Cedric woke up with a groan of difort.


    He felt the stone-cold floor beneath him and the lingering smell of chaos in the air. His body hurts but nothing was out of ce.


    Sitting up, he immediately discovered that his clothes were drenched in his dried blood. Seeing that the bloodstains hardened already, he must''ve spent a long time unconscious.


    "Well, this is going to be a pain to wash off." Hemented as he slowly stood up.


    Despite being unconscious for a while, Cedric still felt exhausted. His Ki hadn''t recovered enough yet and his muscles were aching still. Fortunately, he''s not expecting any trouble right now.


    "Right, the quest..." He muttered.


    He brought up the system alerts and saw that it recorded his final results. The strange part of it was that, his ss Change hadn''t finished yet. Thest alert on his logs said that his New ss was being determined, yet when he looked at his Profile, nothing had changed yet.


    This was when he began surveying his surroundings. And to his surprise, he''s no longer in the coliseum.


    He''s on another ind altogether. This one seemingly exists in a different space because he didn''t see the other scattered inds around it.


    There''s nothing on this ind except the patches of grass growing here and there, broken pieces of flooring, himself, and a wide ritual altar that beckons him closer.


    "I guess I need to go there to conclude this quest?" Cedric mused out loud.


    He didn''t hear the System confirming his musing but he somewhat understood that it should''ve been obvious.


    Sighing to himself, he dragged his body towards the altar. Inwardly, he felt lucky that his previous gamble worked.


    You see, Cedric wasn''t entirely sure if he would survive a fatal injury here. The System didn''t indicate anything that ensured his safety. That said, he concluded his idea based on the context clues he received so far.


    The System said that this ce works just like his regr Hell Dives. Additionally, the System told him to hold nothing back since nothing could spy on this ce. To Cedric, the former was kind of a giveaway while thetter was an assurance.


    He already impressed himself by miraculously surviving until the 100th Wave. The fact that he tied with a Tier 5 Expert was an impossible achievement that he secured.


    Cedric was convinced that he couldn''t die here. He felt weirdly confident about that. He could''ve just asked the System of course, and the System might''ve answered him truthfully, but it''s toote for that now.


    Either way, he was lucky that his intuition saved him once more...


    Stepping into the alter, Cedric deadpanned at first since nothing happened. However, before he could evenin, the entire altar lit up under him, and a strange flow of energy drowned his senses.


    The energy wasn''t harmful. It''s the opposite actually. Cedric''s body greedily inhaled the energy without his consent. Normally, he would find this dangerous but now, he just let it go.


    Even his Ki weed this foreign energy. And as strange as this might sound, Cedric feltplete after absorbing the energy. It''s like there''s always been a missing puzzle piece in his life that was now filled.


    Closing his eyes infort, Cedric allowed himself to bask in this feeling. The sensation was soforting that he felt like he was floating...well, he was floating.


    [ss Changemencing...]


    [Due to User Cedric''s innate potential and incredible achievement, the Ancient Records stirred into activity. The System is now filtering the perfect ss to suit User Cedric!]


    Cedric couldn''t hear any of these alerts. He was too lost in thisfortable feeling and was slowly bing addicted to it. Even if a cmity were to strike his surroundings right now, Cedric would remain ignorant about it.


    The energy he was absorbing didn''t just make himfortable. It also nourished his entire body.


    Under that light, his skin peeled and regenerated at a visible pace. His muscles contracted and coiled tighter to his bones, his blood was being washed of impurities, and his bones were being refined.


    The foreign energy prated and nourished the deepest parts of his existence, even reaching his spirit, rousing it to wakefulness.


    Now that he''s transitioning to Tier 2, his Spirit stat was awakening too thanks to this ceremony.


    Once Cedric''s entire being reached a certain point of awakening, a miracle urred around him.


    An aurora curtain appeared above him, and manifestations of celestial bodies were summoned as well. Cedric''s body then erupted with a golden radiance which made him look like a newly ascended God.


    It was here that Cedric''s eyes suddenly shed open, and when he did, the golden radiance he exuded suddenly exploded and illuminated everything miles away from where he was.


    [Congrattions, User Cedric! You have been reborn as the new Luminous Sage!]


    [ss Changed from ''Swordsman'' to ''Luminous Sage''!]


    [Title Added: ''Young Sage''!]


    [Due to your new ss, your skills are being modified...]


    [『Superhuman Physique (U)』 + 『Ki Mastery』 transforms to 『Elementary Sage Physique (U)』!]


