Alex opened his eyes.
The first thing he noticed was the ground beneath his feet. It was not stone, nor metal, but a seamless expanse of dark-gray composite terrain designed to endure catastrophic impacts.
Stretching in every direction, the battlefield was vast, easily ten times the size of a standard football field. The horizon shimmered faintly with layered energy barriers, enclosing the area like an artificial sky.
There were private chambers too at the side of the field.
This was a virtual combat ground.
Alex stood still for a moment, letting his senses adjust. The environment felt real enough to fool the body completely. The air carried weight. Gravity responded naturally. Even his heartbeat sounded louder in his ears.
He had not come here for entertainment.
He had come here to answer a question that had been gnawing at him since he used his talent on Aren.
Back then, when Alex had activated his bloodline talent, Existential Nullity, something unexpected had happened. The talent worked. Aren's abilities were suppressed. The outcome had been decisive.
And yet, in the very moment of activation, Alex had felt resistance.
It was subtle, fleeting, but unmistakable.
At the time, he had brushed it aside. But the more he thought about it, the more troubling it became. Existential Nullity was supposed to nullify talents at their root, erasing their influence entirely. If resistance existed, then that meant one thing.
His talent had limitations.
That realization unsettled him more than any defeat could have.
Alex was not arrogant enough to believe in absolute power. In fact, the very existence of balance made sense to him. If he could mercilessly erase every talent in existence without restriction, then the system itself would be fundamentally unfair.
Still, knowing that a weakness existed and not understanding it was dangerous.
If he entered a life and death battle without fully grasping the conditions under which his bloodline failed or weakened, the consequences could be fatal.
That was why he was here.
The combat simulation offered near-perfect replication of real battles. It allowed the creation of opponents, the adjustment of their strength, realms, and talents, and even privacy settings to ensure no external observation.
Normally, reserving a private virtual battlefield cost a considerable amount of credits.
But today, access was free.
Alex wasted no time.
He stepped forward, and the environment responded instantly.
A translucent blue interface unfolded before him.
"Welcome, Alex Moriarty, to the advanced combat simulation system," a calm artificial voice echoed across the battlefield. "Would you like to fight real recorded versions of existing individuals, or would you like to modify and generate opponents?"
Alex considered it briefly.
Real opponents had their merits, but they were unpredictable in ways that could obscure controlled testing. What he needed right now was clarity.
"I will generate a modified opponent," Alex replied.
"Please select parameters."
He chose a humanoid male opponent.
Talent type: Elemental.
Element: Fire.
Talent rank: SSS.
Realm: Martial Warrior, Level 9.
The moment he confirmed, the space in front of him distorted. Heat surged outward as a figure materialized, wreathed in faint crimson flames. The opponent's presence alone caused the air to ripple.
Alex did not activate his bloodline talent immediately.
Instead, he raised his chin slightly and spoke.
"Use your talent."
The opponent's eyes ignited with fire.
"Fireball," the simulated warrior chanted.
In an instant, the temperature spiked.
Hundreds of blazing spheres formed above the opponent's head, each one compressed, dense, and humming with destructive energy. The sky seemed to glow orange as the fireballs multiplied, filling the air like a storm of miniature suns.
"Release."
The world exploded.
The fireballs descended simultaneously, detonating in a cascading barrage. The ground shattered, molten fragments erupting outward as shockwaves rippled across the battlefield.
Alex moved.
He did not rely on brute force or talents. His body flowed between explosions with precise footwork, every motion calculated. Where evasion was impossible, a faint shimmer formed around his wrist as he activated his wristband shield, deflecting several attacks at once.
Even so, the sheer number of fireballs forced him back.
As he dodged, Alex analyzed.
A Level 9 warrior typically possessed raw physical power equivalent to ten thousand kilograms. Yet each individual fireball carried at least five hundred kilograms of destructive force.
This was not random.
An SSS-ranked talent corresponded to a Rank 9 amplification, granting a ninefold boost to attacks empowered by talents. A single concentrated fire attack should have reached nearly ninety tons of power.
But the opponent had split that attack into hundreds of smaller projectiles.
The trade-off was clear.
Reduced power per strike, but overwhelming coverage.
