After a brief conversation, Polian vanished into the horizon, while Haven materialized in his throne room. A low chuckle escaped his lips as his gaze settled on the figure lounging in his throne, one leg draped over the armrest, the other swinging lazily.
"You've come to ensure I stay out of your plans?" Haven's voice was calm, but there was a sharpness in his eyes.
Dante smirked, rising from the throne with casual ease. "Elves are such a hassle. Good that you understand, though. I'm not really interested in you though. If Josten kills him, so be it—but if you seek vengeance, do it later, not now."
Haven's eyes narrowed slightly as he stepped forward, his aura surging outward in a subtle but probing wave. He wasn't going to fight, but he wanted to see—no, to feel— what this being before him truly was. Yet the instant his power reached out, the world around him collapsed.
A shadow spread, thick and absolute. The air itself became oppressive, the throne room vanishing into a void of consuming darkness. Haven's breath hitched—this wasn't just concealment; it was suffocation. He couldn't feel his own body, couldn't even sense the flow of his mana, then, the voice came.
Soft. Unshaken. Female. Yet carrying a weight so immense it pressed against his very soul.
[Please refrain from doing too much.]
Haven's heartbeat slammed against his ribs, a chill racing through his spine.
[Master has no intention of harming you. Moreover, your skill is only a Legendary-tier ability, below level 30. It holds power only because you're leveraging your Mythical-tier skill to optimize it. If you persist, all of your abilities will suffer irreparable damage.]
There was no malice in the voice, only a matter-of-fact, certainty. And yet, that made it even worse. There was no attempt to intimidate him—just a statement of what would happen if he pushed forward. Then, just as abruptly, he was back.
Haven, intrigued, paused, his breathing a little uneven. His hands trembled slightly as he clenched them into fists, forcing composure.
Then as he looked up he was alone in the room.
Dante was gone.
But his mind was racing.
'What... What the hell was that?'
A sweat-drenched palm ran across his forehead. He had been peering into the void, yet the void had looked back—and spoken.
No.
It hadn't just spoken; it had known him.
It had known exactly what he was doing, how his skills functioned, and had shut him down like an insect trying to breach a fortress.
Only those at Level 3 in the Mythical-tier could optimize lower-tier skills like that. So was this intruder another anomaly like Aurora? Someone on the verge of becoming a Mystical being or possibly beyond?
'No… even then, how did it know?'
His breath came as heavy shaky breaths, trying to steady himself. He had faced monsters, had battled forces of immense power. Yet something about this—this silent, unfathomable presence—unnerved him in a way he hadn't felt in centuries.
He recalled, some years ago the laws had spoken once before of a vile creature that would come… or had already come?.
'Where… did he even come from?'
...…
Meanwhile, Dante stood atop the clouds, hands in his pockets, watching Polian as he disappeared into the distance. He exhaled, rubbing his temple.
"Annoying."
This was exactly why he preferred dealing with weaker opponents. Fighting in the big leagues was exhausting—not because he feared losing at least not entirely, but because it forced him to be cautious. His usual carefree violence had to be measured now. Every action, every encounter, risked exposure to someone capable of fighting back.
The system had alerted him to Haven's appraisal attempt the moment it happened, reacting before Dante even needed to think about it. The countermeasure was applied in an instant—no delay or struggle. It had simply blocked the attempt, as if it were swatting away a buzzing fly.
And Haven had been completely powerless against it.
Dante chuckled, the corners of his lips twitching in amusement. "System ,the reason he couldn't even touch me. Is it power difference. "
[Indeed, Master. I do not possess sufficient information regarding Haven's skills or their exact levels. However, based on Polian's words and their relationship as master and disciple, it is highly probable that Haven is a Level 5 Mythical Being.
There are several conclusions I can now state with approximately ninety-nine percent certainty.
First, the gap between levels grows exponentially as one ascends the tiers. Within the Legendary tier, after a certain level every tenth level appears to represent a qualitative transformation rather than a simple increase in strength. The difference between Level 9 and Level 10 is greater than the difference between Level 1 to Level 9 combined. However it seems only begin from level 20 upwards Something fundamental changes within the skill itself upon reaching these milestones, though I cannot yet determine what that change is.
The Mythical tier follows the same principle, but on a far greater scale. A Level 1 Mythical skill confronting a Level 5 Mythical skill faces a disparity that should normally be impossible to overcome.
However, your abilities are not normal.
Your skills possess numerous stacked sub-abilities. Each of these sub-abilities appears comparable to a powerful skill, allowing your overall combat effectiveness to far exceed your actual level.
Based on current observations, your Mythical-tier skills possess combat effectiveness approximately five to six levels above their true level. Your Legendary-tier skills are even more abnormal, possessing effectiveness equivalent to a ten to fifteen-level advantage over ordinary Legendary skills.
