Trial Region No. 752, Obelisk, 4th Floor.
Yinad stood wide-eyed, watching Tier-4 monsters fall one after another as they lunged at the silver-haired figure who stood far in his vision.
What truly astonished him was that the individual didn't even budge from where he stood, nor did he seem to use any noticeable ability. Yet, the monsters' heads were either cleanly severed or their hearts pierced within seconds.
Yinad wasn't the only one left stunned—the forty-eight other Alpha Chosen from his Trial Region looked equally, if not more, baffled.
Relief mingled with shock in their expressions as they realized that this person wasn't the merciless invader they'd feared. Had he truly meant them harm, they would have perished long ago.
A reluctant sense of acceptance settled over Yinad as he grappled with the reality of the enormous gap between his power and that of the 1st Power Ranker. Despite his pride, seeing such overwhelming strength firsthand left him with no choice but to concede the truth.
When Jay instructed him to form a Raid Party with the strongest among his followers, Yinad complied without hesitation. Given that his team had initiated the attack only to be utterly defeated, he wasn't in a position to negotiate. He swiftly recovered his limbs and gathered his most capable fighters, including his half-brother, Yiren.
Yiren had questions of his own. He wanted to ask Jay why they were venturing into the Obelisk. Part of him feared that Jay intended to kill them there, but the memory of being choked into submission held his doubts at bay. He didn't dare voice his concerns.
Before long, Dante explained the truth about Urzo's deception—that they'd all fallen for his scheme, sparking a needless battle. Although some, including Yinad, remained skeptical, Dante didn't press the matter. With a weary sigh, he simply allowed silence to convey his resignation. He knew that in time, they would see that he and his allies bore them no ill will.
None of them had lifted a finger to slay a single monster, yet they'd already reached the fourth floor in under half an hour. Jay's displays of power on the previous three floors had left a lasting impression, highlighting a vast, unbridgeable gap between his strength and theirs.
Witnessing him cut down Tier-4 monsters as though they were mere nuisances sent a shiver through the Alpha Chosen who accompanied him; they understood just how small they were in comparison. Even Yinad, the mightiest one among their Trial Region, seemed diminished in Jay's shadow.
Meanwhile, Jay seemed oblivious to their reactions, focusing solely on spamming║Temporal Relapse║, to deal with the Tier-4 monsters. The longer he fought, the more he uncovered about the limitations and the overlooked benefits of the Origin Glaive.
The first thing he observed was the weapon's movement speed. Although it was a sentient weapon made from one of the strongest metals in existence and could move on its own, its speed wasn't as swift as he would have liked, and this restriction somewhat capped its attack power.
The glaive could efficiently handle monsters up to peak Tier-3 by itself, but anything beyond that required more than just the glaive's self-propelled strikes. Despite its extraordinary nature as a weapon capable of traversing the space-time continuum, its true significance lay in its unparalleled ability to withstand Origin Energy without degrading—a trait that would eventually turn most other weapons to scraps under such strain.
Yet, these limitations didn't disappoint Jay. The Origin Glaive was still only at the Common Grade, and he knew that as its grade improved, so would its potential. This was just the beginning of the weapon's evolution.
Upgrading the Origin Glaive was far from conventional. Unlike typical weapons, it didn't require merging seven identical weapons or even a single piece of extra equipment. All it needed was Origin Energy. At its current Common Grade, the glaive could store up to 10 units of Origin Energy. To upgrade it to Uncommon Grade, however, Jay needed to expend a total of 100 units stored within it.
Determined to see the weapon's potential, Jay first burned through the remaining 9 units left from his recent experiments with Seath. When those were exhausted, he strategically unbonded from some unused Spirit Equipment he carried, like the Aquadime Spear and the Two-Handed Greatsword.
He had bonded with these on Day 2 for training purposes but hadn't actually used them in combat since. Unbonding from these weapons was a calculated move—one that brought his overall stats below 1,000, under the 1st Universe's stat ceiling, allowing him to activate INVERSE mode once more.
It was only upon entering INVERSE mode that Jay began to grasp the true potential of the Origin Glaive. Previously, he could only solidify Origin Energy for a fleeting moment using his Momentary Materialization technique.
But now, with the glaive in hand, Jay could maintain a steady coating of Origin Energy along its blade, pushing its attack power to a whole new level. With this enhancement, even a single heavy swing was enough to cut down peak Tier-4 monsters, bypassing their defenses as effortlessly as a knife sliding through butter.
