THE FADE SYSTEM

CHAPTER 3: NEW WORLD

Rawwwr! The tail of the monster moved like a whip as it came crashing at Klaus. The ground exploded on impact, sending dust and debris into the air. But when the dust settled, Klaus was gone.

The creature growled in irritation, it snapped its head upwards to see Klaus mid-air.

"Fade Walking..." He was standing on what appeared to be smaller rifts in space similar to the one he came out of.

The serpent lunged forward with its mouth wide open in an attempt to swallow Klaus whole. However, he leapt backward barely getting grazed by the creatures' fangs.

"Do you think I am food?" He blinked, confused by the strange emotion stirring inside him. It wasn’t anger, but something else entirely.

'Why am I annoyed?'

As he continues to dodged the serpent’s relentless attacks, his mind kept wandering.

'A bigger creature trying to eat me should be natural. Predators eat prey. I know that. So why do I feel this way?'

Whack!

The serpent’s tail slammed into him, sending him crashing into the ground. Dust and rock flew everywhere, leaving behind a crater.

Klaus groaned, slowly pushing himself up.

"That hurt…" He touched his ribs. "So this is pain?"

Not wasting time, Klaus used Fade Walking to run in the air. The serpent’s mouth opened wide, blue flames gathering inside.

Klaus narrowed his eyes.

"I can’t dodge that in time."

He stretched his hand out and drew a line in space. A rift tore open, swallowing the beast’s breath attack into the endless blackness.

Rawwwr!

The serpent roared in rage. Why wouldn’t this food just die?!

Klaus exhaled, lowering his hand.

"I get it now."

His fingers twitched and another rift in space formed. The blackness this time was larger than any he had ever made, so much so that it was twice the size of the serpent.

"The answer was right in front of me."

From it, a pillar of hollow flames came crashing down engulfing the giant serpent whole. The air trembled, the ground cracked beneath the force.

By the time the flames had died out, only a burnt corpse remained.

Klaus landed in front of the giant monster's corpse.

"Pride," he said softly. "That was what I felt. Somehow, a part of me knew... You were beneath me."

"And now..."

Blackness emerged once again, this time from underneath the fallen beast.

"You should rejoice."

The Blackness stretched until it was large enough to swallow the creature whole

"Rejoice, for you will become the first of my AbyssSoldier."

After the sea serpent was devoured by the blackness, the rift in space finally closed and a single message popped in his sight...

[You Have Created A New Fade Soldier]

Klaus sat cross-legged in the forest, fists pressed together, eyes shut tight. He dove into meditation, shutting out the world in an instant.

[You Have Unlocked The Passive Skill - Meditation]

[Meditation]

Base: None.

Info: By focusing and entering a state of oneness and calm. You can recover your stamina and energies as well as heal yourself.

Meditation helped him recover his energy and clear his mind.

"After making a rift big enough to swallow the Leviathan, I used up most of my Ethereal energy."

After meditating for hours, Klaus opened his eyes, as he stands and begins to stretch.

"Now, the first order of business is to find a civilization and gather as much information about this world as I can."

The only thing Klaus knew about this world was it's name, "Varethos" which he found out when he used Fade Eyes on the sea serpent.

Klaus resumed his journey, he moved even deeper into the forest. Even though he was alone, Klaus was not scared not one bit.

At certain points, he was attacked by different types of Monsters, the first group he encountered were goblins...

"Fade Eyes."

Klaus looked dissapointed after checking the status of the Goblins.

"Their strength is nothing compared to the Sea Serpent I fought." Klaus wore a sinister grin as a cruel thought entered his mind.

"Come to your master, My first Fade Soldier - Black Leviathan!"

Blackness spread all over Klaus and the Goblins tearing through the sky.

A loud and mighty roar rang out from within the Fade making the Goblins freeze with fear. The huge serpentine creature emerged from the blackness. Its scales which used to be a bright blue color were now died pitch-black with vague purple highlights.

Black Leviathan landed in front of Klaus and bowed its head.

The Goblins were shocked by this sight - The powerful monster that ruled the lake was now kneeling to a human. Klaus patted its head like it was a pet.

Who is this human, and how is he controlling an Elite-Grade monster?

Is he a tamer? No, not even the strongest users of tamer magic can subdue and control the sea serpent so easily.

The leader of the horde and the only Hobgoblin amongst their ranks had his eyes glued on Klaus. When he looked into his eyes, he saw something sinister... He saw an unending darkness... He saw his demise.

'We’re going to die.'

The Hobgoblin dropped his weapon with rest following suit as they all raised their hands.

"We surr—"

"Attack."

Before he could finish, the Black Sea serpent flew up and fired a stream of black fire. The Goblins screamed and rolled on the ground, begging for death.

"I don’t understand surrender," Klaus declared as he walked toward them. "Why attack me if you were going to give up?"

"M-Mercy..." the Hobgoblin cried. He was still experiencing immense pain despite his body was crumbling apart with only his upper half remaining.

"Mercy?" Klaus tilted his head, his face showed no emotions whatsoever. "I do not know what that means." Klaus had never felt pity or kindness. Emotions were still new to him.

