Zeph spent the next three hours relearning how to move.
How to walk without overshooting every step.
How to turn without spinning out.
How to reach for objects without sending them flying.
How to EXIST at speeds that would make professional awakened jealous.
And when he wanted to move FAST...
He crossed his entire apartnt—wall to wall, fifteen feet—in 0.2 seconds.
’This is what geniuses with inherited advantages feel like. This is the kind of speed that makes fights fundantally unfair.’
’This is what I need to survive.’
The skill books sat on his table, waiting. Two leather-bound tos that would dissolve into knowledge when opened, integrating directly with his System interface.
Accumulated Disaster. Montum Overflow.
Tomorrow, he’d fuse them.
Tonight, he’d learn them individually. Understand their chanics. Figure out exactly how they’d combine.
But first...
His phone rang.
Unknown number.
Zeph stared at it suspiciously. Very few people had his contact information. Unknown callers were either scams or...
He answered cautiously. "Yeah?"
"It’s Marcus. We need to talk about the expedition. And you need to bring the egg."
The words hit like cold water.
Zeph’s blood ran cold. "How the fuck do you know about the—"
"Chen’s storage ring," Marcus interrupted smoothly. "I know what B-rank Rust Kings operatives carry. Standard deep-layer storage protocols for soone at his level include high-value artifacts, data crystals, soul-bound items. Did my research the mont you told you’d killed one. The egg matches descriptions of items Chen was known to transport."
’Shit.’
’Of course Marcus researched Chen. Of course he cross-referenced known possessions. Of course he’d figure out what was in the storage ring without telling him.’
’I’ve been so focused on the Soul Mark that I forgot Marcus is a PROFESSIONAL information broker. Nothing stays secret from him for long.’
"Why do you want to bring it?" Zeph asked carefully, keeping his voice neutral.
"Because it’s connected to the ruins," Marcus said. "And you’re going to need every advantage you can get. et tomorrow night, after you finish the redistribution process. Sa location as before. 11 PM. Don’t be late."
"How do you know I’m using the redistr—"
Click.
Marcus hung up.
Zeph stared at his phone.
’He knows about the Stat Redistribution Token too. Either he’s sohow tracking my Union purchases, or he’s making educated guesses based on optimal preparation strategies.’
’Either way, he’s always three steps ahead.’
’And he wants to talk about the egg.’
He pulled the mysterious object from his storage ring. It materialized in his hand, warm and pulsing with its steady rhythm. Forty beats per minute, never varying.
’Connected to the ruins. That’s what he said.’
’Which ans this thing isn’t just valuable. It’s RELEVANT. It matters for whatever’s waiting in those extra-dinsional structures.’
’And Marcus wants to explain why.’
He secured the egg back in his storage ring and looked at the two skill books on his table.
Tomorrow: learn these skills, then use the Stat Redistribution Token.
Tomorrow night: et with Marcus, find out what the egg actually is.
Day after tomorrow: fuse Accumulated Disaster and Montum Overflow into sothing devastating.
Eight days until the expedition.
Eight days to beco strong enough to survive.
Eight days to turn himself from a broke refugee into sothing that could face 70% casualty rates and co out the other side.
’Let’s get to work.’
-----
Zeph opened the first skill book at exactly 9 PM, sitting cross-legged on his bed in the cramped apartnt that had sohow beco ho.
The leather-bound to felt heavier than it should, its cover inscribed with patterns that seed to shift and writhe when viewed directly. Disaster motifs—cracks spreading across surfaces, structures collapsing, montum building toward inevitable catastrophe.
’Accumulated Disaster. Montum building through patience. Let’s see what I’m working with.’
He opened the cover.
The book dissolved.
Not into ash or fragnts—just dissolved, becoming light that flowed directly into his consciousness like water finding cracks in stone.
Knowledge flooded his mind.
Calamity theory. Montum accumulation principles. The ntal frawork for storing destructive potential over extended periods. The precise System interface commands to build and unleash catastrophic strikes.
His brain felt like it was being filled beyond capacity, information compressing into spaces that hadn’t existed seconds before.
[SKILL ACQUIRED: ACCUMULATED DISASTER (Rank A)]
[Type: Passive/Active - Montum Building]
[Passive Effect: Generate 1 Calamity Point (CP) every 30 seconds while in active combat. Maximum storage: 100 CP.]
[Active Effect: Consu all stored CP in a single strike. Each CP adds 10% to base weapon damage. Shockwave deals 30% of strike damage to all enemies within (CP/10) ters.]
[Active Cooldown: None]
[Active MP Cost: 100 (10 per CP consud)]
The sensation faded, leaving Zeph with perfect understanding of a skill he’d never practiced.
He knew exactly how CP accumulated. Exactly what "active combat" ant to the System. Exactly how to channel stored disaster into a single devastating blow.
’30 seconds per CP. That’s... slow. Really slow.’
’To reach 100 CP naturally would take 3,000 seconds. That’s 50 minutes of continuous combat.’
’Most fights don’t last that long. Hell, most fights I’ve been in lasted under five minutes.’
’But the damage scaling...’
