Lysander stepped over the corpses of the Harpies, his boots stained with black feathers. He stood before the entrance of the Abandoned Tower.
Up close, the structure was even more imposing. The door wasn't made of wood or iron; it was a slab of obsidian, fifty feet high, covered in glowing violet runes that pulsed like a heartbeat.
"Finally," Lysander exhaled, reaching out to push the massive doors open. "Let's see what's inside"
ZZZT!
The moment his armored gauntlet touched the stone, a violent shockwave of red lightning blasted him backward. He skidded ten feet across the dirt, digging his boots in to stop.
"What the hell?" Lysander growled, shaking his numb hand. "It rejected me?"
Ding!
[ACCESS DENIED]
[RESTRICTION ACTIVE]
[This Tower is a testing ground for the worthy. The weak are not permitted to enter]
[QUEST UPDATE: KEY TO THE ABYSS]
[Condition: The seal requires a sacrifice of high-density Mana]
[Objective: Retrieve the Heart of the Guardian].
[Target: The Ancient Stone Colossus]
[Location: The Deep Ravine]
[Target Rank: A]
[THE IMPOSSIBLE WALL]
Lysander stared at the red text, his expression hardening.
"Rank A..." he whispered, the confidence from his recent victory evaporating instantly.
He remembered the previous night. He remembered the Spectral Titan—a Rank A monster that crushed a Rank B Rhino just by stepping on it. That was the level of power he was being asked to fight.
"This isn't a quest," Lysander spat, kicking a stone. "This is a suicide mission"
He looked at his Twin-Star Revolvers.
"Sure, these guns deal Rank A damage. I can hurt it. But that doesn't matter."
He looked at his own body.
"My defense is barely Rank C. My speed is good, but if a Rank A Colossus hits me once... just one graze... my armor will shatter, and I will be turned into paste"
He paced back and forth, frustration boiling in his chest. He had the key to the door (the guns), but he didn't have the durability to turn it.
"I can't fight a Rank A monster yet," he admitted through gritted teeth. "The gap in raw stats is too big. I need to be faster. Stronger. I need to reach Rank A—or at least high Rank B—before I even think about challenging that Guardian"
He looked up at the towering door, realizing the irony. The Tower was right there, but it might as well be on the moon.
"Fine," Lysander said, turning his back on the gate. His purple eyes glowed with a cold resolve.
"I won't rush to my death. I'll hunt everything else in this jungle first. I'll level up until I'm strong enough to shatter this Guardian into pebbles"
Lysander walked away from the pulsating obsidian gate and found a quiet spot under the shade of a massive tree. He sat down, holstering his guns and resting his arms on his knees.
The gap between him and the Guardian was massive. A Rank A monster could wipe out a city. He was just one man.
"I need to see exactly what I'm working with," Lysander muttered, staring at the air. "I need to know how far I am from the peak"
"System. Status Open"
Whirrr...
The blue holographic screen expanded in front of him. It hummed with energy, displaying the data that defined his existence in this world.
[STATUS WINDOW]
[Name: Lysander]
[Race: Human]
[Class: Successor of the Demon God]
[Potential: SSS] (God Rank)
[Current Grade: Rank C]
[Level: 30]
[Attributes]
Strength: 85
Agility: 82
Intelligence: 65
Vitality: 78
Mana: 750
[Skill Tree]
[Active Skills]
[Shadow Flash (Lvl 2)]
[Effect: Instantly teleport up to 15 meters into any shadow]
[Cooldown: 10 Seconds]
[Blood Wave (Lvl 2)]
[Effect: Releases a crescent of solidified blood mana to slice enemies]
[Dark Moon Spin (Lvl 1)]
[Effect: A 360-degree rotational slash for crowd control]
[Passive Skills]
[Demon God's Aura (Intimidation)]
[Effect: Low-rank monsters feel instinctual fear. High-rank monsters become aggressive]
[Pain Resistance (Intermediate)]
[Effect: Allows the user to ignore non-lethal injuries and continue fighting]
[Night Vision (New)]
[Effect: Perfect visibility in total darkness]
[Weapon Mastery (Dual-Wielding)]
[Effect: Auto-correction for aiming and balance when using Ranged Weapons]
[Equipment]
[Erebos: The Edge of Ruin](Ability: Wrath of the Blood King).
[Twin-Star Mana Revolvers] (Model: Eclipse).
Lysander's eyes lingered on two specific lines.
Potential: SSS.
Current Grade: Rank C.
"SSS Potential..." Lysander whispered, tracing the letters with his finger. "My ceiling is infinite. I have the potential to kill gods. But right now? I'm just a C-Rank struggler."
He closed his fist, and the screen shattered into particles of light.
"The potential is useless if I die before I unlock it"
He stood up, dusting off his armor.
"I have the skills. I have the weapons. Now I just need the raw power"
He looked back toward the dark jungle, away from the Tower.
