For some, the week passed in the blink of an eye, with nothing major or noteworthy happening. For Nova, however, the past week had been the most painful experience he'd ever endured to date. Even the formation of his wind core didn't come close to what he'd gone through.

The room was silent as Nova lay on his stomach on the floor, eyes closed. To anyone who didn't know better, it would have seemed as though he were sleeping peacefully. His breathing, though steady, was slow, as if he were deliberately holding his breath for several seconds before exhaling and repeating the process.

At some point, Nova's fingers twitched slightly, and a low, raspy groan escaped from his mouth. His eyelashes fluttered again and again before finally giving up their resistance, and his eyes slowly opened. Because his face was pressed directly against the ground, his view was limited, but for him, that was enough.

'Seems like I'm still alive,' he thought in amusement. 'Heh, even seven drops didn't manage to kill me. That means next time I can try eight.'

His lips twitched, trying to form a smile, but he quickly realized it required too much strength. With a faint internal sigh, he gave up and simply lay there in silence.

'So annoying,' he thought, frustrated by his current weakness. Refocusing his mind on the matter at hand, he continued, 'Let's see… last time it took me ten minutes after waking up before I could gather enough energy to swallow more drops. This time might not be as fast, but it shouldn't be too far off.'

'Well, I've got some time to kill, and it's been a while since I last checked my Status. I wonder how much stronger I've gotten after all that pain,' Nova mused as he summoned his Status in anticipation.

[Status]

Rank: 0

Name: Nova Grey

Species: Human

Affiliation: None

Level: 27 (170 / 500)

Mana:

Mana Core (Medium): 299,767,908 / 10,000,000,000

Nodes: ??? Spinal Node, ??? Perception Node, ??? Pulse Node, ??? Voice Node, ??? Vital Organs Node, ??? Power Node, ??? Stance Node, ??? Manipulation Node

Concepts: Death (0.001%)

Class: None

Titles: Goblin Exterminator, King Slayer, Survivor, Spear Advanced, Troll Exterminator, Orc Exterminator, Rune Novice, Mana Intermediate, Lord (Giants), Hunter, ???, Sword Novice

Stat Points: 2,130

Attributes:

Strength: 232 (+10,684)

Vigor: 205 (+9,461)

Dexterity: 255 (+14,293)

Speed: 215 (+12,051)

Intelligence: 171 (+1,907)

Wisdom: 215 (+2,397)

Will: 19

Luck: 10 (+10)

Skills Active:

Spear Thrust (27) — 63,989,279,435 / 67,108,864,000

Spear Jab (27) — 2,546,651,125 / 67,108,864,000

Spear Sweep (27) — 1,806,120,569 / 67,108,864,000

Spear Lunge (27) — 47,199,108,631 / 67,108,864,000

Spear Overhead Strike (26) — 5,780,376,366 / 33,554,432,000

Sword Slash (15) — 1 / 16,384,000

Sword Stab (15) — 3 / 16,384,000

Sword Chop (15) — 1 / 16,384,000

Sword Sweep (15) — 0 / 16,384,000

Sword Parry (14) — 2,030,197 / 8,192,000

Sword Block (14) — 1,997,701 / 8,192,000

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Blacksmithing (9) — 188,131 / 256,000

Woodworking (0) — 54 / 500

Passive:

Regeneration (23) — 908,037 / 4,194,304,000

Keen Reflexes (14) — 6,202,997 / 8,192,000

Momentum Streak (18) — 107,454,710 / 131,072,000

One with the World (Spear) — MAX

One with the World (Footwork) — MAX

Aura — Fourth Stage

'Hmm?'

After a quick sweep of his mind, he frowned internally. Finding nothing related to his recent training, and thinking it might just be a trick of his imagination, he went over every line again, carefully reading so as not to miss a single word, but still, there was nothing.

'Am I going crazy, or did I really just go through torture for nothing?' Dark lines creased his forehead. As more time passed, his condition gradually improved, and with it, his brows furrowed deeper as anger flashed across his face.

The thought that all his effort had been useless, that he had struggled to stay conscious while his bones were drilled over and over to maximize the benefits only for it to turn out as self-inflicted torture with no gains, further enraged him. And the fact that, each time the potency of the bone tempering liquid faded, his exhausted mind would shut down without the pain to keep it alert, leaving him in the very state he was in now, made him seethe. Unable to hold it in any longer, he cursed out loud.

"Fuck, you can't be serious."

Nova gritted his teeth and tried to move, but the only response his body gave was a faint twitch from his fingers and toes.

Time ticked by. The inability to vent his frustration gradually calmed him down.

'I can't even lift a hand before my body recovers. It's best if I save every bit of strength to heal faster, then I can deal with this shitty situation.'

