CHAPTER 44: [45] TALENT UPGRADE & TIER 4 PILL!

Theon gasped deeply and then immediately canceled the symbiosis ability and his body rapidly shrunk, returning to his normal human size.

The moment the transformation ended, exhaustion crashed over him like a tidal wave and he instantly fell weakly to the ground.

He glanced at the corpses of Heron and Gerad lying in pools of their own blood.

Although they weren’t particularly close, and their time together had been brief, to be killed so suddenly and without warning made Theon shake his head in slight regret.

They had been decent teammates, skilled fighters, and they hadn’t deserved to die just like that.

After catching his breath, Theon forced himself to stand and walked over to Heron’s corpse. He knelt down and carefully searched through his belongings until he found what he was looking for—an object that looked like a sleek credit card made of some advanced metallic alloy.

It was a recording device, a specialized camera designed for dimensional zone missions.

Luckily, Heron had been recording the entire expedition as they needed to show the footage to the academy to showcase the completeness of their assignment and prove they had killed the required beasts.

The device would have captured everything, including Alice’s betrayal and the battle.

It was the only proof Theon had otherwise the academy wouldn’t listen to his words and imprison him till the situation was carefully investigated.

The camera was his only proof of what had truly transpired here.

From the intensity of the battle, the surrounding dimensional beasts had been scared off already.

The area was eerily quiet now, with only the crackling of fires and the settling of dust to break the silence.

Theon headed towards a partially collapsed building that appeared relatively safe and stable. He found a secure corner on the second floor where he could see the approaches from multiple angles, then finally allowed himself to rest.

-----

When he woke up hours later, the sun had moved significantly across the dimensional sky, casting long shadows through the ruined cityscape.

Theon stretched muscles and it only ached just a little.

His primal energy had been filled to the maximum and even his strength had improved from level 7 to level 8 at this moment, one more level and he would reach level 9, just a single level to the next realm.

Quite happy about this Theon proceeded to check his system notifications. He had made about three quests during the battle, he wanted to see the price he would receive.

[Ding! Quest Completed]

[Objective: Defeat Alice]

[Reward: Talent Upgrade - God’s Eye advanced from E-Rank to C-Rank]

[Accept Reward? Y/N]

Theon’s eyes widened in surprise. He had actually advanced two ranks just by defeating someone.

However he knew it was because of the difficulty in battle. An ordinary person wouldn’t have been able to cross realms to defeat others.

Before he could fully process that reward, another notification appeared.

[Ding! Quest Completed]

[Objective: Defeat John]

[Reward: Tier 4 Soul-Body Condensation Pill]

[Accept Reward? Y/N]

Theon was stunned by the second reward as well. A Tier 4 Soul-Body Condensation Pill was an incredibly rare treasure that could strengthen one’s soul while simultaneously doubling one’s entire physical attributes.

Such pills were typically reserved by powerful organizations, making them impossible for ordinary people to get their hands on.

He was immediately overjoyed as he accepted both rewards without hesitation.

The moment he confirmed his acceptance of the first reward, his God’s Eye talent instantly advanced to C-Rank, and his eyes changed dramatically. Everything became even sharper and clearer than before, as though someone had removed a veil he hadn’t even known was there.

At this enhanced level, he could actually see waves expanding like visible shockwaves.

But then he realized it wasn’t too tangible. As the dust dropped to the ground, little waves would appear and then dissipate.

Theon raised his eyebrow in surprise.

He hadn’t expect to be actually able to see soundwaves at this level.

It wa ls like watching water disturbed by falling raindrops. He could perceive primal energy as colored streams flowing through the environment and even through his own body.

Most remarkably, he found he could almost control that energy flow with his eyes alone.

He spent several minutes testing his new ability. He noticed he could zoom in for over a kilometer distance, and when activated to the extreme by pouring constant streams of primal energy, his eyes could actually stop time.

He didn’t know if it’s his thought process that would improve or if time really stopped which meant he needed to test the capabilities.

