The temperature was unbearably high, and volcanic ash drifted endlessly through the wind, carrying with it an acidic, rotten stench that clawed at the lungs. The heat warped the air itself, and every breath felt heavy, as if the land was actively resisting anything that dared to exist within it.
Due to the presence of obsidian rocks scattered across the volcanic region and the intense light pouring out from the bubbling volcano, shadows were cast everywhere, sharp and deep, clinging to the jagged terrain like living things.
Between two such massive obsidian rocks, Ash was crouched low, his body pressed close to the ground as he silently observed the remaining demons fighting the Fire Elemental Sword Knight.
The demons were repeating the same strategy, maintaining distance and launching long ranged attacks, unwilling to approach the knight directly. However, this time they were far more vigilant. Several of them periodically glanced around, their senses stretched thin, clearly searching for something else.
Searching for him.
During the previous clash, when Ash had disrupted the surrounding energy, many demons had died in an instant. That chaos had not only thinned their numbers, but it had also exposed the existence of a third party lurking in the battlefield.
After that, Ash had escaped before they could conduct a proper investigation.
He was not naïve enough to believe he could remain hidden forever.
From the very beginning, he knew that discovery was inevitable.
There was no perfect plan, only delays.
Thus, he had taken the initiative early on, reducing the number of demons as much as possible while the opportunity existed.
Even now, his mind was working relentlessly, thoughts crashing into one another as he searched for any method, no matter how slim, to increase his chances of leaving this dungeon without getting caught after he gets the Rune.
Then, without warning, a thought surfaced.
...From what I remembered, when I obtained the Rune of Balance from that dungeon, were there not stone knights and a black knight guarding it...?
The memory resurfaced with disturbing clarity.
And now that I think about it, this dungeon follows the same structure. Knights of different elements, each one monstrously strong, far stronger than the Black Knight ever was...
His gaze narrowed slightly as connections formed in silence.
The God Slayer sword was also found with that black knight....
Then what exactly are these knights? How were they in possession of two Runes...??
What kind of civilization could have two Runes with them?
Questions piled up one after another, forming a web of unanswered doubts. Yet there was no solution to be found. There was no mention of such a civilization in any of the books he had read. Not a single fragment of history. Nor was there any reference to it in the novel.
That meant only one thing.
This world was diverging further from what he knew, and ignorance here was lethal.
But these questions occupied only a small corner of his thoughts.
The majority of his consciousness was consumed by a truth that had finally stopped being avoidable.
No, it was not new.
He had realized it long ago.
He had simply chosen to ignore it.
But, now that he had reached this point, he can’t avoid it anymore.
His potential... was exhausted.
Ash’s eyes hardened, the truth settling in fully, stripped of emotion and excuse.
He was still only an Adept. There were two entire ranks separating him from Grandmaster. Under normal circumstances, that gap could be crossed with time, resources, and effort.
But circumstances did not care about fairness.
In everything that had happened around him, in the chaos, battles, and sudden growth, he had ignored one fundamental truth.
Potential was not limitless.
Potential defined how far a body was allowed to grow, and that limit was dictated by race, bloodline, genetics, or hidden defects.
In his case, it was all three.
His genes, his bloodline, his race.
He possessed two cores. That alone allowed him to be twice as powerful as others of the same rank. Each core permitted an increase of one hundred stats per rank.
Thus, when someone else was meant to have one hundred in all stats, he possessed two hundred.
The human ranking system measured potential by how many stats a body could endure before collapsing. That was why ranks existed in the first place.
And the minimum total stats required to reach Grandmaster, as well as the absolute ceiling of his potential, was 501.
At present, Ash had reached 487 stats.
He had already used Overload skill that burns his potential twice.
Each time, he had burned his future to survive the present.
And now, the price had come due.
He had reached an immovable wall.
No matter how sharp his mind was, no matter how perfect his calculations became, growth beyond this point would not come naturally.
Now, no matter what Ash did, whether he trained day and night or consumed forbidden elixirs that others would fear to even touch, he could no longer increase his stats unless he either found a way to raise his potential itself or unlocked his dormant bloodlines.
There was no shortcut left.
If he tried to force an increase through forbidden methods, his body would simply reach its absolute limit. Even though he possessed endless regeneration and had means to cheat death, the outcome would remain the same. His flesh would collapse again and again, repaired only to be torn apart once more.
He would be trapped in a meaningless cycle of destruction and resurrection.
Ash stared at the battle unfolding in the open area before the volcano, his gaze empty and distant, as if the clash between demons and the Fire Elemental Sword Knight no longer existed in his world.
His mind had sunk deep into calculation.
What should he do now.
What path remained open to him.
How could he continue growing stronger from this point onward.
Panic did not surface. Regret did not either. Those emotions were inefficient, and Ash had long learned that emotions which did not lead to action were nothing but noise.
If brute force growth was sealed, then the solution had to lie elsewhere.
