The New World - Chapters 1-10

So I could get five health a minute against however many bats I could fit in the radius of agony. Not the most promising thought, but whatever. I could handle it. What I really needed was to learn how to use Agony. As I wondered, a screen popped up.

[Agony - Drains all nearby units health, including the caster. The more health the caster drains from themselves a second, the larger the effective range of the aura. Damage to self reduced by constitution. Willpower increases damage of Agony. Current conversion: 1.08(Willpower bonus)/.945(Constitution bonus) = 1.14]

Well fuck. The math was surprisingly complicated, but it made sense for the most part. Willpower helped pain tolerance while constitution made me harder to damage. With that in mind, I willed the power to activate.

[AGONY LETS DANIEL STEAL HEALTH FROM OTHER PEOPLE TO HEAL WOUNDS FASTER]
- Chapter 3
------------------------
The bonuses were more than noticeable by this point. I couldn't believe how much better I was at swinging my fists already. The most noticeable difference was in the sheer quickness of me. The general speed buff made me far faster, especially when combined with the hand speed bonus. My fists would become blurs in my eyes at times. Sweet.
[DANIEL'S PUNCHES ARE BLUR SPEED]
- Chapter 3
------------------------
To get there, I needed to be quiet. I could be right beside one, as long as they didn't hear me. I snuck around my little cove of rocks for a while before a notification popped up.

[Sneak(lvl 1) - skill unlocked]

I practiced with agony on while rolling around, dodging imaginary swords'n'shit. After a few levels in sneak, dodge, and pain tolerance later, I enacted my plan.

Which was just be super quiet. I snuck for about ten feet before a bat appeared above me. As its wings unfurled, the bat appeared into existence from nothing. It looked surreal. I froze in place that instant, terrified and on edge.

The bat swooped down, landing on the ground beside me. It opened its mouth, trying to taste for me. Waving its wings, it got closer and closer until it was inches from me.

Cold sweat poured down my back as I held my breath. I could feel my blood beating in my ears. My left eye twitched out of sheer nervousness. I got another notification.

Skill level! [Desperation(lvl 17)

My mind went into a tirade. Fuck you schema. Fuck you, fuck you, fuck you. I hated the damn thing. I hated it with a burning passion. My teeth clamped as my fists clenched. I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for the stupid ass schema. I wouldn't have had a bat breathing down my neck either.

Skill unlocked! [Scorn(lvl 1)]

The rotting flesh in between its teeth smelled like sulfur and week old roadkill. I could become a part of that rotting meat if I didn't stand still. My eyes stared at the creature inspecting the ground inches from me. Goddamn was it stressful.

The bat glanced up at that moment before flying back up. The wind off its wings brushed the sides of my face, cool and refreshing. Fuck was that hard.

I snuck for a few more feet, gaining levels in the skill rapidly. I reached halfway between the pools and my cove. My backpack sat a few feet away, full of goodness I could eat. Alright, maybe just a few snacks, but jesus was I hungry.
[DANIEL SNEAKING AROUND A CAVE FULL OF GIANT INVISIBLE BATS]
- Chapter 3
----------------------------
With that in mind, I walked over towards the flat piece of ground before I activated agony. With all my damage reduction and willpower bonuses, I found the aura was around 8 feet from me in all directions. A serviceable distance for defense.
[AGONY RADIUS IS 8 FEET]
- Chapter 4
---------------------------
I set up in my stance for boxing for the speed boost. The bat glanced around before echoing its signal. Turning towards me, it flexed its wings and bolted forwards, fast as a bullet. I rolled sideways, the monster passing by inches from me. The wind flew past my face. It was damn close.
[DANIEL DODGING SOMETHING MOVING AT BULLET SPEEDS]
- Chapter 4
-------------------------
When it reached agony’s range, I darted sideways. The creature crashed into the rock like a truck, just like the other one. I ran towards it until it reeled back at agony’s aura. Now was the hard part.

I set up in my stance for boxing for the speed boost. The bat glanced around before echoing its signal. Turning towards me, it flexed its wings and bolted forwards, fast as a bullet. I rolled sideways, the monster passing by inches from me. The wind flew past my face. It was damn close.

I neared it once more, and the process repeated itself. The bat scratched me several times before clipping my shoulder with a solid gash. It hurt less than I expected, but more than I wanted, like pulling a tooth.

Soon, a sheen of sweat appeared on us both. The conflict dragged on, minutes turning to hours. By the time the bat had any wounds, we were both heaving for air. Gashes littered my body, but the bat fared no better. Blood poured from his mouth and pieces of his skin. His crashes had covered him in scrapes as well.

Once his teeth started falling out, I secured my victory. The bat’s movements slowed substantially before I began slipping in punches. I dashed in, jabbed, then dashed out. The monster always chomped where I hit it, but I pulled back just in time, every time.

