As the first rays of sunlight began to touch the city, someone could be seen gasping for breath in the empty streets. At an hour when most people were still asleep, this person was running tirelessly through the alleys.
Driven by a singular purpose—"I must reach the Dust Stage!"—they had dedicated the last five years of their life to this goal.
Every time they recalled the days when their peers belittled them, their anger surged, fueling their legs to move even faster.
At night, they meditated in a silent room, and before the sun kissed the city, they would begin rigorous physical training.
Today, on their twelfth birthday, they were just one step away from reaching the Dust Stage. Even with sufficient mana reserves, achieving the Dust Stage required a perfectly conditioned body. Without physical readiness, the transition was impossible.
And so, for five long years, without missing a single day, they had pushed themselves to the limit.
Finally, the day had come.
In the revered kingdom of Silvonia, any child who turned twelve and possessed enough strength and talent was eligible to join the Academy. From the age of twelve to fifteen, students would train and, after three years, take an exam to qualify for a university.
At least, that was the standard path for most people. But this youth thought differently.
Silvonia, a kingdom conducted city-level trials every year by appointing advisors to each city. These trials determined who would gain admission to the Academy.
However, the kingdom placed great emphasis on talent. For those with exceptional abilities, bypassing the Academy and enrolling directly into a university was possible. This process, known as the "Special Student Assignment," was rare but highly coveted.
This youth had set their sights on this goal, planning to skip the Academy entirely and head straight to university. But to achieve this, reaching the Dust Stage was imperative—because they bore a unique limitation.
[SYSTEM]
Name: Nyris Lorien
Bloodline: None
Strength: 10
Agility: 11
Endurance: 11
Intelligence: 15
Perception: 14
Mana: 20
Soul: None
Luck: 20
Aura: None
[ABILITIES]
Innate Ability: Astral Rift (Willpower - Unique)
Creates an astral rift in space that can appear at any location. The size and location of the rift depend entirely on the user's will. (LOCKED - Unlock by reaching the Dust Stage.)
Locked
Locked
Locked
.
.
.
(Passive Skill): Significantly enhances spatial sensitivity. Your ability to perceive and comprehend space is thousands of times faster than that of other beings.
Acquired Skills:
Rabbit's Speed: Increases agility by 5 for 10 minutes.
Spatial Step: Allows instant movement within a 20-meter radius for 30 seconds.
Nyris had devoted every ounce of effort to unlocking this unique, willpower-tier ability.
Such a situation was unprecedented. They had never heard of anyone being born with a locked ability. Even more perplexing, they had never encountered a willpower-tier ability before.
The concept of a "Unique Ability" was equally mysterious—these were abilities possessed by no one else and often unrelated to power level.
For example, there was someone at the Dust Stage whose unique ability was Sweeping the Floor (Dust - Unique): "You sweep faster, leaving no dirt or dust behind. Surfaces look cleaner than their original state." The note attached to the description seemed like it was mocking the owner.
"I just hope it's not something ridiculous," Nyris thought to themselves.
To reach the Dust Stage, one needed a total stat score of 100. With their agility now increased to 12, Nyris's total stats finally reached the required threshold.
At that moment, Nyris felt as though invisible chains had been lifted from their body. They felt lighter, as if they could leap several meters into the air at any moment. However, they knew these sensations were merely the effects of leveling up.
Resisting the overwhelming urge to move, they waited for about a minute until all the strange sensations subsided. Regaining their composure, Nyris immediately opened the system, and what they saw made their eyes widen in disbelief.
[SYSTEM]
Name: Nyris Lorien
Level: Dust Stage - Beginner
Bloodline: None
Strength: 10
Agility: 12
Endurance: 11
Intelligence: 15
Perception: 14
Mana: 20
Soul: None
Luck: 20
Aura: None
[ABILITIES]
Innate Ability: Astral Rift (Willpower - Unique)
Creates an astral rift in space that can appear at any location. The size and location of the rift depend entirely on the user's will. (High Potential Detected – The energy required for the first rift will be covered by the system.)
