SSS-RANKED Awakening: Supreme Fate-breaker System

Ethan's breath came out in a sharp exhale. His fists clenched tighter. He now understood — at least generally — the situation he was in.

He was relieved that Loki can't affect the situation around him when he's in Labyrinths. His interests towards Labyrinth surged...

"Bastard." The word slipped from his lips like venom. The jackals were still on him.

Normally, he would've avoided killing these jackals and continued on his journey… but now, with all the beasts in the area already drawn to him, what use was there in playing it safe?

No.

He'd rather slaughter these pests quickly, then move deeper into the Outlands before the next wave caught up.

The only way to survive was to stay in motion — to cut down anything that crossed his path and keep going, faster and faster, before the tide grew too large to handle.

The pack of jackals lunged, teeth bared.

With a quick, fluid motion, Ethan unsheathed his sword, his body moving on instinct. His blade flashed — the first jackal's throat was slit, and its body collapsed with a dull thud. But the others didn't even hesitate. They pressed in, fearless, as if death meant nothing.

Ethan's strikes were cold, efficient.

His blade sang through the air, cutting down the jackals one after the other. Their blood spattered the cracked earth, their bodies falling like leaves in the wind — but they kept coming. The leader shrieked from the back, pushing them forward even as they died.

Ethan didn't even bother wasting mana skills. They were too weak for that. Just pests.

Within two minutes, it was over.

The entire pack lay dead at his feet. He quickly stored their bodies in his ring, not even sparing them a second glance.

[Fatebreaking points +10...

Total: 15

85 more to activate Fate-breaker from its passive state]

Ignoring this message, He manipulated the mana within him, pushing it into his legs — giving his already superhuman speed another boost.

And then, he ran.

He tore through the desolate land, the wind whipping against his face. But no matter how fast he moved, the distant roars and screeches of beasts echoed after him — a chorus of predators drawn toward his scent, toward the chaos Loki had cursed him with.

Ethan gritted his teeth. 'This is going to be hard…'

Even though among Rank Ones, he stood at the absolute peak — the permanent boosts from his two skills [Fate-breaker and Unfated Scion] giving him double the stats of normal awakened — he was still Rank One. And there was little even he could do against the high-tier beasts that prowled the deeper Outlands.

His confidence had come from the route carefully marked on his map — a path that avoided the territories of high-ranked monsters while letting him slay weaker ones along the way.

But that plan hadn't accounted for this… for Loki's twisted game. For the fact that every beast in the Outlands would now be drawn to him.

His chest tightened as the realization hit harder.

Though he tried not to think about it, deep down, he knew.

His chances of surviving this beast tide… were close to zero.

'Am I really going to die here…?' His hands clenched around his sword as he pushed his legs harder, forcing himself to move even faster.

His heart pounded, not just from exertion… but from fear.

Fear he didn't want to admit.

Fear that maybe — just maybe — this time… he wouldn't make it out alive.

'No. I can't die. I have to get strong and defeat that Loki bastard. Even if it's hopeless, I can't give up…'

Desperation fueled him, his legs moving faster, muscles burning as his speed surged even further.

Suddenly—

The ground ahead of his sprinting path shifted, the earth bulging unnaturally. Sand and loose gravel cascaded down as something massive erupted upward, the once solid route now a mess of torn earth and dust.

A thick, powerful tail, covered in jagged, rock-hard scales, whipped toward him with terrifying force. The wind howled from the sheer speed of the swing.

Ethan's eyes widened.

'Damn—!'

He recognized it instantly.

The Dreadmaw Crocodile.

Larger than any normal crocodile, this beast was a terrestrial predator — an evolved terror that preferred dry land over water. Unlike its aquatic cousins, the Dreadmaw's body was built for ambushes in open plains and loose sand, its scales tougher than steel, its maw wide enough to bite a man in half.

And just like the old crocodiles, it was a master of ambush. Its initial strike? Always fast. But its movements afterward? Slow, sluggish even. Thick armor weighed it down — armor thick enough to shrug off normal blows. Ethan could deal with it if he used a Mana Slash, but that meant slowing down…

And right now? Slowing down was death.

The swarm of beasts closing in from every direction made that painfully clear.

Gritting his teeth, Ethan forced his body to react. Mana surged through his veins as he manipulated it in a split second, every instinct screaming at him to move. He leapt—

Just in time.

The tail missed him by a hair's breadth, slicing through the air where he had been. The ground behind him cracked from the force, dust exploding outward.

But it wasn't over.

The Dreadmaw roared and leapt too — a lunging mass of scales and teeth. But how could the slow-bound muscles of a mere feral beast hope to match the honed reflexes and speed of an Awakened human like Ethan?

It missed.

'Whew…'

Ethan exhaled sharply, his heart pounding in his chest.

'That's a second major threat dodged…'

With his speed, he knew — there was no way the Dreadmaw could catch up now. It was already falling behind.

But then—

Swoosh—!

Swoosh—!

Swoosh—!

Swoosh—!

Multiple sharp sounds split through the air from all sides.

Ethan's eyes narrowed, shrinking as he caught sight of them—

'No…'

Pin-like needles were streaking toward him, glinting under the pale sunlight. Fast. Numerous. Deadly.

His gaze darted to their source, and his chest clenched.

Bristleback Grawls!