Nothing is Impossible

Atlas found himself in an empty room. It was small, barely 10 feet wide and just as tall. A perfect cube.

There were four doors, one on each wall. Each had one word above them

Choose a doorway, whatever doorway you enter changes the boss you will face.

Choose Wisely.

Atlas looked at the doors, looking at the words above each of them

Illusions, Psionic, Pyro, and Speed.

Atlas thought hard about it, thinking about each word in turn.

First, illusions. With this choice, he would probably face something like Murp or the Clan Sorcerer or whatever its name had been. It would be an easy fight, but he couldn't be 100% sure that he would be able to break the illusions. He didn't know how strong the hidden boss would be.

Second, Psionic. With this choice, he would probably be up against something like the Psiblades that they had fought at the beginning of this floor. This option was difficult to know much about, as the Psiblade had given him trouble before the Trial of Will, but now it would probably be an easy fight. He couldn't be sure, but he was confident he wouldn't be absolutely trounced if he chose this option.

Third, Pyro. With this choice, he would probably be facing a flame mage of some sort, this was probably the worst option, because he had no way to combat fire, other than his spell crafting.

Fourth, Speed. This choice would probably have him face a super fast boss, but he didn't know how fast. Would it be faster than Atlas in Speed Form? Probably not, but if it was, it would be an option just as bad as Pyro.

He juggled his options. He didn't want the fight to be too easy, but he also didn't want to challenge something beyond him. Finally he decided. Psionic. It was the perfect blend of what he thought he could handle while still adding risk. If Atlas knew the system, it was that risk was rewarded, if he chose illusion, he would probably get crumbs. The system wanted people to push themselves, not be cowards living day to day like back on earth.

Atlas opened the door. Behind it, he found a dark purple and pink hallway.

He squinted. No, it wasn't the hallway that was purple and pink, but the air, the hallway was still the same old obsidian, it was just obscured by the floating purple and pink air.

He walked down the hallway, high on alert. He followed the hallway for quite some time, until he finally reached two towering steel doors. He walked up to them, pushing the huge doors aside and stepping through into the room beyond.

In the middle of the room, there was a huge form, far larger than Atlas. Standing at a towering 8 feet tall, stood a kobold. This kobold didn't look ordinary, far from it. This kobold looked old, and powerful. It had wisps of gray hair, long pointed ears and a wrinkled face. Its scaly skin was white with streaks of purple, pink, and black. It wore a white and purple robe that hung loosely, exposing its broad chest to the open air.

An aura of power emanated from it, and Atlas took the time to inspect it. He felt like a force was pressing against his skill, however, and he tightened his will, struggling to activate the skill manually. As he did this, he felt the skill click, and he got a notification.

Master Investigation has dramatically leveled up. +24 levels.

Tiering up…

Master Investigation (Z) -> Master Inquisition (Z)

Tiering up…

Cannot tier up any more…

Ranking up…

Master Inquisition (Z) -> Seeing Eye (ZZ)

LUCKY BONUS!

Seeing Eye (ZZ) -> All Seeing Eye (ZZZ)

All Seeing Eye (ZZZ): See the complete stat sheet of a being. The only thing hidden from you is their exact stats. Instead the stats will be in accordance with your stats. Ridiculously Low is 1/16 of your stats or lower, Insanely Low 1/8, Super Low 1/4, Low 1/2, Average is the same as you, High is 2 times higher, Super High 4 times, Insanely High 8 times, and Ridiculously High 16 times. (These were not the old values.)

Atlas used All Seeing Eye.

His eyes felt like they had been opened, as though before he had been blind and now, he could see. He watched as a blue light flashed in front of him, carrying the secrets of the Hidden Boss.

Epharion, Elder of Kobold Nation

Tier: 4

Level: 0

Combat Power: 2.3 (Can be 5.8 for a small time)

Class: Mind Sovereign

Subclass: Soul Twin

Mana Pathways: ?

Mana: Higher than you

Life force: Lower than you.

Life Force Pathways: ?

