Prologue: The Man Called the Walking Calamity
1948 Words
The balance of the universe had been disrupted.
The Ripening. The worldly phenomena where mana becomes dense and the known reality begins to change.
The Ripening has two stages.
During the Initial stage, the world undergoes a massive transformation as it tremendously expands in size.
Unexplainable weather conditions occur as land mass shifts and new islands appear. During this stage mana assimilates with living and non-living organisms, creating new forms of life. Soon, creatures that were only mentioned in myths were now roaming the lands and soaring the skies. And, at the center of all these transformations is the young World Tree quietly growing into adulthood.
However, the most anticipated change comes with the Humans.
During the ripening, Humans can now evolve from their 3rd dimensional realm through 'Awakening'.
Once [Awakened], Mana now start to slowly flow through their bodies, enabling them to wield it and do what once was the impossible.
Soon the human race entered an age of might and magic that it had never seen before: The Age of Ripening.
As the truth-defying transformations finally calmed down, the second stage of the Ripening began.
After the World Tree had hit maturity, portals from other worlds popped up one after another and other Human-like beings called Demi-humans emerged. Races such as Elves, Dwarves, Orcs, and Beastmen took residence in the fantasy-like paradise.
The Ripening was once a world's peaceful ascension into the higher realm. But when the balance of the universe shifted, the event called the Ripening became an age of war.
Soon, portals reappeared on worlds that had undergone their initial Ripening. This time it was Demons that came out.
Demons only have one goal: Conquest.
....
Millenniums had passed since the universe's balance was disrupted.
On a certain world...
"WRUOOOO!"
A horned human-like creature with black skin, red pupils, and long sharp ears roared as it ran towards a man covered head to toe in black tattered armor.
Muscular and towering at 7 feet, it was a being called a Demon.
Splash splash splash
The scent of blood reeked the air. The sun-scorched plains had turned red from what seemed to be a never-ending battle. Dead bodies and dismembered limbs whose origins are unidentifiable were scattered everywhere. At the middle of this catastrophe is a man in black tattered armor. Using a glaive, he defended himself against relentless attacks from other demons that came after him non-stop.
With a leap, the demon instantly closed the distance. It activated a Skill upon seeing an opening in the man's defense.
[Gargantuan Strength]
The demon's muscles bulged and veins popped out.
The demon aimed his spear to the man's visible weak spot and did a thrust that's empowered with other-worldly strength.
Swish
The tattered armored man titled his body, dodging the incoming spear with ease. With fluid movements from his glaive, he countered with a sideward s***h.
Splurt!
Blood sprayed and the attacking demon fell to its knees.
The man ignored the rain of blood and continued to swipe his glaive forward. In a sweeping motion, he sliced the neck of another demon then changed his grip and spun the glaive vertically, parrying an incoming arrow.
Sklrrrt-
an approaching demon behind him was cut into two huge chunks of meat.
Bam! bam! bam!
The sound of banging shields approached. This was a war tactic that demons employed to instill fear to their enemies. However, this time, the opponent wasn't an army or a detached division, but a single man.
Huff huff
The man tried to regulate his ragged breathing as he watched the countless demons march towards his position. They all wore heavy armor and moved in unison while banging their tower shields.
Demons.
Demons are mana rich beings cursed by the Great One. Bringers of unbalance, some say their aim is to harvest the World Tree, while others claim they're just rageful beings that were trying to destroy everything else because they can't become Gods themselves. However, nobody really knew the truth.
But right now, the man couldn't care any less as to what origin these demons had. He glanced to his back and saw the mountain of corpses he had created. The man's tattered black armor was now dyed in red, making him look even more of a demon than the actual thing.
Bam! bam! bam!
He observed the ground and watched the sea of blood form ripples as the remaining demons continued their march.
'Seems there's no end'
Demons are one of the most powerful beings in the universe, believed to be second only to gods.
"Woooraaah- eup!"
A mouth has been pierced by his glaive
slash! thrust! s***h! s***h!
But this man. He kills them one by one as if they were cockroaches. Every time his glaive moves, a demon dies.
This man's name is Surdeis Malari. People call him as [The Ace of Humanity].
But he has another infamous nickname...
Bam! bam! bam!
huff. huff. hoo..
Shlick!
Surdeis swiped his glaive and removed the blood from the blade. He had killed everyone from the earlier wave. But, despite his overwhelming strength, he's still a human; mortal and fallible. His breathing was heavy and ragged. He barely stood as he watched the next incoming army.
'Another mass of s**t about to die'
Surdeis spat a mouthful of blood. Smiling bitterly, he continued to focus on his breathing.
"haaaah haaaah"
He saw the Demon army march. With every step, they grew closer, slowly surrounding him.
Surdeis closed his eyes.
He remembered his arduous journey...
....
Surdeis originally came from a planet called Earth.
He was teleported into this strange world named Antaluna, a world that had finished undergoing its second stage of Ripening. He was sent here suddenly after Surdeis attempted to kill himself after a great misfortune happened upon him.
With feelings of rage, despair, and regret, Surdeis vowed with resolute determination that this time he would not allow himself to be weak, focusing his entire being on training and learning skills within the middle continent of Euten.
Thankfully, Surdeis, with his unique ability that lets him learn whatever skill he sees, grew at an astonishing rate and overcame challenges upon challenges.
