Ex-Rank Awakening: My Attacks Make Me Stronger

As Leon steadied his resolve, the next step came naturally. He exhaled and muttered to himself, "The reason people lose themselves under my gaze… it's because my eyes are the only access to the void within."

The thought lingered like a shadow in his mind. If his eyes were gateways, then the void inside him wasn't just a passive existence, it was calling. The realization tugged at him. 'Did that mean life itself was drawn to corruption?' The more he thought about it, the more it made sense.

Humans especially, were always tempted by the wrong thing, even when they knew the cost. They chased what destroyed them. At its core, even the body was guilty of this. The lungs clung harder to carbon monoxide than to oxygen, even though it poisoned the blood. Desire for ruin seemed woven into life itself.

And Leon, he wasn't going to lie to himself. The thing in him, this darkness, this void, it was corruption. He didn't need to dress it up as anything else. Yet that corruption made people drown in his gaze, fall into him as though the abyss itself was beautiful.

He frowned. "Where does corruption even come from?"

The question sank deep, tempting him to follow it down, but he stopped himself. He could wander in circles all day and gain nothing. There were more practical matters at hand. His eyes. Their effect. That was the problem.

'I can just tie a blindfold over them,' he thought. With his senses at their current level, he would still function, maybe even better than most fighters.

But the idea tasted wrong. He shook his head. "No. That's counterproductive." His eyes were not just decoration; they were a weapon, part of his perception. Losing them would be like tying one arm behind his back just because he had four. Yes, he'd still be stronger than the average man with two arms, but he'd never be better than the man who could use all four freely.

Leon's lips pressed into a thin line. That left only one path. If I can't cover it, then I need to control it.

****

Leon knew the only way to stop his hypnotic gaze was not to hide it but to master it. Control, that was the key. He didn't believe it would be impossible. After all, his body was already steeped in corruption, yet he hadn't lost himself. That alone was proof that he held some measure of dominion over it, though he wasn't foolish enough to claim it was perfect.

"Then… try to control the void inside," he murmured.

At first, there was nothing. A vast emptiness that yielded no response. But as he pressed deeper, focusing on that oppressive darkness within him, he began to notice faint ripples, small shifts, like the stir of unseen waters. It wasn't much, but it was something.

He fixed his will on his eyes, the gateways that connected him to the void. If they were the display, then what lay behind them was the source.

'Then move it…'

Slowly and deliberately, Leon willed the void to slide aside. Instead of letting it loom directly behind his irises, he pushed it toward the edges, forming a dark perimeter that no longer poured straight through his gaze. His eyes trembled, the violet luster dimming, fading, until the original blue returned, clear and piercing.

Leon exhaled sharply, relief flooding his chest. "I just have to concentrate on moving it aside. If I keep at it… it'll become second nature."

The pressure in his head eased, the suffocating weight of the void dulled to a background hum. For now, that was enough.

With the matter of his gaze finally under control, Leon turned his thoughts to the next challenge. It was time to test his affinity.

****

Leon blinked as the status panel unfolded before him, and his breath caught. He hadn't opened it to check anything special, only to glance at his affinities before testing destruction, but what he saw left him frozen.

[Status Panel]

Name: Leon Kael

Race: Void Spawn

Age: 19

Class: Warrior

Rank: D-Rank

Talent: {Attack} — EX Rank

{Mark} — Overlord Rank

Status: Normal

Health: 100%

[STATS]

Vitality: 3500

Stamina: 3700

Strength: 3890

Senses: 3678

Speed: 3214

Aura: 3450

Affinity: Force (IV)

Destruction (I)

[Skills]

[EXTREME ART]

[Inventory]

"When… did I rank up?" he muttered, stunned.

He paused, sifting through the haze of memory until a possibility surfaced. "Was it… after I defeated that copy?"

The idea gnawed at him. The fact that he hadn't even realized he'd advanced in rank was absurd. Then, a sharp laugh broke from his lips. "How would others feel if they knew I ranked up and didn't even notice?"

It was ridiculous, but also strangely fitting. His stats had long since outpaced the mortal stages; the so-called ranks were little more than means to help him manage his strength. But Leon hadn't felt any loss of control, or any slipping grip on his strength. To him, the change was nothing more than a new title, it was fancy, but weightless.

The increase in his stats after the rank-up wasn't impressive either. A handful of numbers, nothing compared to the monstrous growth he earned through his own power.

"It'll only be after I reach C-rank," he mused, "that there'll be a real, qualitative shift. Something that actually means growth."

A grin tugged at his lips. "At this rate, I'll reach SSS-rank without even realizing it."

But the thought of the Governor returned, along with their agreement. Leon hadn't forgotten. SSS-rank was closer than ever, closer than it should be for someone his age.

He shook his head, clearing away the distractions, and let his eyes sharpen. "Alright. Enough daydreaming. Time to test this new affinity."

****

Leon rose from where he had been sitting in the shade, brushing the dust from his trousers as he steadied himself. His gaze hardened, violet glint flickering faintly in his eyes before he let it fade. Now wasn't about the void. No it was about something else.

Destruction.

He flexed his fingers once, then curled them into a fist, testing the weight of his intent. Affinities were nothing like skills. Skills required structure, a rigid form to shape and channel power. Affinities, however, were the opposite, they were fluid, and obedient to will alone. They weren't bound by patterns or techniques; they molded themselves to the user's imagination, their freedom limited only by the tier.

Leon knew that truth well enough. Which was why, as he drew in a breath, he kept his expectations grounded. After all his affinity for Destruction was only at Tier I.