Dante was tortured.
A lot. The cockroach. Brood. It knew ways to torture him like he couldn’t even imagine. Eventually, he begged, realizing that he was stuck in the situation, and once more. The Cockroach offered the Prophecy, liquid. But this time, Dante drank it. And at that moment, even though he grew numb to pain, his entire body hurt.
It had hurt since then. There was no contract, he simply was let go and he was back on the Skirmish, though the parting words of the Cockroach left an imprint within his mind.
“I’ll let you know when you are of use.”
It did not help that as soon as he was back the demons had begun to attack him. He had yet to even understand what the fuck a Prophecy was, but as soon as he started to bleed he felt it as if it was nothing more than instinct. However, his pain flared, his veins throbbed, and his head felt as if it was on the verge of exploding. He still remembered the notification.
[You have learned C ranked Prophecy: Boiling Blood.]
And when that happened, he lost all sense of mana. His blood was his mana. He could battle for as long as he was alive, but it always hurt. It was a constant sense of pain, a dreadful existence that he hated. The demons had left him alone after one lost its arm to him, but still. He just… Hated everything. He blamed The System.
The fact that it was even possible for such vile things to exist meant there was a problem with it. He wanted to nip all buds before they bloomed, he wanted to wipe those that had already bloomed and he wanted to get rid of the system himself. The System didn’t care for him, he was never even protected during his torture, it simply just watched. The world was unfair. The whole universe was unfair. But at the same time.
He just had to make it fair.
Dante finished scavenging the remains of the fox and took a quick look at his level only to realize he had leveled up three times. But it wasn’t enough. He wasn’t strong enough, he was never going to be strong enough. He had to move, he had to get stronger. He wanted to kill that cockroach that caused him all this suffering. He felt pathetic, but he had no goal in life anymore, he lived a constant nightmare.
◇ ◇ ◇
All Dante thought about was killing. There were no other thoughts in his mind apart from that. He hated everything, he wanted all life gone and purged for good. The forest would constantly shake, though he knew why. The damned demons wanted to rebel against their emperor and after a lot of searching they had managed to make a small party to attack. And now.
Dante stared at the billowing smoke and some fallen trees.
This was the result. All he had been doing was lurk the forest and attack any living and breathing being. Though, he never lost reason. The battlefield seemed to remain the same, but a lot of the shaking was gone too. Only the fires remained. At least, it seemed safe enough for his interest to be peaked. He had to know what he was up against.
At least, the time seemed to be just right for him to go check anyway. It was safe. The Skirmish was about to finish. Dante understood that he would be safe no matter the fact.
[Incubation Period: 0 days 0 hours 42 minutes.]
With a smile he headed in the direction of the fire, and it didn’t take long before he heard audible panting and grunts. Just as he peaked around a tree his mind paused.
Samantha— He saw the woman, fainted on the back, and at that moment a ball of fire streaked through the air and slammed against the tree next to him. Dante swore he heard broken bones as his head craned to the side. And that’s when he saw him sprawled on the ground bleeding profusely and engulfed in fire. His arm was broken and he was clearly missing one of his legs.
[Human. Lvl. 21]
His eyes slowly opened fuzzily as they met his. And he croaked with a hiss.
“Dante.”
It was Matt. Dante had had enough and just as he was about to turn around, he saw a pebble get thrown and land behind him. But it was too late for him to turn around. With a flash of shadow a deep voice spoke.
“I let you go once when you were spying on our one to one conversation. But it seems I was too kind.” Dante’s head slowly turned only to see him looking down at him. Tall horns like a crown, but his yellow eyes held no laughter, nothing but an abyss as if he was looking at an insect.
The emperor— Dante boiled his blood, but in a flash his windpipe was crushed.
◇ ◇ ◇
Matt stared in horror as Dante got held against a tree. His throat threatened to be crushed at a moment’s notice by the emperor. Why had he fought him? No, he didn’t have a choice. After Blair had left the emperor still went for them, but with the intent to recruit. However, when refusal happened, and the ability to heal was displayed, he became forceful.
