SSS Talent: From Trash to Tyrant

The ground still trembled from the Rift's pulse — a rhythmic thrum. Every wave of distortion spat out more Void Creatures: eyeless, gaunt figures with limbs too long for their bodies. Behind them, towering over the rest, loomed the Prime-tier monsters — their flesh slick and dark, arms ending in spear-like protrusions that gleamed under the faint blue light.

Trafalgar clicked his tongue, the obsidian armor humming faintly around him. "There's more of them than before."

Sylven drew his bowstring tight, the golden thread glowing against the dim forest light. "Three Prime-tier… maybe four. This will get messy."

Before Trafalgar could respond, a low growl rumbled beside him. Garrika's breathing had changed — slow, heavy, primal. Her nails dug into the ground, claws elongating, her frame trembling as bones cracked and reshaped. Her skin shimmered, sprouting a dark pelt that rippled like fur caught in wind.

"Garrika—" Sylven began, but it was too late.

She looked up, eyes gold and wild, the remnants of her human face now wrapped in feral strength. When she spoke, her voice carried the rasp of a beast forcing words through fangs. "I'll take the big ones."

'She's losing it,' Trafalgar thought, watching the transformation with measured calm. 'She's gone full Berserk. The last time this happened was in the mine.'

The first Prime moved — a blur of black mass, its spear-arm stabbing downward. Garrika met it mid-charge, claws clashing against hardened chitin. Sparks flew as her strength matched its momentum, and she slammed it backward into the dirt.

Another creature lunged from her flank. She didn't even turn — her claw ripped sideways, severing its jaw clean off. The roar that followed wasn't human anymore.

Sylven cursed under his breath. "Remind me never to make her angry."

Trafalgar smirked faintly beneath his visor. "Yeah, same."

He adjusted his grip on Maledicta, the weapon humming to life again. "Alright," he muttered, stepping forward into the chaos, "let's keep her company."

Garrika leapt ahead, her movements nothing but a blur of claws and fangs, while Sylven loosed a volley of light-tipped arrows into the swarm.

The clearing had become a storm of motion and sound — claws tearing through air, arrows whistling past, and the rhythmic hum of Maledicta cleaving through flesh. Every impact sent a shockwave that rustled the canopy above, scattering leaves like ash.

Garrika was a whirlwind of fury. Her claws glowed faintly crimson as she launched forward with [Lupine Rush], her body cutting through the air faster than sight. She tore into the flank of a Prime-tier creature, shredding its armor-like hide. The monster screamed, spinning to strike, but she met it head-on with [Beast Claw Barrage] — her hands a blur of slashes that cracked bone and sent shards of black ichor flying.

When the creature tried to counter, she lunged upward, sinking her fangs into its shoulder — [Moonfang Rend]. The sound of splintering carapace echoed across the battlefield as she tore free, landing in a crouch, panting but unyielding.

Trafalgar carved his own path through the lesser Flow-tier creatures. His strikes weren't clean anymore — they were efficient, ruthless. He parried one with a twist of his wrist, pivoted, and drove Maledicta through another's chest. The weapon pulsed faintly with each kill, feeding something inside him.

A faint line of system text flickered before his eyes:

[Riftborn Feast activated: +0.001% total power gained.]

Then another. And another.

He felt the change immediately — mana flowing faster, limbs lighter, his reactions sharper. 'Less effort. More speed… it's stacking.'

A creature lunged at his blind spot — Pulse-tier, faster than the others. He sidestepped with [Severance Step], his form blurring as the world bent around him. Reappearing behind it, he slashed once. Maledicta hummed violently, cutting clean through spine and skull.

Sylven kept his distance, the pale wood of his bow glowing each time he fired. His arrows pinned monsters mid-lunge, forcing them back toward Trafalgar's reach. "You're actually smiling under that helmet, aren't you?" he muttered.

Trafalgar didn't answer — he was too focused, too absorbed in the rhythm. Each movement felt easier, each breath clearer.

Trafalgar tore through the swarm like a storm given form. The weight of Maledicta was perfect in his grip, balanced between speed and power — an extension of his will. Every slash carved through the air, sending arcs of dark-blue energy crackling outward.

Two Hollowspawn Marauders lunged from opposite sides — long-limbed, their bodies twisted like molten glass, jaws splitting open to reveal rows of thin, needle-like teeth. Trafalgar pivoted sharply, dropping low and slashing horizontally — [Arc Slash]. The ripple split the first creature in half, the second recoiling as its arm was severed clean through. He didn't stop. His boots twisted on the dirt, and before the black ichor even hit the ground, he vanished — [Severance Step].

A heartbeat later, he reappeared behind a larger Hollowspawn Striker, its blade-like arms raised mid-swing. Trafalgar's sword came down first — [Earthsplitter]. The impact cracked the ground in a shockwave, launching dirt and blood skyward. The monster's legs shattered beneath it as the tremor radiated outward.

Before it could fall, he spun on his heel, slashing upward in a fluid motion that caught the next attacker mid-charge. [Severing Fang] tore diagonally through its torso — the wound glowing for a split second before detonating in a burst of pressure that hurled its corpse into a tree.

Another pair crawled from the underbrush — Hollowspawn Ravagers, their bodies quivering with unstable mana. Trafalgar deflected one spear-like limb with the flat of his blade, twisting just enough for the second to graze his pauldron. He exhaled sharply, tightening his grip. 'Now.'

He kicked forward, chaining two consecutive [Severance Steps] — his figure blurring into curved streaks of motion. Both Ravagers fell apart before realizing they'd been struck, their upper halves collapsing in opposite directions.