Jay continued his assault on the fourth-floor monsters, deploying║Temporal Relapse║every few seconds. Each activation drained one unit of Origin Energy from the glaive, and while in INVERSE mode, he replenished the energy and continued to channel it back into the weapon.
This relentless usage of║Temporal Relapse║went unnoticed by Yinad and the others, who watched in bafflement as Jay seemed to stand perfectly still, appearing almost inactive. Yet, within the ten-meter radius around him, intense clashes unfolded.
Only Jay and each slain monster knew what happened in those past moments he revisited. To everyone else, it was as if the monsters simply dropped where they stood, their deaths mysterious and unsettling.
In just ten minutes, Jay had performed║Temporal Relapse║a hundred times, finally meeting the requirements to upgrade the weapon. With a mental command, he affirmed the upgrade as the glaive advanced to Uncommon Grade.
Externally, the weapon retained its sleek, formidable appearance, but its abilities had evolved. The existing powers grew more potent, and a new ability had been unlocked.
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⧼GROWTH-TYPE WEAPON⧽ | Uncommon Grade ⧼UPGRADABLE⧽
A dual-bladed, sentient weapon capable of traversing the time-space continuum. Once wielded by the Indomitable Primordial, Orpheus, the weapon is a relic of immense power.
The TIMELESS PRIMORDIAL, the first ORIGIN CRUX Holder, forged the weapon using Origin Energy and crafted it from Temporal Shards that were said to have shaped the very fabric of space and time, laying the foundation for all existence.
Temporal Relapse, Temporal Lifeline
Current Temporal Range & Duration
100 Meters around the Wielder100 Seconds into the Past
100 Origin Energy Units
Channel 1000 units of Origin Energy through the weapon.Attain at least a 3% mastery over Origin Energy
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The second ability,║Temporal Lifeline║, was a passive extension of the first ability. It automatically consumed the stored Origin Energy units within the glaive to activate║Temporal Relapse║without Jay needing to do it manually, and it lifted the prior requirement of needing an injury to trigger the ability.
This came as a huge relief to Jay as he no longer had to fear unexpected or unseen attacks that could kill him instantly. True to its name,║Temporal Lifeline║had become his literal safety net.
Of course, the ability depended on the glaive's supply of Origin Energy units—if they ran out,║Temporal Lifeline║wouldn't be able to send his consciousness back in time. But in INVERSE mode, Jay could theoretically use it endlessly, replenishing the glaive's energy reserves continuously, giving him a tremendous advantage in battle.
Still, he recognized that if an enemy were overwhelmingly strong, even going back in time might not alter the outcome. That, however, was a worry for another day.
Satisfied, Jay shifted his focus to the upgrades in the glaive's first ability,║Temporal Relapse║. The duration and range of the ability had increased tenfold and so did the cost of each usage.
The ability's duration and range had expanded tenfold, but so had the cost of each use. Now, he could rewind up to 100 seconds into the past within a 100-meter radius, granting him significantly more control over any situation—though each use demanded a hefty 10 units of Origin Energy.
Moreover, the weapon's autonomous movement speed had surged, allowing it to deliver attacks with enough force to take down Tier-4 monsters on its own—even without being coated in Origin Energy.
A grin crept onto Jay's face. This single upgrade had elevated his combat capabilities far beyond what he'd been capable of before. In the past, clearing the fourth floor had demanded a significant amount of Spirit Energy and required him to summon his Arcane Element for large scale attacks. Now, he could simply let his glaive do the work, resting on the sidelines if he chose.
All his hard work and grinding for Universe Points while staying at Tier-2, even as others advanced to Tier-4, felt worth it. He had painstakingly completed a vast number of achievements from the list provided by the System during Frame Orientation.
Exclusive artwork for every free chapter is now available on my PATRE0N page! You can find the link in my Discord server.
I'm thrilled to share that I'm taking a big leap forward! Alongside Earth's Alpha Prime, I've launched the first sub-book for EAP.
ALTER REALITY: Online
The first ten to comment for new chapter releases will get '1 ADVANCED CHAPTER' for free on Earth Alpha Prime's Discord server.
In the discord server, I opened a private channel for those Top 10 candidates, where I posted the respective Advanced Chapter.
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Discord Link for 'Earth's Alpha Prime' :
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