Night had passed, and another crept in. The journey had been smooth so far, giving many of the injured soldiers a chance to rest and recover. They were only a few hours away from reaching the Second Ring.
Staring up at the darkened sky, Marcus let his thoughts wander—replaying the whirlwind of events over the past few days. Most of the previous night had been spent questioning Nexus. At first, it was all a test to catch the man in a lie, probing for cracks in his words.
But the consistency in Nexus's answers and the clarity of his explanations started to wear Marcus down. Despite the warnings he had given himself, doubt gave way to reluctant belief.
Still, one issue gnawed at him—the absence of Wilder Force.
He hadn't told Nexus or anyone about it, but something wasn't right. As far as he could tell, he had no access to the very energy that fueled nearly everything for an Awakened. Wilder Force was essential to enhancing skills and pushing attributes to their true potential—at least, that's what Nexus had said.
But Marcus? His skill, [True Double], functioned just fine without it. So did his attributes. They ran off stamina alone—nothing else. And that difference didn't worry him.
If anything, there was a bit of excitement.
He had begun to accept and embrace it. Even if it meant he was walking a path no one else had tread. He didn't know what it meant yet, but the possibilities whispered something deeper.
If I can't use Wilder Force, he thought, then I'll outgrow the need for it. I'll push my stamina beyond its limits. If I'm to be among the Awakened, then I'll fight as one—Wilder Force or not.
Many would assume he was crazy if they were privy to his idea of outgrowing the need for Wilder Force.
Most soldiers in the Second Ring were placed in beast hunting squads, awakened or not, however, it was more so for the awakened soldiers. And that was the life he was heading toward—a life soaked in blood and survival. There would be no room for weakness.
He summoned his status screen again, narrowing his eyes on the display.
His attention first went to his Nature—the term Nexus had stressed more than once. It wasn't just a word, it was a path that determined everything from growth to potential.
According to Nexus, every Apocalyptic Diary fragment judged its wielder and assigned them a grade—ranging from S to E. S-class Natures were almost mythical, while E was the mark of someone barely clinging to potential.
What does it mean to be a predator? Marcus wondered.
His nature felt… simple. Too simple to ever be powerful. And yet, the grade assigned to it said otherwise—A-class. A grade that few ever received. He didn't understand how it fit. But maybe that was the point. Maybe power didn't need to look complex to be real.
Everything else on his status seemed ordinary—except the comprehension slot.
Nexus had spoken briefly about Comprehensions, calling them the third and possibly strongest branch of power—distinct from both cultivators and Fragment Wielders. And far rarer. He called them Savants.
Most people, Nexus said, would never awaken a comprehension in their entire lives.
That revelation had shifted something in Marcus. It introduced a third path. A bridge between systems.
Cultivators. Fragment Wielders. Savants.
How powerful would one be if they could be all three at once? Would that be the kind of power that could really break mountains… split the earth… command fear?
His eyes returned to the comprehension slot on his status, something about it was pulling at him. Whispering in his mind.
You wish to be free. And you always have been.
You want to be powerful. Haven't you always been that?
You once wished to crawl and you did.
You wished to walk, and then you did.
And now you wish to be free, why don't you?
Be as you will, for your will is unfettered.
The Laws are Laws because they draw from the Dao.
Unfettered is unfettered because it is a Dao.
Marcus stared, more like entranced. The words echoed in his mind like a mantra. Like it was the truth.
His lips moved before he knew it, repeating the lines in a low whisper. Each word pulling him deeper—until the trance snapped.
"I wish to be free," he said aloud before his breath caught in his throat. "What's holding me back… death?"
He couldn't explain what had just happened, nor could he begin to even process it properly. But something had shifted, deeply within him.
Name: Marcus Black
Age: 24
Race: Human (F)
Level: 0
Nature: Predator (A)
Attribute: [Blood Bane] [Berserker] [Deep Thought].
Skill: [True Double] [Mind's Eye]
Realm: Mortal
Comprehension: [Unfettered (1%)]
Strength: 10
Stamina: 15
Speed: 10
Mental: 8
Will: 15
Wilder Force: —
Both his Will and Stamina points had gone up by five points. A new skill and another attribute had also appeared. But what left him frozen was the data under his Comprehension slot—unfettered.
Marcus stared at the screen, momentarily speechless. Nexus had told him how rare this was and how difficult it was to even glimpse the beginnings of comprehension. And yet… here he was.
For a split second, suspicion crept in. Did he lie to me?
But he shoved the thought aside. No—if it were truly that easy, then every soldier in the Empire would be loaded with dozens of skills and attributes. Nexus had said as much, skills were hard to obtain.
Attributes were nearly impossible to acquire.
"Marcus Black! Captain's asking for you." A soldier called out, dragging Marcus out of his thoughts.
Marcus quickly regrouped with the rest of the squad. Their convoy had stopped beside a jagged canyon.
According to Nexus, they were tracking beasts that had escaped the Second Ring's surveillance and slipped into the First.
This was their true mission—the reason Nexus's squad had come to the First Ring in the first place. The train incident was a detour.
Before heading back to the Second Ring, they had to finish what they started.
"Marcus!" Nexus called, already grinning as he threw a hand around his shoulder. "Come, come. You haven't forgotten the conditions, have you? You're fighting with my men."
Marcus stiffened under the man's grip but gave a short nod. The look on Nexus' face was already making him regret it.
"Good! You managed to kill a level 14 Varathis Minx barehanded, fresh after awakening. Impressive, really." Nexus gestured toward the canyon's edge. "We've just confirmed their nest. Most of them are around level 14. A few fifteens and sixteens… maybe even a couple seventeens."
Marcus's heart skipped. Surely… he doesn't mean for me to fight them all?
"Here's the tricky part," Nexus went on, too casually. "These vermin are smart. They can sense danger from a distance. If they catch a whiff of us, they'll scatter—and we'll be chasing them through another canyon by tomorrow.
"But you…" Nexus smiled wider. "You're unassuming. To them, you'll look like food."
The more Marcus heard him speak, the more his stomach tightened.
"So… would you mind acting as bait? Lure them out. We'll take them down clean. The sooner we do this, the sooner we're out of the First Ring."