Monarch of Profound Toxin [Progression, LitRPG]

By the time the ear-shattering boom reached their ears, the entirety of the peak of the mountain was already airborne in the distance.

The shock wave caused by the muzzle flash from the mouth of the Big Ass Rail Gun slammed into them all, buffeting hair and clothes like a hurricane, but people barely noticed as all eyes were glued to the spectacle ahead. The severed mountain top crashed back into the base with a rumbling quake but since it had shifted in the air, the impact angle was awkward enough to cause it to topple and begin to slide down the steep side.

Large protrusions were torn off completely as the gigantic chunk of rock pulled everything along into an all-consuming avalanche of destruction. Halfway down, it struck the deep scar in the side inflicted by Chop's horizontal slash earlier but, instead of being torn off, a sharp edge caught suddenly and sent the descending piece into the air like a ramp.

Separating from the steep mountain, the block of stone spun as it sailed through the air. While the smaller rubble continued to roll down, the colossal chunk didn't make contact with the mountain again before sinking deep into the ground with another earthshaking impact.

Erupting like a volcano, a crater was instantly created as everything was ripped up and into the air with indescribable violence.

As the dust settled and the debris rolled to a stop with distant crackling, nobody made a sound. Only after a few seconds did muttered conversation begin to spread among the spectators, Chop taking that as his cue to talk as well.

"And here I've been standing, listening to you babble on and on about being weak. Then what the heck was that then? I've seen many an S-ranker boast about their power but wh—" he said and turned around to regard Eik, cutting himself off when he saw the younger man's face.

Despite being the one who caused the whole thing, the Earthling's own jaw was virtually scraping the grass by his feet as he stared in absolute shock. His eyes flitted from the titanic, buried chunk of mountain to the Big Ass Rail Gun still standing intact with its barrel pointed at the destroyed mountain. He just couldn't decide which of them was the more appropriate target at which to direct his stupefaction.

"Holy… Holy sweatshirt!" he breathed, completely unable to tear his gaze away. "Hot dawg! Did you see that, Chop, you wrinkly old potato?" Eik just couldn't stop the giggles once they came. Doing a little dance, he pointed at the scene with beaming pride. "I did that, dude!"

"Yes, of course I saw it. It was pretty hard to miss. And you said you were weak? Sure, any S-ranker worth their salt could easily topple a mountain, but destroying it like that in a single strike—although I'm pretty sure I noticed a secondary explosion in there—is not something that's a common capability even deep in S-rank. And stop grinning so dumbly like that. It's annoying, you little monster."

Eik pointed at his own shit-eating grin which only widened even further, nearly reaching his ears. "Oh, this is never going away. You're a mythological X-ranker and you called me strong. The moment I get home I'm crumbling up my list of things to brag incessantly about, throwing it in the trash, and making a new one with only that written in big, blocky letters."

Chop sighed and turned around to start back toward the fracture they had arrived through. "I'm going back." The crowd parted like a school of fish would part for a passing shark.

"Oh, come on! Cheer up! Let's go back together!" Eik called and ran after him. Maybe he had overdone it a bit. After the old man's rather insane antics had caught him so off balance on their first meeting that Eik was feeling a bit… one-upped in the silliness department. And with how Chop had gone so far as to frighten his family with the weight of his presence, it would have been a lie to claim that there wasn't a tiny shred of animosity in Eik's ambitiously annoying behavior.

For a short moment, Eik stopped as he passed through the spectators, steady gaze firmly on the Gohkamorian scout. The much larger man glared back with unconcealed hostility, but that instantly changed into shock and fear when Eik's heavy aura slammed down on his head and shoulders. In a second he was on his knees, his body completely drained of strength as Eik's killing intent overwhelmed his system.

There was no toxicity in the aura—this was not the place to demonstrate that. All it was was pure, unrelenting force controlled expertly to the exact point of inflicting maximum agony and terror without actually knocking the victim unconscious.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

No, Eik wanted this man to go home to his masters pissing his pants and reporting exactly what he had witnessed here today. A man with constantly and rapidly growing power, both personal and social, who had not for a moment forgotten what they have done to his people. And most importantly, a man with the willingness to go to any length to punish for the past and protect the future.

Leaving the much larger man shivering in a trance-like state of horror, tears streaming down his cheeks and his lips quivering soundlessly, Eik continued back toward the fracture without a word. His mood was ruined.