Opening time depends on the rift's size. For lower-tier dimensions, 10 mana per second is required.
Astral Void: Creates a dimension linked to the rift. The dimension can hold both living and non-living entities or serve as a hiding place. (The dimension's detectability depends on the user's spatial comprehension.)
Locked
Locked
.
.
.
(Passive Skill): Significantly enhances spatial sensitivity. Your ability to perceive and comprehend space is thousands of times faster than that of other beings.
Acquired Skills:
Rabbit's Speed: Increases agility by 5 for 10 minutes.
Spatial Step: Allows instant movement within a 20-meter radius for 1 minute.
Nyris shouted, "This... this is so powerful!" Deep inside, he felt both shocked and overwhelmingly happy.
After all, advancing to a higher stage didn't increase one's stats it unlocked existential constraints, organized the body, and allowed evolution into a higher being.
Of course, everyone had different limits. Usually, the innate ability level determined the limitations of living beings.
Although factors like bloodlines could occasionally influence this, the innate ability level mostly dictated the ultimate potential of a person.
Rarely, individuals with incredibly strong wills could forcibly break through this limit and reach the next level. However, even for those who managed this feat, advancing further beyond that forcefully achieved stage was almost impossible.
Even so, advancing a stage held tremendous importance not only did it extend one's lifespan, but the power gap between stages was like comparing the earth to the sky.
"I've always doubted myself until now," Nyris said to himself. "I wondered, could my will-level be below the lowest of the low? But it isn't. I still don't know what level it's at, but it's clearly very powerful. I can already feel my spatial comprehension improving, and my Spatial Step ability has grown stronger."
"And the system said it would cover all the energy for the first activation. Does that mean I can open a tear to even high-tier dimensions?" he thought.
Dimensions were categorized into levels: low-tier, mid-tier, high-tier, and divine-tier.
The planet Nyris currently resided on was in a low-tier dimension, though it was nearly classified as mid-tier. Otherwise, it wouldn't have been able to sustain beings at the Star Stage such beings' energy would have been too much for the dimension to handle.
After a moment of reflection, Nyris made a decision. For cultivators, the most critical things they needed were energy and cultivation manuals.
Higher-quality energy could help accelerate cultivation and strength improvement. However, there were limits using energy beyond what the body could handle would cause it to collapse and explode.
Similarly, higher-level cultivation manuals could improve cultivation speed and efficiency. However, such manuals were usually monopolized by powerful families or the royal family.
Cultivation manuals were also categorized into levels: Dust Grade, Glow Grade, Spark Grade, and Flame Grade.
Nyris had never heard of manuals higher than Flame Grade. Perhaps the most powerful families or the royal family owned them, but he didn't have enough information to make judgments about this.
For commoners, the highest they could access was Spark Grade, and even then, only the wealthiest or aristocrats could afford them.
Nyris muttered, "I doubt the system will keep the tear open indefinitely," and then added in a low voice, "Maybe energy isn't the option here, but a manual... yes, that must be it. If I focus my will on what I need most a manual it should open a tear to where one is."
With that, he sprinted home.
Nyris lived with his mother, father, and younger brother. Beneath their house, there was a large basement his father had specially built for him and his brother to train. While his family wasn't wealthy, they weren't poor either; compared to the average citizen, their standard of living was relatively high.
The moment Nyris returned home, he ran to the basement. On the way, he told his mother, "I won't be having dinner tonight, and please don't disturb me." He hung a "Do Not Disturb" sign on the basement door and stepped inside.
The basement was about 250 square meters in size, with a ceiling height of around 8 meters.
The walls were designed to be soundproof and nearly indestructible, able to withstand even the peak of the Glow Stage. This provided Nyris with a quiet and safe environment to train.
He moved to the center of the room, sat cross-legged on a meditation mat, and activated his ability in his mind. He focused on visualizing the manual he needed most, the one that suited him best.
