Several minutes passed before they turned their attention toward Yuta, their curiosity piqued regarding the person ranked among the five strongest students at Verslekin Academy.
"What were you expecting? I spent my break resting and reading some novels. I was reading a 'crazy' story—it's truly a fantastic book."
Yuta's tone remained calm, standing in stark contrast to the frustrated expressions on their faces. Choosing to ignore them, he headed toward his classroom.
"Hey! Wait up, you arrogant, lazy scoundrel!"
Grey's voice was laced with anger and indignation as he glared at Yuta, who had already walked past them.
Yuta cast a glance back, his gaze as sharp as a sword's blade.
"If anyone wants to get kicked out of Ms. Yoshika Kiyotowa's class, by all means, stay right here. There are only fifteen minutes left until her lesson begins; we don't have time for idle chatter."
Yuta's tone remained composed as he continued on his way, not once looking back.
Everyone—save for Beatrice—wore a look of mild shock. They quickly hurried to catch up with Yuta, who was moving at a brisk pace.
"You rascal! Why didn't you say that from the start?!"
Their voices bristled with irritation toward Yuta, who simply ignored them and picked up his pace even further. Stunned for a few seconds, they scrambled to keep up with him.
[Returning from the flashback]
A look of astonishment washed over Lucy's face. Grey, Roichi, Tom, Beatrice, Armin, and Yuta had all evolved significantly over a period of no more than two weeks.
At such a tender age, Grey's ability to wield the power he had acquired from the Beast Sovereign was something Lucy had yet to attain. As for mastering the concept of time—that was an immensely complex feat, far from easy to grasp or comprehend.
Grey launched an assault on the followers of the Scorpion Organization, manifesting bear-like claws from the aether that coalesced between his horns—horns which had ceased their growth at a length of 34 centimeters.
"Arghhhhh!"
"Arghhhhh!"
"Arghhhhh!"
Piercing screams echoed through the area as Grey sent the Scorpion Organization's followers flying several meters into the air at the speed of light.
Some collided with the rocks, their bodies reduced to pools of blood, with their limbs left plastered against the stone.
Grey's expression remained cold and impassive. He chose to loosen the seal that suppressed the power of the "Blessing Wing," allowing its influence to intensify.
His energy regeneration rate began to climb sharply, as did his capacity for absorption. Yet, he dared not weaken the seal any further; doing so risked fatal injury—much like what had occurred during his battle against William Falcona. In that fight, he had suffered grievous physical and spiritual trauma, including damage to his Dantian roots and mana core, alongside a host of other severe injuries. Were it not for Yuta—who possessed a terrifying healing ability—Grey would have either ended up disabled or dead. But Yuta was not present, and there was no other healer available to treat him had he sustained a fatal injury.
For this reason, he decided against attempting to loosen the seal any further. Unlike Jiya—who held the rank of High Sovereign and could wield the "Wing of Blessing" with ease and without risk of injury—Grey was still only at the rank of Saint.
A chilling smile spread across Grey's lips, revealing sharp, pointed teeth capable of slicing through the hardest metals with absolute ease.
"Time for you to die!"
Grey shot forward at the speed of light toward Yao Zi, who parried the assault effortlessly before stepping back a few paces.
"Impressive! Is this your true power, 'Master of the Berserkers'? You're quite like a barbarian—you even possess their very abilities."
Yao Zi's tone carried a hint of mockery before he launched a fierce counterattack.
Grey blocked the strike with his body, which was encased in a layer of aura and aether—a defense several times stronger than that of an ordinary fighter at his level.
Grey thrust his fist forward, imbuing it with both aura and fire magic; having lost the ability to cast elemental spells in the traditional sense, these powers now remained bound directly to his hands.
As his fist collided with Yao Zi's, a massive wave of fire erupted, surging outward for several meters. Grey seized the moment to distance himself from Yao Zi, then concentrated his ether into a single point, manifesting a colossal sword—as large as a grown man.
Though the blade was immense, weighing several tons, it felt no heavier than an ordinary sword in Grey's grip.
As the dust settled, Yao Zi emerged, his body marked by several burns; the attack had been too direct to block or evade.
A sinister smile spread across Yao Zi's face as he shattered his organization's mask, revealing his features—jet-black hair and brown eyes.
Yao Zi possessed a natural, striking beauty, and the mask had effectively shielded his face from the burns.
Yao Zi raised his hand, and the surroundings began to warp and distort; the sky and the ground traded places.
The world then began to collapse inward, shrinking down to an infinitesimal point, while beyond it, a vast, entirely white expanse emerged.
Grey, Lucy, Beatrice, and Roichi were left bewildered by the situation in which they suddenly found themselves.
With a faint smile, Yao Zi offered an explanation.
"We are now at a point known as 'Outside the World.' We have stepped beyond our own realm—or, more precisely, we stand at the threshold between existence and non-existence. From here, we can depart our world and venture into the infinite array of other, ordinary worlds."
Grey narrowed his eyes, studying Yao Zi, who appeared far too calm and confident. Yao Zi was able to reach the edge of the ordinary world—a realm of infinite scale—with ease. This serves as a testament to his terrifying and formidable power.
