Nameless King

Wain stepped forward in the thick fog for some time. He had not yet encountered any enemies, but the oppressive atmosphere showed how dangerous this place was.

Whooooooooosh.

Suddenly Wain's ring glowed brightly as the amulet that Skyla had given him emerged from it.

"Hmm? What's going on...?" Wain muttered with a confused look since he had nothing to do with it.

The amulet glowed bright red as a red orb appeared around it that pointed in a northerly direction.

"Well, Skyla said it would help me find the blacksmith." Wain grinned, "She sure knows how to honor a pact."

Wain rushed forward with full confidence that the amulet would soon lead him to the blacksmith. He ran through a fog, dried-up trees, and monster bones in the gray, lifeless earth.

'It's quiet here... In fact, even too quiet...' Wain inwardly muttered, looked around, and his aura intensified.

Crackling.

Suddenly there was a crackling sound of dry twigs as two pairs of red eyes appeared in the fog as if ghostly lanterns stared at Wain.

"Huh, I knew it. Come on, attack, you bastards!" Wain grinned as he prepared for battle.

Whooooooooosh.

Suddenly roots burst out of the ground that, like chains, bound Wain's feet.

'What the hell!' Wain exclaimed to himself.

At the same moment, a massive wolf with thick roots all over its body rushed at him from the fog. The beast instantly attacked as its claws rained down on Wain.

Bam.

Wain's arm turned into a blur, then the wolf's head was smashed into the ground with a powerful shockwave that scattered the fog around it.

The fog revealed a second adversary, it was a creepy walking tree whose arms were in the ground.

"So you did it... Huh, today is definitely not your day." Wain smirked, summoned the Gladius, and chopped the roots into small pieces with a smooth motion.

The monster flinched as it tried to run away, but as soon as the monster took a step back, Wain was in front of it.

"Die." Wain uttered with an ice-cold look as he swung his sword.

The monster's head flew off its shoulders, but immediately roots began to grow from its neck that tried to restore its body.

"Huh, you don't want to die that badly? Too bad I don't care." Wain muttered in a careless manner.

He jumped aside, took aim, and threw his sword. Gladius as though a black flash pierced the monster's chest and the head of the wolf that tried to rise from the ground.

Bam.

Two massive carcasses fell to the ground as huge purple souls flew out of their bodies that shone bright enough to break through a layer of thick fog.

"Good. Maybe this will finally be enough." Wain smiled, with a wave of his hand, he drew the souls to himself and absorbed them.

[You received a certain amount of Soul Essence. Your second torch is 0.6% full.]

[You gained some amount of Soul Essence. Your second torch is 0.36% full.]

'Hmm? Don't tell me that...' Wain inwardly muttered as he opened his status.

[Wain Norheim

Ascension: First Stage (99.99%)

Race: Human

Beyond: Calamity (Coelacanth)

Soul: Nameless King

Title: Savior of the Damned, Echo of Samurai, Mentor Inquisitor, The First, Soul Gatherer, Cartographer, Slayer of Goliath, Contender, Defeating One of the Four Kings, Killing the Legend, etc...

Majesty: 10]

"Fuck... Is that kind of bad luck possible? I got quite a bit of energy out of them, though. There are definitely some dangerous opponents here." Wain frowned before moving on.

...

Wain had been running through the fog for an hour as suddenly, the sphere around the amulet glowed brightly.

"Hmm?"

Red footprints appeared on the ground that pointed in the direction of one of the mountains through which the Dragon's spine passed.

"Great!" Wain exclaimed as he rushed forward.

The closer Wain got to the mountain, the fewer trails there were, but it was enough to get him to his final destination.

He stood before a massive stone gate that was illuminated by several red lights slowly circling around it.

Whooooooooosh.

The amulet flew to the gate as it stood in the center with a powerful burst of scarlet energy. A magical circle appeared on the gate that, as though the cog, turned several times, and the gate slowly opened.

A torrent of wind rushed out, making Wain's cloak tremble violently.

"Well, well, is this really the blacksmith's base?" Wain smirked as he stepped inside.

Crackling.

The gates behind him closed as torches lit the spacious stone passageway that led to a single path.

Wain, with a slow step, headed forward while looking around. He was not sure what awaited him here, danger, friend, or foe.

Clang. Clang. Clang.

As Wain approached the end of the passageway, a loud noise was heard as though from the contact of two massive weapons.

"Damn..." Wain muttered with a dazed look as his eyes widened.

In the center of the cave was the one Wain had been looking for for so long. It was a muscular girl with red skin, black hair, and eyes as blue as the ocean. She was a Demon since she had two black horns on her head, one of which was broken at the base.

The girl, with a serious look, was beating her hammer on a massive sword that lay on the anvil. Each of her blows caused a loud clang that spread throughout the cave around her.

She spotted Wain as she turned to him but did not take her attention off her work. Only thirty minutes later, after hundreds of powerful blows with the hammer on a sword, did she stop.

The girl put the hammer aside, raised the sword that was twice her size with one hand and stared at Wain, and asked, "What do you think about it?"

"Hmm?"

She threw the sword to Wain.

Wain stretched out his hand to catch it, but as soon as the hilt was in his hand, he felt tremendous pressure as his legs buckled and the ground beneath him cracked.

'Fuck! How much does that sword weigh?!' Wain inwardly exclaimed while in disbelief.