Damon's Ascension

"Of course, the competition cannot be held without a suitable wager. What would you like to put forth this time?" Nyros spread his hands opened and smiled suggestively.

Damon's finger tapped the table lightly as he thought. What did they have that was valuable? They were quite a few conceptual things, but the thing with earth shaking value that could yield the best returns were things like their abilities, but those couldn't be taken away, so they couldn't be used to bet.

"We wager our skills and items."

In the end, Damon chose a rather safer bet that could get them something good, but wouldn't break the bank if they somehow lost. After all, he couldn't say with 100% certainty that he would always overcome the casino's methods, especially after obtaining in-depth information.

Nyros seemed interested and did some calculations. "Okay, the house shall match your bet. For all your items you will be given a random item that complements what you currently possess at the same rank, while for your skills, you will be given Chaos Shards that can grant new skills on the same tier as what you currently possess. Is this fine?"

Damon glanced at his team who seemed to be moved by this offer and smiled softly. "We shall take on this bet. Let the match begin!"

...

The realm was that of a large island with a volcano in the center. The island was lush and teeming with vegetation, with a large rain forest, many rivers, a notable lake area and plains that went on for days.

Due to the nature of he battle royale, each member of the team spawned in a random location around the map, but they were able to sense each other roughly, allowing them to regroup at the fastest speed if they wanted to.

Also, the Chaos Casino had removed its suppression of the Sector 45 Macro Rule, so complete auditory silence was in effect, which added a layer of risk and danger to this already worrisome battle.

The Casino couldn't cheat and the team it chose, while on par with Damon's crew in all aspects, were significantly disadvantaged since they did not have abilities to rely on. As such, the Chaos Casino made up for this through the deployments, placing its team in favorable positions in the path of Damon's team.

Incidentally, the first to be targeted was actually Bane.

The man himself moved quietly through the thick jungle. The forest around him was heavy with the famous jungle heat as well as dark shadows despite the clear sun overhead, vines longer than snakes tangled around the trees along with roots that threatened to trip him up.

His eyes darted around, scanning for any sign of movement from any direction, his ability primed for immediate response. Bane had always trusted his instincts, and today was no different.

He didn't know that one of the enemy team's members - a Pre-Chaos being - was currently sneaking up on him. This opponent had an invisibility skill that made him blend perfectly with any terrain which he had used to survive in the harsh void between universes.

To him, an impatient youngin like bane was the perfect target for while Bane felt he was moving slowly while being alert, he was like a beacon in the dark to any who were true hunters.

Bane felt something was off. Even though he couldn't hear anything because of the Macro Rule here, he felt it, the presence of danger. His Beast Sense was tingling crazily, a skill he acquired after going through a very difficult Essence Instance on earth and coming out with an EX grade completion grade.

[Name: Bane McGregor || Level: 27 || Species: Human (Pre-Chaos) || Age: 23.]

[Post-Chaos Status: POW: 10 || MOB: 5 || FOR: 10 || MEN: 3 || PRO: 3.]

[Pre-Chaos Abilities: Apex Shifter (SSS).]

[Post-Chaos Abilities: Beast Sense (A), Berserk Rage (B), Blood Drink (B).]

[Chaos Items: Binding Lock (D), Collar of Submission (C).]

Damon obviously wasn't the only one who worked hard during the month after Essence Instances opened as literally everyone in the human race dove in them and worked almost 24/7, some even surpassing him in effort.

For those with top tier abilities Like Bane, their harvests were great, and he had acquired a few skill and items necessary to his build. After all, the Universe Will did not have any beef with them like it did with Damon, so their gains were balanced.

At this moment, Bane paused, eyes narrowing while his hand twitched as he pretended to reach for his weapon.

The enemy appeared suddenly, being a thin figure with long limbs and grey skin, with eyes like black holes. The fellow lunged at Bane with a curved blade, his face twisted in a grin like he had already won.

Bane's lips pulled back in a grin of his own.

