Regression: Reclaiming the End-Chapter 44: Rewards for clearing the 7th floor

My hands flared with embers for just a moment—hotter, sharper, more refined. The technique felt more fluid in my body now. Like the flames and I were starting to understand each other.

Then the next window opened:

[ Reward Granted: Skill Book – "Crimson Recast: Ember Conversion Form" ]

Rarity: Epic

Type: Martial Style Enhancement / Fusion Variant

Description: A volatile fusion form designed to convert Emberfang Style into an adaptive stance-based art. Allows stance-shifting between Precision Flame (DOT Focus) and Explosive Ember (Burst Focus).

-

I reached out and caught the glowing book mid-air—its cover etched with fiery fractals. The second I touched it, I knew: this wasn’t just a sidegrade.

This was evolution.

But the system wasn’t finished.

Another sigil descended—a deeper crimson, veined with gold. Denser. Heavier. A reward not just of skill, but of conquest.

-

[ Unique Reward Granted: Rift-Encoded Magic Stone (Grade: Unique) ]

Tradeable via Rift Market

Estimated Conversion Value: 500,000,000 PHP (or equivalent Astral Credits)

Function: Contains ultra-dense adaptive mana signature from an Apex Entity’s corrupted shard-core. Can be traded, refined, or consumed for permanent stat gain (Randomized +5~10 to 2 stats).

-

[All rewards have been transferred to your inventory.]

[Updating Floor Access...]

[You may now enter Floor 7.]

[Fast Travel Unlocked: Floor 1 ↔ Floor 7]

-

[Blank has cleared the 7th Floor of the Labyrinth!]

[The 8th Floor of the Labyrinth will open in 1 hour.]

[20 days have been added to the Annihilation Countdown.]

[Time Remaining Until Annihilation: 159 Days, 11 Hours, 24Minutes, 01 Seconds]

-

The stone pulsed in my palm. Cold at first... then warm. It wasn’t just mana.

It was potential.

A fragment of something that had truly touched the Rift’s inner laws—and I had taken it.

"Heh," I muttered, turning the stone over. "Half a billion..."

For a moment, I could almost hear the screams from traders and guilds outside.

As the system’s golden notifications faded from my vision, another kind of signal surged—buzzing softly at the edge of my interface.

[ Astral Community: Global Channel – 97,420 unread messages ]

I didn’t need to open it to know.

The world was watching.

Still... I tapped the feed.

And it exploded.

-

<<< Global Astral Community Feed >>>

[Pinned Thread: BLANK CLEARED FLOOR 7 SOLO – 45 MINUTES?!]

@GuildBreaker99:

Bruh. It’s not a team clear?! SOLO?! WHO TF IS THIS BLANK???

@ArcHealer_Yu:

WTF?!

@VantaSky (S-Class Duelist):

Anyone got the footage? I need to see how he fought. I don’t believe this unless I see it.

@Richie_Rift:

Bro just earned one after another. In one run. Are we SURE he’s not a dev’s pet?

@Cryo_Mel (Silver Vassal):

I’m honestly inspired. I thought Floor 5 was my cap. But seeing him tear through Floor 7 makes me want to try again. Damn.

@Guild_Hellspike (AstariaFan):

...someone check on Lady Astraia. Last time she got overtaken, she solo-cleared an entire floor in rage.

@AstraiaOfficial (Verified):

[Post Deleted]

[Post Deleted]

[Post Deleted]

[Typing...]

-

The threads piled up faster than I could scroll.

Some were filled with admiration. Some disbelief. A few clawed at excuses—"unfair advantage," "exploit build," "cheat-class Vassal"—but they were always buried beneath a tsunami of awe and uncomfortable respect.

Even the analysts were unraveling.

@RiftTheory_Kaleb:

If you review Blank’s previous clears, there’s a trend. He’s not just stronger—he’s adapting FASTER than anyone else. He’s treating the Rift like a puzzle he already solved.

@RedGuild_Priestess:

The way he uses his skills is not standard. It’s like he’s fighting to erase patterns, not follow them. That’s... terrifying.

@Observer_Scribe:

Blank’s kill time is increasing—but his precision is tightening. He’s not trying to win faster.He’s trying to learn. And that should scare everyone.

-

I closed the feed after a while.

Not because I didn’t care.

But because none of it mattered to the floor ahead.

Still... for just a moment, I allowed myself a breath. A quiet one.

Knowing that, far above—somewhere beyond the Astral Veil—Caelum Nihil was surely watching too.

And maybe, just maybe... smirking in that silent, invisible way of his.

-

[ Rift Synchronization: Floor 8 now accessible. ]

[System Alert – First Clear Recognition]

Your achievement shall be recorded in the Hall of Firsts.

A name is required for the inscription. This name will be eternal, visible to all challengers who follow. Choose wisely.

Please input the name to be etched into the Hall of Firsts:

(....)

And as usual, I entered the name "Blank"

[The name ’Blank’ has been registered.]

[Labyrinth – 7th Floor: Cleared]

[Cleared By: Blank ]

[Completion Time: 45 minutes, 11 seconds]

[You are being returned to Earth.]

[Please stand by.]

-

[You have cleared Floor 7.]

[Returning to Earth...]

[Cooldown started.]

[Time until reentry: 59 minutes, 46 seconds]

-

After being transported back to earth, the heat of the Philippines’ post-collapse humidity hit me like a wet wall. Smog rolled through the broken skyline, and crumbling concrete buzzed with drone activity. A shattered billboard overhead flickered in glitching text:

"Victory Starts in the Rift. Will You Be Next?"

But I wasn’t alone.

"LOOK! Vassals incoming!"

The sound hit me before the light—camera drones, projection lenses, reporters in reinforced vests rushing forward like sharks who smelled blood.

"Scan them—quick! We’re looking for high clearers!"

"Try again! Blank has cleared the Floor 7! Scan them! All of them!"

I kept my head low, shoulders slightly hunched, as they were scanning everyone—dozens of Vassals staggered out of the Rift Gate, each one hit with a barrage of sensory analysis, magical trace scans, and Identification-type skills.

Names. Stats. Patron links.

They were trying to find me. But they wouldn’t.

Because of the passive skill buried deep in my core:

[ Passive Skill of Blank Protocol ]

Grants complete immunity to identification, scanning, and information-detection skills. Automatically falsifies system-facing presence as "Unranked Vassal."

It didn’t just hide me, it rewrote what they saw.

I slipped through the crowd. No fanfare. No recognition. Just another face in a city that had already forgotten peace.

I walked past ruined fast-food signs, rusted delivery bikes, and collapsed barricades. The further I got from the Rift Gate, the quieter it became.

I slid the door shut behind me. Locked it. Then collapsed into the couch like my bones had declared mutiny.

The hum of the city fell to a low drone. Somewhere above, a patrol drone buzzed past the window. But in here?

Silence.

I pulled off my gloves, still faintly scorched from the fight. My fingers trembled—not from fear, but from overuse.

"...No interviews. No eyes. No noise."

Just how I liked it.

I tilted my head back and closed my eyes for just a moment, exhaling the heat that still clung to my chest.

"Blank returns to the earth unseen."

And no one even knew it.

Or so I thought.