Chapter 270: Levelling Up

Chapter 270

The Catskill Mountains lay roughly around two hundred and ten kilometers away from Times Square, just far enough from all the City’s noise and crowds to give Alex the privacy he needed. Now, beneath the late morning sun, he stopped and looked across the trees with an expression colder than the mountain air itself.

He had not come here to admire the scenery or anything like that. That man’s face was still fresh in his mind, along with the helpless fury he had felt when he realized how thoroughly the bastard had deceived him. The memory of that battle made his stomach tighten from the humiliation of being manipulated so completely. But rage without power was after all just another way to lose.

Before leaving the city, Alex had taken Celine over to Doris. Since Doris was one of the very few people he trusted enough to leave Celine in her care, and there he had even collected a portion of body recovery water and used all of it to heal Celine’s injuries.

Celine was still unconscious when he left, but her breathing had steadied, and Doris had personally assured him that she would watch over her personally. Watching Celine like that he really hated leaving without seeing Celine open her eyes, yet staying would only delay what he needed to do.

Now he walked farther and farther into the forest until he finally found a broad clearing surrounded by tall trees and rough stone. The ground was mostly level, and the open space would give him room if the breakthrough caused a violent reaction.

It was good that in a place like this there were no nearby houses, or hikers, and most especially no curious eyes watching from a distance. If his advancement disturbed the surroundings, there would be no civilians caught in the middle.

"Good enough," Alex said, his voice flat.

Today was the day. Didn’t the bastard make him feel powerless last time? He must certainly be thinking that the next time they meet it would end up like last time. Well that’d be nothing but a pipedream because Alex absolutely had no intention whatsoever of allowing that to ever happen again.

He closed his eyes and spoke inwardly.

"System, continue from where you stopped last."

The familiar chibi appeared in a shimmer of blue light, floating in front of him. Her tiny face seemed to brighten as she clasped her hands together, looking far too cheerful for Alex’s particular mood right now. She seemed ready to launch into one of her usual excited speeches, but the cold look in his eyes made her pause before she spoke carefully.

[Of course, Host! I was waiting for you to give the order!]

"Then stop waiting and get on with it."

[Understood! Let’s calculate your rewards.]

A translucent blue panel appeared before Alex, with its clean lines glowing against the dark green forest as various texts began forming across it, each prompt appearing with a soft chime. Alex watched without smiling. The rewards mattered, but he was not here to celebrate. He needed every advantage the system could give him.

[Total Rewards Calculating...]

[+450 Desire Points Gained For Successfully Adding An Awakened Harem Member]

[Total Points: 8801 DP]

The panel continued updating.

[+140 Desire Energy Gained For Successfully Adding An Awakened Harem Member]

[Total Desire Energy: 902 DE]

[+30% increment has been added to all your skill stats]

Then another prompt appeared.

[Infinite Skill Absorption Was Successful!]

[New Abilities Acquired: World Erasing Fire]

Alex’s expression didn’t change, after all, he had already expected it to come after sleeping with Claire. Even though, He still studied the name once more. The term World Erasing Fire suggested devastation on a scale that ordinary flames could never dream of approaching, and he wondered how powerful it could be in A Rank.

"World Erasing Fire, That’s definitely one hell of a name."

The chibi hovered near his shoulder, looking pleased.

[It certainly sounds impressive, doesn’t it, Host?]

"I’m more interested in whether it lives up to the name."

The description appeared beneath the title.

[Description: Powerful Crimson Flames hot enough to burn through anything.]

The limit appeared a moment later, reminding him once more that even a powerful ability had boundaries.

[Limit: It cannot affect other Awakeneds on a higher realm than the user. This ability has not yet even met its true potential. Only at The Transcendent Realm can its user discover the truest nature of this ability.]

"So as it is, its true power won’t still show itself until the Transcendent Realm."

[That’s right! There’s still plenty of room for this ability to grow!]

"Then I’ll make sure I reach that point even if I have to get a hundred women."

His voice was quiet, but the promise beneath it was unmistakable. He would not remain at the mercy of people whose power outmatched his own. He would climb as high as necessary, no matter how much effort it took or how many enemies stood in his way. If George believed Alex was an interesting specimen, then the bastard could learn what happened when his prey grew teeth.

Another line flashed across the panel, brighter than the rest.

