Cronus' system: Against the gods
Chapter 49 The Sword Of Damocles

"Wait, what?" Rex blinked in surprise as he stared at the system notification. He had just killed a freaking god-level hollow-like undead, and yet he only leveled up twice? He scowled. "Even Cerberus spat out more XP than this robot!" he grumbled, kicking a stone near Charon's fallen body in frustration.

"Thou thinketh as a fool!" Cronus's voice rang out with a mix of disbelief and irritation. "One, Charon the Ferryman is in no wise comparable to the gods or even demi-gods! He is but a mere ferryman of Hades!" The ancient titan's frustration was almost tangible.

Rex raised a brow, clearly not buying it. "A mere ferryman who nearly crushed me into a pancake. Sure, okay.

Cronus sighed heavily, "Thou truly hast a knack for underestimating the divine structure. Charon simply ferrieth souls...."

"Yeah, yeah," Rex interrupted, walking over to the corpse of Charon. He grabbed the oar from the skeleton's cold, bony hands. "Is this of any use?" he mused, turning the oar over as he activated God's Eyes.

Name: Oar of Charon

Role: Stirs the waters of the River Styx

Abilities: None

Rank: ????

Rex blinked. "So it's basically a glorified canoe paddle." He sighed, tossing it aside. "Guess I'm not starting a ferry service anytime soon."

Cronus sounded exasperated. "Thou art missing the point, mortal! Such items oft carry unseen worth-"

"Yeah, well, it's not helping me hit like a truck, is it?" Rex opened his stat window, ignoring Cronus's grumbling.

Name: Rex Xander

Level: 18

XP to next level: 0/100,000

Race: Human

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

Strength: 91

Agility: 96

Endurance: 96

Intelligence: 77

Aether: 50/50

Ability points to distribute: 30

Rex furrowed his brows, staring at his stats. For some reason, an oddly satisfying urge crept up on him. "I just... really want all my stats to end in zero. It's the perfect round number."

He eyed his agility, already the highest stat. "Obviously, Agility's the boss here." He bumped it up by 14 points to hit a neat 110. His inner perfectionist squealed in satisfaction.

With a smirk, he dumped the rest of his points in a way that made the numbers line up just right:

Strength: +9

Endurance: +4

Intelligence: +3

His new stats shimmered before him:

Name: Rex Xander

Level: 20

XP to next level: 0/180,000

Race: Human

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

Strength: 100

Agility: 110

Endurance: 100

Intelligence: 80

Aether: 50/50

"Great!" Rex beamed, patting his chest. His face lit up as he admired his progress. "Perfect! All my stats end in zero now." He clenched his fists, feeling a rush of satisfaction. "Everything's going smoothly. This mission?

A total breeze. I won't stop until I see a fight I can't win." He grinned wider. "Then maybe I'll consider backing off. But until then..."

"Thou art still a weakling!" Cronus chimed in, yanking Rex out of his self-congratulating thoughts.

Rex blinked, glaring upward. "Way to ruin my moment, Cronus. Ever heard of positive reinforcement?"

"Thou art delusional if thou thinketh that defeating a mere ferryman maketh thee mighty," Cronus retorted dryly.

Rex threw his hands up in mock surrender. "Okay, okay, I get it! Next time, I'll go punch Zeus or something, will that make you happy?"

"'Twould be a waste of thy pitiful strength."

Rex shook his head, chuckling. "You're such a buzzkill, man. Just let me have this win!" He glanced back at the oar lying uselessly on the ground. "Besides, that guy was literally the worst boss ever. Even a toddler could've thrown me better loot."

Cronus sighed again, the ancient titan sounding as weary as a thousand-year-old librarian dealing with a noisy patron. "I weep for humanity."

Rex grinned. "You and me both, buddy."

Suddenly, Rex saw a flickering light by the corner of a cave. It flickered continuously, emitting a blue light. Rex walked closer and noticed that the blue light seemed to be alive. It seemed to be coiling around a certain object but what was that?

Rex walked closer again and observed properly and behold... It was a sword and it was hanging in mid-air with blue-like things dancing around it. "What the hell is this?" Rex mused and then activated god's eyes

Name: Sword of Damocles

Effect: Increases strength stat by 20 and decreases endurance by 30 when in use

Role: The blade that embodies the constant threat of danger hanging over those who wield great power.

Ability: A floating ethereal version of the sword appears above the battlefield, looming over the opponent, signifying imminent danger. Once the opponent is weakened or shows signs of hesitation, the floating sword strikes down automatically, dealing massive damage or sealing away their powers temporarily.(Costs 20 Aether to activate)

Limitation: The hanging blade only strikes once per battle, and it will vanish if the opponent shows no fear or hesitation.

ORIGIN

Damocles was a courtier who envied the power and fortune of Dionysius, god of wealth and wine.

