Primordial Awakening: I Can Evolve My Skills Infinitely-Chapter 77: Surviving the Fall, Roaring Titan’s Star

Sam didn’t panic as he fell.

Even though the height from which he was dropping would kill any normal person, and even many awakened ones, he didn’t flinch.

The titan had seemed content with that outcome, satisfied to drag Sam down with it even in defeat.

It believed Sam’s death was inevitable now that gravity had taken hold.

But the titan hadn’t known two critical things.

First, that even though Sam was heavily injured, his ribs cracked, his organs shaken, and his whole body bruised from the sheer force of the titan’s grip and that earlier punch that would have been fatal had he not blocked it, he could still heal himself.

The punch alone might have ended his life if not for the fact that he had redirected part of the force through his sword, absorbing most of the shock into the blade instead of his body.

Second, that Sam had a passive ability he had only ever used once, back during the goblin ambush in the [Novice Ruins].

But now, that passive healing ability was going to save him again.

Still falling fast, Sam lifted his primordial sword upward.

Dozens of black tendrils erupted from it, each one snaking and twisting through the air like living shadows.

They shot down toward the titan’s dead body far below, homing in on the remains.

Fwish. Fwish.

The tendrils tore into the corpse, digging deep into what remained of the shattered head and wrapping themselves around a single glowing object buried inside.

From the ruin of the titan’s skull, the tendrils pulled free a glowing violet orb, its inner light pulsing like a heartbeat, and brought it back toward Sam mid-air.

With a whip-like motion, the tendrils forced the orb into the open mouth of the primordial sword.

And the blade ate it whole.

As soon as the orb was absorbed, Sam felt it, his injuries vanishing, bones repairing, bruises fading, and his internal bleeding sealing like it had never happened.

Strength returned to him in a flash. His body, once seconds from collapse, now surged with life again.

A wide grin stretched across his face as the ground rushed toward him.

Two seconds remained before impact.

He wasn’t done yet.

Tendrils of Oblivion!

Sam pointed his sword toward the ground and summoned a mass of tendrils beneath him.

The shadowy mass thickened instantly, softening and stretching wide to cushion his fall.

Instead of crashing into solid rock at lethal speed, Sam bounced slightly off the tendrils, landing gently like falling into a pit of soft rope.

Just like that, he stood up.

Breathing steady. Body restored. Alive.

He looked behind him at the massive corpse of the titan, its body broken, its head still smoldering from the internal destruction of its core.

’Definitely the toughest battle yet,’ he muttered, wiping the blood from the edge of his mouth before turning away from the titan’s remains.

And just like the last two times...

Ding!

[Congratulations to "Sam Walker" for being the first human in history to complete the "Third Layer" and killing the Layer Boss: Roaring Titan.]

"Y’know what?" one man in the outside world said, "I don’t even care anymore. Let that guy do whatever he wants."

"I don’t know if I should feel jealous of that Sam Walker guy or happy he’s killing all these monsters..."

"Nah," another scoffed, "We gotta keep hating. Can’t let him get too strong."

"Well, it doesn’t matter. The [Battle Realm] is gonna open soon anyway. That’s where it really begins."

Reactions in the outside world were mixed.

Shock, admiration, envy, fear, there were all kinds of opinions flying around.

But after two global announcements involving the same person, many had begun getting used to the name "Sam Walker."

Nobody knew who he was. Nobody had seen his face. Nobody knew what his powers were or where he’d come from.

And of course, his name had spread far beyond the [North Region].

It had reached the East, the South, and the West.

Sam had never set foot outside of the North, not since he arrived in this world, but now people in every region were asking the same question: who was Sam Walker?

Each region had its own elite guilds, their own top-ranked awakeners, and their own [Guild Rankings].

But one thing was common across all of them, everyone, regardless of region, was stuck on the Fourth Layer.

And nobody had been able to beat it.

David had told Sam once that the Fourth Layer’s boss was the main issue, that something about it kept humanity stuck.

