“I call upon thee….”

John had begun the continuation of his quest as even though it had only been a little while he had already gotten tired of being stuck in that stupid war zone. He had managed to beat the first two with cleaver uses of his laws and due to his prolonged combat experience. Sadly he wouldn't be able to continue using that strategy as the further he went out the stinger the beast and avatars had gotten.

Either John would have to fight battles of attritions or use risky and stupid methods to defeat them. All John could do was hope for an easier battle, though it would seem that his luck would be good enough for that.

Theoretically the avatar he found would be easier to defeat that the usual ones, but it would be harder to do the damage required to finish the fight. He had found a cultivator who must have been in a similar situation to him, that was picked by a god and used in their plans. The benefits of fighting a cultivator are that they are infinitely easier to damage than the beasts due to their weaker bodies, but they also used techniques and laws so they would be harder to defeat. Even so with a attack that would only damage a beast it would almost definitely kill a cultivator as long as his attack reached them it would be an easy victory.

Before John could even formulate a plan, the man had sensed him and John was pushed into an all to familiar situation. In almost the exact same fashion he received a dagger into his back as he had with the javelin.

The man began to cast his spells and release

his laws, seeing this all john could do was chuckle.

'That strategy didn't work once and it is going to work again'. John didn't even start amassing his powers, he instead just began using his not quite complete movement technique.

As he began moving he summoned his weapon and armor. John put his hand on his chest and it began to glow as he materialized the spear from within his necrotic heart. Both the spear and the armor had been upgraded due to him taking down the two avatars. When the necrotic heart absorbed the required godly essence from the avatars it would then redirect the less pure and weaker essence to John's cultivation level and his soul weapons(the spear took on the title as his weapon when he advanced the gauntlets into his armor).

The same dark red aura coated him and brought out a sinister smirk to his lips.

"I hope you last long enough for me to play a bit". John entered the void and tried to comprehend everything he could about that space. The intricacies began to add up in his mind and a new found sharpness echoed out of his core.

John slashed down on the man before him, but without realizing it he had fallen into a sinister scheme. Blood raised up his throat and he began coughing viscously, he looked down to see that he was no longer connected to his lower half.

It was at that moment he knew he had fucked up, as twelve auras flared from around him. Apparently the god of death had enough enemies that they were able to set aside their differences and form a team.

'Of course I got picked by the most hated god... what a shitty end to a terrible week. Huh, well that's what they would think I'd say. I'm not quitting now especially not into i get to slap that stupid god'. John's eyes which just moments ago had rolled back shot forward as the half completed attack was finished. The spear pierced directly though the man in front of him, exploding the man's heart in a flash. John's energy was already running low due to his prolonged entry to the void and the use of his laws, but he felt stronger than ever.

His dantian emptied to a drop as muscles stitched them selves back together and his bones fused.

"Hahahaha.... I live off of nearly dying". John couldn't help, but burst into laughter as his mind formulated another law out of the scattered concepts dwelling in his mind. His spear blackened as his influence spread around him.

He who walks the path of life and death has no choice, but to become the reaper. The tier three law of darkness unlocked, fueling his existence higher.

He slashed down and rifts formed, just as the second volley of attacks rained down on him. In an instance his arm severed, but he still stood there motionless other than the decent of his spear.

Lightning crackled on his skin as the slash finished, and an enormous explosion ripped through the godly avatars as he watched in silence.

The tier three law of darkness had pushed his power beyond and has unlocked a limited access to the abyss. His slash had traveled through the void and multiplied he was able to use the godly essence left over from the one he had just killed to teleport the attack in side their bodies. The mission updated once again to show the number he had killed.

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'[Advancement Mission]'

•Kill thirty Godly Avatars

•Reward: unique law of the God of death

Progress: 15/30 Avatars defeated

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Seeing this John cringed, he had only managed to beat half of them and he had already almost died twice. He would have to hide for long enough to heal, but right as he began to leave he felt a powerful presence coming from behind him. It was moving so fast that he almost didn't pick up on it, but due to his dire circumstances his awareness and senses had been on extremely high alert.

John knew he wasn't going to get a chance to rest so he did the only thing that he could do. He faced towards the enemy and braced himself, this battle would be one of if not the hardest battle of his life. He wouldn't be able to use any laws and he would have to fight with an arm down.

He welcomed the challenge and stood tall in the face of adversity, or that's what it seemed like. He was really just thinking that he would rather die fighting than just sitting around.

John raised his spear and charged towards the battle with a new found fervor.

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At the end of the dungeon sat a beast upon a throne holding a sword in his hand and drinking from a goblet formed from the skulls of many different creatures it just awaited for the next challenger while gazing into the waste land around it.

Behind the beast lay an enormous sealed gate that stretched far into the sky. It was the only way to escape that desolate war zone.

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John's body was absolutely riddled with injuries and he was on the brink of death after his last encounter. The beast that had come after him wasn't particularly strong, but what it lacked in physical strength it far far made up for with speed.