The bat lost the ability to move after a while, its own tenacity working against it. I pummeled the poor thing as agony slowly whittled away its life. The body felt like slamming my fist into stone. After fifteen minutes of punching it, the damn thing finally died.
[DANIEL SAPPING AWAY A GIANT BATS LIFE OVER THE COURSE OF HOURS WITH AGONY BEFORE EVENTUALLY KILLING IT. THE BATS ARE AS HARD AS STEEL AND CASUALLY STRONG ENOUGH TO TURN ROCKS TO DUST WITH BITES AND CHARGE THROUGH STONE]
- Chapter 4
-------------------------------
My regen stats were insane compared with before. The health regen could be effective in a fight and the stamina regen was downright insane.

No matter how much I moved from here on out, I would never be tired. Well, close enough at least. If I full on sprint for over ten minutes straight, I'd start getting out of breath.
[DANIEL CAN SPRINT FOR OVER 10 MINUTES STRAIGHT BEFORE HE STARTS GETTING TIRED]
- Chapter 4
-------------------------------
So that meant around a 19% increase to agony's damage compared with its health drain. With my current health regen that would be what? 35?

Man, this shit's complicated. Fortunately I could just scope it out by feel. Of course, as I increased my health regen, agony would hurt worse. I'm not burning a small part of my health anymore. Without my regen and bonuses, I'd die in less than ten minutes.

Imagine a pain so intense, you die in less than ten minutes from it. When I turn agony up, that was what hit me, along with a notification.

Skill Level! Pain Tolerance(lvl 53)

I could notice the ever so slight reduction in pain with it. It didn't matter. This pain was overwhelming, like having a hot nail hammered through your hand. The pain never receded, and after a while, all I could do was exist.

I was bathed in that pain, forged in it. So much sheer torment that I hated every second of life. Everything became pain with agony at such an intensity. I turned it off after a ten or so minutes, leveling pain tolerance twice.

Glancing over at the dead bat, the corpse had deflated during my stay. Blood leaked out from it in all directions, like rivers of red. The bones softened, the skin dried. Agony destroyed the corpse at a basic level, and far, far faster than before.

Learning to move with this was going to be difficult. Likely, the most difficult thing I'd ever done.
[DANIEL'S REGENERATION ALLOWS HIM TO USE AGONY AT A LEVEL THAT WOULD KILL A NORMAL HUMAN IN 10 MINUTES. A COMPARISON TO THE DEAD BAT FOR HOW MUCH AGONY RAVAGES A BODY]
- Chapter 4
-------------------------
That night passed slowly. Hunger set in after several hours. I'd run away from the bat's corpse when other bat's came towards it, along with some other...things. At my cove, I grit my teeth and clenched my fists before turning up agony.

Hours had passed since then. My skin felt like fire and my bones like mush. This torture, this despair, this misery crushed me. I hated it. I hated this schema. I hated my father. I hated myself. I wanted it all gone, to all just wash away.

Why couldn't I just fight monsters anywhere near my level? Why couldn't I just have an easier way of fighting them? Why did I have to melt my body to fight them, to turn to human sludge?

There were no answers. I simply had to do this to live. I couldn't help but hate. What else was there for me. The seconds stretched out like minutes. After several more hours passed, they stretched out to hours.

I couldn't believe how long pain tolerance took to level after 60. Even after an eternity, I only reached level 73. I noticed, however, that something had changed since hitting that 70 mark.

I looked at pain tolerance again.

[Pain Tolerance(lvl 73)] - You tolerate pain better than others. -73% reduction to pain.]

It was as I thought. If pain tolerance reached 100, then I wouldn't feel pain. Every point as I got closer made a world of difference now. Time turned to normal, and eventually, agony's burn returned to what I remembered. The hardship was over.

Not a second too soon. Pain tolerance leveled to 83 as I fell asleep in my little cove of rocks.

**************************************

When I awoke, the bat's swarmed in all directions, but maintained distance from my spot. Pain tolerance leveled up to 85 as I slept. Agony was a dull ache rather than torment. Hell, I could sleep through it.

It was odd how I did that. I'd always just shut agony off when I fell asleep, but I passed out before I could. I suppose the increase to willpower had helped more than I thought it would.

Regardless, the bats felt my pain, literally. Any bat that flew within 40 feet of me howled before flying away. It seemed my new and improved agony was living up to its name by now. It was time to put it to some serious use.
[DANIEL'S REGENERATION ALLOWS HIM TO SIT WITH AGONY ACTIVE DESPITE IT LITERALLY MELTING HIS BODY AS HE USES IT. HIS PAIN TOLERANCE NOW ALLOWS HIM TO SLEEP THROUGH THE PAIN OF AGONY, AND HIS RANGE IS SO HIGH THAT BATS (WITH BODIES HARDER THAN STEEL) SCREAM AND FLEE FROM APPROACHING WITHIN 40 FEET OF DANIEL]
- Chapter 4
-------------------
At this point, I'm ravenous. I haven't eaten in two days. With my resolve steeled, I step out into my clearing before throwing another stone at a bat.