If the body refused to advance, then the system governing the body had to be altered.
He recalled his trait.
Before it evolved, before it became what it was now, he still remembered its description with perfect clarity.
At the time, he had thought of it as merely powerful.
Now, faced with an absolute wall, he understood something colder.
Traits were not gifts.
They were tools.
And tools were meant to be used, not admired.
If his potential had become a cage, then the key would not come from effort or hope. It would come from exploiting loopholes, rewriting rules, and paying prices others would never dare to consider.
Ash’s lifeless eyes slowly regained focus as a faint clarity settled within them.
**
Trait Name: Oracle of Path
Rank: Growth
Description:
It is a growth type trait that allows the user to walk their own Unique path.
-Path Analysis: Continuously analyzes the user’s potential, talent, action and decision, evaluating how they shape the user’s journey and growth. After careful analysis, the trait evolves into a New Trait that is perfectly suited to the user’s abilities
-Protective Override: If the something poses a danger to the user, such as unstable mana flow or harmful traits, the Oracle overrides the process, shielding the user from harm while guiding them toward a safer, more beneficial path.
**
And after the evolution it became Codex Of Creation.
**
Trait Name: Codex Of Creation
Rank: Growth - (Adept)
Description:
It is a growth type trait that grows with user and allows the user to walk their own Unique path.
‣Protective Override:
- If something poses a danger to the user, such as an unstable mana flow or harmful energies, the CODEX intervenes, overriding the process to shield the user from harm and guiding them toward a more advantageous path.
-Works only when the user is undergoing evolution or awakening.
‣Initiate of Runes:
- It allows the user to create skills using Runes. At Novice Rank, the user is granted 1 skill creation chance, with the number of chances increasing by 1 at each subsequent rank: 2 at Apprentice Rank, 3 at Adept Rank, and so on.
*-Skills can be created with only Runes.
‣Weapon Resonance:
-The user gains the ability to resonate one weapon of his choice with the runes, causing it to transform and gain passive abilities based on the Rune’s nature.
Resonating chances : 1/1
‣ Rune Combination:
-Allows the user to combine two or more Runes to form a skill.
-[Locked]
-[Locked]
{Skill Creation Chance: 1}
**
Every time he ranked up, the new abilities unlocked by his trait were always exactly what he needed at that point in time. It was as if the trait understood his situation better than he did himself, as if it could sense his desires, his bottlenecks, and the direction his thoughts were leaning toward.
Because of that, he had hoped it would show him the way again.
But alas....
I can’t rank up, my stats are all at 487.....I need at least another 14 stats....
For others, ranking up was far easier. Even if all of their stats did not reach the required amount, humans focused on the path they chose to walk.
Assassins poured everything into agility and stamina, while still maintaining a decent amount of strength. Mages focused almost entirely on intelligence before slowly reinforcing their weaker attributes. As long as one core stat reached the threshold, and they possessed the proper magic circle or reached a certain stage on their chosen path, ranking up was possible.
Ash was different.
He was walking a unique path, that of a magic swordsman where both mana and body developed simultaneously. There was no shortcut for him, no stat he could ignore.
To rank up, he had to fulfill both conditions.
He already possessed runes, using them in place of a magic circle. In fact, he had more than enough runes to jump two or even three ranks in one go. That part had never been the problem.
The real problem lay in his body.
His stats had not reached the next stage, and because of his primordial core, his ranking requirement had been increased as well. What was normally a threshold of 100 had become 200 for him.
Sigh.....I can’t seem to find any path in front of me....
That thought surfaced naturally, but even as it did, he knew it was a lie.
He could see more than one path laid out before him. Clear, distinct, and dangerous. The reason he hesitated was not ignorance, but the price each path demanded. Every option required sacrifice, risk, or irreversible change, and Ash was not someone who stepped forward without calculating the outcome.
Before he could dwell further on his thoughts and the roads before him, a loud rumble echoed through the dungeon, and the ground began to shake violently.
The knight who was fighting the demons started to disintegrate, even though it had not been defeated. The demons froze in confusion as a portal formed behind the knight, just like before.
Ash’s expression turned frost cold.
Looks like someone defeated the main boss.
There was no other explanation. The appearance of the portal made it clear that the dungeon had been cleared.
Lilith.....She cleared it....
He stood up slowly, watching as the demons took the sword of the knight and entered the portal one by one. They would all be forced to enter eventually, since the dungeon would soon vanish. Those who remained would be ejected outside against their will.
Because of how sudden everything was, Ash had no chance to react or steal the sword of the knight. A trace of disappointment passed through his mind, but he did not linger on it.
Lingering was pointless.
Nothing will go smoothly forever in this world.
That truth had been engraved into him long ago. The world did not reward effort, nor did it guarantee fairness. It only responded to results.
With a quiet sigh, Ash moved toward the portal.
The path ahead was dangerous.
But danger had never stopped him before.
If the world refused to let him advance, then he would carve a path that did not exist yet.
***