Zachariah didn’t look like he needed help. He escaped the void-infused claws with nimble steps and fluid movements, executing swift and decisive counterattacks. However, while his physical stats clearly surpassed the norm, his attacks weren’t enough to inflict lethal damage.

David studied their movements for a while—though he could barely follow their tracks without infusing pure Blood into his eyes—before proceeding to cast and overclock [Herald’s Blessing]. He applied the Skill to the Regressor and his weapon. As the application went through, David fell victim to an incredibly heavy pressure that threatened to force him to the ground. His soul stirred, and his mind space rippled, struggling to endure the overbearing power weighing down on him.

That is worse than I thought, David grimaced, casting [Chain of Will] on the odd duo.

The pressure didn’t fade, but it diminished enough for David to focus on the task ahead.

It should be fine to experiment a little bit since this is the last one… right?

It probably wasn’t fine, but David started preparations anyway. He had to know where he stood and how much brute force he needed to burst through the Void Barrier of a full-fledged Fragment.

He drained his Blood Storage containing 20 pure Blood droplets, emptied the remaining half-full storage for 10 more, and extracted another 20 droplets from the Sacred Beast Core to cast [Primeval Pulse] with 50 droplets of pure Blood. The sphere of the Advanced Skill conjured in his palms at once, the familiar pressure on his body breaking his bones one after another. The pain and pressure were familiar, yet impossible to tune out as he ushered Words of Power.

David didn’t hold back and applied Rend, ignoring the screaming echoing through his insides. His Source was strained by his continuous, excessive usage of Rend, and it finally showed. But rather than listen to his Source’s pleas, David cast [Herald’s Blessing]—overclocked, of course—alongside [Origin Lightning].

It hardly surprised him that his arms were wrecked—bones broken, flesh disintegrated. But it was nice to see that the Ancient Relic fared better than his right arm, enduring the strain of [Primeval Pulse] with more ease. At least, it hadn’t been obliterated like his right hand. His right hand was no more, even though his physique was much stronger—more durable—than it had been in the past.

More Words of Power poured from his lips and didn’t cease until he made his move, overclocking [Phantom Rush] to catch up with Zachariah and the Fragment—and to surpass their speed, even if only temporarily.

He instantly closed the distance, his body suffering the consequences of going past its limit. However, that was none of David’s concern as he arrived beside the Fragment, releasing his strongest attack before anyone could stop him.

What happened next should have been within his calculated risks, but he’d been certain that [Chain of Will], combined with a surprise attack and superior speed, would be enough to bypass the Fragment’s defense. As it turned out, his certainty was worthless.

The Fragment was too slow to respond perfectly to David’s attack, yet its arm lunged forward, Void erupting from the all-consuming darkness shrouding it. It burst toward the incoming beam and nearly devoured [Primeval Pulse] in its entirety—but only almost.

Whether [Primeval Pulse] had been too strong or the Fragment underestimated its lethality was unclear, but the beam pierced through the Void Barrier and obliterated the Void Fragment’s claws and lower arm before it disintegrated.

David’s eyes narrowed as he caught sight of the severed arm twitching, already starting to regenerate. More of the Void’s power surged from the Maelstrom into the destroyed limb, jumpstarting its recovery.

I barely destroyed its arm and it’s already regenerating? How the hell does it possess such monstrous regeneration?

He cursed inwardly, not even thinking about evading the incoming attack as the Fragment finally turned to him. He could have done something, but there was no need—Maja’s pulling force had already reached him.

Before the Void Fragment could take revenge, David was no more.

He emerged on a rooftop dozens of meters away from the battlefield, overclocking [Greater Restoration] with Origin Essence to fix his body as fast as he could. But the Void Fragment’s regeneration was still faster—far more potent—than David’s, even after using Origin Essence to overclock his strongest healing Skill.

“At least you’re not going to survive this,” he muttered, grimacing as he watched the Regressor make full use of the distraction he had caused to kill the Fragment.

Or, it might be more accurate to say that he tried to watch Zachariah—because he couldn’t actually see what happened. David could only sense the end of the fight; the links with Zachariah and the Fragment were all he needed to know the aftermath. The Fragment collapsed, its body cut into eight pieces. Zachariah stood over it, panting heavily.

All David could do was heal himself, cursing Zachariah’s overwhelming power while absorbing and categorizing the latest batch of useful information as it entered his mind through the dying link.

