Formless Ascension: My Affinity Is Limitless

A Stegosaurus! A live, breathing dinosaur brought back into existence by the System after the integration!

Its already large body had been made even more gigantic, souped up just like every other beast to be able to handle the new Cosmic Essence environment.

This particular one had been found deep within Zone 2 and brought back here to Capitol of The Elite for further study. Unlike most other wild beasts, the Stegosaurus was one of the very few that remained docile and still able to survive.

In fact, it wasn’t just able to ”survive” — it thrived in this new integrated world, and that was the primary reason it was housed in this research facility.

Perhaps because it was a dinosaur, the Stegosaurus was so powerful that it simply didn’t care to harm humans or other wild beasts unless explicitly attacked.

Just as pre-integration Earth fossil records had shown, the Stegosaurus was a plant-eating dinosaur, and even in this dangerous new integration world, it retained its herbivorous nature. It fed specifically on essence-dense plants, storing that concentrated essence inside the dorsal plates that lined its spine all the way down to its tail.

Those dorsal plates served as its main weapon. They packed such immense cosmic essence that even a single fragment could be used as an essence-charged explosive.

That was why it was kept here, nurtured and studied by the Capitol of The Elite researchers. It was what aided them in developing the very Essence Cannons that had just been used to fire upon Uhtred.

In any case, none of that was the main reason Uhtred was here. Instead, he had come for a very specific purpose — to test his new Gnostic Eye ability on the Stegosaurus.

Right after seeing the changes to his Gnostic Eye, his first thought was to test the maximum extent of its improvement. His Gnostic Eye could now see deeper details about anything he peered at, but what he wanted to confirm was whether it could do the same for entities far more powerful than himself.

In the entire Capitol of The Elite, there was no one and nothing stronger than Uhtred, save for this Stegosaurus. Uhtred didn’t know its exact level, but he knew it was definitely formidable — well into the Nascent Realm, if not nearing its peak.

One had to remember that Uhtred’s standard Inspect skill only allowed him to view the levels of people, beasts, and objects up to five levels above his own.

Anything beyond that was nearly impossible. Even if he succeeded, whoever or whatever he was inspecting would sense the inspection instantly.

If his Gnostic Eye could bypass that limitation, a whole new door had just opened to him.

Uhtred stared at the Stegosaurus, heedless of the apologetic voices of the researchers around him. Then, slowly, a grin cracked across his face.

[Bomber Plate Stegosaurus (Level 59)]

[Species: Stegosaurus Stenops Dinosaur (Earth-Based)]

[Core Rank: Nascent (Inert, Fire, Air, and Wood Essence-Attuned)]

[Attributes]

Strength: 301

Agility: 78

Endurance: 402

Vitality: 229

Intelligence: 9

Perception: 114

Willpower: 16

Luck: 67

[Innate Skills]

Stegosaurus Cry (Level 10)

Intermediate Essence Discharge (Level 9)

Basic Essence Discharge (Level 7)

Essence Saber Tail Whip (Level 4)

Essence Plate Cannon (Level 3)

***

”Well, damn,” Uhtred whistled in glee. Not only could he see the Stegosaurus’s level now, but he could also perceive deeper details! The creature’s higher level didn’t hinder his Gnostic Eye ability in the slightest!

A shit-eating grin colored Uhtred’s face — so much so that he began to unnerve the researchers within the facility. They stared at him, flabbergasted by his strange behavior.

From their perspective, he had suddenly materialized out of nowhere, taken a direct hit from the Essence Cannon, tanked the shot — albeit with burn injuries — and instead of getting angry, he paid them no mind at all. He simply stood there, staring at the Stegosaurus in the center of the facility as if observing a delicate beauty.

”W—What’s wrong with Lord Uhtred?” someone whispered. ”Why’s he looking at the Stegosaurus like that? Has he taken a fancy to dinosaurs or something...?”

”Hush! Are you fucking crazy?!” another person whispered sharply.

Their hushed exchange finally jarred Uhtred out of his giddy stupor. He cleared his throat, tearing his gaze away from the dinosaur and addressing the Head Researcher, who had approached him carefully.

”Neil,” Uhtred said, extending a hand to shake.

Neil quickly clasped his hand in a firm handshake as Uhtred continued:

”Don’t mind me at all. I suddenly had an epiphany and wanted to confirm something here just to be sure,” he said. ”I hope I haven’t disrupted your work too much?”

”Ahh,” Neil let out a sigh of relief, clearly glad his boss hadn’t suddenly developed an odd fixation on a dinosaur.

This guy... Uhtred’s eye twitched. What does he take me for? Does he think I’m some kind of freak?!

