MY LEVEL SYSTEM, WHO IS THE WEAK ONE NOW?

008

Darkness swallowed Theo Vale.

He could not feel the cold stone beneath his back, hear the distant sounds of the academy, or sense the pain that had torn through his body only moments earlier. Everything he had known seemed to have vanished, leaving him suspended in a silence so complete that he wondered whether death was supposed to feel like this.

Then something tightened around his wrist.

Theo jerked, but the movement sent him nowhere. His eyes flew open, revealing a strange world beneath a sky without stars.

Black chains stretched across an endless darkness, disappearing into the distance and reappearing in tangled clusters around enormous golden channels. Some channels floated through the air like rivers of molten light, while others wound beneath the ground, forming a network that seemed to extend beyond the limits of the space.

Theo stared at them, unable to understand what he was seeing.

He looked down and discovered that his body appeared almost transparent, with thin golden lines flickering beneath his skin. Black chains wrapped around his arms, legs, and chest, binding him to a circular formation suspended above a bottomless abyss.

“What is this place?”

His voice echoed into the distance.

A mechanical sound answered him.

SUPREME MARTIAL GOD SYSTEM

Host consciousness restored.

Current condition: Critical.

Heartbeat: Absent in the physical body.

Theo’s blood ran cold.

“My heartbeat is absent?”

Correct. The host’s physical heart has ceased functioning. Emergency revival protocol is maintaining residual consciousness while reconstruction attempts to restore vital functions.

He stared at the invisible presence that seemed to speak directly inside his mind.

“Then I am dead?”

Death is not yet confirmed.

“That is not an answer!”

The host’s emotional response has no effect on the reconstruction process.

Theo almost laughed at the absurdity of it. He was standing in an impossible place, his heart had stopped beating, and whatever was talking to him sounded more concerned about efficiency than his survival.

Yet the voice had mentioned reconstruction.

He looked toward the golden channels.

“Can you repair my martial veins?”

For the first time since the voice appeared, the system’s response gave him something worth holding on to.

Affirmative.

Theo stopped breathing, even though he was not certain he needed to breathe in this place.

The host’s original martial network suffered extensive congenital damage. Additional trauma has pushed the damaged channels beyond their remaining capacity. Conventional treatment would not restore the network to functional condition.

“Then what are you going to do?”

Dismantle the damaged network and reconstruct it using the God Vein framework.

Theo looked at the chains wrapped around his body.

“Those things are part of the process?”

Negative. The black chains represent foreign suppression structures embedded within the host’s martial network. Their origin remains unconfirmed.

A cold sensation moved through him.

Suppression structures.

Someone had done something to his martial veins.

The system had not said whether the damage was accidental, inherited, or deliberately inflicted, but Theo could not ignore the possibility that his weakness had never been as simple as everyone believed.

Before he could ask another question, the chains began to move.

One tightened around his chest.

Another pulled his right arm toward the ground, while the golden channels surrounding him brightened until the entire space was filled with blinding light.

Theo struggled against the restraints.

“Wait! What are you doing?”

First God Vein reconstruction beginning.

The chains snapped taut.

Pain exploded through him.

Theo screamed as the golden channels plunged into his body, reaching through every damaged pathway and tearing apart the remnants of his original martial network. It felt as though his bones were being split open from the inside, and every nerve in his body had become a burning wire.

He tried to escape, but there was nowhere to go.

The chains held him in place while the golden light dismantled what little remained of his broken channels.

He had endured years of humiliation, countless injuries, and the constant ache of being unable to do what other students took for granted. None of it compared to this.

“Stop!” he screamed. “Please, stop!”

Reconstruction cannot be suspended without risking permanent host failure.

“Then make it hurt less!”

Request denied.

Theo cursed the system, the chains, and everything that had brought him to this moment.

Then the pain intensified.

A black chain wrapped around his chest began to crack. Golden light poured through the fractures, and the chain shattered into thousands of dark fragments that dissolved before reaching the ground.

