'They've all grown so much.'
Atticus stared at his status screen in amazement.
This was by far the greatest power-up he had ever experienced. Even his advancement into the master ranks back at the Abyssal Chasm paled in comparison.
As he progressed in strength, it became harder to gain even a single point in his stats. A training session that might have granted ten points in the weaker ranks would now barely yield one.
Yet, here he was, with most of his stats having advanced by over a hundred. But as Atticus examined the identical numbers across his stats, his gaze narrowed.
'999?'
It was unusual. Achieving perfect balance in training was nearly impossible, and yet all his bodily stats had reached the same value. It felt… odd.
'A bottleneck?' Atticus wondered.
"That's right," Ozeroth's voice interrupted his thoughts.
Atticus's attention shifted to the spirit.
"Although using numbers to classify strength is something I've never encountered before, this has all the signs of a bottleneck," Ozeroth explained.
"The people you call paragons in your world are merely Tier 6 spirits in mine. To cross over to Tier 6, your body must undergo a complete transformation, one that reshapes and evolves your entire being."
"How do I initiate that transformation?" Atticus asked.
"It depends on your ability," Ozeroth replied. "Or in your case, your bloodline. Crossing over means becoming one with your bloodline. The first step is to understand everything there is to know about it. The second step is to fully activate your bloodline ability and push it to its absolute limit, forcing it to evolve."
"This requires wielding your bloodline's power in a way that surpasses your current mastery. You must flood your body with its essence until you can no longer sustain it in its current state. At that point, your bloodline will either break you or transform you, reshaping your being to handle its newfound potential."
Atticus's gaze narrowed. "Break me? You mean I could die?"
Ozeroth nodded. "Yes, you could. Crossing over to your paragon rank carries immense risks. You could gain power beyond your imagination, or you could implode and die."
Atticus's expression turned serious. This was huge news, something he hadn't heard before.
Taking a deep breath, he muttered, "Well, it changes nothing."
Backing down wasn't an option. Atticus couldn't imagine a scenario where he would choose not to rank up because of the risk. In his pursuit of the top, he was willing to do anything as long as it didn't deviate from his moral compass, even risk his life.
'I'll deal with that later. I'll be risking my life soon anyway.'
"Ah yes, the fourth trial," Ozeroth said, referencing the katana and its trials, which he had seen in Atticus's memories. "I must admit, I was quite surprised when I discovered you had a life weapon."
"Why?" Atticus asked.
"A life weapon is not something you'd ever see in the mid worlds, much less in a lower world like Eldoralth," Ozeroth explained. "Such artifacts are born only in the higher worlds, crafted by beings far beyond the comprehension of those here."
"The fact that such a weapon exists in your world is an anomaly, one that suggests deliberate intervention. Someone from the higher worlds must have placed it here. That's the only explanation."
'It must be the person who reincarnated me,' Atticus thought inwardly.
Ozeroth quickly picked up on his intention. Atticus still wasn't ready to tell anyone about his reincarnation. Even though Magnus wasn't physically present, he was sure the man was watching. Plus he could listen in without much effort.
'That does seem to be the most logical explanation," Ozeroth agreed. Even he couldn't say for sure. Just as lower worlds had little knowledge about the mid-worlds, the mid-worlds knew just as little about the higher worlds. Not even Ozeroth fully understood what existed up there.
But he knew something was there.
Atticus nodded slowly. It seemed life weapons weren't supposed to exist in Eldoralth at all. A thought suddenly crossed his mind.
'What about my world? If Eldoralth is a lower world, what does that make Earth?'
'Earth is an unranked world,' Ozeroth explained. 'As you already know, the hierarchy of worlds is divided by the type of energy that flows through them. Unranked worlds have no energy at all. Because of this, the restrictions placed on higher ranked beings are far more severe. The Spirit King was able to send a spirit to Eldoralth, but he wouldn't be able to achieve the same on an unranked world."
'But someone from a higher world was still able to reach me,' Atticus thought.
'That is an anomaly on its own,' Ozeroth replied. 'We have no clue what the higher worlders are truly capable of.'
Atticus nodded again.
He decided to put the matter aside for now. As he glanced back at his status, another thought came to him.
"Wait. Since I'm at the bottleneck between grandmaster and paragon rank, does that mean I won't get stronger no matter how much I train?"
Ozeroth nodded. "Your physical body has reached its current limits. But you can still advance in your other abilities."
"Looks like I'll suspend all physical training for now and focus on my elements and arts," Atticus decided.
After thinking more about it, his gaze shifted to his other abilities.
His level was still at master+ rank, but Atticus could feel it, he was on the edge. He was about to break through to the grandmaster ranks. Just a little more, and he would cross over.
As that realization set in, an intense determination burned in his chest.
The fourth trial of the katana. The deadliest one yet. He had to be ready for it.
Even though his body was at its limits and nearing the paragon rank, his mana reserves were still lacking. His level only measured the mana within his body, and it was still at the master+ rank.
'I have a lot of work to do,' Atticus thought, his resolve hardening.