The morning sun hadn't even cleared the horizon before Kael was back on the move. His Thunder Divine Body had fully integrated the gains from the previous day; he felt denser, swifter, and possessed a hunger that ordinary food couldn't satisfy.
He skipped the local grottoes. F-Rank essence was like drinking water to him now—refreshing, but it wouldn't build the "God-Vessel" he needed. His Divine Sense expanded, brushing past the city limits until it locked onto a jagged, sparking rift ten miles up the coast.
The Lightning Ridge (Rank-E Dungeon)
This wasn't a stable, managed cave. It was a "Wild Gate," a jagged tear in a cliffside where the local power grid had been shredded by mana interference. As Kael approached, his Technomancy went into overdrive. The air was thick with literal bolts of stray electricity jumping from the rocks to the scorched pine trees.
[LOCATION: LIGHTNING RIDGE (RANK-E)]
[MANA DENSITY: HIGH (LIGHTNING ELEMENT)]
"Perfect," Kael whispered.
He stepped through the rift. Inside, the dungeon was a vertical labyrinth of floating basalt platforms suspended over a sea of liquid plasma. Thunder roared constantly, a rhythmic booming that would have deafened a normal human.
The Feast: Higher-Tier Essence
A pack of Storm-Hounds—beasts made of solidified blue lightning and silver fur—teleported onto his platform. They didn't run; they moved at the speed of sound, appearing as blurred streaks of jagged light.
Kael didn't draw the Midnight Fang. He wanted to test his E-Rank Vessel.
As the first hound lunged, Kael used Heaven's Judgment. He didn't fire a bolt; he simply let 50,000 volts leak from his skin in a 360-degree radius.
BOOM.
The Storm-Hounds, creatures born of lightning, were suddenly hit by a voltage so pure and "Divine" that their own forms destabilized. They didn't die from the shock; they were absorbed.
[YOU HAVE CONSUMED: STORM-HOUND ESSENCE]
[THUNDER AUTHORITY: +2% PURITY]
[STRENGTH: +1 | AGILITY: +2]
Kael felt a rush of euphoria. This was the "Feast." Because he was a Lesser God, he wasn't just killing these monsters; he was reclaiming their energy as part of his own domain.
The Boss: The Sky-Tearer Roc
He leaped from platform to platform, his Agility (50) allowing him to defy gravity. At the summit of the ridge, a massive bird with a wingspan of forty feet screeched, its feathers made of sharpened conductive steel.
[BOSS STATUS]
Name: Sky-Tearer Roc (Rank-E Elite Boss)
Level: 25
HP: 5,500 / 5,500
Traits: [Supersonic Flight], [Metal-Storm], [Thunder Immunity - MORTAL GRADE]
The Roc dived, its wings shedding hundreds of steel feathers like a rain of daggers. Kael stood his ground.
"Mortal Grade immunity," Kael scoffed, his eyes turning into twin suns of golden white. "Let's see how you handle Divine lightning."
He drew the Midnight Fang. He didn't use a skill. He simply channeled his Infinite Mana and his 1 Point of Divinity into the blade. The charcoal steel turned into a white-hot pillar of celestial fire that extended ten feet past the tip.
Kael vanished.
He used a triple-chained Thunder Dash, appearing above the Roc, then below it, then behind it. To the boss, it was as if three gods were attacking at once.
SLICE.
The "Metal-Storm" feathers melted before they could touch Kael's skin. With one final, overhead strike, Kael cleaved the massive bird in half from head to tail. The lightning was so intense that it didn't just kill the Roc; it cooked the high-density monster meat instantly, searing the divine essence into the flesh.
[YOU HAVE DEFEATED: SKY-TEARER ROC (BOSS)]
[EXP GAINED: 2,500]
[LEVEL UP: 12 -> 18]
Kael landed on the summit, the massive bird's body steaming beside him. He reached into the chest cavity and pulled out a fist-sized, glowing blue E-Rank Boss Core.
He didn't hesitate. He bit into the core like an apple, the concentrated mana exploding in his mouth like liquid starlight.
[CORE PROGRESSION: 1 / 100 (E-RANK)]
[STRENGTH: 45 -> 52]
[VITALITY: 62 -> 70]
His body felt like it was being forged in a sun. The Thunder Divine Body groaned as it expanded, his muscles becoming as dense as the obsidian-iron of his blade. He sat on the peak of the Lightning Ridge, overlooking the digital and natural world, and began to eat the Roc's heart.
