He raised his hand.
His finger stopped just a few centimeters away from the floating letters that read Skill ??? — Rank ???. He was about to touch them when a sharp beep interrupted him.
The window flickered.
A new message appeared, pushing everything else aside.
Synchronization complete.Calculating experience…
Eryon frowned.
Before he could react, notifications began appearing one after another, without pause.
You have leveled up!
Level 1 → Level 2
ou have leveled up!
Level 2 → Level 3
You have leveled up!
Level 3 → Level 4
The messages kept stacking up, advancing rapidly, until they finally stopped.
You have leveled up!
Level 9 → Level 10
He stood still, eyes wide open.
It took him a couple of seconds to react. Then, almost on reflex, he closed that section and opened the part of the window that displayed his general information.
Name: Eryon Valen
Age: 17
Rank: B
Class: None
Level: 10
Experience: 300 / 6,000
Eryon scratched his head with his free hand.
He didn't feel any immediate difference. There was no surge of strength, no obvious changes in his body. Only the numbers had changed.
"…I have no idea," he murmured.
He didn't know whether gaining nine levels at once was normal or completely absurd. He didn't know the standard—much less how long it usually took someone to reach level ten.
He slowly closed the window.
For now, he couldn't draw any conclusions.
The only thing that was clear was that ever since he had woken up in that swamp, the system seemed to be catching up with everything that had happened.
Eryon refocused his attention on the unknown skill.
He shifted his gaze to the skill panel. The two entries floated one above the other. Transcendent Physique no longer raised immediate questions. The other one, however, was still there—without a name, without a clear explanation.
He swallowed.
He raised his hand and brought his finger closer. It stopped a couple of centimeters from the letters ??? — RANK ???. He hesitated. He didn't know what to expect, nor whether touching it was a good idea.
The hesitation lasted only a few moments.
He took a deep breath and pressed the skill.
The main window contracted, and a smaller interface appeared in front of him. The instant he saw it, his body went rigid.
??? — RANK ???
Description:A ███████, the expression of absolute ███████. Of ███████ origin, this anomaly ███████ every ███████ of its bearer. It emerges when ███████, forging their ███████ and redefining their ██████. Its ███████ is the ██████████.
Detected effects (???):
• ██████ Manipulation: ???
• ███████ Ascension: ???
• ██████ Transformation: ???
• ███████ Synthesis: ???
At the bottom of the window, several lines appeared distorted.
[ADDITIONAL DATA LOCKED — ACCESS DENIED][CORRUPTED FILE FRAGMENT]:
"…the voice that chants the ███████ of the ███████. An echo of the first ██████…"
Eryon didn't move.
His eyes ran over the text again and again, trying to find something concrete between the censored gaps. There were no clear numbers. No defined limits. Only incomplete fragments and vague descriptions—almost intentionally hidden.
He closed the window slowly.
All he could do was roll his eyes.
"Of course…" he muttered. "Why even give me the option to read the description if you're going to block almost all of it?"
He didn't expect an answer.
With a sigh, he dismissed the window with a brief gesture. There was no point in standing there overthinking it. With some effort, he got to his feet amid the corpses. His body still felt heavy, but no longer on the verge of collapse. His breathing was steadier, and the trembling in his legs had lessened.
I guess I've recovered some mana, he thought.
He had no real way to check.
Or so he believed.
Almost immediately, a small window opened in front of him, appearing without warning, as if responding directly to that thought.
HP: 2500 / 2500
Mana: 164 / 400
That caught him off guard.
It didn't say anything about recovery speed or display additional warnings—just clear, direct numbers. Even so, the contrast with the basic system he had seen when entering the tower was obvious.
"Wow…" he murmured.
He closed the window and looked around once more. The swamp was still the same hostile place, but the system accompanying him now was different.
More complete.More detailed.
With no other option, he began to walk, leaving the circle of corpses behind. He didn't know how much his actual situation had changed, but one thing was certain:
He was no longer playing by the same rules as before.
Eryon walked through the swamp without a clear direction.
He didn't know where to go. He simply moved forward, avoiding sunken roots and deep pools, alert to any strange movement. At least now he could defend himself—or so he believed. The thought gave him some reassurance, even if it didn't solve the main problem.
Time passed without him finding anything.
Only rotting trees, twisted trunks, and murky water that gave off a foul smell. The scenery didn't change. After hours of moving in a straight line, impatience began to set in. The fatigue wasn't extreme—but the worry was.
If this continued, he would die of hunger or thirst before ever encountering another monster.
As he walked, an idea began to take shape in his mind.
Then he stopped.
Something occurred to him.
He didn't hesitate for long. He focused the mana he had recovered and activated the skill.
Transcendent Physique.
Eryon bent his legs and jumped with all his strength.
His body shot upward like an arrow. The muddy ground was left behind in an instant as he soared past the height of several rotting trees. For a brief moment, he had a clear view of his surroundings.
Beyond the endless swamp, he spotted a point in the distance.
He didn't know what it was. It could be anything—a change in the terrain, a structure, or simply something different from the swamp surrounding him.
But it was enough.
He landed heavily, his feet sinking into the mud on impact. After straightening up, he fixed his gaze in the direction he had seen from above.
Having a goal—even an uncertain one—was better than wandering in circles.
Without another word, Eryon began walking toward that distant point.