SSS Ranked Awakening: All My Skills Are at Level 100-Chapter 400: A New Element

Leon heard Archon Vyrra’s words and immediately stood from his ice throne, walking toward her elevated position with measured steps.

As he approached, she raised one hand and created a shimmering barrier around them both. It wasn’t a physical obstruction—Leon could pass through it easily if he wanted—but he could feel its true purpose immediately through his spatial awareness.

Whatever we discuss here will not be heard by anyone else. A privacy ward.

The barrier hummed softly with concentrated mana, creating a sphere of isolation in the midst of the crowded arena filled with city folks.

The air inside felt heavier—subdued, like the weight of silence during a snowfall.

Leon asked directly, not wasting time on pleasantries. "What do you want to talk about?"

Archon Vyrra’s expression shifted to something genuinely serious, her crimson eyes meeting his with unusual gravity. She took a breath before speaking.

"That thing is..."

She paused, then continued with careful deliberation.

"Unlike the previous time—when you killed the most monsters and were allowed to take all your loot, exempted only for the five percent tax we collect for communal growth—this time it’s not possible."

Her gaze didn’t waver from his face.

"You’re simply too strong now, Leon. As strong as I am, basically. The same rules that apply to normal warriors cannot apply to you anymore."

She gestured vaguely toward the battlefield beyond the barrier.

"So I cannot allow you to take all the loot for yourself this time. You’ll have to contribute five percent of what you’ve harvested for the growth and development of the rest of the Pyrrhans. Keep the rest 95% percent for your personal use."

Leon pretended to think for a few seconds, his expression contemplative.

In my mind, I could easily deny her request. Considering my actual strength and capabilities, she couldn’t stop me from taking everything if I truly wanted to.

However, he chose not to exercise that power advantage. He didn’t want to abuse his position—not when the reason was so clear.

She gave me that almost-Archon rank Hydra’s core. And that incredible skill. Those gifts are what made me this strong in the first place. She gave me an absolutely overpowered ability when I needed it most.

And beyond the practical benefits, there was something more fundamental.

Even when I was weak and new to this realm, she was kind to me. Respectful. She didn’t treat me as inferior or disposable.

So he wouldn’t use his power to his advantage when what she was asking was completely fair and reasonable.

Today, he’d hunted a truly massive number of monsters. The count had crossed the three thousand mark—an absurd total that would normally take entire units of weeks to achieve.

And from those battle kills alone, he’d gained thirty-one million casualties. It was only six million above the previous battle’s total, despite the number of kills being almost three times higher.

I understand why. With my current strength level, the amount of causality I receive becomes significantly less for each individual monster—especially those at Ascendant rank in terms of level progression, or below.

Diminishing returns. The cosmic system rewarded fighting stronger opponents, not slaughtering weaker ones en masse.

Leon answered her calmly, his voice carrying genuine acceptance.

"It’s okay. I don’t mind contributing that much. It’s fair given the circumstances."

Relief washed visibly across Archon Vyrra’s face. She sighed, tension leaving her shoulders, and something like pride flickered in her crimson eyes.

Good. I hadn’t judged him wrong. His character matches his strength.

Leon returned to his ice throne beside Ira, settling back into the frozen seat.

While in the meantime—as the rest of the hunting parties still hadn’t arrived back with their collected loot from the battlefield—Leon shifted his consciousness into his time dimension.

WHOOOOSH!

His awareness transferred smoothly, leaving his physical body seated on the throne while his conscious mind entered the dimensional space.

It’s time to learn a new element. I’ve been putting this off, but I’m well-versed enough in everything I currently know.

Even his lowest-mastered element had reached Rank 3 Aura by now. The simpler basic elements were all at Rank 4.

However, the growth was becoming noticeably slower for the more complex affinities. Life, space, illusion, holy element—for them to reach Rank 4, it would take a full dedicated training session, which he couldn’t afford to do right now during the little time he had before the festival.

I’ll focus on those afterward.

And for his basic elements to reach Rank 5? Leon had encountered what felt like a significant hurdle—something fundamentally different from previous advancement.

It’s not just about training time anymore. I feel like I have to dive into unknown territory. The level of control and refinement required for basic Auras at Rank 5... I don’t even know how I’d reach that next stage yet.

The mastery demanded something beyond simple repetition and mana manipulation.

But for now, he’d chosen a new element to begin learning: darkness.

The same element that powers the slave mark skill I acquired quite a while ago.

He was already familiar with the darkness element to a limited degree through using that ability, which would make starting the learning process somewhat easier.

HUMMM...

As Leon began his training regimen, he suddenly detected through his connection that his clone—the other physical version of himself—had completed its harvesting task.

Everything was now stored directly in his shared inventory. The monster meat specifically intended for feeding the Pyrrhan beast companions—he’d donated more than forty percent of that total supply to the community.

I already have quite a lot stored from previous hunts. With this new haul added, it would be too much to keep entirely for myself anyway.

His clone wasn’t returning to the arena. Instead, it had moved somewhere else and entered the time dimension to continue training.

Interesting. It can only enter the time dimension physically, not in conscious form, because my consciousness is the one controlling both bodies. We’re technically the same being.

He’d tested whether he could create a portal to the dimension through his clone, and the experiment had succeeded perfectly.

Now his clone trained a bit away from his conscious form’s position, both versions simultaneously delving into the darkness element, making the learning process significantly faster through parallel practice.

Leon started slowly. Learning to control the darkness element proved immediately challenging—probably one of the hardest elements he’d attempted to master since beginning his cultivation journey. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

CRACKLE... HISSSSS...

Darkness was extraordinarily difficult to stabilize. The slightest hint of strong emotion would make the tendrils become chaotically unstable, lashing out or dissipating entirely.

It demanded an uncanny calmness—almost on a frightening level of emotional detachment.

Complete serenity. No anger, no excitement, no fear. Just... deathly stillness.

Leon trained for several weeks inside the accelerated time, knowing his clone continued practicing simultaneously. He had a bit of real-world time remaining before he’d need to return his consciousness to the arena, based on estimates from the previous day’s schedule.

Enough time for something else important.

He decided to visit Seraphine in the dimensional world he had full control over.

SHIMMER!

The transition was instantaneous, his consciousness manifesting in the space where she’d been training and developing her abilities.

The first thing they did was reconnect physically—their reunion was passionate and intense after the subjective separation.

The moment Leon materialized, she was in his arms, her lips meeting his with desperate urgency.

Their clothes came off quickly, scattered across the floor as they made their way to the bed.

Her skin felt hot against his, her breath warm against his throat as they collided in aching urgency.

What followed was intimate and intense—bodies pressed together, skin against skin, the familiar rhythm of their passion that had been absent for too long from Leon’s perspective.

I missed this. Missed her.

They took their time, savoring each other, making up for the separation with whispered words and breathless moments that needed no explanation.

Afterward, they lay together in comfortable silence, her purple hair spread across his chest, both of them simply enjoying the closeness.