The next morning came with the toll of bells and the smell of ash.
Luc Ario stretched, joints clicking faintly like metal hinges. The light spilling through the barracks window caught the faint green shimmer still crawling along his veins. He frowned. "Still there, huh?"
He poked the skin—hard as armor plate. His HP hadn't moved since last night. Not even the acid from the Poison Beast had made a dent.
He pulled up his unseen display again.
[Status Update]
Name: Luc Ario
Type: Steel / Poison
HP: 1000 / 1000
Attack: 3
Defense: 999 (MAX)
Special Defense: 999 (MAX)
Speed: 4
Abilities: [Solid Body], [Pressure Shield], [Type Absorption]
Skills: [Guard Up], [Fortify], [Iron Skin], [Stoneplate], [Aegis Reflect]
Note: Riolu recognizes more than a hundred Attributes.
[Type Database: 3 / Infinity Registered]
He grinned. "Still ridiculous."
A faint knock interrupted his amusement.
"Luc Ario?"
A robed acolyte stood at the door, clutching a scroll. "The High Priest requests your presence at the Hall of Essence. Immediately."
Luc sighed. "Of course he does. Can't have a walking tank wandering around unsupervised."
Hall of Essence
The same crystal that had scanned him yesterday now hovered silently above its pedestal. The priests surrounded it, whispering incantations, tracing runes in the air.
At the center stood the High Priest—an elderly man with gold-threaded robes and cold eyes.
"Luc Ario," he began, "your summoning was… unconventional. The Crystal of Origin rarely reacts with such force. It identified you as a dual-type with defense parameters beyond measurement."
Luc rubbed his neck. "Sorry for breaking your magic rock?"
The priest didn't smile. "The goddess doesn't err. There's purpose in every summoning. But your Type Absorption—the name our scholars gave what you did last night—that ability does not exist in our archives."
So they gave it a name already. Guess it stuck.
Luc tilted his head. "Then I'm unique. Congratulations to both of us."
A few younger priests glared at the sarcasm. The High Priest only exhaled. "Be cautious. Attributes are sacred. Mixing them invites instability. Too many at once may corrupt your essence entirely."
Luc's eyes narrowed. Corruption, huh? He filed that away for later.
The Guild
After being dismissed, Luc made his way through Valtara's streets.
The capital was huge—a blend of old stone fortresses and glowing crystal towers. Everywhere, he felt people's eyes follow him; his heavy steps left faint metallic echoes on the cobblestones.
Finally, he stopped in front of a towering structure marked by a silver emblem: The Adventurer's Guild.
Inside, chaos.
Mercenaries shouted over job boards, mages compared spell crystals, clerks scribbled endlessly. A single clerk, a young woman with caramel hair, blinked up at him.
"Registration?" she asked.
"Yeah," Luc said. "Name's Luc Ario. New summon."
Her crystal tablet glowed as she scanned him. For a moment, nothing happened—then the tablet overheated, sparks flying.
She yelped, dropping it. "Wha—?! It—It broke!"
Luc winced. "Sorry. That keeps happening."
Another clerk looked over. "That's the Steel guy! The one from the summons!"
Murmurs rippled through the room.
Luc raised a hand. "I'm just here to get a guild ID, not to melt anyone's equipment."
After some panicked shuffling, they handed him a small metallic badge.
[Guild Registration Complete]
Name: Luc Ario
Rank: F-Class (Provisional)
Title: The Wall That Levels Too Slowly
Bonus Unlocked: [Defensive Tier System]
Luc blinked. "Wait—Defensive Tier System?"
[Defensive Tier System Unlocked]
Tier 1: Basic Fortification (Passive)
Gain experience through damage taken.
Damage absorbed adds toward defensive evolution.
Progress: 0 / 10,000 Damage
He grinned. "Finally, a leveling system that rewards getting hit. About time."
The First Quest
Minutes later, Luc accepted a job posted on the lower board.
Request: Escort novice party to the Shatterstone Ruins.
Difficulty: F → D potential
Reward: 100 gold + experience.
Four rookies were already waiting—two mages, one archer, and a nervous swordsman.
"You're our escort?" the swordsman asked skeptically. "You don't even have a weapon."
Luc shrugged. "I am the weapon."
They didn't believe him—until a stray practice arrow ricocheted off his shoulder and snapped in half.
Shatterstone Ruins
The ruins were quiet… too quiet.
Then the ground quaked. Purple mist seeped from cracks as black tendrils clawed upward.
[Corruption Beast — Shadow Type Lv 15]
Luc's party panicked. "Its level's higher than ours!"
Luc stepped forward calmly. "Stay behind me."
The beast lashed out—dark claws raking his chest.
[Type Absorption Activated.]
Absorbing Attribute: Dark.
Current Types: Steel / Poison → Steel / Poison / Dark.
[Type Database Updated: 4 / Infinity Attributes Registered.]
Luc's eyes glimmered with a faint purple sheen.
He cracked his knuckles. "Alright. Let's see how this one feels."
The Shadow Beast screamed and slashed again—only to watch its claws disintegrate on contact.
Luc raised one finger. "Reflect."
[Aegis Reflect Activated.]
Damage Returned: 1.5% → Critical Feedback!
The beast imploded.
The rookies just stared.
"Is… is he even human?" one whispered.
Luc smirked. "Mostly metal, maybe."
A new message blinked before his eyes.
[Defensive Tier Progress: 10,000 / 10,000]
Tier Up! → Tier 2: Reactive Defense.
You now generate kinetic backlash proportional to absorbed damage.
Luc chuckled. "Guess I level up by standing still."
Epilogue Message II
[System Notice: Multi-Attribute Stability Maintained.]
Defensive Evolution Path Activated.
Next Milestone: 10 Attributes Integrated.
Reward: [Bastion Form] (Locked)
Warning: Further Type expansion may attract Divine or Corrupt attention.
Luc's grin widened. "Let them come."
He turned toward the sunset—the sky burning red against the steel sheen of his skin.
Each step echoed like thunder.
"The wall walks," someone murmured behind him.
And in that moment, the legend of the Unbreakable Bastion quietly began.