Sweat poured down Magnus' body as he fought with Gobo. The dimension itself became the perfect training spot for the current Magnus.
It had one property. The world's pressure was identical to that of one deep within the ocean, and yet no water could be found in the dimension.
Every rock or animal had an azure colour and was clearly an evolution product to withstand such tremendous pressure.
Their bodies were small and even the largest ones could barely rival a small snake on Earth. Thanks to this unique feature.
Training became much harder. In fact, when Magnus arrived, he had to learn how to walk again before he could even think about sparring with Gobo, who just did a few stretches.
Physical body. One of the few things that were not perfectly represented in the name before one hits the origin.
A baker giant held incomparable power compared to a baker goblin. Magnus' loss had numerous amounts of reasons. Physical disparity became one of them.
In the end, the result would have been the same, but the battle could have lasted much longer. Magnus also would have the chance to counterattack from time to time.
Sure, some beings are born with such incredible physical body that even reaching the origin would result in certain defeat.
However, they were the descendants of the absolute peak in all of existence. Unless you rule all, defeating someone before reaching the origin is and always will be impossible.
Their blows tore the place apart before Gobo waved his hand and restored it. The training had been going on for a month and the results were clear.
His own fleshy body could destroy his past self with a flick of a finger. His new body and transformation gave him some confidence, but to avenge his defeat.
That would still take some time...
In the meantime, the Space Shattering Giant became the Dimensional Giant. It gave credits and unique opportunities once one breaks through to two-digit names.
And with it, people predicted that he would get into the inner academy within 3 months. The progress of other rankers was not slow at all either.
As such, many thought that everyone within the top 10 would advance at least one digit within the next year. The pressure never left Magnus' shoulder and accompanied him through the hellish training.
But he still felt that it was nowhere near enough. In reality, although he became somewhat of a genius.
The body he occupied had little to no talent, and the River of Time could do so much to initiate talent. Compared to the legacy of uncountable amounts of years.
The River of Time made him only a little special. And the news that the 100th worst student in the inner academy had defeated Monique didn't help at all.
For sure, she would burst with potential and surpass them in no time. But when one can beat someone, he couldn't even touch.
What did he have to boast about? From what he gathered, the result would be always the same. Defeat and nothing more.
And so, he turned his sights on the one possibility he could see. After he entered the academy, he realised that the use of the systems became much milder.
From a necessity to grow in a flash to become a godlike being to being nothing more than a life improvement thing that one would buy after long years of work to just relax.
Well, the hope he had for the system reignited once again. The true rulers of all had a preferred way to continue their legacy.
Systems. They were not only handy, but would ensure the safety and constant growth of their wielders. From manipulating people around them so they would submit to bending fate itself to their own wills.
That was the power the absolute peak represented. A place where you could do almost anything. Where they wouldn't think about touching you unless mutual destruction was assured.
These legacies were the prime meat Magnus wished to have. If he could successfully hijack and extract the tiniest information from the system of that caliber, it would become the key to many others.
Of course, the amount of safe measures were uncountable to ensure that the chosen one wouldn't be affected before they had grown enough.
But the inner academy was special. Their own facilities included the chance to gain a legacy. Although not one of the absolute peak, it would be the strength of their generals that led many battles.
In the outer academy. Magnus couldn't do much, however, that would all change when he got into the inner academy.
There, he could undergo a qualitative change. And in order to do so, he had to put more effort than ever to dominate the outer academy.
Because he would have no chance to come in the contact with the legacies otherwise. For one simple reason.
The top 1 is the only one worthy of gaining the chance to find their own legacy. Yet the top 1 position had to be occupied with pure power.
The certainty to dominate the whole student body without any kind of problems like Monique did. Such a requirement didn't hinder her too much, as the gap between her and everyone was large to begin with.
But when multiple people get stuck on the second digit name with the intention of going for top 1.
Then the hell descends. To train such power, the normal ways of training were nowhere near enough.
The training he did so far, although a little special. Reflected the training mortals do. On the other hand, the strong trained in different ways.
Legacies were one thing. The regime that only powerful could do was another.
Gobo told him that even the strong would plunge into despair during this training. Because one would undergo a trial where you would struggle for power and were forced to lose it all.
Just to start all over again. The trial had no end and was conducted in a special dimension, even in all of existence.
There was no other dimension like it. Constructed by one of the peak powers, a single person could try it once in their lives.
Origin beings also couldn't try it as a more powerful dimension existed. In total, 2 tries before and after attaining origin were enough to catapult one light year ahead of others.
The reason for the unlimited trial, where unlimited growth could be attained, existed because a peak power made it.
No matter how noble a birth you have or power. It relied on fate. There, you couldn't get used to the environment to survive forever.
It tested one's fortitude and strengthened it, before it stripped away such fortitude to start all over again. The meaning of stripping away everything to start over was literal.
Fate then became the one true anchor during this challenge. It dictated if you were worthy of enduring for long.
Gobo himself didn't know much about fate. Some thought it had sentience and others that it represented a concept like gravity.
Nevertheless, the peak power created it in order to put uncertainty in the hearts of other peak powers.
They knew it and still didn't act. This showcased the allure of such dimension and the future of almost every organism that dares to strive for the peak.
Gobo also told him that this place showed many, the origin path they were compatible with. Perhaps not the greatest compatibility, but it held rays of light in the dark.
A few generals acting for the peak powers were the products of such dimension and it became the one way to shorten the gap between the millions of years old monsters.
Certainly, the positives didn't exist for free. Were it not for the Chrono Academy. The chances of visiting such a place in one's lifetime were reaching zero.
Moreover, the place broke many people with insufficient fate. A place where fate protects you or sentences you to eternal doom.
Doom, where your soul does not enter reincarnation. And is destroyed.
And descendants of absolute beings were no exception. It became a sieve that turned the descendants into potential or waste that could be thrown away.
Monique attended the trial before she attended the academy. The results were hidden, though. Maybe she would tell him if he asked her. But wouldn't it be better to beat her record without knowing it?
To this day, he didn't know what fueled him to the full extent. The desire to protect his home planet certainly helped, but such conviction would become paper thin in the face of other fateful beings.
It became one of his goal to find out. To see if he is just a puppet fuelled by something unknown or that there is a hidden destiny for him to fulfill...
After he finished his training in the pressure dimension, both he and Gobo attended the meeting.
Top 30 students were allowed to attend the dimension. An already generous number, as they had fixed the number for an unknown amount of years.
Much to the surprise of the faculty. The dimensional giant didn't yet attend the dimension test, and the estimate turned from months to just leaving the dimension.
Such was the confidence they had in it...