Chapter 78: Balancing

"System," Leon said quietly, the golden and icy blue light in his eyes burning bright. "Open the box."

The Mythic Artifact Box, a small, perfectly cubic chest forged from shifting, nebulous void-metal, hovered inches above the ash-covered earth of the Gravesite Plain. As Leon issued the command, the box fractured.

The geometric planes of the cube slid apart, folding inward upon themselves in a mesmerizing display of spatial distortion, before detonating into a blinding column of platinum light that pierced the swirling purple sky of the Battlefield Realm.

The ambient mana in the air grew heavy, practically vibrating against Leon’s body.

When the light faded, a single item remained, suspended in the center of the residual energy field. It was a ring, forged from an unknown, pitch-black metal that seemed to absorb the surrounding light. Inlaid within the dark band was a single, glowing vein of iridescent starlight that pulsed with the rhythmic, steady beat of a human heart.

Leon reached out, his leather-gloved fingers closing around the cold metal.

Ding!

[Mythic Artifact Acquired: Band of the Chronos Lord]

[Rank: Mythic (Growth)]

[Description: An artifact forged from the crystallized time-dilation of a collapsed Battlefield Realm. Grants the passive ability to perceive the physical world at a 50% reduced temporal speed during combat. Active Ability (Chronos Shift): The user can completely freeze localized time within a twenty-foot radius for 0.5 seconds. Cooldown: 1 Hour.]

"Time manipulation," Leon whispered, staring at the band as he slipped it onto his right index finger. The moment the metal touched his skin, his Origin Eyes flared.

The falling ash around him seemed to hang in the air, the chaotic swirl of the remaining void mist slowing to a sluggish crawl. Half a second of absolute time-stop might sound insignificant to a novice, but to a Level 98 player with catastrophic Agility and Strength, a 0.5-second window of completely undefended uptime was an execution sentence for any boss in Eternal Heaven.

"An unprecedented tactical advantage," Leon noted, clenching his fist. The ring seamlessly merged with his aesthetic, resting securely against the grip of his greatsword.

He didn’t immediately move to mount Auris. The Gravesite Plain was dead, the final cycle cleared, leaving him in a temporary safe zone within the Abyssal Fracture. He had an enormous surplus of resources, 118 unallocated Evolution Points, and a massive pool of unassigned stat points from his exponential climb to Level 98. It was time to consolidate his godhood.

"System," Leon commanded. "Bring up the interface. I have a massive stockpile of talent fragments to process."

He swiped his hand through the air, pulling up his extra tabs. He held Hollow Bones (10),Ethereal Intangibility (10), Soul Rend (8), Legion’s Bulwark (15), Death Aura (10), and the Storm-Bringer (15) fragments from the Coatl. The only fragment set he lacked a fusion pair for was the five Lingering Curse fragments, which he fully intended to hoard until he could forge a localized curse-energy attack.

"Let’s build a new arsenal," Leon said, his mind rapidly mapping the conceptual synergies. "System, initiate mass fusion. Combine the ten fragments of Hollow Bones with the ten fragments of Ethereal Intangibility."

Ding!

[10 fragments of both Hollow Bones (10), and Ethereal Intangibility (10), meets the requirement for mass fusion!]

[Fusing Fragments....]

[Fragments fused. New Talent Acquired: Phantom Shift (Grade: A). Description: The user can temporarily reduce their physical mass and density to zero during a dodge or parry, allowing incoming kinetic and magical strikes to pass through their hit-box harmlessly for a fraction of a second.]

"Perfect," Leon nodded. "Next. Fuse the fifteen fragments of Legion’s Bulwark with the fifteen fragments of Storm-Bringer."

Ding!

[Fragments fused. New Talent Acquired: Aegis of the Tempest (Grade: A). Description: Generates a localized, highly pressurized storm-front around the user’s physical armor. Incoming projectiles and magical beams are violently redirected by the swirling gale, significantly increasing evasion against ranged bombardments.]

"And the final set," Leon commanded. "Fuse the ten fragments of Death Aura with the eight fragments of Soul Rend."

Ding!

[Fragments fused. New Talent Acquired: Reaper’s Resonance (Grade: A). Description: Your physical strikes now emit a low-frequency psychic shockwave upon impact. Enemies struck by your weapons suffer micro-fractures to their mana cores, momentarily interrupting their spell-casting and applying a stacking ’Fear’ debuff.]

Leon rolled his shoulders, feeling the sheer volume of new magic rooting itself into his framework. He had answers for heavy physical brawlers, evasive assassins, ranged artillery, and magical casters. But raw talents were only half the equation. He had 118 Evolution Points, and a fundamental rule of the system to shatter.

In Eternal Heaven, the standard skill progression was rigid: Iron → Bronze → Silver → Gold → Platinum → Diamond → Mythril → Legendary → Divine → Transcendent. For 99.99999% percent of the player base, Transcendent was the absolute, hard-coded ceiling of reality.

But Leon was that single anomaly!

Leon focused on his core panel, specifically targeting his Aura of the Undying (SS).

"System," Leon stated, his voice echoing with absolute authority. "Dump the necessary Evolution Points into Aura of the Undying. Push it to SSS."

Ding!

[Role Talent: Aura of the Undying has evolved from SS-Rank to SSS-Rank!]

[Description Updated: Health and stamina regeneration are now near-instantaneous. The user can survive the complete destruction of non-vital limbs, regenerating them over time. Immunity to all standard poisons, diseases, and necrotic rot.]

Leon felt his heart pound, a surge of overwhelming, practically immortal vitality flooding his veins. But he wasn’t done. He looked at one of his SSS-Rank Talent.

[SSS-Rank Talent: Infinite Growth]

[Description: Your growth possesses no fixed upper limit. Attributes, abilities, physical potential, and other aspects of your existence may continue to improve without encountering a ceiling.]

"No fixed upper limit," Leon quoted softly, a predatory grin spreading across his face. "If the system has a ceiling, Infinite Growth is the sledgehammer, breaking the cap! System, force the evolution. Push Aura of the Undying past SSS."

The interface literally glitched. Red warning text flickered across his vision, attempting to enforce the hard-coded parameters of the world, before the absolute, undeniable authority of Infinite Growth violently overrode the restriction.

Ding!

[System Override Authorized by: Infinite Growth]

[Role Talent: Aura of the Undying has shattered the mortal ceiling! Evolved to SSS+!]

[Description Updated: The user’s life-force is now conceptually tethered to the ambient mana of the world. As long as mana exists in the surrounding atmosphere, the user cannot die from physical exhaustion or blood loss. Cellular regeneration occurs at a microscopic level, rendering the user biologically immortal to the ravages of time and catastrophic physical trauma.]