He was only at Level 18, but he could feel it—the Rank-D barrier was already trembling.
Kael stood amidst the smoldering remains of the Sky-Tearer Roc. As the divine lightning receded into his pores, he began to harvest the high-tier materials that had resisted his celestial heat.
E-Rank Boss Loot: Sky-Tearer Roc
1x Storm-Core (E-Rank): A pulsing, sapphire-colored sphere vibrating at 10,000Hz. (Market Value: $120,000)
24x Gale-Steel Feathers: Razor-sharp metallic feathers that naturally conduct mana with zero resistance. (Market Value: $48,000)
1x Roc's Eye (Detection Grade): A crystalline lens that grants "Thermal-Electric" vision to whoever holds it. (Market Value: $75,000)
Sky-Tearer Heart-Muscle: 10kg of high-density protein. (Consumed by Kael: +8 Vitality / +5 Strength)
Total Valuation: $243,000. In a single hunt, Kael had made nearly ten times his previous day's haul.
The Final Grind: The Frozen Spire (Rank-E)
Kael didn't stop. He pushed north toward a vertical ice-dungeon known as the Frozen Spire. He didn't even draw his sword for the floor-mobs. He walked through the blizzard of the first ten floors, his Thunder Divine Body radiating enough heat to melt the Frost-Ghouls before they could touch him.
[YOU HAVE DEFEATED: FROST-GHOUL (LVL 15) x20]
[EXP GAINED: 3,000]
[LEVEL UP: 18 -> 20]
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
[LEVEL 20 REACHED.]
[CLASS CHANGE PROTOCOL INITIATED.]
[PLEASE PROCEED TO THE NEAREST GUILD BRANCH TO FINALIZE YOUR EVOLUTION.]
The air around Kael suddenly became heavy, a golden pillar of light flickering in his eyes. The system was forcibly pausing his progression until his "Vessel" was officially categorized. He ignored the Spire's Boss—a Frost Giant stirring in the depths—and turned back toward Silverport.
When Kael pushed open the doors of the Silverport Guild, the atmosphere changed instantly. The Rank-D veterans who had scoffed at him yesterday now went silent, their Senses screaming at them that a predator had entered the room.
Kael walked to the counter, the floorboards creaking under the invisible pressure of his Strength (52).
"Mr. Thorne?" Sarah looked up, her face pale. She could see the faint, golden static jumping off his jacket. "You... you were just here yesterday. You look different."
"I hit Level 20," Kael said, his voice dropping an octave, vibrating with a metallic hum. "I need a Class Change Chamber. Now."
"Level 20 in two days?" a scarred Rank-C warrior nearby blurted out, slamming his ale on the table. "Kid, quit the bullshit. It takes months to hit 20. Who's carrying you? Which A-Rank squad did you pay off?"
Kael didn't turn around. He just tilted his head. "I'm solo."
"Solo? In E-Rank dungeons?" The warrior stood up, reaching for Kael's shoulder. "Listen, rookie, if you're hacking the system or using illegal stimulants, the Guild will—"
Before the man's hand could touch his shoulder, Kael's Divine Sense flared. Without looking, Kael caught the warrior's wrist. The sound of metal gauntlets groaning under Kael's grip echoed through the hall.
"Don't touch me," Kael said softly.
The warrior's face contorted in pain. He was a Rank-C, yet he felt like his arm was trapped in a hydraulic press. He couldn't move an inch.
"S-Sarah!" the warrior gasped. "Get the Enforcers! This kid is—"
"Enough!" Sarah shouted, her fingers flying across her terminal. She looked at the data being pulled from Kael's ID card. Her eyes nearly fell out of her head. "His kill-log is verified. Five E-Rank elites in three hours. Silas, sit down before he breaks your arm."
She looked back at Kael, her professional mask crumbling. "Mr. Thorne... please. The Private Chamber is ready on the third floor. If you're really Level 20... the world is going to want to know what your Class is."
"The world doesn't need to know anything," Kael said, releasing the warrior's arm and walking toward the elevator. "Just open the door."
