Ascension of Chaos

Ashley

Over time, Blake and I grow used to surviving in the inner region of the Unique Domain. With the new pattern of our hunting becoming fleeing the catacombs we hunt into the surface whenever the ground begins to shake before running around to avoid the meteors and pyroclasts. Then going back down to whatever catacombs is near us, resuming our hunt after the King of Destruction's rampage is over.

And after an entire week of doing this over and over again, I finally get the System Message I've been looking for.

{Congratulations, you have now reached level 100. Your PHY and MEN have increased by 1 point, and your MAG by 2 points. Please choose where you wish your 1 Free Point to be allocated.}

And, of course, it's a disappointment. Because I can't exactly leave the Unique Domain right now to return to my Spire.

If I could do that then Blake and I wouldn't be in this mess after all.

I glance at Blake as we stand in the corridor of one of the catacombs before telling him, "Looks like we can't ascend until we make it back to a Spire."

He frowns and simply nods his head.

"I could've told you that much," Chaos says, making me blink at the realization. "The Spire cores are needed to push a user past their limit in order to ascend. So without them, users can't ascend."

Not that it helps much now.

"If it helps, you do get a small bonus if you reach the maximum level of your Class before ascending," Chaos points out, interesting me a little bit. "The bonus is mostly just a random item the System believes could help you and some Skill Points, but it's something."

That's nice. I guess.

"Oh, and some Free Points," he adds as if an afterthought, making my eyes narrow a bit.

Now that could help.

"Yeah," Chaos says before growing serious as he says, "but putting that aside, do you remember when I said our connection would grow weaker as you approach the center of the Unique Domain?"

I furrow my brows and nod my head.

"After you enter the central region of the Unique Domain, we won't be able to talk anymore," Chaos states rather bluntly. "So make sure to ask any questions you may have before the first month of the Unique Domain's opening has ended."

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

The first month? Do you mean the inner region will collapse by…

My thoughts return to the current situation above-ground. To the ashen and magma-covered wasteland and all of the now-missing monster lairs up there.

Right. At the rate things are going, there won't be any monster lairs left by the time a month's passed.

I quickly share what Chaos just said with Blake, following which the two of us move to a secluded chamber within the catacombs to bring up a list of subjects to ask them about.

"We've already learned quite a bit about the way Unique Domains work from the recordings," Blake states with a frown on his face. "Like how the Unique Monster generally leaves the central chamber they have been in the entire domain when there are about one to two weeks left of the Unique Domain before it breaks. Or how the rest of the Unique Domain begins to fall apart for one reason or another all the way through the time it's open."

"The monsters vary in level from Unique Domain to Unique Domain, so we can't ask about them…" Blake mutters, his frown growing deeper as he looks down at the ground while seated cross-legged on the floor. "We already know about the gunpowder and the other things with traces of the King's power in them, and we know that the Unique Monsters each have their own specialized methods of fighting that are generally unique to them."

We both just sit in silence as we think.

After several minutes, I raise my head and ask, "What about that loss of connection thing? Will that just be with you, or will it disconnect us from anything else?"

"The central region of the Unique Domains will cut you off from the System Forums and the Successor Forums, but that is all," Chaos explains, and judging by Blake's face, Etheria is probably talking to him as well, answering the question. "You will still be able to level up and use the System as usual outside of your own capacity to receive any sort of communication from others. But others can still watch your livestreams."

Great. Kind of wish they were cut off too.

But we can't have things that convenient, now can we…

Then again, those recordings wouldn't have been possible if they were cut off. So I guess it's a mixed bag there.

"How many skills would you say the Unique Monster is likely to have unlocked by the time we fight it?" Blake asks the next question.

Chaos answers immediately in my mind, "If you were to fight it a month before the end of the Unique Domain – which I don't recommend based on your levels alone – you would find it with around a quarter of its skills unlocked. And if you fight it soon before the end of the domain, you'd find it with around half of its skills unlocked."

Oh. That's not good.

"It's an automatic death sentence for you if you try fighting it below the maximum level for Class E, so don't even think about it," Chaos adds after a brief pause.

Right. Not doing that.

"Do you think we'll have to deal with any minions during our fight?" I ask while glancing up at the ceiling, thinking about those destruction-fallen Revalta that were eating up the magma.

"Unique Monsters treat the monsters in their domains as food," Chaos states without hesitation. "They would sooner eat the monsters to get some more Skill Points than order them around."

That's good at least.

Sorta.

Good that we will be fighting it on its own, not so good that it's getting more Skill Points.

"Let's gather a list of everything we know about the UM so far," Blake says, making me nod my head in agreement as my twin grabs a stick and starts writing in the ash over the sandstone beneath us. "We know it's most likely some sort of reptile judging by all of the monsters in the Unique Domain, and its True Damage skill is related to its vision. So most likely an eye mutation skill."

"It can launch the pyroclasts out of the volcano even after affecting them with its gaze, so it might have some sort of skill to do that," I add while leaning forwards with my legs coming to meet together at the bottoms of my feet in front of me and my knees bent outwards. "And since the analysis said that the rocks were ones affected under its gaze, I doubt it's shooting them out of its own body. So maybe a telekinesis skill of some sort, or something to throw them out of the volcano."

"Based on what I've seen of the UM so far in its rampages and its affinity, there is no way it is anything but a combat specialized Unique Monster," Chaos comments, of which I repeat for Blake's sake since he can't hear Chaos. "That means it'll most likely have a bunch of combat skills. But something you need to watch out for the most is it's True Damage skill."

I frown at that as I finish repeating his words to Blake.

"He's right," Blake says with a frown of his own. "If the King of Destruction's gaze really is linked with its True Damage skill, and its gaze repeatedly applies the True Damage, then you will need a lot of mana."

Before giving me any time to think about that, Chaos continues his explanation in my head, "Chaotic Source will continuously drain your mana and Chaos Energy so long as the King of Destruction is looking at you. This means you'll be running dry very quickly. Your brother should be fine since it sounds like a slow paced True Damage skill, meaning his barrier should hold up against it. But you need something to replenish your mana and energy."

Something to replenish my mana and energy? You mean potions?

How am I going to get those here though?

"That's simple," Chaos says, sounding rather smug for some reason. "I'll just teach you how to make them with your lovely new Successor Skill aiding the way."

I blink at that before realizing that I did get a message about a new Successor Skill that I didn't notice before.

So I open my list of Successor Skills to see the new one.

And immediately find the corner of my mouth quirking upwards ever so slightly when I see it.

{Chaos Infusion – Locked – Allows the user to infuse and compress Chaos Energy.} – [Spend 500 Skill Points to unlock this skill.]