Primordial Awakening: I Can Evolve My Skills Infinitely

The forgotten statue stood at an imposing five meters in height.

It had a humanoid shape, though its body was entirely made from rough, gray stone.

Etched into the center of its chest was a strange heart-shaped symbol, faintly glowing beneath the cracks in its surface.

One of its arms was missing completely, and half of its head had been shattered, leaving jagged stone and exposed core-like veins.

Yet from the remaining half of its head, an eerie aura escaped in streams of light, making it look as though its skull was wreathed in fire.

The statue made no sound, for it could not speak, but the weight of its presence was undeniable.

Every step it took made the ground tremble, sending vibrations through the air as if the city itself was reacting to its movement.

'Level 75 monster,' Sam thought, lowering his stance and steadying his grip on his sword, 'Haha… this thing is no joke.'

A level 75 monster was something entirely different from anything most awakeners had faced.

It was equivalent to level five in the rank above [Forsaken], a rank so high that nobody had seen it revealed yet.

The details of that rank were unknown, but its existence alone was enough to make most people never even consider the possibility of fighting such a creature.

Regardless, that meant this was the strongest enemy anyone had encountered in this realm so far.

'I don't think it's stronger than Varkhaz,' Sam thought with measured confidence, 'I can deal with it.'

Fwish!

Sam dashed forward in a burst of speed, his primordial sword glowing faintly as he swung it toward the statue's torso.

The moment his blade connected—

STONE OF SOLITUDE!

The area of stone he struck instantly darkened, the gray surface becoming black as pitch.

Sam's sword bounced off with a jarring vibration, his attack completely deflected.

Then—

Fwish! BOOM!

The statue moved with surprising speed, swinging its only remaining arm and striking Sam hard enough to launch him backward across the street.

'They weren't lying…'

When the higher ranks were first introduced to the awakeners, the beings who explained them said that eventually, the difference between life and death would be as small as a single level.

Looking at this statue now, Sam could see that truth for himself.

He was strong enough to fight a peak [Forsaken] rank monster without much trouble.

He had even defeated a forsaken lord of the same rank.

But this statue, just five levels higher, possessed such overwhelming power that Sam couldn't help but wonder what awaited him even further ahead.

He thought briefly about the others who might encounter it, but quickly pushed the thought aside.

That wasn't his concern right now.

"You had to block the area I struck," Sam said with a faint grin as he rose to his feet, "That means if I hit you even once… you're dead."

The statue didn't react.

But the flame-like aura escaping from its broken head flared slightly, as if acknowledging his words.

"Alright then," Sam's own eyes lit up in response, "Let's see…"

Fwish! BOOM!

Sam closed the distance again in an instant, his sword slicing through the air toward the statue.

Once more, the black surface appeared where his strike landed, completely absorbing the force of the blow.

He slipped to the side just in time to avoid another crushing punch, countering with another slash.

Again, the surface turned black.

'It's tracking my attacks,' Sam realized, 'The skill automatically shifts to wherever I'm aiming. That means I'll need to hit multiple points at the same time.'

He stepped back, narrowly avoiding the statue's next movement as it slammed its leg down.

The impact cracked the stone street beneath them, spreading fractures outward in all directions.

Its defense, strength, and speed were absurd, more than enough to instantly kill any awakener who tried to meet it head-on.

But Sam could tell that was all it had.

There was no [Determination] fueling its will.

No inner drive pushing it beyond its limits.

And that meant—

Sam focused on his primordial sword, channeling the energy of his affinities into its edge until the weapon thrummed in his grip.

He opened his eyes.

SLASH STORM!

The blade moved faster than the eye could follow.

Dozens upon dozens of strikes came in rapid succession, each one flowing seamlessly into the next.

Slash! Slash! Slash!

The first flurry of strikes was deflected, each one blocked by the blackened surface of the [Stone of Solitude] skill.

But eventually—

Slash!

One cut slipped through. Then another. And another.

The stone began to give way under the relentless assault, until dozens more blows landed almost simultaneously.

Cracks spread through the statue's torso and limbs.

Its flaming head dimmed, flickers of its aura escaping less and less with each passing second.

Finally, the jagged remains of its head crumbled completely, the pieces collapsing to the ground.

"Heh," Sam said with a grin, "I guess I can still kill the likes of you pretty easily."

[Proceed.]

Sam nodded once and lifted his primordial sword.

A black tendril extended from the blade, piercing into the statue's heart symbol.

It extracted the monster's core and absorbed it into the weapon.

He couldn't level up yet, his advancement task required him to complete the first mission before he could, but he didn't mind.

'I'll clear the mission first,' Sam thought as he started walking, 'Then I'll try to fight that being I saw on the gate's drawing. I can't risk it before then.'

Even his [Hell-Mode Analysis] warned him that the being's determination currently matched his own.

Sam had always believed his determination was limitless. But was he wrong?

[Our determination surpasses all others, but that doesn't mean it's infinite from the start.]

[It means you actually need to feel determined for it to rise.]

'I guess that's why we're evenly matched right now,' Sam thought with a faint grin, 'But mine will rise, while his can't.'

Every being had a limit to how high their determination could climb.

Forsaken lords, awakeners of other races, even the strongest enemies could surpass his current determination in the short term.

But unlike them, Sam's determination had no ceiling.

That was the danger of being primordial.

Determination strengthened the soul, and a stronger soul meant a stronger being.

For now, though, Sam pressed onward through the [Forgotten City].

BOOM! BOOM!

The sound of impact echoed from ahead.

Fwish! BOOM!

Sam sidestepped, avoiding a sudden strike from another [Forgotten Statue].

He prepared to close in and end it quickly with another [Slash Storm]—

FWOOSH!

—but something else intercepted him.

'There's more of them?'

That thought didn't last long.

Because as he looked around, he saw the truth.

"Oh," Sam said, his eyes widening slightly, "This is bad."

Two more statues stepped into view from the end of the street, identical to the first one he'd faced.

And the thing that had stopped him was something different entirely.

---

[Forgotten Flying Sentinel (???)]

[Level: 74]

[Description: A civilian of this city that has been forgotten and corrupted.]

[Hell-Mode Analysis: These things seem to be gifted with actual intelligence, how… weird.]

---

The sentinels had humanoid bodies, their forms covered in segmented white and gray armor.

Each wore a strange mask, featureless except for the gaping black circle where their face should have been.

Strong, metallic wings beat the air behind them, keeping them aloft.

Four in total hovered above, each watching him intently.

Sam shifted his stance, ready to move, but—

Fwish!

[Under us.]

He leapt backward without hesitation.

A massive shadowy hand erupted from the ground where he had just been standing, slashing upward through the air.

"This is getting too insane," Sam muttered, his eyes narrowing, "The hell…?"

The shadows spread across the street in front of him, pooling like liquid.

From their depths, a single figure began to emerge.

[Forgotten Shadow (Boss)]

'Ah shit, here we go…'