The pressure inside Theo’s body shifted.

Something new began to form.

One golden channel emerged from the center of his chest, extending outward in delicate branches that connected to his arms, abdomen, and back. Unlike his old martial veins, which had been narrow and damaged, this new pathway shone with a depth that made the surrounding channels appear almost dull.

Theo felt energy gathering inside it.

Even without understanding how, he knew that the new channel could hold far more energy than his original network ever had.

First God Vein reconstruction: 31%.

The golden channel pulsed.

A wave of power rushed through it, and Theo’s body convulsed against the chains.

Warning: Reconstruction strain exceeding safe threshold.

The system’s voice became sharper.

The God Veins possess an amplification capacity far beyond ordinary martial channels. However, the host’s physical body remains insufficiently adapted to the new network.

Theo clenched his teeth as another wave of pain tore through him.

“What does that mean?”

The God Veins amplify martial energy at the point of circulation and release. Excessive energy output may destroy the host’s muscles, organs, or reconstructed channels.

The information appeared inside his mind alongside a series of unfamiliar symbols. He understood only the essential warning: the power being built inside him could also kill him.

Additional warning: Premature awakening of the remaining God Veins will destabilize the reconstruction process and may cause irreversible bodily failure.

Theo forced himself to concentrate despite the pain.

“How many are there?”

Complete God Vein configuration remains inaccessible. Current reconstruction is limited to the first vein.

The chains around his body began to crack one after another, but several remained intact. Their dark surfaces carried faint markings that resembled the symbol engraved on his father’s black metal fragment.

Theo remembered the vision beneath the old training platform, the towering figure standing among shattered mountains, and the voice that had spoken of a bearer of the God Veins.

Whatever that vision had been, it was connected to this place.

And somehow, it was connected to him.

The golden channel inside his chest brightened.

First God Vein reconstruction: 64%.

Theo felt the new pathway reaching toward the center of his body, where his heart should have been beating. The golden light surrounded the silent organ, spreading through the damaged tissue as though attempting to teach it how to function again.

He could not tell how much time had passed.

There was only the pain, the light, and the desperate need to survive.

When the reconstruction reached eighty percent, the golden channel suddenly contracted.

Theo’s entire body arched.

A deep pulse struck his chest.

Then another.

For one brief moment, he felt something that had been absent since the beating: the faintest movement inside his heart.

Cardiac activity detected.

Theo gasped.

The sound was followed by another pulse, weak but unmistakable.

Emergency revival protocol progressing.

He wanted to cry with relief, but the pain had taken nearly everything he had.

The golden channel completed its final connection.

Light surged through his chest and raced along the newly formed network, illuminating every branch before settling into a steady glow.

First God Vein reconstruction: 100%.

The black chains fell away.

Theo collapsed onto his knees, breathing hard as the remaining darkness began to dissolve.

Host martial network: Reconstructed.

First God Vein: Stable.

Physical revival: In progress.

He had spent his entire life believing that his martial veins were beyond repair.

Now, for the first time, the system had given him a reason to believe otherwise.

But before he could ask what came next, the strange world folded inward, and the golden light swallowed him whole.

⸻

Theo awoke with a violent gasp.

Cold stone pressed against his cheek, and the smell of damp earth filled his nostrils. He immediately tried to sit up, only to freeze when pain flared through his abdomen.

For several seconds, he remained motionless, waiting for the world to settle.

He was back in the old training grounds.

The sky above the academy walls had begun to turn gray, and a thin line of pale gold stretched along the horizon. Dawn was approaching, although the sun had not yet risen.

Theo pressed a shaking hand against his chest.

His heart was beating.

Weakly, but steadily.

He could hardly believe it.

He checked his arms, his abdomen, and his injured shoulder. The bruises had faded considerably, and the cuts covering his hands had begun to close. His shoulder still hurt when he moved it, but the sharp, unbearable pain from the previous night had diminished.