***

"Pretty impressive, pretty impressive," Chop muttered as he shuffled through Eik's personal laboratory located in the main building of Eik's Excellent Elixir Emporium. Everywhere along the walls stood wooden boxes filled with vials arranged in a grid made by frames fitted into the rim. They rattled as the X-ranker thunked them with his toe.

A large hearth held the ashes left over from many fires as Eik had experimented with temperatures as well in his pursuit of grade 6 potions. Bellows were installed along the floor to stoke the flames but Eik had eventually given up on the idea after even Olivia's A-ranked flames had failed to show any results.

Roofs and walls were absolutely covered in abundant herbs, plants, and flowers hung on hooks or by string as well as animal parts like horns, teeth, and other such things that could be hung like that without leaving too much of a smell.

Many different minerals—most of which Eik couldn't even remember the names—and even more plants were stored in sealed boxes lining several shelves concentrated around one corner of the room.

Absentmindedly Chop flipped through some of the numerous text books and recipe books scattered about the room with the majority piled haphazardly on a large, heavy wooden table in the center. "Are you reading all of these at the same time or something? They're everywhere," Chop asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Kind of," Eik said. "I've been trying to figure out how to make those damned grade 6 potions that are appropriate for S-rankers, but no matter how much I read and research, I can't find any recipes. You mentioned that you knew of such potions, and I've certainly seen them offered at the auction houses and even at the more expensive stores in the Gimleh market, but anybody who can create them are keeping their methods close to the chest."

The old man nodded with understanding. "As they should. No matter how generous and kind one might be, it is the folly of a simpleton to reveal all that can leave you vulnerable and the wisdom of a king to reveal just enough."

"I suppose so," Eik muttered. "I have kept the method of my Legendary Mystery Medicine secret despite literally thousands of attempts to either coerce, steal, force, buy, and even charm it from me."

Chop gestured at him with an upturned hand to his point. "Exactly. So as it turns out, perhaps you are not the fool you appear to be after all."

"Veiled insults. I like it," Eik deadpanned. "Anyway, since I'm really a rather fresh Awakened, and an even fresher S-ranker, I haven't had the opportunity to farm any S-ranked monster yet, so I'm sorely lacking in materials to use for grade 6 potion experiments."

"Is that so? How long have you been an Awakened?"

"Uuh, I guess it's been something like three years since I first became an F-ranker at this point."

Eik had been looking through a couple of the books himself while they spoke, hoping that the preoccupied skimming of the texts might trigger some kind of divine insight, but when Chop failed to respond with a snarky remark and, in fact, failed to respond at all, he looked up to find him practically frozen in time.

"Wh… Wh-What?" the X-ranker stammered, his fingers fumbling at the table for support despite his world-ending destructive capabilities. The expression made up of a mix of envy and disbelief was perhaps the most animated he had been yet. "Did… Did you just say you reached S-rank in three years?"

"Yeah, I know it's pretty fast but—"

"It's not fast," Chop interrupted, his entire body shivering from the agitation he appeared to be feeling. "It's unimaginable!"

"I mean, you said it yourself. I'm a Worldbreaker. And with how many Legendary Mystery Medicines I've consumed, I've been able to handle monsters and other Awakened above my power rank for a while now. That always award so many levels. It feels like the system always thinks my displayed level is below the real level and pumps up the numbers."

Chewing on his lower lip, the old man studied him with new eyes. "I still can't get it to make sense in my head," he mumbled under his breath, almost just to himself.

"You're an X-ranker. Surely, you've seen something like this before."

Chop shook his head insistently. "No, I once saw someone reach S-rank in a little over ten years. That alone is impressive enough, but three? No, that's preposterous."

"I'm not lying," Eik said defensively.

"Oh, I don't think you are. It's just…" Chop began but trailed off, at a loss for words.

Growing slightly uncomfortable under the X-ranker's intense gaze Eik tried to change the topic. "Anyway, so since I haven't had a chance to farm many S-rank materials yet, I was thinking of going to Gimleh for a bit of shopping. You can eat some more cake at the café or something."

"No, I'm coming with you," Chop answered immediately, still half lost in thought. "I still have some stuff to give you, but I think it might destroy this room if I unloaded it here so let's wait with that."

"You don't have to come, you know," Eik told him, trying not to sound desperate. "I can do my own shopping. And I'll even tell Molly at the café to let you eat all the cake you want."

"I'll do that later. I'd like to get a better look at Gimleh. I haven't been there in years. And I have many more questions for you now."

"Great…"