Cronus' system: Against the gods

"Damn! He's so fast!" Rex sighed as he struggled to keep up with Jefferson's speed. Just where was this damn tower and besides, what were its functions?

"We're almost there!" Jefferson said as he quickened his pace. Rex lifted his head up and saw the massive tower in sight. It was colossal and sleek, designed like a hyper-modern obelisk stretching high into the clouds.

As they neared the base of the central tower, the doors burst open, and a group of dark-clad figures emerged, each one cloaked in shadows, their faces obscured beneath dark hoods. At the front of the group stood a tall figure with a jagged scar across his cheek, his gaze sharp and calculating.

"Tch! I should've known they'd get here first!" Jefferson gritted his teeth.

Jefferson narrowed his eyes at the group of cloaked figures, his expression shifting from irritation to a sudden look of calculation. He turned to Rex, giving him a quick once-over. "Alright, change of plans. You take care of them," he said nonchalantly.

Rex's eyes widened, pointing a thumb at himself. "Me? Wait, you're the one who's been going on about how dangerous they are!"

Jefferson gave a faint smirk, like he was enjoying this just a bit too much. "Oh, I have some things to take care of. Besides," he added with a shrug, "they seem a little underwhelming, don't they? Should be a good warm-up for you. Don't forget....Kill them!"

Before Rex could argue, Jefferson vanished, leaving only a faint gust of wind and the echo of his amused chuckle behind. Rex blinked, trying to process what had just happened. "Oh, come on! 'Underwhelming'? What does he think I am, a free babysitter?"

One of the cloaked men tilted his head, apparently confused by Rex's hesitation, but still advancing slowly. Rex shook his head, muttering to himself, "Fine, you wanna abandon me? Let's see what these guys got. If they're weaker than me… this shouldn't be too bad."

He activated god's eyes just briefly, and his vision zeroed in on each opponent. Sure enough, every one of them was weaker than him, their stats nearly half of his. He exhaled, some of his frustration melting into relief. "Phew, guess Jefferson wasn't completely dumping me here to die and besides, I'd be getting free XP's"

"Well, well," Rex said, rubbing his hands together with a smirk, "looks like I'm the main event." He sized up the men in their cloaks. "Alright, who's first?"

The cloaked leader with the scar sneered, raising his hand in a menacing gesture. "Do you know who you're up against, kid?"

"Yeah, yeah, shadowy bad guy number… whatever. Listen, I'm in a bit of a rush, so could we, I don't know, get to the part where I beat you down?"

The leader glared, his pride clearly stung, and lunged at Rex with an impressive speed, at least, impressive if you weren't used to Jefferson's blur of motion. Rex sidestepped casually, landing a playful tap on the man's back as he zipped past.

"Oops! My bad" Rex dashed at the man delivering a swift punch to his cheeks. The scar-face stumbled and spat out blood as he landed on the floor.

The remaining members lunged at Rex, each one sending a powerful punch directed at him from different angles. "Hmph!" A playful smirk formed on Rex's face as he activated his Time control. The men's movements slowed as well as their punch which descended sluggishly. Rex's fist glowed with Aether as he punched one of them in the face.

The punch landed with a force that sent the first cloaked attacker flying back, his body tumbling through the air before crashing into a wall. Rex grinned as he felt the surge of Aether pulsing through his fist.

The remaining attackers, though slowed by his time manipulation, still tried to press forward, each one now wearing an expression of alarm as they struggled against the unnatural drag of Rex's ability.

"Four left," Rex counted, his smirk widening as he turned to face the remaining men. "Hope you guys have more than that, or this is going to be the shortest warm-up ever."

He sidestepped another sluggish punch, ducked under a second attacker's blade, and with a quick sweep of his leg, knocked two of them off balance. Before they could recover, he used his Aether-infused fist to knock them out cold, each impact resonating with a crack of energy.

"Three… two… one…" Rex counted down as he sent the final attacker hurtling into the ground with a swift uppercut, leaving all of them sprawled unconscious at his feet. He dusted off his hands, glancing back at the path Jefferson had taken with a shake of his head.

"That's it? This is all the Shadow Guild has to offer?" he muttered, barely breaking a sweat. "And here I thought assassins were supposed to be, you know, sneaky and dangerous."

But his smugness was interrupted by a slow clap. Rex looked up to see a figure stepping out of the shadows. This figure was cloaked in even deeper shades of black, with faint wisps of energy curling around them, an aura far more intense than the others.