Slowly, he waved his hand, and the space in front of him began to tear. At that moment, a mix of fear and excitement coursed through him.
After all, who wouldn't feel fear at the sight of space itself ripping apart before them? Yet, the excitement overshadowed the fear it was likely due to his innate closeness to space.
He noticed his mana wasn't depleting, which reassured him of the system's reliability. The tear grew until it was roughly the size of an adult human and then stopped expanding.
Approaching the tear, he sensed that its edges were dangerously unstable for anyone without knowledge of spatial manipulation. The energy circulating there could easily disintegrate an ordinary person.
When Nyris touched the tear, he realized he could expand it much further if he wished. In fact, he felt that with the energy the system was providing, he could easily open a tear large enough to engulf an entire galaxy.
Inside the tear, there was a shelf a space resembling a library, yet it exuded a divine aura. Some books on other shelves glowed or emitted strange black smoke, their presence radiating mystery.
Nyris's attention, however, was drawn to the book directly in front of him. It felt as though the tear had opened specifically for him to take it.
With hesitant hands, he reached through the tear. When he confirmed it was safe, he grabbed the book from the shelf. Before he could examine the other books, the tear closed abruptly.
On the other side, a man with a divine aura sitting on a throne suddenly jolted as though sensing something. His face showed surprise as he vanished and reappeared in the library.
"Interesting. Someone stole a book from my library, and I only sensed it after it was taken. Truly intriguing..." he whispered before disappearing again.
Back in the basement, Nyris sighed, "That was so fast. Couldn't the system have kept it open a bit longer?" But there was no response.
Turning his attention to the book in his hands, he read the title: Cosmic Balance.
He sat down and opened the first page. It described how to turn his body into a void and increase his energy absorption rate.
The method seemed absurd, but recalling where the book had come from and trusting the system wouldn't harm him, Nyris decided to try it.
Following the instructions, he began drawing mana into his body and focused on sensing his mana pathways. Slowly, he felt all his pathways expand, and the sensation intensified with each repetition.
As his mana pathways burned and his skin began to bleed, the pain became excruciating. Yet, sensing that the process was strengthening him, Nyris endured.
Time passed, and after three hours, he exhaled deeply and stood up.
"I estimate I can complete the Void Body in two days. After that, my absorption rate will increase exponentially," he thought.
Staring at the book with a mix of amazement and satisfaction, he muttered, "This book is incredibly powerful. Once I finish creating the Void Body, I feel like something inside me will change." With that, he went to sleep.
Though advancing to the Dust Stage had reduced his need for sleep, the decrease wasn't significant seven hours had dropped to about four.
The next morning, Nyris woke early and headed straight to the basement, immediately entering a meditative state. What happened next surprised him.
"It feels like the surrounding energy isn't sufficient. It's slowing me down a lot. I need purer or more powerful mana," he said.
Mana became purer and stronger the more concentrated it was in an area.
The purer the mana, the faster and more effective one's cultivation became.
Rumors said that the royal family owned a special mana-gathering array capable of collecting purer mana. This array was one of the reasons their scions were often undefeatable among their peers.
While wondering where he could find purer and stronger mana, Nyris thought of his ability.
Although his Astral Tear ability could only be maintained for 20 seconds and could currently only access locations within low-tier dimensions, the Cosmic Balance technique reduced his need for extreme purity at the Dust Stage anything beyond that might cause him to explode.
"Astral Tear," he said, waving his hand. The space before him tore apart, forming a gap large enough for an adult to pass through.
On the other side of the tear was a serene lake, brimming with energy that was both pure and powerful. Although he could only keep the tear open for 20 seconds, the energy that flowed from the lake into the basement would be enough to sustain his meditation for the entire day and even more.
Wasting no time, Nyris entered a meditative state.
"With this level of energy, I should be able to complete the Void Body by tonight," he thought, and began cultivating according to the manual.