With the death of the Warboss and the utter devastation with which I laid upon the Ork forces that'd conquered the planetary capital, the planet fell relatively quickly. After I'd unleashed the largest lightning bolt the galaxy has probably ever seen and leaving a massive, smoking, cackling crater at the center of the Hive City, toppling hundreds of buildings and turning solid rock and metal into molten rivers, causing a cascade of explosions and surges of fire and death that consumed thousands of Orks, at first, and then millions afterwards, their screams echoing as the Under Hive collapsed into a boiling pool of glowing, red hot, mixture of metal and stone. The rest of them scattered outwards, fleeing out of the city in a mad stampede, which resulted in the larger Orks trampling the smaller ones – though the opposite was also true. Fear, I realized quickly enough. I'd struck genuine fear into the hearts of the filthy xenos.

Their fear resonated and manifested, becoming a tangible concept that I could influence with [Concept Shaping], though I didn't do that because there wasn't much of a point in it. I also wasn't sure what to do with the concept of fear, even if I did want to mess with it. So, I made no use of [Concept Shaping]. Instead, I simply summoned an even greater storm, a swirling vortex of raging clouds and winds. I spun Mjolnir above me, channeling the power within. I also felt the limit of that power, right then and there, which reminded me that I held was a replica of the real Mjolnir, and that I was standing at the very edge of that limit. This was the most powerful storm I could summon. The true Mjolnir, I felt, could summon storms that may encompass entire solar systems.

That sort of power was unimaginable.

That said, the replica, which I bore now, was potent enough to unleash a hurricane with winds reaching a thousand miles per hour, utterly obliterating the Ork Horde, the nearby hills, the Hive City, and just about everything that was caught in its shadow. A sea of dust and debris was dragged up into the air, joining the winds and shredding just about every living thing caught in its deadly wake. The world itself turned gray and brown and white, drowned out by the hurricane. The winds flung a great many things into the upper atmosphere and carved out new valleys and furrows and gouged out deep gashes and craters upon the very soil. I wondered if I was maybe doing a little too much.

But, cities could be rebuilt. Humanity, if nothing else, was resilient. Our faith was our shield and our mortar with which our cities were built. I felt bad for destroying the entire Hive City, something I honestly had no idea I was even capable of doing until now, but I didn't regret it. There were no humans left within the settlement and the Orks had long since corrupted the monuments of humanity and twisted it for their own gain. When I was done, not even the taint of the Orks would remain. Nothing would.

And nothing did. I just about killed every single living creature in a thousand mile radius and rearranged the very landscape.

After a full hour, I willed away the hurricane and sent Mjolnir into my [Inventory], immediately dissipating its power, though it took several hours for the hurricane to fully die down and disappear entirely. I fell and landed at the center of a massive crater that, I figured, likely used to be the Under Hive. And now, there was nothing left of it – not a single trace of the Hive City remained. This power was... incredible. And now, I had to wonder if I could somehow unlock the True Mjolnir through a Gatcha Token. I could, but it was highly unlikely. An artifact of that kind would be in the Divine or Mythic Tier, two of the rarest. Then again, I'd been rather lucky, thus far. So lucky, in fact, that I continued to succeed despite holding back again and again.

Looking back to my duel against the Warboss, I couldn't easily won that fight if I'd made use of my Malkavian Abilities to mess with the Ork's mind. Even then, I could've ended it very quickly if I'd been more creative. Instead, I'd gone for a trial of strength and skill. And that was my mistake. I should've just killed that thing and be done with it. Right then and there, I closed my eyes and prayed to the God Emperor. "Forgive me for my sin, oh Lord of Mankind; I shall ensure that it is never again repeated. I swear on my life."

And then, the System came to life.

Hidden Quest Completed: Take Ten Thousand Lives!
Hidden Quest Completed: Take One Hundred Thousand Lives!
Hidden Quest Completed: Take One Million Lives!
Hidden Quest Completed: Take Ten Million Lives!

Reward/s Received:

After Meeting the Special Required Conditions, Rewards Have Undergone [Reward Evolution]!

Special Perk/s Received:

[Bane of the Greenskins] – You've singlehandedly slain more Orks in a single month than anyone else in recorded history, which – considering where you are – is kind of a pretty big accomplishment, even if you didn't do it with your bare hands. For this accomplishment, Orks all over the galaxy now subconsciously fear you. Ork Boyz and Gretchins will run at your presence, while Nobz will feel no small amount of self-doubt at the prospect of facing you in battle. Additionally, when surrounded by enough Orks, you are now able to harness the WAAAGH! Energy without having to transform into an Ork yourself.

[Life Taker] – There are very few people in the galaxy – at least, in this one – who can claim to have personally taken the lives of over ten million individuals – plants, insects, and other simple creatures notwithstanding – and that carries with it a certain gravitas, if you will. You now passively absorb biomass from every creature you've personally killed, until your reserves are filled or until there's no more biomass left to absorb.

