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Chapter 762 - Fragment
🕑 Added 2025-12-22 09:56:25 +0000 UTCI continue walking through the dungeon, not stopping for a moment as I count down my remaining time. The tunnels I walk through are like a tube with a stone floor, and the rest of the arch and walls are transparent, showing the glowing water surrounding the entire place. In that water, huge animals swim. Whales even bigger than normal, sharks as big as ships, jellyfish glowing in dangerous-feeling colors, and many others.
Once in a while, they throw themselves against the wall and burst into the tunnel with a waterfall of water as they do their utmost to get to me and attack. Each time they do this, I barely pay them attention, raising my barriers and killing them without hesitation. My mana flares up into powerful projectiles. Arms form from the mana-saturated air and tear them apart, or I fight against the water with my flames.
A whale swims right over me, dark red in color and with big black eyes. With a keening call, it gathers speed like a racing car and crashes through the tunnel to smash me down.
One of my mana arms forms near Septa and throws her towards me. Then the barrier forms around us, rippling on the surface as the whale hits it. It opens its mouth far too wide, with its jaw breaking as it tries to bite against that barrier. Mana around me rises further just as it bites, taking the entire barrier into its mouth.
I expand it to multiple times the size, dislocating the mouth and breaking it. Water mixes with blood and blubber as a spike forms on that barrier. It takes on a purple color and pierces through the entirety of the massive body that twitches a few times before stopping moving and floating in the water.
I continue to walk as a dozen sharks throw themselves against that body and start devouring it. Meanwhile, Septa, who bit into my leg again before moving a bit away, follows me.
"Can he see me through your eyes?" I ask her.
The spider stops and tilts her body to tilt her head while staring at me with those pairs of unblinking eyes.
"I guess that's a no," I answer.
Another whale appears, this one attacking me with a sonic stun that vibrates my skull. I just wave my hand, and my mana gathers and channels. A projectile as long and thick as a ship's mast skewers it through before detonating and releasing the kinetic energy gathered inside, causing pieces of whale flesh to rain and fall over the tunnel.
I stomp on the floor, sending kinetic vibrations ahead just as multiple octopuses fill the tunnels. More bursts of kinetic energy shoot towards them, breaking them apart and piercing their bodies as I continue to walk and step over their corpses.
Jet-like attacks made by water pressure slam against the barrier I form, and my kinetic pulse deflects from something hidden behind the water wall in front of me. Like a whirlpool, mana gathers in front of me and then explodes outwards as a torrential wave. Just raw, compressed mana. Before it even hits the target, the amount I just threw replenishes through my Ignition Heart, and me turning the thermal energy it generates into mana.
I repeat the same thing three more times, all in mere two seconds. When it stops, the remaining mana in the air buzzes deeply, and I can almost taste it on my tongue.
The wound on my back stretches, sending pain through my body as I take a step that elongates through kinetic movement, launching me toward the opponent. More barriers form in front of me, deflecting narrow streams of jet-like water while I stare at the source, while my mana projectile deflects uselessly from the shell of a turtle there, as does the next one I compress even further.
Then I simply throw an Empyrean Lance, and a notification rings.
[You have defeated Great Turtle - lvl 320]
Another barrage shoots at me, which I block again. Another lance fires in, causing a notification to ring. Continuing to walk, I shoot one after another, racking up multiple more notifications.
[Empyrean Lance - lvl 35 > Empyrean Lance - lvl 36]
Gradually, the tunnel starts widening. Outside of it, a myriad of differently colored, shining jellyfish swim, not attempting to attack. I shoot one of the lances against the wall, but it just bounces off, unlike the monsters that are able to pass through it to get inside.
The widening tunnel opens into a chamber where a single animal waits. An eel, with lightning flickering across its skin, swims through the air as if it were water. It is probably as long as a car or two and as thick as my torso.
That lightning around it shoots at me. It is entirely mana-based, so I let mana gather in my eyes. I peek through the attack and read the wavelengths as a few of my sub minds merge into one to deal with the information and calculations. Under my gaze, the structure of the attack unwinds, what crashes against my body are just the harmless mana particles of the unwound strike.
Multiple bolts follow. Each is stronger and faster than the one before. They come from all sides, some even aiming at Septa.
Still, each of them breaks exactly like the first.
The eel grows in size until its body nearly fills the chamber, and lightning forms into the shape of three pairs of huge, luminous wings. The blue color deepens.
I reach out with my hand and manifest a single mana orb, throwing it to the side. All of the lightning shot at me twists through the air and crashes against the orb as if attracted by a lightning rod.
