The sound of rumbling intensified, the earth beginning to shake.

A sea of crimson eyes loomed closer, trampling forth with savage efficiency.

Seth let out a dense misty breath as he calmed his heart.

Since the apocalypse began, this was the first time he willingly put himself in danger.

Him being here wasn’t a result of poor luck, unfortunate chances, or bad timing.

A shadow of expectation flashed behind his gaze, his heart thumping harder — not driven by fear but by a building excitement Seth couldn’t cull.

"Sigh, this will get me killed." But the wide, unrestrained grin pasted on his face told a different story.

Seth wasn’t just here because he wanted to be strong.

That was an outcome. Seth wasn’t the type to feel fulfilled by attaining an outcome.

No — he mostly enjoyed the blood-pumping, gritty process.

Seth loved challenges, a little bit too much. The constant suppression he had forced on himself caused this side harder — not driven by fear but by a building excitement Seth couldn’t cull.

"Sigh, this will get me killed." But the wide, unrestrained grin pasted on his face told a different story.

Seth wasn’t just here because he wanted to be strong.

That was an outcome. Seth wasn’t the type to feel fulfilled by attaining an outcome.

No — he mostly enjoyed the blood-pumping, gritty process.

Seth loved challenges, a little bit too much. The constant suppression he had forced on himself caused this side of him to ferment and grow wilder. And when it erupted...

It didn’t do so in the once peaceful lands of Earth. It did so in an apocalypse.

Where the only sort of challenge was to be alive. You either got stronger or you died.

And now here he was, his hair billowing wildly in the wind, his aura bursting through the air like a tempestuous storm.

Royal purple pushed against the wind...

Seth had read countless books, he had watched movies, and he had always criticized that one character who had the hots for battle.

He didn’t understand the logic.

’Why throw your life away just because you’re seeking excitement?’ 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

But now he did.

His face flushed red — not from excitement alone. His Asura body manifested, his physique growing in height.

His skin turned a shade of red, his muscles bulged like fine steel cords, his hair grew even longer, simmering beneath the moon’s silver radiance.

There was no defining logic behind his drive. Unlike his friends, Seth wasn’t necessarily doing this because he wanted to get stronger.

He was doing this because...

"I enjoy the thrill!" he confessed, his aura continuing to layer.

The hoard had finally gotten close enough that their forms were visible.

Bronzed-scaled muscular bodies trampled forth with power, speed, and relentlessness.

Their horns curved from their skulls, sharp ends pointing to the sky.

Their snouts let out occasional torrents of furious steam.

The system labeled...

[Viagra Bulls!]

Seth’s lance moved. He took a step forward, his muscles drawing back like an arrow knocked on a string.

His essence poured into the drawn-back lance as Burden of Will ignited.

The sudden shift in weight caused his legs to sink deeper into the muddy ground of the marsh.

The bulls let out furious roars. Their prey dared resist?

Then they would trample his bones to dust!

A bronze glow coated the herd. Their hooves pounded on the mud even faster, their crimson eyes drawing streaks of light in the night.

Seth built power. His rough experience with waves had taught him how to build a torrent of essence and erupt with disastrous force.

Seth didn’t just study his opponents when he fought — he studied himself. He had gained avid understanding of the principles of his new skill, Hand of Tides.

And now he could apply them in battle...

The raging hoard crossed the mental line Seth had drawn.

And he reacted — no delay in execution, no lag in movement.

His lance erupted forth, carrying not just physical power but waves of essence.

His will bled into reality without restraint. He projected his desires onto reality.

He wanted destruction — and the world responded by being less sturdy!

Boom!

A ravaging tide of power ripped from the lance. Everything was torn asunder.

All trees, the mud — everything in its way was reduced to nothing. The hoard of Viagra Bulls weren’t exempt.

They barely let out shrieks before they were eradicated, reduced to nothing but bloody mist.

A stream of victory notifications flowed like rain. His cells infused with refreshing waves of power seeping into his being.

Seth’s form remained calm. He wasn’t short of breath, but he drew in deep breaths to provide his body more oxygen that would translate to more stamina.

His coiled muscles didn’t relax but remained even more tensed, his veins bulging from his grip over his weapon.

[Next wave incoming: 00m:12s]

He had reduced this wave to nothing because they were made up of elite beasts. The next wave would surely be stronger.

His gaze flashed. Once his enemies grew stronger, their numbers would be a problem.

"I need to keep moving," Seth concluded. He turned around and bolted deeper into the marshes.

Leaving behind the gaping line of destruction and yawning trench of his own making.

He unequipped his lance as his reddened, larger silhouette scaled the earth with uncanny speed.

A rumble soon rang out — the timer had clocked all zeroes.

Seth’s eyes flashed as a bow appeared in his hands, a quiver stacked with arrows on his back.

A loot he had gained during his time alone before meeting the Rangol Race trio.

He threw the bow into the air. A pair of mythic sapphire metallic fists bloomed into reality.

The Hands of Tides caught the bow. The second hand reached for the quiver, knocked an arrow, and pulled.

There were tiny strings of essence in the air, nodes that connected this pair of Asura hands to Seth.

These nodes shone brilliantly as a torrent of essence poured through them, his essence crashing like a wave.

The hand released its pull, and an arrow burning with fierce purple light whisked into the wind.

The arrow left a streak of light in the air, reducing all obstacles — trees and rocks — to dust.

The arrow scaled the distance, brimming with the enhancement of both Absolute Weapon Resonance and the power of tides.

It carried a brutal light of purple that lit up the surroundings of the new wave of bulls.

The arrow, like a merciless asteroid, tore through space, striking in their midst...

But it hit nothing. Its sharp head dug into the muddy ground as the herd trampled past.

But Seth, a descendant of the Grand Weapon Maester, had innate affinity with all weapons. He could never miss with a bow — unless this was his target.

A layer of light brewed from the arrow. Heat surged, essence turned tumultuous...

BOOOOOOM!

Like a nuke going off in the night, a huge mushroom cloud towered over the canopies of trees. A wave of compressed wind whipped out, flinging trees, pulling them from their roots into the air, splintering them.

The wave of destruction ate through both the bulls and their surroundings, leaving nothing intact.

Seth rode on the momentum of the shockwave, propelling him farther into the distance.

His eyes shone brilliantly with excitement, his grin wider, as a more stifling presence filtered into the air.

Loud tremors rang, and Seth knew the third wave had come — even faster than the last.

And with that overbearing aura,this was a hoard consisting of high Leader-grade Boss beasts.

Seth’s heart hammered fast against his ribs, a smile lifting his lips.

"Now this... this is fun!"