Chapter 331: Something Is Wrong With This Origin Titan!

The Origin Titan didn’t seem bothered by Luke’s silence and continued calmly, "Since you have already faced one of my fragments before, I will be direct with you this time."

"My realm is the same as before, which means that since you are currently D-Rank, this body has been set at Peak D-Rank according to the base physical standard of the strongest Titan species."

Luke’s expression immediately changed as confusion appeared in his eyes.

’System, wasn’t the difficulty supposed to be Peak B-Rank?’

The System responded almost immediately.

[Luke, I displayed the difficulty according to human combat standards so that you could make a more accurate comparison.]

Hearing that explanation, Luke slowly nodded, because that meant the Titan standing before him was still technically Peak D-Rank, yet its actual combat strength could reach the level of a Peak B-Rank human.

"..."

Luke remained silent for a moment before his eyes widened.

’Wait, a Peak D-Rank Titan can reach Peak B-Rank combat strength? Are you kidding me?!’

That sounded absurd even by Titan standards, because the previous Origin Fragment had also possessed the peak strength of his realm, yet Luke didn’t remember it feeling anywhere near this ridiculous.

Before he could continue questioning it, another System screen appeared before his eyes.

[Keep listening to his explanation and you will understand why.]

Luke immediately stopped thinking about it and returned his attention to the Origin Titan, although the crystalline figure had already noticed his distracted expression.

"Were you speaking with someone?"

Luke shook his head without hesitation.

He had already noticed long ago that whenever he communicated with the System or his Titans internally, his expression sometimes became distant enough that other people could tell he was listening to someone, although he had no intention of explaining anything whenever they asked.

"No."

The Origin Titan stared at him for a moment before simply nodding. "Very well."

It clearly didn’t care enough to press the matter and instead continued explaining the rules of the trial.

"This Fragment embodies the Aspect of Adaptation, and your objective is simple: you must destroy this body."

The Origin Titan paused briefly before adding, "However, there is one condition you should understand before you begin."

"Every time you attack me, regardless of the method you use, this entire Crystal Body will adapt to that attack and become increasingly resistant to the same form of damage."

Luke’s eyes narrowed slightly.

The Origin Titan continued before he could respond.

"For your information, you will not be able to destroy this body during your first three attacks, even if you use your strongest technique, because I established that restriction as part of the trial itself, which means wasting your greatest attack during those first three attempts would accomplish nothing."

It then added another condition.

"However, you cannot exploit that rule by using insignificant attacks. Each of your first three attacks must contain at least thirty percent of the peak offensive power you can currently produce in whatever form you are using."

The Origin Titan stopped speaking for several seconds, allowing Luke enough time to properly understand the rules before continuing.

"You will have one full day."

"Within that time, you must completely destroy this body."

After saying that, the Origin Titan unexpectedly let out a sigh.

Luke immediately noticed it and became confused, because he couldn’t understand why something like this would cause the Fragment to react that way, although the answer came only a moment later.

"Unfortunately, the previous Hero who attempted this trial failed."

"..."

Luke’s gaze sharpened slightly.

’Why does he sound disappointed about that?’

More importantly, the mention of a previous Hero immediately caught his attention.

"What was the previous Hero of Light’s name?"

The Origin Titan slowly raised its head, and for the first time, clear confusion appeared within its crystalline eyes.

"Hero of Light?"

It looked directly at Luke before answering, "No. The one who came before you was the Hero of Space."

"O_O"

Luke’s mouth opened completely as he stared at the Fragment.

’What the hell?’

Until now, Luke had assumed that these Origin Fragment trials were connected specifically to the Hero of Light, especially because Peiro had just told him that he was the first person capable of opening the ancient gate.

He immediately asked, "Then how did the Hero of Space enter this place if I was supposedly the first person who managed to open that gate?"

The Origin Titan shook its head.

"The Hero of Space never entered through the gate."

"He teleported directly inside."

Luke’s expression became even stranger.

’Okay, now this is getting absurd.’

If Peiro had been outside at the time, then simply bypassing the entire gate and teleporting directly into this world should have required a ridiculous level of spatial control.

However, another possibility quickly came to Luke’s mind.

’What if he didn’t come here shortly after awakening?’

If the Hero of Space had arrived much later in his journey, after becoming significantly stronger and developing greater control over his authority, then teleporting into this place suddenly seemed far more believable. There was also the possibility that the god or goddess supporting that Hero had helped him reach this location.

