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Ascension Of The Corpse God

In a far off universe, the Gods are struggling. The invasive Voro race are threatening to devour everything and everyone. To combat the threat, they create the Gift, a system given to the masses to grant them the strength to defend themselves. Meanwhile, in another universe, Nox is living a life of death and misery. Ostracised by society due to the trail of bodies that follows in his wake, he tries desperately to survive while dealing with his dark power. But when malicious undercurrents lead to Nox’s untimely demise, he comes to discover a new world that holds the potential to change his fate forever. It may even hold the secrets to his strange ability. Join Nox as he climbs the ranks and reaches the peak! *I'm currently aiming for 5/6 chapters/week but when university resumes, that's likely to decrease. Nevertheless, I'll be hoping for a minimum of 4 chapters/week. Once the novel progresses some more, I'll happily introduce bonus chapters for power stones and reviews if people are eager to see the next chapters* **Chapters are always minimum 2000 words long but often more like 2500** ***The cover art is not my property. It was made by @cleanfantasyart on Pinterest. If you are the owner and would like me to remove it, please get in contact. ***

BreathOfAdventure · Fantasy
Not enough ratings
25 Chs

Crippling Fear

Nox's first hunting session had gone exceptionally well. The Gift seemed to agree as it tallied his EXP now that the combat was over.

[7 x Rank 1 Level 2 Foes Defeated]

[Rank Difference 0 Level Difference 0]

[Flawless Victory: Defeated at least three opponents of the same Rank and Level, taking no damage]

[Reward: EXP +20%]

[EXP Gained: 84]

Seeing his effort pay off was a huge relief to Nox.

"I got more EXP in one measly fight than I did in almost an entire week of hunting outside. Dungeons really are the best way to level up."

Seeing his bonus EXP, Nox had an interesting thought.

"I wonder if the no damage only applies to me? What if I just swarm all my enemies with an army of minions? Would I get the EXP bonus then?"

If that was true, Nox had to pump as many points into Willpower as possible. With an army of minions, he could sit back and rake in the EXP with no trouble. He'd practically rocket towards the upper Ranks.

Unfortunately, he doubted things would be so easy.

[Current EXP: 126][EXP To Level-up: 200]

"Over half-way now. A few more groups of Goblins and I'll be one step closer to resurrecting Rana."

Thinking about the sorry state of his companion soured his mood somewhat, but the Gift quickly alleviated it as it a short, joyful melody resounded in his ears.

In his vision, an animated graphic appeared. It showed a cartoon great sword slashing downwards causing blood to spray everywhere. The image repeated several times before some words entered his head.

[New Skill Unlocked: Execution - Level 1]

[If target has half or less HP remaining, for 2 SP, deliver a strike dealing 100% of Strength in damage]

Nox couldn't hide his surprise.

"That seems a lot like a Warrior skill, no? I thought I wouldn't have chance to get any skills other than necromancy ones."

Nox was well aware that Skills were not fixed, they were acquired and improved through battle. Despite that, people generally only had skills that suited their class. A Mage would never have a Warrior skill no matter how many times he slayed a beast with a sword.

After a few moments of puzzling, Nox came to a possible conclusion.

"Maybe I'm thinking about Necromancy the wrong way. From what I know, most Necromancers don't get involved in fights themselves much, opting to stay behind their minions. But perhaps that's not the only approach they could take."

Nox personally preferred the idea of fighting alongside his minions. He had been trained diligently as a warrior and was somewhat remiss to see all his training go to waste.

"Regardless, the Skill seems pretty great. It probably won't be of much use against these weak Goblins, but it could do some serious damage against the Boss when I get to it."

The Gift fell silent after announcing his new skill, leaving Nox to examine his surroundings. The large cave he found himself in was blanketed in blood and entrails, making for a gory sight.

Despite that, Nox realised that it didn't really bother him. The sight of Death seemed to completely unfaze him.

He contemplated disposing of the bodies in the fire but felt it would be redundant. The cave was caked in blood and the bones would still be left even after burning. And that was without mentioning the rancid smell of scorching flesh that would surely permeate the area.

