Chapter 25: Rapid Growth

The elixir’s energy surged through me, giving rise to a new trait and skill.

Crackle. Pop.

[Status Window]

[Strength increasing.]
[Agility increasing.]
[Stamina increasing.]
[Magic Power increasing.]
[Level increasing.]

Messages flooded my vision, announcing the increase of my previously stagnant stats.

But that wasn’t important right now.

Excruciating pain wracked my body as I integrated the SS-rank physical trait.

My abnormally high Mental Strength, bolstered by Unwavering and Unyielding, helped me endure it.

My mind remained clear and calm despite the agony wracking my body.

Bones twisted, blood vessels burst, skin peeled away, replaced by new flesh as fresh blood pumped from my heart, revitalizing my entire system.

‘It hurts.’

I felt the pain, but it wasn’t enough to knock me unconscious.

Losing consciousness during the absorption process would have been disastrous.

Investing all my points in Mental Strength was paying off.

‘But something’s strange…’

As I observed my internal state, one stat was increasing far more rapidly than the others.

‘Strength.’

Agility and Stamina had only reached 62, while Strength was already past 75, approaching 80. This was abnormal.

‘7 points to Stamina.’

I allocated stat points from leveling up, prioritizing Stamina to prevent my body from collapsing under the surge in Strength.

[Strength increasing.]
[Agility increasing.]
[Stamina increasing.]

My Stamina reached 70, seemingly restoring balance, but then Strength surged past 80.

The power coursing through me was on a different level.

‘What the hell is going on?’

I’d gained 10 levels from the elixir.

I allocated the 9 new stat points to Stamina, bringing it to 79, and braced myself.

As I gained another level and Stamina reached 80, it stopped increasing, but Strength continued its relentless climb.

Past 90, past 95, past 99… It reached triple digits.

[Strength has exceeded 100.]
[Analyzing your actions and tendencies to generate a trait.]
[Trait acquired: Herculean Strength (A).]

Having raised my Stamina to 80, my body was holding up, even with Strength exceeding 100.

But the changes didn’t stop there.

[Your body remembers Herculean Strength.]
[Herculean Strength evolves into Divine Strength.]

The anticipated trait evolution.

Strength continued increasing, reaching 101… 102… and finally stopping at 103.

A new potential, related to ice, awakened within me.

[Physical modification complete.]
[Trait acquired: Primordial Giant (SS).]
[Skill acquired: Frost (Lv1).]

This abnormal growth was likely due to the new trait. I immediately checked its information.

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[Status Window]

[Primordial Giant (SS): The physique of the primordial giant, ancestor of the Frost Giants and all beings.

All weaker giants submit to you.

Your body is impervious to all curses and barriers.

Your physique remains at peak condition until death.

The limits of your physical growth are removed.

*Strength permanently increased by 50 (converted proportionally if Strength exceeds 100).
*Race changed to Giant.
*Sub-skill unlocked: Gigantification.]

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‘What in the world…?’

All weaker giants submitting to me? Perhaps ogre-like monsters would obey me.

I’d test it later.

My body was now immune to curses and barriers that weakened it, remained in peak condition until death, and could grow without limits.

Normally, stats stopped increasing through training after reaching 100.

Now, my Strength, Agility, and Stamina ignored that limitation.

‘But I’ll need custom-made training equipment for my Strength.’

The reason for my Strength surge was the trait’s special effect.

As expected of primordial giants, they were born with Strength exceeding 50.

That, added to my existing 59 Strength, had propelled it to 103.

My relatively low Strength in this life had been a blessing in disguise.

If my Strength had been higher, my body might have collapsed from the strain.

A blessing in disguise indeed.

Gigantification, as the name suggested, allowed me to drastically increase my size using energy.

It also enlarged my equipment, preventing unwanted nudity.

A relief.

Divine Strength was an upgraded version of Herculean Strength, passively enhancing my physical attacks.

Nothing out of the ordinary, so I didn’t examine it further.

Next, I checked the information for Frost.