He did the math.
50 CP = 500% weapon damage
75 CP = 750% weapon damage
100 CP = 1,000% weapon damage
’At max stacks, I’d hit for TEN TIS my normal damage. Plus a 10-ter shockwave that deals 300% damage to everything in range.’
’That’s... that’s enough to one-shot enemies way above my level. That’s the kind of burst that breaks through any defense.’
’The question is: how do I build CP fast enough to make this practical?’
He activated the skill.
[ACCUMULATED DISASTER - ACTIVE]
[Current CP: 0/100]
[Combat status: Inactive]
[CP generation paused until combat begins]
’Right. It only generates during "active combat." Which ans I need to actually be fighting for the tir to count.’
’But what counts as active combat? Do training dummies trigger it? Do VR opponents count?’
Only one way to find out.
-----
Zeph logged into VR, entered a private training lobby, and spawned a Level 20 training dummy.
The mont he drew his axe and struck the dummy, his System interface updated.
[COMBAT STATUS: ACTIVE]
[Generating CP...]
[0/100 CP]
He watched the tir.
Thirty seconds later:
[1/100 CP]
’It works. VR combat counts as "active combat" for CP generation.’
’But 30 seconds per point is still way too slow for most situations.’
He kept attacking the dummy, building a baseline understanding of how the skill felt.
At 5 CP (2.5 minutes of combat):
[5/100 CP stored]
’Can I use it now? Or is there a minimum?’
He activated the consu function.
[CALAMITY STRIKE AVAILABLE]
[Current power: 50% bonus damage]
[Shockwave radius: 0.5 ters]
[MP Cost: 150 (100 base 50 from CP)]
[Execute strike? Y/N]
’No minimum. I can unleash it whenever I want. The question is: should I?’
’5 CP gives 50% bonus damage. That’s... decent for a quick finisher. But nothing ga-changing.’
’What if I save it? Build to higher stacks for a real finishing blow?’
He dismissed the prompt and continued fighting.
At 20 CP (10 minutes of combat):
[20/100 CP stored]
[Potential power: 200% bonus damage, 2-ter shockwave]
’200% is starting to feel significant. That’s triple my normal damage.’
’But I’m still only 20% of the way to maximum potential.’
At 50 CP (25 minutes of combat):
[50/100 CP stored]
[Potential power: 500% bonus damage, 5-ter shockwave]
’Now we’re talking. Six tis my normal damage. AOE effect covering a decent area.’
’This is the threshold where the skill becos genuinely dangerous.’
At 100 CP (50 minutes of combat):
[100/100 CP - MAXIMUM REACHED]
[CALAMITY STRIKE READY]
[Potential power: 1,000% bonus damage, 10-ter shockwave]
[WARNING: This strike will consu ALL accumulated CP]
[MP Cost: 1,100 (100 base 1,000 from CP)]
’Eleven hundred MP. That’s more than a third of my total MP pool.’
’But the damage...’
He targeted a Level 50 elite training dummy—one designed to simulate high-defense enemies with massive HP pools.
Activated Calamity Strike.
[EXECUTE? Y/N]
[Y]
His axe suddenly felt different. Heavier. Like the weapon itself was aware of the catastrophic potential being channeled through it.
All 100 CP condensed into a single point at the axe blade’s edge, visible as a swirling vortex of dark energy.
He swung.
The impact was VIOLENT.
The training dummy exploded. Not just "took damage"—literally exploded into fragnts that dissolved before hitting the ground.
The shockwave radiated outward in a perfect 10-ter circle, carving a crater into the VR arena floor and sending nearby objects flying.
[TRAINING DUMMY DESTROYED]
[Damage dealt: 8,740]
[Overkill: 6,240]
[Calamity Strike executed successfully]
[CP reset to 0/100]
Zeph stared at the damage number.
’Eight thousand seven hundred forty damage. From one hit. With a crude goblin axe.’
’Zeus had roughly 3,400 HP. This would have killed him TWICE with damage to spare.’
’This is...’
’This is exactly what I needed.’
But the reality of the skill’s limitations hit him imdiately.
’50 minutes to reach max power. That’s not practical for most fights. Even extended boss battles rarely last that long.’
’I need the second skill. Need Montum Overflow to speed up the CP generation or provide alternative ways to build burst damage.’
’Together, they should create sothing that gives both options: slow accumulation for massive burst, OR fast generation through aggressive combat.’
He logged out of VR and reached for the second skill book.
His phone buzzed.
A ssage from Marcus: ’And Zeph? Don’t try to research it yourself. The kind of people who know about eggs like that... they’re the kind who’d kill you just for asking questions.’
’Marcus knows what this is. And he’s warning away from finding out on my own.’
’Which ans whatever’s inside this thing... it’s dangerous enough that even KNOWING about it puts a target on your back.’
He secured the egg back in storage and picked up Montum Overflow.
Tomorrow night, he’d get answers.
Tonight, he had a skill to learn.
And a fusion to plan that would either make him powerful enough to survive the ruins...
Or waste 34,000 credits on a spectacular failure.
’No pressure.’
He opened the book.
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