1. Madness Transcending Time

The land was shaking. Over the mountains that touched the stars, was where the top-players fought the Demigods.

The dark skies were lit by the explosions of magic and techniques.

Towering flames of fire and ice ravaged the land. The screams of agony and pain echoed with the roar of power and call of strength.

This was one of the biggest events throughout multiple dimensions. It was an event that happened every century when a treasure that could change the world would manifest. This event was called the Relic Raid.

Hundreds of thousands of people from all dimensions gathered at the foot of Mount Ashen. They prepared to fight against the Gods of Olympus all to get the treasure hidden behind the troves that had stood for millenia. Guarded by the Gods. In the vault untainted by the presence of mortals.

Yet Mountain Ashen has become a secondary interest for the players.

Because the Relic that everyone was vying for had already been taken.

Dozens of kilometers from Mountain Ashen lies an ocean of trees known as the Breathing Greens.

This was a land feared by even the Top Guilds.

But that fear was seemingly forgotten as hundreds upon hundreds of Seekers poured without ceasing.

"The Shadow Tracer is pointing in that direction! Everyone! Hurry up!"

"Dammit! I don't hear any more commotion! Are they done fighting!? That insane bastard better hold on before I get there!"

Players head deeper into the sea of trees in the hopes of catching the thief who stole from all the top guilds and get the Relic for themselves.

A literal legion of [Seekers] went after this insane bastard. They surveyed from the skies with their mounts and traversed the Forests, jumping from one tree to the next.

On the day of the Raid, the Top 100 Guilds all appeared ready to bare their fangs on whoever got in their way. Armed with decades of preparation, they poured everything they got into catching one man.

But one man managed to do so and hours after his schemes were made known, they finally cornered him at the Void Cliffs.

There was Spider Lily of the Underworld.

The Blossom Sword of Mount Hua.

The Right Hand of Camelot.

The Severed Hand of the Drovian.

People bearing these illustrious epithets, together with their respective forces, stood before a man whose action caused an uncharacteristic alliance.

A lone man with no affiliation.

This lone man held the object of their interest. But no one could make a move. This man did not belong to any known power.

No one dared make a move.

Were they afraid of this single man? He was strong. Proven by the body that littered the ground.

But that was only true to a certain degree. He was strong, yes. But not to the point he could contest against hundreds of people. But in his hand was the contested Relic, unused and held hostage.

Who was this crazy man who held the Top Guilds by the balls? Well, his name had long been abandoned, but he was best known by a nickname of his own, the Mad Vagabond.

The man who was most well-known for his insanity.

"!!!"

The echo of steel hitting the ground broke pervading silence as the Vagabond's sword broke in half.

"Dammit… I knew I shouldn't have used a weapon." The Mad Vagabond's hoarse voice was accompanied by a sickening tension that pulled everyone on edge. Yet this man who was the recipient of everyone's greedy eyes remained unperturbed.

The Mad Vagabond's lips pursed, seeing the darkness looming everyone's expressions, "You all look like you are holding to your bowels. Want to take a shit?"

"Why do you try so hard to keep the Relic, you Vagabond?" The Right-Hand of Camelot raised a question, "Even if you manage to escape this place, you will become the public enemy of the top Guilds. I will cut you a deal. If you drop the Relic here and leave, Camelot will not pursue you if you escape now."

The others also agreed with his offer.

The Mad Vagabond, however, simply yawned before casually throwing away his broken sword,

"No thanks. I killed too many of Mount Hua and killed the second and third sword of the Black Hand. Your offer won't last. Besides, I needed a firestarter… I heard Relics are good for that." the Mad Vagabond flipped through the black book in his hand and smirked, "The quality feels excellent. Besides."

His answer left everyone frozen. What he said would not have been acceptable if it was anyone else. But, he was the Mad Vagabond. Such irrationality and farcical reason would be the most logical.

The Mad Vagabond was a menace to society. He was a thorn in everyone's side. He was a scheming bastard whose tricks and skills allowed him to roam freely with little consequence.

"Enough of this! It's over you crazy son of a bitch. Hand over the damn [Relic] and I might allow you to leave." The Blossom Sword of Mount Hua shouted to the cornered Mad Vagabond in an attempt to make him hand over the Relic in his possession.

The Mad Vagabond's head snapped towards the Blossom Sword. His expression had grown darker than a few seconds before, "I changed my mind. I don't need this thing anymore. I'll give the Relic to anyone who kills him."

"Wh—what?" the Blossom Sword was flabbergasted. He did not think his words would have such consequences.

"Don't act so surprised. You called my Mother a dog. I don't really mind you cursing my Father — he is as massive of an asshole as your own — but my Mother's off limits. Again, I'll give the Relic to the one who —no, nevermind, I changed my mind. I'll kill you myself."

"He threw away the Relic!?"

"GET IT!"

Everyone's attention was drawn to the black book the Mad Vagabond had thrown. The same went for the Blossom Sword. The Blossom Sword's smile flourished as he aimed to retrieve the relic for his sect. The thought of glory filled his mind but the sensation lasted for all but a second as the piercing pain reminded him that he was being targeted by a man hailed as a psychopath.

Blood escaped from his body as he found the Mad Vagabond had punched through him with his bare hands.

"Bff—you…bastard…." the Blossom Sword cursed, coughing and vomiting blood as he crumbled to his knees.

"You don't call my mother a bitch." The Mad Vagabond whispered, then he tried to retrieve his arm but failed. He looked up and saw the Blossom Sword's piercing and determined eyes looking back. The Mad Vagabond smiled, "You actually have some balls!"

The Blossom Sword gritted his teeth and gathered all his strength to hold the Mad Vagabond in place before giving the command, "GET HIM!"

"UNDERSTOOD!"

