(Zack)

"GIVE! ME! MORE! EX! PERIENCE!"

I punch through the goblin's head, then snarl at the others in frustration, before attacking them and ripping through them. Once they're all dead, I calm down a little and pick up my sword from where I'd dropped it.

Three days! Three days, and I've acquired only two percent of the Experience needed to hit Demon Level 2! All of the strong monsters are hiding from me, too! The Shadow of Life's probably ordered them to clear out from this area to avoid feeding me even more.

Once I calm down a bit more, I plop myself onto a tree that fell during my rampage and take a few deep breaths. I guess I've taken for granted my rapid Leveling. Admittedly, it probably is best if I slow down on that, since I'm not sure how much I can take before Power Jump hits again.

So maybe it's a good thing that the higher a Class's Rank, the more Experience they require? And the stronger I am, the less I obtain from kills?

Doesn't mean I have to be happy about it, though.

Letting out a sigh, I focus on attempting to obtain Demon Form. Again. I managed to obtain Bloodpact just fine, but Demon Form seems to be a lot more difficult. I'm sure that using Demon Form will help me acquire more Experience.

Focusing on my Demon Voice, the Demonic Aspect I picked for Dark Knight's advancement to the final Tier, I wish I'd picked Demon Wings instead. What's done is done, though, so I continue to focus on my Demonic Aspect.

The requirement for Demon Form is that I allow my Demonic Aspect 'take over' my body. With the Demon Wings, that means letting them fuse into me and spread their demonic power. With the Demon Voice, it's a lot harder since it really isn't a physical change.

At least two hours a day have been spent on this so far.

Okay, okay. At least four hours a day have been spent on this so far.

Just like earlier, I feel the shift start to take place, and I attempt to welcome it, letting it take over. Power starts to flood me, then fades away. Dammit! Again!

I'm getting close for sure, so I continue focusing on it. I continue doing so, despite the failures, knowing that I'm close. I have to be close.

A message appears in my vision as power fills me and a massive ripping sounds from behind me.

New Skill! Demon Form Active Take on the form of a Demon, greatly enhancing your powers for the duration. Boost: +10% to all Stats per Level of this Skill Duration: 60 seconds per Level of this Skill Cost: 5,000 Mana (decreases by 200 Mana per Level of this Skill)

Daaaaaaaaamn this is an expensive Skill! But I can feel a tail and wings, which are probably the source of the ripping feeling and sudden chill on my back. Turning my head, I confirm that my wings ripped open the back of my tunic when they manifested. They're leathery and black with some red marbling close to my back. My skin's crimson, now.

So's my tail, which flicks out behind me. Long and slender, like a lizard's, with a spike on the tip.

This is so fucking cool! I have wings now! I mean, they're way more expensive than Nick's, but who cares? I've got wings and can fly!

I flap my wings, taking off into the sky. It feels so natural, flying around. I keep a mental timer of how much time I have left in this form as I play around with my new, sky-bound freedom, soaring straight towards my temporary home.

This is fucking awesome! I covered the distance so fast! Time's almost up, though, so I drop down to the ground the way Nik always has. Rather than touching down, though, I end up face-planting on the ground.

"Ooooow!" I moan I sit up, feeling my form fading away as I rub my cheek. "I need to work on my landings."

A presence moves in at a high speed, and I can hear them moving through the air. Spinning, I flick my knife at them, realizing only after I've thrown it that it's not some form of flying monster, but Nik.

Thankfully, he catches the knife, rather than getting impaled by it.

"Sorry, Nik," I say as he lands. "Why do you look concerned?"

"What was that?" He asks. "I came for the checkup and saw you… like that. What was that?"

"Oh," I rub my head. "Heh. So Alexander – the Shadow of Life – tried killing me with an army of Goblins, a bunch of Bounty Beasts, and a Fallen Adventurer. Not necessarily in that order. Anyway, I reached Ascension, so I'm now Ascension 1. By the way – that's what the 'Unavailable' is on our statuses. See?"

Character Information Dark of Fire Name: Zack Primary Class: Demon Level: 251 Ascension: 1 Title: None Unavailable: Unavailable Health: 8,250/8,250 Mana: 5,300/5,300 Strength: 775 Intellect: 311 Endurance: 501 Willpower: 363 Vitality: 825 Wisdom: 530 Agility: 366 Perception: 253

Nik reads it silently for a few moments. I love my new Class, even if it's slow as fuck to Level.