Skill gained! [Throwing(lvl 1)]

I catch the stone again as it falls. The bat squeals before diving towards me. This time I dodge with a little side step, keeping myself in agony's range. I learned from my last fight that these things are basically bulls in bat form. You can lead them pretty easily once your used to it.

The bat continued squealing out of pain. The bat tries catching me, even cutting me a few times. Some even form gashes, but the bat's body melts. I can see its life ebbing away under the might of agony.

Twenty minutes later, the bat dies as I maul it with my fists.
[DANIEL RUNS UP AND CATCHES A FALLING ROCK BEFORE IT HITS THE GROUND AND AGONY KILLS A GIANT BAT IN 20 MINUTES, LITERALLY MELTING ITS BODY AWAY]
- Chapter 4
---------------------------
As a bat came down to eat the other bat's corpse, I stayed and fought with a smile on my face. This bat fell within the expected twenty minutes, just like the last. He gave me a massive gash on my chest during one of his charges, however. If not for my high pain tolerance, I'd have died there.

But I had very high pain tolerance, and the bat did not.
[DANIEL'S PAIN TOLERANCE ALLOWS HIM TO SURVIVE A HUGE CUT TO THE CHEST. THE CUT ALSO HEALS WITHIN A COUPLE OF MINUTES]
- Chapter 4
------------------------
Perfect. When I selected the perk, I gained over 138 health and stamina from it. No amount of exertion on my part could ever make me tired either. Days of sprinting would be nothing for me now. That meant that the stamina gained from endurance was useless now. The extra bonuses more than compensated for the difference.

Agony's pain had lessened until I hardly noticed it. Instead of the constant pressure, it was a slight malaise. After a few moments of enjoying the extra energy, I checked out my skill trees.
[DANIEL HAS UNLIMITED STAMINA AND CAN SPRINT INDEFINITELY WITH NO ILL EFFECTS. HE CAN ALSO USE AGONY WITH NO SIDE EFFECTS DUE TO PAIN TOLERANCE]
- Chapter 5
---------------------
Regardless, I trained for a three or four hours, shifting my weight and my fists flying. I became a blur of movement, faster than I could keep up with. With the twelve points finished, I finished the ancient tree.
[DANIEL IS PROPER BLUR SPEED IN EVERY ASPECT OF COMBAT]
- Chapter 5
------------------
I threw a rock towards another bat, and it dashed towards me with the same easily read charge. However, when it entered agony's enlarged aura, it visibly cringed. I struck out towards the beast, as it struggled with focusing under the onslaught of pain. Within fifteen minutes, it died.

Level up! [340 exp](BloodHollow Bat(lvl 34 exp)X[1.4](Underleveled Bonus)1.5(Ancient Wisdom) = 714 exp gained. 1 level gained.
I quickly put another point into endurance before lobbing another rock at another bat. I dodged, weaved, and kited the bat to death within ten or so minutes. The thing died fast.

Level up! [350 exp](BloodHollow Bat(lvl 35 exp)X[1.4](Underleveled Bonus)1.5(Ancient Wisdom) = 735 exp gained. 1 level gained.
Another point into endurance and I killed another bat in ten minutes. Then another, and another, and another. The bats fell like flies. Flies with huge teeth, and ugly, ugly faces. Like I mean fucked up ugly.
[DANIEL CAN KILL BATS WITHIN 10 MINUTES NOW THROUGH PUNCHES AND AGONY AND CAN CASUALLY DODGE THEIR ATTACKS]
- Chapter 5
---------------
Still, killing them had become trivial. Even if they hit me, I could take 4-5 of their full on charges before I'd die. My health pool had become massive. I kept sharp. I didn't want to starve to death before I could find a way out, yet I didn't want to bite off more than I could chew either. Finding the balance was difficult.
[IT TAKES 4-5 FULL ON CHARGES TO TAKE DANIEL OUT NOW]
- Chapter 5
Oh fuckin fuck. I jumped sideways as it collided into the ground. Stone splintered beneath it. This thing was as strong as steel. It's large, white ears twitched before its mouth turned towards me. Flapping its wings, the creature cleaned off the broken rock. One of the wings looked chewed on, like something cut one of the ligaments in it. That's probably why I didn't die the second I saw it.

[Dodging(lvl 1) - skill unlocked]

I picked up a rock before tossing it away from me. These things relied on sound. I prayed this would confuse the damn thing. Luckily enough, it did. The bat dove towards the small rock I threw. Another heavy collision echoed. Its mouth chomped onto the rock.

Cracks formed on the red stone. A loud crack resounded as it crumbled in the bat's mouth. Oh man.
[[SCALING FEAT - THIS IS HOW STRONG THE BATS ARE]]
- Chapter 2
------------------------
So I went about my business. I had to kill dozens of bats to level up now. Fortunately, agony had become a force by level 32 with 11 constitution. I had 742 health, 1.3 health regen a second, 16.5 willpower, and 13% damage resistance. Agony was stacked. Stacked up to a whopping 107 damage a minute. I could kill a level 35 bat in seven minutes without beating the shit out of it with my fists.

