[name: Ethan Sylvester][HP: 10][Aspect: ?????]Ethan's eyes narrowed. His aspect was supposed to be Water—why was it blurred out? He had no time to think.BANG!A fireball exploded against his armor. Even if he dodged most of it, the blast rattled his insides. His Lightning Armor was cracking, fragments glowing, but still—it lasted far longer than he expected. His Starless Sword remained untouched, gleaming with stubborn defiance.[Rank: Apex – Level 120][Attributes: Strength 275 | Agility 260 | Stamina 250 | Speed 280 | Mana 220 | Intelligence 150 | Charm 20]He had stepped into Apex. This journey had been fruitful—but now, his rope had burned to its end. His HP was too low. One more hit, and he was finished.Ethan leapt, sword arcing down, aiming for the beast's last head.The Harbinger saw through it. Its maw opened—BOOOOM! Blue flames engulfed Ethan's back. His body slammed into the jade wall, carving a crater.His HP hit 0.He slumped, broken, malnourished, silver hair burned

New Eden was a low-tier planet founded forty years ago in a distant star system far from Earth. The world looked like Earth but twice as large; its surface was mostly land, with only two seas. New Eden split into two continents: North and South. The North answered to the Aetherblade Guild; the South fell under the Brotherhood.Each region bowed to a transcendence-level ruler. Across the galaxy the truly powerful forces weren't nations but guilds — dynasties of strength and influence. At the top sat the Nine Thrones, and the most feared of them all was the Axion Guild. Why? Because the Axions had three Supreme-level beings and a swarm of transcendence-class members backing them."How strong is a Supreme?" you might ask. Strong enough to travel between planets without support. Strong enough to cut down hellish beasts and stand toe-to-toe with devils. Supremes reshape battle lines with a thought; planets are their playground and fleets their toys.The Axions weren't a guild so much as a

It was already nighttime. Ethan arrived at Old Maple Street, where the area had been fully barricaded. A few beast corpses lay scattered around — three-eyed mist dogs, freshly slain. That meant the dungeon had only just opened.About a dozen people gathered near the barricade, waiting. Ethan counted quickly — twelve total: ten men and five women. Among them, one girl immediately caught his eye. She wore mutant beast armor, far too advanced for her young frame. She looked no older than fifteen.A first-timer rich girl, Ethan thought as he joined the group.Eyes immediately turned toward him. Everyone recognized him. To most, Ethan was the weakling who kept joining raids. Nobody cared much; at worst, he'd serve as bait.Ethan smirked inwardly. Hmph, pathetic. You think you'll use me as bait again? Let's see who's bait this time.The armored girl suddenly stepped forward, approaching Ethan with a curious smile."Hi, I'm Gloria. May I know your name?" she asked, offering her hand.Up clos

“Give me 500k Ace Coin and I’ll see you safe in this dungeon. I’ll even give you a tip,” Ethan said flatly.500k?! The crowd froze. Even VIP escorts only charged 100k at most. This guy was savage, they thought.Gloria hesitated, then finally said, “Fine, I’ll pay. But first—tell me the tip.”“Payment before service,” Ethan replied calmly.Snickers rose in the group. What tip could he give? Hide between your legs and run? they thought mockingly.Gloria kept her composure. “Alright. I’ll honor my word. I have a reputation to protect.”“Good. Then if you fail your word, our friendship is over—and I will seek revenge,” Ethan said, his piercing blue eyes locking onto hers.She didn’t flinch. “Fine. Now, the tip?”“There are mutant beasts lurking deeper in this dungeon,” Ethan said evenly.“Nonsense. If there were, we’d have sensed them,” a warrior scoffed.But Ethan wasn’t listening to him—he was staring into the shadows.“WATCH OUT!” a mage screamed, firing a beam into the darkness.BOOOM

Ethan looked calm even though five ork guards surrounded him. He began rehearsing the Swallow Step technique in his head, but time was slipping away. An ork guard roared and swung a massive red fist. Ethan dodged to the side and landed a strike in its jaw—shattering it. Bang. The ork fell dead.“Wow, I didn’t know my strength would increase this much in such a short while,” Ethan thought, but he didn’t relax. The other orks rushed him with axes.Clang—Ethan parried an axe with ease, then tore one guard in half; guts scattered everywhere. Bang, bang, bang. The three engaged in a brutal clash. After a dozen moves, the three ork guards were finished.Checking his stats, Ethan added 10 points to mana, bringing it to twenty. Now he could use the Star Sword Technique for two minutes. He lunged at the remaining 195 orks. Bang, bang, bang. By now Ethan had learned more of the Swallow Step.He didn’t dodge every strike—many landed—but left him unhurt. He lunged forward, slaughtering twenty bea