Ethan lightly spun the Truth Staff in his hand, then looked down at the white cloak draped over his body and couldn't help laughing.
"Staff in hand, cloak on my back. Who says a magic user has to stand in the rear?"
He tried swinging the staff again. With his current physique, the object designed to serve as a conduit for magic was so light it was practically weightless.
"From today on, just call me a Melee Priest."
Thinking about a Life Priest charging straight at monsters with a staff made Ethan feel that the name suited him rather well. Even so, what he looked forward to most was still the speed at which he would level up tomorrow.
After putting away the Truth Cloak and Truth Staff, Ethan sat at his desk and researched more data related to the Elemental Calamity. The advancement conditions for a Life Priest still hadn't changed. To break past Level 10, he had to absorb an Elemental Origin.
Before, that had been practically a dead end.
Now, things were different.
Ethan read the materials until quite late, memorized a few noteworthy locations, and only then lay down in bed. Before long, the room fell silent.
The next morning, Daniel and Laura had already left for work early. Ethan reheated the food his parents had left in the refrigerator, ate, and then returned to his room to change his gear.
The Truth Cloak settled over his shoulders, and the Truth Staff rested firmly in his hand. Looking at his reflection in the mirror, Ethan still felt that this gear was a little too conspicuous for someone who had awakened only a day ago, but he wasn't planning to visit an ordinary leveling zone today.
He had just gotten ready to leave the house when his phone rang.
The caller was Miles.
As soon as Ethan answered, he heard his friend's voice.
"Ethan, want to form a leveling party?"
"No."
The answer came so quickly that the other end went silent for several seconds.
"Wait. You just rejected me outright?"
"Yep."
"Did you have to be that decisive?" Miles immediately sounded annoyed. "My family found a pretty decent leveling zone. The monsters are only Level 1 to Level 5, and the danger is very low. It'd be safer for the two of us to go together."
Ethan locked the door and headed down the stairs.
"It's not that I look down on you. Forming a party would just slow down our leveling speed."
Miles fell silent again.
Of course, he understood what Ethan meant.
When multiple people participated in killing a monster, the experience gained was distributed among the eligible members of the party. For newly awakened people, forming a party offered clear advantages in terms of safety and handling unexpected situations. But if someone was strong enough to fight alone, soloing usually provided better experience efficiency.
Ethan continued, "You're a Card Caster, a combat profession with huge potential. The Profession Ability Assessment is in seven days. You should make the most of your time and level up as quickly as possible."
"But you're a Priest."
"I'll be fine before Level 10."
Miles clearly didn't believe that very much.
Ethan laughed. "Don't worry. I'm not planning to kill myself. Once you complete your advancement and become strong enough to deal with Silver-Rank monsters, you can drag me wherever you want."
"You said it."
"Yeah."
Miles thought about it for a while, but in the end, he didn't keep trying to pressure Ethan.
"All right. But call me if anything happens."
"I know."
The call ended.
Ethan put his phone in his pocket, and the smile on his face gradually faded.
The truth was, he didn't hate the idea of going with Miles. If he had only intended to find an ordinary leveling zone, having a familiar friend along would obviously be more pleasant than going alone.
But Ethan's destination today wasn't a place for beginners.
After reading through countless reports on the Elemental Calamity last night, he had chosen a destination.
Stormtide Reach.
It was an archipelagic maritime frontier connected to Earth through a network of stable gates. Part of the region had been explored and put to use long ago, but the farther one traveled from the outposts, the faster the danger increased. Elemental storms, sea monsters, geological activity, and abnormal mana phenomena appeared far more frequently there than in the training zones around Chicago.
Most importantly, one of the islands in Stormtide Reach was showing signs of entering a volcanic activity cycle.
According to the data Ethan had found, there was a very high chance that a major eruption would occur there within the next year. If the geological activity grew strong enough, it might even trigger a dual Elemental Calamity involving a volcano and a megaflood.
Two elemental phenomena.
Two possibilities for forming an Elemental Origin.
