Plus Ultra!!
….
The room pulsated with visceral terror—a physical weight in the air, a thick, suffocating miasma of dread. The group knelt on cold, unyielding stone, muscles locked, unable to look up, their wills crushed beneath an invisible, overwhelming force.
"Raahh!"
Zeldris's roar tore from his throat—raw and strained, tight with effort. He activated his trait, Pride King, every muscle in his body corded and trembling as he forced himself to rise. His eyes, burning with defiance, lifted toward the glittering pile of treasures where the dragon sat. But upon seeing the horned creature in its languid, terrible majesty, his knees buckled. He plummeted back to the ground with a jarring impact. The sheer, conceptual authority permeating the room made the very act of standing an impossibility.
This is fucked up
Zeke thought, his internal voice a flat line of disbelief as he watched Zeldris's struggle.
I think I'm strong, then I meet monsters. Is this why I was gifted Immortality at first?
They were heaven's favorite—at least that's what the status window said. Just the damage reduction skill alone made this a futile endeavor. Then there was the hulked-out version of Pride King—Draconic Might.
I'm definitely not touching him.
{It seems you're pleading to the cosmic beings. You should follow the path they've set for you,} Zero joked, his digital voice unusually subdued as he, too, processed the futility saturating the chamber.
'Why's a dragon here? And what's up with his status window?'
{He must have stumbled on the dungeon and claimed it as his nest. As for his status window—you should think about how your friends are going to survive this ordeal before you make me go professor mode.}
' Ahh, it seems socializing has put me in a bind again. I have to take care of mortals.'
Zeke turned back, his gaze sweeping over the faces of his friends and the entourage that had followed Zeldris to what seemed like their definite death. He saw the pallor of Kai's skin, the tight clench of Jude's jaw, the way Aaron's broad shoulders slumped in defeat. Yeon's eyes were wide, her usual sharpness blunted by primal fear.
"Aiya, Miss Makima, it seems you should have agreed to go on that date with me." Zeke grinned, though the expression didn't quite reach the cold calculation in his eyes.
Seeing Zeke turn his back to the dragon, the group stared in shocked disbelief. Then, hearing him speak with that familiar, infuriating casualness, the trio visibly relaxed—a collective, shaky breath escaping them. Yeon, though not as relaxed as the trio, felt a fragile spark of hope. Zeke had found a loophole, or he had the assurance to beat the boss.
Zeldris strained, the tendons in his neck standing out like cables as he raised his head to look toward Zeke.
"Ah, funny how your last moments would be marred by the fact that you didn't loosen up." Zeke observed Zeldris's movement with detached curiosity. "You should have known—the worst thing you can tell a man is that he's immature, especially after I told you all I had a bad feeling about the dungeon." He let out a soft, breathy chuckle. "I did say I was the main character. Time for some shonen magic."
With that, Zeke stood up from his kneeling posture—the movement fluid and unnervingly calm—and faced the dragon.
He looked toward the creature, trying to feel him out, to see if his little display had elicited any change in that stony expression. But the dragon still sat lazily, one hand propping up its head, ancient eyes staring at the group with a boredom more insulting than any active malice. They were beneath its notice—the nuances of weaklings unworthy of its attention.
Zeke was able to stand as a byproduct of his trait, Immortality, his personality, and his natural talent. His immortality granted an adaptability that even he himself had yet to notice—or rather, didn't concern himself with—allowing him to adapt to the pressure from the dragon. His innate talents sped up the process, as he had been exposed to a trait of similar nature before. But even that still wouldn't be enough for a trait that seemed to touch on concepts itself.
Zeke, at his core, was a proud, unwilling youth—proof of him being stupid enough to try to go against the ebb and flow of his presumed cosmic puppeteers. He could never bow down for one who could not kill him. He had his pride as a transmigrator, his pride as an immortal, and his pride as himself.
He could never bow to anyone.
[Ding…]
'Hmm?'
The sound was different. It wasn't SAGE's flashy, golden interface. This was a deeper, resonant chime—like a single, pure note struck on the bell of the world itself. A screen of pure, unadorned white text materialized before him, its light clean and severe.
[WORLD SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
[THE SOUL'S DEFIANCE HAS BEEN ACKNOWLEDGED.]
[YOU HAVE ACCEPTED YOUR BEING AND DEFIED A CONCEPTUAL THREAT.]
[REWARDING TRAIT: PRIDE (SSS-RANK)]
Effect: Your very soul rejects subjugation. You are immune to all debuffs and mental compulsion from any source. Against beings inferior to you, you are untouchable (100% damage reduction) and your attacks ignore all their defenses (True Damage). Against beings superior to you, all your stats receive a 50% increase.
---
Zeke's grin widened—a feral, sharp thing that transformed his face. The crushing weight of the dragon's Draconic Might didn't just lessen—it vanished as if it had never been. To him, it was now nothing more than a faint, irritating buzz at the edge of his consciousness. He stood straighter, the air around him crackling with newfound, absolute authority that made the very dust motes seem to dance away from him.
Before Zeke could even process this, another chime echoed—this one layered, as if from multiple sources harmonizing for him alone.
[WORLD SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
[YOU HAVE GAINED THE WORLD'S RECOGNITION BEFORE ENTERING A TOWER.]
[YOUR INNATE ABILITY HAS EVOLVED.]
[PREDATORY MIMICRY (SSS-RANK)]
Effect: Your understanding of "copying" has transcended the need for activation. You can now replicate any aspect of a being—Ability, Trait, or Skill—simply by knowing of its existence, synergizing with your Observation skill. You can archive two copied aspects at a time, ready to be deployed without needing to re-observe the original source. It also grants you the ability to take one aspect of their power or possession: a trait, skill, innate ability, a portion of their stats (up to 10% of their total), or an item in their possession. Only one plunder can be taken per defeated opponent.
---
His mind exploded with possibilities—a torrent of tactical data and stolen power flashing behind his eyes. He didn't need to see Sunder used. He had already Observed it. He could copy it now.
Then, as if not to be outdone, a familiar, gaudy golden screen burst into his vision, flashing with triumphant confetti and a faint, celebratory fanfare only he could hear.
[SAGE NOTIFICATION: HEY! LOOK AT YOU, YOU GLORIOUS BASTARD!]
[YOU MADE THE SYSTEM NOTICE YOU! THAT'S LIKE GETTING A RETWEET FROM GOD!]
[REWARD: SINGULAR TRAIT ASCENSION]
Choose one of your Traits. We're taking it to the next level. My treat.
[NEW MISSION: PROTECT THE MORTAL ANCHORS]
Objective: Ensure Kai, Jude, Aaron, Yeon, and even that prick Zeldris survive this encounter.
Reward: Find out in the next episode.
….
{Well, I'll be damned,} Zero whispered, his voice a mixture of awe and vindication.
Reading the notifications, a profound, unsettling calm settled over Zeke. He looked back toward the group, meeting their wide, fearful eyes, and flashed them a wide, reckless smile that promised either salvation or a spectacularly entertaining doom.
BOOM!
The sound wasn't an explosion—but the raw displacement of air as he dashed toward Karys, a blur of motion aimed directly at the heart of the storm.
….