There was no room to say no.
The emperor held Dante. Dante’s limbs flailed and spasmed around as blood began to seep. And within a moment a red-flash occurred. It was akin to a laser-beam. It was blinding. Matt had no choice but to squint his eyes during that moment, and once he had opened them he couldn’t believe his eyes. The trees behind the emperor fell onto the ground with mighty creaks, the leaves continuously rained but the emperor remained unharmed.
“I see everything.” He spoke coldly. “Nothing in this world can escape my sights. I saw you spying on our conversation. I saw you approach. I saw the humans… i saw your torture. Dante,” he whispered. “I see your hatred.”
He continued.
"Wake up. Nothing ever goes as planned in this accursed universe. The longer you live the more you realize that the only things that truly exist in this reality are merely pain, suffering and futility." The emperor smiled. “But, of course. You see that. But you are nothing but a loser, the other side of the coin. Someone who has been vanquished but refuses to give up. I admire that insect-like tenacity, unfortunately you are too hateful.”
Dante struggled. “Let me go…”
The emperor shook his head. “You had your chances. And you have lost the right to life. Of course, as long as there is a concept of victors the vanquished will also exist. As long as there is a winner there is a loser.” He held Dante higher against the tree bark. The tree creaked as Dante screamed in pain. “I aim to unify the world. But I also understand one thing. The selfish intent of wanting to preserve peace initiates wars. Hatred is born to protect Love."
Dante squirmed.
He closed his eyes. "There are causal relationships that cannot be separated, but even then—” His voice became deep and powerful.
"I want to sever the fate of this world. I want to create a world of only Victors, a world of only peace, a world of only Love. A world where the vanquished have no place.”
He held Dante’s head as his other hand approached his neck. And at that moment, for the first time since the trial Matt felt fear. The emperor’s eyes met his victim’s, they carried nothing but glee and pride. There was a second of silence as Dante realized what was about to happen. The grip around his neck tightened, and the emperor spoke once more.
"I am the Conqueror of your reality, and soon I will conquer all that is tangible. There is no place for those who have lost.."
A horrible sound resounded. Matt heard a horrid scream come from Dante. Guttural. His head was ripped apart along with part of his spine as nothing but chunks of flesh fell. The muscle was torn as if it was nothing. Blood splattered and his limp body hit the ground as the emperor held the severed head up high as if admiring a trophy. He smiled for a brief second before it became a frown.
“You should’ve accepted the mercy I granted you, fool.”
Dante’s head dropped to the ground. And then. The demon turned towards him. Matt shivered, but his body refused to respond. Then the emperor began to speak once more.
“Nothing can escape me.” His voice turned grim. As darkness began to leak everywhere and nowhere. “I am the Conqueror of all.”
Matt saw nothing but darkness.
“Whether it is Dante’s torture.”
Matt saw a cockroach laughing. His antennae clicked and its hands rubbed together as it bathed in blood.
“Whether it is those who have triumphed.”
The vision shifted as he saw two people standing over a sand dune. He recognized what seemed to be a demon of ashen skin. He had a long running beard that ran through the wind, but next to him was a girl. It was a human. She stood tall and had flowing red hair.
“You’re not bad you know?” She laughed.
“I never thought such a weakling would be fun to hang around with.”
It zoomed out only for Matt to realize they were looking at what seemed to be a giant scorpion dead. It was as big as a whale and its body constantly decomposed.
“Or even the elf ruler.”
The vision changed. And Matt saw an elf, much more normal with green hair. She seemed to be hugging a tall elf with ashen hair. They were both sleeping together, but blood stains filled their bodies and their breaths were shallow.
“I see it all.”
The darkness vanished as Matt felt a sense of weightlessness overtake him. And suddenly, he felt his throat being held. And when he recovered. He was looking down at the demon emperor. His hand grabbed him against the tree and his throat throbbed.
“A world without Losers. A world of Victors. The ultimate world is what I desire.”