While Luke was considering those possibilities, the Origin Titan continued without paying any attention to his confusion.

"The Hero of Space had already encountered another Origin Fragment before reaching me, and he successfully completed its trial."

Luke’s expression changed again.

’So other gods and goddesses were also interested in the Origin Titan.’

He immediately remembered his earlier conversations with the System, where it had become clear that many divine beings were trying to guide their Heroes toward forgotten powers and ancient existences.

Until now, Luke had assumed that because the Goddess of Light was pursuing the Origin Titan, the other gods would each be seeking entirely different forgotten existences.

Apparently, that assumption wasn’t completely correct.

The Origin Titan continued, "The Fragment conquered by the Hero of Space possessed the Aspect known as Distance, and at its true peak, even a single centimeter could be extended into a distance measured in light-years."

Luke’s mouth twitched violently.

’Then how the hell did the Hero of Space complete that trial?’

Almost as though it had noticed what Luke was thinking, the Origin Titan gave a faint laugh.

"Haha, I am speaking about when, I’m at my peak, when I possessed all my original power."

Luke released a small breath of relief.

’Alright, good.’

For a moment, he had thought the Fragment inside that origin titan, which hero of space face, could casually turn one centimeter into several light-years, which would have made the entire situation completely ridiculous. And he didn’t have to face that trial.

Unfortunately, that relief lasted only a few seconds.

The Origin Titan looked at him and said in the same calm tone, "Even so, the Hero of Space failed my trial."

Luke waited for the rest.

"And I ate him."

"..."

"..."

[...]

Luke became completely silent.

Sevaroth, who had been floating beside him throughout the conversation, also stopped moving for a moment, while even the System failed to immediately say anything.

An awkward silence settled over the strange world as the distant mountains remained motionless beneath the pale sky and the seas below reflected the gigantic crystalline figure hovering above them.

Luke’s eye twitched.

’Wait, System, you already knew about this, so why are you joining us in being silent?’

[Tch! You never let me participate in anything.]

Luke ignored the System’s childish complaint and immediately started connecting the information with everything he had learned earlier.

The System Quest had already hinted that something unusual was waiting here, and it had also stated that his Origin Skill would rank up twice after completing this part of the quest.

Now the reason suddenly became obvious.

If the Adaptation Fragment had killed and absorbed the Hero of Space, and that Hero had already obtained another Origin Fragment before coming here, then both fragments should still be present within this body.

Luke slowly looked toward the thousand-foot Crystal Body.

"Fragment of Adaptation... and Fragment of Distance."

The moment those words left his mouth, the gigantic crystalline body began to change.

A faint tremor passed through its transparent frame before something started emerging from deep within the crystal, initially appearing as a small shape buried near the center of its torso before rapidly expanding outward.

CRRRRKKK—!

Layers of crystal shifted apart as a second Titan body began growing around the original one.

The new body was formed from pale, nearly transparent glass, and as it expanded, reflections of distant mountains, seas, skies, and horizons began appearing across its surface as though entire landscapes had somehow become trapped within the material.

Within the center of that growing glass body, Luke could still clearly see the original Crystal Body suspended inside.

His expression immediately changed.

’Don’t freaking tell me...’

A bad premonition rose inside him as the new body continued expanding until it completely surrounded the Adaptation Fragment.

The Origin Titan’s voice then confirmed exactly what Luke had feared.

"The conditions of the trial have changed."

Luke stared at the newly formed Horizon Glass Body while the Origin Titan continued speaking from inside it.

"You must now cross this body, reach the Crystal Body at its center, and then destroy the Crystal Body before the trial ends."

Luke’s mouth twitched as he looked from the outer glass body toward the smaller crystalline figure trapped deep within its center.

"Sigh... alright, now this is getting out of control."

However, before he could complain any further, something changed.

The Origin Titan’s crystalline eyes, which had remained calm throughout their entire conversation, slowly turned crimson.

The change spread across both eyes until every trace of their original color disappeared, leaving behind a deep red glow that looked completely unnatural against the pale crystal.

Luke’s expression immediately hardened.

’Yeah... there it is.’

He finally understood the strange behavior, the altered trial, and why the Origin Fragment had killed the previous Hero instead of simply allowing him to fail.

’The corruption.’

Luke stared at the crimson eyes shining from within the Horizon Glass Body as the uneasy feeling inside him became certainty.

’This Titan Fragment has been corrupted.’