Infinite Awakening: 10,000x EXP Converter!

Alvian had only one hour left before the final match.

He sat in the waiting room with his back against the cold wall. His status panel glowed in front of his eyes. He opened his EXP Bank and started spending points right away.

[Allocating 15,000 EXP from Bank...]

[STR: 26 -> 28]

[AGI: 25 -> 27]

[VIT: 37 -> 39]

[INT: 15 -> 16]

[EXP Bank: ~50,000 remaining]

Warmth spread smoothly through his muscles. His arms felt stronger, and his reaction speed got slightly faster. It was not enough to match a Level 24 opponent, but it helped close the gap. His real advantage was his Clearwater Talent. His opponent had Graviton, a Talent that controls gravity and physical force. Alvian had Clearwater, a Talent that controls chemical bonds to create acid. Acid did not care about gravity.

He flexed his fingers, making his joints crack loudly. His short sword lay on his lap. The blue lines in the metal glowed softly from Serah’s upgrade work. Alvian used his Clearwater Coating skill on both hands. A shiny layer of acid covered his palms, making a quiet hissing sound in the air...

The door opened. A tournament attendant looked in with a bored expression. ”Vance. You’re up.”

The arena was completely full. Every seat was taken, and people stood in the walkways. Rich sponsors leaned forward in high VIP boxes, using magic-tech glasses to read data. A glowing blue hologram showed the match chart: Alvian Vance (E-Rank Clearwater) versus Torsten Colby (A-Rank Graviton). Both had won all four of their past matches. Both were undefeated. Four matches versus four matches. Undefeated versus undefeated.

Helen Croft stood in the referee spot. Her scarred face was tense, and her single ear pointed toward the ring. She had lost her other ear in battle, but watching a tournament final between teenagers seemed to annoy her even more.

Torsten Colby waited at the center of the platform.

He was Level 24 with an A-Rank Graviton Talent. He was built huge and strong, with big muscles under armor made to carry Essence power. A giant sledgehammer rested on his shoulder. Its head was as big as a watermelon and covered in glowing symbols. Torsten had not lost a single match, beating every enemy in less than thirty seconds.

Torsten stared across the ring at Alvian. He didn’t smile or mock him. He just looked like someone ready to crush his target and leave.

”Begin,” Helen called.

Torsten activated his Graviton field instantly.

The ring floor creaked under heavy pressure. Heavy gravity pushed down in a small circle around Torsten. Alvian’s knees bent under the weight. His short sword suddenly felt super heavy, like thirty pounds. Even with 39 VIT, his body struggled against the heavy force. Moving through the air felt like moving through wet mud.

Torsten swung the sledgehammer.

Even without magic, the strike could break bones. With his gravity power, the hit carried the force of ten tons! Alvian could not dodge because gravity trapped him on the floor. He lifted his acid-covered sword with both hands to block the hit.

The Clearwater Coating met the sledgehammer’s head.

Acid met metal, melting the steel instantly. The hammer cracked and softened. But physical force still pushed through. The heavy hit went right through the sword into Alvian’s arms, and a loud snap echoed across the room.

His right arm broke.

White bone pushed against his skin from the inside. His sword flew out of his hand and slid across the floor. Alvian fell hard, and his HP dropped fast.

[Graviton enhanced impact registered! HP -47!]

[HP: 92 -> 45]

Torsten raised his hammer to finish the fight. He increased his gravity field to five times normal heavy weight. Alvian was pinned flat and could not even lift his head. But his hands were still free, and his palms were still covered in acid.

He slammed both palms flat against the arena floor.

Clearwater Coating spread outward, melting straight down into the floor. It ate through the strong crystal layer of the ring. Cracks spread quickly across the ground toward Torsten.

The floor broke apart and tilted. Torsten lost his balance. His gravity power turned off for a moment because the localized gravity manipulation required a stable anchor point and the floor was literally dissolving beneath his feet. Gravity snapped back to normal for a split second.

Alvian took his chance.

He lunged forward despite the awful pain in his broken arm. He slammed his acid-covered palm straight into Torsten’s knee. He used Clearwater Palm right against the joint! The acid melted deep into Torsten’s leg.

Torsten screamed as his leg gave out, dropping his heavy hammer to the floor.

Alvian kept attacking. He climbed up Torsten’s falling body and pressed another Clearwater Palm onto his chest armor. The super-strong acid melted through the heavy A-Rank armor in seconds, bubbling the metal away. Torsten grabbed Alvian’s broken arm and squeezed hard.

Terrible pain shot through Alvian’s body, making his vision fade. He bit his lip until he tasted blood and pushed his acid hand deeper.

”YIELD!” Torsten roared. ”I YIELD!”

Silence.

Then the crowd erupted. Not cheers.

The rich sponsors jumped up in shock. Their tech glasses showed data that made no sense. The power of Alvian’s acid attack had briefly jumped to S-Rank levels! An E-Rank Talent doing S-Rank damage was supposed to be impossible.

In the waiting area, Darius Magnus sat frozen with bandages on his burned face. He turned pale with fear. He realized that picking a fight with Alvian was the worst mistake of his life.

In the VIP section, Duke Gaius Magnus squeezed the metal railing tightly. He did not look shocked. He looked cold, dangerous, and calculating.

Helen Croft’s voice cut through the chaos. ”Match over. Winner: Alvian Vance.”

Her voice was calm, but she was suspicious. This was the third strange thing Alvian had done. He was showing too much hidden power, and now the Academy would have to investigate him.

Alvian walked out of the ring, holding his broken arm while blood dripped from his fingers. He walked up to Serah Garrick, whose magic tablet was flashing error messages.

”Stipend card,” he said.

She handed it over without a word. He slotted it into the Academy’s rewards terminal.

[First Place. 200 Credits Monthly Stipend]

[Priority Resource Access]

[Class A Housing Eligibility]

Two hundred credits every month. This meant money for Martha’s medicine and food for Leo. The heavy stress Alvian felt for weeks finally got lighter.

He turned to leave. Helen Croft intercepted him at the arena exit.

”Vance.” Her voice carried zero warmth. ”My office. Tomorrow. 0700.”

He nodded once and kept walking.

He didn’t make it ten steps down the corridor before the System hijacked his vision.

A bright golden message popped up in front of him. The giant space-themed roulette wheel appeared in his sight. Its three wheels spun, showing new symbols like a sword, flame, gear, anvil, book, and star. Golden code flowed down like a waterfall, moving too fast to read.

[DING! Milestone Reached: Regional Tournament Champion.]

[Analyzing combat data... 4 matches catalogued. Skill usage logged. Weapon proficiency tracked. Talent resonance surge detected.]

[COMMENCING SYSTEM UPDATE...]

[VERSION 2.0 (PROFICIENCY TIER) INITIALIZING...]

Alvian almost fell, catching himself on the hallway wall with his good arm. The usual fun music from the System did not play. The update seemed serious and mechanical. The cheat power inside him was changing completely.

[Estimating completion time... 8 hours.]

[Please find a safe location, Host.]

His broken arm throbbed. His vision swam with golden code. Eight hours. He needed to get home.