As Gowther walked with steady steps, defying himself—his current and past ambitions and dreams, the ambitions of his original body—he resisted the powerful winds of fate that made his robes dance, a forceful breeze and pressure exerted upon him by the demonic watcher's eye.
A cold, sharp voice erupted from the watcher's eye, which monitored his every move, every breath, impatiently awaiting his downfall. The tone of the eye's voice held a hint of curiosity, but the rest was a cold, harsh interrogation that knew no leniency.
"Mr. Gowther McAteer, what is it that makes you want to reach the end of the river of ambitions?"
"Or, if I may say so, why this perseverance within you that refuses to submit to this world?" It was a cold, emotionless voice emanating from an eye that didn't pass through the ear but was heard through a being deep within his mind.
After the watcher's eye finished speaking, a cold smile appeared on Gowther's face as he looked towards the demonic eye, having rid himself of all the ambitions he considered Trivial and worthless.
Directed towards the one thing that he considered worthy of doing anything for.
The cold smile vanished from his lips, his features hardening into a chill. "I don't persevere because of responsibility, passion, excitement, power, or influence. It's because it's the only thing I can rely on on my path. I dreamed so much that my dream became salvation from a world built on a curse. I laughed, but I lost the ability to laugh genuinely. I grieved, but I forgot true sorrow. Yet, I still persevere because it's the only thing that has remained true. Wherever I go, wherever I travel, perseverance and ambition will remain my companions on this world." Gowther's voice was a mixture of calm, confidence, and determination to complete his journey to achieve his goals, the greatest ambition of all: to escape a world where only the strongest survive.
Gowther remained silent, ignoring the eyes that were looking at me with strange curiosity. "Then continue on your path towards what you aspire to."
Gowther ignored the words and temptations of the eyes that were on the riverbanks, without bothering to look at them. For a single second, he thought, "I am Gowther McAteer, striving to achieve my greatest ambitions. My goal is not power or absolute authority, but survival and living in this world where only the strong survive, and the strong devour the weak. How can worldly matters stop me?"
Gowther walked steadily over the river of ambitions, not out of stubbornness or a desire for it, but because stopping meant death and oblivion, something he didn't want. He wanted survival and survival.
A look of shock crossed Gowther's face due to the irrational pressure that suddenly overwhelmed him.
He looked up to find several people wearing clothes with various sayings written on them.
One saying was about youth, the time when a person is at their strongest, but they forget their ambitions and turn to corruption, drowning in fleeting worldly desires and lusts.
The second saying was about arrogance. Talent cannot be realized with rampant arrogance, for an arrogant person will achieve nothing in this world. There are two types of people who never learn: the arrogant and the stubborn, because they don't learn from their mistakes and therefore never achieve their goals.
Cowardice and laziness bury the greatest dreams before they even begin. A lack of desire to strive and progress causes even the most ambitious aspirations to drown and be erased in a sea of oblivion.
Envy and hatred make a person forget their ambition. They see the achievements and aspirations of others, belittle, hate, and despise their own goals, throwing them aside to drown and rust in a sea of oblivion.
Love: People love in different ways, but true love is rare. When someone loves, they work hard and stay up late to maintain the relationship. When it ends, they drown in the depths of sorrow and grief, forgetting and abandoning their goals and ambitions to drown in a sea of oblivion.
Obstacles and obstacles to ambitions and goals stood over Gowther, spreading their world-shaking pressure.
Gowther pressed on with great force, while crimson blood gushed from his mouth, staining his white robes crimson. Yet, Gowther continued on his way, ignoring the serious injuries he sustained, which he was constantly treating. Yet, the pain didn't stop it from seeping into the depths of his being, without him uttering a single word, not even a groan.
People are cruel to one another, but it's rare to find someone who is cruel to themselves.
Gother remained silent, battling the self that demanded rest and surrender, the temptations around him, and the fear and dread that seeped into his every step.
After several steps, Gother's eyes burst under the pressure of laziness, hatred, pride, cowardice, love, envy, and youth—a pressure that completely drowned out his ambitions. A fountain of warm blood erupted, turning his face red, and the white robe became a vivid crimson.
But he continued on, even as the blood flowed so profusely that his face became completely pale and the pain intensified, as every bone in his body shattered. He used his kunya to heal his injuries.
His broken bones began to mend, but he couldn't heal his eyes, no matter how hard he tried.
