After the preparation period ended, the Aberrants began their mission of the continent’s destruction. After some time, it was obvious to the trial takers that they had a pattern.

Small waves of incursions a few times a week and one big wave once a month.

The true tests were the big waves because just like the player-controlled factions, the Aberrants were also getting stronger. It was a race to see whether the player factions could raise their defenses and armies faster than the Aberrants’ improvement or not.

Like any good leader, Viers delegated. Zerrigan handled the matter of war like a competent general. He only showed his face during the big waves so he could exert his strength as a ‘hero unit’ to turn the tide if the Aberrants were about to overwhelm the Xerg. So far, Viers’ strength was unneeded. To Zerrigan, it was a massive failure on her part if the Overlord must act to clean up her mess.

Other players, on the other hand, often joined the battle. Not because their army was often at risk but by choice. It was for the fighting experience, to temper their skills in actual combat. To them, the Victa expenditure was a worthwhile trade. After all, not everyone had the ability to conjure ‘real’ virtual opponents like Viers.

The more Aberrants they killed also resulted in more shards for them so they were pretty motivated to do it.

Viers’ enemies were the white spark holders, the Whitelands as a whole, and they were having territory problems. Other than who got the limited location to fight the Aberrants on the northern border, they also had resource disputes. Blacklands and Whitelands had the same volume of resources and territory. The difference was one side was fought over by seventeen people and the other was pretty much hogged by a single person.

Viers foresaw this problem so he enacted his unification plan right off the bat.

Whether it is Starcraft or Civilization, those with the bigger territory have an edge. Anyway, I’m curious. In this zero-sum game, for one to win there must be someone who loses, can these do-gooders maintain their moral standpoint?

Aletro gave them real-world problems so their answer was pretty important. The answer to Viers’ question was yes. Not a single one of those seventeen got butchered by another in the months to come.

All because of a girl’s doing.

Anne, the strongest among them, chose not to eat her slice of the cake -thus making others have more- and conjured another portion from elsewhere.

She openly showed her stance of not lording over or preying on other people from the same side despite her capability to do so. She gave a few good quotes too that made the others who were eager to throw fists feel lesser. Mary Sue instead made landfall on the Aberrants’ territory and raised her base there.

The first time Viers heard the report, it blew his mind.

The Aberrant's territory had natural resources for the factions. Viers also thought of expanding northward but there were all kinds of complications, such as the Aberrants were stronger in their territory and became more aggressive.

Viers’ Xerg were overwhelmed. Viers needed to stand at the frontline and defend the base to make it work. Since he still had loads of untapped resources in the Blacklands, he abandoned the northern expedition.

Anne did just that. With her and her group leading by example, the white spark holders were slowly colonizing the north. Turning the red-colored area on the map white.

She managed to make more cake to eat for the good guys!

Their armies died by the throngs but they got loads of shards from the Aberrants who died. Should I mimic… No, Anne’s fighting hard and often. Her Victa must be taking a dent, at least there’s that. Hmph, damn Mary Sue.

Whatever the case, both the white and black spark players managed to stay in Stage 5 even as time passed them by.

Which was good news for Viers. In Stage 5, he got two cultivation resources that were hard to get in the outside world.

The first was souls. Viers had an easy and ample supply of human souls from Zerrigan’s children. The human soul from them was only worth 1 Soul Power. Viers needed 980,000 Soul Power to reach Grand Soul in his soul cultivation but at the rate Zerrigan and the other queens were birthing Tyra Xerg, it was a reachable goal in a few months’ time.

Viers ran some experiments, Zerrigan’s descendants never developed an ego or a complex mind despite having a human soul, at least so far. Viers guessed it must be something to do with the brain. The brain worked, Zerrigan’s hive mind was the proof, but they were lacking compared to the real human brain. Their short time since birth was also a factor in developing consciousness.

Viers also encountered a moral conundrum. He needed souls, but he didn't have the heart to take them from babies. He thought about it and found a solution. Viers implemented the meat industries’ policy, to process the cattle, pigs, or sheep after they matured.

How great for Viers that the Xerg achieved maturity in less than three days.

And so Viers absorbed the souls from mature Xerg without an inch of guilt. Viers was that kind of man. His mind was flexible that way.

The soulless Xerg were then sent by their mother to war and died. Animal activists would label Viers as a genocidal maniac.

Viers wasn't unaware but he needed the cultivation resources so he ate the souls. Technically, Viers only ate the soul’s energy and spat out the soul’s core so he guessed these human souls could reincarnate or go to heaven.

