My Charity System made me too OP-Chapter 317: Climbing Again

The obsidian gates creaked open, dust rising in swirls as Leon stepped forward alone.

Behind him, Roselia, Roman, Milim, Naval, and Liliana stood at the edge of the arena's inner sanctum, watching in silence. None followed—this was not a battle for many. This was a test of what Leon had become.

The passage beyond the gate was narrower than before, lined with glowing ant-runes pulsing with warning. This part of the temple was not meant for the weak. Even the walls felt sentient, whispering tales of past challengers who'd failed to pass this point.

As Leon entered the chamber, the ground shifted. The floor was black crystal, transparent enough that one could see a flowing river of molten gold beneath, churning and alive.

A voice echoed.

"Rank 49 Arena: Throne of Echoes"

From the far end, a figure emerged.

Unlike the monstrous warriors before, this one was human-like—sleek, tall, draped in layered robes that shimmered like memory glass. His face was hidden behind a mirrored helm. His name flared across Leon's vision in system script:

[Challenger: Veyzhar, the Echo-King.]

[Class: Refraction Duelist.]

[Body Force Cultivator: Shellfire Variant - Inverted Pulse.]

Leon felt his muscles tighten.

This opponent didn't just withstand force. He bent it—inverted it. Every punch thrown at Veyzhar was one step closer to being struck by his own power.

"Leon," the Echo-King said, voice like a cascade of overlapping echoes, "You wear the Fourth Layer of Shell Reverb. Impressive. But I was its predecessor. I am the mirror to your journey."

Leon smiled grimly. "Then I'll break the mirror."

Begin.

Veyzhar moved first—without movement. The moment the match started, a ripple expanded from him in a perfect sphere. Leon's Shell Reverb instantly registered it: not an attack, but a temporal displacement, a feint that left a kinetic shadow of Veyzhar's real position behind him.

Leon barely ducked in time as the real Veyzhar arrived from the right with a whip-crack roundhouse. Even blocking, the blow shattered Leon's left shoulder.

He rolled back, bones knitting rapidly thanks to Aether regeneration.

Shell Reverb: 8% Echo Stored.

Leon gritted his teeth and dashed forward, this time unleashing his own multi-phase sequence: a tripart echo loop using Absolute Return's framework.

One punch. Two. The third came with the full stored force of Malgrax's impact.

It landed.

Veyzhar staggered.

But then—

He caught the force. Not with body, but with a mirror pulse. The kinetic energy looped around his arm and reversed back into Leon.

CRACK.

Leon's ribs caved.

He gasped, falling to one knee.

Shell Reverb Core: Overclocked.

Warning: External Force Disruption.

Leon laughed through the pain. "Okay… no more holding back."

He stood. And then the staff came into his hand.

Behind him, three auras erupted like cascading stars:

—Aether Blood: wings of crimson-white folded from his back, pumping volatile regeneration.

—Golden Magic: purity forged into lances, an aura so refined that even the obsidian walls shimmered.

—Destruction Core: black tendrils coiled his right arm, pulsing with entropy, unraveling the matter around his palm.

Void Chants whispered. Abyssal Authority stirred.

Leon pointed his staff.

"Destruction Trine: World End Spiral."

Lances of Gold surged. The Aether pulses multiplied them.

Veyzhar raised his mirrored barrier, but the Destruction pulse bypassed the reflection, targeting the core logic of his mirrored defenses.

Veyzhar was blasted back—armor cracking, his mirror helm splitting down the middle to reveal…

A human face.

Old. Tired. Noble.

"You… walk the same road I once did," Veyzhar said, coughing golden ichor.

Leon stood over him, panting.

Veyzhar smiled faintly. "Then walk farther than I did."

He vanished into fragments of stored echo.

[Victory: Rank 49 Cleared.]

[Shell Reverb Mastery Increased: 89%]

[Core Class Synchronization: +12%]

Leon fell to one knee, exhausted, steam rising from his skin. His blood boiled with magic, and his muscles trembled—but his spirit held firm.

Roselia rushed in first, followed by the others.

"You're insane," Naval muttered, eyes wide.

Leon grinned, eyes dim with exhaustion. "But effective."

The arena dimmed behind them, and Leon stumbled slightly as Roselia caught him, wrapping his arm over her shoulders. His entire body felt like a forge—burning from within, every muscle twitching with excess energy, his nerves still echoing from the inverted pulses of the Echo-King.

Roman looked at him with a furrowed brow. "You're not just cutting it close, Leon. You're grinding yourself to the bone."

Milim popped a piece of dried fruit into her mouth. "Still worth it. He punked a guy who inverted his punches. That was badass."

Liliana, normally silent after battles, placed her hand gently over Leon's chest, letting a wave of soft golden healing wash through him. "You have to pace your fire… or you'll burn up before you get to the summit."

Leon exhaled slowly, the pain fading into a dull hum as the golden aura worked through his shredded body. "I know," he murmured. "But there's no summit without scars."

As they left the arena chamber, a faint glow radiated from one of the side halls—a tunnel none of them had noticed before. From it, emerged an elderly figure: an Obsidian Ant Elder, his chitin darkened with age, and his antennae tipped in gleaming silver.

The team halted as the elder approached. His presence was unlike the others—quieter, yet deeper, as if every movement carried the weight of ages.

"You've survived the Refraction Duelist," the elder said in a calm, resonant tone. "You've crossed through mirrored force and held your form intact. Few ever do."

Leon straightened despite his exhaustion. "He said he walked this path before me."

The elder nodded slowly. "Veyzhar was once an inheritor of the Shell Reverb. But he strayed—took shortcuts that became mirrors of lies. You didn't."

He reached into the folds of his black-silver robes and drew out a small obsidian shard, its edges glowing faintly with four concentric rings. He placed it in Leon's hand.

[You have received: Echo Seed — Fragment of the Fourth Layer.]

[Shell Reverb — Absolute Return: Stage 2 Access Unlocked.]

[New Subform Unlocked: Counter-Void.]

Leon blinked.

Counter-Void: "A form of perfect kinetic rebuttal. Allows the user to not only redirect but 'erase' incoming force via synchronized pulse collapse, negating high-tier energy/mass impacts and returning a null-strike that unravels magical logic."