Novel Full Chapter 1632 Six Steps
Chapter 1632 Six Steps
“Where are you going?”
“…!”
Anorah, who had been about to step into the pathway, halted.
She looked up just as Atticus descended and landed before her.
‘Of course…’
Aside from being the god of this territory, Atticus was not someone who could be deceived so easily. She had always known that.
“….”
Under his silent stare, Anorah exhaled.
“I’m leaving.”
“….”
Atticus didn’t look even remotely surprised.
“To find your father?”
“…Yes.”
“Why not go together?”
“Because it could be a trap. I’m not letting anyone else get hurt because of me.”
Anorah had turned it over in her mind countless times. Trusting the usurpers was likely the most foolish decision she could make. And yet, with the blade in her possession, she had no doubt her father was still alive.
‘There’s no choice.’
Her fists tightened at her sides.
She knew Atticus would offer to help. But there was no universe in which she would risk him, and their entire world, on something this uncertain.
“So let’s assume you leave.” Atticus remained expressionless, as though her departure meant nothing to him.
“What’s your plan?”
“I’ll go to the usurpers and get answers about my father.”
“They’re in the summit. Your face is everywhere across the span. How exactly are you planning to reach it without the Willguard catching you?”
Atticus stepped toward her calmly.
“And let’s say you somehow make it to the summit. Let’s say it is a trap. What then?”
“I-I… I…”
“What you’re about to do is reckless. It’s not thought through.”
Atticus stopped in front of her, his gaze locking onto hers.
“This isn’t like you, Anorah.”
Anorah’s nails dug so deeply into her palms that blood began to drip from her hands. After a moment, she let out a strained breath.
“I can’t abandon my father.”
“Then don’t. Let me help you.”
“But what if it’s a trap? I won’t drag anyone else into something like that…”
A pressure erupted from Atticus without warning, crashing down upon the world like an overwhelming tide.
Anorah’s eyes widened as she instinctively stepped back. A vast shadow unfurled behind Atticus, stretching upward until it seemed to swallow the sky itself.
‘W-what is this…’
She had always known Atticus was powerful, but this… this was something else entirely. She could feel her bones trembling beneath the sheer weight of it.
At that moment, he did not resemble a man. He resembled something absolute.
“Then I’ll destroy it.”
A crimson glow bled from Atticus’ body as his blade quivered within its sheath.
Beneath the pale silver moon, Anorah lowered her head and nodded silently.
…
Soon after, they both returned to the hill. Embarrassed by her earlier display, Anorah told Atticus she intended to train and quickly excused herself.
‘As expected.’
Atticus calmly watched her retreating figure. He had anticipated this outcome from the moment he learned about her father.
Anorah was an exceptional leader who would sacrifice anything for her people, but she was far too duty boundto ever consider risking others for something personal. That was precisely why he had been monitoring her, and as expected, she had been about to leave the world.
‘She should be fine now.’
The truth was, the old Atticus would have hesitated to involve himself, considering the risks. However, a certain someone had reminded him to trust in his own strength, and he had every intention of doing exactly that.
‘You’re fortunate I took you as a student. Without me, you’d still be brooding in a corner somewhere.’
Atticus, having already anticipated her comment, merely smiled and shook his head. For some reason, he found himself in a rather good mood.
…
Slash!
Swish!
Atticus streaked across thousands of kilometers in an endless blur, releasing slashes that consumed the skies whole.
Whoosh!
He materialized at their center, his eyes gleaming with a faint crimson light.
“Disperse.”
The millions of descending slashes dissolved in the very next instant.
Atticus tightened his fists and smiled. A week day had passed since his conversation with Anorah, and he had devoted every moment to training.
‘Field law…’
Over these past months, he had grown accustomed to the power of his aspect, but its strength still astonished him. He had infused multiple elements into those earlier slashes, and still, a single command had been enough to influence them all.
‘About three elements.’
At present, three was his limit when controlling elements simultaneously. He expected that number to rise the further he ascended. Asides that, the sheer magnitude of what he could invoke had also increased significantly.
