๐ฅ[๐๐ผ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ผ๐๐! ๐ฎ๐ฌ ๐พ๐๐๐ฅ๐ฉ๐๐ง๐จ ๐ฉ๐ค๐๐๐ฎ!]๐ฅ
๐๐ ๐๐ง๐ #๐ญ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฌ๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐ฃ๐ค๐ฉ ๐จ๐ฉ๐ค๐ฅ๐ฅ๐๐ฃ๐! ๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช ๐ฌ๐๐ฃ๐ฉ ๐ข๐ค๐ง๐, ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐! ๐๐๐ฉ'๐จ ๐จ๐๐ค๐ฌ ๐๐๐๐ฃ๐ค๐ซ๐๐ก ๐ฌ๐๐ค ๐๐จ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ง๐๐๐ก ๐๐ค๐ซ๐๐ง๐๐๐๐ฃ! โ๏ธ
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The Gates of the White City
The descent from the mountain was an exercise in silence and observation. Leonardo walked a step behind his grandfather, feeling the shift in his own perception of reality. The Elinor Woods, once a labyrinth of horrors, was now merely a gray smudge on the horizonโa scar left by the Soul Storm.
The Old Man no longer wore his peasant rags; his travel tunic, reinforced with boiled leather, seemed to carry the weight of his true identity. As they crossed the plains leading to Albion, Leonardo felt the first major change in the world. People had returned. Peasants worked the fields and merchant caravans crossed the roads, but the atmosphere was suffocating. The "memory blackout" had erased the event of the Storm, but it hadn't erased the instinctive fear it left behind.
"Grandpa, why is no one talking about what happened?" Leonardo whispered, watching a group of road guards. "They act as if the sky never bled."
"The human mind has a natural defense against what it cannot understand, Leonardo. For them, it was just an unusual eclipse followed by an unexplained exhaustion. But look at their instruments." The Old Man pointed to a guard's chest, where a level-measuring crystal pulsed in an unstable hue.
Leonardo forced his vision. Since the encounter with the Black King, his perception had changed. He didn't just see people; he saw the Solidityย of their souls. The guard was a Level 2 Inferior, of the Sentryย profession. His existence was stable, but small.
Looking at Albion, the fortified capital rising on the horizon, Leonardo saw a web of thousands of these small lights, all ignorant that the pillars of the world had just cracked. Albion was a metropolis of white stone and slate roofs, the commercial and military heart of the kingdom. But upon reaching the gates, the entry ritual had been altered. Instead of a simple fee, there was a mandatory screening line conducted by Church officials and members of the Adventurers' Guild.
"Next!" shouted an official, holding a runic measuring orb.
A twelve-year-old boy, visibly nervous, touched the orb. The stone shined a soft green.
"Level 1 Intermediate. Profession: Squire. Proceed to the East Wing for militia registration," the official commanded.
Leonardo felt a knot in his stomach. The 12-level system was operating at full capacity, classifying individuals like pieces on a board. In this world, children his age were rarely above Level 1. Level 1 was unique; it wasn't just about current power, but a measure of one's lifelong potential. Most were Inferior, Intermediate, or Superior. Above them was the Sacredย tier, and at the very peak, the Supreme.
When it was his turn, Leonardo looked at his grandfather, who only nodded. Leonardo touched the cold orb.
The stone did not shine. Instead, it vibrated, emitting a high-frequency hum that echoed through the gate. For a fleeting second, the orb turned opaque, as if the very light around it were being swallowed into a bottomless pit. The official frowned, tapping the object, until suddenly, the light exploded into a blinding white glare.
"Level 1 Supreme," the official whispered, his eyes widening in shock. The murmurs in the line ceased instantly. A talent of this caliber was a rarityโa "Supreme" at awakening was a prodigy seen once in a century.
The official hurriedly consulted his runic tablet to verify the linked profession. His face shifted from shock to confusion, and finally, to a twisted look of disdain.
"Level 1 Supreme... but Profession: Unfit," he announced.
Muffled laughter erupted from the nearby guards. In Albion's rigid hierarchy, having the potential of a genius but being unable to channel it into a recognized profession was considered the ultimate curse. For the official, Leonardo was a waste of raw energy. To the boy, however, he was something the System simply lacked the language to define.
