The Insane Regressor: Throne of Pride

Ravian returned to the cave the orcs had been in earlier, carrying the Tenth-Rank orc’s corpse, then went back and retrieved the other corpse—the Ninth-Rank one he had hidden a little while ago.

Now he stood inside the cave, two massive green bodies laid out before him, both larger than he was, both wearing scattered scraps of leather around their waists.

Ravian tossed the dagger and the bone spear that had belonged to the Awakened Beast into one corner of the cave, deciding to sell them later.

’Now—the favorite part. The one I’ve been waiting for.’ Ravian ran his eyes over the two corpses.

”Shall we begin?”

...

In Karius’s private room at the main headquarters.

Knock.

Knock.

Karius heard the sudden knocking at his door—though he had already woken before it, having sensed the person approaching his room.

”Enter,” Karius said.

The door opened and Antonius hurried in, clearly in a rush.

”What is it, Antonius? Has something happened?”

Karius knew there was no way Antonius would come to him at this hour unless it was to deliver something important.

”Yes—yes, my lord. It’s Ravian again,” Antonius said, slightly out of breath. It seemed he had come at full speed from no small distance—enough to leave even a Seventh-Rank Riftmaker like him winded.

”Ravian?! Has his soul anomaly returned?!” Karius was already rising sharply from his bed.

”No—it’s not that, my lord,” Antonius said quickly, stopping him.

”What is it, then?” Karius settled at once, reassured that it wasn’t that soul anomaly again.

”I went to assign people to guard the Death Squad’s camp as you instructed. I gathered several Eighth-Rank individuals, as ordered, and brought them there,” Antonius began. ”But the strange thing is, the moment I had each of them in position, Ravian had already left his tent for some reason.”

”What? Why would he leave the camp at this hour?” Karius frowned.

”He left and met Miss Lysandra on the way. They stopped and spoke briefly, but I didn’t want to spy on them, so I kept my distance.”

”And then?” Karius pressed.

”And then he left the camp, heading into the deep forest,” Antonius finished.

”What?! And you let him walk into the deep forest alone?!” Karius snapped. ”Have you lost your mind, Antonius?!”

”No—it’s not like that, my lord. I followed him in, of course,” Antonius clarified quickly.

”Then why have you come back now? Has Ravian returned from there?”

”No, my lord. But I secured the surrounding perimeter around him and found no real danger present, so I came to relay the rest of the news to you before returning to him.”

”There’s more?” Karius asked, surprised.

”Yes, my lord. There’s still the most important part...” Antonius paused, unsure how to say what he had witnessed.

”What’s wrong with you? Speak,” Karius said, genuinely wanting to go back to sleep now that he had been reassured—though it seemed sleep wouldn’t come easily for him tonight.

”The thing is...” Antonius stopped again.

”Antonius—why in the Creator’s name are you suddenly acting like a rookie? What’s gotten into you?” Karius said, beginning to lose his patience.

But Antonius could be forgiven. What he had just seen had no precedent—he had never once watched anyone do something like it with such smoothness and ease, with his own eyes.

”My lord—it’s Ravian. He killed two orcs. One was a Tenth-Rank Awakened Beast, the other a Ninth-Rank Wandering Beast. He killed both of them. Alone. Without any help at all,” Antonius finally said.

And the silence that fell over the room was deep enough that you could hear Karius’s breath catch for a moment.

...

Achoo!

Ravian sneezed suddenly.

’Did I catch a cold from going into the river earlier?’

He sat down in front of the Tenth-Rank orc’s corpse first, as the system had instructed.

’What now, System?’ Ravian asked, seated at the back of the cave after sealing the entrance with an enormous boulder, having checked the surrounding areas and confirmed no one was nearby.

[The host need only give the command and endure quietly until the absorption process is complete. The weaker orc has been selected for absorption first so the host can grow accustomed to absorbing corpses, as this will be different from absorbing a soul.]

[Absorbing the Ninth-Rank orc will be extremely painful for the host’s current body, so it is best to absorb the weaker one first to strengthen the host’s present body, and then begin absorbing the next.]

Ravian was a little surprised—he had assumed this would be simple, like absorbing Emy before. But it seemed it wouldn’t be as easy as he had expected. It would take resolve and willpower not to lose consciousness during the process.

’Begin the process,’ Ravian gave the command inwardly.

[Absorption process initiated.]

”Agh—!” An unrestrained groan escaped through Ravian’s teeth as he felt his body expanding, as if it were about to take in something immense.

