Stage 3
At this point it wouldn't be wrong to say that Kalisto had impeccable luck.
Despite having had a sword run through his heart he was able to survive the ordeal.
When the sword was ran through him he lost consciousness from the shock of it. Now a few hours after the second ambush he was finally regaining consciousness.
Kalisto was greeted to a beautiful night sky above and a hell on earth below. Bodies lay scattered below from the explosions and more still from the systematic annihilation by the Thucratha soldiers.
Kalisto was at a loss for how he should feel.
He found that all his emotions had left him, not even pain remaining to confirm to him the reality of the situation.
He was tired.
Very very tired.
And all he wanted to do was take a long rest.
His eyelids became heavier and heavier, forcing him to close his eyes to all of it.
But before he could fall into an eternal slumber he was woken up by a strange and yet familiar voice.
[ "Do not become prey to that endless night. Your journey is nigh." ]
This was the first time Kalisto had heard this voice and yet it felt like he'd always known this voice. It felt foreign and yet so familiar. A strange mix of a multitude of voices both old and young, man and woman. It felt like a voice from the past, or was it a voice he'd eventually come to know?
He opened his eyes and noticed a hooded figure standing above him. Although he couldn't see their features, despite the moonlit night, he could clearly distinguish their eyes.
He found himself drawn to those eyes, becoming a prisoner to it.
As he looked closer he came to notice that he could see himself reflected within those eyes.
Within those eyes he saw himself in the past as an innocent child , as a broken man in the present, and a demon in the future.
Those eyes saw through his very being and enlightened him to himself.
[ "Do not yield for your task is great and terrible."]
Kalisto was now a prisoner to those eyes. He looked past himself and he could see the whole world reflected in those eyes. Further still he could see the stars and the universe reflected in them.
[ "Rise." ]
With that single word Kalisto felt a strange energy start welling up inside him.
[ "Rise for you shall become a vassal of 'Eternity'."]
The energy within him was now in a rampage consuming every part of him. He felt like he was losing control as he was being devoured and yet he could feel a strange strength within himself.
The world around him seemed to be breaking apart as the energy within him surged out of his body and manifested around him. It was wreaking havoc on the battlefield destroying everything within sight.
Kalisto looked around at the situation trying to figure out how to stop it but when he looked back towards the stranger they were gone.
As he tried to gain control of the rampaging energy he once again found himself struggling to stay conscious.
Unfortunately, this was a losing battle.
Soon Kalisto found himself losing awareness and falling into a quite sleep amidst the rampage.
--------
"Hey, does this guy look strange to you?" asked one of the Thucratha soldiers to his friend.
"Wait a second is he breathing?" replied the friend.
"Looks like it. I though we already killed all the Atrithia forces in the area, looks like this guy is the last one. Want to do the honors?" asked the soldier as a sinister smile made its way onto his face.
"With pleasure," he replied with a similarly devilish smile.
--------
Kalisto really did have unimaginable luck when it came to keeping alive, one could say it was almost a curse.
He'd woken up to the sound of the two soldiers approaching and decided to stay still as they got closer. Once they found out he was still alive he decided to wait patiently until the perfect moment to strike.
It didn't take long for it to arrive.
As the soldier drew his sword and prepared to strike, Kalisto ever so subtly tightened his body in preparation for the sound of the strike.
"Die you Atrithia scum!" shouted the soldier as he plunged his sword within Kalisto's chest.
Before the sword could reach its target Kalisto quickly rolled away from it letting the sword plunge into the ground.
Before the soldier could regain his composure Kalisto side swiped the soldier's legs causing him to fall and then quickly retrieved his sword. Without hesitation he struck the sword at the soldier's neck, decapitating him in a single move.
He then quickly turned on the other soldier plunging the sword in his chest before he could even draw his sword.
As the soldier collapsed Kalisto looked around trying to survey the scenery.
There was a squad of Thucratha soldiers patrolling the now destroyed camp. Previously they'd been diligently patrolling the area but now all 12 of their attentions were focused entirely on Kalisto.
"Kill him!!!"
With that single shout the 12 of them rushed towards Kalisto.
"Come on guys, let's be civilized now. One person at a time please," replied Kalisto in a nonchalant manner to the incoming horde.
"I've never taken 12 at the same, so be gentle with me."
"Just die you worthless sh*t!!"
The two closest soldiers were now a few feet away from him. Kalisto put his sword up and prepared for the perfect opportunity to counterattack.
[Mortal 2nd realm killed. 20pts.]
[Mortal 2nd realm killed. 20pts.]
If Kalisto hadn't been such an experienced soldier he likely would have died from being distracted by the sudden popup notification in front of him.
"The hell is that!"
As his brain tried to figure out what this sudden thing that popped up in front of him was, his instincts kicked in and he parried the incoming attack from the closest soldier. The second soldier turned around to see what caused Kalisto's sudden exclamation.
Kalisto used this momentary distraction to quickly kill the soldier who's attack he just parried and strike at the other soldier as he was turning back around. He wasn't able to kill him on the first strike as the soldier managed to bring his sword up to defend at the very last second. But the force of the attack was able to knock him backwards giving Kalisto an easy target to drive his sword through.
[Mortal 2nd realm killed. 20pts.]
[Mortal 1st realm killed. 10pts.]
"Alright it's official, I've finally lost it."
He looked at the foreign window in front of him with sense of resignation towards his degraded mental state.
'Being crazy isn't so bad. It's better than being dead,' he though in a somewhat comical manner.
"Come on guys what's with that weak sh*t. Stop playing around with me and just give it to me already."