During the treatment process, Gowther walked without slowing down for a second, even increasing the speed of his steps.
Gowther stood firm against the pressure that shook the entire world around him, never pausing for a second. He walked on, his shadow steadily heading towards the end of the road, his ambitions never faltering. The test wasn't about success or failure, about worthiness and deserving life or death. The worst thing was forgetting oneself, rendering everything one had done meaningless. Forgetting oneself is a hundred times worse than being forgotten by others.
After a few steps, Gowther had passed everyone—laziness, hatred, arrogance, cowardice, love, envy, and youth—without even bothering to look at them for a second. He continued on his way, ignoring the fractures and serious injuries that covered his entire body, to the point that the white robe he wore had turned blood red.
An hour and fifteen minutes later, Gowther reached the end of the road.
As soon as he arrived, a faint smile appeared on the faces of everyone—laziness, hatred, arrogance, cowardice, love, envy, and youth—and they began to speak. With a single voice filled with complete satisfaction,
"Congratulations, Gowther McAteer."
As soon as Gowther reached the end of the river of ambition, the demonic eye began to split in two, becoming two smaller eyes. It continued to shrink until it was the size of a human eye, then began to descend, heading directly at Gowther. It left behind a trail of ethereal red, which entered Gowther's eye sockets, replacing his previous ones that had burst under the pressure caused by laziness, hatred, pride, cowardice, love, envy, and youth.
Even as the demonic eyes devoured the remnants of his own, Gowther felt a relief, like someone who had run a marathon until his feet were sore, but achieving first place was a relief.Ah, the pain in his legs!
The joy of victory overshadows the bitterness of the work, and this applies to Gowther. The happiness of knowing he would live to see the afterlife and that he had overcome a single trial from among thousands of future hardships made him content, forgetting all the pain.
After several minutes, Gowther began to open his eyes, revealing two eyes with pupils resembling two red crystals, depicting a clear sky in pure red instead of light blue.
Gowther sighed a sigh of peace, then began to disappear, becoming a speck of crimson dust.
"I succeeded."
Inside the hall, crimson narrative texts began to emerge from runes, gradually gathering until Gowther's body returned to normal, and he opened his eyes.
Gowther turned his gaze towards the concept of assassination, which was looking at him without saying a word.
Nevertheless, he was impressed and captivated by the perseverance within Gowther, applauding as he looked towards Gowther, who had risen after deactivating the wing. The Concept of Assassination and the Pavilion
He headed towards the Concept of Assassination, who was standing in front of a gate leading to the exit of the Ritual Hall.
As soon as he arrived, the Concept of Assassination placed his hands on Gowther's shoulders, smiling slightly.
"Well done, Gowther. I learned a lot today. However, we won't meet again for the next three years. You won't hear about anything happening outside the Fantasy World. So consider the next three years a time to prepare yourself. In the meantime, enjoy every minute of your life."
A faint smile appeared on Gowther's face as he listened to the Concept of Assassination's words.
"Yes, yes, your ear, which has become one of the foundations that keeps the world order of the novel constant, has transformed into that of a housewife and a loving mother."
Gowther and the Concept of Assassination looked at each other for several minutes before bursting into loud laughter. "Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!" Both Gowther and the Concept of Assassination laughed loudly, even though they were no longer... Isaac, from their previous lives, maintained their strength. The strong one is not the one who continues on the path, but remains as he began. Coldness signifies strength and happiness, while living an ordinary life signifies weakness.
The Assassination Concept opened the gate, which bore a giant inscription resembling the shape of the Assassination Concept wing. A powerful light erupted, and as soon as the gate opened, Gowther was completely swallowed up.
"Take care, dear Gowther McAteer."
_____________________________________
Inside Training Room 005-G in the West Wing, two gemstones lay close together. One was a light crimson red, the other a dark blue-red. A light began to grow stronger as they drew nearer.
"He's finished. It took three whole days. He's a terrifying talent," Christian said, his voice filled with admiration as he gazed at the two shards fused together. The light crimson shard represented Gowther McAteer, and the dark blue-red shard represented LS 04 76. The Masters of Death Path
All eyes were calmly fixed on Gowther, whose body was beginning to take shape.
Leon created a barrier to prevent energy from escaping and to stop people from experiencing a sudden surge of power.
"He'll wake up in about fifteen minutes," Yuta said calmly, looking at them.
"Well, he spent three full days waking up to the Boundless rank, yet how come ls 04 76 didn't take control of his body?"
