R-a - Volume 4 - Chapter 60

R-a - Volume 4 - Chapter 60

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In a copy of the Third Gate that was far from Sophia, but at the same time, quite close, a young man sat down on the ground, pondering his future.

“I might not be as sharp as Sophia, but…” Shin’s voice echoed in the still air of the Third Gate, bouncing off the walls around him.

“I can already feel it.” He muttered.

He was being left behind.

The first thing he noticed after he saw Micheal again was a subtle feeling of danger.

The Micheal he had parted ways with on the First Layer was nothing like the Micheal he had seen inside the Soul King’s Inheritance.

“It felt like I was facing a tiger.” Micheal’s entire presence and Aura had changed.

His best friend practically radiated danger. It felt like he was standing next to an apex predator, the way Micheal carried himself was subtly different now.

He was immensely strong.

“But what can I do?” Shin sat quietly, thinking to himself.

After spending years in the First Gate, Shin had gained a habit of self-introspection.

The teleporter took the time to consider his situation, from his Abilities to his current strength, and eventually reached a conclusion.

“I can’t be a genius that masters everything like Micheal and Sofa.” In the time Shin spent inside the First Gate, he had come to terms with the differences between himself and his friends.

“So what do I do?” Shin nodded after a few seconds.

“We go with Operation Everest.”

Shin put into place a plan of action he had formulated whilst in the First Gate.

“What am I good at?” Shin spoke aloud.

“Teleporting.” After years of practice, Shin’s ability to teleport had grown enormously.

“I can bring someone along with me, now, when I teleport.”

Though he had only tested this power on the Shadow Seekers that spawned in the First Gate, Shin knew how his Warping Phaser Type Ability worked best.

His skill in controlling the movement between points of space had grown enough to let him safely teleport others alongside him.

“Mountains can be as wide as they are long, as grand as they are beautiful...” He murmured,

“But the tallest mountain will always be the tallest mountain.”

Operation Everest, as he dubbed it, was a plan he formed in his 2nd year inside the First Gate.

“If I want to survive this world, and stand side by side with my best friends as we go through hell together…” Shin muttered,

“I have to start making sacrifices here and now.”

He couldn’t keep up with the speed that Micheal and Sophia had as they learned countless new things, growing in ways that seemed almost absurd.

“What I can’t match in speed, I’ll make up for in specialization and depth.”

Shin clenched his right fist out in front of him, staring at his white knuckles.

“I can’t do as much as they can… so instead, let’s focus on the things I can do.”

After a few seconds, Shin grinned.

“Well, no need to be so gloomy about it.” He shrugged, his tone lighthearted.

“I just need to become the best in the world at one or two things.” Shin’s smile never left his face as he committed to his decision.

“It’s better to try and fail than to never try at all.” He added,

“So let’s give this our all.” He nodded to himself.

Shin clapped his hands together as he sat up straight.

“Let’s decide what to focus on right now.” Shin held up his hand.

"Hmm..." Shin tapped his fingers together, his smile lessening as his eyes grew sharp.

“Teleportation.” He held up his right hand’s pointer finger.

“Physical power.” He put up a second finger.

“And Abilities that complement them.” He held up a third and final finger.

“As for the rest…” Shin paused for a few moments before shaking his head.

“Let’s give up on trying to learn Weapon Energy.”

It was a measured decision he made based on his own personal experience.

He simply wasn’t talented in that aspect. Sophia was able to pick up on using Sword Energy so quickly it felt ridiculous to Shin. It was the first time he’d experienced such a clear difference in talent.

“My Ki is on the same level as Sophia, Peak of Mortal Tier, but that’s only because she held off on breaking through.” Shin was able to catch up to her over the past couple of weeks.

“My body’s strength is entrenched with my Ki, so I can’t give up on this.” Shin concluded.

After spending so much time in the First Gate, Shin had determined several aspects that governed his ability to teleport.

‘The only limits I have are created due to a lack of strength.’

The process of activating his Warping Phaser Type Ability was now extremely reliant on Shin’s physical prowess.

The speed at which he could teleport was impacted by his reaction speed. The distance he could travel was impacted by the strain his body could bear. The size of objects he could teleport alongside himself, including other living beings, was reliant upon the amount of energy he could draw from his Ki.

The years he had spent training taught Shin how to reduce the burden his Ability had on his Soul. Now, most his limits were physical. 

“A stronger body means a stronger everything.” Shin nodded.

“This Inheritance will help.” Shin stared down at the spent Memory Crystals sitting on the wooden table before him.

In fact, before Shin entered this Inheritance, he actually had not yet made up his mind on what parts of himself he wanted to focus on.

