CHAPTER 189: TANKING THE NUKE, LEVEL 5 OF ASCENDANT RANK

While the awakeners that rushed toward Sam’s direction were still far away, Sam himself was not.

He was already standing at the very center of it all, trapped with no space to move.

The orb in front of him pulsed like a beating heart, swelling larger with every passing second until it reached its peak.

And then it erupted.

The [Nuke] had been unleashed, an ability so destructive that its very name made entire groups of awakeners tremble.

It was a calamity compressed into one glowing sphere, and once it detonated, everything caught in its range for kilometers would be wiped from existence.

Sam was standing directly in the middle.

There was no barrier he could retreat behind, no ally who could pull him away, no miracle that could suddenly teleport him elsewhere.

There was only him, the orb, and the inevitable detonation.

"Alright," he sighed.

[3...]

"I’ll tank it... somehow."

[2...]

"Not like I have any other option."

Sam glanced at the astral closest to him, the one who had conjured this horrific ability.

Even now, the creature smiled as though delighted by its own destruction, as if it was staring at the heavens while celebrating its own demise.

[1...]

Sam exhaled slowly.

He shut his eyes and braced himself.

And then the world disappeared in light.

A blinding flash swallowed everything, pure white consuming vision and thought alike, followed by a sound so deafening it felt like silence tearing itself apart.

BOOM!

The [Nuke] went off.

This wasn’t a mere explosion.

It was as though a small sun had been born, burning so intensely that even the air itself combusted and twisted into waves of fire.

The force of it rippled outward, flattening everything in its radius, cracking the ground into lifeless wastelands.

On Earth, such a strike would have erased entire cities, leaving only ash and twisted ruins.

On any other world, it would have killed populations too vast to number.

And yet here it was unleashed in the middle of a mission, the power of a monster the observers watching Sam considered to be insignificant.

To them, this was the strength of something "worthless."

But to Sam, this was a nightmare turned reality.

[Oh well =)]

The panel appeared before his eyes, carrying that same twisted smile.

[At some point this will be "worthless" to us too =)]

Sam stood in the heart of the devastation, his [Primordial Barrier] holding just enough to take the first hit.

The impact slammed against him like the fist of a god, rattling his body, shaking his very soul.

The barrier flared violently, absorbing what it could.

But the [Nuke] was not so simple.

-1! -1! -1!

Sam staggered as the notifications appeared in front of him.

Even after the explosion itself, the aftermath lingered, waves of toxic aura rolling out from the mushroom cloud of purple fire that towered over him.

Each ripple battered his barrier, tearing its durability down bit by bit.

’!!!?’

Sam’s eyes widened.

He hadn’t expected this.

The aura wasn’t fading.

It kept attacking him in constant pulses, gnawing away at his only defense.

Escape was impossible.

He had no choice but to hope—desperately—that he could endure long enough.

-1! -1! -1!

The barrier’s durability continued to fall, the numbers flashing like a cruel countdown.

Sam clenched his fists as the thought struck him—he might actually die here.

The giant cloud of violet fire showed no signs of subsiding.

It raged, unending, as if determined to scour him out of existence.

But even with destruction all around him, Sam didn’t stop.

"Oh well, might as well... deal with the rest," he muttered.

He raised his primordial sword, and from its surface unfurled several tendrils of energy.

They lashed out like serpents, piercing through the scattered remains of the astrals.

One by one, they pulled their shimmering cores toward him, drawing them into his weapon.

Even the [Astral Mage], whose body had been completely disintegrated, had left behind a core.

Sam absorbed them all without hesitation.

Ding!

[Congratulations to Sam Walker for leveling up to Level 5 of the Ascendant Rank!]

The notification rang clearly even through the choking haze of the [Nuke].

Sam coughed violently, lungs burning from the toxic air that clung to the battlefield like a curse.

Still, he ignored it.

-1! -1! -1!

[Proceed =)]

The milestone reward appeared before him, and Sam wasted no time in pulling up the details.

Ding!

[Your Shadow, Chaos, Void, Hatred, Time and Oblivion affinities clash with each other.]

