Ex-Rank Awakening: My Attacks Make Me Stronger-Chapter 106: EX . Perfection

In the Real World.

The private training ground was quiet.

The wind passed gently across the desolate space, only slightly disturbed by the faint rise and fall of Nikko’s breathing, where she sat against the stone wall, resting.

Leon’s head lay across her lap, until it didn’t.

A sudden pulse of immense aura burst from his chest.

BOOM—!

The ground vibrated as golden and crimson light engulfed his entire body.

Leon’s unconscious form rose into the air, arms spread, eyes still closed. His hair flowed upward, caught in the storm of pure evolution.

Nikko’s eyes flew open in shock, her body going rigid.

"What... what’s happening!?" she whispered.

Her battle instincts screamed, but she didn’t move. She knew this wasn’t something she could interfere with.

’If I interrupt it, I might break something deeper than bone...’

So she just watched.

****

Back Inside Leon’s Mind.

The concept was now more than theory. It had weight. It had rhythm. It had a name, but Leon didn’t speak it yet.

He didn’t rush.

This was the most sacred moment of his life.

He drew in all the light of the one hundred mini-suns orbiting the great sun, letting their warmth fill every inch of the idea, until it wasn’t just an art...

...it was his legacy.

A manifestation of how he fought, how he lived, how he refused to break.

The light flared,

And the system whispered in golden letters:

[You have successfully created an Original Art.]

****

Leon hovered in the heart of the void,

Calm.

Weightless.

Silent.

The stars of his soul, the radiant suns floating in that endless cosmic plane, had dimmed, their energy absorbed into the culmination of his will. The violent storm of knowledge that had once surged like a raging sea had now gone still.

[Original Art successfully created.]

[Name?]

The glowing prompt pulsed softly in front of him.

But Leon didn’t rush.

He knew, that this wasn’t just a technique.

It was him, in concept, in will, in every shattered bone and every choice that had brought him here.

His eyes, glowing faintly with residual aura, stared into the void.

He began to recall every moment,

The fights, the growth, the breaking of limits, the pain, the clarity... the reason.

"This art will carry me forward. It will define my battles. My legacy. My strength. My path."

He closed his eyes for a moment, letting his spirit resonate with the unnamed art.

He felt its nature, destructive yet refined, explosive yet precise, heavy yet swift.

A manifestation of everything he had endured and become.

Then,

A smile curved across his lips.

The name echoed in his mind, clear and powerful.

A name that felt inevitable.

He slowly opened his mouth and said,

"I will name you..."

****

The golden hue of dusk filtered through the high windows of the training ground, casting long shadows across the floor where battle had raged for nearly three days. Dust still hung in the air from the aftermath of their final clash, quiet now, but still warm with the echoes of countless blows exchanged.

Leon’s eyes slowly opened.

A faint glow shimmered in his irises as his feet touched down gently on the ground, his aura settling around him like a royal mantle. The earth beneath him cracked slightly from the pressure of his new presence, no longer just a powerful cadet, but one who had ascended.

Nikko took a step forward, her heart leaping, but she stopped midway.

Her eyes widened in quiet awe as she felt it.

The shift.

The undeniable elevation in his presence.

"He actually ranked up..." she whispered.

Her voice trembled with disbelief, and pride.

She approached slowly now, the same girl who had watched him bleed and fight and fall and rise again over and over without ever asking for mercy. She stood before him with a calm smile, one filled with respect.

"Congratulations on ranking up."

Leon turned to her, his own smile tired but deeply satisfied.

"Thank you. I couldn’t have done it without you, Nikko."

Nikko’s breath caught for just a moment. Her heart gave a soft tug at the way he said her name, the way his gaze held nothing but quiet sincerity. She returned the smile with her own, warmer than before.

"As long as I could help..." she said softly.

Leon gave a small nod, then rolled his shoulders with a grunt.

"Well, I need to go rest. Three days of getting beat up really takes a toll on you."

Nikko let out a soft chuckle.

"Make sure to rest properly this time."

"No promises." Leon grinned.

With that, he turned and began walking toward the exit. His posture was still proud, but his stride had a noticeable limp, a reminder of the savage trial he’d endured and conquered. Yet even with the limp, his back was straight, and his spirit unyielding.

Nikko stood there, watching him.

Watching the boy she once knew, now walking away as something more.

She smiled to herself.

"He’s more amazing than when he was young..." she whispered.

Then, with one final glance at the empty arena, she vanished, leaving behind only silence and the lingering heat of a spar that had forged something extraordinary.

****

Steam curled lazily through the air as Leon stepped out of the shower, the heat clinging to his skin like a final embrace from the battle he’d endured. His body bore no visible injuries, at least, none to the untrained eye, but beneath the surface, his muscles still ached, his organs throbbed faintly, and fatigue gnawed at his core. The Federation’s advanced medical techniques had pushed his healing to the limit, and now even his cells had begun to grow resistant.

But he wasn’t worried.

A short rest, and he’d be as good as new.

Towel draped over his shoulders, Leon walked toward his bed, a casual flick of his fingers summoning a glowing blue panel into existence before him.

---

[Status Panel]

Name: Leon Kael

Race: Human

Age: 19

Class: Warrior

Rank: E-Rank

Talent: {Attack} — EX Rank

Status: Normal

Health: 100%

---

[STATS]

Strength: 1446> 2169 (+723)

Senses: 1135>1702 (+567)

Vitality: 1296>1944 (+648)

Stamina: 1076>1614 (+538)

Speed: 1094>1641 (+547)

Aura: 1301>1951 (+650)

---

[Skills]

• [Echolocation]

• [Mirror Split]

• [EXTREME ART]

---

[Inventory]

---

Leon whistled low under his breath.

"Now this is growth."

Without a moment’s pause, he summoned his sword from the inventory with a flash of light. The weapon sang as it settled in his grip. His expression sharpened, body still dripping water as he raised the blade to his side.

Shnk—

He slashed through the air beside him with a clean, effortless sweep. The strike was so precise it felt like time itself bent to accommodate it. Then, a large grin broke across his face.

"Now that was perfect."

The sword vanished back into his inventory, replaced by silence. Leon turned, sighing in satisfaction as he collapsed onto his bed, body sinking into the sheets like a stone into a still pond.

Sleep claimed him instantly.

Yet beneath the faint hum of the room, something stirred.

On the cold floor, almost too small to notice, lay the remains of a fly, split perfectly in half. Its body hadn’t even twitched at first, the precision so absolute it took a heartbeat too long for reality to catch up.

Then, as Leon drifted into sleep, a slow trail of hemolymph finally oozed from the bisected insect, staining the ground like a quiet declaration:

Absolute Perfection.