His Ability to teleport was an obvious choice, but giving up on Weapon Energy and making physical power one of his mainstays were ideas he hadn’t yet decided upon.

It was only after viewing the memories of Bilt, the Master of Strength, that he made up his mind.

The powerful Dark Wraith was a warrior of incredible strength. Shin watched Bilt’s journey through life with his jaw agape. The proud Dark Wraith almost always chose the path of Strength over skill, using brute force to solve all of his problems.

Watching his life felt like Shin was going on an incredible journey, with a protagonist who lived by the mantra of might makes right.

“He’s a jerk.” Shin’s opinion of Bilt’s personality was the worst.

The Dark Wraith had no qualms about using physical violence and force to get his way. While Bilt wasn’t unnecessarily cruel or evil, the proud warrior was arrogant and thoughtless, quick to anger and take offense.

All of that changed, however, when the Dark Wraiths faced a war of extinction launched by the Torens.

While Bilt never lost the arrogance that seemed baked into his very bones, the warrior stood and fought for his people, defending the Dark Wraiths from the onslaught of new Deities until the bitter end.

In a strange way, Bilt’s arrogance gave him a backbone that would never bend, no matter the situation. He lived and died by his pride, refusing to give in to despair even in the worst of situations.

“He’s still a jerk, but he’s alright with me.” Shin had grown to respect the Master of Strength after witnessing long tracts of his life’s memories.

The warrior came through in the end, standing and fighting instead of fleeing in fear.

However… all good things must come to an end.

The Master of Strength died an unfortunate death.

Sion’s ability to ‘kill’ the air around him had devastating effects upon Bilt.

The powerful warrior relied on his body to fight. The empty vacuum Sion created, as well as the explosive decompression Bilt immediately suffered from, crippled the Master of Strength before he had the chance to prove his worth.

For Bilt, Sion was the absolute worst possible matchup, with Sion’s techniques nullifying Bilt’s abilities before he even got a chance to express them.

“Titled Deities, huh.” Shin had heard from Micheal how these beings were terrifying monsters, but even that description seemed lacking after what Shin had experienced.

Bilt’s death had been grueling to experience.

“But hey, Bilt. At least your legacy won’t go to waste.” Shin bowed his head out of respect to the shattered Memory Crystals.

After a moment of silence, Shin lifted his head up, his eyes burning with excitement.

“Strength…”

Bilt was the Master of Strength, a Master who had obtained a deep comprehension of the Conceptual Power of Strength.

The Conceptual Power of Strength was an unapologetically direct Conceptual Power, almost simplistic in nature.

This Power granted Bilt a singular thing: Strength.

Vast, overwhelming strength.

In hand-to-hand combat, there was not a single Dark Wraith that possessed higher physical prowess than Bilt. Dark Wraiths, as a species that possessed half-incorporeal bodies in the first place, did not traditionally put a large amount of focus into physical strength.

Bilt was unique in his obsession with physical power, but his was an obsession that paid off.

There was not a single being on the Ancient World physically stronger than Bilt.

From the Blue Drakes to the Torens, Bilt’s raw physical power placed first.

Of course, the Master of Strength still died in the end, to a warrior ‘weaker’ than himself.

‘But I won’t fight like that.’ Shin thought to himself, his eyes growing distant as he mulled over Bilt’s memories.

It was Bilt’s stubborn arrogance that led to him challenging his enemies openly and fairly, without consideration for tactics or other methods.

‘A teleporter with overwhelming physical strength.’

What could be more terrifying than that?

In most video games, developers balanced powers like ‘teleportation’ by making it impossible to charge up an attack before teleporting.

But, this was real life.

There were no rules or regulations to restrain him here.

Shin’s eyes glowed as he relived memories of Bilt smashing apart small hills with a single punch, displaying absurd feats of strength and unleashing devastating impacts.

“How would someone stop a punch that can split a mountain, a punch that appears an inch away from their throat, and lands in 1/20th of a second?”

Shin clenched his fists, a grim smile appearing on his face.

Through Bilt's memories, Shin witnessed first hand the impact one's physical prowess could grow to have, and also made a sobering realization.

'I can't rely on things like guns to take out my enemies in the future.'

Personal strength, in the 7 Layers, was extremely important. He could make great use of guns now, but Shin had seen the writing on the wall.

He had found his new goal.

“Well, let’s not get ahead of ourselves.” Shin muttered.

“First things first…” He added,

“Let’s focus on Bilt’s memories… the Concept of Strength…” Shin’s eyes grew unfocused as he immersed himself in the sensation Bilt experienced when he drew upon the Concept of Strength.

In a mostly empty room, hidden away inside the Soul King’s Inheritance, a young man took his first steps down the road of the strong.

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