He looked around at the destruction. Most Goblins have already turned to ash. Only ten were still alive and suffering.

"But maybe..." Klaus rubbed his chin. "I can use you. How would you like to become my servants?"

Their answer didn’t matter. He had already made up his mind.

He summoned the blackness and devoured them whole.

[You Have Created New Fade Soldier]

From Goblins, to Kobolds and even Orcs. It didn't matter what race the attackers were, Klaus made sure they all perished the same way - By the breath of Black Leviathan.

And now, he finds himself surrounded by a new race of monsters which he hadn't encountered before. They were as large as the Orcs, they gathered like the Goblins, and had Fangs like Kobolds. These creatures had red horns sticking out of their heads.

"Ogres..." Klaus muttered after using Fade Eyes. "Still weaker than Black Leviathan." He yawned.

The Ogres became enraged after seeing his nonchalant behaviour.

How dare this feeble human look down at them, the strongest race in the entire forest area?

"Should I just have Leviathan burn them like the others? No, I think I should try something else. But what...?"

Klaus was tired with dealing with the monsters the same way. He pondered on how he can go about it a different way.

"Come to think of it, I haven't tested out the other Power systems..."

While in the Fade, Klaus learned the theories of various different energies and concepts which he dubbed as powers.

An example of these "Powers" was Prana - The power that manifests a system related to a concept. In this case, The Fade System itself and all of his Fade related abilities were as a result of Klaus' Prana.

The first Power Klaus learned was Ether - the purest form energy within the universe. It has Two main applications; Magical Ether or Magic and Internal Ether or Chi.

"I've decided, I'll deal with these creatures using Chi"

Klaus closes his eyes and begins to focus. He imagines a core at his chest - that was where his Chi is stored.

"I've got a perfect picture in my head now."

The Ogres tilted their heads as they watched him meditate while standing.

"Focus... Picture the energy flowing from the core... circulating through my veins… Channel it and let it flow!"

Suddenly, a faint aura radiated around him as he opened his eyes.

[Congratulations, Through Your Strong Will And Focus, You Have Unlocked The Passive Skill - Internal Ether]

[Internal Ether (Chi)]

Mastery: Level 1.

Base: Ether.

Info: You can tap into your Chi to give yourself a boost in physicalabilities as well as manifest an aura for offence and defence.

[You Have Unlocked The Following Skills: Aura Projection, Physical Enhancement, Keen Insight]

[Aura Projection]

Mastery: Level 1.

Base: Ether - Chi.

Info: Manifest your Internal Ether outwards through sheer will in the form of Aura. Through mastery, you will be able to project your Aura and have it take various Shapes and sizes. Consumes Ether.

[Physical Enhancement]

Mastery: Level 1.

Base: Ether - Chi.

Info: By circulating your Chi through your body. You can hardened your body and give yourself a buff in speed, strength and endurance. Consumes Ether.

[Keen Insight]

Mastery: Level 1.

Base: Ether - Chi

Info: You have a heightened level of awareness and sixth sense. You can sense your surroundings and tell the location of others through their Ether.

The Ogres went on alert instinctively. Not wanting to give him any chances, They growled and rushed at him. However, despite their overwhelming numbers, Klaus was calm. He used minimal movement to aAbyss their attacks.

"I can sense their presence more clearly, even the ones that are far behind. This must be how Keen Insight works." Klaus smirked at the Ogres, "what's wrong? Why did you stop? Come at me!"

The Ogres roared in unison. They felt humiliated by this puny human. All they need is to get a single hit in.

However...

"Huff, huff." The Ogres were out of breath. They have been at it for so long now yet Klaus did not have a single scratch on him.

"Done already?"

The Ogres looked at Klaus. He no longer appeared like a tiny insect to them. Rather, they were the ones who felt small now, they felt as if Klaus was a giant and they were insects.

"If you're not going to come, I will!" The prey had become the predator - Klaus leapt forward as he charges with his fist which were coated in a densed violet colored aura.

Bam!

His fist landed on an Ogre's jaw. A loud c***k followed as the Ogre flew back like a broken doll, crashing into the others behind it.

The rest of the Ogres trembled in fear. With a single attack, this human cut their numbers into two?

"The output is still not perfect,” he said. “But it’ll do for now.” Klaus turned to the remaining Ogres. Guess I'll just have to keep using you lot for the experiment.”

Fear filled their eyes. Some took a step back.

“I told you already." He cracked his hands. "If you won’t come to me, I’ll come to you.”

He dashed forward once again...

Bam! c***k! Boom!

Bodys flew, bones cracked, and skulls shattered. Blood was splattered everywhere. The whole forest echoed with the sounds of destruction.

If anyone had been watching this spectacle, they would find it difficult to tell who the real monster was between the Ogres and Klaus. He moved like a beast. The Ogres tried to run, but none escaped.

Once the experiment ended, Klaus stood over the broken bodies, breathing slowly.

He raised his hand and a blackness emerged from the ground. It spread and swallowed the corpses one by one.

“Fade Ritual."

[You Have Created New Fade Soldier]

[ Fade Ritual Has Leveled Up. You Can Now Create Units And Appoint Generals]

"Status."