Chapter 13: I Need to Become Stronger!

Chapter 13: I Need to Become Stronger!

Three pieces of a faintly glowing shard floated into the air, slowly merging together under the chanting of the old man in front of him. Soon, they formed a brilliant sword of light.

"It's done…"

Brendon Cain gazed at the sword with a complex emotion in his eyes. He turned to look at the cloaked stranger beside him.

"Go on, take your sword. I know who you are… Stranger, it's time for you to remember everything."

"I can feel it… this sword is calling to me…"

The stranger murmured to himself, reaching out to grasp the sword. Suddenly, his eyes lit up with a flash of recognition.

"I remember now… everything! My name is Samuel, I was once an angel…"

"Yes, Samuel."

Brendon Cain nodded happily at Samuel's words.

"You've finally remembered your identity. We now have more strength to combat evil… and you, young man."

Saying this, Brendon Cain turned to look at Alex, who was standing nearby.

"Thanks to you, we were able to retrieve the third shard in time. Not only that, you even eliminated Medusa, that evil lackey…"

"No need to thank me. I was just doing what needed to be done."

Hearing Brendon Cain's gratitude, Alex managed a faint smile. Though he had recovered the shard and Brendon had successfully reforged the Holy Sword without dying, completing his third task, he couldn't feel happy.

Looking at his system and seeing only three uses left of the [Arthur] Soul Stone, he felt a deep sense of dissatisfaction.

He was still too weak!!

Alex had considered the activation of the Soul Stone as his final trump card, intended for dire situations against demons like Mephisto, Baal, or powerful legendary beings in the main world. But he hadn't expected to be forced to activate it against Medusa!

Medusa was a minor boss, a small fry in the second act, and yet he had to use his ultimate move!

This felt like using a sledgehammer to kill a fly!

What frustrated Alex even more was that without the sledgehammer, he couldn't even kill the fly! He was still too weak!

At that moment, Alex deeply felt his own powerlessness. In his original, ordinary world, he could have made something of himself with his abilities. But here, in the main world, those with extraordinary powers could easily threaten his life.

'I must become stronger!'

Alex made a firm decision. If he didn't grow stronger, would he always rely on his ultimate move to survive each encounter?

How many times could he use his ultimate move?! Once the Soul Stone was exhausted, would he just lie down and wait for death?

The only solace Alex found was that after defeating Medusa, he had completed his two tasks, [Curse of Soulrend] and [Guardian].

The task [Curse of Soulrend] was completed after transforming into the Lich King and slaughtering Medusa and the cultists.

Based on the number of souls absorbed, it was overachieved. However, it seemed Soulrend felt it was beneath its dignity to be used for calling forth the Holy Light, so even with the overachievement, Alex only received double the reward.

Essentially, Soulrend increased his [Crusader Strike] skill proficiency from C to A before leaving.

The upgraded [Crusader Strike] transformed into a permanent sword skill called [Royal Cross Swordsmanship].

This skill combined elements from both Warcraft and Demonica, maintaining the paladin characteristics from Warcraft while enhancing group AOE effects akin to those in Demonica.

Alright, Alex mused, clearly Arthur practiced some sort of royal limited edition technique!

In contrast to the stingy rewards from Soulrend, the task [Guardian] provided more generous benefits.

Besides an additional 3 dimension points, Alex received a random reward in the form of a title called [Holy Guardian].

[Holy Guardian: You have altered an inevitable fate, dispelling the fog that shrouded the future. While we still do not know what awaits us at the end, your efforts are worthy of praise (When equipped, all good-aligned characters start with a friendly reputation towards you. You deal 100% more damage to evil-aligned enemies, and they deal 30% less damage to you).]

It was this title that finally allowed Alex to breathe a sigh of relief.

At least Arthur's summoning wasn't wasted this time! Even though it was just a system title and didn't visibly change anything, its special effects were quite significant.

In fact, both Brendon Cain, Lia, and Samuel were now very friendly towards Alex... well, at least friendly.

More importantly, this title effect also worked in the main world!

This was excellent news for Alex, who was currently being hunted by the holy knights of the main world.

As someone who often walked the line between life and death, Alex knew that the difference between goodwill and hostility could mean the difference between heaven and hell.

Even just being friendly was enough. Thinking of this, Alex suddenly remembered something and turned to Samuel.

"Lord Samuel, I have a request. I hope you can help me with it."

"What is it?"

Samuel was taken aback by Alex's request but then smiled and looked at him. Alex took a deep breath and whispered his request to Samuel. After a moment of thought, Samuel nodded.

"Alright, no problem, young warrior…"

Leaving the room, the sky outside was still gloomy, filled with despair and fear, just like this world itself. Alex took a deep breath and reached out his hand. With a gesture, the Dimension Codex appeared quietly in his hand.

[You have successfully changed the fate and progress of this world. You are now returning to the main world. Please prepare yourself.]

"—————!"

A brilliant beam of light erupted, and Alex stepped into it without looking back.

His adventure in this world had come to an end.

Alex didn't immediately return to the main world. He first arrived in a pure white space where the system evaluated his performance in each dimensional world.

Now, he stood quietly, watching the system interface spin rapidly.

[Evaluating task completion...]

[Main quest "Guardian" — Progress evaluation: A]

[Side quest "Curse of Soulrend" — Progress evaluation: A]

[Overall evaluation: A]

[You have received an additional reward: Soulbound weapon — Skybreaker]

"Ding."

After the evaluation interface disappeared, a gentle and bright light appeared before Alex, and soon, a holy sword with a silver blade and golden hilt appeared silently in front of him.

[Skybreaker (One-handed sword): Increases holy damage by 100%, boosts holy skill damage by 15%, and has a chance to summon angels in battle to fight for you.]

This is totally worth it.

Looking at the sword in front of him, Alex nodded in satisfaction. Although he felt a bit heartbroken about using one of Arthur's Soul Stones, gaining the title of [Holy Guardian] and this Skybreaker sword made it all worth it.

Next…

With that thought, Alex reached out and grasped the sword.

The world around him began to tremble, and soon, the pure white infinity faded away, replaced by a forest bathed in the red glow of sunset. Alex sheathed his sword, looking solemnly at the unfamiliar sky above.

Now… it was time to figure out how to survive here.

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