Greyi lunged toward Yao Zi at the speed of light; Yao Zi, showing not the slightest concern, effortlessly parried the assault and sent Greyi flying several meters away.
Moving with insane speed, Yao Zi closed the distance to Greyi and delivered a kick to his midsection, causing him to vomit blood.
"Arghhhhh!"
As he was sent hurtling backward at high velocity, a sinister smile crept across Greyi's lips. He muttered under his breath:
"What a complete fool."
Bringing his momentum to a halt, Greyi wiped the blood from his lips and chin, then began to gather aether between his horns.
"In this world, there exists mental power, spiritual power, and physical power—each of which is further divided into several types.
Mental power consists of mana, abilities, and skills—and, in extremely rare cases, aether.
Spiritual power consists of *qi*, the roots of the *dantian*, and the primordial sea.
Physical power is manifested as *ki* and aura.
These are the elements found in humans and entities of lower existential rank.
However, for higher entities—such as Overlords, demons, rulers of the underworld, supreme dragon sovereigns, or beast monarchs...»
«...things change. They possess mental power in the form of sacred or chaotic aether, spiritual power in the form of the 'Origin,' and physical power in the form of 'Origin-force' or the 'power of the self.'»
«It seems I have finally come to realize that I do not truly know who I am. My life has always felt incomplete, for some strange reason I cannot fathom. I am constantly left with the unsettling feeling that something is wrong. Who am I, really? Am I Ghry de Molière? In truth, I do not know.
The progression of my abilities defies all logic: a lazy child who trains for only two hours a day, yet—at the age of fifteen—reaches the rank of Saint and nears the level of a novice Sovereign in a mere matter of days.
And yet, there are others who have surpassed me—Armin, Tom, Gia, Jian, and Beatrice. But I do not find them strange; it is myself that I find strange.
I know nothing of my own power; it churns within me, ceaselessly and without rest.
Why am I even saying these things? Is it because my existence outside the world of my birth has caused my heart to open, revealing something that was hidden deep within my true self? I do not know.» "But I am certain of one thing: there is a power that longs to be unleashed upon the world. I suspect this experience has benefited me far more than I ever anticipated."
Grey mused to himself, his heart a turbulent mix of sorrow, regret, and confusion.
His own life felt alien to him; he was haunted by a persistent sense that something was missing—an incompleteness that permeated his memories, his actions, his very existence, and even the way he spoke.
He felt a constant, gnawing void, compounded by strange, incomprehensible dreams—visions of entities, warriors, and wars he had never heard of, existing in realms entirely unknown to him.
His strength, his expertise, and his tactical mindset in combat were undergoing a radical transformation; with every dream, his very essence was being forged anew.
Through these dreams, he had learned how to exert greater control over his "Berserker" state and how to loosen the constraints binding the "Wing of Benediction."
Moreover, the technique he had employed during the tournament—a technique he and Grey had both witnessed in one of these dreams—had been successfully put into practice.
Grey let out a long sigh as a memory from one of those dreams surfaced in his mind.
Aether energy began to seep into his body, a slow and steady influx. Meanwhile, Beatrice was locked in combat with Yao Zi, striving to buy Grey more time. She was the only one among them capable of wielding the Wing of Benediction without any impediments; indeed, given that she had attained the rank of "Supreme Holy Sovereign," she appeared—or so they sensed—to be the only one truly capable of defeating him.
The Aether energy flowed through his Dantian roots, his nervous system, and his primordial sea—moving with a quiet, seamless grace that stood in stark contrast to the chaos unfolding around them. Grey's presence had undergone a complete transformation, shifting from that of a mere human to the presence of an absolute entity; in the end, Grey was—[the description remains incomplete in the original text]. The same held true for Ruychi, Lucy, Jian, Armin, and Beatrice.
Consequently, his sense of incompleteness and the aura he emanated were, in a way, perfectly logical.
The energetic structure of Grey's body began to evolve and strengthen; his mana core merged with the aether, amplifying its power tenfold. The same occurred within his primordial sea, the roots of his dantian, and his *qi*—for the De Molière family possessed inherently perfect bodies.
This was because the Exalted One—the "Blessing of the Heavens"—had bestowed a benediction upon the founder of the De Molière lineage, aiding him in his quest to defeat a Demon King who sought to destroy the mortal realm.
This blessing was passed down through the generations within the De Molière family—a process facilitated, in part, by intermarriage among family members—as the energy they wielded far exceeded the physical endurance of an ordinary woman.
Furthermore, they feared losing the very advantage that had kept them at the pinnacle of the world for millennia—a legacy that ensured the head of the family would, every thousand years, emerge as the most powerful individual in existence.
Grey opened his eyes and swept his hand in an arc, transporting everyone back to the mortal realm.
Upon their arrival, it became clear that the bodies of the Scorpion Organization's followers were incomplete; Grey had transported only their upper torsos.
A few seconds later, Grey's own body began to revert to its natural state. Were it not for his clothing—designed to expand along with his body whenever he activated his ability—he would have been left completely naked.