Ethan didn't want to let that opportunity pass.
Naturally, he couldn't bring a Level 1 Miles along, either.
With his body enhanced by Limitless Amplification and the Truth Cloak, Ethan was confident he could protect himself from most of the dangers in the outer region. But that didn't mean he could guarantee another person's safety.
If an Elemental Calamity really occurred, a single mistake could cost Miles his life.
Ethan wouldn't accept that kind of risk.
After leaving the apartment complex, he went straight to Chicago Gate Terminal.
After the Great Convergence, the stable gates connecting Earth to the frontier regions became an important part of the transportation and exploration system. Chicago was one of the major hubs in the Great Lakes region, and every day, newly awakened people, exploration teams, goods, and monster materials passed through its various gate routes.
Students who had just completed the Profession Awakening Ceremony were granted one free transfer to an approved training site or exploration zone. Ethan used that benefit to register for a route to Stormtide Reach.
Before long, the gate activated.
Light engulfed Ethan's vision for an instant.
When the sensation of weightlessness faded, Chicago's noise was gone as well.
A forest-covered island stretched out before him, its trees a deep green. The air was noticeably more humid and heavy, while the ambient mana was so dense that Ethan could feel the difference the moment he stepped out of the transfer point.
Stormtide Reach had once been one of the most dangerous frontier regions discovered during the early period after the Great Convergence. Vast seas surrounded chains of islands teeming with countless monsters, while mana storms could form with virtually no warning.
It had taken generations of awakened people fighting nonstop to establish the first outposts and defensive lines. Only after the safe zones had gradually expanded did humanity shift from defense to exploration, monster hunting, and surveying areas that remained outside their control.
Today, Stormtide Reach had many managed areas, but its deeper interior was still no place for beginners.
Right beside the transfer point stood a warning sign.
"ICE VENOM FROG HUNTING ZONE"
"DANGER RATING: SILVER RANK"
"ENTRY RECOMMENDED ONLY AFTER COMPLETING YOUR FIRST ADVANCEMENT"
After reading it, Ethan continued forward.
If it had been yesterday, he definitely wouldn't have crossed that warning.
Today was different.
Ethan's true destination lay near the center of the island. According to the geological monitoring data from the past year, the pressure beneath the volcanic region was steadily increasing, while the mana activity of the Fire and Earth elements was growing more unstable by the day.
A major eruption was only a matter of time.
But Ethan wasn't planning to stand around and wait for it to happen.
If he could find a way to push the geological system past its instability threshold, he would trigger the eruption himself.
If he wanted an Elemental Origin, he had to create the opportunity for himself.
Ethan followed a narrow path that previous exploration teams had cut through the forest. He hadn't gone far when he heard a strange sound ahead.
A creature lying beside the path raised its head.
At first glance, it looked like a frog, but that was only true of its basic shape.
Its body was over a meter long, with a pair of short wings growing from either side of its back. Angular ice armor covered nearly its entire body, while rows of dark-black venomous spines ran down its spine.
Information immediately appeared.
"Ice Venom Frog"
"Level: 10"
Ethan stopped.
The monster noticed him as well.
"Waaah!"
The shrill cry rang through the forest. It sounded almost like a child crying, but it carried mana fluctuations that made people's heads ache.
Ethan frowned.
Besides Ice and Poison, the Ice Venom Frog could also emit sonic waves that affected the mind. That trait alone was enough to send an unprepared newly awakened person into a state of panic.
"You're loud."
Ethan channeled mana into his cloak.
A layer of magical shielding immediately covered his body.
Without making any further preparations, Ethan continued forward.
The Ice Venom Frog reacted at once. Pale blue points of light gathered in its mouth, rapidly condensing into a long ice arrow. Almost simultaneously, the spines along its back contracted and sprayed out a sheet of black venom.
The ice arrow shot forward first.
The venom came down right after it.
Ethan didn't dodge.
The arrow slammed directly into the shield and exploded into countless shards of ice. The venom clung to the surface of the protective barrier a moment later, while the portion that fell to the ground gave off a sharp, corrosive hiss. The grass and leaves within the area of contact immediately changed color and withered.
