"What!?" Ryuk thought in shock as he looked at the holographic panel, which had the message flashing in red.
[Yes, Host. If Isha's sighting of Host's potential is truly like an abyss, then filling up even half that abyss is enough to bring ruin upon an entire world from mere aura alone.]
[Most likely, Host's foes will be at a level beyond Host's imagination.]
The system said, as he unconsciously heaved, but then, thinking deeper about things, he started to notice the system might not be bluffing, as a part of him thinks.
Uncle Bob had been killed by the Knull, whose power was at least an A-grade Beast.
But after that holographic message during his Nanobody Evolution, he had learned that Uncle Bob had lost 95% of his cultivation due to him passing Ryuk his veins for him to use.
That must mean that when Uncle Bob exchanged moves with a Knull and sent it retreating, he was essentially fighting an A-grade beast with just 5% of his true power.
That brought the question—if Uncle Bob never passed Ryuk his veins and possessed absolutely 100% of his true power, then what level of power would he be at if just 5% of his true power was already equal to that of an A-grade Beast?
'Most likely, Uncle Bob is at the Eternity Grade!' Ryuk wondered to himself, his eyes flashing from the realization.
'But… but how is that possible? How are there people with so much power?'
"There are 25-year-olds out there with enough power to rival half the force of the entire Enderath. And guess what? They might not even be considered geniuses in their world."
"If you never go into that portal, you will forever have to live with the fact that there are 25-year-olds possessing as much power as you do, despite having spent hundreds of years in cultivation."
MadWhite's voice resounded once more through his head as Ryuk clenched his teeth.
"Do I really have no choice?" he asked himself.
He had barely settled down here. He had barely started feeling peace. He had barely gotten a smooth direction for his future—spend his time training in the academy, graduate, and become a better person.
And now, he had to leave that clear future behind and venture alone into a Lord Rank Gate—a place where his chances of return were so low they weren't worth consideration at all.
Now, he had no choice but to venture into the abyss.
It wasn't venturing into the abyss that was hard for Ryuk.
It was venturing into the abyss after seeing a clear path to a brighter future.
The choice of going into the portal seemed so stupid now that he had his life under control.
But there was also that haunting reality—the reality that he would never truly reach his potential if he remained here. The reality that his foes would be stronger than he could ever imagine and that he would most likely die to them if he never entered the abyss.
The choices were two—and incredibly hard to make.
To continue living his peaceful life as a student, growing at the same potential as everyone else but never truly reaching his full potential, with the possibility that when his foes come for him, he would no doubt be wiped away with the mere release of aura from them.
Or to cast all of this clear future aside, venture into the abyss where hope of return was almost nonexistent, and fight hard to reach his full potential—if he succeeded, able to face his foes on the same footing and secure his life?"
"In the end, what choice should he make?"
A stable existence right now but a seemingly bleak future...
Or a bleak chance of existence right now for a somewhat hope of a brighter future...
"What would you have me choose, Uncle Bob?"
Ryuk mused under his breath, his gaze looking at Isha, yet lost in the distance, the memories of time past flowing before his eyes before a smile tugged at the corner of his lips.
"I know what you would have me do, Uncle Bob."
"I know you would have kicked my butt into that portal and waited until the end of time for me to return."
"I know you would have done anything for me to secure a brighter future—even if death is very well a possibility now."
"I can't lose to my foes, Uncle Bob. I can't let all of your sacrifices go to waste."
"If the system is right, and my foes are really as strong as that, then if I keep going at this safe pace, I would never be able to defeat them—and in the end, your sacrifice will be too late."
"That isn't a choice at all."
"But if I venture into the Lord Rank Portal, I might die... and once I die, everything also goes to waste."
"It's hard... it's twisting me mad."
Ryuk stared at his hand, pulling at his hair.
"Now I can only let hope be my ultimate decision."
"If I stay in Enderath, there is no hope of surviving my foes, and I'll only be prolonging my death."
"But if I venture into the Lord Rank Portal—as dangerous as it might be—I might just be able to narrowly survive."
"With the help of the level-up cards I have now and the level-up cards that I will get when I arrive in the portal itself… and Isha's help, with the two contracted spaces for new beasts..."
"Who knows? I might just have a chance of surviving a Lord Rank Portal."
"In the end, what is my choice?"
"In the end, it's all on a hope."
"All on a 'who knows?'"
"In the end... it's all on fate."
"If I'm destined to die in the portal, then I will die. If I'm destined to live, then I will live. Isn't that what you always say, Quinn?"
Ryuk muttered to himself like a madman, but his eyes soon opened up, his blue eyes flaring with a blue halo.
"I'll fight fate itself. Hard enough for it to give me its good one."
"Hey, System?" Ryuk called.
"I accept the quest!"