Taking a deep breath to calm my nerves, I pressed the Breakthrough button.
[Warning: Breakthrough in the Birthbound Realm requires sustained concentration. Any significant interruption may cause Qi Center instability.]
[To aid your concentration, the System has provided a puzzle to solve.]
Following that, a distinctly large, game-like screen revealed itself before me.
On it were mismatched puzzle pieces of an unfamiliar kind.
Damn… this is truly unexpected…
I had imagined breaking through a cultivation ceiling through meditation, enlightenment, or a dramatic inner journey into my own consciousness.
However, this particular event was far beyond my imagination…
[Time Limit: 2 minutes.]
"…Are you serious?"
After reaffirming the time limit, an involuntary sigh escaped me.
The puzzle pieces were strange.
They weren't the simple interlocking shapes of a child's game, but something far more abstract.
Just by looking at them, they seemed extremely convoluted and almost indistinguishable from one another.
Anyone seeing it for the first time would most likely give up.
But not me.
After all, every puzzle had a solution.
So, I studied the pieces with the focused calm of someone who had once constructed narratives from disconnected fragments of plot threads that refused to connect, characters whose motivations contradicted each other, and world-building elements that couldn't coexist until viewed from the right angle.
To me, a puzzle was simply a story with its ending missing.
When I focused more intently, I realized that each puzzle piece carried a faint gravitational weight I could feel through my fingertips,a subtle pull toward something adjacent.
It wasn't random.
It was deliberate.
How should I put it?
It was as if they wanted to connect… they were merely waiting for someone to understand the sequence.
I started with the heaviest piece,the one with the strongest pull and worked it outward.
Thirty seconds passed.
The center took shape first. Then the edges followed naturally, each piece finding its neighbor through the same gravitational logic I had been learning to interpret since my first day in this forest.
One minute and twelve seconds remained when the final piece clicked into place.
The puzzle flashed a brilliant gold.
And then everything changed.
Yet, it wasn't anything grandiose like typical breakthroughs.
It was… natural.
The gravity thread in my chest deepened.
An unfamiliar surge of knowledge flowed into my mind.
I was finally beginning to understand my Special Trait:Gravity Manipulation, very clearly.
Was this…perhaps ..an enlightenment?
At the same time, I felt spirited.
Was my stamina pool increasing as well?
How phenomenal!
[BREAKTHROUGH SUCCESSFUL]
[Host has successfully completed the enlightenment threshold.]
[Congratulations, Host, for advancing to Rank: Adept ★]
[All base attributes increased.]
[New Ability Unlocked: Gravitational Field]
Project a gravity field up to a 10m radius. Increase or decrease gravitational force within the field at will.
[Passive Unlocked: Gravity Sense]
Detect mass and movement within active Gravitational Field range.
[Anomaly Detected: Standard Birthbound star assignment has not occurred.]
[The threshold cup that held every Birthbound Mortal back has been breached for the third time.]
[Achievement: "Defier of Heaven" earned!]
[Bonus reward for defying the heavens:]
[+1,500 SP]
[+1 Normal Summon Ticket]
I sat with those notifications for a long moment.
I was the third person to break through in the Birthbound Realm? Not the first, nor the second?
Did that mean there were other reincarnators or transmigrators in this vast world?
Or perhaps there were exceptional beings native to this world who simply defied its norms?
How did the System count them?
Did it analyze the entirety of Erandor's history to reach that conclusion?
Or were these exceptional beings living in my era?
In any case, it only proved how vast this world truly was.
Either way, numerous questions swarmed my mind.
However, now was not the time to dwell on them.
Instead, I opened my status window to check what had changed.
Character Information:
Name: Marfin
Age: 16
Race: Human
Rank: Adept ★
HP: 300/300
Stamina: 300/300
Special Trait: Gravity Manipulation (Mastered)
Special Ability: Beast Taming
Soulbound Ability: Writer's POV
SP: 2,667
Summons: 2
• Napoleon (Gallus Rex) — Initiate ★★★★
• Pride (Wyvern, Shadow Flame Variant) — Juvenile ★★★★★
Tamed Beasts: 1
• Timber (Forest Troll) — Initiate ★★★★★
Territory: 100m radius
Buildings: 1 (Chief's House)
Active Skills:
Teamwork Tactics Lv.1
Basic Construction Lv.1
Abilities:
[Gravitational Compression] — Compress gravity into a single point or surface. Potency scales with stamina investment.
[Gravitational Field] ★ NEW — Project a gravity field up to a 10m radius. Increase or decrease gravitational force within the field at will.
[Gravity Sense] ★ NEW — Passive. Detect mass and movement within active Gravitational Field range.
---
My Gravity Manipulation was mastered, which meant my body was what held me back—my stamina was the limiting factor.
And I still lacked the practical knowledge of how efficiently I could wield it.
My new abilities were simply extensions of Gravity Manipulation, unlocked through newly gained enlightenment.
Closing my eyes, I expanded my gravitational field in every direction, reaching its full 10-meter radius.
The force within the field grew heavier or lighter at my will.
However, if I attempted to sustain momentum for too long, my stamina drained rapidly.
[Stamina: 98%… 95%… 90%]
Still, it was a powerful crowd-control ability to possess.
And then there was Gravity Sense.
Within those ten meters, even if a single leaf fell inside my territory, I could sense the shift in gravitational compression and release.
"Only Adept, and I already feel liberated… I can't wait to ascend further."
With that, I ceased my experimentation and headed back to my humble abode without waking anyone.
And just like that, the night in Jura continued beneath the watchful gaze of the twin moons.
---
"COCK-A-DOODLE-DOOOO!!"
Napoleon's loud cry jolted me awake from my slumber.
Yawning lightly, I slipped on my boots and made my way to the well to freshen up.
Kaira was still asleep. She was a deep sleeper.
Aldric was training with his runic blade at the edge of my territory.
I walked toward him.It seems, He was doing push-ups on a single finger.
"Quite the physique you have there!" I whistled lightly, pointing at his abs when he stopped after noticing me.
"It's the result of years of training," he replied, wiping the sweat from his brow with a handkerchief.
"Still impressive."
I couldn't help but mutter. Looking down at my own body, I was certain I had the perfect slim build.
However, Aldric also had a lean yet muscular physique for someone his age.
"So, what are the plans for today?"
"It's simple. We'll clear the swamps, level the land, and make it cultivable."
I pointed in a direction and traced a square portion of my territory in the air.
"We'll turn all of it into farmland and cultivate different kinds of crops."
"That's a lot to cover…" he muttered before standing up.
"So, shall we start?" Aldric asked flatly.
I laughed heartily at his efficiency.
"Not yet. Let's wake Kaira, have breakfast, and then begin. And… wait… before that, let's check the statue you were reporting about last night."
No sooner had the words left my mouth than Aldric's entire posture stiffened.
He began trembling visibly, and the blade slipped from his hand, clattering to the ground.
What was this?
His reaction today was even more severe than last time.
Was I missing something?
What exactly was that statue for him to act like this?