How To Survive A Calamity

[UNEDITED CHAPTER!]

I stared at my scared and wrinkled arm raised above the bath water from inside the tub. My entire left arm was an unsightly mess of wrinkled, emancipated looking skin and flesh, with ugly scars running all across the surface, running deep into my bones.

A dreary sigh inevitably escaped my lips. Maybe with everything that has happened, i should be at least greatfull that both my arms are still intact. More or less.

During the final confront against the Sand Worm and King of the desert, the whole lf my left arm had been the catalyst of a rupturing Ether explosion. All of my bones in my legt arm gad actually been crushed and grinded by the jaws and teeth of the Sand Dragon, tearing apart my flesh and shredding my muscles.

By accumulating all of the Ether i could gather from core into my left arm and folding the energy into various almost countless layers of compression, i created [Impulse]; a devastating explosion comprising of shockwaves and compressed energy that could all ve directed and focused outward at a point.

No, i wasn't kidding, 'Impulse' had literally become a skill after that day.

=============

[Ding! You have unlocked a new Skill.]

•[Impulse]

»Description: an unlikely technique made of a series of errors. Gather Internal energy or Ether for compression at a single point to release a powerful explosion all at once. Note: [Impulse] is an unstable skill full of flaws due to its poor level of mastery — the body suffers high risks of severe recoil each time the skill is used, and the host's Ether Core is strained with every execution

»Rank: ???

»Level: ???

...

=============

"Hmmm...."

I stared at the System tab hovering before my eyes. It was one amongst the many of notifications i had all patiently waiting in line in my inbox all this time.

Maybe it was due to some kimd of consideration at that time from Meta — which i find hard to believe — but most, if not all, System Notifications i received towards the end of the Dungeon Incident had been filtered out and backed up for later in an inbox.

Immediately after killing Nico at that last moment, my body finally gave out on me, despite all of my bravado. I couldn't quickly reap or enjoy the benefits of whatever notifications or rewards i received at that time.

And then when i finally woke up, the notifications and rewards were the last things on mind.

All i knew was that i survived and was alive...and that i had successfully broke through to Eta Rank finally.

Although my memories from my final moments at Dark Castle were hazy and unclear, there was something that i could still deeply recall even up until now, almost like it was ingrained in my body.

The transient rush of essence that came with absorbing experience.

It was lile a numbing tode and rush of energy that sent my body into coma from overstimulation. It was ecstatic, to say the least.

At that moment i had absorbed an insane amount of experience, the highest amount of experience points i had ever assimilated all at once. And all lf it came from the single action of running my blade through Nicodemus's heart from behind....

I..i wasn't sure what or how to really feel about that. My feelings and thoughts concerning how i took Nico's life with my own hands were still unclear and uncertainty. I knew at that point, i didn't have a choice.

But...what if i did? The quest didn't say to kill Nico, but to make sure Alexander survived.

So what if, instead, i had just escaped with Alexander, leaving Nico behind?

Thinking so, i knew it was nothing more than wishful thinking. In the first place, how would i have escaped the labyrinth? I don't think that would have been possible without getting through the demon.

In the end, Nicodemus had to be killed.

My expression inadvertently became sour as I stared at the system screen before my eyes. There was no point brooding so deeply over it now, despite how i felt, the deed has already been done

The die has been vast, faith has been sealed. The rewards and consequences of my actions have also begun to catch up to me. There was no longer any going back now.

I heaved another deep breath and sunk deeper into the water, my left arm feeling as heavy as lead but as frail as anything else.

Whatever the outcome, i was here now. I was the one alive, not Nico. And his death by hands had paved the way forward.

"Status." I calmly called in the silence, and a blue screen of illusionary letters and numbers assembled in thin air for only i to see.

...

__________________

___________________

[Name: Victor Bright

Level: 49

Rank: Eta

Race: Human

Class: Null

Familiar: Hamlet the Silver Slime

Hp: ???

________

________

<STATS>

Strength:- ???

Speed:- ???

Agility:- ???

Constitution:- ???

Luck:- ???

Ether:- 47/50 (+??)

Intelligence:- ???

Charm:- ???

...

__________________

___________________

...

As much as I'd hate to admit it, killing Nicodemus, or the Demon had its own large share of merit. The amount of experience i gained from then was insane and numbing.

Not only had it instantly soared me through the roof of Mortal Rank and breaking through to Eta, but there was an almost surreal significant boost to my level all at once.

From the Mortal cap level of 35 to 49 in a single instance.

'No wonder i passed out.' I mused

It probably just wasn't because of the pain and my body. I'm almost certain i got high and doped on the rush that came with levelling up.

I guess this confirmed my question about wether taking the lives of others, aside from Beasts or Monsters, would count as experience.

More or less at least.

I still wasn't sure about tye distinction between a mundane human and an Awakened. Plus in this cases, what i killed wasn't a human, it was a Demon.

Maybe that's why the experience points I receive in return was almost this exaggerated. But i still think it's a little more of that.

The more i thought of it, the more i believed maybe it had something more to do with Nicodemus and the Demon both initially being separate entities, until their last moments. Maybe that was why the experience i received seemed to be doubled?

"Meta, what's the level cap for Eta Rank?"

As soon as i asked, rather than get a direct reply from Meta, the status screen flashed and morphed into a different content.

...

_____________

____________

•[Eta Rank: 35 --> ???]

The unexpected response made my nows crinkle and my brows to furrow as i stared at it.

What was this supposed to mean?

"More question marks."

I didn't get an instant reply or explanation, leaving me my mind to wonder, but i made a few self assumptions.

There were Eight ranks separating the power levels of the Awakened, but these Ranks were also categorised in three main Power Realms. Namely;

The Awakened Ranks, which consist of Rank Beta, Mortal and Eta — these represent the first stage of the evolution of an Awakened from the Mundane.

The Ascended Ranks, which consist of Rank Hero, Quadra, and Scribe — these represent the second Realm of power in the Awakened — 'The Ascended Realm.

And finally, there was the third and latest stage —The 'Transcendent Realm' consisting of the Hydra and Candela ranks.

The eight ranks divided into these the realms represent the greatest significance breakthrough of Awakened, and frankly, all other living beings in this universe, one way or another.

The significance between these Ranks across from their respective Realms can not be compared. It's like taking a leap in evolution from one stage to another, from one Realm to another. The difference can't ve compared.

For example, although i could bridge the gap slightly between the power levels of the singular Ranks due to my constitution, like before, when i was at the peak of the Mortal Rank i could exercise partial ability and strange comparable to the lower levels of someone in the Eta Rank — the same can not be said, or is impossible for the difference across realms.

Even if I'm somewhere around the middle level of an Eta Rank right now, i can't hope to hold a canlde to Ceres even though she's 'just' a single rank ahead of me at Hero.

It's because she's an entire Realm — a whole different level of existence — ahead of me instead.

Following that reasoning, perhaps maybe that's why the cap of Eta Rank is uncertain. I won't just be breaking through to another Rank like I've been after all, i would be Ascending.

But it's something up for debate. There were a few other more likely reasons — like my recently explained, used up potential. Or something more Meta wasn't telling me.

Regardless.

I'd find out eventually.

I guess it won't matter for now if i can still Level up until then, the next road block. Then we'll cross that bridge when its time.