"Oh great, another one," Rex sighed, rolling his shoulders. "And here I was thinking I'd already hit the XP jackpot."

The figure let out a chuckle, cold and calculated. "Impressive, kid. But if you think we're the only ones, you've got another thing coming."

Rex clenched his fists, the Aether still humming in his veins. "Bring it on, then! Jefferson didn't exactly leave me with anything better to do."

Suddenly, dark energy coalesced around the man. Then it began taking form, each one spiraling into a dark orb of shadow energy. The shadow balls surrounded the man, giving off a chilly, deadly aura.

Rex facepalmed "The name, Shadow Guild was more literal than I thought. Seriously? Do all of you guys have shadow ability?" Rex asked, looking confused. Even Sunny Blaze had used shadow energy even when he was supposed to only have invisibility as his ability.

"Aha! Not only that!" The man smirked and then suddenly, each of the shadow balls at his back started blazing with fire. It was as though, the fire was eating up the shadow balls but upon closer inspection, Rex noticed that both energies were mingling together into something much darker and hotter. "What the heck!" Rex gasped.

"How...how can you all use two abilities?" Rex asked.

"This.... you can call it one of the perks of being a shadow-guild member!" The man replied casually.

"Well.....this is gonna get worse than I thought!" Rex gritted his teeth.

Name: Andrew Wilson

Race: Human

Ability: Tier three intermediate fire ability user

Strength: 140

Agility: 120

Endurance: 102

Intelligence: 81

Aim: Aspires to become the no 1 Assassin

Shoe size: 42

Preferred type of Ladies: D Cups

.....

Rex stared at the man, raising an eyebrow as he caught sight of the stats on his god's Eyes interface. "Hold up… aim: become the number one assassin… and a preference for D cups?" He chuckled, unable to hide his amusement. "Really, dude? They put your dating profile on here too?"

"What the hell are you talking about?! Wilson growled...."Wait, how do you know that?!"

"N...never mind" Rex chuckled as his own stats flashed before his eyes

Name: Rex Xander

Level: 22

XP to next level: 50,000/190,000

Race: Human

Class: Cerberus Slayer (Effect: gains 2x more XP from killing wolf-like creatures)

Strength: 102

Agility: 112

Endurance: 102

Intelligence: 82

Aether: 65/65

Available ability points: 20

Active Skills

Temporal rift (Level 1) XP to next level: 0/100

Time rewind(Level 2) XP to next level: 0/100

Rex decided to distribute his stat points now since this guy was stronger than him...

+8 ABILITY POINTS TO AGILITY

I want us to be evenly matched in terms of speed and besides.....Aether can still boost my speed a bit if I want it.

+12 Ability points to Strength

Rex instantly poured his remaining ability points to strength raising it to 112. He'll still be lacking in ATK but he can always use Aether to boost his attack power and besides, he and his opponent were both equal in endurance and Intelligence.

"Okay! Now it's time to dig this out!" Rex's smirk vanished, replaced by a serious look.

As Rex's smirk faded, Wilson's own lips twisted into a predatory grin, his dark, fire-laced aura intensifying until the very air shimmered with heat. The blazing orbs of shadow and flame hovered around him like menacing stars. With a flick of his wrist, Wilson sent one spiraling toward Rex with terrifying speed.

Rex barely had time to react, twisting out of the way as the fiery orb seared past him, leaving a smoky trail in its wake.

"Too slow, kid!" Wilson taunted, his figure disappearing into the shadows only to reappear on Rex's left, his fist wreathed in flames. He threw a powerful punch, and Rex braced himself, crossing his arms just in time to absorb the hit. The impact sent a fiery shockwave rippling through Rex's body, forcing him back a few steps as he gritted his teeth.

"Cronus," Rex muttered, struggling to keep his footing. "Any genius insights?"

"Dost thou really need mine wisdom to deduce that thou art getting thoroughly trounced?" Cronus replied dryly.

"Real helpful!" Rex shot back, rolling his shoulders as he charged at Wilson. With his newly increased strength and agility, he launched himself into the fray, weaving through the barrage of flaming shadow orbs that Wilson sent hurtling his way.

Rex's fist glowed faintly as he channeled Aether, closing the distance between them. He swung a punch at Wilson's face, but the assassin leaned back, narrowly dodging the blow, then retaliated with a vicious uppercut that caught Rex in the ribs.