Kael stepped into the Class Change Chamber, a sterile room of white mana-conductive stone. As the heavy obsidian doors sealed shut, the Guild's standard blue interface was instantly overridden by a cascading torrent of liquid gold.
Kael stood at the center of the Class Change Chamber as the golden light of the Zeus Bloodline forcibly reconfigured the Guild's standard interface.
[CLASS CHANGE INITIATED]
[USER SELECTION: MAGE]
[ANALYZING ELEMENTAL AFFINITY...]
[THUNDER AFFINITY: 100% (PRIMORDIAL)]
Because of his absolute synchronization with the storm, the System bypassed the standard "Apprentice" limitations. Instead of requiring skill books or mentors, the Thunder Divine Body forced the System to grant Kael immediate access to his birthright.
[NATIVE THUNDER SKILLS ACQUIRED (FREE):]
[Thunder Strike (Rank: E - Active)]: Call down a bolt of natural lightning to incinerate a single target within 50 meters.
[Static Discharge (Rank: F - Passive)]: Any physical attacker hitting the user is immediately repelled by a high-voltage shock.
By choosing the Mage path, Kael's mana pathways expanded, granting him the intellectual and spiritual "memory" to store more spells than a typical Vanguard or Warrior. As an E-Rank Mage, the System unlocked his initial specialized slots.
[ADDITIONAL SKILL SLOTS UNLOCKED:]
Slot 1: [Empty - F Rank]
Slot 2: [Empty - E Rank]
Slot 3: [Empty - E Rank]
Kael stood in the silence of the chamber, his eyes glowing with a steady, electric blue. He was no longer just a physical powerhouse; he now had the long-range destructive capability of a heavy artillery battery.
[CLASS CHANGE COMPLETE]
[RANK: E (PEAK)]
[MANA CAPACITY: INFINITE (STILL ACTIVE)]
Kael left the Class Change Chamber, the air still crackling around his fingertips. He didn't stay to talk to the stunned adventurers in the lobby; he had a specific list of requirements to complete his utility as a Divine Magus. He headed toward the "Forbidden Archive," a high-end marketplace for Skill Books and mana-infused scrolls located in the city's elite district.
Inside the quiet, incense-heavy shop, Kael moved past the standard fireball and shield scrolls, his Technomancy scanning the digital signatures of the Skill Books until he found the exact frequencies he needed to fill his new slots.
He picked up three leather-bound volumes, their covers pulsing with faint magical auras.
[SKILL BOOK IDENTIFIED: SHADOW VEIL (RANK: F)]
Effect: Bends light and sound around the user, granting total invisibility for 60 seconds or until an attack is launched.
Slot Assigned: Slot 1 (F-Rank)
[SKILL BOOK IDENTIFIED: MANA BIND (RANK: E)]
Effect: Creates spectral chains of pure mana that seek out and bind a target's limbs and mana pathways, paralyzing them.
Slot Assigned: Slot 2 (E-Rank)
[SKILL BOOK IDENTIFIED: SKY-TREAD (RANK: E)]
Effect: Grants the user the ability to defy gravity and move through the air at high speeds.
Kael looked at the Sky-Tread book. To a normal E-Rank mage, this was a taxing spell that drained mana in seconds. To Kael, with his Infinite Mana and his status as a Lesser God, it wasn't just a spell—it was his birthright. A god of the sky belonged in the air, not walking on the dirt like a mortal.
He placed his hands on the books. A golden spark jumped from his palms, and the ink on the pages liquefied, flowing into his skin like digital data being uploaded to a hard drive.
[SKILLS LEARNED]
Invisibility (Shadow Veil): [Rank: F - Active]
Mana Bind (Binding Chains): [Rank: E - Active]
Flight (Sky-Tread): [Rank: E - Active]
Kael walked out of the shop and into a deserted alleyway. He didn't use the stairs or the street. He simply willed his mana to lift him. With a soft hum of electricity, his boots left the pavement. He rose ten, twenty, fifty feet into the air, hovering effortlessly above the Silverport skyline.
Down below, the city looked like a circuit board, and for the first time since his awakening, Kael felt truly at home. He was a Lesser God, and the sky finally recognized its master.
[CURRENT STATUS]
Rank: E (Peak)
Class: Divine Thunder Magus
Active Skills: Thunder Strike, Static Discharge, Invisibility, Mana Bind, Flight.