[You have a choice once more:]

---

[1. Receive a normal skill right now, and then another after your advancement task, like usual (Shadow Affinity)]

[2. Receive a powerful ability at level 10 right after your advancement task (Chaos Affinity)]

[3. Receive no skill, but instead gain 10 permanent attributes points on your Strength, Agility, and Constitution, and 20 points for Soul (Void Affinity)]

[4. You gain no skill now. Instead, you must fill the "Hatred Bar" before reaching Level 10 to unlock a powerful skill unlike any other (Hatred Affinity)]

[5. You gain no skill now. But will be given a choice between three abilities (not skills) that you will receive after your Advancement Task (Time Affinity)]

---

Those were the first five milestone rewards tied to his existing affinities.

But now Sam had unlocked something new.

[6. You take a massive gamble and immediately receive an "ability" right now. It could be a god-like ability that makes you invincible, or something that cripples you. It is all up to luck (Oblivion Affinity)]

Sam’s expression hardened as he read.

This was not just a choice, it was a gamble that could decide his future.

Abilities were game-changers.

He had seen how [Cooldown Reduction] shifted the tide for him, even if he hadn’t had time to fully exploit it.

But if an ability could empower him to such a degree, it was also possible that one could cripple him beyond repair.

This was not the kind of risk he could afford right now.

Sam’s mind raced.

The situation demanded stability, not blind luck.

Without hesitation, he reached toward the milestone reward tied to the [Hatred] affinity.

He knew that the affinity had already given him something strange—the [Primordial Spirits] skill—which hadn’t been all that useful so far.

But he still believed there was more to it, that it would show its value in time.

And if it was the hardest one to fulfill, then the eventual rewards had to be worth it.

"Hatred Affinity," Sam said firmly, coughing through the burning air.

-1! -1! -1!

The other panels vanished immediately, leaving only crimson text in the last one.

[What is this hatred we feel? Will it ever stop... or do we want it to continue endlessly?]

[=)]

A wave of crimson aura enveloped Sam, seeping into his skin and bones until it merged with him entirely.

Ding!

[Hatred Bar: 0%]

Sam’s lips curled into a grin.

"There it is. Now I just need to fill it before Level 10."

He already made up his mind.

At Level 10, he would try his hand at the Oblivion milestone.

But until then, he needed guarantees.

He needed strength he could count on.

-1! -1! -1!

His body staggered, reminding him the [Nuke] was still eating away at him.

But the panels did not stop appearing.

Ding!

---

[You are the first in the "Upper" realm to complete the third mission: "Defeat the five Astrals"]

[You are now allowed to pass through the "Third Barrier" and head to the "Fourth Zone", where your fourth mission will take place.]

[As a reward for completing the third mission, you have received x3 "Skill Tier Advancement Scrolls"]

[Since you defeated all the astrals by yourself, and were the first one to do it, you also receive... a mystery item!]

---

"Oh?"

FWISH! BOOM!

A tear ripped open in space right in front of him.

From it, a small crimson cube drifted outward, glowing faintly with a "?" etched onto its surface.

The system’s voice followed.

[Anyone who completes a mission first receives a "mystery box", allowing them to acquire a mystery item.]

[The item could range from a devastating weapon, a piece of equipment that can tank anything, or even a skill book!]

Sam’s eyes widened.

"Holy shit."

He hadn’t expected this.

But now, seeing it, he felt a pang of regret for not having been first in the earlier missions.

If this was the kind of item given out, then the [Eternal] group had already claimed two for themselves.

No one knew what they contained.

And the fact that [Eternal] kept them secret meant only one thing—their contents were powerful enough to shift the balance.

Sam closed his hand, tossing the cube into his [Spatial Inventory] for later.

The same with the three [Skill Tier Advancement Scrolls].

Those could wait. For now, he had more pressing concerns.

His eyes flicked to the bottom of his panel.

[Primordial Barrier: 3/100]

-1! -1! -1!

SNAP!

The sound was deafening in its own way.

Sam’s [Primordial Barrier] shattered into fragments of light, leaving him naked to the toxic aura spreading out from the [Nuke].

This ability was sadistic in design.

The explosion was devastating enough, but the lingering aura made survival nearly impossible.

If the blast didn’t kill you, the aftermath would finish the job.

Sam gritted his teeth.

But even then...

He still had [Cooldown Breaker].

Which meant he could reset the durability of his [Primordial Barrier].