"Demon?" He asks.

"Rank 3 Class," I nod. "Requirements are having mastered Champion of Darkness, Archpriest of Blood, and all of Dark One. I'm probably going to work on getting Angel alongside this."

"You can use Skills locked against your Class," he says. "Not take on Classes that counter them."

"Huh?" I frown. "Didn't I tell you that Tier 4 Adventurer removes the lock on Classes? I could've been a Priest or Paladin already."

Nik groans. Guess I forgot to mention it? I could've sworn I had?

"Demon takes forever to Level, by the way," I tell Nik as I pull off the remains of my tunic and inspect them. "Other than attempting to be able to take on the Demon Form – that's the Skill you saw me using that made me a Demon – I've been butchering things to hell and back. Still only Level 1, as you could see from my Status."

"Indeed," he says. "Any information to share on Ascension?"

I tell him about the perks to it, as well as the fact that Experience is made harder just because I've Ascended, but also about the Bonus Experience increase.

"That's a shame," he says. "You've plenty sitting around, don't you?"

"Yeah," I answer. "Though I probably won't use it for now, due to the risk of Power Jump. Plus, why use it on the easier Levels just because they're hard? I'm going to see what it's like to Level normally for once."

"I don't think that's even possible," Nik snorts. "I'm sure you're already further than I'd be there. How much are you using the Skills for Dark Knight and such?"

"A lot," I set the remnants of my tunic on fire and toss it into the fire pit before adding in some logs from my Inventory. "I probably wouldn't be at two percent Experience yet if I hadn't. I think the Skills related to the Demon Class will boost me a bit more. I just wish the bastard didn't send all the Fallen Adventurers and Bounty Beasts into hiding."

"Did you really fight a Fallen Adventurer?" He asks.

"Fucker almost had me," I nod. "If it weren't for my superior equipment, I'd be dead. Several times over, 'cause of it and the literal army of goblins that fucker built to counter me."

"How many were in it?" He asks.

"A thousand or so?" I shrug. "Not really important. You going to stay for dinner?"

"If you're okay with that," he says as I pull a fresh tunic out of my Inventory and pull it on. "I'm a bit jealous that you Ascended first."

"Really?" I ask. "Oh, I guess it makes sense."

He's over a hundred years old, yet a thirteen-year-old managed to Ascend first.

"Don't compare yourself to me," I say. "You're against a literal demigod."

"Normar's a lower Level than me."

"Yeah," I shrug. "He's probably also going to race to get whatever's not at Level 50 up there, or another Class up to boost his Levels."

"Maybe," Nik snorts. "What are you making for dinner?"

"Ham."

I start cooking, and Nik asks me about my progress the last few days and if I'm planning on staying here the full duration.

"Of course," I answer. "I need to get these Levels and shit up, and the best way to do that is to stay here, hunt down Alexander's hidden allies, and beat the shit out of them."

"Alright," his gaze travels to the bucket of water I have sitting by the fire that I've used a few times while cooking. "You know that the water in Fallen Cities isn't safe to consume, even after boiling, right? It's been tainted."

"I know," I say. "That's why I made sure to learn a purification spell from the rune books in the library before coming here. Turns out that being a Demigod greatly increases one's ability to do such things."

"You seem so confident that you're a Demigod," he says. "Does your personal information say that? Or are you just calling yourself one?"

"Yeah, it does," I haven't checked. "Plus, the Crystals have all confirmed it. Right, Big Flame?"

Well, sort of! But he is, Nik, just like Normar.

Nik lets out a sigh, shaking his head.

"So," he says. "Back to Leveling things – you might take on Holy Knight to help with Levels?"

"Maybe?" I shrug. "I can certainly do it, I think. Or am I restricted until I'm Level 25? Actually, I've never known that. Does Demon count as the Class for having Dragoon at Level 25?"

"Yes."

"Damn," I say. "So once I get Demon up to Level 25, I'll be able to take on Priest."

"Why Priest?" He asks.

"It's a non-combat Class," I explain. "Its Experience doesn't bleed with Demon. I guess I should've checked into this before coming?"

"You're still learning," he ruffles my hair, and I push his hand away to fix my hair. "Smells good, Zack."

"Thanks," I look at the food, which is almost done cooking. "I wish I could bring Gold here. I'm sure he'd love helping me out. But it's too dangerous."

