Chapter 60: SSS-RANK Awakened
Asher stopped inside a cave, sitting close to the entrance. The howling wind of the freezing A-Rank wasteland whipped past the opening, but inside the jagged stone walls, there was a momentary pocket of absolute silence.
’I think this is safe, I also can’t sense any hostiles in a hundred miles.’ His newfound senses swept the frozen landscape, confirming he had successfully lost the mercenary group and their SSS-Rank puppet master—for now.
He brought up the system’s screen, and tapped his inventory, bringing out all his SSS-RANK Evolution Stones. The sheer concentration of energy inside the cave instantly skyrocketed. The stones hovered in the air, glowing with an intoxicating, heavy light.
{Master will need 1,000 SSS-RANK Evolution stones to get to SSS-RANK, and also gain a system reward.}
"You?! I only have one thousand SSS-RANK Evolution stones, you want to use everything!" He yelled at the system, and sighed, closing his eyes in sheer exasperation. It was his entire hoard, a fortune that could buy small countries, but hoarding it now would only get him killed
"Fine, let’s start." He braced himself for the overwhelming influx of energy.
{Initiating...}
’In the past, I would simply absorb this stones with my energy, but with the system, I gained Aether, which I don’t even understand, so the system will help with the absorption process.’ He surrendered control to the system that had reshaped his entire destiny.
{Initiating... 90%.}
All the one thousand stones, which could take any guild to top one in the world, shattered into golden lights, and flew towards Asher, merging with him. A torrent of raw, unadulterated power rushed into his veins, burning away his mortal limitations in a blinding flash.
{Congratulations!! Master advanced to A-Rank.}
{Congratulations!! Master advanced to S-Rank.}
{Congratulations!! Master advanced to SS-Rank.}
The notifications pinged in rapid succession, but then, the advancement violently halted against the invisible, absolute barrier of the universe.
{Scanning... Master has two physiques, No understanding, and No element.}
{Breaking The Rule.}
Asher grimaced, the rule the system was referring to must be enlightenment; without understanding your spirit energy, having full control of your elements, and skills, you will never reach SSS-RANK... Asher on the other hand, doesn’t have any, he simply inherited everything from the system, from his skills, physiques and even element. Due to this, the system stepped forward, and shattered the restriction, granting him access to the Mortal peak strength with absolute, terrifying ease.
{CONGRATULATIONS!!}
{Master Has Advanced to SSS-RANK.}
{Devil Tower can now be activated.}
{Master gained a reward chest.}
{Congratulations, Skills Cap has been broken, Master can now have unlimited skills.}
{Devil Curse Throwing Daggers have been unlocked.}
{Congratulations!! Aether energy has been unlocked.}
{Congratulations!! Bloodline Ability gotten from the Family, Has been Unlocked.}
{Once Again, Congratulations Master.}
Asher slowly opened his eyes, his golden aura burst out, spreading all over the place, creating cracks on the surrounding walls. The cave trembled under the oppressive weight of his sheer existence. He wasn’t just strong anymore; he felt like a god among mortals.
’Reward Chest? What is it?’
{Reward Chest Activated.}
Asher blinked, staring at the golden Chest before him, he slowly stood back up, and opened it. The glow inside rivaled a small sun.
{Congratulations! Master Gained a Mythic-Tier Armor Gemstone.}
{Congratulations!! Master Gained a Divine-Tier Skill Book.}
{Congratulations!! Master Gained a Dungeon Key and Map.}
{Dungeon: Mental Destruction Dungeon SSS-Rank. (Requirement: Clear one SSS-RANK Dungeon to be able to use key).}
{Can’t Be Invested.}
Asher froze in place, staring at the key in shock. The world around him faded away, the cold forgotten. This dungeon, if he could enter this dungeon, he could cure Juliana. The fractured mind of his wife—this single item was the antidote he had been desperately praying for.
He grabbed the key, holding it tight, embedding its shape into his palm. ’I just need to clear one SSS-RANK Dungeon. Seems I really need to visit that Doomsday Dungeon.’ He thought, cementing his resolve to face the ten-stage Primordial Boss Sara had warned him about, turning his gaze to the black armor gemstone.
"What is this?"
{Can be infused into any outfit, transforming it into A Mythic-Tier Armor.}
Asher blinked, was such a thing even possible? The laws of crafting were as rigid as the laws of leveling, yet the System simply ignored them all.
He moved his gaze around, the Spike Armor he got was ugly to begin with, so without any choice, he placed the gemstone close to his black overcoat, watching as the gem vanished, merging with the clothes. The fabric rippled, drinking in the darkness of the gem until it became an abyss that swallowed the ambient light.
{Congratulations, Master Gained a Mythic-Tier Armor.}
{Name: Dark King Judgement.}
{Ability: +20,000 in Defense, Physical and Magical Attacks, +50% increase in elemental resistance. When in stealth, increase stats by 50%. Grant ten shields which completely block ten attacks.}
’What sort of armor is this?! So powerful.’ He thought, feeling as power flooded his body. With a fifty percent stat boost in stealth and absolute attack negation, he was now an unkillable phantom.
’Nice improvement. I also gained another Divine-Tier Skill.’ He picked up the book, and clenched it in his hand.
’I can’t invest it, using it is the right choice.’
{Congratulations, Master gained a new skill. Note: Skill has devoured all low-rank skill books in storage.}
’Huh? I only have five low-rank skill books, the ones I got from that fat Pig. This skill actually devoured them, what’s the skill then?’
{Gained a new skill.}
{Shadow Gaze: If you stare into the Abyss, always remember the Abyss stares back.}
{Congratulations, Master gained shadow gaze: Can see through all Illusions, stealth, lies, truth, and loyalty. Throughout the universe, nothing can hide from the abyss. Divine-Tier.}
’This skill should be a Mage’s ability, with my current situation, this will be very helpful.’ He said, as his red eyes transformed back to its usual black. No SSS-Rank radar, no mercenary disguise, and no Family deception would ever work on him again. He could see the absolute truth of the world.
"The Chest rewards are good, what about the Devil Tower, Aether and bloodline Ability."
{Devil Tower: With the Key, Master can turn any Dungeon he is in into the Devil Ground, Doubling the strength of every single Monster in it.}
{Note: Rewards Gain after will also be doubled.}
{Note: If Master dies, he loses his life and also the rewards, and key.}
{Note: The Higher the dungeon used, the more awesome the rewards.}
{Note: One use.}
Asher stared at the red key floating before him, it has the power to mutate any dungeon, but if used carelessly, he might die, but the rewards... The risk was catastrophic, a literal gamble with his life against exponentially strengthened horrors.
He looked out into the ice plain: if he uses the key and Mutates this dungeon, those guys will surely end up dead, but what rank will all the monsters advance to? SS-RANK? If that happens, doesn’t that mean this will turn from an A-Rank to SS-RANK? A sinister, ruthless smirk curled on his lips. They wanted to trap him in a cage. He would turn the cage into a slaughterhouse.
’Not bad...’
{Aether energy has now replaced Spirit energy, Master can now sense and use his energy.}
{Family Bloodline: When Master’s health gets below 20%, instantly restores health to 100%, and Master’s stats increased by 500% for ten minutes.}
".....?!"
Asher blinked, stunned. It wasn’t just a combat buff; it was a total reset button tied to a catastrophic surge in power. With this Bloodline active, the Aetheldawn Family truly stood above the laws of death itself.