Primordial Awakening: I Can Evolve My Skills Infinitely - Chapter 282

Chapter 282: Start of The Road, The Mist Waves
Sam kept rushing forward with a blank expression, the wind slashing against his face as his boots struck the endless gray road of [Purgatory].

He didn’t know how far he had gone, but the mist behind him seemed so distant now that it almost looked harmless.

When he glanced back, he saw that it was slower than he had expected, so slow, in fact, that it almost didn’t matter how fast he ran.

Still, Sam wasn’t foolish enough to let his guard down.

If this trial had taught him anything so far, it was that comfort was an illusion designed to kill you the moment you stopped paying attention.

And besides, the system had mentioned there would be waves of monsters coming his way, waves that he would need to defeat quickly to keep moving forward.

Having a head start could make the difference between surviving and being swallowed whole.

He knew he could deal with normal monsters easily enough, but if one of those waves contained a boss-level enemy or something strong enough to slow him down, then even a few seconds might be all it took for the mist to catch up.

That was something he couldn’t afford. So he didn’t slow.

He kept pushing forward, the mist behind him fading further and further away.

And then—

Ding!

[Be careful.]

“Huh—”

Before Sam could react, the road ahead stirred violently, and the mist on both sides suddenly moved, surging inward to form a thick wall right in front of him.

Sam’s eyes widened in alarm.

He had been sprinting at full speed for too long. Stopping now would be nearly impossible without slamming straight into it.

[Many of your kind have fallen this way. They all thought the same way you did.]

“…Hah.”

Sam exhaled sharply, planting his feet into the burning stone and driving his primordial sword into the ground.

Sparks flew as he dragged the blade along the road, the friction slowing his body just enough.

His legs strained, muscles screaming, but he managed to stop mere inches before the mist wall.

When he looked up, he finally caught a glimpse of what was hidden inside it.

Limbs.

Countless twisted limbs of all shapes and sizes, some like claws, others like tentacles, all writhing together in the fog.

And among them, thousands of crimson eyes staring directly at him, unblinking, waiting.

They were eager to drag him in, and Sam could feel the hatred radiating off them.

A chill crawled down his spine.

He took a few steps back, tightening his grip on his sword.

“I guess I gotta go fast,” he muttered, “but not fast enough for something like that to happen.”

He turned around to check the mist behind him.

It was still far away.

Good.

He took a deep breath and steadied himself.

No more rushing blindly.

He needed both control and speed.

And then—

Rumble!

The ground beneath him began to shake.

The mist on every side started to swirl violently, and an ominous presence filled the air.

A sharp Ding! echoed in his head.

[Purgatory Wave #1: Humble Beginnings.]

From the mist surrounding him, ten figures began to emerge, each one staggering forward with hollow eyes and grotesque bodies.

They were the shape of men, but twisted, disfigured, and corrupted.

—

[Mist Abomination]

[Level: 110]

[Skills: Drag, Mist Form, Smash]

[Description: Weak monsters who enter the mist are turned into these abominations.]

[Hell-Mode Analysis: Whatever.]

—

Sam read the description and scoffed.

Every one of them looked identical—gray, hulking creatures with lifeless faces and mouths filled with sharp teeth.

Mist clung to their bodies like armor, but their movements were slow and clumsy.

Sam adjusted his stance, waiting for the first one to move.

One of the abominations suddenly roared and charged forward, swinging its massive claw at him.

Sam tilted his body slightly, deflecting the blow with his sword before countering with a clean horizontal slash.

SLASH!

The creature was cut clean in half, its body splitting apart before dissolving into mist.

The others didn’t flinch.

They just kept walking toward him, silent and mindless.

“They don’t even seem to be able to think,” Sam muttered under his breath.

That made sense.

If these monsters were once people who fell into the mist, then their minds were probably long gone.

Meaning something, or someone, was controlling them.

Sam didn’t need to guess who.

It was obviously the two monarchs that ruled this place.

But even with their power behind them, the abominations were nothing to him.

He moved like a blur, cutting through one after another with simple, clean strikes.

No fancy techniques.

No skills.

Just raw strength and precision.

In less than a minute, the last abomination fell, its body fading back into the mist.

Ding!

[You have defeated the first wave.]

Sam exhaled and lowered his sword.

“Of course.”

Almost immediately, the mist wall ahead of him began to dissolve, opening up the road once more.

He glanced back, and froze.

The mist chasing him was much closer than before.

“What the—”

It had moved while he was fighting, creeping forward silently, and now it was far closer than he liked.

‘How is this fair?’ he thought bitterly, ‘It got faster than before.’

[It’s not. Why did you think they would be fair?]

Sam sighed.

‘To be honest, it makes me wonder why they don’t just kill me outright.’

After all, the mist surrounded everything.

If the monarchs truly wanted to, they could simply close it on him and end this.

[They can’t.]

[They have to make it a challenge, with a way for you to win.]

“Why?”

[Game logic.]

“Damn.”

He couldn’t argue with that.

So he started running again, moving quickly but keeping his focus sharp this time.

He needed to reach the next stage before the mist caught up.

And then, just as he started to accelerate—

Two panels appeared in front of him.

Gray in color.

One of them had an angelic halo above it, while the other had black horns curling outward.

Mist swirled faintly around both.

Sam instantly knew what they were.

The monarchs.

[Interesting.]

[Indeed.]

Their messages appeared almost at the same time, overlapping slightly, as if they shared one mind.

[Alright, that was the level one of danger.]

[Should we move to level two, then?]

[Indeed we should. Hopefully he can reach level four or five.]

[Most of them don’t.]

Their tone was calm, but their words carried amusement.

‘Wait, levels of danger?’ Sam thought.

He didn’t like the sound of that.

And then—

SNAP!

A shockwave erupted in front of him, cutting his thoughts short.

Another wall of mist appeared ahead, thicker and darker than before.

[Purgatory Wave #2: Start the Purge.]

The mist burst open and twenty monsters stepped out.

Fifteen were the same abominations as before, but five of them were different.

—

[Mist Guardian]

[Level: 110]

[Skills: Shield Crash, Mist Armor, Regeneration]

[Description: Guard-type entities tasked with protecting the road of purgatory.]

—

Sam clenched his jaw.

“Alright, this ain’t gonna work out at this rate.”

Without hesitation, he took a deep breath, summoning his power.

“Primordial Clone!”

A bright light flashed beside him, and his clone appeared, identical in every way, wearing the same grin that always made Sam uneasy.

“We have to kill them quickly,” Sam said, raising his sword. “Just slaughter them.”

The clone twitched at the word “slaughter,” a crazed excitement spreading across its face.

Sam didn’t have time to worry about it.

The monsters were charging already.