Daniel Thunder

Daniel Thunder, known in Universal Descent as MartialMage, is the wealthy and ruthless guild master of Overlord. His fixation on Alex Rogue's FateBreaker identity turns repeated competitive defeats into murderous obsession, culminating in a soul pact with the Hatred Demon and Daniel's permanent death during his attack on the Fox Tribe Village. (Chapters 15–23, 185–210)

Biography

Overlord's feud with FateBreaker

Daniel begins Universal Descent as a mage backed by the Thunder family's wealth and the hundred-member Overlord Guild. He demands obedience, kills a subordinate for comparing him unfavorably to another player, and orders the mysterious merchant FateBreaker eliminated. Alex instead destroys Daniel's force and kills him, after which Daniel accelerates the novice boss raid, puts a cash bounty on his rival, and repeatedly mobilizes guild members to ambush him rather than accept the defeat. (Chapters 15–23)

The rivalry persists through Dawn and Bell City. Daniel acquires stronger guild infrastructure, advances his mage class, and repeatedly attempts to turn numerical superiority into revenge, only for Alex to destroy his supplies and kill him again. Although he remains a ranked player and plans a Thunder-backed empire, FateBreaker's faster progress continually humiliates him. Daniel's ambition narrows into fixation, and even Aurelia, his younger sister, recognizes that he would sacrifice family if power demanded it. (Chapters 30–166)

The fall of Overlord City

Using a City Building Scroll, Daniel attempts to establish Overlord City and organizes thousands of applicants, allied guilds, and family representatives to defend its altar through the Monster Tide Trial. He presents the project as a historic bastion and a foundation for his empire, but his confidence falters because he knows FateBreaker can overturn the battle alone. Alex joins the attackers after Aurelia asks him to stop her brother's rise. (Chapters 185–188)

Alex's undead army breaches the walls and advances to the altar while Daniel directs the defense from headquarters. When the rivals meet, Daniel attacks beside other guild leaders, then turns on Aurelia and calls her a traitor, but Alex cuts him down. Alex, Alice, and Aurelia destroy the altar, permanently fail the city's establishment, and bar MartialMage from another attempt for three months. The collapse turns Daniel's imperial project into another public humiliation immediately before his demonic pact. (Chapters 189–191)

Hatred quests and permanent death

After another defeat, the Hatred Demon isolates Daniel in a void, replays his humiliations, and offers power to destroy FateBreaker. Daniel accepts a pact that links their souls and makes failure punishable by soul destruction. He completes the first quest by slaughtering one hundred low-level players, receives the Hatred Wielder talent and Hatred Claws, then permanently kills an acquaintance. His rewards include the Hatred Armor, the Staff of Pure Hatred, and a compass that locates Alex and Aurelia. (Chapters 192–202)

Daniel accepts a final task to kill Aurelia and their father, Mike, and attacks the Fox Tribe Village rather than reconsider the pact. His new equipment and soul-destroying claws let him overpower Alex and crush his heart, but the Heart of Calamity restores Alex, and the Three-Headed Calamity Hydra ruins Daniel's body. The Hatred Demon abandons its contractor; the Heart's chains extract and shatter Daniel's soul, permanently killing MartialMage before Alex takes his surviving equipment. (Chapters 203–210)

Appearance and personality

Daniel is presented as a wealthy young mage who carries a staff and favors expensive equipment purchased or obtained through his guild's resources. The Hatred pact changes his battlefield presentation: crimson power surrounds him, Hatred Claws sheath his hands, and jagged crimson runes cover his divine armor. During the Fox Tribe assault, the new gear and aura make him appear less like an ordinary ranked player and more like the demon's empowered vessel. (Chapters 15–18, 33–36, 192, 201–208)

His defining traits are pride, entitlement, ambition, and escalating mania. Early defeats trigger destructive rages and elaborate revenge plans, while success makes him contemptuous of guild members and family alike. The pact does not create those impulses so much as reward them: Daniel accepts murder and permanent soul stakes with little hesitation, delights in frightening weaker players, and interprets demonic gifts as proof that he deserves absolute power. (Chapters 15–23, 105–116, 185–210)

Skills and system abilities

Daniel begins as a mage and later appears as an Elemental Mage before reaching level 218 with the Powerful Mage class and the SS-rank Mega Mage talent. His documented spell set includes Fire Meteor, Electric Field, Thorn Swipe, Mega Barrier, Shadow Blades, Rain of Fire, Temporary Flight, Player Radar, and Blood Drops. Wealth-funded Skill Stones help him raise several spells to max tier, while martial-family training remains an area he neglected. (Chapters 15–18, 33–36, 105, 201)

The Hatred pact unlocks the unique Hatred Wielder talent and permits Daniel to learn the Artifact-grade Hatred Claws. The claws can tear through defenses and, under their described condition, destroy a target's soul by gripping the heart from behind. His divine staff adds Spirit and reduces spell cooldowns, while the armor adds Strength and magical resistance. Together these gifts make him briefly comparable to Alex, but none prevents the destruction of his own soul. (Chapters 192–210)

Power progression

Relationships

• Alex Rogue: Daniel turns an early guild defeat into a consuming feud with FateBreaker. Alex repeatedly dismantles his plans, destroys Overlord City, and finally survives Daniel's soul attack before permanently killing him. (Chapters 15–23, 30–52, 105–116, 185–210)
• Aurelia: Daniel is Aurelia's older brother, but rivalry and ambition destroy their familial connection. He mocks her, treats her independence as betrayal, and accepts a demonic quest to kill both her and their father. (Chapters 19, 116, 152–166, 187–210)
• Hatred Demon: The demon exploits Daniel's resentment through a soul pact, quests, skills, and equipment. It threatens to destroy him for failure and abandons him once his defeat makes further investment useless. (Chapters 192–209)
• Vex: Vex is Daniel's subordinate and second-in-command, organizing Overlord operations while warning that the final attack is reckless. Daniel rejects that warning and leaves him behind. (Chapters 23, 31–36, 116, 204–206)

Items

• Staff of Pure Hatred: Called the Staff of Hatred when Daniel receives it, this divine staff grants substantial Spirit and reduces spell cooldowns. Alex takes it after Daniel's permanent death. (Chapters 202, 208–210)
• Hatred Armor: The demon rewards Daniel with this divine crimson armor after his second quest, and Daniel equips it immediately for increased Strength and magical resistance. Alex claims it through the system after Daniel's permanent death; the physical transfer completes later, after a short delay. (Chapters 202, 210–212)