Stamina: Lower than you.

Stamina Pathways: None

Aura type: None

Aura Tier: N/A

Titles: Echo of the Depths, Shard-Bearer of the Horn, Dreamslayer, Soul linked.

Skills: Cerebral Mastery (ZZZ, Transcendent), Obliteration Pulse (ZZZ, Mythic), Mental Skim (ZZZ, Mythic), Refraction Prison (ZZ, Legendary), Thought Mirror (ZZ, Mythic), Neural Descent (Z, Rare), Mindlink: Apex Predator (Z, Mythic)

Spells: Can't be viewed due to [Skill Sage].

Talent: SS

Potential: SS

Skill: Z

Stats:

Endurance: Really low.

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Constitution: Insanely low.

Strength: Ridiculously Low

Dexterity: Low

Wisdom: Insanely High

Intelligence: Ridiculously High

Free points: 0

Atlas balked at the information. He could see almost all of Epharion's information, and the small amount of what he couldn't see wasn't too important.

Atlas brought up his own newly upgraded status.

Atlas Channing

Tier: 3

Level: 240

Class: Reaper (Epic)

Subclass: Absorber (Rare)

Mana Pathways: Rare

Mana: 22,859

Life force: 29,720

Life Force Pathways: None (Unlockable at Tier 4)

Stamina: 29,620

Stamina Pathways: None (Unlockable at Tier 6)

Aura type: None (Unlockable at Tier 5)

Aura Tier: N/A

Titles: Shadestrider, Skill Sage, Boss Slayer, Powerful Soul, Synthesiser, Fate breaker, Debuffer, Ascendent, Combat Master, Successor of Self, Perfect Successor, Blood of God Atlas, Understanding of Self.

Legacy: Legacy of Atlas Channing

Achievements: Cannot be viewed, reach Tier 5 first.

Skills: Everflame Core (Y), Archdragon of Death (Y), Divine Sight (ZZZ), Spell Crafting (ZZZ), Inevitable Death** (ZZZ), All Seeing Eye (ZZZ), Hyper Jump** (ZZZ), Denier of Death (ZZZ), Breath of the Consuming Void Dragon (ZZ), Absolute Mana Monarchy** (ZZ), Perfect Mind Shattering Thoughts*** (ZZ), Fast Training Techniques (Z), Flawed Utterance (Z), Mantle of Sanity (Z).

Spells: None

Talent: Z

Potential: Z

Skill: SSS

Stats:

Endurance: 2,962

Constitution: 2,972

Strength: 3,092

Dexterity: 2,992

Wisdom: 2,981

Intelligence: 3,072

Free points: 0

Atlas marveled at how far he had come since first entering this world. He now had power that he could only wish for in his previous life. He was proud of his accomplishments, even if they weren't gained just by himself. His most recent achievements definitely were though.

He could now see his legacy, his 4 new titles, and when he would unlock his aura and pathways. He compared himself to the boss, and it felt doable. The boss was extremely focused on Wisdom and Intelligence, to the point of ignoring its other stats and dooming them to mediocrity, or even lower than that in the case of strength. This was a Mage, not a Fighter.

Epharion smiled down at Atlas, bearing razor sharp fangs and Atlas now realized that they were covered in blood. The kobold opened its mouth and an ethereal and regal sounding voice resounded around the room. "Ah. So you are the real Champion. Now it all makes sense. The morsel must have tried to steal your place, and met a deliciously deserved death." It shuddered in ecstasy. "I love it when my prey struggles."

Atlas felt more than a little sick. Both he and Jay had chosen the same path, what were the odds? Atlas now stood in front of Jay's killer, and he didn't know how he felt about that. He liked Jay, but he felt like they had never understood each other. They had always refused to see the others point of view. Things had been okay for them until they stumbled upon the hidden boss options, then they had been opposed to each other, right up until Jay stole Atlas's place, dying foolishly.

Atlas felt that the least he could do was avenge Jay. He had seemed like a nice enough guy, they just didn't agree about what they should do about the hidden boss.

