Ding!
In the blink of an eye, Leon found himself standing once more at the peak of the mountain in the [Origin Plains].
The violent pressure was gone. The divine hall, the statues, the gods, everything had vanished as if it were nothing more than a dream.
Leon stood there in silence, the dim green grass swaying slightly under an unseen wind.
"What the hell even was that?" he muttered.
He hadn’t expected anything remotely like this to happen.
Meeting gods, being spoken to directly, almost being forced into submission, it was far beyond anything he had imagined for an assessment, even an S-Rank one.
Those beings hadn’t been real gods in their true forms. They were statues, projections, or something similar. And yet, their power had been terrifying.
Leon slowly exhaled.
’So that’s what’s waiting at the top of this world...’
His gaze hardened.
He had learned more in those few moments than most people would learn in entire lifetimes.
Fifty gods or god-like entities. Plus the [God of Ascension], the strongest among them.
And yet, even that being had knelt instantly before the [Heavenly One].
Just how powerful was that existence?
An entity capable of pulling countless worlds together. Summoning billions upon billions of beings. Turning existence itself into a structured "game."
Leon clenched his fist.
"The [God of Eternity]... and now the [God of Ascension]," he murmured coldly. "There are definitely others too."
Beings like them were not coincidences. They were part of a system far older and more complex than Leon currently understood.
But after a moment, he shook his head. This was only the beginning.
Worrying about gods right now would do nothing but slow him down.
Leon shifted his gaze forward.
The [Book of Inheritance] was still floating there, resting above the pedestal, its pages wide open. Soft golden light spilled from it, pulsing gently as if waiting.
Then—
Ding!
[You have completed the S-Rank Assessment.]
[Do you wish to accept your inheritance?]
"Yes!"
Leon answered instantly, without even a second of hesitation.
The moment he accepted, the [Book of Inheritance] burst into brilliant golden flames.
The pages curled inward, burning without smoke, without ash. At the same time, a concentrated beam of white-gold light shot straight from the book and slammed into Leon’s chest.
"Gah—!"
Leon’s entire body seized. It felt as if his blood had turned to fire.
Pain tore through every fiber of his being, but worse than that was the flood of information that surged into his mind.
Countless images, fragments of knowledge, and unfamiliar concepts rushed in all at once, as though the world itself were being dismantled and rebuilt inside his head.
Leon dropped to one knee, teeth clenched, hands digging into the ground.
His vision shattered into fragments. Time lost meaning.
Then, just as abruptly as it began, it stopped.
The book finished burning, its form dissolving into pure light that sank completely into Leon’s body.
Panels appeared around him one after another.
Ding!
[You have successfully completed the S-Rank Assessment, a feat achieved by only a handful of individuals.]
[You have been rewarded with 25 Reputation Points.]
Ding!
[Your Reputation has reached 100.]
[You will now gain +30 to all attributes per level.]
Leon glanced at the panels, recognizing them immediately.
But then the next one appeared.
Ding!
[Congratulations.]
[For your extraordinary performance, the "Heavenly One" has decided to bestow upon you the title: "Celestial Being".]
[Title Acquired: Celestial Being #200]
Leon blinked.
"...Number 200?" He tilted his head slightly, "So that means 199 others already have it."
That realization grounded him immediately.
Leon wasn’t arrogant enough to believe he was the only exceptional one in existence.
[Eternal Ascension] spanned countless worlds and races. There were beings born into power, geniuses who surpassed limits naturally, and monsters shaped by brutal environments.
Still... Only 200? Out of tens, no, hundreds, of billions of players?
That number alone made his chest tighten.
[Celestial Being #200: You are the 200th individual across all races to be personally selected by the "Heavenly One" and granted the title of Celestial Being.]
Leon stared at the panel for a long moment.
’I never met a single Celestial Being in my past life,’ he thought. ’Not one.’
Which meant one of two things. Either he never crossed paths with any of them... Or they were simply too far ahead.
His eyes narrowed slightly. Titles weren’t just symbols in [Eternal Ascension].
They carried power. Leon immediately checked the passives attached to the title.
Ding!
[Heaven’s Blessing: Favored by the "Heavenly One", each level you gain will raise your attributes by 100 and grant you 100 free attribute points.]
Leon’s breath hitched.
"...That’s absurd."
That alone meant 500 total attribute points per level. An increase that translated into an explosive growth in combat power.
And that wasn’t even the end.
Ding!
[Celestial’s Might: As a Celestial Being, your existence stands above others. When attacking an enemy, there is a chance to trigger this effect, reducing the target’s attributes by 30%.]
Leon’s pupils shrank. A flat reduction to enemy attributes.
Against weaker opponents, it would be devastating. Against stronger ones, it could completely turn the tide.
Under the right conditions, this passive alone could transform an impossible battle into a winnable one.
Leon slowly exhaled.
"But I never heard of anything like this before," he said quietly.
Which raised an important question. Were all Celestial Beings given the same passives?
Or were the abilities unique to each individual? If it was the latter... Then the true danger wasn’t just gods. It was other Celestial Beings.
Ding!
[Your assessment has ended, do you wish to leave the "Origin Plains"?]
Leon glanced around one last time.
The mountain peak was quiet. Every enemy had been wiped out.
There was nothing left to do here.
"Yes," he replied.
Ding!
[Transporting to the "Novice Divine Temple".]
Light enveloped Leon. When his vision cleared, he was standing just outside the S-Rank assessment gate.
And the hall was in chaos. Voices echoed from every direction.
"So someone actually completed an A-Rank assessment?"
"Tch, she’s from a high-level world. Of course she did."
"Didn’t the [Heavenly One] say everything is fair?"
"Yeah, and you actually believe that?"
A massive crowd had gathered near the A-Rank gate. At the center of it all stood Emilia.
She looked exhausted, but her posture was steady, her expression calm. The glow of success hadn’t faded from her yet.
She had completed her assessment. Leon had no doubt it hadn’t been easy.
Then—
"Oh shit, look!"
Someone pointed toward the S-Rank gate.
"That human, he’s back already!"
"Wait, wasn’t he the one with the S-Rank evaluation?"
"Did he fail?!"
Whispers spread rapidly. Leon sighed inwardly.
’I should’ve known this wouldn’t stay quiet.’
He was about to walk past without responding when—
Ding!
[Congratulations to Earth’s Leon Rykard for completing the S-Rank Assessment.]
[This is a feat achieved by only a select few.]
The hall exploded.
"What?!"
"An S-Rank?! He actually cleared it?!"
"Right after an A-Rank was completed too?!"
"And weren’t those two talking together earlier?!"
In an instant, countless gazes turned toward Leon.
Some filled with awe. Others with envy. More than a few with calculation.
Leon ignored all of them and walked straight toward Emilia. She noticed him immediately and smiled.
"I’d say I’m surprised," she said lightly, "but as I said before, I expected nothing less from my benefactor."
Leon snorted. "Me neither."
Then he frowned slightly.
"Still... if you’re strong enough to clear an A-Rank assessment," he continued, "how did you almost die to a bunch of snakes in that cave?"
That question had been bothering him since the moment he saw her.
An A-Rank assessment required roughly 8,000 combat power.
That wasn’t something you achieved by accident. Emilia’s smile faltered, just for a moment.
Her gaze shifted away, expression darkening slightly before she forced it back under control.
"...Yeah," she said quietly. "I figured you’d ask."
She looked back at Leon, her expression serious now.
"There’s a lot you don’t know," she continued. "And if we’re going to keep moving forward... I think it’s time I told you."
Leon nodded.
"...Alright," he said. "I’m listening."