Will stood inside the Domain of Infinity, remaining still for a long moment as he observed his surroundings.
What he saw was nothing like what he had imagined. He had expected an empty, colorless space, something artificial and lifeless that existed only to serve its purpose. Instead, the domain felt strangely real.
A vast grassy expanse stretched endlessly in every direction, the ground covered in soft green grass blades that swayed gently under the influence of steady winds. Warm sunlight bathed the land, while occasional cold gusts brushed past his skin, creating a balance that made his breathing unconsciously slow down.
The atmosphere itself felt calm, as if it was urging anyone inside to settle down and focus.
"This is… a perfect place to train," Will muttered.
He turned around slowly, scanning the center of the domain. A single humble hut stood there, simple in structure, built from plain wood and stone.
It was neither luxurious nor shabby, but it carried a sense of quiet permanence, as if it had been designed to endure for an absurdly long time.
[That hut was created for long-term residence. It contains infinite food supplies and necessities. These supplies cannot be taken outside the domain.]
Will nodded at the explanation. "That's fine. I didn't come here to live comfortably. I'm here to train."
With that, he walked toward the hut and began settling in. There was no ceremony or hesitation.
This place was not a reward, nor a refuge. It was a tool, and Will intended to use it fully. Inside the hut, he found exactly what the system had described.
The interior was spacious enough to live in without feeling cramped, and everything inside felt functional rather than excessive. After a brief inspection, Will sat down on the wooden floor, crossing his legs as he prepared to begin.
He clicked on the manual for the first form of the Heaven-Sundering Divine Sword Art called origin severance.
[Direct transfer to the mind will save time. You can skip the reading process and move straight to practice.]
"Do it," Will replied.
The moment the transfer began, a flood of information poured into his mind. It was not just words or diagrams, but understanding.
Concepts, postures, internal flow, and intent all crashed into his consciousness at once.
His body reacted instinctively, muscles tensing and relaxing as if trying to follow movements that had not yet been executed.
Then, as the conditions for mastering the technique fully settled into his mind, Will's eyes widened.
"WTF?!"
He shot to his feet, disbelief written clearly on his face.
Every battle technique in this world followed the same general structure of mastery: Newbie, Beginner, Intermediate, Master, Grandmaster, and Perfection.
Each stage required specific milestones to be achieved, and those milestones grew progressively more difficult as the rank of the technique increased.
Will had already experienced this through the Tempest Sword Technique.
Being a Saint-rank technique, its requirements were already considered extreme by most standards.
Ethan, while mastering the first form, had needed to physically slash a tree in half just to reach the newbie stage.
To advance to beginner, he had to release a projected mana blade capable of cutting through a tree without physical contact.
Intermediate required that same mana blade to cleave ten trees in a single strike. That was the level Ethan had reached.
Will himself, through 100x amplification and mastery, stood at the perfection stage of that same form.
At that level, his attack could theoretically cleave through a thousand trees. The only thing holding him back in the previous fight had been his limited mana pool due to his low rank.
When he had used Whispering Breeze against the C-rank goons, the damage had already been catastrophic despite that limitation. If his mana capacity had matched his mastery, an entire district could have been erased.
That destructive potential was exactly why Tempest Sword Techniquewas classified as Saint-rank.
Knowing this, Will had fully expected the Heaven-Sundering Divine Sword Art to be brutal in its requirements. It was, after all, a God-rank technique. Still, what he saw now went far beyond his expectations.
For the first form, Origin Severance, the condition to reach even the newbie stage was simple and insane at the same time.
The practitioner must cleave a mountain.
Will stared blankly ahead, his mind refusing to process the information at first. Then the meaning sank in.
"What the hell is this condition?" he shouted. "Only someone at Sword Saint's level or higher can cleave a mountain!"
[Don't be flustered, Host. Slow and steady wins the race. I mean, at this pace you might grow white hair before mastering even the first stage. Hahaha!!!]
"System, you absolute shithead," Will snapped. "You give me a freak technique like this and expect me to smile?"
[You are not very grateful.]
"You seriously expect me to train for fourteen years under conditions like this without complaining even once?"
[On a serious note, you nosy brat!!!, you will also learn some patience, for God's sake.]
The argument continued for a long time. Will vented his frustration freely, while the system responded with its usual mix of mockery and blunt realism.
Eventually, the anger faded, replaced by a familiar sense of clarity. There was no shortcut here. There never had been.
Will took a deep breath and sat down again.
"…Fine," he said quietly. "There was never going to be an easy way anyway."
No matter how powerful his system was, no matter how absurd his talents and affinities became, the truth remained unchanged.
Borrowed strength could only take him so far. The 100x amplification from his bonds was incredible, but it was not his own path. If he wanted to reach the pinnacle, he had to carve that path himself.
[You also purchased a cultivation technique. Why not practice that?]
Will shook his head slowly. "There's a reason Ethan and the others haven't started cultivating yet. They're still building their foundations, and I need to do the same."
[You mean strong bodies?]
"Not just strong bodies," Will replied calmly. "At lower mana ranks, the body is more flexible. It's easier to reshape, adapt, and improve. As rank increases, mana reinforces the body and stabilizes it. That reinforcement resists drastic changes or mutations."
He paused, gathering his thoughts.
"If I rush my cultivation now, I'll lock myself into a suboptimal state. That's why I need to avoid rapid rank-ups and focus on perfecting my base. My Divine Sun Physique is already strong, but it's not enough."
The words flowed naturally as his resolve sharpened.
"The main cast has their bloodlines, inheritances, and legacies. Ethan has absurd luck. He will stumble into opportunities no one else could even dream of. I don't have that kind of destiny."
He clenched his fists lightly.
"So I need something else. Something that resonates with who I am, not what fate hands me.
My goal isn't to dominate a continent or rule an empire. My goal is to reach the end of everything. To stand where it all began. And to pass judgment on the beings that thought my life was a toy."
His voice was steady, cold, and absolute.
"My path is to reach the unreachable."
For a brief moment, the world around him seemed to respond.
[ding!! Talent – Lawless Adaptation (Supreme) is resonating…]
Will felt a faint shift deep within himself, subtle yet unmistakable. He closed his eyes, letting the sensation settle, understanding that this was only the beginning.
Fourteen years inside the domain awaited him.
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[A/N:
ranks of battle technique:
Iron → Bronze → Silver → Gold → Platinum → Heaven → Saint → Sage → GOD
NOTE : to get the general idea of the power levels and value of different ranks, take example of the technique left by will's adoptive parents in inheritance, it was bronze ranked, it was used by knights of a distinguished noble house]