Grey collapsed to the ground as warm, crimson blood gushed profusely from openings on his face.
He had completely exhausted his mental energy while manipulating the aether to evolve his mana core, his dantian roots, and his primordial sea.
In the process, he had successfully broken through to the rank of Novice Sovereign. Yet, his condition remained critical; his energy continued to drain away—and once it ran dry entirely, he would surely die.
Beatrice let out a sigh of vexation and moved toward Grey, watched anxiously by Ruichi and Lucy; they possessed no means to treat an injury of this nature.
This persistent energy drain is a dangerous state that occurs when a fighter's energy centers suffer severe shock. Because Grey had transitioned them from the end of the world to his own inner realm without any rest, his body had been unable to process the evolution it underwent.
This plunged both his body and soul into a state of profound shock, causing his energy to bleed away continuously—as his body remained under the false impression that he was still in the midst of battle.
Beatrice glanced at Grey for a fleeting second before rolling him onto his back.
"What are you doing? Do you have a way to treat him?"
Ruichi asked, his voice laced with concern as he watched Beatrice carefully examine Grey's body.
"I do," she replied calmly, placing one hand on his head and the other over his navel. Because the head is the center of mana, and the navel is the point where physical and spiritual forces converge:
"Yes, I know how to treat it. I've encountered this condition several times myself during my training—that's why I always carry an antidote with me."
A sigh of relief escaped Ryuichi's lips as he watched Beatrice administer an antidote—in the form of a potion—to Grey, helping to quell his berserker power.
A few seconds passed, and the energy draining from Grey's body finally ceased. However, Beatrice narrowed her eyes slightly, signaling news that was far from positive.
"Well, there's some bad news—two pieces of it, in fact—and some good news."
Ryuichi moved toward Grey and Beatrice, followed by Lucy, and they sat down beside her.
"What do you mean, two pieces of bad news and one piece of good news?"
Ryuichi's gaze darted between Grey and Beatrice, his mind gnawed by anxiety. Had Grey's rank regressed to F-rank, erasing all the progress he had made over the past few years?
Had he lost his ability to evolve? Or, worse yet—had he been left permanently disabled?
The mention of "good news" offered a sliver of relief, though it couldn't entirely stop their minds from drifting toward dark, grim possibilities regarding Grey's fate.
Beatrice looked at them with a sympathetic expression, then spoke in a calm tone, tinged with a hint of dry amusement:
"The first piece of bad news is that he's unconscious and won't wake up for several days. The second piece of bad news is that he won't be able to use his power until two days after he wakes. The good news, however, is that he has broken through to the Novice Sovereign rank." "And yet, had he not belonged to the De Moliar family—whose members are accustomed to enduring intense pressure from birth—he would have perished long ago. Even if he had survived, he would have fallen into a coma for years, losing all his progress and his ability to harness his energy for at least two full decades."
Ruichi and Lucy swallowed hard as they listened. Bloodlines and innate constitution played a critical role; it is simply impossible for a human to withstand the same magnitude of energy that a dragon can endure.
Genetics are paramount here. This is no fairy tale where a protagonist can transcend the limitations of their species through sheer training or the power of friendship. In this world, if you are a dragon, you can only be defeated by someone with a genetic makeup that rivals that of a dragon—or by one who has received a blessing from a sovereign, or possesses a powerful incarnation. Anything less, and your opponent faces certain death.
Ruichi opened a gateway to his spiritual realm; living entities cannot be placed within a standard dimensional pocket.
After depositing Grey inside his private palace within that spiritual realm, Ruichi emerged with a blank expression—showing no outward sign of the concern he felt for Grey.
The group had now shrunk from five members to four: Grey had lost consciousness, and Armin had reverted into an egg.
Yet, this did not mean he harbored any ill will toward Grey. Ruichi considered him a brother; they had grown up together, weathered countless troubles, and—with the help of Lucy and Beatrice—always managed to pull through. A deep sigh escaped each of them. They returned their swords to their sheaths, paying no mind to the repulsive stench of blood that still lingered in the air, even though the blood itself had vanished.
"The world is full of the weak; recklessness leads only to death."
Beatrice muttered to herself.
"Haa... I must become stronger. Even with the 'Ruler's Blessing'—which boosts my power by two ranks and elevates my stage of evolution—my body remains frail."
Ruichi's tone was filled with determination; in this world, it does not matter who you are, but rather what you are capable of doing.
As for Lucy, she seemed lost in her own thoughts, staring intently at the 'Bracelet of the Time Ruler' before a faint smile graced her lips.
"Companions, I have an idea—a way to wake Grey up sooner, without shaving a single minute off his lifespan."
Beatrice and Ruichi turned their gazes toward her, puzzled by her words.
"Are you certain about what you intend to do?"
Ruichi's tone betrayed his bewilderment; he could not fathom how one might rouse Grey without shortening his remaining time.
A confident smile played on Lucy's lips as she looked at Ruichi and Beatrice, then she let out a soft, quiet laugh.
"Just watch—you'll soon see how I rouse that fool from his slumber!"