8 years had passed by and he had climbed the grueling mountain of humanity, reaching its peak. With his insurmountable power, he left each battlefield as if a great calamity had struck, becoming known as the strongest human, [The Walking Calamity].
Now he had one goal: become a god or die trying.
Soon becoming a god was within his grasp until...
Surdeis was about travel to the east to master the lost art of Ki when a demon portal suddenly opened again.
This marked the start of the demon empire's attack to the World Tree after what seemed to be decades of preparation.
Antalunan civilizations were unprepared, still in the middle of their useless squabbles for supremacy, as the demon army started their unstoppable march. It didn't take them long to destroy everything, including the last bastion of the World Tree.
….
Surdeis opened his eyes
He had exhausted all his health, mana, and stamina potions. He was already running on fumes but he still fought. Thanks to his Legend Ranked armor [The Undying King's Resilience], his vitality returned rapidly.
Bam! bam! bam!
It came to the point where only the sound of shields banging and demons marching was all he heard. It wasn't long till they had successfully surrounded him and assumed formation.
Inhale.
"*exhale* finally, some mana regenerated"
Unluckily for them, the man called [The Walking Calamity] regained some gas in his tank.
Surdeis slowly raised his glaive. It was another legend rank item [The Undying King's Will].
He pointed it at the direction where the mana was most dense. There he felt a sinister aura.
'Their leader huh, what fearsome presence...'
[Hundred Spear]
He let go of the glaive but it remained floated.
Surdeis used a [Conjurer]'s skill. Copying an object and recreating one made of mana, and repeated it a hundred times.
The glaive produced another glaive in each of its sides. Repeating again until he was surrounded by a hundred which all possessed the same deadliness of the original weapon.
"[Push]."
A simple [Sorcerer] skill that pushes an object in a consistent controlled force.
swish swish swish
All glaives flew towards the direction they pointed, piercing all that came in their paths.
It was a simple yet effective combination that was only possible for him thanks to his unique ability [Photographic Reflex].
The sounds of banging shields stopped. Soon, it was replaced with wails of agony as the glaives pierce through heavy armor like butter.
In the middle of the chaos, he saw a glimpse of a demon that stood out. It had slit closed eyes and was smiling gently, as if mocking him.
[Return]
The glaives suddenly stopped then came back to him.
[Push]
swish swish swish
"Gah!"
"Urk!"
He repeated this process again. Then again. Then again. Until all the demons that surrounded him became a mountain range of dead bodies.
"What a mess fufu. Your title truly fits you, the Walking Calamity."
Then he saw him, wearing an elegant white silk robe with golden flower prints and hair tied to a knot. The male smiling demon said as it walked towards him in a leisurely manner. He looked friendly but the pressure he exerted was like an ocean of fire.
As if he was challenged, Surdeis exerted his own pressure.
Fuooom!
The demon's closed eyes opened slightly. As for the remaining demons, they all unconsciously stepped back and some dropped to their butts.
"Oh my, how terrifying."
Without responding, Surdeis then proceeded to gather all the hundred glaives and pointed it towards the demon.
"[Push]."
All the glaives flew towards the demon.
swish swish swish
However, the demon still smiled and maintained his composure.
As hundreds of glaives was about to hit him, A huge round blackness suddenly appeared. Like a vacuum, it swallowed all the blades, leaving nothing, not even dust, behind.
Surdeis eyes went open with shock. His Legend Rank item, gone just like that.
"Are you enjoying yourself, brother?"
A naughty feminine voice was heard. She appeared out of another round blackness near the smiling demon. She wore a white fitted dress that flaunted her shapely body. Like the smiling demon it had golden flower prints. But, unlike him, she held no presence.
"No sister, just doing a menial task."
Surdeis didn't stood idly as these demons chatted. He launched himself at them using the most mana efficient skills he had.
[Blood Lance] [Primordial Strength] [Push]
From the pool of blood, he created a lance. He then activated a skill that enhanced his strength and
'Splash!'
Blood splashed and a small crater was formed after his feet left the ground. Further enhancing his forward momentum with [Push], he flew like a black and red streak of lightning towards the demon pair.
These all happened in less than a blink of an eye. The pair were caught by surprise for only a split second. But Surdeis knew that this split second decided who lives and dies.
As his lance was about to hit the male demon who had swung his thin single edged sword to counter a moment late,
Pang!
An arrow parried his lance and a golden barrier appeared.
Two beings appeared behind the mists of war. One was a female holding a bow and the other was a hulking man over 10 feet tall.
The male demon's smile turned into a slight frown as he continued to swing his sword from below his waist. White flame of concentrated intense heat ignited the sword as it cleanly cut through the neck of the tattered black armored man.
Winners and losers can indeed be declared within split-seconds, but this time, Surdeis was the one who was a moment late. The smiling demon continued his counterattack.
Slash.
"A menial task."
Surdeis heard as he felt heat pass through his neck.
Blood rained in his view, this time It was his own.
"A lone wolf suffers death in a harsh winter, dying without the heat of his brethren. Or so they say."
The female demon in front of him said.
The black armored man's memories flashed before his eyes as he fell to the bloody ground and his vision slowly faded to black.
'...one mor-'
...
Becoming a god was within Surdeis' reach.
That was until he died trying.
….
- Writer