In the next instant, gray energy poured out of his body and connected to the Tenth-Rank orc’s corpse—and at the same moment, green energy began flowing out of the corpse and toward Ravian’s body.

”Agaaa—” Ravian cried out involuntarily, then quickly clamped his mouth shut, afraid of drawing the attention of anything that might pass outside the cave.

Even through the pain, his mind kept working, weighing the possible risks.

[Ding!]

[Body refinement begun. Sovereign Pride Physique progress increasing.]

[Physical Constitution: Basic-Grade Sovereign Pride Physique—Progress: ...15%]

[Basic-Grade Sovereign Pride Physique—Progress: 16%...]

Ravian felt an animalistic energy—violent, bloody—entering his body.

”No!” His eyes flashed with fierce rejection, and the gray energy began pushing the green energy out instead of absorbing it.

[Calm yourself, host, and try to control your Sovereign Pride.]

[That energy is purified before being absorbed into the host’s sublime body.]

Ravian ground his teeth together, fighting to suppress the surge of disgust rising in him—an involuntary feeling, springing from his very soul.

As if it were saying: I am above this. This is beneath my station, to enter my body.

A total, absolute rejection. But against it, there was something soothing him—a pure white energy that gave Ravian control over the sensation.

’Calm down... calm down, damn you!’ Ravian screamed inwardly, and in the next instant, his eyes returned to their natural glow.

[Resuming absorption process...]

The system drew the green energy in again. And as the gray energy pulled it into Ravian’s body, the feeling returned—but this time, Ravian managed to control it.

And in the next moment, something strange happened.

The green energy entering Ravian’s body began to be surrounded and contained by his own gray energy, and with each passing second, the green energy shrank, converting into gray energy and joining the rest in pulling and purifying the remaining green energy.

[Ding!]

[Absorption and purification are being carried out simultaneously...]

[The energy will now be used to strengthen the body and advance the physical constitution’s progress.]

The moment Ravian heard the notification, the pain suddenly doubled.

”Kk—!” He felt the blood in his body boiling at an enormous temperature, his skin turning entirely red, every vein and artery in him burning.

The sensation was almost unbearable. But he endured it—this was far less than what he had felt entering the black hole.

As time passed, Ravian felt the new, hot blood circulating through every part of his body—to the heart, the liver, the kidneys, the pancreas, the lungs—and with each place it passed, he felt an unfamiliar change occurring there: a sense of expansion, of increasing durability.

And with every second, the Tenth-Rank orc’s body shriveled and withered. It didn’t turn to dust like Emy’s had, but it withered until it was little more than a skeleton.

As Ravian watched it through the tears spilling involuntarily from his eyes, he heard the sound he had been waiting for.

[Ding!]

[Basic-Grade Sovereign Pride Physique—Progress: 22%...]

[Basic-Grade Sovereign Pride Physique—Progress: 23%...]

[Basic-Grade Sovereign Pride Physique—Progress: 24%...]

[Basic-Grade Sovereign Pride Physique—Progress: 25%...]

[The Tenth-Rank orc—Awakened Beast—has been successfully absorbed.]

[Ding!]

[Strength, speed, agility, durability, and absorption capacity have all increased significantly.]

Ravian tried to move.

Only then did he realize that he couldn’t.

His body felt as if it had been nailed to the cave floor, clearly drained by what he had just endured. His heart was still pounding violently, his lungs burned as he dragged breath into them, and every inch of him felt so heavy it was almost paralyzed. Even his hands refused to move.

’System?’

[Do not worry, host. This is only a side effect of the strain placed on the host’s body. It will gradually fade within a few minutes.]

Ravian closed his eyes for a moment, forcing himself to steady his breathing.

Then another window appeared before him.

[Displaying host status.]

[Book: Sovereign Pride]

[Heir: Ravian Veyr]

[Titles: Fate’s Manipulator.]

[Race: Human]

[Age: 18]

[Rank: Tenth Rank — Awakened]

[Soul: Dual Soul — Unknown Rank]

[Extra Lives: 3]

[Element: Void]

[Available Sovereign Pride Abilities: Sovereign Pulse — can be used once per day, permanently increases the host’s physical abilities.]

[Innate: Absolute Focus — Unknown Rank]

[Physical Constitution: Basic-Grade Sovereign Pride Physique, Progress: 25%]

[Current Gate of the Book: Awakening]

[Next Gate: Walker]

[Ding!]

[Does the host wish to absorb the other corpse—the Ninth-Rank orc?]

[Note: Please be aware that this absorption will be entirely different, more difficult, and will have a greater effect on the host. It will cross one of the two thresholds of the Sovereign Pride Physique.]