Eternal_Winter
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Chapter 25: The Altar of Challenge
🕑 Added 2025-05-02 13:17:08 +0000 UTCThe following days turned into a blended mess of magic, beast and feelings of guilt. His thoughts returned to James again and again, how he killed him and how easy it felt to kill him in the first place. There was no real fight, no challenge, no battle for his life. He walked up to him and killed him, it was as easy as squashing a bug. So Ethan did the only thing one could do without a smartphone or television, he hunted the whole quarter of the swamp to extinction.
During his first part of the journey he only encountered zombie beavers and ghouls, the second quarter contained the dungeon and the fight with James, once he reached the third quarter he encountered a new enemy that needed to die in his eyes.
Fat and bloated, with tiny insect wings that made a high pitched buzzing sound. A long straw like mouth, the tip covered in barbs, large beady eyes as black as obsidian. The carapace stretches to make room for more blood.
Some kind of massive mosquito the same height as him, that was no problem, what made them worthy of death was their magic. Because they didn’t consume the blood they gathered, they expelled it again to form something called a blood puppet.
Even that wasn’t the worst part, no the thing was…the blood puppet took on the form of his little sister, how did they know what she looked like? Ethan didn’t know and he never wanted to know. But killing a blood red clone of his sister made him sick, so he purged the entire quarter without care.
Countless wounds, a dozen ice sculptures of encased mosquito and rivers of blood that covered the whole swamp later he was finally done, every last mosquito found death by his hands, the tears stopped running down his cheeks and he took a deep breath, looking back he hoped to never encounter these things again.
The last quarter of the swamp was mostly empty again, just swamp as far as the eye could see. That's why Ethan finally decided to check his notifications again.
[You killed multiple enemies of varying levels - You gained experience!]
[You killed Cursed Human - Level 8 | You gained experience!]
Update [Insect Annihilator - For wiping out an entire species during the tutorial you gained bonus experience!]
Update You reached Level 22! Stat points allocated! Free points received!
Update Plague Mage reached Level 8! Stat point allocated!
Name: Ethan Delaney
Race: Half-Winter Elf
Level: 22
Patron: Ouroboros, the Eternal Serpent
Class: Mage
Subclass : Plague Mage - Level 8
Health Points (HP): 340/340
Mana Points (MP): 930/930
Stamina: 150/150
Stats
Strength: 10
Dexterity: 15
Vitality: 34
Wisdom: 93
Intelligence: 93
Perception: 12
Willpower: 40
Free points: 14
He got seven levels from his exploits, from the zombies he killed with his necrosis plague, to the fight with James to the genocide of an entire species. He felt closer than ever to his new class and just hoped he would gather enough, his goal was after all to pick a new option before venturing into the third circle where new challenges awaited him, he was sure of it.
During those days he never heard back from Nora, she did her own thing and he was proud of her but especially in the last few days he could have used her companionship more than ever. While travelling through the never changing swamp he was surprised to find an actual structure. It was the first one in the entire tutorial, minus the goblin camp, because this one was built from actual stone and stood on a large foundation that managed to withstand the swamp.
Making his way over he noticed the collapsed roof, the cracked stone wall and the amount of plants that covered the ground and the walls. While standing it was already claimed by the swamp. He stepped through the moldy door that hung loosely in the door frame and his staff tapped rhythmically on the ground with each step he took. The building looked like a church to him, symbols unknown to him covered the walls in neat lines and a huge altar made from white stone stood on the opposite wall.
While the rest of the church was claimed, the altar was completely free of plants, not even dirty covering its surface. Ethan let his hand glide over the cold smooth stone that reminded him of marble. A prompt appeared in his vision, the altar seemed to be more than just a masterpiece of craftsmanship.
Update The Altar of Challenge
Contestant you were deemed worthy by the altar of challenge, for you have slain many foes and bested strong enemies. We offer you a choice, pick wisely and reap the rewards.
- Challenge of Quantity
- Challenge of Quality
Make your choice now, contestant.
Ethan was sure the system was playing around again, because why would there be a lonely building in the middle of bumfuck nowhere? Of course to keep him entertained enough. Well he looked for a challenge and his instincts told him which one to choose.
Update The Challenge of Quality, prepare yourself, contestant!
The earth started to rumble and shake, a guttural roar could be heard from outside and Ethan decided to take a look, but he wasn’t dumb enough to run straight through the entrance. Using his ice he formed a pillar that brought him to the roof, but his smug look vanished once he saw his enemy. He hesitated to inspect it.
[Fire Giant - Level 30]
[Fire giants wield formidable abilities tied to their mastery of flame and the volcanic landscapes they inhabit. They can manipulate fire at will, unleashing torrents that scorch enemies or crafting weapons from molten rock. With a heat aura surrounding them, they inflict burns on anyone who comes too close. Their devastating lava blasts can cause widespread destruction, while their sheer size intimidates foes before battle even starts. Immune to fire and highly strategic, fire giants are relentless protectors of their fiery domains.]
Ethan looked up…and up..there a massive head rested on broad shoulders. Its skin grey covered in red veins, long braided hair and a braided beard in a fiery red gave him a wild but also civil appearance. His strong features looked fierce and it was like an air of dominance and superiority surrounded him. Standing around fifteen meters or around fifty feet tall he couldn’t even fathom a way to kill this beast. Those intelligent eyes stared down at him and a devilish grin spread on its face.
But before Ethan could run away he heard a voice in his mind, the voice of his patron. What do we have here? A real challenge for you my poor disciple. Ice against fire, how ironic, it seems I need to offer you the second part of my blessing. It should help you out but this is the last help I can give you for a long time.
Update Blessing of Ouroboros, the Eternal Serpent.
The Blessing entails an aspect of him, the aspect of eternity is now part of your path and will be a part of you until the day you die or decide to abandon your patron.
Update [Ice Affinity] -> [Eternal Ice]
[Eternal Ice is a special variant of the Ice Affinity and can be earned through different means, it is supported by the concept of eternity. It can only be destroyed by creatures of a higher level or with a higher variant of their own element, otherwise there is nothing that could melt or damage the eternal ice]
Ethan was bewildered by the gift he just received from Ouroboros, he knew that gods were powerful but having such a gift was truly amazing. He knew the fire giant was strong, but maybe he now had a chance of beating him in a fight. Walking over the roof he stood on the edge of the building, right above the entrance. Him looking up while the fire giant looked down, their aura started to expand and push against each other.
The feeling of dread he had was still there but he couldn’t keep the small smile from his face as he looked up to the giant. Time to fight the strongest foe.