Then, his grip loosened and Matt fell to the ground. He coughed blood violently. The demon stared down at him, as he grabbed a fistful of dirt. And using all his leftover mana he threw it. Every grain caused an unquantifiable amount of friction and it all sparked—
The first spark. It exploded into a fiery torrent in front of him. But all Matt saw was a dark silhouette as a foot jammed into his abdomen. Pain shot through him and his innards gave way. His gag reflex triggered as he began to throw up blood.
“I am a man of my word. But should you get in my way once more, mercy won’t be an option. Consider yourself vanquished, cross my eyes again, and you will die.”
Matt swallowed, and his eyes darted to the ground where Dante’s body laid. But to his surprise there was nothing, it was gone now.
The timer hit zero.
[Incubation Period: 0 days 0 hours 0 minutes.]
* * * * *
I blinked as I stared at the notification.
[The Skirmish has come to an end. The New World is untamed. Unconquered. Segmented and Divided. As a leader your job is to pave the way for your race. But moreover, claim what is rightfully yours.
Segmented. Divided. But ultimately. It will be unified. A continent has been assigned to you. Conquer it. Take the rights of all the leaders within it, and only then may the rights to the planet be visible.]
It had ended. It somewhat clicked within me as my vision turned white. The sounds of the distant wind became nothing but a fuzz, a static ring within my ears. But oddly enough I was still seated on the same rock. I still had my things, or felt them. Things were all there.
And then, my vision shifted as I heard wilderness sounds around me. However, I found myself sitting within a room and looking out a window with a deep lush forest outside. But my mind was still elsewhere.
I needed some time to think.
* * * * *
The emperor had been watching her until the end, she seemed irrational but she seemed to be doing good.
Ever since he was born he knew he was destined for greatness. And now, it was time to fulfill it. He had always had visions, at first they were a curse, but now he understood. They were his destiny. Perhaps his ancestor had other plans, perhaps there was a great scheme that he was gonna fall under, but it didn’t matter. He would kill his ancestor if necessary. He would kill everyone.
His ambition was great. His greed was even greater. But his might was the greatest.
A cursory glance and he saw dry land, empty of all things. But it didn’t matter, in his eyes no matter the land, it was just a place to conquer. And his plans were already in motion.
“Come out, Ar’ken.” His shadow morphed, and his right-hand came out along with his elite squadron, or the half of it that remained.
“Yes?”
“It is time to start a new Arkaram. Once more the world will be ours.
And this time. There won’t be any vanquished.
Only Victors.”
Azrie
Small Afterword:
When I started this fiction, to be honest I didn't really know what to expect. And at the same time I truly did not think it would grow so much, never in my mind did I think this fiction would allow me to write for a living. I went from, well, for lack of a better word - hating my life, to truly enjoying what I do thanks to you guys. I never thought the fiction would get this far, nor that I would write so much, but it really did happen.
I made some friends along the way, and a best friend in the form of MelasDelta, who has been invaluable to me as a person. And also was a huge inspiration for me both as a person and in his work. Specially in his series 'Salvos' which urged me and spurred me to write LitRPG in the first place. It was a great inspiration for me, I think anyone should check it out.
Blair has done a lot to improve my life and me as a person. So I cannot thank you all people for reading this fiction. I never really thought the first volume of Blair would be so long (around 174k words), or that I would end up cough dropping out of college to write more of it. My life in the past few weeks, or maybe months has been a bit messy, but some of you guys' comments really make my day.
Sometimes its interesting to hear what people want to theorize about the fiction. And sometimes, it's fun to steal ideas take inspiration from some comments!
I want to thank you everyone for making a dream come true. This is the first of many volumes, and I don't think I'll be burning out any time soon. Thank you all for making this possible.
Please, if you've enjoyed this far. Truly consider supporting me on Patreon, where you can read 14 chapters ahead, or leave a comment, or maybe even join the Discord. I really enjoyed writing this first volume and look forward to the next.
Thank you everyone.
