Chapter 9: What Are Factions?

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Chaos was rather curious about tasting his own flesh, but sadly, his cut-off limb turned into ashes before that.

He began to wonder if this side effect had something to do with his physiology, albeit it was a mystery for now.

However, he began to wonder if there was a certain amount of time before a cut-off part of his body turned into ashes.

So he decided to simply bite from the source itself and ate a finger.

Crunch.

However, the moment he "ate" it, he only tasted dry ashes, which he still ate, but he didn't felt any power boost.

"Hm… I suppose I cannot eat myself…" thought Chaos, feeling disappointed.

This perhaps not only applied to him but anyone that were to try to eat him, so they might as well only taste ashes whenever they took a bite from him.

Maybe if they were to eat him whole… but Chaos would never let that happen.

He continued to see his Abilities as he drank more Nether Water to appease the dryness that eating ashes gave to his throat.

[Supernatural Strength: Level 2]

An Ability possessed by high castes of Vampires grants them the power above the realm of normal beings, becoming supernatural in every sense. Even the slimmest of Vampires might possess the strength of 100 normal men.

This Ability enhances the user's Strength-based in level by x1.1.

…

"Hm, this might be the reason I have so much power despite being so slim. You would expect a muscular person to fit my strength…" thought Chaos.

[Vampirism: Level 2]

The innate ability of high castes of Vampires grants the ability to gain nourishment by the consumption of high quality and fresh blood while being able to feel the scent of blood from far away.

Mana can be restored by drinking blood, and the more blood the user drink, the greater the effects of all Abilities within the Vampire Skill Tree become.

…

"I see. Is this why blood is so tasty?" wondered Chaos.

[Bloodwork: Level 2]

The innate ability possessed by high castes of Vampires, giving them complete dominion over blood within a certain radius around the user, which increases depending on the Skill Level.

The control over the blood of living beings might be suppressed by the strength of the target, usually only working in weaker living beings.

Blood controlled can be crystalized through the usage of mana, and shaped in all kinds of forms.

…

"This… I somehow knew how to use this without even having used it before. Could it be the strange fragments of memories I have?" wondered Chaos.

[Dragon Breath: Level 2]

The innate ability that all Dragons possess, giving them the ability to gather mana within a special organ inside their throats and release a powerful elemental attack, which varies in element depending on the dragon and their affinity.

The intensity of the attack depends on Skill level and Magic Stat.

…

"I haven't tried this one yet…" thought Chaos, consider the possibility of decimating his enemies with a powerful Chaos Breath Attack shortly.

[Dragon Scales: Level 2]

The innate ability that all Dragons possess, giving them the ability to reinforce the scales they grow around their bodies while also having the property of resisting all types of magic damage.

The increase in defense and magic resistance depends on skill level and Stamina Stat.

…

"Maybe I shouldn't have created the Miasma Barrier and just taken the magic attacks head-on? I don't like to be so reckless though, but maybe I should be more confident," thought Chaos.

[Vampire Dragon Transformation: Level 2]

A unique Ability that only someone with both the Vampire and the Dragon Bloodline can acquire, is the combination of Vampire Transformation and Dragon Transformation Abilities, which transform the user into a hybrid between a monstrous vampire and a large and strong dragon.

While transforming, all of your Vampire and Dragon Abilities are enhanced by x1.5, while damage dealt is enhanced by x1.5, and damage received is reduced by x1.5, but Mana is constantly drained.

As long as there is mana the transformation can go on indefinitely.

The higher the level the greater the bonuses while transformed.

…

"I see. By merely transforming I receive such a boost in power. And I can keep this up as long as I have Mana… and I have over 100 million. I suppose I can really keep it indefinitely, as my Mana regeneration seems to be compared to my mana quantity, so I regenerate millions per minute…" thought Chaos, as he drank some more Nether Water until he suddenly felt a slight flow of power rush through his body.

Ding!

[You learned the [Nether Coating] Skill!]

"Nether… Coating?"

Chaos immediately tried out this Spell as he learned that he was now able to coat himself with Nether, a phantasmal and green-colored ethereal mass of toxic properties…

"This means that I not only get Skills by eating living beings but also by eating materials…" thought Chaos, as he continued to drink Nether Water, but he didn't felt the power he got any more, he needed to eat something new now!

Chaos seemed rather surprised by such a power, if he could let go of any restraints, wouldn't he be able to devour everything and gain power from it? Maybe one day he could even devour an entire planet!

Chaos thought that he was done with bathing, but realized that there was a certain… thing on his Status that was bothering him.

"Why am I cursed? And what are Factions?" he wondered.

[Divine Curse: God's Curse]

A curse set into the user's soul which forcefully changes its faction to Chaotic Evil, making it an enemy of all beings in the Galaxy of Nyx.

…

"Who put this on me?" wondered Chaos, but the Curse didn't elaborate further.

Then, he checked what was "Factions".

[Faction]

Every being, be it living or unliving is born with a set Faction they belong to, which might be determined by their creator or parents Faction.

Factions can be changed depending on the user's change of mind, the faction of their master, or other variabilities, however, they usually stay the same since birth or creation.

Factions determine who is an enemy and who is an ally. Usually, those that belong to similar factions can trust each other… except Chaotic Factions.

Factions don't force anyone to become the enemy of anyone, but they are an influence that inherently manipulates the thought someone has of you based on their beliefs or on what they were taught.

…

"…Is this a joke?" wondered Chaos.

Chaos couldn't understand how this system could even work.

Why were people born with a faction? Why would someone trust another with a good faction just because?

What was wrong with this entire universe?

Was this faction thing related to his father's persecution?

And now that he was set automatically into the Chaotic Evil Faction… wouldn't that mean that anyone he meets would… become his enemy?

This was… more than Chaos could take.

However, he seemed calm and composed as he was expressionless.

"This sucks." He thought as he checked the information of the faction he belonged to.

[Faction: [Chaotic Evil: World's Enemy (Forced Faction Due to Curse)]

You are not only an aberrant being who embodies all that is evil and chaotic, but you are also the enemy of any world you land on, making you the target of any other faction.

…

As simple as that. He was really just the enemy of the world from birth…

"This is a bit too much, but okay… I can cope with it-"

Ding!

[You have been cursed by the Galaxy!]

[Divine Curse: God's Curse] has changed into [Galaxy Curse: Nyx's Curse]

"Eh?"

Ding!

[Your faction has changed!]

[Faction: [Chaotic Evil: World's Enemy (Forced Faction Due to Curse)] has changed into [Faction: [Primordial Evil: Galaxy's Calamity (Forced Faction Due to Curse)]!]

"…What."

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