Upon reaching the 26th floor...
[Notice: You have reached your current limit.]
"My limit...?" — Drayk frowned. "Now that I think about it... I just went through five floors and didn't level up even once."
Something was off. The message was too vague. No explanation, no hint. "Current limit"? What the hell did that mean?
With the question pounding in his mind, Drayk decided to return to the village. Nexum or Aru'mathis would surely know something about it.
Back in the village, he found the two quickly.
"Hey, guys... Do you know what it means to 'reach my limit'?" — he asked, straight to the point.
"Limit? What are you talking about, young one?" — Nexum replied, tilting his head.
Aru'mathis, however, fell silent for a moment. His gaze shifted subtly, intrigued by the question.
"It's been a while since I leveled up" — Drayk continued, scratching his head. "And now I got a message saying I've reached my limit."
"...It can't be" — Aru'mathis murmured.
"What is it?" — Nexum asked, not quite catching it.
"Is something wrong with me?" — Drayk insisted, starting to worry.
"Leveling up? For me... it was different" — Aru'mathis commented thoughtfully. "Do you get messages from Nexum?"
"Yeah! You had that too?"
"Not exactly. In your case, it's different because your soul traveled between worlds. You brought part of the knowledge from there."
Nexum watched everything silently, clearly surprised. It was the first time she had heard anything like that.
"Because you're still young" — Aru'mathis explained —, "the whisper speaks to you in a more familiar and 'gamified' way. Makes it easier to understand. With me, it affects the core of my soul directly. I just... knew what I had to do."
"So this 'whisper' is an entity?"
"It's still too soon for you to know for sure, Young King. I admit I didn't expect you to be so special. But soon... you'll understand better."
"Okay... and about the level? What do I do now?"
"Ah, that... — Aru'mathis frowned, deep in thought. — In my case, I had to break seals. When I reached the 25th seal, I also felt like I had hit my limit."
"I'm exactly at level 25 right now!"
"Then it's the same. You need to break that seal. But I don't know how."
"Agh!" — Drayk clenched his fists. "But you broke it, right?! How did you do it?"
"I... consumed a star."
Silence.
"You're kidding, right?"
"No. It was the only way. I managed to channel the energy from a stellar fragment."
"Holy shit... I definitely can't do that."
Aru'mathis let out a light chuckle, but quickly grew serious again.
"Listen, young one. We're similar, from the same lineage. But at the same time... we're different. Your 'system' was shaped for you. There must be another way to break this limit. A method only you can use."
"Wow..." — Nexum crossed her arms. "First time I've been lost in a conversation. Drayk, got any ideas?"
"A few... but nothing concrete. Just guesses."
"Don't worry, Young King" — said Aru'mathis in a comforting tone. "The whisper will guide you. For now... get some rest."
"Yeah... this conversation fried my brain" — Drayk muttered.
He said goodbye to the two and headed to his room, his mind spinning with questions, possibilities... and a certain unease.
A few hours later...
Even lying in bed, Drayk couldn't relax. His thoughts were racing. The warning about reaching his limit kept pounding in his mind.
"I need to figure out how to break through this... consuming a star is out of the question."
Then, in the silence of the night, a new notification appeared before his eyes, as if it sensed his restlessness.
[Notice: Limit Break Requirements not found.]
[Searching for alternatives compatible with user's system…]
[…]
[Minimum conditions detected: Secret Challenge Unlocked]
Drayk jumped up, eyes glowing with anticipation.
"Secret challenge...? Now you're speaking my language."
The wall of his room began to glow with spiraling runes, forming a small, unstable portal, humming with an eerie sound from within.
[Do you wish to access the Secret Challenge? Warning: this is a high-risk route. Failure may result in temporary loss of abilities or stat regression.]
[Reward: Limit Break + unknown bonuses.]
"High risk, huh?" — he took a deep breath. "Tsk... if it were easy, it wouldn't be worthy."
Without hesitation, he stepped through the portal.
[Location: Interrupted Nexus – Hidden Dimension of Essence]
Drayk appeared in a chaotic space. The ground was made of floating fragments of reality, as if the world had shattered into a thousand pieces. The sky… didn't exist. Only a dark veil where eyes of energy would appear and vanish.
And in the center… he saw it.
A creature.
Not just any monster. It was... him.
But not like the clone from the 20th floor. No. This version looked like him before awakening his draconic blood. No golden eyes, no powers, nothing.
Except... corrupted. A primal, unstable, savage Drayk.
[Enemy identified: "The Echo of Stagnation"]
[Description: Manifestation of your former self, sustained by everything you still fear to lose.]
[Objective: Destroy your past to break the limit.]
"...Seriously?"
The creature charged before he could even breathe.
BAM!
Drayk was thrown back. The hit wasn't strong. But it was... heavy. Loaded with insecurity. Each impact carried voices from the past.
