Parallel Vol. 4 [LEGACY EDITION]

Chapter 78.1: The Cursed Seven (1)

A/N: So, I rarely put these at the top of chapters cause they break the flow of the story, but I feel this one is important. The beauty of writing on Wattpad is being able to test out new, unconventional writing styles. I wanted to try something similar today. This entire chapter reads as one continuous narration from Anya. No interruptions. No 'said', or expressions. Let me know what you think... thanks.

"The tale of Razznik and the Cursed Seven is a peculiar one, filled with heartbreak, betrayal, love, and fear. This is a tale of a man who fought against the natural order of the world, incurring countless enemies along the way. To date, no one truly knows what drove him to endlessly pursue such heights despite the pain and torment. However, perhaps the world should have taken notice, when Razznik, in his first year, displayed an indomitable, perhaps insane will to achieve a goal most considered impossible.

Razznik, like you, Zuri, was a Summoned from another world. There isn't much different in the way Summoned operate now, and back then. In both eras, Summoned relied commonly relied on levels to grow stronger, and then banked on attaining stronger classes to ultimately open the gap between themselves and other Summoned.

Razznik, however, was the first to truly challenge that notion. The young man locked himself in the city for a year, training under different teachers from various schools to push his body's stats to their ultimate limit. Furthermore, he exploited a loophole in the Summoned's innate nature to help him achieve this goal.

You see, unlike now, back then, Summoned, by default, were granted Aethir's Blessing, a spell which allowed them to be revived after being killed. However, the one caveat was that Summoned would lose a level after death and be penalized. The penalty was a loss in both the stats gained from levelling and 10% of all stats accumulated outside leveling.

It was a strict penalty that forced the Summoned to treat death with respect, but Razznik saw it as an opportunity. The crazy man committed suicide by monster whenever he crossed level 1. This, in turn, meant he lost 10% of all the hardwork he'd done. But he did not give up.

Due to losing so many stats each time he died, it took him a whole year to finally accumulate 99 stats in every combat and magic field. However, he was not just a stat-padded idiot. Far from it. Having undergone intense, focused training from dozens from instructors, Razznik's weapon and magic skills had achieved nigh-perfection.

In an age where most Summoned relied on flashy skills and help from the gods when battling, Razznik was the first to rely on pure personal skill in battle. On the day he finally left that city, perhaps, aside from his instructors, no one knew that a monster had been unleashed upon the world.

Following Razznik's rise to infamy, there were many who questioned the instructors, wondering whether they didn't see any signs. However, no matter who was asked, they all replied the same way, "I just wanted to see how far he could go." Indeed, despite the Instructors' blood, sweat and tears, none of them had managed to complete the feat Razznik challenged.