Primordial Awakening: I Can Evolve My Skills Infinitely

After his first day of grinding in the [Fourth Zone], and leveling up to Level 6, Sam teleported back into his room inside the [Forsaken] kingdom.

Because he had used [Fast Travel], the return was instant.

It only took a few seconds, and nobody could possibly tell whether he had been inside the kingdom the whole time or wandering outside.

'This perk is genuinely incredible,' Sam laughed internally, 'a direct counter to their [Primordial Compass].'

It was the perfect tool.

No matter how tightly they tried to lock down the kingdom, no matter how carefully they built systems to check every single awakener passing through the gates, he could bypass it all with one simple choice.

And as long as he had that option, he was untouchable.

Sam lay back in his bed and sighed, his eyes drifting up toward the ceiling.

"Four more to go."

That was the number of levels he still needed to hit the target he had set for himself.

...

Twenty days passed since Sam first began grinding in the [Fourth Zone].

In those days, he poured nearly all of his time into killing monsters, training, and evolving his skills.

By the end of it, as expected, he had successfully evolved every single one of his [Tier 2] skills all the way to their maximum rank—Primordial.

Including [Primordial Barrage], which he had unlocked within the first three days, this brought his total to six fully evolved skills.

The achievement was absurd.

It was something no other awakener could even dream of.

Most people would be lucky to advance one or two skills in their entire lifetime to Forsaken Rank.

Even those who reached [Determination Rank] were considered legends.

And yet here he was, casually pushing all of his combat abilities to the very peak of Primordial rank within weeks.

Sam felt confident—no, certain—that no one else in this realm had even a single Forsaken+ skill, let alone six fully Primordial.

The only abilities he still hadn't pushed up were his two [Tier 1] skills: [Void Rush] and [Gaze of the Primordial].

They were decent, both carrying useful effects, but neither was direct combat-oriented.

That made them the lowest priority, so he hadn't wasted his precious [Skill Tier Advancement Scrolls] on them yet.

Still, Sam was certain that by the next mission, he'd collect enough scrolls to finish those as well.

When that time came, every single one of his skills would be Primordial.

During those twenty days, Sam's life had followed one rhythm.

Grind. Grind harder. And grind even more.

Sometimes he spent ten straight hours killing monsters inside the [Fourth Zone].

Each kill was quick, clean, and efficient.

The enemies there were ghastly, most of them undead or ghost-like, with twisted forms corrupted by the realm.

Though none of them could even scratch him.

He always knew when he was close to the altar that led to the [Maze of the Damned].

The place gave off a chilling aura, one that seemed to whisper and beckon him forward.

The spinning orb upon the altar seemed alive, radiating energy that tugged at his chest.

But each time, Sam turned away. He resisted the urge. The time wasn't right.

Ding!

[Congratulations to Sam Walker for leveling up to Level 7 of the Ascendant Rank!]

Ding!

[Congratulations to Sam Walker for leveling up to Level 8 of the Ascendant Rank!]

Sam grinned whenever the system messages appeared.

Every level took longer than the last, yet he was steadily climbing.

And surprisingly, no one else had managed to attempt the [Maze of the Damned] yet.

Or perhaps they had tried—only to never return.

Either way, the Fourth Zone felt incredibly difficult, even to the strongest of awakeners.

It truly felt like the true beginning of the [Upper Realm].

But that was fine with him.

The more others struggled, the more time he had to grow.

And after his final skill evolution, Sam decided it was time.

He had put it off long enough.

He opened his panels.

'Alright,' Sam grinned, 'Time to check everything, then start training immediately.'

He still had a decent window of time before the majority of awakeners caught up.

And thanks to the [Dimension of Time], he could stretch that window far wider.

One day outside equaled a full week inside.

That meant he could afford to spend months in focused training, sharpening every skill he had.

But before that, he needed to see exactly what he was working with.

First up was the one he had evolved the earliest: [Primordial Barrage].

He opened its panel.

---

[Primordial Barrage]

[Tier: 2]

[Rank: Primordial]

[Description: Allows the user to choose between three modes: turret, machine gun, aura ray. Each one has its own powers and weaknesses, but overall, all of them are balanced.]

[Hell-Mode Analysis: I told you there were three modes =)]

---

Sam's eyes skimmed the words.

The description was simple but clear.

He didn't need to overthink it.

The true test would come when he entered the [Dimension of Time].

He would practice each of the three modes, learn their strengths and limits, and then decide how to integrate them into his style.

For now, he moved on.

The next batch of skills were the three he had pushed through multiple evolution stages before reaching Primordial.

Ding!

---

[Primordial Spirits (Forsaken) → Primordial Spirits (Forsaken+) → Strong Primordial Spirits (Forsaken++) → Determined Primordial Spirits (Determination) → True Primordial Spirits (Primordial)]

---

Sam still didn't expect much from this one.

Even after its long climb, it always felt like one of his weaker skills.

But he would see soon enough.

---

[Sovereign Inferno (Forsaken) → Monarch Inferno (Forsaken+) → Imperial Sunfire (Forsaken++) → Crowned Firebrand (Determination) → Primordial Hellscape (Primordial)]

---

[Tendrils of Oblivion (Forsaken) → Whispering Tendrils (Forsaken+) → Hungering Tendrils (Forsaken++) → Eternal Tendrils (Determination) → Primordial Tendrils (Primordial)]

---

Sam's grin widened.

"Perfect."

Both of these were skills he had relied on in the past.

He had stopped using them recently, simply because their raw power wasn't enough anymore.

But now?

Now that they were fully Primordial, he could shape them into devastating abilities.

He pulled up their panels.

---

[True Primordial Spirits]

[Tier: 2]

[Rank: Primordial]

[Description: Upon defeating anybody, you'll be able to see their spirit, allowing you to show these wretched souls how meaningless their attempts at stopping you were, and snatching them for yourself without any resistance.]

[You have 100 slots to recruit spirits.]

[The spirits you recruit will be GREATLY empowered by your aura and affinities, making them much stronger.]

[Hell-Mode Analysis: There is no hope for them.]

---

[Primordial Hellscape]

[Tier: 2]

[Rank: Primordial]

[Description: Hell will come to them before you even send them to it. The Primordial Hellscape will surround them and burn their very souls.]

[Hell-Mode Analysis: This is already Hell anyway, might as well make it our own.]

---

[Primordial Tendrils]

[Tier: 2]

[Rank: Primordial]

[Description: Tendrils strong enough to crush entire realms and capable of defeating armies. Anything entangled by them will face the wrath of... "him."]

[Hell-Mode Analysis: Not... so kinky anymore... is it?]

---

Sam blinked.

"Oh shit."

Every single description was ominous.

Every single one sounded terrifying.

And every single one hinted at potential that went far beyond what he expected.

Even [True Primordial Spirits], which he had almost dismissed, carried staggering implications.

"No resistance," Sam muttered.

Did that mean he could simply seize the spirits of anyone he killed?

And a hundred slots—that was a small army.

He couldn't test it inside the [Dimension of Time], but the very thought of it made his pulse quicken.

As for [Primordial Hellscape] and [Primordial Tendrils], both were too cryptic to judge.

The descriptions dripped with menace, but he needed to experiment before he could truly understand.

Even so...

[You have a good feeling about this.]

Sam blinked again.

"Wow."

It was the first time the panel had ever given him something like that.

A straightforward, positive sign.

If even the system was telling him to feel good about these skills, then he knew they were going to be dangerous.

He leaned back and exhaled slowly.

Four out of six checked. Two left.

And they were the ones he anticipated the most.

[I Always Come Back] and [Hatred Wings].

His expression sharpened. He opened the panels.