The clearing was littered with twitching bodies, their black blood sinking into the moss. Trafalgar's breathing was steady — focus absolute, eyes fixed forward.

Then the shadow appeared — a Hollowspawn Prime, towering over him, its arms tapering into obsidian lances that pulsed faintly with mana. Trafalgar stepped forward, Maledicta rising slowly, mana condensing along its edge, warping the air.

[Morgain Final Crescent]

One clean step. A single slash.

The inverted crescent of dark energy roared outward, carving the Prime from shoulder to hip. The world fell silent as the creature's upper body slid away and disintegrated into smoke.

The forest floor was a battlefield. Smoke, dirt, and the stench of black ichor clung to the air. Only a handful of Hollowspawn Primes remained now—massive, grotesque silhouettes, their limbs lengthened into jagged spears of obsidian that dripped mana like tar. Each step they took sank into the earth, burning patches of moss and bark beneath them.

Garrika was already there, deep in their midst. Her body had changed—her hair wild, her eyes glowing an intense green, and long streaks of fur traced down her arms and neck like a living mantle. Her breathing was ragged, but her grin was feral. She looked half-woman, half-beast.

She darted forward—[Lupine Rush]—vanishing in a blur of motion. A Prime swung downward, its arm slicing through the air like a falling tree. Garrika twisted mid-leap, claws extending, then ripped through its exposed side with [Beast Claw Barrage]. Each strike was brutal, fueled by raw fury, shredding through hardened carapace. The Prime roared, black fluid bursting from the wounds.

Another lunged from her blind spot. Before it could reach her, Trafalgar appeared—his body flickering through space with [Severance Step]. Maledicta clashed against the creature's lance-arm, sparks flying as he forced the limb wide open. "Garrika, move!"

She didn't hesitate. Using the gap he made, she jumped high, spinning once midair and driving her claws into the Prime's throat. [Moonfang Rend]. The sound was nauseating—the tearing of flesh and bone, followed by a hiss as the monster toppled.

Trafalgar staggered back, breathing hard. Sweat mixed with the grime on his jaw under the helmet, his chest rising and falling. 'Damn… this isn't training anymore. This is slaughter.'

He steadied himself, tightening his grip. His entire body screamed to rest, but he couldn't—not with Garrika in front of him, her movements growing slower, her aura flickering.

'If she falls, we're done.'

He surged forward again, cutting down a Ravager that tried to flank her. [Severing Fang] cleaved its torso apart in one violent sweep. Garrika met his eyes through the chaos—her fangs bared, but her expression fierce and alive.

Sylven's arrows whistled from the treeline, striking down any Marauders that slipped through the perimeter. His calm voice echoed faintly, "Finish the Primes! I've got your backs covered!"

Trafalgar nodded once. 'I can't let her handle them alone.'

He lunged beside Garrika again, their attacks weaving together—her claws and his blade cutting through the same rhythm, two hunters moving as one.

Garrika's roar tore through the battlefield, echoing beneath the thick canopy as she launched herself at the last Hollowspawn Prime. The creature reared back, its lance-like arm gleaming with sickly mana, ready to impale her midair—

—but Trafalgar was already there. [Severance Step] blurred him forward in a single flash, Maledicta intercepting the blow. Steel met obsidian with a shriek that rattled the forest. The force pushed him back, but it was enough.

"Now!" he barked.

Garrika twisted midair, momentum snapping through her spine as she landed on the Prime's shoulders. Her claws tore into its neck, anchoring her in place. Then, with one vicious motion, she sank her fangs deep into its throat. [Moonfang Rend].

The Prime convulsed, a black spray of ichor bursting outward as she ripped through flesh and tendon, severing the jugular in one brutal motion. Its howl died in its throat, gurgling into silence as it crashed backward, crushing the undergrowth beneath its weight.

For a moment, everything stopped.

Then the Rift pulsed once in the distance — a trembling flash of violet light — before collapsing inward, folding upon itself until only smoke and distorted air remained. The ground trembled lightly, then grew still.

Garrika staggered off the corpse, blood dripping from her chin as her claws began to retract. Her breathing slowed as the fur along her arms faded back into skin.

Trafalgar exhaled sharply, his entire body trembling with exhaustion. In one smooth motion, he dematerialized Maledicta, the black blade dissolving into shadow. A second pulse of light followed as the obsidian armor faded from his body, leaving only the undersuit beneath. The sudden weightlessness almost made him stumble.

He let out a strained breath, tugging the tie from his hair until it fell loose over his shoulders. Sweat clung to his temples and neck as he finally sank to the ground with a dull thud, stretching his legs out against the dirt. "It's done," he muttered, voice hoarse.

Sylven emerged from the treeline, his bow still slung across his shoulder, dirt and ash streaking his face. He let out a long breath, then opened his palm — a faint shimmer of light flickered before a plain silver bottle materialized in his hand.

"Water," he said simply, stepping closer and handing it to Trafalgar.

Trafalgar took it without a word, tilting his head back to drink deeply. The water was cold and crisp, cutting through the dryness in his throat. He exhaled afterward, handing the bottle toward Garrika, who took a long sip and sighed before giving it back.

The air hung heavy with the smell of blood and burned soil. Trafalgar lay back, hair fanned over the ground, eyes tracing the fractured light filtering through the canopy. "We'll have to report it," he said quietly. "That's three parties gone now."

Sylven nodded, dematerializing the bottle with a flicker of silver light. "Yeah. And after this… no one will risk the inner zones again."

Garrika gave a tired grin. "Good. Less competition."

Trafalgar smiled faintly, closing his eyes. "Heh… guess so."