Savage Awakening 435. Red Giant (I)

His domain was a field of furious colors.

The red of the Red Giant—harsh and dense, seared through with the white of destruction, seared through with darker reds, the reds of battle blood. The color burning through his body.

Chains shattered down his chest.

He turned to the Pharaoh, his eyes pyres.

He burst into an Annihilation Charge.

Three steps slammed out like that. At the same time, his hammers soared behind him, but they no longer looked like hammers.

It looked like he was dragging dying stars out of the sky. Stars that refused to go out quietly; stars that burned their fiercest before the end.

Skill evolved!

Solar Flare Smash [Legendary (P)] -> Red Giant Smash [Mythic+ (P)]

The Pharaoh held out its arms, like a sacrifice. And its bandages unfurled, expanding to ten, twenty times their size, folding into a grotesque shield; rune after rune fell upon it, words in the Monstrous tongue whose meaning blazed in the Astral Plane. Unbreaking. Indomitable.

The whole thing was backed by a festering mass of Tier 7 Law.

So much essence slammed through it that the mummy’s arms began to wither, as though sacrificed.

It was giving everything to halt him in its tracks.

Then Zane brought the hammers down.

Boom-BOOM!

A half-dozen layers of magical Fortifications shattered, all at once.

And cloth burned.

Hammers crushed through the bandages. Crushed through like a wrecking ball through scotch tape; there was an inevitable aura to the smash.

That Red Giant didn’t slow for even a second. Not even as it barreled through the thick of the Distortion Field. Its rage could not be suppressed.

It hit the Pharaoh with a meaty THWACK!

The explosion savaged the world.

The Pharaoh was sent hurtling away.

Its body had caved all the way in—but it felt like hitting a heavy bag, stuffed full of some absurdly strong material—far more resilient than it looked.

That body was shot through with Tier 7 Law too. Laws that said preserve unto death; Laws meant to hold that corpse-body as if it was for eternity.

And somehow—even rotted like that—it held its form; then Zane felt it.

Maggots writhed under that decayed skin—thousands of little insects were consumed in that blast. But the mass held together.

The Pharaoh had just a fraction of a second of relief.

He brought another Red Giant smashing down.

And this time, he blew a hole right through the middle.

Below them, all the dunes had gone to glass; red scorched the face of the sky.

His domain swamped horizon to horizon, pumping, exploding, with each beat of his heart.

And this time when he strode into the depths of that Distortion Field… it found it couldn’t hold him down anymore.

***

The Mummy was half-melted by now. It had a strange mind—he felt no pain from the creature.

But it could feel shock.

And every time he struck, that sensation rippled through the creature.

It was pulling out its nastiest curses now. It cast them with its one unbroken arm. Skulls tore through the air; ritual circle after ritual circle lit up the ground. But Zane stomped down.

Skill Evolved!

Solar Flare Step [Legendary (P)] -> Giant’s Step [Mythic+ (P)]

Stacked with the force of his Limit Breaker form.

He stomped so hard reality shattered beneath his feet like glass.

He was on the Pharaoh in an instant.

A smash flattened the Monster, even as it shrieked in a thousand different tiny voices; flattened the very world, ripping a shockwave through the fabric of reality...

The Monster’s aura had been crushed so near-death it was flickering. It was nearly fully melted; only its head and torso were left now—and even they were being swallowed in flame.

As Zane closed in, his body was already at its limit. Even his Limit Breaker was burning at its limit.

The blackness closed in on him.

But the sight of his enemy broken like that gave him a burst of extra strength.

It was some primal instinct.

He had to finish this.

He bellowed—and dropped the last hammer.

The force shattered the desert.

The sands—which had been seared to glaciers of sheer glass—burst all at once, all the way down the horizon; the ground caved in en masse—

The crater made a valley so deep there was only bedrock from miles around.

Bedrock smoldering with the color of the Red Giant.

And there Zane descended. Essence on the verge of burning out...

The corpse of the Pharaoh was flickering.

He frowned.

One last trick. A red spark rose from the ashes—a second heart, a second soul. A phylactery, a last resort.

It meant to revive itself.

Zane was having none of it.

One last Red Giant Smash crushed it so absolutely a shard slashed through every horizon.

Bedrock shattered beneath him.

Then he felt the world break. The planet broke. Rage engulfed the world.

Skill up!

Giant’s Step I -> II

Skill up!

Red Giant Smash III -> IV

Level up!

Level up!

Level up!

Level up!

Essence Level 514 -> 518

And last—the one he’d been waiting for.

Event challenge completed

Reward get!

+3 System Store Credits

Friend of the System has been activated!

+3 x 2 -> +6 System Store Credits

He stumbled out of the portal and collapsed, smoking onto the ground.