I should have been faster than the Fragment. Either it wasn’t using everything it could against Zachariah, or it exceeded its limit with Void to catch up to my attack. Regardless, my strongest attack wasn’t enough to kill the Fragment. But it should have been enough. It destroyed the Void Barrier and obliterated a good chunk of its arm.

As great as that was, David was not confident he could repeat such a feat amidst combat—especially not if he had to fight a Void Fragment alone. Still, a trace of calm and satisfaction bloomed in his chest, realizing he could potentially kill a Fragment, if all factors played in his favor.

Even better, his chance at success would increase once he had digested the newest set of information. The more Voidlings he fought and analyzed, the greater his understanding of their powers—and, consequently, the stronger he would grow.

Thinking about growing stronger, the System messages returned and surrounded him.

[Your in-depth understanding of Rend allowed the Intent’s modification.

Increased comprehension and power output have been detected.]

[Rend: (Intermediate)] → [Rend: (Advanced)]

[Due to insufficient understanding of the corresponding Law, you have yet to gain access to the Intent’s true potential.]

“Weird but okay,” David muttered, his attention shifting to the other notifications.

[You have discovered several methods to pursue the completion of your Sacred Mission.

Your wish to heal does not stop at allies and the battlefield. It extends to the scourge of the Earthen Union.

Heeding the call of the Origin, you aided the man who has seen it all.

You culled Saplings before they could inflict any harm and contributed to a Fragment’s demise.]

[You are to be awarded with great boons for your excellent achievements as a start-up Void Slayer and protector of the Earthen Union.]

The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

[Primary and Secondary Class increase by two levels.]

[Lifeweaver]

Gold II → Gold IV

[Herald of Origin]

Silver IX → Gold II

[+10 Attribute Points, +2 Body]

[+14 Blood]

[Your Source expanded and can now contain 100 droplets of Blood.

Source advanced to the next stage.]

What did that mean? David had no idea. His Source felt a little bit bigger, which was to be expected, but that was the only change he could feel. Unfortunately, it did not produce more Blood all of a sudden, nor did it accelerate the production of either Blood or Origin Essence.

Advancing to the next stage should mean something. However, advancing to the Gold Rank with his Secondary Class should do the same, yet it felt similarly underwhelming.

[New Class Skill has been unlocked for reaching Gold I with your Secondary Class (Herald of Origin).

[Class Skill [Archaic Shackles] has been selected. Prepare for the influx of information.]

Information flooded his mind and burned into his brain as a new Class Skill Rune formed in the mind space. The influx ended after a few minutes. He digested the new information swiftly and cast [Archaic Shackles] once the Skill Rune had fully fused to the Source. Neither took long, and unblemished white chains burst from the ground before him. They were framed in a vibrant crimson substance—presumably pure Blood, but it could also be the influence of his Primary Class.

Then again, the System never mentioned Lifeweaver influencing anything. The Class Skill’s name and information influx hadn’t been modified either.

[Archaic Shackles]: [Lowest: Intermediate]

David moved the chains around with ease and conjured more—thicker ones—until he could no longer manifest additional chains. No more than a dozen floated around him, each moving independently at his command. It should have been painful, probably headache-inducing, but there was nothing like that.

My Mind stat is high, but my head should hurt after such a hard fight. Using and controlling [Archaic Shackles] shouldn’t be this easy at this point.

He should’ve felt happy to be in such good shape against all odds, but it confused him instead. He checked on his status and found the reasons—several, in fact—became clear a moment later.

[Mind Palace]: [High: Intermediate]

[Soul Domain]: [Middle: Intermediate]

[Indomitable Will]: [Low: Advanced]

He was not sure if [Soul Domain] influenced his current condition in any way, but it ranked up from Low to Middle—likely due to the heavy pressure the Voidlings emitted. That was also how [Indomitable Will] and [Mind Palace] had ranked up.

Or they had increased due to the System’s interference.

David hoped he would continue to gain more benefits for slaying creatures of the Void, but he doubted his Classes and Skills would continue to skyrocket as they were now. Zachariah once mentioned the diminishing rewards for repetitive actions, and David could only presume that killing Voidlings en masse was included.

Several more Skills had leveled up, including [Greater Restoration], which was pushing toward Tier-3 at a rapid pace. Yet, while his Skills were improving fast, the Sparks remained unmoving. He would soon gain enlightenment for most Sparks, but it was uncertain if one burst of enlightenment was enough to push the Sparks to new heights.

