The crystal dungeon vibrated with the loud sound of Kop's laughter, the walls themselves shaking violently enough that Kop had to stop and raise an eyebrow.
"Great, now you are planning on killing us with your laughter alone," Denwen said, trying to stabilize himself against the quaking floor.
"Nope, this isn't me," Kop said, scanning the surroundings. His gaze locked onto one of the three passages behind them.
"Looks like the Prism Sovereign has decided to show itself," he said with a wide, dangerous grin.
"Wait, isn't that the dungeon boss?" Denwen asked, concern clearly written all over his face.
"Yup. But it means nothing. At the end of the day, they're just fragile rocks." Kop said nonchalantly, pressing his foot into one of the Crystalvore corpses and crushing it as easily as snapping twigs.
"Wanna come along?" Kop offered cheerily, as if inviting Denwen to a picnic.
Denwen immediately shook his head so fast it almost looked painful. "Are you mad? How do you expect me to survive a battle against a Rank 5 boss and who knows how many Rank 4's, when just a few hours ago I was running from simple Rank 1 scions?" he said, loudly enough to bring some sense back into the old man's brain.
Kop simply laughed again, shaking his head like a proud grandfather watching a stubborn grandson.
"I have never been looked down on before in my life, but this is fine," he said, adjusting his straw hat before walking toward the passage.
"If you're that scared of a little battle, make your way back to the cave I dropped you in. I'll be back in a jiffy," Kop said, and in a blink, he flickered out of sight.
"You really are a coward, you know that right?" the floating silver eye flapped closer to Denwen.
"Yeah, well it's better to be an alive coward than a dead brave corpse," Denwen muttered, as he started heading back toward the cave. He paused, though, mid-step, turning his gaze towards the flowing essence vein.
"Hey, eyeball, you never told me about my breakthrough," Denwen said, channeling his new essence and feeling the newfound strength coursing through his veins like a roaring river.
"Between being passed out and straight up threatening to murder me, when exactly did you think I would have had time to tell you anything?" the eye retorted sassily. "Besides, give me a name. I can't have you call me 'eyeball'. That's just demeaning."
"But aren't you literally a floating eyeball?" Denwen teased with a smug smile.
"Then forget about me helping you!" the construct said, huffing dramatically as it trailed off, streaking back into Denwen's head.
"How petty can you get?" Denwen laughed.
"Oh, you don't want to test me, hairless monkey!" the voice teased back, making Denwen roll his eyes.
"Fine, let's say... Eyes," Denwen said, deadpan.
"Hell no," the voice snapped instantly.
"Okay, how about Aizen... like Eye-zen?" Denwen proposed, snickering at his own bad pun.
"I kind of like that... but it feels wrong. And really unoriginal," the voice answered thoughtfully.
"Wings?" Denwen offered.
The two continued their ridiculous back-and-forth naming game until Denwen stopped walking in frustration.
"You can be so frustrating! Why can't you just make up your mind?" he snapped.
"I can't because your name choices are garbage!" the voice shot back.
"Fine, how about Riven? That's my limit. Anymore and I'm going to call you Flaps," Denwen threatened.
Silence.
"Oh, now you want to give me the silent treatment? Please, continue," he said mockingly.
Finally, the eye streaked back out from his head, hovering beside him once more.
"Fine. Riven might not be the best... but it's way better than the rest," it said, flapping its tiny light-wings resignedly.
Denwen shook his head in amusement and looked back down at the flowing Essence Vein. He recalled Kop's words.
"What do you think would happen if I jumped in again?" he asked absently.
"By all means, please do," Riven said dryly. "Your death would be the sweetest release I could hope for this century."
Denwen glared at the eye.
"The only reason you survived the first time," Riven said more seriously, "was because I used the raw essence to complete our synchronization."
"Synchronization?" Denwen asked, puzzled.
"Yep. It began six years ago," Riven said, lazily rotating midair. "I've been slowly merging with your existence all this time. Your Awakening sped things up... but it wasn't enough. We needed something stronger. That's where the Essence Vein came in—supercharging the bond and completing the process."
Denwen's eyes widened in slow realization. His heartbeat quickened.
"Wait, does that mean... the reason for my absurd physique... is because of you?" he asked, already guessing the answer.
"What do you think?" Riven said, sarcasm dripping from every syllable. "Being a host isn't just some pretty title, you know. It grants a lot more than strength—physical reinforcement is just the beginning."
Denwen frowned. "What do you mean?"
Riven sighed dramatically. "Under normal circumstances, there would have been a proper training program... gradual growth... skill introductions... I would have led you step-by-step like a proud instructor molding a prodigy. But now? I'm babysitting an impatient, violent monkey who threatens to stuff me down his underpants."
Without warning, Denwen smacked Riven hard toward the floor. The eye bounced like a silver ball.
"Stop whining and explain properly," Denwen said sternly.
"Say the word 'Menu' and stop bullying me," Riven groaned.
Denwen raised an eyebrow. "Menu?"
No sooner had the word left his lips than a white screen flickered into existence before him:
________________________________________
[System Interface]
Host: Denwen Amun Ra
Race: Human
Rank: Peak Rank 2
Experience Points: 0
{Stats}
➤ Strength: 820
➤ Agility: 700
➤ Stamina: 750
➤ Vitality: 800
➤ Essence: Undefined
{Skills}
➤ Prime Algorithm {Locked}
{Innate Ability}
➤ Boundless lvl 1
{Artifacts}
➤ Empty
{Nexus Vault}
➤ Locked
{Requirements for Advancement}
➤ Assimilate your first Law to unlock further system features.
➤ Assimilate five laws to level 3 to breakthrough.
________________________________________
Denwen's jaw dropped.
His eyes darted through the screen again and again, as if reading it enough times would make the numbers change. He pointed at the screen.
"Why does it say my Essence say undefined and What the hell is Boundless?" he demanded.
Riven floated lazily back upright, looking smug.
"That, my dear hairless monkey," he said, "is your ticket to dominance."
Denwen narrowed his eyes. "Explain."
"Boundless," Riven began, "means your essence pool is limitless and unlike normal cultivators who have to slowly cultivate their essence and purify it over time, yours will automatically be at the peak level of your current rank."
Denwen's brain froze for a second.
"So... wait," he said slowly, "you mean there's no such thing as low-rank or mid-rank for me?"
"Exactly," Riven said. "Every time you rank up, your essence quality will instantly match the highest possible tier of that rank. No slogging through minor stages. No half-baked cores. No early-bird mediocrity."
Denwen staggered back a step.
It suddenly made sense. His breakthrough wasn't normal. His strength, his core, even his battle recovery — everything felt perfectly condensed, perfectly stable.
He shook his head in disbelief. "So… after the synchronization was completed, and I leveled up once... that's what unlocked Boundless?"
Riven nodded with an air of importance. "Exactly."
Denwen exhaled slowly, a smirk growing on his lips.