”—You haven’t disrupted anything at all, Lord Uhtred. This is your territory; all of this belongs to you anyway,” Neil waved a hand dismissively. ”Forget about that. Now that you’re here, I actually have a few things to show you. Our research is beginning to yield greater results. Priscilla is just too wonderful—”

”Who’s Priscilla?” Uhtred raised a brow.

”Oh. That’s the name I gave our Stegosaurus here,” Neil pointed to the giant dinosaur munching on essence-dense plants within its enclosure in the center of the facility. ”She’s actually warmed up to us quite well now—”

Neil rambled on and on, discussing random details — Priscilla’s diet, her behavior, how frequently she shed her dorsal plates — until Uhtred decided he had heard enough. If he allowed Neil to keep talking, he was never going to leave this place.

”You know what, Neil?” Uhtred cut in abruptly. ”Why don’t you write up a report on the latest developments and send it to me? I think that’ll be better.”

Before Neil could utter another word, Uhtred vanished from the facility. He activated Slipstream Stride and flashed straight back to the surface.

”Fucking hell,” Uhtred cursed under his breath. ”That guy’s way too enthusiastic about his research...”

He sped into the city, moderating his pace with Slipstream Stride after noticing the chaos and minor damage his initial haste had caused in his wake.

He quickly cleared up the situation, assuaging the fear and tension that had begun to spread across parts of the city because of him.

Then, for the better part of the day, he tested his Gnostic Eye to its absolute limits. He moved throughout the city, checking ascenders’ details and determining his new boundaries.

By the end of his testing, he figured out that he could keep the advanced Insight ability active for no more than twenty minutes continuously. Compared to analyzing interwoven threads of essence to decipher an opponent’s magic or predict their next attack — as he had during his battle with the An Clan Ancestor — this form of observation was far less taxing.

Regardless, there was no reason to keep his Gnostic Eye active for twenty minutes straight just to inspect someone’s details. He could simply activate it when needed and shut it off immediately afterward.

Satisfied with the new capabilities of his Gnostic Eye, Uhtred finally returned to his manor, where, to his surprise, Dennis and Diya were already waiting with urgent news.

”Where exactly have you been all day?” Diya was the first to speak the moment Uhtred stepped through the gates of his manor. ”We’ve been waiting for a while now... we even retraced your steps to the research facility, but they told us you had long left.”

”Yeah, I was out... perfecting something,” Uhtred said, his voice immediately shifting to a serious tone. ”What’s going on? Is it something serious?”

”An Ancient Variant outpost has been found,” Dennis said, cutting straight to the point.

”Since when?”

”More than two hours ago.”

”Where?”

”About two hundred miles south of Stormcaller’s territory, within Zone 2, close to the coastline of our continent.”

”That’s far.” Uhtred frowned. ”And isn’t that Stormcaller guy the troublesome fellow from the Global Summit? The one you said was making a fuss before I arrived?”

”Yes,” Dennis nodded. ”He’s extremely short-fused. In fact, it’s because of his rashness that I wanted to get this information to you as soon as possible. Right now, only the major factions know about this outpost. As we speak, their forces are already heading there.”

”What about us? I trust you’ve sent a few squads ahead already?”

”Yes. They’re en route as we speak.”

”Good. So what about this Stormcaller fellow? What did he do that was so rash?”

”Well,” Dennis cleared his throat. ”For one, he threatened that anyone invading near his territory would suffer his wrath. He insisted on taking care of the Ancient Variants himself...”

”Insisted on it?” Uhtred raised a brow, catching Dennis’s phrasing. ”So he’s already acted?”

”Yes. And he utterly failed,” Dennis said with a deadpan expression. ”Word is that he barely escaped with his life.”

Uhtred’s eyes narrowed instantly. Stormcaller was a rash, troublesome individual, but he was still a powerful ascender. Even though he hadn’t been among those summoned to the Tower, that didn’t change the fact that he was strong in his own right.

”So the Ancient Variants at that outpost are decently powerful, then?” Uhtred scoffed, his gaze turning icy.

”There might even be a Prime Sapien present...” Dennis added.

”Hmm,” Uhtred’s gaze drifted as he processed the information. He recognized how suspicious the timing of this discovery was. It could easily be intentional — a blatant provocation or a trap designed to draw out the major human factions.

For months, every faction had searched tirelessly for an Ancient Variant outpost in Zone 2 without anything to show for it. Uhtred didn’t believe for a second that one had simply been stumbled upon so conveniently.

”Alright,” Uhtred said, making up his mind. ”Just to be safe, Zara will remain here at the Capitol. Dennis, you stay with her. Diya, you’re coming with me...”

”...Let’s go wreak some havoc.”