Dane was delighted to see that the Ogre race was able to evolve and branch out into other levels of thinking and was able to overwrite their race's common stereotype of being ruthless and barbaric. He felt a sense of pride in witnessing the growth and development of this particular ogre race, knowing that they were capable of change and progress.
Dane unconsciously spoke in their native language as they made sure to be as real as they could in creating the multitudes of races in the game, so becoming real, Dane just spoke out without thinking,
"I am impressed by the complexity and depth of character that the Ogre race has achieved in this reality. Creating them to go beyond their nature was the right choice,"
The ogre understood what Dane said and perceived it as something more than just a statement. The leader of the six ogres was named Bralthor the Grey. As the remaining five saw their leader kneel, they too soon followed his example. Soon they heard the Netherborn spoke, and they two assumed a different interpretation of Dane words .
Even if they were evolved Orges, they seem to misinterpret what Dane said. They heard the word creating, leading them to go beyond their nature, which was the right choice. The word creating them" made them question the beings word and interpret it as, He created their entire race.
What made the six more confused is when the Netherborn cast a healing spell to restore their leader's strength. This act of kindness and power further solidified their belief in the Netherborn,'s words, leading them to question everything they thought they knew about themselves and their origins. The Netherborn's actions sparked a curiosity and desire to serve him.
Bralthor the Grey. Asked if the Netherborn healed their wounds , Dane told them he came here to test his skill and see if his power could work within the scope of what he wanted to happen, and seeing he could now cast a wide-range healing spell, it only means this branch skill has also upgraded from a tier one to a high-tier healing spell.
Dane casually talked and explained to Bralthor the Grey, as he wanted to know if they could truly understand him at a certain level of intelligence. And the Dane, surprised, responded eagerly and reacted with a sense of gratitude. Bralthor the Grey apologized to Netherborn for attacking him, as they were born and trained to hunt, and survival of the strongest was their way of living and surviving.
The female ogre asked what the reason was for him to descend toward the gorge. Dane suddenly released his chaos energy that was so massive the six assumed it was about the question, but Netherborn turned around and cast a dual attack spell and shot fire bullets with a lightning burst attack spell from his right hand and started destroying a part of the area. The six were shocked as multitudes of rock lizardmen with abilities to blend with their surroundings just came out screaming in pain as the rapid-fire bullets with bust lightning were piercing their hard skin like it was made of paper , killing them as they ran and obliterating their entire army with such power and brutality.
The six never expected that this race had already mobilized their forces to kill them as soon as they defeated the being that fell. Soon a loud screech was heard; it was the rock lizardmen war general. It stood fifteen feet tall and was wearing heavy armor and held two war axes big enough to cut a whole squad. The beast was looking directly at the Netherborn with eyes filled with rage and hate, ready to avenge its fallen comrades and defend its territory at all costs. And show it wasn't intimidated at all.
The ground shook as it charged toward him, roaring with primal fury as it prepared to engage in a battle to the death. The six ogres wanted to help but Dane had already dashed forward, knowing killing this monster would grant him the necessary experience points to upgrade the mana detection skill he copied from Bai Xifeng and evolve it to a middle-tier assessment skill.
But as soon as Dane was nearing his target, he noticed many young human skulls hanging around the monster's neck as ornaments of its previous victims. It assumed it might be related to the duchess's quest concerning her missing son. The swamp-weeding, twenty-foot-tall lizard humanoid swung its two-handed weapon. Dane released Kitsune in its fused form to help him eliminate the remaining rock lizard survivors.
As Dane knew, these battles must be dealt with with proper strategy and caution to ensure success and secure the human skulls . Seeing a small human skull was unnatural, as there was no information that a human community was residing under the gorge. The creation of the gorge was based on the scenario relating to the seraph and its mount that was struck down, and the imprisoned seraph cursed the Karion Empire as they wanted to extract the fallen one's divine energy to create a show that their technology and weapons can bring down a god.
Dane eluded the swing as he jumped upward, and like a whip, he extended a thin, flexible metallic snake piece into the ground discreetly to support his upward jump and made sure he could still move midair to avoid any retaliation from the huge monster. The other stretched snakes responded to his will and delivered enough paralyzing venom to the rock lizard general.
The six ogres just stood watch as their elders' stories about the god of chaos and war, the one that created all the warrior races, including them, came to pass to cleanse the world of evil. They never believed their elders, as they thought those stories were created to just scare little ogres to train and be honorable.
But seeing the Netherborn power and fighting skill was beyond reason and logic; they were convinced. What they just fought was the same person in those stories.
Dane was now more determined to upgrade his branch skill to assess the skull, the lizard general's skull ornaments around its neck. This was an unexpected situation that came on his lap. He was planning to scan the area to gain any information on the duchess's son. He used the rock lizard's huge body frame and the formless armor extending snake-like arm to maneuver the giant's rough and wide movements. Dane wasn't after the enemy's neck. But the necklace it was wearing
as soon he was able to remove the skull necklace, he instantly place it inside his dimensional storage and jump back wards and saw the rock lizards movement were nor sluggish and it seems the paralyzing venoms his snakes injected into its exposed rock like skin was taking its toll on its body. It was now clear that Dane's strategy was working, as the rock lizard's movements were slowing down due to the venom taking effect. With a quick and precise bite strike, Dane was able to remove the necklace from the enemy without getting hit.
The six ogres were in a one-sided battle; they never expected the large rock lizard that was three times stronger than them to be easily taken down as they saw Netherborn take out its sword and cut off the monster's head, the same lizard general that killed a few of their own kind with ease a few days ago.
