Profane Ascendant-Chapter 59: Danger Scale and classification

Back in the present.

Cyn stood motionless, staring at Ramon's opened abdomen—the rat, and the grotesque mark embedded inside his body.

There was a repulsive green mucus coating the area. At the sight of it, Cyn recalled the Scar of Pride. Although it had remained silent for some time after the recent events, it ultimately returned—mocking him as always.

Cyn touched the green mucus.

It was warm.

Despite Ramon having been dead for several days—his body dissected and kept in cold conditions within Cyn's laboratory—this reaction was abnormal. Fortunately, Cyn already knew the reason.

'So he's still pretending…I'll let him be.

Once you enter this place, there is no way out.

Not even for rats like you.'

Cyn smiled and turned away.

According to the Scar of Pride, the Church's classification system for Scar Bearers functioned as follows:

Any living Scar Bearer, as a vessel, was required to obtain the material form of Scar Energy in order to use it in reality.

This obsession drove the madmen of the Church to study Scar Energy in its physical state. Numerous brutal experiments were conducted on captured Scar Bearers—age and appearance were irrelevant, as long as they carried a Scar.

What was worse, the Church believed Scar Bearers should feel proud of this treatment, claiming their hands were "pure" enough to be stained by such energy, and their rotten blood suitable for contamination.

Cyn smiled faintly.

It's time to take those experiments to the next level.

Only God knew what Cyn truly meant by that.

In truth, Cyn did not care about the Church, the temple, Scar Bearers, or any of it. He had his own objectives—as long as their interests did not collide.

Although that collision was inevitable, given the nature of his goal.

The experiments conducted in the underground vaults beneath the Church produced data that was evaluated and published as a danger Scal system for Scar Bearers.

Despite the power Cyn had demonstrated, he remained at the very bottom tier.

The reason lay in several unmet conditions.

The Scar of Pride's voice echoed in his head:

As I told you—you first need to form Energy Lines.

At the mention of that term, Cyn recalled the intense pain he felt whenever Scar Energy manifested physically inside him. It was like a serpent moving beneath his flesh—burning, charring him from within. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

That was Scar Energy.

It moved chaotically, forcing its way through sealed pathways toward exits, causing unbearable pain. The reason was simple—he lacked Energy Lines.

Energy Lines functioned as pathways and guides, allowing Scar Energy to flow smoothly throughout the body. Cyn did not possess them.

The fact that he could use Scar Energy without Energy Lines was already a miracle. That he had not died was another miracle entirely.

Cyn knew the Scar of Pride was responsible—shielding him from backlash and continuously healing him.

By hell's standards, it had brought him back from death—not once, but twice, as far as he could tell.

Yet true control through a sympathetic bond remained distant—if such a thing was even possible.

It's the Scar of Pride…

He could never forget what he had witnessed back then. That horrifying presence had been etched permanently into his memory.

The Scar of Pride spoke again:

To create Energy Lines, you must force Scar Energy through those paths. Scar Energy can be considered a living entity. You must train it to flow through them. It will be painful—because you must discover the paths yourself.

Cyn was no longer surprised. He had heard this before.

Before leaving the palace, he intended to question Miguel. According to the Scar of Pride, using a scroll containing precise descriptions of Energy Lines would help guide Scar Energy in the correct direction.

Cyn moved to another table.

There lay Ramon's human corpse—empty inside, nothing but skin, bones, and outer flesh. No organs remained.

Cyn was not looking at the corpse.

His gaze was fixed on the metal cup beside it.

Inside were tiny green shards.

Seven of them.

During the dissection, he had discovered them embedded in Ramon's body—two in the arms, three around the abdomen, and one in each leg.

Cyn asked,

"Do I have these inside me as well?"

The Scar of Pride answered,

Not yet. You don't even possess Energy Lines. Once you form them, these shards will begin to manifest. As your Scar Energy evolves, the nature of these fragments will change—and the amount of energy you can extract will increase.

Cyn murmured,

"Shards…"

A new concept.

