Primordial Awakening: I Can Evolve My Skills Infinitely

Sam pointed forward at the swarm of monsters that littered the vast structure ahead, then gave a single order.

"Kill them all."

The command was simple, yet absolute.

There was a decent amount of monsters, and most of them weren't moving at all.

It looked like they were waiting.

They were perched on ledges, hiding inside the walls, or floating in the air, all silent.

But the moment someone tried to cross, they would lunge.

Their strategy was clear: push intruders off the narrow bridges and stairs, throwing them down into the endless void.

And if they couldn't shove you into the abyss, they would simply tear you apart with claws, fangs, and curses.

Sam didn't even need to guess, because he saw it happen before his eyes.

A [Wall Dweller] suddenly crawled out of the stone as an angel climbed a staircase.

Its long, sickly arms stretched, and with a quick shove, the angel was sent flying into the air.

But angels had wings.

The man flared them wide, managing to stop his fall before the void could claim him.

Yet the very moment his wings caught him, something shifted.

Every single monster nearby turned their heads.

Their dead eyes began to glow bright, white or red, lighting up the darkness.

The second he resisted the fall, it was as though a signal had been triggered.

Not only did the monsters begin to attack wildly, but even more began to spawn from the walls and the mist.

"...Hm."

Sam narrowed his eyes.

He wondered if this was intentional.

Maybe the reason they wanted to shove people down so badly was because falling into the abyss was the fastest way to kill.

Or maybe there was something waiting below. Something worse.

Either way, it didn't matter right now.

Sam's three [Maze Ghosts] immediately floated forward, streaks of crimson light as they rushed at the other monsters to cut them down.

Sam stayed near the edge of a platform, eyes lowering toward the endless black below.

And then—

Ding!

[You have an extremely bad feeling about this... a presence similar to the "Forsaken Lords" seems to be there.]

Sam froze.

'Seriously?'

He expected this place to be dangerous.

He expected monsters far above level 90, he even expected bosses that could kill the strongest awakeners alive.

But something comparable to the Forsaken Lords lurking underneath the void?

That was on a completely different level.

He clenched his teeth but forced himself to breathe slowly.

"Oh well."

He couldn't worry about what was beneath.

He had to focus on what was in front of him.

His [Maze Ghosts] were proving themselves useful, cutting down monsters with claws, aura slashes, and raw force.

[Ghost Wolves], [Floating Ghouls], [Wall Dwellers]—every one of them that attacked was shredded into mist.

But their victory came at a price.

One of his three [Maze Ghosts] was cut apart during the struggle, vanishing into crimson smoke before Sam could do anything about it.

Rest in peace... Or not.

Sam didn't care enough to waste his thoughts.

After about a minute of fighting, he looked around the bloodied chamber and raised his primordial sword high.

The blade shimmered, and he absorbed the cores of every monster in sight.

The energy surged through him like fire.

And then—

Ding!

[Congratulations to Sam Walker for leveling up to Level 9 of the Ascendant Rank!]

'Perfect,' Sam grinned.

With this, he was only a single level away from reaching Level 10.

And with that level, his advancement task would finally arrive.

Based on the sheer scale of the [Maze of the Damned], he figured it wouldn't take long at all to reach it.

It would just take effort.

After absorbing the cores, Sam extended his hand toward the corpses of the monsters he had killed.

Spirits began to rise.

Every one of them crimson, glowing, their eyes burning as his aura wrapped around them.

Ding!

[True Primordial Spirits: 17/100]

"Good."

Seventeen spirits floated before him, bowing to his will.

Sam couldn't help but grin widely.

Even with only seventeen of them, the difference was overwhelming.

It wasn't an army yet, not even close, but when he saw the way their forms burned with power, it looked like he could already sweep through rooms of enemies with them alone.

Send them ahead, let them overwhelm, and while the monsters were distracted, recruit the rest.

'This skill... is incredible.'

Before, [True Primordial Spirits] had been useless.

A joke compared to the other skills he had.

But now, with its final evolution, and a hundred slots available, it was a weapon.

A weapon that could change everything. Kill. Recruit. Expand. Repeat.

