[Max's POV]
---
[Aether Edict] (Rank: EX)
• Element: Space
• Type: Dominion / Geometry / Gate
• Description: Vacuum, distance, and vector bow to rule—ranges collapse, horizons fold, and void pressure sets to hospitable at a word. Lanes between points draft like corridors; inertia honors your chosen frame.
• Mana Cost: Extremely High
• Remark: "Where is optional."
---
[Kronos Mandate] (Rank: EX)
• Element: Time
• Type: Dominion / Flow / Field
• Description: Local clocks answer one will—seconds stretch to silk or snap like wire, and causality queues until admitted. Motion inherits the tempo chosen, while durations for foes and allies diverge without paradox inside your script.
• Mana Cost: Catastrophically High
• Remark: "When happens if you say so."
---
[Mithyā Mandate] (Rank: EX)
• Element: Illusion
• Type: Dominion / Sensory / Cognition
• Description: Perception, inference, and memory align to a single script—sight, sound, scent, touch, and taste render as authored, while causality "fills in" to justify what is shown; targets resist only with anchored truth or prior vows. Belief gradients reshape morale and aim; even instruments and wards read false unless keyed to your countersign. Reality remains unchanged, but every observer's world becomes yours.
• Mana Cost: Extremely High
• Remark: "What they sense, exists."
---
[Crimson Crown] (Rank: EX)
• Element: Blood
• Type: Dominion / Life Force / Binding
• Description: Lifeblood answers a single will—pulse rates obey, clots disperse or knit, and arterial rivers reroute like mapped roads; wounds seal shut or open with surgical precision, and signatures in bloodlines speak their true names. Hemal threads extend beyond skin to tether beasts, men, and constructs that carry living fluids, forging commands that the heartbeat itself enforces.
• Mana Cost: Extremely High
• Remark: "Where it flows, you rule."
---
I stared at the screen for a long second, my mind blank.
Then the realization hit.
I had questions—too many—but I stayed silent, just breathing, comparing who I was now to who I'd been an hour ago.
The difference was… astronomical.
Before, I relied on instinct—mana control, sword techniques, my traits, and my brain. That was my arsenal. My survival.
But now?
It felt like something had changed on a fundamental level—an existential upgrade.
I had my Fire Affinity awakened back in the Labyrinth, sure. But now, I could feel everything. Every element those skills represented pulsed beneath my skin.
I felt fire dancing at my fingertips.
Water and wind bent at my will.
Even the faint hum of space, the whisper of time—all of it—felt within reach.
I closed my eyes, letting the sensation wash over me, drowning in that godlike awareness.
When I opened them again, a grin almost crept up my lips. I wanted to test it. I wanted to fight.
But I held back.
Instead, my eyes fell on the names again. Something about them tugged at my memories. Gods… those were names of gods.
"System," I asked slowly, "why do these skill names feel like they're connected to deities?"
---
[Because they are. At higher floors, Players can make a contract or pact with Higher Beings or Observers which, in exchange for something, grants them skills that give them control over a relative element. You are the first Player to get these skills from multiple beings without something in exchange or having any constraints.]
---
I narrowed my eyes. That… didn't sound like a good thing.
Scrolling through my status, I glanced at my Talent again, focusing on the Luck stat.
"Why does it look like those question marks did something questionable…" I muttered.
Before I could think further, another notification chimed.
---
[The Tower's Administrator has decided on your transgression of the Tower system. Your actions were irresponsible and thoughtless. You forgot that every action can have its consequences.
Although this change didn't do any harm to tower mechanics, so there won't be any big punishment, your only punishment is that you won't receive Myth Points for any of your deeds today. Next time, keep in mind that everything has consequences.]
---
I blinked.
Then sighed.
Just like that, all my excitement vanished—like someone had poured a bucket of cold water over me.
The Administrator was right. For all my brains, I'd been reckless. Power-drunk, even. I hadn't acted like myself at all.
I stayed silent for a while, going over everything since I entered the Tower.
Yeah… I'd gotten through every situation using quick thinking and adaptability. But that same recklessness had nearly killed me once. If not for my Bloodline and Physique, I'd probably be dead already.
I clenched my fists.
I made a silent promise to myself—no matter how strong I became, I wouldn't lose control again. Not like in the Labyrinth. I'd think before acting. Power without reason was just self-destruction.
"Thanks," I said to the system quietly.
---
Then my gaze returned to the list of skills.
"So… do I have to be cautious? Can these beings stop me from using their skills?"
---
[Your skills are free from their control because you got them yourself, but they will feel your presence the higher the floors you go.]
---
"Well," I sighed, "I'll cross that bridge when I get there. I just hope they're not as bad as the stories say."
Breathing out slowly, I calmed my thoughts and turned to the next two skills—Perception and Analyse.
I placed both books before me, activating my Talent.
The pages glowed, then merged together, swirling like living ink.
---
[New Skill: Omni-Vision created]
---
The new book hovered before me—an open eye surrounded by fifty concentric circles. Its gray cover shimmered with soft light.
I touched it. Then multiplied it using my Innate Ability.
The fusion took minutes, light flickering across the room until the book turned pure white, an open eye gleaming with galaxies behind it.
It floated up to my face, scanning me silently. Then, like dust in wind, it disintegrated—its particles sinking into my chest and seeping into both my eyes.
For a moment… nothing.
Then pain exploded.
"—ghhh!"
I clutched my head, teeth gritted, as molten agony poured into my eyes. It wasn't normal pain. It was change. Something deep and ancient rewriting the core of what I was.
It felt endless—liquid fire remolding my vision, tearing and rebuilding every nerve.
Minutes passed before my breathing steadied. Infinite Regeneration kicked in, cooling the burn.
I opened my eyes.
---
[Omniscient Genesis Sight] (Rank: Origin) (Locked)
Element: Aether, Time, Mind, Law, Void, Soul
Type: Transcendent / Cognitive / ???
Description: The act of being awareness itself—not seeing reality, but being the medium through which all realities are seen.
Mana Cost: Catastrophically High
Core Abilities:
Total Perceptual Saturation
Absolute Data Comprehension
Locked
Locked
Passive Abilities:
Truth Filter: Lies, Illusion, or False memories are automatically filtered out.
Perfect Combat Awareness: No sneak attacks, blind angles, or hidden magic can bypass the Player's perception.
Conceptual Stability: Immune to mental attacks, cognitive corruption, or reality distortion.
Sovereign's Gaze: Produces effects like Soul dread and Existential pressure on any opponent on which the Player gazes.
---
I stared blankly at the description.
"…I was hoping for something to help in fights. Not… this."
Reality-bending eyes? Are you kidding me?
Cursing under my breath, I ran toward the mirror. I needed to see.
When my reflection looked back at me, I froze.
Gone were my normal eyes. In their place—rings within rings, fifty concentric circles orbiting my pupil, all glowing with ethereal blue light.
My entire iris shimmered like a living starfield.
For a long moment, I couldn't look away.
Majestic. Divine. Awe-inspiring.
Those were the only words that came to mind.