[Max's POV]
[Skill:] Aether Edict
[Rank:] EX
[Element:] Space
[Type:] Spatial Manipulation
[Description:] Vacuum, distance, and vector bow to rule. Grants manipulation of spatial properties such as distance, position, and orientation. Enables spatial folding, teleportation, localized space compression, and controlled spatial barriers—without altering time or causality.
[Mana Cost:] Extremely High
– – –
[Skill:] Kronos Mandate
[Rank:] EX
[Element:] Time
[Type:] Temporal Manipulation / Flow
[Description:] Local clocks answer one will—seconds stretch to silk or snap like wire. Allows limited manipulation of time flow. You may accelerate, decelerate, pause, or rewind time within defined zones or targets, while remaining bound by mana consumption and personal endurance.
[Mana Cost:] Catastrophically High
– – –
[Skill:] Mithyā Consensus
[Rank:] EX
[Element:] Illusion
[Type:] Sensory Manipulation / Cognition
[Description:] Perception, inference, and memory align to a single script. Enables manipulation of perception across all senses. You can create flawless visual, auditory, tactile, and mental illusions, induce false environments, and mask presence. Reality remains unchanged, but every observer's world becomes yours.
[Mana Cost:] Extremely High
– – –
[Skill:] Scarlet Crown
[Rank:] EX
[Element:] Blood
[Type:] Biological Manipulation / Life Force
[Description:] Lifeblood answers a single will. Allows manipulation of blood within living or non-living entities. You can control flow, coagulation, pressure, composition, and movement, enabling internal damage, enhanced regeneration, blood constructs, and physical augmentation.
[Mana Cost:] Extremely High
– – –
Starring at the screen for a long second, my mind went blank, then the realization hit.
Multiple questions birthed in mind—too many—but I stayed silent, just breathing, comparing who I was now to who I'd been an hour ago.
The difference was… astronomical.
Before, I relied on instinct, mana control, sword techniques, my traits, and my brain. That was my arsenal, my survival. But now?
It felt like something had changed on a fundamental level; an existential upgrade.
My fire affinity had awakened back in the Labyrinth, sure. But now, I could feel everything. Every element those skills represented pulsed beneath my skin.
Fire danced at my fingertips, water and wind bent at my will. Even the faint hum of space, the whisper of time—all of it—felt within reach.
Closing my eyes, I let the sensation wash over me, drowning in that godlike awareness. When I opened them again, a grin almost crept up my lips. I wanted to test it. I wanted to fight, but I held back for now.
Instead, my eyes fell on the names again. Something about them tugged at my memories. Gods… those were names of gods.
"System," I asked slowly, "why do these skill names feel like they are connected to deities?"
[Because they are. At higher floors, Players can make a contract or pact with Higher Beings or Observers which, in exchange for something, grants them skills that give them control over a relative element.]
[You are the first Player to get these skills related to multiple beings without something in exchange or having any constraints.]
I narrowed my eyes. That… didn't sound like a good thing. Scrolling through my status, I glanced at my Talent again and focused on the Luck stat.
"Why does it look like those question marks did something questionable…" I muttered.
Before I could think further, another notification chimed.
[The Tower's Administrator has decided on your transgression of the Tower system. Your actions were irresponsible and thoughtless. You forgot that every action can have its consequences.]
[Although this change didn't do any harm to tower mechanics, so there won't be any big punishment, your only punishment is that you won't receive Myth Points for any of your deeds today. Next time, keep in mind that everything has consequences.]
I blinked, then sighed. Just like that, all my excitement vanished—like someone had poured a bucket of cold water over me.
The Administrator was right. For all my brains, I had been reckless. Power-drunk, even. I hadn't acted like myself at all.
After staying silent for a while, I went over everything since I entered the Tower.
Yeah… I had gotten through every situation using quick thinking and adaptability.
But that same recklessness had nearly killed me once. If not for my Bloodline and Physique, I probably would have been in a different situation.
Clenching my fists, I made a silent promise to myself; no matter how strong I became, I wouldn't lose control again. Not like in the Labyrinth. I would think before acting. Power without reason was just self-destruction.
"Thanks," I said to the system quietly.
Then my gaze returned to the list of skills.
"So… do I have to be cautious? Can these beings stop me from using their skills?"
[Your skills are free from their control because you got them yourself, but they will feel your presence at the higher floors.]
"Well," I sighed, "I'll cross that bridge when I get there. I just hope they're not as bad as the stories say."
Breathing out slowly, I calmed my thoughts and turned to the next two skills—Perception and Analyse. I placed both books before me, activating my Talent.
The pages glowed, then merged together, swirling like living ink.
[New Skill: Omni-Vision created]
The new book hovered before me—an open eye surrounded by fifty concentric circles. Its gray cover shimmered with soft light.
After I multiplied it using my Innate Ability. I fused them again.
The fusion took minutes, light flickering across the room until the book turned pure white, an open eye gleaming with galaxies behind it.
It floated up to my face, scanning me silently. Then, like dust in wind, it disintegrated—its particles sinking into my chest and seeping into both my eyes.
For a moment… nothing, then pain exploded.
"—ghhh!"
I clutched my head, teeth gritted, as molten agony poured into my eyes. It wasn't normal pain. It was change. Something deep and powerful was rewriting the core of my eyes forever.
It felt endless—liquid fire remolding my vision, tearing and rebuilding every nerve.
Minutes passed before my breathing steadied. Infinite Regeneration kicked in, cooling the burn. I felt relieved from the pain and opened my eyes.
[Omniscient Genesis Sight]
[Rank:] Absolute (Locked)
[Element:] Aether, Time, Mind, Law, Void, Soul
[Type:] Transcendent / Cognitive / ???
[Description:] The act of being awareness itself—not seeing reality, but being the medium through which all realities are seen.
[Mana Cost:] Catastrophically High
[Core Abilities:]
1. Total Perceptual Saturation
2. Absolute Data Comprehension
3. Locked
4. Locked
[Passive Abilities:]
[Truth Filter:] Lies, Illusion, or False memories are automatically filtered out.
[Perfect Combat Awareness:] No sneak attacks, blind angles, or hidden magic can bypass the Player's perception.
[Conceptual Stability:] Immune to mental attacks, cognitive corruption, or reality distortion.
[Absolute's Gaze:] Produces effects like Soul dread and Existential pressure on any opponent on which the Player gazes.
– – –
I stared blankly at the description. "…I was hoping for something to help in fights. Not… this."
Reality-bending eyes? Are you kidding me? Cursing under my breath, I ran toward the mirror. I needed to see.
When my reflection looked back at me, I froze. Gone were my normal eyes. In their place—rings within rings, about fifty concentric circles orbiting my pupil, all glowing with ethereal blue light.
My entire iris shimmered like a living starfield. For a long moment, I couldn't look away. Majestic, Divine, Awe-inspiring.
Those were the only words that came to mind.