[Progression Alert]
Skill: Killing Intent (SSS) has increased from E-Rank to D-Rank.
[Host has met the requirements to unlock a new skill effect:]
New Effect Unlocked:
Killing Perception
Killing Intent Sense â Detects hostile intent from any direction.
Fear Resistance â Complete immunity to suppression or fear caused by killing intent, regardless of the enemyâs strength. You are no longer shaken by the fear of death. Your will cannot be suppressed.
.
Razeal stared at the new effect of his skill, an unpleasant taste rising in his mouth.
"What the hell? Another perception-type skill?"
He scoffed, annoyed.
"System, you do realize I already have a ton of perception skills, right? Like, enough is enough."
[Host, these skills are not under my control, nor can I alter them.]
[Also, this isnât just another perception skill. This one is unique it allows you to sense killing intent even if the enemy doesnât release it. Even if someone only thinks about killing you. Youâll feel it.]
[And regarding the second effect... you already know that when you face beings vastly more powerful than you those on a different life level your body and will get suppressed, no matter how much you resist. Now, that will no longer happen. You will not be spressed.]
Razeal clicked his tongue. "Yeah, yeah, I get it, dumbass... but I was hoping for a cool fighting skill. Not more of this passive perception crap.. Again."
[Just work on it, Host. Level it up. The higher it climbs, the more powerful it becomes. Youâre only at D-Rank now of killing intent (SSS) now, and itâs already giving you effects like this.]
The system went quiet after that, offering no further response.
Razeal let out an annoyed sigh.
"Tch. Easy for you to say. Youâre not the one who had to kill 1,000 E-Rank monsters just to level it up to D-Rank. And now itâs 10,000 E-ranked monsters for the next upgrade. If I stick to E-Ranks, Iâll need to kill 100,000 of them just to progress!"
Razeal groaned at the thought alone. His shoulders already slumped.
[If you had killed them outside the System Space, you wouldâve only needed to defeat 100 monsters. Killing inside System Space gives ten times fewer points.]
"Even right now, you only need to kill 1,000 D-ranked monsters to level up. But if you do it inside, itâll take 10,000. So if you want to level up faster, go outside
simple as that
."
Razealâs expression turned a bit grim.
"Yeah yeah, I wish I could go outside too. But Iâve got other skills to work on right? Itâs one thing to get stabbed 100,000 times in here, but outside? Iâd be dead for real. Besides, the time amplification function is worth it. I donât have time to waste."
Just as the frustration began to settle in, the system spoke again.
[Host, itâs almost time for your Academy schedule. You should exit System Space now.]
"What? Already? How long has it been?" Razeal blinked. "Wasnât I just in the E-Rank Training Zone? Thatâs supposed to have ten times time amplification."
[Correct. Over 10 hours have passed in the real world. Inside System Space, youâve spent 107 hours.]
"107 hours?!" Razeal stared at the air, dumbfounded. "I trained for more than four days and didnât even feel it?"
[Why do you think your skills leveled up so fast?]
[Just so you know, youâve taken endured over 130,000 injuries and died more than 10,000 times during this session.]
[Total enemies killed: 1,016 Skulltrites in total over the 107 hours.]
[Current Training Status: Wave of E-Rank Skulltrite â 100 monsters per wave]
[Status: Still on Wave 2 â Incomplete (Unable to clear full wave in one go)]
Razeal groaned again. "Yeah yeah... I get it." He scrolled through the stats and sighed.
Over 100,000 injuries... If this were the real world, Iâd be in ribbons. 10,000+ deaths... Thatâs gotta be a new record.
***
Currently sitting inside the Royal Academy classroom, Razeal sighed and shook his head irritation simmering just beneath the surface.
He didnât even want to be here.
The academy was a waste of his time. There was nothing here he could gain no skill, no knowledge, no benefit. But still, he had to attend. Until the duel was completed, he couldnât disappear.
Sure, he could simply stop showing up. Itâs not like anyone could stop him outright. But then again, that would raise suspicion. What if the everyone assumed he was planning to escape? What if they started surveilling him, keeping tabs just to ensure he didnât run before the duel? He wouldnât put it past them. In fact, Razeal was already half-convinced someone was watching him. Maybe it was paranoia. Maybe not. Either way, the idea irritated him.
He tried to brush it off. It wasnât like he had anything to hide. Most of the time, he looked like he was half-asleep anyway. Still, the thought of someone observing him from a distance unseen, undetectable made his skin crawl. Maybe they were using advanced techniques or tools to monitor him. Or maybe it was all in his head. Either way, it gnawed at him.
He exhaled through his nose. For now, it didnât concern him. They were only able to watch because he was weak. That wouldnât last. One day, heâd be strong enough to make anyone think thousand times before having idea of ever spying on him. Hell, even if he caught someone now, he can make them pay something they will regret all there life.. Even if not strong enough he have his ways to fuck someone life. But that was the problem he couldnât sense anything. Whether or not someone was watching, he couldnât tell.
He shook his head again and sighed.
At the front of the classroom, the professor continued his lecture.
Something about danger. Opportunity. The nature of the world. The usual academy rhetoric. But then a few words caught Razealâs attention.