This explains why Haven was unable to fully suppress Abyss Veil. Under normal circumstances, a Mythical skill should overwhelm a Legendary skill through tier suppression alone. However, Spatial Body and Mental Domination effectively neutralized that suppression. Despite both being only Level 1, it displayed effectiveness comparable to that of an ordinary Level 5 Mythical skill.]
Dante rubbed his chin before chuckling.
"So... it's basically like this."
"Haven's Legendary skill is the little brother. His Mythical skill is the older brother backing him up."
"My Legendary skill is also the little brother."
"Except my little brother has two ridiculously strong older brothers standing behind him."
He grinned.
"His Legendary skill tried pushing mine around. My Mythical skills immediately stepped in to protect it."
"Then Haven's Mythical skill stepped in to support his Legendary skill..."
Dante shrugged.
"...only to realize my two older brothers were stronger than his."
"The poor little brother never stood a chance."
[An acceptable analogy, Master.]
[While greatly simplified, your explanation is approximately ninety-seven percent accurate.]
Dante smiled.
"Heh Even the System agrees."
He chuckled and let the system continue
[Likewise, a Level 1 Legendary skill belonging to you may possess effectiveness comparable to a conventional Level 10 up to 15 Legendary skills.
In short, Master, your abilities operate far outside the standards of this world. The greater the difference in tier and level, the more impossible your current combat performance should be.
The decision to take a risk in "clashing" with a Mythical being was indeed worthwhile We now have concrete data.]
Dante nodded. That part, he had gathered. He could win against Haven, but the fight would be annoying. It would drag on, for him anything not instantaneous and easy would inevitably, draw attention.
The worst thing was needing to hold back in case of hidden threats.
"I take it the system blocked his appraisal automatically?"
[Affirmative. Due to the nature of your skills, direct observation beyond a certain threshold was deemed a threat. Countermeasures were applied preemptively.]
Dante clicked his tongue. The system had acted on its own. Not a bad thing, necessarily, but it meant it had parameters in place that he hadn't even been made aware of.
'...System.' He mused, 'Don't fuck me in the ass' A chuckle escaped his lips.
He had long suspected that this system or the skill was more than just some cheat guide. But he had learned a valuable lesson from the novels of his past life: if you dig too deep into the unknown, the unknown starts digging into you.
There was a reason protagonist always got noticed the moment they started learning about things they weren't supposed to.
Dante shook his head. "Tsk. Doesn't matter. As long as it's on my side, I don't care."
For now, he had other things to focus on. His instantaneous teleportation home and back would cost him a good chunk of his energy and manna—more than he liked. Optimization of multiple skills simultaneously was draining, but manageable.
The real issue was the fact that he had now stepped into a circle of people who weren't weaklings. He'd planned for this, expected it—but experiencing it firsthand was still frustrating.
'No more easy prey.'
He exhaled, stepping through space, his form vanishing. He had other matters to attend to—like checking in on Vexion.
Last he saw, she was spreading terror in the outer kingdoms of the Josten Empire, sending mercenaries into a frenzy.
His lips curled into a smirk.
'Kekeke. That girl… truly a magnificent menace.'
Dante sighed, reason being something unexpected occurred.
'Mother… from the mere fact she can talk to this guy from such a distance, her skills must be truly amazing. Or this guy's skills must be truly amazing. The system warned me not to engage with Haven, and I can see why. He's strong, far stronger than I'd like to deal with right now.'
"But the mere fact they haven't been able to identify me or much about me… Is it safe to assume now, System?"
[Indeed, Master. Since your stacked skills are equivalent to level 5 even at 1, to some degree perhaps that's why your parents haven't tried to poke more into your skill set and levels, they simply don't care or your skills are doing enough to muddle their senses. Of course, that is far lower compared to your legendary skills, which, hold a 10+ level advantage. The difference in levels within the Mythical Tier is not something easily bridged.]
Dante nodded, absorbing the information.
As he drifted through space, he turned his attention to Vexion.
Vexion hovered in the sky, watching an early Epic Tier skill user with a lazy smile. The mercenaries under her command rampaged below, slaughtering and looting the city. She had no real interest in them; they were merely tools. Her goal was to cause as much destruction as possible, to force the hands of stronger individuals, particularly those within the Legendary Tier. It was only when the real threats showed themselves that she would get the fight she craved.
The Empires in the continent were massive, consisting of countless kingdoms, and wiping them all out would be impossible. Even her master's father, a true Sovereign, had once told them that no being alive could eradicate more than a handful of empires before exhausting their mana. The sheer scale of destruction required was beyond comprehension.
However, since this was a war and she was just one part a group causing havoc, she was hoping to cause as much damage to catch attention and flee if any beings outside her abilities showed up.