It was in the shape of a large praying mantis and it flew laps around John slashing and slicing into him repeatedly. John once more resorted to dangerous measures to out class the beast, opting to sacrifice what of his left arm had began to grow back and a large portion of his torso to blind the mantis.

He stabbed it in quick succession in both eyes and circled around to it back, delivering the final blow with a piercing attack to it heart while it lashed out at every thing in its surroundings, hitting John quite the few more times in the process.

John lay on the ground oozing blood from every part, his left arm and chest completely decimated and his right leg barely clinging on with just the tendon still connecting it, and his right eye was also no where to be found, gouged out at some point during the altercation.

Luck seemed to be on his side though as when the left over essence flooded his centers they all(but his body for obvious reasons) advanced the necrotic heart most advanced due to getting past half way on the mission though.

As his dantian compressed it began to draw in and convert the surrounding energy into his own power and mana. His body instead of advancing began to stitch itself back together and barely progressed in the realm due to the severity of the damage.

John's quest continued once more as he tracked down and killed each of the avatars systematically. He claimed the essence and life of all creature in his path, that was until he had reached the gate. This was where his last challenge lay and a fearsome challenge it was.

Just approaching the beast terrified him to his very core. As soon as he stepped into the beasts domain he was assaulted, as the beast suddenly arose from its throne and appeared behind him in an instant.

John's body was turned into a skewer as the beast pierced through his chest with it sword. His body slid down the sword rending his body even further. The guardian raised its John skewer and slammed his body to the ground slicing the rest of the way through his torso diagonally. The guardian lowered its weapon as it went to pick up John's body to add to his collection.

John's spear shot forward as it punctured the beasts body nearly effortlessly. It destroyed the joint in it shoulder causing one of its arms to go limp. His dantain emptied to just a bit over half as his parts fused back together.

He activated all his laws again and fused with the void to deliver his most powerful attack instantaneously. The beasts internals were reduced to nothing but liquid as he came out of the void.

The beast slammed into John with his sword and sent him flying. The beasts organs started to regain their forms, but that was when John's trap was activated. Lightning rained on its interior as John collided with the pillar.

John's lip body shattered it in an instant, causing the beam collapsed on him. At the same time the guardian had collapsed falling onto his knee. Blood dripped from John's brow as he stood.

There was only one thing that John could do and that entailed a combination of laws and abilities if he didn't want to perish, he would have to kill the guardian before it killed him. A large mass of ores that had reached the peak of the second rank after all the preparations that John had made. Taking a deep breath in he began to gather his flames, in one swift motion he smelted the ores down and channeled his laws into the spear that had begun to form. The spear began spinning and shot forward with a speed that surpassed speeds that even initial third tiers had access to.

John had imbued his entire cultivation and ever experience up to that point into creating a weapon that surpassed the realms and brought his prowess to another level. The spear easily pierced through the beasts brain and detonated, instantly defeating the beast.

John's entire existence had been used passed it's limit and after he defeated the beast he had finally gotten the chance to rest. John instantly passed out as his centers of powers began to heal, the latent energy residing in area gathered and began to be absorbed into his body.

The energy passed through his black heart and began circulating to his centers of power. They began to repair, but it would take far too long for him to heal with just the energy around him. He would just have to endure through the pain long enough for his dantian to replenish and heal the damage he had accumulated through the battles.

At long last John had opened his eyes, his centers of power would need to heal at a later time. So John focus on what had happened after the battle, John strained to lift the collapsed pillar and as he did so the systems message came.

'[The user has met the conditions of the advancement quest]'

•The unique ability "Bringer of death and reclaimer of life" has been unlocked.

John felt his mind overflow with information as the skills requirements and the intricacies of it was downloaded into his mind. John's aura flooded with death as the blood gathered onto his hand creating as magic circle. From said magic circle a piece of parchment raised, bloodied words coated its pages as he began chanting.

"I call upon thee…. The great bringer of death, cast out my enemies and renew them as allies. I cast the great death magic, [contract of the dead] summon my knights of death to be by my side for eternity". John became surrounded by the flames of death and the collapsed figure regained its prior luster. Sadly for it though as during the process it's flesh fell from it's bones and it's armor reshaped into something befitting of such a powerful being.

The skeletal figure acquired its discarded sword before kneeling before it's one and only master. Ever since the beast had been acquainted to it position as the gate guardian he had due to his inability to handle having a master or god controlling him, he had killed every creature and godly avatar that had dared to challenge him. Even though against all odds John had managed to defeat him and now it was only right to show his complete and utter respect to his new master.

John had to smile when he saw this and a single thought ran through his mind in that instance.

'So you have accepted your position as my underling, good. Now we shall depart'. He stood from the crater crushing the pillar with a single hand. The gate finally opened in front of him and he knew that this was the day that everything had changed. His life began down a path he had never even pictured and he loved it. This path would be one of blood, death, and sacrifice, but even so it would be perfect for someone like him.