Chapter 43: The Deicide Mark
To maximize his HP stacking, Liam timed his kills perfectly with the thirty-minute respawn windows of the Frost Serpents. He deliberately avoided using The Tome of Mortality; he didn't need the damage boost, preferring a higher frequency of attacks instead.
Even so, his damage output remained north of 120,000 per second. Despite the Frost Serpent regenerating 100,000 HP every second while in the snow, Liam still shaved off over 20,000 HP every second. That amounted to 1.2 million damage per minute, or 36 million over the course of thirty minutes.
Consequently, Liam was forced to unequip Tears of the Life Goddess as well. Removing the 20% damage buff allowed him to balance the scales perfectly. By weaving in just enough weak-point strikes and critical hits, he could kill the monsters right as the timer hit the thirty-minute mark.
With his current Attack Speed, Liam stacked nine HP every second. That was 540 HP per minute, or 16,200 HP every thirty minutes. Every Frost Serpent he brought down increased his maximum HP by 16,200.
As his base damage naturally scaled, his stacking efficiency fluctuated slightly. Even so, by the eighth and ninth serpents, he was still pulling in roughly 15,500 HP per kill. Once the first nine serpents were dead, they began respawning in pairs.
Liam tested the waters with Double Volley and found he could just barely manage it. However, he decided against pushing it. He needed to recover the Willpower he’d burned through to prepare for whatever came next.
Re-equipping Tears of the Life Goddess, Liam went back to full throttle. He even brought The Tome of Mortality back into the rotation, aiming to clear each serpent in about fifteen minutes. Aerial Archery was a heavy drain on his Willpower, so he transitioned into a "lazy" playstyle, dragging out the fights to give his resources time to regenerate.
His base damage had started at just over 120,000. By the time the first nine serpents fell, he had stacked an additional 142,000 HP. Between the multipliers from Tears of the Life Goddess and the passive from his Barney Innate Talent, his actual HP gain was closer to 185,000.
Even under the 50% suppression of Divine Pressure, that translated to 92,000 effective HP. Every Basic Attack now dealt an extra 2,700 True Damage, adding up to over 8,000 True Damage per second. Combined with the 1% Max HP bonus from The Tome of Mortality, Liam’s DPS was now pushing 152,000!
If he went all out, even without staying airborne, he could outpace the serpent's regeneration by 52,000 HP per second. That was 3.1 million damage per minute; he could drop a serpent in less than ten minutes.
Sticking to his plan of maximizing stacks, he maintained a pace of one kill every fifteen minutes. This rhythm allowed him to stack HP rapidly. Even with his output throttled, killing two serpents still netted him roughly 15,000 HP. Over nine sets, he added another 130,000 HP to his total.
When only one Frost Serpent remained, Liam hesitated. He unequipped Tears of the Life Goddess and deactivated The Tome of Mortality. His Basic Attack damage plummeted to 37,000, bringing his DPS down to 110,000. If he kept up a high-intensity assault, the serpent would still lose 10,000 HP every second.
If he wanted to milk the final serpent for every possible HP stack, he couldn't stay airborne, he couldn't trigger crits, and he had to micromanage his attack frequency perfectly. After a brief moment of calculation, he decided to drag it out for as long as possible.
Under his strict control, he managed to stack about 28,000 HP per hour. It wasn't a massive number, but since he was only using Basic Attacks, the drain on his Willpower was negligible. Liam kept this up for over three hours before finally delivering the finishing blow.
That final session added nearly 90,000 HP. In total, this run against the Frost Serpents had increased his base HP by about 460,000. When accounting for the modifiers from The Goddess of Vitality and his Barney Innate Talent, his actual HP gain skyrocketed to 600,000!
His total HP had officially shattered the three-million mark.
"This dungeon is hard as hell, but the HP stacking is insane," Liam muttered. "At this rate, my HP might actually break ten million by the time I clear this place."