Patreon
Dante was tortured.
A lot. The cockroach. Brood. It knew ways to torture him like he couldn’t even imagine. Eventually, he begged, realizing that he was stuck in the situation, and once more. The Cockroach offered the Prophecy, liquid. But this time, Dante drank it. And at that moment, even though he grew numb to pain, his entire body hurt.
It had hurt since then. There was no contract, he simply was let go and he was back on the Skirmish, though the parting words of the Cockroach left an imprint within his mind.
“I’ll let you know when you are of use.”
It did not help that as soon as he was back the demons had begun to attack him. He had yet to even understand what the fuck a Prophecy was, but as soon as he started to bleed he felt it as if it was nothing more than instinct. However, his pain flared, his veins throbbed, and his head felt as if it was on the verge of exploding. He still remembered the notification.
[You have learned C ranked Prophecy: Boiling Blood.]
And when that happened, he lost all sense of mana. His blood was his mana. He could battle for as long as he was alive, but it always hurt. It was a constant sense of pain, a dreadful existence that he hated. The demons had left him alone after one lost its arm to him, but still. He just… Hated everything. He blamed The System.
The fact that it was even possible for such vile things to exist meant there was a problem with it. He wanted to nip all buds before they bloomed, he wanted to wipe those that had already bloomed and he wanted to get rid of the system himself. The System didn’t care for him, he was never even protected during his torture, it simply just watched. The world was unfair. The whole universe was unfair. But at the same time.
He just had to make it fair.
Dante finished scavenging the remains of the fox and took a quick look at his level only to realize he had leveled up three times. But it wasn’t enough. He wasn’t strong enough, he was never going to be strong enough. He had to move, he had to get stronger. He wanted to kill that cockroach that caused him all this suffering. He felt pathetic, but he had no goal in life anymore, he lived a constant nightmare.
◇ ◇ ◇
All Dante thought about was killing. There were no other thoughts in his mind apart from that. He hated everything, he wanted all life gone and purged for good. The forest would constantly shake, though he knew why. The damned demons wanted to rebel against their emperor and after a lot of searching they had managed to make a small party to attack. And now.
Dante stared at the billowing smoke and some fallen trees.
This was the result. All he had been doing was lurk the forest and attack any living and breathing being. Though, he never lost reason. The battlefield seemed to remain the same, but a lot of the shaking was gone too. Only the fires remained. At least, it seemed safe enough for his interest to be peaked. He had to know what he was up against.
At least, the time seemed to be just right for him to go check anyway. It was safe. The Skirmish was about to finish. Dante understood that he would be safe no matter the fact.
[Incubation Period: 0 days 0 hours 42 minutes.]
With a smile he headed in the direction of the fire, and it didn’t take long before he heard audible panting and grunts. Just as he peaked around a tree his mind paused.
Samantha— He saw the woman, fainted on the back, and at that moment a ball of fire streaked through the air and slammed against the tree next to him. Dante swore he heard broken bones as his head craned to the side. And that’s when he saw him sprawled on the ground bleeding profusely and engulfed in fire. His arm was broken and he was clearly missing one of his legs.
[Human. Lvl. 21]
His eyes slowly opened fuzzily as they met his. And he croaked with a hiss.
“Dante.”
It was Matt. Dante had had enough and just as he was about to turn around, he saw a pebble get thrown and land behind him. But it was too late for him to turn around. With a flash of shadow a deep voice spoke.
“I let you go once when you were spying on our one to one conversation. But it seems I was too kind.” Dante’s head slowly turned only to see him looking down at him. Tall horns like a crown, but his yellow eyes held no laughter, nothing but an abyss as if he was looking at an insect.
The emperor— Dante boiled his blood, but in a flash his windpipe was crushed.
◇ ◇ ◇
Matt stared in horror as Dante got held against a tree. His throat threatened to be crushed at a moment’s notice by the emperor. Why had he fought him? No, he didn’t have a choice. After Blair had left the emperor still went for them, but with the intent to recruit. However, when refusal happened, and the ability to heal was displayed, he became forceful.