Shards functioned as energy reservoirs, allowing energy to be released without directly drawing from the Scar itself. The greater the stored energy—and the stronger the shards—the higher the quality and power of the Scar Bearer.

Once Energy Lines were successfully formed, the next stage would be shards Creation.

A complex phase requiring patience, luck, and—most importantly—the type of Scar one possessed.

Cyn was unconcerned about that final factor.

He bore the Scar of Pride.

Even if information about it was scarce.

The Scar of Pride explained repeatedly:

Once Energy Lines were formed, Cyn would sense twenty-seven nodes, all interconnected—running from the head to the neck, spine, shoulders, arms, legs, and internal organs.

These twenty-seven nodes were the foundations of shards.

Once Energy Lines existed, those nodes would feel empty—because Shards would need to be formed one by one.

Shards were created using the first state of Scar Energy.

In Cyn's case, his Scar Energy manifested as blood—oozing from his Scar and flowing within him. Sticky, liquid, blood-like.

Energy states varied from person to person, though most possessed liquid forms.

Cyn recalled the green mucus inside Ramon's abdomen.

That had been Ramon's Scar Energy state.

To form Shards, Cyn would need to condense his Scar Energy within those nodes—until it solidified.

Cyn exhaled slowly.

"…That's easier said than done."

Cyn was examining those green shards in his hand before asking the Scar of Pride while inspecting them carefully,

"What did you say again? These shards are used to classify Scar Bearers?"

The Scar of Pride replied,

"It seems that in that era, there was no way to classify Scar Bearers or know who was stronger and who was weaker. This problem did not face the Church alone at that time, but even among the Scar Bearers themselves. None of them knew the extent of their power or what they were capable of, except when entering actual combat!"

"The experiments conducted by the Church resulted in a classification and a danger scale based on these shards. If a human has one heart, then a Scar Bearer has twenty-seven beating hearts. These shards are considered the foundation of a Scar Bearer."

Cyn held the green shard between his fingers. It was extremely ordinary, but it seemed that there was a transparent liquid moving inside it.

The Scar of Pride continued,

"Despite the twenty-seven positions, if you are lucky enough and supported by a powerful living Scar willing to help you create shards, you would be extremely fortunate to form ten shards. As for this person, he only formed seven."

Cyn asked,

"Are they that hard to form?"

The Scar's response was expected,

"Harder than you imagine! The problem does not lie with the Scar Bearer, but with the Scar itself. Living Scars are the only ones that possess Scar Energy without lacking it. Being careless and excessive in supplying Scar Energy to a Scar Bearer costs the living Scar greatly. Converting Scar Energy from its ethereal form into its material form requires intense concentration, and most of the ethereal Scar Energy is wasted, just to create drops of material Scar Energy for a fool like you to use and squander!"

Cyn simply listened. That bleeding from the Scar was not just blood—it was Scar Energy. A great amount of it was lost. Some of it was collected in vials, and some was forged into solid crystalline molds to create weapons.

Cyn guessed,

"So, according to this Threat Level Scale, this Ramon guy is a—"

He was interrupted by the Scar, as if completing his sentence,

"He sits at the very bottom of the classification. Seven green shards—this alone places him in the lower tier, and the green color makes him a Predator! If a Scar Bearer forms fewer than five shards, he is considered Classless. His power will not increase, and he will not be able to advance further. If he forms more than five, he is considered lower tier, or in other words, Formed. This person's classification is a Formed Predator!"

Cyn returned the shards to the container, whispering to himself,

"A Formed Predator… hmmmm, sounds like a good title! And what about me?"

The Scar of Pride answered mockingly,

"You haven't even climbed the ladder yet! Hah. Though you do hold a title of your own… they call your kind cannon fodder! Hahaha!"

Cyn did not respond. Recently, the Scar of Pride had become unusually irritating and unbearable. Still, in the end, it gave him the answer,

"I was just joking with you! The truth is, people like you are unclassified, but there is a name given to you—Classless Awakened, if my memory serves me right!"

'Classless Awakened, hmmmm.'