Viers hoped these human souls would be better off wherever they went next.

The second cultivation resource he needed most in Stage 5 was time. To become a Level 3 Pathseeker one must have a small accomplishment in their Profound Codex. To achieve that, a Pathseeker must do their Profound Practice, which is different for each Codex.

Viers’ Profound Codex came with a severe drawback so although he wanted to do it as often as possible, the risk and lifestyle had forced him to do his Profound Practice less often than the average Pathseekers. He needed to make sure his well-being was secure before doing his Profound Practice. It wasn't an exaggeration to say that if he got careless, he could die at that very moment. Therefore, Viers traded cultivation speed for assurance.

Staying in the Nest, guarded by thousands of Tyra Xerg and the Alien Queen herself in a realm where there were no Level 3, 4, or 5 Pathseekers, qualified as Viers’ definition of secure.

Dia’s Biome was also qualified but since he also got shards from the Aberrants his faction killed, Viers had more to gain here.

***

Viers was sparring with Jaime again. They had done this every day. Jaime had gained rich fighting experience since his opponent was not only Viers. When fighting Virtual Aravin, Jaime currently had the ratio of winning eight out of ten battles.

Viers instructed Jaime to take his Victa Overload to the next level, bringing more lethality. Since Victa Overload was the only Arte that Aravin didn't know from their past battle.

“This Arte has so much potential. If this was not limited to the practitioners of your Profound Codex, I would have wanted to learn it,” Viers had praised it so in the past.

“When Aravin uses a super Arte that he isn't used to. That is the opportune moment to strike. Oh, I have no doubt he has several. Be ready.”

Viers also taught him about using life force. Viers’ experience with using one’s own life energy was more than he hoped but less than his bottom line. Viers taught Jaime how to maximize his trade-off between the life force lost and the power gained when burning one’s own life.

“Too much passion. Too much anger. Make your heart into ice. A blade of ice that only has one purpose. Sharpen your resolve.”

Not only techniques, Viers did not neglect to burnish Jaime’s mindset.

In the dojo where Morpheus-Viers trashed Neo-Jaime in the past, Jaime’s sword was now buried deep in Viers’ chest.

After months of training, despite Viers also improving and not holding back his Arte or Horizon, Jaime had managed to kill Viers for the first time.

Viers, of all people, knew how much of a significance that held.

The two were regenerated to their initial position in the dojo. Jaime looked happy, proud of his accomplishment but Viers looked even happier.

The AYM grew up… Enough to bring tears to my eyes.

“Again!”

Without question, Viers had forged Jaime into a sharp murder knife.

***

In the fourth month since Stage 5 began, Viers’ Profound Codex, Serpentes Renovamen finally had a breakthrough. His Intio was filled with mana too. After he got out from the Book World, he could begin the Advancement to Level 3.

Feels so long since my last level up. Getting to Level 4 will be even longer. Well, Rome wasn't built in one day, or year for that matter.

***

“Are you alright?”

After a meeting with the other Gloomsiders, Viers singled out Sakuya. She looked unwell. He found her leaning on a wall, in pain.

“Just my curse acting up. I can handle it.”

Even though her kinsmen on the outside world were not affected, Fajrin invoked the bloodline curse months ago in the Book World. Sakuya had been enduring it the whole time.

“If you can't handle it, retire. You’ve already gathered enough shards.”

Sakuya put on a strong face despite her pain.

“Thank you, Tanael-sama, but I can still hold on for a few months yet. I know my limit. If I can't endure it anymore, I plan to go into hibernation. I'll wake up to help you in the final battle. I too, am a Horseman of the Apocalypse.”

Viers accepted her resolution.

It seems Aletro’s prediction of three years is far too long… It won’t even last one year.

Like a country before going to war, Viers had stockpiled a bunch of Victa in these past months. There were very rare occasions where Viers had to fight and spend his ammo.

In his showdown with Anne, Viers planned to spend it to the last drop if he had to.

***

In Stage 1, Aletro showed that he could change the trial to suit his needs.

The same thing was occurring. An announcement was heard by every trial taker as if it was a revelation from God.

“Starting from the sixth month, one month from now, Aberrant Hulks will appear in the waves. These monstrosities are very powerful, on par with your superweapons. Take heed.”

Previously in meditation, Viers opened his eyes.

The time is ripe. This is it… The Sixth Aberrant Incursion will also serve as the final battle!