"You're not worthy.""You should've died.""You're just a lucky human."
The words came with the blows. And he felt every one of them.
"ARGH!" — Drayk dropped to his knees, gasping for air.
[Mental Defense System activated.]
"No... I'm not that boy anymore."
The golden flame lit up in his chest. The aura of Primordial Blood began to surround his body, but this time... something different emerged.
The dragon behind him.
Not just a silhouette. But a clear, real, colossal image, with ancestral eyes that gazed upon the world through him.
[New Emerging Ability: Ancestral Awakening – Level 1]
(You may temporarily channel the presence of one of your ancestors. Limited time. Unpredictable effects.)
The dragon roared. Drayk roared with it.
"No more running from who I was."
He charged forward. Each step left cracks of light on the broken ground. The corrupted echo tried to attack with claws, shadows, and desperate screams, but Drayk was different.
He wasn't fighting with just his body.
He fought with his essence.
"You..." — he drove Solaris Ignis into the ground."Are no longer part of me."
With a single flaming punch, channeling all his will to move forward, Drayk struck the echo in the chest.
BOOOOOOM!
The creature exploded into golden and dark particles that dissipated into the shattered atmosphere.
The world stopped. Absolute silence fell.
And then, a final notification appeared.
[Secret Challenge Successfully Completed.]
[Level Cap Removed.]
[Status Unlocked: Dual-Stage Ascension]
[You may now continue your evolution.]
Drayk dropped to his knees.
"Hah... so this is what it feels like... to grow."
A new portal emerged behind him, taking him back to the village.
As soon as he sat on his bed, ready to rest, his mind was flooded with information.
[Transition Complete: The Inheritance Dissolves]
[You have broken the final link with the structure of lesser beings.]
[The system recognizes your new form as unclassifiable within mortal parameters.][Therefore, a new designation has been created]
[Awakened Class: Ascending Fragment]
[Evolution System Updated][Ascension Fragments]
[Your progression is now measured in Ascension Fragments]
[0/10]
[Each fragment represents a step toward that which lies dormant within you.]
[No XP is gained from weak monsters or trivial missions.]
[Only meaningful experiences shape your new essence.]
• Upon reaching [10/10], the next stage will be unlocked automatically.
Current State: [0/10]
[Skill Reconfiguration Activated]
[Your soul core has been restructured.]
[Redundant or limited abilities have been absorbed by superior manifestations.]
[New Unified Passive Skill: Eternal Blood]
[Fusion of passives: Predator, Regeneration, Suppression Aura, Draconic Resistance, Battle Focus, Hunter's Eyes, and others.]
[Description: The soul of an eternal being pulses within your body. Your physiology, perception, and instinct have evolved.]
[Effects]
• Increased regeneration based on emotional state.
• Growing damage reduction as battle intensity increases.
• Absolute senses: nothing escapes your perception.
• Your presence weakens the abilities of lower-bloodline creatures.
• Adaptive bonus based on the enemy faced.
[New Active Skill: Primordial Will]
[Fusion of offensive combat spells (Draconic Flames, Fire Lance, Magic Overload, etc.)]
[Description: Your magic no longer follows formulas. It responds to your will.Summons elemental or energetic manifestations based on your desire to destroy, protect, or dominate.]
[Active Modes: Solar Spear, Dimensional Strike and Golden Flames]
[Gravity Burst (skills unlock and shift based on your inner state and opponents)]
[New Strategic Skill: Shadow of the Infinite Veil]
[Fusion of Greed + Dimensional Manipulation + Temporal Distortion]
[Description: What was once a skill has become your nature. You bend space, manipulate time in brief moments, and absorb fragments of reality for your benefit.]
[Effects]
• "Greed" is now passive: enemies defeated by you have part of their essence automatically absorbed (stats, memories, or unique traits).
• Can bend reality in brief moments (2s of total slowdown per combat).
• Access to short/mid-range teleportation portals during battle.
[Status Updated]
• Class: Ascending Fragment
• Evolution: [0/10 Fragments]
• Current Form: Anomalous Echo
• {Str: 1000 | Int: 1000 | Dex: 1000}
• New Framework: Skills will adapt and evolve on their own according to your spiritual and existential advancement.
The young man could barely keep up with everything happening to his body. It wasn't just the flood of information invading his mind — his body reacted to each brutal transformation taking hold of him.
He screamed, overwhelmed by unbearable pain. He felt on the verge of madness. The increase in his stats was tangible: his muscles contracted as his strength grew, his brain throbbed with the sudden surge of intelligence, and every fiber, every bone, reacted violently to the amplification of his dexterity.
It was as if he were being rebuilt from the inside out… piece by piece.
After long seconds of agony, his body could no longer take it. The pain overtook him completely — and he blacked out.
Several days passed before Drayk finally awoke.
