NOVEL NEXT Chapter 487: Global Announcement!
[Attention to all players!]
[Player **** has killed the first Second Order Beast in Armageddon!]
Arthur paused for a moment, staring at the global announcement with growing understanding. Second Order Beast—that was an interesting classification he hadn't encountered before. It explained why the Winter Beast had felt so fundamentally different from creatures like the Cackle Queen and Pride, despite all of them holding legendary rank.
The Winter Beast had operated on a completely different tier of existence, transcending normal legendary parameters. Domain abilities weren't just enhanced magical techniques—they represented evolution to a higher order of being entirely.
This revelation suggested that Armageddon's classification system was more complex than he had initially understood, with multiple tiers within each rank that created substantial power disparities between creatures of supposedly equivalent status.
Not wasting time on extended analysis of the system's classification mysteries, Arthur immediately moved to secure his primary objective. He drew his katana once more and carefully split open the Winter Beast's stomach, his precision ensuring he didn't damage the contents while retrieving what he had come for.
The Pyro's Lotus was intact, its blood-red petals still pulsing with internal fire despite having been swallowed by the Winter Beast only minutes earlier. The epic-rank herb's magical properties had protected it from immediate digestion, its concentrated power too substantial to be broken down by the stomach of a beast, even if it was a legendary one.
Items as powerful as the Pyro's Lotus couldn't simply be digested in mere minutes inside the belly of any creature, regardless of their legendary status. Epic-rank herbs possessed too much concentrated magical energy, and consuming them efficiently required careful preparation, specific techniques, and often extensive alchemical processing.
There were established processes for such consumption, and alchemists existed specifically to handle the complex procedures required to safely integrate such powerful materials into living systems. Even legendary creatures needed time and preparation to properly absorb epic-rank herbs without risking magical poisoning or system overload.
The Winter Beast had merely done that out of spite. He wanted Arthur to get angry and to show his dominance.
Only players possessed the unique gift of the system interface, which allowed them to consume magical items directly through game mechanics that bypassed normal biological limitations. This was one of the fundamental advantages that separated players from native creatures, regardless of their respective power levels.
Arthur carefully extracted the intact herb and secured it in his dimensional storage, where its magical properties would be preserved indefinitely until he could return to Charlotte's side.
With his primary objective secured, Arthur accessed his updated status information to assess the gains from his recent advancement:
[Race:] Human
[ID:] Fateless
[Level:] 23
[Class:] Shadow Monarch (SSS)
[Talent:] Primordial Summoner (SSS), Evolution Pathway (SSS-Rank), Lucky (SSS), Space (SSS)
[Summons:] 44/46
[Health Points:] 300 [Mana Points:] 420
[Magical Damage:] 42
[Physical Damage:] 27
[Damage Resistance:] 30
[Attributes:] Strength 27, Agility 30, Vitality 30, Intelligence 42 (+25% → + 6.75, + 7.5, + 7.5, + 10.5)
[Skills:] Ninefold Fortune(Mythical), Living Shadow (Mythical, III), Shadow Bind(Legendary), Shadow Dweller(Legendary), Shadow Cloak(Epic), Enhanced Senses(Rare), Mana Coating(Rare), Iron Fortress(Rare), Blazing Arc(Rare), Blacksmithing (Uncommon)
[Attribute Points:] 2
[Skill Points:] 16
[Equipment:] Ring of Darkness (Legendary), Chaos (Pseudo-Legendary), Mana Earring (Epic), Robe of Darkness (Epic), Loki's Mask(Epic), Crimson Light Armour(Epic), Mask of Thousand Faces (Very Rare), Spirit Core x2 (Very-Rare) Platinum Spear (Very Rare), Platinum Dagger (Very Rare), Mana Ring(Rare), Iron Necklace (Rare), Backpack (Rare), Iron Boots (Rare), Iron Armor (Rare), Health Potion (Rare), Mana Potions (Rare), …
The advancement had increased his summoning capacity to 46 total creatures, providing additional flexibility for future summoning without having to remove any existing summons.
Arthur glanced around the collapsing domain, noting that the Winter Beast's death had destabilised the supernatural environment that had maintained the frozen wasteland for generations. Ice formations were already beginning to melt as natural temperature patterns reasserted themselves across the territory.
With the Pyro's Lotus secured and his immediate objectives accomplished, Arthur's thoughts turned immediately to Charlotte's critical condition and the need to return to her side as quickly as possible.
"Awaken!"
Arthur activated his Primordial Summoner talent, placing his hand on the Winter Beast's massive corpse as the familiar dark energy responded to his command. The portal of absolute darkness appeared beneath the creature's enormous form, its edges crackling with dimensional energy that made reality itself seem to bend and warp around the summoning process.
Dark tendrils emerged from the portal's depths, wrapping around the Winter Beast's body with surprising gentleness.
For several seconds, the portal pulsed with contained energy as the summoning process reached its critical phase. The Winter Beast's form disappeared completely into the swirling vortex, transformed from defeated enemy into potential ally through Arthur's supernatural abilities.
Then, the portal began to reform. Instead of closing entirely, it became a gateway for the Winter Beast's return in his new incarnation. The darkness within began to stir as something massive moved in the depths of dimensional space.
The Winter Beast emerged from the portal, his form exactly as it had been in life. His injuries were completely healed, his eyes restored to their intensity. The Winter Beast emerged in his smaller form, having died that way.
Through their newly established mystical connection, Arthur could sense that the Winter Beast could and would turn back to his huge size if he wanted him to.
Meanwhile...
The global announcement pierced through every player on Earth and throughout Armageddon simultaneously, appearing in their consciousness regardless of location or current activity. The notification carried the weight of unprecedented achievement that demanded immediate attention from every connected individual.
In the sprawling marketplace of Caldera, a group of mid-level players stopped their trading negotiations entirely as the announcement flashed across their vision with golden text that refused to be dismissed.
"Second Order Beast?" muttered a Level 14 warrior whose Rare-rank sword suddenly felt inadequate in his grip. "What the hell does that even mean?"
His companion, a mage specialising in fire manipulation, shook her head with obvious bewilderment. "I've never heard that classification before. We have pseudo-elite beasts, elite beasts, superior beasts... but Second Order?"