His fellow disciples from Mount Hua all shouted in a chorus. They spared not a single moment to defeat the villain before them. Against their broken hearts for their respected brother, they moved forwards for the betterment of the world. They threw the opportunity of grabbing hold of power from the relic to eradicate the Mad Vagabond's existence.

When the other organizations rushed to get a hold of the relic, Mount Hua collapsed on the Mad Vagabond, splitting the battlefield.

While the hundreds of people fighting for the Relic became farther and farther away, the Mad Vagabond's fight against the Mount Hua Mountains intensified.

It was filled with blood. And the Mad Vagabond tore through his enemies with a smile. The longer the fight, the more efficient his movements became. But even in this world, he had his limits. Against dozens upon dozens of enemies, the Mad Vagabond's movement dulled. His sharpness lifted with every spilled blood. Like a blade rusted from the fat it collected off its victims.

And soon, it came to its end.

Its ending was not that complicated. It was the Mad Vagabond's victory.

The majority of Mount Hua were dead. Those who weren't could no longer move.

But, he was not without damage.

With a dozen weapons sticking on his back, the Mad Vagabond was drenched in blood as he fell to his knees. But in his defeat, there was no one who remained to try and kill him left standing.

"Huff…huff"

The Mad Vagabond was out of breath. He fell on his ass, tired and on the verge of death.

He fell on his butt. He searched for any potion in his person but only found a black book bound in living leather.

"Tha—that's the…you….bastard…you, tricked… us."

All this time, the black book they thought was a relic was nothing more than a decoy. The real one never left the Mad Vagabond.

"Blossom Sword… you're still alive? That's actually impressive." praised the Mad Vagabond seeing the hole in the Blossom Sword's stomach, "Well, not for long… I suppose. We're in the same position. Hmm… well, you're about to die anyway… want to hear why I stole this thing? And even made them fight. "

The Blossom Sword groaned in pain.

"I don't like you Top Organization." the Mad Vagabond opened with such a statement, "Though not everyone is bad, no one has pure intention in this world. I can't… have anyone greedy controlling so much power. So, I stole it… and was going to someday give it to someone worthy like some… sage in the fu—oh you're dead….."

The mad Vagabond fell to the ground. He was now unable to move.

"Well…I didn't…expect to live much longer anyway to do…that." The Mad Vagabond knew he was going to die, and slowly, as his end was about to come, he drew what little strength he had left and pulled out a dagger that was like flowing blood and stabbed the relic, destroying it.

Thus, the Mad Vagabond's final insane stunt was about to draw to a close with his death.

He would die unable to protect anything.

He would die still without a penny to his name.

He would die having been falsely accused.

He would die without

He would die not attaining anything he could see as significant.

And for him, that was okay.

His life had only been 29 years. Too short, it would be called by many. Too long for him.

'The extension I reached is 11 years too long.' in his final moments,

The Mad Vagabond, he perished as many people told him he would.

A dog's death.

The light was about to disappear, and the reaper was about to claim his soul. When, all of a sudden, he heard a soft voice whisper into his ears.

"Do you want to live?"

A question was asked.

And he answered.

"No."

His reason no longer existed. So, he answered with all honesty. With his answer, his life finally ended. With the last thing he saw, the black book exploding.

===

"The fuck are you looking at my girl for, Lou-ser?"

A student whose body looked weaker than a dying dog's, curled to the ground after getting punched in the stomach by someone twice his size.

The kid on the ground's body twitched as though he was about to cross to the other side. He clutched his stomach while doing his best to catch the breath that he couldn't quite hold.

They were in the cafeteria, where many eyes watched his reaction. However, no one offered to stop the lad from taking a beating.

Instead, they laughed in amusement at such a weak and pitiful display.

Even those who showed signs of empathy just looked away. No one in the room could raise their voice to stop the injustice that befell those who were weak.

No one would speak up for someone like Louie. Even before the General Status Evaluation was held, he was already at the bottom of the barrel, but after his results of below average were posted for the whole school to see, an even bigger target was painted on his back.

On the other hand, Alex was bigger and stronger than the rest. As a leading combat course student, and a beautiful face, Alex was beloved for his future achievements. Others would do anything to get into his good side, always avoid antagonizing this hero personified.

"What is happening here!?"

An old teacher walked into the cafeteria with his hands behind his back. He saw the commotion, the boy on the ground, how Alex's foot squarely fitted on the former's head.

It was a brutal scene, and as the old teacher looked at Alex's eyes he spoke without anger, instead, his back arched as he formed a crooked smile, "Alex, come on, the Ion Black Guild is waiting for you in the principal's office. We can't have them waiting now, can we?"

"Oh, right!" Alex's face brightened before darkening as he glared at Louise, stomping down at him, "Tsk, look what you did! You made me late, goddamn Lou-ser!"

With one last kick to the stomach, Louie spat out blood.

Alex left with a hot head, brushing at the old teacher, telling him to lead the way. The teacher just laughed off the young man's audacity and shot Louise a nasty glare, "Boy, clean your blood off the ground or you'll be fined for vandalism. Ahem, now, Alex

come on, the Guild Representative is waiting."

Alex left with a rejuvenated smile. The others in the Cafeteria watched and decided to follow him to see the Guild Representative sent by the famous Ion Black Guild. No one offered Louie a hand all of them left to their own things.

They did not spare the pitiful boy a second glance.

They forgot his existence.

That was a mistake.

"Where the fuck do you think you are going?"

"HU—ACK!"

Alex's words were halted halfway. His eyes immediately became dark as something hard struck him on the back of the head.

The last thing he saw was a pair of red eyes from the same boy that he had been playing with, bashing his head with a black book he didn't have before. His eyes glowed an eerie red as if he was craving violence, as if he had gone mad.