There was no room to say no.
The emperor held Dante. Dante’s limbs flailed and spasmed around as blood began to seep. And within a moment a red-flash occurred. It was akin to a laser-beam. It was blinding. Matt had no choice but to squint his eyes during that moment, and once he had opened them he couldn’t believe his eyes. The trees behind the emperor fell onto the ground with mighty creaks, the leaves continuously rained but the emperor remained unharmed.
“I see everything.” He spoke coldly. “Nothing in this world can escape my sights. I saw you spying on our conversation. I saw you approach. I saw the humans… i saw your torture. Dante,” he whispered. “I see your hatred.”
He continued.
"Wake up. Nothing ever goes as planned in this accursed universe. The longer you live the more you realize that the only things that truly exist in this reality are merely pain, suffering and futility." The emperor smiled. “But, of course. You see that. But you are nothing but a loser, the other side of the coin. Someone who has been vanquished but refuses to give up. I admire that insect-like tenacity, unfortunately you are too hateful.”
Dante struggled. “Let me go…”
The emperor shook his head. “You had your chances. And you have lost the right to life. Of course, as long as there is a concept of victors the vanquished will also exist. As long as there is a winner there is a loser.” He held Dante higher against the tree bark. The tree creaked as Dante screamed in pain. “I aim to unify the world. But I also understand one thing. The selfish intent of wanting to preserve peace initiates wars. Hatred is born to protect Love."
Dante squirmed.
He closed his eyes. "There are causal relationships that cannot be separated, but even then—” His voice became deep and powerful.
"I want to sever the fate of this world. I want to create a world of only Victors, a world of only peace, a world of only Love. A world where the vanquished have no place.”
He held Dante’s head as his other hand approached his neck. And at that moment, for the first time since the trial Matt felt fear. The emperor’s eyes met his victim’s, they carried nothing but glee and pride. There was a second of silence as Dante realized what was about to happen. The grip around his neck tightened, and the emperor spoke once more.
"I am the Conqueror of your reality, and soon I will conquer all that is tangible. There is no place for those who have lost.."
A horrible sound resounded. Matt heard a horrid scream come from Dante. Guttural. His head was ripped apart along with part of his spine as nothing but chunks of flesh fell. The muscle was torn as if it was nothing. Blood splattered and his limp body hit the ground as the emperor held the severed head up high as if admiring a trophy. He smiled for a brief second before it became a frown.
“You should’ve accepted the mercy I granted you, fool.”
Dante’s head dropped to the ground. And then. The demon turned towards him. Matt shivered, but his body refused to respond. Then the emperor began to speak once more.
“Nothing can escape me.” His voice turned grim. As darkness began to leak everywhere and nowhere. “I am the Conqueror of all.”
Matt saw nothing but darkness.
“Whether it is Dante’s torture.”
Matt saw a cockroach laughing. His antennae clicked and its hands rubbed together as it bathed in blood.
“Whether it is those who have triumphed.”
The vision shifted as he saw two people standing over a sand dune. He recognized what seemed to be a demon of ashen skin. He had a long running beard that ran through the wind, but next to him was a girl. It was a human. She stood tall and had flowing red hair.
“You’re not bad you know?” She laughed.
“I never thought such a weakling would be fun to hang around with.”
It zoomed out only for Matt to realize they were looking at what seemed to be a giant scorpion dead. It was as big as a whale and its body constantly decomposed.
“Or even the elf ruler.”
The vision changed. And Matt saw an elf, much more normal with green hair. She seemed to be hugging a tall elf with ashen hair. They were both sleeping together, but blood stains filled their bodies and their breaths were shallow.
“I see it all.”
The darkness vanished as Matt felt a sense of weightlessness overtake him. And suddenly, he felt his throat being held. And when he recovered. He was looking down at the demon emperor. His hand grabbed him against the tree and his throat throbbed.
“A world without Losers. A world of Victors. The ultimate world is what I desire.”