Then a barrage of my compressed projectiles rains unendingly against the floating eel, tearing holes through its body.
[You have defeated Lightning Eel - lvl 356]
When the eel is dead, I turn around and reach Septa, who stands up on her four back legs and raises her upper body, threateningly spreading her front four legs. She even shifts from side to side. I tilt my head in confusion at the display and take another step closer, offering her my leg.
"You aren't going to bite me?" I ask.
All those eyes look at me. They are black orbs without eyelids that make it difficult to read any emotion.
Septa then lowers herself onto all eight legs and moves a bit closer. She taps on my leg a few times while looking up at me. I just nod and stand there. She swiftly bites into my shin before jumping back, returning to her threatening position on her back legs with her front legs spread wide.
Seeing that I don't react, she lowers herself again and stares at me. Then she comes closer and bites me longer and deeper before letting go and walking away.
Once again, I observe how her venom spreads through my body, continuing to evolve and mutate. As before, I realize that if I didn't have Lily’s healing mark on me, it would kill me. The poison, toxin, or whatever its specification is, just evolves far too quickly and modifies itself to become stronger. It even corrodes mana, and that is what I observe the most. With my new eyes, there is a lot I can learn from it.
It is possible I could fight against it with much more thermal energy or black mana, but I know how much it would require. In light of that, Lily’s improved healing marks are... just scary. She changed something about her healing after the last time I came to her with wounds I couldn't heal. It started after we met Luan and Faora for the first time. In the end, it is a good thing for me.
Spitting out a glob of clotted blood, I turn away again and head deeper into the dungeon, where I sense more powerful signatures.
I don't let the toxin or the wound on my back bother me at all. After the hell that was the body upgrade, they are barely a nuisance.
***
It takes me around one hour to reach the end of this dungeon, which becomes more dangerous the deeper I go. Monsters or awakened animals, or however this thing works, start to come closer to level 400. I think it is safe to say that this is currently by far the most dangerous dungeon on Earth, though more lethal ones will appear when the tutorial ends, when people start reaching the rank of Champions, or as the Pairing progresses. Of course, the one holding the Sovereign Spark will be the most dangerous of all.
Still, considering the value it holds, I consider this dungeon way too easy. Getting out of the tutorial early could mean a sure Fragment, though I still think the average Beyonder would die attempting it. Even so, it is not that simple. For example, I don't think I would have been able to find it so quickly without the coordinates given to me.
As for the last boss standing in the huge chamber between me and the small room holding a fragment, it is a leviathan, floating in the air just as the eel did before.
It is as big as a plane, and its body coils through the chamber, so massive that the walls seem built around it rather than containing it. Dark scales overlap like armored plates, each one deep blue and green. The air almost visibly bends around it like waves dragged by its sheer presence.
The head is massive with a blunt, armored skull and jaws lined with inward-curving teeth longer than spears. When it breathes, mana spirals out and toward its mouth.
Two pale, luminous eyes lock onto me. The pressure of its gaze presses against my mind like the weight of an entire ocean. It uncoils further, claiming the space, certain that anything facing it will break.
[Lesser Leviathan - lvl ???]
I let a deep breath out.
[Mana Manipulation - lvl 75 > Mana Manipulation - lvl 76]
I lock my gaze with the leviathan, and the mana flooding through me surges out, riding the currents I create.
[Current - lvl 24 > Current - lvl 25]
[Current - lvl 25 > Current - lvl 26]
[Current - lvl 26 > Current - lvl 27]
[Current - lvl 27 > Current - lvl 28]
[Current - lvl 28 > Current - lvl 29]
[Eclipse - lvl 63 > Eclipse - lvl 64]
My eyes burn in my sockets as I look at the monster and the mana that surrounds it.
Our manas explode simultaneously. Its power spreads like an ocean, while mine surges like torrents of water clashing against it. It feels like ages since I last let my mana run wild, continuously channeling it in its raw form.
The more they crash and the more I channel, the stronger my Predation passive becomes and the more I get used to my eyes. Every attempt to push at me or to avoid me, I face with a cold, calculating mind and eyes that see through everything.
Without using the Ignition Heart to get more mana, the Leviathan possesses more than I do. Yet, my torrential waves and my currents do not get pushed back at all.
I move my hand, and my mana responds, flowing in sync. It collides with the ocean of mana, overtaking it as I channel it myself. My gaze shatters any control the monster once had over that mana, and I claim it, watching the colors drain from the area. Only black, white, and the brilliant blue of mana, shimmering like water, remain.
