Primordial Awakening: I Can Evolve My Skills Infinitely

[You have been inflicted with "Doom".]

[There is no hope.]

Leon tried to move, but his body didn't respond.

No matter how hard he pushed his muscles, no matter how much rage surged through his veins, he remained completely frozen in place.

'My [Berserk Form]... it should be immune to Fear, Terror, all of it,' he thought, panicked. 'So why... why am I still affected?!'

The cold reality began to settle in.

This wasn't fear. It wasn't some illusion or mental trick.

This was something far worse. This was a status effect that no ordinary skill or resistance could counter.

It was [Doom].

And the one casting it… was just a human.

Leon had faced monsters that could destroy buildings.

He had fought elite awakeners, corrupted beasts, and even cleared five layers of the [Forsaken Real].

He had always walked forward without fear, praised by his guild, feared by his enemies.

So why now, against a level 1 human of the Expert Rank—did he feel this overwhelming, suffocating pressure?

'This kid… this kid is wrong. He shouldn't exist.'

Leon's teeth gritted against each other as the thoughts swirled. 'I'm stronger than him. So much stronger! He's human! The weakest race!'

And yet, even as he tried to convince himself, his eyes refused to stop trembling.

Then, everything around him changed.

The arena floor beneath him vanished. The sky disappeared. The walls were gone.

Everything fell into a complete, perfect void.

The only thing that remained in the darkness… was him.

Sam stood silently at the center, his body faintly outlined by the eerie crimson glow of his eyes.

His Primordial Sword rested at his side, and slowly, the colors of his four affinities began to swirl around it, black, orange, silver and dark crimson, twisting together into something incomprehensible.

Leon could feel it, even without movin, Sam was charging something.

And if that hit him, even with all his defenses and power… he wouldn't survive.

And so, he did the next best thing.

'I GIVE UP!'

He tried to scream the words, but they never left his mouth.

His throat wouldn't move. His lips wouldn't part. His voice was sealed.

Even the thought of begging for mercy couldn't escape him.

He was completely, utterly helpless.

His vision began to blur.

His breathing became fast and shallow, and his body screamed for oxygen despite being in a fight just moments earlier.

His soul was the only thing active, and it was breaking down.

'I… I don't want to die!'

But then something worse happened.

Crimson panels started to appear in the void, one after the other, hundreds of them flooding his vision.

Each one glowing with red light, each one whispering death.

[There is no hope.]

[Your death is coming.]

[Give up.]

"No—stop—!" he tried to yell, but his mouth still wouldn't move.

He could only think, and it was like he was screaming into a void that had already sentenced him.

More panels came.

[You can't win.]

[You shouldn't have done that.]

[It was your biggest mistake.]

His rage cracked through his thoughts like lightning.

'FUCK YOU!'

[The Primordial is here.]

[Why would you face him?]

[Goodbye.]

His entire body trembled as the final message appeared.

[The True Primordial is here.]

'P-Primordial…?' Leon's eyes grew even wider than before as he saw that name, realization etched on his face, 'So you do exist...'

This human wasn't a normal being.

Sam's eyes, those burning crimson eyes, were looking at him not with hatred or anger, but with something worse: absolute certainty.

A man who knew he had already won.

And then—

FWISH! BOOM!

Sam unleashed everything.

The swirling colors around his sword erupted as one, condensing into a massive arc of pure destruction.

CHARGED CRESCENT SLASH!

The slash roared through the air like a divine blade of judgment, tearing the void apart as it flew straight toward Leon.

Leon's eyes locked onto it.

He couldn't dodge. He couldn't run. He couldn't even blink.

Just before the slash reached him, a final crimson panel appeared:

[You shouldn't have faced the Primordial.]

"AAAAHHHHHH—!"

His scream shattered the silence.

But it was too late.

[Leon tried to call for help...]

Fwish! SLASH!

The crescent slash tore through him with surgical precision.

Armor, aura, and [Berserk Form] all shattered in an instant.

And with one clean motion, Leon's head was severed from his shoulders.

He had tried to fight fate. He had lost.

[...But nobody came.]

The silence returned.

Only Sam remained standing at the center of the now-ruined arena.

He exhaled slowly, letting the energy fade from his body.

His Primordial Sword pulsed with faint light as it absorbed Leon's heart, consuming the remaining essence and fueling Sam further.

Ding!

[Congratulations to Sam Walker for leveling up to Level 2 of the Expert Rank!]

"Oh wow," Sam muttered, stretching his arms, "I finally leveled up. Took long enough."

It had taken all seven battles to finally break through a single level.

'Guess that's what I get for playing on Hell-Mode...'

Even now, though, he could feel it.

His leveling speed had slowed, the gap between each power jump growing larger.

But that didn't bother him. Because with every fight, every kill, he was getting stronger. Much stronger.

Ding!

[Battle Complete!]

[Congratulations, Sam Walker, or should I say… Primordial.]

[You have completed the "Battle Realm" by defeating all of your opponents.]

Sam tilted his head.

"Cool, but... where's my reward? How do I get more [Battle Tokens]?"

He quickly pulled up his status panel.

---

[Sam Walker]

[Battles Fought: 7]

[Wins: 7]

[Battle Tokens: 250]

---

He sighed.

"Still only 50 per fight, huh? So I'm halfway to the scroll."

The [Forsaken Skill Scroll], his ultimate target, cost a whopping 500 Battle Tokens.

He had exactly half of that now.

Then, a message appeared in front of him:

[Please wait, and your question shall be answered.]

A moment later, light surrounded him once more, and he was teleported back to the streets of the [Battle Kingdom].

The world had grown even quieter now.

He had completed every battle.

At this point, only a handful of other awakeners remained, and almost none of them were human.

They were likely Master Rank or Ascendant Rank elves.

Sam walked over to a nearby bench and sat down, resting his Primordial Sword against his shoulder.

'I still want the [Forsaken Skill Scroll] though,' he thought to himself while waiting.

Seraphine had said no one ever obtained it.

Not because it was impossible, but because of the cost.

Too risky. Too dangerous. Too many people gave up once the battles ended.

But Sam wasn't "too many people."

He sat with his eyes closed, waiting.

Two hours passed in silence, with only his thoughts keeping him company.

'I took down a level 1 Ascendant, but the next Forsaken Lord… I doubt I can win right now,' he admitted inwardly. 'I need more power.'

If there was any way to get more information about the layers or other worlds beyond them, he wanted it.

Anything related to the [Universal Stage] would be key as well.

But no one would give him answers. Only strength would.

And then, Ding!

His eyes opened sharply.

Above him, a massive golden panel lit up the sky, floating for all remaining awakeners to see.

His eyes narrowed with sharp focus.

[The "Battle Realm" is now over. But before you leave, there is one final event.]

"Huh?"

"A final event?"

"Can't we ever catch a break...?"

[This event will last one hour. Once it ends, all participants will be teleported back to their original world.]

[The event is called: "Manhunt."]

Sam leaned forward, interested now.

[You can hunt awakeners from the opposite race throughout the "Battle Kingdom" for the remaining hour, and every kill will grant you 10 Battle Tokens.]

[Good luck.]

A wide grin spread across Sam's face.

He wrapped his fingers tightly around the hilt of the Primordial Sword, standing up without hesitation.

"Looks like I need 25 kills," he muttered, already calculating, 'Then I'll do it. No hesitation. No mercy.'

[Proceed.]

Sam nodded once. And stepped forward into the final hour.

...

A/N:

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