Chapter 1: System Skill Issue

The cave was a damp monstrosity filled with poisonous fungi, natural shadow magic, and gelatinous creatures that slid up and down its tunnels. They left trails of slime behind as they carried shimmering red chunks of ore. The air reeked as if someone had left the embodiment of death to bake too long. An eerie chime echoed throughout the cave every odd minute or so.

As soon as Sen took his first step into the cavern at the cave’s end, his interface poked at the edges of his mind.

[Entering the realm of the King of Shadows, the Shadow Hell. Tracking complete. Track request: Locate the second strongest being in the world. Would you like to input additional instructions?]

“No, that’ll be all for now, Tutor,” Sen said. The poking sensation faded.

The cavern was as tall as it was wide. There were huge piles of the same red ore that the slime-like creatures were hauling scattered about. In the cavern’s center, a large, circular shadow-portal dominated the room. It was embedded within the cave ground, facing upward, and Sen felt a presence looming within. If his senses were correct, the being inside was close to ascending.

“You know, they’ll make you a king after this,” Sen said to the man on his left.

Ragmár was a man with what he himself called the beginnings of a beard on his face. Though Sen thought it glorified stubble at best. He wore brown hair in a ponytail and he covered himself with a simple white wool tunic and leather breeches. With Sen’s wards in place, wearing armor would just invite discomfort.

“They should be making you king. You’re the one that’s going to kill this thing. I don’t know why you insist on giving me the credit,” Ragmár said.

On Sen’s right, Mori sneezed. “These fungi are terrible for my allergies.”

The portal of shadow bubbled. It seemed its inhabitant was rousing.

A giant, vividly purple hand reached through the portal and slammed into the ground. The ground cracked under its weight. Violent mana filled the room. The rest of the King of Shadow’s body wasn’t far behind. He had the shape of a giant man, and his eyes were devoid of pupils. Void black hair hung from his head and covered his unclothed body. Luckily, from the waist down, he remained in the portal. It seemed there wasn’t much of a choice, as his head already brushed against the ceiling.

“To trespass into the realm of the Shadowhell is to end oneself. Yet you stand there, you talk and whisper as if you are not already dead,” the King of Shadows spat. “I would warn you to prepare, but your life is already—”

Sen tilted his head. “I’m sorry, it seemed as if you were on the brink of a breakthrough just now. Do you need some help?”

The Shadow King’s mouth fell open. “How dare you interrupt the King of…wait, what?”

“Tutor, if you would, that shadow artifact we collected a while ago.”

[Acknowledged.]

A hand-sized marble with swirling shades of black appeared in his palm. After a quick inspection, Sen nodded and casually rolled it towards the purple giant before him.

The sphere disappeared in an instant; the King of Shadows absorbed its power as soon as he felt what it was. The sphere dissolved into plumes of smoke that were quickly inhaled by purple nostrils.

[The King of Shadows has ascended. According to modern practice, he will now be known as the God of Shadows.]

Clenched eyes opened, and the God of Shadows looked directly at Sen. “Mortal! I will make you the highest of my servants! Come, stand beside me, and we shall bring the world to ruin!”

Beside Sen, Ragmár stifled laughter.

Mori shook his head. “Poor soul.”

Sen grinned. “I just wanted to make sure you put up a good fight. Now, hit me with your strongest spell. We’ve got a coronation to get to.”

“You mock me? You mock a god! Insolent child, I would have placed you ahead of all other mortals. I would’ve granted you wealth and power. Instead, you squander this gift and mock me? You will taste the power of a god now. You—”

Sen leaned his head back and pretended he was snoring.

Ragmár sighed.

The God of Shadows cast a spell in a fit of rage. “Shadefire Massacre!” Geysers of shadow fire shot out of the ground. The room’s heat quickly sweltered, and the fringes of Sen’s wards hissed as subtle puffs of smoke rose off them. The geysers’ streams quickly flowed together, forming a giant ball of shade flame. It pulsed over and over, the power within condensing until finally it was ready to be released. Its caster wasted no time and sent it forward.

It flew through the air directly at them.

Sen still pretended to be asleep.

“Sen…” Ragmár said.

He snored.

“Master?” Mori frowned.

The snoring continued.

“Well, life was fun while it lasted.” Ragmár sighed.

The spell slammed into the invisible barrier Sen had erected, but it didn’t fizzle out. It kept pushing, and the barrier slowly bulged inward.

It threatened to crack.

Sen opened his eyes and yawned. “Alright, I suppose I should respond with a spell of my own.” He thought for a moment before an idea struck him. An amused expression crossed his face. “Butterfly,” he said, holding up a finger. A transparent butterfly appeared, hovering just above his fingertips.

Mori leaned forward, studying the spell.

Ragmár’s eyes bulged out of his head. “That’s a party trick! An illusion, what will that possibly do here?” he demanded.

Sen rolled his eyes. “Fine. Butterfly Maxim.”

“Maxim?” the God of Shadows questioned.

The butterfly roared to life, more vibrant than before. A quiet, peaceful aura blazed around it. It was the weakest spell in the world, enhanced by a maximizer. A spell modification that brought out a spell’s true power. He’d never tried this before, but what better time than now? When he faced a god?

The barrier cracked and the ball of black fire broke through.

“Release,” Sen said. The butterfly shot forward and directly through the center of the Shadow God’s attack. One instant they faced the strongest attack of the ruler of the Shade Hell, and the next it was simply gone.

“Tutor, give us some music. Something…dramatic and delightful.”

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An orchestra started to play as his butterfly soared through the sky like a glorious warrior riding into battle. The geysers of shadow in the ground rushed forward to interrupt the magic insect’s path. The Shadow God’s intent to survive was the only thing fueling them. Sen’s butterfly twirled through the air, dodging streams of shadow as the resonant notes of violins sang in the background. It closed its wings and dove through an explosive sphere of shadow fire, emerging on the other side unscathed with wings unfolded. All as a flute narrated its actions, ebbing and flowing with its movements. And then, the butterfly reached its destination, mere inches from the face of the Shadow God. His enhanced senses let Sen see the fear and shock plastered on the God of Shadows’ face.

“How could I be defeated by a…butterfly?”

A gong resounded throughout their minds as the butterfly flew directly through the Shadow God’s face and splattered gore and viscera on the back wall of the cavern. With that, Sen took a bow, and the orchestra finished playing.

“Bravo, master!” Mori clapped.

Ragmár shook his head. “Did you really need to use that spell? You nearly gave me a heart attack, Sen.”

“Well, I thought about that saying,” Sen said. “A butterfly forms under pressure. Or…diamond butterflies are…wait, maybe I’m misremembering.”

[You have earned one mana point. Now displaying stats.]

“There’s no need, Tutor.”

The box had already appeared.

Name: Sen Locke

Rank: God-Class Magician

Level: 99