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The Apocalypse Grinder - Chapter 54
🕑 Added 2025-06-19 21:59:23 +0000 UTC<< Chapter 53 | Index | Chapter 55 >>
You have been hit by [Azathere the Timeless Lv.????]!
Critical hit! You are stunned for 99999999 seconds
-99999999 Health [Corrupting]
-99999999 Health [Incendiary]
-9999999 Health [Piercing]
-9999999 Health [Unknown]
You are [Bleeding]!
-9999999 Health / second
You are [Burning]!
-9999999 Health / second
You are [Corrupted]!
-9999999 Health / second
You are [?@#$!]!
-9999999 Health / second
You are [?@#$!]!
-9999999% All stats
-9999999% Skill efficacy
-9999999% Mastery efficacy
-9999999% Cultivation efficacy
You have been inflicted with [Blessing of Chronos] by [Azathere the Timeless Lv.????]
All negative status effects have been negated. All damage has been reversed and negated.
That was the first message. Ronan had to read through it a few times before he was able to even start thinking about the implications.
Where was he even supposed to begin? The fact that his ancestor’s level was hidden from him? Was the number of question marks relevant? Did it mean Azathere’s level was four digits!?
Then there were the numbers. Had he inflicted that exact amount or had he simply done so much damage to Ronan in that instant that the system couldn’t even calculate it? It was mind boggling.
Add to that the status effect that the system couldn’t even comprehend, which effectively crippled any possible resistance Ronan might have mounted, there was simply too much to digest.
So Ronan decided to focus on the only important part—the blessing of chronos. His ancestor had mentioned a gift before vanishing. He assumed this was it.
Thus he immediately pulled up the second message, hoping it held a better explanation. He also didn’t want to consider the horrifying implication that there were beings out there which could reach such an absurd level of power.
How was their fledgling planet supposed to survive in such a universe? How had it done so until now!?
Heritage [Reverberating Chronosphere] has been awakened!
Status reconfigurement in process…
Estimated time remaining until completion: 14913058436 Years
14913058436y…
319249y…
7412y…
48y…
19mo…
7mo…
36d…
134h…
13h…
153m…
6m…
It was here that Ronan was grateful for his ancestor’s interference. He couldn’t be certain given that he hadn’t been watching in real time, but he suspected that whatever that white space was along with the blessing of chronos had vastly sped up the awakening timeline of his heritage.
The rapid speed ended at that final 6 minute message, which Ronan assumed had run down while he and Keith fought the two-tailed fox and then searched for a secure base. Everything had worked out nicely, leaving him with none of the suspense of waiting and the pure satisfaction of seeing what the awakening of his heritage, reverberating chronosphere, had given him.
Status has been reconfigured by [Reverberating Chronosphere] heritage!
Ronan wasted no time in pulling up his status to see what changes had taken hold. There were a few more blinking messages waiting for his attention, but now that they had a base of operations there was no rush.
He was particularly curious about the changes, because he would have expected a gift from such an ancient and powerful being to go beyond mere cosmetic shuffling. Given that Azathere had said it would help him a great deal, however, he knew it should be a potent change.
[Status]
Name: Ronan Steele
Race: Human (G)
Heritage: Reverberating Chronosphere (Current Iteration: 7) +
Level: 33
Class: Knight (Uncommon)
Fortune: 13 Bronze Credits, 249 Copper Credits
[Stats]
Health: 390/390
Stamina: 510/510
Mana: 150/150
Vitality: 39
Endurance: 48 (+3)
Wisdom: 14 (+1)
Regeneration: 10
Resistance: 28 (+1)
Strength: 67 (+5)
Agility: 24 (+2)
Intelligence: 10
Dexterity: 10
Acuity: 7
Tenacity: 34
Luck: 10
Charisma: 26 (+1)
Available Points: 0
[Traits]
Personal: Inevitable (Epic)
[Skills]
Unified Language Adaptation (Universal)
Relentless Training (Common)
Magic Strike (Common)
Vital Surge (Common)
Mighty Strength (Common)
Critical Experience (Common)
Double Strike (Common)
Magic Money (Common)
Excessive Endurance (Common)
Breaking Charge (Uncommon) (Class)
Lionheart (Uncommon) (Class)
Reverberating Path (Epic) (Blessing)
[Mastery]
Pugilist I 2/100
Mana I 0/100
Sword I 0/100
Shield I 0/100
Staff I 1/100
Spear I 22/100
Stamina I 9/100
Pain 13/100
[Cultivation]
Mind: None
Body: None
Energy: None
Soul: None
[Blessings]
Blessing of Chronos (Boundless)
After a quick scan of his newly configured status, Ronan was left confused and disappointed. If anything, all that had actually improved was the section marking his heritage.
Where before it had been a rather confusing mess which the system was unable to comprehend, it was now clearly labeled and his number of lives was marked in a more concise manner. That and the new section, blessings, which contained Azathere’s ‘gift’.
The rarity of the blessing did intrigue Ronan. Boundless sounded like one of the higher rarities, possibly nearer the top end. Even the name itself made it sound as though the blessing had no upper limit to its potential.
However, that still created more confusion for Ronan. If that was the case, why were the effects it provided so minimal? He soon wanted to facepalm at his lack of foresight as he focused on the blessing and obtained a full description of its effects.