"Interesting," Alex muttered.
Then he activated his bloodline talent.
Existential Nullity surged outward.
He targeted the opponent's fire manipulation talent directly.
Instantly, every fireball froze midair.
Then, as if erased from reality, they vanished without sound, without residue, without heat.
The battlefield fell silent.
The opponent staggered, his flames extinguished completely.
Because the simulated warrior was below Alex's realm, the suppression was total. One hundred percent.
And yet, Alex frowned.
There it was again.
That faint resistance.
Not enough to disrupt the suppression, but enough to be felt.
"It cannot be the rank," Alex murmured. "SSS is already near the ceiling, yet the resistance is negligible."
His eyes narrowed.
"Then what is it?"
A sudden thought struck him.
"Could it be… quantity?"
Without hesitation, Alex opened the interface again.
He generated a second opponent.
Humanoid male.
Talent type: Elemental.
Element: Ice.
Talent rank: SSS.
Realm: Warrior, Level 9.
The two opponents stood side by side.
Alex let them attack.
Fire and ice erupted simultaneously, colliding in chaotic waves of opposing elements. The battlefield became a storm of heat and frost.
Then Alex activated Existential Nullity again.
This time, the resistance was unmistakable.
It doubled.
Alex's lips curved upward.
"Got it."
The conclusion was immediate.
The limitation was not talent rank.
It was numbers.
To confirm his hypothesis, Alex continued.
He created more opponents. One with lightning. One with wind. One with earth. Different elemental and physical talents, all at SSS rank, all Level 9 warriors.
One by one, he increased the count.
Three opponents. Four. Five.
The resistance grew steadily.
At ten opponents, Alex could still suppress them completely.
But the strain was intense.
His temples throbbed. His mental energy burned rapidly, as if he were holding ten collapsing structures upright at once.
When he created the eleventh opponent and activated Existential Nullity, the result changed.
The suppression failed.
Alex exhaled slowly.
"So that's the limit."
He nodded to himself.
"Ten targets at once. The same number of objects I can mentally control."
The realization brought both relief and urgency. Knowing the limit meant he could plan around it. But it also meant that in large-scale battles, his bloodline talent alone would not be enough.
"I will need a technique," Alex said quietly. "Some way to divide, layer, or amplify my mental processing if I want to break this ceiling."
Still, he was satisfied.
Finding this limitation here, in a controlled environment, was infinitely better than discovering it in the middle of a real battle.
But Alex was not finished.
He spent the next several hours pushing himself relentlessly.
He tested physical enhancement talents, elemental variations, perception-based abilities, regeneration, speed amplification, and hybrid talents. He adjusted realms and combat styles, carefully recording how Existential Nullity interacted with each.
Five hours passed without rest.
By the end, the results were clear.
Existential Nullity worked on all talents that required active invocation or relied on laws, concepts, or external energy structures.
However, talents like weapon mastery were different.
Weapon mastery did not draw upon external laws or require activation. It permanently enhanced the user's understanding, instincts, and technique.
There was nothing to nullify.
Alex's bloodline talent could not suppress what was already etched into the soul.
Understanding this, Alex challenged real grandmaster-level combat simulations.
Opponents with SSS-ranked weapon mastery talents.
Here, his bloodline offered no advantage.
Only his own skill mattered.
And it was enough.
Alex's combat prowess stood at Grandmaster Level 1, edging close to Level 2. Using his Eternal Sword talent and spirit mastery, he fought opponents up to Grandmaster Level 5.
Four minor realms above him.
Against enemies with greater speed, strength, and experience, Alex held his ground.
It was an extraordinary feat.
When the final battle ended, Alex dropped to one knee, breathing heavily. Sweat soaked his clothes. His muscles trembled with exhaustion.
But his eyes were bright.
This session had given him clarity, confidence, and direction.
He stood slowly after resting for a moment.
"Next," Alex said, rolling his shoulders, "I should test myself against different classes of monsters."
As he prepared to continue, a notification echoed across the battlefield.
"Alex Moriarty," the AI announced, "the second phase of the test will begin shortly. Please exit the simulation within five minutes."
Alex looked up.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"Perfect timing."