The main difference agony caused now, however, wasn't damage. It was the control it gave me over the bats. They would howl in, well, agony when they got in its now enormous radius. Even with this increased speed of about five minutes per bat, I could only manage about 1 level every two hours or so. That didn't bother me though.
[AGONY'S RADIUS IS NOW 'ENORMOUS' AND THE EFFECT IS ENOUGH TO MELT A BAT TO DEATH WITHIN 7 MINUTES ON ITS OWN]
- Chapter 5
-----------------------
With that I walked out into dimly lit caverns with little bags of water as my guides. The cave was nothing like I remembered when Micheal and I first came here. The stalactites formed sharp points like teeth. The ridges of the walls molded into twisted, warped faces. Any insects I saw curled up and died.

That was likely due to agony though. I got a notification at that point.
[AGONY IS POWERFUL ENOUGH TO INSTANTLY KILL NORMAL INSECTS]
- Chapter 5
---------------------
The bear roars out with enough force that the ground quakes. A stream of cold sweat pours down my forehead in an instant, activating desperation. The stat boost is nice and all, but this thing's gonna kill me. In that moment, it scrapes its claws on the cave's ground.

A barrage of sparks ignite from the monster's claws as they drag on the ground. Aw fuck. The red mist grows around it, making it seem even bigger. Its eyes meet mine, and we match our gaze for a few seconds.

Of course, during this whole heated exchange, I beat the shit out this poor bat beneath me. Right as the bat dies, the bear roars like thunder once more before charging towards me. I run behind a stalactite before the sounds of its stomps grow in my ears.

Agony only makes it madder before I leap out from behind the stalactite. An explosion of rock explodes from behind me. Splatters of stone bite into my skin, like a heavy, sharp rain. From the dust cloud, The bear charges forward, far faster than the bats.
[BEAR HE'S FIGHTING IS STRONG ENOUGH TO SHAKE A CAVE WITH A ROAR AND CASUALLY BARREL THROUGH LARGE STALACTITES]
- Chapter 5
------------------
The bear jolted towards me, speeding like a bullet. Like a thousand tiny fires, its claws cut into the stone floor as it reached me. Unlike the bats, it learned from last time. As I sidesteped, the bear reached out a paw. A large gash cut into my stomach, reaching my organs.

The pain isn't even that bad, but I spit up blood. My hp fell by a third from that tap. This thing had tremendous power in each of it's paws. They hit with the force of cars crashing when the bear raised off it's front legs and slammed them into the ground.
[DANIEL TANKS AN ATTACK THAT CUTS THROUGH HIS STOMACH TO HIS ORGANS]
- Chapter 5
------------------
It gave me the boost I needed. It slashed diagonally towards my right. The spiked fur slashes against my cheek before I torque hard into my next punch. Like slamming my fist into a wall, I hit the bear.

A bone breaks in my hand before the bear swipes again. I lean towards his strike, dodging underneath as his fur cuts my hair. With another heavy strike, I push off my feet and slam my fist into the monster's side.

Another bone in my hand breaks before the bear headbutts forward. I sidestep before stepping forward, turning my heels, and dragging my fist behind me.

The bear pulls its face from the rock as my punch collides with its nose. For the first time, it stumbles backwards in the fight. I lunge towards it, building force in my fist as I charge forward. My fist impacts into its nose, breaking the bones of my wrist and knuckles.

Yet, it falls instead of me.
[DANIEL'S PUNCHES HURT THE BEAR AND HE TANKS MULTIPLE BROKEN KNUCKLES]
- Chapter 5
-----------------
My mind wandered as I cut off agony. It had been a long time since I had it off, several days at least. Even though the discomfort was slight, it became a painful norm. Within minutes, all the broken bones, skin, blood, and other stuff I didn't know I had in me, had restored itself.
[DANIEL HEALING A BUNCH OF BROKEN BONES, CUTS, AND DEEP GASHES WITHIN MINUTES]
- Chapter 5
-----------------
Normally the skill would be awful, but with my limitless stamina, it was a nice little bonus. I wouldn't be using it for long though. Agony's area of effect would wreck all his little bugs, giving me a massive edge versus him. He'd be the bane of mages with that elemental resistance, but agony's damage wasn't elemental. It liquified your body at a basic, primal level. The pain tears your mind apart. The aura eats away at what keeps your bones and blood together. It was like...hatred given a physical form.
[AGONY IS ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO RESIST]
- Chapter 6
-----------------
As one dove for me, I ducked below the teeth before pushing off my heels. My torso rotates, my hand building force before slamming into the bat's stomach. Like hitting a pillow of organs, the bat belches blood. Collapsing on the ground beside me, the bat squirms around. I don't bother killing it. Agony will do the job for me.

Another swoops down, then another. I miss the second bat. When the third one neared me, I charged towards its teeth. Tucking my fist against my side, I turned my body. My feet pressed against the ground hard when my fist smashed into the bat's open mouth.

