"Take this and hurry up before your weakness gives me murderous thoughts," said a man with slicked-back hair angrily as he handed a bottle to a young boy with blue hair and blue pupils, carrying a heavy backpack behind him. "Th...thank you," the young boy smiled as he took the bottle and drank it. There were several wounds all over his body, and they all closed up after he drank its contents. "Seriously! Rin, aren't you just going to back out? Sure, these are difficult times, the apocalypse is near, yes, but there are still people living peacefully out there." "No! Thanks, I'm staying," replied the young boy named Rin. Then he sighed and looked around at the desolate land. In 1990, while humanity was living in harmony, a phenomenon occurred, bringing about changes. A gigantic tower had appeared. It was so enormous that no one could even see its end. When scientists decided to study it, they found nothing except one terrifying truth: the tower was unimaginably massive. What they c

The river crashed down upon Rin and spread across a ten-meter radius around him, never reaching the woman, who stood far away. Rin couldn't even scream. His entire body—including his blood—froze solid. Completely. Moments later, the river vanished. The woman in the distance sighed in disappointment when she saw that Rin was no longer moving. But immediately after that sigh, Rin slowly began to move. Cracks spread across the ice encasing him. Then the ice shattered into countless pieces, revealing Rin standing upright. This time, his body was pale white, with wisps of frost occasionally escaping from it. The burns covering his body had completely disappeared. His physique had become sturdier and far more imposing. The same was true for his face. [ You have obtained Advanced Ice Resistance and the Art of Ice Manipulation. ] [ You may now decide whether or not you wish to proceed to the Final Trial. ] Decide? Rin finally understood the woman's situation and let out a sigh

"Is there something wrong with your machine?" Rin asked with a slight laugh, trying to make it seem like the explosion was only caused by a malfunction and not because of him. Even though he was extremely surprised by this change himself. Key was also surprised, but not as much. She remembered their journey through the Chaotic World... And what Charly had said. Just how far does the strength of someone who clears those trials go? She wondered in amazement. Richard remained standing there, silently thinking about what had just happened. This had never happened before. Which only made him even more confused. Everyone present remained speechless. This phenomenon had never occurred before, but they were certain of one thing. It represented immense power. "Very well. The evaluation is over," Richard finally said. "Why don't you join my squad tomorrow? We were already going to see whether the squad entering today succeeds or fails." He wanted to recruit Rin into his team first

"Good, it's time to check my level." Rin said with a slight smile before raising his hand toward the sky. Instantly, a considerable amount of lightning condensed in his palm before exploding and spreading across the battlefield, striking and burning the draconic creatures that were advancing toward him. Cracks began appearing on the already damaged ground, worsening its condition even further. There were around fifty of them, but now only about twenty remained. "Very well, at least I'm not a Rank C anymore. I'm definitely above that!" he said, rushing toward the remaining monsters as a sword made of lava appeared in his right hand, which he used to fight. Every creature he cut had two problems to deal with. The wound, and then the lava spreading across its body, burning it fiercely. "You are not the ones I'm looking for. Bring me your father." He said with a cruel smile as he saw more creatures appearing. The creatures, or subordinates of a floor boss, never truly died as lon

" W-What? " shouted Dwayne when he saw the first part of level 20 empty. They had crossed the portal and arrived in the ruined world of level 20, only to see no creature in sight, and worse, the portal leading to the second part was open. He could see the frozen world behind it, and this world was calm. That only happened when the boss of the level was dead. " What if we go further? Maybe the way bosses work or Zenith itself has changed. " said Richard with a sigh. They moved forward, heading toward the frozen world. However, when they entered it, all their expressions changed. There was no boss, but a dark portal, and inside there was nothing but mist. Even the exaggerated cold that Dwayne, his squad, and other squads had mentioned existing here had disappeared. Before they could question anything, they heard a noise from the other side, on their left, and immediately took combat positions. But they were even more surprised when they saw who it was. Rin? thought Key when she s