While dispersing a person’s will was extremely taxing, attacks were another matter entirely. He had proven that during his battle against the Judicator and the Willguard. Every incoming strike had been dispersed easily.
‘Let’s see the changes.’
Sliding his blade back into its sheath, Atticus summoned his system panel.
Name: Atticus Ravenstein
Race: Kin of Solvath
Age: 23
World Anchor: Eldoralth
World Rank: Dominion (53 >> 200+)
Will Type: True Will
Will Name: The Burning
Lineage Core: Primordial Elemental Bloodline + Solvath Fragment
Attributes:
Physical Aspect (100%): High Grand Sovereign Rank
Intellectual Aspect (100%): High Grand Sovereign Rank
Will Authority (100%): High Grand Sovereign Rank
Presence (100%): High Grand Sovereign Rank
Katana Art:
Transcendent Slash Godspeed Grace (100%)
Endless Strike (100%)
Vorpal Nova (100%)
Sundering Storm (100%)
Still Blade (100%)
Elemental Integration:
Level 5:
• (Fire, Air, Water, Earth, Light, Space, Spirit, Darkness, Lightning, Ice, Blood, Nature): Will Attunement: 100%
Locked Bloodlines:
NONE
(World Abilities)
Atticus smiled.
‘Two hundred…’
Two hundred dominion-rank worlds amounted to roughly one fifty million minor worlds. He had come a long way from the mere seven he once possessed.
‘That’s the peak of the Grand Sovereign rank.’
The plus sign before the number was very telling. It signified that he had already exceeded the span’s limit but was being forcibly restrained.
Even now, Atticus could sense his power being suppressed due to his current level, unable to fully manifest until he reached the summit.
‘It’s solid progress.’
Regardless, Atticus was deeply satisfied. Once he reached the summit, his aspect would ascend further, and so would his will. Compared to before, his confidence in crushing any potential trap had grown considerably.
“Now…”
Exhaling slowly, Atticus transformed his attention to the katana. It was time to attempt that again.
A moment later, wind roared past him as he dropped from the sky. He landed on the endless grassland shortly after. Ahead of him, the katana’s avatar was already staring at him in silence.
“I didn’t come for you. I want the sixth trial.”
The avatar turned its head slightly. To the side, a staircase ascending into darkness manifested without a sound.
“Whew.”
Atticus drew in a steady breath, tempering his mind. After what he had endured previously, the preparation felt necessary.
‘Here goes.’
Without hesitation, he advanced onto the first stair.
Bam!
Atticus bent forward as a crushing weight bore down on his will. His fists tightened as he resisted the pressure. After a brief struggle, he forced himself upright once more.
‘I did it.’
Atticus smiled through heavy breaths. Unlike last time, he remained standing. Without lingering, he fixed his gaze on the second stair and stepped forward.
“Urk!”
The pressure intensified drastically, dragging at his will as though an entire planet were pulling against it. A strained groan escaped him. But after several agonizing seconds, he steadied himself and stood upright again.
Drawing in several more breaths to recover, Atticus advanced. The third stair was even harsher, nearly driving him to his knees. The fourth forced him to clench his jaw so tightly that blood flooded his mouth.
Eventually, he reached the sixth step. By then, his entire body was soaked in sweat, blood trailing from multiple wounds. Muscles had torn. He was almost certain several bones were fractured.
‘I’m not healing.’
Normally, injuries sustained within the katana’s realm would heal. It appeared that would not occur until he either completed the trial or withdrew from it.
“Huff… huff…”
Breathing heavily, he lifted his eyes forward. Two steps remained. Two more, and it would be over.
‘Here goes.’
He stepped forward again, and his knees slammed into the stair as an unprecedented weight crushed down upon him.
‘I… I can’t.’
A moment later, Atticus allowed himself to tilt sideways, falling from the staircase. He landed softly on the grass, chest heaving with ragged breaths.
“Six… six steps.”
He muttered after a pause, aware of the avatar’s piercing gaze on him due to his failure.
And yet, there was a wide smile on his face.
Six steps…
Only two more, and the sixth katana art would be his.