Ex-Rank Awakening: My Attacks Make Me Stronger - Chapter 368

Chapter 368: EX 368. New Lords
Time crawled for Leon as the pulsing cocoons filled the meeting hall with a low, steady thrum. The blessing had taken hold the moment the vows were spoken.

Mark worked fast, far faster than anyone expected.

The moment the vows were finalized a shifting circle of runes spread under each squadmate’s feet before rising around them like liquid light. Then the light folded in, sealing them inside shimmering cocoons.

Leon eased back into his chair, shoulders finally relaxing.

He knew this part would take time.

Malachi’s voice suddenly broke the silence.

“You people aren’t from here, are you?”

Leon didn’t respond. The beast man studied each cocoon, eyes half-lidded, tail flicking in mild agitation.

Eventually Malachi shook his head.

“It didn’t make sense at first,” he said quietly. “All that talent talk… but seeing this now? I think I understand.”

His gaze moved from cocoon to cocoon, listing what each represented.

“A human who can use primal energy. An elf with the scent of blood. A girl carrying both dragon and human lines. One tied to corruption. Another who fights far beyond what’s normal for a human…” His eyes finally settled on Leon. “And then there’s you. The biggest anomaly of them all.”

Leon exhaled softly. There was no real point hiding it now.

“You’re correct.”

Malachi went silent for a long stretch. The cocoons pulsed steadily between them, filling the room with a faint heartbeat hum.

“So that’s why you wouldn’t take me as a student,” Malachi said at last.

Leon didn’t deny it.

The beast man let out a sudden laugh, warm and rough.

“At least I got to witness something I’ve never seen before. And you being from another world doesn’t change my promise.”

Leon allowed himself a small chuckle.

“Fair enough.”

A sharp crack soon rang through the hall.

Both of them turned toward the cocoons as glowing fractures spider-webbed across their surfaces.

The light inside surged, pushing outward in heavy waves that rattled the air.

The advancement was finally complete.

****

The shift began inside the cocoons long before the first crack appeared.

In each of the five swirling shells, a quiet storm churned through their souls.

Mark had taken hold the moment their vows were spoken.

It dug into their talents without hesitation, feeding on them, unraveling each thread before weaving something far greater.

It didn’t stop at devouring. It rose with every pulse, reshaping the essence it consumed and returning it as something new.

Lord-level essence.

Inside those cocoons, they felt it.

A rush that didn’t belong to the body or the mind but to something deeper.

The sensation was overwhelming, almost holy, and none of them were sure they would ever feel anything like it again.

The evolving talents weren’t simply merging with their souls; they were carving themselves in, imprinting a truth none of them would ever escape.

Outside, Leon sat calmly, watching the shells glow and twist.

Malachi stood nearby, arms folded, eyes narrowed in quiet awe as the pressure grew dense around him.

He could feel it clearly.

A silent threat radiated from every cocoon.

A promise of power far beyond what any of them should have possessed.

A part of him felt the edge of despair, the sense that everything he’d worked toward could be eclipsed in a single moment.

But another part of him, the warrior and the beast who chased impossible heights, couldn’t stop marveling.

They were all advancing.

Every single one.

The air snapped.

A hard pulse shook the hall, then another. Fine lines spread across each cocoon like veins of light.

Malachi pushed off the wall, straightening. Leon simply leaned back a little, ready.

The cocoons ruptured at once.

Shards of luminous energy burst outward before dissolving into the hall, revealing the figures inside, each floating, suspended for a breathless moment.

Their new auras rolled out in layered waves, dense enough to bend the air.

Malachi felt his heart jump in his chest. He had spent years climbing toward Rank 9, yet what he sensed from them now made the gap feel razor-thin again.

They landed lightly on the floor, their presence stabilizing, their eyes shifting to Leon.

None of them needed instruction.

They dropped to one knee, heads bowed, hands pressed to their chests in perfect unison.

“We honor the Overlord.”

Leon studied them, his squad, his lords—and the subtle changes Mark had carved into each of them.

Their talents had evolved beyond anything Pandora had ever seen, and each held enough strength to bend the coming battle to their will.

A slow breath left him.

‘The Hallow is as good as cleared.’

****

The pressure in the meeting hall shifted as the cocoons burst apart.

Each of the new Lords stepped forward with power far more defined than anything they carried before.

Regardless of the rank their talents once had, all of them now stood at the level of Lords, their souls anchored to a higher form of power.

And with that evolution, their combat strength rose sharply, pushing every single one of them into the divine stage.

It was possible only because of the foundation they had built over the last five Pandorian days equivalent to five months of training in the real world.

Their growth had been relentless, but this was something else.

This was transformation.

Adrian was the first whose aura settled. Before the evolution, he had reached A rank after mastering the Exalted Black Star Art, the synergy between his talent and rank pushing him far past anyone expected in such a short time.

But now, as his Extraordinary talent Full Counter evolved, the synergy sharpened into something terrifying.

His new Lord talent took shape inside him like a throne carved out of defiance itself.

Adrian’s Lord talent was called [Throne of Denial].

Where Full Counter only reflected physical attacks, Throne of Denial did much more.

Leon felt the nature of it as the power settled. This talent did not only push back force or magic. It pushed back inevitability. It pushed back certainty. It pushed back what should happen.

It countered fate itself.

****

-Author’s Note-

Posted early today because I will be busy at the scheduled time… Thank you for reading.