[Eldritch Form] has evolved into [The Walking Void, Waking]

[The Walking Void, Waking] – You become the humanoid avatar of the concept of hunger and consumption itself. In this form, you passively and indiscriminately drain the biomass of every biological entity around you, living or dead, friend or foe. This effect does not stop, even when your Biomass Reserves are full.

Randomizing Special Item...

Special Item Locked and Chosen!

Divine-Tier Item Received!

[Ruyi Jingu Bang] – The indestructible weapon of the Monkey King, Son Wukong himself. This weapon is able to change shape, length, width, and weight – all in accordance to the will of its user. On command, the weapon may also create copies of its user – though the copies cannot be commanded and will move only to defend the user. If thrown, the weapon will return to the user with a simple mental command.

I stared at all my recent acquisitions... eyes wide.

Woah.

That was... really the only thing that passed through my mind as I read every description of every new perk, skill, and item.

Woah.

These rewards were beyond anything I'd ever gotten before, except maybe for the Malkavian Curse thing, which I was rather certain was only meant to start that way. Not only had I gained a special Perk like [Bane of the Greenskins], but I'd also unlocked something as formidable as [The Walking Void, Waking]. And then, there was the [Ruyi Jingu Bang], my first Divine-tier Weapon. Based entirely on the item's description, its abilities seemed simple and they were, but – if I was right – then its abilities were also infinite, within its given sphere, which meant it was more than capable of altering its length, width, and weight infinitely.

At least, that was my theory; I'd have to, at the very least, make use of it first before I could figure anything else out.

Did the weight thing affect me as well or would it be weightless the whole time? Only one way to test such a thing, right? I willed forth the [Ruyi Jingu Bang] into my grasp, and twirled and spun it a few times, while I tested its ability to alter its shape. And it turned out I was wrong in assuming that its shape was limited to just a staff, because it was somehow able to turn into a Lasgun, a Plasma Gun, and then a Bolter all in the same breadth of time it took me to think about those weapons; that said, any ranged weapon it could turn into lacked ammunition, which made sense, I suppose. So, assuming I had the proper ammo, I could make use of just about any ranged weapon – and every single melee weapon I could think of.

Amazing

As for [The Walking Void, Waking], its potential was... terrifying. A power that indiscriminately drained the life from everything around me, living or dead. It was something I'd have to be careful with—using it recklessly could mean the end of allies as well as enemies. But in the right circumstances, it could turn the tide of battle in ways I hadn't considered before. Perhaps it was a tool for the most desperate of situations, a last resort when all other options had been exhausted. Because I definitely was not going to make use of it in the presence of allies, unless they themselves had already consigned their lives into the God Emperor's warm embrace.

That said, I'd definitely make full use of it if I was alone and completely surrounded by enemies.

And then there was [Bane of the Greenskins]. The thought of Orks, those brutish, relentless creatures, feeling fear at the mere sight of me was almost amusing. I'd always thought of them as unyielding, driven by their WAAAGH! energy and their endless thirst for battle. But now... now, I was something they feared, a force that could shatter their ranks with a single thought. It was a tool I could wield, turning their own energy against them, using their fear to my advantage. It'll be glorious.

Whatever the case, my next course of action was... well... what I originally came here for. Now that the Orks were missing the topmost portion of their command structure, which was a very important portion of any army – though the Orks, being who they were, would quickly adapt to the lack of a centralized command soon enough – I was free to look for the Golden Core, which I knew was hidden in an isolated Manufactorum somewhere in the far north of the planet, where the colder temperatures helped to keep the structure from overheating. The Orks didn't approach it simply because they had no idea what to make of it.

That said, I actually didn't know where this Manufactorum was and it wasn't as though I was looking for just one, seeing as the northernmost portion of Sylvia was mostly comprised of Manufactorum, most of which were looted or repurposed by the Orks. So, I had to find the one that housed the Golden Core, an artifact so ancient that only the God Emperor and his saints even knew what it was, because I certainly had no idea what it was. Still, the God Emperor told me that it was important and, therefore, it was. No matter; I'd simply have to search through every single Manufactorum until I found the Golden Core, no matter how long it took me. I could summon the Kharsons, but they only knew how to fight – not search for ancient and priceless relics.

I could ask for aid in the search, but that seemed like a terrible idea, given that no one but the God Emperor and maybe the Custodians knew what the Golden Orb was or what it looked like. Besides, even now, with my complete and utter victory over the Ork Capital, the Orks themselves were still going to fight with everything they had, which meant that, while our victory was assured, it wouldn't be anywhere near the ease with which I'd prefer it done. But I had another mission, one that was designated to me by the God Emperor himself. I would not shame the Lord of Humanity by asking for help. And also because I'd not deny any man the chance to die in the in front lines, in the name of the God Emperor and humanity.

And so, I turned and walked northward.

AN: Chapter 67 is out on (Pat)reon!