The bat's teeth sliced into my arm, but my whole forearm was lodged in its throat. I grip its insides before smashing it into the ground, over and over. A thin sheen of bat's blood coats me before I toss the corpse aside. Two notifications greet me.
[DANIEL FUCKS UP STEEL-HARD GIANT BATS WITH EASE IN CQC]
- Chapter 6
---------------------------
I flipped backwards, rolling on the ground. The red, spined bear roared as it charged me, but I got up in time to plant my feet. I was a dreadnought brute, not a cursing shaman.

The bear slung its weight into its right paw, but I leaned towards the attack in a lunge. My fist followed behind me, building in force. As the paw skimmed by the top of my head, my knuckles clashed into his cheek. The bones in my arms shook and creaked under the strain, but they held. My shoulders and arms screamed at the incoming force, but they did not relent. They obeyed my iron will, withstanding the force of the hit.

The force of my hit slid me backwards a few feet before I torqued another hook into the bear's face, then another. The hit's were like hitting a sandbag full of lead, but I kept hitting. The bear gnawed and slashed and cut and bit and clawed and roared. I pushed forward, dodging his slow, lumbering blows and returning with my own.

Over an hour passed, my mental endurance waning. The bear had slipped in several slits into my skin. A set of four deep claw marks ebbed in my chest. Several of my knuckles lacked skin. Blood dripped from my mouth from when the bear had back handed my gut, sending me flying.

The bear was even worse off. No nose, eyes or ears, the beast lashed out with wild, desperate attacks. I circled it, slipping in free hooks when I could. Welts had formed in its sides from the continuous bruising. I kept my distance for a while, keeping agony down as I regenerated my wounds. Agony gave the bear no idea where I was, so I just sat by the pool, cooling off as it died.

Once I was healed, I went forward again with a renewed charge. The bear stumbled and fell like a giant sack of flour. I dove on top of the beast and beat it further. My hands slowly but surely turned him to a thick soup of blood. A notification appeared.
[DANIEL BEATING THE FUCK OUT OF ONE OF THE EARLIER TYPES OF BEAR. HE CAN PUNCH THEM WITHOUT BREAKING HIS HANDS NOW AND ACTUALLY DAMAGE THE FUCKERS WITH HIS PUNCHES]
- Chapter 6
--------------------
The sentinel picked me up in a colossal palm. He slung me through the air as I flew with the grace of a bird, both its wings broken. I landed on my legs, snapping the bones in both. Even with 87% pain reduction, breaking both legs still hurts.

Within five minutes of waiting, my legs are back to normal. After the ordeal, I went about slaying bats while saying obscenities about the sentinel's mother. I know, I'm an excellent multi-tasker.
[DANIEL HEALS TWO BROKEN LEGS IN 5 MINUTES]
- Chapter 7
----------------------
The bear tries another ground slam to blow me back. This time I jump up, dodging the shockwave before slamming my fist into its sides. This time, the bear never surprises me. I'm ready for its tricks.
[DANIEL DODGES A SHOCKWAVE, MAKING HIM SUPERSONIC IN REACTIONS]
- Chapter 7
--------------------
The grueling battle lasts an hour, but I come out with only scrapes and bruises this time. The extra constitution doesn't just make me harder, it makes me heavier too. The bear headbutted me in my chest, yet I wasn't sent flying. Sliding, sure, but I wasn't sent tumbling.
[DANIEL TANKS HITS FROM THE BEAR WITH RELATIVE EASE, DESPITE THE BEARS STRENGTH]
- Chapter 7
------------------
I wake the next day, clear and in control. After a few swallows of water, I trek out into the day. After an hour of travel, I'm busy caving in a bat's skull with a stomp before I gain another level. Whoop whoop.
[CASUALLY ONE SHOTTING BATS]
- Chapter 7
-----------------------
I had slowly built up my constitution over several days, making the increase in weight unnoticeable. I literally doubled in weight that instant. My bones turned to steel. When I slammed my hand into the stone floor beneath me, my gauntleted hands made a thin sheen of powder. I could crush stone with my hits.
[DANIEL CAN CRUSH STONE WITH CASUAL HITS]
- Chapter 7
---------------------
With 24.2 constitution, I had 52% damage resistance. I was over twice as tough now, my flesh becoming like wood and my bones like metal. I was over ten times tougher than when I started, not including hp regen or agony. The only problem was that my body was starting to become difficult to work with.
[DANIEL'S FLESH IS COMPARABLE TO WOOD AND HIS BONES TO METAL]
- Chapter 7
-----------------------
As I got closer, the eel uncoiled and turned towards me. I ran behind a pillar of stone as streaks of energy sparked through the air. Behind the pillar, I closed my eyes with little marks left from the blinding lights. The eel thrashed in the water, launching dozens of arcs of electricity towards me.

The sheer volume of bolts amazed me, creating a thunderstorm's worth of them in seconds. The entire cavern lit up at the fireworks display. If I stood out from this rock, I'd be dead in an instant.