That whirlpool of energy twists between us, entirely under my control, before exploding once more. With a single, devastating surge, it strikes the monster, dragging it beneath all of that. The mana continues to batter it, tearing scales from its body and grinding flesh until the bones beneath are revealed. The relentless energy hammers on, and slowly, the creature ceases to move, finally falling still.
[You have defeated Lesser Leviathan - lvl 399]
[Lvl 367 > Lvl 368]
Wraith Dance brings me closer. I grab a few scales and pieces of the heart, storing them away before I reach the small chamber.
A Fragment hovers in the air in the middle of the room, and I read the text floating over it.
Fragment of the Nameless Tree
The crystal is a translucent light green, with swirls of soft yellow, blue, and deeper green shimmering within.
Without hesitation, I touch it with my left hand and watch as it imbues itself into my finger.
It moves under my skin before it settles on the back of my hand, mostly submerged but with a part of it poking through.
Comments
Red
Can someone remind me what are fragments? It might me time to reread for me…
Krazo
Suddenly it feels like Nathaniel is Ghousthunding with that tree being incorporated into his build. The Egg is obviously Black Mana, and well, his entire being is reminiscent of the Ashen Chimera
The 49th Khan
Of course the guy who called himself NoName gets the Nameless Tree
caeven
I didnt even think giving it to lily was an option💀 hes going to need every advantage he can get to kill fraudrian. why give one of the greatest yet up to the healer?
Nemesis
I don't think anyone has suggested the tree of the Sephirot. However, in the end I agree with the opinion that if its nameless then it probably isn't something we know of from earth lore. Unless they are specifically known to be nameless.
tishane Imperial MageKiller
I love his new eyes power being able to disect mana based abilities and see threw others is sharingan lv eyes wich is awesome 👌🏿 ima have reread the last 10 or so chapters to get a better understanding I forget alot of details
facetiousk
It doesn't have to be Yggdrasil or Avalon. But, realistically, a Fragment from Earth should have been influenced explicitly by Earth's lore and the natives' development. In the same sense, while there may be some overlap in abilities, these Fragments are (from what we know) uniquely birthed only on awoken planets. Since they're meant to greatly assist and empower the natives, it would also make the most sense that the abilities are manifested, tailored to the needs of whomever claims it/awakens it.
Riot89
If the fragment allows Nat to fully synergize his three energies, he is going to be OP.
Johnny
Ok giving it to Lilys cool and all esp seeing as her mark just saved him (or close to it) again but cmon I hope he keeps it. He’s got black mana and multiple primordial energies he just needs a fragment to complete the set of exotic stuff. Sounds way too interesting to give it away…unless he can fragment the fragment
Boyo
I love upgrades and new toys
Caramellato
If the fragment is called “unnamed” why does everyone keep naming a specific tree? 😅
Audrey WJ
Yo septa, you trying to bite me one more time so I can study how your venom would kill me if I didn't have Lily in my corner 😂😂😂.
Audrey WJ
I don't think he was being nice he was just curious about how her venom worked and wanted to study it knowing he's safe from it thanks to lily.
Morde24
I agree, I think it's the tree that was on the third floor, and is related to kindness in some way. Whether the tree is good for just any conduction, or specifically healing conduction (lily) is up in the air.
Morde24
Feels like he almost certainly will not sell it, its described as being better than any fragment you can get in the tutorial, so he probably will keep it within his group
Ben Riker
Oh, God damn it. I didn't catch that.
Hugh Peeble
“You aren’t going to bite me?” Nat being nice to Septa is wild but on point for him… is this another little kid/creature that helps him train to be decent to others? Is he doing it just to train his body against the poison? As for what he will do with the fragment… there is no one in his group that is nature aligned and we have no idea what power it will give so he will figure out what it does before any other decision will happen.
Mark Bullock
Just wow
Kradish
I'd be shocked if this ended up being directly related to Yggdrasil... 'nameless' tree and perhaps the most famous named tree in mythology have a bit of a clash.
Alex O'Connor
I had a similar thought
Ansordia
That seems like a wild assumption, if this would have been in the overworld... maybe, but remember that this dungeon is supposed to HELP the new emerging planet... so I doubt monsters would have esoteric abilities to a level of not being completable... Though the name of the fragment DOES indicate SOME manaish wisdom... or maybe just wisdom itself... HOW that would be an effect I have no clue.... Could it be the tree in the city on the third floor? Wait... didn't that have a name my memory is kinda failing me.