The healing was not complete, and his entire body felt as though he had run for days without food or rest. His stomach twisted with hunger, while his mouth was so dry that swallowing hurt.

Still, he was alive.

Theo slowly sat upright.

“System?”

A faint mechanical tone sounded inside his head.

SUPREME MARTIAL GOD SYSTEM

Host consciousness confirmed.

Theo shut his eyes in relief.

“Explain what happened to me.”

Emergency reconstruction successfully restored the host’s vital functions and completed the first God Vein. The host remains in a weakened condition. Full recovery requires rest, nourishment, and controlled martial energy circulation.

Theo looked down at his hands.

“So I can cultivate now?”

Affirmative. However, the host’s current energy control is insufficient for safe independent cultivation.

“Then teach me.”

A foundational training mission is available.

Words appeared in his mind, arranged in a neat sequence that seemed impossible to mistake.

EMERGENCY MISSION: SURVIVE THE FIRST DAWN

Objectives:

1. Remain conscious until sunrise.

2. Complete one full circulation of martial energy through the first God Vein.

3. Avoid detection by unauthorized observers.

Reward: Basic Martial Energy Control.

Failure Consequence: Reconstruction instability.

Theo stared at the mission.

“Remain conscious until sunrise? I have already survived the night.”

The mission remains incomplete.

“And what happens if I fail?”

Reconstruction instability may damage the first God Vein and compromise the host’s recovery.

Theo dragged a hand down his face.

He had barely survived being beaten to death, endured an impossible reconstruction process, and awakened with a new martial network inside his body. Now the system expected him to complete a cultivation exercise before sunrise.

He wanted to lie back down and sleep for an entire day.

Unfortunately, he had a strong suspicion that the system would not accept that as an excuse.

“Fine,” he muttered. “Tell me how to circulate the energy.”

Focus on the first God Vein. Identify the initial energy reserve and guide it through the primary channel. Maintain a steady flow until the energy returns to its origin.

Theo closed his eyes.

At first, he felt nothing.

He tried to remember the breathing exercises taught at the academy, but his previous attempts had always ended in disappointment. His damaged channels had prevented martial energy from moving through his body, and no amount of concentration had ever changed that.

This time, something stirred beneath his chest.

It was faint, like a spark buried beneath layers of ash.

Theo focused on it and tried to guide it upward.

The spark moved.

Then it vanished.

He opened his eyes.

“That was it?”

Incomplete circulation detected.

“Of course it was.”

He tried again.

This time, he moved too quickly, and the energy surged toward his shoulder. Pain flashed through the joint, forcing him to stop before the flow could destabilize.

Warning: Excessive output detected. Reduce circulation intensity.

Theo gritted his teeth.

The system had warned him that his new veins could amplify energy beyond ordinary limits, but knowing that did not make controlling it any easier. He had spent years trying to force energy through channels that could not support it. Now he had to learn how to restrain energy that seemed eager to move.

He took a slow breath and started again.

Instead of forcing the spark forward, he guided it carefully, allowing it to travel through the golden channel at a pace his body could tolerate.

The energy moved from his chest to his abdomen, then branched toward his left arm before returning through the primary pathway.

For one brief moment, he thought he had lost it.

Then the spark completed the circuit.

A soft warmth spread through his body.

Theo opened his eyes, startled by how different he felt. The energy had not made him suddenly powerful, nor had it erased his exhaustion, but something inside him had finally responded to his will.

He could sense the first God Vein.

He could control it, even if only barely.

Martial energy circulation: Complete.

Mission progress: 2/3 objectives completed.

Theo looked toward the horizon.

The sky was growing brighter, but the sun had not yet appeared. He had completed the circulation objective, and he had remained conscious, yet the system still showed one requirement as incomplete.

Avoid detection by unauthorized observers.

He frowned.

“Who is watching me?”

