Online Game: I Have A 100\% Drop Rate - Chapter 292: The River of Souls [2]

An unknown amount of time passed, and Leon even started wondering if there was any purpose to this at all.

Maybe stopping here was enough already. Maybe giving up would simply be easier.

After all, how far had he already walked? Hundreds of chains? Thousands?

Leon honestly couldn’t tell anymore because his entire body trembled violently while blood continued pouring from his face.

And eventually his legs finally gave out beneath him as the overwhelming pressure crushing his soul intensified even further.

Thud!

Leon collapsed onto his knees while breathing heavily, his vision spinning slightly as he stared downward at the river beneath him.

He tried standing. Nothing happened. He tried again. Still nothing.

The pressure instantly forced him back down once more.

“…Tch.”

He genuinely couldn’t move anymore because even lifting his head felt difficult now.

Any normal person would have given up already, and honestly, maybe they should, because this place was completely insane.

The river did not care about talent, determination, or power.

It simply crushed everyone equally until they either advanced… or broke completely.

Leon’s vision blurred further while his consciousness slowly started fading, and for the first time since entering this place, a dangerous thought appeared inside his mind.

’Maybe this is enough.’

The moment that thought appeared, Leon’s fingers suddenly tightened slightly.

No, it wasn’t enough. Not even close.

Leon slowly gritted his teeth while forcing his trembling arms against the river beneath him, and the moment he tried moving again, agony exploded throughout his entire being as the pressure crushing his soul intensified violently in response.

And yet—

’…Move…’

Leon’s hand dragged itself forward slightly. Then another.

Because deep inside, Leon understood something very clearly.

If he stopped now… If he gave up here… Then he would regret it for the rest of his life.

So even while kneeling, even while bleeding, even while feeling like his soul itself was about to collapse beneath the unbearable pressure, Leon continued moving forward

Since Leon could no longer walk, the only way left for him to continue forward was to crawl across the surface of the river, and so that was exactly what he did without even hesitating anymore.

At this point, there was no room left in his mind for pride, appearance, or dignity. Only forward.

That was the only thing remaining inside his head. And so Leon crawled.

He dragged his broken body across the surface of the [River of Souls], his trembling fingers gripping against the strange liquid beneath him while he forced himself forward little by little despite the unimaginable pressure crushing against his soul.

Nobody knew how long he continued like this. Not even Leon himself.

Time had long since lost meaning inside this place. There was only pain.

Only the endless river stretching infinitely ahead no matter how much distance he crossed.

At this stage of the river, almost everyone who entered eventually collapsed or gave up completely.

Even beings destined to become gods had limits.

The pressure here wasn’t something ordinary minds could endure forever.

It crushed thoughts. Existence itself. And yet Leon kept moving anyway.

Eventually, his legs stopped responding entirely. Then his arms began failing as well.

His vision had already gone dark long ago, leaving him completely blind while blood continuously dripped from his eyes, nose, mouth, and ears.

Still, Leon continued dragging himself forward.

His fingers clawed weakly against the river’s surface while he slowly pulled his body ahead by only a few centimeters at a time.

Then he repeated the motion again. And again. Over and over without stopping.

His expression became completely hollow. His thoughts disappeared. His mind emptied itself entirely.

At some point, Leon stopped even understanding why he was still moving.

His body simply continued instinctively, driven by something deeper than logic itself.

Without realizing it, Leon eventually surpassed the point where every other player who entered this place had once reached.

Then he kept going, reaching the limit of beings who had once ascended beyond mortality itself.

The limit of celestials. The limit of gods.

One by one, Leon unknowingly surpassed the invisible marks they had left behind in the river.

The [God of Darkness]. Then the [God of Eternity]. Then even the [God of Ascension].

Each one had once walked this path. Each one had eventually stopped somewhere within this endless river. And Leon crawled past every single one of them.

He reached a point no being before him had ever touched. And the moment he crossed that invisible boundary—

Ding!

[You have pushed past the limits of ascension, Celestial, you have proven your determination.]

The notification echoed faintly inside the endless void.

Leon didn’t understand the words anymore. At this point, even thinking had become impossible.

His soul felt like it was being crushed apart piece by piece under the unbearable pressure surrounding him.

Leon understood instinctively that if he pushed himself much further, something irreversible would happen.

This wasn’t physical damage anymore. This pressure was beginning to crack his soul directly.

And if his soul itself broke… Then no healing item, no revival ability, no miracle would ever save him. Not even the [Altar of Life].

And yet… Leon still kept dragging himself forward.

Even while standing at the absolute limit. Even while death waited only a few steps ahead.

Because some stubborn part of him simply refused to stop.

Then suddenly—

BOOM!

A powerful shockwave erupted around Leon without warning.

The pressure crushing him vanished instantly as an overwhelming force slammed into his body and sent him flying backward through the endless void.

[You have done enough, Celestial.]

The moment the notification appeared, the entire world around Leon shattered apart.

In a single instant, the endless river disappeared completely.

And before Leon could even react—

Fwoosh!

He suddenly found himself back inside the [Colosseum of Ascension].

Leon crashed onto the cold ground near the gate leading toward the [River of Souls], breathing heavily while his entire body trembled uncontrollably.

For several seconds, he simply stayed there while trying to understand what had just happened.

The pressure was gone. The unbearable crushing weight pressing against his soul had disappeared completely.

The normal air around him almost felt unreal after everything he had just endured.

Leon slowly lifted his head and looked around. The others were here too.

Godrick sat against one of the pillars while breathing heavily, his face pale.

Alicar was lying on the ground while holding his head with one hand, his expression completely exhausted.

Oasis looked even worse, her entire body trembling while she muttered incoherently under her breath.

Only Violet remained standing, though even she looked shaken.

Even though Leon had spent what felt like an absurdly long time inside the river and had clearly gone far beyond all of them, they had still exited almost simultaneously.

Which meant time inside the [River of Souls] flowed completely differently.

Leon had no idea how long he truly spent inside there.

Maybe hours. Maybe months. Maybe even years. And yet almost no time had passed here.

“…Urgh,” Godrick groaned while rubbing his face. “What the hell even was that place…”

“I thought my soul was getting crushed apart…” Oasis whispered weakly.

Leon remained silent. And notifications began appearing before all of them.

Ding!

[You have reached a place in the River of Souls where no entity had ever wandered.]

[You have achieved something even the gods found impossible.]

Leon’s eyes narrowed slightly. Then the final notification appeared.

[You will receive a reward of the highest order.]

[From now on, each attribute of yours will correspond to three points of Combat Power instead of two.]

“…Huh?”