To teach Damocles a lesson about the burdens of leadership, Dionysius offered him a taste of that power by allowing him to sit on his throne. However, he hung a sword above the throne, suspended by a single hair from a horse's tail, demonstrating that even in moments of great privilege, one is never far from peril.

Rex stood there, eyeing the Sword of Damocles as it hovered mid-air, bathed in that eerie blue light. "Increases strength by 20, decreases endurance by 30... sounds like a risky deal," he muttered, scratching his head. "But hey, what's life without a little danger, right? and besides... it has a nice ability"

Cronus' voice, dripping with sarcasm, filled Rex's mind. "Ah, finally, thou understandeth the very essence of this blade: power comes with peril."

Rex shrugged. "Yeah, yeah, life lesson noted. But, more importantly, do I take it?"

He reached out toward the sword, half-expecting it to zap him or something. As soon as his hand brushed the hilt, a surge of energy coursed through him. His muscles tensed up, power flooding his body like a dam breaking loose. But immediately, he felt the downside, his body became sluggish, like gravity had just doubled. His legs wobbled slightly.

"Whoa..." Rex tried to balance himself. "It's like I haven't eaten in months! This thing makes me feel weak!

Cronus chuckled dryly. "Thou truly hast a way with words. But I adviseth caution. This sword is no mere trinket. The cost of wielding it may surpass thy comprehension."

Rex grinned, gripping the sword tighter. "Caution is for people who like to live long, boring lives. And I'm neither of those."

Cronus sighed. "I weep for thy future."

Rex swung the sword a few times, marveling at its weight and the eerie, otherworldly glow that seemed to pulse with every motion. "Alright, let's go test this baby out. I'm feeling lucky."

Then Rex walked towards Charon and picked up his Oar. He walked to river Styx, expecting to see a boat but surprisingly, there was none! "What the?! So.....what have I been fighting for?" Rex screamed and smashed the oar in the water and suddenly, a grey boat materialized on the river.

"Oh... so that's how it works eh?" Rex smirked and then climbed the boat, the oar in his hands as he started rowing to the other side where another gate awaited him. "Let's see what lies within that one..." Rex grinned.

The shadow guild Assassin base

Voss stormed in, his expression hard as he stared at the man sitting on a massive throne-like Chair like he was a King himself. "So... the fool whom you called one of your best assassins was nothing than a clown uh?" Voss spat out in anger...

"Oh... Voss.....it's you!" An evil grin spread on Lucius' face as he stood up from his throne and walked toward Voss, his smile widening as he approached.

"Your assassin failed the mission, Lucius! He couldn't even kill a little teenage girl who newly awakened her powers! How pathetic!!"

Lucius' grin widened "Newly awakened, you say.... but I tell you that this girl Seraphina has even more potential than you!"

"You dare!!" Voss threw a punch at Lucius, his fists moving at lightning speed as he struck Lucius' face.

CRACK!!!

Lucius' body cracked, turning into an ice statue, and scattered on the ground. Then his voice spoke up from behind Voss, only inches away from his ear.

"Temper, temper, Voss," Lucius' voice drawled from behind, cold and taunting. "Is that how you greet an old friend?"

Voss whipped around, his heart pounding, only to see Lucius standing casually with that same infuriating grin plastered across his face. The pieces of the shattered ice statue still littered the floor at his feet, a testament to Lucius' trickery.

"You're nothing but a coward, hiding behind illusions and shadows!" Voss snarled, his fists clenched tightly. "Face me properly, Lucius, or are you too scared?"

Lucius chuckled, taking a slow, deliberate step toward Voss. "Scared? Oh, dear Voss, you still don't understand, do you? This game of yours, this brutish display of strength is so... beneath me." He raised his hand, fingers twitching ever so slightly, and the shattered remains of his ice duplicate began swirling around him like a vortex, the icy shards reforming into the shape of a blade.

"You think strength alone will help you, Voss? You still haven't learned after all this time," Lucius mocked, his eyes gleaming with malicious delight. "You could never match me."

"Enough of your tricks!" Voss roared, summoning flames into his hands, the intense heat instantly melting the icy debris in the air. He lunged at Lucius again, his fiery fists blazing toward the sorcerer with raw fury.

But just as his attack was about to land, Lucius vanished, no ice statue this time, no tricks, just gone, like a shadow fading into the dark.

Voss skidded to a halt, his eyes darting around the room, searching for any sign of Lucius. His breath came in ragged gasps, the flames around his fists flickering.

"We shouldn't do this.... "Lucius' voice came again, this time, he was sitting on his throne once more.... "It's not worth my time!"

"You! You better send another assassin after her now!" Voss yelled

"Really? But our deal is over....besides, I've got a better deal from one of your friends"

"Friends?" Voss' eyes widened in confusion

"I'll give you this advice as a former friend, Voss! Watch your little sister or she might end up dead tomorrow!"

"Br...Brenda?!!!"