Madje Tobi Marc'Avent Tchona
He drained control from leviathan using eclipse
Balsamic ThunderThighs
Some people gift Rings to a girl. But our boy Nat? Wouldn't be surprised if he gifted his left hand with the Fragment to Lily.
Crimson
Nameless Tree for NoName bahahahaha
Hms
Finally get to find out what these fragments are about. Though I wasn’t expecting a plant based one for Nat considering his affinity to fire.
TBONEMAN
Nat met something with more mana than him? Clearly he is suffering from mana deficiency and needs to get a stat upgrade token soon.
Raynor Moore
Yay! That was satisfying. Cool to see the stroll through the dungeon, and final boss fight. Really excited to see the fragment. Would honestly feel like a massive waste to sell it and I hope he keeps it. He keeps running into awesome fragments and being like “meh” but it’s not like equipment where you lose it, so it doesn’t make sense that he wouldn’t be interested in having one at all based on the story so far, at least based on my understanding of fragments. And with how OP a new planet fragment is described and how it’s Earth’s unique fragment - it seems very appropriate for him to wield. Looking forward to tomorrow!
TYRELL GRAY
I finally got a description of what current does? It creates a path for mana to flow. And I’m thinking, if any mana falls into nats current he can take it over…. “I lock my gaze with the leviathan, and the mana flooding through me surges out, riding the currents I create.” I can see why this is an important skill for nat- instead of his mana just blasting outwards, it follows a path, it’s well controlled and it dominates, other mana that falls in that current, even if his opponent mana is way larger.
Ivan Jelenić
Knowledge, or if it's growth, then might give it to Lily.
Errat1k
❤️❤️❤️❤️
Manaless
Now that I'm seeing it, I thought it was a lie, but fighting Nat using only mana is suicide, unless you're much stronger than him. And I think this fragment is related to mana, considering that all the monsters in the dungeon were mana-based.
Andrew
Thank you!
Darune Albane
Gift it to the healer
Subliminary
Oooo i missed that!! Definitely a nod toward maybe giving it to Lily or something. Likely since she’s the 3rd strongest Earthling he will bestow upon her the mark after (before?) killing Fraudrian then exploring the wider universe.
Subliminary
Ya essentially. Theres a litany of fragments all with unique powers that can’t be obtained otherwise
Alex Reed
Why the left hand specifically? What are you planning, Cerim? hmmmm.
Seijax
Aww... With all the water&darkness theme around there, i was expecting something about the depths/pressure that could empower his abundant Kinetic energy and synergize with Current. We know he's gunning for the Thermal Fragment of the last floor, but we also now know people can have multiple ones. Not sure how synergistic this one can get with his skillset, curious though
Gutz
Anyone has any idea what fragments are ? I never understood their use. You get a primordial power right ?
Cody
Should be a little less than 2hrs. He mentioned to Chris that he had 3hrs left while they were talking
tishane Imperial MageKiller
Could be like the tree parallax eyes dude has
J W
How long does he have left on the stay token? At this point we've entered the "stay alive while the crazy murder hobo tries to track you down and take your new fragment from you" stage
Adrian Rake
This was an interesting chapter. Very well written with a mysterious tree at the end. 👍
Josh Betts
Its could be the tree of Avalon source of merlin powers it basically acts like a link to primordial elements it has roots made of primordial air, primordial fire , and primordial water also it buffs creation magic( manafestion) and healing
Little Watchmaker
he better not, the fragment seems relevant to the absolute dungeon and also. as strong as Lily may get, she wouldn't be able to stop adrian from killing her for it at the end of the tutorial.
J W
I was figuring healing so lily gets jealous again and pushes herself harder.
TheOne320
I expected Septa to steal the Fragment at the end.
Jon
What if he gives it to Lily, and she can channel her healing, like the saint with her minions, to the people of her choosing ?
Hardworking Guy
That's scary
Jostein 🇳🇴
Not forgotten, but Nameless.
Arnon Parenti
Light her up bois
Apollo Greed
Yay! Adrian didn’t win yet!
Joe Woodhouse
Yggdrasil would disappoint me - too obvious, a little on the nose. I am instead imagining something like Escher's Three Worlds: a tree being both the boundary between, and what links, what is above with what is below. One way I could see this playing out: bypassing the normal rules on accessing the Beyond levels above and below the current level. That seems simple enough but the effects would be *profound*, and be of interest even to the Rulers. Keep it from being OTT by requiring a tree to be planted which then acts as "back stairs" up and down. Why Forgotten? Because it is accessing connections that date to before the System. Kindness and Charity would know more about it, as would the Last Elf and the Magi. Good old Kyralon might be able to see these pathways; the Fragment could allow them to be traversed. A Forgotten Tree could also be an index to a pre-System database. Perhaps a different branch grows in the direction of each Primordial Energy.
