Chapter 290: Mountain Cleanup Squad

I decided to take a moment and check my status.

[Status]

--------------------------------------------------

Name : Billion Ironhart

Race : Executor(Human)

Class : Primordial Executor – Transcendent (Mythic)

Laws :

Minor Law of Absolute - 40%

Awakened Weapon: Executor’s Staff

Rank: Master

Level : 146

Talent :

- Generator Nexus 2

- Essence : 130/145

- Soul Shackle : 2

Attributes :

- Strength: Alpha (1095)

- Constitution: Alpha (1090)

- Dexterity: Alpha (1077)

- Psynapse : Alpha (1516)

- Essence : ∞

Skills:

- Essence Engine (Innate) Level 7

- Psynapse Fracture (Max)

- Seismic Burst Level 8

- Havoc Sfera Level 3

- Blitz Hakai Level 3

- Spatial Shield Level 2

- Absolute Domain Level 4

- Revert Level 4

- Fractured Unity Level 1

- Space Lock Level 1

- Sanctum of Judgement Level 3

- Lotus of Annihilation Level 1

- Runic Ascent Level 2

- Singularity Beam (Weapon Skill)

Abilities:

- Apex Body – II (Passive)

- Trait Acquisition

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My level had jumped from 133 to 146. That was no small leap. Even more exciting was how fast my Psynapse was growing—at this rate, it might surpass all my other stats combined.

I could feel it in every breath I took. My connection with Essence had deepened again, and my perception range had stretched even further, touching more of the world than ever before.

I stared at the long list of skills. It was getting a bit overwhelming. Some were starting to feel... outdated. I had to start thinking smarter—either evolve these skills, combine them into something new, or replace them with stronger ones. No point hoarding moves I no longer needed.

I dismissed the panel with a blink and looked down into the forest where my two summoned monsters—Silver and Lyrate—were turning the entire mountain range into a warzone.

Silver was slicing through trees and Dead Crawlers alike, flying just above the canopy. His massive wings sent out continuous wind blades, ripping apart anything in his path.

I rubbed my forehead and groaned.

"I told them to keep it quiet... this is the opposite of quiet."

Suddenly, I felt a strange shiver in my link with Lyrate. My focus instantly snapped to her location.

The mist swirling around her was spiraling wildly now. And worse—everything nearby, the trees, the grass, even the air—it was starting to decay. The plants around her browned and crumbled as if life itself was being sucked away.

"What the hell is going on?" I muttered, rising to my feet.

But I already knew.

A new notification flashed before my eyes:

[Lyrate Evergreen – Level 199]

"She’s about to rank up," I whispered.

And not just any rank—Grandmaster.

I cursed under my breath and immediately sent a command through our link, telling her to return to me right away. I didn’t want her evolution happening in the middle of this realm. Too unpredictable.

She obeyed instantly.

Crimson mist shot through the forest and condensed on the mountaintop in front of me. Within seconds, Lyrate stood there, her red eyes locking onto mine. Her head tilted slightly—she didn’t say anything, but the meaning was clear:

Why did you stop me?

I coughed awkwardly and forced a smile.

"You’ve worked really hard, Lyrate. I think it’s time you took a break."

She didn’t protest. Her body dissolved into mist once again as I dismissed her back into the core.

I let out a long breath and sat back down.

Grandmaster was no joke. I didn’t know how the bond would change or how powerful she’d become. Until I understood the risks better, I wasn’t going to let it happen inside this unstable realm—especially not before the final battle with the Holts.

Just as I settled back into my spot, another notification chimed in.

[Level Up!]

[Level 146 → Level 147]

I laughed softly and leaned back, letting the wind rustle my clothes.

"Ah... this is the dream," I said to no one in particular. "One day, I’ll just sit on a chair, sipping alcohol while my army goes out and levels me up."

Yeah.

That sounded nice.

Around my peak and the nine surrounding peaks, not a single Dead Crawler remained. The forest was eerily quiet—no movement, no screeches, just the stillness of aftermath.

I flared my wings and took off, shooting deeper into the range where Lyrate had been hunting.

As I soared through the air, I passed by several of her... masterpieces. Some were grotesque, others strangely artistic.

I chose to ignore them completely.

I landed on another peak farther inside the range. From here, I could see the shimmering boundary of the realm itself, like a faint curtain hanging across the horizon. But I turned my back on it and faced the mountain range again.

"Let’s try something new," I muttered.

I sat down cross-legged and closed my eyes. My perception expanded like a blooming flower, wrapping itself around every single crawler in the area. In my mind, they lit up like tiny red dots.

But something else floated alongside them too—calm, passive, and alive.

Essence.

Not the violet glow of the energy I generated. This was natural green Essence, now fully returned to the land after the Deathmist had vanished for good. It pulsed like breath through the trees, the soil, the air.

And it was mine to command.

I focused, whispered silently in my mind, and gave a single thought: "Bloom."

The once-still green Essence began to stir.

Like a breeze brushing over tall grass, it swirled gently around each red dot—each crawler—twisting around their forms like curious tendrils.

Then, the transformation began.

Tiny lotuses began forming around the heads of the creatures. No noise, no light—just Essence softly curling into shape. Petal by petal, hundreds of miniature green flowers bloomed in complete silence.

Their size increased slowly, each one unfolding to about the width of a human head. The crawlers didn’t react. They just growled mindlessly, unaware of their fate.

And then—

Boom. Boom. Boom.

The lotuses exploded—one after the other—over the heads of every crawler within three kilometers. Green Essence flashed for just a moment like firecrackers, and then the heads of the creatures burst open like popped fruit, spraying dark fluids across the forest floor.

The forest went quiet again.

A slow grin spread across my face as I stood up.

"Now

that’s

more like it."

I stretched my arms behind my back and looked out over the forest. The petals from the exploded lotuses still shimmered faintly in the air, glowing softly before fading into nothing.

No screams. No mess. Just clean, beautiful death.

Even Lyrate would have trouble topping that.

Or... maybe not.

Another group of notifications flared to life in front of me.

[Level Up!]

[Level 147 → Level 149]

[Milestone Reached]

[Checking Requirements...]

[Requirement Met: Creation of skill based on comprehended law]

[Level Up!]

[Level 149 → Level 156]

I let out a breath as I remembered the condition.

Once someone comprehended a Minor Law and reached the Master rank, they couldn’t break past Level 150 unless they’d created a skill from that law—one that the system acknowledged.

I had already crossed that barrier with skills like

Space Lock

and

Sanctum of Judgement

, both born from the raw understanding I’d gained.

The crawlers around me were dead again. They just weren’t strong enough anymore to offer big jumps in experience. Still, I wasn’t the type to waste an opportunity. Even scraps had value if gathered in bulk.

"Time to wring the last drop out of you things," I muttered.

I took off again, slicing through the skies as I resumed the hunt.

The golden sun was dipping low now, painting the forest in soft orange light. My wings cut through the air as I passed shattered peaks, scorched trees, and once again, a few of Lyrate’s "installations."

By the time Silver and I reunited on a jagged, scorched peak, the entire mountain range had been scoured clean of crawlers. The only beings left now were the Abominations. And we had avoided them on purpose.

Silver landed beside me with a sharp cry, wings folding in. His massive form shimmered with residual Essence, and I noticed something else—he had grown. Just a little, but his frame had filled out. The mist around his feathers had deepened in color, a rich crimson now swirling constantly.

[Silversteel Hawk – Level 161]

I raised an eyebrow and checked my own status.

[Level 173]

I couldn’t help the grin that spread across my face.

"The next rank isn’t far off now," I said to the wind.