"As you all know, the greatest threat to our world and perhaps the most significant opportunity is the phenomenon known as Multidimensional Overlap... or as some scholars call it, Dimensional Confluence."
Razeal blinked. Alright, maybe this would be worth listening to. Yeah novel had some information about this topic but then again it was never enough.
"Before we dive into what that means or why this is so dangerous," the professor continued, "we need to cover the basics. First, what exactly are dimensions?"
"Dimensions are separate planes of existence. Entire realities layered on top of each other â each one with its own rules. Different time flows, physical laws, species, Magic, Physics, Life and death all governed by systems we donât understand."
"even entirely different lifeforms."
"We donât know how many exist. We donât know where they are. We canât see them, touch them, or locate them not with any tech, spell, or divine sense weâve developed till now."
"Our best scholars believe that dimensions are separated by invisible barriers. Think of them like invisible national borders. Just because you canât see the border, doesnât mean it isnât there. These barriers are impossible to detect with the naked eye or even with most advanced magic. You could search the entire world and still never find the edges of another dimension."
"So whatâs inside those dimensions? Thatâs the big question. Based on countless reports from explorers and early civilization records, we know that from time to time, openings appear between dimensions. These are called Ways."
"At first, no one knew what these were. Just strange phenomena. But after many years of study and sacrifice, we learned: theyâre doorways. To other realities."
"Beyond these Ways are creatures alien in nature, sometimes monstrous, often hostile. Very few are intelligent. Most act on instinct. Aggression. Hunger. Weâve only discovered one or two dimensions that didnât immediately try to destroy us. The rest? Constant threats."
She gave the class a moment to absorb the weight of that.
"Why are they so aggressive? We donât know. Some believe they see us the same way we see them as invaders. Others think their world is dying, and this is survival. Regardless, almost every time a new Way opens, it ends in violence."
"So how do these Ways form? According to our leading theories, they appear randomly. No warning. No pattern. One day, space just... splits. Portals, rifts, tears in reality. We call this a Dimensional Confluence. Itâs when two dimensions briefly overlap and create a passage between them."
She turned back to the board, circling the diagram with his chalk.
"When that happens, travel becomes possible. Beings from both sides can cross over. But most of the time, itâs them coming here. And they donât come in peace."
"These invasions cause devastation. Cities wiped out. Lives lost. Entire ecosystems damaged by creatures that donât belong. And the worst part? These monsters come in waves. It doesnât stop. Once a Way opens, itâs never just one creature. Itâs an army."
"But not everything is a loss. Weâve learned to fight back. We are strong, Yes. Weâve learned to step into their worlds. And what weâve found? Opportunities. Resources. Knowledge. Materials that donât exist in our dimension. Rare materials, living metals, dimensional flora with healing properties."
"And the monsters themselves valuable. Their bodies contain elenental cores, rare element stones, even sentient biomass useful for magic and alchemy. In short: if you survive, the rewards are endless."
"So, you might be wondering whatâs the best theory weâve developed so far about how Dimensional Confluence happens? Well, hereâs our leading hypothesis based on our most advanced research."
"Now imagine our world as a single sheet of paper. Flat, familiar. And above it, below it, beside it an infinite number of other sheets still existing and same equal place. Each one a dimension."
She lifted three fingers.
"A portal is like someone poking a hole through two pages. A rift is someone tearing a jagged slash through them. And a dimensional collision? Thatâs someone slamming the pages together so hard they fuse, warp, and twist."
"Also before we dive any deeper into advanced strategy," she said, "you all need to understand the very nature of the threats we train to fight. Iâm talking about the ways other dimensions connect to ours the routes through which alien worlds leak into our reality. There are many, but four are the most common. And each one is dangerous in its own right."
She raised one finger.
"First portals. The most stable, the most common, and the most deceptive of them all. Portals can appear anywhere on open land, in your backyard, in the middle of a city. They shimmer like glass or whirl like wind. But what makes portals uniquely dangerous is this: once a portal opens, it cannot be closed until its natural countdown ends."
Murmurs rippled through the students.
"Yes," she said, nodding. "Each portal appears with a visible countdown an embedded timer that tells exactly how long it will remain open. Some stay open for weeks. Others, months. Until the timer hits zero, that passage to another dimension remains active and anything can come through."
She paused.
"Sometimes, nothing comes. Just a silent, empty link to a barren land. Other times? Hordes. Monsters. Waves of creatures too mindless or too angry to negotiate. The moment the portal opens, the outcome is unpredictable. Thatâs why every portal is considered a Code Red event."
She turned toward the front row. "The standard response? Full containment. Barricades. Tactical units. Area lockdowns. Defense teams surround the site and hold the line until the portal closes. There is no other way."
"And while portals are dangerous, theyâre also fairly rare on a global scale. You might think "rare" means safe, but hereâs some context: itâs estimated that between 100 to 1,000 portals appear worldwide every single day. Thatâs the low average. Imagine what that looks like on a bad day."
She held up a second finger.
---
Thanks for reading my cute lovely pumpkins
One more Chapter to go before i sleep đ´ âŁď¸