I wasn't completely sure about every single rune written on the capsule, but I was sure about a few.
The first three letters of the runes were a form of Geass, used in exchange for the features usually obtained during awakening.
This meant the pill was most likely made from a wish-granting plant or monster. In exchange for giving the same effect as that gate, the hunter would take up a Geass and state the time required to complete or begin it.
[I shall not lie 'for the rest of my life']
[I will become a Level 30 'within three years']
[I will become a sex maniac 'in a year']
[I shall ascend all things 'before fifty']
It wasn't stated what would happen if you went against it, but it couldn't be anything good.
However, I wasn't sure how one even formed this Geass since, unlike me, others couldn't read runes.
The second set of runes, however, held a different meaning that had nothing to do with the pill or its Geass.
It was just a simple statement…
"All hunters awakened by the miracle pill cannot surpass level 74, unless they attain supremacy."
'What the hell does it mean by supremacy?'
No, that wasn't even what I was meant to ask. How was the government able to write this on the pill?
They didn't know what runes meant or how to control them.
Did that mean someone else could control them?
'No, that won't make sense.'
Argh…
A sharp pain lanced through my head.
Ba! Dum!
My heart arched so violently I could barely move.
It was the same thing that had been happening to me since I entered this world.
Whenever I thought about something too much, my reality would distort.
I placed my hand over my head, scraping at it.
Was this world real?
Am I alive?
Is someone playing a prank on me?!
I took a deep breath. Again. And again.
My heart slowly stopped beating so loudly.
Relaxing my posture, I sighed. "Fuck."
I wasn't sure whether this world was real or not, but there was no need to keep beating myself over it.
The worst thing that could happen either way was death. This wasn't some crazy cultivation story where they would trap my soul in eternal pain.
I glanced at the pill again. 'I'm sure I'm the only one who can use runes.'
Which meant these pills weren't made by the government.
From the use of runes to the fact that it could replace what the awakening rift did, something that wasn't of this world, was enough proof to back my claim.
If I had to guess, someone in the government made a contract with an ancient being. Maybe a dragon, since they were always the gods of magic in most shows. Worst case scenario, they were working with the Abyss Queen.
After all, they loved the power of hunters and wanted full control over it.
Maybe I would have found more information if I understood everything written on the pill, but the remaining set of runes was beyond my current knowledge.
"Should I not eat it?"
It was too dangerous to eat blindly. Yet without it, I wouldn't be able to awaken.
I could try to run into that gate before it fully closed, but then what?
It was clear as day that I didn't enter this world by pure coincidence, and God knows what the person who put me here might do if I tried to run.
I placed my hand beneath my chin and muttered under my breath. "It isn't like I'm scared or anything, but I don't want to die yet."
"Fuck it!"
I took the pill and threw it into my mouth.
Now that I knew the kind of shit they were cooking up, I just needed to be careful and find this so-called path to supremacy.
If I had to kill a thousand people, I would do it. If I needed to find romance, I would follow it.
Because even if I am shackled now by invisible chains, I, Allen Park, will still be the best.
The cold energy of the pill rushed through my body.
However, it didn't give me stress because the moment it entered me, the energy split between the cores I had made and the mana embedded in my bones.
I shut my eyes as sweat dripped from my body. The cold energy seemed to push the warmth out from inside, making my outer skin burn instead.
It was a strange and painful sensation. Instead of cold and heat creating warmth, they formed opposing forces.
My insides were freezing while my outer skin burned from excessive heat.
'I have to combine the energy.'
Just like Yin and Yang in martial arts. I had to imagine them as white and black.
I didn't need to control all of the heat, only take enough from both sides and form unison.
Cold air seeped from my lips.
Haaaaaa…!
One thing I always found strange in martial arts novels and manhwas back on Earth was how they flowed ki through their meridians. It wasn't like they were doctors, and even if they were, how could they picture it?
Now that I was doing it, I finally understood. They weren't guessing anything.
You spread the senses of your mana through every path in your body, like searching for a way out of a maze.
Once you understood those paths, you flowed mana through the most ideal one.
Using this method, I quickly reached each of my cores and began combining the two energies.
My power didn't surge dramatically. The moment I gained control of both forces, my entire body calmed down, and I heard a loud ding followed by a female British voice in my ear.
Ding!
[Congratulations! You've successfully passed the first stage of your awakening!]
[Since you are currently using the ancient draconic method of awakening, you shall be transported into the world constructed from your inner mind.]
[There, you will feel the energy of the world and universe, and all your questions shall be answered.]
[Note: Every unnatural anomaly in that world is connected to you.]
[By the name of the ancient bloodline Val Arcain, I wish you the best of luck.]
[Let the blessings of the one who controls colours be with you~]