Ten Lucky Draws: I Became OP

Chapter 168: The Middle Veil

The Middle Veil was the next stop for the trio of Ash, Sylvie, and Kaelthyr. With the help of his self-created watches and the power of Paradox, the three easily made their way into the Mid Veil, and the view was entirely different than the Lower Abyss.

If the Lower Abyss was barren, the Mid Veil was an entirely different world. The place was more like a frontier… a bleeding one at that. The skies churned with violent violet-purple auroras that crackled with raw Void Emperor power, casting shifting shadows that danced like living predators across the landscape.

The air hung heavy with the tang of ozone, the sweetness of blooming decay, and the damp musk of wet earth—sharp, vibrant, and unrelenting. Gravity shifted erratically—at times as weightless as a breeze, at others as crushing as the ocean’s depths—while mana storms rolled over the land in relentless waves, battering defenses and draining strength.

The ground was alive with strange, wild energy: towering fungal forests twisted and lashed at passing shadows, rivers of shimmering starlight hissed and sizzled at the slightest touch, and drifting islands draped in carnivorous vines stretched hungrily toward anything that ventured too near.

The odd thing about this place was that the people weren’t fighting against one another, but against beast tides… and even the environment. Nature was these people’s worst nightmare, as they suffered a 30% debuff over the power of their Laws—mana draining faster, strikes weakening, defenses crumbling under the relentless pressure of the living realm.

Not only that, but there were also domains filled with treasures, loot, and amongst other opportunities all claimed by ’Nature’.

You had forests that generated wooden warriors that were all Void Emperors—massive tree-like golems with bark armor and glowing green eyes, moving in silent, coordinated packs. Mountains were run by spirits attuned to the stone—colossal elemental beings of granite and crystal that rumbled with every step, causing avalanches at will.

This forced the inhabitants to band together to fight off these beasts and even the nature itself.

The Mid Veil was filled with smaller outposts that fell under the five main factions’ banners. These five factions had the most power and even connections to the Upper level of this world. Although the Cosmic Overlords couldn’t come down, it still said a lot to have connections to such beings.

[Welcome to the Middle Veil, Master.] Elysia voice sounded in his mind as she began to explain this realm.

[This place is a fight against the world itself. Much like how the Lower Abyss was permanently drenched in darkness, this part of the world makes Nature Malevolent against all cultivators no matter the race.

There are five Races that lead all the others, each controlling their own continent with numerous other races under them.] She said before she generated the information.

[TheAdamants — living constructs of pure star-metal and molten core, bodies shifting between liquid and solid states, immune to most physical damage. Specialty: Unbreakable defenses, siege warfare, forging artifacts mid-battle

The Lunar Direkin — wolf-like humanoids with silver fur and glowing moon-white eyes, able to shift between humanoid and massive dire wolf forms under aurora light. Specialty: Pack hunting, tracking, overwhelming speed and numbers.

The Shadowpetal Ascendants — humanoid plant-fungus hybrids with black petals for skin, glowing violet veins, and tendrils that can extend like whips or roots. Specialty: Corruption, regeneration, turning enemy corpses into thralls.

The Stormborn Zephyr — tall, ethereal beings of living storm energy, bodies made of swirling violet lightning and mist, eyes crackling with electricity. Specialty: Aerial dominance, lightning storms, rapid teleportation through mana currents.

The Nightborn Umbrals — shadow-flesh humanoids with pale skin that shifts like smoke, eyes pure black with purple slits, able to merge with darkness. Specialty: Stealth, assassination, curse/hex manipulation.]

Ash and the other two hovered in the skies, gazing out over the lands of the Mid Veil. He smiled faintly as he absorbed all the details Elysia had shared.

’So, most of this world is still unexplored… how neat—a 15th era world with untouched lands,’ he mused.

Much of the realm was untouched by civilization, with beasts and nature ruling supreme.

Vast stretches of land were raw wilderness: endless fungal jungles where Void Emperor-level beasts roamed in packs, mountains that shifted and breathed like living beings, plains where aurora storms gave birth to creatures mid-flight, rivers that swallowed anything they touched.

Scattered outposts stood as rare bastions of defiance—fortified camps glowing with runes and flickering barriers—constantly besieged by unending waves of beasts.

“I feel my Laws are being slightly restricted…” Kaelthyr said with a frown as he observed, grey eyes narrowing as he tested a small blood aura—only for it to flicker and weaken under the realm’s pressure.

“Yea, mine too,” Sylvie said before she pointed and spoke again.

“What the hell kind of creature is that?”

As she spoke, the two men glanced down and were met with a monstrosity. A colossal beast, its body clad in rough tree bark, moved with the grace of a tiger despite its towering size—easily three hundred meters in length. Its bark armor was split and glowing with violet veins, eyes blazing like twin auroras, and claws slicing through stone as if it were paper.

Ash’s eyes scanned the beast instantly.

