Sam opened his eyes back in the real world, and as expected, less than a second had passed outside.
The toxic aura from the [Nuke] was still spreading, suffocating the area, but Sam wasted no time.
Before that being could intervene again and toy with him, knowing full well that [I Always Come Back] was no longer an option, he immediately activated his other ace.
[Which skill do you wish to reset the cooldown of?]
"Primordial Barrier!"
He forced the name out, his voice cutting through the suffocating miasma.
The panel dissolved into light and seeped into his chest.
A new display flickered in front of him.
[Primordial Barrier — 14:23]
The skill had a cooldown of only fifteen minutes, but in a real battle that might as well have been an eternity. Follow current ɴᴏᴠᴇʟs on novel[f]ire.net
Fifteen minutes meant death long before it could return.
But this time, something changed.
A clock appeared in front of Sam’s vision, its hands spinning wildly in fast circles, and the numbers on his skill panel began to roll down.
[Primordial Barrier — 10:54]
[Primordial Barrier — 4:21]
[Primordial Barrier — 00:00]
["Primordial Barrier" is available again!]
In less than half a second, Cooldown Breaker wiped the slate clean, and the barrier immediately returned.
Damage notifications rang out.
The aura was still consuming him, but now the barrier was taking the brunt of it.
It gave him breathing room, however thin.
’Alright, I need to get the fuck away from here.’
But before he could even act on the thought, another message cut through his mind.
[Trying to leave this way won’t work. We’ll die.]
Sam glanced around quickly, and the truth sank in.
The radius of the [Nuke] wasn’t something he could simply outrun.
It spread too far, covered too much, and at best he had two minutes left before even the barrier collapsed.
This time, his death would be permanent.
Which meant he was cornered either way.
Was there truly nothing he could do?
Were those beings right about everything?
Was he just a puppet in their twisted game, forced to claw his way forward only to eventually die like all the others?
’No...’ Sam gritted his teeth hard. ’Not a chance.’
The memory of that mocking voice returned, and the hatred it stirred had already filled his hatred bar earlier.
Now that he stood revived once more, that hatred boiled over.
[You have summoned a "Star of Hatred"]
’...!’ Sam’s eyes widened.
The crimson star of hatred shimmered into existence beside him, pulsing with violent energy.
Even so, he wasn’t naïve.
This alone wasn’t enough to guarantee survival.
[Our current survivability chance is at 0.5%. Better than nothing.]
"Haha..." Sam laughed under his breath, though his face stayed grim.
"Then I guess... I need to check the last thing I can."
His one remaining lifeline was his fully charged hatred bar.
It meant he could unlock a new ability.
A new skill at this stage carried more weight than anything else.
The last time he had received one was when he obtained [Primordial Spirits] back in the fifth layer of the Forsaken Realm.
That felt like forever ago.
Now, after so much struggle, the chance for another had finally come.
’I need more skills,’ Sam thought, his gaze sharp.
’Not just attributes. Not just techniques.’
Training was valuable, yes.
But one day his growth would plateau.
And in a world where the beings above watched his every step, memorizing his every move, he needed fresh tools they couldn’t predict.
If he could gain even one ability capable of cutting them down... then he had a fighting chance.
[Determination fuels your entire being, even in despair. Truly beautiful.]
He ignored the message and opened the glowing panel in front of him.
[Your hatred for those that stand in your way is much stronger than before... just a little more... =)]
There was no time to hesitate.
Crimson particles swirled violently, wrapping around the panel until the bar pulsed once and dissolved, sinking into his chest.
A crimson card materialized in front of him, floating slowly in the air.
[Take the card, Primordial.]
Its back bore a symbol of twin crimson wings, burning with energy.
Sam reached forward, grasped it, and the card flipped over.
The system responded instantly.
[Description: Two crimson wings will erupt from the user’s back, allowing them to fly in the air at a much faster speed than if they walked. However, the user must learn to adapt and improve their mastery over these wings with time.]
[Hell-Mode Analysis: The strongest wings in existence... though they haven’t reached their ultimate form =)]
Sam scanned it once, memorizing every word, then dismissed the panel.
The skill wasn’t just powerful.
It was already at Tier 2 and Forsaken rank, which meant it would evolve even further with less effort.
If Hell-Mode’s note was true, these wings surpassed even the wings of demons, angels, dragons, maybe even celestials.
That level of potential was absurd.
[Congratulations to Sam Walker for learning the skill: Hatred Wings (Forsaken)]
’Alright. Here goes nothing.’
His expression hardened, focus narrowing.
He now had three things: the Star of Hatred, the ability to use [Hatred Boost] again, and these new wings.
The skill description had warned him that mastery required practice.
But Sam didn’t have the luxury of practice.
Time was bleeding away with every heartbeat.
He would either fly now or die.
The star of hatred flared, then seeped into his body, lighting his veins crimson.
Energy roared through him, savage and hot, filling his muscles with brutal strength.
A violent eruption burst from his back as two massive crimson wings spread wide, their edges tipped in black.
They looked sharp, dangerous, and strangely beautiful.
Sam barely spared them a glance.
All of his focus was on control.
Learning to fly should have taken hours, days, maybe longer.
But hatred burned away hesitation.
With one powerful motion, Sam shot forward.
He crossed hundreds of meters in the span of a breath.
’So fast,’ Sam’s eyes widened, the wind rushing past his face.
’Holy shit... a new travel method, I guess.’
He wouldn’t need to sprint endlessly on foot anymore.
Even without [Hatred Boost], these wings would change everything.
But with it active, his speed soared beyond anything he had known.
Again he flapped, faster and faster, racing away from the deathly aura.
The [Nuke]’s poison still lingered behind him, but each beat of his wings carried him further, carving through the air like a blade.
And he didn’t head back toward the [Forsaken] Kingdom.
No—he turned toward the [Fourth Zone].
The reason was simple.
The [Second Barrier] would no doubt be crawling with awakeners by now.
If he returned there, he would be exposed instantly.
His presence would draw suspicion, perhaps even an ambush.
So instead, he plunged deeper, pushing onward.
[At this point, we’ll complete all the missions before they can even reach us =)]