Arkas chuckled.
"You're overthinking it. Don't start doubting the system."
I stayed silent as he continued.
"Now that you understand our ways of progressing are different, you should also realize something else.
Both we and the Eternals have our own advantages, but the biggest advantage belongs to us because the more we kill, the stronger we become. We level up."
"That….is true." I nodded.
Arkas continued.
"Exactly. That's why the Eternals pulled back from the frontlines.
The more they fought us, the more our people died but those who survived kept leveling up, growing stronger with each battle. They couldn't let that continue and so unleashed the Abominations and created the Phantoms."
I wondered.
'So, that's why they pulled back. We actually forced them to retreat. And here I thought we were too weak to stop them.'
But then a thought struck me.
"Commander, if they know we level up by killing, why release the Abominations and Phantoms? We gain levels from killing them too, right?"
Arkas nodded.
"You're right. But what you don't know, since you've never fought an Eternal yourself, is that every Eternal has an Essence Core. Because of this, one Eternal is equal to four or five Abominations.
Killing an Eternal could give you the Essence equivalent of killing four or five Abominations or Phantoms. So instead of facing us directly and allowing us to grow stronger, they created Abominations and Phantoms to slow our progress."
Arkas rubbed the scar on his face and spoke in a deep voice.
"But this is also the truth. One-on-one, an Eternal is stronger than us because of that Essence Core. They have body refinement techniques and other methods that make their bodies far superior.
If there was an Eternal standing here right now, at the same level as you... you'd be facing a tough challenge in a head-on fight."
My eyes narrowed at that.
But I was thinking of something else entirely.
Wasn't I already like that?
The system gave me five stat points per level, but my talent Generator gave me even more. My stats were already higher than others at my level. And this gap would only grow wider as my talent evolved.
'Damn. I can't wait to smash some Eternals now. My Generator against their Essence Core.'
Arkas continued.
"Because they are stronger individually, we always fought them in numbers. And that's why we suffered countless casualties.
Other than the Prime Galaxy, the rest of our universe is nothing but cannon fodder for the Eternals.
If not for the Prime Galaxy and the powerful worlds within it, our universe would have been conquered long ago."
He clenched his fist, gritting his teeth.
"Even though people in our world see me as strong... a Grandmaster-ranked individual, in the grand scheme of things, I'm not even fit to be a pawn.
I have no strength to change anything... no strength to fight back against the Eternals.
And if you don't want to end up like me... like your grandmother... or even like our Emperor...
You will need to push further than anyone.
Face dangers that no one dares to face.
And set your eyes on the Prime Galaxy.
Reaching that place... and carving a spot for yourself...
That should be your true goal.
Not winning some pathetic competition."
I stood there, silent, as Arkas's words sank deep into me.
The sheer difference in strength between us and the Eternals...the reality that even a Grandmaster like Arkas was nothing more than a pawn in this war... It made me realize how small I actually was.
But strangely, I didn't feel fear. If anything, something inside me burned even brighter.
The Prime Galaxy... the Essence Core... the path beyond Grandmaster rank...
It was exactly what I was born for.
To be above everyone else.
That's the only way I can take revenge for my parents... and end this farce once and for all.
My fists clenched as I suppressed the energy bubbling inside me. My muscles burned with the urge to move, to hit, to destroy something. I couldn't hold it in any longer.
"I'm sorry, Commander," I said, dropping into a squat.
My mind kept drifting back to the Prime Galaxy.
Another squat.
How strong were the people there to defend an entire universe by themselves?
Another squat.
How strong were their talents? Their classes? Their skills?
Another squat.
I wanted to know.
I needed to know.
My eyes burned with excitement as I pushed myself again... and again... until Arkas's booming laughter snapped me out of my thoughts.
"Hahahaha!"
He placed a heavy hand on my shoulder, stopping me before I could drop into another squat.
"I like you, Billion. We need hot-blooded men like you."
He stepped back, creating some distance between us. Then, he raised his palm toward me.
"I've already made up my mind about you the day you reached level 10, but... I want to do one final test."
His sharp gaze locked onto mine as he continued.
"Hit me with your best shot. Use the skill you chose. If you pass, I'll give you a path that will make you the strongest person in our world.
If you fail..."
He smirked.
"Well, you can continue being the strongest in Unit 02."
He lowered his stance slightly, palm still raised.
"It's up to you. Do you want to be the strongest in a unit... or the strongest in this world?"
My eyes burned with excitement.
I've always loved tests.
And why wouldn't I?
I've crushed every single one so far.
I clenched my jaw and stepped back, taking a deep breath I focused my thoughts on the upcoming tasks.
I poured all the Essence my Generator Core was producing straight into Strength, temporarily boosting it by 6 points.
My muscles tightened and compressed as raw power surged through me.
I twisted my body, lowering my stance, and pulled my fist to my side — just like charging a blast.
I activated my new skill.
[Seismic Fist]
I felt it instantly.
The strength flowed, rushing through my body, burning through my veins and flooding into my right fist.
I could feel strength increasing in my fist and my muscles straining.
But I kept charging it.
And I kept pushing more and more.
Arkas narrowed his eyes as he felt the pressure rising around me.
The world went silent for me.
My focus entirely on the fist.
Then I stepped forward.
Boom.
The ground beneath my feet exploded as I launched forward like a bullet, my fist tearing through the air and leaving a whistling sound behind.
"Haah!"
My punch collided with Arkas' palm.
And the silence remained.
There wasn't even a single change in his expression.
To me, it felt like I had punched a void, something that swallowed my entire strength without a trace.
I straightened up, locking eyes with him.
Seconds passed.
Then finally, Arkas spoke.
"Now that's what I'm talking about."
I exhaled in relief, a smile creeping onto my face.
He nodded.
"Once again, you've exceeded my expectations, Billion. But this... this is good. Very good. I'm confident I'm making the right decision."
Arkas looked at his palm, clenching and unclenching it a few times, nodding to himself as if confirming something.
Then his gaze shifted back to me.
"Alright, here's the plan, Billion," he said.
"Every month or two, I will personally assign you a mission. Over the 12 months of probation training, you must complete a minimum of three missions and a maximum of six, all given directly by me.
These missions will help you level up, grow stronger, and, at the same time, expose you to the true nature of our world and universe.
For the rest of the time, you will follow Unit 02's regular missions and schedule."
I thought over his words and found no reason to refuse. If anything, this was exactly what I wanted.
Arkas continued.
"The higher your level gets, the slower your growth will become. At higher levels, you'll need to understand Laws to advance.
The faster you reach that point, the better. It'll give you more time to experiment with those Laws before you hit the bottleneck. We'll talk more about them when you reach level 100."
I nodded.
"The fastest way to level up is always by fighting enemies stronger than you," Arkas said. "For now, I've decided your ideal level gap will be five levels. You'll fight enemies five levels higher than you.
As you grow stronger, we'll either increase the gap... or simply increase the number of enemies you face."
He turned and glanced at the pulsing pods around us.
"I'll also allow you to fight Phantoms before schedule. Normally, that's something we do at the end of probation, but we can speed that up.
I'll also take you to specific Abomination Nests where you can fight against one type of Abomination and develop your combat style around them.
"And finally..." He looked back at me.
"I'll give you rare and powerful skills that normal soldiers don't have access to. Our goal will be to level up those skills as fast as possible, max them out, and evolve them.
"As for Laws... we'll aim for the rarest and most destructive ones. But that can wait for now."