"Nice trick!" He called out as he activated his ability.

Suddenly, his physical form shifted greatly as scales spread across his arms and legs, hardening into armor. Wings formed on his back, and claws extended from his fingers while his face changed by becoming reptilian, now with sharp fangs.

Any human would be able to recognize that this creature was the fabled Drake in Western Mythology!

The enemy's eyes widened in shock. "A Pre-Chaos creature with Post-Chaos traits? That's not right! It can't be!"

Bane's voice was low and steady. "Guess you haven't seen everything yet."

He lunged forward, claws flashing as his states hadn't shifted numerically, but had switched to the power equivalent of what a drake would have. This meant that with 10 Power, he had ten times the strength of a base drake, 5 Mobility was ten times the speed of a base Drake and 10 Fortitude meant that he had ten times the constitution of a normal Drake according to legends.

Combine that together and you could imagine his current prowess.

The enemy reacted fast though, his curved blade slicing through the air toward Bane's neck. Bane ducked under it with frightening agility one wouldn't expect for a creature of this size, his drake wings folding tight as he moved low.

He lunged forward, claws aiming for the enemy's chest, but the fellow didn't falter as a shimmer spread across his skin - like oil on water - and Bane's claws skidded off harmlessly. The foe had a skin defense skill that adapted to attacks instantly, a trait from his time wandering the void.

Bane snarled, his reptilian eyes narrowing. "So that's how you play?"

The young man shifted his weight, sweeping his tail around in a wide arc. The tail moved fast, far too fast, the force of it enough to snap many trees in a row.

The enemy leapt high, using a jump skill that seemed to defy gravity as he flipped and landed behind Bane, his blade already slashing downward. Bane's wings flared out, catching the blade with the bony ridges in between that caused sparks to fly as the blade scraped, but the blow failed to cut through.

Bane twisted his neck, head snapping back to catch the enemy's foot in his teeth as the foe tried to kick him. He bit down hard, feeling the crunch of bone.

The enemy howled in pain - a nasty and eerie sound - as his other foot shot up, catching Bane in the chin, forcing him to release his bite. He landed and backed off, his foot leaving a trail of black smoke as it healed itself quickly.

Bane hissed with draconic fury, wings flicking with predatory intent.

The young man moved forward again, slower this time, watching as he circled around his foe with light steps. His enemy's eyes flickered with a faint purple light as the air around him shimmered, a thin mist forming in the air, activating a concealment skill meant to hide his movements.

However, Bane's now draconian eyes saw through it. "You think mist will help you? My senses are sharper than that!"

He lunged forward like a bullet, claws slashing through the mist. His claw caught the foe's shoulder, rending the grey skin and exposing a black, oily fluid to the air.

The foe staggered back, his face contorted.

"You wretched Post-Chaos abomination…!!" he hissed.

His skin rippled, forming a dark armor that covered his body like a second skin.

Bane grinned, draconic teeth glinting. "That's better. Let's make this interesting."

He charged forward, his claws forming a fist and smashing into the armored figure, catching him offguard as most quadrupeds never used such attacks, only bipeds did.

The impact shook the trees, leaves falling like rain as the enemy was sent flying, with bane chasing along, showing incomprehensible speed. The foe's blade lashed out desperately in midair, carving a line across Bane's arm, but Bane didn't flinch.

Rather, he grabbed the foe's wrist, squeezing hard until the blade clattered to the ground and the enemy shrieked in pain, his dark armor cracking under the force. He tried to retreat, but Bane's wings flared, sending him forward in a burst of speed as he slammed into the foe, claws raking across the chest.

The enemy's armor shattered like glass and his mouth opened in a silent scream as Bane's claws punched through his chest, ending the fight.

Bane's wings folded back as he exhaled slowly, the last of the black smoke dissipating into the silent forest.

"One down." He muttered, eyes in slits as he charged forward to the nearest team member, no longer willing to fight alone despite winning.