The journey to the Omni Soul Stone location—the legendary source of power to be the only thing capable of upgrading his System—was deceptively peaceful. The burning city were silent, the sky a serene blue.
This tranquility was not natural; it was enforced. Sunny’s newly achieved Sixth Order presence, a powerful, chilling aura even when suppressed, was enough to ward off most creatures. The ten Fifth Order Earth Knights, towering golems of rock and hardened earth walking steadily behind the couple, served as an unmistakable deterrent. No monster dared test the bounds of this traveling, walking disaster zone.
Sunny, however, was preoccupied, his gaze fixed on the System screen flashing before him:
{Na: Sunny Draco.}
{Race: Mythical Beastify race.}
{Divinity: 50/100.}
{Bloodlines: 1st: Fenrir (God Wolf) Unlocked. 2nd: Jormungandr (God Snake) Unlocked. 3rd: Carcharoth (Red Maw Wolf) Unlocked. 4th: Basilisk (Demon snake) Unlocked. 5th: Leviathan (Sea Snake) Unlocked. 6th: Wukong (Great Demon Monkey) Unlocked. 7th: Bahamut (God of strength) Unlocked. 8th: Kraken (Sea Octopus) LOCK. 9th: Apophis: (Great Calamity Snake) LOCK. 10th: Tiamat: (Universal Dragon) LOCK. 11th: Elental God. Unlocked.}
{Rank: sixth Order. (Late stage).}
{Strength: 10,000,000.}
{Agility: 15,000,000.}
{Stamina: 10,000,000.}
{Defense: 10,500,000.}
{Attack: 10,000,000.}
{Celestial energy: 15,000,000/30,000,000.}
{Magic resistance: 10,000,000.}
{Elental Resistance: 100% Immunity.}
{Title: Grim Reaper: All rcenaries gained 200,000 stats.}
’Hmm... My core stats received a massive, glorious boost, surpassing the standard limits of the sixth Order significantly,’ he mused.
He glanced over his shoulder at the knights. "But... while I am undeniably stronger, the consumption rate of my high-rank summons seems to have increased greatly."
A frown creased his features. Another disadvantage. The frustrating reality of the Primordial Stone was bad enough; now his primary tool for mass combat felt less efficient.
’With the System’s current calculation, I can stably command 50 Fifth Order rank summons. The number scales up for lower ranks—aning I can summon 100 Fourth Order, and so forth. But attempting to summon significantly more than 50 Fifth Order beings would not only rapidly drain my spirit energy, but I might lose control if the consumption rate outstrips my regeneration. I’m being bottlenecked!’ he grumbled inwardly. His power was vast, but its application was limited by the System’s low level—a constant, grinding reminder of his current limitations.
As if hearing the turbulence in his mind, Josephine turned to him, her expression soft with concern.
"What happened, Love? You look like you’re plotting the downfall of a minor deity."
"Just so... resource managent disadvantages," Sunny sighed, rubbing his temple.
"Disadvantages?" Josephine tilted her head, confused.
"Well, with my current strength, I can summon 50 Fifth Order summons," he explained.
Josephine’s bright smile returned, radiating warmth that instantly soothed his irritation. "Fifty? Sunny, put that into perspective. A single Fifth Order being is a force that transcends the common notion of gods in the lower world. One is enough to destroy an entire nation, and you can command fifty of them. With our combined, current strength, that is an incredible army."
"You have a point," Sunny admitted, the sourness fading. "But I’ll miss the days of commanding thousands of disposable shadows." He stopped joking abruptly, his eyes widening.
They had arrived.
Before them, standing atop a rugged hill at the edge of the city, was a monunt that defied the geotry of this dinsion: the temple. It wasn’t built; it looked grown, ancient stones spiraling upward. Josephine moved her gaze from the base to the crest of the building.
"This must be twenty ters high, and those steps..." She trailed off, a mixture of awe and apprehension in her voice. "They feel charged."
__
The couple and their retinue stopped at the base of the hill. The temple sat silent, exuding a palpable sense of alien history.
"Co on, let’s get climbing," Sunny said, taking a breath.
He took a determined step onto the first stair.
"Huh?"
The mont his foot connected, a massive, crushing pressure—a spiritual gravity that seed to squeeze the air out of his Sixth Order body—descended on him. He instinctively pulled his foot back, and the pressure vanished instantly.
"Strange," he muttered, raising his head to the crest. "Is this a test of will? There must be sixty steps on this stairway... and I have a feeling the pressure increases with each one."
"Pressure?" Josephine looked confused. She confidently stepped onto the stairs herself, turning back to Sunny with a puzzled expression. "What pressure? I felt nothing."
".....?!!"
Her words stunned Sunny into complete stillness. He, a being whose strength statistics were in the millions, whose soul was armored against all attacks, was crushed by this spiritual weight. Yet, Josephine, a re Third Order, felt nothing.
’Does this pressure only affect beings of the Sixth Order and above? Is it a filter, a way to test those who are truly strong, while letting the ’weak’ pass unimpeded?’ he theorized.
’Is that even a reasoning?!’
With a sigh, he threw the intellectual puzzle aside.
"Let’s go."
With a determined, grim gaze, he stepped back onto the first step and began his ascent. Josephine followed, walking beside him.
The mont the Earth Knights’ stony feet touched the base of the stairs, the magic holding them together sputtered, and they instantly shattered, dissolving into common sand and dust.
{Ten summons destroyed.}
Sunny stopped, turned to the remaining five knights he hadn’t yet recalled, and quickly redrew them back.
"Seems summons aren’t allowed on this holy ground," he stated, the sarcasm biting.
___
[Twenty steps.]
"Gosh... This is so difficult," Sunny gasped, his body trembling, sweat rolling down his face in rivers. Every sinew in his legs scread under the intensifying, invisible weight. His Sixth Order power was being deliberately, aggressively nullified.
Josephine watched him, her expression turning from confusion to profound concern. All the while, she felt nothing but a pleasant breeze, yet her husband was sweating and shaking as if he were holding up a mountain.
She didn’t hesitate. She walked back down one step and gently placed her hand on his shoulder.
The effect was instantaneous and absolute.
All the exhaustion, the spiritual gravity, the agonizing pressure—it vanished, as if a switch had been flipped. Sunny straightened, stunned, staring at Josephine in disbelief. He knew her every skill, her every move, and nothing in her Third Order arsenal had the power to nullify a high-level spiritual pressure.
’Wait.’
Sunny froze, a mory of the System’s earlier ssage echoing in his mind:
’Did she unlock an innate skill? Or is this a passive Bloodline skill, sothing tied to the core of her tal Goddess that the low-level System couldn’t fully catalog?’ he thought, his analytical mind racing.
Josephine, sensing his recovery, lightly released her hand. Instantly, the pressure returned, even worse than before due to the increased elevation.
"...?!!"
Without wasting a second, Sunny quickly grabbed her hand, his grip firm and possessive. He looked straight into her eyes, the previous frustration replaced by a delighted, slightly mad smile of realization. At the mont; His ultimate cheat, his greatest strength, wasn’t the system, a sword or a spell, but the person beside him.
"Never let go of on this stairway," he commanded, his voice serious despite the relief, recognizing her presence as an active, potent power source and shield.
Josephine’s eyes crinkled playfully at the corners, acknowledging the true aning of his words.
"Okay, Love. Until the end of the line."
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