Nameless King

Wain wanted to kill the Golden Tiger with one powerful attack, but instead, he got hit himself. He didn't expect that the monster would be able to unleash an energy beam that would destroy the Distant Bullet in a second.

What's more, the ray completely engulfed Wain, and he was in a critical position.

Crackle.

Many cracks ran through his armor, and it began to collapse. Wain clenched his teeth in pain and bounced to the side.

Bam.

The beam reached the brick wall and quickly destroyed it. However, the wall glowed brightly the next moment and came together in pieces. It looked the same as before. Escape from this room was impossible, even for the Golden Tiger.

Wain coughed up blood and looked at the damaged armor fiercely at the monster. The Golden Tiger did not attack, it was busy rebuilding its destroyed hind paw. The yellow threads were gradually woven together and increased in size. Thus, the tiger's limb would be fully restored after a while.

The Ring of Damned glowed brightly, and the sniper rifle disappeared from Wain's hands. At that moment, he wanted to tear the tiger apart with his own hands, and the form answered his call.

[Your state does not match the ideal skill balance - Code of Light and Darkness]

[Because of your condition, the darkness absorbs the light and begins to dominate this duo. Along with the increase of darkness, so does the change of characteristics]

The white parts of the armor began to repaint into the black in the next moment. This already happened to Wain once, when he fought the Demonic Ants.

However, then he enjoyed the battle and did not feel any other feelings at that moment. The rage towards the tiger was the catalyst that caused the darkness to increase its power.

Wain's Stats began to change. His Energy dropped to 1, and his other stats increased by about 50 points. His stats exceeded the 200 point mark, which was huge even for a First Chronicle creature.

Whooooosh.

Wain rushed towards the tiger and was instantly in front of the monster. He clenched his fist with force and punched the tiger in the jaw. The monster didn't have time to react and was thrown upwards by the force of the blow. Then Wain jumped up high and looked coldly at the tiger.

He raised one leg and then brought it down sharply. The heel came down on the monster's head, knocking it down.

Tremble.

The hall shuddered, and the floor cracked. The monster ended up in the center of the crater, which was created by its great weight and the abnormal force of Wain's impact.

Since Wain's Energy was down to 1, there was no point in him using skills. With that kind of Energy, even his most powerful skills were useless. Wain would kill the tiger with bare hands, relying solely on physical strength.

However, the Golden Tiger was not an easy opponent. It was ready to fight on and on. Wain's two powerful blows left several injuries on the tiger's head, but they were not fatal.

Whooooooosh.

Immediately after landing, the tiger roared furiously, and one of its five golden tails shone brightly. At the end of this tail was a sword. The tail then lengthened sharply and headed toward Wain.

Wain was able to seize the initiative with a powerful series of blows, but he was now at a disadvantage. Wain was in the air, and he couldn't dodge, there was nothing near him to bounce off of. Then Wain swung his arm, and a dark sword appeared next to him.

The weapon flew sharply to the side, and thanks to that, Wain could change his position in space. The monster's tail flew next to him, and Wain changed the sword's trajectory downward to fall much faster.

At this point, Dark Sword was a useless skill because of its low Energy rating, but Wain found a use for the skill.

When the monster realized that Wain had managed to dodge, it decided to repeat the previous success. The monster opened its jaws wide, and a golden beam flew at Wain, but he easily dodged the attack.

Wain bounced to the side and turned into a black flash. He quickly ran up to the tiger and attacked. The monster opened its mouth wide and was about to devour Wain when he was attacking, but suddenly Wain's silhouette blurred.

It was not going to attack the tiger in the head again, it was a distraction. Wain wanted to get rid of the tails, so he went around the monster from behind and gripped one of the tails tightly.

Wain's grip was strong, cracks appeared on the golden protective shell, and the tiger roared in pain. However, the monster wasn't going to take it anymore. The other four tails shone brightly, and like golden flashes, they struck Wain.

But, Wain was counting on the tiger to do just that. He let go of his tail and dodged the others. Then he gripped the other tail tightly and used it to shred the previous one. Wain did the same with the other tails until the tiger had only one left with a spear on end.

The monster was in agony and wanted to kill Wain, so the tiger decided to take a desperate step.

Whoooosh.

The tiger swung its paws to drive Wain away and then bit off its last tail. Wain was shocked, he didn't understand why the monster had inflicted such a severe wound on himself.

Tremble.

Suddenly the tiger's aura intensified dramatically, and the gold on his body began to heat up and gradually turn red. The tiger went into berserk mode, ready to do anything to devour Wain alive.

Wain was wary, even though the tiger had lost its tails, the monster was otherwise fine. Moreover, at this moment, the tiger was much stronger than a few seconds ago, and Wain understood that.

'Should I use one of the two remaining forms or even Beyond? No, that would be too wasteful. I haven't been seriously injured yet and can fight on. There's no point in wasting so much energy, not in a critical situation.' Thought Wain and got into a fighting stance.

Beyond was a special ability that was most often used only in the most dangerous battles and when there were no other options. The reason was that after using Beyond, a person had almost no energy left. Some even walked with difficulty afterward.

Therefore, Beyond had to be used when the battle was ending, and safety would be assured after that. If Wain used his Beyond now, he would easily defeat the Golden Tiger, but he would need hours to recover. He was in a maze inside the Dungeon and could not risk so much for an easy victory.

Roooooooaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrr!

The tiger roared furiously and raised one paw high. He dropped it down sharply, and the hall shook. The floor cracked into massive debris, and Wain lost his balance. At that moment, the monster decided to act.

