Primordial Awakening: I Can Evolve My Skills Infinitely - Chapter 288

Chapter 288: Two Mystery Boxes, Heaven and Hell Necklace
“What the fuck?”

“Holy shit, but didn’t he just kill all those celestials…”

“I guess he wants to keep going fast, heh.”

“What’s the point, literally nobody is gonna try to kill him.”

Voices echoed across the [Upper Realm], rising and falling in messy waves as thousands of awakeners reacted to what they had just heard.

Some sounded shocked, others amused.

The speed at which Sam tore through the final mission made no sense to them at all.

But others were not focused on the speed.

Instead, they were focused on what came after.

They stared toward the distant square where the fight had just ended, and they whispered the same question again and again.

What now?

Someone had completed every mission in the realm they had been forced to live in for months.

Someone had reached the very end of the challenges of this layer.

Did that mean the primordial would be sent forward?

The uncertainty rattled many of them. But for Sam, none of that mattered.

He lifted his primordial sword with one smooth motion, and two tendrils erupted from the blade like living crimson shadows, whipping forward and piercing the corpses of the two monarchs lying on the ground.

The tendrils dragged out their cores, still glowing faintly with that familiar heavenly and hellish energy.

Nom! Nom!

The tendrils fed the cores into Sam’s chest, where his body absorbed them instantly, the power flooding through him in a sharp, rising wave.

His muscles tensed for a moment.

His breath caught. He felt the small spike of strength and exhaled slowly.

‘Need… more.’

Right after that, though, the corpses of the two monarchs faded like the monsters of the [Road of Purgatory].

‘Looks like I won’t be able to tame their spirits either.’

Ding!

[You have completed the final mission of the “Upper Realm”]

[As you are the first to do so, you will receive a reward befitting of your strength.]

Ding!

[You have received… x2 Mystery Boxes!]

“DAMN!”

Sam blinked, and for the first time since the fight began, the shock actually reached his face.

He had been hoping for something good, but two Mystery Boxes were far beyond what he had expected.

He still remembered clearly what the previous ones had given him.

[Supernova], [Primordial Lightning], [Primordial Prediction] and the [Realm Map].

Now he had two more.

Two more Mystery Boxes meant two more chances to gain something equally powerful, or possibly even stronger.

‘Good,’ Sam thought, feeling a grin stretch across his lips, ‘After all, I still haven’t completed my advancement task.’

His task was simple. Reach the [Soul Realm].

Until he managed to do that, he could not level up, no matter how many monsters he killed or how many bosses he erased.

But once he did complete the advancement task…

‘Once I do, I’ll be able to reach the [Immortal] rank,’ Sam thought.

For a moment, he listed the rankings in his mind.

—

[Novice → Apprentice → Adept → Expert → Master → Ascendant → Forsaken → Immortal → Eternal → ???]

—

He had climbed through almost all of them.

He only needed three more significant leaps.

Once he hit [Immortal], he would only need to rank up two more times to reach the very top.

He had no doubt he could get there once he entered the [Soul Realm], because everything he had faced until now had served as proof that nothing could stop him if he pushed forward hard enough.

But he also knew that the [Soul Realm] would not be easy.

Inside the [Soul Realm], there would be enemies stronger than the [Forsaken Lords] and stronger than the [Monarchs].

The notifications from earlier returned to his mind.

[We got rid of the “Forsaken Lords” and “Monarchs”]

[Only one more wall before the “King”]

Sam nodded quietly.

The last wall before reaching the King was the group known as the [Colossals], the ten beings closest to the King himself.

They were the ones who had threatened Earth half a year ago, giving them only six months to complete the seventh layer or face total annihilation.

They were also the ones who had appeared earlier when Sam defeated the celestials, telling him to stop advancing so quickly.

And they were the ones who told him that once he completed the [Upper Realm], he would be able to travel between the [Upper] and [Lower] realms at will.

