The white light covering Alex dimmed, revealing a scene that looked straight out of a nightmare, making him hesitate. For a fleeting moment, he thought of ways to instantly return to his current era, but discarded the thought when he realized he couldn't.
The instant his gaze locked with that of the wild-looking monster guardian, Alex took an involuntary step back.
The guardian looked no more special than a regular rank-two evil core guardian... An initial decayed-bloom, unlike the Fallen Guardian that had traumatized him weeks ago.
Its behavior was feral and unrefined, which encouraged Alex to act—an affirmation that the monster wasn't special.
Alex considered fleeing, but he needed combat experience to grow stronger.
_Why would I even run when there's an opportunity to grow stronger? Besides… isn't this an awesome chance to test out my bloomed strength and skills? he thought as the bangle on his left wrist glowed green in response to his mana._
"Enhance," he said in a calm tone.
His gloves transformed first, followed by his boots.
The gloves extended, rough edges forming along the elbows and fists.
The boots stretched up to his knees, sharp pointed edges forming at the knees and soles.
His new relic exuded a faint, cold, beastly aura.
He bolted forward with a powerful stomp, launching himself like an arrow released from a bow.
His armor—Gale Guard—had already enveloped him in a thin, woven layer of green fish-scale plating that didn't extend past his knees or elbows.
He reached the nearest monster in a single breath. He didn't slow down in the slightest—he leapt upward, his greave-clad right leg stretched straight.
Boom!
His kick struck cleanly, and the monster's stone upper body detonated before dissolving into dark, fading particles. No single dust from the monster remained.
"Wow!" Alex exclaimed mid-sprint, not even thinking of slowing down as he blitzed past the second monster, which dissipated without reacting.
_The gap between Awakened and Bloomed is really this wide?_
His pulse quickened.
_It's because I reached Transcendent before blooming…
If I do it again—reach Transcendent while still Bloomed—then rank up…_
The idea alone made his chest tighten with excitement.
_I can't believe I even considered fleeing because of a decayed-bloom guardian._
A suppressed battle thrill inherited from his father slowly crept across his face.
"Split Trace," he said aloud while sprinting.
A second Alex peeled away from the original, running at nearly the same speed but taking a different route.
"Seal… durability," he said again, pausing between each word.
The clone glowed briefly with orange light.
Empowered, the second Alex charged straight into the densest cluster of monsters.
Violence erupted as monsters were hurled into the air like broken kites flung in anger.
They shattered into fading dark particles before hitting the ground.
The real Alex shared the same mind as the clone.
Through it, he sensed the guardian's growing unease as dozens of awakened monsters were cleared before it could act.
Several minutes later, the battlefield fell silent.
Only three monsters remained—excluding the guardian, which had already begun advancing, ignoring its usual passivity now that the lesser monsters were nearly gone.
As the guardian drew closer, the image of the Fallen Guardian resurfaced in Alex's mind, but this time he forced himself to remain still.
The clone had taken multiple hits without Gale Guard's protection and now looked battered and translucent.
It didn't even possess half of the real Alex's stats and was on the verge of disappearing.
Alex fixed his gaze on the approaching initial decayed-bloom guardian, completely ignoring the retreating remnants.
The guardian's form was humanoid, but its face was anything but human.
A single bloodshot eye dominated its head, red vein-like lines spreading outward. No nose. No mouth. Its body was black and rough like stone, with thin lines of glowing lava smoking across its surface.
It towered nearly two and a half meters tall. When it stopped, it stood only four steps away.
Alex smirked, met its gaze, and spoke two words.
"Not today."
He launched himself forward, drawing his leg back before slamming it toward what should have been its right ribs.
The guardian reacted instantly, bringing both arms down to block, but the impact sent it flying several meters away, crashing into an empty horse carriage and shattering it apart.
The guardian staggered within the rubble, cracks spreading across its arms as its lone eye searched the position Alex had occupied.
No one was there.
What struck the side of its head next was a thunderous bang.
_At this rate, I might really switch to swords… I've outgrown these gauntlets,_ Alex thought as he shook his hand, the recoil making it tremble slightly.
The guardian was sent flying again, this time crashing into an old, weakened building. Dust erupted as it finally came to a stop.
They were now far from the building Alex had first appeared in, yet not a single soul was in sight.
The surrounding structures were tattered—walls riddled with cracks, roofs torn open, some collapsed entirely.
"That's one durable *ucker," Alex muttered as he lowered his stance, ready to charge again.
Fear finally surfaced.
The guardian's once-solid body began to crumble as it weakly turned around, attempting to flee.
"Too late."
Alex's voice sounded coldly from behind it and activated reaper enchantment.
An orange gauntlet burst through the monster's chest, emerging from where its black seed was hidden.
Resting in Alex's palm was a tiny black seed, red veins writhing violently around it, radiating pure malice.
He clenched his fist.
Crack.
The seed shattered.
Moments later, the guardian dissolved into dark particles, leaving behind a strange, rough-looking rock that struck the ground with a dull thud.
This was one of Alex's special passive skills: Predator's Sight.
It allowed him to perceive an enemy's weakness within the limits of his strength—such as the constantly moving seed inside an integrator.
_An initial bloomed integrator really is far stronger than its monster counterpart… No wonder Ellie could cause such destruction as a bloomer.
_I need to grow stronger. Faster—not to chase power, but to stay in control while learning more about this distant memories._
_These fragmented memories carry only emotion, trying to drag me into reactions that don't belong to me._
_I acknowledge them… but I will not become them_.
Frowning, Alex picked up the rock and turned back toward the building he had first appeared in.
It was strange.
Despite being the closest to the rank-two evil core, it remained standing—completely untouched by the chaos that persisted for who knows how long_.