The Silent Shadows of Albion
The streets of Albion provided a violent contrast to the funeral silence of the Elinor Woods. The rhythmic hammering of blacksmiths, the cries of merchants, and the clinking of coins created a wall of soundโa desperate attempt to drown out the lingering uncertainty of the "blackout".
"Keep your head down, Leonardo," the Old Man instructed, his eyes fixed on the path ahead. "In a city like this, a Level 1 Supreme without a profession is a beacon for the curious and the opportunistic. What men do not understand, they seek to control or destroy."
As they walked, Leonardo's visionโpermanently altered by the Black Kingโsaw what others could not. He noticed subtle distortions in the shadows of the alleyways, flickers of violet that didn't belong to the afternoon sun.
They passed the headquarters of the Solar Warriors, where Level 6 and 7 knights were being mobilized. While the elite armed themselves for a war of flesh and blood, they remained blind to the truth. The Antimatter of Existenceย had already touched the soil, and the rot was beginning from within.
The Old Man led Leonardo away from the grand plazas and into a labyrinth of narrow streets where the smell of coal and cold metal dominatedโthe district of Tier 2 and 3 artisans.
"We are here because Albion is where the first trail will be found," the Old Man said firmly. "The Seven Chosenย are beginning to converge. You must learn to act in the shadows of this system that rejects you. You are not an adventurer, Leonardo. You are the Sacrificeโthe shield that will endure what these high-level warriors cannot even look upon."
They stopped before a decaying inn called "The Traveler's Rest". At the door stood a burly man named Kael, a Level 6 Superiorย with the profession of Guardian of Secrets.
"The gate orb is screaming about a Level 1 Supreme who doesn't know what he wants to be," Kael remarked sarcastically. "They're calling you the 'Empty Boy'.
"Keep your sarcasm for your customers, Kael," the Old Man retorted, entering the inn without being invited. "We need a discreet place. And information on the movement in the spiritual currents".
Kael, a Level 6 Superiorย with the profession of Guardian of Secrets, sighed and locked the door. He led them to a basement reinforced with lead plates and Level 8ย isolation runes.
The Gathering Storm and the Tiered Artifacts
"The world went mad after the 'blackout'. Saint Linus has sent messengers to all orders. He says the 7 Chosenย awakened under the Storm, but the System is generating errors. Leonardo is not the only 'Unfit'. There are reports in Nebula of a demon who awakened as Level 1 Intermediate, but whose Profession was torn from their soul".
Leonardo listened, his heart racing. The idea that he was not alone in this anomaly brought momentary relief, but the stain in his eye pulsed, reminding him of the pain in the Elinor clearing.
"Where are they, Kael?" the Old Man asked.
"Scattered. But one of them is here, in Albion. A youth the guild classified as Level 1 Supreme, but whom no master can train because his abilities shift with every sunrise. He is being kept under custody in the Church's research wing".
The Old Man looked at his grandson. "We are here so you understand that your 'unfitness' is your greatest strength, Leonardo. In the 12-Level System, to be predictable is to be vulnerable. Tomorrow, you will enter that research wing. Not as a hero, but as the 'Empty Boy' everyone despises".
As they prepared for the next day, the Old Man sat Leonardo down to explain the nature of the tools he would encounter.
"In this world, we do not only rely on our souls, but on Artifacts. These are divided into 12 Tiers, reflecting the hierarchy of power. The first nine are grouped into three main divisions:
Earth Tier (Levels 1-3): Divided into Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced Earth Artifacts.Sky Tier (Levels 4-6): The weapons of the kingdom's elite.Celestial Tier (Levels 7-9): Legendary items that can shift the tide of a small war.Supreme Tier (Levels 10-12): Artifacts that defy the laws of nature itself."
"The 'Restriction' artifact Ecatrice used in your challenge was a high-level piece, far beyond what a Level 1 should ever touch. To the Church, you are a curiosity to be measured by these tools. To us, those tools are just more barriers for you to bypass".
Leonardo looked at his hands, thinking of the long road ahead. He needed to gather the essence of fallen monsters and achieve a Great Deedย to even hope of reaching Level 2. For a Supreme like him, the requirements would be vastly superior to any ordinary warrior.