[Verdant Cataclysm (Mythic)

Rank – Late Void Emperor

Law(s) – Life (100%), Earth (100%), Growth (100%), Devour (100%)

Remarks – A nameless beast of the Forest. Nature rises at its command, devouring everything in endless growth.]

—-

“Interesting…” Ash said, voice calm as the beast below roared—sound shaking the sky—and charged toward a distant outpost, tearing through earth like it was nothing.

“Well, we have a few options. One, we can stay solo, forget the treasures on this level and just move upwards after attaining the appropriate power. Two, we can find some allies.”

“I think it’ll be the smart thing to do if we find allies…” Sylvie chimed in as she was just beginning to understand the vast difference in power between Stellar Sovereign and Void Emperor.

Before the three could even come to a decision… they all were engulfed in the aura of Void before their visions blurred and they reappeared in a sort of throne room.

The room was enormous—its walls made of living shadow-flesh that throbbed gently, the ceiling disappearing into swirling violet auroras, and the floor a polished obsidian mirror reflecting their shapes in dark perfection.

Five Peak Void Emperors stood ahead, each emanating a power so intense it pressed against the skin, made every breath feel weighted, and caused mana to waver. They didn’t try to be intimidating—just their presence alone made the air shiver.

The first was a towering Adamant, its body formed of shifting star-metal, eyes molten gold, and voice like grinding steel.

The second, a Lunar Direkin, with silver fur rippling in moonlit glow, a massive wolf form barely restrained, eyes shining bright.

The third, a Shadowpetal Ascendant, had black petals for skin, violet veins aglow, and tendrils that coiled like living whips.

The fourth, a Stormborn Zephyr, was made of violet lightning and mist, crackling with energy, eyes pure white.

The fifth, a Nightborn Umbral, was a shadow-fleshed humanoid with black eyes slit by purple, its form flickering in and out of sight. They spoke together, voices overlapping and heavy with authority.

“Who are you… and how can Stellar Sovereigns be here?”

The pressure wasn’t hostile—yet—but it was absolute.

The room itself seemed to wait for an answer, the air thick and heavy, pressing down like an invisible hand that made bones creak and mana flicker.

Ash frowned a bit as the pressure was so intense that it caused his feet to sink slightly into the obsidian floor—cracks spiderwebbing outward from his boots in faint, silent fractures.

He didn’t even have to look at the other two to know they weren’t faring well—Sylvie’s wings trembled under the weight, Kaelthyr’s grey eyes narrowed as his knees bent ever so slightly, black robes rippling as if caught in an unseen current.

He spoke internally as he hated being on the lesser end of anything. If he couldn’t show that he wouldn’t be a pushover, then this conversation would only go the way these guys wanted it to.

’My lovely Nexus… Please tell me those Stellar Laws are done?’ He asked.

[Duh] Elysia teased before she continued.

[Normally Stellar Laws would not work against Void Emperors as they are beings with black holes inside their bodies. They are the epitome of space, and their conceptual power is on another level.

However, I added some workarounds to that… with all the Laws we’ve gained from two Galaxies and the Concept of Ruin at 10% along with everything else… I’m not even sure if these could be considered Stellar Laws…]

She said and without further explanation she activated the first one.

[Activating Stellar Law… Edict of The One]

Although Ash could do it himself… he had given her authority over everything, so she took advantage.

The Edict of The One… the moment it activated the entire room seemed to freeze.

HUMMMM!

Then the ceiling of the room shifted into pure nebula… it was space but not exactly anything anyone aside from Ash had ever seen. It was the visualization of the ending of the first cycle… but at the center was the Eye of First Dawn… only with a pink ring and white ring of fire inside of it.

The eye immediately bathed those in the room in two different lights. A white light drowned Ash, Kaelthyr, and Sylvie. The moment it did their bodies became rejuvenated… and their power levels rose three ranks.

Ash stepped into the Late Void Emperor rank, his aura surging outward in a controlled burst that cracked the floor beneath him; Sylvie and Kaelthyr both rose to Early Void Emperor, flaring with renewed, overwhelming force.

The pink light then washed over the Void Emperors who scoffed at the fact a Stellar Law was being used. No matter how impressive it was… for them it was futile…

Well, it should’ve been.

The moment the pink light touched them their ranks dropped from Peak Void Emperor way to match the three standing in front of them. There were now two Late Void Emperors and three Early.

The five Peak Void Emperors staggered—auras flickering, bodies trembling as power drained from them like water through open hands.

Ash smiled as he stretched a bit—shoulders rolling, wings rustling with casual ease.

“Ah, excuse me for the show,” he said as he waved a hand changing the room back into how it was before, though the Edict remained active—the nebula ceiling fading, pressure equalizing, but the rank suppression lingering like an unspoken threat.

“However, I truly hate talking under such circumstances. Nice to meet you though, I’m Ash Originat, you are?”