But Sam felt like the other regions would become more relevant soon.

Because the [Battle Realm] wasn’t exclusive to the North. It was a global event.

And now that he’d reached the right rank, he would be able to join it too.

But before that, Sam approached the corpse of the titan and bent down to inspect the two items it had dropped.

The first was exactly what he expected.

...

[Titan’s Claws]

[Rank: Legendary]

[Description: Incredibly powerful claws that can be used to create powerful blades, or even be thrown as projectiles.]

...

Interesting, but not the one he was looking for.

The second, however, was exactly what he wanted.

...

[Roaring Titan’s Star]

[Rank: Forsaken]

[Description: An item that proves someone has beaten the "Roaring Titan." Keep it as an artifact. It’s the third of the six.]

...

A glowing, four-edged white star hovered in his hand.

It looked just like the one that had been in the titan’s head, smaller, but unmistakable.

Sam slid it into his [Spatial Inventory], alongside the other artifacts.

’I wonder what’s gonna happen when I collect all of them. I hope it doesn’t cause the end of the world or something, they sure do mention that prophecy a lot...’

[Hell-Mode Analysis: Foreshadowing.]

"Damn," Sam muttered with a smile.

With the third sub-layer complete, he scanned the area until he spotted the portal near where he had originally arrived.

He walked toward it, took a deep breath, and jumped through.

...

Fwish!

Seconds later, Sam reappeared in the familiar plains of the second [Outer Ring].

Just like before, the area was quiet. Empty. Peaceful.

And then, another message appeared.

Ding!

[You have completed your Adept Rank advancement task: Destroy the "Roaring Titan."]

[Performance Rating: SSS.]

’It keeps giving me tasks that force me to kill the Forsaken Lords,’ Sam sighed. ’I guess this world really wants me dead... or it wants me to wipe them all out.’

For the first time since he started his journey, he hesitated.

He didn’t understand what he was doing anymore.

He wasn’t sure if this was the right path.

The words burned into his memory: the prophecy cannot be fulfilled no matter what.

And the strange message he saw when using [Void Watcher] on the titan: he hates you enough to sacrifice himself just to make you disappear, all of them do.

Was he doing something wrong? Was he helping the wrong side?

But after a moment, Sam shook his head and dismissed the doubt.

His crimson eyes ignited once more.

"No," he whispered. "I need to kill them all. No matter what."

[All of those that stand in my way.]

His thought materialized as a panel, and he nodded.

Ding!

[Congratulations to Sam Walker for advancing to Expert Rank!]

’Good.’

Now that he was officially [Expert Rank], he could enter the [Battle Realm].

That restriction had always been there, nobody below Expert could enter.

It was known as an event that only took place once every twenty years.

And for some reason, no information about it had ever come out.

Maybe because all the humans who had gone inside had died? Or those that did simply hide it.

Regardless, it was a monumental turning point in the world.

And if this place followed the story of [Forsakened], then the [Battle Realm] would be a major arc.

Maybe even the first big tipping point in the story.

He didn’t know exactly how far he was into the plot, but he could feel it.

[You will be granted several rewards for your performance, Primordial.]

"Good," he said, nodding. "I need all I can get before the Battle Realm begins."

He had nearly died fighting the Roaring Titan.

Whatever came next... was bound to be even worse.

He even doubted the fifth or sixth Forsaken Lords would be beatable at all, and if there were even entities beyond them.

But for now, the most important thing was claiming his rewards.

And then, another message appeared.

[Make your choice.]

[Choose between 3 skills (Shadow Affinity)]

[Gain +10 stats to your Strength, Agility, and Constitution, and +20 to your Soul (Void Affinity)]

Sam smirked.

’Of course. I expected that.’

There was no Chaos option this time, that affinity only gave a powerful skill when chosen at level 5.

But this? This was more than enough. Now it was time to choose.

This chapt𝒆r is updated by free(w)ebnovel(.)com