Any other Goblins that came here would undoubtably realise that their companions had been killed. Instead, Nox turned his attention to his next course of action.

The cave branched out into three winding paths that once again plunged into darkness. The fluorescent fungi did little to illuminate what dangers may lurk within them.

Nox didn't really have any preference for which path to take, they all looked more or less the same in his eyes. In the end, he simply decided to try out the left path first.

"Let's go buddy" he spoke, saddling upon Aurus.

The clattering of hooves against the rocky terrain grew louder and louder as the pair got further from the crackling fire. When Nox was fully submerged in shadows once again, the strange sensations began to appear once again.

He felt as though a sinister presence lurked behind him, breathing in his ear.

"Get a grip, Nox" he silently chastised.

The duo continued to travel for several minutes uneventfully. There was little to see in the the emptiness of the tunnels.

With the unnerving feeling and the need to be constantly alert, Nox's concentration was at its fullest. However, after several minutes of nothingness, his mind began to grow fatigued. The weakness of having reduced Willpower began to slowly creep into his head.

It only took a momentary lapse of judgement for disaster to strike.

As Aurus stepped into a particularly dark section of the cavern, Nox's dulled instincts suddenly sprung to life. They screamed at him to stop immediately!

"Aurus, wai..." he tried to mentally command, but it was too late.

His steed stepped forward, only to discover that the ground was missing. It took a headfirst tumble downwards and crashed into the ground with a startled grunt.

Luckily, Nox had reacted quickly and leapt forward as the beast stumbled downward, managing to land safely on the other side of the hole with a harsh roll.

"Aurus! Are you okay?" he bellowed worriedly.

The Horse whinnied in pain as it tried and failed to stand up.

The Gift decided to provide its own input.

[-3 HP]

[Minion Aurus HP: 4/7]

[Minion Aurus Afflicted With Daze (Severe): All Stats Reduced By 50% For 30 Seconds]

Nox was at least relieved that his companion hadn't taken more damage.

From the darkness, he heard an echoing sinister laughter. Turning to face it, he managed to make out the figures of five Goblins with smug smirks plastered across their faces. These Goblins were slightly better equipped than the others, wielding rusty pikes, probably to pierce their entrapped enemies.

Seeing that gloating expression on their faces enraged Nox. His grip on his longsword tightened as his eyes began to flash with a malicious light. Aurus' helpless cry resounded in his mind.

The laughter promptly stopped when Nox began to emit a dangerous aura. The air seemed to turn cold and sharp.

The Goblins eyes widened in fear as they stared at the figure enshrouded in darkness across from them. Their feeble limbs began to shake as they hastily hid behind their weapons.

Nox's mind was solely fixed on his targets. His brain constantly imagined all of the different ways that he could rip the could creatures to shreds. If he wasn't so focussed, he would've noticed an alert pop up from the Gift in his mind.

[Unique Skill: Halo Of Death Activated]

Nox's figure flashed forward as he appeared next to the first Goblin. His blade flowed like water, slicing both its arms from its body. The monster squealed in agony as it fell to the floor, spouting black blood onto the ground.

The startling cries finally manged to wake the other Goblins from their stupor. They shakily wielded their spears as they continually stepped backwards.

"Where do you think you're going."

Nox's voice adopted a malevolent tone. The poor beasts felt as though they were facing a monster themselves.

He slowly and forcefully stepped forward. With each step he took, his image appeared larger in the monsters' minds until he appeared like a dark giant, towering over them. With the grating screams of their companion in the background, his frightening demeanour was magnified further.

[Targets Afflicted With Fear (Severe): Willpower Reduced by 75%]

The dark abysses of his eyes stared at the smallest of the Goblins fixedly. As the fearful monster looked back, it felt as though its heart stopped. Its brain stopped functioning, freezing completely.

[Unique Skill: Halo Of Death - Gaze Of The Reaper]

[User's Willpower: 12][Target's Willpower: 2]

[User's Willpower Exceeds 5x Target's]

[Activation: Success!]

With that single look, the Goblin's eyes glossed over. Its body collapsed to the ground weakly.

