Jay attempted to activate║Berserk║, but it failed. He quickly tried other stat-enhancing skills like║Strength Boost-IV║,║Agility Boost-IV║, and Ice Martial Aura, yet none of them responded. It wasn't just these abilities—every skill he tried to activate failed to work.
MJ's voice echoed in his mind, explaining the situation. "Master, all your active skills are being blocked by a strange ability. However, it's not affecting your passive skills, which is why abilities like║RECOIL MANTLE║are still functional."
Gritting his teeth, Jay gripped the spinning lance-drill with all his remaining strength, halting its advance. While he managed to stop the weapon from digging deeper, his current strength—reduced to that of a Tier-5 Low-Phase lifeform—was insufficient to pull it out entirely.
MJ's next alert came with a warning. "Master, Dante's health is dropping along with yours because of the Life Bond."
Jay made a quick decision. He deactivated║Life Bond║, the passive ability that shared health between him and Dante, severing the connection and sparing Dante from further harm.
He also instructed MJ to warn Dante not to resort to║FATE SHOWDOWN║, the risky ability he had previously used against Yinad, which only revolved around mutual harm.
'Tell him not to act recklessly and remind him that I still haven't used the ability that can turn the tables.'
MJ diligently relayed the information to Dante and the others sheltered within the Protection Barrier Charm, ensuring they wouldn't worry about Jay and do anything reckless.
Dante immediately understood which ability Jay was referring to and let out a sigh of relief. While the others assumed Jay was about to activate his silver-haired mode, Dante and Seath knew exactly what he meant.
There was genuine shock on Wibbit's—no, Urzo's—face. The measures Urzo had deployed would have killed most Alpha Prime Prospects multiple times over, yet Jay endured. It was clear that Jay operated in an entirely different league.
Urzo was cautious by nature and the moment he was teleported to the Tournament Island, he had used a long-range teleportation charm purchased from the Achievement Point Store. Though the charm had cost him a fortune, it had safely transported him to the 4th Trial Continent, far from Jay.
From this secure distance, Urzo controlled his targets. Since all his abilities relied on Possession Seeds—fragments of his own soul—there were no range limitations. He could command his possessed targets from any distance, allowing him to execute his plans while remaining out of harm's reach.
That was also how Urzo utilized the monsters he possessed to hunt other monsters during the rest periods when he wasn't in the Trial World. Furthermore, with one-tenth of the Life Energy he received from all those implanted with Possession Seeds, Urzo never lacked Life Energy to level up; in fact, he had an abundance of it.
This constant influx allowed him to consistently stay near the top of the Trial Worldwide Rankings. Still, compared to Drogor, Regaz, and Jay, Urzo always lagged slightly behind. The key factor limiting his progress wasn't Life Energy—it was the Mastery Requirement for advancing further.
When the Achievement Point Store became accessible on Day-11, Urzo scoured it for something that could accelerate his Mastery progress.
After extensive searching, he discovered a viable option: Enlightenment Incense. While there were other, more effective items available, their exorbitant prices placed them far beyond Urzo's reach. Ultimately, he purchased twenty Grade-4 Enlightenment Incenses.
The Enlightenment Incense provided only a 0.01% chance of triggering enlightenment required to advance from Stage-3 to Stage-4 Mastery. The odds were incredibly slim—just one in ten thousand.
For higher stages, the probability was even lower. However, among the individuals Urzo had possessed, there was one Alpha Chosen with a Variant Category Innate Talent that increased the probability of effects from items and skills by 5%.
Initially, Urzo had dismissed this talent as insignificant, but in this case, it became a game changer. By possessing the host of this peculiar talent, he boosted the effectiveness of the Grade-4 Enlightenment Incense from 0.01% to 5.01%. What was once a one-in-ten-thousand chance became a remarkable one-in-twenty chance. �
Urzo used all twenty Enlightenment Incenses under these enhanced conditions and successfully attained enlightenment, advancing to Stage-4 Mastery.
He used that method to reach the peak of Stage-4 Mastery in the shortest time possible. However, he soon encountered a bottleneck. From Stage-4 Mastery onward, each successive stage became increasingly difficult to achieve.
Urzo had intended to rely on the same method to reach Stage-5 Mastery, but the costs of Grade-5 Enlightenment Incenses were astronomical. Despite his relentless efforts to earn more Achievement Points, he didn't manage to accumulate enough by the end of Day-19.
Just as he had everything needed to soon become the first to reach Tier-5, Regaz achieved the milestone before him and beat him to it.
During the Day-19 rest period, Urzo used the Grade-5 Enlightenment Incenses to reach Stage-5 Mastery and undergo Evolution, becoming the second Alpha Chosen to reach Tier-5.
Since it was the rest period and the following day marked the start of the Tournament, the worldwide congratulatory notifications were postponed until Day-21, which was why no one knew about his evolution.
Thanks to passively accumulating 10% of the Life Energy from nearly a thousand Alpha Chosen under his control, Urzo had amassed an extraordinary reserve. Upon evolving, the accumulated Life Energy propelled him from Lv.100—the peak of Tier-4—straight to Lv.250, the peak of Tier-5.
Urzo's Innate Talent, which allowed him to possess anyone infected with his Possession Seeds, naturally granted him the adaptability to rapidly adjust to the stats of those he possessed. This adaptability helped him quickly adapt to his massive stat increase, though it wasn't enough to wield his newfound power at its full potential just yet.
While he was confident in his ability to conquer an Obelisk single-handedly, facing Jay was another matter entirely. The attack Jay had unleashed to annihilate the Plasma Predator had left a deep impression on Urzo, sending a wave of unease through him.
To avoid taking unnecessary risks, Urzo chose to retreat immediately after being teleported to the Tournament Island—a decision he now saw as wise.
The strength Jay had displayed during Round-1 only reinforced Urzo's caution. Initially, Urzo had planned to confront Jay at the end of the tournament when the moment was right.
However, seeing how much stronger Jay had become, Urzo realized that giving him more time to grow would be a mistake. With that in mind, he decided to prepone his plans and take action sooner than intended.
Now that he had reached Stage-5 Mastery, Urzo could use 10,000 Possession Seeds and even possess Tier-5 individuals. His first target was the Tournament Manager, Wibbit, whose possession provided higher chances of success to his plan.
Urzo's recently acquired an Innate Exclusive Skill temporarily allowed him to transfer his own stats to his possessed targets. The number of stats transferred depended on the strength of those he possessed. With Wibbit's Tier-5 capabilities, Urzo could fully utilize stats that rivaled those of a peak Tier-5 lifeform.
Possessing Wibbit gave Urzo the confidence to face Jay, as not even the combined strength of thousands of his other controlled targets could compare. But the cornerstone to Urzo's confidence was an Unique Innate Talent possessed by one of those he possessed:║NEUTRALIZER║.
Exciting news! The revamped version of Volume 1 is now live on Kindle. You can find it on Amazon by simply searching the book title. Thank you for your support, and I hope you enjoy the new edition!
Volume 2 Revamped Chapter Release Schedule
📅 Daily Releases – A revamped chapter will be released every day until Chapter 130.
These revamped chapters won't interfere with the usual chapter updates, ensuring consistent daily content for all readers.
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