Chapter 54: Fate Plays Dice

Kai grabbed at Anaelina's wrist, but she was overwhelmingly strong, far more than she should have been. Before his stamina could drain away, he struck her arm with both of his, using leverage to break her grip.

It worked, but he nearly collapsed when he dropped back to the ground. The tingling throughout his body intensified and now he understood it for what it was: part of his soul was draining into Anaelina. Mostly he felt his Class ebbing away, but the rest of him was weakened as well.

Before he lost his strength, Kai leapt back to where he'd set his bow. In an instant he drew and released an arrow, but Anaelina was faster. She was practically a streak of silver as she ran directly into the arrow, knocking the shaft aside and then striking him.

Her blow didn't harm him even slightly, but it pushed him all the way to the shoreline where he plowed into the sand. Kai struggled to get back to his feet just in time to see her pick up his bow. She frowned as it resisted her, but a moment later she twisted it in half with a shriek of metal. It only bought him seconds, but he used that time to throw his will into his spiritual sight.

<

Name: Anaelina of Rosemount

Total Power: 142

Silver Demon: Amber Rank (80)

Physique Level: F-8 (46)

Soul Level: 4 (16)

>

He had hoped that he would discover some weakness, but it told him nothing. She was more powerful than she had pretended to be, and now her primary essence read "Silver Demon."

The only thing that he noticed was that the draining sensation had gotten much weaker when he was further away from her. She had been trying to keep him in place from the very beginning. Kai growled and pushed to his feet, intending to reach the river, but Anaelina was on him in an instant and easily lifted him off his feet.

"You could have taken the easy path, fucked me, and then died in your sleep, but I suppose you have to do everything the hard way." Her bright smile held no more teasing and even as he stared down at her, power twisted around her clothes. Silver fabric flowed from her belt, wrapping around her body until it was covered by a cloak. "I don't mind. You're not as repulsive as most of the barbarians here, but faking gets tedious after a while."

When he made another attempt to dislodge her grip, this time it was futile. Kai struggled to breathe as he felt his Class sucked away by her overwhelming power. He was still wearing his belt and his gauntlets, but he wasn't sure they offered him an advantage. Nothing but his weapon sphere and a few useless potions... wait.

Kai rammed his fist into Anaelina's stomach and she barely flinched. He struck a second time, letting his strength weaken... then on the third strike, he twisted his wrist and drove the blade of his gauntlet as deep as he could.

Anaelina grimaced and staggered, but she didn't let go of his neck. The draining became more intense and he struggled even to lift his arms to his belt, much less strike her again.

"Tougher than you look..." Her smile gained a bit of its old enticement. "I wish I could drain away all that delicious Physique, but unfortunately I can't do that yet. Maybe once I absorb your strange Class. It might be worthless for you, but it matches me so very well."

Removing the last weapon sphere from his belt, Kai pushed it into Anaelina's open wound and envisioned twisted spikes.

The Irunian steel exploded outward, impaling her body from multiple angles. Anaelina screamed like he'd never heard before and collapsed, scattering blood in all directions. Kai's feet hit the sand and his legs nearly crumpled underneath him, but he drew on the last remnants of his willpower and hurled himself into the river.

At first he thought that he'd just sink to his death, but he managed to reach a floating position on his back. As the current bore him downstream, he felt a weight recede from his soul. He was finally escaping her range. That had been his greatest fear: that even if he dealt her a mortal wound, she would be able to finish him off before dying, or worse, somehow drain his body enough to heal herself.

When the current swept him up on a rocky shore, there was no trace of her presence. His entire soul felt scraped raw. He desperately didn't want to see what she had done to him, but he was too weak to move. After several minutes lying on his back and catching his breath, Kai reluctantly turned his spiritual sight toward himself.

<

Name: Kai Clanless

Total Power: 58

Laborer Class: 0 (0)

Physique Level: F-6 (42)

Soul Level: 4 (16)

???: ???

???: ???

???: ???

>

His Laborer Class had been reduced to 0.

Kai had just enough breath to laugh bitterly. He should have known better. Her seductress routine hadn't tricked him, but he'd blindly stumbled in anyway because he was so desperate for power. Everything was the same as it had always been: his soul was fundamentally worthless.

As the rage surged inside him, Kai threw his will against the useless symbols. He inverted every exercise that had been meant to encourage the growth of his Class and instead cast it out. It resisted but he pushed harder, determined to expunge every trace of the soul that had made a mockery of his life.

Without warning he succeeded and his chest seemed to cave in. Kai cried out in agony as his soul collapsed around the absence. He wondered if removing the piece of his soul that he'd been born with meant destroying himself, then wondered if he cared.

Before he could find an answer, his thoughts dissolved into darkness and blood.

.

..

.

Kai's body thrashed wildly on the shore. What little remained of his conscious mind felt only rage and bitterness. He was beyond words and could only feel an all-consuming hatred for the fact that fate had ruined his life just as it had so many times before.

But this time, Kai was wrong. Fate or random chance, his life was not what had been ruined.

<

Talent Capacity: Void

Elemental Capacity: Void

Essence Capacity: Void

Cultivation Capacity: Void

>

And, into that void, something that should not have been swirled together...

<

Name: Kai Clanless

Total Power: 60

Physique Level: F-7 (44)

Soul Level: 4 (16)

Direboar's Strength (beta - II)

Aquagorgon's Health (beta - II)

Isulfr's Bite (alpha - I)

Monstrous Hunger (zeta - VI)

>

x

Cognosticon here: A bit short, but this is the pivotal chapter of the book. Don't want to dilute it.

This is the turning point I have been building toward. Could I have done this in five chapters instead of fifty? Yes. Likely some would have preferred it that way. Personally I don't like it when an MC is an underdog for all of fifteen minutes before becoming OP and strolling through curbstomps. I thought it was worth it to show you Kai's struggles in his world, and the fate he's struggling against, before he finally catches a break.

Those of you who have been enjoying the story so far, I hope you feel it was worth it. Kai doesn't have a special bloodline or find a magic ring, his new power flows from his struggle up to this point. He'll be forging a new path that will radically expand his capabilities.