Rahz felt like he was falling through and endless void and his traveling companion was the weird child that started talking directly into his mind.
"My name is Apocalypse, I am a weapon created by the realm for an Elysian capable of protecting it. The gods are a leech trying to suck the life out of your world and they are doing it by the most despicable means, through his natives. They used the Runes of the Awakened to create vessels out of its residents, then they fill their souls with the realms spirit power and finally they take it away into their own realms. You saw that hideousness behind the Rune, it lashes on to the very spirit of a person and as they 'evolve' it starts to fuse into their very being waiting for the moment the Elysian perish to collect the investment. Once the parasite is fuse into the soul it is no longer recognized as part of the realm and so it is deported into the realm it came from. God of War, God of Nature it doesn't matter the disposition or the reason, they all do it. It is difficult to believe but that is the reason why the test is conducted before the so call second evolution, the parasite can still be removed and the price to show you the real nature of the Rune is minimal".
"I looked through your memory and you are one of the few to experience the true Unlocking of the Elysian potential and that is the true beginning of the cultivation system of the realm. There are others that in a moment of extreme peril molded the energy of the realm into phenomena, whether it was a fireball or a minor teleportation they did it like you without the help of the fake system. In theory like the Dark Elf in your memory said an Elysian could learn any skill, there are no set paths in the realm but the individual disposition and intelligence determines how easy it is to learn to use a rule and how to change the Energy available".
"The system created by the Gods is derived from the real system of the realm to confused Elysian into thinking an individual had unlock their potential and started their cultivation and as a mother that can't say no to a child she indulge them, but only until the so call Level 50 when the parasite have completely fuse and she can determine that they are a complete foreign being and stops the feed".
"I have now removed everything that is not yours and you can start on the true path to the apex, as a protector of the realm there would be rewards for slaying and recuperating the spirit that had been taken and the more spirit you accumulated the higher your level can go and there won't be a ceiling. Oh! I almost forgot, that God you were following must be furious, I took away everything he gave and destroy his connection to you so stay away from those Temples of the Awakened, they are your enemy".
Rahz woke up inside the test room and was holding a 6 foot bone rod that looked like the spine of a beast and at one end it had the same demon skull he saw at the beginning of the test. Rahz looked at the weapon in his hands and immediately notice that there were no long and powerful nails in his hands and they actually looked a little feminine.
"No.. No.. was it real?" Rahz stood up and notice he didn't feel as tall and his bulky muscles were gone. He took out a piece of silver from the pouch and look at himself in it. There it was, his 5 year old base but a little older. Rahz looked like a 14 year old teenager and nothing like a warrior at all.
He looked at his chest and the rune was gone, then a voice sounded in his mind, "Everything was real, you are now a Level 1 Elysian and an Enemy of the Gods but don't worry what you have done is not without benefits, I am called Apocalypse because of my ability to destroy but whatever I destroy, she would return double. Offered me that belt of yours".
The skull at the top of the weapon in his hands open his mouth and Rahz fed it the Belt of the Titan for consumption.
Whoosh!
Energy started to congregate around Rahz and started to enter his body making his cells rejoiced and started changing in composition, all his systems started becoming stronger and he became taller, his bones were taking a more copper like color and even his skin composition was changing and rearranging into a tougher matrix resembling the structure of a First Evolution Beast leather but still look as delicate as before.
Apocalypse enter Rahz's body and superimpose Rahz skull and spine helping him absorbed the reward while transmitting all the information in real time of the changes he was going through. It was a weird experience as Rahz felt like a microscopic person seeing a movie of evolution. The most important of all the images was the network of the energy pathways that increased in diameter.
"What is that network for?"
"Unlocking your potential is in essence the activation of that network of pathways that allows you to use the Energy of the Realm to modify phenomena into what you call skills and combat arts. The higher the rule you want to bent to your will, the higher the amount of energy you have to provide to satisfy the law of equal exchange".
"The Level system you followed before with the changes in the rune was in fact an easier way to track the size of the pathways since if it wasn't for me you would not be able to see it now. It is hard not to recognize the genius of the gods, they made something a little more complicated into something easy to understand so that the races could embrace it without question".
"So would I evolve like before?"
"What do you mean? You are evolving as we speak".
…..
Rahz was perplex at the answer, he experienced a big change at his Level 10 breakthrough and was still comparing the system.
"There are definitely milestones that you will go through but remember, there is no choosing of classes for you, you must learn the skills by learning how to change the energy of your body to change phenomena and that is why the events of the test required you to use some skills without the mambo jumbo of chaos runes or other systems. They should now be engrain into your brain how to use your energy to created Chaos Fire".
Rahz open his hand and a small Flame of Chaos Fire rested there and he felt energy in his Energy Network decreased considerably just like when he was a kid learning how to use Devastating Blow.
"One last thing, anything I consume gets decompose and analyse and I can retain one of the properties of the item, so the more you feed me the higher I can grow as long as is something created by them, the filthy leeches you call Gods. I kept the skill Second Wind from the belt, I thought it would be of help for you in a moment of peril… no need to thank me, let's grow strong together"
It was a lot to take in, one moment he was going to get his second evolution and the next he was made aware of a secret that not even the elites of the realm knew. Rahz's original goal was to be the strongest and now he had the opportunity to do just that, all he need it was time.
The magic screen dropped from the entrance and Giant Blade came walking in to see the back of his disciple, that looked just like a statue. Giant Blade didn't know what to think, the other contestants were thrown out by the magic barrier a week before except for Rahz and now that the barrier was no more he need it to check for himself what was going on.
"Rahz? Are you Ok?"
The voice of his teacher brought him back to reality and as he turned, Giant Blade Jumped backwards. The face of a very handsome youth with pointy ears greet him but then from time to time is was distorted by the face of a demon like mask.
'Who are you?"
"I am Rahz".
Giant Blade activated his goggles and Rahz biometrics appeared on the spot.
Rahz of Helgahvall
Race: Half Barbarian/Half Elf - System Error DNA composition High Elf 100%, Barbarian 100%
Deity: None
Strength: Can lift 1000 lbs
Toughness: 3 in the hardness scale. Copper Body - Immune to copper level weapons without the Penetration Enchantment
Agility and Dexterity : Response Time 100% vs Level 10, 70% vs Level 11, 50% vs Level 12
Potential: Unlimited