A scream tore from Tony's throat, a raw, involuntary sound he would never have permitted under mere physical torture. This was different. This was an agony of the essence.
The silvery mist from the shattered orb didn't just surround him; it invaded him, seeping through his virtual pores to sink directly into the core of his consciousness. It felt like a million shards of glass were being ground against his soul, each one carrying the cold, absolute truth of the universe. It was a pain of exposure, of being unmade and scrutinized at the most fundamental level. His body locked up, muscles rigid, veins bulging at his temples as he clawed at his own head, fighting the primal urge to log out, to flee from this digital hell.
He had faced death in the Abyss Battlefield. He had felt bones snap and flesh tear. But this was a hundred times more cruel. It was the pain of existence itself being questioned.
High above, unseen and untouchable, Utia watched. Her golden eyes, capable of perceiving the very data streams of reality, saw the process with perfect clarity. The [Soul Orb] was doing its work, its ethereal energy weaving through the fabric of Tony's spirit, burning away impurities and reforging it with a finer, sharper grain. A flicker of genuine astonishment passed through her divine consciousness.
What a terrifying level of tolerance, she observed, her analytical mind logging every spike of neural feedback Tony endured. Even seasoned ascetics, prepared for such trials, would have buckled under the initial wave. This mortal had stumbled into it blindly, with no spiritual safeguards, and yet he endured. He wasn't just tolerating the pain; he was mastering it, wrestling it into submission through sheer, indomitable will.
Her thoughts drifted back through the cascading events of his short journey. First, he resisted the soul-probing aura of my creation avatar and claimed the cursed Humming Blade. Then, he stood in the presence of a Legendary Devil, Jurthradaan, and instead of cowering, he stole the Ring of Janus and a path to Transcendence lost to the ages. Luck was undoubtedly his companion, a stat seemingly broken in his favor. But Utia knew better. Luck provided the door; it was Tony's boldness, his razor-sharp instinct to seize the moment, that kicked it open.
And now this, she mused, a smile that could daze nations touching her lips. The Box of Heaven and Earth, purging his body with primordial energy, and the Soul Orb, refining his spirit, all in a single day. These are artifacts that would spark wars among demigods. If the ancient powers of the realm learned that a level 9 mortal held both, their jealousy would shatter continents.
Below, a shift occurred. The violent trembling in Tony's body subsided. His breathing, once ragged and desperate, evened out. The pain was still there—a searing background hum—but his mind had risen above it. Something had clicked. The chaos of the refining process resolved into a pattern, a symphony of energy he could suddenly comprehend. His consciousness drifted into a state of self-forgetfulness, no longer fighting the pain but flowing with it, learning from it.
For twenty minutes, he floated in this trance. When his awareness finally returned, the world had fundamentally changed.
He opened his eyes, and the forest was new. Colors were more vibrant, details were sharper, the very air seemed to have texture and weight. He could feel the subtle shift of a leaf ten yards away, hear the scuttling of a beetle buried under soil. He focused, pushing his perception, and his mental map expanded effortlessly to a radius of twenty yards, holding every detail in crystal-clear focus. Before, achieving a five-yard perception required his absolute peak concentration. Now, twenty yards was his relaxed baseline.
Ding!
System Notification: Congratulations! You have undergone Soul Refining and acquired the unique skill: [Reality Eye].
The chime pulled him fully back to the present. But a deeper, more primal sense screamed a warning. A pair of eyes. He was being watched. The feeling was so intense it was a physical pressure on the back of his neck. His body reacted before his mind, his head snapping up to a seemingly empty point in the sky. His new, expanded perception swept the area—fifty yards in every direction, nothing. Yet his instinct, honed in a thousand real fights, was adamant.
For a split second, he felt it—an overwhelming, cosmic gaze that promised annihilation. Then, it was gone.
High above, Utia's smile widened. What a sharp instinct. He had no way of detecting her, yet he had felt the intent of her observation. This mortal was full of surprises. With a final, approving thought—The future grows more interesting—she dissolved into nothingness, leaving not a single data trace behind.
Shaking off the unnerving feeling, Tony turned his attention to the system message. He pulled up the description for [Reality Eye], and his jaw nearly went slack.