But, you see, I am behind this rock. The eel slowly died to agony, being within its range and all. The exp notification appeared,
[CHEESES A MINI-BOSS BY STAYING BEHIND A ROCK AND LETTING AGONY KILL IT FOR HIM]
- Chapter 7
---------------------
I finalized the Titanic perk. The very matter that made me reorganized into strut, powerful chains, locking me in place. The air around me stopped being as cool. My skin insulated better. A fire would no longer burn my skin in seconds, it would take minutes. The ground didn't press against my feet. My feet pressed into the ground.

The cells of my muscles thickened, adding strips of mass along my frame. My weight evened out a bit as my gaunt frame filled out some. When I clenched my fist, a new power returned in kind. As if exploding with energy, I leapt, rolled, sprinted, and punched with abandon. Endurance was hard to notice. Constitution had been a slow process. Strength, well, every single point was massive by comparison. You could even say the difference was...titanic.
[IS A LOT STRONGER AND IS VERY RESISTANT TO FIRE]
- Chapter 7
---------------------
The golem crashed through the field of mana before slamming his hands at me. I sidestep, bits of stone tapping my skin. I charge forward and smash a blow into his thigh boulder. A powder dusts from my fist, but no damage is done. The golem slams his fist into my shoulder.

I fly backwards, bruises forming as I land. The golem pulls boulders from its body, making its arms enormous. Like swinging whips, the earthen thrall slams fist after fist towards me. I dodge several strikes, but the attack never ceases. Two or three blows skim me before the golem turns a full circle.

Its arm drags behind it before colliding with me. A deafening echo ushers from my shoulder as I slid my feet from where I stood. I don't fall over. I stay standing after the blow, pieces of stone falling from my shoulder, face and hand.

"Is that all you've got?"

The golem rears back and lobs another heavy strike, but I dart forward. The golem's arm smashes the rock beneath us before I press my heels into the ground. I plant my feet. I clasp my hands, turning them into clubs. I torque in a circle and clobber my fist into the golem's side.
[DANIEL DODGES AND THEN TANKS MULTIPLE HITS FROM A STONE GOLEM THAT CAN BREAK STONE WITH ITS HITS]
- Chapter 8
------------------
I slide back, my arms crossed from blocking the blow. "Come on Golem. We've just started."

I duck under a blow with my fist dragging behind me. With a whipping hook, I crush my fist into its side. A sharp, cracking boom resonated through the cavern. A set of bats flew away, terrified of the fight.

My body held on as we traded blows for minutes at a time. Agony burnt the creature's stone body, melting the rock to jelly. Scrapes on the boulders turned to cracks that turned to cleaved slabs as we fought. The massive health pool of the golem waned over time, mine did not.

In the last moments of the battle, I ducked under a slice of the stone and countered with a hook. Another blow missed me as I ducked, and I countered again. I weaved in counter after counter until chunks of its face fell apart. More like fighting a mountain than a monster, I tore it apart with my granite fists and agony's aura.

When the golem died, I almost felt sorry for the poor thing.
[BRAWLS A STONE GOLEM TO DEATH, WITH AGONY BEING ABLE TO MELT THE STONE TO JELLY]
- Chapter 8
----------------
The bats increased in volume, but I dispatched them with mechanical proficiency. I couldn't not kill them if I tried. I found myself daydreaming as I fought them, the motions of murder practiced till they required no effort. As I jogged forward, an hour passed of further monotony.
[THE BATS ARE FODDER TO HIM NOW]
- Chapter 8
-------------------
I pounded my fists together before charging forward. Above the golem, water spiraled into spears. The golem lobbed them at me with large sweeps of its arms. They shot forward like glass bullets. I bent backwards, dodging the first, but another stabbed into my foot, then through my shin.

Like kicking a glass table, the pain shot through my leg, electric and vibrant. I rose my fist and smashed the ice spear. I grimaced before smashing the one through my foot. I ducked sideways, dodging another spear. I grit my teeth as I pulled my feet and shin from the ice spear. Blood poured from the wounds. Cracks and a sick sucking sounded from the wound as I did so.

The mana wall rippled, and I sensed a little fear from it.

Another spear shot forwards, I ducked below. Shutting down agony, I let my regeneration start.  Another lance of ice came, and I dove onto the floor. A few seconds later, the snapping sound of ice forming started again. I glanced up as the golem torqued another javelin towards me.

I rolled sideways as the ice appeared beside me. The bones in my foot and in my shin had reformed already, letting me stand again. I limped behind a boulder before ice clashed against the rock. A cool mist of ice sprayed over me. Another deafening crack and another gust of icy mist.

