The Insane Regressor: Throne of Pride

Inside Malrik’s tent, silence slowly settled in.

Malrik sat on his bed, watching Ravian, who had taken the spare cot beside him. Ravian sat with his legs crossed, his posture calm and steady, as if he had already slipped into a training state.

Malrik studied him for a while before finally speaking.

”You’re really not going?”

By now, he was starting to doubt Ravian’s sanity.

Ravian opened his eyes and looked at him.

”I already told you, Captain Malrik. I did nothing wrong.” With that, he closed his eyes again and returned to what he’d been doing.

”Ahhh, damn it!” Malrik threw both hands over his face and cursed his luck.

”Why do all the lunatics end up in my squad?”

Ravian didn’t reply.

”Fine. Do whatever you want,” Malrik said, finally giving up.

”But Lysandra definitely won’t let this go. So from now on, stay close to me on the battlefield. I doubt she’ll put much effort into protecting you.”

He still hoped Ravian would open his eyes, reconsider, and decide to apologize. But after only a short time in his company, Malrik already knew that was impossible.

Sure enough, Ravian didn’t open his eyes. He didn’t so much as turn his head.

”Ugh. Forget it. I’m going to sleep.” Malrik lay back on his bed and shut his eyes.

”Don’t put too much strain on your soul. You only just awakened, after all.”

Ravian gave no answer.

After a while, Malrik’s breathing slowly evened out.

Only then did Ravian speak inwardly.

’Book of Sovereign Pride.’ Ravian called out in his mind, recalling exactly what he had seen in the abyss.

[Yes, Host.]

’So you’re a book, not a system?’

[System is the classification.]

[Book is the manifested form.]

[Name: Book/System of Sovereign Pride.]

Ravian’s eyes narrowed slightly.

’Good. Then I’ll just call you System.’

[As Host wishes.]

’Good.’ His thoughts settled.

’Can you show me what I currently possess?’

[Based on Host’s memories, I have created a display modeled after the status windows recorded in your mind.]

[Host only needs to request his status, and it will appear.]

Ravian’s brows shifted slightly.

’A status window?’

’Not bad.’

’Status.’ He gave the command in his mind.

The instant the thought formed, a cold presence stirred deep within his soul. A page seemed to turn silently in the darkness.

Then translucent words appeared before his eyes.

[Book: Sovereign Pride]

[Bearer: Ravian Veyr]

[Soul: Ryan]

[Race: Human]

[Age: 18]

[Path: Pride]

[Core Element: Void]

[Rank: Tenth Rank — Awakened]

[Soul Rank: Unknown]

[Physique: Sovereign Pride Physique — Basic Grade]

[Extra Lives: 2]

[Current Chapter: Chapter I — Awakening]

[Unlocked Ability: Sovereign Pulse]

Ravian’s eyes slowly opened.

His gaze stopped on a single line.

[Soul Rank: Unknown]

For a moment, he said nothing.

’Unknown?’

Even the System didn’t know.

Rather than answering his doubts, that one word only deepened his confusion. But now wasn’t the time to dwell on it. There was something else he wanted to test.

’Sovereign Pulse.’ Ravian activated the ability he had just gained.

In the next instant—

The air around him changed.

There was no violent wind, no flash of light, no dramatic surge of power. Yet to Ravian, seated at the center of it, the change was unmistakable.

Something formless answered his call.

A strange, invisible energy seeped out of the air and rushed toward his body. The moment it touched his skin, Ravian felt as if countless cold needles had pierced through his pores all at once. The energy forced its way into his flesh, sinking into muscle, nerve, bone, and blood.

”Ughh.” A muffled groan escaped his throat.

Ravian clamped his jaw shut at once.

Fortunately, Malrik didn’t wake.

But the pain didn’t stop.

The energy spread through him like a silent pulse, moving from his chest to his limbs, then circling back toward his heart. Each time it passed through a part of his body, that part trembled on its own. The muscles in his arms and legs tightened and slackened without his command, as if an invisible hand were kneading them from the inside.

Ravian could feel it clearly.

His body—once thin, starved, and worn down by years of poverty—was drinking in that energy with terrifying hunger. His cells seemed to wake one after another, like parched earth receiving rain after a long drought.

His blood ran faster. His heartbeat grew deeper. His bones gave off a faint ache—not the ache of injury, but of something inside them being compressed, strengthened, refined.

The fog left behind by exhaustion, hunger, and weakness was scraped away layer by layer.

He could feel the rough fabric beneath his palms. He could hear Malrik’s steady breathing with sharper clarity. He could even sense the faint stir of air inside the tent.

Then the pulse reached his head, and his vision went dark—then came back clearer than before.

His body kept devouring the energy greedily. Nothing went to waste; every trace of the formless power was absorbed and turned into something real.

The changes weren’t enough to transform him in an instant, but they were undeniable.

His body gained a little more weight—so slight that an ordinary person would never notice. Yet to Ravian, who understood the wretched state of this body better than anyone, the difference was plain.

It was like someone who had endured years of starvation finally eating proper meals for a full week.

The sunken weakness in his frame eased a little. The emptiness in his limbs faded. His muscles firmed by an almost invisible degree. His skin no longer looked quite so lifeless. His stomach was still small, but it had begun to look normal instead of caving inward like that of someone who hadn’t eaten properly in years.

After a while, the pulse finally faded. The pain withdrew from his nerves like an ebbing tide.

Ravian stayed still for several breaths. His muscles were sore, but beneath the soreness lay a quiet, solid sense of improvement.

[Ding!]

[Host has used Sovereign Pulse for today.]

[Strength, Agility, Endurance, and Intelligence have increased slightly.]

[Sovereign Pride Physique Progress: 5%]

Several windows appeared in front of him.

A faint smile touched his lips.

Ravian straightened his posture and looked down at his body again. There was no obvious outward change—at least, nothing another person would catch at a glance. But Ravian could feel the difference. His limbs felt a touch more stable. His breathing came smoother. The dull heaviness left behind by long-term hunger had weakened, and his body no longer felt quite so hollow.

Sovereign Pulse was building him from the foundation up, one use at a time.

Ravian touched his face. His features hadn’t changed yet. His white hair still fell messily around his pale face, and he still looked thin. But the corpse-like frailty that had once clung to him had receded, if only a little.

A little was enough.

’At this rate, I should be able to advance my physique grade in about twenty days.’

’But that assumes I can use it safely every day.’

There was a beast wave tomorrow. It would be dangerous, without question.

The comfort of his improvement didn’t make him careless. If anything, it made him more cautious. He had only just awakened. His physique had only reached Basic Grade.

’I need to be careful.’ Ravian examined his body one final time, then slowly lay down on the cot.

It felt like the exhaustion that followed proper training. For tonight, that was enough.

Ravian closed his eyes. He needed to rest.

Tomorrow, the beast wave would come.

At least, that was what Ravian believed.

Only a few minutes after he closed his eyes and drifted off...

[Ding!]

[The Host has died.]

[Returning to the beginning of the day on which the Host died.]

[Remaining Extra Lives: 1]

Misfortune never came alone.