Caelus’s vision flickered. He was standing in a massive cave bathed in golden light.

"Where is this place?" Caelus muttered, looking around.

Ding!

[You have entered the "Quest to Divinity" Zone.]

[Warning: Divine Spawns in this area are extremely powerful.]

[Objective: Eliminate Divine Spawns to obtain Divinity. Fill the Divine Mold to forge your Halo.]

As the system message faded, a glowing inscription blinked on the center of the cave ceiling. A divine halo bulged with a rich golden hue. Golden lines traced across the stone, and from the light, several massive beasts began to spawn across the cave.

Ding!

[Your Trial commences now.]

[Condition: If you die here, you die in the real world.]

’...’

Caelus’s eyes widened. A chill crept into his heart.

’If I die here, I die in real life? Isn’t that insane?’

For the first time, Caelus felt his heart race. Just as quickly, a divine beast stepped toward him. It was a massive elephant. Each step made the cave shake slightly. A terrifying holy light erupted from its body, shooting straight toward Caelus.

His Aura of Origin erupted to push back against it. For a split second, their powers clashed in the air.

[Lord - Divine Elephant]

[Rank: Bronze I]

[HP: 1,000/1,000]

[Combat Score: 146 (Bronze I)]

The divine elephant looked at Caelus with pure disdain. Then, it charged.

BOOM!

A beam of light condensed near its trunk. It raised its head high and fired the beam straight at Caelus.

CHAOS PERCEPTION EYES!

Caelus’s heartbeat spiked as he activated the skill to stun the elephant.

’This thing has a combat score of 146. But it has an HP bar. That means it can be killed.’

Here, there could only be one winner. Him or these beasts. And he did not plan on losing.

’Worst case, I will ascend and reach Bronze II.’

PROJECTION FRAME!

He launched himself into the air. His figure blurred into fragmented frames as he reached the sky. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

THUNDERCLAP!

[Ding!]

[Debuff Applied: Divine Elephant’s Defense and Speed have decreased.]

Caelus did not pause. He immediately activated his buffs. Tremor Authority gave a +2 damage increase, and Sword Energy added another +3 to his blade.

[Combat Score: 139.34 -> 144.34]

MYRIAD MOVES OF THE HEAVENLY SWORD - FIRST MOVE!

Caelus swung his blade from the air with insane speed. He unleashed a rapid wave of sword strikes. His Chaos Perception Eyes constantly tracked the beast’s weak points with every slash.

[-100 HP]

[-100 HP]

[-100 HP]

[-100 HP]

Health kept draining from the divine elephant as it stood frozen. Nothing could escape the gaze of the Chaos Perception Eyes, not even a divine beast. The elephant had a special shield that reduced the damage taken, but Caelus could manage it.

HOLY DISINTEGRATION!

Caelus shouted as a burst of light fused into the divine elephant. The light grew larger until it completely swallowed the beast.

Ding!

[You have eliminated the "Lord - Divine Elephant".]

Seeing this, Caelus shot forward as he activated endless extraction.

Ding!

[Extraction Successful.]

[You have obtained the Divine Essence of Gods.]

[Your stats increase by leaps and bounds.]

[Combat Score +73 (Bronze I)]

[Your body has gained the Imprint of Divinity.]

[Divine Halo Progress: 1%]

"What?" Caelus was stunned. He felt a massive surge of strength erupting inside his body. He had crossed the threshold of Bronze II.

[Combat Score: 139.34 -> 1.42 (Bronze II)]

But he had no time to be amazed. A powerful Divine Bird was already lunging right at him.

BOOM!

PROJECTION FRAME!

Caelus flared his skill and swiftly dodged out of the way.

The bird was another Lord type with a Bronze II combat score.

With new power coursing through his veins, Caelus shot toward the bird with terrifying speed. A sonic boom erupted in his wake.

FIRST GENERATION SPARK IGNITION!

His legs exploded with power. A deafening blast echoed as his leg came crashing down on the beast.

The next instant, he twisted his body in the air. He spun like a top, dealing continuous damage to the bird. The divine beast could not even defend itself.

BAM!

It collapsed heavily onto the ground.

Caelus immediately used extraction again.

[Ding!]

[Extraction Successful.]

[You have obtained the Divine Essence of Gods.]

[Your stats increase by leaps and bounds.]

[Combat Score +90 (Bronze I)]

[Your body has gained the Imprint of Divinity.]

[Divine Halo Progress: 3%]

[Combat Score: 1.42 -> 2.02]

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

His body kept getting stronger as the divine essence fused with his flesh. The feeling of this divine essence was different from normal origin essence. It gave Caelus an intense feeling of elevation.

A wide grin formed on his face. Endless power pumped through his body.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

By now, the other divine beasts had noticed him. They were rushing toward Caelus with pure killing intent. He was just one man, and in front of him was a massive horde of Lord level beasts with combat scores as high as 2 or 3.

But Caelus was not scared.

"Come at me, you bastards!" Caelus yelled. He stepped forward.

Fwoosh!

His figure blurred toward the nearest enemies. His longsword unleashed a barrage of attacks, cutting through his target.

The next moment, a beast lunged at his back. Caelus twisted his hand in the air. The space immediately distorted, crushing the air and the beast right along with it.

Caelus was bathed in blood. But he did not stop, after activating his talent to extract essence and increase his combat score he begun moving.

[Combat Score: 2.02 -> 3.17]

He moved like a shadow, dodging attacks and firing back with his massive arsenal of skills.

DARKNESS CHAIN!

ICICLE SPEAR IMPALEMENT!

GLACIAL PRISON!

HOLY DISINTEGRATION!

LASER SHOT!

LIGHTNING SINGULARITY!

HOLLOW FLAMES!

MIND REQUIEM!

The cave flashed with endless colors. Caelus unleashed a wave of raw power, tearing through the horde without a single pause. His Aura of Origin kept his stamina full, letting him fight forever.

The world around him burned with purple and black hollow flames. Caelus finally stopped and faced the last towering beast.

This was the final one.

Caelus stretched his hand forward and flicked his finger. Golden and black lightning gathered at his fingertip.

ZAP!

The bolt shot toward the beast.

BOOM!

A terrifying explosion rocked the cave as the final monster fell to the ground.

He immediately used endless extraction.

Divine essence surged from all the dead beasts around him. It formed a massive tornado and rushed straight into Caelus.

Ding!

[Extraction Successful.]

[You have obtained the Divine Essence of Gods.]

[Your stats increase by leaps and bounds.]

[Combat Score +60.2 (Bronze II)]

[Combat Score: ↑ 63.37]

[Your body has gained the Imprint of Divinity.]

[Divine Halo Progress: 100%]

Ding!

[The Divine Halo has reached 100%.]

[You can now begin customizing your Divine Halo.]

---

A/N: If you are enjoying the book so far, support it with a power stone or two. Thank you.