The remaining trio of Goblins stood in absolute terror. Their companion had just dropped dead from a look! Their hearts raced wildly in their chests.

After a moment, one of the three closed its eyes and grit its teeth. When it opened them, it let out a guttural roar as it charged towards Nox.

Nox stared down the approaching spear with icy contempt. As it pierced towards his chest, he brought his leg up into the air and stomped it firmly into the ground with a mighty axe kick.

The force of the kick caused the beast to stumble over itself, falling directly onto Nox's outstretched blade.

[Goblin Peasant HP: 2/6]

[Target Is Below Half HP: Stats Reduced By 30%]

With its entrails threatening to fall out, the Goblin looked upwards into the open maw of Death. It began to shiver uncontrollably as its face paled.

Nox spared the beast no sympathy. He ripped the blade from its stomach and turned its half-dead body to face its companions. The beast fell down onto its knees with a heavy shove, its hands desperately clambering to hold in its spilling guts.

As they watched on in horror, Nox raised his sword above his head. Mentally, he gave a command to the Gift.

[Skill: Execution - Activated]

An ominous red light glistened along the blade's edge. As the sword swung down, the air began to ripple, bisecting the Goblin straight down the middle.

The halves of the Goblin's body slumped slowly towards the floor, drenching the cavern in a mixture of black blood and sprawling viscera.

One Goblin raised his trembling hand to his face, wiping away splatters of blood from it in complete shock.

Nox didn't say a word at the sight.

Shaking the rancid blood from his longsword, he continued to walk forward, disregarding the corpse at his feet. With each step, a bone-chilling crunch resounded. Viscera flew in every direction as the body was crushed more and more.

At the sight, the remaining Goblins all dropped their weapons simultaneously. Two of them immediately passed out with froth at their mouths and rolled back eyes. The last got down on his hands and knees and vomited profusely before joining them, collapsing amidst his bile.

[Targets Afflicted With Fear (Crippling): Willpower Reduced By 100%]

Nox came in front of the trio with frigid eyes. He gazed down at their sorry states without mercy.

He lightly whispered,

"No-one hurts my family."

Three swift strikes to their necks ensued. The macabre guzzling of blood filled the cave as the monsters desperately tried to gasp for air.

Nox stood motionless over them, watching as their flailing bodies slowly fell silent. He remained for a few more moments before heading back to the pit where Aurus had fallen.

As he travelled over, he felt his strange mental state gradually recede. With the resurgence of clarity, he considered his actions.

He knew that he had acted very out of character just now. Such cold-bloodedness was something he had come to adopt in his old life, but not in this one. He believed he had left such things behind, but perhaps not.

Honestly, it scared him somewhat. The feeling of having something or someone completely at your mercy was euphoric, but dangerous.

In his last life, he had similar feelings, but little means to act on them. His power worked, but slowly. Additionally, it was very inconsistent on when it would or wouldn't activate. Here, however, he had very real means of causing harm, and directly.

The Gift had given him a method of becoming a God-like existence. One that could let him massacre villages and commit atrocities with ease.

Something inside of him seemed to urge him to do so. It felt like an ever-present guardian. A whisper in the ear, an affirming hand on the shoulder, ever-present.

A large part of him felt that he did nothing wrong. They were monsters after all, and they had hurt his friend. They had deserved it. A small part of him, however, questioned just where he would draw the line.

Did it stop at monsters? What about people? Only those who hurt him? How about innocent people?

Nox didn't have the answers to his questions. He felt that he wanted to do the right thing, he didn't want to kill people for no reason. And yet, he realised that the idea of killing others didn't repulse him as it did others.

Perhaps there would come a day when his convictions would be tested. Only then would he know for sure.

Regardless, Nox well understood that the incident had caused him to have a shift in perspective, or perhaps, simply unearthed his true feelings.

He would protect those he cared about by any means necessary, anyone else be damned.

Chapter 21! Been struggling to get chapters out recently, writing takes so long :( Trying my best though and hope you guys are enjoying the new direction the Novel is going in. As always, I'd massively appreciate if people took the time to leave a review or a comment on what they think so far :)

Many Thanks!

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