The lizard's heavy armor was useless and didn't help the creature battle against theNetherborn. Dane knew most of the creatures residing inside the tower, as he was the one that coded, developed, and tested them. A slight altercation could be seen, but Dane knew that these creatures were not created to become overly powerful and undefeatable; they all have weaknesses and vulnerabilities that could be exploited.
Dane increased his mana capacity because this was a shortcut in increasing one's stats and attributes; experience points a player gains are very important. Balancing melee and mana attacks is the key to developing one's skill and obtaining a seed. .
The Grey Ogre's evolution was a culmination of all the decisions of all those who are living inside the tower. At first it was small and hardly noticeable; even veteran players would dismiss it as insignificant. However, as these small changes continued to grow and create their own branch of story, it became its own separate narrative, and the quests relating to them were new and unknown. The tower administrators could only adjust their reward system to accommodate these new developments.
The Grey Ogre's evolution ultimately showcased the dynamic and unpredictable nature of the game world, keeping players engaged and constantly adapting to the ever-changing environment within the tower.
As Dane Netherborn's form was standing at the dead rock lizard general , he finally gained enough experience points to upgrade the mana detection into a more suitable branch skill so he can assess the Aspidochelone's current condition, saving the divine turtle without activating any quest relating to its physical release.
Dane promised and hoping that he could fulfill this and not fail, as he was raised to always honor his word. Or at least try his best to fulfill it. As he upgraded the branch skill, another root came out from the seedling.
Dane never noticed any of his growth transformation; from his own visual perspective, it was very normal, and a slight illuminating glow could be seen from a side point of view, but it was absolutely different from those who were watching it from their view.
The chaos energy that was swirling around Dane was like a storm. Was this the separated systems doing it? It altered Dane's perception to tone everything down from his own perspective. The energy was building up within him, causing a shift in his abilities that only those observing from the outside could truly see for what it was .
The swirling vortex of energy was so thick and heavy the creature living inside the gorge felt it and made them feel fear and dread, but Melgil, the Demon Queen of Spiders, was getting intoxicated by its powerful presence. She could see the chaos energy rising up from the ground floor. She was hanging above the gorge under the fog, but the chaos particles were still able to reach her hanging kingdom.
The huge spider saw a ball of concentrated chaos energy float in front of her as if it was waiting to be eaten and absorbed by the formless armor. As he already evolved again and gained significant changes that Dane never expected, the representation of the animals and the formless armor projecting were just subconscious memories connected or attached to Dane's old life.
The three creatures that the formless armor was able to manifest were not fixed nor permanent, but rather a reflection of Dane's inner thoughts and emotions. The chaos particles continued to swirl around her, creating a sense of unease as she tried to make sense of the ever-changing forms before her.
Soon the fist-sized chaos orb entered the spider queen's body, and the pain it felt was unbearable, causing her to writhe in agony. The chaos orb seemed to be consuming her from the inside out, changing Melgi into something to fit what is connected to the Netherborn. While this was happening above their heads, Dane proceeded to inquire of the Grey Ogre about their background, as Dane wanted to gain some information about their evolution.
While the detection skill was finalizing its upgraded form, the time was enough to have a casual conversation. Dane wanted to know how they came to be, as there are just a few ogres with different skin colors, from dark green, white, flesh tone, and dull blackish-brown, but evolving into a grey skin and having a medium sentient intelligence to match their physical strength was quite unusual.
The Grey Ogre explained that their evolution was a result of centuries of adaptation to their harsh environment, where only the strongest and most intelligent survived.
Dane was quite puzzled and confused on the timeline, and yet he continued to listen to the ogre's explanation. At the same time, something was happening at the tower structure..
The swirling storm around the continent suddenly cleared and was replaced by a dark, superheated smoke with floating hot embers that could melt steel upon contact.
The tower admin could not understand how the change occurred; the administrator council member was forced to gather and meet for a special meeting to question the drastic changes that were happening on the first floor. These beings serve the old gods that created this world. These gods bent the laws of space, reality, and time to their will.
The laws of the cosmos are just their playground, and life for them is just a speck of dust with no value..
They do whatever they wish to do; everything has no reason or logic. These beings are not bound to any moral or ethical code that humans may understand. Their power is beyond comprehension, and their motives are inscrutable to us mere mortals.
The administrator council member realized that they were dealing with the main system's storyline; they were created based on the narrative on which they were created. At first these administrators were just consuming the luxuries of their roles in the tower, they thoughts were consumed by the thrill of power and control. But as they delved deeper into the realization of their existence, they began to think they were more than just tower administrators; in their minds, they were also beings nearing godhood.
As Dane explored the gorge and gathered information from the grey ogres , the tower administrator council finally met after years of isolation from their respective works. Beings who were arrogant and like their creators, they believed themselves to be above all others within the tower, including the primordial and Devine beings . The council's sense of superiority only grew as they discussed the changes that was happening in the tower.
These beings are too blind to even admit they are not god like beings, their appearance were crafted and created by a different hand, as the old breath life into their coded and digital form, their program personalities took effect as if they were really superior and god like.
but in truth they are just created to represent the tower's main system law, they are maintenance and technical support to be exact, they can't even go above or change the main story. or anything within the main system core as it was created to be independent and autonomous working within the set rules and parameters that head game and system developer from which they were copied.
it's a complex mindset that ultimately limits their potential for growth and understanding. Despite their arrogance, the council's inability to see beyond their own perceived importance may prove to be their main flaw.
No matter how powerful they were, after gaining physical form ,they are still bound to the main system's operational law. These beings can wipe out an entire country with a single spell, but nothing is finite inside the tower. This singular law is above all other laws, and all beings within the tower floors can never change it. making the council's power ultimately insignificant in the grand scheme of things. Their arrogance may blind them to this reality, as they fail to recognize the true nature of their existence within the tower.
The law of absolute freedom.