He went out grinning.

“That wraps up the first challenge,” said Tyler. “We’ve lost three of the Top 50—brave fighters, one and all. Let’s remember World Rank #58 Dean Jackson, World Rank #44 Stella Rai, and World Rank #27 Jin Seo.”

Becca nodded. “You’ve done us proud.”

There was a moment of silence.

“Still—those that’ve come out of that ordeal came out much stronger,” said Tyler, nodding determinedly. “We just took their best shot—and we showed we’re just getting started, folks!”

“Eze’s used his credits to boost his Signature Skill,” said Becca. A scene played behind her, showing him dusting a massive ice orc. “It’s gotten to the point he can mortally wound starter-level True Gods... It’s not Zane-level, of course. But just knowing we’ve got more True-God killers has been a huge boost to morale.”

“From the skirmishes we’ve picked up since then, it looks like Jason Walker’s there too,” said Tyler.

The scene showed him crashing through a field of half-step Minor Gods with ease, swallowing up all their essences, snowballing until his blood aura dominated the horizon; his pupils had gone crimson and his grin seemed half-crazed.

Then—in that state—he turned on a True God Nether Dragon and went into a berserk rage.

The scene shifted to show him bloodied to an inch of his life. But the Dragon lay torn to shreds.

“He’s leaned even heavier into his blood draining with his Credits,” said Becca. “He’s got the whole southeastern sector to himself. He nearly attacked a top Ranker party yesterday, just for getting close. He’s not, um, the most stable when he’s in that state…”

They went over a few more—the Sky Painter slashed out a tornado that seemed three tornadoes in one—thunderstorm, blizzard, and inferno—that mowed down a horde of half-step True Gods. There was Vanessa, piercing a True God giant eyeball with an icicle.

“They’re really coming into their own,” said Becca warmly.

“Then there’s Zane,” said Tyler. “We know you folks at home have been waiting for this one—we saved the best for last! He’s shot up over 50 in the True God rankings since he came out of that first Challenge—from #188 all the way to #131!”

“There hasn’t been much action since we last saw him,” said Becca, nodding. “No one’s sure of the full extent of what he can do.”

“There has been a bit of a lull, hasn’t there? Granted—it’s only been a few days. It’s almost like a grace period. A much-needed breather for lots of folks out there. But just this morning we got news the next wave is making its way here… and it’s a doozy, alright.”

“The wave’s ramping up much faster than we thought…”

“Y’know—there’s this theory going around that the Monsters know Zane’s #1. That’s why they’re trying to hit him as hard as they can early.”

“If it’s true, they’re playing a dangerous game,” said Becca seriously. “It does mean more pressure—but if Zane can handle it...”

Tyler grinned. “They could be handing him a lot more Credits than they bargained for. Might just end up bringing out the best version of Zane. Well—if it does come about, we’ll be here bringing it to you every week. Stay tuned, folks! This is Becca and Tyler of the World Ranker network—signing off!”

***

“Sit!” said Evan hopefully.

He waved a cookie in front of Chomper.

Chomper tried chomping—but this time Evan was ready. He hopped out of the way.

Then he looked at Zane, who nodded.

“Sit!” said Evan, encouraged.

Chomper blinked.

Then Chomper’s eyes widened a little.

“Uh,” said Avery.

Evan began to tremble.

Chomper’s eyes grew wider.

“C’mon!” cried Avery. “He’s just a big bully, don’t give in!”

“Sit!” said Evan bravely.

Then Chomper made a little whimper, looking all sad, and Evan fell over.

She shook her head sadly. “This is like when the bully stuffs you in the locker.”

Chomper sat there, panting happily.

“It’s okay,” said Zane. He offered Evan a head pat.

“I think I just have a hard time being mean,” said Evan sheepishly.

Zane considered this.

Then he stood, walked over, and looked the dog in the eye.

“Sit.”

Chomper sat—all the way down, all docile. He looked up at Zane, blinking.

“Good boy,” he said, and patted him.

“Heh?” Avery looked at Chomper, then at Zane, then at Chomper again.

He saw the moment the light bulb went off. This was her chance.

She nabbed her Interspatial Ring and hoisted a car-sized saddle over her head.

Then she ran over and slapped it right on Chomper.

She got just about one leg harness on him before Chomper sat back up, panting happily. She tried holding on, but she got her own foot stuck. She ended up being accidentally judo-slammed into the ground.

“Arrghhh!” cried Avery.

“Being strong doesn’t mean being mean,” Zane informed Evan. “Just say it with conviction.”

Evan brightened, then nodded—“Mhm!”

He mulled it over some more as they munched cookies, side-by-side.

***

The next day, Reina came back with news from the broader Galaxy.