[Frost (Lv1, Legendary): The power of ice wielded by the Frost Giants, descendants of Ymir, the primordial giant.

Grants control over ice itself.

*Sub-skill unlocks at Lv3.
*Sub-skill unlocks at Lv5.
*Sub-skill unlocks at Lv7.
*Sub-skill unlocks at Lv10.]

‘I’ve never seen a skill like this…?’

Elemental skills were usually single-use attacks like Fireball or Ice Spear.

But this skill was like a trait, granting me free manipulation of ice, with numerous sub-skills.

I summoned ice in one hand and lightning in the other.

‘This is like… a frost mage.’

It reminded me of a dual-element mage from a game I used to play, but that wasn’t important.

I needed to explain things to Ha-yeon and Jin Baek-ryong, who were staring at me wide-eyed.

“Ah… Sorry, Baek-ryong. I made a mess of your room.”

Having practiced Ink Lightning Divine Art since my orphanage days, my body didn’t produce waste products.

But the blood and flesh splattered everywhere had definitely made a mess.

“It’s fine. I’m not the one cleaning it.”

‘My apologies… to the cleaning staff.’

I’d thought he was an unusually down-to-earth rich kid, but he seemed rather callous towards those below him.

‘Well… he’s paying them to work, so it’s within reason.’

Otherwise, there’d be no point in paying them.

“It seems you passed the trial… As expected of Master.”

Considering no one had ever passed a Divine-grade elixir trial with an SS-rank trait reward, I’d expected a more dramatic reaction.

But he was surprisingly calm.

He’d been momentarily surprised, but it had quickly vanished.

It was like he’d thought, ‘Of course my Master would pass.’ I wondered how he perceived me.

Did he see me as some kind of anomaly?

“You’ve become incredibly strong in an instant… Even the best elixirs shouldn’t cause such a drastic transformation…”

Even after I’d explained Status Windows, this level of growth was beyond anything Ha-yeon had witnessed. She was speechless.

‘This is a more normal reaction. Jin Baek-ryong is the strange one.’

“Um… to put it simply, gods exist in this world. And when they die, they sometimes leave behind elixirs with their residual consciousness. I passed the consciousness’s trial and inherited its power.”

That was a pretty good explanation, even for me.

“Gods… It’s strange to think of such powerful beings dying.”

Gods were immortal, not indestructible, or so they said. Since annihilation was basically death, I didn’t bother correcting her.

“Now that you’ve absorbed the elixir, how about we have lunch? I believe you skipped breakfast.”

I hadn’t eaten anything since leaving home to receive the elixir, so I was definitely hungry.

“Let me just check my Status Window. I want to see the changes too.”

“Okay.”

‘Status Window. Stats only.’

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[Status Window]

[Name: Kim Yu-won (Lv172 / 93%)
Age: 137
Gender: Male
Race: Giant

Stats▼
Strength: 103
Agility: 66
Stamina: 89
Intelligence: 39
Magic Power: 69
Mental Strength: 104
Charm: 29
Luck: 20
Remaining Points: 0]

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I allocated the remaining 9 points to Stamina to improve my balance.

This should allow me to use my strength without straining my body.

It would have been ideal to reach 100 Stamina, but I could achieve that through leveling and training.

My race had changed to Giant, as stated in the trait description.

I wasn’t sure how that would affect me.

‘It’ll be interesting to see what happens when I reach the Transcendent Realm in this state.’

I’d been incredibly powerful even at the normal Transcendent Realm.

Adding Primordial Giant and Frost to the mix? The possibilities were exciting.

I’d probably be able to withstand Ymir’s finger with ease.

I savored the sight of my boosted stats before closing the window.

“Let’s eat.”

Having gained everything I’d come for, I was ready for a free meal. What could possibly go wrong with just eating?

‘It’ll be… peaceful, right?’

Whenever I anticipated a smooth experience, something inevitably went wrong.

I pushed aside my anxieties and followed Jin Baek-ryong, accompanied by Ha-yeon.