My Charity System made me too OP-Chapter 318: Climbing Again II

The elder stepped back. "You've reached a threshold now. But understand—Absolute Return is not a weapon. It is a law. Misuse it, and you will break before it does."

Leon nodded. "I'll earn every step."

The elder turned, vanishing into the tunnel's glow.

Roselia looked down at the shard in Leon's hand. "So what's next?"

Leon, eyes still fixed on the glowing rings within the shard, smiled faintly. "Next… we ascend. After a night of actual rest."

Roman exhaled, relieved. "Finally. I'm making everyone steak."

It wasn't a creature. Not entirely. It looked humanoid, but its body was translucent—ribbons of nerves and blood vessels visible beneath semi-solid flesh. Its face was a mirror-like surface, reflecting Leon's own image. Its limbs pulsed with shifting mass, fluid and solid at once.

It didn't speak. It didn't need to.

A voice resonated from the glyphs under Leon's feet:

"Rank 48 Trial Initiated: Echo Construct will replicate the challenger's Shell Pulse and fighting instinct at 80% accuracy. Any weakness will be amplified. Absolute Return is under watch."

Leon exhaled slowly.

"So it's me. But twisted."

He stepped forward, shoulders relaxing. The fight began with no warning.

The Echo Construct lunged—its motion eerily similar to Leon's own counter-pivot. Shell Reverb erupted from its joints, mimicking his Tier II execution with brutal precision.

Leon dodged barely in time, shocked as the construct's reverb pulse slammed the ground, fracturing it.

It learned Shell Reverb perfectly.

He retaliated with a snap-kick, but the construct absorbed it through its elastic mass, sending a double palm strike into Leon's ribs.

Crack!

He coughed blood, skidding across the obsidian floor, pain burning down his spine.

Leon gritted his teeth, activating Counter-Void. The pain bled into motion—his stance settled lower, his breath synchronized with his pulse.

Then came the trade.

Fists collided—Shell Pulse against Shell Pulse. Reverb clashed, creating a storm of mirrored force. Bones cracked. The arena walls shook.

Leon moved like water. The Construct moved like memory.

But memory had limits.

Leon grinned, blood on his lip, as he whispered, "You don't evolve. I do."

With a flick of his wrist, golden light erupted—his Gold Magic twisting through the air like a filament of sunlight, turning into shields and exploding spears.

The Echo flickered. It tried to adapt—Aether blood surged in its veins—but its mimicry was only skin-deep.

Leon pulled his power inward, body igniting with the faint black cracks of Destruction Core and the pulsing red glyphs of Aetherblood Surge. His heart beat once—

—and his body became pure force.

The staff in his hand became an extension of his intent, coated with abyssal gold, bleeding with purpose.

"End this."

Leon rushed in, his Shell Reverb and Counter-Void uniting. The construct met him halfway—and for a single second, time seemed to stop.

BOOM—

The floor shattered beneath them. A crater formed as the Construct's mirror-face cracked, then split entirely.

Light erupted from the broken body as the construct dissolved into shimmering motes of essence.

[ You have defeated Rank 48: Fleshglass Echo. ]

[ You have endured the Echo Trial. ]

[ Shell Reverb: Mastery increased to 51%. New Subform Unlocked: Mirror Echo. ]

[ Counter-Void: Stability confirmed. Layer One complete. ]

Leon stood in the ruin of the arena, panting, every muscle screaming. His knuckles were raw. His ribs broken.

But he smiled. fɾēewebnσveℓ.com

"I win."

As he limped out of the arena, the elder Ant from before stood waiting—staff in hand, eyes solemn.

"You have walked deeper into the Reverb than any foreigner has before. The Echo has been shattered—but to truly control it… you must learn to let it return."

Leon raised an eyebrow, blood running down his chin. "Another lesson?"

The elder nodded.