The tiger's silhouette blurred, and the next second, Wain saw two clawed paws with glowing claws above him. Wain reacted quickly and jumped up, the claws cutting through the solid walls like a sheet of paper.

Then the tiger looked at Wain and opened its mouth wide. Wain's eyes widened in shock, for boiling lava in the tiger's mouth.

The lava burst out of its mouth in a powerful stream and headed for Wain. He tried to summon the Dark Sword and dodge the attack again as before, but this time he failed.

The lava wave engulfed wain. He tried to defend himself, but it was impossible. All Wain could do was endure and hope that his flesh did not burn to the ground.

Wain tried to endure the ordeal, but he was in a hell of a lot of pain. His skin was burning, and his flesh was opening up. The black armor withstood such an onslaught and did not collapse, but the armor could not fully protect Wain.

Whoooosh.

Wain gritted his teeth in pain, he felt like he was floating in an infernal cauldron and being whipped around with razor-sharp whips.

When the lava flow was nearly over, the monster jumped up and tossed Wain aside with its paw. Its red-hot claws sliced into its flesh, leaving three deep gouges in its chest.

Bam.

He was like a projectile rumbling down. The tiger slowly made its way toward the burned Wain, the monster feeling it had already won. Wain had suffered severe burns and needed immediate medical attention. He didn't even have the strength to get up.

'Fuck... Why is there such a powerful creature in this Dungeon...?!' Wain thought.

Then he clenched his teeth so hard that a distinctive sound was heard and muttered, 'Kill! Destroy! I'll eat this bastard alive!"

A large amount of darkness began to emanate from Wain's body. It was like a black flame capable of consuming anything.

[Your state does not match the ideal skill balance - Code of Light and Darkness]

[You have been consumed by darkness, and it is increasing with every second. It is out of bounds, but your heart and mind can bear it. The darkness answers your call, but you will have to pay the price].

Wain felt the pain intensify the next moment, and his defenses gradually weakened. He looked at his status and froze in shock.

[Wain Norheim

Level: 24

Race: Human.

Beyond: Calamity

Soul: Nameless King

Additional Soul: Black Thunder's Renegade

Title: Savior of the Damned, Echo of Samurai, Mentor Inquisitor, The First, Soul Gatherer

Status Points: 15

Strength: 414 / Agility: 414 / Vitality: 1 / Stamina: 1 / Energy: 1]

Wain had never seen numbers this big. His Strength and Agility were out of 400, and it was crazy.

The average person's Stats averaged 5 points. This meant that at this point, Wain's defense was much lower than that of the ordinary person before the apocalypse, but his strength and agility were eighty-three times higher. This was a tremendous and, for many, unattainable pinnacle.

Wain was furious and wanted to kill the tiger. The darkness gave him that strength, but in return, it lowered his defense to a minimum. Now any mistake could cost Wain his life. If the tiger's claws were to sink back into Wain's body, he would die instantly.

The monster approached Wain and opened its mouth wide. The tiger was about to devour Wain, but suddenly he disappeared. The monster didn't understand what happened, he couldn't believe that Wain could move with such severe wounds.

Bam.

Wain appeared under the tiger's belly and kicked it in the stomach with all his might. This attack could crush even some Second Chronicle creature in one blow. The tiger didn't stand a chance. Its body was torn in two, but the golden threads immediately tried to heal the monster.

The tiger tried to attack Wain, and again a stream of lava burst from its mouth, but Wain turned into a blur and ended up on the monster's head. He broke through the tiger's skull with one powerful blow, and the head exploded, pieces of flesh flying apart.

Wain fell to the ground and breathed heavily. He could win, but he paid a heavy price for it. Wain didn't expect to get such severe wounds and burns all over his body.

"Bitch, it hurts so bad, it can't be endured...!" Wain muttered, looking at the pink soul flying toward him.

[Soul of Golden Tiger (Whole)

Chronicle: First

Rating: Epic]

Wain canceled the Code of Light and Darkness and crushed the soul.

[You have acquired the Soul Essence of Golden Tiger level 26. Strength +10, Agility+10, Stamina+6, Vitality+6.]

[You have leveled up to level 25. You get 3 status points to distribute freely]

"Great, only five levels to go. Maybe at this rate, I can evolve a second time before the island appears." Wain said, and another message appeared in front of him.

[You get Epic Rating Soul Chest]

Bam.

A massive pink chest rumbled down next to him. This meant that the thing inside was quite large and voluminous. It could have been a hammer or a giant axe.

"Looks like my lucky day." Mumbled Wain and with difficulty rose to his feet to open the chest.

Inside, to his surprise, was not a weapon. It was a golden cuirass with a picture of a lion on the chest.

[Cuirass of Unbowed Lion (First Chronicle, Epic Rating)

It is a powerful armor forged of rare metal specifically for the unbowed warrior. He swore to defend himself, his family, and his home with his last breath. He was as proud as a lion and therefore received this cuirass.

This armor greatly increases the protection and survivability of the wearer but also restricts movement. Moreover, one must have tremendous strength to wear this armor, as it weighs over a ton.

*Stamina +30, Vitality +25. Regeneration is increased by 40%. Speed -20%, Agility -20. Resistance to fire attacks is increased by 15%.

*There is a small chance of activating special armor mode when receiving a critical hit.]

"That's impressive, but this armor doesn't suit me. Protection is good, but I prefer to dodge, moreover sacrificing speed for protection is nonsense. Also, an all-gold armor... what a tasteless thing..." Wain muttered and moved the armor into the ring.

He would give the Cuirass of Unbowed Lion to Grut, as it was the perfect candidate to possess the item.