Pushing the Tier-2 Sparks to Tier-3 would be good. [Healing Link] didn’t need much to reach Intermediate either. As for [Vital Weaving]... well, he didn’t know what to do with it. He could create a Spark for a healing-focused ability using the integrated knowledge, but he might as well modify [Vital Weaving] to heal better.

Then there was [Aether Breath], which was among the most important abilities at his disposal at this point. Pushing it to Advanced or beyond would generate enormous long-term benefits. But that was something to think about later.

Next, David had 10 Attribute Points to distribute. He momentarily considered pushing Transcendent Soul further, ensuring his abilities would grow even more powerful to act as a better support, healer, and fighter all at once. However, the physical disadvantage he had just experienced against the agile Sapling, and especially Zachariah and the Fragment, lingered. They affected him far more than he had expected and urged David to push Body to a new height.

[Two Attribute Points have been used to enhance the User’s Body.]

High (Superior) → Lowest(-)(Apex)

He didn’t push Body to Middle Apex right away but slowly got used to the extensive enhancement of Body as it reached Apex. The difference between Superior and Apex was only worth two Attribute Points, but the effect was tremendous.

David gnashed his teeth and endured the pain of his muscles tearing. His flesh and bones felt like they moved through his body with the desire to harm him, but he ignored it as well as possible. Instead of giving in to the pain, David immediately cast [Greater Restoration] and [Healing Sphere] to supplement the enhancement of his Body stat.

Albeit an enhancement, upgrading the Body stat simultaneously tore it apart. It destroyed the body and regenerated it simultaneously, enhancing it with brute force. That being said, David used his Skills to accelerate the process before adding the remaining Attribute Points.

[Eight Attribute Points have been used to enhance the User’s Body.]

Lowest(-)(Apex) → Middle(+)(Apex)

The thought of investing more Attribute Points into Mind occurred. However, as important as it may seem to push Mind further down the path to Transcendent, David could not help but feel helpless whenever he recalled how fast Zachariah and the Void Fragment had been. But even as he closed in on a Transcendent Body, worries kept plaguing his mind.

Will that be enough to fight a Fragment? Can I defeat a Fragment now or do I have to level my Classes once more to deal with them? he wondered, uncertainty tormenting him.

The worst, however, wasn’t the worries. It was the fact that the worries existed in the first place. Since when did he start worrying about something like that? He should just jump back into battle and–...

“David! Are you even listening?!” Maja’s voice, half-screaming into his ears, pulled him out of the train of thought.

“Hmm? What did you say?” David turned, greeting the Portaligist with a thin smile.

“I just… Forget it.” She waved it off, a heavy sigh escaping her lips. “I’m just glad everything turned out fine. You guys did very well.”

Something about Maja’s expression was off. It was similar to the previous time they met up. Feeling generous, David patted her shoulder.

“You did phenomenally as well. Without you, I would have lost a limb or two.”

“Really, you think I did–... Ouch!” Maja’s smile, a faint blush caressing her cheeks, disappeared, pained features replacing her joy as David gripped her shoulders tightly. “What are you doing, David? You’re hurting me…”

However, David wasn’t listening. He felt the blood in his body freeze for a moment, goosebumps spreading all over him.

“Fuck!” he cursed, turning to Maja. “Get Zachariah out of there! Now!!”

He didn’t wait for Maja to turn and spun her around to the open street where Zachariah had fought the Fragment. The Regressor had already stored the Fragment’s corpse and was doing something. He was distracted and didn’t even notice the pitch-black sparks in the space behind him.

“Move your ass, Zachariah!” David shouted, calling upon [Blood Manipulation] to stir the Regressor’s blood. Zachariah turned to look at him, while his urges pushed Maja to call upon her abilities. However, time seemed to come to a crawl around David as his friends moved too slowly to respond to the Rift forming before his eyes.

Space tore apart, creating a Rift near-instantaneously. It was almost too fast to detect, but the recent enhancements of Body and respective Skills were all David needed to see it all. A pitch-black Rift, containing far more of the Void’s power than David had sensed up until this point, manifested near the Regressor.

Condensed power of the Void… far more potent than anything he had seen before.

Was that still a Rift, like the ones he knew about, or was that something else? David didn’t have the faintest inkling, but he didn’t like it. He could only tell one thing; it was dangerous.