"Indeed," he pats my head again, and I groan. "What about when your team is assembled?"

"We'll be here a few times," I answer. "I plan on killing a lot of the stronger shit while I'm here this time. That way, there'll be a lot of newer, weaker monsters. Even if we take awhile to show up, the goblins won't be as powerful, outside of the Bounty Beasts and Elites. I also took on Fallen Hunter, since I killed the one. I'm hoping to master it before leaving here, but… Alexander's making it tough for me. That, and they're already strong as fuck. I'm going to need a lot of power to take them on by myself. That's were Demon Form comes in."

"Oh?" He asks.

"Yeah," I nod. "Even though the form itself costs a lot of Mana and only lasts a single minute per Level of it, it's powerful. I can fly, I have that tail, and they feel natural, like they've always been a part of me. No acclimation time."

"Really?" He asks, and I nod. "The wings take getting used to for us, yet you can use yours naturally? Even Druids have to take time to adapt."

"Rank 3 Class-required Rank 4 Skill," I grin at him. "It's hella powerful. It increases all of my stats by ten percent per Level of the Skill. If I master it, I can become twice as powerful for ten minutes at a cost of 3,000 Mana."

"It costs 3,000 Mana to use?" He asks.

"No," I shake my head. "It decreases by 200 Mana each Level of the Skill, thankfully. Casting it without the Skill cost me 5,000 Mana. It's one of the things I plan on Leveling here. That, and Demonic Aura."

"Demonic Aura?" He asks.

"Yep," I grin. "It works on anything with a lower Willpower than me, according to the information."

"The information?" He asks, and I realize that when I told him about the Ascension stuff, I didn't mention about the added bonus, so I let him know about being able to see a small list of Skills and how to obtain them. "That sounds handy, especially since no one's Ascended before."

"Um," I hesitate, but I think it's important for him to know. "Actually, I'm not the first to undergo the Trial."

"You aren't?" He asks.

"No," I answer. "And before you ask what it is, it's different for those born in the Boundary and those born outside of it, so I don't know what you and Nathan will undergo."

"Normar will go through the same as you," he tells me. "He was born outside of the Boundary – gods don't come here directly. He's never told anyone where he showed up, so everyone had assumed he'd been born here. The only reason we know he wasn't was because we know he's a Demigod, and Big Flame told us a long while ago that a Demigod can only be born in reality."

Makes sense, I guess, since the Boundaries are outside of reality while the gods are within it.

"So," he says. "There have been others before you?"

"Eighty-seven," I nod. "Only one of whom came from reality. And at the end of it, they all refused to continue the fight."

He stares at me, shock on his face. I then tell him that I had no memory of the Boundary when I was given the choice after the trial ended.

"What made you different?" He asks. "Why did you decide to do the fight?"

"Because of the people I knew in reality," I answer. "I had a strong, burning reason to protect reality."

He stares at me for a few moments, and I sense understanding in his mind.

"The healer," he says. "The one from your visions. You said you know him in reality."

"Yeah," I nod. "He's the reason I continued. He's been like a little brother to me through his life, even if I was an ass to him. Without what happened to him having happened, I probably wouldn't have made the choice to fight and just let myself go to the afterlife."

"What happened to him?" He asks.

"His parents," I answer bitterly. "I wasn't able to stop them from hurting him pretty bad. I tried, but I was too late. I made sure Big C knows that he's to come into my care, no matter what. I'm going to be pissed if he's not."

Nik pulls me against him into a hug, and I realize that I was getting angry and sad over it again. I want Luca to be here, but at the same time, I don't like the idea of him dying. I know it's already happened and is going to happen, but… I can't… it's just a lot for me.

Once I calm down, Nik and I eat dinner, then I let him know about connecting Gold to the System.

"What about it?" He asks.

"It's the reason why Big S hasn't done it before," I say. "He made it sound like it's easy, and I guess it is, but what he didn't mention is that it's draining on him. That's probably the reason he hasn't connected all of the Beastborn before. From the way he talked, I think he'd have no issue connecting them if it wasn't so draining and there wasn't such a high chance of them turning on the adventurers."

Nik drums his fingers on the table for a few moments as he thinks, then he nods.

"I might have something that can help with the unrest among the underground Beastborn," he tells me. "But for now, let's finish eating. When we're done, I want to fight you while you're in that new form of yours."

Sweet!