CHAPTER 146: THE KING’S GAMBIT

The four of them found refuge in the dark, cavernous hold of a derelict cargo ship in the quietest part of the port. The air was thick with the smell of rust and stagnant water, but it was defensible.

Elisa immediately took first watch, perching on the ship’s railing like a gargoyle with a warhammer, her eyes scanning the dark city. Mela was tending to a small cut on Serian’s arm, her movements practiced and efficient.

Nox sat on a pile of old, rotted rope, his mind a whirlwind. One hundred stat points. A Legendary Skill Box. He felt like a kid on Christmas morning, if Christmas involved brutal, life-or-death combat.

’Okay, Liona. Let’s do this.’

His new, sleek black interface appeared. ’Allocate points. Strength and Endurance are good, but I need more speed. Ragnar was slow, but the next one might not be. And I need more gas in the tank. The Dominion is a mana-hog.’

He dumped a full fifty points into Agility, forty into Stamina, and the remaining ten into Perception. The power-up was a clean, sharp jolt, his senses heightening, his body feeling lighter, faster.

’Now for the good stuff. Open the box.’

[Legendary Skill Box opened!]

[Congratulations! You have acquired a new paradigm ability!]

[Ability Acquired: Void Eater.]

[Description: Your core, the Fragment of a Dead God, is hungry. This ability allows you to directly consume raw mana, ambient energy, and even the skills of defeated opponents to fuel your own growth. You do not just defeat your enemies; you erase them and add their strength to your own.]

Nox’s eyes went wide. ’Lifesteal for skills? I can literally eat other people’s powers?’ The implications were staggering. It was the ultimate tool for growth, a way to evolve and adapt by consuming his rivals. The System hadn’t just given him a new skill; it had given him a philosophy.

’Survive. Evolve. Conquer.’ Liona’s words echoed in his mind. Now he understood.

"What are you smiling about, human?" Elisa called down from her perch. "Did you finally lose your mind?"

"Just enjoying the view," Nox called back. He stood up and walked to the edge of the ship’s hold, looking out at the city. The map in his vision was still active, showing the blinking red lights of the other Candidates. There were fewer of them now. The hunt was already taking its toll.

He saw a cluster of them, a group of about five, moving together not far from the docks. They were hunting, a pack of wolves looking for a target.

"You know," he said, his voice quiet. "I think I’m tired of waiting."

Serian looked up from her bandaged arm. "What do you mean?"

"This defensive strategy," he said, turning to look at them. "It’s efficient, but it’s boring. And it’s slow." He looked at the black Royal Flag that was now leaning against a rusty bulkhead. "We have the biggest target on our backs. Sooner or later, they’re all going to come for us. So why wait for them to team up?"

A slow, predatory grin spread across his face. "Let’s go hunting."

Elisa jumped down from the railing, her own grin mirroring his. "Now you’re talking my language! Who are we hitting first?"

"There’s a pack of five moving through the warehouse district," Nox said, his eyes already locked on the blinking red lights on his map. "They’re probably feeling pretty confident, sticking together. Let’s go show them how wrong they are."

Vexia’s voice, sharp and analytical, echoed in Serian’s mind. ’His strategy has shifted from defensive to aggressive. This is a high-risk maneuver. He is either supremely confident or supremely foolish.’

Serian just smiled. ’He’s Nox. It’s probably both.’

"What about Vexia?" Serian asked. "Should we not wait for her?"

"No," Nox said, already walking toward the gangplank. "She’s the brain. We’re the muscle. We go in, we break things, we get the Flags. She can do the math later." He looked back at them, his eyes burning with a new, cold fire. "The King-Maker scenario isn’t about surviving. It’s about winning. And kings don’t hide in their castles. They conquer."

---

The warehouse district was a maze of corrugated steel and shadowed alleyways. The pack of five Candidates were moving with a practiced, military precision. They were a guild, one of the many that had formed in the chaotic days after the world changed.

"The signal from the Royal Flag is strong," their leader, a man in heavy plate armor with a glowing sword, said. "It’s close. Move in formation. We take them together."

They rounded a corner and stopped.

Nox was waiting for them in the middle of the street, sitting on an overturned crate, a bored expression on his face. The Royal Flag was planted in the ground beside him.

The guild leader laughed. "Well, well. Look what we have here. A lone fool, just waiting to be killed." He gestured to his team. "Surround him. Make it quick."

His four companions fanned out, their weapons drawn. A mage began to chant, a ball of fire forming in her hands. An archer nocked an arrow.

Nox didn’t even stand up. He just sighed. "You guys are really predictable, you know that?"

He raised a hand. "Monarch’s Dominion."

A perfect sphere of absolute blackness erupted from the ground, engulfing the entire guild.

Inside the sphere, the world was gone. There was no light, no sound, no up or down. Their senses were cut off, their magic fizzled into nothing. They were blind, deaf, and utterly helpless.

"What is this?!" the leader yelled, his voice swallowed by the oppressive silence.

"This," Nox’s voice echoed from everywhere at once, "is my house."

He flickered.

He appeared behind the mage and simply placed a hand on the back of her head. ’Void Eater.’

She screamed as her knowledge of the fire spell, her mana, her very life force, was ripped from her and consumed by the void. Her body fell to the ground, an empty husk.

[Fireball (Beginner) skill consumed. Mana capacity slightly increased.]

He flickered again, appearing beside the archer. ’This one has a nice bow.’ He didn’t even touch him. A chain of pure void energy shot from the ground and wrapped around the archer’s throat, silencing him permanently.

He dealt with the other two in a matter of seconds. Then, he was standing in front of the leader. The man was swinging his glowing sword wildly, hitting nothing.

"Where are you, you coward?!"

"Right here," Nox said, appearing in front of him. He caught the man’s sword-arm with one hand, his grip like iron. "Thanks for coming."

He placed his other hand on the man’s chest. ’Void Eater.’

The man screamed as his strength, his skills, his very soul, was drained away.

The Monarch’s Dominion collapsed. Nox stood in the middle of the street, surrounded by five dead bodies.

Serian, Elisa, and Mela arrived a moment later, their weapons ready. They just stared at the scene.

"You... you didn’t even wait for us?" Elisa sounded genuinely disappointed.

Nox just shrugged, pulling the five new Flags from the ground. They dissolved into his own.

[Flag Count: 38]

[Rewards: +50 Stat Points. 2x Rare Skill Boxes.]

"They were in the way," he said, turning to look at them. "And we’re just getting started."

He looked out at the dark, chaotic city, at the dozens of blinking red lights that were now all starting to move, converging on his position. The hunt was on. And for the first time in his life, he was the one holding all the cards.

He was no longer the prey. He was the predator. And he was very, very hungry.