It was that simple.

Sam moved on. He climbed the stairs and chose another hallway, not bothering to use his [Primordial Wings] yet.

He didn't need them unless he had to.

This path led to a smaller chamber instead of another structure, which made him pause.

"Hm."

In the corners stood four massive torches, each burning with white flames that crackled faintly in the silence.

The chamber felt suffocating, almost holy, as if the flames themselves rejected his existence.

The moment Sam stepped inside—

CLACK!

The gate behind him slammed shut, sealing completely.

"...Figures."

He turned and slashed the gate with his primordial sword just to be sure.

As expected, nothing happened.

This wasn't a mistake. It was intentional.

The [Maze of the Damned] wasn't just corridors and giant structures.

It had trials hidden within chambers like this one. Challenges.

And the more Sam saw, the more he realized just how large this zone was.

It wasn't an exaggeration to say it was bigger than all seven layers of the [Forsaken] realm combined.

It was the beginning of something far larger.

And though Sam couldn't know what the [Fifth Mission] and those beyond it would bring, he had no doubt it would only grow worse.

He raised his hand, ordering his spirits forward.

Most of them took the lead, floating toward the center of the room.

The rest stayed to his sides and behind him, forming a shield formation.

If he was to be trapped here, he couldn't risk being surrounded.

But then—

Fwish! SLASH!

A massive figure dropped from above like a hammer.

Before his spirits could react, its jagged blade swept in a wide arc.

Ten of Sam's spirits were erased instantly, fading into nothing.

Sam's eyes narrowed.

'I think I get it now.'

He wasn't thinking about the enemy.

He was thinking about his spirits.

They were powerful, yes. Strong enough to cut through level 90 monsters in a single strike or two.

But they had a weakness: their defense was practically nonexistent.

If they were hit directly, they vanished. No resistance.

Sam realized they were an offensive army, not defensive shields.

Perfect for killing swarms of enemies.

But when it came to bosses... That was where he would need to step in personally.

'I guess it is expected.'

He'd need to test them further against stronger enemies to be sure, but the truth was already clear.

They could not tank damage. They were executioners, not walls.

Sam clenched his primordial sword as his gaze locked onto the massive figure before him.

The monster's aura pressed against his skin like a burning weight.

---

[Maze Berserker (Boss)]

[Level: 90]

[Description: A powerful berserker that sends the souls of the damned to the "Maze of Lost Souls."]

[Skills: Soul Transfer, Purification, Wide Swing...]

---

[Hell-Mode Analysis: Maze of Lost Souls...?]

"Huh."

Sam tilted his head slightly.

Even [Hell-Mode Analysis] seemed confused by that phrase.

But he didn't dwell on it.

He tightened his grip on his sword and raised his free hand.

Primordial Barrage!

[Mode: Turret]

Fwish! BOOM!

An aura turret materialized above him, its barrel glowing with deadly energy.

Without hesitation, Sam aimed at the berserker and began charging it.

The boss didn't stay still.

The [Maze Berserker] stood over three meters tall, muscles bulging unnaturally across its twisted body.

Its mask hid its face, and its jagged blade was as long as Sam's entire height.

It radiated savagery, an aura that promised only butchery.

And then it moved.

PURIFICATION!

The berserker howled as its blade ignited with golden light.

It slammed the weapon into the ground, and a pulse of divine energy exploded outward.

Fwish! Fwish!

The golden wave swept through the chamber, instantly erasing the remainder of Sam's spirits.

They burned out in a flash, vanishing completely.

The wave slammed against Sam's [Primordial Barrier], each hit rattling him with immense pressure.

'That thing is not messing around.'

Sam gritted his teeth, but his grin returned a moment later.

'But...'

The turret above him finished charging.

The aura barrel ignited, its glow brighter than the torches in the corners of the chamber.

And then—

BOOM!

The shot fired, tearing through the air toward the berserker.

Sam's eyes flared with determination.

Even if this was a level 90 boss, even if it had wiped out his spirits in a single move, it didn't matter.

He would cut it down.

Because if he couldn't defeat something like this with ease, then he stood no chance against what waited further ahead.