With those thoughts swirling, he retreated from the combat zone. Just as he suspected, killing the serpents and returning to The Novice Village didn't trigger a Temporal Reset. The system was, at least in this regard, quite forgiving.
After a short rest, Liam found Dr. Lowen to turn in the quest.
"You are truly powerful to have slain all those Frost Serpents," Lowen said, his voice filled with genuine respect. "Here is the reward I promised."
Lowen lined up vial after vial of medicine before Liam—twenty-seven in total.
Grievous Wound Potion (Special)
Effect: For one hour after consumption, any damage you deal to an enemy unit will reduce their HP recovery by 50% for 5 seconds.
(Note: This is a single-use item.)
Liam’s brows shot up. This was even more potent than he’d anticipated. A 50% healing reduction that lasted for an entire hour? At this stage of the game, most Grievous Wounds effects rarely exceeded 20%, and potions usually only lasted fifteen minutes at most. These were game-changers.
But Liam wasn't satisfied with just potions. He wanted more—specifically, a way to deal with Divine Pressure. It was hampering his combat effectiveness far too much.
"Dr. Lowen," Liam asked, "do you know where I can find The Village Chief?"
Lowen nodded. "If you seek Elder Mayor, I can take you to him."
Before he could finish, a middle-aged man pushed the door open and stepped inside. It was Rivers, the Village Chief. He looked at Liam, a look of profound excitement lighting up his face.
"Your strength exceeds my wildest imagination," Rivers said. "To sweep through those Frost Serpents without even using a Grievous Wound Potion... in you, I see the hope of saving The Novice Village."
Liam’s pulse quickened. Had he triggered a hidden mechanic? "I’m happy to help in any way I can."
Rivers smiled warmly. "Good. You have the right spirit. But the dangers ahead are greater than you know. That suffocating Divine Pressure alone is enough to break most men."
Liam’s interest piqued. Just as he thought—there was a way to counter it within the village.
"You’re right," Liam admitted. "That Divine Pressure is terrifying. If not for that, those serpents wouldn't have stood a chance."
Rivers nodded slowly. "Once, an adventurer who defied the heavens rose from our village. As a mere mortal, he slew Eira, the Frost Goddess. His actions enraged the gods, and The Western Pantheon retaliated by sealing our Primordial Eastern Empire beneath this eternal snow."
Liam’s pupils constricted. If that was true, then the "Frost Corpse" mentioned in the dungeon's title, Traces of the Frost-Corpse, was actually the body of Eira, the Frost Goddess.
"After that adventurer committed deicide, he left behind The Deicide Mark in this village," Rivers continued. "I can grant it to you. But be warned: once bound, it can never be removed. You will be marked as an enemy of The Western Pantheon for eternity."
Liam went still, weighing the cost.
Rivers didn't wait for an answer. "The benefit, however, is total immunity to Divine Pressure. Furthermore, even the Divines themselves will be unable to peer into your status or information."
Liam felt a surge of adrenaline. Divine Pressure was an insurmountable wall, even after ten years in his past life. So what if he was hated by The Western Pantheon? In his previous life, nearly two-thirds of that pantheon had ended up defecting to The Alait System anyway.
"What about the Divines of our Primordial Eastern Empire?" Liam asked. "Why didn't they intervene?"
It was a question that had plagued many in his past life. The Western Domains had plenty of active gods, but the Eastern Realms were silent. If not for a few players receiving Divine Blessings from Eastern Deities, people would have doubted they even existed.
"Our Divines?" Rivers let out a bitter laugh. "I do not know. Legend says that an unprecedented civil war broke out among them eons ago. It was a conflict so violent it shattered time and space. The continent we stand on now is not even a billionth of what the world used to be."
Liam narrowed his eyes. "Are you talking about the Lich-Wraith Cataclysm from the Primordial Era?"
It was an ancient legend from Eastern mythology.
"I do not know if that was the name," Rivers said, "but our world was indeed called the Primordial Realm."