At this Kalisto spread his arms wide open in an inviting manner. He'd hoped this would rile up the remaining soldiers and it worked to perfection.
The rage in their eyes from the mocking was clear as day. Even though they'd just lost a couple more people they left caution to the wind and continued their charge towards Kalisto.
'Now that's more like it,' he thought before he quickly turned around and started running towards the forest in the distance. His body felt like it was in peak condition Kalisto, he made sure to keep his pace slower than his pursuers so they could catch up to him.
He took a quick glance behind and noticed a soldier not to far behind. In a single seamless action, he bent down while running, rolled to a stop, picked up a rock he'd noticed, threw it at the soldier and then sprinted towards him.
Thunk!
The rock managed to hit the soldier in his throat causing him to tumble to the ground. Before he could even get up Kalisto's sword had already been ran through his head.
As quickly as it had gone through this soldier's head it was quickly pulled out in order to parry an incoming attack.
"You call that an attack??" he exclaimed as he effortlessly parried the attack, following it up with a quick strike to the soldiers neck.
[Mortal 2nd realm killed. 20pts.]
[Mortal 1st realm killed. 10pts.]
"Alright who's next?" asked Kalisto to the remaining 8 soldiers.
At this point all 8 of them had come to a screeching halt as they assessed the new situation.
A few of them were cautiously approaching him from different directions and the remaining ones followed right behind.
'Well know what?' though Kalisto as he slowly backed up amidst the incoming forces.
[100pts accumulated. Would you like to advance to Mortal 2nd realm?]
'Huh? What do you mean 2nd realm? I'm already a 3rd realm Mortal.'
[ Kalisto
Race: Human
Realm: Mortal 1st realm
Class: Warrior
Abilities: None
Available Points: 100]
'How did I go back to the 1st realm? I spent 4 years getting up to the 3rd realm' thought Kalisto in frustration.
'Forget it, just go ahead and advance me to the next realm.'
[Confirmed. Beginning Advancement.]
Kalisto felt a surge of energy flowing through him filling him with newfound strength.
'This feels different from normal.'
He quickly regained himself as he focused on the reality of the situation. The soldiers had now surrounded him on his left and right sides. They were closing in and preparing for a joint attack.
'Well this is going to hurt.'
With that the soldier on his left rushed him. Kalisto immediately rushed towards him as well as the other soldiers followed suit. He expertly parried the soldiers attack following it with a plunge of his sword into the soldier's heart.
[Mortal 2nd realm killed. 20pts.]
He let go of his sword and grabbed the soldiers' from his hand as he fell to the ground, after all pulling the sword out would waste to much precious time. Despite his quick thinking he was still barely able to grab the sword and turn around before the next wave of attacks rained down on him. He was able to block a few but the rest managed to make a few wounds across his body.
Rather than falling back he pushed forward through the group killing a soldier in the middle of the formation. Again, he let go of his sword and grabbed theirs before rolling on the ground in a desperate escape from the incoming swords.
[Mortal 2nd realm killed. 20pts.]
At this point he was bleeding all over, but he didn't notice anything, his attention being completely focused on the remaining 6 soldiers.
"Just die already you rat!"
The soldier rushed him and swung down with a powerful strike. Kalisto correctly decided to redirect the blow of the attack rather than taking it head on.
Thud!!!
The sword struck the ground with a powerful force and become stuck. Kalisto didn't hesitate to take advantage and quickly struck at the soldier's head killing him instantly.
[Mortal 3rd realm killed. 30pts.]
Upon seeing one of their more powerful comrades fall to Kalisto's sword the remaining soldiers hesitated with their attacks.
Kalisto didn't waste this golden opportunity quickly dispatching the 2 closest soldiers and tackling a 3rd before piercing his skull.
[Mortal 2nd realm killed. 20pts.]
[Mortal 2nd realm killed. 20pts.]
[Mortal 1st realm killed. 10pts.]
At this point the remaining two soldiers were horrified and wisely decided to immediately retreat.
Unfortunately, it was little too late.
Kalisto quickly caught up to the two retreating soldiers, stabbing the first through the heart and tackling the second before proceeding to smash his head on the ground until he was dead.
[Mortal 1st realm killed. 10pts.]
[Mortal 1st realm killed. 10pts.]
"AAAAAAAAAAARGH"
Kalisto shouted with an almost beastly tone as he was filled with a sense of euphoria at the slaughter that had just occurred.
[Congratulations on defeating 12 opponents at once. 400pts.]
[570pts accumulated. Would you like to ascend to 3rd realm Mortal?]
'Yes,' he responded without much thought.
[Confirmed. Beginning advancement.]
Another wave of energy surged through him.
[Kalisto
Race: Human
Realm: Mortal 3rd realm (Awaiting ascension)
Class: Warrior
Abilities: None
Available Points: 370]
'You're kidding me right? I spend four years going from a 1st realm to a 3rd realm Mortal but after killing a few of these guys I reach the same level in minutes. Well this is just stupid,' thought Kalisto as he lamented at all those years of work he had to put in to get to this level on his own.
"Give me back all those wasted years!"
"Sorry, but I can't help you there buddy."
Kalisto quickly jumped in surprise and quickly got into a defensive position as he just noticed the presence of this stranger.
'Shit! How did I miss this guy?'
Before he could even properly respond, the stranger vanished and appeared next to him. Kalisto instinctively jumped back as his heart started pounding.
The moment the system in his head informed him of the stranger's current realm all hope drained form Kalisto's face.
'F***, 7th realm [Transcendent].'