Isaac Lung
Sell and get mid-pristine passive?
Michael Williams
I kinda think/ hope he will take Septa back and either himself or one of group 4 will bond her. But i could also see him returning and leaving Septa behind for Fraudrian.
Kirin
Thank you for the chappie!
Gardor
Kill...septa? Duh? I really expected her to do something with the fragment, but he should still kill the spider. He wont tho, in five chapters we're gonna get a "and then i did this random thing with septa, which was my plan all along" moment.
Lance Beam
TFTC. That was a very satisfying chapter.
XPLili
Poking through? Will Nat get Finn's grass blade from adventure time lol? tftc
Dustin
I bet he'll give Lily the fragment.
Manaless
I'm sure it's not an offensive type of fragment, like all of Nat's abilities.
Woodstock179
No name fragment for a No name player... (fine fine it probably has a name.... but then again so does he) always fun to think about this story! Tyftc
Wallaby Vonwise
Fragment of the Noname Tree
The Arcane Emperor
The Nameless Tree could be a reference for Yggdrasil, the world tree. Created on earth because of the premature pairing, influenced by Cristoph.
Rocotrap
It'd be fun if septa got smitten by Nat
Bob
Personally I dread the end of any chapter of HDT.
Rocotrap
Oh thank the nameless tree for it came right before Christmas
Joe Woodhouse
Actually I can see that being deliberate - this is the part of him most famous for regrowth and regeneration. I hope this is a mighty regeneration Fragment. "Life always finds a way."
Manther
what part of fighting lvl 399 monsters makes you think of Champion level strength?
frankie doerr
Think septa is going through a identity crisis right now with how nonchalant Nat is though he probably sees her as a kid right now seeing as he’s messing with her and protecting her
Arnon Parenti
The Shard of infinite kindles taken by the guy with Primordial Fire, this can't be good for either of them.
Manther
There's all sorts of names for massive Tree's in mythology. Truly spoiled for choice. I guess it makes sense it'd end up being nameless.
Nemesis
What a mysterious fragment
Oaktree
Tree??? Guess nats feeling festive for the holidays and needed a Christmas tree.
zoarian
Alright, let's workshop it. Nameless Tree - on the surface it doesn't seem to be too compatible with Nat. Trees are typically associated with life, growth, rebirth, general nature vibes so nothing applicable to his current build. Some religious/mythological trees which might be relevant: - Tree of knowledge from the bible - The sacred fig (beneath which Buddha attained enlightenment) - Yggdrasil from norse mythology (the foundation of the world) So maybe knowledge related? I like the idea of the tree of knowledge as a source of (moral) consciousness or the sacred fig as a source of awakening - to further enhance Nat's mind shenanigans. I guess also tree search algorithm if it's a more modern take (more processing power). Or something fundamental? Like, Nameless meaning beyond description - something primordial/god-like that cannot be declared in words or named. Very eternal Tao: "The Tao that can be spoken is not the eternal Tao. The name that can be named is not the eternal name. The nameless is the origin of Heaven and Earth".
Arnon Parenti
Lol Nameless Tree found Nameless Human
Art
This basically confirms him as champion level strength. Though having an absolute candidate title makes that obvious already I guess.
James Skinner
For Lily perhaps?
Jason Scott
Oh that's gonna be a healing or knowledge fragment.
frankie doerr
Wait out of everything why a forgotten tree I don’t see how that can help Nat except to sell it and get another pristine passive watch cerim throw a curveball at us like usual
Rene Duvall
TFTC!!
Ken Horne
Awesome! Is Yggdrasil going to appear?
Rene Duvall
I Despise the dreaded cliff every time it appears
The Gerg
Tyftc
Fdrugc
Tftc is Yggdrasil a thing here? Did the planet form around the fragment?
Emmanuel Martinez
It got attached on his LEFT ARM?! Welp. It’s getting cut off
jax rammus
<3
Snake With An Aurora Borealis
CHAPPIE
Dakota Ulmer
Been following this story since day one. And I’m still amazed by it
Draikonis
Tftc
BlackRazaras
Thanks for the chapter
1133557799
Fortnite balls
Claro reyes
Tftc!!!
vEnviouz
TFTC!!!