[Reality Eye] (Unique)
An ocular ability born from the perfect fusion of a purified soul and worldly insight. It perceives the underlying truth of all things.
Effect: Passive perception range increased to 20 yards.
Active Effect: Upon activation, the user's eyes gleam silver, expanding perception to a 50-yard radius and granting the ability to see through all deception, illusions, and stealth. Ignores Level-based concealment effects by 40.
Duration: 30 seconds.
Cooldown: 10 minutes.
"This is… insane," Tony whispered, his voice hushed. An identification skill of this caliber, this early, was unheard of. It was a scout's, an assassin's, a god's ultimate tool. He finally understood the price of that agonizing hour; it had been a bargain.
Eager to test it, he first relaxed into his new passive perception. The world within twenty yards was an open book to him. He could feel the lazy patrol route of a [Forest Wolf] behind a thicket, sense the dormant mana in a cluster of herbs.
Then, he activated the skill.
"Reality Eye."
A cool, silvery light washed over his vision. His eyes themselves glowed with an unearthly radiance. Instantly, his consciousness exploded outward. It was no longer just feeling or hearing; it was seeing. A perfect, three-dimensional map of the entire fifty-yard radius unfolded in his mind. He saw the gnarled root systems under the soil, the thermal signature of the wolf, the flow of ambient mana. He saw a player, a Thief who thought his [Stealth] made him invisible, crouched behind a tree, utterly unaware that Tony could count the stitches on his leather armor.
A thrill, colder and sharper than any battle-lust, ran through him. The threat of assassination, his one lingering vulnerability as a solo player, had just been neutered.
He was about to test its identification power on a nearby plant when his expanded senses picked up on new presences. Three players, moving with a coordinated, purposeful rhythm from the direction of the level 7 monster spawns. They were good. Very good.
He let the [Reality Eye] fade but kept his passive perception locked on them. The leader was a Guardian Knight, his armor pristine, his posture radiating a calm, unshakable confidence. He moved with zero wasted motion, each step placed with the precision of a master duelist. To his right walked a Priest, a woman with cascading crimson hair and a figure that radiated a mature, magnetic charm. Her movements were graceful, her gaze constantly, subtly, scanning their surroundings. Bringing up the rear was a Berserker, a man in his forties whose robust frame and dark-blue armor couldn't hide the chilling aura of lethality that clung to him. The black and white spear in his hand looked less like a weapon and more like an extension of his will.
This was no random pickup group. This was a precision instrument.
Curiosity overrode caution. Tony focused his new sight on the trio, and the information flooded into his mind with stunning clarity.
[Unyielding Mountain] (Guardian Knight)
Level: 7
HP: 820/820
Equipment: [Aegis of the Dawn] (Gold), [Bulwark Greaves] (Gold), [Towerheart Cuirass] (Gold), [Silver Vambraces], [Silver Pauldrons]...
[Bright Jade] (Priest)
Level: 6
HP: 265/265
Equipment: [Scepter of Serenity] (Gold), [Robes of the Revived] (Gold), [Silver Diadem], [Silver Slippers]...
[Tiger Overlord] (Berserker)
Level: 7
HP: 475/475
Equipment: [Fang of the Behemoth] (Gold), [Mantle of the Colossus] (Gold), [Silver War-Harness], [Silver Tassets]...
Tony's breath caught. He could see everything. Not just their levels, but their entire gear set. Three Gold pieces on the Knight, two on the others, the rest all Silver. Their equipment was only a hair's breadth behind his own, and he had gotten his through a series of ludicrous, once-in-a-lifetime events. To encounter three random players with this level of power was a bucket of cold water on his ego.
A cold calculation ran through his mind. In a direct confrontation, his chances of survival were low. Victory? Almost nil. Even in a one-on-one duel against either the Knight or the Berserker, he could feel a dormant power sleeping within them, the telltale sign of a real-world martial arts foundation. These were not just skilled gamers; they were Experts, perhaps even Peak Experts.
The realization should have been frightening. Instead, a familiar fire ignited in his chest, and a grin, sharp and predatory, spread across his face. His blood began to sing with a fierce, exhilarating joy.
The game had just gotten a lot more interesting.