Unrivaled

Kael turned away from the window. His first priority wasn't revenge. It was preparation.

Because once Ascension opened, the clock would start ticking. And this time, he intended to be ahead from the very beginning.

There was only one thing standing in his way. Ironclad.

His phone was still on the table. Several missed calls from Cynthia filled the screen. Kael stared at her name for a moment.

The memory of her standing across from him on that battlefield surfaced again. Cold eyes. Ironclad's army behind her. Her demand for the Primordial Bloodline.

Kael's expression hardened. He called back. She answered almost immediately.

"Kael." Her voice was calm, almost concerned. "What happened? Why did you suddenly send the termination request?"

There was a short silence.

"You've been with Ironclad for years," Cynthia said. "You can't seriously be throwing all of that away."

Kael almost laughed. In his first life, he had believed those years meant something. He had believed Ironclad was his family. Now he knew better.

"I'm leaving."

"Kael, think about this carefully."

"I already have." You know what the termination fee is.

"Twenty million." That's twenty million dollars.

"I know."

Cynthia went quiet.

Kael opened the contract on his terminal.

Early Termination Fee: $20,000,000.

His finger moved across the screen. Signed. Then he transferred the money.

[Transaction Complete.]

Kael looked at the confirmation without the slightest hesitation. Twenty million dollars. The price of freedom.

Cynthia's voice came through the phone. "You're really doing this?"

"Yes."

"You'll regret it."

Kael's eyes turned cold. "No."

He ended the call.

For the first time in years, he was completely free. No guild. No contract. No one waiting for him to carry them.

Tomorrow, he would enter Ascension alone. And this time, he wasn't going to build someone else's future. He was going to build his own.

The rest of the day disappeared quickly. Kael prepared everything he could.

Kael leaned back. There was still one decision left.

Kael now knew exactly where the path began. And with the Primordial Bloodline... he suspected his second life might take it even further.

His gaze dropped to his hand. That strange power was still there. Faint. Dormant. Waiting.

[Primordial Bloodline Integration: 1%.]

Kael frowned. The system hadn't explained what that meant. He didn't know what the final result would be.

But whatever the Bloodline had done to him... it had already given him another chance. That was enough.

11:49 PM. Kael checked the time. Ten minutes.

In his first life, he had entered Ascension with a plan to become the strongest player but now that's different.

11:50 PM.

A familiar voice echoed through the chamber.

[Ascension connection established.]

[Preparing player consciousness transfer.]

Kael closed his eyes.

The world disappeared.

Light filled his vision. When Kael opened his eyes, he was standing in a vast white space. There was no ceiling. No walls. No visible floor. Only endless white stretching in every direction.

A translucent interface appeared before him.

[Welcome to Ascension.]

[Character creation is now available.]

Kael's heartbeat quickened.

He had seen this screen once before. But that had been two and a half years ago.

He raised his hand. Seven class choices appeared.

Warrior. Mage. Assassin. Archer. Priest. Summoner. Beastmaster.

Kael selected the final option.

[Class selected: Beastmaster.]

For a moment, nothing happened. Then the interface flickered. Kael's eyes narrowed.

A golden light suddenly spread across the white space.

[Primordial Bloodline detected.]

The air seemed to tremble.

[Hidden conditions detected.]

Kael's expression changed. 'Here we go.'

The Beastmaster selection began to distort. Its name shattered into countless fragments of light.

[Special condition fulfilled.]

[Class evolution commencing.]

The fragments gathered together. A new name appeared.

[Hidden Class Unlocked: Beastlord.]

Kael stared at the notification. Beastlord. The hidden class he had never obtained in his first life. His fists slowly tightened.

He had chosen Beastmaster because he had felt something was hidden inside it. But the Primordial Bloodline had pushed it beyond anything he expected.

More notifications appeared.

[Class passives unlocked.]

[Beastlord's Bond]

[You can establish a bond with any eligible target.]

Kael nodded. Another notification appeared.

[Lord of Beasts]

[All bonded companions receive +50% to all base stats.]

His eyes narrowed. Fifty percent. From the beginning. That alone could create a huge advantage.

Then the third passive appeared.

[Rapid Growth]

[All bonded companions require 50% less EXP to level up.]

Kael smiled. Perfect. His entire strategy had just become even better.

A final panel appeared.

[Starter Skill Acquired: Bond]

[Effect: Attempt to tame an eligible target and establish it as a bonded companion.]

[Success rate is affected by the target's level and current condition.]

[Mana Cost: 10% of maximum Mana.]

[Cooldown: 10 seconds.]

Kael studied the skill. Simple. But useful. With the right targets, it could become terrifying.

Then the system went silent. For several seconds, nothing happened. Kael waited.

A faint pulse suddenly came from his chest. Golden light spread across the character creation space.

[Unique Talent awakening.]

Kael's expression sharpened. The light grew brighter. Then the system announced.

[Talent grade: SSS.]

Kael froze. SSS. In his first life, S-grade talents were already considered extraordinary.

Some of the strongest players in the world had built their entire reputations around them. But SSS? He had never heard of one. Not once.

[SSS Talent Acquired: Boundless Evolution.]

Kael stared at the words. The talent description appeared beneath them.

[Boundless Evolution]

[Spend Evolution Points to increase the bloodline tier or skill rank of a bonded companion.]

[Evolution Points have a chance to drop when monsters are defeated.]

Kael's eyes slowly narrowed. Evolution. That was the key. His Beastlord class didn't simply make companions stronger.

It gave them room to grow. And the talent gave him a way to force that growth even further.

A notification appeared.

[Starting Companion Selection.]

A creature materialized before him. Kael looked at it.

The creature was thin and strange. Deep purple hide stretched over a skeletal frame. Bone spurs protruded from its shoulders and spine.

Its mouth was filled with too many teeth. Its sunken eyes carried a dull, almost animalistic hunger.

[Ravenous Husk]

[Bloodline Tier: Iron]

Kael stared at the creature. Iron-grade. Weak-looking. Ugly. The kind of companion most players would replace without a second thought.

But Kael didn't move. He knew this creature. Not because it was famous. It wasn't. In his first life, most players had considered the Ravenous Husk worthless. They had overlooked it.

Kael hadn't. He remembered what it could become. He remembered how far its growth could go. And now he had something his first-life self never possessed. Boundless Evolution.

A faint smile appeared on his face. 'You're coming with me.'

The system displayed one final prompt.

[Confirm Ravenous Husk as your starting companion?]

Kael selected Confirm.

[Starting companion acquired.]

The creature lowered its head. A low growl escaped its throat.

Kael looked at it for another moment. He didn't know exactly how far this second life would take him.

But he knew one thing. The world was about to change. And this time, he would be ready before it did.

[Character creation complete.]

[Welcome to Ascension, Unrivaled.]