That meant one thing.

He could meet Lily, Chloe and Alicia once more.

‘I hope they stayed in the [Lower Realm],’ Sam thought, his eyes narrowing just slightly, ‘Because… I’m not sure if they could survive in this place.’

Even the weakest monsters here could kill a normal awakener instantly.

He would have to confirm their location later.

But for now, he focused on the two Mystery Boxes that appeared in the air before him.

They floated side by side, glowing softly.

Sam grabbed both, one in each hand, and a wide grin appeared on his face again.

The potential rewards inside these boxes were enough to shift the balance of everything he would face in the [Soul Realm], and he wanted to open them immediately.

But not here. Not now.

He placed both boxes into his [Spatial Inventory], keeping them safe, and then walked toward the two fallen monarchs.

He had killed them cleanly, but he knew something else would have dropped, because monarchs always left behind artifacts.

And sure enough, as he knelt down, he saw two faint lights glowing on the ground.

He crouched to get a better look.

The first one was a small, shining necklace.

—

[Heaven Necklace]

[Rank: Primordial]

[Description: The “Heaven Necklace” allows its wielder to control the “Heaven” zone and also half of the mist, it is a proof that someone has defeated the “Monarch of Heaven”]

—

Sam picked it up gently. Then he blinked.

‘Huh,’ he thought, tilting his head, ‘Why is it only half of it?’

The necklace was clearly incomplete. It had only one string.

It held a coin-shaped half of a golden medallion, with a wing symbol carved into it.

It looked like it had been snapped apart from a second half.

He turned toward the other light and reached for it.

—

[Hell Necklace]

[Rank: Primordial]

[Description: The “Hell Necklace” allows its wielder to control the “Hell” zone and also half of the mist, it is a proof that someone has defeated the “Monarch of Hell”]

—

“Oh shit.”

This one was another half.

A string tied to a crimson medallion with a fire symbol carved into it.

It was obvious now. Each monarch dropped half of something greater.

Two halves that were meant to be joined.

‘I think I know what to do.’

Sam held one necklace in each hand.

He brought them together, aligning the two halves perfectly.

He poured his mana into them. Immediately, the edges began to glow.

The two halves resonated with each other, trembling with rising energy.

The moment they touched, the reaction exploded.

Fwish! Bam!

Light burst from between his hands, blinding for an instant, and once it faded…

A new item rested in Sam’s palms.

The necklace now had two strings, making it a complete accessory, and the medallions had fused into a single circular piece, half crimson and half golden.

The symbol was a pair of wings wrapped in fire, blending heaven and hell into one perfect shape.

Sam examined it.

—

[Heaven and Hell Necklace][Rank: Primordial][Description: Allows its wielder to control the “Heaven” and “Hell” zones, as well as the entirety of the mist.]

—

“Hm.”

He let the necklace hang for a moment before looking back toward the square around him.

He waited. Normally, after killing the monarchs, the exit should appear.

The mist covering the entire square should shift aside, revealing the way forward.

But after a full minute passed, nothing moved.

The mist remained completely still.

It was as if the realm itself had not realized the monarchs were dead.

Or maybe it was simply refusing to respond.

Either way, Sam knew this would trap anyone else inside. Anyone except him.

Because he still held the new necklace in his hand.

And its description stated that it granted full control over the mist.

Meaning he was not stuck at all.

Sam placed the necklace around his neck, feeling the faint weight settle against his skin, and then he exhaled slowly.

The moment the necklace made contact, he felt something shift.

He felt something respond.

It was as if the entire mist-covered realm opened its eyes and looked directly at him.

Sam lifted his hand.

He pointed it forward, toward the space between the two thrones where the monarchs had once sat.

And right there, as if obeying his will, the mist split apart.

A path appeared instantly.

‘Bingo,’ Sam thought with a grin as he stepped forward, ‘Looks like this mist isn’t a problem anymore.’