Squaring his shoulders, Atlas raised his scythe. "If you are the one who killed Jay, that just makes my job more convenient. I can avenge him and kill you all at the same time."

The white kobold just smiled, flashing its bloody teeth at Atlas. "Jay? Is that the morsel I killed? Prey doesn't deserve to have a name. They are simply food for the predator. I ask you, young Champion. Which are you? You have the look of a predator, but you smell like prey, weak and untempered in the ways of combat."

Atlas narrowed his eyes. "What is that supposed to mean?" he inquired of the hulking kobold.

Epharion tilted its head. "It means that I cannot tell if you are weak or strong. I would have mistaken you for a weak Noble, and the artificial strength that comes with that, but I can tell you earned your power, even if you didn't earn it by yourself. It is most odd however, as you have already gained a connection to three candidacies, even at your stage. It is not unique, as many young adventurers of your power have connection to at least one, but the three candidacies you are connected to are some of the most potent. You even have an Avatar candidacy, one of the most famed candidacies around. "

Atlas felt very suspicious. It was almost as if this entity was trying to butter him up. Atlas didn't move his head, but he flared Divine Sight. Now there were two Epharion's, both indistiquishable from each other. The other Epharion was closer to Atlas, creeping slowly towards him. Atlas was sure this was the real Epharion, or he would have no reason to cloak himself in such an obviously high level invisibility spell.

Atlas hid a smile. He understood what the kobold was doing now. He was trying to distract Atlas from his ever closer form. Atlas pretended that he didn't see Epharion, and he just smiled. "Oh? Thats good. If I don't have one of the best candadicies around, whats the point in even getting one?"

Epharion's real body choked, stumblind slightly, but the illusory form of himself merely smiled. "Just so, you can only really become strong by gaining only the most powerful abilities, common filth mean nothing when compared to the power that a future powerhouse such as yourself can harness."

Atlas subtly began gathering mana as he asked another question. "Do you have a legacy?"

Epharion's real body paused, and Atlas saw him take a deep calming breath out of the corner of his vision. Epharion's fake body frowned slightly before speaking. "You think a legacy is so easy to gain that a mere tier 4 such as myself would possess one? No, Legacies can only be gained after tier 15, when one begins to be of worth to the system, even if it only a infentesable smallest sliver of worth."

Atlas nodded, that made sense. This whole candadicy thing felt like something really powerful, so he wasn't surprised that it was unlocked so much later down the road of progression. "So how are you going to-"

Atlas interupted himself by lunging forward in Speed Form, blasting towards Epharion and decapitating him in one smooth motion. His head fell to the ground, leaking blood like a gutted pig. Atlas smiled. That had been easy.

He looked up, meeting the eyes of the Fake Epharion.

Who was still there.

Atlas's smiled waned, and he glanced down at the body below him.

Denarion, Elder of Kobold Nation (Deceased)

Tier: 4

Level: 0

Combat Power: 2.8

Class: Mind Lurker

Subclass: Soul Twin

Mana Pathways: ?

Mana: Higher than you

Life force: Lower than you.

Life Force Pathways: ?

Stamina: Lower than you.

Stamina Pathways: None

Aura type: None

Aura Tier: N/A

Titles: Echo of the Depths, Shard-Bearer of the Horn, Dreamslayer, Soul linked.

Skills: Cerebral Mastery (ZZZ, Transcendent), Obliteration Pulse (ZZZ, Mythic), Refraction Stealth (ZZ, Legendary+), Thought Shield (ZZ, Mythic), Neural Ascent (Z, Rare), Mindlink: Apex Predator (Z, Mythic)

Spells: Can't be viewed due to [Skill Sage].

Talent: SS

Potential: SS

Skill: Z

Stats:

Endurance: Really low.

Constitution: Insanely low.

Strength: Ridiculously Low

Dexterity: High

Wisdom: Insanely High

Intelligence: Insanely High

Free points: 0

Epharion roared in his mind. "How dare you slaughter my brother!"

Of course it wasn't that easy.