The shield around Ethan only flashed once.
"Shield durability decreased: 800"
Ethan glanced at the notification and continued walking.
No wonder this area was recommended for people who had completed their first advancement. A single attack from a Level 10 monster was enough to force most newly awakened people to devote all their strength to defense.
But 800 points were practically nothing to the Truth Cloak in its current state.
The distance between them quickly closed.
The Ice Venom Frog took half a step back, lowering its body as if preparing to attack again. Its sonic cry rang out once more, but before it could condense a second ice arrow, Ethan had already reached it.
He raised the Truth Staff.
Then brought it down.
A dull impact echoed through the air.
The Ice Venom Frog's ice-armored head was struck violently to the side, and the monster's entire body collapsed to the ground at once.
It didn't get back up.
"Ice Venom Frog defeated."
"Received 100 experience."
Ethan looked at the staff in his hand.
This was the first time he had truly used his strength since his Profession Profile had been enhanced by Limitless Amplification.
The result was even easier than he had expected.
But he had no time to investigate further.
From the bushes around him, shrill cries began ringing out one after another.
One.
Then several more.
Dark shadows quickly appeared between the tree trunks.
One.
Two.
Four.
Eight Ice Venom Frogs entered Ethan's field of vision one after another, the armor covering their bodies reflecting the forest's cold light.
Ethan watched them for several seconds.
If he only wanted to kill these eight monsters, he had plenty of ways to do it.
But he hadn't come to Stormtide Reach just to level up.
He also had something else to test.
The Forbidden Spell.
Ethan planted the Truth Staff in front of him and closed his eyes.
The Null Zone activated.
The surrounding space immediately changed.
The elemental mana currents scattered throughout the forest began to veer from their natural paths. The elemental structure broke apart layer by layer, and part of the energy within it was absorbed by the Null Zone and redirected toward Ethan.
The air seemed to grow heavier.
The ice motes forming around the mouths of several Ice Venom Frogs immediately became unstable. The moment their mana gathered, it was torn apart from the spell structure, causing their attacks to slow noticeably.
Ethan paid them no attention.
He was sensing the energy the Null Zone was collecting.
Stormtide Reach was far richer in mana than Chicago. In an island forest where the Ice, Water, Earth, and Wind elements were all highly active, the Null Zone's absorption efficiency was greater than Ethan had ever anticipated.
Mana continued to converge.
It wasn't the basic stats in his Profession Profile rising infinitely. Rather, an enormous amount of energy was being temporarily held by the Null Zone and fed into the spell structure.
Ethan felt it continuing to build.
Until a notification appeared.
"Available energy has reached the threshold for deploying the Chaos Domain."
Ethan opened his eyes.
At last, there was enough.
He tightened his grip on the Truth Staff and let the converging mana flow through every layer of the skill's structure.
Words he had never learned, yet which had existed within the skill since its natural evolution, appeared in his consciousness.
Ethan began to read aloud.
"Order has shaped every boundary."
"But behind every boundary exists an unchosen possibility."
"Let the sleeping laws awaken as well."
"Let every possibility converge here."
The final sentence left his lips.
Ethan lowered the staff.
"Chaos Domain."
In that instant, the forest fell silent.
An invisible magical domain centered on Ethan began expanding outward.
The light in the sky rapidly dimmed.
Dense clouds appeared from multiple directions, obscuring most of the light above the island. The mana pressure in the air rose so sharply that even the eight Ice Venom Frogs lowered their bodies in unison.
Ethan raised his head.
A deep rumble descended from the cloud layer.
A moment later, the sky lit up.
It wasn't lightning.
Amid the swirling layers of cloud, a blazing red point of light appeared at an immense altitude and rapidly expanded.
Ethan narrowed his eyes.
The Chaos Domain had chosen its first phenomenon.
Meteor Shower.
Above the island, a colossal celestial body was tearing through the sky, plunging straight toward the ground.