One day, Yuris, who was lying on grass staring up at the stars, wondered quietly.
"We have all been training so hard… we must have long since left him behind."
Austin agreed with him.
"Yeah. Now, who's the strongest—it's hard to say. Even if Skyler's training somewhere else, could he really be better than us, who are being taught by a powerful fallen god?"
Isaac chuckled.
"I doubt that."
Zack didn't comment, but the curl at the corners of his lips proved he was already imagining himself laughing at Skyler when they met again. Finally, as a transmigrator, he was stronger than that damn anomaly who was supposed to be a side character!
Charles was the only one who thought otherwise, shaking his head. After all, he had known Skyler longer than the rest.
That crazy guy who could hang off a cliff just for a sparkling flower. That guy could even anger a dragon. Who knew if he had already reached the peak of Mythic tier?
Suri, who sat on a table in the distance, heard their conversation and laughed.
"That's why I said these kids are naive."
After all, they wanted to beat Skyler.
That kid, who wasn't even a human.
***
Simultaneously, near the boundary of the vast Realm of Stillness—where it touched a blank void that isolated it from the outside—disordered cracks flickered violently. Over the passage of years, these spatial cracks had naturally turned into unstable fissures that connected the realm to nearby realms.
But these cracks were so dangerous that even higher beings could not cross them.
That was why the only secure way to enter or leave the Realm of Stillness was through its gate, concealed within the Battle Royale.
A low groan echoed from below the cliff that separated the disordered cracks from the land, followed by a figure climbing out of the darkness. In his hands was a bundle of wild gray plants that had grown under the influence of the cracks, each pulsing with violently condensed spatial energy.
Skyler sneezed as he sprawled on the ground after finally reaching solid land.
"Hah… who's badmouthing me?"
Rubbing his nose, he sat up and quickly inspected the wild plants in his hands.
"The Evol in these should be enough to push my space crystal to Mythic tier."
A furious clear voice scolded him as the mermaid, who had been waiting for him after he went to retrieve the wild plants, rushed toward him to inspect his body.
"Wasn't that dangerous? You should have let me go down there with you. That way I wouldn't have to worry. You always take that ghost with you and leave me behind!"
She puffed her cheeks in anger. She had long learned to shift her tail into legs, so she was quite quick to topple him down.
Skyler chuckled and picked her up, placing her on his lap as he helped her tie her hair with a band he had made from a vine. Only a short time had gone by since he left, and she had already managed to mess it up.
"You're still weak. She's strong. Once you grow strong enough, I won't stop you—of course. Because then I won't be worried."
Although still angry, the mermaid nodded. She would compromise for now—but she would work hard to get stronger. Hmph!
Skyler finished tying her hair and wrapped an arm around her waist, helping her stand up. It had only been a short year, yet he had grown a bit more taller, his frame was also slightly broader than before. His strong yet lean build carried a subtle ruggedness. The sharp edges of his presence had deepened too—his handsome face now tinged with a quiet, dangerous aura born of raw strength.
"Alright, tell me—have you finished learning the new water skill I got from 505 for you?"
She nodded.
"I'm also close to reaching Epic rank!"
Skyler rubbed her head.
"That's great. I'll spar with you later to test it. Let's find something to eat after I'm done absorbing these wild plants."
Her crimson eyes sparkled.
"You'll cook, right?"
Skyler nodded, feeling amused when she made a cheering motion toward the sky.
He sat cross-legged and began absorbing the space element within plants, sighing as he recalled what the system had told him a year ago. 505 had long since created a path for him to bring Riruru, the snake, here, but unfortunately, that secret path could not be opened within the Realm. Only after he left this place would it be possible to activate it.
Shaking his head, he focused. A powerful gray force began to condense around his body as the gray elemental crystal within his heart shook and started to expand in size. But Skyler began compressing it to condense the Evol into a refined state.
The process was extremely dangerous—one slight misstep could easily trigger the silent elemental crystals around the gray one to explode—yet Skyler remained calm, as if he had done it many times before.
After a while, the dense mist surrounding him dispersed. He exhaled and opened his eyes, which flickered with a dark gray hue.
"Not bad. 505, show me my status."
The system nodded. It had been watching Skyler's growth over the past year and had long since grown numb to its host's chilling habit of jumping into dangerous locations and fights to advance. Well, Skyler always managed to return each time without even losing a limb or two. So, 505 had stopped worrying. But his progress had shaken 505.
It was so fast it felt unbelievable.
Still, since 505 was witnessing everything firsthand, it had no choice but to accept it.
Pondering life, 505 displayed his status.
_______
Status:
Name: Skyler Ironhart
Race: Mix: Dragon, 40% // Angel, 20% // Demon, 20% // Spirit, 19% // Human, 1%
Elemental Affinity with:
1) Light: 22-star (Final stage)
2) Darkness: 23-star (Middle stage)
3) Space: 21-star (Initial stage)
4) Lightning: 19-star: (Final stage)
5) Water: 20-star: (Final stage)
6) Earth: 19-star: (Initial stage)
7) Wind: 15-star: (Middle stage)
8) Fire: 16-star: (Final Stage)
9) Metal: 5-star: (Initial Stage)
Overall Strength:
23-star Mythic (Middle stage)
Potential: 25 star Mythic
(Currently locked due to 'Special Spirit Constitution'. No further information.)
Class: Unidentified
Skills/Spells: (17)
System 505 Functions:
- System store: (Open)
- System points: 154,020
Imagine pressing the words to:
- Exit Realm of Stillness (Available)
- Exit Battle Royal (Not available)
_______