"I won't come back to this gate until that 'C' turns into a 'B'. Or maybe an 'A'."
Lysander trudged back through the dense foliage, his shoulders slumped in visible disappointment. The adrenaline from the Harpy fight was gone, replaced by a cold, heavy realization.
He kicked a small stone, watching it skitter into the bushes.
"What a waste of time," he muttered, his voice dripping with frustration. "I walked all the way here, fought a swarm of monsters, and for what? To be told I'm too weak to even knock on the door"
He stopped for a moment, looking back at the looming silhouette of the Abandoned Tower against the sky. It felt different now. Before, it looked like a treasure chest. Now, it looked like a tomb.
"Think about it," Lysander whispered to himself, a shiver running down his spine. "If the Guardian—the thing just guarding the key outside—is a Rank A monster..."
His eyes widened as the logic sank in.
"Then what kind of nightmare is living inside? What is waiting on the top floor?"
"Rank S? Rank SS?"
He shook his head, a grim smile touching his lips.
"I thought I was the hunter today. But if I had managed to open that door... I would have just been walking into a slaughterhouse."
He turned back toward his cave, his grip on his revolvers tightening.
"I'm not ready. Not even close."
Lysander sat in the dim light of the cave, staring at his status screen. The numbers hadn't moved. Level 30. Strength stuck around 85. It wasn't enough. Not against a Rank-A calamity.
"System," Lysander spoke, his voice cutting through the silence. "You told me earlier that I reached my 'Physiological Limit' for training. You stopped the Daily Quests because my body adapted."
He clenched his fist, feeling the raw power that was currently insufficient.
"But this can't be the end. If I stay at this level, I will die at the Tower's gate. I need to break through this ceiling."
He looked up, his purple eyes glowing with demand.
"Is there a mission? A ritual? How do I force my body to evolve past the limits of a human?"
Whirrr...
The System did not answer immediately. The blue screen flickered, turning a deep shade of crimson.
[QUERY ACKNOWLEDGED]
[ANALYZING HOST POTENTIAL: SSS]
[Affirmative. You have reached the peak of the 'First Awakening'. To grow further, you must shatter the mortal shell]
[HIDDEN QUEST UNLOCKED]
[QUEST: THE RITE OF EVOLUTION]
[Type: Limit Break / Ascension Quest]
[Difficulty: Very Hard]
[Description: Your body has maximized the potential of a standard human vessel. To hold more Mana and increase your stats to Rank-A levels, you must prove you are the true Successor]
[Objective: Hunt and consume the Core of a Rank-B Boss Monster (Solo Kill).
Restriction: You cannot use [Erebos] for the killing blow. You must use your own strength (or secondary weapon) to prove your mastery.]
[Time Limit: 48 Hours]
[REWARDS]
[Level Cap Broken:Max Level increased to 50]
[Stat Evolution: All Attributes +20]
[New Skill Slot Unlocked]
Lysander read the mission details, a slow, dangerous grin spreading across his face.
"A Rank-B Boss..." he whispered. "Stronger than the Spider Queen. But weaker than the Guardian"
He stood up, checking the chambers of his revolvers.
"This is exactly what I needed. A stepping stone"
He walked to the cave entrance, looking out into the deep jungle.
"Show me where it is, System. I'm going to tear its core out."
"System," he commanded. "Mark the nearest Rank-B Boss. I don't care what it is. Wolf, Bear, Golem—just point me to it."
Whirrr...
Ping...
Ping...
The radar swept across the holographic map of the jungle. It pulsed once, twice, three times.
[0 Targets Found]
Lysander frowned. "System? Is the radar broken?"
[There are no Rank-B Boss entities within a 10-mile radius]
Lysander threw his hands up in frustration.
"How is that possible? This is the Abyssal Wilds! It's supposed to be crawling with monsters"
[ANALYSIS: THE TITAN EFFECT]
"The absence of prey is due to the Spectral Titan (Rank A) you encountered last night"
"An Apex Predator establishes dominance through fear. The Titan's presence releases a high-density 'Fear Aura'. Instinctually, all intelligent mid-tier monsters (Rank C and B) have fled the area to avoid being eaten."
"In simple terms: The big fish arrived, so the little fish ran away."
Lysander sighed, rubbing his temples. "So, I'm the strongest thing in this specific area because everything stronger than me ran for its life."
He looked at the Screen.
"So, what happens to the Quest? If there is no boss, I can't break my limit."
Ding!
"You must become a true hunter. You must leave your territory and track them down in the uncharted Deep Zones"
[Mission: Locate and Kill a Rank-B Boss]
[Range: Expanded to Uncharted Sectors]
[Time Limit: Extended from 48 Hours -> 1 Week]
[Warning: You will be leaving the 'Safe Zone'. The deeper you go, the more dangerous the terrain becomes.]