"That leads us to one conclusion: they made a pact. I remember Yuta killed nearly five billion people when 01 00 Bo, the Master of Death Path, took control," Kazuhiro's voice held a hint of sarcasm. Yuta ignored his words, even though he mocked him. He and all of them realized that if they were in his place, they could have regained their bodies. This led them to agree on one thing: Yuta was the most dangerous among them, not only because of his strength but also because of his intelligence—80% of his victories. He won through his intellect and strategic planning, while 20% of the battles were direct.
After 15 minutes, Gowther's body re-formed. He slowly opened his eyes, struggling to do so due to the pain.
Everyone was looking at him with smiles of happiness, even Yuta, who only smiled when he wanted to cause trouble. He smiled warmly.
"Congratulations, Gowther. You're doing well. Reaching the Boundless rank makes you the first mortal being to do so in a million years, at such a young age, especially after the barrier was erected to prevent beings from easily reaching the Boundless rank," Yuta said calmly as he threw Gowther a healing potion to treat his mental state, which had been devastated by the events of the meritorious exam.
Gowther drank it immediately, as his mind was under immense strain from the depletion of his mental strength. He was trying to understand and process everything he had seen and experienced in that strange world, but the problem that exacerbated his headache was that he couldn't remember anything. It was as if he'd just been asleep.
"It was a strange experience. Who would have thought breaking through to the Boundless rank would be this difficult? So I'm the strongest human in this world!" Gowther's voice held a hint of sarcasm as he looked at them.
"Actually, no. You're not the strongest human in this ordinary world, especially in this fantasy world," Yuta said calmly, shattering Gowther's elation.
"Oh yes, I forgot. There are those who reached the Boundless rank billions of years ago, and others who surpassed it. But what ranks come after Boundless?"
Nicholas put his hand to his chin, trying to gather his thoughts, or perhaps just pretending, before turning his gaze back to Gowther.
"There are five levels. First, Boundless, or 0 layer. In short, it's the base level of Boundless (infinitely superior to High1-A)."
"Level 2, 0-FIN, is a layer above Boundless. In short, it's a limited layer (layers above the base Boundless)." "Level 3 INF-0: A brief definition. These are Infinite Layers (surpassing all Finite Layers). This is the layer reached by Ordinary World Rulers."
"Level 4 OMM-0: These are Immeasurable Layers (higher than Infinite Layers, which are considered a previous layer). This is the layer reached by Fantasy World Rulers."
"Level 5 IRR-0: These are "irrelevant" layers (the difference between them and lower levels becomes insignificant). This is a level usually reached by Fantasy World Creators. It is the level reached by 90% of Fantasy World Rulers."The 10% who surpassed the rank of Boundless, meaning the Boundless Slayer level order was a writer error because they didn't know the correct order of the Boundless levels.
"After that, there's the Trans-Omnipotent level. Like the Boundless levels, it has 5 levels. However, it's not time to learn about them now. You need to reach IRR-05 level to leave this world. You'll then be at level 2 of your Assassination Concept wing. You have to persevere to reach level 2 of your wing. Nevertheless, congratulations, Isaac, on reaching the Boundless rank."
A faint smile appeared on Gowther's face as he looked down at his fist. Hearing Nicholas's explanation was like cool water, extinguishing the fire of arrogance and pride that had been growing within him.
His smile changed from faint to warm. It wasn't arrogance, but rather satisfaction with the raging, volatile self that had been his first and most dangerous enemy.
"Thank you, Muhammad. Your words were very helpful." "Thank you all for supporting me throughout my journey to the Boundless Rank. Thank you again."
A smile appeared on everyone's faces, despite them being monsters and cosmic entities. All entities in this world, however, knew the origins of each other, that they were once just ordinary humans and had communicated with each other in their original lives.
"Life is truly strange. Only three years left to prepare for the unknown future. Isn't that right? We are different winged beings. Who are supposed to be our enemies?" A faint smile touched Inuyasha's face as he looked at his companions.
In this world outside of fantasy, the primary, secondary, and external winged beings fought amongst themselves to obtain each other's wings. The only way to acquire another's wings was through inheritance, but the recipient had to be a Rank 5. The second way was to kill the winged being. This is why Inuyasha said they were supposed to be enemies, since their wings were primary, and this made them covetous of the entity that possessed them. The path was for rulers and all paths. 26 without exception