Nameless King

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Ern smiled as he gazed at the dark orb.

Alas nodded silently. He was more surprised than the others since he had just met Wain. He could not have even imagined that Wain possessed such destructive power.

"Looks like I won't be able to capture him by force now..." Erza muttered.

"Yes." Ern nodded, "You definitely missed your chance, but maybe you still have a chance. You can't tell your heart. That rule works the same for everyone."

'It's the power of the human...' Alice inwardly muttered.

The Dark Sphere made contact with the ants' nest, and the world seemed to stop for a moment. Ern quickly created a protective barrier, then a glow appeared in the sphere's center.

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

The ground trembled as if a massive meteor had fallen. Dark flames covered the nest and spread hundreds of meters around it. Nothing but flames were visible in the vast area. It burned many trees and killed dozens of monsters.

Of the nest, nothing was left at the explosion's epicenter. Now there was no longer a colony of powerful monsters but a huge crater, like a deep canyon next to which there was only scorched earth.

Gradually the flames faded away. In the midst of the forest stood one Wain. Dark currents of energy hovered beside him, he had already undone the form's action.

"It was easier than I thought. Now it's time to get the reward." Wain muttered.

Whoooooooosh.

Many souls of different colors and sizes flew out of the crater. They headed toward Wain like fireflies.

There were so many souls that, in time, they turned into a huge stream like a rainbow river. White dominated, but the closer the center, the more colors there were. Red and orange were absent, there was no one with an Ascendant or Legendary Soul in the nest of ants. There were many ants, so Wain chose quantity over quality.

[You received more than fifty thousand souls at one time.]

[Received Title - Soul Collector]

[Soul Collector

You've got more souls out there than most people have ever seen in their entire lives. You certainly know your way around it.

If you absorb souls with a Rating below Ascendant, you will get 15% more Soul Essence]

Wain absorbed the flux and immediately started using souls.

[You absorbed Soul Essence. Your Stats were increased]

[You absorbed Soul Essence. Your Stats were increased]

[You absorbed Soul Essence. Your Stats were increased]

Dozens of souls turned into energy, it was so many that they didn't have time to fly into the Wain and turned into a dense energy pillar that pierced the clouds.

"What's happening now...?" Alas asked.

"It's been reaching the boundary since the beginning of the Third Chronicle." Ern explained, "I understand it's a shock to you, but for the humans, it's the norm. In a couple of minutes, he did what it would have taken others at best several years to do."

"In that case, aren't the humans the strongest race? Holy crap, that's crazy!"

"No." Ern shook his head, "Everything has a balance in this world. They have a lot of limitations, so they have to fight if they want to get stronger. Simply put, Wain is just an exception to the rule."

The flow of energy gradually waned, the souls coming to an end.

'How many...' Wain inwardly muttered.

"Agh!" Wain suddenly vomited a mouthful of blood.

"What's going on?" Wain looked puzzled at his bloody hands.

'It's natural.' Blind Sorcerer's voice broke out, 'Your body isn't used to this kind of exertion, it struggles to absorb all the energy, but you didn't even notice how you reached the limit.'

'Hmm?'

Wain decided to check his status.

[Wain Norheim

Level: 99

Race: Human

Beyond: Calamity

Soul: Nameless King

Additional Soul: Dimensional Monarch

Title: Savior of the Damned, Echo of Samurai, Mentor Inquisitor, The First, Soul Gatherer, Cartographer, Slayer of Goliath, Contender, Defeating One of the Four Kings, Killing the Legend and etc...

Strength: 1500 / Agility: 1500 / Vitality: 1500 / Stamina: 1500 / Energy: 1500 / Majesty: 6]

'Why has the level stopped at 99? And where are my Status Points? What the fuck is going on here?

'Just keep walking, the path to power isn't straight at all. It's a winding road where things are constantly changing.' Blind Sorcerer muttered, 'Don't worry about bleeding, just redirect the energy here. I'll give you a sign.

Wain nodded. The excess energy went to the dark castle inside his Soul Altar. The massive flow caused new cracks to appear in the third platform. It was unstable as if it could break at any moment.

After a while, Wain breathed a sigh of relief. He felt great, the energy overwhelming him. He had reached the boundary, but that was the easy part, to become stronger, he had to destroy the boundary.

[You have reached the limit of the Third Chronicle. You can no longer increase your power by absorbing souls.]

[To evolve, you must meet the following conditions

[Open Basic Concept: 0/1

[Increase your blood purity to 95%: 0/1

[Increase your Majesty to 10: 0/1

[Fight and Defeat - ???: 0/1]

Wain's eyes went wide. He assumed that the first three conditions would be about that. Although he didn't know how to open the basic Concept, the last condition was strange.

'How can I defeat someone I know nothing about? Could it be a dragon? Given the complexity of my previous conditions, it would make sense... but... fuck, I definitely shouldn't be fighting dragons unless I'm definitely sure it's necessary.' Wain frowned.

After a while, Wain turned toward his mates. They were a few hundred yards away, standing on a high ledge.

Wain smiled as he ducked slightly. The ground beneath him cracked, and he jumped. He crossed the long distance like a shadow. Wain was never as fast as he is now.

"Not bad." Ern muttered.

Wain landed next to Erza. He looked intently into her eyes, "Can you outrun me again?"

"Huh, I have other ways besides strength!"