Wasting no time, he ran to a mirror, eager to see what had changed. But to his surprise, there were no major changes in his appearance. Though he now looked around seventeen — after all, two years had passed within the runes — his face still felt familiar.
His appearance might not have changed much… but he knew. He felt it. His body was no longer the same.
Driven by this sensation, he headed straight for the 26th floor, determined to test his newfound strength.
This floor was unlike anything he had ever faced. It didn't feel like part of a dungeon — it was like an open world. A vast green field, clear skies, and distant mountains on the horizon.
Few monsters inhabited the region. Giant wolves, colossal bears, and, now and then, small camps of bandits who looked more lost than dangerous.
After a week on the same floor, defeating everything in his path, something different caught his attention: a solitary cave along a mountain slope.
Inside, the tunnels branched out in various directions. However, only one was lined with small runes embedded into the walls. His instincts screamed — that was the right path.
It didn't take long to reach the end of the tunnel. And there, chained in the center of an ancient chamber, was the floor's king — an Ancient Spirit. Its malevolent presence tainted the air like dense smoke.
Without hesitation, Drayk charged.
But his strikes… had no effect.
Confused, he growled and activated his draconic form. His attacks became a raging storm, hundreds — thousands — of flaming strikes, until...
"Damn... I still can't control all this power. I need to get used to this strength… and speed," he muttered, panting.
Then, with an accidental blow, his sword severed one of the spirit's chains. And in that instant — before Drayk could deliver the next strike — the Ancient Spirit unleashed a dark pulse.
The blast of energy hurled him violently against the wall.
"Now we're talking..." — Drayk said, spitting blood and grinning wildly.
The impact still echoed in his bones, but he rose slowly, ready for battle.
"So that's how it is…" he muttered, smirking. "Alright. Time for a real fight."
The Ancient Spirit floated at the chamber's center, freed from its chains. Its form was unstable — near-solid shadows wrapped around its silhouette. The energy it emitted made the walls tremble, as if the dungeon itself feared its presence.
Drayk shot forward.
The golden aura of his Primordial Blood began to cloak his body, but he held back, refusing to unleash everything at once. He needed to test the limits first — to understand his opponent.
He appeared in front of the spirit in a blink, his fist wreathed in sacred flames. The punch exploded like thunder, carving a crater into the chamber floor.
The spirit was thrown back but easily stabilized mid-air.
In response, it raised its arms — dozens of spectral hands emerged from the walls, ceiling, and floor, trying to grasp Drayk from all directions.
"Vek'thorin!" — he growled, activating his dimensional magic.
Portals appeared around him, redirecting the attacks like a high-speed chess game. The hands were severed, dragged into alternate realities, and undone in the process.
The Ancient Spirit roared in fury and crossed the battlefield in a single motion, its spectral scythe materializing in the air. The blade came in a wide arc — too fast for even trained eyes.
CLANG!
Drayk raised his sword at the last moment. Solaris Ignis shone brightly, repelling the strike and releasing a solar wave that pushed the spirit back.
"Not gonna be that easy," he snarled, twirling the sword between his fingers. "Now it's my turn."
His eyes burned with a fiery glow, revealing the creature's weak points — three energy cores scattered within the spirit's unstable form.
One behind the head. Another at the center of the chest. And the third… in the left palm.
"Got it…"
Drayk moved like lightning, his body blinking in and out of view, confusing the enemy's perception.
With a vicious spin, he severed the creature's left hand.
The first core exploded.
The Ancient Spirit screamed, the walls trembling as if the blow had echoed through the chamber itself. In retaliation, it let out a spectral howl that warped the air. A wave of black energy slammed into Drayk, sending him crashing into the ceiling.
The impact was brutal.
Drayk fell back to the ground with a dull thud, but his body was already beginning to regenerate.
"Heh… that almost hurt," he said, rising with a manic grin. "Time for the second."
He launched himself again — faster, fiercer. Solaris Ignis sliced the air like a flaming thunderclap. Drayk seized a split-second hesitation and drove his blade into the creature's chest.
The second core shattered.
Golden flames burst from the monster's center, scattering sparks across the chamber.
Only one remained.
But before he could attack, something changed. The spirit's form condensed into a new shape — now more solid, more humanoid. It had absorbed part of its own hatred to reinforce its body, and its speed had doubled.
Drayk laughed.
"Finally got serious…"
The two warriors collided at the chamber's center. Every strike sent shockwaves that shattered the space around them. It was like a clash between ancient gods.
In a final move, Drayk spun in mid-air and descended with his blade aimed at the back of the spirit's neck — the last core.
CRACK.
The blade pierced through.
The creature froze for a moment… then exploded into a storm of black and golden light. Fragments of its essence were absorbed into Drayk, who landed on his knees, exhausted.
He laughed, panting.
"That... was worthy."
And then he collapsed on his back, letting his body rest for a few seconds — before the next battle.