SSS-Rank Talent: Super Upgrade System-Chapter 136: Overload

Director Gareth Sterling, his face pale but his eyes burning with a feverish intensity, was about to override the warning.

The desire to see Daniel’s absolute limit had become a consuming obsession.

But before he could utter the command, a new presence made itself known on the dais.

One moment, the space beside the Director was empty. The next, an old man was simply... there.

He looked pale, thinning hair and a kindly, lined face more fitting for a university library than the command center of an elite Vanguard academy.

He wore plain white robes and leaned on a gnarled wooden staff that seemed more like a keepsake than a weapon.

Yet, the moment he appeared, the low, insistent hum of the overloading power grid seemed to quiet.

The oppressive tension in the plaza lessened, replaced by a profound, almost spiritual calm.

Director Sterling and the four formidable Vice-Principals, whose auras alone could make the ground tremble, snapped to attention and bowed their heads deeply, their movements stiff with a reverence that bordered on fear.

"Principal Finch," Director Sterling managed, his voice now laced with a deep, deferential respect that hushed the entire assembly.

Principal Alistair Finch, the legendary and rarely seen head of Astralis Academy’s Upper House, offered a gentle, grandfatherly smile.

He looked at the dimming lights, the terrified technician, and the smoking test pod with an air of mild, weary amusement.

"Gareth," the Principal said, his voice quiet yet carrying across the entire plaza with an effortless clarity that soothed frayed nerves.

"Must you always get so enthusiastic when a truly interesting student comes along?

The Origin Core is experiencing severe instability. System reports indicate it’s being pushed beyond safe capacity."

The head technician, emboldened by the Principal’s calming presence, rushed forward. freewebnøvel_com

"Principal Finch, sir! It’s Aspirant Vance! His power output is off the charts! We’ve pushed the Sango construct to nine times the standard strength, and he’s still defeating it instantly!

The system... it just can’t handle the power draw for a 10x opponent!"

Principal Finch listened patiently, his ancient, wise eyes twinkling.

He then turned his gaze to the holographic screen, which still showed the aftermath of the 8x Sango’s swift demise.

"Indeed," he murmured. "Fascinating."

He calmly walked to the central dais, placing one frail-looking hand on the main power conduit console, which was sparking faintly and glowing an angry red.

A gentle, pure white light, so subtle it was almost invisible, flowed from his palm into the console.

The sparking stopped. The angry red glow softened to a steady, calm blue.

The main lights in the plaza wavered, then returned to their full, brilliant intensity, the low-level power alert falling silent.

"I will stabilize the core personally," the Principal stated, his voice still a gentle murmur, though it carried an undeniable command that resonated through the very bones of the platform.

"The test is not over until we have our data. Gareth, restart the pod. Increase the difficulty to ten times standard. I wish to witness this... indigestion... for myself."

The technicians, now staring at the Principal with something akin to religious worship, complied without another word of protest, their earlier fear replaced by a renewed sense of awe.

The test pod, which had been groaning under the strain, now hummed with a new, reinforced stability, its door still firmly shut.

Inside the virtual space, Daniel stood amidst the fading data motes of the 8x Sango.

The brief power fluctuation had caused the white world to waver, but it had stabilized just as quickly, now feeling denser, more real than before.

He felt the shift, the infusion of a new, far greater power into the system.

A new figure began to materialize before him.

It was woven into existence from threads of pure, solidified data and brilliant white light. The 10x Sango.

It was no longer a golem or a knight, it was a being of pure, shifting energy, its form vaguely humanoid but radiating an aura of cold, computational perfection.

It wielded two weapons. A glistering greatsword of solidified light in one hand and a crackling whip of raw lightning in the other.

It was, for all intents and purposes, a virtual demigod, a perfect combat machine with no weaknesses and limitless stamina, its power drawn directly from the now Principal-stabilized Origin Core.

Daniel looked at it, a glint of genuine respect in his eyes.

"Okay," he said softly. "Now that’s a final boss." He dismissed his other weapons, his mind focused.

This wasn’t a test he could pass with a single skill or a simple trick. This required something more. This required a statement.

He summoned the S-Grade Flying Cloud Mystic Bow one last time. This was it.

The ultimate test of his ranged power. He drew the humming energy string, not to his cheek. He drew the with large amount of force back to his ear, the bow groaning under a strain it had never before experienced, even in its S-Grade form.

He activated its God’s Effect, [Elemental Condensation], but this time, he didn’t hold back.

He poured everything he had into it.

The searing, incandescent inferno of his A-grade [Flame Control].

The absolute zero, soul-chilling cold of his A-grade [Frost Control].

The chaotic, untamed fury of his A-grade [Electrocution].

And the sharp, cutting force of his C-grade [Wind Control], acting as a focusing lens for the other three.

The air around the nocked arrow began to warp and tear.

It was no longer an arrow, but a compact, screaming singularity of elemental chaos, a volatile vortex of fire, ice, lightning, and wind that strained the very fabric of the virtual space.

The S-Grade bow vibrated so violently in his hands it felt like it would shatter, its golden frame crackling with contained, apocalyptic power.

The 10x Sango, the virtual demigod, looked at the forming singularity, and for the first time, the featureless construct seemed to display an emotion that resonated through its very code: pure, computational terror.

It raised its sword and whip in a desperate, futile defense, its own energy flaring in a last-ditch effort to shield itself.

It was in that moment, as Daniel prepared to unleash an attack that would have undoubtedly overloaded the system again, that the virtual space itself decided it had had enough.

The sheer power being concentrated into the singularity arrow, an attack that was likely on par with a high-level Vanguard Captain’s ultimate ability, was too much for the simulation’s physics engine to handle.

The virtual world around Daniel collapsed.

With a sound like tearing reality, the white landscape shattered.

The virtual sky cracked like glass, revealing the raw, green-and-black data streams of the system behind it.

The 10x Sango, its defensive stance frozen in a digital scream, dissolved into a torrent of meaningless code, its form erased from existence before the arrow could even be released.

The system had overloaded, from the sheer, terrifying potential of the attack Daniel was about to launch.

It was a technical knockout, a win by forfeit against an unbeatable opponent.

The moment the virtual space shattered, plunging Daniel’s test pod into darkness, the entire Upper House of Astralis Academy experienced a momentary, system-wide blackout.

The main lights, the holographic displays, the hum of the climate control, everything died for a single, breathtaking second.

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