The Leviathan energy leeches took a serious beating, even though they couldn’t defend themselves. But beating their oversized bodies was rather cathartic for Aaron, who pummeled into their durably squishy frames until they started to weep blood and die. If only he could harvest the blood, as he could feel that it was extraordinarily rich in energy.

  Midway through the beating, he actually got an idea and grabbed some murlock cyst salt out of his scabbard. He had collected it back in the crafting room, and it was rather tasty. But this was pure experimentation.

  He poured it out onto the leeches and nodded in delight as it did actual damage to them. Though it wasn’t enough to kill them anyway, and it would require wasting an awful lot of the precision salt to do any kind of serious damage. And as such, it wouldn’t have been particularly useful in the fight, anyway. It was, however, a nice reminder of weaknesses and resistances, and he took a mental note to consider them more in the future.

  After all, if it wasn’t for the world core, he probably would have died. Maybe the salt would have at least been useful enough to turn the tide a little and at least give him a chance.

  But Aaron Dober was Aaron Dober, and as usual, he had found a way to cheat himself through to a win. But D grades were no easy prey for someone of his level, and they took such a beating that they might have been able to restart their energy and continue the fight if it wasn’t for his spiritual punches. Thanks to his aether control, he was able to end their attempts to cycle energy and recover before they could amount to anything. Leaving them disabled and helpless against his attacks.

  And whilst they might have been able to overcome his spirit punches whilst draining his energy with their own attacks, the punches were still rather effective, and were more than capable of draining away at their slowly recovering energy reserves when they couldn’t do anything about it.

  He wanted to talk to Benigoreng after this was all over, but he couldn’t risk letting D-grades recover, and so he had to attack both until they were dead. And the moment they were, his surroundings began to fade away as he felt the trial’s power teleporting him away.

  Unfortunately, it seemed he wouldn’t get the chance. The sea king was still unresponsive and coming to slowly, and he was only able to wave goodbye as the Shadow Trials returned him to the hallway.

  The quest had been completed, and there was no reason for him to remain on the foreign world.

  Chain Quest: The Shadow Trials

  Stage eight of [ Trial of Dominance] COMPLETED!

  You have tested yourself against an ancient and forgotten civilization and have emerged victorious.

  Quest Rewards: Cosmic Training Cube [ Legendary ], Unique System Store upgraded to level 8.

  Experience rewarded for completing a quest stage!

  Ding!

  [ Empty-Handed Energy Monk ] has LEVELED UP!

  33 → 34

  “Training cube?” Aaron strummed his chin as he appeared in the hallway and read the rewards. It didn’t sound all that amazing, but it was legendary. However, before he could get a chance to inspect it, another notification appeared.

  Quest: Aid Benigoreng, the Sea King, and attempt to stabilize the Ichthyoid World Core, defeating what plagues it COMPLETED!

  Quest Rewards: You have gained overlord status over the ocean world of Casinara. Note: Benefits and communication with the subject world will be greatly restricted until barriers separating the new universe from the multiverse are lowered. Overlord status will be in a hibernation state during this period.

  250,000 Bonus Trial Points to spend at trial’s end!

  Experience rewarded for completing a quest stage!

  Ding!

  [ Empty-Handed Energy Monk ] has LEVELED UP!

  34 → 35

  Title acquired: World Overlord.

  You have vassalized another world, and as such, gained the status of World Overlord.

  Reward: +50 Charisma, +1 additional lieutenant slot.

  “Lieutenant slot?” Aaron read with a curious bend to his brow, and another screen appeared, but it was grayed out with a banner across it saying locked. He also noticed that at the top it said kingdom mode.

  “Is this related to all the base-building stuff?” He mused and went looking for Sooty. After all, there was a level up waiting anyway, and the little guy could probably answer this question as well.

  “Yep, ye right about that, bossman,” Sooty said after Aaron found him. “Lords gain all kinds of special interactions with their lieutenants. Quite a useful system, and that little Title gives you an extra. Not bad. But like it says, it won’t mean much else for a long time.”