He drew in a slow, sharp breath and closed his eyes, focusing on the faint sensation of his body mending itself little by little.

Half an hour later, his eyes snapped open.

'Took longer than I thought.'

Nova pushed himself off the ground, but the moment he did, two dull cracking sounds echoed through the room, freezing him in place.

'What was that?'

He scanned the room but found nothing out of place. With a small shrug, he tried standing again.

As his feet pressed against the tiled floor, more cracking noises followed, echoing softly around him.

'Eh? So close?'

Hearing the sound again, he traced its source that brought his head to tilt downward.

Beneath his feet, the floor was cracked along with the spot where he had placed his hands to push himself up which had similar cracks.

A bad premonition stirred in his chest.

'It can't be… right?ì'

He lifted his foot, staring down at the ground in silent prayer, then cautiously took a step. Immediately, the floor cracked beneath him once again.

'What the hell is going on?' His mind raced. 'I don't feel any different, and my Status hasn't changed, so why is this happening?'

Thoughts buzzed in his brain, each attempt at reasoning ending in frustration. Finally, only one conclusion came to him.

'I can't control my strength…'

Stupefied, he checked his Status again. It was unchanged, every number, every line exactly the same. Not a single word offered an explanation.

Mindlessly, he pulled out the helmet containing the bone tempering liquid. Even after all his efforts to absorb as much as possible, slightly less than half remained.

He muttered, "Is this thing so rare that it's beyond the Universe's calculation?"

The notion was so absurd that, if Nova were in the right state of mind, he would have immediately dismissed it. How could a natural creation of the Universe, a simple liquid with no consciousness found in such a weak world, exist beyond Its own calculations?

But in his current state, this was all he could think about. After coming to that conclusion, he stored the helmet with such meticulous care that even a lover would have shot envious glances at it, before he allowed himself to calm down and reflect on his current options.

'Learning how to control my strength without knowing my limits will be impossible,' he thought. 'And I don't have the time to figure it out. If I did the math right, today should be the day I have to set off for the emperor's banquet. The best solution is to use this travel time to try controlling it enough that I don't break things every time I walk.'

A small, wry smile tugged at his lips. At least I want to enjoy an emperor's birthday while 'I'm here… before I crash it.'

A knock echoed through the room, snapping Nova out of his thoughts.

He stood up and opened the door to find a maid waiting respectfully outside. She was about to speak when her eyes met his, and for a brief moment, she froze, staring blankly into his deep blue eyes.

Nova's brow furrowed. "Is there something you need?" he asked.

The maid's body jolted as she quickly bowed. "S-Sir, the court mage sent me to inform you that he's waiting for you in the throne room."

'Just in time,' Nova thought. Giving her a short nod, he stepped past her and made his way toward the throne room under the maid's vacant eyes.

Meanwhile, inside the throne room, an air of solemnity hung heavy in the space. Granier stood before a small group of geniuses, three of them nobles who had participated in the tiger hunt, while the remaining two were unfamiliar faces, possibly normal people who'd proven themselves to be worthy of being here. His expression was unreadable as his sharp gaze swept over them.

Among those present were Maelor and Andretas, standing close together, while an elder remained silently to the side.

The court mage swept his gaze over the group and spoke in a solemn tone.

"This banquet isn't a place to fool around. It's an event that will be vital in helping our kingdom prosper in the future."

He let his words hang in the air for a moment before continuing, "Make sure to mingle and form connections with the other geniuses from both the kingdoms and the empire. You never know when those relationships might prove useful. Lastly, the emperor's banquet is usually followed by a spar between the younger generation."

At the mention of a spar, Granier's eyes gleamed and so did those of the five geniuses before him. Who among them didn't want to showcase their abilities before the most powerful and influential figures of their world?

"I don't expect you to win against the empire's geniuses," Granier said, his voice steady but sharp, "but you must win against Westoria and Blackridge. Understood?"

The five nodded deeply in unison.

Seeing that the speech was coming to an end, the elder stepped forward and said, "Sir, if that's everything, I'll set off now with the geniuses."

"Wait," Granier interrupted. "We're missing one person."

His words sent a ripple of whispers through the young geniuses, while the elder stood there, visibly puzzled. The empire had set a strict quota, each kingdom was allowed to bring only five young representatives and one elder to accompany them. So who exactly were they waiting for?

Before the murmur of conversation could grow any louder, the doors to the throne room swung open.

Step.

Crack.

Step.

Crack.

With each step Nova took, faint cracks spiderwebbed across the polished floor but he had grown used to the sound of it on the way, so it no longer fazed him.

Before anyone could even process his arrival, Nova's lips curved into a grin, and he said out loud, "Ready to party?"

The solemn atmosphere shattered instantly.

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