After settling in and growing accustomed to his enhanced eyes, he turned his attention to the second reward.

The Tier 4 Soul-Body Condensation Pill materialized in his hand.

It was a milky white capsule that looked extremely dull.

He suddenly crushed the pill and silver mist poured out from it, wafting through the air.

Without hesitation, Theon immediately inhaled, drawing the entire condensed essence into his lungs in one deep breath.

The effect was instantaneous and overwhelming.

Fire erupted through his body!

Theon felt like his blood had been replaced with flowing magma. His skin flushed crimson, veins bulging beneath the surface as his cells went into overdrive.

Every muscle within his body contracted and expanded simultaneously, growing denser,l and denser without reaching a limit.

But the physical transformation was almost gentle compared to what happened to his soul.

Pain unlike anything Theon had experienced struck through his consciousness. It felt as if someone had grabbed his soul and started inflating it like a ballon, stretching the boundaries of his being beyond their natural limits.

Theon collapsed to his knees, teeth gritted, every muscle locked rigid as the pill’s power worked through him.

Sweat poured down his face. His two hearts thumped through his chest like lightning.

The process took an hour. An hour of excruciating, pain as his fundamental nature was reforged.

But Theon gritted his teeth and endured the pain.

Slowly, the fire began to subside. The pain receded to a dull ache, then faded entirely. Theon gasped for breathe on his knees as sweat dripped through the ground like a water fall and with the impurities expelled from his body, he was starting to smell very bad.

When it was over, Theon heaved a sigh of relief.

"So terrifying!"

At this moment, he felt incredibly full, as though he had been stuffing himself for more than three days straight.

His muscles arched but when he punched out, the air visibly compressed and exploded.

Theon glanced at his fists in shock. " If I met Seraphina and John now, killing them would be incredibly easy now."

Not just his strength, even his soul had doubled which meant in the same realm, others couldn’t hope to comprehend his strength.

His two hearts beat in perfect synchronization, pumping blood through vessels to muscles.

He felt even fuller and is soul felt more substantial, more present in the physical world, allowing him to interface with primal energy in ways he was only beginning to understand.

-----

Over the next few days, Theon headed even deeper into the dimensional zone and hunted dimensional beasts like his life depended on it.

With his enhanced abilities, the hunting was too easy.

His C-rank God’s Eye allowed him to track beasts from kilometers away.

They couldn’t hide from him as he could see through walls and even track their hear signatures. It was almost too easy for him.

He could also predict their movements, see their weak points, and react with inhuman speed.

The first group he encountered was a pack of Six-Legged-Sharks.

They were Rank 7 Primitive Beasts, dangerous to most Genetic Soldiers but barely a challenge for Theon’s current strength.

With just a single slash, they were seperated cleanly from their bodies.

Each strike was precise, each movement optimized. Within seconds, seven Legged-Sharks lay dead, their cores harvested.

The next beast he saw were Stone-Shell Mammoth, a massive Rank8 beast whose thick armor plating could deflect most attacks.

Theon’s God’s Eye immediately identified the weak points in its shell—gaps where the plates met as he slashed his blade through the gap, severing its head.

Even without that, Theon could have easily dispatched the beast.

After a few days of hunting, he traveled back toward the dimensional zone’s exit, Theon continued his hunt.

By the time he approached the barrier marking the zone’s boundary, he’d eliminated another forty-three beasts ranging from Rank 1 to Rank 6.

His blade was stained with black dried blood as he moved.

When Theon finally passed through the shimmering barrier that marked the dimensional zone’s edge, he found himself back in the military checkpoint.

Soldiers were stationed at regular intervals, monitoring the steady stream of Genetic Soldiers and Super Soldiers entering and exiting.

As Theon approached the checkpoint, several soldiers turned to look at him.

Their expressions shifted from to surprise, he was alone, covered in blood, and the killing intent radiated off of him was so sharp the soldiers thought they were looking at a veteran.

"Identification," one soldier demanded, though his hand had drifted toward his weapon.