[Ding! Desire Energy Bar Is Now Fully Filled Up]

[You Can Now Level Up To The Next Rank]

Alex stared at the words for several seconds. His fists curled at his sides, and the soil beneath his shoes cracked under the pressure. He had been careless and had allowed himself to believe earlier before all this started that it was better to level up later. That mistake had nearly cost Celine her life.

Never again.

"System," he said, his voice as cold as winter steel, "level me up."

[Are you sure, Host? The breakthrough may cause significant physical strain and environmental disturbance.]

"Do it."

Alex planted his feet firmly on the ground and rolled his shoulders back, preparing himself for whatever the system had in store. He had survived death once, betrayal, and the previous breakthrough that felt more painful than anything he had ever faced before.

Compared with those experiences, the prospect of enduring another painful breakthrough should have been simple since his tolerance to pain was decent. Yet he knew better than to underestimate the unknown. The system had never promised that advancement would be comfortable, and he had no intention of letting discomfort become another excuse for weakness.

He would remember this when George finally fell.

The instant he gave the command, it was like even the mountain seemed to hold its breath.

Then the ground shook violently beneath his feet, and the tremor rolled outward through the hills. Stones broke loose from the slopes, tree trunks shuddered, and flocks of birds burst from the treetops in a frantic storm of wings. A deep rumble rose from below, growing louder until it seemed that something ancient had awakened beneath the earth.

The disturbance spread far beyond the Catskills. In the City, buildings quivered from the tremors, windows rattled in their frames, and glasses clinked on tables. Traffic slowed as drivers braked and looked around, while pedestrians stopped on sidewalks to steady themselves against walls or lampposts.

Then a beam of deep crimson and royal purple energy erupted from the mountain like a scene straight out of a movie. Except that this was one hundred percent real.

It shot upward like a majestic pillar connecting earth and heaven, rising ten thousand meters above the forested peaks. The two colors twisted around one another like two ancient snakes as the column climbed, with crimson burning with a fierce intensity while royal purple shimmered with a strange, majestic light.

It didn’t exactly take long for the glow to spread across the clouds, painting their undersides in vivid shades of red and violet.

Among the Awakened scattered throughout the city, those with even a little knowledge of the higher realms felt their expressions change. They all recognized the signs: a city-level tremor accompanied by an enormous pillar of energy could only mean one thing! And that was; someone was undergoing a major breakthrough to the fabled realm most couldn’t even dream of ever reaching. The Master Realm!

"That pressure..." an Awakened man muttered, staring toward the distant mountains. "Someone’s breaking through to the Master Realm!"

"Looks like a new powerhouse is about to rise in this city. Things might get interesting from now on."

Nearby, a middle aged woman who had remained trapped in the Vanguard Realm for years watched the distant beam with a bitter sigh. She had trained until her body ached, spent every spare moment improving her control, and yet still failed to cross the next threshold.

"Some people really are lucky. I wish that were me breaking through to the Master Realm instead of staying stuck in Vanguard for who knows how long. Who even knows how long it’ll take me to enter Ascendant Realm?"

Over at Doris’s place, She too felt the tremors, then stepped closer to the glass when the towering column appeared in the distance. Its deep crimson and royal purple radiance filled the sky, but the energy reaching her senses didn’t feel like Primordial Essence at all. It carried a strange primal quality that even she couldn’t recognize.

Doris studied the pillar for a moment. Then, as understanding settled over her, a small smile appeared on her face. She had seen enough of a certain someone’s unusual abilities to know that the energy was connected to him, even if she could not explain how he had produced such a phenomenon. The realization eased some of the worry she had carried since he left with Celine.

"So, he really did it," she murmured.

Back in the clearing, Alex could no longer pay attention to anything beyond his own body.

A wave of heat swept through him, but it did not burn. It felt as though he had been submerged in molten lava that somehow left his skin untouched, while every part of his body was slowly reforged from within. His muscles tightened, his bones vibrated, and an immense pressure pressed against him as the breakthrough surged through his entire being. He clenched his jaw and remained standing, refusing to give the pain or pressure the satisfaction of forcing him to his knees.

The heat intensified before gradually subsiding, leaving behind a deep and steady strength that seemed to reach into the very core of his existence.

After a while, the overwhelming sensation finally faded. Then, with a loud, booming roar, the Desire Energy surrounding Alex surged outward one last time before dissipating by itself.