  “I won’t be able to contact them?”

  “More than that, bossman. Forget that world. You don’t even know what corner of the multiverse it’s in, and you won’t be able to travel between your universe and the outside multiverse for a hundred years, at least not without a lot of effort, as normal portals won’t work. And by the time you can, a weak world like that will likely be conquered by somebody else. Ye’ll get to keep the title, though.”

  This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

  Aaron sighed. That was depressing news. He’d liked fighting beside the sea king, and after saving the world, kind of wanted to go back. He wanted to see what the world was like after being freed from the leeches. Also, he had rampaged through the city, and it was rather fascinating. It would be fun to return under more peaceful circumstances.

  He decided that if he could find a means of reaching Casinara and meeting Benigoreng again, he would take the opportunity. But for now, he had a Skill to pick.

  Cosmic Kickstart [ Elite ] Running low on juice? Get a cosmic kickstart right up your… When activated, Cosmic Kickstart draws in aether from the atmosphere to restart energy organs and anything else the user might need a burst of quick energy for.

  Aether Bomb [ Epic ] Heard of EMPs? Well, this is basically that, but formed of spirit energy. When activated, Aether Bomb forms a ghostly grenade in the user's hand that may be thrown. On detonation, the Aether Bomb sends a powerful shockwave of energy, knocking out power, which can disrupt energy reproduction.

  Magnificent Riposte [ Epic ] [ Set: 1 of 4 ] Your attacks are precise and flowing, never wasteful, but nonetheless immensely powerful. Passively reduces the energy cost of Skills used after a successful riposte. This reduction in mana cost increases depending on how perfectly the riposte was timed.

  Soul Shattering Strike [ Legendary ] [ Combo Starter ] You have transcended beyond simply beating down the mortal coil of your enemy, and now strike directly at their spirit. When activated, Soul Shattering Strike imbues the user’s fist with pure spiritual energy that can pass through physical defenses and cause direct soul damage, draining their opponents' energy reserves and disabling regeneration. Powerful soul attacks may also cause debilitating fear as one’s soul is directly attacked.

  Combo Starters require mastery and allow the user to add Skills to a combination chain that provides additional boons to said Skills if the combination is successfully utilized.

  Spirit King Aura [ Legendary ] You are at one with your spirit, and as such, your spirit grants incredible powers to your aura. Passively provides the user with the Spirit King Aura. This terrifying aura sends weaker opponents fleeing in terror and causes moderate debuffs to all stats.

  “Wow, you really put in the effort this time, bossman. These Skills… they’re nothing short of incredible.”

  “Yeah, tell me about it, mate,” Aaron said, barely able to drag his gaze away from what was on offer. Then again, he had put in the work for it, and if anybody deserved to be rewarded for effort, it was probably him. “So, what are you thinking?”

  “Let’s start with the easy ones, okay? Knock them out and go from there. Firstly, Cosmic Kickstart is a basic utility, and also only useful under quite specific circumstances. It’s out. Aether Bomb would be a fine choice most of the time. If you didn’t have freaking Legendary Skills on offer!”

  “You’re right about that.”

  “Magnificent Riposte is a little different. It might only be Epic, but not only is it part of a set, but it’s actually quite good for your style, and your only free slot is a passive. That’d be nice to fill, which makes it hard to ignore. It also sounds like something ye goddess would pick. If ye want to follow her steps, it might be the best option.”

  Aaron admired Yendal and could think of no better god to assist him, but he didn’t just want to copy her.

  “Then there’s Soul Shattering Strike. It’s pretty obvious that this is what ye were going for. Tis good, too. Attacking people’s souls is no laughing matter.”

  “What about this combo stuff? Never heard of it. How does all that work?”

  “Aye, right. Ye don’t know much, do ye. Well, like it says, combos require mastery, which will increase the more you use it. Basically, you’ll be able to chain one Skill with it to begin with, and if you master it, you’ll get more options.”