"Gah!" Rex staggered back, clutching his side as Wilson sneered.

"Come on, that can't be all you've got!" Wilson taunted, flames flickering across his knuckles. "I thought you were supposed to be some prodigy!"

"Guess that makes me a disappointment," Rex grinned, teeth gritted against the pain. "But don't worry, I'm just getting warmed up."

Without warning, Rex activated Time Rewind, pulling himself back a few seconds and dodging the uppercut that had winded him before. Using the element of surprise, he ducked low, sweeping his leg under Wilson's feet. Wilson stumbled but quickly recovered, glaring at Rex with renewed hatred.

"Tricks and cheap shots, typical!" Wilson snarled.

"Oh, please," Rex said, barely able to hide his satisfaction as he launched a punch to Wilson's gut. "This is just a warm-up!"

The punch connected with a satisfying thud, and Wilson's sneer turned into a grimace of pain. Rex didn't let up, he pressed forward, delivering a series of quick jabs and kicks, driving Wilson back.

"Thou art faring well," Cronus remarked. "Perhaps thy foe should reconsider his career ambitions."

"Save the review for later," Rex grunted, landing a solid hit on Wilson's jaw. But even as Wilson staggered, he recovered with alarming speed. With a savage growl, he launched another volley of flaming shadow orbs at Rex.

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Rex ducked and dodged, narrowly avoiding the blazing projectiles. His god's eyes tracked Wilson's movements as he analyzed his enemy's attack patterns. Three orbs to the left, a heavy swing, another burst from the right... Rex smirked as he figured out Wilson's timing.

"Gotcha!" Rex shouted, lunging forward. But just as he aimed a punch at Wilson's face, Wilson grinned and vanished, reappearing behind Rex.

Rex's heart raced as he felt the sudden surge of heat behind him, but he didn't hesitate. He spun around, gathering Aether in his fist, and swung. The punch collided with Wilson's shoulder, sending him reeling back a few steps, but Rex wasn't done yet.

Before Wilson could recover, Rex focused, shaping the Aether into a spear just as he had in his previous fight. The spear crackled with energy as he hurled it at Wilson, who barely managed to deflect it with a swipe of his arm.

"Hah! You really think that flimsy spear will stop me?" Wilson sneered, but Rex could see the strain in his opponent's eyes, the flicker of doubt.

"Maybe not, but it's sure fun to watch you sweat!" Rex shot back, summoning another spear and launching it at Wilson. This time, the Aether spear grazed Wilson's arm, leaving a faint scorch mark on his sleeve. Wilson's face twisted in fury.

"Enough games!" Wilson roared, sending a massive burst of shadow-infused flames toward Rex. The wave of dark fire surged forward, and Rex's instincts kicked in. He activated Temporal Rift, pausing time around the space where Wilson was as he dashed to the side, barely escaping the searing heat.

Rex's heart pounded as he emerged from the rift, gasping for air. "Okay, that was way too close," he muttered, sweat trickling down his brow.

"Thou couldst always concede," Cronus suggested mockingly.

"Yeah, not a chance," Rex replied, his gaze hardening as he refocused on Wilson.

Wilson smirked, though his expression had become strained, a thin sheen of sweat glistening on his forehead. "You're a stubborn little pest, aren't you?"

"Look who's talking," Rex retorted, summoning another spear, this time focusing every ounce of his remaining Aether into it. The spear blazed with raw energy, its glow illuminating the battlefield as Rex raised it high.

Wilson's eyes narrowed, his stance shifting as he prepared for the next attack. But before he could move, Rex threw the spear with every ounce of strength he had left. The weapon sliced through the air, crackling with power as it hurtled toward Wilson.

Wilson raised his hands, shadow flames coiling around his fingers as he tried to deflect the spear. But the force of Rex's throw was too much; the spear smashed through Wilson's defenses, hitting him squarely in the chest.

Wilson staggered, clutching at the wound as dark energy seeped from it. His eyes widened in shock as he sank to his knees, the shadow flames around him flickering and fading.

"Guess that's game over," Rex said, panting heavily as he took a step back, barely able to stay on his feet.

Wilson glared up at him, his voice barely a whisper. "This… isn't… over…" He coughed, a dark smile playing on his lips even as he collapsed to the ground.

Rex exhaled, his body aching from the exertion, but a grin tugged at his lips. "Yeah, well, good luck trying to prove that from six feet under."

{Aether left: 0/65}

EXP Gained {+ 60,000}