    [『Superhuman Perception (U)』 bes 『 Sage''s Perception (U)』]


    [Gained: 『Sage Arts (Lv.1/100)』, 『Lightspeed (Lv.1/100)』]


    *


    [ss: Luminous Sage (U)]


    : A ss bestowed to someone who possesses heaven-defying potential, extraordinarily tempered Willpower, and an incredible drive to seek improvement.


    [Title: ''Young Sage'']


    : Provides a 15% Bonus on the growth of Sage-rted abilities.


    『Elementary Sage Physique (U)』


    : An evolving physique possessed by Sages. Bestows a physique that could not only grow impervious to many harmful substances but also allow the possessor to harmonize with the world, allowing them to learn and understand more of its natural mysteries.


    : Note - This Physique can evolve (Elementary -> Profound -> Advanced -> Perfected). As for how the User must explore it himself.


    『Sage''s Perception (U)』


    : A Sage has a mind open to numerous possibilities. They could see things others couldn''t and they understand far more than they let on. Their perception is also in tune with the world itself.


    : Grants - elerated Thoughts (1000 Thoughts/Second also affected by multitasking), Sixth Sense (Perception of Concepts), Heavenly Senses (Sense that could grow to perceive everything under the heavens), Sage''s Enlightenment (more likelihood of attaining Natural Enlightenment).


    『Lightspeed (Lv.10/100)』


    : The ability to travel at the speed of light.


    : Current Speed - 1/10th Speed of Light, Duration - 10 seconds, Cooldown - 1 minute.


    : Note - Skill: 『Footwork (M)』 fused with this skill.


    『Sage Arts (Lv.1/100)』


    : Thepiled knowledge of every Sage Practitioner that ever existed. Before increasing your mastery of this skill, the user must first designate a certain  to follow.


    : Chosen Aspect - [None]


    *


    [Profile]


    Name: Cedric Stormrider


    Age: 21


    Race: Human II


    ss: Tier 2 Luminous Sage


    Level: 1


    Titles: Veteran Undead yer, Son of Heaven, Pioneer, Young Sage


    System Authority: Lv.8


    Aptitude:


    Body: EX!


    Energy: EX!


    Spirit: EX!


    Final rating: EX+


    Skills:


    Actives: Sword Ki (M), Kickboxing (M), Iron Skin (M), Multi-Stab Lv.6, Air-Hop (M), Focus Lv.25, Lightspeed Lv.10,


    Passives: Elementary Sage Physique (U), Sage''s Perception (U), Education Lv.22, Demon Lore, yer''s Mark, Lv.20, Decode Lv.20, Symbol Mastery Lv.30, Sage Arts Lv.1


    [Mandatory Task:]


    : Hell Dive - Survive the Endless Undead Horde for 3 hours.


    : Rewards - 100% Demon Soul gain, Clearance Streak +1


    : Punishment for Failure - Failure Streak +1.


    : Record: Clear Streak - 7, Failure Streak - 0


    *


    "...that''s a lot of alerts." Cedric deadpanned as he finished reading through the text walls that swarmed his face.


    Still, Cedric could feel the sheer difference between the current him from the previous him.


    Right now, he could say without a doubt that if he were to fight that Tier 5 Expert from before again in this state? He would win.


    Truth be told, that Tier 5 opponent was lousy, most likely someone who barely reached the Tier. If he were to face a real, genuine Tier 5 Expert, then not even his ss Change bonuses would be enough to deal with it.


    That said, he became quite an absurd existence right now...


    "Luminous Sage, huh?" Cedric hummed as he felt energy coursing through his entire being.


    It''s a Unique ss - one that is bestowed by the System to those who deserve it.


    Earlier when he was basking under that radiance, certain understandings flowed to him. He knows that he''s not the only one who possesses a Unique ss, but he''s the only one who is a ''Sage'' in this current Era.


    There had been Sages before, and all of them left a visible mark on Human History. Cedric knows this thanks to the knowledge he consumed before. And now that he gained this title too, he feltpelled to do the same, yet only time will tell if he would actually do so.


    And don''t forget, Cedric isn''t just a Sage, he''s a Demon yer too...


    He now has a Legendary and a Unique ss at the same time. To say that he''s an absurd existence would sound an understatement if he were to be honest, but you''d certainly not hear himining.


    For now though, since he''s done with the quest, it was time for him to get out of here. Experiments could be der in the real world.