  Aaron was nodding along with a brimming smile to this. He already wanted to use it with his haymaker, and that sounded perfect. Perhaps it was even why he had unlocked a combo Skill. He had, after all, been practicing using it alongside his haymaker this entire time.

  “It’s an amazing Skill, but ye can’t just ignore this last one,” Sooty continued, and Aaron realized he was still speaking.

  It wasn’t that Spirit King Aura didn’t sound OP, but it didn’t sound like something that would help him against Mo’han. He desperately wanted to finish that quest before leaving the trials, and likely wouldn’t hit level 40, and even if he did, he didn’t want to risk not getting the right Skill option.

  Mo’han was certainly not weaker than him, and so the aura's fear aspect wouldn’t affect him. Also, stat-wise, the gulf between them was so great that he doubted a little debuff would do much. No, Aaron couldn’t beat him like that. He needed to find a solution to his overwhelming power and try to dampen it. It might narrow Mo’han’s lead a little, but it wasn’t going to be enough to beat him.

  Aaron explained why he didn’t want the aura, and Sooty agreed with his reasoning in principle, although he still thought it was a great option.

  So, of course, he picked the Skill he had wanted this entire time, and selected Soul Shattering Strike.

  No additional Class [ Active ] Skill slots available.

  Discard [ Active ] Class Skill: Y/N?

  Aaron accepted the prompt and discarded [ Thick Skinned ]. It was a little annoying to drop a Skill when he still had a Passive slot remaining, but it had little use anymore, and he couldn’t turn down this opportunity.

  Then again, if he focused, he could probably make it mutate. But that was a bit of a long shot, and he needed to make whatever choices were most likely to find him victory against Mo’han, and by doing so, impress Yendal.

  Combo Skill purchased.

  Mastery: None

  One combo chain slot available.

  Link Skill to the chain slot?

  Y/N?

  “Yeah, why not?” Aaron nodded and selected yes.

  Soul Shattering Strike [ Legendary ] [ Combo Starter ]

  [ Free Chain Slot ] +15% Power

  “Wait, fifteen percent power bonus?” Aaron mumbled to himself.

  “Yeah, that’s basically damage, bossman,” Sooty confirmed.

  “Fuck me. Not bad, huh?”

  He confirmed the notification and placed [ Turbocharged Haymaker ] in the chain slot. It was already powerful, and had undergone a recent upgrade, and with another 15% power bonus, Aaron couldn’t wait to see its destructive power.

  Grinning, he had one last thing to do. Test this new combination out on someone.

  It didn’t take long to find the perfect candidate, either. Walking down the hallway, he spotted Elmira recovering after a trial run, and he made his way straight for her.

  “Hey, Elmira! What’s up!”

  “Oh,” she looked up, green eyes blinking. “Aaron. Good to see you. Just resting a little. I took a few deaths from a couple of brutes in my last trial, and they really ran me through. They really laid me out. I took quite the pounding.”

  “Err, anyway,” Aaron shook his head. “I was wondering, if you’re up for it, I need a training partner?”

  “I’m… I would, of course. Later, maybe, but I’m not ready for another death… I still feel horribly sick.”

  “I see,” Aaron sighed. It seemed his training session would have to wait. He didn’t want to push her, and if she wasn’t feeling well, then not only would she not be able to fight at 100%, but without being able to fight to the death, they would have to hold back. And holding back would limit the usefulness of such a fight. If she wasn’t going all out, she wouldn’t be a very good test for Mo’han.

  “Oh, hey!”

  Aaron swung around to the feminine voice at his back. It was Talia, arriving just in time.

  “Oh, hey, Talia. I was just wondering something,” his lips creased into a plotting grin.

  It wasn’t just a fight, and testing his new Skill out either. He had a feeling about which way he wanted to go with his Stat points waiting to be spent, and after he tested that theory out on Talia, he could spend those precious points.

  Patreon!