The golem's stomps echoed through the cavern, their volume growing with each step. A few more seconds pass, and my legs skin wraps back around my leg. Not gonna lie, it's pretty gross. I glance up and make a plan. Roll forward and charge the damn thing.
[DANIEL'S REGENERATION AS WELL AS HIM DODGING A COUPLE BULLET-LIKE ICE LANCES]
- Chapter 8
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I raced over towards the next pool while killing bats. Even if one of them slammed into me, I wouldn't be thrown off balance. I was like a wall now, and they couldn't fight me anymore. One slammed into my back, and literally splat. Blood shot everywhere. It was super gross.
[HE'S SO DURABLE THAT THE BATS CAN NO LONGER HURT HIM, AND WILL KILL THEMSELVES IF THEY CHARGE INTO HIM AT FULL SPEED]
- Chapter 8
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Agony wasn't workable with a team, unless someone was very long range. Agony worked by an area system. It covered about fifty feet from me now when cranked up. It left most bats squirming for mercy, killing them in less than two minutes. I couldn't imagine facing me at level one. Agony's aura would kill me in 6 seconds.
[AGONY CAN'T BE USED WITH A TEAM AS THE ATTACK IS INDISCRIMINATE. IT KILLS NORMAL PEOPLE WITHIN 6 SECONDS (DANIEL HAD NORMAL HUMAN STATS AT LEVEL ONE)]
- Chapter 8
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This time there was no fear. Defeating this piece of shit wouldn't even take fifteen minutes. I ran towards him, my steps thumping on the ground. When I hit the bear, it flew back. When it him me, I barely felt pain. My fists sunk into the beasts soft body, like punching a pillow. Within a few minutes, I beat the thing to death.
[DANIEL CAN EFFORTLESSLY BEAT THE BEARS TO DEATH AND THEY CAN BARELY HARM HIM ANYMORE]
- Chapter 8
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That was when I reached a cyan pool. Filled with disappointment, I approached the glowing water before a screeching howl roared out. For the first time in weeks, it was a human voice. I shut off agony before running towards the source of the sound. A part of my filled with hope at seeing Micheal.

Micheal wasn't there. A short, brown haired girl was here, with a bow at her side. Leather armor, with a white aura and a bow on her back, she had dropped a cup of tea across a heated gem. The drink steamed while she held both her hands against her sides, shaking.

I glanced at her, wondering if agony really hurt that bad. I suppose it would, especially with a low health pool. As I neared her, she scrambled backwards while screaming. I frowned as I approached and said, "What the fucks your problem?"

She nocked an arrow and sent it flying towards my chest. The blade of it sunk at most an inch deep, so I pulled it out. Her face went pale. She shouted, "Get away from me, troll!"
[AGONY IS EXTREMELY PAINFUL TO PEOPLE AND AN ARROW ONLY PIERCED ABOUT AN INCH INTO DANIEL'S CHEST]
- Chapter 8
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She frowned. She couldn't have been older than 20, but was definitely not young either. Another arrow spun from behind her, straight at my eye. I bent my head down, and the arrow hit my forehead, driving into the bone a half inch. With all my pain reduction, it hurt like smashing your hand in a doorway. In other words, pretty fucking bad.
[DANIEL REACTS TO AN ARROW SORT OF AND SORT OF IGNORES AN ARROW TO THE SKULL]
- Chapter 8
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A bat flies towards Stacy, but I walk in front of it. The bat smashes into my chest like running into an iron wall. I step back from the impact and wrap my arms around it. I crush it. The bat squeals as I squeeze the life from it. Blood shoots out its mouth. The Colossal perk essentially doubles my strength when I'm fighting without any weapons. That means squeezing things too.

I toss the deflated bat aside before saying, "So the schema is an enormous AI?"
[CASUALLY BRICK WALLING THEN SQUEEZING A BAT TO DEATH]
- Chapter 9
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He hands me a small, broken piece of a mirror. I pulled it from his hand and said, "Well fuck me."

There I was, looking like a giant. I was 7 feet tall. What the fuck. What the actual fuck happened. I'd bulked up some, though I was still lithe and lean. My hair fell down my sides, tucked behind my back. My hands were large and brawny. Callouses covered my knuckles, along with scars. One traced down the side of my forehead, from when I first fought the bat. I glanced at a few other parts of myself, noticing a few scars along my arms, sides, and chest.

My skin turned a bit...gray too. Not crazy gray but noticeably so. David and Stacy weren't short. I was just really tall. When I think about it, the bats and bears had gotten smaller, but everything was sort of dark all the time. It made it much harder to discern little details like that. The only light I had were these little plastic bags full of blue water. It made me look like I had little blue, glowing tumors all over me. With the streaks of dried blood on me, it was no wonder they were terrified of me.
[DANIEL LOOKS SCARY]
- Chapter 9
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Veins appeared on my neck, tracing down my shoulders. I grunted then roared as I lifted the rock golem off the ground. The golem kicked towards my face. I headbutt the things foot, cracking its boulder foot. I pulled the golem down and smashed it into the floor.

Cracks appeared in the ground from the force of the slam. The golem fractured all over as arrows snapped into stone around me. One stabbed into my back. I pulled it out and shouted, "Watch where the fuck your aiming."

Stacy shouted, "Sorry."