Liam sucked in a sharp breath. If the myths were true and the full host of the Primordial Realm’s Divines ever returned, The Alait System and The Western Pantheon would be nothing more than ants in comparison.
"I understand," Liam said firmly. "I accept The Deicide Mark."
Becoming a god was hard; slaying one was harder. If his predecessor could commit deicide as a mortal, Liam believed he could do the same.
"Very well." Rivers looked at him with solemn intensity. "I hope you can bring a future back to our village."
Rivers pressed two fingers against Liam’s forehead. A blood-red mark flared between Liam’s brows before sinking beneath his skin and vanishing.
Ding! You have obtained The Deicide Mark.
The Deicide Mark (Divine Grade)
Effect 1: You are immune to the effects of Divine Pressure.
Effect 2: Every time you slay a Divine, you may strip them of one power.
[Current Divines Slain: Eira, the Frost Goddess (You are now immune to Cryo-Element damage and negative effects)]
Liam stared at the rank of the mark, stunned. When his eyes drifted to the second effect, he went completely numb.
Immune to Cryo damage and debuffs? This wasn't just a buff—it was a straight-up cheat.
Leona was a Cryo-Element Mage. Even with Liam’s current stats, defeating her would have been an uphill battle, perhaps even impossible. But with this trait? Beating her wouldn't just be easy—it would be a walk in the park.
"Good luck," Rivers said. "I have nothing else to give, but the sealed Primordial Eastern Empire is home to many great figures. They possess treasures beyond your imagining."
Liam nodded. "I’ll head out after a brief rest."
He needed to recover his Willpower. He’d come too far to fail now, and he had a feeling the battles ahead would be even more grueling.
Liam logged out of the game and collapsed onto his bed, exhaling a long sigh of relief. He opened the Twilight of the Gods forums on his phone to browse the latest news.
The hype surrounding the game had reached fever pitch. The global player count had surpassed 2.5 billion. One-third of the human race was now playing the game. Liam was still a trending topic, but the focus had shifted toward Innate Talents and Class Advancements. Since players could undergo their first advancement at Level 20, the community was buzzing.
"I got scammed by my class quest," one post read. "My Summoner can only call one Level 20 Skeleton Thrall. Its stats are barely better than a common mob."
"That’s because you didn't get a Hidden Class," someone replied. "I got the Mystic Grade Hidden Class, Frost Summoner. My first skill is Summon Glacial Avian. It’s a Level 25 Elite Grade bird with insane stats."
"I'm done with this game," another complained. "Guardian is such a slog. My damage is non-existent, and solo farming is a nightmare."
Naturally, the conversation turned to Innate Talents.
"I heard a player in The Oryzean Dominion rolled a Saintly Grade Innate Talent. It's broken—his Attack Speed doubles for every Astral rank he gains. It's ridiculous."
"Holy shit. We haven't heard of any Saintly Grades in The Dragon Empire yet, but there are a few Heavenly Grades popping up. Those effects are absolute monsters."
"I managed to awaken a Mystic Grade talent. +500 Attack per Astral rank. It feels pretty damn strong to me."
The heavy hitters hadn't revealed themselves yet. Just because someone wasn't bragging didn't mean they were weak; many were likely grinding in silence.
Liam remembered a player from his past life who possessed a Divine Grade Innate Talent called Dual Damage Reflection. It allowed the player to reflect 10% of their Armor and Magic Resist as True Damage whenever they took a hit.
The reflection wasn't based on the damage received, but on the player's own defensive stats. If they had 100 Magic Resist, they reflected 10 damage. Simple and deadly.
Being a Divine Grade talent, it also had a growth component: every physical monster killed permanently increased the player's Armor by one, and every magical monster increased their Magic Resist by one.
The player had been a total eccentric. He stayed in his Novice Village for an entire year, endlessly farming low-level mobs to stack his resistances. He didn't find it boring at all. He just put his head down and grinded until he emerged as an unkillable god.
The advance reading chapters on have reached 9 chapters. Thank you for reading!
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