Unsurprisingly, the final parting gift of a being with a four digit level was much more than a simple cosmetic change in his status. So much more.
Blessing of Chronos (Boundless): The power of the Chronos Clan flows in your veins, empowering the base fibres of your being. Time is just another inconvenience to those of your heritage, and the most gifted who receive this blessing are true examples of that. Upon beginning a new iteration, receive a detailed breakdown of your accumulated chrono enhancements. Memory and personality leakage is vastly reduced per iteration. Cultivation talent is increased by an accumulating multiplier based on your completed iterations. Gain the skill [Reverberating Path (Epic)]. Access to the Chronos Clan’s Ancestral Grounds granted on an accumulating merit basis. Heritage concealment from all inspection and appraisal type skills of Transcendent rarity and below. May the rivers of time and eternity give way before you, chosen son of Chronos.
A tapping on his shoulder broke Ronan from his dumbfounded shock. “Are you alright there, Ronan? You suddenly started breathing heavily and your hands were shaking,” Keith asked with a concerned expression.
Realising how tense his body was, Ronan relaxed and flashed a grateful smile at his companion. “All good, Keith. Thanks. Just checking out my status after all… you know.”
The response seemed to placate the guy, because he nodded in understanding and began to walk away. “I’ll keep watch on our surroundings for a while. Get some rest, mate,” he shouted over his shoulder.
It was a solid shout. However, there was a zero percent chance Ronan would be able to fall asleep right now. Not after reading what the blessing of chronos did.
The sheer power that was now his to claim was… World shaking didn’t even begin to cover it. Ronan actually appreciated that the blessing didn’t give him some sort of instant power up. That might have spat in the face of his efforts during the tutorial.
Instead it seemed that the seemingly ‘cosmetic’ changes to his status were actually going to become extremely relevant and useful in the days ahead. Not only that, but many of the benefits granted by the blessing would grow in power as he progressed, meaning they would never become obsolete.
Boundless was truly a fitting rarity for it.
The message at the end was something he hadn’t really seen from the system before. Then again, he didn’t think this blessing had anything to do with the system, given the disdain his ancestor had shown for it.
Unfortunately due to their growth nature, most of the boons weren’t immediately accessible to Ronan. Instead he checked out what his new skill did, excited by its epic rarity tag.
Reverberating Path (Epic): The power of the Chronos Clan allows the wielder of this skill to fix a point in time, causing all future iterations to begin from there, rather than the moment their heritage awakened. These paths can be designated as either anchor or branch paths, with the former allowing further reverberations and the latter preventing them. Overwriting the base path is impossible without purging the Reverberating Chronosphere heritage. Path creation exerts an accumulating chrono cost depending on the implications of the created path. [This skill can be upgraded as the wielder develops their heritage].
Unlike the rest of his gains, which were still clouded in a lot of mystery, Ronan immediately understood this skill. The moment his heritage awakened had to be the beginning of the tutorial, since that was where all of his previous lives had begun from. Reverberating Path would allow him to move that start point forwards for all future ‘iterations’ as his heritage seemed to call his lives.
He wasn’t sure he wanted to use it yet. It did say that overwriting his base path was impossible, but the idea of making Terry’s death at least semi-permanent was something Ronan couldn’t stomach.
Now that wasn’t to say he would get himself killed at the earliest opportunity to try and fix that. In fact, now that Ronan had confirmation he would return to the beginning of the tutorial when he next died, he was even more determined to make the most of this life.
The further he progressed now, the quicker he would progress in his next iteration. That in turn would make defeating Magriz’al the Hobgoblin Champion easier, hopefully preventing any deaths in future iterations.
He could certainly see the utility of the skill. Having to complete the tutorial every time he died and ‘respawned’ would be a pain in the ass.
For now though it wouldn’t be seeing much use. Ronan was about to move onto reading the next of the remaining messages from the system when another small change to his status caught his eye.
He’d missed it on his first read, but as he focused on the plus sign at the end of his heritage, a previously hidden section of his status popped up in front of his eyes.
[Chrono Enhancements]
Base Path:
Previous highest level achieved: 26 [260% Experience gain multiplier]
Previous highest class achieved: Fighter (Common) [0 Chronos merits earned]
Previous highest fortune achieved: 7 Bronze Credits, 148 Copper Credits [7.1% Credit gain multiplier]
Total accumulated stats gained: 97 [1.097x Experience gain multiplier]
Total cultivation stages achieved: 0 [1.3x Cultivation talent multiplier]
Total inventory value accumulated: 6 Bronze Credits, 849 Copper Credits [0 Chronos merits earned]
Of all the changes Azathere’s gift had brought about, Ronan appreciated this one the most. It had taken his status from being a confusing, jumbled mess of numbers, to being concise and organised. More than that, it also told him what those previously unexplained numbers actually meant.
Ronan now knew why he would level up far faster in each consecutive life. He knew why he gained more credits. Most of all, he now had a clear goal ahead of him.
He would turn humanity’s worst nightmare into his own personal grinding stone. Ronan would turn the system’s oppression into fuel for his advance, until he was strong enough to do the one thing he wanted more than anything else.
To punch the system in the face.
<< Chapter 53 | Index | Chapter 55 >>
Comments
IdolTrust
I guess the chronos merits are prestige points.
