Bloodbound Codex: I Grow Stronger in Secret

Meanwhile, in the city of Solara, Atlas could be seen walking toward his next destination as he held the permission for the next Solo Cataclysm Rank Ruin in his hand. He stared at it for a brief moment before storing it inside his pocket. He then took out another card, the Guild Card made entirely of platinum which he had received yesterday evening, just as that Evaluator guy had said.

Written on the card was his current Explorer [Rank: SS].

Yes, it was written as SS-rank even though Atlas had already surpassed the records of the Guildmaster, who was an SSS-rank Explorer. However, there were reasons for this, and Atlas knew why very well after reading the books in the library that Seraphiel had suggested to him.

First of all, records such as Spirit Energy measurements and physical strength didn’t necessarily mean that you were at the same rank that those measurements represented. There were other requirements that had to be fulfilled before an individual could officially reach a higher rank, and the second and most important reason Atlas had not received the SSS-rank yet was that he had not awakened any Element.

Just like when Atlas had gone from A-rank to S-rank, there was also a massive breakthrough process when one went from SS-rank to SSS-rank. During this process, the individual would awaken an Element, and these Elements were themselves separated into different categories according to their rarity and strength. The Basic Elements were Wood, Earth, Water, and Fire, while Advanced Elements included Ether, Darkness, Lightning, and others.

After that came the Legendary Elements, which included Space, Time, Entropy, and several others that were considered far rarer and complex than the previous categories. Atlas had understood from the books that even if someone possessed enough physical strength and Spirit Energy to fight against individuals of a higher rank, they could not simply skip the process required to reach that rank.

And there was also the Unique ability one possessed, that also became a factor to count if one were SS or SSS-rank.

Yesterday, Atlas had also gone and seen the so-called Ruins of Eclipse, and from what he had seen and felt, he could definitely agree that it really was mysterious. The entrance was unlike anything he had ever seen before because it wasn’t a door to begin with. It was a literal swirl of space itself, just like the Hidden Curvature through which he had escaped the Eternal Ruin.

Although they looked somewhat similar, the structure of this one was much larger than that of the Hidden Curvature. Atlas also could not feel any sort of energy coming from the other side, which did not make sense because he had heard from Seraphiel that the entrance to the Ruins of Eclipse always remained open.

Shaking his head, Atlas dismissed that topic for now because there was no need for him to keep thinking about it. He would enter the Ruins of Eclipse no matter what. At first, his goal for entering it had only been to obtain the Divine Rank Relic that was supposedly inside, but now...now curiosity had become another reason along with his previous goal. He had never felt this curious about anything before, and if he had been given the chance, he would have entered the moment he stood in front of that strange entrance.

However, due to the mysterious nature of that entrance and the Ruin itself, Atlas did not want to take any unnecessary risks. ’I should prepare more before going in, trusting some old records might cost me my life.’ With that thought, he had decided to first assimilate all the Traits he had remaining, along with the Unknown Trait, of course.

After all, it could grant him some unbelievable ability just like the Bloodline had, so preparing ahead of time was the best choice. As of now, he was heading toward another Cataclysm Rank Ruin exactly for that reason. He wasn’t going there simply to clear another Cataclysm Rank Ruin because he was now too strong for that. He could already kill an SSS-rank Boss Monster from a Divine Rank Ruin, so a Cataclysm Rank Ruin was no longer something that could provide him with much of a challenge.

’On that note, that Osmo ??? Bloodline went to a total of 8%. Do I have to wait for it to reach 100% for something to happen?’ He remembered seeing that number after going back to the Inn yesterday, and that same question struck his mind again.

Atlas could only sigh and dismiss that thought as well because there was no way he was going to get an answer to this question right now. He would have to wait and see what happened when the time came. While thinking about this, Atlas noticed that he was already out of the city, and just a few meters ahead of him was the Ruin.

Without wasting any time, Atlas walked forward and placed his hand on the Ruin entrance. Just as usual, it opened, and small waves of Spirit Energy came out from within. ’It’s not even close to that of the Divine Rank Ruin.’ He thought as he compared these waves to those of the Divine Rank Ruin. When he had still yet to enter that Divine Rank Ruin, the waves of Spirit Energy coming from its entrance had felt relatively powerful, but now they felt like nothing more than a breeze passing through him.

The double doors opened with a deep Drrr sound as the ground slightly shook beneath Atlas’s feet. He stepped past the threshold without wasting any more time and entered the Ruin, while the doors behind him closed with the same sound.

...

..

After some minutes...

Atlas could be seen standing on top of the massive body of a titanic monster, with its massive head lying behind him after being separated from its body. He had already killed the Boss...within just a few minutes after entering the Ruin.

Yes, he had cleared it, he had wasted no time even analyzing the Traits of each Monster as the Stylus sucked in their blood one after another.

If anyone, anyone at all, came to know what Atlas had done, they would never believe it even if they were to see it with their own eyes. Clearing a Cataclysm Rank Ruin Solo within a single day was already shocking enough, but clearing one within just a few minutes completely broke every common sense and logic there was.

It was simply impossible, yet Atlas had done it with his ridiculous strength.

What was even more surprising was the sword Atlas was holding in his hand now. It was purely made of Spirit Energy, just like the Spirit Blade he had used until now, but its shape was completely different. The sword in his hand could clearly be compared to the one Alberion always carried with him, the same katana-shaped sword that was entirely made of Spirit Energy.

Atlas had indeed copied it after seeing Alberion use it, just like he had previously copied the Spirit Blade from Mark. Although the shape didn’t perfectly match the original, it was still close enough for Atlas to recognize that he had done a decent job reproducing it.

’It’s really sharp, even though I don’t know how to use swords properly, it’s still good for dealing with too many Monsters at once, it even sliced through this S-rank boss’s head without any resisitance at all.’ Atlas stared at the Spirit Sword in his hand for a brief moment, examining its structure and the amount of Spirit Energy concentrated within it. He had never properly learned how to use a sword, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t make use of one when his Spirit Energy could form a weapon this easily.

After looking at the sword one last time, Atlas finally dispersed it and shifted his attention toward something else.

There was still one thing he had come here to do.

The Unknown Trait.

Atlas raised his hand and called out the Bloodbound Codex as he had done countless times before. The familiar Codex appeared in front of him, floating quietly in the air as its pages remained closed.

Atlas looked at it for a moment before speaking.

”Originate.”

It was finally time to assimilate the Unknown Trait.