Then, his grip loosened and Matt fell to the ground. He coughed blood violently. The demon stared down at him, as he grabbed a fistful of dirt. And using all his leftover mana he threw it. Every grain caused an unquantifiable amount of friction and it all sparked—
The first spark. It exploded into a fiery torrent in front of him. But all Matt saw was a dark silhouette as a foot jammed into his abdomen. Pain shot through him and his innards gave way. His gag reflex triggered as he began to throw up blood.
“I am a man of my word. But should you get in my way once more, mercy won’t be an option. Consider yourself vanquished, cross my eyes again, and you will die.”
Matt swallowed, and his eyes darted to the ground where Dante’s body laid. But to his surprise there was nothing, it was gone now.
The timer hit zero.
[Incubation Period: 0 days 0 hours 0 minutes.]
* * * * *
I blinked as I stared at the notification.
[The Skirmish has come to an end. The New World is untamed. Unconquered. Segmented and Divided. As a leader your job is to pave the way for your race. But moreover, claim what is rightfully yours.
Segmented. Divided. But ultimately. It will be unified. A continent has been assigned to you. Conquer it. Take the rights of all the leaders within it, and only then may the rights to the planet be visible.]
It had ended. It somewhat clicked within me as my vision turned white. The sounds of the distant wind became nothing but a fuzz, a static ring within my ears. But oddly enough I was still seated on the same rock. I still had my things, or felt them. Things were all there.
And then, my vision shifted as I heard wilderness sounds around me. However, I found myself sitting within a room and looking out a window with a deep lush forest outside. But my mind was still elsewhere.
I needed some time to think.
* * * * *
The emperor had been watching her until the end, she seemed irrational but she seemed to be doing good.
Ever since he was born he knew he was destined for greatness. And now, it was time to fulfill it. He had always had visions, at first they were a curse, but now he understood. They were his destiny. Perhaps his ancestor had other plans, perhaps there was a great scheme that he was gonna fall under, but it didn’t matter. He would kill his ancestor if necessary. He would kill everyone.
His ambition was great. His greed was even greater. But his might was the greatest.
A cursory glance and he saw dry land, empty of all things. But it didn’t matter, in his eyes no matter the land, it was just a place to conquer. And his plans were already in motion.
“Come out, Ar’ken.” His shadow morphed, and his right-hand came out along with his elite squadron, or the half of it that remained.
“Yes?”
“It is time to start a new Arkaram. Once more the world will be ours.
And this time. There won’t be any vanquished.
Only Victors.”
Azrie
Small Afterword:
When I started this fiction, to be honest I didn't really know what to expect. And at the same time I truly did not think it would grow so much, never in my mind did I think this fiction would allow me to write for a living. I went from, well, for lack of a better word - hating my life, to truly enjoying what I do thanks to you guys. I never thought the fiction would get this far, nor that I would write so much, but it really did happen.
I made some friends along the way, and a best friend in the form of MelasDelta, who has been invaluable to me as a person. And also was a huge inspiration for me both as a person and in his work. Specially in his series 'Salvos' which urged me and spurred me to write LitRPG in the first place. It was a great inspiration for me, I think anyone should check it out.
Blair has done a lot to improve my life and me as a person. So I cannot thank you all people for reading this fiction. I never really thought the first volume of Blair would be so long (around 174k words), or that I would end up cough dropping out of college to write more of it. My life in the past few weeks, or maybe months has been a bit messy, but some of you guys' comments really make my day.
Sometimes its interesting to hear what people want to theorize about the fiction. And sometimes, it's fun to steal ideas take inspiration from some comments!
I want to thank you everyone for making a dream come true. This is the first of many volumes, and I don't think I'll be burning out any time soon. Thank you all for making this possible.
Please, if you've enjoyed this far. Truly consider supporting me on Patreon, where you can read 14 chapters ahead, or leave a comment, or maybe even join the Discord. I really enjoyed writing this first volume and look forward to the next.
Thank you everyone.
Patreon