Unauthorized observers have not been confirmed. The objective remains active until the mission concludes.

That answer did nothing to reassure him.

Theo pushed himself to his feet and examined the training grounds. The stone platform stood in the center of the courtyard, its surface dull and silent. The strange carving beneath it had stopped glowing, and the black metal fragment rested inside his uniform.

He had to leave before the other students arrived.

But before he could take another step, he noticed a loose piece of stone beside the wall.

It was about the size of his fist, with a rough surface and a deep crack running through the middle.

Theo crouched and picked it up.

He had no intention of testing his strength. He simply wanted to see whether he could make the energy move through his arm without triggering another warning.

He focused on the faint spark inside his chest and guided a tiny pulse toward his palm.

The energy moved faster than he expected.

A sharp crack sounded.

The stone fragment shattered in his hand.

Theo jerked backward, and pieces of broken stone scattered across the ground.

He stared at them.

The pulse had been so small that he had barely felt himself release it. Yet the stone had not merely chipped or split along its existing crack. It had broken into several jagged pieces, as though an invisible force had struck it from within.

Theo looked at his palm.

There was no injury, but a faint golden glow lingered beneath his skin before disappearing.

His breathing quickened.

He had spent years struggling to move even the smallest amount of martial energy. Now a careless pulse had shattered a stone fragment without him making physical contact with it.

If that was what his new martial veins could do at such a low level of control, what would happen when he learned to use them properly?

The thought should have filled him with excitement.

Instead, fear settled in his stomach.

Cassian had spent years humiliating him because he was weak. If anyone discovered that Theo’s martial veins had suddenly become functional, the academy would demand answers. Instructors would investigate him, powerful families might take an interest, and Cassian would certainly not ignore the possibility that his former target had become a threat.

Theo could not afford to let anyone see what had happened.

Not yet.

He wiped the fragments of stone away with his shoe, collected his bucket, and hurried toward the dormitories. The academy was beginning to stir, but most of the students were still asleep, and the few people he passed barely glanced at him.

He reached his room before the first morning bell.

After hiding the black metal fragment beneath his mattress, he washed the dirt from his face and changed into a clean uniform. His body still ached, and the hunger gnawing at his stomach had become almost unbearable, but he forced himself to sit on his bed and think.

He had survived the night.

His martial veins could be repaired.

The first God Vein was complete.

For the first time in his life, Theo had access to the power that the academy had always insisted he could never possess.

But he still had no idea who had created the system, why the black metal fragment had responded to him, or what the vision of the towering figure had meant.

He needed answers.

And before he could search for them, he needed to learn how to control the power inside him.

A soft mechanical tone interrupted his thoughts.

Theo stiffened.

“What’s wrong now?”

The system’s response came without its usual pause.

Mission completed.

Reward acquired: Basic Martial Energy Control.

A faint warmth passed through Theo’s chest, and the energy inside his first God Vein settled into a steadier rhythm. He could suddenly distinguish the difference between guiding the energy and forcing it, as though an unfamiliar instinct had been added to his awareness.

Then another message appeared.

Secondary anomaly detected.

Theo’s relief disappeared.

“What anomaly?”

Unknown surveillance mark detected on host’s body.

He went completely still.

“Surveillance mark?”

Affirmative. The mark is concealed beneath the host’s reconstructed martial network. Its origin is unknown.

Theo slowly pressed his hand against his chest.

The system had rebuilt his martial veins, restored his heartbeat, and given him a power he had never dreamed of possessing.

But it had also discovered something hidden inside him.

Something that had been there before the reconstruction began.

Something that suggested the damage to his martial veins might not have been the only secret buried in his body.

Warning: The surveillance mark has become active.

Theo’s blood turned cold.

Somewhere beyond the dormitory walls, the academy’s morning bell began to ring.

And for the first time since his awakening, Theo understood that his greatest danger might not be Cassian Draven.

Someone had been watching him long before he ever knew the system existed.