I drove the arrow into the golem's face. The golem smashed my jaw. I spit out blood before pushing it down onto the floor. I pulled my legs over its sides, pinning it down. I then ground and pounded it's poor face to dust. My blows blared across the cavern, like ripples of sound. The golem's life dwindled before I wrapped my hand around its face. I pushed it into the floor, again and again and again.
[DANIEL EASILY KILLING A GOLEM, BREAKING ITS FOOT WITH A HEADBUTT AND BREAKING THE FLOOR WITH A BODY SLAM. ALSO TANKING AN ARROW TO THE BACK]
- Chapter 9
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Anyway, I cranked agony to full as Stacy and David shot arrows from afar. Their arrows caught in the mana, sticking six or so inches deep in it. Agony, on the other hand, caused the wizard to scream.

And scream he did. He summoned skeletons, zombies, mice, beetles, bats, and ghouls. They charged towards me as sweat poured from his face. The skeletons broke under my fists. The mice were torn asunder. I pulped the zombies to mush. The beetles collapsed along with the bats before reaching me, agony's aura engulfing them.

Each summoned enemy gave full experience. Notifications appeared, raining down as I killed the endless summons while the wizard's flesh melted off his face. As if by some miracle, he kept fighting even when his nails fell off and his cheeks corroded.

I couldn't even bear to look at him. His howls would no doubt haunt Stacy and Micheal for many nights to come. He used healing spell after healing spell. It didn't matter. His mana pool was no doubt enormous, but I was a specialist in long term combat. He was working with very high totals. I was working with very high regeneration. Over time, I would win out.

And win out I did. The fight stretched on for hours. If not for agony, I wouldn't be able to reach him in the mana. I couldn't breath in it, let alone fight in it. That's how thick it was. If not for agony, the fight would be impossible for me.

But I have agony, so it's just an experience fest. It's a good chance for Stacy and David too. I didn't trust them fully yet, but holding their hands so much annoyed me. They should be strong enough to handle bats by level 20ish or so.

The hours stretched until Stacy and David were dooms-daying at the back,

Stacy shouted, "It's immortal. We can't kill it!"

I rolled my eyes as I smashed a rat underfoot. I shouted, "Come on. It's only been a few hours. Calm down."

David shot an arrow through a skeleton, "I don't think I can make it."
[DANIEL FUCKING UP A HOARD OF ENEMIES AND MELTING AN EVIL SORCERER THROUGH HIS MULTITUDE OF HEALING SPELLS]
- Chapter 10
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Before she replies, I begin siphoning my mana into the gem until its depleted. As I regenerate mana, I pull it into the gem. A mild, throbbing headache forms when I do so. My nose bleeds before regenerating. When I check my status screen, I have a debuff called mana depletion. It reduces my health by 10 a minute. Essentially nothing.

Without all my resistances and pain tolerance, it would no doubt be crippling. Mages have it hard too, I guess.
[DANIEL'S REGNERATION LETS HIM IGNORE WOULD-BE CRIPPLING INJURIES]
- Chapter 10
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If I focused, I could move my eyes towards different directions. One could face up and the other down. The effect disoriented me, but that was the difference. I'm sure the reflex difference would show itself with time as well.
[DANIEL CAN MOVE HIS EYES INDEPENDENTLY]
- Chapter 10
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When I banged my hands together, they bounced back from each other like banging blocks of granite. I cracked my neck and punched myself in the face. It didn't hurt. All the constitution and strength had given my body all that it needed to be a devastating weapon.
[DANIEL CAN TANK HIS OWN PUNCHES WITH EASE]
- Chapter 10
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Elated, I started laughing before Stacy said, "What's so funny?"

I smiled and said, "You know that aura skill I have? The one that causes pain?"

"Yeah."

"It does 36 health a second now."

Her and David's jaws dropped. Like being punched in the gut, David fell to the floor and said, "Please, don't use it on us. For the love of god-"

I said, "What? Fuck no. Why would I do that? Besides, what's so scary about that?"

Stacy shivered as she said, "I've got 60 health. david has 80."

I frowned before saying, "And? Stay wayyyyyyyyy the fuck back when we fight. No problem."

Stacy gulped and said, "It's just weird, yah know? Having someone who can kill you in less than two seconds with a thought. It's scary."

I rolled my eyes and said, "There's people who carry around guns who can do the same thing. Someone with an AK-47 can kill dozens of people in seconds too, from way farther away than my aura. Besides, I could have just killed you both by beating you to death too. The aura doesn't change that, and it doesn't change the fact that I'm not going to kill you guys."

I shrugged and continued, "What about people in cars? I'm sure you've walked right beside one. They could kill you with just the twitch of their wrist. Jesus. I'm not some crazed murderer."
[DANIEL'S AGONY IS NOW STRONG ENOUGH TO KILL EVEN LEVELLED PEOPLE WITHIN 2 SECONDS. HE SHOULD BE CAPABLE OF KILLING NORMAL HUMANS INSTANTLY]
- Chapter 10
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